Geordie-4 Reviews

The Hours (2002)

Seriously overrated

[20 March 2003]

Well, when I heard of this film, I was very excited. Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore (and Nicole Kidman). A "literary" movie. I really expected more. This is a pretentious mess. This is basically 2 hours of women droning on about how much their lives suck. To emphasize the importance of living each day as though it were your last, Daldry certainly takes a strange tack. Meryl Streep (in an excellent performance) allows Ed Harris (solid as usual) to berate her over the "emptiness" of her life when she has cared for him for 10 years?!! I'd be out of there if that was his thanks. Julianne Moore was excellent. I didn't think that we got to know her well enough though to care that she was depressed. Why? I think that should have been fleshed out a bit more. Nicole Kidman....oh brother. Oscar voters are getting all excited coz she plays a literary figure and wears a prosthetic nose. Yee haw! Give her the damn trophy now. I did not find her very persuasive. I thought the guy playing her husband was better in controlling his frustration over how difficult it was to live with her. I don't think Nicole Kidman's performance was particularly good. I don't think she revealed much depth or shed much light on the character, as Moore, Spillane, and Streep did. How the hell is she winning these awards? I don't know. I didn't laugh once during this film. It just seemed like a pretentious mess. If you want the audience to really get the message that one should take life by the horns, carpe diem etc. this movie doesn't inspire one. I nearly fell asleep several times. Good performances, but I didn't feel we got a sense of why we should care about these characters.

Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

Easily beat my low expectations

[6/10 · 21 July 2002]

I have to say that as soon as I saw the commercials for this film, I thought it would be entertaining, just coz it looked so bad. Well, it wasn't that great, but it was better than I thought. I wish that they actually hadn't revealed so much about the spiders and we might have been a bit more scared. As it was, there was no mystery after about 30 minutes. The "plot" was full of holes and the writing was stilted at best. There were a few decent lines, but by and large, if there weren't more fun with the spider chases and the spiders inflicting violence on everything and anything, this movie would have blown, big time. Still, like I said, I liked it for the sense that it seemed to have, even in the advertising, that it was gonna be a classic B movie. The violence and the chases were truly cheesy and the movie did have a lot of fun with its own badness. Still, I wish I had been scared more. Nevertheless, it was fun and I gave it 6/10 on the voting scale. It was worth the price of admission.

Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

Rather matter of fact, spare teling of Alcatraz escape story

[7/10 · 2 July 2002]

The story of the escape from Alcatraz is a unique one, in so far as there was only one escape in which the escapees were not recaptured. They were presumed dead in the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay, but no proof was ever obtained. The escape in itself is very interesting, although the escape doesn't really appear very interesting in this film. The film tells the story of Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood)'s escape from Alcatraz with a minimum of additional story-telling detail. It is an interesting film, but at times one wishes there were some more narrative details with which to complicate the story and provide some sort of interest beyond simply the teling of the story. There is very little evidence of life in jail unfortunately. Having said all this, one shouldn't really knock the film too much because it seems very accurate, and for refusing to buckle under pressure to make the film more interesting at the expense of accuracy, he should be credited. Like I said, at times, I wish there was more attention devoted to life in jail or to relationships among the prisoners or giving us some sense of the milieu there in order to give the movie some variety, but still, this is a clear and accurate telling of the Alcatraz escape story.

Minority Report (2002)

Good film

[28 June 2002]

Well, having read some of the comments on here, it seems people overall liked this film. I liked the film, but I did quibble a bit with the ending. SPOILER AHEAD......

I didn't think that if Burgess was so determined to make Precrime work at any cost that he would be so magnanimous as to take himself out when he realized that he had risked too much for it. He turned out to be such an ass that I really found it difficult to believe that he would do what he did when he realized that he had perhaps crossed ethical lines in ensuring Precrime's success.

END SPOILER

Also, I found, in retrospect, that Spielberg's insertion of Anderton (Cruise)'s kid is a rather saccharine plot device to connect Anderton to the action. I found this was the reappearance of the old Spielberg, and the one who made AI last about 20 minutes too long last year. It should have ended when we saw that the robots were frozen underwater years later.

