The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Steve46]

Wild Strawberries (1957)
Drama, 91 minutes, Swedish Language
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow

Modern cinema rarely gives us a film as ambitious or thoughtful as Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries. It questions the very meaning of life, and the themes of religion, relationships, isolation, and death. This is made clear during the opening scene, which takes place before the credits. It's here that we meet the narrator and main character, Professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström). He's shown sitting at his desk, documenting the following thoughts:

"In our relations with other people, we mainly discuss and evaluate their character and behavior. That is why I have withdrawn from nearly all so-called relations. This has made my old age rather lonely."

Think about the truth in those words. Whenever we meet anyone, we immediately evaluate them. Are they kind, intelligent, or attractive, and do we want to know them? How do you feel knowing that every person who interacts with you is judging you in some way? Many of us want to make a good impression and be liked, while others don't really care what other people think about their worth.

As the film unfolds, we learn that Borg is a doctor who is about to receive an honorary degree. He has a disturbing dream showing a clock with no hands, and a hearse containing his own corpse. After waking at 3am, he decides to drive to the ceremony early, ignoring the feelings of his housekeeper, who wants to leave at 9am as planned. Borg seems to care little for the feelings of those around him. His daughter-in-law, Marianne (Ingrid Thulin), accompanies him on the trip.

Borg's journey gives him the opportunity to talk to Marianne. He thinks that she dislikes or even hates him because of his indifferent attitude toward the feelings of other people. She even cites an example of such behavior, confirming his suspicions. But as the journey progresses, their conversation reveals things about the character of both people, and they realize that they do like things about each other.

You can see that Borg's musings at the beginning of the film were accurate. Every action he performs is judged. One brief meeting with a gas station attendant (von Sydow) also illustrates that point, but this time in a positive way. Some previous act of Borg's was remembered fondly by the attendant and his wife.

The film contains many dreams and memories, and it's easy to see why David Lynch would like Bergman's work. Borg takes Marianne to visit the house in which he spent the first twenty summers of his life, and we are shown Borg's nine siblings, and the woman he loved. I was reminded of the power of memory, and how it can be stimulated by revisiting places from our past. I am sure everyone can relate to that.

After this interlude, Borg meets three younger people who join him on his journey. Bergman uses the attitudes of these characters to show the contrasting outlooks of different age groups. We also meet two other strangers who are married, but appear to be unhappy. All of these interactions are there to show the possibilities that we have in our future. Will we be happy, lonely, or forced to compromise? Can damaged or broken relationships ever be healed? Why do we do what we do?

Wild Strawberries doesn't contain any profound revelations, but it certainly provokes thought. I mentioned that it's rare to see modern examples of films that explore such areas. A few examples are The Tree of Life, Everlasting Moments, Three Colors Red, and The Double Life of Veronique. If you enjoy exploring your own thoughts, and seeing how events shape our lives and actions, I would recommend all of those films. Wild Strawberries was made more than fifty years ago, and is still relevant today. It was Victor Sjöström's last acting role, and he was very convincing as a 78-year-old man reflecting on his life.

Overall score 4/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest blind-buy: Chronos

This one really is more of the same. Lots of nice-looking shots, lots of nice locales, lots of time-lapse shots that look cool. It's short and sweet, but nowhere near as ambitious or sophisticated as Fricke's later films.

3.5/5 (Experience: Pretty Good | Content: Average | Film: Good)

On Blu-Ray this IMAX feature looks...pretty good. It's nice and sharp, but is prone to some slight noise and scenes that don't have particularly good color or contrast. Sound quality is not bad.

PQ: 3.5/5, AQ: 4/5

[Al_The_Strange]

Zoolander

A man so epic, so really really ridiculously good-looking, they had to make a film out of him! Derek Zoolander! Occupation: a male model. What he lacks in brains he makes up for...by being really really ridiculously good-looking.

Based on some VH1 skits, Zoolander takes Ben Stiller's comic character and builds a rather silly plot around him. The movie moves at an appealing speed, and is some of the funniest s**t ever. The dialogue is often so silly and ridiculous that it's often hilarious. The actual plot and situations are very weird and silly, but not quite overdone or anything. A lot of scenes are genuinely funny, and above all, the movie does a good job of immersing the audience in the wacky, colorful world of male modelling gone awry.

