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The Million Dollar Hotel

The Million Dollar Hotel

List Price: $9.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful movie! Wenders back on track...
Review: Friday the 26th... I wake up and look for the entertainment section in the newspaper... I'm looking for reviews of "The Million Dollar Hotel"... and there I find them... 2 stars in both the papers I read... 2 out of 4... "Wenders is not the same...", "This movie, compared to what Wenders did on the 70's and 80's, eats dusk".... and there you go... another one from my gallery of "don't trust critics"... the papers talked about the movie as not "Wendersian" (if this denomination exits) enough... that he lost his talent when he left Germany etc... but there was no direct attack TO the movie... mostly comparisions to his classics "Wings of Desire" and "Paris, Texas"... so with this I take the conclusion... press sucks.

Now, it's nightime... I came back from school directly to the theater... alone since I don't want to be bothered by questions or boredom... I'll watch it again tomorrow thoug, with my friends this time....

And the movie begins... there's a distorted helicopter shot that turns into the skyline from LA... and it comes down until we see "The Million Dollar Hotel"... than the shot disolves into a view from bellow this "logo" and next we see Tom Tom on the roof of the hotel... and I stop here not to spoil it to anyone... it's a beautiful scene though, with great use from slow motion and the yellow sky.

We then are introduced to everyone in the hotel... there's the John Lennon clone, the Indian and all these bizarre characters... Tom Tom enters the hotel... he is following Eloise (Milla)... we then are introduced to Skinner (Mel Gibson), the FBI detective.... someone has been suposedely killed and he wants to find the killer because the father of the victim is afraid of bad publicity... he is a TV magnat.

The story evolves around Mel Gibson looking for a "killer", the characters in the hotel and their plan (which of course I wont reveal) and Tom Tom and Eloise. Now, Tom Tom and Eloise AREthe movie... MAN!! This is Milla's best work to date... man... she's like... perfect... and anyone that doubted her talent will have to eat their words... Jeremy Davies is AMAZING too.

That's the basic storyline and I won't go further cause I could stumble in big spoilers... now, I can't say how much I loved the movie... really... BUT, at the same time in which I and about other 10 people clapped at the end, about 30 people LEFT in the middle of the movie. People can't apreciate good movies nowadays... they are too used to most of the crap done in Hollywood... and can't stand inteligelint movies like this one... movies that take their time to tell the story.

So, now, this is what I thought of the movie:

- It's by far the best movie I've seen this year , Wenders is really back on track after Buena Vista and TMDH, no matter what people say... no matter what people say!!

- The soundtrack is nothing short of genial.... the movie opens with "The First Time" (in perfect sinchrony with the scene) and closes with a different version of "The Ground Beneath her feet".. we hear most of the other tracks in the movie... the jazz tracks are shown in the tracking shots of the building when Wenders shows us the rooms, we a guy playing trumpet one of the windows... there's one right at the beggining (one of my favs too)... Bono makes a cameo.

- Check out Milla Jovovich's and Jeremy Davies acting... they are absolutely marvelous. Also be sure not to miss Ms. Jovovich's mention to "One Hundred Years of Solitude", Marquez's masterpiece.

- Yeah Mr. Wenders!! Welcome back!! Two great movies in a role!!

"Everything on Television is not real" - Milla/Eloise

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: u2 fans know true goods
Review: bono wrote the story for this film years ago...in fact, in "where the streets have no name" video bono had a sign constructed behind them(facing the other way) that says "million dollar hotel". it's a sleezy hotel with a murder plot...very deep...very dark....the film has not been released in the states yet, as far as i know...but i'm excited to see it...it stars mel gibson as the police detective....the soundtrack is great....but keep in mind it is not a u2 release...it is a soundtrack that sets a mood for a movie...i think it is very well done...any bad reviews(like from aoliveira) come from people who aren't true fans and don't know quality when they see it....check out "passengers" soundtrack music released by u2 years ago...very moody...very edgy...then you'll understand.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: How sad ...
Review: Win Wenders used to be good. Films such as Wings of desire and Paris, Texas were so beautiful that changed cinema history. But nowadays, the truth is a bit different. Wenders has no more that feeling he used to. And so he makes a films like this The Million ... I don't know what's more problematic, if it is the confusing and boring screenplay or the burocratic direction. Anyway, the result is sad. Nothing seems to work here. Even the soundtrack is so boring. Only two songs save (The ground beneath her feet and Falling at your feet). Now, I think nobody is the same. Wenders un-learned how to direct and Bono forget how to sing... By the way, it was too much for him write a song, so how could he dare to write a story for a film? To sum up, it is sad to see how bad is the entertainment world is going... No good films or even songs...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Embarrasing, frankly, for Bono, Wenders, and their fans
Review: Now, I love Bono. U2 is my favorite band. And I love Wim Wenders. Until the End of the World is my favorite movie of all time. Wings of Desire is on the favorites list, too.

But I just hated Million Dollar Hotel. Just hated it. I couldn't believe that it come from two artists whose work I love so much. I understand some of the concepts Bono was trying to work with (especially when you imagine Winona Ryder, their original choice, in the Milla Jovovich's role), but overall this movie was boring, directionless, and nonsensical. I wish I could say otherwise, believe me. But it failed to captivate me at all. I was sort of embarrassed for everyone involved.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: MAYBE A THOUSAND DOLLARS
Review: THE MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL is one of those artsy films that gains critical acclaim because it was directed by Wim Wenders and is produced and musically enhanced by Bono. yes, indeed, it's one of the most unusual films I've seen in a while. But originality doesn't always make an entertaining film. What's the whole point of the movie: that the mentally challenged can fall in love too? To allow Wenders to wield his cinematic sword and make lovely looking scenes, and to give Bono another chance to try and show us he is not just a rock star?
Some of the movie has some wonderful moments, and yes the romance between Tom Tom and Eloise is touching in its different approach. Jeremy Davies gives a tremendous performance as Tom Tom, which is why I give the movie three stars. His portrayal of the "idiot" is so on target one forgets he's acting. Milla Jovovich should stick to the Resident Evil movies; her waifishness seemed forced and her character too off the wall to be believable. Gloria Stuart, that lovely elderly lady who came back to the cinematic world's attention in TITANIC, seems to be used merely to spout four letter obscenities to show that foul language is cool for the octogenarian set. Jimmy Smits and Bud Cort offer support, but their characters are too underdeveloped to really impact the movie. That leaves us Mel Gibson in probably his most unusual role. While he infuses some manic intensity in the role of the FBI agent who had an arm removed from his back (come on writers, let's not test the waters too much), overall he merely seems to be doing a favor for Wenders and Bono.
Cryptic and overblown, MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL did not make a wave in theatres; I can understand why. Good job, though, Jeremy.


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