rakau’s Film Reviews
35 Films have been rated or reviewed by rakau.
- Counterfeiters, The (Die Fälscher) (2007)
- A harsh, uncompromising account of cruel and duplicitous nazism with self–justifying participants. The film would be better suited to black and white cinematography for stark effects. Not entertaining or frivolous.
- North Face (Nordwand) (2008)
- Crappy, stupid, cheesy, mountaineering nonsense with appalling dramatisation. For true \"vivid, nerve–wracking\" thriller see Joe Simpson\'s documentary \"The Beckoning Silence\" on the history and a re–enactment of Tony Kurtz\'s 1936 North F
- I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) (2008)
- This film ran in Wellington theatres for about 6 months – that says it all! Even after watching and learning the denouement one is compelled to watch again and again to savour the myriad nuances of superb acting and direction.
- DVD
$20 $15
- Magnificent Tati, The (2009)
- Insightful and excellent biography of Tati\'s work including his being far too–advanced for the always backward–looking French with his masterpiece \"Party Time\". His treatment by a harsh and Philistine society is both tragic and calamitous.
- Army of Crime, The (2009)
- A sober docudrama about bravery and betrayal. It is a plain, low–key, historical account without the noise and histrionics of American films but with a disturbing undercurrent that captures the horror of the nazi occupation.
- Blues Brothers, The (1980)
- Timeless, great jazz and soul. Unsurpassed comedic acting from everyone. The car chase and last scene of the army swarming the Cook County building is the ultimate spoof on the juvenile, American film props.
- Meaning of Life, The (Monty Python's Meaning of Life) (1983)
- As only the Pythons can create. Must–have item for anyone serious about comedy.
- Schindler's List (1993)
- Magnificent depiction of a ghastly madness repeated endlessly during the Nazi holocaust and of much greater tragedy now with the same genocide being committed by the eye–for–an–eye jews in Palaestine.
- DVD
$20 $15
- Cliffhanger (1993)
- The perfect example of the most dreadful, demeaning rubbish imaginable. It is so stupid in its depiction of mountaineering it should be banned for its banality.
- Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, The) (1994)
- Worth it for the music and wonderful desert fire–side performance with Aborigines and didgeridoos. Priscilla enlivens the outback with its best celebration ever as she races over the sand to fabulous opera with streamers flying.
- DVD
$19.95 $14.95