2003-04 Reviews
5/10/03
What is a good movie worth? I just watched PANIC on cable. It is one terriffic flick! William H. Macy, as good as he gets. And we know how good that gets. Donald Sutherland. Tracy Ullman. Neve Campbell. Baraba Bain. John Ritter. All excellent. And all of them overshadowed by six-year-old David Dorfman. The absolutely best child performance I have ever seen. With no apologies to Shirley temple, Roddy MacDowall, Margaret O'Brien or the great kid in The Sixth Sense. Check into it. Check it out on DVD or whatever. Good writing. Good directing. Great acting. This is the kind of "B" movie that puts the Oscars to shame.
9/20/03
THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING is that rare delight, a movie that must be seen to be believed. It is deceptively simple and familiar, yet complex and quitely surprising at all times. I screened it at home a few nights ago, and its scenes, characters and concepts continue to challenge my imagination and gratify my affection for movies.
The DVD includes a commentary by the two sisters who wrote and directed the film, along with the man who edited it. The editor did a good job with the footage, but is a bore on the commentary. The sisters seem so modest and easy-going a pair, that it's hard to believe they had the chutzpah to get this film made. It is obviously low budget, and they speak a lot about the scenes they couldn't afford to shoot, etc. Yet, they are able to assemble Alan Arkin, Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro and other members of the excellent and help them all to give unforgettable performances. This is definitely Must See D V D.
11/17/04
I don’t know how I happened to pick up a 99¢ DVD rental of DON’T TEMPT ME (Sin noticias de Dios), but it was a priceless serendipity. Though the central story is simple, and classic, it’s telling is wildly complex, intriguing and entertaining. It is a cinematic collision of Tarantino, Scorsese and Bunuel. Sex, violence, comedy, political and religious satire, love, suspense and above all, surprise. And there is not much I enjoy more in a movie than eye-blinking, legitimate surprise.
Penélope Cruz plays a grim reaper from Hell in a contest with Heaven’s reaper, Victoria Abril, for the eternal soul of pug ugly boxer Demián Birchir. Fanny Ardant and Gael Garcia Bernal complete the star line up as the reaper supervisors, and while all the performances are excellent, Birchir’s is one of the most solid and effective of recent memory and Cruz is an absolute revelation of virtuosity. I was not a Cruz fan when I picked up this DVD, but about half way through I realized that if she wasn’t already a star, this movie is what made her one. When your screening ends, you will want to start right back at the beginning to fully appreciate her creation.
A multi-language mélange, writer-director Agustín Díaz Yanes satirically depicts Spain on earth, France in Heaven and America in Hell, and not without a hearty measure of charm and affection. I am eager to see what else he has in store for us.
8/6/04
FAHRENHEIT 9/11, frankly, was not a movie I can get very excited about. The major criticism leveled against it is that it is preaching to the choir. And it does that---LOUDLY. So, being a member of that choir, the sermon was mostly a waste of my time. In over two hours of film time, Michael Moore gave me 80 or 90seconds of new information regarding George W. Bush, his father H.W., his business connections, his (lack of) intelligence and the moral collapse of the U.S. Senate. But he never amplified his media-derived revelations with any convincing insights or arguments to carry his crusade against Bush to a level beyond the knee-jerk "amen" of the choir loft.
I don't understand the film community's overwhelmingly favorable response to Fahrenheit 9/11. It was obviously and admittedly created as a hostile piece of political propaganda to bring about the defeat of the Bush Administration in the coming election. All well and good and I would love so see that result. But I have screened a few good documentaries in my day, and F 9/11 is definitely not among them.
Actually, the most disconcerting sequence in the film was not the relentless and grimly graphic depiction of maimed and dead bodies inIraq, but the relentles banging of Al Gore's gavel when, in January 2001, as President of the Senate, he repeatedly and firmly disallowed members of the Gongressional Black Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives to challenge Bush's election victory. Not one Democratic Senator stood up in support of the disenfranchised voters of Florida or to push for an investigation of that swing state's vote debacle.
America is not a practical democracy. It is a duopoly. Our two major parties are in a close partnership, or a collusion, if you will, to control their mutual financial supporters and special interest groups at the expense of the American public. In their fear and hatred of George Bush, Michael Moore and the Kerry/Edwards supporters are merely fostering that duopoly. Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and their Saudi Arabia business partner created a fear and hatred of Saddam Hussein in order to cow any opponents in their drive to mobilize an American military force for their own direct personal good and that of The Halliburton Corporation and Carlyle Group.
And now the Democratic Party wants to scare the voters into giving them the ball in the second half so they can score all points and money to be made in Iraq. Sorry, Michael, and all the rest of you duped duopolists. I refuse to play your game. One of your candidates is guaranteed to beat mycandidate, but at least Ralph Nader is a champion of the people, whether they know it or not.