Nevertheless, these are not major quibbles. Spielberg hs really changed from a mass-entertainment corporation to a more adventurous and curious film-maker. The provocative nature of the principles that underlie Precrime is very interesting and there is not Spielberg's usual levity to "soothe" the audience. The tone here is consistently dark and foreboding and I think that is fitting. I'm just glad that he is more emotionally honest and does not try to emotionally con the audience.

I have to give credit to Tom Cruise. He doesn't have a very flashy role, but he without his hard work and determination, this movie does not roll as it should. Cruise is someone who does not rest on his laurels and he must be credited for not taking easy, simple roles, but for challenging himself and trying to give audiences some cinematic cud to chew on. I also thought that Peter Stormare was great as the rogue surgeon who replaces his eyes (that's right). Colin Farrell has great presence and you can't take your eyes off him. He is a man who could carry a film. I found him very charismatic. Tim Blake Nelson is great as Gideon, the organ-playing prison warden, and Samantha Morton is also very compelling as the most sensitive pre-cog. She seems to feels things more acutely than most and Morton conveys the strength with which she feels things in an evocative, moody manner. Finally, I thought that the lady who Anderton meets out in the greenhouse who was partially responsible for the development of PreCrime is pretty compelling and watchable too.

I have to say though that I found Kazminski's cinematography somewhat off-putting. It is certainly evocative and adds to the ambience, but I found that it distracted me from the overall nature of life and the story then.

However, again, I find that Spielberg really has developed as a film-maker and has become a much more provocative and interesting director and I look forward to whatever his next film is.

Cat Ballou (1965)

Wacky, funny, goofy movie

[7/10 · 28 June 2002]

Well, this is an odd movie. A Western with a (beautiful) female protagonist, the young Jane Fonda. She seeks to avenge the death of her father and is "helped" by four differing types. A very light-hearted film, really a piece of fluff. Nevertheless, Tom Nardini as Jackson Two Bears has some sly commentary on the plight of the Indians. I thought Lee Marvin was quite creative in this role, but I don't really know why he won an Oscar. However I do think it's good that the Academy actually gave out Oscars for comedies, something they seem to do very little these days, fearing appearing too light-hearted. Anyway, Fonda does fine, although I found Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole a bit offputting with their narration. Perhaps it was meant to be a nice diversion, but, perhaps given my more ironic viewpoint of this day and age, I thought that it seemed out of place in the film. It seemed counter to the tone of the movie and intrusive. It worked in "There's Something About Mary", but not here-though they both have great voices. Anyway, a nice little bit of fluff, not much else.

Undercover Brother (2002)

Funky spoof

[8/10 · 24 June 2002]

Very funny spoof of blaxploitation films. The characters' names (Sistah Girl, Conspiracy Brother, Smart Brother etc.) are clues that the filmmakers want to make this a straight parody and satire of blaxploitation films. The actors play the humor straight fortunately. If they didn't, this film would be well over the top. As it is, the parody is quite sharp and on target. This is a great film to see if you want to escape the pressures of everyday life and just want a break from the daily grind. It is very funny and good-natured. Very enjoyable.

Spider-Man (2002)

Strongly illuminates difference between good and evil

[9/10 · 24 June 2002]

I enjoyed this film a lot because it hearkens back to the fundamental differences between heroes and villains-their morality. The Green Goblin and Spiderman are very different in this film. The Green Goblin is a very thoughtless, callous murderer while Spiderman could not be more sincere and considerate. Neither character is drawn in varying shades of grey. They are black and white, night and day, yin and yang. So when they battle, one feels compelled to root for the good guy as the bad guy has no redeeming qualities. I think the credit for this should go to the writers and director Sam Raimi who allow the difference in morality to usher the story towards its inevitable showdown between good and evil. Willem Dafoe steals the show here, but once again, Tobey Maguire successfully conveys anger at the evil in the world, his desire to impress Mary Jane Watson (Kirstin Dunst), and his excitement at having such amazing powers. One feels that the only thing keeping this film from being an old Spiderman comic strip are the "Bam Pow Slam" captions.

