Seen in 2004
Submitted by jim on Mon, 01/05/2004 - 02:19
Tags:
- May
- Sabrina (1954) ... As much as I admire Humphrey Bogart--could a short guy with a lisp and not a lick of conventional good looks become the equivalent of a $20M/movie player today?--I can't help but think the movie would have come out better had he not needed to replace Cary Grant at the last minute. While Audrey Hepburn and William Holden have good chemistry, I never really felt any between her and Bogart. Perhaps this was a reflection of what was going on off-camera. Nevertheless a fine romance, even if it didn't quite float my boat.
- Mr. Deeds (2002) ... A remake of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town that is not destined to make the same mark on cinematic history as its source, but it has some laughs. As an Adam Sandler movie it's unusual. Not Punch-Drunk Love unusual, which was unusual for being critically acclaimed, but unusual for mostly inverting the Sandler model. Here he plays a straight man--more or less--and the baser humor is left to supporting characters. He works pretty well as the straight man, but the supporting characters just can't pull it off (except John Turturro, who can pull anything off).
- The Fast Runner (2001) ... "Canada's first feature-length fiction film written, produced, directed, and acted by Inuit." The movie sells itself as a continuation of Inuit oral tradition, and I'm not sure that's far off the mark. Shot digitally and transferred to film, you can almost imagine the movie having been made my an omniscient anthropologist/documentarian who managed to somehow capture a tale of tradition, family, lust, and revenge while living among the Inuit. The movie requires considerable investment up front with no promises of an eventual payoff, but hang in there. Not only does the story oh-so-gradually hook you, but you even learn to recognize the different characters through all those heavy winter clothes.
- The Swimmer (1968) ... Burt Lancaster. My my. I hope I look that good at 55. Looking in the mirror at 34, I've probably already lost that game. Based on a John "Cheerful" Cheever short story, the film tells the tale of a man who decides to swim across the county to his home, via all his affluent neighbors' swimming pools. Lancaster is amazing to watch. He starts off looking lean, energetic, and chisled, and by the end of his crushing journey he looks old, flabby, and beaten. Sometimes memory lane is a dark and lonely place. For no good reason, I've never given Burt Lancaster enough credit. I've always thought of him as perhaps the Harrison Ford of his day: popular and charismatic, but a bit of a one-note song. Having seen a few more Lancaster movies though, I have to say the guy made interesting choices, and pulled them off. After this movie, I'll never sell him short again.
- Miracle Mile (1988) ... If it wasn't for all the cussing I'd think this was a made-for-TV movie. It's engrossing at times, and Anthony Edwards and the mystery caller do a nice job of selling the hook (Edwards picks up a payphone and learns, perhaps, that WWIII has started and the nukes are on the way), but I'm thinking the movie suffers from a cast that isn't quite up to the task and the crippling eightiesness of it all, resulting in a short shelf-life (or is "half-life" a better term for Armageddon movies)?
- The Castle (1997) ... A David-and-Goliath comedy from our friends down under. It's only mildly humorous, but the boundless optimism and friendliness of our heroic family is a bit endearing. I feel a bit lukewarm about this one, but Miramax dubbed and chopped lines, so maybe it's their fault. I'm perfectly willing to blame the Weinsteins for everything, right up until they start going toe-to-toe with The Giant Rat over this Fahrenheit 9/11 fracas.
- The Cooler (2003) ... Good movie, solid efforts from William H. Macy and Maria Bello, and an excellent one from Alec Baldwin. Still, I found myself expecting--and thus wanting--more from this tale of a man with contagious luck working a Vegas casino. I find myself with nothing to say, which might just be due to the lateness of the hour or the five other reviews I've cranked out this evening.
- Stalag 17 (1953) ... Any self-respecting Chicken Run fan has to watch this movie and The Great Escape. I can't believe it took me this long to get around to this one. I'm going to assume this was the impetus for Hogan's Heros, which is a dubious honor at best. Indeed, I think the occasional cartoonishness of the Nazis and some of the POWs undermines the movie a bit, which is otherwise genuinely engaging and tense. The mystery is clever, and its gradual revelation is handled well. I was surprised at how much this reminded me of Cool Hand Luke, actually. I wonder if it was much of an influence?
- The Core (2003) ... Bad science aside, this is the movie Armageddon would have been had it not sucked. It starts promisingly, first getting our attention with a mystery, and then immediately establishing our hero's intelligence in regards to said mystery, in a fairly clever fashion. He can thus be forgiven for mispronouncing (I think) "nuclear" later on. I was impressed that they actually explained the enormity of the task of getting to the center of the earth accurately (as far as I know), but not so impressed that they basically resorted to magic to solve the problem (then again, what else could they have done, given the premise?). It's a disaster movie, so you have to be invested in the characters so you care when they start getting killed off, and the cast delivers. After seeing Aaron Eckhart play one of the most evil bastards ever in In the Company of Men, I wouldn't have pegged him for the geophysicist hero type, but he pulls it off, seems at ease, and gets some chuckles along the way. And they surround him with known actors of roughly equal distinction, so it's kinda hard to predict who's going to live. Uneven and overlong, but certainly one of the better of the crop of sci-fi/disaster movies we've been getting lately.
- One Day in September (2000) ... Listed here.
