Disappointing film based on intriguing concept: a fantasy world in which no one ever lies encounters a man who, in the midst of frustrating life changes, acquires the ability to lie. And everyone, assuming that he is telling the truth, reacts without the slightest disbelief of what he says. Along the way, he invents religion-- a daring statement for a film that regresses into the most mawkish romance imaginable, without our rather unlikeable hero in love with an even less likable triviality played by Jennifer Garner. Considering all the possibilitie, it's a shame the plot was less developed and enriched, and that the very predictable love story takes over.
Jennifer Garner, Ricky Gervais
Appalling, horrible terrorist thriller with a plot twist which, if you hadn't seen it coming from miles away, would still have been just as hokey. Long after you've stopped caring, you find out the Martijn (Ryan Phillipe) is not all he appears to be. He is kidnapped and held by terrorists in Morroco, but his captors appear to be far more interested in information than ransom, or politics.
Phillip , Fishburne
Terribly dated dramatic style-- neo-realist film about a ridiculously self-conscious pick-pocket, inspired by Dostoevsky's Raskalnikov. Might have been more appealling if it hadn't been so self-consciously philosophical. One of those films that annoy you by suggesting you will find its subject fascinating but you will have to twist his arm to get his story, oh, all right.
Beautifully filmed, mysterious, allusive film about the disappearance of three school girls at Hanging Rock, a tourist site in Australia. The film is less interested in explanations and clues than in the mysterious interactions between humans and the harsh, wild environment of the wilderness, and the submerged desires and affinities that drive people to irrational acts.
Uneven but consistently interesting story about a boy snatched away from a family in Brazil by a remote tribe and raised as their own. His father searches for him for years but when he finally finds him, realizes that he has developed a strong bond with the tribe and may not be better off returning to "civilization". Allegedly based on a true story, but very thinly. The scenes of the tribe's cultural an social activities are compelling, but the ending is rather contrived.
Beautifully written and acted drama about a striking woman named Judith Moore, played by Holly Hunter, coming to grips with getting dumped by her physician husband-- the man she gave up medical school to marry-- before finding out he didn't want children. Danny DeVito is Pat, the doorman, whose own daughter is dying, and whose wife has left him. The two connect, tentatively-- a lot of the fun in this movie is watching it avoid Hollywood convention. Some scenes happen only in Judith's head. Then you find out that a scene you thought only happened in her head actually happened. Just when it looks like the two will get together they don't. Then they do. Then they don't. Some scenes-- like the orgiastic dancing at the lesbian after hours club-- are contrived: everyone is gorgeous-- but then, we're not quite sure how much of it is Judith's fantasy. Extraordinary and unusual.
Danny DeVito, Holly Hunter, Queen Latifah, Martin Donovan, Elias Koteas
Very, very slow, stately, gorgeous exploration of life on the underside in Kuala Lampur. A Chinese man is beaten by a gang, then rescued by a foreign worker who nurses him back to health. Meanwhile, a young woman tends the needs of a comatose man, while enduring abuse and exploitation by his family. Very picturesque, but dismal and dark, yet beautiful. I don't believe there is a single camera movement in the entire film. Mozart's music is featured prominently as this film was commissioned for some kind of commemoration of Mozart's 250th anniversay.
Drippy, sentimal hogwash.
Above average action thriller that just can't resist adding too many bodies and double-crosses for it's own good. Still, De Niro is interesting as usual, and has a strong supporting cast, including Stellan
Amusing, sometimes witty vision of how a pair of high school cheerleader types end up influencing Dick Nixon in bad and good ways.
Retelling of true story of slave ship mutiny-- the slaves were tricked into sailing to the U.S. instead of Africa. Became a celebrated legal case when French demanded their "property" back.
Gory action movie about a group of cops and prisoners trapped in a closed precinct house when a man having a nervous breakdown enters after murdering a gang member for murdering his daughter. Lots of blood and very, very bad dialogue. Highly regarded in some quarters for some mysterious reason, possbily the explicit violence, and the non-nonsense plot.
Raw and gutsy portrait of an aging professional wrestler at a crossroads. Mickey Rourke is
Mickey Rourke, Marissa Tomei, Rachel Evan Wood
Utterly remarkable for the astounding beauty of many shots, but dramatically uneven. A stunt man recuperates in a hospital in Los Angeles in the early 1900's where he meets Alexandria, a young girl who is curious about his stories. He wants to use her to get morphine, and she wants to be entertained. The movie shows us Roy's stories as imagined by her, including actions that defy physics or logic or both-- and thus illuminates the human desire for dramatization, for analogy, for story.
French film about a man who loses his job and neglects to tell his wife and children. He continues going off to "work" every morning, eventually announcing that he has a new "job" at the U.N. in Switzerland. In the meantime, he travels around, borrows money from his father, strikes up a relationship with a black marketer. Explores the idea that man is defined by vocation, by the way he provides and identifies himself as a productive member of society. Vincent simply opts out, and doesn't do what he should to get back in. Striking, unusual film. Also known as "L'emploi du Temps".
