Best Picture:
Far From Heaven
(Runners-up: About Schmidt; Talk To
Her)
Best Actor:
Daniel
Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York)
(Runners-up: Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt); Greg Kinnear
(Auto-Focus))
Best Actress:
Diane Lane
(Unfaithful) (Runners-up: Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven); Isabelle
Huppert (The Piano Teacher))
Best Supporting Actor:
Dennis
Quaid (Far From Heaven) (Runners-up:
Chris Cooper (Adaptation); Willem Dafoe (Auto-Focus))
Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia
Clarkson (Far From Heaven) (Runners-up:
Parker Posey (Personal Velocity); Hope Davis (About
Schmidt))
Best Director:
Todd Haynes
(Far From Heaven) (Runners-up: Pedro
Almodóvar (Talk To Her); Alexander Payne (About
Schmidt))
Top 10 Lists of the Reviewers of
the New York Times for 2002
Elvis Mitchell:
Bloody Sunday; Catch Me If You Can;
Morvern Callar; Paid In Full; Personal Velocity; Spirited Away; Talk
To Her; 24-Hour Party People; What Time Is It There?; and Y Tu
Mamá También
A. O. Scott:
Talk To Her; The Fast Runner;
Adaptation; Far From Heaven; The Pianist; Spirited Away;
Storytelling; Gangs of New York; Lovely and Amazing; and Punch-Drunk
Love
Stephen Holden:
Talk To Her; Y Tu Mamá
También; The Hours; About Schmidt; Adaptation; Far From
Heaven; Chicago; Sunshine State; Gangs of New York; and The
Pianist
Dave Kehr:
Spirited Away; About Schmidt; Talk To
Her; Punch-Drunk Love; Time Out; In Praise of Love; I'm Going Home;
Mahagonny; Windtalkers; and Warm Water Under A Red Bridge
Roy's 10 Best Viewed for 2002*:
Mulholland Dr.; Sunshine State; Monsoon
Wedding; Amélie; No Man's Land; The Man Who Wasn't There; The
Princess and The Warrior; Gosford Park; Lovely and Amazing; and The
Anniversary Party
*Since I see many films the year after
their release, some of these are actually from the previous year.
My rating system:
*A loser, a bomb. Miss it at all
costs.
**An acceptable film, but not much
more.
***An average film with some
virtues.
****An excellent film. Recommended
highly.
*****A one of a kind. A great
film.
"Anything
Else"-Woody Allen rides again, returning
finally to his basic themes of love, romance, and social and business
angst. This may not be Allen's best film, by far, but its the best
film he's made in a long time on this theme. This time Woody is David
Dobel, a schoolteacher with dreams of being a comic writer, and also
an adviser to young Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs), the real Allen figure
in the film. Falk is a writer of material for comics and hopes to
write a novel, but he surrounds himself with characters destined to
make him fail. His agent, Harvey (Danny DeVito), does little for him
and charges far too much for his inept services. Falk is afraid to
hurt Harvey by moving on to a new agent. Falk lives with a beautiful
young woman who wants to marry him only to split with her after
meeting the girlfriend of a friend and falling in love. The new
girlfriend, Amanda (Christina Ricci), is the worst thing for him.
She's a little nuts and is not particularly turned on by our local
hero. To make matters worse, she invites her self-centered mother
Paula (Stockard Channing) to live with them, making it virtually
impossible to breathe (and do some other things). Falk has no
backbone, afraid to do anything that will change his life for the
better. But he has Dobel nearby to advise and push him towards
improvements in his life. "Anything Else" contains the usual Allen
touches, including appreciative New York scenes, good music
(including an appearance by the great Diana Krall), and the usual
Allen shtick. Other than "Sweet and Lowdown," which was atypical of
Allen's many films since he didn't play a role and centered the film
on a non-Woody type character, I liked "Anything Else" better than
any Allen film since "Husbands and Wives." DVD ***1/2
(12/28/03)
"Pirates
of the Caribbean"-I swore I would not
watch a film named after a Disneyland ride. But when I saw that Elvis
Mitchell, NY Times film critic, named this his best film of the year,
I had to see what was up. And I was extremely surprised. For what is
on the surface a silly, childlike pirate film is actually an
extremely well done and highly entertaining film. Reminding me a
little of Burt Lancaster's "The Crimson Pirate," this rollicking
adventure story, with tremendous production values and exciting
music, is about a rather bedraggled looking pirate named Captain Jack
Sparrow (hysterically portrayed by Johnny Depp). Sparrow has been
kicked off his ship, the Black Pearl, now under the control of
Carptain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and a "skeleton" crew of cursed men
who must gather up gold doubloons and return them to their rightful
place before the curse can be lifted. The daughter of the local
Governor (Jonathyn Pryce), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), just
happens to have the last of the gold which she took as a child from
the neck of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), the local blacksmith who
produces fine swords. The cursed crew of the Black Pearl comes
a-calling. Of course Will, who turns out to be a central figure in
the cursed crew's attempts to end the curse, happens to be in love
with Elizabeth, but Elizabeth has also received an offer of marriage
from an officer of the local British navy. There's plenty of action
and, although it gets a little tedious towards the end, most of the
film is quite a ride. Recommended. ****
(12/27/03)
"Amandla!
A Revolution in Four Part Harmony"-This
uplifting documentary portrays the anti-apartheid movement in South
Africa in the context of its music. Told in interviews and
documentary footage, as well as some performances, "Amandla" is
inspiring by showing the patience of the African people while being
oppressed by the white minority. Under the leadership of Hendrik
Verwoerd, the white South Africans took away the rights and often the
homes of South African blacks, forcing them to live in degraded
conditions in townships. The segregation of apartheid was obviously
extremely difficult to accept, especially when leaders such as Nelson
Mandela were locked away for many years. This film shows how the
people responded with music which grew louder over the years until it
reached a crescendo in the early 1990s, and apartheid finally ended.
Many of those interviewed are not familiar, but all present a
surprisingly upbeat view of the situation and the necessity and role
of music in their lives. Leading the way are two who are famous,
namely Hugh Masakela and Miriam Mikeba. Recommended. DVD ****
(12/26/03)
"L'Auberge
Espagnole"-This French film set
primarily in Barcelona, Spain, tells the wonderful tale of a young
Frenchman named Xavier (Romain Duris). Trying to find a career for
himself, Xavier is encouraged by a family friend who is part of a
gigantic bureaucracy in Paris to learn Spanish and economics so that
he can help place him in a good job. And so, after struggling through
another bureaucratic maze called the Erasmus program, Xavier leaves
his girlfriend Martine (Audrey Tautou) and his annoying mother
behind, and lands in Barcelona to enter a program of study. At the
airport he meets a doctor and his bride, Anne-Sophie, finding them
useful later when he can't otherwise find a decent place to stay.
While the doctor goes off to work, he asks Xavier, who is temporarily
staying with them, to accompany the shy Anne-Sophie (Judith
Godrèche) around Barcelona, leading to the first of several
romantic complications in Xavier's life. Ultimately, he is invited to
share an apartment with several other young people, each from a
different country. This is the one of the best films I've seen about
the sexual and social tensions of life in one's 20s while away from
home. Not only must Xavier deal with the strangeness of Barcelona and
its languages (Catalan as well as Castillian Spanish) but also with
the personalities and languages of his friends and roommates, the
need to find time to do his studies, and the sexual tensions of youth
while, on the one hand, supposedly in love with a girl at a great
distance, and, on the other, surrounded by all kinds of young and
attractive people, including even a lesbian from Belgium who teaches
Xavier a little about the art of seduction. This production and its
cast are first-rate, although Audrey Tautou ("Amelie") has little to
do and does not stand out, and Barcelona is beautifully displayed.
When Xavier finally has to return to Paris and face a dull life in
the same bureaucracy from whence he started, the pain of loss of the
exciting carefree life he was living in Barcelona is palpable. This
is a delightful film, and is highly recommended. (Primarily in
French, but also in other languages, including English and Spanish,
with English subtitles where necessary) DVD ****
(12/23/03)
"Freaky
Friday"-I will admit that my threshold
for enjoyment of comedies is fairly high. Raised on the likes of
Groucho Marx, Sid Ceasar, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason,
and Charlie Chaplin, it's a rare comedy today that will get
significant praise from me. Although rather tastefully done for a
comedy with potentially significantly tasteless situations, "Freaky
Friday" is still mere fluff, although certainly enjoyable fluff for
an hour and a half. Jamie Lee Curtis is Dr. Tess Coleman, a
psychiatrist who is attempting to deal with her upcoming marriage (to
the fairly emotionless Ryan, played by Mark Harmon), a wild and crazy
teenage daughter named Annabell (Lindsay Lohan), and the stresses and
strains (read cell phones and other technological devices) of daily
life. Somewhere along the line, following a scene in a Chinese
restaurant with somewhat stereotypical overtones, Tess and daughter
Annabell wake up to find themselves in each other's bodies destined
to discover just what makes the other tick. The idea of the wild teen
suddenly finding herself in a middle-aged body and the staid
psychiatrist occupying a teen's body is certainly one potentially
quite funny, but this one joke deal tires quickly. Long before the
situation had been used up by the filmmakers, I found myself wishing
they'd get to the point where they return to their own bodies. Jamie
Lee Curtis does a fine job of becoming her own daughter and Lindsay
Lohan quickly turns from a wild and crazy teen into a staid and
proper doctor mom. "Freaky Friday" is recommended for the teen set.
Otherwise, it's painless for an hour and a half. DVD ***
(12/22/03)
"Seabiscuit"-Telling
the tale of the wonderful and popular race horse, Seabiscuit,
director Gary Ross, begins the film using a lame documentary-style
introduction that unfortunately gets things off on the wrong hoof. If
the viewer didn't already know this was a drama, he could certainly
have thought he was about to see a documentary about industry and the
depression. The choice of David McCullough, historian and voice of
many PBS documentaries, made it even more jarring. But the
introduction of the characters via this wrongheaded documentary style
eventually leads to the heart of the story. Charles Howard (Jeff
Bridges), a wealthy auto dealer from San Francisco, Tom Smith (Chris
Cooper), a rather quiet and strange horse trainer, and Red Pollard
(Tobey Maguire), the somewhat taller than usual jockey, finally come
together when Howard, on Smith's advice, buys a small horse that
seems to have little to recommend him as a thoroughbred. Smith saw
what Seabiscuit had, a lot of heart and a tremendous ability to
outrun his opponents, especially when they were right on his tail.
Based on the fabulous book by Laura Hillenbrand, "Seabiscuit" has to
leave out a lot of detail (and so I highly recommend the book to
all), but it lovingly and beautifully shows the growth in popularity
of this wonderful horse who became a national celebrity during the
depression. Tobey Maguire is particularly touching as the young and
vulnerable, but tough, Pollard who loves his mount and will do
everything he can to see him win the great match race versus War
Admiral, even letting his friend, George Woolf (Gary Stevens), ride
Seabiscuit in this great race at Pimlico after Pollard has suffered a
devastating injury. While I wasn't exactly overwhelmed by Jeff
Bridges as Seabiscuit's owner, I did appreciate the fact that the
filmmakers did not create tension where it didn't have to exist. So,
when Howard's first marriage ends after the tragic death of his son,
his second marriage to Marcela (Elizabeth Banks) is shown as a happy
one in which both fully support and love each other and "the
Biscuit." The supporting cast is excellent, including Cooper as the
quiet and knowing Smith, the real jockey Gary Stevens as Woolf, the
rider who came to the rescue for the big race, and Elizabeth Banks as
the ever-supportive wife. But there is one cast member that
especially cannot be forgotten and that is William H. Macy as Tick
Tock McGlaughlin, the racing broadcaster who is shown hysterically
using multiple sound effects to support his effusive broadcasts.
Despite its weaknesses, "Seabiscuit" is a delightful film, especially
as it tells a true tale of a great racehorse. DVD ****
(12/19/03)
"The
Lord of the Rings: The Two
Towers"-Having seen and disliked the
first of this series, I wasn't really planning to watch its
successors. But some positive reviews made me curious. So I have to
admit that this second in the "Rings" series is a better film than
the first, but not by much. With the good guys fighting off monsters
virtually the entire picture, it reminded me of a third class "Wizard
of Oz" (with a significant "Star Wars" element thrown in). The scene
that I thought really reached Ozian proportions was the one in which
the evil warriors of Mordor march through the black gate as Frodo and
Sam look on. The costumes seemed intentionally similar to the monkeys
of Oz. "The Two Towers" has a little bit more character development
than the first film, and a hint of romance, but otherwise it is three
hours, once again, of simplistic good vs. evil. Peter Jackson seems
to know how to direct little other than massive battle scenes between
monsters and heros.The biggest talent among the filmmakers, no doubt,
resides with those who created all the revolting evil characters. The
script is rather insipid. Six hours so far, with three to go, just to
get Frodo into Mordor to destroy the ring and save the world? As for
the cast, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins was unfortunately mediocre. He
seemed to have a glazed look of fear on his face throughout, saved
only by Sean Astin's "Mr. Frodo, Mr. Frodo." I liked Mirando Otto as
Eowyn. She was very appealing although she had little to do except
look longingly and lovingly at Aragorn. Yes, Viggo Mortensen is
definitely the heroic and romantic type. And what of Liv Tyler and
Cate Blanchett, who seemed to be in the film all of eight seconds? I
admit I was glad to see the wonderful Ian McKellen return as Gandalf,
now "the white" rather than "the gray." Possibly the best thing in
the film is the split personality of the hysterical
computer-generated Gollum/Smeagol, although I still have no idea who
or what he is and I could barely understand his whining about half
the time. I think I managed to figure out that "precious" is the
ring. I have to admit that I got a laugh out of the living trees.
Certainly an amusing idea, despite the fact that the joke wore off
long before their last appearance in battle (what else?). The scenery
in New Zealand was impressive, although I doubt Peter Jackson had
anything to do with that. However, having seen Nos. 1 and 2, I now
concede that I am curious enough to watch No. 3 when it comes out on
DVD. I can't imagine where all the good reviews for these films are
coming from. ***
(12/13/03)
"The
Battle of Shaker Heights"-Anyone who has
watched "Project Greenlight" on HBO is very familiar with the
creation of this film. The directors, Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin,
were winners of the second PG contest, as was Erica Beeney, who wrote
the screenplay. We watched as all three struggled to make a film
under the microscope established by the producers and the
distributor, Miramax. Virtually nothing Potelle or Rankin did was
done without being questioned and at the end, Miramax insisted on
changes that turned the film into something both Beeney and the two
directors had not intended. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, and
the reviews were fairly lukewarm. So it was rather a surprise to find
"The Battle of Shaker Heights" to be a rather pleasant light
entertainment, professionally done. Shia LeBeouf, an up-and-coming
young actor, is Kelly, a high school kid who loves battle
recreations, but otherwise doesn't have too many friends due to his
outspoken nature. He totally ignores one interested young lady who
both attends school with him and works with him. No, Kelly, who feels
ignored by his artist mother (Kathleen Quinlan) and seems to despise
his father, a former druggie and convict, decides to go after the
beautiful blonde sister (Amy Smart) of his one friend Bart (Eldon
Henson). But the sister, Tabby, just happens to be at least four
years older than Kelly, a grad student at Yale, and engaged to be
married. Overall, I found this little film to be rather charming,
despite weaknesses in the casting and the plot. Certainly, it's
better than I would have expected after watching Project Greenlight.
DVD ***
(12/12/03)
"Till
Human Voices Wake Us"-An Australian
film, this stars two good actors (Guy Pearce and Helena Bonham
Carter). Unfortunately, it has an extremely weak plot and script.
Pretending to be literary, the characters quote T. S. Eliot and such,
but nothing they can do can save this silly ghost story. Told from
the perspective of two portions of the main character's life, the
story is about Sam Franks, a psychologist whose father has just died.
While bringing his father back to the town of Genoa to bury him, Sam
(Pearce) momentarily meets a young lady named Ruby (Carter) and
dreams of a childhood girlfriend, Silvy (Brooke Harman). Sam then
strangely comes across Ruby again after she has fallen from a bridge
into a stream and he saves her, only to recall the drowning of his
beloved girlfriend Silvy. Ruby starts acting in a bizarre manner and
Sam places her under hypnosis. It isn't long before we realize that
Ruby is not who she appears to be. Guess who? DVD **1/2
(12/12/03)
"Assassination
Tango"-Robert Duvall's real-life
girlfriend, Luciana Pedraza, is from Argentina and is apparently a
pretty good tango dancer. This is undoubtedly the inspiration for
this interesting little film, written and directed by Duvall, about
an assassin from Coney Island. Duvall is getting up there in years
but still manages to do a serviceable job as a hit man named John
Anderson who lives in Brooklyn with his girlfriend (Kathy Baker) and
her 10-year-old daughter whom he adores. That they don't know his
occupation is obvious. When Anderson is sent to Argentina to wipe out
a retired general, he is delayed in carrying out the job and, having
always been interested in dancing, finds himself intrigued by a
lovely young woman (Pedraza) who dances a mighty sexy tango. She
introduces him to the dance and they talk and flirt with little or no
consequences. Meanwhile, Anderson, a very low-tech killer, manages to
accomplish his job but in an unexpected way which makes it difficult
for him to get out of Argentina safely. The highlight of this film is
the dancing and it is almost as if we are watching two completely
separate films, one about the tango and another about a killer. DVD
***
(12/9/03)
"Man
on the Train"-A man with a headache
emerges from a train seeking aspirin. When he gets the aspirin and
finds himself needing water, he is invited to the home of another
man, a retired teacher who seeks companionship. The first man, Milan
(Johnny Hallyday) is a bank robber, laden with pistols among his
belongings. The second man, Monsieur Manesquier (Jean Rochefort),
finds himself attracted to the life and attitudes of the tougher
Milan. Milan, on the other hand, admires the genteel life of Monsieur
Manesquier. This is an intelligent and thoughtful study of two men
who dream of the path that wasn't taken. Both Rochefort and Hallyday
do a wonderful job of portraying men attracted to lifestyles
completely opposite their own. Like many French films, "Man on the
Train" consists mostly of conversation, although it takes a sudden
"thriller" turn at the end. In French with English subtitles. DVD
***1/2
(11/25/03)
"Winged
Migration"-This one is really for the
birds. A French production crew took four years to create this rather
spectacular study of migrating birds in flight. It's not a scientific
documentary. It's more of a work of art following the paths of
different birds in migration over different portions of the globe.
Somehow the camera miraculously flies with the birds and the viewer
has the opportunity to actually sense what it is like to be soaring
above the earth with these magnificent creatures. The birds fly over
the desert, into NY harbor, and through Monument Valley, to name just
a few of the great places we see. But it's not all happiness and
beauty. The filmmakers don't forget the reality of life, and we also
see birds being shot by hunters and other birds slogged down in
industrial waste. If you can't imagine watching birds for 90 minutes
or so, forget your preconceptions, you won't forget this film. The
DVD contains a "making of" feature that is almost as interesting as
the film itself. Recommended. DVD ****
(11/21/03)
"The
Housekeeper"-Jean-Pierre Bacri plays
Jacques, a middle-aged sound engineer in Paris whose wife recently
left and who is now lonely and living in a messy apartment. He
decides to hire a housekeeper, calls a number seen on a bulletin
board at a local bakery, and winds up hiring Laura (Émilie
Dequenne), a young attractive woman who seems eager to clean houses.