The film's story is admittedly not that creditable, and its characters aren't all that deep. If you accept it and all its absurdity, it is a tightly-constructed piece of work with plenty of inside jokes and running gags, and it has enough to the characters to make the audience care to some degree. Although, the most critical of viewers might just find it all very silly and irreverent.

This film has fine and dandy photography, with some really wild scenes. Acting and writing are quite funny, and the cast features a huge number of cameos. This production has enough good sets, props, and costumes to relay the proper look and style of the film. Music is cool at times.

4/5 (Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Good)

Recommendation: Depends on your sense of humor. Recommended to most causal audiences who enjoy slapstick comedy. Not recommended to the high-brow crowd.

Got the British Blu-Ray for this. It looks really really ridiculously good-looking!

PQ: 4/5, AQ: 4/5

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Side Effects (2013)

[Show spoiler]Where to begin? The excellent Rooney Mara convincingly plays a woman whose boyfriend just got out of jail. Four years or so of maintaining a healthy relationship and now her uncontrollable slide into depression begins. She begins to see a doctor (Jude Law) whom prescribes her the fictional drug 'Ablixa.'

At this point we all know where it's going (just look at the title). But let me tell/warn you, you'll get a little more than you bargained for. To divulge any more details would be a spoiler, but let me tell you this: Side Effects is among the most audience friendly films of Soderbergh's recent output. I'm not gonna say this film breaks any new cinematic territory (although from a production stand point it's very forward thinking), but it's an absolute he'll of a ride. Guiltily, I had a grin across my face throughput much of it's run time.

I also think it's the most fully realized production of the last four Soderbergh features. Contagion clearly couldn't hide each major actor was only free for two weeks, the B-movie foundation and low aim was all too evident in Haywire & well, Magic Mike is certainly awesome, but, Soderbergh maybe sorta didn't fully integrate his musings on the economy with the beefcake-sploitation. Side Effects on the other hand is an assured example of the best digital filmmaking can offer. In allowing Soderbergh to cut his films the same day they are shot, he can order a reshoot at little extra cost, thus the added fluidity. Both in regards to character arcs and continuity between scenes. Furthermore, his montage and sense of time via editing is to be admired. There are no pacing issues as in the herky jerky fun of Haywire.

I'm confident that this can't be the end. This is not the work of some juiced-out fogey: Soderbergh's direction is as tight, concise and professional as it's ever been and this is yet another example that this guy can make any genre his b----. Midpoint developments had me quoting Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie: "You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention."

4.5/5

Great review

Have you been able to deconstruct Rust and Bone yet?

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Great review

Have you been able to deconstruct Rust and Bone yet?

I'm hoping to see this again before I try to jot down any coherent thoughts. But yes, Audiard's direction was certainly not classical by any means, yet it was exactly what the narrative called for. I think it's a harsh film with little Hollywood padding. It's not easy to take in, or even enjoy, but neither is life.

What I want to further examine is what holds the relationship together, Ive got my theories on the likeness between the two & it's the farthest thing from romantic. In a way, its nihilistic: "what's so intriguing about life threatening activities?" God damn, this guy has really hit it out of the park in only two features.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I'm hoping to see this again before I try to jot down any coherent thoughts. But yes, Audiard's direction was certainly not classical by any means, yet it was exactly what the narrative called for. I think it's a harsh film with little Hollywood padding. It's not easy to take in, or even enjoy, but neither is life.

That's precisely what I got out of it--a dark and gritty relationship of

[Show spoiler]mutual benefits

that stays thematically true to the title. Their relationship is heavy and hard to absorb.

What I want to further examine is what holds the relationship together, Ive got my theories on the likeness between the two & it's the farthest thing from romantic. In a way, its nihilistic: "what's so intriguing about life threatening activities?" God damn, this guy has really hit it out of the park in only two features.

That's a very interesting angle. A lot to reflect on and I absolutely love what you brought up because it could connect some pieces. On one level I was blown away by the film's depth, but its

[Show spoiler]weak resolution

kept it from being great. I'll be giving it another watch too, just to dig a little deeper into it. I believe Rust and Bone has the potential to be decrypted into a brilliant film like its predecessor A Prophet.

