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bartvanhoof-1
Reviews
Con gli occhi dell'assassino (2001)
Average Italian TV thriller
"With the Killer's Eyes" is an Italian TV thriller that is fairly similar to the 1978 film "Eyes of Laura Mars" (the main character has the same initials!) In the Italian version Laura Monti (Valentina Chico) witnesses various murders through a serial killer's eyes. She works as a doctor at the police station doing autopsies and thus comes in contact with the victims. The person to help her out is an ex-boyfriend (Fabio Fulco) who is now chief of detectives. Who will believe Laura? Who is the killer? What do these murders have to do with Laura's past?
That's it for the plot basically without giving a thing away. As for how the film is ... well, it is actually pretty decent until about the last 10 minutes when the killer is revealed, at that point a host of constructions have to be made to make it all plausible and hold the story up. Very weak. As I said though the film is OK. The acting is pretty decent though I saw it in Italian with subtitles so for native speakers it could come across a lot worse. The cinematography isn't great and it isn't bad, there aren't any shots to drop your jaw or make you throw something at the TV in frustration. I guess it is pretty standard. The lead actress is nice to see, a real Italian beauty. The murders are shown in wacky black and white and not overly stylized. Not much blood either and all the gruesome stuff is off camera which makes for pleasant viewing (although I love gore and blood and I usually opt for that choice when renting films.) Two very brief moments of nudity, both by Linda's girlfriend Andrea and both breast shots. There is one really annoying thing about this film though; the score! Oh man, when the opening notes roll forth until the worst tune to accompany end credits ever (has to be heard to be believed or seen as the band performs it in a club about an hour into the film) rounds off the film your ears are pretty much subject to torture in the music department. High toned synth crud is what it is. Luckily it doesn't seem to be constantly present but it really is bad. The music isn't even a cool nod to the classic Gaillo score although that's probably what the composer intended. Ouch.
Overall an average TV thriller that you'll forget about relatively soon after you've seen it and thus I give it 5/10.
Sincerely, Joe P. Bear (2000)
a great little gem
This short film consists of two bit of found footage intertwined to create a heartbreaking love story.
Footage of a woman sitting on blocks of ice on a busy city sidewalk in some kind of promo deal and accompanied by a polar bear is combined with footage of cheerleaders and crowd at a ball game (Georgetown Uni?) All the while there is a voice over of a guy reading a letter, with his squeaky voice he (ie the polar bear) confesses his love for the ice cube model. The soundtrack consists of melancholy music.
I saw this film on 28.01.01 at the international film festival of Rotterdam in a shorts program. I was blown away by it. The melancholy mood is brilliantly enhanced by how McCormick mixes the images from both bits of footage, picture within picture accenting just the right moments of the letter reading It has been a while since I saw it so I'm a bit rusty but after seeing this short film it's mood and feel will stay with you for a while to come. Most people I know quote "The Simpsons" and comedy film bits, I find myself frequently quoting the last line of the film/letter "sincerely, Joe P. Bear" in the slow, sullen, melancholy way it's said. Brilliant. 10/10