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ChakaMan
Reviews
Orgazmo (1997)
It rocks
This movie picks up the edgy humor where even Something About Mary wouldn't go, but not gratuitously. Actually, I couldn't stop laughing for one second. BRILLIANT comedy.
I suspect that it ain't for everybody, but you will definitely love this or hate it.
Outside Providence (1999)
Dead Poets Society meets Rushmore meets Something About Mary
The Farrellys have delivered the goods once again with Outside Providence. Playing off of the time-tested classic coming-of-age plot, they've made another indy-spirited, off-beat comedy.
Tim Dunphy gets into trouble and is in danger of not graduating high school, so his mob-connected scumbag dad (Alec Baldwin!) gets him enrolled at a top-notch school in Connecticut. While there, he makes good friends, has a good time, gets in trouble and learns a little about life.
The Farrellys are very aware of the coming-of-age teen drama that they are satirizing. Much of the humor is subtle. But exaggerated characters such as "Drugs" or "Old Man Dunphy" bring the film to life ala Warren from Something About Mary. Of course, you'll feel guilty for laughing when Tim's wheelchair-ridden brother acts excessively handicapped to gain admission to a Patriots game.
I highly recommend this movie, especially if you are a Farrelly fan. It hits the comic funny bones as you would expect, and also adds some surprising heartwarming and provocative stuff to round it out. (Does Old Man Dunphy maintain his friendship with his recently-out gay friend? Where does everyone end up in life?)
Contrast this with Kingpin, which takes a bizaare premise with bizaare characters and produces bizaare results. Outside Providence takes a cliche premise and adds bizaare characters, subtle plot twists, and produces solid results.
Boiler Room (2000)
Whitecollar Crime: The Unexciting Truth
At the beginning of the movie, Seth Davis is running a successful casino inside his apartment for college students. When his parents find out that he has dropped out of school to do this, they aren't happy. Especially Seth's Dad, who is a judge.
Enter Seth's stockbroker buddy who gets him a job at a small brokerage firm that sells stock in fake companies and provides enough cash to each broker to drive the foreign sports car of their choice. Will Seth's conscience overtake his will to please his father and become filthy rich?
There are many details that lead you to this point in the movie; some are interesting, some are canned Hollywood stereotypes. The ending is no surprise and really drains the movie into nothingness. Seth's love interest, Nia Long (an $80,000/year secretary), is all but extraneous. It looks like the film makers tried to tie her into the plot, but they come up a little shy.
Ben Affleck gives an interesting performance, but certainly does nothing to make the world of white collar crime any more exciting.
Dark City (1998)
Bladerunner Meets the Truman Show
John Murdoch awakens in the bath tub and is born into a dark, unfamiliar world. Struggling with vague and incomplete memories, he searches for answers.
In this world, as John discovers, there are "Strangers," alien beings who herd the human population to conduct there experiments to discover the human soul. The question is, who will believe him. It's a classic tale of reality vs. illusion; is John insane because to him reality is reality, while to everyone else reality is the illusion?
The DVD comes with commentary from Ebert; if you're into that sort of thing, I highly recommend watching it a second time through with it.
Blade Runner (1982)
Visionary
I've owned Blade Runner for quite a while and watched it enough, to be sure. However, I recently read an article about robotics in Wired Magazine that really drilled the point of Blade Runner home: What happens when machines are indistinguishable from human beings?
Blade Runner offers two simple answers: the human emotion element, which is prejudice, fear and surprise; and the artificial intelligence aspect, which is that these robots are SO human that they will stop at nothing to get answers from their creator.
Harrison Ford plays a cop chasing down some renegade "replicants" (cyborgs). The dark, futuristic setting blends well with the detective/film noir tone of the film.
And, while in 1982 the average person would not necessarily feel that the scenario presented could happen in his lifetime (at the time it was likely easier to believe that Atari would be taking out huge lighted add space on the sides of buildings), lately Blade Runner has gained a whole new poignancy.
One more thing: Dark City could be considered this film's cousin. Let's hope THAT movie does not gain poignancy any time soon.
American Beauty (1999)
Uncomfortably Interesting
Although I have yet to reach the stage of life that Lester is in, I nevertheless empathized with his character immediately. At the beginning of American Beauty, he is experiencing an awakening to the reality that is his life. His wife and daughter think he's inadequate and he feels useless at his job. But he finally asks himself why things have to be that way, and American Beauty unfolds.