Although Jacques seems well aware of his age relative to Laura's and
he attempts to remain as distant as possible, Laura eventually asks
to move in, albeit temporarily, claiming that she has no place to
live. Respectful of Jacques' privacy, Laura however finally succumbs
and throws herself at the surprised employer/landlord and it doesn't
take long for Jacques to find himself attached to the beautiful young
woman. When Jacques' wife returns and wants him back, he drives off
with Laura to visit a friend at the beach in Brittany. This is
somewhat of a male fantasy. Ultimately, however, it has the kind of
ending one must expect in a situation like this. And yet the ending
is so abrupt that it is nothing but charming and funny. Good acting,
good photography, and a decent film although hardly memorable. The
director is Claude Berri ("Jean De Florette" and "Manon of the
Spring"). In French with English subtitles. DVD ***
(11/16/03)
"Finding
Nemo"-I've always wondered about Disney
films and the classic fairy tales. They are laden with horror and
horrifying characters. "Snow White" is a victim of an evil witch.
Bambi's mother is killed. The classic fairy tales are loaded with
ugly characters and frightening situations. Hansel and Gretel,
Rumplestiltskin, and so on. Do these tales serve a purpose of
educating children about the reality of life? Well, I've heard that
said, although my own recollection is that I found most of those
fairy tales revolting and unsettling. And how does this relate to
"Finding Nemo"? Well, in one important sense it is an enchanting and
beautifully animated film about a fish father, a clown fish named
Marlin (Albert Brooks), who loses his only child, Nemo (Alexander
Gould), to an Australian diver who catches Nemo from the sea in a net
and places him in a dentist's office aquarium in Sydney. Marlin had
promised to care and protect Nemo and now he is dedicated to finding
Nemo no matter what the cost. On his way, he finds himself
accompanied by the hysterically funny Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a blue
fish whose memory is suspect. But what kind of experiences do we, the
viewers, and the characters go through in this film? "Finding Nemo"
begins with Marlin's wife Coral and potential offspring (eggs) being
eaten by a monstrous fish, leaving only Nemo. Nemo is then captured
by a gigantic evil-looking human. On their way, Marlin and Dory have
to fight off all kinds of horrifying characters and situations,
including sharks, whales, a rotting submarine hull, and painful
jellyfish. Being a Disney film, one has a pretty good idea that there
will be a happy ending, but in getting there the characters are faced
with situations that would send most people back home where they
would permanently lock their doors and never leave.
The animation from Pixar is spectacular and
alone worth watching. The Pixar animators are geniuses. In one of the
specials on the DVD, they explain how they wanted to create a
realistic looking undersea world, but not one so realistic that it
failed to look like an animated film. They succeeded beyond one's
wildest imagination. And many of the characters in the film are
delightful, especially with the help of the clever actors used to
bring them to life. How can one ever forget Crush, the "surfer-Dude"
turtle who guides Marlin and Dory through the EAC (East Australian
Current). on their way to Sydney Harbor? Andrew Stanton, the
brilliant writer and director of this film, provides the voice of the
charming and helpful Crush. Hey Dude! And I suspect Gill (Willem
Dafoe), the angel fish in the aquarium who inspires his fellow
denizens of the tank, including Nemo, to escape and return to the
sea, will long be remembered. And what about Nigel (Geoffrey Rush),
the friendly Pelican in Sydney Harbor who becomes a hero in Nemo's
efforts to rejoin his father? Despite the negativity, "Finding Nemo"
is an acoomplishment in animated movie-making one should not miss.
****
(11/7/03)
"Respiro"-Two
things attracted me to this Italian film. One was the apparent theme
of a carefree independent woman who drives her neighbors crazy, and
the other was the appearance of Valeria Golino, an actress rarely
seen since her first big Hollywood role in "Rain Man" although she
did appear most recently in "Frida." Golino did not disappoint. She
is beautiful and interesting as Grazia, a woman not quite like that
billed in the trailer for this film. Grazia is a mother of three,
including one son, Pasquale (Francesco Casisa), who adores her.
Grazia and her family live on a Mediterranean island that undermines
the ideal that most of us have of such a place. Instead of it being a
sun-laden paradise, this Italian island is bordering on hell. The
place is hot and arid, and the youth attack each other, fighting and
embarrassing each other by stripping those who should be their
friends. There is no apparent reason for this. Along a stretch of
beach, a large group of dogs are kept locked up in a dark forbidding
hole. All we can hear are their barks, yelps, and apparent cries for
release. The people of this island are downright nasty. But Grazia is
not simply an independent, carefree woman. Rather, her behavior is at
times strange and inexplicable, in a way that can only be explained
by illness rather than independence of mind. And her neighbors don't
like it one bit. They plan to send her off to a hospital in Milan,
even gaining the aid of her good-looking husband Pietro (Vincenzo
Amato). Considering that he has such a lovely if not slightly strange
wife, Pietro is aloof and distant, certainly encouraging Grazia in
her hostile behavior. And when she hears of the neighbors' plan for
her, she disappears, riding off on her Vespa, to be hidden in a
seaside cave by her adoring son Pasquale. When the neighbors search
for her and don't find her, there is a sense that they are relieved
rather than distressed. This is an irritating rather than satisfying
film. Things happen for no apparent reason. In one scene, Pietro
takes one of the family dogs which is sleeping peacefully with Grazia
on the bed and disposes of it. I could see no reason for this other
than that Pietro wants to hurt his wife. If there was a purpose to
the theme of this film, I missed it. I recommend that you miss this
film. (In Italian with English subtitles) DVD **
(11/2/03)
"It
Runs In The Family"-This is a
dysfunctional family film that is actually fun, partly because it is
loaded with good actors, many from the Douglas family. Kirk Douglas
plays Mitchell Gromberg, an elderly and retired lawyer who has
difficulty with his speech following a stroke. But he still is
married to Evelyn (Diana Douglas, who divorced Kirk in 1951 and is
the mother of Michael Douglas). And Michael plays their son Alex,
also a lawyer, who is married to Rebecca (Bernadette Peters), a
psychiatrist. Their children are Asher (Cameron Douglas, Michael's
son), a 21-year-old who isn't quite sure what direction his life is
taking, and Eli (Rory Culkin), the youngest who is exploring his
growing interest in females. The Grombergs are like most families.
They love each other and yet bicker and fight. They are, of course,
well-to-do. Their apartments in New York and Mitchell's house in
upstate New York are both sumptious and luxurious. One wouldn't
expect a film about middle class people living in ordinary
conditions, would we? Despite some silly scenes, including an
unauthorized pyrotechnic funeral (of Mitchell's brother Stephen who
has died naturally at a nursing home), the characters work well
together along with two young women who provide a spark to the lives
of both Asher and Eli. They are Peg (Michelle Monaghan) who likes
Asher despite the fact that he seems aimless in life, and Abby (Irene
Gorovaia), a tough chick with a nose ring (at age 12) to whom Eli is
attracted. The Grombergs go through several crises (maybe a few too
many for one film), including the sudden death of Evelyn, and manage
to deal with them. I found this dysfunctional family to be enjoyable
to watch, partly because I got to see the amazing Douglas family
interact with each other. DVD ***1/2
(10/31/03)
"City
of Ghosts"-Imagine a film that shows the
exotic land of Cambodia, beautifully photographed, and containing
nary a sympathetic character. That's "City of Ghosts." Matt Dillon,
who both co-wrote and directed the film, plays Jimmy, an insurance
con-man in the US. When the FBI discovers the con, Jimmy immediately
leaves for the far east, seeking his "mentor" Marvin (James Caan).
After traveling through Thailand and running into a series of
characters and incidents, Jimmy finally finds Marvin in Cambodia
where he is, inexplicably, dealing with a ruthless ex-general in
order to build a large casino resort. And this in a country in which
poverty practically defines the land. Dealing with such characters as
Emile (Gerard Depardieu), the hotelkeeper in Pnom Penh, and Kaspar
(Stellan Skarsgård), a cohort who is engaging in suspicious
activities, Jimmy finds himself in the middle of a mess in which
Marvin seems to be a victim of Khmer Rouge type terrorists. But
ultimately, who cares? None of these characters has any redeeming
social value. Matt Dillon is, as always, Matt Dillon. And James Caan
could just as easily be Sonny Corleone as Marvin. "City of Ghosts" is
loaded with holes one could easily walk through. The script is dense,
confusing and makes little sense. Natascha McElhone appears
attractively as Sophie a woman who is inexplicably attracted to Jimmy
despite knowing his useless background. The best in the film is the
performance of Kem Sereyvuth as Sok, a Cambodian who befriends,
transports, and helps Jimmy, also for inexplicable reasons. DVD **1/2
(10/31/03)
"Whale
Rider"-Every once in a while a film
comes along that is truly magnificent in every way. This is one of
those films. Beautifully photographed, wonderfully acted, and telling
a warm and insightful tale of the human spirit, "Whale Rider" simply
elevates the magic of the cinema to a higher level. Keisha
Castle-Hughes is Pai (Paikea Apirana), the granddaughter of a Maori
chief in modern-day New Zealand. She and her relatives live in a
rural town near the sea where they value the ocean and worship the
whale. They believe an ancestor, also named Paikea, had survived a
shipwreck at sea and arrived in what is now New Zealand riding on the
back of a whale. Pai, named after that ancestral leader, was the
survivor when her mother and brother died during childbirth, but her
grandfather Koro (Rawiri Paratene) cannot accept the idea that a girl
could possibly lead her people. Pai's father, Porourangi (Cliff
Curtis), is an artist who moved to Europe after the losses of his
wife and son, and is not interested in the traditional Maori ways.
Mentally bound by the traditions of male leadership in a modern
world, Koro seeks out the first-born males of the local families to
train them for future leadership, and rejects Pai who it soon becomes
clear has, unlike the boys, all the requirements and spirit of a
future chief. The casting director who discovered Anna Paquin for
"The Piano" must be somewhat of a genius as she discovered the
tremendously natural, beautiful and talented young actress Keisha
Castle-Hughes who simply glows on the screen, especially in a
wonderful scene in which, dressed in Maori garb and makeup, she
tearfully describes to an audience her family background and
situation. And this amazing scene is soon followed by the climax of
the film in which a group of whales become beached and are saved in a
scene that has to be seen to be believed. The acting is as natural
and charming as one can imagine. In addition to the dynamic
performances of Ms. Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene and Cliff Curtis,
the delightful Vicky Haughton as Pai's grandmother, Nanny Flowers,
and Grant Roa as Pai's uncle who teaches her an important element of
Maori tradition, must be mentioned. Ultimately, the director, Niki
Caro, deserves great applause. This is a wonderful film that should
be seen by everyone. Very highly recommended. ****1/2
(10/24/03)
"28
Days Later..."Just imagine waking up in
a hospital bed and there is no one to be seen. You get out of bed and
head for the street. You are in London and it is totally deserted, no
matter where you look. That is what faces Jim (Cillian Murphy) until
he discovers the horrifying truth: that a virus has killed most of
the population and turned the remainder into maniacs of rage, ready
to spread the virus to the survivors upon contact with their
bug-driven anger. And Jim is not alone. He soon discovers Selena
(Naomie Harris) and Mark who teach him quickly the ways of the
surviving in the midst of this nightmare. Selena and Jim ultimately
wind up with a father (Brendan Gleeson) and his daughter (Megan
Burns) as they head, ever-vigilant for the infected, for an army camp
where the soldiers had been broadcasting that they knew the answer to
the virus. When they find the camp they find another form of horror,
the human kind. This is a truly nightmarish and yet intelligently
done horror film. Directed by Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting"), it's
quite timely and not only portrays the dangers of unknown viruses but
the evil that often lurks in the human character. One other of note
in the cast is Christopher Eccleston as Major West, the commander of
the army camp near Manchester. DVD ***1/2
(10/24/03)
"Read
My Lips"-A young woman, Carla
(Emmanuelle Devos), who needs hearing aids and can read lips works in
an office as a secretary but also has ambitions to advance in the
company's construction business. Insecure in her work and unhappy in
her almost non-existent personal life, she thinks she's going to be
fired but instead is allowed to hire an assistant and she dreams of
hiring a young man for the job. And so she does, but the young man,
Paul (Vincent Cassel), is an ex-con and sleeps in the office closet
until Carla starts giving him some direction. Their lives become
intertwined even when Paul has to leave the job to work for a
gangster to whom he owes a great deal of money. When Paul realizes
that the gangster, Marchand (Olivier Gourmet), has stashed away money
in his apartment, he decides to use Carla's lip-reading talents to
learn just what Marchand and his cohorts are up to. One could look at
this film as a thriller or a film about the lives of two individuals
living on the edge (each "on the edge" of a different thing). I
prefer the latter view. Paul and Carla, working together, become more
and more interdependent and attracted. Although the story has some
big holes, including an unlikely scene in which Carla reads the most
complicated scenario from Paul's lips, it has the entertaining
performances of two first-rate French actors. Emmanuelle Devos is far
more attractive than the character is supposed to be and hardly
sounds like a person with a severe hearing loss, but she is riveting
nevertheless and received French acting awards for this role. Vincent
Cassel ("Irreversible") is perfect as a rather easy-going but
plotting ex-con. DVD ***1/2
(10/20/03)
"The
Man Without A Past"-Nominated for a best
foreign language Oscar, "The Man Without A Past" is an intriguing
look at a side of Finland one would never expect if one is used to
seeing Scandinavian countries in travelogues. A man arrives in a city
by train only to be beaten by a trio of thugs and left for dead. He
ultimately winds up in a hospital and is determined to be dead, but
miraculously recovers and finds himself in an area of ultimate
poverty. Discovered lying near a body of water by two boys, he's
taken in and nursed back to health by the boys' parents, but he
remembers nothing of his identity, occupation, or reason for being in
the city. The man starts an amazing recovery, renting himself a
container to live in from a crooked security guard, getting a sweet
"killer" dog, and ultimately clothing, a job, and a girlfriend (Kati
Outinen) from the Salvation Army. The man (Markku Peltola) seems to
inspire those around him, even turning a Salvation Army band into
somewhat of a rock group to the pleasure of his neighbors. But the
man can't quite stay out of trouble. When he tries to open a bank
account, he finds himself in the middle of a robbery and in trouble
with the law. A scene in which a lawyer arrives from the Salvation
Army to help, and then argues the law with the police officer is
wonderfully symbolic, representing a theme of wretched government and
bureaucracy. The director, Aki Kaurismäki, apparently has no
love lost for his native Finnish government. This is a strange but
endearing film. (In Finnish with English subtitles) DVD ***1/2
(10/19/03)
"The
Safety of Objects"-Like a junior Todd
Solondz, Director Rose Troche has created this member of the hall of
fame of movie misery. The film starts with animated figures of each
character in each of four families coming out of a house with the
actor's name attached. In some ways this is a perfect beginning
because the film's characters rarely rise above the level of cartoon
figures. It tells the rather overbearing tale of four families, each
in the middle of an extraordinary crisis. Glenn Close is Esther Gold,
a woman whose son lies in a coma in a bedroom while her daughter
Julie (Jessica Campbell) seems rather miserable. Patricia Clarkson is
Annette Jennings, a single woman looking for love with two young
daughters, one clearly disturbed, and who has to deal with an
ex-husband (and his fiancé) who is absent from his children's
life and seriously misunderstands Annette's difficult situation as a
mother. Mary Kay Place is Helen Christianson, a woman with marital
problems, growing distant from her husband. Dermot Mulroney is Jim
Train, a lawyer who has not been made partner in his firm despite his
hard work, and who, in protest, returns home in the middle of the
day, lying about leaving due to a bomb threat. He finds himself
enmeshed, first in hostility from his wife (Moira Kelly) who is
somewhat pissed about his rarely being home, and then in the attempt
by Esther Gold to win an automobile for her daughter in a shopping
mall stunt. It doesn't help that Jim's son Jake (Alex House) loves
playing with and talking to dolls. In the mix also is Randy (Timothy
Olyphant), a lawncare worker, who reacts in unusual and unexpected
ways to some of the characters. Glenn Close is excellent as Esther
Gold and young Kristen Stewart does a fine job as the curious and
intelligent (but a little too trusting) Sam Jennings, Annette's older
daughter. This film puts the viewer in the middle of a group of
people one would really rather not know about, and the situations,
despite some explanation at the end, seem overly artificial and much
too coincidental. DVD **1/2
(10/17/03)
"Down
With Love"-Wow, this is a bad attempt to
re-create a Doris Day/Rock Hudson type film from the early 1960s.
It's super-stylized, loaded with overdone impressions of 1960s
filming style, sets, costumes and acting. Renee Zellweger is Barbara
Novak, a woman from Maine who has written a book called "Down With
Love," telling women how to be equal with men, both sexually and in
the workplace. Coming to New York to get the book published, she
finds herself frustrated in promoting her book when Catcher Block
(that's a name?) (Ewen McGregor), a men's magazine feature writer,
will not cooperate in her promotional scheme. Catcher is just too
busy chasing women, including Gwendolyn (Jeri Ryan), a stewardess, to
find time to help a "spinster" from Maine. But then Catcher gets the
idea to trick Barbara (who he now realizes is quite attractive) into
falling in love so that he can write an exposé showing that
she's not really the woman she portrays in her book. Catcher works
for the hapless publisher Peter MacMannus (David Hyde Pierce) who
just happens to be in love with Barbara's editor, Vikki Hiller (Sarah
Paulson). Oh, you can just imagine the madcap comlications that
occur!!! The worst part about this film, apart from the attempts to
be smutty where the 1960s films were simply cute, is the fact that
Ewen McGregor's character is not charming or attractive in any way.
At least back in the Day/Hudson days, we rooted for the two to come
together and fall in love. Here, the idea was almost repulsive. This
film should be avoided. DVD **
(10/11/03)
"The
Dancer Upstairs"-Can't say I've ever
been a big fan of John Malkovich, the actor. But having seen this
film by John Malkovich, the director, I may have to reconsider my
view of this man's talents. "The Dancer Upstairs," based on a novel
by Nicholas Shakespeare, is a taut, compelling tale of a police
detective with integrity named Rejas (Javier Bardem) in a Latin
American country (although it looks and sounds a lot like Peru) in
"the recent past." Rejas finds himself investigating a sudden
outbreak of terrorist activity in the country which soon approaches a
revolutionary level. Citizens are murdered, sometimes randomly, dead
animals are strung up around the city, and buildings are bombed. In
one case, based on an actual incident in Peru, a young boy performs a
suicide bombing. Although the presidential palace attempts to take
over the situation via martial law, Rejas and his assistants are
allowed to continue their investigation. Against this backdrop
Director Malkovich also presents the very human side of Rejas' life,
showing his rather superficial wife, his lovely young daughter who
leans towards the ballet, and the ballet instructor, Yolanda (Laura
Morante), to whom Rejas finds himself very attracted. Behind the
terror is a mysterious man named Ezequiel (Abel Folk) whom Rejas had
run into several years earlier and who is now running the terror from
a surprising location. The cast performs with intelligence and charm.
Javier Bardem, having already made an Oscar-nominated impression in
"Before Night Falls," does another fine job as the detective who will
continue his investigation despite various roadblocks along the way.
Fortunately, John Malkovich chose to stay out of this film and remain
behind the camera. Good job. My only criticism of this film is that
the actors are forced to speak, unnaturally, mostly in English. Their
accents are often hard to decipher and I felt that I missed some of
the script. Otherwise, this is a film worth seeing, especially for
its rather timely theme. In English, but with occasional Spanish and
native languages and subtitles. DVD ***1/2
(10/10/03)
"Nowhere
In Africa"-Before the Holocaust, some
German Jews were able to foresee the horrors ahead and leave Germany.
