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Reviews
Idiot Box (2008)
Really Cool
Very well done polished and original short. The whole thing of people walking around with TV heads is pretty cool. Then to see them go on about their daily lives as if this is all normal is great. What keeps up the suspense is how they deal with the TV heads; and they do it like it's the most natural thing.
You wouldn't expect to see emotion come through from people with TV heads. But it does. You even feel for these characters and by the time you get to the end you've forgotten there's anything unusual about them. I keep wondering what it was like to shoot this with people walking around and riding bikes with TV heads.
2 Days in Paris (2007)
Awesome film! Awesome Cast! Funny and Touching.
This film is great by every measure. Delpy and Goldberg have a great chemistry. The script is incredible moving right along, fast paced with a laugh a minute, really. This is how comedies should be written. The two leads have very strong characterizations, each of them with interesting and funny eccentricities. Delpy's French parents in the film (and in real life) were also great in their roles. She wrote the film with the actors for all these roles in mind. It's very tight and delivers. The comedy is sophisticated and intelligent. At times the jokes, very wittily, hit on the political state if affairs in the world. The characters' eccentricities build to a head taking us on a real funny, realistic, and touching ride.
I saw the film at the LA Film Festival, where Ethan Hawke joked at one of his screenings for his film, The Hottest State, that Delpy might have had a little trouble without him to lead her through all her scenes. Obviously it's the other way around. She's at the top of her game in this film as writer-director-lead actor, all at once and her triple roles compliment and feed each other for a wonderful result.
Goldberg is all great as well. He's funny at every turn. The story touches a very universal emotion of the struggle of two people staying in a relationship. It's both serious and funny at the same time. A perfect date movie, no matter what stage of a relationship you're in. This film is a roller coaster ride through all of them.
Heaven (2002)
Awesome!
Cate Blanchett was awesome in this film, playing off of Giovanni Ribisi, who ain't chopped liver. You may remember him as the medic in Saving Private Ryan, or Charlotte's ignorant husband, John, in Lost in Translation.
Blanchett is one of those rare actors that become their character and you forget they're acting, which has to be the ultimate success for a actor. I can barely think of any others that pull this off; Nicole Kidman, Gary Oldman. Yes, Ribisi also. There are others. For Gary Oldman, at least, I think it may have worked against him if you consider fame a measure of success. He's so good you seldom recognize him as Gary Oldman. He's always his character. Come to think of it, considering Ribisi in his roles he's in the same boat.
Heaven was a great film. It's an incredible story and goes uphill from there. It's one of films you'll only find on late night cable or an indie channel. Incredibly underrated. It's a very touching and powerful story. It's timely in dealing with the official law enforcement paranoia over terrorism and the propensity to call someone a terrorist as a means to quickly legitimate brutal obtuse disregard for the human soul. Although, this aspect is a mere sideline to the plot.
The film is a superb story by Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz; directed by Tom Tykwer. Heaven was the first of a trilogy, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. But, Kieslowski unfortunately died before completing the last of them. Hell or L'Enfer as it's titled, is highly rated and apparently as touching a story as Heaven.
Heaven takes place in Italy but quickly reverts to English dialog making it an interestingly international piece.
The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell (2006)
Boring, monotonous, flat and most of all campy
This movie was made by a bunch of white guys that went to school together. Well there's nothing wrong with that, except it looks like it was made by a bunch of white guys that went to school together. 90 percent of the cast are white males about same age. It's almost like watching a bunch of guys at boys camp who turned the camera on themselves. The movie has no plot. It simply repeats the same action of blood bath after blood bath. There are some funny scenes and comedic bits. But they don't redeem the flat monotony.
The graphic cartoon scenes are used to cover the stuff that was obviously beyond their budget or resources to do, and not done very well at that. Anything that can't be done with white guys running around on the beach covered in blood is done with cheap animation.
I went to see this film after seeing the trailer, which makes it look like a Tarrentino piece. Well, the trailer scenes are as good as they ever get. Ther rest of it just repeats the same kind of mundane, inane comedy. It works at times, but it gets boring after the same stuff comes at you over and over. It's more like a string of Satuday Night Live skits than a movie. It's a hit-you-over-the-head-with-it kind of comedy. I can see where the story idea is intriguing. But, in this film post apocalyptic America is much like Medevil England. In fact Wheatlry says the story ideas came from that era. He plans to make a Part 2. I guess he thinks he's Tarrentino or maybe doing a parody thing.
At the opening in LA, Wheatley mentioned he will bring back pretty much the same cast in part 2. He was asked if he might consider a more diverse cast in the next one, to which he replied, well yea, sure.
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)
A refreshing indie comedy
Garlin outdoes himself as writer-director-actor in his indie production about a big guy (Garlin) wandering around Chicago with an eye for every woman he sees. The laughs keep coming almost every minute. It's a somewhat dramatic and serious story about a man looking for love, but done with great comedic writing and acting. The supporting roles are also very well done and very funny and really make the movie rich.
Rose Abdoo is hysterical in her receptionist role taking you right into the mood of the rest of the film. Sara Silverman is awesome with some of the great bits she does with Jeff. Bonnie Hunt is classically great in her role. I only wish there was more of her in the film, as I think most will agree. It's certainly refreshing to see her in a tight leather outfit.
David Pasquesi was the aloof detached sidekick, and voice of reason. Mina Kolb plays Jeff's mother who he lives with. There were numerous other cameos, all of them done very well.
At the premier Jeff mentioned his inability to do more with Bonnie due to production issues. Still, it's good to leave you wanting more. I think it's that indie thing of keeping some things ambiguous to let the audience do some thinking for themselves to fill in the blanks. The wordy title should clue you in to this.
