The Sum of All Fears (IMDB) (Netflix)
My frustration stemming from this latest Tom Clancy thriller exists on two levels: the flawed, creaky and politically wussified plot and the all-too-vivid reminder, particularly given the real-world revelations of the past week or so, of the government's inability to communicate vital information in a timely manner.
Calista Flockhart's beau Harrison Ford has been traded in for a younger Jack Ryan model (no doubt Ford's ex-wife thinks that's fitting), Ben Affleck, as the CIA analyst who, straight out of The Hunt for Red October, is the only American with 20-20 insight into the Russians, who are being set up by some Neo-Nazis (a convenient oil-free villain) as the patsy for a successful nuclear explosion in the U.S. (no spoiler here, check the trailer). Affleck discovers some key information that even the FBI would have passed along, but of course he can't, which escalates everything into a cliffhanger that Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove handled more courageously.
The above rant is mostly a time-delayed detonation of my own that's occurring while thinking through this review--there are plenty of things to enjoy, like Affleck being a worthy successor to the Ryan mantle, Morgan Freeman gives his usual mensch-like performance (he badly needs some roles that exercise more of his skills, however), Liev Schreiber adds some depth to wet-work spook Mr. Clark. Director Phil Alden Robinson manages to give this Clancy episode a much artier look than its predecessors (Field of Dreams is his sole other film of note--the "directed by Phil Alden Robinson" tag line in the commercials made it sound like he was a Francis Ford Coppola-esque auteur, which is ironic, since he clearly went to school on Coppola's montage technique for the ending). The safety tip for this one is: go ahead and see the movie, just don't reflect on it later.
Monday, May 27, 2002
Dogtown and Z-Boys (IMDB) (Netflix)
A narcissistic but entertaining documentary of a group of skateboarders in the 1970s, who grew out of the Southern California surfer culture, transformed the sport and, in their eyes, were the inspiration for the X Games and snowboarder culture. This film shows how you can take a bunch of grainy photographs, 8mm footage, and present-day interviews and put together an interesting, evocative story about the birth and evolution of a sub-culture. Were the History Channel this edgy...
Narrated by Sean Penn (holy shades of Ridgemont High), it chronicles the history of Dogtown, which connected the south of Santa Monica, Venice and Ocean Park, California, and the wrong-side-of-the-tracks kids who translated surfing to the dried-up pools of the California drought, took advantage of new technology (from clay to urethane wheels) and created a big-business sport. The only downer at the end is the realization that the film was made by some of the Z-Boys themselves, adding after the fact a sense of self-promotion and re-living of the past, but it's a piece of Americana that hasn't been shown, at least not nearly this definitively.
A narcissistic but entertaining documentary of a group of skateboarders in the 1970s, who grew out of the Southern California surfer culture, transformed the sport and, in their eyes, were the inspiration for the X Games and snowboarder culture. This film shows how you can take a bunch of grainy photographs, 8mm footage, and present-day interviews and put together an interesting, evocative story about the birth and evolution of a sub-culture. Were the History Channel this edgy...
Narrated by Sean Penn (holy shades of Ridgemont High), it chronicles the history of Dogtown, which connected the south of Santa Monica, Venice and Ocean Park, California, and the wrong-side-of-the-tracks kids who translated surfing to the dried-up pools of the California drought, took advantage of new technology (from clay to urethane wheels) and created a big-business sport. The only downer at the end is the realization that the film was made by some of the Z-Boys themselves, adding after the fact a sense of self-promotion and re-living of the past, but it's a piece of Americana that hasn't been shown, at least not nearly this definitively.
About a Boy (IMDB) (Netflix)
My mom said, "nothing special" and after all it stars Hugh Grant, so I was prepared to not like this message comedy much at all. He's is a self-professed emotional island who's happy to live off his dad's song-writing royalties, and would be quite the cad if he weren't such a ne'er-do-well. He does need the occasional girlfriend, however, and cooks up what he thinks is the perfect solution--recently single moms who need a transitional guy for awhile until they realize they're not ready for a deep relationship, and will dump him before he has to do the same to them. Brilliant strategy, but the execution is flawed, and he ends up being adopted by a hasn't-hit-his-stride kid with a mom with more than enough issues to make Hugh look like a role model.
Well-managed expectations aside, "Boy" does have a few things going for it, such as a Nick "High Fidelity" Hornby novel for a starting point that keeps the sap from flowing too heavily, and a Grant who's lost the prep school 'do and is virtually stammer-free. Unlike the TV sitcom Seinfeld, in which the point was that there was no point, "About a Boy" is very much about the message; our relationships are what makes it all worthwhile. Women will be satisfied by the ending, and guys can give in on the "which movie" decision without only a little pain, and build up points for Sum of All Fears or Undercover Brother.
My mom said, "nothing special" and after all it stars Hugh Grant, so I was prepared to not like this message comedy much at all. He's is a self-professed emotional island who's happy to live off his dad's song-writing royalties, and would be quite the cad if he weren't such a ne'er-do-well. He does need the occasional girlfriend, however, and cooks up what he thinks is the perfect solution--recently single moms who need a transitional guy for awhile until they realize they're not ready for a deep relationship, and will dump him before he has to do the same to them. Brilliant strategy, but the execution is flawed, and he ends up being adopted by a hasn't-hit-his-stride kid with a mom with more than enough issues to make Hugh look like a role model.