This brilliant movie tells the story of one such family, the
Redlichs, who move, rather unusually, to Kenya. Walter Redlich (Merab
Ninidze), a German lawyer, goes first and almost dies of Malaria
before he can have his wife Jettel (Juliane Kohler) and daughter
Regina join him. Redlich is engaged as a farmer on a British-owned
farm that closely resembles a desert, but it's enough to keep him
going. Helping is Owuor (Sidede Onyulo), an African cook of great
charm. Jettel initially is distressed, not only by the living
conditions but also by her ambivalence toward her husband and her
hostility towards the Africans. Regina (played by both Lea Kurka and
Karoline Eckertz as she ages) adapts quickly, forming friendships
with the African children and ultimately shows more emotional wisdom
than her parents. "Nowhere In Africa," which is beautifully filmed,
demonstrates the stresses of life in an alien environment, made even
more so when WW II breaks out and even the German Jews are treated as
enemy aliens by the British in Kenya. The character portrayals, the
moods, the human interactions, and the flirtations are all touching.
And the struggle of life and emotion goes on until Walter, following
the war and the end of Nazi Germany, starts to contemplate returning
to Germany to take up the role of judge. By this time, Jettel has
adapted almost totally and she and Regina have become quite
comfortable and happy in their lives in Africa. Among the excellent
performances, so naturally done, are those of Matthias Habich as
Susskind, another German Jew living near the Redlichs and a man
clearly attracted to Jettel; and Sidede Onyulo as Owuor who interacts
lovingly with the young Regina and remains loyal to the family as
long as possible, despite being far from his own family. The two
girls playing Regina at different ages are a delight to behold. This
film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film and
deservedly so. "Nowhere In Africa" is very highly recommended. This
wonderful German film, directed by Caroline Link, shows how, unlike
so much produced in Hollywood, great films about real human beings
and real emotions can be made. (In German with English subtitles) DVD
****
(10/3/03)
"The
Italian Job"-How many ways can one say
cliché? How many times in recent years have we seen
super-slick films about incredible heists in which there is a
doublecross and the victims retaliate in an astoundingly clever and
technological way? Or does it just seem that way? And how many times
has Edward Norton been in those films? Boy, this is one guy who seems
bent on destroying whatever credibility he has had as a genuine
actor. That said, "The Italian Job" is still mindless fun. A gang
pulls off an incredibly clever heist of $35 million worth of gold
bullion in Venice only to be doublecrossed by one member who shoots
and kills the senior member of the gang, John Bridger (Donald
Sutherland). They will get revenge, this time with the help of
Bridger's daughter Stella (Charlize Theron). Unlike her father who
used his safecracking skills for crime, Stella does it legally for
the police. But, of course, she can't help but be drawn into a plot
to avenge her father's death and the loss of the gold bullion. For
the gang, left for dead by the doublecrosser, has discovered his new
identity and location in Los Angeles and the plot begins. Based
loosely on a 1969 film of the same name with Michael Caine, this
version also cleverly uses tiny Mini-Cooper autos as essential plot
elements. The cast is good with Seth Green as the computer nerd
Napster (or Lyle), Mos Def as Left Ear, the explosives expert, and
Jason Statham as the British and charming Handsome Rob. But the star
is Mark Wahlberg as Charlie Croker, the gangleader who wants to
avenge his friend's death and finds himself falling for the beautiful
Stella (who wouldn't?). DVD ***
(10/3/03)
"Bend
It Like Beckham"-Some of the most
popular ethnic films of recent years have centered around funny
families and the weddings they are planning. We've recently seen
"Monsoon Wedding" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." And now "Bend It
Like Beckham" tells the tale of an Indian family in London which is
planning a very traditional wedding for one daughter, but has another
younger daughter who has very different ideas about and interests in
life. Jes Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) wants to play football (soccer)
and she's good. One day a young woman who plays on a woman's team,
Juliette (Keira Knightley), sees Jes playing in a park with some male
friends and encourages her to join her team, coached by the charming
Irishman, Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Although attraction to Joe by
both young women is an element of the story, the film is really about
the struggles of a young woman of one culture to be free and join the
activities of the culture in which she lives. The excellent director,
Gurinder Chadha, admits that the film is loosely based on her own
experiences when she sought to break out of her Indian family's
old-world traditions and become a writer and a woman of her own.
"Bend It Like Beckham" is about cultural misperceptions and yet is
also a good sports film about Jes's humorous attempts to do
everything she can to participate with her team over the objections
of her parents. The cast is wonderful. Parminder Nagra, with lovely
big eyes and a great smile, is memorable as the tough little Jes who
ultimately learns to bend it like Beckham (then the male star of
Manchester United, one of Britain's leading football teams, who has
since been traded to a Spanish team and who is also famous for being
married to a "Spice Girl."). Anupam Kher, an Indian movie star, is
perfectly tough and yet sympathetic as Jes' father who ultimately
breaks in Jes' favor due to his own love of the game. And finally one
can never omit reference to the great Juliet Stevenson who plays
Juliette's rather confused mother.This is a must-see. Highly
recommended. DVD ****
(9/27/03)
"A
Mighty Wind"-Christopher Guest has made
some amusing films, including the classic "Spinal Tap." "A Mighty
Wind" is his attempt to make fun of the folk singers of the 1960s
era, but although the film has some amusing moments, it's ultimately
fails because it misses the political heart of that era and tries to
be funny about the apparent mental illness of one of the characters.
Presented in a quasi-documentary manner, like most of Guest's film,
it centers around three folk groups which are being brought back
together for a TV concert in honor of a recently deceased promoter.
One of the groups, the Folksmen, is so realistic as to simply not be
funny. Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer (the old "Spinal Tap"
trio) do a fine job portraying this harmonizing group of singers of
relatively banal songs. The second group is probably the closest to
pure parody. They're called "The Main Street Singers," clearly
intended to be Guest's version of the "New Christy Minstrels." This
group is a little bawdy and corny and lacks the usual sincerity of
the 60s era folk groups. One of the members is portrayed by the
wonderful Parker Posey, but she has little to do in the film. The
final group (or duo) is the real dud. Eugene Levy is simply unfunny
as Mitch, the mentally disturbed part of "Mitch and Mickey." With the
delightful Catherine O'Hara as Mickey,this could have been an
hysterical put-on, but instead Guest gets carried away with Mitch's
strange behavior. Nowhere to be seen is any mention of the political
motivations that inspired the birth of the popular folk song groups
of the 1960s and 1970s. Of note in the cast are Bob Balaban as the
son of the late-promoter and Jane Lynch as Laurie Bohner, the
raunchiest of the "Main St. Singers." I was hoping "The Mighty Wind"
would be great fun. Instead, it was something of a dud. DVD **1/2
(9/26/03)
"Confidence"-There
is a long tradition of scam and swindle movies, including such
classics as "The Sting" and "House of Games." I don't know if
"Confidence" quite makes it as a classic, but it turns out to be a
pretty good member of that genre. Edward Burns is Jake Vig, the head
of a clever group of con artists who unfortunately make the mistake
of conning the accountant of a big-time and dangerous hood nicknamed
"The King" (Dustin Hoffman). In the process one of Vig's gang is
murdered and Vig wants revenge. But he also has to please King to try
to return his money. In order to get on King's good side, Vig agrees
to pull off another con, this time against a rival of King who just
happens to be the head of a major bank (Robert Forster). Vig has his
usual gang, including Gordo (Paul Giamatti) and Miles (Brian Van
Holt), but he needs a beautiful woman and brings in the quick-witted
Lily (Rachel Weisz). From this point on there is no telling what is
the truth and what is the con. "Confidence" has a clever script,
despite a couple of holes, and an excellent cast, including Luis
Guzman as an LA cop on Vig's payroll and Andy Garcia as an agent
tracking Vig down. The film is loaded with twists and turns and is
almost impossible to describe and yet it all made sense. Edward Burns
has been criticized for his acting style, but I found him the perfect
gang leader. Cool, tough and smart. Dustin Hoffman is delightful as
the fast-talking and depraved "King." "Confidence" is an enjoyable
member of the con-game genre. DVD ***1/2
(9/19/03)
"Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind"-I remember watching
Chuck Barris on "The Gong Show" and wondering what was the makeup of
this weird character's brain. He certainly seemed to be wacky, if not
on drugs, as he jumped around, danced wildly, and gesticulated while
introducing some of the worst "entertainers" in history. But little
did I realize that I was watching the genius who invented the concept
that was to become today's reality television. Among his creations
were the wildly successful "The Dating Game" and "The Newlywed Game,"
both of which were on the air for many years. Based on Barris'
autobiography, "Confessions" is directed by and stars George Clooney
as a CIA agent who initiates Barris into the world of international
intrigue and murder and it tells a quite humorous and sometimes sad
tale of an ambitious, albeit unhappy young guy from Philadelphia. Sam
Rockwell does an outstanding job as Barris, a singularly difficult
role since Barris' personality was literally all over the place.
Barris wants to make it in show biz and finds himself involved with
various young women, most of whom he can't relate to. Fortunately for
him, one young woman, Penny (Drew Barrymore), is in love with him and
nothing he does, no matter how pitiful, can stop that. Director
Clooney, to make the film feel like an actual documentary, includes
short interviews with real-life people who interacted with Barris,
including Jaye P. Morgan, the singer who appeared on "The Gong Show,"
and Jim Lange who hosted "The Dating Game." The cast of this
entertaining film also includes Julia Roberts as a woman of intrigue
and Rutger Hauer as a fellow CIA spy. Whether Barris was really
involved as a hit-man for the CIA will probably never be known, but
as the subject of this film, it's darn intriguing. DVD ***1/2
(9/12/03)
"Irreversible"-Whether
this film is reversible or irreversible is beside the point. It is
one of the most unremittingly difficult movies to watch I have ever
seen. In fact, the film gave me a migraine right in the middle. The
opening half hour is astoundingly unpleasant to watch, with glaring
music and sounds and the camera twisting and turning in all
directions, making it almost impossible to figure out what is going
on. It takes awhile, but one finally figures out that two men are
seeking someone out with anger and hate in the midst of a nightmarish
gay bar with a revolting name I won't mention. After asking dozens of
men in this establishment for the creep they are seeking, they find
him and an act of horrific violence occurs. And then suddenly, we are
in the scene just before the descent into this hell-hole of a bar.
And it becomes clear that this story will unfold backwards. Is this
another "Memento?" Well, in the format, yes. But in the depth of the
story, no. There is no mystery as we see the events unfold backwards.
One man, Marcus (Vincent Cassel), and his beautiful girlfriend Alex
(Monica Bellucci) are headed to a party, taking along Alex's ex,
Pierre (Albert Dupontel). At the party, Alex becomes upset and
decides to go home by herself, but she makes the mistake of taking an
underpass in which she is attacked by a vicious criminal. The assault
and rape scene is astoundingly brutal. How Ms. Bellucci did this
scene without experiencing trauma is beyond me. But the violence of
this film appeared totally gratuitous and without redeeming social
value. This is one film I recommend you avoid at all costs. DVD *1/2
(9/3/03)
"Identity"-The
only thing that elevates this film above the usual genre of slash and
kill thrillers is the cast. John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta,
Alfred Molina, Rebecca DeMornay, and Clea Duvall make this otherwise
dreadful film tolerable. It's "And Then There Were None" or "Ten
Little Indians" in the midst of a horrendous rainstorm in the
southwest. All the characters find themselves stuck at an eerie motel
after a series of washouts and accidents prevent them from going on
their way. Among the group is Rhodes (Ray Liotta) who introduces
himself as a cop transporting a killer (Jake Busey). The killer
escapes and one by one the members of the group start to die off.
With each body, the members of the group find a roomkey numbered
consecutively from 10 down. Things get a little intriguing when the
killer himself is found dead and later when the bodies of the dead
disappear. However, "Identity," becomes wearisome very quickly. The
rain pours down throughout the film, and the characters run
helter-skelter. Ultimately, there is a fairly unsurprising twist at
the end, which can be guessed if you watch the beginning of the film
closely. DVD **1/2
(9/2/03)
"Raising
Victor Vargas"-Victor Vargas (Victor
Rasuk) is a 17-year-old kid on the streets of Manhattan's Lower East
Side who is finding his way. Surrounded by street punks whose idea of
talking to a girl is to immediately talk dirty, Victor tries to pick
up the pretty Judy (Judy Marte) at a swimming pool where she is
hanging out with her friend Melonie (Melonie Diaz). But Victor is
rebuffed because Judy, having to deal constantly with street punks,
has raised her guard as high as it will go. Teen life is hard enough,
but in this environment it's tougher. Meanwhile, Victor is growing up
under the "supervision" of his confused religious "old-world"
grandmother (Altagracia Guzman) from the Dominican Republic who
blames Victor for the adolescent yearnings and actions of his younger
brother Nino (Silvestre Rasuk) and almost succeeds in making him feel
unwanted. Judy and her friend Melonie tell each other that they only
need each other, but when Victor's friend Harold shows an interest,
Melonie takes off her glasses and literally lets her hair down. So
it's left to Victor to continue to seek out Judy and so he does,
ultimately breaking down some of the barriers against boys Judy has
raised. "Raising Victor Vargas" is a genuinely lovely and sad film
about adolescent life in the streets of New York. The cast of young
actors is excellent with each performer acting as naturally as one
could possibly imagine. Writer and Director Peter Sollett has put
together a little gem. DVD ****
(9/1/03)
"Kandahar"-Made
not long before the events of September 11, so closely related to the
exotic land of Afghanistan, this haunting and tragic film is based to
some extent on the real-life story of the star, Nelofer Pazira, who
plays Nafas, an Afghan woman whose family escaped and emigrated to
Canada and who has returned to stop her sister from committing
suicide in Kandahar on the day of the last eclipse of the 20th
century. Nafas is on a trip of destiny and will not allow herself to
stop despite being exposed to the nightmares of sickness, starvation,
tyranny, mutilation and the oppression of women, who must all wear
the horrific burkas that cover their heads and bodies. Along the way,
Nafas meets a black American seeking God who serves the local people
as a "doctor," as well as various victims of the oppression of the
Taliban, including men begging for legs (after being blown up by
mines), beggars and thieves, and finally an eerily beautiful group of
women in colorful burkas crossing the desert on the way to Kandahar
for a wedding. Directed by the Iranian director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf,
this film is like no other you've seen and certainly provides us with
great insight into the world our own troops entered only a short time
later. DVD ****
(8/30/03)
"All
The Real Girls"-Striving to make a
simple film of poetic images (one of the best is of a loom in a
factory), screenwriters David Gordon Green (also director) and Paul
Schneider (also actor) have put together this pleasant although not
altogether successful film about the difficulties of young love.
Schneider plays Paul, a young man who initially looks shy and naive
but turns out to be the town lover boy, someone who has had sex with
most of the young women in this small North Carolina town. Young Noel
(Zooey Deschanel) returns from school and falls for Paul which angers
Noel's brother Tip (Shea Whigham), Paul's best friend. Green and
Schneider were obviously trying to make a film about the realities
and pains of young romance, but this one doesn't completely ring
true. Noel is attractive and exciting, at least for a small town
girl, and makes one mistake that instantly turns Paul off in the
midst of a seemingly upbeat romance. At the very same moment, out of
the blue, the filmmakers have Noel drastically cut her beautiful
auburn hair, totally changing her image. It's apparent that this is
simply a film device intended to symbolize the change in the
relationship. It's a mistake. The film would have made more of an
impact if Noel hadn't changed her appearance (and her behavior) so
suddenly and without explanation. The film also has subplots about
Paul and his mother (played with charm and sincerity by the wonderful
Patricia Clarkson) and about the mother's brother Leland (Benjamin
Mouton) and his young daughter, but these seem lost in the story of
Paul and Noel. Zooey Deschanel (who was quite funny in her brief role
in "The Good Girl") is impressive and someone to watch. "All The Real
Girls" is beautifully filmed by Tim Orr. DVD ***1/2
(8/29/03)
"He
Loves Me, He Loves Me Not"-Audrey Tautoo
("Amelie") plays a young bright-eyed artist named Angélique
who is madly in love with a married doctor (Samuel Le Bihan). What we
initially see appears to be a story of a single woman waiting for her
lover to drop his pregnant wife and join her in exotic pleasures,
including a trip to Florence. Along the way some bizarre things
happen, such as Angélique borrowing a friend's moped and
crashing it. No explanation is given at the time. Upon reaching a
climax in the story, with Angélique demonstrating great
frustration at her doctor's failure to come through for her,we
suddenly are thrust back in time to the beginning and start to see
the story over again, this time from the doctor's perspective. And a
lot of the strange things that were left unexplained in the first
version are explained in this re-run. The film gives the impression
of a comedy during the early stages, but later turns decidedly more
dramatic and sour. While the actors do a good job, the ending is a
disappointment and the film makes you wonder what the filmmakers had
in mind. Can't recommend this one. (In French with English subtitles)
DVD **1/2
(8/22/03)
"Bowling
for Columbine"-Documentary filmmaker
Michael Moore, now an Oscar winner for this intelligent, frightening,
funny, and sarcastic look at the American gun and fear culture,
always has to tell it like it is. He's got the courage to ask
obviously hostile people questions that they wouldn't dare try to
answer. A native of the depressed Flint, MI, Moore relates the
widespread gun culture of his native Michigan to a couple of former
members of the Michigan militia, namely Timothy McVeigh and Terry
Nichols, and proceeds to present a chilling interview with Nichols'
brother, a Michigan farmer. Then Moore goes out to Colorado and
demonstrates the curious possible interaction of the
military-industrial complex and the minds of the Columbine High
School killers. Showing Lockheed-Martin producing weapons of mass
destruction only a short distance from Columbine, Moore can blow
holes in almost any silly corporate spokesman's comments. When the
Lockheed-Martin spokesman, asked about the connection between the
weapons his company produces and the killings at Columbine, says that
America only uses its military weapons for defensive purposes, Moore
proceeds to itemize virtually all of the legal governments overthrown
with US support since WW II (Iran, Guatemala, Chile, Vietnam, among
others), and the vast numbers of citizens of other countries killed
either by or with the aid of America.
