I had the good fortune to see The Mission on the big screen in 1986 when it was first released. I went into the theater knowing only the title, the two lead actors, and that it had something to do with South America. Two hours later I was a puddle of tears, both from the subject matter and from the knowledge that I had just witnessed a cinematic masterpiece. It is perhaps the most intelligently spiritual film I've ever seen. The cinematography is gorgeous throughout, the settings are stunning, the acting is top-notch across the board, the musical score is breathtaking, and the screenplay is brilliantly eloquent. Roland Joffé did a fantastic job directing The Killing Fields, but this one is even better. I just watched it again on DVD, and nearly 25 years later, the film has not aged or lost any of its power. Still one of the greatest and most underrated films of all time.
Reviews
10 Reviews
The Happening
(2008)
Give me a minute! Maybe we can OUTRUN the wind...
15 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
"Unbreakable" (an excellent film IMHO) begins with a train wreck. Alas, "The Happening" IS a train wreck. This movie is so badly made, the director should be named M. Night ShyAMATEUR. I had hoped this movie would at least be entertaining on SOME level, but from the early moment when the camera showily spins around a construction worker who can only stand in one spot and cry while his buddies plummet to their deaths around him, I had a suspicion this would be more like "The Cr*ppening". STUPID dialogue, SHALLOW characters at best, TERRIBLE acting by every person on screen, and LEADEN direction. I especially laughed/cringed at the scene where Wahlberg stops running across a field with a bunch of other ciphers and pleads "Just give me a minute to think!" over and over, until he finally thinks that maybe they can outrun the killer wind...then of course, they wait for the wind to start blowing across the field before they start running.
And yes, that's essentially the fearsome element of this movie: wind. Ooooh, the wind, so scary to hear, so FEEBLE to watch on a movie screen! I came THISCLOSE to walking out several times, but again, it's like a train wreck or a car wreck - it's so bad it's hard to look away. And I was in a very comfortable theater, and not in a great rush to get back outside in the 90-degree temperatures. So I stayed, curious to see if the ending would be as groaningly awful as the rest of the movie. It was.
Seriously, I could have eaten a reel of Kodak stock and defecated a better film than this. I hereby give up on M. Night Shamalamadingdong and anything else he ever plans to make.
And yes, that's essentially the fearsome element of this movie: wind. Ooooh, the wind, so scary to hear, so FEEBLE to watch on a movie screen! I came THISCLOSE to walking out several times, but again, it's like a train wreck or a car wreck - it's so bad it's hard to look away. And I was in a very comfortable theater, and not in a great rush to get back outside in the 90-degree temperatures. So I stayed, curious to see if the ending would be as groaningly awful as the rest of the movie. It was.
Seriously, I could have eaten a reel of Kodak stock and defecated a better film than this. I hereby give up on M. Night Shamalamadingdong and anything else he ever plans to make.
Stuck
(I) (2007)
OOOH, that's GOTTA hurt!
29 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Just saw this movie at the AFI Dallas Film Festival (with star Stephen Rea and the scriptwriter in attendance), and it is excellent! When I read of the premise to the film, I HAD to see it - I was living in Fort Worth at the time of the real incident that inspired the film. Note that "Stuck" is not the true story, but instead a thriller that uses that story as a jumping-off point; as such, the film is free to diverge from that original truth to tell its own grisly and intriguingly moralistic tale. And it delivers the goods: it's suspenseful and believable throughout, with great work by both Stephen Rea and Mena Suvari, surprising plot twists, some REALLY painful stuff to watch (including a wicked girlfight scene and an oh-my-God scene involving a Pekinese dog), and the combination of bloody visuals and dark humor for which director Stuart Gordon is renowned. Kudos also for the sly opening credit sequence, with a profanity-laden rap track played over old people slowly taking drugs (their medications) in an old folks' home. This film is better than most Hollywood thrillers of recent times, and would make an excellent double-feature with "Misery". Highly recommended!
There Will Be Blood
(2007)
There Will Be Oscars
5 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I just arrived home from a matinée screening of "There Will Be Blood." I LOVE seeing movies in the morning that way, a great film lingers with me for the rest of the day. Actually, this one will linger with me for a lot longer, and may haunt my nights as well. I am absolutely stunned by this film. I was mesmerized from the first frame to the last. I loved "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia", but this one tops them both. Robert Elswit's cinematography is beautiful, even in the dark nighttime scenes. Jonny Greenwood's score is unique Kubrick-ian, dare I say it and fits the images perfectly. And I predict Daniel Day-Lewis will win the Best Actor Oscar, I can't imagine anyone else topping his towering performance. Paul Dano also deserves a Supporting Actor nomination (though I still lean toward Casey Affleck in "The Assassination Of Jesse James" in that category). And Paul Thomas Anderson finally should score a Best Director nomination for this; he's been nominated before for his screenplays, as he should for this one as well, but watch how he sets up his camera angles and lets the actors do their work (especially in the brilliant final scenes). I cannot wait to see this film again.