These were the issues I brought up on the main thread:

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Audiard certainly gave this film the same depth and attention as A Prophet. The grit of the characters and their unique relationship was fascinating. Unfortunately, I can't seem to grasp a few things. Hopefully someone can help me string this together (unless it is inherently incoherent):


- Stephanie's

[Show spoiler]support of Alain's fighting. As someone that just underwent a traumatic accident, I don't see why she decided to support him in his violent and risky endeavor. Maybe there was a subtle moment I missed that explains everything, but it just doesn't make sense to me.

- Alain

[Show spoiler]barely shows any traces of compassion for his child beyond very basic paternal instincts (save your drowning child). Obviously his irresponsible lifestyle makes him an extremely unlikable character, but I endured this frustration in hope of some kind of profound transformation or punishment by the film's end. After his negligence almost kills his kid, everything comes together for him--a professional MMA career and reuniting with Stephanie. Sure, he sheds a tear and breaks his hand, but THAT's his profound consequence? Or is Audiard going for the deeper sense of guilt that he will feel every time he strikes with his hand? It just seems like a weak resolution for a very messed up person, which just scrambles the message of the film for me.

I thought it was about two broken people who save each other. Things obviously got back on track for him, but nothing convinced me that he actually grew as a character.

[Lepidopterous]

13 Assassins

Everything deserves a second chance. Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins was a blind-buy I got about 40 minutes into, got interrupted, then never ended up putting back in. Tonight, over a year later, I gave it another try. Masaki Kobayashi proved with Harakiri that it is possible to make a samurai masterpiece with a dozen men sitting on the ground and talking. Perhaps that is why Miike moved on to study and remake that film, because 13 Assassins starts in an uphill climb of dry dialogue and one too many name introductions. After getting through a relatively dull first half, the second half is a giant payoff that makes it all worth it. Suddenly everything gets very good and very fast. Surprising battle tactics being used left and right. Crowd-pleasing samurai battle sequences, including sideways "death-cam" cinematography and double-bladed madness. A thought-provoking exploration of the burden of samurai-hood. All topped off with a subtle supernatural touch. Extra kudos for the 13th Assassin

[Show spoiler](aka Toshiro Mifune demon spirit)

. Miike holds back on his usual level of violence, but in good taste. I never suspected this amazing finale was sitting in my collection all this time.

4/5

[jvince]

Alma - Animated Short Film - YouTube

Alma (2009)
dir. Rodrigo Blaas

The Good: Nice animation.

The Bad: Feels more like a pitch than a fully-realized short. It's like something I've seen before...

The Bottom Line: DreamWorks is currently developing a feature-length animation based on this short with Guillermo del Toro as the executive producer. Color me interested in how Blaas will further expand his concept.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Romulus

Loving the short films you keep posting, jvince. Keep them coming!

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest blind-buy: Samsara

[Show spoiler]Over the past few years, I became quite excited to see Ron Fricke’s latest film. Having previously seen his beautiful cinematography in the Qatsi trilogy and Baraka, I figured that Samsara would at least offer a splendid and visually stunning experience. I was just a little worried that the film wouldn’t deliver on the same level as Baraka.

Even though many viewers seem to favor Baraka over this, I found Samsara to have enough strengths of its own to stand out. I’m still trying to figure out which of the two films I enjoy better.

On its own merits, Samsara offers a unique visual experience, as it explores many different countries and captures a plethora of exotic, unique, and inspiring sights. The film takes us through temples, mountains, volcanoes, cities, factories, nightclubs, a prison, and other interesting places that I’d probably never see in a lifetime. As usual, the film uses very solid, steady, and smooth photography to capture the settings and its people immaculately. Some shots are quite impressive; one such shot that stood out to me occurred when the camera flew over a cityscape, while it was being time-lapsed, so it showed the city lights and cars moving really fast with smooth streaking lights, while the camera moved and passed over the skyscrapers. There are plenty of other shots that utilize the time-lapse method, showing a sped-up view of things that makes the ordinary suddenly seem extraordinary.

What really pushes the film above and beyond for me will be its occasional moments of weird, wild, impressionistic imagery. Key scenes that stand out to me include the shot of a man, shirtless and covered with tattoos, cuddling a baby gently and doting on him. There’s some startling imagery of patients at a cosmetic surgery, juxtapose to scenes of a Japanese sex doll factory. There’s a wild and energetic scene of Filipino prisoners doing a dance routine in the prison courtyard. There’s a shot of some woman with a weird face mask and weird-looking eyes (just one of many odd portrait shots throughout the film).