Red River (1948)

Terrific Western

[9/10 · 3 April 2002]

Great film. Great Western. Clift is brilliant and any doubts I had about Wayne's abilities having seen only "Stagecoach" were undone here. This is a fabulous depiction of two v. strong characters. I don't understand the ending at all. I really didn't see it coming. I thought one of them was going to kill the other. Still, that doesn't undo the greatness of the pic. It is an excellent drawing of two tough ranchers. I loved the movie. Walter Brennan can do so much with just a wrinkle of his cheeks too....he was great comic relief. Excellent score too.

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Pretty entertaining

[9/10 · 5 November 2001]

Well, this film is not quite Toy Story. I found it very entertaining, but it seems odd that Monsters, Inc. is based on how many screams can be extracted from kids owing to their fear but that they turn out to be harmless. Well, maybe this is not a problem. But something nagged at me. Anyone else? Well, apart from this I found it v. entertaining.

John Goodman voices Sully, the best scarer in town and Billy Crystal does his best friend and partner, Mike Mozkowski. They have been told that kids are dangerous, but when a kid escapes during a scare, Sulley learns they aren't. Of course he has to keep the kid under wraps in order to avoid panicking the city. This has some overtones that might disturb folks in the wake of Sept. 11. So Sulley learns of a plot by his rival, Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi) to trap a kid and keep them in Monstropolis so that there will never be an energy crisis. Boo, the kids that Sulley ends up with is caught in the middle of this and Mike and Sulley want to save her from the nefarious Boggs and the CEO of Monsters Inc. Henry J. Waternoose (James Coburn), who is incahoots on this plan with Boggs. Sulley and Mike manage to get Boo home and avoid capture by Boggs.

I was sitting too near the front of the theater to be able to honestly appraise the look of the film. I still have a crick in my neck from looking up. But it looked fairly dynamic and alive. I thought John Goodman was terrific in endowing his character with a lot of kindness and gentleness. Billy Crystal's voice I hardly recognized, but he was great too. There was great variety in the nature of the monsters. Very cute. I didn't find the story quite as compelling, perhaps for the reason I mentioned at the beginning of this review. But nevertheless, this is still quite a lot of fun. The look, the sound, the attention to detail, the sound, it's all there. Another strong Pixar flic.

M*A*S*H (1970)

The show is better by quite a bit

[7/10 · 30 October 2001]

I wish that I had been born in about 1950 so that I could have seen this film before the TV show ever existed. However, being a huge fan of the TV show and born in 1975 means that I am probably disadvantaged in rendering a truly unbiased opinion about the flic.

I do think the movie was funny and cutting, as the TV show is. And I was fascinated to learn the words to that peaceful theme tune for MASH is "Suicide is Painless". That cracked me up. I didn't like Sutherland as much as Alan Alda but I did like Robert Duvall as Father Mulcahy. It was cool to see Radar. It would have been nice to see Klinger. And Hot Lips was great too.

This film doesn't even take war seriously-that is, Altman is so anti-war that he doesn't even deem it worthy of really tough satire. It is more of a series of michievous events by people who are bored during a war. The soldiers get up to the usual hanky panky and this is the sort of side of the army that a less daring filmmaker might not have made.

It is probably not the side of the army that the army wants you to see. All kinds of hijinx in attempt to stave off boredom. I must say that I prefer the TV show but one can see where the inspiration for the TV show came from.

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

one of his best

[28 October 2001]

Have to say I loved this film. Superbly plotted and well written. Dianne Wiest was great. John Cusack is a little overhwlmed by Wiest though. Joe Mantegna was terrific as a mobster with the insight of a playwright. As my brother and I were watching this and saw, from the DirectTV info, that the mobster had a special gift. We kind of guessed he woudl turn out to be an amateur with this great gift of the gab. It Jennifer Tilly was also very funny. She plays this girl who is so accustomed to getting what she wants although she doesn't seem to have many interests in reality. She is used to just being granted whatever she wants. But then finds that acting is a challenge; she really enjoys it but finds that she's having trouble with it.

