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Reviews
The Rules of Attraction (2002)
The film is flashy and pretentious
(a few minor SPOILERS) I saw this film at the Egyptian theatre a couple of nights ago and was actually quite excited sitting in the theatre waiting for the movie to start. I had been anticipating the film for quite some time now and was expecting something better than Avery's first film "Killing Zoe". I had absolutely loved the Bret Easton Ellis novel and wanted Roger Avery's film to be just as good. But what I got was one of the worst movies of the year.
There is no two ways about it, "Rules of Attraction" is one big gimmick. Roger Avery had the idea to put together a cast of teeny-bopper actors and actresses like James Van Der Beek and Jessica Biel and have them do repugnant, unspeakable things that they have never done on screen before. Fred Savage shooting up heroine, Van Der Beek having a bowel movement and checking the toilet paper to see if his ass is completely wiped, and Biel having sex with a plethora of men. These are just a few of the things you will see in "Rules of Attraction". Bret Easton Ellis' novel was a poignant, razor sharp piece of satire on contemporary sex and love and Avery has actually made a pretty faithful adaptation of the book, but unfortunately the amateurish, student film-like direction completely brings down the movie. Roger Avery said after the screening of the film that he approached the movie as if it were to be his last film. He wanted to incorporate every possible cinematographic and film technique that he ever wanted to use in a movie. In result to this approach Avery has failed to establish his own style. The film is flashy and pretentious with endless homages to Stanely Kubrick and other filmmakers.
The only technique that Avery used that I actually enjoyed and found to be completely original was the spit screen sequence with James Van Der Beek and Shannyn Sossamon. It was put together extremely well and Avery said after the screening that it was a technique inspired by Douglas Sirk films. It did not hit me until right then how brilliant the sequence actually was.
But besides that scene and a couple of nice homages(like Avery's homage to "The Wicker Man"), the film wasn't very good. Roger Avery is definitely a talented writer, for he wrote some of the best scenes in "Pulp Fiction", and he also put together a couple of good sequences in "Rules of Attraction", but he has yet to prove that he can direct a good movie. Who knows? Maybe if Avery wasn't so fixated with how the film was going to look it would have been much better. One thing is for sure, on October 11th I'll be running out to see "Punch Drunk Love" and staying away from "The Rules of Attraction".
The Ring (2002)
rip-off of the 1980 classic "The Changeling"
The best part of Gore Verbinski's "The Ring", and one of the only reasons to see the movie, is Hans Zimmer's masterful score. It will go down as one of the most haunting and complex scores of his career. But besides the music and a few effective scenes the movie has nothing going for it.
Naomi Watts, who can be a brilliant actress when in the hands of the right director(like David Lynch), is awful in this movie. She, along with most of the cast, consistently delivers her lines as if she were reading them off a teleprompter. Watts exhibits the same kind of artificiality that was necessary for her character in "Mulholland Drive", but here it is just embarrassing and it comes across as a terrible performance.
Gore Verbinski, who shows potential as a filmmaker with a few well-directed scenes, based this film on the Japanese horror movie with the same title. The original movie, in and of itself, was a rip-off of the 1980 classic "The Changeling" with George C. Scott. It is incredibly vexatious when you sit there in the theatre waiting for the pay-off and it turns out to be the pay-off from another movie.
Like I said before, most of the acting is atrocious, with the exception of Brian Cox's cameo. It is impossible for a bad movie to bring down this amazing actor. In fact, the two scenes involving Brian Cox are the most effective and frightening moments in the movie. Every other scene intended to be scary was laughable. The scares could be spotted a mile away.
With "The Ring" Verbinski wanted to make a rich, psychologically disturbing horror film along the same lines as "The Tenant" and other great films that are better than this movie. Instead what we get is a film that wants to be something that it cannot be due to a flawed screenplay and bad performances. Not to mention that for anyone who has seen "The Changeling" this movie will be recycled material anyway.
Creating A.I. (2002)
BEST DOCUMENTARY EVER MADE!!!!
"Hearts and Minds" and "The Sorrow and the Pity" are quite unimpressive when you compare them to the cinematic masterpiece known as "Creating A.I." It should be mandatory for all film students around the globe to view this amazing piece of work. Bouzereau has made a documentary that not only ranks as the number one documentary of all time, but also replaces "Grand Illusion" as my favorite film of all time.
In the Bedroom (2001)
Brilliant Direction And Compelling Performances
"In the Bedroom" is an extremely well made film that is directed by a first time filmmaker who exibits the skill of a master with his direction. Every aspect of the film has been meticulously crafted and in result we are presented with a movie that stays with you long after you leave the theatre.
As the film begins we think it's about a young man in love with an older woman who is in the process of getting a divorce and the disapproval of his parents(Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson), but 30 minutes into the film the mood shifts almost instantaneously and the focus is no longer the young lovers but the parents themeselves.
"In the Bedroom" moves at a deliberately slow pace and when things do finally explode Tod Field does not hold back and niether do the actors. The film is various things and it contains many themes that are handeled beautifully. "In the Bedroom" is one of the best films of the year.