October 10, 1991
The Commitments (1991) ****
Alan Parker's masterpiece is an unpretentious musical about a soul band from Dublin. Songs include:
"Destination Anywhere" **
"Nowhere To Run" **
"Mustang Sally" **
"Too Many Fish In The Sea" **
"Mr.Pitiful" *
"Bye Bye Baby" **
"Show Me" **
"Take Me To The River" *
"The Dark End Of The Street" *
"Chain Of Fools" **
"Mustang Sally" (reprise) ***
"I Never Loved A Man" **
"Try A Little Tenderness" ***
"In The Midnight Hour" **
"Destination Anywhere" **
"Nowhere To Run" **
"Mustang Sally" **
"Too Many Fish In The Sea" **
"Mr.Pitiful" *
"Bye Bye Baby" **
"Show Me" **
"Take Me To The River" *
"The Dark End Of The Street" *
"Chain Of Fools" **
"Mustang Sally" (reprise) ***
"I Never Loved A Man" **
"Try A Little Tenderness" ***
"In The Midnight Hour" **
Raise The Red Lantern (1991) ****
Directed by Zhang Yimou. With Gong Li. Superb melodrama about power struggles among various wives of a very rich man.
Once Upon A Time In China (1991) ****
Set in the late 19th century, it's a thrilling adventure film, directed by Tsui Hark, the first part of a long saga. It has excellent kung-fu fights (courtesy of Jet Li). The main villains in this film are foreign mercenaries and Chinese traitors collaborating with them.
September 9, 1991
Shadows And Fog (1991) ***
One of Woody Allen's most unusual films. A low-key pastiche of German expressionism. Other influences include Ingmar Bergman and Franz Kafka.
A Chinese Ghost Story 3 (1991) ***
The exciting fantasy saga continues. A ghost woman tries to seduce a young monk travelling with his elderly master.
The Applegates (1991) ***
Giant preying mantis living in a south American jungle decide to move into suburban USA to get their revenge.
Barton Fink (1991) ***
Bizarre film noir about a New York playwright who is hired to write a movie in Hollywood.
Cape Fear (1991) ***
A Southern Gothic thriller about a released rapist who stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.
Dead Again (1991) ***
Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in this excellent film noir about a woman suffering from amnesia (Emma Thompson).
Magnificent Scoundrels (1991) ***
One of Stephen Chow's best films, a very funny comedy about con-men and con-women trying to blackmail each other. Co-starring Amy Yip.
Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991) ***
Great documentary about the filming of Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now".
Montréal vu par... (1991) ***
Six short films about Montreal, produced for the 350th anniversary of the city and directed by leading Canadian filmmakers from Quebec and Ontario. Patricia Rozema directed the first segment, starring Sheila McCarty as a shy and naive dancer from Toronto getting a taste of Montreal's nightlife. The second part (directed by Jacques Leduc) is a confusing, but quite original brechtian tale. Hockey is the main subject of the third episode, directed by Michel Brault. Atom Egoyan's segment is a bizarre tale about a tourist. The best episode was directed by Lea Pool - it presents a harrowing account of a tragic accident. Denys Arcand directed the last, very satiric segment. It's available here on YouTube.
"Desperanto" (Patricia Rozema) ***
"La Toile du temps" (Jacques Leduc) **
"La Derniere partie" (Michel Brault) *
"En passant" (Atom Egoyan) **
"Rispondetemi" (Lea Pool) ****
"Vue d'ailleurs" (Denys Arcand) ***
"Desperanto" (Patricia Rozema) ***
"La Toile du temps" (Jacques Leduc) **
"La Derniere partie" (Michel Brault) *
"En passant" (Atom Egoyan) **
"Rispondetemi" (Lea Pool) ****
"Vue d'ailleurs" (Denys Arcand) ***
Once A Thief (1991) ***
A caper movie by John Woo. Plenty of action and shootings in the second half. Lots of humor.
Slacker (1991) ***
24 hours in the lives of Austin slackers - weirdos and losers hanging around town, doing nothing.
Slickers Vs Killers (1991) ***
Very entertaining chop socky film from Hong Kong. Director Samo Hung plays a cell phone salesman pursued by vicious killers. There is plenty of good comedy between kung-fu fight scenes.
Surviving Desire (1991) ***
A literature professor (Martin Donavan) has an affair with one of his students. One of Hal Hartley's finest films, a black comedy full of absurdist humor. ***
Trust (1991) ***
Hal Hartley's masterpiece is a deadpan comedy about a pregnant teenage girl and a troubled TV repairman.
August 8, 1991
Contre l'oubli (1991) **
A compilation of 30 short films pleading on behalf of a political prisoner.
July 7, 1991
Armour Of God II: Operation Condor (1991) ***
One of Jackie Chan's most entertaining film, released in the United States in 1997 as "Operation Condor". It's a tongue-in-cheek parody of the Indiana Jones' pictures. Chan plays a secret agent who must recover a hidden treasure, buried by the Nazis in the Sahara desert. He is assisted by two ditzy dames, who are often more of a hindrance than help. But sexism aside, this is a very funny film.
Blue Jean Monster (1991) *
A police officer is electrocuted and becomes a supernatural creature with extraordinary powers.
Crazy Safari (1991) **
Directed by Billy Chan. A mind-boggling comedy-adventure pic set in Africa, where a hopping vampire wrecks havoc among peaceful Bushmen led by N!xau (from "The Gods Must Be Crazy"). At one point, a Chinese priest transfers the spirit of Bruce Lee into N!xau and through some imaginative trick photography the kung-fu legend takes on the bad guys.
Eternal Combat (1991) **
An odd mixture of several genres: contemporary horror, "wu xia pian", comedy and even erotic thriller. Plenty of surprises in this uneven film.
The Last Blood (1991) **
In Singapore, the Daka Lama is shot by the terrorists. An action movie from Hong Kong, directed by Wong Jing.
Urga (1991) **
Contemporary drama set on Mongolian steppes. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Salmonberries (1991) *
Boring film about an East German woman living in Alaska. An undeserved winner of Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montreal Film Festival.
June 6, 1991
Edward II (1991) *
Derek Jarman's adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's historical play. Modern costumes.
May 5, 1991
Une Balle dans la tête (1991) *
People are speaking in an unknown language and fighting in a forest.
April 4, 1991
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