The one key scene that really propels the movie above and beyond in my viewpoint would be the scene about forty minutes in: in a nightmarish fashion, a man behind a desk suddenly smears clay all over his face and daubs himself with ink, until he appears ghoulish. It’s odd stuff like this that not only invokes an emotional reaction and stirs the spirit, but also reveals the wild and unusual things in our world that we may or may not even be aware of.

[Show spoiler]At first, I really wasn’t sure what the point of these images was. As it goes on, the film does string up some common themes of death and rebirth, and of human civilization. It does so quite sublimely by putting the images together in a way that will make the audience put two-and-two together. The title Samsara is Sanskrit for “continuous flow,” and that’s pretty much what the film does: it continuously flows from one scene to another to allow for a continuous flow of thought and feeling.

With its expert craftsmanship, exotic subject matter, and a wonderful music score, Samsara is a strong piece of work, and is definitely worth a look.

5/5 (Experience: Very Good | Content: Very Good | Film: Perfect)

Recommendation: Yeah.

This Blu-Ray looks and sounds perfect!

PQ: 5/5, AQ: 5/5

One of my top films of 2012. This looked f*cking amazing on the big screen in 4K. And yeah, that guy... Best part of the movie. I'll never forget that dude.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Zoolander

Got the British Blu-Ray for this. It looks really really ridiculously good-looking!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

That's precisely what I got out of it--a dark and gritty relationship of

[Show spoiler]mutual benefits

that stays thematically true to the title. Their relationship is heavy and hard to absorb.



That's a very interesting angle. A lot to reflect on and I absolutely love what you brought up because it could connect some pieces. On one level I was blown away by the film's depth, but its

[Show spoiler]weak resolution

kept it from being great. I'll be giving it another watch too, just to dig a little deeper into it. I believe Rust and Bone has the potential to be decrypted into a brilliant film like its predecessor A Prophet.

These were the issues I brought up on the main thread:

You should check out the Ebert piece, its some of his best writing as of late along with his Django piece.

I kind of liked the resolution. It shows eventually your behavior will catch up with you, as it will with all of us, and all we can do is accept this and fight, bloody your knuckles to make ammends.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

13 Assassins

Everything deserves a second chance. Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins was a blind-buy I got about 40 minutes into, got interrupted, then never ended up putting back in. Tonight, over a year later, I gave it another try. Masaki Kobayashi proved with Harakiri that it is possible to make a samurai masterpiece with a dozen men sitting on the ground and talking. Perhaps that is why Miike moved on to study and remake that film, because 13 Assassins starts in an uphill climb of dry dialogue and one too many name introductions. After getting through a relatively dull first half, the second half is a giant payoff that makes it all worth it. Suddenly everything gets very good and very fast. Surprising battle tactics being used left and right. Crowd-pleasing samurai battle sequences, including sideways "death-cam" cinematography and double-bladed madness. A thought-provoking exploration of the burden of samurai-hood. All topped off with a subtle supernatural touch. Extra kudos for the 13th Assassin

[Show spoiler](aka Toshiro Mifune demon spirit)

. Miike holds back on his usual level of violence, but in good taste. I never suspected this amazing finale was sitting in my collection all this time.

4/5

It's a hell of a finale. You know what, Harakiri was so devastatingly good that now I consider it the greatest samurai film Ive ever seen (Sorry Kurosawa)

[legendarymatt92]

Continuing the recent love for short films on here, this week we looked at mise-en-scene and how it can play an important part in gearing an audience towards a particular emotional response or help fully realise the potential of the plot and/or characters.

Feirerlich Reist (Feirerlich Travels) (dir. Tom Tykwer, 2009) run-time: 8:37

Feierlich Reist - YouTube

Tykwer is arguably one of the most interesting film-makers when it comes to his constant return to the short; throughout his career, his feature films are punctuated by short projects like this one, which may help him to return to his fundamental basics of cinema. Feirerlich is an ordinary businessman who travels the world but ends up in the same hypnotic and futile routine; as is Tykwer's infatuation with cyclical elements, his day is relived over and over again in different places, yet is surrounded by the same crushing capitalist regimes. An interesting piece in that dialogue isn't important, and the story simply comes from his performance and the mise-en-scene.