- The Mirror (1975) ... I was so out of my league. In hindsight, I think my biggest mistake was not watching the movie as if it were told in the first person. I *think* the movie is largely told from the perspective of Tarkovsky's brain: memories, dreams, desires, and culture. I'll keep that in mind for next time. As for this time, while beautiful to look at, I was continually grasping at threads, trying to see the fabric, instead of just letting it wash over me. I found some threads that moved me (the grenade) and some I liked looking at (the burning cabin, Margarita Terekhova's face), but I couldn't weave it together. "So wait, she's the mother and the wife? And which one has two kids and which one has one? Wait, who the hell's the Spanish guy?!" Ultimately, I have no shot without at least another couple viewings, and I just couldn't work up the motivation. Perhaps with another few hundred movies under my belt I'll be better prepared the next time around.
- April
- Metropolis (1927) ... For me the most moving part of the movie was the introduction which explains that as much of a quarter of it has been lost to the sands of time. How profoundly depressing that such an important movie can never really be seen again. Still, the remaining 75% is impressive, and hats off to the restoration folks that got it as close to its 1927 presentation as possible. Even today, the movie looks phenomenally expensive to make, with the big set pieces, the flood, the huge cast of extras. If nothing else, it's worth watching for the spectacle. But also, as I recently experienced with M, Lang can really crank up the tension, and leave you wondering if you'll be watching a happy ending or a tragedy right up to the very end. Y'know what I'd pay just about anything to see in an alternate universe? Fritz Lang directing Buster Keaton.
- Nashville (1975) ... An excellent movie that of course I didn't really dig, and will have to see again someday. I'm cursed with a sporadic awareness of quality combined with a short attention span. So I'm aware that something's good (sometimes), but I can't get into it, and guilt forces me to try it again later. It would be far more efficient to just develop my attention span and like the damn things the first time through. Anyway, I was ready to turn this off at about the same point as I was ready to turn off Short Cuts [ducks]. I persevered this time though, and I'm ready to make an analogy. Altman's movies are like entangled strings of pearls. Sometimes you have to go through lots of string before you get to anything that appears valuable though. One last thing: Lily Tomlin wasn't funny at all, and completely stole the show.
- Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) ... If nothing else, it's a shame this movie was split in two for presumably giving birth to that cringe-inducing fourth-wall breakage that opens this volume. I had hoped that little address was confined to the trailer, but alas. Fortunately the movie quickly recovers with the best chapter of the volume, the chapel massacre. But then it bogs down a bit. Whereas the first volume was the ultimate triumph of style over substance, this volume attempts to inject a bit of substance back in, but oddly I don't think it's the better for it. Still a blast though. The cast is uniformly wonderful, with Carradine and Thurman edging out the rest by a nose. The Thurman/Hannah fight is a treat, and it was nice to get a little backstory on Hannah's character. There's worlds more material to be mined from this universe Tarantino has going, and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of it. I will close with this: I'm having a hard time reconciling my objections to cinematic revisionism with my desire to see a director's cut that deweinsteinifys the film, and stitches the two volumes back together.
- Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) ... Alec Guinness does indeed disappear into each of his eight (!) different roles in this movie. A thespiantical tour de force to be sure. That said, what really made this movie work for me was Dennis Price's leading role as the ultimate cad. When was the last time such an evil, condescending, two-timing, murdering bastard was so sardonically likeable? "I was sorry about the girl, but found some relief in the reflection that she had presumably during the weekend already undergone a fate worse than death." Priceless.
- Midnight Cowboy (1969) ... I've never kept it secret that this film era is not my favorite, and I saw quite a few amateur reviews that pegged this as "dated." So my expectations were low, but undeservedly so. Perhaps the clothes and society has changed, but since when is naivete dated? Or friendship? Anybody who watched Anaconda should watch this to be reminded that Jon Voight used to have some serious game. Not to mention Dustin Hoffman, in an iconic role. The flashback sequences are particularly effective and at times disturbing, and either demystify or muddle why our "hero" acts the way he does, depending on how you interpret them. Coming in '69, I have to imagine this movie helped set the stage for everybodys (present company excepted) favorite cinematic decade.
- M (1931) ... You've heard it before, so I'll just parrot it: Peter Lorre was terrific as the child murderer. Creepy and menacing, yet pathetic at the same time. The opening sequence is truly chilling, and the tension of the pursuit is palpable, both as we sense Lorre's growing panic, and as we worry over his possible escape routes. By the end I think we're supposed to feel sympathetic towards Lorre, and the movie couldn't have been more effective in that regard, but I still, guiltily, couldn't stop rooting for mob justice. Must be the parent in me, and the lingering effectiveness of that opening. Oh my, that opening...
- Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001) ... Listed here.
- Comedian (2002) ... Listed here.
- The Rundown (2003) ... The first third is one of the better Schwarzenegger movies never made (like maybe if he'd starred in Midnight Run rather than De Niro). The Rock is a steady--even likeable--straight man to Seann William Scott's fun-then-gradually-grating goofball, and some of the action sequences are quite enjoyable (particularly the first fight in El Dorado). Unfortunately the movie starts running on fumes about halfway through, the tank is long past empty by the end, and the climax is too silly, even for me. I'm all for a good bullwhip fight, but Indy taught us long ago that you just pull out the pistol when appropriate. You'd think a movie that borrows from Raiders would take that lesson away as well. Anyway, it was quite fun in stretches, and the perfect movie to watch when down with the stomach flu, but not quite the baton passer that an early cameo suggests.
- The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) ... Listed here.
- Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) ... Listed here.