John Cusack seems to want to retain artistic integrity, but is not strong enough to do so. Some of the funniest scenes are those when Mantegna pulls Cusack aside and tells him how he can fix his play. Cusack is just blown away by such smart suggestions but resists showing his amazement because he doesn't want to admit he has been out-thought by a mob hitman.

Also the idea that Dianne Wiest is falling in love with the person who wrote those words-and that she says it so explicitly-is very funny. Cusack wants to tell her not to fall in love with him but can't resist the praise of this distinguished, accomplished, stage actress. One knows the other shoe is going to drop at some point and you trust Woody to do it well. He certainly doesn't disappoint this time.

It is also funny to see Cusack's affair, of which he seems proud in some way, owing to Wiest's stature as an actress, outdone by his girlfriend's affair which appears to be even wilder.

The staging is excellent. Terrific attention to detail. I think this is probably one of Woodster's more expensive flix coz of such attention. Certainly this is a very interesting examinations of the vanity of actors and actresses and of the fight for artistic integrity. More raucous than Hannah and Her Sisters, more trenchant than Small Time Crooks, I really loved this film.

Zoolander (2001)

Very funny send-up of fashion industry

[8/10 · 1 October 2001]

Contains Spoilers!! I don't know if this is really what the fashion world is like.....scary to think it's like this, but unfortunately, it's probably not too far from the truth.....anyway, this is a very funny parody of the clueless models and self-absorbed promoters. Ben Stiller plays Derek Zoolander, who has been the pre-eminent male model in the US for many years. He has recently been upstaged though by shaggy-maned Hansel (Owen Wilson), a hedonistic free spirit. Zoolander wonders about the importance of his profession in the wake of a tragic gasoline accident and his declining popularity. He begins to believe that he what he is doing is not very useful in the grand scheme of things. Go figure. So in this time of earnest self-reflection, he tries to re-discover his roots. First, he tries to go home-to coal mining country in southern New Jersey, only to find his father (uncredited Jon Voight) ashamed of him. He then considers starting a literacy program which he inadvertently stops by failing to realize that the model of his center is not the actual center. He spurns modeling jobs, but finds he has very few other abilities. So he is lured back into the world of modelling by an offer from the legendary designer Mugatu (Will Ferrell), who offers him the chance to headline his new line of clothes, Derelicte. This is quite an opportunity for Derek as he has never worked for him. The modeling line is the pretext through which Derek will be positioned to assassinate the prime minister of Malaysia, a reformist who plans on eliminating child labor. The fashion designers cabal are scared about this as it will cut into their profits, so Derek is recruited to assassinate him at the end of the show introducing Derelicte. He is selected as he is the dimmest and most malleable of all the models the designers can think of. He is trained to respond in Pavlovian style to the stimulus of a song, and in the final confrontation, his attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister is jeopardized when another song is played.

This really is a very funny film and is all meant in good fun. Stiller and his co-writer Drake Sather have put together some incredibly funny moments. I found the first 20 minutes or so to be largely non-eventful, though punctured by some very humorous moments. However from there, the film just gets funnier and funnier and I seemed not to stop laughing the last 45 minutes or hour.

One really sees the inanity of the models and designers and there are many celebrity cameos in the film. Everyone seems to enjoy poking fun at the fashion industry which they ironically support. It is very well written. At some times, especially in the first half an hour, there were lulls in the laughter, where it seemed the air was sucked out of the theater. However these lulls were usually replaced very quickly with uproarious howls of laughter. I found this film to be a very funny send-up of the fashion industry and very entertaining.

Osmosis Jones (2001)

Very imaginative, moments of inspiration

[8/10 · 29 September 2001]

This was a spasmodically v. funny film. More than that though, it was a very creative film. Watching it was like watching the Simpsons. My eyes were scanning the screen all the time to see how the signs related to the body. I found it very imaginative. There was the NNN, a news network which stood for Neuron News Network I guess? There was the ticker scrolling along the bottom with sports scores with creatively named teams. I can't remember what they were called but they were like the Ectoplasm or whatever. Obviously the Farrelly brothers created a whole other world within the body and they did it very well. I enjoyed the mayor and his attempts to try to keep Bill Murray fat because then he was happy and would be easier to control. It's amazing that one can even politicized the opinions of cells!! This movie had some very funny moments. It wasn't as consistently funny as for exmple Dumb and Dumber or There's Something about Mary, but I think this was a more clever film. I think it was funnier than Me Myself and Irene though. Very smart and sometimes very funny. Overall, I would recommend this film.