The Big Charade (dir. Jesse McKeown, 2003) run-time: 5:01

the big charade - YouTube

A short film based around the pretence of a trailer, "The Big Charade" takes a popular and easily recognisable framework and utilises it to its own benefit. Concerning the story of a man who is extremely talented in the arts of charades, it tells of his hunt for his father's killer at the hands of a rival player of the dinner party game. Using humour as a key entry into the story, it makes full use of mise-en-scene in a literal sense - through the protagonist's charade clues. An ingenious and funny short.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (dir. Robert Weine, 1919)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - YouTube

It's not a short, but there can be denying the impact Dr. Caligari has had on mise-en-scene in general. Utilising Expressionistic painted on shadows, uncomfortable delineated buildings and extreme make-up, it's through this set design that the line between reality and nightmares is blurred. Hailed as the first true horror film, Weine's classic was a revelation to film-makers within Hollywood at that time, proving there was more to cinema than simply character and story (to the studios, however, it became a worrisome extra step in cinema, and they classed it as "degenerate art"). Much could be said about Caligari and how ahead of its time it really was, but the short clip up there says more than any words can.

And just some others for your enjoyment...

Portal: No Escape (dir. Dan Trachtenberg, 2011) run-time: 6:58

Portal: No Escape (Live Action Short Film by Dan Trachtenberg) - YouTube

Unwind (Mainstay Productions) run-time: 6:25

UNWIND - Short Film - YouTube

Old Street (dir. Angus Jackson, 2004) run-time: 12:20

The Car Park 1.0 (HQ) - YouTube

The Car Park 2.0 (HQ) - YouTube

[KingRad]

Blade Runner - 5/5

One of my favorite Sci-Fi films of all time. Visually stunning, and intriguing through and through. I love that the film raises so many questions concerning morality and life itself.

[jvince]

The Black Hole - YouTube

The Black Hole (2008)
dir. Phil Sansom, Olly Williams

The Good: Resourceful despite limited budget. Nice message.

The Bad: Too short; could've been more effective with some extra build-up. Not quite original.

The Bottom Line: The Black Hole is a decent, little morality tale and one of the most popular shorts online (currently at 13 million plus views on YouTube).

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

You should check out the Ebert piece, its some of his best writing as of late along with his Django piece.

I kind of liked the resolution. It shows eventually your behavior will catch up with you, as it will with all of us, and all we can do is accept this and fight, bloody your knuckles to make ammends.

Great read, thanks. The article demonstrates how rich the film really is. It doesn't absolve my core frustrations, but expands on the elements that I loved about the film in the first place.

Yes, it catches up with you but do you learn? They plunged this character into darkness and spend the whole film getting us to despise this guy, then framed a pitch-perfect

[Show spoiler]redemption with his son's near-death experience. After that happened, I thought (and not even for the first time) that there is no way he is going to continue raising his son, as he is clearly not a suitable parent. Then... it is almost as if he is rewarded for all that sh!t he did. Weak ending imo. The drowning scene was outstanding, but it amounted to nothing more than an injured hand. I would have even preferred it ending with the son's death or right after finding out the son survived. At least then the film would have had a clear message. But with this happy ending, that message is lost on me.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by jvince

The Black Hole - YouTube

The Black Hole (2008)
dir. Phil Sansom, Olly Williams

The Good: Resourceful despite limited budget. Nice message.

The Bad: Too short; could've been more effective with some extra build-up. Not quite original.

The Bottom Line: The Black Hole is a decent, little morality tale and one of the most popular shorts online (currently at 13 million plus views on YouTube).

Greed is a dangerous thing.

[Lepidopterous]

Speaking of Audiard, Tahar Rahim from A Prophet is set to star in Asghar Farhadi's (A Separation) next film, The Past, alongside the beautiful Berenice Bejo.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Steve46

Wild Strawberries (1957)
Drama, 91 minutes, Swedish Language
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow

[Show spoiler]Modern cinema rarely gives us a film as ambitious or thoughtful as Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries. It questions the very meaning of life, and the themes of religion, relationships, isolation, and death. This is made clear during the opening scene, which takes place before the credits. It's here that we meet the narrator and main character, Professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström). He's shown sitting at his desk, documenting the following thoughts:

"In our relations with other people, we mainly discuss and evaluate their character and behavior. That is why I have withdrawn from nearly all so-called relations. This has made my old age rather lonely."