The uncomfortable parts of the film are all slices of American life that should be familiar to just about anyone with eyes and ears, even if they cannot identify with them: the cold, military-style father-son relationship between Ricky and Frank; the suggestive flirtatious relationship between 17-year-old Angela and Lester.
Each character in the microcosm of American Beauty is somehow connected to Lester, and Lester himself warns in the very beginning that he will be dead in less than a year. But with this mix of dysfunctional characters, what is going to happen? A must see.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Good for any occasion
A child psychologist (Bruce Willis), who gets shot by a former patient, is hell bent on fixing his failure by helping another child (Cole) with similar characteristics.
Most of this movie offers off-beat editing and odd twists. I have to admit that I was ready to write it off for its lack of any compelling "glue" to hold it all together. But it eventually wraps up into a nice, neat, chilling, "no way" kind of package. You won't regret seeing it.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Hope this isn't how Kubrick is remembered
Eyes Wide Shut portrays, in a distinct, memorable, Kubrick-esque kind of way, the moral dilemmas that attractive partners in a cozy marriage face. It also managed to leave me high and dry.
The movie itself is intriguing. Images of a ritualistic swingers club and a build-up to a murder-mystery plot are paced a bit slowly, but on par with plot development in other Kubrick movies. Dr. Bill Harford's (Tom Cruise) wild jealousy over his wife's confession of her fantasy about another man provides the fuel for the events that unfold in a quirky and disturbing way.
Nicole Kidman, who plays Bill's wife Alice, manages to suck the life out of many scenes with over-the-top acting, but still scrapes up an excellent performance in the "confession" scene. Also, the pattern of dialogue--the actors repeated the lines of the other actors frequently--became extremely obtrusive. But the gravestone of this movie was the ending.
Eyes Wide Shut is worth a look for solid film-making and editing. Don't expect to find closure; have a back-up movie handy. I would consider this movie a "mirror" of The Sixth Sense in that Eyes Wide Shut has a horrible ending where The Sixth Sense has an excellent ending (that the whole plot depends on).
Office Space (1999)
Come, cubicle zombies, and view the truth
An intriguing collage of hysterical portrayals of corporate life punctuated by the most ridiculous extremes of them will make you spit out your beer.
The Corporate Common Man (Peter), who is fed up with the mundane and, at times, annoying aspects of his job, goes to see a hypnotherapist with his cheating girlfriend. When the therapist dies before Peter can "wake up," Peter begins to live by a completely different outlook on life. This, of course, leads to a promotion and complete office mayhem.
Although the ending is disappointing, you won't regret watching this film one bit.
Stigmata (1999)
Stigmata? I hardly know 'er.
I find it hard to believe that anyone would put this movie in the same context as the Exorcist. Where the Exorcist was subtle and creepy, Stigmata was blunt, clumsy, and way too formulaic.
This is one of the most visually beautiful films I've seen in a while, but the imagery does not make up for the downward spiral of patronizing exposition that makes it unbearable.
My interest in this movie was peaked when it was compared to The Exorcist, and my visit to the official web site increased that interest. The web site had many tales of "actual" stigmata throughout history. However, scene by scene, the movie is so obsessed by its quest for "genuineness" that it becomes comical at first, then outright hard to watch toward the end. I began getting suspicious when the priest charged with investigating potential miracles walks into the beauty parlor where our would-be heroine cuts hair and, evidently, flirts with priests.
The plot: A woman without faith in God begins receiving the wounds of Christ (the Stigmata) and is baffled and upset about the ordeal. A priest is sent straight from the Vatican to investigate the case. Is Frankie possessed by Satan, or a vessel for Jesus Christ?
The only miracle in this film is that it finally ends.
Dogma (1999)
Yes, it is posible to make a religious comedy
Actually, this is just a great film. Whether it is meant as a comedy or a really heavy message about religion is beside the point.
Having seen earlier films by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mall Rats, Chasing Amy), I was skeptical about the large scope of this film and its potential pretentiousness. But Dogma takes the best of the dialogue, cheapness, and fable from the previous films, adds an excellent music score, and takes hold of your attention for the entire time.