Spellbound (1945)

Not quite spellbinding...

[8/10 · 28 August 2001]

This film deals with psychology and `psychoanalysis'. Ingrid Bergman plays a promising young psychologist, Dr. Peterson, who believes she can help Mr. Ballantine (Gregory Peck) who is at first believed to be the head of their psychological clinic. However we soon realize that he is a troubled man in no way qualified to head a psychological clinic. He is terrified by black and white stripes. He responds fearfully towards white.

The physicians realize that he is not the new head of their clinic, but Dr. Peterson has befriended him and believes she can get to the reason for his amnesia and lack of knowledge about himself or his past. He has been calling himself Mr. Ballantine but as his fellow physicians realize he isn't, he absconds and is pursued, first of all by Bergman in order to help him, and then by the authorities. She quite capably outwits a hotel security chief in order to track Ballantine to his hotel room and then is able to escape with him to the mountains of New England where they stay at the home of her mentor, Dr. Chekhov (Dr. Alex Brulov).

It is there that he gets to the heart of what is bothering him. The doctors prod him into revealing dreams which they interpret. They try to provoke him to remember the last time he saw Mr. Ballantine. By recalling this ending and through interpreting his dreams, the doctors are able to re-construct his last days with the doctor. In this way, they are also able to determine what happened to the real Dr. Ballantine. When they are able to do this, his memory returns to him.

The performances are uniformly excellent. Brulov is feisty and edgy. Bergman infuses her character with restraint and excellent judgment. She is very sympathetic towards the man, but also knows when to push him in order to prompt a memory. She obviously loves him, but it does not interfere with her professionalism. Peck is excellent as a man confused by his amnesia. He can't understand what has happened to him and is scared by his potential for violence. Peck also plays second fiddle to a very confident Bergman. He is quite brave to accept a role that does not portray him as confident or admirable.

The music is terrific. It really adds to the suspense by signaling the onset of tense scenes and by rather staccato and sharp chords. Hitchcock's direction is excellent. Some of the camera work is tremendous, particularly a first person of Ballantine getting upset. Hitchcock knows we are more scared of what we don't see and we recognize that through his decision not to show too much. He simply tells a story and lets the chips fall where they may. One particularly scary shot is when it appears as though Ballantine will kill Peterson's mentor. He doesn't, but it appears inevitable and one sees how easily Hitchcock can ratchet up the tension. The ending is terrific. There are several plot twists that we don't see coming and yet are quite believable. Hitchcock always allows his viewers to be scared by not telling them things, rather than overloading them with sensory stimuli.

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

Scorpion sting actually feels quite nice

[9/10 · 27 August 2001]

I really enjoyed this film. Helen Hunt's character was very interesting. She was quite a straight arrow for all intents and purposes. However, she still had to indulge herself with a little fling on the side, with her boss, a rather lifeless office drone played by Dan Akroyd. Hunt's character-Fitzgerald-reminded me of Hot Lips Hoolahan on M*A*S*H. On that show she was the high priestess of morality and decency; except when she and Frank engaged in a fairly torrid affair. Helen Hunt carries off the role extremely well. She is a very restrained actress. She knows that less is more and she doesn't belabor points.

I found the first half hour or so of the film quite slow, but after that, the film's conceit-that CW and Fitzgerald acted differently in the wake of their hypnotization-took hold and I found it quite funny. The plot turns on the idea that CW and Fitzgerald have been hypnotized by a man, initially at a party for a co-worker, and then in phone calls. They rob houses when he requests them to, and then can remember none of it the next day. And, as investigators, they have to try to solve the crimes. Therefore of course, the trail is cold to them, although they will be viewed suspiciously due to various items that point to them. They are investigating themselves but don't even know it. They honestly deny having committed the crimes and are shocked to be accused. Eventually of course, the scheme is unravelled. Woody Allen played a very unusual character for him. Well, not really, he played himself once again. If you haven't enjoyed his films before, you probably won't enjoy this one. But his writing is as glib and witty as always.