Michael Moore wants to know why there are
so many more killings by gun in this country than in virtually any
country in the western world and in doing so he discovers that
although Canada has a vast number of guns, it also has an incredibly
low gun violence rate and many Canadians leave their front doors
unlocked. In noting this point, Moore proceeds to investigate the
media/government fear mentality that pervades America and is
virtually absent in Canada. Michael Moore does not have all the
answers but he certainly raises some incredibly interesting and
insightful points on the obsession of many Americans with guns and
violence and fear. In doing so, he manages, to his own amazement, to
encourage Michigan-based K-Mart to withdraw the sales of handgun
bullets, and to engage in a marvelously cynical interview with
Charlton Heston, head of the NRA, who had been showing up with his
minions in locations where guns had been used for horrifying
violence, including Columbine and in Flint after a 6-year-old boy
shot a young girl at a local school. Strangely, my favorite moment in
the film is when Moore tries to interview Dick Clark (yes, "American
Bandstand" and all that) about the hiring of welfare mothers,
including the mother of the young girl killed by the 6-year-old boy)
at his Michigan restaurant. Clark, known for being genial,
demonstrates his true nature as he shuts the door of the van in which
he is sitting right in Moore's face. DVD ****
(8/17/03)
"Chicago"-I
love musicals and "Chicago" hit the bullseye. Of course, I'm coming
to this film a little late. It's already won an Oscar and lots of
other awards, but I can now say that it deserved them all. My
experience with musicals begins as early as "Singin' In The Rain" in
1952 and, on Broadway, with "My Fair Lady" in 1956. I've seen plenty,
including the original "Gypsy," but before "Chicago," with the
possible exception of "West Side Story," I'd never seen a Broadway
musical converted so well to the screen. Director and choreographer
Rob Marshall is indeed a genius for having integrated the theatrical
musical numbers with the story in as seamless a manner as one can
imagine. From the very start when we see Velma Kelly (Catherine
Zeta-Jones) arriving at the theater to perform sans her sister whom
she has just killed after finding her in bed with her husband, the
film gets off to a rousing start as Kelly performs the great and sexy
"All That Jazz." And it's on from there to Roxie Hart (Renée
Zellweger), leaving the same theater and leading her lover back to
her marital apartment only to find that he has lied to her about her
chances to be a star in the theater, and is tired of her. So Roxie
proceeds to pump him with bullets and quickly join Velma in the Cook
County jail charged with murder. Catherine Zeta-Jones is simply hot
as Velma, a star going downhill while she enviously watches Roxie
manage to create attention in the press to build up her eventual case
in the courts. And who would play the lawyer for both, a
"razzle-dazzler" named Billy Flynn? Why no other than an absolutely
perfect Richard Gere who manages to smoothtalk, sing and even
tap-dance better than I could ever have imagined. Everyone in this
film demonstrated talents beyond what would otherwise have been
expected, especially Renée Zellweger who apparently had never
sung before in public. Queen Latifah is absolutely divine as the
prison matron "Mama" Morton, belting her number out like Sophie
Tucker used to do. Even John C. Reilly, playing Roxie's somewhat sad
cuckolded husband, Amos Hart, does a wonderfully touching performance
of "Mister Cellophane." With all the outstanding musical numbers, the
one that stands out above all others is the incredibly wicked and
funny "Cell Block Tango" in which the women inmates describe why and
how they killed their men and wound up in jail. And I also must
mention the "Cabaret"-like marionette number, "We Both Reached For
The Gun," which is brilliantly accomplished. Others to note in the
cast are Colm Feore as the DA, Christine Baranski as the reporter
Mary Sunshine, and Taye Diggs as the bandleader. Unless you hate
musicals, if you haven't already seen "Chicago" you're in for an
extremely rousing and entertaining experience, almost as if you were
in a live theater. DVD ****1/2
(8/16/03)
"The
Life of David Gale"-Two things attracted
me to this film. The excellent cast and curiosity about the critical
reviews attacking the film's ending. Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet and
Laura Linney star in this tale about the death penalty in Texas. Not
surprisingly, they do their usual excellent job. Spacey portrays a
professor of philosophy, David Gale, whose life is brought down by a
series of events, including an accusation of rape and culminating in
his conviction in the apparent rape/murder of his good friend and
colleague, Constance Harraway (Laura Linney). Both hadbeen active in
Deathwatch, an organization aimed at ending the death penalty. At
virtually the last minute before his scheduled execution, Gale gives
an extended interview to reporter Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet),
ostensibly to make it clear to Gale's young son that he was innocent.
But there is far more going on in this story, and the ultimate
outcome was the subject of a great deal of review criticism. Yes, the
ending is hokey and far-fetched, but yet a somewhat different
perspective on the entire anti-death penalty theme. I would forgive
the film the ending and still say it's not a bad film to watch. Kate
Winslet and Laura Linney are pros who are, as always, a pleasure to
watch. DVD ***
(8/8/03)
"Solaris"-What
in the world were Steven Soderbergh (director) and George Clooney
(star) thinking when they made this film? This is a downright dull
"2001, A Space Odyssey"-Wannabe. Clooney is Kelvin, a psychologist
living in a future unnamed city who is called to a space station near
the planet Solaris by a friend. The friend, Gibarian, explains that
something strange is happening on the station and that he needs
Kelvin's help. Kelvin immediately heads for space only to find that
Gibarian is dead, having committed suicide and that only two members
of the crew survive. Those two members try to warn Kelvin, and he
soon finds out the secret that Gibarian was mysteriously describing:
that the crew members' dreams recreate human images of people they
either know or once knew. Kelvin is completely thrown off when he
finds himself in bed with his dead wife (Natascha McElhone), now
fully reborn. And that's pretty much it. The film moves
excruciatingly slowly, with multiple and dull flashbacks, and through
many pretentious, stylistic scenes that provide little ado about very
little. This is one to be missed. DVD **
(8/8/03)
"Ararat"-Director
and screenwriter Atom Egoyan has made some wonderfully thoughtful
films, the most famous being "The Sweet Hereafter." "Ararat" is
undoubtedly a production extremely close to his heart and the
collective hearts of the Armenian people. Told through modern-day
characters in Toronto who are making a movie also called"Ararat,"
this film is the story of the genocide of the Armenian people in
Turkey in 1915, something, the movie reveals, the Turks continue to
deny. David Alpay is Raffi, a young man whose mother Ani
(Arsineé Khanjian) is an art historian and expert on the
Armenian painter, Arshile Gorky, said to have survived the genocide
although his mother did not. Raffi is involved in the production of
the film-within-the-film and discovers the story of his people by
watching as the film is made and interacting with the various
participants, including the director (Charles Aznavour), a producer
(Eric Bogosian), an actor (Elias Koteas) who is part Turk and doubts
the story of what happened to the Armenians, and Raffi's mother who
is a consultant. While the tale unfolds in a somewhat convoluted
fashion with coincidental intertwining of characters and their
involvement in the events portrayed, ultimately most of the story of
the Armenian genocide comes from Raffi as he answers the questions of
a very inquisitive and thoughtful Canadian customs officer
(Christopher Plummer), following his return from a trip to Turkey to
see and photograph the locations of the events of 1915.
Unfortunately, Raffi has returned with sealed tins of "exposed film,"
something the customs inspector finds highly suspicious. Despite
ponderous aspects of the production, "Ararat" is quite a moving
experience and must be recommended to those who enjoy serious and
thoughtful films, especially one which educates about an event most
know little of. DVD ****
(8/2/03)
"The
Quiet American"-In the early 1950s the
battle in Vietnam was between the French and the Vietnamese, but
Americans were beginning to make inroads into the involvement that
led to the nightmarish Vietnamese War. Graham Greene, the British
novelist, wrote this rather unflattering portrayal of American
involvement during that era. This production by Director Philip Noyce
("Rabbit-Proof Fence") seems true to the original novel. Michael
Caine is Thomas Fowler, a married British journalist, who lives with
his young and beautiful Vietnamese lover, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen).
Fowler is essentially treading water in his job until a young
American, Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), arrives and shakes up his
world. Not only does Pyle fall in love with and decide to go after
Phuong, but Fowler begins to wonder at just exactly what role Pyle is
playing in Saigon. Michael Caine's performance as an aging and
threatened man is brilliant. Brendan Fraser rises to a new dramatic
persona, so far from those of his typical roles in such films as "The
Mummy." Do Thi Hai Yen is wonderful as the lovely and uncertain
Phuong. "The Quiet American" contains a spectacular scene of an
explosion that actually occurred in Saigon in the early 1950s, and it
was filmed in the exact location of the original explosion. This
scene is amazing to watch, especially as Fowler, a witness to the
explosion, descends into a form of hell. Highly recommended. DVD ****
(7/29/03)
"Nicholas
Nickleby"-There have been so many
versions of Dickens' classics that it cannot be at all easy to make a
new one. However, Douglas McGrath, director and screenwriter (with
some help from Charles Dickens), was inspired by a marvelous cast and
an outstanding cinematographer, Dick Pope ("Topsy-Turvy"). Charlie
Hunnam plays Nicholas as an almost angelic young man, but not to the
point of silliness. In fact, his portrayal of a young man of warmth
and caring is just right. Nicholas and his sister Kate (Romola Garai)
have just lost their dear father and, leaving the beauty of
Devonshire with their mother (Stella Gonet), find themselves in
gritty London in mid-19th century. They seek help from their cold,
meanspirited uncle, Ralph Nickleby (Christopher Plummer) who
immediately ships Nicholas out to Yorkshire to work at a "school" run
by the notorous and slimy Wackford Squeers (Jim Broadbent) and his
equally hateful wife (Juliet Stevenson). In this den of misery,
Nicholas meets the sympathetic and deformed "slave" Smike (Jamie
Bell), saves him, and the two take off for London for a new life.
Meanwhile, back in London, Ralph Nickleby is denigrating his own
lovely niece Kate by exposing her to the likes of the sleazy and
lascivious Sir Mulberry Hawk (Edward Fox). "Nicholas Nickleby" is
ultimately a story of growth and concern for family and in this
wonderful story Nicholas and Smike meet a newly expanded family
consisting of characters such as the dramatic and humorous Vincent
Crummles (Nathan Lane), Mrs.Crummles (Barry Humphries aka Dame Edna),
Mr. Folair (Alan Cumming), the cheerful Charles Cheeryble (Timothy
Spall), and the beautiful Madeline Bray (Anne Hathaway). Jim
Broadbent and Juliet Stevenson stand out as the evil Squeers, but
another performance that requires mention is that of Heather
Goldenhersh as Fanny Squeers, Wackford's daughter. Simply
unforgettable. This may not be true Dickens exactly, but it's a
delightful and charming couple of hours of wonderful characters and a
heartwarming story. DVD ****
(7/28/03)
"The
Pianist"-Making movies about the horrors
of human experience must be an incredibly difficult experience. There
are the obvious themes of man's inhumanity and other oppressive
circumstances to be recreated. Many such films have been made and
once in a while, a great movie maker makes a great film about this
monumentally depressing subject. Not long ago we had "Schindler's
List," and now Roman Polanski has created this amazing epic of
survival, "The Pianist." I hadn't realized that Polanski himself was
a survivor of that horrid era of the 20th Century. But having
survived the Nazis while growing up in Krakow, Polanski was
determined to make a film about the Polish experience with Nazi
Germany. And his subject came to him when he read the autobiography
of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a young pianist in Warsaw, who survived the
Warsaw Ghetto through amazing circumstances and help from unexpected
sources, including humane non-Jewish Poles and at least one humane
German soldier. Szpilman, played with perfection by Adrien Brody, was
part of a somewhat upper middle class Jewish family in Warsaw who,
like so many others, couldn't quite believe the Nazi threat to their
daily lives let alone to their very existence. They waited too long
only to be dragged down and destroyed. But the pianist Szpilman had
some lucky breaks and the fortitude to survive. Brody had to play
this role with minimal expression because the circumstances simply
did not allow for much more and Polanski so directed. This
wonderfully produced film, as magnificently realistic as one could
possibly get, and actually filmed in Warsaw, follows Szpilman through
the series of fortuitous circumstances which ultimately saved his
life after his parents and siblings were dragged off to their deaths
in concentration camps. The photography is gorgeous and the sets are
brilliant. For anyone who hasn't seen it, it is a must-see. We need
to be reminded constantly of what humans are capable of doing, both
as monsters and as humans, and this time Roman Polanksi has done it
with near perfection. DVD ****1/2
(7/25/03)
"Laurel
Canyon"-Lisa Cholodenko, writer and
director of this film, says she was inspired by Joni Mitchell and her
song "Ladies of the Canyon." Frances McDormand plays Jane, the Joni
Mitchell stand-in, but here Jane is not a singer but a wild and crazy
record producer living in a beautiful house in Laurel Canyon. Jane
smokes like a fiend and certainly has no inhibitions about her sex
life. Living with her is Ian McKnight (Alessandro Nivola), a
free-living British rock singer whose group is cutting a record at
Jane's in-house studio. Into this situation comes Sam (Christian
Bale), Jane's son, and Alex (Kate Beckinsale), his girlfriend. Both
are graduates of Harvard Medical School and they come to LA for Sam
to work at a leading hospital and Alex to work on a dissertation on
genetics of fruit flies. Sam is embarrassed by his mother and her
way-of-life, but Alex, from an uptight eastern family, begins to
enjoy the excitement and sensuality of the music-making and
frolicking that goes on around the house and in the pool and is
tempted to join in. Sam meanwhile meets a beautiful fellow doctor,
Sara (Natascha McElhone), who makes it quite clear that she's
interested in him. I liked this film up to a point. My biggest
complaint is that the character of Alex is simply wrong. Here's a
Harvard Med graduate concerned about very complex genetic issues, and
yet she is played by Kate Beckinsale and portrayed in the script as a
somewhat empty-headed groupie. There is not a single sign of
intellect in the character. To make it worse, Sam, as portrayed by
Christian Bale, is simply dull and uptight. He moans and groans about
his mother and is worried about every move Alex makes. On the other
hand, Frances McDormand is, as always, simply wonderful as the
free-living Jane. On the whole this film fits fairly well into the
genre of LA flicks, movies that try to give an impression of what
life is like in the Valley and the Hills around Los Angeles. DVD
***1/2
(7/18/03)
"Shanghai
Knights"-I enjoy watching Jackie Chan
although I must admit that his films are pretty darn weak. And this
is certainly one of his weakest. Chan is back as Chon Wang (it sure
sounds like John Wayne), the son of the keeper of the Chinese
emperor's royal seal who is murdered by an evil Brit. Chon's sister,
Chon Lin (Fann Wong), who tried to defend her father with her amazing
fighting talents, passes on the father's dying request that Chon Wang
get back the seal. There begins a trip to London where Wang and Lin
meet up to try regain the seal from the evil Lord Rathbone (Aidan
Gillen) and ultimately save the British royal family. But along for
the ride is Chon Wang's absurd "sidekick," Roy O'Bannon (Owen
Wilson), who proceeds to put his foot in his mouth throughout the
film. As usual, Jackie Chan's fight scenes are wonderfully weird in
the "Drunken Master" tradition, but the film is simply repetitious
and boring. Owen Wilson's character becomes so downright annoying
that one wishes he would disappear. DVD **1/2
(7/18/03)
"Punch-Drunk
Love"-Critic A.O. Scott of the New York
Times loved this film. He said: "And poetry is perhaps the best way
to think about Mr. Anderson's [referring to Director Paul Thomas
Anderson] suave, exuberant balance of free-form inspiration and
formal control. In this, his fourth feature, he is still very much a
movie-mad adolescent, sprinkling his work with gleeful allusions and
playful rip-offs of whatever strikes his fancy. But even as it calls
to mind everything from Freed Unit MGM musicals to 'The Searchers,'
'Punch-Drunk Love' goes far beyond pastiche." Say what? Did he really
say "The Searchers?" Could A.O. Scott have seen the same film that I
just saw? Impossible. Far from poetry, "Punch-Drunk Love" is the
closest thing to a real nightmare I've seen on film in some time.
Ranging from images of meaningless flashing colors and star symbols
to downright ugly and depressing sets, the story of "Punch-Drunk
Love" is unmitigatingly unpleasant. Adam Sandler, doing a fairly
decent job for a change, plays Barry Egan, a very disturbed
small-time entrepeneur in the San Fernando Valley, near Los Angeles,
with a penchant for breaking things, including windows and whole
bathrooms, whenever exasperated by his seven sisters. Egan clearly
cannot stand his overbearing sisters who call him constantly to
pressure him and who have obviously driven him crazy since childhood
talking about him and exposing his problems. At the start of the
film, Barry sits in a dreary warehouse in early morning considering
ways of turning a commercial food offer into frequent-flyer miles
despite the fact that he had never been on an airplane up to that
point. Thinking he has found a loophole in an offer from a food
company, Barry buys loads of pudding which he stockpiles thinking the
offer can be redeemed instantly. Obviously intensely lonely, he calls
a phone sex service run by Dean (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and, being
vulnerable, gives them everything they ask for, including his Social
Security number. Needless to say he lives to regret this when the
corrupt phone sex service starts making monetary demands which will
result in violence.
Then there appears Lena Leonard (Emily
Watson), an attractive friend and co-worker of one of Barry's
sisters. For no reason one can possibly comprehend, Lena virtually
throws herself at Barry, trying initially to attract him by asking
for a favor and later, despite being exposed to his eccentricities
and babblings, asks Barry to come with her to Hawaii where she is
going for business. This relationship makes no sense. Lena exists in
the film for no reason other than to provide the socially inept Barry
with some affection. She is not explained and her character is not
developed. Lena appears far too lucid to be interested in a character
as loony as Barry Egan."Punch-Drunk Love" is the product of Paul
Thomas Anderson ("Magnolia"). He is obviously bent on making bizarre
films about characters in the San Fernando Valley (a la the frogs in
"Magnolia"). But at least "Magnolia," as difficult as it was to take,
had a story that made some sense and had some genuine character
development. "Punch-Drunk Love" doesn't have time for that. This
weird unpleasant mish-mosh lasts less than 90 minutes. DVD *1/2
(7/11/03)
"Heaven"-From
a script in part by the late great Krzysztof Kiezlowski (the "Red,"
"White," and "Blue" trilogy), "Heaven" raises all sorts of moral and
ethical dilemmas. Cate Blanchett stars as Philippa Piccard, an
Englishwoman living in Italy. She is a popular teacher, but has seen
a businessman named Vendice kill and destroy her husband and several
children through his drug dealing. So, after seeking help from the
police and failing, she sets out to kill Vendice by planting a bomb
in his office. Unfortunately, something goes seriously wrong and the
bomb kills several "innocent" people. Philippa finds herself in the
hands of the Carabinieri, the Italian police, who suspect she is a
terrorist. But present among the Carabinieri is Filippo (Giovanni
Ribisi), a translator who starts to fall in love with Philippa and
plots her escape. "Heaven" is beautifully filmed with loads of
fly-overs of gorgeous Tuscany landscapes. And it is, in somewhat
typical European style, methodical in its presentation. Full of
extended scenes of facial expressions with the characters thinking
about what they will say long before saying it. One of the themes
raised is whether we, the audience, can be sympathetic to an
individual who has murdered several people, even if most by mistake.
Having an actress of Cate Blanchett's appeal is somewhat unfair since
it's hard not to sympathize with her. And yet in some ways, she is
perfect for the part as Philippa is intended to be a good decent
person driven to violence only because of hr anger for the damage
caused by Vendice's drug-dealing. Giovanni Ribisi, seemingly always a
little boyish in his look, does a fine job here as the young
policeman possessed by Philippa's inherent decency and beauty. This
was apparently intended to be a trilogy (with "Hell" and "Purgatory")
but Kiezlowski died far too young before it could be completed.
Kiezlowski's tale is directed very well by Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola
Run"). (Partly in English and partly in Italian with English
subtitles) DVD ***1/2
(7/5/03)
"Gangs
of New York"-After having seen repeated
trailers and promos for this film, I was beginning to wonder if an
entire film really existed. With the release of the DVD, I found
that, yes, it did, and it is quite an extravaganza about the violence
in New York City in the Civil War era. Director Martin Scorsese made
a film in the early 1970s called "Mean Streets." It was about hoods
in modern-day Little Italy in New York, but that title could just as
easily have been applied to this latest Scorsese epic. The "mean
streets" here are only a few blocks from what is now the Little Italy
neighborhood. The area in question was called "Five Points," around
the corner from what is now Foley Square in lower Manhattan. In the
early 1860s it was probably the toughest neighborhood in a very tough
city. "Gangs of New York" begins in 1846 with a battle between the
Nativists led by the impossibly tough and frightening William Cutting
(aka Bill the Butcher), played with astounding tenacity by Daniel
Day-Lewis, an actor who completely takes over a role, and the Dead
Rabbits, a gang of Irish immigrants led by Priest Vallon (Liam
Neeson). Vallon, who brings along his young son Amsterdam, is killed
in the battle by Cutting and the boy is taken off to an
orphan/school. Sixteen years later, in 1862, Amsterdam returns in the
form of Leonardo DiCaprio, a young man bent on revenge but who is
initially captivated by his father's killer.