Odd, sweet, but dissatisfying effort by Mike Leigh to give us a portrait of a happy, contented person.
Elegiac film about skateboards with a plot thrown in.
Contrived hokum with an unlikable Sandler as the victim of Tea Leoni's hysterical control-freak mother, who must learn from the Spanish maid how to be human so her husband won't cheat on her, though he is perfectly entitled to, except that this is a Hollywood movie in which the sexual morality of the principle characters can never actually be compromised therefore defusing the entire film of any interest or tension. Pure BS designed to amuse audiences who think they are superior to the mom, but are actually superior to the Producers of the film. Tea Leoni, by the way, is way, way better than this.
ADAM SANDLER, TEA LEONI
Superior animation about a superhero family...
HOLLY HUNTER, CRAIG T. NELSON, SAMUEL L. JACKSON, JASON LEE, WALLACE SHAWN
Hollywood just can't resist these canards about the redemptive powers of confronting your demons, and the liberating power of cutting loose and acting crazy... and it can't resist packaging these elements into a safe, antiseptic package like this. I freely concede most people will like this film. But does anybody really find any suspense in Alan Johnson's temptation to cheat on his wife? Is anybody bothered by the fantasy of a psychiatrist played by Liv Tyler who helps stray, emotionally disturbed patients move into a new apartment? People should be offended by the arm-twisting required to simultaneously have Charlie resist treatment while Dr. Oakhurst (Tyler) insists on offering it. Here where the phoniness of this movie is completely transparent: the only way anyone accepts this scene is if you are responding to Adam Sandler the lovable comedian, and not any even remotely real disturbed individual. The really sad truth is that for all his mumbling and outbursts, Sandler acts very, very badly. (For something more like the real thing, see Mike Leigh's "Naked".) Look-- Dr. Johnson is not going to have an affair. Charlie's not going to commit suicide. And the nice judge is not going lock him up. Hollywood makes it safe for us to love ourselves for feeling so understanding and compassionate towards this adorable psycho by pulling all it's punches and offering us self-projection instead of revelation.
ADAM SANDLER, DON CHEADLE, JADA PINKETT SMITH, LIV TYLER, DONALD SUTHERLAND
It does get better. But it starts slowly and, aside from the pleasure of watching Woody Allen's work with good actors and interesting writer, never really goes very far. Radha Mitchell is good, and most of the supporting cast is decent, and, by the end of the film, I started thinking this is actually more interesting than I thought it would be.
RADHA MITCHELL, MICHAEL FARINA, WALLACE SHAWN, CHLOE SEVIGNY, JONNY LEE MILLER, AMANDA PEET, WILL FERRELL
Over-rated but thoughtful and sometimes intriguing drama about a disenchanted middle-aged man-- living his life of quiet desperation-- and his madcap desire to assert himself as an individual, much to consternation of his real estate agent wife. There are some heavies in the film-- the ex-marine neighbor, for example-- and some cheap humour. Worst of all is the cop-out at the end. Spacey has his chance to take the teenage Lolita he's been longing for the whole movie but draws back when he finds out she is a virgin. It's the right thing to do, but jarring given what we understand about the character up to then. Funniest line: Annette Benning hectoring her daughter by reminder her that when she was her age, she had to live in a duplex.
KEVIN SPACEY, THORA BIRCH, ANNETTE BENNING
Some films, like some great meals, are meant to experienced in one long, continuous sitting. The Leopard builds slowly, with stately progress, until it reaches a passionate climax in the final grand ball, and the dance between Prince Salina and Angelica, with echoes of what might have been had history not run it's course. (The movie takes place during the late 19th century and Garibaldi's attempts to unify Italy under a single monarch form the intrusive backdrop of the story.) Burt Lancaster, in his best role ever, was made for this role: the wise and wistful, fatalistic Prince Salina, who sees the tide turning on his class and his position in society, and makes the deal that will at least give his nephew some prospects in the coming republic. Angelica (Cardinale) is sometimes vulgar and earthy, but in her moments with the "leopard" she seems to simulataneously absorb and apprehend his graciousness. As with many films that wax nostalgiac about lost class and culture, the film encourages you to sympathize with the wrong side of history, from the Samauri to the antebellum mansions to the Leopard-- they glamourize the culture, position, and values of a society that also exploited and oppressed other races or classes. They rarely indulge in dramatization of their lot. The Leopard is guilty as well, but it's a lavish, exquisite film, with realistic but wistful appreciation of a bygone era.
BURT LANCASTER, CLAUDI CARDINALE, ALAIN DELON
Amazingly innovative comedy about a pathetic loser, who does puppet shows about Heloise and Abelard, who discovers a secret tunnel into-- John Malcovich. He also happens to be hot for Maxine, whom he lets in on the secret, and who persuades him to start selling access to it. All of this takes place in an office that is between floors, and only about 5 feet high, forcing everyone working in it to crouch. Craig Schwartz also has a wife, Lotte, who begins to suspect something is amiss. Maxine is less interested in Craig than in Lotte, at least, when Lotte is "John Malcovich". The complications are rich and endless culminating in a stunning sequence with Malkovich himself entering the complications. One of the best films of the year.