Well-managed expectations aside, "Boy" does have a few things going for it, such as a Nick "High Fidelity" Hornby novel for a starting point that keeps the sap from flowing too heavily, and a Grant who's lost the prep school 'do and is virtually stammer-free. Unlike the TV sitcom Seinfeld, in which the point was that there was no point, "About a Boy" is very much about the message; our relationships are what makes it all worthwhile. Women will be satisfied by the ending, and guys can give in on the "which movie" decision without only a little pain, and build up points for Sum of All Fears or Undercover Brother.
Sunday, May 26, 2002
Insomnia (IMDB) (Netflix)
They say that cops and criminals live two sides of the same psychosis, and any number of films and books have worked this theme, but few as smartly as this drama. A teenage girl has been murdered in small Alaska town, and two Los Angeles detectives have been dispatched to ostensibly help solve the case, but also to get the hell out of Dodge as an internal affairs investigation heats up. Al Pacino is the famous homicide dick with some secrets, Hilary Swank the eager, hero-worshiping local and Robin Williams as the key suspect, and the three get hung up in a complex cross-linkage of motivations and, for lack of a decent piece of non-jargon, co-opetition, that knocks together means, ends and living with consequences.
Director Christopher Nolan, who wrote and directed the innovative Memento, adapts a well-regarded 1997 Norwegian film of the same name (currently playing on the Independent Film Channel). Because this is a remake, you can bemoan the lack of Hollywood creativity (this is a summer of remakes and sequels), but the fact is that very few people saw the original, and a lot of people are going to pay to see this version--and they should. It's atmospheric, clever, and well-acted all-around; Pacino is at his weariest, Swank hits all the right notes as she loses her naïveté, and Williams exudes a restrained schtick-less creepiness that shows just how scary-looking a guy he is when he's not mugging for the audience.
They say that cops and criminals live two sides of the same psychosis, and any number of films and books have worked this theme, but few as smartly as this drama. A teenage girl has been murdered in small Alaska town, and two Los Angeles detectives have been dispatched to ostensibly help solve the case, but also to get the hell out of Dodge as an internal affairs investigation heats up. Al Pacino is the famous homicide dick with some secrets, Hilary Swank the eager, hero-worshiping local and Robin Williams as the key suspect, and the three get hung up in a complex cross-linkage of motivations and, for lack of a decent piece of non-jargon, co-opetition, that knocks together means, ends and living with consequences.
Director Christopher Nolan, who wrote and directed the innovative Memento, adapts a well-regarded 1997 Norwegian film of the same name (currently playing on the Independent Film Channel). Because this is a remake, you can bemoan the lack of Hollywood creativity (this is a summer of remakes and sequels), but the fact is that very few people saw the original, and a lot of people are going to pay to see this version--and they should. It's atmospheric, clever, and well-acted all-around; Pacino is at his weariest, Swank hits all the right notes as she loses her naïveté, and Williams exudes a restrained schtick-less creepiness that shows just how scary-looking a guy he is when he's not mugging for the audience.
Sunday, May 19, 2002
The Salton Sea (IMDB) (Netflix)
A stylish, imaginative, violent noir featuring Val Kilmer's first decent role in years. The film begins near the end, with Kilmer playing trumpet in a room that's becoming enveloped in flames, then flashes back to show how he got to that sorry state. The setting is Southern California's methedrine sub-culture, which is not for the easily appalled--Vincent D'Onofrio is the completely warped "cook" and dealer nicknamed "Pooh Bear" because he lost his nose to the drug and wears a plastic substitute ("Badly done facial prosthetics--the anti-drug"). Why Kilmer gets mixed up in all this and what he does to extricate himself makes for an original, if more than a little disturbing story. Peter Sarsgaard has a nice turn as Val's naive, trusting fellow tweeker, and there are sprinkles of I-shouldn't-be-laughing-at-that humor.
If you liked Memento and/or Sexy Beast, you'll probably be on solid ground.
A stylish, imaginative, violent noir featuring Val Kilmer's first decent role in years. The film begins near the end, with Kilmer playing trumpet in a room that's becoming enveloped in flames, then flashes back to show how he got to that sorry state. The setting is Southern California's methedrine sub-culture, which is not for the easily appalled--Vincent D'Onofrio is the completely warped "cook" and dealer nicknamed "Pooh Bear" because he lost his nose to the drug and wears a plastic substitute ("Badly done facial prosthetics--the anti-drug"). Why Kilmer gets mixed up in all this and what he does to extricate himself makes for an original, if more than a little disturbing story. Peter Sarsgaard has a nice turn as Val's naive, trusting fellow tweeker, and there are sprinkles of I-shouldn't-be-laughing-at-that humor.
If you liked Memento and/or Sexy Beast, you'll probably be on solid ground.
Saturday, May 18, 2002
Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones (IMDB) (Netflix)
When you're down and out, send in the clones. The Star Wars saga picks up steam after director George Lucas hit the excitement reset button in Episode I, featuring a half-dozen action sequences; the introduction of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), Luke's dad and you-know-who; a romance between Anakin and Senator-demoted-from-Queen) Amidalah (Natalie Portman, who reveals that she's been spending plenty of time with her Abdomenizer) and some confusing webs of intrigue that only aficionados will attempt to unravel.