12/21/04
Clint Eastwood is about as linear and traditional a filmmaker as works today. His films are often agreeable entertainments, but with minimal cleverness or surprises. And MILLION DOLLAR BABY is not an alteration of his familiar parameters. The only real surprise for me, is how long its mood and emotions have stayed with me.
I don't know how Eastwood develops his properties or works with writers, but it is obvious after over two dozen pictures that he is the classic director/auteur as defined by the Le Politiques des Auteurs. As for his work with actors, his is also the same technique as that used by the most acclaimed and successful American directors. That technique is called casting. Once the good director casts the right actor in the right part there is not much more he can do for the performance. Maybe a little tweak or suggestion here and there, but mostly just stay out of the way. Morgan Freeman, for instance, is not right for the broken down ex-pug as written, but Eastwood is a jazz man and he must have felt the need of a certain tone in the ensemble, and hired Freeman's instrument to bring that tone. And it is a good tone. Hilary Swank, however, is so well cast it is sometimes almost painful to watch a performance that you can't take your eyes off. She totally inhabits a complex character that is driven to actions of epic and heroic strength, virtue, success and suffering.
Like Freeman, Eastwood, though he does a good job throughout, would not be a logical first choice to play the waning, aging, fairly feckless fight manager. But Eastwood had the perspective to know that no matter what else a character may have to do in a movie, if a hard killing has to be done, when push comes to shove, there is no actor more convincingly able, even at this age, to convey the ability to get the job done than Clint Eastwood. And as the director/producer, Clint gets the job done.
11/29/04
Julie and I tend to attend movies when we travel that we might not even bother with at home. THE INCREDIBLES is one such movie, but the great incredibility about it is its mindless acceptance by younga dults who are so immersed in the American Cartoon Culture that they suspend any intelligent standards of taste or expectations of quality. It is derivative (a lack of imagination that seems to be regarded as a plus by its fans), tedious, visually unattractive and UNFUNNY! There is more full entertainment packed into a one reel Bugs Bunny or Roadrunner that into this elongated obesity.
KINSEY was kind of okay, but seemed to strain in trying to explain more about Kinsey than it was able to.
And then there was AFTER THE SUNSET, an absolutely silly pastiche of cliche caper flicks with more plot holes that a wheel of Jarlsberg, but just as pleasant to nibble on. I recommend it with a nice merlot.
What is a good movie worth? I just watched PANIC on cable. It is one terriffic flick! William H. Macy, as good as he gets. And we know how good that gets. Donald Sutherland. Tracy Ullman. Neve Campbell. Baraba Bain. John Ritter. All excellent. And all of them overshadowed by six-year-old David Dorfman. The absolutely best child performance I have ever seen. With no apologies to Shirley temple, Roddy MacDowall, Margaret O'Brien or the great kid in The Sixth Sense. Check into it. Check it out on DVD or whatever. Good writing. Good directing. Great acting. This is the kind of "B" movie that puts the Oscars to shame.
9/20/03
THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING is that rare delight, a movie that must be seen to be believed. It is deceptively simple and familiar, yet complex and quitely surprising at all times. I screened it at home a few nights ago, and its scenes, characters and concepts continue to challenge my imagination and gratify my affection for movies.
The DVD includes a commentary by the two sisters who wrote and directed the film, along with the man who edited it. The editor did a good job with the footage, but is a bore on the commentary. The sisters seem so modest and easy-going a pair, that it's hard to believe they had the chutzpah to get this film made. It is obviously low budget, and they speak a lot about the scenes they couldn't afford to shoot, etc. Yet, they are able to assemble Alan Arkin, Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro and other members of the excellent and help them all to give unforgettable performances. This is definitely Must See D V D.
11/17/04
I don’t know how I happened to pick up a 99¢ DVD rental of DON’T TEMPT ME (Sin noticias de Dios), but it was a priceless serendipity. Though the central story is simple, and classic, it’s telling is wildly complex, intriguing and entertaining. It is a cinematic collision of Tarantino, Scorsese and Bunuel. Sex, violence, comedy, political and religious satire, love, suspense and above all, surprise. And there is not much I enjoy more in a movie than eye-blinking, legitimate surprise.
Penélope Cruz plays a grim reaper from Hell in a contest with Heaven’s reaper, Victoria Abril, for the eternal soul of pug ugly boxer Demián Birchir. Fanny Ardant and Gael Garcia Bernal complete the star line up as the reaper supervisors, and while all the performances are excellent, Birchir’s is one of the most solid and effective of recent memory and Cruz is an absolute revelation of virtuosity. I was not a Cruz fan when I picked up this DVD, but about half way through I realized that if she wasn’t already a star, this movie is what made her one. When your screening ends, you will want to start right back at the beginning to fully appreciate her creation.
