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Phantom Phan
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House of Sand and Fog (2003)
Masterpiece
Ignore the idiots who are slamming the film because they think it makes them different and clever. If you open your eyes (and your heart) wide enough to allow yourself to become invested in these characters and their myriad of authentic, human flaws, you will be justly rewarded.
Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) is severely depressed. She's a recovering alcoholic who's trying to get over the loss of her husband. In her lethargy she fails to get a bogus tax charge cleared from her record, and her house is seized and sold in whirlwind fashion. Lester, the deputy sheriff (Ron Eldard) in charge of evicting Kathy, feels for her plight and soon falls in love with her. Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley) is an ex-Iranian Air Force colonel who is practically working himself to death trying to provide for his family. He sees the house as an opportunity that he and his family desperately needs. Kathy wants her house back, but Behrani has done nothing wrong and refuses to sell it. The house is of vital importance to multiple parties, and none of them are willing to yield.
"The House of Sand and Fog" is an utter masterpiece and a great tragedy. It doesn't take long to figure that out: only a little ways into the film you'll think to yourself, "Oh, this can't end well." And it does not. Along the way, you'll witness very real people making very human mistakes: bad decisions that push the conflict to the point where lives are permanently shattered. The acting is simply flawless, and I think Ben Kingsley might very well be the greatest actor alive.
One of the movie's greatest strengths is its sympathetic portrayal of BOTH sides. The movie is fair to both Kathy and Behrani, although initially I was not. While watching the movie, I was completely unsympathetic towards Kathy. She was irresponsible, illogical, and petulant. My opinion of her didn't start to soften until she hits rock bottom near the end of the film. Was my opinion of her started to change, I saw another point of the film: this entire situation could have been averted if either side took the time to consider the others' point of view.
Yes, Kathy was irresponsible, but the root source of her problem was a government screw-up: something that wasn't her fault and never should have come about in the first place. Her lethargy and failure to get the problem resolved exacerbated the situation, unquestionably, but it wasn't the cause of the situation. It's certainly very easy to sit in your recliner and condemn her actions. But the tough route is to accept her as a flawed human being and feel sympathy for her poor decisions. The way this character acts is NOT unreasonable if you account for human emotion; having "characters with flaws" is not the same as having "flawed characters."
Kathy's problem also brings to light an interesting aspect in our civil governments: in America you are supposed to be innocent until proved guilty, but often life imitates the art in the movie, where the county pushes ahead like a steamroller, completely ruining Kathy before they even took a moment to stop and realize they had made a mistake (those who view this as a "contrived" plot hook have obviously never had extensive dealings with any form of government).
One of the themes of the film is that it presents a battle between emotion and logic. Each side is equally valid, and sometime a balance is difficult to reach between the two. Kathy is emotion. Her emotional attachment to her family's house leads her to bad decision after bad decision. And really, how much more human can you get? Hasn't every single one of us, at some (several) point(s) in our life, allowed emotion to overrule our common sense? Haven't we all made decisions based almost solely on emotion that have ended up only making things worse?
Behrani, on the other hand, is logic. He's ex-military. He's very rigid, very right-and-wrong, very black-and-white, very unyielding. He's not completely soulless his family is obviously more important to him than anything in the world but he's also not easily swayed by emotional entreaties. However, I still felt that Behrani and his family were the most sympathetic characters in the film, mainly because they weren't the ones making all the bad decisions that kept making things worse. They truly get swept up in a situation beyond their control.
If there is a "bad guy" in the film, it's the sheriff, Lester. He's Emotion, part two, and again, he's not a terrible person, just someone who lets his emotions get the better of him and makes a series of poor decisions. He's a cop who's unhappy in his marriage and just looking for an excuse out of it. When he meets and falls in love with Kathy, not only does he see an easy way out of his marriage, but he takes it upon himself to be the knight in shining armor, the protector for her.
The tension escalates until the situation comes to a head, naturally, and it is a stroke of the darkest irony that begins the denouement of the film: when Kathy reaches rock bottom it is the Behranis who save her, and it is this unexpected act of kindness that gets misunderstood and leads to the tragic conclusion. The end of the film has a one-two finishing punch that's as heartbreaking as just about any movie you're apt to see.
But don't let that dissuade you: the ending is actually one of the movie's greatest strengths. "The House of Sand and Fog" doesn't try to insult the audience with a contrived, upbeat finish. The characters are real, flawed people making real, human decisions which lead to a unfortunate conclusion. Which leaves the movie with perhaps its final, harshest message: some of life's lessons are learned at a tremendous cost.