Although the film was shot entirely digitally, I saw it in a conventional film projection theater on a medium-sized screen, and it looked pretty good. The sophisticated computer-generated imagery effects support some extremely ambitious and effective action scenes and art direction--if only Lucas's dialogue-writing skills had followed the same learning curve (if I heard Obi-Wan say to Anakin "blah-blah-blah, my young apprentice" one more time, there were going to be some non-digital special effects generated all over the theater floor). The romance has minimal heat, and the movie feels like a grand Act II, which in essence it is, being the set-up for third/sixth/last episode, which will be released in 2005.
When you're down and out, send in the clones. The Star Wars saga picks up steam after director George Lucas hit the excitement reset button in Episode I, featuring a half-dozen action sequences; the introduction of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), Luke's dad and you-know-who; a romance between Anakin and Senator-demoted-from-Queen) Amidalah (Natalie Portman, who reveals that she's been spending plenty of time with her Abdomenizer) and some confusing webs of intrigue that only aficionados will attempt to unravel.
Although the film was shot entirely digitally, I saw it in a conventional film projection theater on a medium-sized screen, and it looked pretty good. The sophisticated computer-generated imagery effects support some extremely ambitious and effective action scenes and art direction--if only Lucas's dialogue-writing skills had followed the same learning curve (if I heard Obi-Wan say to Anakin "blah-blah-blah, my young apprentice" one more time, there were going to be some non-digital special effects generated all over the theater floor). The romance has minimal heat, and the movie feels like a grand Act II, which in essence it is, being the set-up for third/sixth/last episode, which will be released in 2005.
Sunday, May 12, 2002
Happenstance ("The Beating of the Butterfly's Wings") (IMDB) (Netflix)
A slightly conceptual morsel-ette about the random interactions that determine how our life turns out (the beating of the butterly's wings in one part of the world sparks a set of events that become a hurricane in another part of the globe--the chaos theory metaphor) and the web of connections people belong to. Audrey Tautou, from Amelie, heads a cast of dozens of people who run into each other, don't run into each other, make choices, or let chance determine those choices for them.
There are some nice little moments sprinkled throughout, but the film never builds to hurricane velocity, or much of any kind of dramatic vortex. The butterfly might have been flapping his wings off, but he did it in a sealed container. For a more affecting take on the power of chance, try renting Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow.
A slightly conceptual morsel-ette about the random interactions that determine how our life turns out (the beating of the butterly's wings in one part of the world sparks a set of events that become a hurricane in another part of the globe--the chaos theory metaphor) and the web of connections people belong to. Audrey Tautou, from Amelie, heads a cast of dozens of people who run into each other, don't run into each other, make choices, or let chance determine those choices for them.
There are some nice little moments sprinkled throughout, but the film never builds to hurricane velocity, or much of any kind of dramatic vortex. The butterfly might have been flapping his wings off, but he did it in a sealed container. For a more affecting take on the power of chance, try renting Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow.
Saturday, May 11, 2002
Unfaithful (IMDB) (Netflix)
From 1934 until the late '60s, Hollywood films were subject to The Production Code, which --among its many specific rules--required that any character's bad deeds were punished. "Unfaithful" could not have been made under that system, but is a better movie for escaping those constraints.
Diane Lane is the wife who strays, and with this role, Richard Gere has ridden his career arc from American Gigolo to cuckold. Olivier Martinez is the young seducer, and succeeds in titillating all the women in audience while making the guys just want to smack his skinny little French--well, you get the picture. The performances are strong (director Adrian Lyne, who did 9-1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction and Flashdance, demanded an exhausting number of takes from the actors) and the technique of pumping smoke into the set provides an arty feel. The kid who plays Dewey (my favorite character) on "Malcolm in the Middle" does a good job as the couple's son. What takes this film up a notch is that there's no convenient justification made for anybody's actions: the affair, what happens when it all goes pear-shaped, and the aftermath. In one respect, no one gets off easy, but strict moralists will be frustrated.
From 1934 until the late '60s, Hollywood films were subject to The Production Code, which --among its many specific rules--required that any character's bad deeds were punished. "Unfaithful" could not have been made under that system, but is a better movie for escaping those constraints.
Diane Lane is the wife who strays, and with this role, Richard Gere has ridden his career arc from American Gigolo to cuckold. Olivier Martinez is the young seducer, and succeeds in titillating all the women in audience while making the guys just want to smack his skinny little French--well, you get the picture. The performances are strong (director Adrian Lyne, who did 9-1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction and Flashdance, demanded an exhausting number of takes from the actors) and the technique of pumping smoke into the set provides an arty feel. The kid who plays Dewey (my favorite character) on "Malcolm in the Middle" does a good job as the couple's son. What takes this film up a notch is that there's no convenient justification made for anybody's actions: the affair, what happens when it all goes pear-shaped, and the aftermath. In one respect, no one gets off easy, but strict moralists will be frustrated.