- High and Low (1963) ... With the occasional exception, I'm not a big fan of classic noirs, but leave it to Kurosawa to come up with a good one. The kidnapping is rendered interesting by Mifune's grappling with the question of whether or not he should pay the ransom on another man's son, and the police procedure scenes are interesting in their meticulous and thorough conveyance of what's involved in the manhunt. The train sequence is wonderful, as is the delightful uncertainty as to the nature of the kidnapping: is it a conspiracy, a grudge, or a wacko? The question and the ultimate answer both satisfy. It was also a treat to see Mifune in a non-period piece, and if anything he's better here than as a samurai. It's likely that I'm overreacting to the revelation that he has good range, but he's excellent in any case.
- The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) ... The movie opens with a hand holding one of those clacky things (what's it called?) that somebody clacks shut just before the director says "action." Then we get a long shot of a woman walking along a seaside wall. So we immediately know we're watching a movie-within-a-movie. We periodically cut to the "outer movie" actors playing actors playing these characters (Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons), who are having a vaguely similar affair to those of their characters. So we have an infidelity tale within an infidelity tale. But we've already been told we don't need to care about the inner movie because it's just a movie (it's an interesting psychological effect, that I can care about a movie, but not a movie-within-a-movie - it's all just fiction so why should it matter?), and we don't care about the outer movie because there's not enough of it. I wonder if they filmed the "inner movie" straight, tested it, realized they had a stiff, mediocre, lackluster period piece romance on their hands, and tried to explain away those shortcomings by frantically shooting new modern day scenes, cutting them in, and then hoping that would solve everything. Maybe this mainstream meta-movie-making dazzled in '81, but these days it's old hat, and I ain't taking my eye off the ball: this is two stiffs for the price of one.
- The Elephant Man (1980) ... For some reason I'm having a hard time writing about this movie. It was excellent, in turns sad and uplifting, and sometimes both simultaneously. Black-and-white was an excellent choice, and John Hurt does a fabulous job acting through the make-up. To paraphrase on of Gielgud's lines: "can you imagine what his life must have been like? I don't think you can. I don't think anyone can." So true, but the movie helps a bit, if not in the reality of it then at least in the subjective emotional experience.
- Home on the Range (2004) ... Listed here.
- Underworld (2003) ... Apparently the defining characteristic of a vampire is a dour seriousness that can only lead one to believe immortality is overrated. We are constantly reminded via some interesting and effective animatronic work (good choice not to CGI 'em) what makes a werewolf a werewolf, but the vampires are decidedly unvampirish. Bunch of gun-wielding Olympic high jumpers is what we have here. That they are supposed to be the dominant species is proclaimed, but all evidence is to the contrary. Anyway, the movie is bookended by godawful portentous Beckinsale voiceovers, and at times I thought the movie was in danger of making Blade look like Dracula. I wasn't surprised at how much the look of the movie was ripped from The Matrix, but I was a bit taken aback at them lifting the sound editing as well. It wasn't all bad, though; large swaths were mildly entertaining. Apparently a sequel is set for release in 2005, which means between that, this, and Van Helsing, Beckinsale will appear in vampire movies in three consecutive years. History will decide if that is a good career move.
- Sunshine State (2002) ... Listed here.
- Drumline (2002) ... A modestly entertaining formula picture. There's enough flashy energy invested in the finale to make it genuinely thrilling, and I was pleasantly surprised at the role our hero was relegated to in said finale, but I won't say more than that. Will I remember what I mean by that in a couple weeks? Probably not.
- Gangs of New York (2002) ... Listed here.
- Brother Bear (2003) ... Listed here.
- Elling (2001) ... Listed here.
- The School of Rock (2003) ... I'll admit it: I don't really understand why Jack Black is praised to high heaven as enormously talented. Don't get me wrong, he IS talented, funny, energetic, and charismatic, but there seems to be a cult of disproportionate adoration surrounding him that I just don't think I'll ever join. Still, this is just about the perfect vehicle for him, and is about as good a rock rendition of The Bad News Bears as you could hope for, and one that I quite enjoyed, especially as the focus shifted off Black a bit in the second half.
- March
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975) ... I sat down to this movie with a preconception. That preconception was, "I'm going to be disappointed; the 70s may be a great decade for film, but it's far from my favorite decade for film." For the first 30 minutes I thought that preconception was all up n' shattered, because I loved it. I was shocked that trademark gritty 70s realism could deliver such humor and yet still maintain that essential *feel* that this breed of 70s film has. Sadly it bogs down quite a bit in the middle, even if Al Pacino and John Cazale turn in fantastic performances (Pacino is so good in these early roles of his that he can keep getting work decades later as a mere caricature of his former self, and it's such a heartbreaker that Cazale only did five movies--all Best Picture nominees--before cancer took him). Happily, tension starts building again in the final act, and the end satisfies. It came in the nick of time too, as I was right on the cusp of falling asleep with about 20 minutes to go. Ah well, I think I just have to keep trying until I "get" the 70s, and then I'll be right on board with the rest of you.
- Charade (1963) ... Listed here.
- Y Tu Mamá También (2001) ... Listed here.
- Ever After (1998) ... A fun reimagining of the Cinderella story, and one which I'll share with my girls some day. Nothing earth-shaking here, just some nice storytelling and the performance you'd expect from Anjelica Huston (i.e. delightfully wicked). Drew Barrymore as our heroine ran hot and cold. She could cut loose and be in the zone on some of the emotional and/or spunky scenes, but too often some stilted bit of dialog would really ring a sour note. To be fair, some of those lines were probably impossible to deliver well.
- Matchstick Men (2003) ... Listed here.
- Audition (2000) ... Listed here.