Jeff said some of the basic characters were based on his past relationships. This explains why they work so well. Real life people are always unusually colorful and makes great characters. He departs quite a bit from what you might expect, having seen Curb Your Enthusiasm and some of his other work. It's one of those break out things where an actor takes some risks to do something they maybe always wanted to do but couldn't.
I think it's noteworthy that Garlin's improv Second City background, and Hunt's for that matter, set the style here of acting being the focus of the story and the directing. It's perhaps a new innovative hybrid of improv meets indie film-making.
Ira & Abby (2006)
Awesome movie!
Jennifer Westfeldt is just great in her role as Abby. But, her story and screenplay really make this a great film. Chris Messina is absolutely incredible in the lead role, which was certainly no piece of cake for any actor. But he pulls it off like a hot knife through butter. The two of them in this awesome script make for a great film. The supporting cast ain't chopped liver either. Judith Light and Robert Klein were a wonderful delight. This film has it all in terms of a meaningful story about love and romance done with great comedy and charm. It asks all the tough questions about marriage and answers them eloquently. The comedy is wonderfully done.
Anyone who's ever had a relationship, or wanted one, or ever thought about marriage or even divorce should see this film. The script moves along at a fast clip with witty dialog at every turn, like I haven't seen since His Girl Friday. The plot keeps twisting with surprises. Every other scene will have you laughing. This film takes a very serious look at the matters of love, marriage, and divorce and examines them deeply, while keeping it all on the lighter side. This is good old fashion romantic family comedy. They don't make them like this very often.
The Girl in the Café (2005)
Awesomely Romantic
This is an interesting movie. it doesn't seem to fit into a genre. It has a very strong political undertone which turns into a message. That's so sixties. But yet, I really liked it. maybe it's because the message works. The tag line tells it all: "Love can't change what's wrong in the world. But it's a start." So, it's about love. But I wouldn't call it at all a comedy. Though, I did laugh a lot at how the girl gets under the skin of the seasoned politicians at the G8.
The romantic moments were extremely well done. I think they were awesome. Very moving. The play of time and music with still-like imagery heightens it's intensity. You never forget that he's supposed to be way too old for her, or that she's way too politically incorrect for him. That makes for a great barrier between them that increases the sexual tension to where they have to get together. Yet, the milieu forces them apart, making for a sad tone that underscores the political theme of millions of dying children.
I think that perhaps Sophia Coppola invented a new genre with Lost in Translation. This film doesn't mimic it. But, it is of the same genre.
One thing I did dislike and found hard to watch was the politician scenes in their chambers and conference rooms, with the news media all around. I hate the news, I hate politicians and I love movies for the chance to escape that world of bigotry and spin. I would have preferred if the film stayed more on the behind the scenes goings on at the G8, like the dinner party or private caucuses.
Sling Blade (1996)
Awesome classic
Billy Bob completely transforms into this character. The character itself is a work of great writing. There's a deepness and yet simpleness to Carl. In a way, he has the look and demeanor of a Marine, especially when it comes to killing. Carl is just an incredible character with so much individuality and originality that he seems absolutely human. There's no way you see the actor in Carl. You can only see Carl. I think this will be an ageless classic. The story is also very compelling. It has a simplicity and yet keeps your interest in waiting to see what Carl will do next. You know something is going to happen.
The 73 Virgins (2005)
A gutsy look at the terrorist psyche
At a time when films about terrorism are rare and considered in poor taste by some, Jubin Joseph delivers a gutsy and revealing look into the psyche of a terrorist about to sacrifice his life for Allah and the promise of virgins awaiting him in heaven. The acting performances by, Tarik Ali, Nasim Pedrad, and Fred Toma, are thoughtfully executed. The set, locations and costuming are all convincingly authentic. For director Jubin Joseph, this first 35mm film is quite an admirable success. The cinematography and lighting was very well done. I was disappointed with some of the special effects and ambient sound quality in the version I saw. Perhaps, this has been or will be corrected in a future release. I look forward to more of Joseph's work.
The Aviator (2004)
Big Disappointment - Don't believe the hype
This film is a big disappointment considering the first rate director, cast and crew. It is an over rated and over hyped grandstanding of a big name, Howard Hughes. What is it with great directors when they get a little too successful? They seem to throw away all the good film-making traits that made them great. The problem is the story - there isn't one. But, gee, the cinematography is so pretty, isn't it. This screenplay is pretty much a rip off of Charlie Kauffman's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Confessions was ten times better than The Aviator. Now that is how a biography should be filmed. There is no clear story in the Aviator. Of course, this is common for true stories when you want to avoid unnecessary dramatization. But, you would think a genius like Scorsese would pull it off. He does well with keeping things moving for three hours - but the story is lacking. Then again, that may be a Scorsese style. But, it doesn't work here. There was a great opportunity to play with Hughes' psychosis, much like Clooney and Kauffman did in Confessions, and Scorsese made a feeble attempt at it here. But, he gets off track and the psychosis is lost as a very small subplot - even an after thought. The result is a story line that goes all over the place and stays with nothing for very long. Well, that's my first impression, anyway.
Nonetheless, despite my rant here, I find this an excellent film. It is compelling. Maybe it's because we know it's based on a real person's life. There's something compelling about stories based on true events. After seeimg this film numerous times over, I added this paragraph instead of retracting my initial statement. Usiually seeing a film over and over makes you tired of seeing it. But this one grows on you. Yes, the Hollywood marketing hype played up the film, which seemed like a lot of hype itself, probably because it's about Hollywood and larger than life characters. So, I don't blame my initial disappointment on Scorsese od DiCapprio. They did a fine job of reflecting what Hughes and his world were all about. It's the reality itself that's somewhat disappointing I guess. That's the trouble with reality. It's just not dramatically focused enough.