Quick Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
mitchellyoung - wrote on 07/30/2012
With quiet tension and involving characters, this is a special story of a fascinating part of German history. The historical setting is layered and realized in incredible detail, but the real star is the acting by a cast that portrays urgency and paranoia like no other. It's a cross between a thriller and a drama and all good.
Rating of
2.5/4
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 02/03/2012
A film that involves Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme), who covets Dreyman's girlfriend, actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), and playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch). Screenplay was good with quotes such as “Don’t let this blackness into your life.” and “socialism must start somewhere.” The score was brilliant and suspenseful. Its plot however was too long to be engaging and the lack of better character development was evident. The Lives of Others is a descent drama that lacks thrilling scenes to be part of the genre.
Rating of
4/4
tecnoandre - wrote on 12/04/2011
German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police. It stars Ulrich Mühe as Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his boss Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreyman, and Martina Gedeck as Dreyman's lover, a prominent actress named Christa-Maria Sieland.Very beautiful and intense.Absolute masterpiece.
Rating of
2.5/4
donkeyknight - wrote on 05/01/2011
Another small interesting German tale. Neighbors turn against neighbor and lovers turn into informants, while an unlikely guardian leaves a fingerprint on the life of his unsuspecting ward. I liked it, but I just don't get why so many people think it's GREAT. Anyone care to enlighten me?
Rating of
3.5/4
gideon43 - wrote on 05/26/2010
A staggeringly good movie which looks at the totalitarian state of East Germany before the fall of the Berlin wall. As important as a History Lesson in Germanys recent troubled past as it is as a cracking political thriller, The Lives of Others never puts a foot wrong. A meticulous and subtle production that carefully structures a storyline rife with suspense, the characters never take obvious routes and even in an oppressive society dominated by the East German State, there is a fine line between the good guys and the bad guys. A well deserving winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Rating of
2.5/4
sapien - wrote on 11/13/2008
Not a bad movie. But, nothing particularly special, in my opinion.
Rating of
1.5/4
Allison - wrote on 04/11/2008
I was bored by this movie. Maybe my expectations were too grand. I would recommend "Goodbye, Lenin!" which focuses on the fall of the wall that divided East and West Berlin, in 1989. Also I was debating this movie with my friend. He said it explores things other spy movies didn't, which brought me to the conclusion: other spy movies didn't explore those things for a reason.
Rating of
3.5/4
kustaa - wrote on 01/18/2008
Hard times were those. We all know that. And it's fantastically portrayed in this movie. With very solid acting and plot, and a marvelous score. One of the best I've heard in years. The story that reunites is something that depends of the age we are in touch or not. To me, I knew a bit. But know I know more. The moral of redemption (a subject of my interest) is well portrayed and the ending is fantastic. I've to say this is a must see. Athough, (probably, a contraction) I don't think it's a cinematic masterpiece.
Rating of
3/4
Alex - wrote on 11/19/2007
Though not the best movie nor deserving of any Oscars, it puts into perspective just how real 1984 and Brazil could have been if the Cold War would have ended differently. Heart and Sole often out weigh career and money. Good.