Wow, between "There Will Be Blood", "The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford", and "No Country For Old Men", 2007 has been a very good year at the movies!
Wow, between "There Will Be Blood", "The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford", and "No Country For Old Men", 2007 has been a very good year at the movies!
Great title, great movie
14 October 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I just had to see this movie, because I love that title labeling one of the two lead characters as a "Coward" before one even sees the film. (Although they don't show the title until the end, which is a trend now that REALLY annoys me. Everyone thinks they're remaking "Apocalypse Now", evidently.) Yes, it's long and slowly paced, but I was never bored; the languid pace helped to draw me into the details of the acting, the dialogue, the production design. It was nice to see a period film that paid attention to the natural rhythms of the time, and not filled with fast cuts and in-your-face editing to keep fanboys and teenyboppers with short attention spans interested. Reminded me of another long, slow, gorgeous masterpiece: Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon."
Brad Pitt is creepily intense as Jesse James, the best performance I've ever seen from him, but he is outshone by Casey Affleck, who is mesmerizing with every twitch of his eyes and every quiver in his voice. He deserves a Best Actor nomination more than Pitt. Sam Rockwell is also outstanding, as is the cinematography by the always awesome Roger Deakins, and the haunting score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. (Loved Cave's cameo as the saloon singer, too.) And though some may carp about the voice-over narration, I thought it was excellent, just the right amount throughout. My only other minor carp is with the Canadian locations, some of which were way too far from real Missouri landscapes. (In the scene with Pitt and Rockwell at the frozen lake, snow-capped Rockies behind them, I heard someone near me say, "Which part of Missouri is that?" The narration mentions Colorado in passing at the end of the scene, but it sounded like a quick justification for the backdrop.) Also, I loved the ending, Robert Ford's character needed to be played to its conclusion, and NOT end at the killing of Jesse James, as others have suggested.
Overall, well worth my time and money, and I can't wait to own the DVD. And for those who wanted to see more of Jesse James's robbin' and killin' life prior to the events of this film, check out Walter Hill's "The Long Riders".
Brad Pitt is creepily intense as Jesse James, the best performance I've ever seen from him, but he is outshone by Casey Affleck, who is mesmerizing with every twitch of his eyes and every quiver in his voice. He deserves a Best Actor nomination more than Pitt. Sam Rockwell is also outstanding, as is the cinematography by the always awesome Roger Deakins, and the haunting score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. (Loved Cave's cameo as the saloon singer, too.) And though some may carp about the voice-over narration, I thought it was excellent, just the right amount throughout. My only other minor carp is with the Canadian locations, some of which were way too far from real Missouri landscapes. (In the scene with Pitt and Rockwell at the frozen lake, snow-capped Rockies behind them, I heard someone near me say, "Which part of Missouri is that?" The narration mentions Colorado in passing at the end of the scene, but it sounded like a quick justification for the backdrop.) Also, I loved the ending, Robert Ford's character needed to be played to its conclusion, and NOT end at the killing of Jesse James, as others have suggested.
Overall, well worth my time and money, and I can't wait to own the DVD. And for those who wanted to see more of Jesse James's robbin' and killin' life prior to the events of this film, check out Walter Hill's "The Long Riders".
The Right Stuff
(1983)
THE BEST film of the 1980s -- perhaps of all time!
27 September 2000
I first saw "The Right Stuff" at a preview screening a month before its release in 1983; it received a standing ovation, the only one I've ever experienced in a movie theater.
I just bought a DVD player, and "The Right Stuff" was the first DVD I bought. In my opinion, the film is a masterpiece for all time. It skillfully surfs waves of emotion, from personal drama to intelligent laughs to moments of terror and tension, and achieves a perfect balance. It does so, of course, by means of the remarkable craftsmanship of writer/director Philip Kaufman and his assemblage of incredible talents both in front of and behind the camera. But what really makes this film work is its honesty towards its subject matter; it shows these characters with all their foibles and without condescension, and yet reminds us constantly of the sheer above-and-beyond heroism that these "everyday" men achieved.
P.S. Ron Howard's "Apollo 13" is close on this film's heels, from a quality standpoint; I consider it practically a sequel.
I just bought a DVD player, and "The Right Stuff" was the first DVD I bought. In my opinion, the film is a masterpiece for all time. It skillfully surfs waves of emotion, from personal drama to intelligent laughs to moments of terror and tension, and achieves a perfect balance. It does so, of course, by means of the remarkable craftsmanship of writer/director Philip Kaufman and his assemblage of incredible talents both in front of and behind the camera. But what really makes this film work is its honesty towards its subject matter; it shows these characters with all their foibles and without condescension, and yet reminds us constantly of the sheer above-and-beyond heroism that these "everyday" men achieved.
P.S. Ron Howard's "Apollo 13" is close on this film's heels, from a quality standpoint; I consider it practically a sequel.
Election
(1999)
One SMART movie!
