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Reviews
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
It's the acting. Wow!
Sometimes, the cliches apply, and this is one of those times. They simply don't make movies like this anymore. It lacks the type of action and explicit drawn out sex scenes that would be demanded of the story were it made today, and that
has allowed it to be a better movie. The theme song, "Everybody Talking" is
used throughout the film in little snippets. The pacing of the scenes all are carefully managed. I don't see how any viewer can't be drawn into the mood of the film.
But it is really about the acting. Voight's Joe Buck seems rather simply drawn, but by the end of the film, one can't help but appreciate what a fine job the actor did. He really created something lasting. And Dustin Hoffman is, to use a trite phrase, at the heights of his powers. Keeping in mind that Midnight Cowboy was created a mere two years after The Graduate, it is impossible not to be amazed at his work in this movie. Rizzo is an entirely different character than Ben, one that draws the viewer in on a far more intimate level.
There is no question that this is one of the all time great films.
Trixie (2000)
It was supposed to be funny?
Emily Watson is a wonderful actress, capable of amazing things.
This movie, on the other hand...I am not sure that there are words...
This might be the worst film that I have ever watched without changing the channel. I only watched because I am that big an Emily Watson fan. But I've got to say, you needn't bother.
Brokedown Palace (1999)
OK, but not great
Danes was, as expected, wonderful. She can act, across a wide range, really act. This was a role which asked her to use a fair amount of the that range. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is just not up to that standard. Beckinsale is not ever quite credible as anymore than the goody-good her character is supposed be on the surface. I blame most of the problems on Kaplan, who (I've long felt) doesn't quite understand how to transmit from the screen to the audience.
A real strength of the film, of the script, is that it doesn't have the Hollywood ending. It's not the pat answer tying everything up nicely and sweetly. Furthermore, it doesn't make sure it answers every question that the plot asks. Major kudos.
Snitch (1998)
much better than one would expect
Dennis Leary is wonderful in this film. Not a flaw in his performance, and we are talking about serious acting in a real drama here. The movie is well written, allowing him to show how well he can do this.
It's a movie about trust and betrayal among a community where they only trust each other, never outsiders, and they are themselves the criminals (small time). Betrayal, however, is barely different from trust. And the code of silence rules absolutely.
Bobby O'Grady (Leary) knows that it just doesn't work. He just can't see it, and knows that he is a part of it.
Why is it is such a good movie? Authenticity. It feels real. Leary doesn't go over the top, no one does. It looks right, and feels right.
In the end, they don't make it easy. This is a story that can't end well, even if you try to put all the pieces together such that it looks like a happy ending. So, they don't force it. It ends as it has to.
Worth seeing.
The Siege (1998)
Much better than expected, it doesn't just gloss over the tough issues
The Siege is much more than your average action film. With Denzel Washington playing a main character, one has to expect some examination of moral issues, and it is there. It is not just terrorists verses America, with the sub-plot of US military verses CIA verses FBI. It is also an allusion to one of the greatest travesties of American justice, the internment of American citizens by race by the US government during WWII. All of that as a backdrop to the oh-so-cool Denzel and the still HOT Annette Benning.