JOHN CUSACK, CAMERON DIAZ, NED BELLAMY, CATHARINE KEENER, JOHN MALKOVICH, ORSON BEAN, MARY KAY PLACE
This is the disturbing story of Teena Brandon, a young woman who preferred life as a male, and decided to adopt a male identity in a nearby town. She developed several friendships and even romantic interest, before being outed and murdered, and becoming a poster boy/girl for tolerance and acceptance of gender confusion. Swank is pretty good, and believable.
HILARY SWANK, CHLOE SEVIGNY, PETER SARSGAARD
Above average interesting film about love and happiness and illusions. A young maid who works for an architect, and thinks he might be interested in her, is struck and seriously injured by a detective who has been drinking. He takes off and deals with the guilt-- she deals with the fickle hand of fate, and her beliefs.
Collosal failure, embarrassing, oddball movie by Polanski-- you ask yourself, what was he thinking? Peter Coyote is a boring old fart reliving affairs of his youth on a cruise to Istanbul with Kristin Scott Thomas and Hugh Grant. Really remarkably tasteless.
HUGH GRANT, PETER COYOTE, KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS
Very entertaining occasionally funny product of "Wallace and Grommit" creator. Beautiful animations but adopts the silly action sequence style of Hollywood thrillers-- you wish you could just see the movements more and less cutting and jumping. Not as good as the "Wallace and Grommit"-- nothing hear to match the train sequence of "The Wrong Trousers".
Spectacular but conventional Hollywood drama about a Roman general who loses everything and then wins everything....
RUSSELL CROWE, JOAQUIN PHOENIX, OLIVER REED, RICHARD HARRIS, DEREK JACOBY
Entertaining story about a psychologist trying to help a boy who claims to be able to see the dead, and to communicate with dead spirits. Somewhat over-rated in general, but not as bad as I expected it to be.
BRUCE WILLIS, HALEY JOE OSMENT, TONI COLLETTE
Five people find themselves trapped in some monstrous structure, the cube, containing hundreds, perhaps thousands of nearly identical rooms, each with six doors leading to adjacent rooms. Some rooms contain deadly traps. The five people try to find their way out, using skills or talents they barely believe in. All the elements of a traditional Hollywood thriller are here, but without the stereo-types or predictability. As a result, the Cube is often genuinely suspenseful. You are not quite sure who the hero is here, or the villain, or which approach to their dilemma really works. On the most obvious level, the Cube functions as allegory, but with enough action to keep you from settling in to one pat interpretation. Here the film sometimes, however, gives itself away. Characters respond to each other, sometimes, as symbols-- the cynical fatalist, or the gung-ho "leader" -- or the idiot savant. You can play with these metaphors, or just enjoy the film at a visceral level. It's sometimes haunting.
Powerful and haunting documentary about the Kuwait in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion. Unforgettable images of flaming oil wells and ruined forests.
Antoine Doneil continues the series. Here he is kicked out of the army because he goes AWOL all the time. He rushes over to a bordello for kicks, then gets a job at a hotel. When he allows a private investigator to bluff his way into a room, he is fired, but gets a job with the private investigator. He falls in love with various women but ends up with the girl he knew all along. Fresh and charming, as most Truffaut films are, and cleverly filmed. Feels improvised and loosely structured, as if Truffaut were improvising himself, but that's part of the charm.
JEAN-PIERRE LENAUD, DELPHINE SEYRIG, MICHEL LONSDALE, CLAUDE JADE, MICHAEL FALCON
Interesting story about a couple living in a swank London Hotel who suspect each other when the wife's priceless Henry Moore sculpture goes missing one evening. Contrary to reputation, Andee MacDowell does nudity in this film. The dialogue is sufficiently offbeat and the characters strong enough to sustain interest in a movie that otherwise appears to be headed nowhere. Did the maid take it, after all?
ANDEE MACDOWELL, JOHN MALKOVICH, LOLITA DAVIDOVICH
Spooky horror film about three film-makers who disappear in a woods while investigating the legend of the "Blair Witch". Presented as documentary (the recovered footage of the disappeared crew), it has an eerie sense of pedestrian weirdness to it. We connect with the rather unremarkable crew and grow to share their unease at their predicament. There is nothing particularly acute about this horror film. It works because it is fresh and unusual and horror only works well if we don't really know what to expect. Part of the novelty of Blair is that we don't really see very much (in contrast to "The Mummy" which shows us way too much). We hear noises. We see spooky piles of stones and wooden dolls. We see three otherwise self-possessed young people gradually grow more and more hysterical at their predicament. But... what else is there? Nothing much. It's a thrill ride of a movie, complete with motion sickness. Enjoy the novelty, but don't expect anything really intriguing. Filmed for about $60,000. Like "Clerks", raises the question: can this fluke hit of the summer produce a successful sequel? I didn't see anything in this movie to suggest it can.