23 May 2000
This is one of the SMARTEST film scripts I've experienced in ages! It's funny, it doesn't pretend to be grandiose, it treats the audience like they actually have brains--what a refreshing change from most Hollywood fare! Plus, the casting and acting is dead perfect throughout, with extra-special kudos for Reese Witherspoon who is absolutely terrific! It should have won the Oscar!
NOTE TO VIDEO VIEWERS: Near the end of the film, when the newspaper articles are flashed on the screen, freeze-frame the second article shown and read it--there's a truly hysterical gag hidden there that freaked me out!
NOTE TO VIDEO VIEWERS: Near the end of the film, when the newspaper articles are flashed on the screen, freeze-frame the second article shown and read it--there's a truly hysterical gag hidden there that freaked me out!
Underground
(1995)
An amazing film
14 April 2000
Superb, astonishing, brilliant...adjectives fail me here. Kusturica has the guts to deliver that cinematic rarity, an epic comedy--and temper it perfectly with drama and tragedy. And the most extraordinary ending to a film in years! An absolute masterpiece!
The Thin Red Line
(1998)
Cinematic Sominex--the WORST war film ever made!
25 February 2000
Like "Saving Private Ryan", this movie is set in WWII, it's almost three hours long, has exceptional cinematography, and focuses on the travails of the regular infantrymen during that conflict.
Unlike "Saving Private Ryan", this film is a SUPER-BORING, PRETENTIOUS piece of GARBAGE. It spends so much effort trying to be poetic and lyrical and elegiac that it never gets around to anything even close to resembling a cohesive storyline or character development.
I've developed three film rules from viewing this thing:
1. Never use more than one voice for voice-over narration. There's so much voice-over in this flick (and most of it in hushed delivery) that I thought they must be compensating for REALLY bad on-set sound recording.
2. When you have to sit through 42 MINUTES of a war film before you hear any gunfire or artillery, you know you're in trouble.
3. Any movie with Woody Harrelson in the cast should be avoided like the plague. (This includes his work on one of the most overrated TV series of all time, "Cheers".)
I also have serious issues with a war film which attempts to put a positive spin on a lead character who is an AWOL-prone coward who should have been shot by his own superiors.
The reason this movie got seven Oscar nominations (thankfully winning none) is because of this inbred Hollywood thing about the writer-director, Terrence Malick, a J.D. Salinger-wannabe who directed two films in the 1970s (the not-bad "Badlands" and another beautiful-boring-overrated flick, "Days Of Heaven"), then became a recluse, refusing interviews and photographs, etc. In fact, at the Oscars, when the Best Director nominees were announced, instead of the usual "director-in-action" clip shown for the others, they could only show an empty director's chair with Malick's name on the back.
As far as I'm concerned, Malick can retreat back to the obscurity he deserves. This is the worst Best Picture contender I've seen since "Braveheart", and the worst war film since Ollie Stone's propagandistic "Born On The Fourth Of July."
The ONLY reason this movie rates even a 1 is for the cinematography.
Unlike "Saving Private Ryan", this film is a SUPER-BORING, PRETENTIOUS piece of GARBAGE. It spends so much effort trying to be poetic and lyrical and elegiac that it never gets around to anything even close to resembling a cohesive storyline or character development.
I've developed three film rules from viewing this thing:
1. Never use more than one voice for voice-over narration. There's so much voice-over in this flick (and most of it in hushed delivery) that I thought they must be compensating for REALLY bad on-set sound recording.
2. When you have to sit through 42 MINUTES of a war film before you hear any gunfire or artillery, you know you're in trouble.
3. Any movie with Woody Harrelson in the cast should be avoided like the plague. (This includes his work on one of the most overrated TV series of all time, "Cheers".)
I also have serious issues with a war film which attempts to put a positive spin on a lead character who is an AWOL-prone coward who should have been shot by his own superiors.
The reason this movie got seven Oscar nominations (thankfully winning none) is because of this inbred Hollywood thing about the writer-director, Terrence Malick, a J.D. Salinger-wannabe who directed two films in the 1970s (the not-bad "Badlands" and another beautiful-boring-overrated flick, "Days Of Heaven"), then became a recluse, refusing interviews and photographs, etc. In fact, at the Oscars, when the Best Director nominees were announced, instead of the usual "director-in-action" clip shown for the others, they could only show an empty director's chair with Malick's name on the back.
As far as I'm concerned, Malick can retreat back to the obscurity he deserves. This is the worst Best Picture contender I've seen since "Braveheart", and the worst war film since Ollie Stone's propagandistic "Born On The Fourth Of July."
The ONLY reason this movie rates even a 1 is for the cinematography.
American Beauty
(1999)
The bloom is off this rose
7 February 2000
American Beauty has some good points--particularly the performances of Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, doing the best they can with what they've been given; the music is interesting, too--but it's all in the service of a superficial, predictable and cliched script. Ultimately, the film is nothing more than an exercise in pretentiousness and a celebration of amorality.
Tell Your Friends