On another MASH related note, David Ogden Stiers portrays the man who hypnotizes Woody and Helen for his own ends. He didn't have quite the same blueblood accent as he did in MASH but the eyes and the voice were fairly unmistakeable. Dan Akroyd's acting was excellent as a rather dull office manager. Charlize Theron was all legs and breasts as a spoiled rich girl, and Shannon Elizabeth had nothing much to do except tease her helpless co-workers. One can never tell why Woody casts these parts. Is he interested in creating that role due to its importance to the film, or does he just like working with young pretty actresses?

Nevertheless, the film is very enjoyable and I would implore you not to fear the bite of the Scorpion.

The Score (2001)

Smart, suspenseful heist flic

[10/10 · 31 July 2001]

If there is a book that describes how "I wasn't gonna do any more heists, but for $10 million I will" flics should be written, this could well be the blueprint. This is an extremely intelligent and well-written flic. It is very deliberate and features three actors at the top of their games. Norton, Brando, and DeNiro are all excellent in their parts casing out and stealing a scepter. The movie is very deliberate and the attention to detail makes the film very sensible and down-to-earth. Basically, DeNiro's character had planned to retire, but he is lured out of retirement by the specter of a $4 million payday. Norton is the inside man who cases out the place; he gains access by playing a night janitor who is retarded. Brando is the man who gets wind of the opportunities. Brando is terrific. Having never before seen him in a film, I wanted to see why he is so highly regarded. He is a very expressive chap and DeNiro brings his focus and intensity to his role. Norton's character is cocky but talented enough to get away with it. Norton himself is very understated and confident in the picture too. He doesn't seem at all intimidated and in order to really make a movie work well, one needs a counter to DeNiro.

The pacing of the film is the strongest aspect. The director, Frank Oz, pays acute attention to the plot and it is a strong and logical one. The movie is very methodical and this for me, is what really makes the film very good. 10 out of 10 for me.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Great except for the last 20 minutes

[9/10 · 9 July 2001]

I thought this was an excellent film. Haley Joel Osment is an amazing kid. I don't know how he is able to portray people with such emotion and depth. The kid is a genius. I found that the film was essentilaly about whether or not robots can become real. It also examined the ability of humans to love and whether their love is contingent on something. If this film is to be believed, humans are not capable of loving robots unconditionally. As Joe (Jude Law) says to David (Osment), robots are made for specific purposes. If they don't fulfill those purposes, or if they become more intelligent than their makers, or if they outsmart them, they are discarded like so much scrap metal and plastic. They are not loved as people. Indeed, it would seem that is unrealistic. They are not people. They are robots. no matter how sensitive or intelligent they might be, or how smart their creators, they are still not human. It made this film and David's sadness that much more poignant. Although he yearned for the love that he believed had solely been given to Patrick (his owners' real son), it seemed that he wouldn't receive it. The story of Pinocchio inspired him. It seemed though, that his desire for humanity and unconditional love, would be thwarted when he ended up finding the blue fairy which made Pinocchio into a real boy as he froze under the ice that came from the flooding of the earth and the freezing of the polar ice caps. However, although his quest appeared thwarted, Spielberg undermined the seemingly hopeless quest David embarked on. This ruined a tremendously rich film; rich in ideas such as love, jealousy, artificial intelligence (obviously), and neglect. Kubrick's cold remoteness is much in evidence in Janusz Kaminski's photography. John Williams' score does not intrude on the melancholy nature of the film, and Jude Law is coldly charismatic as the machine who satisfies women who otherwise could not be satisfied. This is a tremendous film, also with incredible special effects and the best, most sensible use of special effects, which is unfortunately somewhat compromised by a sentimental ending.