Sunday, May 05, 2002
Hollywood Ending (IMDB) (Netflix)
Woody Allen's latest confection, this time his self-referential premise has him as a washed-up movie director, who has developed psychosomatic blindness just as he's starting filming his comeback picture. Tea Leoni is his ex-wife and movie producer, who has wheedled her new fiance and studio head, Treat Williams, into letting Allen shoot the picture. The comedy comes from the lengths that Allen goes to in not letting anyone know he's blind as he goes through production, and the Hollywood jokes.
If you like Woody, and you get references like "can a hyphenate marry a below-the-line person? I don't know, check with Legal", then this picture's for you. Otherwise, it's Woody doing the Woody thing, down to the tweed jacket, black glasses and the whining dialogue, which can often be grating, but sometimes hilarious, as when he flips back and forth between discussing the picture and berating Leoni for leaving him and hooking up with Williams. I'd also would have liked more scenes with Barney Cheng, as the geeky translator for the Chinese cinematographer.
Woody Allen's latest confection, this time his self-referential premise has him as a washed-up movie director, who has developed psychosomatic blindness just as he's starting filming his comeback picture. Tea Leoni is his ex-wife and movie producer, who has wheedled her new fiance and studio head, Treat Williams, into letting Allen shoot the picture. The comedy comes from the lengths that Allen goes to in not letting anyone know he's blind as he goes through production, and the Hollywood jokes.
If you like Woody, and you get references like "can a hyphenate marry a below-the-line person? I don't know, check with Legal", then this picture's for you. Otherwise, it's Woody doing the Woody thing, down to the tweed jacket, black glasses and the whining dialogue, which can often be grating, but sometimes hilarious, as when he flips back and forth between discussing the picture and berating Leoni for leaving him and hooking up with Williams. I'd also would have liked more scenes with Barney Cheng, as the geeky translator for the Chinese cinematographer.
Saturday, May 04, 2002
Spider-Man (IMDB) (Netflix)
Casting Tobey Maguire, a scrawny, vegetarian, yoga-practicing actor who specializes in playing troubled characters, seemed like a colossal case of mis-casting for a super hero. But this is Spider-Man, the anti-hero super hero, who can't catch a break, even when he's saving scores of would-be crime victims and pawns of the Green Goblin's madness, making Maguire the perfect choice, as long he bulks up a little.
Compared to the campy-cartoonish Superman movies, this is a much darker, more textured and more interesting story that you'd expect from the stylish Sam Raimi, who's the only director I know of these days who wears a coat and tie to work and is said to have been a Spider-Man fanatic since he was a kid. Although the action sequences stretch the abilities of computer-generated imagery, Raimi knows how to blend special effects and camera moves as well as any movie director, and when Spider-Man swings Tarzan-like through the city, he really swings. Willem Defoe makes for a pretty malevalent Green Goblin, and Kirsten Dunst more than holds her own as Mary Jane, Spidey's love interest. Nice round of applause at the end of the film--a true crowd-pleaser.
PS--There was a short-but-incredibly-effective trailer for Ang Lee's The Hulk, starring the Delta Force stud in Black Hawk Down, Eric Bana, and I've never heard such a moan of disappointment when the words "May 2003" came up at the end. This movie already has "want to see" scores that rival Attack of the Clones.
Casting Tobey Maguire, a scrawny, vegetarian, yoga-practicing actor who specializes in playing troubled characters, seemed like a colossal case of mis-casting for a super hero. But this is Spider-Man, the anti-hero super hero, who can't catch a break, even when he's saving scores of would-be crime victims and pawns of the Green Goblin's madness, making Maguire the perfect choice, as long he bulks up a little.
Compared to the campy-cartoonish Superman movies, this is a much darker, more textured and more interesting story that you'd expect from the stylish Sam Raimi, who's the only director I know of these days who wears a coat and tie to work and is said to have been a Spider-Man fanatic since he was a kid. Although the action sequences stretch the abilities of computer-generated imagery, Raimi knows how to blend special effects and camera moves as well as any movie director, and when Spider-Man swings Tarzan-like through the city, he really swings. Willem Defoe makes for a pretty malevalent Green Goblin, and Kirsten Dunst more than holds her own as Mary Jane, Spidey's love interest. Nice round of applause at the end of the film--a true crowd-pleaser.
PS--There was a short-but-incredibly-effective trailer for Ang Lee's The Hulk, starring the Delta Force stud in Black Hawk Down, Eric Bana, and I've never heard such a moan of disappointment when the words "May 2003" came up at the end. This movie already has "want to see" scores that rival Attack of the Clones.
Sunday, April 28, 2002
Time Out (IMDB) (Netflix--na)
I knew this guy who graduated from law school, passed the bar, and never practiced law. Instead, he pursued an acting/writing career and did temp jobs to pay the rent, using a secretary friend at a real law firm to cover for him when Mom called ("he's in a meeting Mrs. Jones, I'll have him call you as soon as frees up"). He kept it up for years. The lead character in this French film goes much further, hiding his firing from his family for months by living in his car when he's supposedly on the road and keeping in touch via cell phone (presence-without-location being one of the many unanticipated benefits of wireless technology). He also finds some less-than-scrupulous ways to maintain an income. This might be a comedy premise, but it's not that, not at all.