- Lost in Translation (2003) ... Listed here.
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) ... You'd think the technology of putting an animated character into live action would have improved in the 15+ years since Roger Rabbit, but I swear this movie integrates worse than that one. That, and Bob Hoskins' ability to focus convincingly on something that isn't there is unparalleled. You just have to watch how poorly Fraser and Elfman do it here to underscore how *believable* Hoskins was. He probably should have gotten an Oscar just for degree-of-difficulty alone. Anyway, I might have guessed this movie would be dumb, but I wouldn't necessarily have guessed it'd be boring too. Amelia (six) claimed to like it, but she only laughed once, and didn't ask to see it again the next day (very rare, in the kids movies we rent).
- The Apartment (1960) ... While impressive (who could doubt it?), if I were to rank my half-dozen Billy Wilder movies, this would bring up the rear. Jack Lemmon is very good, and Shirley MacLaine is fan-damn-tastic, but I couldn't bring myself to really care if they got their acts together. I was irritated by Lemmon's rather spineless pandering to his sleazeball superiors, and by her actually going so ga-ga over king-sleazeball MacMurray (feels weird to write that, since MacMurray has this Ward Cleaver thing going on) that she'd actually . I understand that they are basically swimming in shark-infested waters, and are struggling in a world whose cynicism is about to be blown apart by the hippies, but it just didn't grab me. And god help me, I checked my watch at least twice. This review sounds MUCH more negative than I actually feel. I actually liked the movie, but I fell way short of loving it.Spoiler: Highlight to viewtry to kill herself! In Lemmon's apartment, no less!
- Paths of Glory (1957) ... Listed here.
- Bloody Sunday (2002) ... Listed here.
- Sullivan's Travels (1941) ... Listed here.
- Miller's Crossing (1990) ... Listed here.
- February
- Rififi (1955) ... Listed here.
- Witness for the Prosecution (1957) ... Listed here.
- The Mime (2003) ... A short student film from Listology's very own directorspen. The film is essentially a silent color (my first silent color movie, I might add) Keystone Kops-ish affair, shot handheld, and I quite enjoyed it. That this is a labor of love is easily apparent, and the "making of" featurette was a treat - even with a miniscule crew and a handheld camera you still need your location scout to pull permits, it appears. :-) I also watched the two other short films on the DVD, one of which is an extended fight sequence. One of the combatants executes a leap up a pillar that is clearly humanly impossible, and yet even watching it in slow motion I have no idea how the effect was accomplished. Very impressive. At this point I'm prepared to believe the guy really can jump that high.
- Cats & Dogs (2001) ... An inferior Spy Kids, more or less, with talking animals. The kids dug it, and it was tolerable for we grown-ups.
- The Good Girl (2002) ... I thought I could make out a carrot, dangling before me. The carrot promised something interesting would happen if I kept watching. Stupid, stupid carrot! No matter how hard she tries Jennifer Aniston has a certain gleam of liveliness and wit about her, so watching her play this drab, beaten-down dolt of a character just didn't fly for me. The script takes a bunch of good actors, makes them be moronic and dull, and then puts them on parade. 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Inconceivable.
- Whole Wide World, The (1996) ... A touching and unconventional romance, played well by Renee Zellweger and even better by Vincent D'Onofrio. We really feel the peaks and valleys of their rollercoaster relationship as it develops and deepens over the course of years, which is an impressive feat given the sub-two-hour runtime (this is not to say it drags; quite the opposite). We root for the happy ending, but have no idea if we'll be given it or not. A little-seen movie that deserves a wider audience.
- Reservoir Dogs (1992) ... Rewatched and listed here.
- Lolita (1997) ... I've often heard Melanie Griffith lambasted, but I've never been able to relate to that until now. After all, she has Working Girl and Nobody's Fool under her belt. But man, she was bad here. I've never been so grateful for a character exiting a movie. Fortunately, the movie doesn't rest on her shoulders, it rests instead with the always-capable Jeremy Irons (who really has his game on here) and Dominique Swain, making an absolutely stunning debut. Every time I hear about someone like her, who bursts fully formed onto the scene with no acting experience whatsoever, I have to wonder how hard acting is, really? I imagine it depends on the role, and if you can basically play to your own natural mannerisms that makes it worlds easier. Still, she's simply amazing, and she and Irons make the pedophiliac relationship sufficiently complex to keep the story compelling and balanced.
- Waterworld (1995) ... Morbid curiousity drew me to this one. "Fishtar", "Kevin's Gate", call it what you will, it wasn't as bad as all that (that doesn't mean I'll be seeking out Battlefield Earth anytime soon). It's hard to fault the ambition of it all, and the sets score off the chart for degree-of-difficulty. The gruff misanthropy from Costner's character was surprising, and some of the action scenes worked surprisingly well (in particular the jet-ski "camoflague"). But for each action scene that worked well, there was one that didn't. For each joke that worked, there were two that fell flat. The dialog and the acting wound the movie, and the preposterous science almost finishes it off, but I still can't write this one off as the horrible movie it's reputed to be. It's not good. Heck, it's not even adequate, but you can see where it could have been a great action epic in some alternate universe that doesn't diverge so far from our own.
- Secretary (2002) ... Listed here.
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988) ... Listed here.
- Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) ... Kinda like Goodfellas, complete with Liottaesque voice-over, but set in high school and populated by over-achieving Asian-Americans. While the story moves along at a pretty good clip, and I understand that the kids are long on ambition but short on values, I really couldn't buy into the culminating act of our narrator's fall from grace. This is a pretty big misstep in what is otherwise a better-than-average downward spiral, and sadly somewhat tarnishes a nice emotionally-ambiguous closing scene reminiscent of The Graduate. I was still too busy being preoccupied with my "WTF" feelings lingering from the big culminating act of 15 minutes ago to properly enjoy it.
- Spellbound (2002) ... Listed here.
- Quiet American, The (2002) ... I have given Brendan Fraser props for his acting chops in the past (e.g. Gods and Monsters), but here he's a weak link, which is too bad because Michael Caine's performance is forged of the finest stuff. Thus the love triangle, wrought with so much potential, is a bit lopsided. But even if it's flawed as a romance, as a political thriller it has brains to spare, and entertainly illuminates the various vying factions in Vietnam leading up to heavy U.S. involvement and war.
- Dancer in the Dark (2000) ... This was my first experience with Lars von Trier and his singing dancing Theater of Cruelty, and I'm not sure if I'll be dipping my toe in these waters again. Certainly it was like no musical I've ever seen, and Björk inhabits the character of Selma to an extent I wouldn't have thought possible, but as fascinating and painful as it was to watch, I'm not sure what I can take away from this movie aside from the unique experience itself. The melodrama is so extreme and unbelievable it's hard to find it cathartic, and while it's interesting to view a stylized America through the eyes of a director who's never been here, in which traditional villains and heros are inverted and capital punishment is (illuminatingly) carried out with a capital "C", I don't really feel broadened by it. Still, it's always interesting and often disturbing and I'd rather art make me feel uneasy rather than indifferent. Perhaps I will try these waters again some day.
- Lost In La Mancha (2002) ... Listed here
- Ong-bak (2003) ... Listed here and here.
- Maid in Manhattan (2002) ... "I'd like a romantic comedy, but hold the comedy and go light on the romance. Actually, hold the romance too. Oh what the hell, just give me a cheeseburger instead." This looks good on paper: take the prostitution angle out of Pretty Woman, and cast Ralph Fiennes and Jennifer Lopez instead of Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. You can never tell who's going to win from the roster though; this one's a dog when you get it on the court.
- Bulletproof Monk (2003) ... Parts from The Golden Child, Remo Williams, and just about any American John Woo movie. Not necessarily the good parts though, and Chow Yun-Fat was only flying his trademark charisma at half-mast. Subpar, but mildly entertaining at times.
- Bend It Like Beckham (2002) ... Listed here.
- January
- S.W.A.T. (2003) ... Panned here.
- Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) ... Listed here.
- Italian for Beginners (2000) ... A Dogme 95 film which adheres to the requisite vow of chastity. It was fasinating to watch a movie shot handheld and stripped of dramatic lighting and filtering, makeup, sets, props, soundtrack, and the like. More interesting was the acting: I've become so accustomed to the language of big budget cinema that I unconsciously accept that the actors are acting like real people, and that better acting means "more real". The sheer reality of the performances in this movie, however, exposes the histrionics you tend to get with bigger budgets and larger-than-life stories. This is not intended to say one type of acting or movie-making style is superior to the other, just that the contrast is startling, and needs to be seen to be believed. That said, while I'm grateful for the experience, I found myself missing all the trappings that Dogme 95 films eschew. But I did enjoy the mundane tales of our seven intersecting players, and enjoyed the genuniely touching moments the film contains.
- Bruce Almighty (2003) ... Can't help but suffer from the inevitable comparisons to the superb Groundhog Day, but it has its moments. If you like Jim Carrey you'll laugh out loud often enough to make this a fun time-spender, although one that's probably quickly forgotten. Surprisingly, the best bit of physical comedy goes to Steven Carell, who brought both Vicky and me to tears not once, but twice for the same scene (once in the movie and again in the outtakes/deleted scenes). Morgan Freeman doesn't have much to work with, but casting him as God was inspired nonetheless, and if any of the "Friends" cast had to have a successful movie career, I'm glad it looks like it'll be Aniston.
- The Pianist (2002) ... Listed here.
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) ... The first two-thirds of the movie impresses with it's ability to conjure up all kinds of backwater creepiness and death-by-inbred-maniac foreboding. The makers of the The Blair Witch Project should buy Tobe Hooper flowers for the shaky handheld work, the documentary look, the weird hanging figurines and talismen, and the well-placed human tooth. Unfortunately once the final act--and the incessant screaming--commences, this loses a bit of steam for me. I still looked on in horrified fasination, but some of the tension drained away. Still, quite a remarkable entry for 1974, and happily not really a slasher picture, even if it is a progenitor of that dreck-filled genre.
- Monsoon Wedding (2001) ... Listed here.
- Swimming Pool (2003) ... Listed here.
- Lilo & Stitch (2002) ... Listed here.
- So Close (2002) ... Fans of Hong Kong actioners might want to check this one out (actually, Vicky, who is not a fan of the genre, kinda liked it). It's not representative of the best of the genre, the buildup is pretty damn slow, there's way too much wind-blown hair (indoors, no less!) the cheesy CGI slo-mo broken flying glass was plentiful, and it was hard to tell if the acting was any good through the Cantonese dub over Mandarin with English subtitles. Still, I suspect Vicki Zhao and Karen Mok were quite good, and by the end of the movie they've established an interesting dynamic despite all the language abstractions, suffusing the long and fairly impressive climactic sequence with a nice tension. The tension is aided and abetted by the knowledge that our heroes don't always live to see the end credits roll in Hong Kong flicks. It's simultaneously fair and misleading to characterize this as a Hong Kong Charlie's Angels.
- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) ... Cripes, what was I thinking? You might say, "Hmm, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore... Netflix carries the unrated DVD version... I KNOW what you were thinking", but you'd be wrong. They each have their charms, but they're not really my type (Vicky and I had a discussion on the way home from Return of the King as to which actresses I *do* find particularly attractive, but that will keep for another time). Anyway, it's a sequel to a movie that was already a parody of a joke, and it looks like fun, has it's moments, etc., but boy, talk about absurd. I'm going to quietly move the original from one of my action movies lists to my "guilty pleasures" list and hope nobody notices.
- Bowling for Columbine (2002) ... Listed here.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) ... Listed here and here.
- Dead Alive (1992) ... Listed here.
- Solaris (2002) ... After this ended I turned to my wife and said, "I'm not sure what to think of that. Tell me what I think." She said, "I don't know what you think, but I liked it, and I'm not sure why." And there it was, like magic she told me what I thought. This might not be an apt comparison, but it felt like Soderbergh doing Kubrick. If nothing else, it was executed with a similar sort of emotional minimalism. The actors have nowhere to hide, and they face up to that courageously and mostly successfully. A very unusual role for Clooney, and I'm impressed he tried it. I imagine the story could go either way for many folks: you either find it thought-provoking and interesting, or you find its themes of love, forgiveness, God, and what it means to be human half-baked and frustratingly unanswered. Sign me up for the former camp.
- Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines (2003) ... Listed here.
- The Good Thief (2002) ... I've seen quite a few negative reviews for this movie, but mostly from people that said they couldn't understand what anyone was saying, and who were bothered by the editing. I had no problem with Nolte's burnout gambler mumblings, nor all the European accents, and I thought the subtle freeze frame at the end of each chapter was a nice touch. So, unaffected by those complaints, I was free to enjoy a rather unconventional-feeling heist movie and a bravura performance from Nolte, an honorable drug-addicted washed-up gambler of a thief. You feel like you know this character's history, and while he might be in a sorry state at the beginning of the movie, you can be sure it was an interesting history. Anyway, I know from the reviews that this one ain't for everybody, but it worked for me.
- Nine Queens (2000) ... Listed here.
Author Comments:
Standout entries are in bold.
Cloned From:
My college station was showing Maid in Manhattan a few months ago, and the scenes I caught were bad enough to remove any desire to watch the whole film I might have had. Actually, I don't think I had any, but...
It is the same story with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, except (believe it or not) it looked even more painful, especially toward the end...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I knew it was a long shot, and that I'd likely be in for a painful rental, but I keep hoping Lopez is going to make another good movie (I know she's got it in her), and I really (generally) like Fiennes. Oh well, can't find the gems without digging through the muck, I guess.
...and the Runaway Jury victim nods silently in agreement...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Hey Jim, good review of Waterworld. I like it a little better than you did, but I also think my childhood obsession with The Road Warrior has something to do with that! Kevin Costner probably should be paying royalties to Mel Gibson for the similarities, but nobody said Costner was overwhelmingly original;)
I agree that it isn't nearly as bad as people say, but then again, it would have to be Battlefield Earth to match its horrible reputation!
Johnny Waco
Y'know, I've been meaning to see The Road Warrior again. Maybe when The Passion of the Christ comes out on DVD I'll rent them both and do a double-feature. :-)
Hey, speaking of Costner, I'd written him off quite awhile ago, but I've been hearing great things about his new (but gone from theaters in a pretty big hurry) western, Open Range. I know you're a Robert Duvall fan; have you seen it?
I can certainly understand your feelings regarding Lars Von Trier. He's certainly our most leading misanthrope. I caught The Kingdom (which Stephen King has stupidly remade for ABC) some months ago, and while it's interesting, Von Trier's meditations on mankind are sometimes hard to swallow.
Say, have you caught a short cartoon IFC's been playing lately, about a Von Trier-like director? It's pretty damned funny, especially when the "director" screams "Von Trier's a pussy!"
A buddy of mine had me watch The Kingdom a few years ago without telling me that it was a TV series, cliffhangerish, and would end mid-plotline (at least as far as the available US titles go). This was pre-DVD, and I didn't know until now it was Von Trier thing. Interesting.
I haven't seen that cartoon, but it sounds like a hoot. While I might not check out other Von Trier pathos-fests (I'd rather wear a red shirt on Star Trek than be a female character in one of his movies any day - bring on the quick alien death!), I'm still curious to see The Five Obstructions, if for no other reason than to see him torture a real person rather than one of his fictional characters.
I just read your review of Witness for the Prosecution , and I agree with you Charles Laughton; I saw the movie for the first time last year, and loved Laughton in the role: I knew his name and had probably seen him in a couple of things, but suddenly I realized this was a great actor. He reminds me of Orson Welles in Touch of Evil in the way that their overwhelming obesity contrast to sharp and lean minds. Of course, Welles is much more malignant in his film, but I'm not too off base here, am I?
Johnny Waco
Umm, well, uhh, damn, I'll just come out with it . . . I turned off Touch of Evil after about 30 minutes. This was a few years ago, but the shame lingers. I blame a combination of a slow start and Charlton Heston. And I didn't properly limber up my attention span beforehand. I'll have to give it another shot one day.
So I'll have to defer chiming in on the Welles comparison for now, but I'm glad you're with me in admiring Laughton's performance; I loved him in that role.
Very nice Jim. Great reviews.