Steve Martin, like Robin Williams, has lost the edgey cynicism that made him so interesting back in the 1980's. In Bowfinger, he is a likable film-maker-- a la Ed Wood -- who cheats and tricks his way into a blockbuster B-picture. Are we supposed to believe, at the end, that his movie is a hit? What makes this film an oddity is that this kind of b-picture doesn't exist anymore. The interesting stuff in movies is coming from independent productions, and this film might have been more apt in either situating itself in the 1950's, or updating the premise to an independent director in the 1990's. With the success of films like "Blair Witch Project", it would have been an interesting story. As it is, it is a likable and only mildly interesting comedy.
STEVE MARTIN, HEATHER GRAHAM, EDDIE MURPHY
Intermittently amusing film about native American who drives down to Arizona to retrieve the body of his dead father, while trying to reconcile himself with memories of the old man and his own uncertainty about his place in his family and society. This is one of those earnest, independent films that are supposed to be quirkly and fresh and charm you off your feet. Well, it has some of that, but it is also occasionally contrived and phoney and just plain dumb.
Entertaining if somewhat lowbrow parody of super-hero action-adventure films, with an above-average cast and enjoyable special effects. Not particularly ingenious-- like, say, "Life is Wonderful"-- but it has it's moments.
JEANEANE GARAFALO, WILLIAM H. MACY
Four men set out to canoe a wilderness river before a new damn floods the area, destroying it's natural beauty. This romantic gesture sets off the tension in the film: these men are dilettantes, intruders, interlopers, with their own romantic delusions about nature. The famous "dualing banjoes" theme, with one of the men playing an impromptu duet with a mountain boy, foreshadows darker collisions. He wants to shake the boy's hand, and play another number, but the boy just looks away with an expression of malevolent ignorance. The four men set off and quickly become pleased with themselves after negotiating some mild rapids. They begin to act as if this wilderness life aint so challenging after all-- until they encounter a pair of hostile hunters. The disaster that follows is meant, I suppose, to tell us that nature is not benevolent or innocent. It is no eden of recovered virtue. The survivors are changed men. They have lost their innocence. And if that sounds a bit pat, so is the movie. The moral of this parable is laid on a little thick at times. Other moments-- Jon Voigt climbing the cliffs, for example, or Burt Reynold's wailing in pain in the canoe-- are pure Hollywood. A fine film, well-acted and filmed, and stocked with haunting moments, but not as edgy as it might have been.
JON VOIGT, BURT REYNOLDS, JAMES DICKEY
Warren Beatty is Senator Bulworth, a silky smooth fixer from California, on the hustle for he usual perks, glad-handing lobbiests, and generally behaving like a typical Senator. One day, while studying his own campaign videos, he has a sort of epiphany and falls into some kind of weird funk. He decides to have himself killed by hiring a hit man to take him out. At his next campaign stop, he drops all of his political mannerisms and goes into a rave, telling voters the truth-- that his vote can be bought, and that they have no real influence on events because the Democrats and Republicans (he is a Democrat) ultimately share the same goals: to get re-elected and to allocate the spoils of power to the rich corporations who pay for the campaign. This is not a new concept-- in some ways, it is a reincarnation of some of Frank Capra's more idealistic films-- but Beatty modernizes the idiom and Bulworth raps out his outrageous diatribes. Nor is Beatty as sentimental as Capra: Bulworth isn't an idealist so much as a mad prophet, in the vein of Network's Howard Beal. He doesn't romanticize his mission or simplify the conflict. He simply lays it on the line -- this is the way it is -- leaving the implication that real change can only occur if voters understand the truth about modern politics. This is when the film is most wonderful: Bulworth at an elegant banquet, identifying various interest groups at the tables (in rap) and how they have corrupted the government. He makes a pitch for Canadian-style socialized medicine, pointing out that insurance companies take in 24 cents of every health care dollar, while the government in Canada takes only 3 cents. The ending is a bit puzzling. He sleeps-- for the first time in five days-- and seems to wake up as his old self. He dresses properly, slickly thanks his black hosts, and heads off for the next campaign stop. What happens next is predictable, with deliberate visual echoes of Robert Kennedy's assassination in 1968. This is an audacious film. The question is, what effect does it have? It is merely another example of the media co-opting legitimate dissent and manipulating viewers into vicarious but ultimately meaningless gestures of protest? It is a hallmark of American entertainment that even at its most subversive (and this is a subversive film) it can't seem to escape homogenization and emasculation. Notes: once again we have an aging male superstar (Beatty) cast with an extremely young female romantic lead. How subversive is that?
WARREN BEATTY
Well-written but shallow comedy about a composer entering a mid-life crisis, dropping his faithful but independent companion (Andrews) in pursuit of some ephemeral, inarticulate urge-- personified by Bo Derek, as Jenny, a new bride he sees passing in a limo one day. The dialogue is clever at times, even literate, but, after all, these are wealthy, shallow, materialistic nerds in pursuit of sexual gratification, and there is never the slightest suggestion that there is anything more substantial at stake. To top it all off, Bo Derek never was a ten in any respect but physical appearance, which is about as shallow a measure as you can get. Notes: Moore spies on a neighbor, in his voluputous hill-side mansion, with a telescope. He is some kind of rock star or something, having orgies, and spying on him. At one point, Moore acerbicly comments that the next generation will think of "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" as "their song", a rather petty and, in retrospect, stupid remark that could only come from an envious, deluded nerd.