With a Friend Like Harry... (2000)

Truly scary film

[10/10 · 30 June 2001]

I don't find many films that give me the creeps. Blair Witch Project did and this one did. I found myself muttering the "H" word (Hitchcock) several times throughout the film. From the still camera allowing the action to take place around and in front of it, to the sometimes ambiguous resolution of situations, I found this to be a truly noteworthy attempt at a thriller that made your skin crawl as did Hitchcock. The camera panning over Michel's little hatchback driving out to his summer home at the beginnning of the film, to Harry screaming as he put his foot to the pedal. Some of the dialogue was also eerily funny, in a I-can't-believe-he-said-that kind of way. This also seems to echo Hitchcock in a way. And the way that the audience is in on what Harry is up to, while we wait to see if the ball will drop with tbe characters. The interesting thing about this film is that I found myself talking back to the screen, knowing what would happen, while the characters didn't know. However as time went on, they are imbued with enough intelligence to cotton on to what Harry is doing. It is disturbing to see such complete implosion of a character as we see with Harry. It was interesting to see how he reacted when he got upset-with Michel's parents and then when Michel's wife wanted him to leave Michel alone. The acting is very good. Michel is strong as an everyman who is crumbling and seems to know it. His wife is excellent as his foundation. Harry is eerie. The opening scene where he stares at him in the bathroom is great. You nearly laugh out of the unease of the moment. Truly a great film.

Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

Very funny but not quite his best

[8/10 · 16 July 2000]

This is a really funny movie. The laughs really come in bunches in this film. The scene where Carrey's character goes nuts and makes a rather risque announcement over the supermarket loudspeaker, then harasses a nine year old who had previously disrespected him, then ends up in a rather weird situation with a nursing mother (don't ask) and drives the car through the window of the barber shop was classical. Also whenever he was talking Ebonics....very funny (don't make me hafta bust a cap). I found some of those scenes with the big black guys mildly offensive and racist though. I don't see why it should be funny just for those guys to talk how they usually do. I mean, they were funny, but to put them in a movie and basically mock them for talking the way they do....I dunno. I was laughing but I was also like, I dunno about this. Still, the movie was hysterical. I don't think it's as funny as There's Something About Mary, but it wasn't far off. And I don't think this is as good as Dumb and Dumber, the Ace Ventura movies or Liar Liar, but it is certainly hysterical in places and well worth the price of admission.

The Butcher Boy (1997)

Fantastic stuff

[9/10 · 16 July 2000]

This film is phenomenal. I don't know how people can say that they don't understand how this kid could go this way and descend into madness as he did. He has a father who loves him, but who doesn't seem to give him much guidance and is passed out drunk most of the time. His mother is virtually catatonic and a nervous wreck. I think any kid could lose it without a helping hand during his adolescent years with that sort of parental supervision. In any case, the actor who plays Francie, Eamonn Harris is top shelf. This kid is just phenomenal. He brings all the enthusiasm and joie de vivre, but obviously there are some crazy demons lurking inside him as well. The narration and the motif of the film, the pig are very well communicated. The narration, by Stephen Rea is so dry and drole. It was hysterical. You found yourself rooting for the kid even as you wanted to cover your eyes and even as you were laughing at the same time. You could see what was coming but yet it was funny and sad. Very audacious film. I enjoyed The Crying Game but this is apples and oranges....this film is much better...

Kolya (1996)

Those crazy musicians.....

[9/10 · 16 July 2000]

This just confirms how nuts musicians are. Franta seducing virtually every woman he meets and the others fomenting revolution. They're all nuts. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Crazy is good. This is a wonderful movie and well, I don't know if the above mentioned behavior is really that unusual. Against the backdrop of the Czech Republic's move for democracy, a womanizing cellist in dire need of some money marries a woman to make a quick buck and ends up with her little five-year old. The musician is a very focused and serious guy when it comes to music; and women too; it doesn't seem likely that this confirmed bachelor will be much of a guardian. However he proves to have a deft hand with the kid and the relationship is wonderful to watch. The reunion with the mother at the end was tough luck for our musician friend but I suppose it was to be expected. Nevertheless, the moments that cement their friendship are great: the kid walking in on the guy and a young student who are about to get intimate, the kid kissing the musician, calling him Dad, asking him questions about trout and otters, taking the name of the Lord in vain. The relationship is really nice. Great movie.