A multi-language mélange, writer-director Agustín Díaz Yanes satirically depicts Spain on earth, France in Heaven and America in Hell, and not without a hearty measure of charm and affection. I am eager to see what else he has in store for us.
8/6/04
FAHRENHEIT 9/11, frankly, was not a movie I can get very excited about. The major criticism leveled against it is that it is preaching to the choir. And it does that---LOUDLY. So, being a member of that choir, the sermon was mostly a waste of my time. In over two hours of film time, Michael Moore gave me 80 or 90seconds of new information regarding George W. Bush, his father H.W., his business connections, his (lack of) intelligence and the moral collapse of the U.S. Senate. But he never amplified his media-derived revelations with any convincing insights or arguments to carry his crusade against Bush to a level beyond the knee-jerk "amen" of the choir loft.
I don't understand the film community's overwhelmingly favorable response to Fahrenheit 9/11. It was obviously and admittedly created as a hostile piece of political propaganda to bring about the defeat of the Bush Administration in the coming election. All well and good and I would love so see that result. But I have screened a few good documentaries in my day, and F 9/11 is definitely not among them.
Actually, the most disconcerting sequence in the film was not the relentless and grimly graphic depiction of maimed and dead bodies inIraq, but the relentles banging of Al Gore's gavel when, in January 2001, as President of the Senate, he repeatedly and firmly disallowed members of the Gongressional Black Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives to challenge Bush's election victory. Not one Democratic Senator stood up in support of the disenfranchised voters of Florida or to push for an investigation of that swing state's vote debacle.
America is not a practical democracy. It is a duopoly. Our two major parties are in a close partnership, or a collusion, if you will, to control their mutual financial supporters and special interest groups at the expense of the American public. In their fear and hatred of George Bush, Michael Moore and the Kerry/Edwards supporters are merely fostering that duopoly. Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and their Saudi Arabia business partner created a fear and hatred of Saddam Hussein in order to cow any opponents in their drive to mobilize an American military force for their own direct personal good and that of The Halliburton Corporation and Carlyle Group.
And now the Democratic Party wants to scare the voters into giving them the ball in the second half so they can score all points and money to be made in Iraq. Sorry, Michael, and all the rest of you duped duopolists. I refuse to play your game. One of your candidates is guaranteed to beat mycandidate, but at least Ralph Nader is a champion of the people, whether they know it or not.
12/21/04
Clint Eastwood is about as linear and traditional a filmmaker as works today. His films are often agreeable entertainments, but with minimal cleverness or surprises. And MILLION DOLLAR BABY is not an alteration of his familiar parameters. The only real surprise for me, is how long its mood and emotions have stayed with me.
I don't know how Eastwood develops his properties or works with writers, but it is obvious after over two dozen pictures that he is the classic director/auteur as defined by the Le Politiques des Auteurs. As for his work with actors, his is also the same technique as that used by the most acclaimed and successful American directors. That technique is called casting. Once the good director casts the right actor in the right part there is not much more he can do for the performance. Maybe a little tweak or suggestion here and there, but mostly just stay out of the way. Morgan Freeman, for instance, is not right for the broken down ex-pug as written, but Eastwood is a jazz man and he must have felt the need of a certain tone in the ensemble, and hired Freeman's instrument to bring that tone. And it is a good tone. Hilary Swank, however, is so well cast it is sometimes almost painful to watch a performance that you can't take your eyes off. She totally inhabits a complex character that is driven to actions of epic and heroic strength, virtue, success and suffering.
Like Freeman, Eastwood, though he does a good job throughout, would not be a logical first choice to play the waning, aging, fairly feckless fight manager. But Eastwood had the perspective to know that no matter what else a character may have to do in a movie, if a hard killing has to be done, when push comes to shove, there is no actor more convincingly able, even at this age, to convey the ability to get the job done than Clint Eastwood. And as the director/producer, Clint gets the job done.
11/29/04
Julie and I tend to attend movies when we travel that we might not even bother with at home. THE INCREDIBLES is one such movie, but the great incredibility about it is its mindless acceptance by younga dults who are so immersed in the American Cartoon Culture that they suspend any intelligent standards of taste or expectations of quality. It is derivative (a lack of imagination that seems to be regarded as a plus by its fans), tedious, visually unattractive and UNFUNNY! There is more full entertainment packed into a one reel Bugs Bunny or Roadrunner that into this elongated obesity.
KINSEY was kind of okay, but seemed to strain in trying to explain more about Kinsey than it was able to.
And then there was AFTER THE SUNSET, an absolutely silly pastiche of cliche caper flicks with more plot holes that a wheel of Jarlsberg, but just as pleasant to nibble on. I recommend it with a nice merlot.
posted by BJMe at 11:02 AM
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