DUDLEY MOORE, BO DEREK, JULIE ANDREWS, ROBERT WEBBER
This version of the celebrated life of Billy the Kid is unusually faithful to details of his life, and unusual in it's disjointed, somewhat ad hoc narrative. Kristoferson is a rather mellow William Bonner, thoughtful and contemplative, when not slaying rude enemies. James Coburn seems a bit out of place at times. His languid but determined Pat Garrett trudges around intimidating people. There is a suggestion that Garrett and Bonner are mirror images of each other: it was unclear, in real life, who represented law and order and who were outlaws in late 19th century New Mexico. Ranchers and cattle barons sometimes hired their own posses and it was not unusual for the sherriff to be in the employ of a local big shot. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is so muddled at times, it's hard to grasp just what angle Pekinpah invites us to share. Sometimes Garrett seems to represent civilization and order; but Billy, as when he kills the thugs who abuse his Mexican friend and his wife, seems to be a force for justice. You might be generous and allow that Pekinpah is trying to show that "law and order" merely institutionalized one form of oppression over another. There are numerous appearances of some of the most recognizable Hollywood western actors, including Chill Wills, Slim Pickens, Dean Stanton, and an interesting cameo by Bob Dylan as "Alias"-- actually works pretty well. Occasionally he and Kristofferson have smirks on their faces, as if it were all some kind of adolescent joke, but it works. Rita Coolidge makes an appearance as well, and actually does a scene semi-nude with Kristofferson. Best scene in the film: Garrett makes Alias read labels in a general store and push a hat over the owner's eyes as he sits opposite at a table and tries to extract information about Billy's whereabouts from a couple of his friends. Strange, wonderful scene.
BOB DYLAN, JAMES COBURN, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, SLIM PICKENS, CHILL WILLS, JASON ROBARDS, RITA COOLIDGE
As good as the special effects are-- and they are VERY good-- the plot, dialogue, and acting are so poor that this film must rank as one of the most schizophrenic of all time. Eye candy-- fun to watch and sometimes just plain amazing, as when aliens walk beside humans, or boogie in some interstellar victory parade-- and absolutely bland and boring as soon as it gets into any kind of character development. And if Yoda is supposed to be so smart, why can't he talk proper English? What is the point of this stupid pigeon English schtick? Folk wisdom?
LIAM NEESON
Conquering Everest may sound like a big deal but the truth is that it is getting rather commonplace nowadays. In fact, by 1996, a number of mountain climbing crews were offering expeditions to the top for sums ranging from $25,000 to $65,000. One of the leaders of these expeditions, Scott Fisher, bragged that he could lead any reasonably fit person to the top of Everest. Outside Magazine decided to send Jon Krakauer, a respected journalist, to the top of Everest as a member of New Zeelander Rob Hall's expedition, to write about, among other things, whether commercialization had spoiled Everest. Little did they know that the mountain itself would speak rather clearly to the issue. After up to two months of acclimatization and practise, a number of expeditions set out from "advanced base camp" the night of May 10 to reach the summit. At one point, there may have been 39 climbers in uneasy procession struggling towards the top. Due to miscommunication, insubordination, bad judgement, or all of the above, a number of delays occurred, creating a bottleneck at the formidable Hillary Step. Because of this delay, many climbers did not reach the summit until well after 3:00, far later than the safe turnaround time of 2:00 p.m. To complicate matters, many of the climbers were severely weakened by altitude sickness or viruses. When a powerful storm swept in late in the afternoon, with many climbers still near the summit, disaster struck. Though the movie only concerns itself with five of the climbers who died that night, a total of 12 climbers lost their lives in the following day or two. Into Thin Air makes a nominal attempt to be faithful to the book, but telling a story like this presents challenges almost as formidable as Everest itself. There are two or three major characters, but a good dozen or so important bit players: it's hard to keep track of who is who, especially when most climbers wear oxygen masks as they approach the summit. To it's credit, the film tries to give a fairly accurate picture of the technical details. As a drama, however, it never rises above 2nd rate "moview of the week" tragedy syndrome. Perhaps the biggest mistake was the Jon Krakauer character himself, who sounds more like a hard-boiled private detective than the soul-searching self-doubting adventurer of the book. The book, also called "Into Thin Air" is brilliant. You might want to skip the movie and get right to Krakauer's brilliant document instead.