As you might imagine, this guy lacks a sustainable business strategy, and his stress climbs along with the height of the house of cards he builds. The movie's lighting is cold and the music somber, and the performance is appropriately detached for someone who has checked out from the working world, although it's not as interesting as the acting in World Traveler (which has a much thinner plot, however). Pay attention to the ending--you might initially read it as Hollywood, but you'd be missing some nice ambiguity and irony notes.
I knew this guy who graduated from law school, passed the bar, and never practiced law. Instead, he pursued an acting/writing career and did temp jobs to pay the rent, using a secretary friend at a real law firm to cover for him when Mom called ("he's in a meeting Mrs. Jones, I'll have him call you as soon as frees up"). He kept it up for years. The lead character in this French film goes much further, hiding his firing from his family for months by living in his car when he's supposedly on the road and keeping in touch via cell phone (presence-without-location being one of the many unanticipated benefits of wireless technology). He also finds some less-than-scrupulous ways to maintain an income. This might be a comedy premise, but it's not that, not at all.
As you might imagine, this guy lacks a sustainable business strategy, and his stress climbs along with the height of the house of cards he builds. The movie's lighting is cold and the music somber, and the performance is appropriately detached for someone who has checked out from the working world, although it's not as interesting as the acting in World Traveler (which has a much thinner plot, however). Pay attention to the ending--you might initially read it as Hollywood, but you'd be missing some nice ambiguity and irony notes.
Saturday, April 27, 2002
The Cat's Meow (IMDB) (Netflix)
A speculation about a notorious weekend on William Randolph Hearst's yacht, where one of the guests died a few days after the festivities, by director Peter Bogdanovich (the wunderkind director of Last Picture Show and Paper Moon in the seventies, who quickly self-destructed and is finally making a comeback; known more recently as Dr. Melfi's occasional shrink on The Sopranos). It has many of the same elements as Gosford Park, only simplified and more didactic, with a surprisingly serious Joanna Lumley (yes, from Absolutely Fabulous) providing some book-ending (and to subscriber Janet Borggren's eyes, unnecessary) narration.
Figuring out who's going to get it isn't all that difficult, and you can see how it's going to happen a couple hundred yards away, but that's not the point, and there are some notable performances by Edward Herrmann (Hearst), Kirsten Dunst (his mistress Marion Davies), and everyone's favorite cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard, as Charlie Chaplin. Watchable, but certainly not mandatory viewing that's best appreciated by film buffs.
A speculation about a notorious weekend on William Randolph Hearst's yacht, where one of the guests died a few days after the festivities, by director Peter Bogdanovich (the wunderkind director of Last Picture Show and Paper Moon in the seventies, who quickly self-destructed and is finally making a comeback; known more recently as Dr. Melfi's occasional shrink on The Sopranos). It has many of the same elements as Gosford Park, only simplified and more didactic, with a surprisingly serious Joanna Lumley (yes, from Absolutely Fabulous) providing some book-ending (and to subscriber Janet Borggren's eyes, unnecessary) narration.
Figuring out who's going to get it isn't all that difficult, and you can see how it's going to happen a couple hundred yards away, but that's not the point, and there are some notable performances by Edward Herrmann (Hearst), Kirsten Dunst (his mistress Marion Davies), and everyone's favorite cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard, as Charlie Chaplin. Watchable, but certainly not mandatory viewing that's best appreciated by film buffs.
World Traveler (IMDB) (Netflix)
It's a shame actor Billy Crudup doesn't work in bigger films; other than the wonderful Almost Famous, he's focused mostly on indie efforts like Jesus's Son, Inventing the Abbotts and Waking the Dead, difficult dramas that don't even try to be mass-market. Here he's a New York architect who has a premature mid-life crisis, leaves his wife and young son, and hits the road to find, well, something, but even he's not sure what that is.
This film might try your patience--it's totally character-driven, and the restrained dialogue is as spare as the action. Yet watching Crudup, and Julianne Moore as one of the people he meets along the way, makes the journey somehow worthwhile, because they're able to vividly communicate their damaged psyches without saying or doing much of anything, rather than through tiresome made-for-TV-movie histrionics.
It's a shame actor Billy Crudup doesn't work in bigger films; other than the wonderful Almost Famous, he's focused mostly on indie efforts like Jesus's Son, Inventing the Abbotts and Waking the Dead, difficult dramas that don't even try to be mass-market. Here he's a New York architect who has a premature mid-life crisis, leaves his wife and young son, and hits the road to find, well, something, but even he's not sure what that is.
This film might try your patience--it's totally character-driven, and the restrained dialogue is as spare as the action. Yet watching Crudup, and Julianne Moore as one of the people he meets along the way, makes the journey somehow worthwhile, because they're able to vividly communicate their damaged psyches without saying or doing much of anything, rather than through tiresome made-for-TV-movie histrionics.