Bill the Butcher runs the Five Points with
an iron hand and a deadly talent at knife throwing. Anyone who comes
his way must tread very lightly. Included among these is William
Tweed (Jim Broadbent), the notorious Tammany Hall boss, who is eager
to attract Irish immigrant votes, something the nativist Cutting
couldn't care less about. Leonardo DiCaprio does a fine rather
low-key job as Amsterdam and Cameron Diaz is pleasant as the tough
Jenny, the woman who takes to him in the midst of incredible violence
and filth. The set and art direction is rather spectacular, and the
performance of Daniel Day-Lewis stands out. However, Scorsese lets
this film run on and on (close to three hours) and doesn't let up in
stultifyng scenes of death and destruction, culminating in a
spectacular re-creation of the horrifying and deadly draft riots of
1863. A director of Scorsese's talents should have been able to
better edit this film in order to make it tighter and a little more
subtle. Others of note in the cast are Henry Thomas ("E.T.") as
Amsterdam's friend who inexplicably gives away the secret of his
identity, and Brendan Gleeson ("The General") as Monk McGinn, who
gets elected to sheriff with the help of Tweed's Tammany Hall and
unelected from life with the help of Cutting's butcher knife. In sum,
this is a big spectacular film with seemingly endless violence, but
little in the way of subtlety of theme. DVD ***1/2
(7/3/03)
"The
Mystic Masseur"-Directed by Ismail
Merchant ("Cotton Mary"), usually the producer of the Merchant Ivory
films such as "Howard's End" and "The Remains of the Day," "The
Mystic Masseur" is the story of Ganesh (Aasif Mandvi), an ethnic
Indian in Trinidad and his rise from schoolteacher to writer of books
on Hinduism to pundit and mystic. Based on an early novel by V.S.
Naipaul, an Indian native of Trinidad, this film tells the intriguing
tale of Ganesh's efforts to live his dream to become a writer, only
to find himself incredibly successful as an advisor ("mystic
masseur") to the ethnic Indians of his island on virtually all
matters, including health. But Ganesh is pulled towards politics, a
mistake which he later regrets when he finds himself a small fish in
the big pond of the capital city of Trinidad. Unlike "Cotton Mary,"
Merchant's last film which was disastrously dull, "The Mystic
Masseur," while certainly not at the rapid pace most Americans expect
in films, is a tale worth watching and contains various themes of
hope, ethnicity, love, and ambition. In addition, it is full of
pathos and humor, including in particular the tale of Ganesh's
on-again/off-again marriage to Leela (Ayesha Darker) and the
interactions of Ganesh with Leela's conniving and greedy father
Ramlogan, portrayed by the wonderful Indian actor Om Puri ("East Is
East" and the TV series "White Teeth"). If you like an intelligent
tale about exotic people in an unusual location, you will enjoy this
film. DVD ***1/2
(6/27/03)
"Sex
and Lucía"-The title makes it
sound like a soft-core porn film and in a way it is. It contains some
rather graphic sex scenes, but "Sex and Lucía" is clearly
intended to be a serious film. However, regrettably, it is ultimately
a very confusing film whose theme is rather obscure. Lucía
(Paz Vega) is a waitress who essentially throws herself at Lorenzo
(Tristán Ulloa), a writer, and they become a couple. But he
starts to act strangely and Lucía is led to believe he has
been killed in an accident. She departs, without investigating, and
goes to an island which Lorenzo had talked about on many occasions.
The film is somewhat of a mystery showing Lorenzo involved with a
multitude of characters, most of whom wind up on the island,
including Elena (Najwa Nimri), a woman with whom he fathered a child
as a result of a single night of love on the island. Lorenzo meets
and adores the child, Luna, but it becomes clear that the child has
died somewhere along the line, although how is not clear. Into the
mix are Belén (Elena Anaya) who was caring for Luna;
Belén's mother, a porn star; and the mother's boyfriend who
also winds up on the island. Are these all "real" people or figments
of Lorenzo's imagination? Frankly, I reached a point in this film
where I no longer cared. Director Julio Medem, who also wrote the
script, got carried away with this aimless story. (In Spanish with
English subtitles) DVD **1/2
(6/13/03)
"Swimming"-Actually
released in 2000 and presented at Sundance, "Swimming" is noteworthy
for an early performance by Lauren Ambrose ("Six Feet Under"). Here
she portrays Frankie Wheeler, a young woman coming of age in Myrtle
Beach, SC, and part-owner of a restaurant with her brother. While
nicely photographed, the sound on this film is weak with far too much
background noise. Frankie is surrounded by friends and relatives but
seems aloof and distant until she meets an eccentric young man in a
van who orders hamburgers for his dog, and Josee (Joelle Carter), an
attractive young blonde hired as a waitress. Josee, who isn't a very
good waitress, seems to inspire the otherwise somewhat lifeless
Frankie. In the mix is Nicola (Jennifer Dundas), a friend whose
tattoo parlor is next to Frankie's restaurant. Her role in this film,
unfortunately, is confusing and unclear. I found the premise of the
film promising, but ultimately "Swimming" is blah and impossible to
get excited about. Lauren Ambrose, a talented young actress, was
apparently picked to be Claire on "Six Feet Under" on HBO based in
part on this film and that's not surprising as her performance here
is much like that of Claire in the TV series. DVD **
(6/10/03)
"Frida"-This
biographical study of the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has been
criticized for its portrayal of some of the characters, including
Geoffrey Rush's portrayal of Leon Trotsky. But ultimately "Frida" is
wonderful entertainment and somewhat enlightening too, even if not a
perfect portrayal of all the true characters. This is certainly
nothing new in movie biographies. Salma Hayek found the ultimate
movie role for her when she decided to make this film. She becomes
Frida Kahlo, even if some of Frida's injuries from a terrible bus
accident are somewhat forgotten mid-film only to be brought back
later in the story. Overall, Hayek seems inspired and transformed by
Frida, and she has to get a great deal of credit for this, but let's
not forget the director, Julie Taymor ("Titus"). Taymor took what
could have been a decent interesting biographical story and made it
wonderfully exciting through visuals and graphics that defy easy
description. Alfred Molina provides a fine performance as the great
Mexican artist Diego Rivera, a man of principle when it came to his
art but not to his wives. Frida, who thought she could tame Diego,
marries him and suffers some of the same shame as Rivera's earlier
lovers. I liked Valeria Golino as Rivera's still jealous ex-wife and
Roger Rees as Kahlo's German Jewish father. Not perfect but still a
very worthwhile cinematic experience. DVD ****
(6/8/03)
"About
Schmidt"-Based on the book by Louis
Begley, "About Schmidt" is the story of a fairly dull man named
Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson), just retired from his job in the
insurance industry, whose wife suddenly dies and finds himself lost
and aimless. His somewhat alienated daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis)
lives in another city and is engaged to Randall Hertzel (Dermot
Mulroney), a man for whom Schmidt has nothing but contempt. Having
purchased a Winnebago with his wife just before her death, Schmidt
begins a journey in this rather large vehicle on his way to his
daughter's wedding in another city. In the process, Schmidt learns a
little bit about himself although he is resistant to any material
change in light of his age and state of mind. Nicholson is a
revelation. Although certainly a wonderful presence in American
films, he's usually played nothing but himself. Here, however, other
than the wedding scene in which Schmidt suddenly turns into
Nicholson, we have a truly amazing performance in which Nicholson
transforms himself utterly into a character unlike anything we've
ever seen before. Kathy Bates is dynamic as Randall's rather
independent and opinionated mother. Hope Davis stands out as the
frustrated daughter of her rather misanthropic father. Also of note
are Howard Hesseman ("WKRP In Cincinnati") as Randall's happily
remarried father, and Len Cariou as a friend of Schmidt's who, it
turns out, was intimate with Mrs. Schmidt many years earlier. If for
nothing else, Nicholson's performance makes this a highly recommended
film. DVD ****
(6/7/03)
"The
Recruit"-Okay, here's the basic premise.
Walter Burke (Al Pacino) recruits James Clayton (Colin Farrell), a
young computer wunderkind, for the CIA. Clayton, after initially
resisting, is sent with a group of other recruits to the CIA's
training camp where he is told that nothing is as it seems. And so it
appears. There he meets Layla (Bridget Moynahan) and finds himself
attracted. The group is told that one of the group will ultimately be
an independent spy with little or nothing to save him or her should
they be captured. After seemingly being kicked out of the training
camp, James is informed by Burke that he will be that spy and his job
is to find a mole within the agency. Layla is the target. At this
point, the film turns from a fairly interesting psychological drama
into standard CIA/thriller fare. Twists and turns abound. And who's
the bad guy? You guess. A weak ending, but otherwise entertaining
fluff for a couple of hours. Al Pacino has become a complete
caricature of himself. Farrell is a nice new young tough-guy presence
on the movie scene. DVD ***
(6/7/03)
"Talk
To Her"-When Pedro Almodóvar
makes a film you can be sure that it will be unusual and yet full of
warmth and humanity. "Talk To Her" certainly does not disappoint.
Unusual? Well, how about a story about a man who worships and cares
for a woman who is lying in a seemingly endless coma, having been
diagnosed as being in a vegetative state? Benigno (Javier
Camára) is just such a man. Having seen Alicia dancing at a
studio across from his apartment and having fallen for her, Benigno
has the unique opportunity to care for Alicia after she is severely
injured and brought to the hospital in a coma. His primary method is
to talk to her as if she is awake and listening. At the same time, he
encourages a writer, Marco (Darío Grandinetti), to do the same
thing with his gored bullfighter girlfriend Lydia (Rosario Flores),
but Marco, sensing a disconnect with Lydia cannot do so although
feeling a sense of connection to the unique Benigno. Benigno
ultimately goes too far, but in the meantime we see
Almodóvar's world of communication, whether real or imagined,
and how human and warm it can be. Of note in the cast is Geraldine
Chaplin as Katerina, Alicia's ballet instructor and friend. Films
like this are rare gems. Highly recommended. (In Spanish with English
subtitles) DVD ****
(6/6/03)
"Die
Another Day"-This 40th anniversary James
Bond flick (I saw the first, "Doctor No" in 1962) gets off to a
fairly good start. It reminded me of the early films, although with
the catch of having Bond being caught and imprisoned by North Koreans
and not terribly well received by "M" (Judi Dench) upon his return to
England. Ultimately "Die" goes overboard, using every technological
and cinematic computer trick in the book and it's just too much. This
time the evil genius is Gustave Graves (Toby Stephens) who is really
an evil North Korean named Colonel Moon who has undergone DNA
replacement and turned into a caucasion! Pierce Brosnan is fine as
Bond, and Hallie Berry is a delight to watch as Jinx, the American
agent. I was also intrigued by the beautiful Rosamund Pike as Miranda
Frost, the fencing champion whose loyalties are initially unclear.
The wonderfully funny John Cleese appears as "Q" but isn't given
enough to do. How many more excessive Bond films can there be? DVD
***
(6/6/03)
"Adaptation"-Like
its predecessor, "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation" is a strange
film written by the same man, Charlie Kaufman. And in this film
Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is the protagonist, a depressed and nervous
screenwriter trying to adapt "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean and
experiencing writer's block, while being tormented by his far more
relaxed brother Donald (also Nicolas Cage) who seems to have more
talent for writing. Like "Malkovich," this film descends into theater
of the absurd, but in doing so Kaufman tells an interesting tale
about John Laroche (Chris Cooper), the orchid thief, and Susan Orlean
(Meryl Streep), the New Yorker writer who has written the book about
Laroche. "Adaptation" is about the fear of creativity, and the high
price one often pays for originality. Chris Cooper and Meryl Streep
are outstanding and Nicolas Cage does a fine job of portraying two
very different men. The ending gets a little silly, but seems to be a
necessary part of the overall theme. DVD ***1/2
(6/2/03)
"Drumline"-The
story is a cliché. The new star of the team arrives at a
Southern college and immediately shows he's a little arrogant and not
what you'd call the best team player. And, of course, he immediately
meets the most beautiful girl on campus who instantly, of course, is
attracted to him. The star has conflicts with his superiors on the
team, including the coach, and is dropped from the team. The magical
relationship with the lovely young lady continues until a low point
seems to end it. And then, rising from the ashes, the star is
suddenly reinstated and everyone loves him. And, of course, the team
wins the championship. Seen that before? Well, that's the story here
except with a little twist. The star is not an athlete but a drummer
and he's "playing" for his college marching band in a world
apparently as competitive as sports. The novelty is enough to make
this a winning film. Nick Cannon plays Devon Miles, the extremely
talented but sassy kid from New York City who comes to Atlanta A
& T to play drums for the marching band. The band is run by Dr.
Lee (charmingly portrayed by Orlando Jones), a man who believes in
quality music as opposed to his local nemesis at Morris Brown
University who plays whatever it takes to win the big BET
championship. Devon runs into trouble with Dr. Lee and Sean Taylor,
the head of the drumline (Leonard Roberts), as he refuses to follow
the rules and, worst of all, can't read music. In the mix is the
lovely young lady Laila (Zoë Saldana of "Center Stage"), always
ready to provide a smile and some encouraging thoughts, ultimately
leading Devon to mature and reveal his talents for being a part of
the team. Despite the clichés and a not terribly thrilling
script, the experience of watching a marching band in the making is
extremely interesting and fun. And the cast is very personable.
That's enough to recommend this enjoyable film. DVD ***1/2
(5/26/03)
"25th
Hour"-From Director Spike Lee, this is
an incredibly tedious film about a punk drug dealer named Monty
Brogan (Edward Norton) who has been turned in to the police and
ultimately sentenced to seven years in prison. The film follows him
on his final day of freedom before entering prison, watching him
interact with his rather dull friends, a stock broker who seems good
and bad in alternate scenes (Barry Pepper), a schoolteacher named
Jacob Elinsky who appears to have failed in socialization when he was
in school (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and Monty's girlfriend Naturelle
(Rosario Dawson) who is much too good for Monty. The title gives the
film's secret away: it seems to take 25 hours to watch. But what's
worst about this film is Edward Norton, an actor who appeared to have
some talent in his first big feature, "Primal Fear," but who now
appears to be playing himself in every film and, unlike some of the
big stars who are famous for doing that, like Nicholson and DeNiro,
it's not a very interesting self. Of note is Anna Paquin as a
17-year-old student of Elinsky who seems to be coming on to him and
then seems strangely shocked when he actually kisses her, and Brian
Cox as Brogan's father. Not recommended. DVD **
(5/2503)
"Comedian"-After
the completion of his incredibly successful TV show, Jerry Seinfeld
is back where he began, attempting to build a stand-up routine from
scratch. In this rather entertaining documentary (if you like
stand-up comedy), Seinfeld is shown working out at a range of comedy
clubs, including NY's Gotham Club and Caroline's. The film portrays
the agony and the ecstasy of a stand-up comic, a job which can result
in incredible riches, as in the case of Seinfeld, and poverty, as in
the case of most other stand-ups who struggle to make a name for
themselves. One of those is Orny Adams, a talented comic but one who
seems to be trying a little too hard. Both Seinfeld and Adams are
managed by George Shapiro, the common denominator. Adams is
incredibly nervous and at one point is advised by another comic to
calm down. Adams' nervousness appears to be both the cause of his
failures and his success, as he finally winds up doing a routine on
David Letterman. But that was in 2000 and now, three years later, he
is hardly a household name. Seinfeld, on the other hand, really
doesn't have to worry. Shown doing a new routine on Letterman in the
spring of 2001, Seinfeld is as good as ever. But ultimately the
winner in this film is the old pro Robert Klein. Klein looks as calm
and natural as ever and in doing so his comedy is priceless. That's
the secret as far as I'm concerned. This film starts slow, but builds
to an interesting look at what makes stand-up comedians tick. DVD
***1/2
(5/23/03)
"The
Emperor's Club"-This film has a fine
theme about the need for ethics in life. Unfortunately, the script
and presentation are extremely hokey. Kevin Kline portrays William
Hundert, a classics teacher at a prep school for boys in the
mid-1970s, as almost a super-being who seems to have no need for a
personal life but would rather spend his entire existence teaching
somewhat bratty rich kids about the Roman emperors. Into his life
comes Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch) who is clearly unhappy with
himself, an ultra-brat, and the son of a jerky US Senator (Harris
Yulin), but somehow attractive to those around him, including
Hundert. Hundert is in charge of a traditional school classics
contest and stretches his own ethics to allow Bell into the final
contest of three students. This contest, redone years later when all
the boys are adults with similar results, places a great burden on
Hundert, a man who believes that history makes one good but who finds
that one cannot easily overcome the modern ethos of "me, myself, and
I." Embeth Davidtz has a strangely small and insignificant role as
the married teacher who obviously cares for Hundert, although he
hardly notices, and then, after divorcing her husband, apparently
marries Hundert and becomes a seemingly minor part of his life. Rob
Morrow is practically invisible as a fellow teacher who later gets
the Headmaster job that Hundert deserves. Not recommended. DVD **1/2
(5/10/03)
"Catch
Me If You Can"-This is a humorous,
clever tale told by Director Steven Spielberg of the real-life
adventures of teenager Frank Abagnale, Jr (Leonardo DiCaprio). Frank,
who came from New Rochelle, NY, observed a father (Christopher
Walken) who seemingly had everything, including a beautiful French
wife (Nathalie Baye), but whose life was collapsing around him.
Getting a hint from his father's not-so-clever ways, Frank begins a
life of crime in which he miraculously impersonates an airline
co-pilot, a doctor, and finally a prosecutor, all while becoming an
expert on kiting checks. This story would be laughed off the screen
if it weren't for the fact that the essence is true, albeit difficult
to believe. But Steven Spielberg knows how to tell a good tale. We
watch Frank Jr. get more and more brazen in his impersonations and
crimes, while all the time being more and more charming. To contrast
Frank's charm, there is Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), the outwardly
serious FBI bank fraud expert, who is betting his reputation on
catching this clever crook. "Catch Me If You Can" starts slow but
builds to a rather funny crescendo with a surprisingly happy ending.
Leonardo DiCaprio becomes totally immersed in the character of Frank
and it is by far his best performance. Christopher Walken plays a
real person for once, and does it very successfully. Tom Hanks is,
well, Tom Hanks. Need I say more? One last note: the opening titles
of this film are the best I've seen in years. Truly creative. I
wonder why Hollywood has never given Oscars for titles. DVD ****
(5/9/03)
"Bloody
Sunday"-In incredible cinema
verité style, using hand-held cameras exclusively, often with
extended continuous-action sequences, Director Paul Greengrass, a
"Brit," tells the story of the massacre of 13 civil rights marchers
by British troops in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on January 30,
1972 (another 14 marchers were injured). This is not documentary and
it's not the real thing, but it sure feels like it. There is no
classic movie dialogue: we see the people going through their
activities of the day from the morning through the end of this
miserable bloody Sunday. The action centers around Ivan Cooper (James
Nesbitt), an MP and civil rights leader who has organized this march
in an effort to strengthen this peaceful movement so as to weaken the
IRA's violent activities. Cooper is bent on having the march but
worried in light of the thousands of British troops in the area. The
British are shown as eager to make trouble. The British commander,
Major General Ford (Tim Pigott-Smith), is talking violence before the
march has even begun and sets the tone and mood for the British
soldiers who ultimately get carried away by repeatedly referring to
the "hooligans" they will be rounding up and shooting if necessary.
Brigadier Maclellan (Nicholas Farrell), away from the action in HQ,
is clearly disturbed by the throught of unnecessary violence but
doesn't have the heart or guts to stop it. And predictably the
violence occurs. The film portrays the British as having killed and
wounded unarmed demonstrators and then lying to the press and the
world by claiming that they were under fire. "Bloody Sunday" is an
extremely powerful film about the excesses of the military, the hate
that can develop among peoples of similar heritages, and the
struggles that lead to so much ridiculous misery. An excellent film
for our times. DVD ****
(5/3/03)
"Standing
In The Shadow of Motown"-If you like
great music, you can't help but love this film. This is a documentary
about a group of musicians who called themselves "The Funk Brothers."
