Casablanca (1942) Review

Don't you hate when you watch a movie that has such a big reputation, won so much acclaim, is beloved by everyone, always pops up on lists of best films of all time and you realize that it's all just much ado about nothing? I watched Casablanca for the first time last night and let me tell you directly, it is a good movie but it's far from being as grand, important, lifechanging and whatnot as it is made up to be.

What we're dealing with here is basically just a love story, albeit an interesting one. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick who owns a night club in World War II Casablanca and he's a tough guy, as cynical a badass as there has ever been one. But when he is confronted with his long lost love Ilsa we realize he's a nice guy inside, he's just been hardened by the heartbreak she caused him.

If you really don't have any idea what Casablanca is about then I'm not gonna spoil the rest for you. This movie has been referenced, spoofed and honored so many times that any cinephile should recognize most of the shots. We get classic lines such as "Here's looking at you, kid" and "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" while Bogart plays his signature role to a tee and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa just shines throughout the film. My favorite character nonetheless is Claude Rains as Captain Renault, a corrupt official who you can't really figure out until the very end.

So one might ask, what is there not to like about this film and frankly, there's not much not to adore but one thing that just kept bugging me and in the end ruined the film for me and brought it down to "just" a good level. As great as Bogart is in his role, I didn't feel much chemistry between him and Ingrid Bergman. She is this beautiful and fragile woman and he is just tough, I felt it just didn't click between them. I bet lots of people would disagree with me on that but hey, this is my blog and my opinion!

Maybe it's better to see films like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Godfather and any other classic without bias, just take them for what they are and appreciate what you actually get. Then you might avoid the slight disappointment I experienced with Casablanca.

The Thin Red Line (1998) Review

1998 was an interesting year for dueling movies. We had the asteroid movies Armageddon vs. Deep Impact, the animated bug movies Antz vs. A Bug's Life and two films about World War Two. Both of the latter films were directed by respected auteurs, featured ridiculously long lists of talented actors, were both almost 3 hours long and got lots of Academy Award nominations. The big difference: One movie was Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, won 5 Oscars and was hugely successful. The other one was Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line which did poorly at the box office and didn't win a single Oscar. But who cares about awards and profits?

I'm not sure how well remembered this one is but after just viewing it I really hope that people will give it a second shot, especially now that Malick's The Tree Of Life is another serious Oscar contender. Let's get down to the plot: The whole movie is basically just focusing on the battle of Guadalcanal, an island in the Pacific Ocean, where the USA battled the Japanese. So you might think, what's so special about that? Look again!

Malick who is a philosopher-turned-filmmaker doesn't really care about the actual fight that is going on but instead focuses on many individual characters and their internal struggle using inner monologues. He contradicts the gruesomeness of war with beautiful nature shots and an orchestral score. The fight scenes are mostly there to support the main theme of the movie: the loss of innocence.

If you think that sounds like pretentious rubbish then this won't be your movie. Malick has always split the audience. His followers admire his amazingly beautiful camerawork and thoughtfulness combined with strong performances while his opponents complain his movies are just plain boring.

Fact is that Malick's films remain unique in Hollywood and true to their own narrative rules. You rarely find a filmmaker that so determinedly and without compromise realizes his vision on screen. I love his movies and if you don't then you should at least acknowledge his poetic artistry. Or forget about it and go watch some CGI crap with talking animals.