Friday, April 26, 2002
Notable Rental -- Apocalypse Now Redux (IMDB) (Netflix)
Francis Ford Coppola's director's cut of the 1979 Apocalypse Now--longer, but more coherent and therefore more powerful. Saw it again in a Coppola film class, where it got the second most votes for best Coppola film, behind The Godfather trilogy (which seems to be cheating a little), putting it far ahead of The Conversation. Based on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," with Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurtz, who has gone so far off the Vietnam war reservation that Martin Sheen is sent to "terminate his command" with "extreme prejudice." Along the way he meets Robert Duvall's Lt. Col. Kilgore, who gave us "Charlie don't surf!," "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning" and best of all, "someday this war's going to end" (in the context of the movie, this is very funny, trust me). While the story may seem wildly over the top, it was in fact based on stories coming back from the war about troops surfing after battles and officers going native.
There's a delicious tension between rightie screenwriter John Milius, war buff George Lucas, and the dovish Coppola that simultaneously creates bloodlust for and revulsion at what you see on the screen, which is beautifully shot by Vittorio Storaro (thought of by his fellow cinematographers as the best around), and hear (Walter Murch did the sound, which won an Oscar). As many have observed, the production was also Coppola's personal Vietnam: the Pentagon refused to help, the Philippine Army helicopters kept flying off the set to fight Islamic fundamentalists (we're watching that movie again now), a hurricane shut down production for a couple months, Brando hadn't prepped mentally or physically and had ballooned to almost 300 pounds, Sheen had a heart attack, and Coppola was having an affair with one of the crew while his wife shot a terrific documentary about the production (Hearts of Darkness). That Coppola pulled this out of the quagmire and produced a film that falls #28 on the American Film Institute's all-time greatest list is miraculous.
Francis Ford Coppola's director's cut of the 1979 Apocalypse Now--longer, but more coherent and therefore more powerful. Saw it again in a Coppola film class, where it got the second most votes for best Coppola film, behind The Godfather trilogy (which seems to be cheating a little), putting it far ahead of The Conversation. Based on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," with Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurtz, who has gone so far off the Vietnam war reservation that Martin Sheen is sent to "terminate his command" with "extreme prejudice." Along the way he meets Robert Duvall's Lt. Col. Kilgore, who gave us "Charlie don't surf!," "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning" and best of all, "someday this war's going to end" (in the context of the movie, this is very funny, trust me). While the story may seem wildly over the top, it was in fact based on stories coming back from the war about troops surfing after battles and officers going native.
There's a delicious tension between rightie screenwriter John Milius, war buff George Lucas, and the dovish Coppola that simultaneously creates bloodlust for and revulsion at what you see on the screen, which is beautifully shot by Vittorio Storaro (thought of by his fellow cinematographers as the best around), and hear (Walter Murch did the sound, which won an Oscar). As many have observed, the production was also Coppola's personal Vietnam: the Pentagon refused to help, the Philippine Army helicopters kept flying off the set to fight Islamic fundamentalists (we're watching that movie again now), a hurricane shut down production for a couple months, Brando hadn't prepped mentally or physically and had ballooned to almost 300 pounds, Sheen had a heart attack, and Coppola was having an affair with one of the crew while his wife shot a terrific documentary about the production (Hearts of Darkness). That Coppola pulled this out of the quagmire and produced a film that falls #28 on the American Film Institute's all-time greatest list is miraculous.
Thursday, April 25, 2002
Murder by Numbers (IMDB) (Netflix)
Teen angst is deadly. Two troubled-but-hyperintelligent adolescents decide to prove their confused philosophy by killing a random person, which brings in Sandra Bullock (who has her own baggage) as the homocide detective who, of course, bucks the system to go after them.
The performances by the two boys are creepy yet credible, and Bullock commendibly stretches beyond her feisty wise-cracking-girl-next-store persona, but doesn't succeed in connecting with the audience. The teen relationship storyline freshens things up (it's very loosely based on the 1924 Leopold and Loeb case), but there are too many standard crime drama elements dragging it down (Bullock's character is told by her boss "this case is closed" when, of course, she knows it isn't), especially for a movie that's not a whodunit, but a how-is-she-going-to-prove-whodunit.
Teen angst is deadly. Two troubled-but-hyperintelligent adolescents decide to prove their confused philosophy by killing a random person, which brings in Sandra Bullock (who has her own baggage) as the homocide detective who, of course, bucks the system to go after them.
The performances by the two boys are creepy yet credible, and Bullock commendibly stretches beyond her feisty wise-cracking-girl-next-store persona, but doesn't succeed in connecting with the audience. The teen relationship storyline freshens things up (it's very loosely based on the 1924 Leopold and Loeb case), but there are too many standard crime drama elements dragging it down (Bullock's character is told by her boss "this case is closed" when, of course, she knows it isn't), especially for a movie that's not a whodunit, but a how-is-she-going-to-prove-whodunit.
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Enigma (IMDB) (Netflix)
The Allies' theft and use of Germany's Enigma code machine, without the Germans ever getting wise, almost certainly determined the outcome of World War II in Europe. It also provides the backdrop for this romantic period thriller about cryptography, counter-espionage and near-obsessive love. This is a complex puzzle set that requires audiences to listen closely to put it together, and to appreciate the Tom Stoppard dialogue (much like watching a baseball game, if you're just waiting for the ball to be hit, you'll be bored out of your skull, but if you can focus on the pitch-by-pitch duel between the pitcher and batter, there's all of a sudden a lot going on).