Angels find a loophole created by the Catholic Church that will allow them to re-enter Heaven at the price of negating existence. Bethany (Linda Fiorantino) is charged with stopping them, and meets several Biblical characters along the way to bolster her waining faith. Match Chris Rock (the 13th Apostle) with Jay and Silent Bob, and an adventure of epic proportions is born.
A must see.
The Straight Story (1999)
Refreshingly Good
First of all, you have to sit back and ponder the possibilities for a film directed by David Lynch that is a Rated G Disney Production.
Okay?
Now, take those thoughts and boil out the negative ones. Because this film is great. It is intense and beautiful. I do recommend this to take children to, but make sure you give them a good dose of sugar for the first half hour (because it's slow).
But it picks up the pace and ends up being a charming, philosophical look at life.
This is based on a true story about an old man who, upon hearing that his brother had a stroke, decides to drive a lawnmower 300 miles to patch up some bad blood because, basically, blood is thicker than water.
Any Given Sunday (1999)
Any Given Movie
If you're like me, you feel alienated when people talk football. So, maybe "Any Given Sunday" mirrors how you feel about football.
There were no surprises in this movie. Take any sports cliche and analyze it a bit, and you've got this movie licked. It was a bit of a let-down considering some of Oliver Stone's other works (such as Natural Born Killers, my own personal favorite). Overall, I'd say it's a very entertaining film that's worth a look.
Caution: Avoid sitting in the first row, or too close to the TV. My buddy got a headache because of the jerky, MTV-style cinematography.
American Pie (1999)
All the makings of a 90s cult classic
Although this movie doesn't delve too deeply into anything meaningful, the characters were likeable, the plot was entertaining, and I'm sure it will be charmingly dated in a year or two. These are all the makings for a cult film. And I mean that objectively, not as a complement or an insult.
The film follows high-school-aged boys through their rites of passage into manhood: the quest to get some. The antics are relatively extreme and always appropriate for the moment. I found myself saying "Oh Jesus" as much as laughing, though. Look for the apple pie scene!
I'm reminded of the 1987 film, The Allnighter, with yummy Susanna Hoffs and Joan Cusack. I've caught The Allnighter late night on cable once or twice in recent years, and I simultaneously find my eyes glued to the TV and my deepest innermost self completely embarrassed for myself and for the cast. I think that that's the ultimate fate of this movie.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Simply Great (from a non-war-movie fan)
I'm not especially a fan of war movies (ie, I turn them off the instant I determine that they're a war movie). Maybe this movie represents the culmination of special effects, acting, and directing that is necessary to make a successful war movie?
I like movies that mean something, and I like directors who make movies that mean something. I can't help but compare this Spielberg movie with his other WWII movie, Schindler's list. Both films have detailed WWII in ways that are at the same time nakedly objective and blatantly subjective.
Spielberg tries to scrape some humanity from the holocaust in Schindler's List, while at the same time offering up the horrific imagery that was the reality. He manages to do the same thing in Saving Private Ryan.
John Miller, an army officer, leads a team of WWII soldiers on a mission to find James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in the war. Ryan will be sent home thanks to a high-ranking officer who decides that it would be unacceptable for the Ryan family to receive yet one more notice of death.
Throughout the film, the characters question the value of saving one person in the midst of the destruction and murder of many other soldiers. The reality of war and the movie hits home when Miller, amidst losing men and trying to find another to send home, convinces his men to risk their lives because the main objective "...is to win the war."
There are some many different levels on which this film is chilling, and this movie is especially good at portraying how characters in their different stages of life interpret what's going on. And really, nobody is right and nobody is wrong. Great movie.
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Why the h*ll did the windmill explode?
What caused the windmill to just explode like that? The only thing I can figure is that, much like the rest of the movie, it was part of the top secret hollywood formula for success. Which left me sleepy and hollow.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
It folds nicely into all that is Star Wars
Hey, how can you compete with the feeling you get when you're five years old and viewing the original Star Wars? You can't, but this movie is still great. It really surprised me.
I was surprised to see so much action considering that everyone complained because there was "too much" explanatory dialogue.
I was surprised to see how relatively "tame"-- that is, not excessive or unnecessary-- the special effects were, while still inspiring awe.
