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Five Dedicated to Ozu, a review by Danae Cassandra

Five Dedicated to Ozu
Year Released: 2004
Directed By: Abbas Kiarostami
Starring: nature
Genre: Documentary

Overview:
Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (A TASTE OF CHERRY, THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES) pays homage to Yasujiro Ozu, the brilliant Japanese filmmaker whose spare but evocative style has been a major influence on Kiarostami's work. Canny and sublime, the 74-minute film is comprised of five long, apparently single takes of a beach on the Caspian Sea, all focusing on the ocean, comprised of virtually no camera movement and enveloped in rapturous natural sound.

Richly poetic and shot on a hand-held DV camera, the film features five extended, apparently single-take sequences:

1. The camera accompanies a piece of wood with which the waves are toying, at the beach.
2. People are walking along, by the seaside. Older people stop, look at the waves, then walk away.
3. Indistinct shapes on a beach in winter. A group of dogs. A love story.
4. Ducks noisily cross the frame in one direction, then the other.
5. A pond. Nighttime. Frogs. A chorus of sounds. Then, a storm, and finally, dawn.

My Thoughts:
This is a tough film to review, and it definitely has a limited audience. I tried to describe it to a friend and he was like "I'm not seeing a point here." It's a visual meditation, an exploration of time - day moving to night, the timelessness of the sea contrasted with the finite span of living things. If that sounds interesting to you then watch this film. I thought it was beautiful.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

(From March Around the World 2016 on April 7th, 2016)

The Amazing Colossal Man, a review by GSyren

Title	The Amazing Colossal Man (8-033650-557343)
Director	Bert I. Gordon
Actors	Glenn Langan, Cathy Downs, William Hudson, Larry Thor, James Seay
Produced	1957 in United States
Runtime	77 minutes
Audio	Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	Italian
Overview	Lt. Col. Glenn Manning is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast at Camp Desert Rock. Though burned over 90% of his body, he survives, and begins to grow in size. As he grows, his heart and circulatory system fail to keep pace with his growth, and he is gradually losing his mind as a result of reduced blood supply to his brain. He reaches 50 feet tall before his growth is stopped. By this time he has become insane. He escapes and wreaks havoc upon Las Vegas before he is finally stopped.
My thoughts	It would be a gross overstatement to say that The Amazing Colossal Man is a good movie. It's not. But it's a fun little movie. The script is way out there. Not only is the whole notion of anything growing like that totally bogus. It also makes some really WTF claims. What on earth was the scriptwriter smoking when he came up with that? Most of the effects are also laughable. Worst of all, the final effects shot, when the Colossal Man falls down from the Boulder Dam, is so pitiful that it taints the whole experience of the film. This movie is really hard to find on DVD. I got hold of an Italian release. I was dismayed when I started the film, because it was widescreen 1.78:1, and I knew it was supposed to be 1.37:1. Strangely enough it seemed to work. The composition hardly ever felt cramped. It was as if it was shot with matting in mind. However, I have never read anything that suggests that it was actually meant to be shown that way. You probably have to love 50's black-and-white genre movies in order to appreciate this film. It is a turkey, but it's a lovable turkey!
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on April 30th, 2014)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom

1.09 A Cop, a Mountie and a Baby (1994-12-01)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), Peter Colley (Story By), Kathy Slevin (Story By), Kathy Slevin (Screenwriter)
Director: Steve DiMarco
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), David Marciano (Detective Ray Vecchio), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Daniel Kash (Detective Louis Gardino), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Catherine Bruhier (Elaine), Natalie Radford (Louise Webber), Mark Ruffalo (Vinnie Webber), Diego Chambers (Claude), Elizabeth Lennie (Morrisot), Jackie Richardson (Receptionist), Roger Dunn (Store Owner), Donald Fleckser (Motel Clerk), Quentin Meloff (Baby Jamie), Andrew Meloff (Baby Jamie), Joel Meloff (Baby Jamie)

An okay episode. Nothing special. Mark Ruffalo appears in an early role.

Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on July 10th, 2009)