The intrigues surrounding the reigns of Edward VI and Mary were many and convoluted and worthy of more than a few movie treatments. Elizabeth is one of the better ones, with Kate Blanchett as the young princess, and sumptuous settings and costumes. Elizabeth's life is in danger every time a minor rebellion starts against Mary-- she may, in fact, have at least cooperated with the Watts rebellion-- but Mary, remembering her own struggles during the reign of Edward, is reluctant to execute the popular princess. Elizabeth bides her time until Mary falls ill. She ascends to the throne at 25, and the intrigues against her start almost immediately. But Elizabeth is not the muddle-headed religious fanatic Mary was, and she is able to harness sufficient loyalty from her advisers to prevail over the Duke of Northumberland and other plotters. One look at this film and you expect superb acting, but Blanchett is over-rated. Elizabeth was renowned for carefully concealling her hands until just the right moment, and for playing off one faction against another. The film also takes some liberties with rumours about an affair between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley, and pretends that Elizabeth was shocked to discover that he was married. (They leave out the interesting possibility that Dudley murdered his wife later.) In fact, it's very hard sometimes to figure out what the movie is trying to show you about Elizabeth, until the very end, when she announces that England will be her husband and no one else. Ah-- that's what he was getting at!
KATE BLANCHETT
Sharp movie about a world that is controlled by or exists only in computers. Keenu Reeves plays the Christ-like champion who emerges to battle the computer system-- represented largely by men in black suits with sun-glasses -- and restore the human element, the soul of man, if you will. The gist of it is this: humans are actually kept in cylinders as semi-comatose bodies to generate electricity to sustain a computer-controlled planet. To keep the humans alive, they are provided with an illusion of life, a matrix, which replicates life as we know it in the 1990's-- all illusory. Some people have escaped captivity and struggle to destroy the matrix and free all of the humans (presumably to live in the dystopian, ravaged world the film alludes to). This discussion-- really quite intriguing in some ways-- is handled in a sophomoric, platitudinous mode by the Wachowski Brothers whose lame dialogue and mannered direction are serious weaknesses in the film. A lot of "life is what you imagine it is, but only if you believe in it" type bullshit, and a lot of tedious shoot-outs in which the outcome is never in doubt, the point of absurdity: people come back from the dead, several times. That will shock the viewer. Once. Years ago. Carrie-Ann Moss and Keanu Reeves can't act and substitute solemnity and mumbling for intonation and suggestion. And how do they manage to shoot the hell out of the three Agents when rescuing Morpheus without hitting Morpheus? Morpheus suddenly has the power to break the handcuffs? He didn't earlier, when he and Agent Smith were alone together? This is a world with magic in it? But even if they did kill Morpheus by mistake-- not problemo: they'll just bring him back from the dead anyway. The ending is very difficult to digest: after all the technology and rationalization, we get magic: love will keep us together. He is the one. [revisited 2018-05-14]
KEANU REEVES
Not many films about film-making can claim the attention to detail of this one. Steve Buscemi plays an earnest director trying to make an intelligent, non-Hollywood film, but his set is besieged with problems: exploding lights, background noise, intruding microphones, ego-centric actors. Catherine Keener plays his star--and object of his desire--and she holds the centre of gravity here. She is an intriguing blend of professionalism and ambition, the one piece of the movie that seems to be working, until she goes to bed with the famous actor brought in to give the film a veneer of commercial appeal. She's also the most interesting part of the movie. One grows a bit tired of Buscemi's ranting after a while, and the movie he is making doesn't seem the least bit interesting. Still, worth watching just to get a visceral sense of life on the set, and because the secondary roles are above average.
STEVE BUSCEMI, CATHERINE KEENER
Very predictable, homogenized version of Taming of the Shrew.
David Milgaard served 23 years in Canadian prisons for a murder he did not commit. How did it happen? How could such a serious miscarriage of justice have occurred? Who really did it? Milgaard attempts to answer these questions. It's a worthy cause, but it is clear the director had no idea of what he was doing. Every scene is shot wrong. The camera angles are all wrong. The camera movement is all wrong. The script is one of the worst I have ever seen: not a single line that isn't a dud. The acting is uniformly mediocre. The cinematography flickers between sepia, black and white, and colour, for no discernible purpose. Flashbacks are used with complete disregard for the integrity of the storyline: did Nicole see Milgaard stab the nurse or not? The flashbacks show this happening, but don't give you a clue as to whether it is drug-induced hallucination, implanted memory, or fiction. There are far better films on the general topic, but it's a shame that this compelling story wasn't told better.
We've had a fair number of gritty, repulsive epics about drug addiction-- "H" comes to mind as one of the most harrowing-- and it is always fascinating to consider how fascinated we are with degradation and personal destruction. Not that any of these movies ever goes "mainstream" ("Midnight Cowboy" was, perhaps, the closest to "mainstream" any of these films will ever go) but there is always a core of serious film fans who respect a film-maker's courage when he shows us just how low humans can sink. Trainspotting surely ranks as one of the most courageous, by that standard, including a wonderfully shocking inventive scene in which a character dives right into a toilet (into which he has just excreted) in order to try to recover a couple of capsules he hid in his rectum earlier. There is almost always a thin line between dramatic purpose and pure shock value with these kinds of scenes. This one works, because the toilet becomes an ocean, in the character's twisted imagination, and the drugs become pearls, and you think about how he might be hallucinating the whole experience. It's a fine, disgusting moment in a film that will fill most viewers with disgust, and its an example of the playfulness with which the director handles some of the most grotesque elements of the story.