Haven't seen Rififi, I can't wait.
Just a comment on Solaris (02).
Tarkovsky's version (72), which was mined by Soderbergh in a very unflattering way, is a beautiful film about the very same issues you list, but it's argument is much more convincing. The two films have a basic story in common, but, Soderbergh left out the idiosyncratic parts of Tarkovsky's vision to keep people in the theatre. Soderbergh got demoted from my favorite director's for creating a stammering remake of one of my favorite films. :(
Thanks! I think you'll like Rififi. Where are you going to get it if you don't have Netflix though? I can't remember life before Netflix, or how I ever watched anything that wasn't on the "New Releases" shelf. Oh wait, I didn't really watch anything that wasn't on the "New Releases" shelf before Netflix. The bad old days...
I'm gathering Tarkovsky is a favorite of yours in general! The only one of his I've seen is Andrei Rublev, watched on LBangs' recommendation. Review here. I'm sorry to hear Soderbergh got demoted; he's still a favorite of mine, but then again he hasn't butchered any titles beloved by me. Interesting that you think Soderbergh copped out to keep people in the theaters, though. I think if he were just trying to sell tickets he could have dumbed it down MUCH farther than he did.
Rififi is airing this summer on satellite. I'm buzzing with excitement. There are ways around the Canadian Netflix deficit. We have a similar survice called Cinemaflow (giggle) that has a 5000 DVD collection (giggle giggle).
That is a good point you've made about Soderbergh, I didn't think of it that way. Maybe I just miss the overly-earnest, sullen, Russian guilt quality of the original. Maybe I should give Soder some slack (feeling wishy-washy tonight). Yes, Tarkovsky is one of my favorite directors, actually I'll post my ten favorite and what I think their best films are.
Ever After is kinda fun, isn't it. :?)
Yeah, it never would have occurred to me to rent it, but LBangs liked it, so I gave it a shot. Not bad!
A fun tidbit about Waterworld, the original script was written by Roger Corman, king of the crap classic. :?)
Yeah, I didn't really think that you would like "Nashville", actually. Though my attention span is nothing to shake a stick at either, and I actually think it's easier to get through a movie if it keeps shifting between plots and characters like "Nashville" does. If you're bored by one plotline - don't worry, there are fifty billion other characters and maybe you'll be more interested in something else.
Yeah, it's an odd thing, my attention span. You'd think with it being short a movie that intercuts between stories would be a perfect fit. But I find instead what happens is that my attention needs to persist for each storyline until each has built up enough weight to be interesting on its own merits. Since the stories trickle out in little chunks, it takes a long time for that to happen for each story. Relatedly, I'm pretty confident I'd like it more the second time through, because then I'd have the advantage of being pre-invested in the characters.
Wow, your Kill Bill Vol. 2 experience isn't too terribly different from my own!
Of course, the Nashville reaction is quite different from my out-and-out love for the film, but hey, I still really enjoyed reading your review, and your comment, " Altman's movies are like entangled strings of pearls." is terrific!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Yeah, I think we matched up pretty well on our Kill Bill assessments! I have to wonder what the movie would be like stitched back together: would it still be kung fu homage in the first half and spaghetti western in the second, or would those two major bits of genre crunching be melded together and be more balanced throughout the picture? We may never know...
Thanks for the Nashville comments. If nothing else, I'm glad I stuck it out to the end, as the movie has some great moments. I imagine, now that I'm fully invested in the characters, I'd like it quite a bit better on viewing #2. Time will tell.
Yay! ya watched The Mirror. Not so yay, ya kinda didn't like it. I can understand the apprehension at multiple viewings though, it's an intricate puzzle of a film. Let me for a second be a movie-watching blow-hard and explain my point of view. I think it was first film I have ever seen that explains the rapture of memory. The way it folds, contorts and distributes facts in an incoherent way for the purposes of the most gratifying outcome, be that negative or positive. By the end of the film you see how a person's life is not so much affected by the events as they happen but by the mind's innate ability to structure them into linear story-line. The juxtapositions created by the film are that of a film interpretation of the minds interpretation of your life. That's brilliant.
Good reviews too although we seem to have differing opinions of The Core.
Tallyho
:?)
I wouldn't say I "kinda didn't like it." I was just totally out of my depth. It's a movie that NEEDS multiple viewings (unless you're some kind of savant), and I wasn't ready for that just yet. I will though.
Hey, I found this description (excerpted) in an Amazon review. What do you think of it?
A depiction of the inner world of a dying man, the film jumps between different eras of the protagonist's life, with sometimes only very subtle connections between them. Shots are often composed for their emotional impact, rather than their narrative effect, the idea being that the audience will feel what the protagonist feels as he reflects on his life.
That's exactly it, this excerpt is excellent. I'm not sure about the dying part but that is much finer explanation than mine.
Okay, so I'm feeling slightly jealous of the writing prowess, i'm feeling enlightened by the description and I'm feeling interested in Amazon.com reviews.
(By the way Metacritic compiled Van Helsing reviews. A 36. Woof)
Also what visual representation do you think of when I type the phrase Planet Hair?
Tallyho
:?)
Yeah, I don't know where the dying part came from. If there was a hint to that effect in the film, I missed it.
As for "Planet Hair", the glam-metal band Poison leaps to mind. Or the band Flock of Seagulls, which a friend once dubbed "Flock of Haircuts".
Haha! That's beautiful.
Thanks for the suggestions.
tallyho
:?)
I think the Fast Runner is an incredible film, a true original in a time when generification is the name of the cinematic game.