The suspense never quite pulls you to the edge of your seat, and there's a Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew-story-with-consequences feel that other directors might have avoided, but it's still a pleasant enough ride for history aficionados, Anglophiles and mystery fans. Dougray Scott (the lead heavy in Mission Impossible II) is the code-breaker and jilted lover at the end of his tether, and Jeremy Northam (the actor/singer/pianist in Gosford Park) gets most of the juicy lines as the spy-catcher. Kate Winslet is the plucky under-appreciated code clerk who befriends Scott, and Saffron Burrows is the heart-breakingly beautiful cipher whose disappearance pulls Scott into the mystery. I have no idea why it's rated R in the U.S.; seven-year-olds can see it in Sweden. (For a great novel about cryptography, try Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.)
The Allies' theft and use of Germany's Enigma code machine, without the Germans ever getting wise, almost certainly determined the outcome of World War II in Europe. It also provides the backdrop for this romantic period thriller about cryptography, counter-espionage and near-obsessive love. This is a complex puzzle set that requires audiences to listen closely to put it together, and to appreciate the Tom Stoppard dialogue (much like watching a baseball game, if you're just waiting for the ball to be hit, you'll be bored out of your skull, but if you can focus on the pitch-by-pitch duel between the pitcher and batter, there's all of a sudden a lot going on).
The suspense never quite pulls you to the edge of your seat, and there's a Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew-story-with-consequences feel that other directors might have avoided, but it's still a pleasant enough ride for history aficionados, Anglophiles and mystery fans. Dougray Scott (the lead heavy in Mission Impossible II) is the code-breaker and jilted lover at the end of his tether, and Jeremy Northam (the actor/singer/pianist in Gosford Park) gets most of the juicy lines as the spy-catcher. Kate Winslet is the plucky under-appreciated code clerk who befriends Scott, and Saffron Burrows is the heart-breakingly beautiful cipher whose disappearance pulls Scott into the mystery. I have no idea why it's rated R in the U.S.; seven-year-olds can see it in Sweden. (For a great novel about cryptography, try Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.)
Friday, April 19, 2002
Notable Video Releases
The Deep End (IMDB) (Netflix)
A nice little thriller where, for a change, Mom is the protector. Tilda Swinton and the photography are terrific and got plenty of non-Oscar awards and nominations.
The Man Who Wasn't There (IMDB) (Netflix)
The latest Coen Brothers' comedy about "existential dread" (according to them). Beautiful black & white Oscar-nominated cinematography by Roger Deakins, who also shot "A Beautiful Mind." Strong performance by Billy Bob Thornton and a wonderful monologue by Tony Shaloub that almost steals the movie.
Sexy Beast (IMDB) (Netflix)
Ben Kingsley's anti-Gandhi performance of a hood trying to brutalize a colleague into un-retiring got him a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Powerful stuff, but not for the delicate of sensibility.
The Deep End (IMDB) (Netflix)
A nice little thriller where, for a change, Mom is the protector. Tilda Swinton and the photography are terrific and got plenty of non-Oscar awards and nominations.
The Man Who Wasn't There (IMDB) (Netflix)
The latest Coen Brothers' comedy about "existential dread" (according to them). Beautiful black & white Oscar-nominated cinematography by Roger Deakins, who also shot "A Beautiful Mind." Strong performance by Billy Bob Thornton and a wonderful monologue by Tony Shaloub that almost steals the movie.
Sexy Beast (IMDB) (Netflix)
Ben Kingsley's anti-Gandhi performance of a hood trying to brutalize a colleague into un-retiring got him a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Powerful stuff, but not for the delicate of sensibility.
The Last Waltz (IMDB) (Netflix)
If you disqualify "Woodstock" as being more a documentary about a "happening", "The Last Waltz" might be the best concert film ever (Barbra Streisand TV specials need not apply), elevating The Band's 1976 farewell performance to cultural icon status. One measure of a group is the company it keeps, and the people who showed up to play with them at Winterland that night were mere hacks like Van Morrison, Paul Butterfield, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, and of course Bob Dylan, who they backed up when he went electric in the mid-60's. It's said that Beatles' "Let It Be" was inspired by The Band's debut album, "Music from the Big Pink." Not for nothing were they inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
There's a joie de vivre here that today's too-cool-for-school groups avoid, plus a poignancy that comes from the reminiscences of the members of 16 years on the road, and from today's knowledge that, like for most groups, it would never be the same. Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson's solo careers were far less influential, bad blood grew between Robertson and Levon Helm over song-writing credits, Richard Manuel hung himself in 1986 and Danko died prematurely a few years ago. The film was produced by Robertson, and directed by Martin Scorcese, and the two became runnin' buddies and mutually reinforcing substance abusers during its making. You can dismiss this as a nostalgia trip for aging hipsters if you want (guilty on the aging count, and for attempted hipsterhood at least), but it's also a powerful encapsulation of rock's persona in the early 70's.
To be seen on the big screen (or least a home theater system), and quickly (releases of this type generally don't play for more than a week or two).
Postscript--I was just listening to a radio program done by two Chicago newspaper rock critics; one of them absolutely hated this film, the other defended it, albeit tepidly. Read some other reviews and decide for yourself.