Emma (1996)

Very entertaining adaptation of the novel

[9/10 · 16 July 2000]

This was a very enjoyable movie. I had never read the book when I watched it, but I had seen Clueless with Alicia Silverstone which is loosely based on this movie. That movie was very funny and well-written and I have to say this is better written and just as funny. Gwyneth Paltrow really does a tremendous job as Emma; she really captures her spoiled girl wanting to do good nature. It is a wonderful performance. All the performances are excellent really. Jeremy Northam as Knightly is great as always, Toni Collette playing the shy and nervous Harriet Smith does particularly well with a performance that has to appear nervous. Sophie Thompson as Miss Bates is fabulous and I really felt for her when Emma insulted her at the picnic. Mrs. Elton played by Juliet Stevenson is very entertaining in her clueless baseness. I enjoyed the filming too; a character would begin saying a line in one scene and then the sentence had to be finished somewhere else and so when the scene was finished, we found that the rest of the scene had been done in the other place. The script is excellent. Like I said, I haven't read the book, but the screenplay had enough conflict and resolution to please me and to provide some interest to most viewers of this film I would think. I don't know what Jane Austen would think of the film although I would think that she would be flattered to have her novel adapted. Nevertheless, the screenplay is very well done. I have to say that this really was Ms. Paltrow's film. I remember this is around the time that her star really started to glow in Hollywood and I can see why now. I don't know if she was given an Oscar nomination for this, but I think she deserved one.

East Is East (1999)

The whole is less than the sum of the parts

[20 May 2000]

Well, this movie really could be divided into two films. The first half is really a lot of broad comedy about ethnic divides that people can relate to wherever there is a multi-cultural community and kids feel separated from their parents by differing views about the importance of ethnic traditions. Some of the comedy was very funny I thought. However the second half is quite heavy going. The Pakistani father tries with terrible results to arrange marriages for two of his sons. I think that the drama was well done, but it seemed as though the makers of the film couldn't decide whether this film was to be a comedy or drama. Now I'm not saying that a film can't be both, but the change in tone between the two parts of this film, is quite large. However, I must say that there are a lot of good things in the film. Om Puri and Linda Bassett are both terrific and the humor in and of itself is funny. Touching the issue of domestic abuse is certainly admirable, but to me, the change of tone from broad comedy to dark drama was too jarring for the film to retain its effect.

Cousin, Cousine (1975)

Nice movie about having an affair

[4 May 2000]

This movie was great. It was shown on Bravo cable channel here in America. I was a little buzzed from a night out and came back and found this flic on.

I got it right at the beginning and was taken by the charming chemistry between the two cousins and the very sly and low-key nature of the relationship. That was a great part of the appeal of the movie for me. I also liked the two lead performances. Both were quite quietly confident and did not feel the need to throw themselves at the viewer in order to be seen.

I enjoyed the fact that they thought about how best to get a rise out of their significant others. Well, I thought that was interesting and it showed two thoughtful people considering how best to achieve their goal and not totally consumed by lust. The reactions of the two effected spouses were very funny too. The two who were in the affair were very funny as they tried to contrive more and more ways to get back at their spouses. It was very interesting and not as glossed over as Hollywood films in which it takes the two cheating partners about 17.23 seconds to jump in the sack together. This movie played itself out and one could see how they moved from a platonic to a full relationship.

A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)

Coming of age in France and America

[15 April 2000]

I read the reviews that people gave of this movie and I don't understand why they wanted so much character development and resolution. I thought that the characters were fine. They were a little underdeveloped but they seemed alright. I think that people didn't like the slowness of the movie perhaps. I thought that the slowness of the movie was its strength. I didn't mind that things were left unresolved. I would rather have a movie that leaves some things unanswered than answers all the questions. I thought it was a great movie. It wasn't too flashy or anything, quite simple, well edited, and it allowed the characters to breathe and be themselves. I thought it was wonderful for that. The characters were very natural and just were themselves which I enjoyed. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a movie which might provoke a little discussion about parents and the relationships within a family. I thought the relationships within the family were nice and appropriately complex while at the same time sometimes unexamined, which is a lot like life I think. Well, I would thoroughly recommend this movie to anyone. It is a sedate and quiet and really feels like a French movie.