No Such Thing
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.81 You Save: $1.17 (29%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.31 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of No Such Thing
Movie Review: A fascinating movie
Summary: 4 Stars
Part drama, part horror, part satire, and part fable.... NO SUCH THING is a movie that is hard to describe but that is engaging to watch. The Monster (played by Robert John Burke) is a tragically moving and thought provoking character and is well balanced by the naively innocent Beatrice (Sarah Polley). The movie has a moral undertone that is subtle and ironic and is spiced with occasional sparks of humor and philosophy. There are a few rough edges in this far-from-perfect film, but the final product is one that is very entertaining and well worth viewing. This is NOT your typical Hollywood celluloid garbage.Movie Review: Not just for Hartley fans
Summary: 4 Stars
While reading the reviews for this film I was surprised that everyone says that you need to be a Hal Hartley fan to enjoy it. I had never seen any Hartley films before I stumbled upon this one, but I instantly loved it. It is interesting for the fact that most people never see movies like this. No Such Thing is so absurd and creative that I feel many people could enjoy it. I ended up liking this movie so much that I decided to buy it before even seeing any of Hartley's other films.(Which I am going to do based on the power of this film)Movie Review: Get it for Baltasar Kormákur, if nothing else and get that damned monster out of my beer garden
Summary: 3 Stars
Somehow Iceland seems to be the land of the twee and the home of the just plain weird.
In this film, a young American reporter (Sarah Polley is quite fetching) goes to Iceland in search of her boyfriend. She is thrown as a sacrifice into the hands of a horrific monster (Robert John Burke looking a bit like the devil in LEGEND). He turns out to be a wise-cracking, foul-mouthed lout who has been around since the beginning of the planet. He's tired and wants to die.
Before the reporter gets to this scenario, however, she has terrifying back surgery to contend with and I cannot fathom why this was tossed into the film. I guess because it is reflected near the end in a scene I will not spoil. This modern take on "Beauty and the Beast" is all in all rather silly, but I got a kick out of the walk-on by Helen Mirren as the reporter's nasty NYC boss.
Also astonishing is the goofy Dr. Artaud, the genius who is the only one who knows how to destroy the seemingly indestructible nameless monster. Artaud is played by Icelandic writer/director Baltasar Kormákur, famed for his excellent JAR CITY (see my review). He reminded me of the real-life mathematician Paul Erdos.
On any road, this thing could have been so much more. Even Wallywood in its mainstream could have done better...the story sags, the arc is obvious and rip-offs are tiresome anyway (Beauty and the Beast only gets a story to a limited point). Still, it has its philosophical points of interest and the characters are certainly fun, albeit a bit sketched-in loosely.
It may be the release date that is the worry. Released in 2001, I guess not many people got the chance to see or enjoy this, and now only on cable can you sometimes glimpse it. Perhaps there is a message in this film after all, if viewed with post-9-11 eyes.
I say it is up to the viewer. It's not a bad watch.
Movie Review: "Wings Of Desire" turned inside out.
Summary: 3 Stars
Director Hal Hartley's subtly arch, deadpan observations on the Human Condition either completely grab you or leave you cold, and "No Such Thing" is no exception. Pretty TV news intern Sarah Polley gets her Big Break when she is sent to Iceland to get the "exclusive" on a Real Live Monster (Hartley stalwart Robert Burke) an immortal nihilist who kills the boredom by drinking heavily and terrorizing whoever's handy. After her plane goes down en route, her cynical boss (played with relish by Hellen Mirren) smells an even bigger story when Polley winds up as the "miracle survivor" of the tragedy. The Monster agrees to come back to N.Y.C. if Polley helps him track down the one scientist in the world who can be his Dr. Kevorkian and put him out of his misery. The pacing in the first half is leisurely yet compelling, with the Monster's morose, raving monologues set against the stark, moody Icelandic backdrop (I was reminded of David Thewliss in "Naked"). Once the movie heads for New York, however, the story steers closer to satirical camp (a la "Pecker") where the couple quickly become celebrities "du jour" with the trendy Downtown crowd. The second half feels somewhat rushed, as if Hartley were suddenly forced to edit for time. Puzzlingly, several reviewers see this dip into Mythology as something "different" for Hartley, perhaps they've forgotten his "Book Of Life", which featured Jesus and Mary wandering around modern-day Manhattan. Flawed but still quite watchable for Hartley's fans; others beware. (Just for the record, he is not a relative!)Movie Review: not the best Hartley movie to start with
Summary: 3 Stars
By any normal standard, this is a terrific movie. The two lead actresses are brilliant; production, makeup and costumes are gorgeous, the scenery is the best I've seen since 'Lawrence of Arabia', and several exquisite moments in the film rival the best of Kubrick, Godard, and Stillman.This is a Hal Hartley film though, and it doesn't get judged by any normal standard. Fact is, after 'Unbelievable Truth', 'Trust', 'Simple Men', `Amateur', `Book of Life', and 'Henry Fool', a Hal Hartley movie is expected to offer breathtaking, unbelievably distilled plot, dialog and wit, hilariously deadpan philosophizing and commentary, and characters that snap to your attention with their uncompromising honesty, honor, and relevance. And compared with Hartley's masterpieces, 'No Such Thing' just doesn't deliver. Having a reasonable budget and a truly professional crew for the first time let Hartley make his movie efficiently, but the late-night beer-and-honing sessions that were part of how the earlier movies achieved their brilliance never happened here. This movie got made from his rough draft, smoothly and professionally and just as it was, and before he could even do anything about it. Buy the other films first, this is for fans only.