Think about the truth in those words. Whenever we meet anyone, we immediately evaluate them. Are they kind, intelligent, or attractive, and do we want to know them? How do you feel knowing that every person who interacts with you is judging you in some way? Many of us want to make a good impression and be liked, while others don't really care what other people think about their worth.

As the film unfolds, we learn that Borg is a doctor who is about to receive an honorary degree. He has a disturbing dream showing a clock with no hands, and a hearse containing his own corpse. After waking at 3am, he decides to drive to the ceremony early, ignoring the feelings of his housekeeper, who wants to leave at 9am as planned. Borg seems to care little for the feelings of those around him. His daughter-in-law, Marianne (Ingrid Thulin), accompanies him on the trip.

Borg's journey gives him the opportunity to talk to Marianne. He thinks that she dislikes or even hates him because of his indifferent attitude toward the feelings of other people. She even cites an example of such behavior, confirming his suspicions. But as the journey progresses, their conversation reveals things about the character of both people, and they realize that they do like things about each other.

You can see that Borg's musings at the beginning of the film were accurate. Every action he performs is judged. One brief meeting with a gas station attendant (von Sydow) also illustrates that point, but this time in a positive way. Some previous act of Borg's was remembered fondly by the attendant and his wife.

The film contains many dreams and memories, and it's easy to see why David Lynch would like Bergman's work. Borg takes Marianne to visit the house in which he spent the first twenty summers of his life, and we are shown Borg's nine siblings, and the woman he loved. I was reminded of the power of memory, and how it can be stimulated by revisiting places from our past. I am sure everyone can relate to that.

After this interlude, Borg meets three younger people who join him on his journey. Bergman uses the attitudes of these characters to show the contrasting outlooks of different age groups. We also meet two other strangers who are married, but appear to be unhappy. All of these interactions are there to show the possibilities that we have in our future. Will we be happy, lonely, or forced to compromise? Can damaged or broken relationships ever be healed? Why do we do what we do?

Wild Strawberries doesn't contain any profound revelations, but it certainly provokes thought. I mentioned that it's rare to see modern examples of films that explore such areas. A few examples are The Tree of Life, Everlasting Moments, Three Colors Red, and The Double Life of Veronique. If you enjoy exploring your own thoughts, and seeing how events shape our lives and actions, I would recommend all of those films. Wild Strawberries was made more than fifty years ago, and is still relevant today. It was Victor Sjöström's last acting role, and he was very convincing as a 78-year-old man reflecting on his life.

Overall score 4/5

Excellent review. You break down the theme nicely. Bergman is the master of thought and reflection, and it is his themes and characters that make his films immortal.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Zoolander

[Show spoiler]A man so epic, so really really ridiculously good-looking, they had to make a film out of him! Derek Zoolander! Occupation: a male model. What he lacks in brains he makes up for...by being really really ridiculously good-looking.

Based on some VH1 skits, Zoolander takes Ben Stiller's comic character and builds a rather silly plot around him. The movie moves at an appealing speed, and is some of the funniest s**t ever. The dialogue is often so silly and ridiculous that it's often hilarious. The actual plot and situations are very weird and silly, but not quite overdone or anything. A lot of scenes are genuinely funny, and above all, the movie does a good job of immersing the audience in the wacky, colorful world of male modelling gone awry.

The film's story is admittedly not that creditable, and its characters aren't all that deep. If you accept it and all its absurdity, it is a tightly-constructed piece of work with plenty of inside jokes and running gags, and it has enough to the characters to make the audience care to some degree. Although, the most critical of viewers might just find it all very silly and irreverent.

This film has fine and dandy photography, with some really wild scenes. Acting and writing are quite funny, and the cast features a huge number of cameos. This production has enough good sets, props, and costumes to relay the proper look and style of the film. Music is cool at times.

4/5 (Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Good)

As you guys probably know, I value character-comedies far more than situation-comedies. The type of films where the characters are so unique that the actors are irreplaceable. Zoolander is a prime example and a classic in my book.

[Show spoiler]I wonder how many aneurysms Will Ferrell had during his portrayal of Mugatu...?