Ataraxia

  Bride of the Wind by Marilyn Levy Eight out of 10 This motion picture is surely not perfect, but it is however next to impossible to understand for yours truly why the critics have destroyed it. Granted, there seems to be a disharmony, an imbalance which was evident in the other direction recently, when the under signed has considered Crazy Rich Asians a terrible movie ( http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/11/crazy-rich-asians-based-on-novel-by.html ) while audiences and critics have celebrated it. I really do not see why The Austin chronicle has given The Bride only two stars out of five and it is especially ghastly to see Roger Ebert rating it with just half a star (?!), when that site is generous with any ludicrous, forgettable piece and then going on to say that “it is one of the worst biopics ever”. Come on! Give me a break! As they say in the movies favored by this very caustic expert, but only on the matter of The Bride. Anyway, if I did not love it to despair, I surely liked...

  Father of the bride, written- with four others - and directed by Charles Shyer 8 out of 10 Steve Martin, Diane Keaton give solid performances in this motion picture, but it is Martin Short who steals the show, with an over the top rendition of Franck Eggelhoffer, a flamboyant, excessive and amusing wedding planner and coordinator. When George Banks hears his daughter is getting married, he can't believe his hears - it is true she is very young, in an age when people postpone matrimony and having children, at least in most of the West - and he is more than aggravated. Humor is already presented in the first few scenes, as the would be Father of the Bride prefers to shut himself from the incoming information... His daughter, Annie Banks, explains how she has met Bryan MacKenzie while in Italy and they have had such a great time, since the young man is marvelous... She keeps giving more details, but the frightened parent is not processing most, if any of it... Well into the Italian ...

  Anon, written and directed by Andrew Niccol Anon is an interesting motion picture, although it will probably fail to become a Science Fiction classic along with 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Dr. Strangelove and How I learned to stop Worrying and Love the Bomb or other quintessential masterpieces. Clive Owen is - like always- outstanding in the leading role of a police detective, Sal Frieland, whose job should be so easy in a future where we have everything recorded and therefore there is no shortage of evidence. In a way, this is a strong point for the film, considering the invitation to think about issues like privacy, or lack there of, the digital trail that we already have behind and that Facebook and the rest use, misuse for profits or, in the case of Cambridge Analytica, for political gains. The Google glasses have already been tested and then abandoned, but they used to be able to record all that a person saw and heard and this is what happens in the future presented ...

  Starsky & Hutch, by William Blinn and five other contributors  7 out of 10 It is impossible to dismiss this comedy, even if it is not an unforgettable experience. In its favor, we have a collection of stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Juliette Lewis, Jason Bateman, Snoop Dog and the hilarious Will Ferrell. Some of the performances have been les than spectacular, the film being nominated for two Razzie awards, although it is not clear about Ben Stiller and I did not see why Carmen Electra was considered so bad in her role. Owen Wilson plays Ken Hutchinson and Ben Stiller is David Starsky. When they are first assigned to work together, their relationship is not started under the best auspices. Indeed, Starsky seems to be thorough, while Hutch is too relaxed and lazy, to say the least. They find a corpse in the river and the latter talks about this particular death as the most difficult to investigate, for there are no fingerprints, most of the clues have been ...

  Lost in London, written and directed by Woody Harrelson Woody Harrelson is a sensational, provocative, intelligent, charming, extremely talented, high up in the sky - even if he says he has not used drugs in a long time - outstanding actor. However, the enterprise of Lost in London does not seem to take off, in spite of inside jokes, the presence of Owen Wilson and the commendable, laudable efforts of the cast. Admittedly, this is a rather small production, without huge goals and intent on competing with The Avengers, Iron Men or Fast and Furious Drivers. As such, a more modest feature can be rated as enjoyable and entertaining within limits. Woody Harrelson plays himself, although there are many scenes where he is either unfamiliar to bouncers at night clubs or confused with Woody Allen- if the latter was not in jest, which it could be what was intended all along. Early in the film, there is a tension, for the protagonist has been caught on camera as he was involved in a rather ...

  The Royal Tenenbaums, written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, directed by the former Nine out of 10 The quirky humor of Wes Anderson – writing this eccentric feature with Owen Wilson, who also acts in the film – can be difficult to digest, as happened to this cinephile, who has rated this comedy with only a 7 out of 10 on the first viewing, years ago. It depends also on the kind of jocularity you prefer, if it is only slapstick comedy, then this is not the thing for you, as well as when one has an adversity for the absurd – the under signed has, perhaps reasonably, given that he had spent about twenty five years in the most ludicrous system of all…would you guess which is it. Gene Hackman is sensational, divine as he always is when he has something to work with in the role of Royal Tenenbaum, the complex, perhaps we should say rather negative paterfamilias, who shoots at one son, albeit without deadly ammunition, during a game, steals assets form the same and generally behaves w...