The Ref (1994)
One of the Great Dark Comedies
You know what's wrong with a lot of the comedies that come out today? Especially the comedies with Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and the like? The problem is that they never know when to shut up. Sandler and Rock are both tremendously funny, but you can't treat a movie like stand-up comedy and have the main character incessantly wisecracking for 90 minutes straight.
One of the great successes of "The Ref" is that the scriptwriters and the lead actor (Denis Leary) knew when it was time for Leary to just park it for a bit and let a phenomenal supporting cast (Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis, and Glynis Johns, all top-notch) elevate the movie past the mundanity it so easily could have wallowed in. I've noticed several other people that the plot of this movie has been done so many times it's pathetic. True, the plot is nothing new or surprising, but it is performed so well it is worth a look.
However, one of the unique things about this movie is that the main character (Leary) isn't really a participant in the main plot. The subplot of Gus being on the lam is mainly used only to set the stage for the REAL plot, the family and marital troubles of Lloyd (Spacey) and Caroline (Davis). Leary is there, but he's not a major player in this main plot, he's more of an observer. Hence the title.
To sum up, Leary is funny when he needs to be and sufficient everywhere else, and Spacey, Davis, and Johns all give terrific performances which makes this surprisingly serious "dramedy" one of my favorite movies of the 90s.
Patton (1970)
Greatest Biographical portrayal in history
In addition to being a terrific movie, one of the best war pictures ever made, "Patton" is by far the greatest biographical portrayal ever put to screen. George C. Scott gives the best performance of his long and distinguished career; he definitely deserved the Best Actor Oscar for this role, and I'm glad his disdain of the Academy did not prevent them from making the correct choice. Scott makes Patton come to life: as a brilliant, gruff, odd, quick-tempered general, but still successfully portrays him as a human being with endearing and dismal personality traits that made Patton so loved and so hated (and often at the same time!) A must-see, simply for one of the greatest acting performances in movie history.
A Night at the Opera (1935)
Can you laugh?
If you are capable of laughter, than this film is a must-see. The Marx Brothers' finest, and one the funniest films ever made. This movie set standards for comedy that have been duplicated and/or ripped off in countless movies for 65 years and counting. The stateroom scene has to be one of the 10 funniest scenes in cinema history, and the contract scene ("Party of the First Part") shows that confusing legal rhetoric has been around for a long, long time (and a subject of jokes for just as long). A film of "true comedy": anyone, any age, any culture, will find stuff to laugh at in this film.
Stargate (1994)
Terrific Score.
While I liked the movie, the plot does start to get a little thin by the end of the movie. The costumes, sets, and special effects are terrific.
Any music lover needs to see this film for the remarkable score by David Arnold. Extraordinarily lush and complex, I still regard it as one of the greatest musical scores in movie history. Like all great scores, it can stand on its own, without the movie. My recommendation: get the score and listen to it BEFORE seeing the movie. It will seem all that more impressive.
Forgotten Realms: Icewind Dale (2000)
Not Baldur's Gate, but still good...
Icewind Dale (or IWD) is a much different game than its predecessor, Planescape Torment, which was in turn much different from its predecessor, Baldur's Gate. Icewind Dale recalls fondly of "treasure hunts" from the pen & paper Dungeons & Dragons game. IWD itself has a very simple and flimsy plot, which is only there to move the game from one massive battle area to another. High powered monsters and high powered magical treasure is boundless. This is definitely a "Hack-n-Slash" game, and it doesn't try to be more than that. The graphics and music are (as with all Black Isle games) top notch. Not nearly as involving as Baldur's Gate or Planescape Torment, this game still can provide many hours of entertainment with almost non-stop combat. Ending is abrupt and pathetic compared with Baldur's Gate, as is the replay value. Still, highly recommended.
She's All That (1999)
"Pygmalion" for 1990s High Schoolers
"She's All That" is an update/remake of old classics like "My Fair Lady" and Pygmalion. In the movie, Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr.), is the school jock, his gorgeous (albeit catty) girlfriend, is Taylor (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe).
His buddy is Dean (Paul Walker) and Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook), is a nerdy, dour art student.
The plot is fairly predictable. What keeps the movie going is fairly decent acting, and very strong supporting roles. Kevin Pollack is outstanding as Laney's father, and Paul Walker and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe are excellent as the vile antagonists. (O'Keefe especially so as the witchy, self-centered Taylor Vaughn)
One last note: This movie is VERY geared towards people who went to high school during the 1990s. I'm not saying you won't like it if you're older, but you probably won't enjoy it as much as the 16-24 year olds who do see it.
Verdict: Very watchable, easy on the brain, easy to enjoy.