Rampage

I believed the rumours that Uwe had improved significantly and began to look forward a little to Rampage, his latest film. As it turns out, those rumours were not entirely true. Rampage is watchable, but it still isn’t satisfactory in the least. I’ve come to the conclusion that the biggest obstacle for Uwe to make a good film is that he’s not a very smart person, but he thinks himself otherwise. As a result, his attempts at drama and building an interesting story feel actually ridiculous. I see Rampage as Uwe’s personal rebellion against all the critics of his films (he’s the main character and evidently also a fan of the main lunatic Bill/Boll), and in the end he narcissistically puts himself in the role of a winner who has outsmarted everyone (he’s made a “good” film). I don’t think he managed it, though. Also, that ideological undertone makes me want to give it an even lower rating. (02/06/2010)

The joke where Boll admits in Postal that his films are financed by secret Nazi funds may have something to it. I doubt anyone in their right mind would give money for something like that. Without moral scruples and with his middle finger raised towards correctness, he lets innocent civilians die at the hands of an arrogant dandy who wants to save the world in the most primitive way. The cynical conclusion ("A mother knows when something is wrong with her child.") is to be applauded. Boll hasn't grown in terms of filmmaking, he’s just thrown off the shackles of Hollywood and straightforwardly (no psychological miniatures) served up what some (?) people sometimes only think about. (13/11/2010)