Interestingly written romantic story of a science fiction writer who tries to win access to a celebrated reclusive science fiction writer by romancing his daughter. The daughter is understandably confused about this intentions. The film plays this out very deftly and authentically-- she's not as dumb as he thinks she is, which seems about write. Nor is she a classic beauty that we're supposed to pity because she is unbelievably rejected. Very subtle, low-key story that occasionally cuts to the quick with sensitive observations about sexual/romantic deceptions. A third element enters briefly: is he only interested in sex? That is not played out very completely however. Generally well-acted and filmed.
Leering, limp remake of Kubrick classic of the Nabokov masterpiece. Lyne's version is a leering, smutty, bland voyeuristic blend of idle surfaces and poses and Irons looking anguished at the sight of Lolita's limp limbs. Case in point: Irons attends a conference with Lo's teachers at which they remark on her naivete regarding sexual matters and suggest that he "take things in hand". I suppose we are supposed to laugh racously at this delicious innuendo. I find it beneath Nabokov's elegant, weary prose, and smutty and stupid. Iron's acts as if Humbert never lived but for the wistful visage of Lolita's succulent mouth, as if he didn't think, write, read, eat, or breath. Lolita is played as a frisky, funny little nymphet, without any of the soul-stirring qualities you imagine in the original. Melanie Griffith is grossly miscast in the role that Shelly Winters made all her own. She sounds like a 14 year old herself, which, I suppose, might have been a perverse joke by the director. She coasts through the role thoughtlessly and breathlessly, as if she watched Winters' performance before she started and gave up trying to make anything of it.
JEREMY IRONS, MELANIE GRIFFITH
Bizarre but ill-conceived shocker about a girl who has a thing for corpses, and gets a job in a funeral home in order to indulge her fantasies. Had there been a core of believability to the whole concept, it might have come off as a low-key "Breaking the Waves". Instead, it's "Blue Velvet" inside out, with almost now redeeming values. Poorly acted, poorly filmed, and poorly recorded.
MOLLY PARKER
Hilary & Jacqueline Du Pre Kiffer Finzi (Hilary's husband) Barenboim, Daniel (Jacqueline's husband) Very compelling but somewhat twisted biography of Jacqueline De Pre, the acclaimed cellist prodigy, who astounded the world with her talent, then died, alone and forgotten, of MS. You can't forget that this movie is based on a book by an embittered Hilary Du Pre, Jacqueline's sister, who watched her younger sibling catch and then surpass her own impressive gifts, while she married and lived in obscurity. Hilary emerges as a rather saintly, indulgent, congenial older sister, while Jacqueline is portrayed as whiny, moody, selfish, and self-centred. In spite of the twisted perspective, this is a good film, that is not completely unsympathetic to Jacqueline. The stress and strains of her life as a young superstar-- beauty and brains, talent and charisma-- take a toll on her sanity. She has what appears to be a nervous breakdown at Hilary's cottage. Then she demands that Hilary lend her her husband for a night, to which ever-indulgent Hilary agrees. Was this a salacious fiction dreamed up to ensure publicity for the book? Seems like it. As is inevitable, the principle subject is deceased and, therefore, unavailable to contradict the author.
RACHEL GRIFFITHS, EMILY WATSON, JAMES FRAIN, DAVID MORRISSEY, CHARLES DANCE
Charming, lively film about Shakespeare, more than a little tongue-in- cheek on historical details. Beautiful sets and costumes, and a relatively fresh take on the old bard. Complicated plot that parallels numerous plays by the real Shakespeare, including women disguised as men and men disguised as women, falling in love with the disguised or undisguised counterparts, a nefarious high-born villain, and a feud between rival theatrical houses. All of which, of course, inspire the play, "Romeo and Ethel"-- er-- "Romeo and Juliet".
This film created a sensation because of it's resemblence to real life, after Bill Clinton attacked Iraq during the Lewinsky scandal. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its billing. It limps up to its billing. The president attacks a "Firefly" (some kind of girl- scout-like group) in the White House. His top advisor's devise a strategy to deal with the crisis, and it consists of deflection: create a war to divert public interest until the scandal can cool off. The first hour or so of dialogue is fairly crisp and occasionally incisive, but the movie droops when it becomes clear that the makers intend to homogenize the message. This film is obviously, desparately about American national politics, yet not a single person involved is identified as a Republican or Democrat. So you get this non-specific non-political comedy which is supposed to be a satire of politics. Only Hollywood could conceive such a wimpy, gutless approach. And it is a result of this non-specificity that the last half of the movie drags. I almost fell asleep. The hypocrisy of the director of this film is without peer: he wants to mock the cynical manipulation of voters by shrewd consultants who stage-manage politics... but doesn't have the guts to identify a single political point of view because he wants to appeal to all movie-goers, conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat. For a much better take on this issue, check out "Bob Roberts". The title character is identified as a Republican, a Dylanesque leader who sings folk songs (one of his albums is entitled "The Times They Are A'Changin' Back") and exploits his own assassination attempt to gain votes.