And I was really surprised to find myself on the edge of my seat during the light saber battle between Darth Maul and the two Jedis! It was AWESOME.
Overall, Episode One is purely Star Wars. It pays homage to all that makes the Star Wars series great. Must...control...urge ... to... kill... Jar-Jar.
Telling You (1998)
I'm Telling You, this movie stinks
Even my love, Jennifer Love Hewitt, can't pull this one out of trouble.
This movie is a fence-walk between an intriguing independent film and a trendy, likeable Hollywood teen-flick (ala Dazed and Confused). But, unlike Dazed and confused, it's just short of intriguing and way short of likeable.
The movie contains scenes that are PAINFULLY drawn out and exaggerated, and the characters completely lack depth. Because of my age, I'm trying to picture these people as my peers, and I'm cringing.
The story develops too slowly and, because of that, the "climax" is such a let down that you can't even believe that anyone working on the movie could make a decision about where to end it. But you're glad someone did.
There's Something About Mary (1998)
if you're not with us, you're against us...
...I speak, of course, about those people who actually have a sense of humor: bawdy, high-brow, crude, intelligent. If it's funny, it's funny.
Rather than going into detail about why this movie was so funny, I'd like to stand on my soapbox and reprimand the people who just didn't get it. I've seen a lot of BAD comedies; I dare say that a majority of movies that strive for that genre marginally produce laughter from me. There's nothing worse than a contrived comedy scene that fails to make you laugh.
But, considering all of this movie's contrived scenes, I can't imagine for a second that anyone would think this comedy to be over the top or gratuitous in any way. The bawdy and prurient scenes certainly push the envelope of what we're used to in any movie, but they're all logical conclusions to the comedy sequences in which they belong. And boy, they made me laugh to the point of embarrassment since I'm so not used to laughing so hard.
I also have a problem with the word "offensive," because just about anything put into a context in which it doesn't belong can be deemed "offensive." Even a Cross. Or an American flag.
Now, I thought Dumb and Dumber was horrible and contrived. Kingpin was great, but was less of a comedy than it was a cult-ish romp of fun. But there's something about Something About Mary... the Farelly brothers have perfected what they've strived for in their past films.
So, if you don't get it, you're either a) a victim of the dumbed down, politically correct, sterile intellect that is constantly being pushed by the mainstream media, or b) just no damn fun to be around. Stop being too pretentious and holier than thou.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
a GOOD robin williams movie...
GWH is just a good story. It's not necessarily believable, but I applaud the philosophy behind it: It burns the people of academia and their "well educated and good" intentions.
The bar sequence where Will eventually meets his love interest is one of the best movie sequences I've ever seen. He easily reduces a Harvard student to an embarrassed school boy by citing the exact sources of the student's knowledge, telling him what he'd be reading the next year, then topping it off by offering to "take it outside."
As for the rest of the movie, it continuously shows a math professor pushing Will to use his natural talent to become something he's simply not interested in. After all, he's still young, and he has a lot to learn and a lot of his past life to sort out in his mind.
Sean (Robin Williams) sees through all of this and helps Will out. The emotional element of this movie hinges heavily on this relationship and is very captivating. Likeable characters and a good story make this a 10 for sure. (watch out for the tears!)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Big, uh, where was I?
Generally, it doesn't bode well for a movie if I fall asleep during it. Nevertheless, that's what happened during the Big Lebowski.
I can't say that there was anything particularly horrible about it except that, like Fargo, the pace was a bit slow for me. It was an INTERESTING movie, but never elevated to the point of greatness.
The day after my first attempt at watching it, I rewound the movie to where I left off and was much more disappointed with the ending than I probably would have been if I were half asleep.
I think this film is a sarcastic play on the Common Man as a hero and, in that respect, it was a little bit refreshing and somewhat similar to Kingpin. But if you want to see a great movie with the Common Man as a hero, just rent The Hero with Dustin Hoffman. (Five stars/ten)
Dead Man Walking (1995)
If you really get it, you won't just cry...
This movie is a great attempt at an even-handed, well-rounded treatment of the US justice system. (Guys, this is a good film to rent with a girl, but you either have to be good at holding back tears or feel comfortable crying.)
I say "even-handed" because you really want to hate Sean Penn's character, who has been sentenced to death for murder and rape. And it doesn't help that the media is trashing him every step of the way, turning the scorn of the masses upon him.