Were they well known? Obviously not. And yet they played on dozens of
No. 1 songs when they were the background musicians for a little
record company in Detroit known as Motown. "Standing In The Shadow of
Motown" beautifully tells the tale of these musicians, most surviving
but a few who have passed on, through the wonderful storytelling of
the survivors of the group and relatives of the deceased. The latter
included James Jamerson, a great bass player, who got little
recognition despite playing some of the most famous notes in modern
music history. He died in 1983. We hear from Joe Hunter, Richard
"Pistol" Allen, Bob Babbitt, Uriel Jones, and Joe Messina, and
through them we learn of the great talents of the late Eddie "Bongo"
Brown and Earl Van Dyke, among others. These were the great studio
musicians behind the likes of the Motown stars like Stevie Wonder,
Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey
Robinson, The Four Tops, and The Supremes. And is there music on this
film? Of course, and it is played beautifully by the surviving Funk
Brothers and sung by a tremendous group of singers, including Joan
Osborne, Bootsy Collins (he's got to be seen to be believed), and Ben
Harper. I guarantee you that after seeing this film, the magical
Motown sounds will linger in your mind long afterwards and make you
wonder about just what happened to really great music. DVD ****
(5/2/03)
"Real
Women Have Curves"-Based on the play by
Josefina Lopez who also co-wrote the screenplay, "Real Women Have
Curves" deals with a theme not often seen in American films: the
relative happiness of overweight women with minds of their own, who
in this case are also Hispanic. America Ferrara plays Ana, a young
woman just graduating from Beverly Hills High School with excellent
grades who hopes to go to college. Her English teacher, Mr. Guzman
(George Lopez), believes she can get into Columbia University in New
York City, but Ana has to live with the old-fashioned attitudes of
her Mexican-born parents, Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros) and Raúl
(Jorge Cervera, Jr.). Carmen is an overbearing mother who believes
her daughters should get married and have babies. She is shocked by
the thought that her daughters might have other ideas about life and
are capable of thinking for themselves. The older daughter, Estela
(Ingrid Oliu), runs a dress-making business that produces good
products but is always on the edge of disaster. Ana, having
graduated, is dragged into the business, initially against her will,
but later she develops admiration for the efforts of Estela and her
workers. The film contains a humorous scene that summarizes the theme
when all the women in Estela's overheated factory strip down to their
underwear and admire each other's ample bodies. Lupe Ontiveros is, as
always, excellent as the mother who can't see her daughter's modern
views. America Ferrara, in her first film, is lovely and intelligent
as the daughter who has to deal with the struggle between the ethnic
traditions of her family's culture and the fact that she is American
born with American attitudes. Ingrid Oliu is notable as Estela, a
woman who has also rejected her mother's overwhelming pressure to
marry and has become a businesswoman struggling to succeed in a tough
business. (In English and Spanish, with some English subtitles) DVD
***1/2
(4/26/03)
"The
Crime of Padre Amaro"-Gael García
Bernal ("Amores Perros" and "Y Tu Mamá También"), at
age 24, is fast becoming the heartthrob of Mexico. Here he is Padre
Amaro, a handsome young priest who arrives in a Mexican village to be
placed under the tutelage of an older priest, Father Benito (Sancho
Gracia). But we soon see that all is not as one might expect. Padre
Benito regularly sleeps with a local restaurant owner, Augustina
Sanjuanera (Angélica Aragón), and is very close,
financially and otherwise, to a major drug dealer in the community.
Seeing this, Padre Amaro becomes very vulnerable to the advances of a
teenage beauty, Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancón), the 16-year-old
daughter of Augustina. "El Crimen Del Padre Amaro" (original Spanish
title) is incredibly cynical about the Catholic Church. The Church
officials in this film are shown engaging in a wide range of
inappropriate behavior for officials of a religious organization
preaching morality: money laundering, lying, sex, and a whole range
of ultimate hypocrisy. The one priest who seems genuinely dedicated
to helping his people and who rejects the hypocrisy of the others,
Padre Natalio (Damián Alcazár), is the one priest the
Bishop is trying to destroy. But this incredibly cynical message,
valid or not, is unfortunately told in the form of a soppy soap opera
which distracts from the more serious issues. Padre Amaro falls for
Amelia who pays a very heavy price for her attraction to a priest.
While a film with such a controversial themes could have been
tension-filled and scintillating, the reality is that this film is
not. (In Spanish with English subtitles) DVD ***
(4/25/03)
"Rabbit-Proof
Fence"-Taking place in 1931, this
incredible film tells the essentially true-life story of three
"half-caste" Aboriginal girls (ages 8-14) who are taken from their
homes and mothers under a racist Australian law to be trained in the
ways of whites. This was the "stolen generation" of aboriginal
children, a nightmarish practice that apparently continued until,
believe it or not, 1970. Phillip Noyce, an Australian director
usually known for Hollywood thrillers ("Patriot Games" and "The Bone
Collector"), took on the assignment of finding three young girls to
play these difficult parts and he succeeded behind his wildest
dreams. Everlyn Sampi is Molly, the oldest and most aggressive; Laura
Monaghan is Gracie, next youngest; and Tianna Sansbury is Daisy, the
youngest. Ordered removed from their home by A.O. Neville (Kenneth
Branagh), a man who actually did this work for 25 years in western
Australia, the girls are torn from their mothers in an overwhelmingly
powerful scene, and transported more than 1,500 miles to a school to
"improve" half-caste aboriginal children. Molly immediately realizes
she cannot tolerate the situation or the people and plots an escape
and return home. But few girls had succeeded in such an endeavor,
usually caught by the tracker, Moodoo (David Gulpilil), an aborigine
himself. Moodoo, however, had not previously dealt with the challenge
of the intelligence of Molly who leads and inspires Gracie and Daisy
to follow her along a fence (the longest in the world) built to keep
rabbits on one side and farmland on the other. This rabbit-proof
fence extends all the way from the area of the school back to their
home and provides the girls with a guide on their incredible trek.
Although Moodoo appears to be intent on finding the girls, it soon
becomes clear that he has great respect for the girls' intelligence
and courage.
The three young stars play the parts of
Molly, Gracie and Daisy to perfection. Everlyn Sampi in particular is
brilliant as the smart, hard-nosed Molly, who will not let anything
stop her return to her mother. Kenneth Branagh is perfectly smooth
and bureaucratically sinister as Neville, a man who apparently never
considered what he was doing to be evil. Director Noyce has created a
memorable film about the grit of the human spirit in the face of
evil. Of note is an excellent documentary on the DVD about Noyce's
search for the three young actresses in this film and how they were
prepared to perform as well as they did by acting coach Rachel Maza.
Highly recommended. DVD ****1/2
(4/20/03)
"Faithless"-This
Swedish film ("Trolösa") was released in 2000. Written by Ingmar
Bergman and directed by Liv Ullman, it centers around an elderly
gentleman named Bergman who appears to conjure up a beautiful woman
named Marianne (Lena Endre). The two sit and talk in his secluded
beachside home and create a story about a woman named Marianne who is
married to a successful orchestra conductor, Markus (Thomas Hanzon).
All seems well with them and their young daughter Isabelle until a
family friend, David (Krister Henriksson), stays over one night when
Markus is away and suggests that he sleep with Marianne. While she
initially rejects him, they soon begin an affair that will end in
tragedy. But this movie is not so much about the tragedy as how the
characters get there. Like most European films, it is loaded with
talk, but supplemented with enough motion to make the story extremely
interesting about human desires and foibles. The film has one major
weakness. It's length. It runs approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes
and could have been cut to at least two hours without great loss to
the impact of the human tale being told. One thought that occurred to
me was to contrast the approach of a European film about a wife being
unfaithful to her husband, with the American film "Unfaithful"
starring Diane Lane. Each winds up with tragedy, but the American
film chooses to go in the direction of an unlikely criminal plot
twist, whereas the Swedish film sticks to a very possible human
story. (In Swedish with English subtitles) DVD ***1/2
(4/19/03)
"City
By The Sea"-Once upon a time, a film
starring Robert DeNiro would have been a blockbuster, getting lots of
attention from the media. Now, DeNiro seems to have retired from the
biggies and reduced himself to mediocre cop films. This is certainly
one of them. This time DeNiro is Vincent LaMarca, a NYC homicide
detective whose father was executed in Sing-Sing and whose son, a
junkie, is wanted for a murder of a drug dealer in Long Beach, NY.
The plot is fairly standard fare. DeNiro does a decent job as LaMarca
but not much more than is necessary to play a cop. He seems to be
just going through the motions. To contrast his fairly lackluster
performance, there is the wonderful Frances McDormand who plays
LaMarca's downstairs girlfriend Michelle. McDormand's performance of
a woman who cares for LaMarca but is put-off by his inability to
communcate about his problems is full of nuances in a film that
doesn't deserve it. Others of note in the cast are Patti Lupone as
LaMarca's ex-wife Maggie and James Franco as LaMarca's son Joey. DVD
**1/2
(4/18/03)
"8
Women"-Looking a lot like a stage play
as it takes place essentially inside a single room, this French
comedy is about a group of women stuck in a house in a snowstorm
after the murder of the only man in the house, the husband of one of
the women, Gaby (Catherine Deneuve). Gaby's daughter Suzon (Virginie
Ledoyen) has just returned after being away for awhile and looks
forward to seeing her father, but her sister Catherine (Ludivine
Sagnier) discovers their father lying in bed face down with a knife
in his back. The women in the house, unable to call the police or
leave, begin to question each other and note mysterious goings on as
if each is really an incipient Hercule Poirot. In addition to Gaby,
Suzon, and Catherine are grandmother Mamy (Danielle Darrieux) who
sits in a wheelchair but really can walk; Augustine (Isabelle
Huppert), Gaby's wacky sister; Chanel (Fermine Richard), the
housekeeper who has eyes for other women; Louise (Emmanuelle
Béart), the beautiful maid with a reputation for being more
interested in her employers than in her work; and Pierrette (Fanny
Ardant), the victim's sister who mysteriously and suspiciously
appears at the front door. The cast is excellent and the chatter is
fast and furious. And there's one more thing that should be noted
besides the fact that it has a surprise ending. It's also a musical.
Each character gets to sing at least one song, expressing her
involvement in the story. This type of talky French film with music
is hardly for everyone. If you like your films a little different and
you're good at reading subtitles, this is for you. DVD (In French
with English subtitles). ***1/2
(4/11/03)
"Femme
Fatale"-This is an extremely stylized
thriller which gets off to a decent albeit confusing and unlikely
start and then, unfortunately, goes downhill fast. It's the story of
a "bad girl" (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) who doublecrosses her cohorts in
a rather daring jewel robbery at the Cannes Film Festival and then
disappears into dreams and confusion. Antonio Banderas is in this
film, but should have known better. Director Brian DePalma gets the
blame. DVD *1/2
(4/11/03)
"Secretary"-Just
out of a mental hospital where she has been treated for self-abuse
(including cutting), Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) returns home to
her dysfunctional family. Her father is an alcoholic and her mother
(Lesley Ann Warren) dotes on her with a slightly crazed look,
conditions that help explain Lee's problems. Although tempted to
return to her prior sharp objects, Lee decides to look for a job and
immediately finds herself employed as a secretary for a lawyer of
unusual tastes, Edward Grey (James Spader). Among other things, no
computers for this lawyer; only typewriters. And when Lee flubs a few
typed letters, Grey, who is aware of Lee's self-abusive activities,
decides to try a spanking, something that will awake in Lee a whole
new form of pleasure from pain. And so begins this most unusual
relationship. This slightly kinky and provocative film has a
wonderful cast. Maggie Gyllenhaal has all the right expressions,
ranging from fear of the unknown upon returning to the world outside
of the mental home, to joy and conniving as she attempts to provoke
Grey into giving her the pain that will bring her pleasure. James
Spader, who seems to be making a career of playing somewhat creepy
characters, is a perfect Grey, a man who certainly engages in
extraordinary work and romantic activities. Despite its erotic tone,
"Secretary" is ultimately a fine tale of emotional growth and the
discovery of romance in the strangest places. DVD ****
(4/5/03)
"Far
From Heaven"-With the lush music of
Elmer Bernstein, and the gorgeous photography (almost too colorful)
of Edward Lachman, writer/director Todd Haynes has created an homage
to the corny 1950s romance melodramas of Douglas Sirk, including "All
That Heaven Allows," "Written On The Wind," and"Magnificent
Obsession." But what Haynes may not have understood is that no one
took those films very seriously and "Far From Heaven" is virtually a
parody of those films. The script is loaded with stilted and awkward
speech, filled with clichés associated with the seemingly
innocent past: "Pop," instead of "Dad," and terms like "swell," and
"gee." A young boy talks to his mother ("Mother," not "Mom") as if he
is talking to his schoolteacher. Even in Sirk's films people weren't
this corny. With one notable exception, the characters are
cartoon-like, as if "Father Knows Best" had been crossed with "The
Brady Bunch." Looking at this film is also quite an experience. We
see a surfeit of lush scenery that begins in the fall (a fall so
beautful I doubt anyone has ever seen one like it) and everything,
from the grass and the leaves in the trees, to the cars and clothing
are ultra-color-coordinated. Julianne Moore's red hair, for example,
is a perfect match to her clothing and that of her friends. One is
almost "blinded" by the intensity of the colors.
This is a melodrama to the nth degree.
Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) is a happy upper middle-class
Hartford, CT, housewife in 1957, very comfortable in her social
setting. Outwardly, all is well. Her husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) is
a successful salesman. They have two children, a gorgeous house, and
lots of friends. All that's missing is a dog. But as in many of the
Douglas Sirk films, all is not well below the surface. Frank Whitaker
is struggling with homosexuality and Cathy, upon learning of her
husband's "problem" finds herself attracted to their tall,
intelligent and understanding "Negro" gardener, Raymond Deagan
(Dennis Haysbert). In a 1950's Hartford portrayed as almost as racist
as a southern city of the time, Cathy is far too friendly with
Raymond and both pay the consequences. While the story seems to be
dealing with serious issues, they seemed unlikely and out of place in
this particular setting. Ultimately, while I admired many of the
technological production values, including the wonderful sets, "Far
From Heaven" left me cold. Julianne Moore has seemingly played one
too many 1950s housewife, although she does it very well. Dennis
Quaid is good as the confused husband (who seeks psychiatric help for
his "ailment"), and Patricia Clarkson is notable as Cathy's best
friend, Eleanor Fine. But the standout performer of this film is
Dennis Haysbert and this is due, in part, to the fact that he is
given lines that make him sound, unlike the rest of the cast, as a
normal person. The contrast is palpable and very noticeable. DVD ***
(4/4/03)
"Mostly
Martha"-This is a delicious little film
about a chef named Martha Klein (Martina Gedeck) who is obsessed with
the kitchen she runs and seems to have little life outside cooking.
Even her psychiatrist hears about little but her cooking. We watch as
Martha and her staff create the most delicious looking and sounding
meals imaginable. Martha has a sister and an 8-year old niece, Lina
(Maxime Foerste), and is expecting a visit from them to put some
spice in her life when she receives a call telling her that her
sister has died in an accident and she must take Lina once she's
released from the hospital. Martha, who shows very brief signs of
having any life beneath her hard exterior, finds it tough-going with
Lina, and Lina finds it hard to accept that she cannot go home again.
But into their lives comes Mario (Sergio Castellito), a warm,
charming and happy Italian chef hired by the restaurant owner to
assist Martha. As you might imagine, Martha is not happy with this
situation, but you can also guess the eventual outcome. It need only
be said that this film is lovely to look at, and warm, charming and
delightful. Sergio Castellito ("Va Savoir") is absolutely wonderful
as the man Martha initially rejects but ultimately needs in her life.
This is an upbeat film that I can highly recommend. (In German with
English subtitles) DVD ****
(3/30/03)
"The
Weight of Water"-Made in 2000 and just
released on DVD, this film, based on the book by Anita Shreve, tells
alternate tales of the nighttime murders of two young Scandinavian
women on a small lonely island off the coast of New Hampshire in the
1870s, and of four people in the present sailing to the same island
for sun and surf and some photo-investigating about those murders.
The 1870s tale of the developments leading up to the murders and the
eventual trial is told rather clearly and crisply with Sarah Polley
as Maren Hontvedt, who survives the slaughter and ultimately
testifies against the accused, Louis Wagner (Ciarán Hinds).
The characters, who most likely would have spoken to each other in
their native language, here speak English with an accent, thus
lending an air of unreality to the situation. In the present, we meet
Jean Janes (Catherine McCormack), a photographer who has asked her
brother-in-law, Rich Janes (Josh Lucas), to take her and her husband
Thomas (Sean Penn) to the island in his large sailboat. She plans to
check out the island and photograph the site of the murders, but
becomes curious about just what happened over 100 years earlier. Into
the mix, however, we find Adaline Gunne (Elizabeth Hurley), Rich's
girlfriend, and the air on the boat is laden with sexual tension,
especially involving Jean, Thomas and Adaline. The story in the
present climaxes when a storm hits and the group of four must hope
that their boat can get them back to shore. This climax occurs at the
same time as the truth comes out in the 19th Century story. The
latter is far better told than is the tale of the present-day
sailers. Sarah Polley is quite effective as Maren who knows the truth
about the grisly deaths of her sister and sister-in-law. But the
modern-day tale is a mishmash, hard to follow the motivations of the
characters. Sean Penn, usually outstanding, here seems totally
uncomfortable, as if embarrassed by the script. Catherine McCormack
and Elizabeth Hurley, both English, seem miscast in this New England
situation. Of note in the cast is Katrin Cartlidge as Karen
Christenson, sister of Maren, and one of the murder victims.
Cartlidge, an excellent and relatively young actress ("No Man's Land"
and "Career Girls"), sadly died not long after the making of this
film. Overall, "The Weight of Water" had good tales to tell, but
really muddied the waters. DVD **1/2
(3/28/03)
"Auto
Focus"-The public is often interested in
the private lives of celebrities, but sometimes those lives go to
extremes that the public cannot even imagine. This is such a story.
Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear) was a man who started out as a DJ in
Bridgeport, CT, moved to Los Angeles with his wife and three kids in
the early 1960s, and ultimately found glory as the star of "Hogan's
Heroes," a sitcom which ran on television from 1965 to 1971. Crane
was interested in photography and was apparently leading a successful
family life when he met John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe), a video expert
in the period long before video was prevalent in most homes.