If you disqualify "Woodstock" as being more a documentary about a "happening", "The Last Waltz" might be the best concert film ever (Barbra Streisand TV specials need not apply), elevating The Band's 1976 farewell performance to cultural icon status. One measure of a group is the company it keeps, and the people who showed up to play with them at Winterland that night were mere hacks like Van Morrison, Paul Butterfield, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, and of course Bob Dylan, who they backed up when he went electric in the mid-60's. It's said that Beatles' "Let It Be" was inspired by The Band's debut album, "Music from the Big Pink." Not for nothing were they inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
There's a joie de vivre here that today's too-cool-for-school groups avoid, plus a poignancy that comes from the reminiscences of the members of 16 years on the road, and from today's knowledge that, like for most groups, it would never be the same. Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson's solo careers were far less influential, bad blood grew between Robertson and Levon Helm over song-writing credits, Richard Manuel hung himself in 1986 and Danko died prematurely a few years ago. The film was produced by Robertson, and directed by Martin Scorcese, and the two became runnin' buddies and mutually reinforcing substance abusers during its making. You can dismiss this as a nostalgia trip for aging hipsters if you want (guilty on the aging count, and for attempted hipsterhood at least), but it's also a powerful encapsulation of rock's persona in the early 70's.
To be seen on the big screen (or least a home theater system), and quickly (releases of this type generally don't play for more than a week or two).
Postscript--I was just listening to a radio program done by two Chicago newspaper rock critics; one of them absolutely hated this film, the other defended it, albeit tepidly. Read some other reviews and decide for yourself.
Changing Lanes (IMDB) (Netflix)
We're late, we're late, late for very important court dates. Insurance telemarketer Samuel L. Jackson and law partner Ben Affleck desperately need to see the judge, for different reasons, but they collide in traffic, setting off a messy arc of callousness, retribution, remorse and attempted redemption. Although the actors are all strong (for a switch, the wives are the scariest characters in their small roles), the dance toward and away from a peaceful resolution makes this much more interesting than a linear drive-to-the-climax flick, and the subplot that challenges lawyer Affleck's ethical compass gives the film more depth than you might expect of the number one movie in the U.S.
I would have cut the last 60 seconds of the movie, which tacks on a Hollywood feel-good note that too-neatly wraps up one of the storylines and dilutes the film's impact, but with that exception, this is a very well-made commercial effort that's more than its trailer would imply. (If anyone can tell me who makes Sidney Pollack's cool eyeglasses [he's Affleck's father-in-law and boss in the picture], let me know).
We're late, we're late, late for very important court dates. Insurance telemarketer Samuel L. Jackson and law partner Ben Affleck desperately need to see the judge, for different reasons, but they collide in traffic, setting off a messy arc of callousness, retribution, remorse and attempted redemption. Although the actors are all strong (for a switch, the wives are the scariest characters in their small roles), the dance toward and away from a peaceful resolution makes this much more interesting than a linear drive-to-the-climax flick, and the subplot that challenges lawyer Affleck's ethical compass gives the film more depth than you might expect of the number one movie in the U.S.
I would have cut the last 60 seconds of the movie, which tacks on a Hollywood feel-good note that too-neatly wraps up one of the storylines and dilutes the film's impact, but with that exception, this is a very well-made commercial effort that's more than its trailer would imply. (If anyone can tell me who makes Sidney Pollack's cool eyeglasses [he's Affleck's father-in-law and boss in the picture], let me know).
Sunday, April 14, 2002
Frailty (IMDB) (Netflix)
It'll be interesting to see how this plays in the Bible Belt. Bill Paxton is the father of two young sons, and a Joe Average one at that, until he begins receiving visions telling him to "destroy" demons, who are, of course, actual people. The story is told years later to an FBI agent in a series of flashbacks through the eyes of one of the sons (Matthew McConaughey), who was old enough to know something was very wrong about this deal, but also finds it excruciatingly difficult to stand up to his dad and stop the killing. That dilemma is the heart of the movie, and there's a twist in the ending that'll generate some conversation on how religion is used to justify extreme behavior (not much of that happening these days...). Is Paxton's character totally nuts, or really hearing the word of God?
Although this is Paxton's directorial debut (he's best known as the comic relief in Aliens: "In case you haven't been paying attention to current events, we just got our asses kicked, pal!"), it's a gutsy one, and the writing and performances are uniformly strong (even McConaughey's).
It'll be interesting to see how this plays in the Bible Belt. Bill Paxton is the father of two young sons, and a Joe Average one at that, until he begins receiving visions telling him to "destroy" demons, who are, of course, actual people. The story is told years later to an FBI agent in a series of flashbacks through the eyes of one of the sons (Matthew McConaughey), who was old enough to know something was very wrong about this deal, but also finds it excruciatingly difficult to stand up to his dad and stop the killing. That dilemma is the heart of the movie, and there's a twist in the ending that'll generate some conversation on how religion is used to justify extreme behavior (not much of that happening these days...). Is Paxton's character totally nuts, or really hearing the word of God?
Although this is Paxton's directorial debut (he's best known as the comic relief in Aliens: "In case you haven't been paying attention to current events, we just got our asses kicked, pal!"), it's a gutsy one, and the writing and performances are uniformly strong (even McConaughey's).
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