At the same time, though, the ugliness of the human spirit lives large inside the victims' families, who reject Susan Sorandin's character, the nun whose job it is to convince Sean Penn to except Jesus Christ and be saved before his death sentence.
The nun wants to do a thorough job trying to understand her "client," but the more she finds out from him and his victims' families, the less she understands.
The main glue of this movie is the pace at which you grow emotionally involved with the plot and the characters, and just when you think it can't get any darker, it does.
The reason I say you won't just cry if you really get it: It's such a chilling, emotionally detailed look at a series of events that seem so distant from your own life, yet so real; and the resolution just leaves you cold. You may cry but not know exactly why... Penn is good in this role.
The Shining (1980)
It's the good kind of scary.
If by some miracle you've escaped ever seeing this film, you may have some sort of terrifying, bloody picture in your head about what it must be like. It is, after all, touted by many people as the scariest film ever.
But first, read the book. Although the movie deviates from it somewhat, you'll have a much better relationship with the movie. The reason is that when you read the book, you go into the movie understanding the motivation of the characters much more. This is important because, what makes this movie so scary and disturbing is the anti-Rockwellian portrait of domestic American life.
Now, the basic plot is that Jack, an aspiring writer, gets a job as the winter caretaker at a hotel in the mountains. He and his family will live there for several months, keeping the hotel in good condition inside and out. The catch: His son, Danny, has "the shining," which is essentially a sixth sense that can detect supernatural things. Jack has a bit of it, too. Terror ensues and tension builds with the visions that father and son experience. Wendy, the wife/mother, attempts to keep stability in the family without fully understanding what's going on.
This movie is a 10 all the way.
Titanic (1997)
boat sinks, out $7.00
All right, we get the picture about the great special effects, etc. The *grand scale* everything was done in. I still, after all of my time on this earth, find it hard to believe that people can be brainwashed SO much by media hype.
I'm not about to say the movie was *bad*. I would probably use the word *contrived*. This movie contains just about everything that a rational human being should be repulsed by:
-> a cheesy soundtrack that lingers *to this day* on radio stations everywhere.
-> a mass of Titanic zombies who keep talking and talking and talking about the movie.
-> an embellished and trite "historical" plot based on "real" events.
There is absolutely no way that this movie should have taken up 3 hours of your time, save the fact that it was so expensive they probably didn't want to waste one inch of film. I guess they figured since you already know the ending, they'd string you along with overdone, poorboy-richgirl cliches and special effects. Yeah, the effects *were* great (I certainly couldn't do them); I'm just praying for the day when it's finlly passe to even talk about special effects.
Consider that DreamWorks, the company stemming from the little project know as the Star Wars Trilogy, had to invent special effects, invent the tools to invent the special effects, and had virtually no prior model to base any of their work (or at least techniques) on. Today it's all old hat; who can write programs that render graphics quickly; who is the resident software expert; who can do the most in the least amount of time. I guess once we get sick of 100% computer-graphic-generated movies, we'll stop all this nonsense already.
Ishtar (1987)
Call me crazy, but...
"Ishtar was great," I think defiantly every time by some off chance someone I come in contact with who has actually seen it cites it was the worst movie ever. I suppose it's part of cinematic pop culture to hold that opinion as a safeguard against being called a fool.
The most charming quality of Ishtar is its consistently dry, tongue-and-cheek disposition. It offers brilliant insight to the types of people in the world that, despite the fact that to everyone else their talent is cheesy at best, continue to try and try. Rogers and Clarke are the "Every Men" for that entire segment of the population with their songwriting musical act.
Their third-rate, leisure-suit-wearing manager does his job by getting them a few gigs; the biggest gig of all is in Ishtar, a politically unstable Middle Eastern country. Which, of course, is unbeknownst to Rogers and Clarke, who are just reveling in their love of playing music. Their naivete (and sometimes outright stupidity) is a character unto itself, and plays brilliantly throughout the ridiculous adventure that they experience.
I've seen Hoffman and Beatty in interviews joking about how they knew the movie was so bad that, instead of quitting, they simply got into the spirit by over-acting at parts. But, whether they know it or not, they were very REAL people, and THAT was the best part of all.