Carpenter encouraged Crane's lusts and together they started what was
to be a downward spiral for Crane, obsessing over women and their
bodies and the use of video and still images to capture their lustful
experiences. In 1978, Crane was murdered in his apartment in
Scottsdale, AZ, while engaged in local dinner theater. "Auto Focus"
speculates on who may have been responsible for the murder, but the
film is really about Crane's lustful downfall. Greg Kinnear has taken
on a somewhat courageous role and done it well. His moments of
alternate innocence and lust are played to a fine point. Willem Dafoe
has had experience with playing evil before (Shadow Of The Vampire),
and here he gives John Carpenter just the perfect element of sleaze
necessary to cast doubt on this man's intentions. The film is raw and
gritty and contains some rather graphic sexual material. It's not for
prudes. Although only about 100 minutes long, the film drags as it
approaches its climax (yes, a pun), becoming repetitious about
Crane's obsession with sex and video. Notable in the cast are Rita
Wilson as Anne Crane, the first wife, who suffers as Crane becomes a
distracted star and sex maniac; Maria Bello as Patricia, a "Hogan's
Heroes" co-star who thinks she can tame the wild Crane and becomes
his second wife; and Ron Leibman as Crane's agent, a man who tries to
tell Crane that his private life is killing his career but doesn't
really know how to stop it. DVD ***1/2
(3/22/03)
"Roger
Dodger"-Roger (Campbell Scott) is a
fast-talking smooth operator who thinks he's great with women. But it
doesn't take long to discover that he's just the opposite. In an
early scene, he's being kicked out as a lover by his boss, Joyce
(Isabella Rossellini), who obviously wants nothing more to do with
him despite and probably because of his begging and childish
behavior. Later, he's shown making a fool of himself by alienating
most of the women he meets. Into this situation comes Nick (Jesse
Eisenberg), Roger's 16-year-old nephew from Ohio, who thinks Roger is
a wiz at getting women and wants to learn. Roger decides to give Nick
some lessons. Before he knows it, Nick finds himself in a nightclub
with adults and watches as Roger manages to bring over two attractive
and interesting women, Andrea (Elizabeth Berkeley) and Sophie
(Jennifer Beals). As Roger introduces Nick to the wonders of women
and liquor, we soon discover that Nick, despite his innocence, has a
lot more charm and potential than Roger. Campbell Scott is excellent
as the smooth-talking but inept womanizer, but the character is
extremely hard to take, and it's obvious that most around him feel
the same way. This is the first time I've seen Elizabeth Berkeley and
Jennifer Beals play roles in which they are real women, beautiful but
totally confident in their ultimate rejection of Roger and his view
of life. Jesse Eisenberg does a fine job as the young and innocent
Nick, a quick learner. This is a good indie film which will not
likely have a large audience. DVD ***1/2
(3/21/03)
"Personal
Velocity"-Based on her own short
stories, writer/director Rebecca Miller has created three portraits
of women, each woman in some way seeking either something new in her
life or searching for meaning after trauma. The first story is that
of Delia (Kyra Sedgwick), a woman with three kids, living in a small
town in upstate New York, who loves her abusive husband but finally
reaches the breaking point after one last violent episode. This
portrait takes on Delia's journey with her kids to a new location and
the start of a new life despite her toughened demeanor and her
frequent recalls of the pleasures, and pains, of her past life. Greta
(Parker Posey) is in a very different place in life. She comes from a
privileged background, is reasonably successful by most standards as
a cookbook editor, and is seemingly happily married to a decent
good-looking man who adores her. But there is something wrong and
when Greta suddenly finds herself very successful as the editor of
the new book of a major novelist, Thavi Matola (Joel De La Fuente),
she realizes that her ambition and her lust are going to ultimately
lead to profound changes in her life. In telling each of the first
two stories, Rebecca Miller shows a brief TV reference to an incident
in NYC in which a driver is shot and then crashes into a pedestrian
on Varick Street. The third portrait is that of Paula (Fairuza Balk)
who had been walking with the victim of that accident, but then, in
shock and horror, runs away in a traumatic daze. She's pregnant and
has left her lover behind as she drives upstate to see her mother,
picking up a strange young man along the way. Filmed in digital
video, "Personal Velocity" is good because it's original. Kyra
Sedgwick and Parker Posey are especially wonderful in their edgy
roles. But that takes nothing away from Fairuza Balk who plays the
dazed Paula to the hilt. Unfortunately, the story of Paula is the
least satisfying and seems rather aimless (something Rebecca Miller
practically admits on the DVD when she indicates she wrote the last
story simply as an add-on to the first two). While Kyra Sedgwick has
the tough role of an abused mother, Parker Posey has to get the kudos
for her wonderfully cynical and lusty part. I didn't love this film,
but I did like it a lot. DVD ***1/2
(3/21/03)
"White
Oleander"-Ingrid Magnussen (Michelle
Pfeiffer) is a hard-edged artist living in the Hollywood Hills with
her 12-year old daughter Astrid (Alison Lohman) when she kills her
boyfriend and is immediately sent to prison. "White Oleander" (the
flower used to poison the boyfriend) is about the experiences of the
artistically-talented daughter as she is passed from foster home to
foster home, but still under the overbearing influence of her mother
during visits to prison. Astrid spends her teens going through a
lifetime of experiences. First, she lives with a Jesus-loving former
stripper, Starr (Robin Wright Penn in a totally different role for
her), who ultimately shoots Astrid in a fit of jealousy over Starr's
live-in boyfriend Ray (Cole Hauser). Then, after recovery, she is
placed in an institutional foster home where she learns to get even
tougher in order to survive, but also meets a fellow artistic spirit,
the warm and caring Paul Trout (Patrick Fugit). But before Astrid is
old enough to decide on her future life, she makes one more sojourn
to the Malibu home of an unsuccessful actress, Claire Richards
(Renée Zellweger), who is living a marital lie with her mostly
absent moviemaking husband (Noah Wyle). Always in Astrid's background
is her mother who, due to her own intelligence and misery, is
attempting to teach Astrid to be independent in thinking and solitary
in her emotional life. Not surprisingly, Astrid rebels. This is a
better film than I expected, although the details of Ingrid's
lovelife and her motivation for murder are not made very clear.
Michelle Pfeiffer is excellent in this serious role. Alison Lohman, a
lovely young actress, is a revelation in a very difficult part. She
is someone I hope we see a lot more of in the future in good roles.
And Renée Zellweger is wonderfully vulnerable as the sweet but
terribly sad Claire. Not a great film, but certainly one worth
seeing. DVD ***1/2
(3/15/02)
"Moonlight
Mile"-Based loosely on some life
experiences of writer/director Brad Silberling (boyfriend at the time
of murdered actress Rebecca Schaeffer), "Moonlight Mile" tells the
tale of Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal), a young man who had just moved to
the hometown (and home) of his fiancé Diana when she is
murdered by a total stranger. Living in the home with his
fiancé's parents (Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon), Joe, who
seems to have no relatives of his own, is almost totally passive as
he allows the father, Ben Floss (Hoffman), to guide him towards being
the "son-in-law" he was meant to be. Most likely a real life Joe
would have run as far as possible in the other direction, but this
Joe stays (due to a guilty conscience to be revealed later) and is
manipulated by Ben and the outwardly tough mother JoJo (Sarandon).
Now this sounds like a recipe for a very morose film. But along comes
a new element, a sassy young woman named Bertie (Ellen Pompeo), to
whom Joe is attracted in the midst of his grief and it is she who
gives this film some life. Jake Gyllenhaal, showing signs of a Tobey
Maguire-syndrome, is almost expressionless for the first
three-quarters of the film. Hoffman and Sarandon are fine but their
characters seem nothing like parents who have just lost their only
child. On the other hand, good-looking andwith a spark in her eyes,
Ellen Pompeo portrays Bertie, the postal clerk and barmaid whose
boyfriend has long been MIA in Vietnam, with wonderful verve. Without
her this film would have gone nowhere. Of note in the cast is Holly
Hunter as a prosecutor hoping to enlist the aid of the family in
bringing the killer to justice. Overall, a disappointment. DVD ***
(3/14/03)
"All
Or Nothing"-"If you knew what was going
to happen when you get up in the morning, you'd never get out of
bed." So says Phil (Timothy Spall), a London cab driver with a
perennial hangdog expression on his face. Phil lives with Penny
(Lesley Manville), a grocery store clerk, in a run-down South London
apartment complex. They have two overweight children, Rachel (Alison
Garland), a cleaning lady at a home for the aged, and Rory (James
Corden), a lazy, bitter, and unemployed oaf. And living in the same
complex are Penny's friends Carol (Maureen Bailey), an alcoholic at
the end of her ropes, and Maureen (Ruth Sheen), who can see the
bright side of things despite the adversity around her. Carol's sexy
daughter Samantha (Sally Hawkins) parades aimlessly around the
apartments until an emergency finally brings out the best in her. And
Maureen's daughter Donna (Helen Coker) becomes pregnant from a brief
and rather miserable relationship. A recipe for depression? You might
say so, but it is portrayed brilliantly by the great British director
Mike Leigh ("Secrets and Lies" and "Topsy-Turvy"), with outstanding
photography by Dick Pope, Mike Leigh's regular cinematographer.
Despite the rather seedy circumstances, the characters never fail to
be interesting, although at times the lower-class British accents can
be tough to understand. The entire cast, led by Timothy Spall and
Lesley Manville, is amazing. These actors know their stuff and with
the classic Mike Leigh method of directing, totally become the
down-and-out characters they are portraying. This is a film for those
who like intelligent and well-made films about the human condition.
And despite the depressing subject, the film ultimately is uplifting,
both in script and spirit. Highly recommended. DVD ****
(3/7/03)
"The
Widow of Saint-Pierre"-This little-known
French film from 2000 is worth noting. Taking place in 1849 on the
island of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, not far from Newfoundland, this
very interesting film tells the true story of Madame La (Juliette
Binoche), the wife of Captain Jean (Daniel Auteuil), the humane local
French commandant. Madame La is what might today be called a
"bleeding heart" as she befriends a convicted murderer, Neel Auguste
(Emir Kusturika), who is facing the guillotine while being held in
her husband's custody. With her husband's love and understanding, she
turns Auguste into her protegé in building a greenhouse,
growing flowers, and doing various other good deeds for the
community. The convict does so well that he becomes a favorite and
even a local hero, marries, and sees the general mood of the
community grow against his execution. But the local politicians must
see the law obeyed and they do everything they can to obtain a
"widow" (guillotine) from the French government, and an executioner,
for without both the execution cannot proceed. With delightful and
intelligent performances by the three main stars, Binoche, Auteuil
and Kusturica (primarily a director from Bosnia), "The Widow of
Saint-Pierre" demonstrates in many ways the battles between the
moralistic forces of law and often opposing tendencies of humanity.
(In French with English subtitles) DVD ****
(3/6/03)
"Road
To Perdition"-Besides Paul Newman's best
supporting actor nomination, this film has been nominated for Oscars
in categories such as cinematography, sound and art direction. No
wonder. The film is good to look at, the sets are gorgeous, and the
sound is excellent. There's just one thing missing. A story worth
caring about. Tom Hanks is Mike Sullivan, a killer who tries to hide
his occupation from his nice little family (a wife, played by
Jennifer Jason Leigh, and two sons, Michael (Tyler Hoechlin) and
Peter). Sullivan works for John Rooney (Paul Newman), an Irish member
of Al Capone's mob in the Illinois countryside. When Rooney sends
Sullivan with Rooney's son Conner (Daniel Craig) to talk to an
outspoken member of the local mob, things go wrong in two ways with
murder being committed and the event being witnessed by Sullivan's
son Michael. The result is a story of flight by Sullivan and Michael
after Sullivan's wife and other son are murdered by Conner Rooney.
And also, of course, there is the obvious revenge theme. While some
have portrayed this story as one about the development of a
relationship between a father and a son, the fact remains that the
story consists of almost unbridled violence. People are constantly
being shot, and for little reason. The only growth the young Michael
seems to be experiencing is in learning the fine arts of his father's
occupation as a killer and bank robber. There are virtually no
sympathetic characters in this film, other than the boy. As for the
script, it's somewhat banal. And as for the acting, Hanks is
certainly different as a killer, but there's little in his
performance to write home about. And although Paul Newman has always
been one of my favorites, he seems to be just going through the
motions. There's virtually nothing here worthy of an Oscar. Of note
in the cast are Stanley Tucci as a very mild-manner Frank Nitti, and
Jude Law as a somewhat bizarre killer/photographer. DVD ***
(3/1/03)
"My
Big Fat Greek Wedding"-Based on Nia
Vardalos' one-woman play, I found this story of the marriage of a
Greek woman and a WASP man to be quite charming. Okay, it's got some
stereotypes, but that's the nature of comedic films about ethnic
groups. Nia Vardalos is Toula Portokalos, a 30-year-old Greek woman
who is single and is pressured constantly by family to get married to
a Greek man, have children, and take care of her family. After
starting as a dowdy hostess at her family's Greek restaurant, Toula
comes to her senses and undergoes a makeover, turning her into a
lovely young woman with a sparkle in her eyes. And she soon captures
the attention of Ian Miller (John Corbett), a local teacher. There's
not much in the way of plot tension. Toula and Ian fall for each
other and the challenge here is not to get them together, but rather
to introduce each other to the ways of their very different families.
Michael Constantine is the ultimate Greek father who thinks every
word comes originally from Greek, with Lainie Kazan as Toula's more
understanding mother. Louis Mandylor is notable as Tula's funny
brother Nick, as is Gia Carides as Toula's sexy big-haired cousin
Nikki. I'm not quite sure why the public went so crazy over this
film, resulting in a very long run in the theaters, but it's
certainly a pleasant film to view. DVD ***1/2
(2/28/03)
"The
Fast Runner"-When I was a child I saw
the 1922 documentary "Nanook of the North," a classic film about the
life of an Inuit (Eskimo). "The Fast Runner," aka "Atanarjuat," is
the first film about the Inuit seen since that time. Made mostly in
digital video, this exquisite film tells the tale of a group of
Inuit, based on an Inuit legend. After a shaman comes to the clan
community and brings evil, the clan leader Kumaglak is killed and
another rival for power, Tulimaq, is chased away, leaving Sauri
(Eugene Ipkarnak) as the leader. The film quickly passes in time to
the adulthood of two Inuit brothers, Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq) and
Amaquaq (Pakak Innuksuk), the sons of Tulimaq. Atanarjuat is
attractive, pleasant, and, most importantly, a good hunter. And he's
attracted to Atuat (Sylvia Ivalu), who is already promised to Oki
(Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq), the clan leader Sauri's sour son, but who
clearly loves Atanarjuat. In a bizarre fight in which each allows the
other to smash him in the head, Atanarjuat ultimately wins Atuat as
his wife to Oki's everlasting resentment. "The Fast Runner" is
breathtakingly filmed in the frozen north, showing the customs and
lifestyle of the Inuit in incredible detail. One of those customs was
to allow men to have more than one wife. Thus, Oki's sister Puja
(Lucy Tulugarjuk) becomes Atanarjuat's second wife. Since Atanarjuat
and his brother live together, Atanarjuat sleeps in a small tent/hut
with his two wives as well as with his brother and his brother's
wife. When Puja, a troublemaker, attempts to have sex with
Atanarjuat's brother, virtually in front of everyone else, she is
kicked out of the family group and sent home crying miserably. She
complains to her brother and father, the clan leader, that Atanarjuat
tried to kill her. Oki, who has disliked Atanarjuat for some time,
begins to plot to kill Atanarjuat with Puja's help. The rest of the
film is the tale of the murder attempt on Atanarjuat and his later
return to the clan after a breathless escape, naked, over the ice.
The vision of Atanarjuat running naked over the spring ice and melt,
being chased by Oki and his two henchmen intent on killing him, is a
sight to be seen.
This tale of Inuit life is, I guarantee,
like nothing you have ever seen before. It reveals the humanity of
these people, their wonderfully different lifestyle, and yet their
similarities to other human cultures. The incredible photography
captures every nuance of color in a world of white, from the blues of
the sky, the beauty of the spring wildflowers, the reds of the fire,
and the various shades of white, beige and gray in the snow, the
igloos and the furs worn by the Inuit. While I don't know much about
the actors in the film, I suspect they were all amateurs, but they
came through like naturals. The New York Times reviewer A.O. Scott
called this film a "masterpiece." I couldn't agree more. (In the
Inuktitut language with English subtitles) DVD ****1/2
(2/22/02)
"The
Four Feathers"-Do you remember the
Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland films in which they, as kids, decide to
"put on a show" and then they produce a half-way professional show?
Well, this film has the same feeling of amateurism/professionalism.
There was a perfectly good version of this story made in 1939 with
Ralph Richardson and John Clements. But someone got the bright idea
to remake this anachronism about the British colonial mentality in
the Sudan at the end of the 19th Century. The result is a
professional looking film but one with an overall sense, from a
casting and acting point of view, of "let's put on a show." The
actors appear to be dressed up in nice costumes, going through the
motions. Heath Ledger's performance as Harry Faversham, the British
officer who resigns his commission just as his troupe is to go off to
war, and then receives the four feathers of cowardice from his
friends, is astonishingly stiff. Wes Bentley is woefully miscast as
Jack Durrance (the part played by Ralph Richardson in the earlier
version), the British lieutenant who is ultimately saved by Harry in
the Sudan. Kate Hudson is fair as Ethne, the woman both men love, but
who really loves Harry, the apparent coward. The film does have one
notable performance, that of Djimon Hounsou ("Amistad"), as Abou, the
native who saves Harry in the desert and then befriends him against
all odds. The plot of this film was appropriate for the 1930s, the
beginning of the end of British imperialism, but hardly for a film at
the beginning of the 21st Century. After quitting his troupe and
receiving the four feathers, Harry (Ledger) suddenly becomes so brave
that he goes to the Sudan on his own and is witness to the
destruction of most of his troupe in a battle with rebels. The
suddenly heroic Harry saves the now blinded Jack (who doesn't realize
who his saviour is until he returns to England by feeling Harry's
face), and ultimately finds himself thrown into prison with hundreds
of others where he escapes with the help of Abou. The script is
fairly simple-minded, hardly makes a point, and is loaded with
significant plot gaps. This is a remake that should not have been
made. DVD **1/2
(2/21/03)
"Possession"-Based
on the novel by A.S. Byatt, "Possession" is about two couples, one in
the 19th Century and one in the late 20th, but there is little
resemblance. Roland Mitchell (Aaron Eckhart) is an American literary
research scholar in London who discovers (actually steals) previously
unknown letters of a significant 19th Century poet named Randolph Ash
(Jeremy Northam), indicating that Ash was not the perfect husband
everyone thought he was. He takes the letters to a British scholar,
Dr. Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the two begin an investigation
of Ash and a woman who may have played a previously unknown important
role in Ash's life, Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle). I won't go
into the details, but I will say that the unraveling of the mystery
of the Ash/LaMotte relationship via literary sources is unusual and
fun. The movie is beautifully filmed and worth a watch. It even has a
slight resemblance to the current "The Hours" in that it jumps back
and forth between the stories of Mitchell and Bailey, on the one
hand, and, on the other, Ash and LaMotte, and as it has a scene in
which a female character puts rocks in her skirt and walks into a
river to drown, a la Virginia Woolf. Northam and Ehle are superb as
the 19th Century couple, demonstrating intelligence in their actions
and their thoughts about the serious matters of their relationship.
On the other hand, Eckhart and Paltrow seem somewhat wooden and silly
unlike how their characters, supposedly serous researchers, should
behave. Mitchell and Bailey are supposed to be serious scholars, but
one quickly forgets that from the way they are portrayed. This is not
a great film. It would have made a fine TV mystery, say a
"Masterpiece Theater" on PBS, but it is enjoyable and worth a rental.
DVD ***1/2
(2/15/03)
"Full
Frontal"-Various Hollywood types are
invited to a party for an indie producer named Gus (David Duchovny).