I have seen Miracle Mile three times now (why lord why) and I was wondering if you had the same reaction. This movie is incredibly irritating, it's like having a 2 hour prostate check. I wanted that damn guy to just get out of the damn city already. What's with the doddling? What's with the people? Why the hell don't they just leave!? Yap yap yap! I was glad when the guy bought at the end! ARRRRRRRGH! It makes me irritated just thinking about it. So did you have the same reaction?
And don't even get me started about The Swimmer, I could only take a half-naked hyper Burt Lancaster for so long. It was painfully unwatchable for me, however it is a very well made film. Too much naked Burt. He's even scarier in The Rose Tattoo. That one's a crap fritter! Almost lost an eye with that one. He's brilliant in Elmer Gantry though. (I think I've been scarred by The Swimmer and all that Burt, and I mean ALL that Burt.)
By the way have you seen Last Night? Another Canucker about impending apocalypse. Less irritating and just more watchable.
Thanks for editing.
Tallyho
:?)
:-) Sure thing! As for your original post...
The Fast Runner is indeed impressive and really like no other movie I've seen.
I was not as annoyed by Miracle Mile as you were, but couldn't get into it either (when I say "made for TV" caliber I'm not talking Sopranos-level). I also can't imagine a circumstance where I'd watch it more than once. Was somebody holding you down?
I'm a bit surprised you didn't dig The Swimmer. I assume you were being flip in your comments about Lancaster's half-nakedness throughout the movie (although it is distracting to constantly have thoughts along the lines of "Crikey, he's HOW old!?"), and really didn't like his performance? Regardless, I'll take your advice on both The Rose Tattoo (avoid) and Elmer Gantry (see).
Finally, I have not seen Last Night, but when I went to add it to my "to see" list, there it was already! It is filed in the "maybe" section, and I have no idea how it got there.
Maybe because of me.
Ah ha! That just might be it. :-)
First watch was in 1990, 14 years ago, so it's kinda hazy. But the gist is liked Scanners so I watched Miracle Mile. The logic probably made sense at the time. Second watch was 2001, To explain I have made a rather humungous file (almost 800 MB in words) collecting just about every positive review I have ever come across of any movie possible (Even...ahem...starts with a p ends with a y). In my insane pursuit of this obviously chronic addiction to collecting, Miracle Mile popped up a second time, garnering some good reviews. So I watched it again to see if I had missed something...I hadn't. 3rd time (bad me) was because someone I was trying to date got me to watch it. Ouch. Anyway that is the story of my pain.
As for de Swimmer only halfway being flip. The man remains in his swimming trunks the whole film! That got kinda distracting, then when he was galloping along with the young girl I felt very embarrassed for me and him. Come to think of it, I kinda liked this film when I watched and only later did I realize my original point. Good ending though.
Tallyho
:?)
Understandable. I'm pretty sure the vicarious embarrassment was intentional though.
"Starts with a p ends with a y". I am, at the moment, stumped.
It has ornograph in the middle. lol. So what's your take on such a sensitive cinematic subject?
Tallyho
:?O
Ah! I thought you were referencing specific title ("'Pink Flamingoes' doesn't end in 'y'!"). As for my take on it, as long as consenting adults are involved, whatever floats yer boat.
Ha! I saw "Poison Ivy" on stooky's crap fritters list and assumed he was referring to that.
Ha! could have been Prophecy as well, Armand Assante battles burly mutated bad-special-effecty bear. The only person hurt by that movie is the one watching it. My eye!
Anyway, a friend once told me her take on it was "It looks like a hairless ferret attacking a hairy pig, why would I wanna watch that?" Why indeed.
Pink Flamingoesy tee hee.
Tallyho
:?)
As always, this list is loads of fun to read. I'm really glad you had a chance to watch Metropolis. Great film!
Stalag 17's humor is often forced at best, but its drama... Ah.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Thanks! So have you seen the restored version of Metropolis? I see you still have the obsolete version on your DVDs I Own list.
"I am veeeeeeery sneaky, sir." Is that the only good line in Mr. Deeds?
Tallyho
:?)
I want to see more films made by female directors. I've seen every man dominated story and I'm ready for something new. What is your opinion?
Tallyho
:?)
I have no opinion. I do have three links for you though: 1, 2, and 3.
Don't forget 4 (read the comments section).
A fine list. I have a nitpick though.
Alex Proyas is a talented director...but...he hasn't made that many films and they aren't up to the potential he has. He tends to be a little unfocussed in his storytelling.
tallyho
:?(
Two other Turturro lines also made me laugh, mostly due to delivery: "I fear you are underestimating the sneakiness sir" and "The hideousness of that foot will haunt my dreams forever" (and the response, "oh yeah, I've heard that before").
You're right, Those are funny lines too, Turturro chose the best part in the film.
Articles were good. Nice hunk of movies, but missing some of my favorites. And I have seen most of Riefenstahl.
Although Salon failed to mention the large throng of gay/lesbian films that came out in the early 90's. Many of which were quite good. And mostly out of New York at that.
I'm getting bored with standard plot-lines anyway. Love triangles, Revenge fantasy movies. It seems like the only thing people can do nowadays is make the violence more realistic, and who wants to see a more realistic brain popping out of someones head. Certainly ain't me. I guess I should get busy and go to film-school and start making my own.<----whiney, depressed stooky :?(
Tallyho
:?(
Don't be depressed! *Any* story can be over-simplified down to a 5-word description that makes it sound like it's been done a million times before. But God is in the details.