DUSTIN HOFFMAN, Robert De Niro, ANNE HECHE
Somewhat cheesy dutch film about a young sculptor and his wife and her family.
Brutal, sometimes sadistic story about a young Hollywood assistant who is abused by a vicious executive until he begins to adopt his bosses characteristics. Nothing really new here, and performances are not as snappy as you would hope. Kevin Spacey is almost always interesting to watch-- one of the most thoughtful, intelligent actors of his generation-- but some scenes are almost embarrassingly miscalculated, and the point made at the end is based on a rather preposterous turn of events.
KEVIN SPACEY
Unusual courtroom thriller, based on a true story, about a lawyer who takes on the cause of the families of children who may have died of leukemia due to the pollution of well-water by several companies, including two subsidiaries or large corporations. Shockingly, the film names the corporations-- Beatrice and Grace--and most of the characters are based on their real life counterparts (few, if any, "composites" are used). Travolta plays Jan Schlichtmann, a cynical lawyer who usually takes on personal injury cases. In voice over, Schlichtmann rhapsodizes about the ideal personal injury case, a 40 year old man, at the height of his productive earning powers, killed or maimed. Schlichtmann is shown wheeling a client into a courtroom, and wiping some drool from his lips. Juror's begin to weap. On a trip to explain to the families in the town of Woburn why his firm hasn't bothered to do anything about their complaint, he pauses to look at the site of the alleged pollution, and notices the names of the large multi-national firms on the factories and trucks. He takes on the case, and devotes all of the resources of his agency to it. The usual Hollywood melodrama would have Schlichtmann uncover some dramatic piece of evidence, at the last minute, that brings the multi-nationals to their knees and wins hundreds of millions of dollars for the families of the victims of the pollution. But this is not the usual Hollywood melodrama. The film studious explores the various legal issues and scientific issues that arise during the case, the machinations of the opposing lawyers and the judge, and the decisions Schlichtmann make that ultimately bring disaster upon him, his firm, and the families of the victims. Oddly enough, the real life story was full of dramatic surprises and revelations, but "A Civil Action" downplays those developments in favour of a close look at the protagonists, the lawyers, and the system. Jerome Facher (Robert Duvall) is the most interesting character in the movie. In real life, apparently, he was not quite as smart-- he presented two poor witnesses at the trial and allowed Grace's lawyer to impute his own experts. But it is comments about the justice system that sting. He warns Schlichtmann that the courtroom is no place for the "truth", and a verdict is not about justice. After Schlichtmann turns down a relatively generous settlement offer from the companies, because he wants the "truth" to come out, and then loses a crucial legal ruling, these words come back to haunt him. Did Schlichtmann do the right thing? I thought it was reasonably clear from the movie that he did not, but my wife thought he was the hero. If you dig into the facts about the case, Schlichtmann does not come off as particularly heroic. For one thing, he manipulated the plaintiff's into signing away the rights of the legal firm they first approached to deal with the case. For another, he assigned all the money from a settlement with one of the three firms involved, about $1 million, towards the costs of the court case against the other two firms. Finally, he turned down an offer of more than $1 million per family without presenting the option to the plaintiffs. In other words, a typical lawyer. I find it disturbing that some viewers of the film are likely to regard Schlichtmann as some kind of hero. It is, indeed, baffling that Hollywood continues to treat lawyers, like private eyes, police, doctors, and soldiers, as heros. As the recent tabacco case in the U.S. demonstrated, and as is demonstrated time and time again in our legal system, lawyers are responsible for inflicting more misery on more people than almost any other single profession. Most of those glamorous lawsuits that result in multi-million dollar settlements? Most of the money will go to the lawyers. First of all, they get their percentage, which is almost always upwards of 33%. Secondly, they can charge all of their expenses-- which are usually inflated-- to the settlement BEFORE the division takes place. It is not unusual at all for plaintiffs to end up with nary a penny. But you wouldn't know it from Hollywood. "A Civil Action" clearly implies that Schlichtmann did something heroic in following his absurd course of action. It invites the viewer to feel sympathy for the poor, broke lawyer at the end, and then shows the files being transferred to the EPA, who later investigated the case and took some stern action. Buyer beware.
JOHN TRAVOLTA, ROBERT DUVALL, TONY SHALHOUB, BILL H. MACY, ZELJKO IVANEK, JOHN LITHGOW, JAMES GANDOLFINI, BRUCE NORRIS, DAN HEDAYA, SYDNEY POLLACK, STEPHEN FRY
One of the more prominent "anti" westerns, follows Butch and Sundance as they flee Pinkerton's detectives all the way to Argentina and Bolivia, together with the mysterious Etta Place. A lot of the film is consumed with chase scenes, and a nebulous nostalgia for the "old" west. Some respect for actual fact is shown, along with some exaggeration and some tongue-in-cheek.
ROBERT REDFORD, PAUL NEWMAN, KATHARINE ROSS
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