But what we initially see is a movie made by some of these people,
including screenwriter Carl (David Hyde Pierce), and the interactions
of various personalities. The movie-within-a-movie stars Francesca
(Julia Roberts) as Catherine, a reporter interviewing actor Nicholas
(Blair Underwood, also playing Calvin, the actor who is playing
Nicholas, the character who is not sure whether Catherine has a crush
on him). Carl is married to Lee (Catherine Keener), a somewhat wacky
human resources executive who is unable to fire employees in the
normal way. Lee has a sister named Linda (Mary McCormack) who is a
massage therapist who is heading for Tucson to meet the man she met
on the Internet and believes is a local and younger artist, but is,
in fact, a local theater director (Enrico Colantoni), currently
directing a play about Hitler starring an overbearingly arrogant
young actor (Nicky Katt). Oh, there is more going on here, including
an unusual massage session by Linda of the party's primary honoree
Gus. I guess you get the picture. The interactions of these "real"
people, and the interactions of the "film" people, are apparently
intended to present a commentary to some extent on reality and the
relative merits of film. The film-within-a -ilm is done in standard
commercially crisp images, while the "real" people scenes are done in
grainy video, as if life is grainy and films are crystal clear. But
just when we think we have it all worked out, the director, Steven
Soderbergh, throws us a little loop at the end when Linda and the
theater director meet at the airport on the way to meet each other in
Tucson, and it's apparent that either he isn't sure what is reality
or we aren't supposed to be clear on that subject. Of all the cast,
David Hyde Pierce stands out, giving an excellent performance. DVD
***
(2/14/03)
"Igby
Goes Down"-The dysfunctional family film
is close to becoming a cliché. But not when the production is
witty, sharp, and original as it is in "Igby Goes Down." Igby (Kieran
Culkin) is the younger of two sons of Mimi (Susan Sarandon), a
wealthy New York woman who has managed to ignore the mental illness
of her husband (Bill Pullman) and is well along in ruining Igby too.
Having watched the disaster that was his parents' marriage, Igby is
bent on one thing: frustrating his mother's desire to see that he
graduates from high school. Being kicked out of or leaving one
private school after another, including a military school where he
has learned as little as possible about discipline, Igby finally
decides to split, hiding out in a loft owned by his mother's
super-wealthy friend and his own godfather, D.H. (Jeff Goldblum). And
in existing in the loft, Igby becomes involved with Rachel (Amanda
Peet), D.H.'s mistress, and Rachel's seemingly avant-garde druggie
friend Russel (Jared Harris). "Igby Goes Down" is the story of the
attempt of a young man (age 17), frustrated and disturbed by his
surroundings, to break out and away. In doing so, he meets the
equally freespirited Sookie Saperstein (Claire Danes) who befriends
and then betrays him. But always he must also deal with his older and
"Republican" brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe). Kieran Culkin,
reminding me of a younger Robert Downey, Jr., gives an outstanding
performance as Igby, making sympathetic a character who could have
been portrayed as simply a spoiled brat. Overall, the ensemble cast
is excellent. Susan Sarandon hits the jackpot as the pushy and
overpowering mother Mimi. Ryan Phillippe is perfectly preppie as the
ultra-manipulative older brother. Claire Danes gives one of her best
performances as the earnest Sookie who can't avoid helping and then
hurting young Igby. Amanda Peet becomes the young woman, Rachel, who
allows herself to be used and wrung out by Goldblum's heartless D.H.
character. Beautifully filmed in and around New York City, "Igby Goes
Down" is exactly what a film like "The Royal Tenenbaums" was not,
with witty and sharp dialogue and realistic characters. It is one of
those films that you know, as soon as you've seen the first scene,
that it's going to be an experience well worth having. DVD ****
(2/8/03)
"24
Hour Party People"-If this film hadn't
been on the top-10 list of Elvis Mitchell of the New York Times (see
list above), the title would have turned me away. The actual picture
certainly turned out to be completely different from what I
envisioned when I heard the name. What "24 Hour Party People" is is a
rather clever and interesting "mockumentary" about the development of
rock music in Manchester, England from approximately 1976 when the
Sex Pistols emerged, to the mid-1980s. The film centers around Tony
Wilson (Steve Coogan), a real-life British TV celebrity who, while
hosting various rock shows and documentaries on British television,
decides to get into the business of creating rock groups. Steve
Coogan is wonderfully mocku-serious as narrator Tony, telling his own
story, showing off his unsucessful marriage to Lindsay, played by
Shirley Henderson ("Topsy-Turvy"), who just simply loses interest and
walks out on him (don't worry, he meets and marries Miss UK later);
and his variously successful and unsuccessful attempts to create rock
groups and a club in Manchester. Wilson creates The Factory record
line, opens the Hacienda club in Manchester, and helps create Joy
Division (later New Order) led by Ian Curtis (Sean Harris). Harris
provides an amazing performance as the uptight and wacky Curtis, Joy
Division's lead singer until he went home one night and hanged
himself. The Factory and the Hacienda ultimately descend into the
world of drugs, an irony in that the drug dealers make more money
from the Ecstasy used by the Hacienda's patrons than the owners of
the club make from selling liquor. The music in this film was not
exactly my cup o'tea, but the film is never dull. There are fine
performances by Coogan, Harris, Andy Serkis (as Martin Hannett, a
demanding record producer), and Danny Cunningham as Shaun Ryder, lead
singer of the Happy Mondays. Say one thing or another about this
film, but it is certainly original, funny and quite serious at the
same time. DVD ***1/2
(2/7/03)
"Sweet
Home Alabama"-I like Reese Witherspoon.
She's worth a shot even if the picture looks a little lame. Here she
plays Melanie Carmichael (nee Smooter), a downhome Alabama girl who
has moved to the big city (New York), become a success in fashion
design, and engaged to the wealthy and JFK, Jr.-like son (Patrick
Dempsey) of the Mayor (Candice Bergen) of the Big Apple. The problem
is that Melanie has invented a well-to-do past that doesn't exist and
has conveniently forgotten to tell her fiancé that she's
already married to her childhood sweetheart back in Alabama. So off
Melanie goes to fix things up and she makes a darn mess. The premise
of this film is certainly humorous, but the middle of this film is
downright meanspirited. While visiting her hometown, her parents
(Fred Ward and Mary Kay Place), and her friends, including Bobby Ray
(Ethan Embry), she manages to insult or hurt virtually all of them.
Nice homecoming! But what she's really there for is to get her
husband Jake (Josh Lucas) to sign papers to allow a divorce. And
guess what? Jake is still special in Melanie's heart despite her
darndest attempts to fight him off. You can guess the ultimate
outcome of this film. It's not hard. It has its moments, but it's
otherwise fairly run-of-the-mill. Reese Witherspoon is always fun.
Josh Lucas, looking very Paul Newman-like, is charming as Jake but
doesn't get much to do. Ethan Embry is fine as Bobby Ray, a friend
whom Melanie "outs" for her own selfish reasons. Candice Bergen is
getting typecast. Her obnoxious Mayor-mother is very similar to the
part she played in the Sandra Bullock film "Miss Congeniality" and
she'd be advised to try something else. DVD **1/2
(2/7/03)
"The
Banger Sisters"-Goldie Hawn is 57 years
old and still looks like a bombshell. Here she plays Suzettte, an
aging but still wild former groupie. Just fired from a bartender job
on Sunset Boulevard, Suzette decides to head for Phoenix to see if
she can borrow some money from her old friend and fellow groupie
Vinnie (Susan Sarandon) who is now a very straight-laced and wealthy
society woman with two daughters and a lawyer husband. Along the way,
Suzette picks up Harry (Geoffrey Rush), a screenwriter with some very
strange habits and needs, ostensibly on his way to Phoenix to shoot
his father. "The Banger Sisters" is actually quite promising at its
beginning with a cheerful and sexy performance by Goldie Hawn and an
eccentric performance by Geoffrey Rush as he undergoes a great change
upon being "exposed" to Suzette. But the film goes wrong midway when
Suzette meets up with Vinnie (now known as Lavinia) and her family.
Her affect on Vinnie and her family is simply impossible to believe
or accept and must be classified as ultra-contrived. What starts out
as a potentially interesting human comedy winds up as the equivalent
of a mediocre "TV sitcom." Of note in the cast is Eva Amurri, Susan
Sarandon's daughter, as Ginger, Lavinia's somewhat wacky teenage
daughter. DVD **1/2 (1/31/03)
"Blue
Crush"-Not since "Endless Summer" have I
even considered watching a film about surfers, but some interesting
comments about this film in the New York Times piqued my interest.
Based loosely on an article by Susan Orlean ("The Orchid Thief")
called "Surf Girls of Maui," "Blue Crush" tells the tale of three
young surfers, one of whom is hoping to win the big and very
dangerous pipe competition at the north end of Oahu. What makes this
story a little different is that here the surfers are young women who
have to prove something extra in an athletic world dominated by men.
Kate Bosworth ("The Horse Whisperer") does a nice job as Anne Marie,
a girl who has had an almost-fatal accident at the beach where the
competition is held and must overcome her fears and bad dreams if she
is to make a name for herself. She lives with her two biggest
supporters and fellow surfers, Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and Lena
(Sanoe Lake, a genuine Hawaiian surfer), and her younger sister Penny
(Mika Boorem). The girls work as maids at a big resort and ultimately
Kate meets Matt (Matthew Davis), an NFL quarterback who is
accompanied by some of his teammates at the resort (including the
rather funny Faizon Love as an NFL lineman). But the romance and the
background incidents are not the center of the story. This film is
really about surfing and especially surfing by women; and about the
attitudes of those involved, especially the pressures on the women
and the aggressions of local males. The surfing scenes are
spectacular and worth the price of the film. The DVD contains a
feature explaining how the surfing scenes were filmed. DVD ***1/2
(1/25/03)
"About
A Boy"-This picture gets off to a rocky,
almost embarrassing start, and then takes a quick turn for the
better. Hugh Grant is Will, a wealthy do-nothing (he lives off
royalties from a Christmas song written by his father) whose only
interest in life seems to be meeting women for short relationships.
He even invents a 2-year-old son in order to attend a single parents
club meeting populated mostly by women. At this point it looked like
an ultra-clichéd and silly idea for a comedy, but along comes
young Marcus (Nicholas Hoult, doing a fine job in his first film) and
his depressed mother Fiona (Toni Collette) and Will's life starts to
change. Marcus, a young schoolboy who has to survive being abused
daily by his classmates, befriends Will and brings him into the
family of man. Along the way, Will discovers and falls for Rachel
(Rachel Weisz), but not her strange son, Ali. Based on a book by Nick
Hornby ("High Fidelity"), this film is directed by the Weitz
brothers, Paul and Chris ("Chuck & Buck"). Hugh Grant is a little
more effective than usual because he has a fairly decent script and
he gets a sympathetic role. "About A Boy" is a serviceable comedy.
DVD ***
(1/24/03)
"The
Bourne Identity"-This film has all the
elements of a standard CIA thriller. The problem is that it's so
standard as to be monumentally flat. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is
found floating in the middle of the ocean with a couple of bullet
holes in his back and a case of amnesia. Nursed back to shape by the
crew of a fishing vessel, Bourne is finally put ashore with one clue
as to a Swiss bank account and little more. He ultimately finds money
and passports in the safe deposit box of the noted account, but
immediately discovers that all types of law enforcement officials are
after him. In his attempt to escape and learn more about himself, he
picks up Marie (Franka Potente) and they start out on a mission to
discover who Jason Bourne is and what he was doing in the middle of
the ocean. By the time the film ends Bourne, who seems to have a
great memory for all of his various spy techniques despite his
amnesia, seems to finally know who he is and why the CIA was trying
to kill him. But as for the motivations of the characters, well
frankly I had no idea. If the film explained those motivations, I
must have missed it. Oh, there's something about an experimental CIA
program involving assassins in which Bourne was involved and we do
figure out that he screwed up his assignment, but the film contains
virtually no explanation for why Bourne is being hunted by his own
employer. Chris Cooper and Brian Cox, both fairly good actors here
playing CIA officials, look like stiffs in this film. Their talents
were wasted. Damon has his usual smug look on his face throughout the
picture. Only Franka Potente ("Run Lola Run"), the young German
actress, provides some appealing moments as she tries to figure out
whether hanging out with Bourne is a good idea. Julia Stiles is in
this film but I cannot imagine why she took her silly part as a CIA
assistant. I can't recommend this film, even for simple mindless
entertainment. DVD **
(1/20/03)
"The
Hours"-Based on the award-winning novel
by Michael Cunningham, director Stephen Daldry ("Billy Elliot") has
created a masterpiece. From the screenplay by David Hare to the
totally moving score by Philip Glass, to the acting of an amazing
ensemble cast, "The Hours" is a movie that will make you understand
more about the emotions and pain of others, ranging from the mental
illness of Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) to the angst of an AIDS
sufferer, poet Richard Brown (Ed Harris). "The Hours" tells stories
of three women which appear to be unrelated, but it soon becomes
apparent that there is more going on than initially meets the eye.
And that raises one of the few criticisms of the film. The opening
credits are shown over a montage of events in three times and places,
the rural England of the early 1920s, Los Angeles in 1951, and New
York in the present. But the titles identifying the places and times
are intermingled with the opening credits and anyone not familiar
with the story is warned to watch closely.
Suffice it to say that the plot centers
around the ultimately doomed author Virginia Woolf. In the midst of
misery from mental illness, Woolf is writing her great novel "Mrs.
Dalloway," about a day in the life of a London woman that begins with
buying flowers and ends with far more significant and momentous
events about the emotions of people and the turmoil of life. The
second story is about a married woman named Laura (Julianne Moore) in
the LA of 1951 who is reading "Mrs. Dalloway" and planning a birthday
cake for her sweet husband (John C. Reilly) while being closely
watched by her young son who senses that something is very wrong in
his mother's state-of-mind. The third story concerns a modern-day New
York book editor, Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep), who is planning a
party for her close and very ill friend Richard, a man who is not
particularly happy about attending Clarissa's party, let alone an
award ceremony honoring his poetry. To Richard, Clarissa is "Mrs.
Dalloway," and this is reflected in Clarissa's angst about what she
believes to be the pettiness of her life in caring for daily details
as well as for Richard. To go any further about the plot is to give
away too much. The three stories are superbly intermingled and
ultimately the connections, both literal and thematic, are revealed.
The cast is out of this world. Nicole Kidman, totally transformed by
a prosthetic nose, is superb in portraying Woolf's depression. I
watched Meryl Streep, possibly our greatest actress, in awe. The
subtle ways in which she portrays the emotions of her character are
truly amazing. Julianne Moore demonstrates again her tremendous
ability to portray the depths of inner turmoil of a beautiful woman
while appearing almost normal on the surface. Ed Harris gives a
powerful performance as the angry and frustrated Richard, one that
deserves Oscar consideration. And the rest of the cast simply glows:
Allison Janney as Clarissa's somewhat ignored lover Sally; Claire
Danes as Clarissa's observant daughter, Julia; Stephen Dillane as the
worried Leonard Woolf; Jeff Daniels as Louis, Richard's former lover;
Miranda Richardson as Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf's sister; Toni
Collette as Kitty, Laura's neighbor in southern California; and John
C. Reilly as Laura's innocent husband who has no idea that she is
miserable. "The Hours" is literally about the hours that pass in the
lives of unhappy people, but you will not be unhappy to spend the
hours (2) watching this wonderful film. Theater ****1/2
(1/18/03)
I watched "The Hours" again on 7/4/03 on
DVD. I have to say that I was even more impressed upon a second
viewing than I was when I first saw it back in January. I gave this
picture only ****1/2 stars at that time. It is a truly great film.
Upon further consideration, it deserves a ***** rating.
"The
Good Girl"-Justine (Jennifer Aniston) is
living a life of "quiet desperation." She's married to a dull
pot-smoking housepainter named Phil (John C. Reilly) and works at the
makeup counter in a boring Texas retail department store called
Retail Rodeo. While Phil seems totally attached to his friend and
co-worker Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson), the childless Justine seems to
have little more than the acquaintance of Gwen (Deborah Rush), a
woman at the Retail Rodeo with whom she talks and has lunch. But then
Justine notices a new store employee named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal),
who is really "Tom," but who has visions of literary greatness and
has named himself after J. D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield. Holden too
is desperate, having left college due to depression and an alcohol
problem, while facing two seemingly robotic parents at home.
Justine's life, however, at this point, begins to be anything but
dull. She starts an affair with Holden, engaging in extremely risky
behavior for such a small town. And then Bubba, having seen Justine
and Holden together at a motel, begins to use his information for his
own purposes. Jennifer Anniston is magnificent as she successfully
turns herself into a relatively unglamorous bored and confused young
small-town woman. The rest of the cast is equally excellent. Notable
are Deborah Rush in a small part as Justine's ill-fated friend Gwen;
Zooey Deschanel as a wacky store clerk who loves to insult the
customers; and Tim Blake Nelson as Bubba, the man who "loves"
Justine's husband as a best friend, but who also knows what's in his
own best interests. Written by Mike White ("Chuck and Buck") who also
appears as a security guard at the store, and directed by Miguel
Arteta (who did "Chuck and Buck"), "The Good Girl" tells a tough tale
of the potential effects of the humdrum small-town life. DVD ****
(1/11/03)
"Signs"-It's
painfully obvious that the director of this film, 32-year-old M.
Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable"), has been
having trouble outgrowing his childhood. "Signs" is like a long
childhood nightmare in which one expects the main character, Graham
Hess (Mel Gibson), to awaken and discover that all is well. And in
some ways that is exactly what happens. Hess is a man of the cloth
who has lost his faith due to the horrible accidental death of his
wife, leaving him living with his two young children, asthmatic son
Morgan (Rory Culkin) and water-phobic daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin),
and his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), on a lovely farm in Bucks
County, PA. But it's not bad enough that Mrs. Hess has died only six
months earlier because of the bad driving of a local vet (played by
director Shyamalan), and that Hess has lost the faith which was his
occupation, but Hess' nightmare worsens as a result of the mysterious
crop circles that appear in the cornfields on his farm and the TV
reports from the rest of the world of similar occurrences and the
possibility of an alien invasion. In what is painfully obvious from
the beginning, Hess' newfound cynicism about God and religion is
about to be challenged by the events around him. In Shyamalan's
favor, it should be pointed out that he takes the more subtle
approach, cutting out most of the potentially hokey scenes that he
could have used in the film to make it a standard horror flick. But
in doing so in a story with such an apparent theme, Shyamalan reduces
"Signs" to a sluggish pace, making it a film which is, frankly, not
very scary. In too many scenes Gibson looks like he's simply in a
daze, while the ending of the film, in particular, is far too facile.
Of note in the cast is the excellent Broadway star Cherry Jones as
Office Paski. DVD ***
(1/10/03)
"The
Piano Teacher"-In an interview on the
DVD of this film, Isabelle Huppert, the star, says that it is about a
woman who wants to be loved but not seduced. This certainly raised
some questions in my mind about Ms. Huppert, about whether she in
fact understood the psychological nature of the very character she
was playing. Erika Kohut (Huppert) is far beyond someone who simply
wants to be loved without being seduced. She lives in a small
apartment with an oppressive mother (Annie Girardot), a woman who
feels she has the right to know exactly what her middle-aged daughter
is doing at all times. Erika even sleeps in the same room with this
overbearing opinionated woman. Meanwhile, Erika is a professor of
classical piano at a conservatory and shows little or no emotion in
dealing with her students, other than an expressionless nastiness
which later turns in to sadism. Erika is sexually repressed to the
ultimate; seen exploring a peep show, leering over sexual activity in
an auto in a French drive-in, engaging in self-mutilation, and being
unable to interact with anyone who shows an interest in her.
Eventually, however, a young attractive man, Walter Klemmer
(Benoît Magimel), comes along who refuses to be turned away.
Although Walter is an engineering student, he is also a classical
pianist and, having fallen for Erika's attractiveness, finds his way
into her conservatory classroom over her objections. The depravity of
Erika's sexual urges soon become apparent and Walter is driven to
extremes to deal with this increasingly disturbed woman. Isabelle
Huppert is a wonderful actress performing a courageous role. But "The
Piano Teacher" is tough to take and recommended only for those who
truly enjoy gritty foreign films and psychological studies. French
with English subtitles. DVD ***1/2
(1/1/03)
