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Reviews
Jarhead (2005)
Dismal and excellent
Programming men to kill, and then not letting them, is a dangerous and terrible thing. This movie won't satisfy your desire to see conflicted heroes overcome odds and blow up their adversaries; it will satisfy your desire to join the military, and it will satisfy your desire to put men on the battlefield.
I'm sorry that the film is getting mixed reviews. Everyone seems disappointed, but I don't think this is the journey of the hero, this is the unmaking of the hero. You will leave the theater with a dismal sense of futility and dread. And for that, as a powerful tool for expressing 'the suck' of war and all its trappings, I give it a 10.
Il mio viaggio in Italia (1999)
1st Class Ticket to Italian Neo-Realism - $9
I had a dream, about a week before I even knew this film existed, that Martin Scorsese was talking to me about film in his clipped and articulate way. I was finishing the book, 'Easy Riders and Raging Bulls' as bedtime reading, so I didn't see this as a premonition.
I just got back from a month in Italy and was working on a home movie edit called, 'Jason's Trip to Italy' when I was invited to see this film called, coincidentally, 'My Voyage to Italy.'
I hate having movies 'ruined' by trailers and critiques that tell more about the beats and plot points than they do about the relevance of the subject so I read nothing before coming. I knew I'd see a Martin Scorsese film, so there was no need to know any of the actors or the plot.
It's not a travelogue.
Ironically, this film digests a whole collection of classic Italian films I hadn't seen. In one 4 hour and 16 minute fell swoop, Thelma Schoonmaker and Martin Scorsese reveal plot points and the endings of dozens of films! (There was a 10 minute intermission where I saw it.)
It's worth it. The films aren't 'ruined,' they're appreciated, and made more appreciable. So read what you can before, after and even -during- the film. Bring a notepad. This is an incredible opportunity to have Italian neo-realism taught by our apparent friend, Martin Scorsese.
He shows clips from Italian classics that -will- blow endings, important plot points and so forth, but will entice you to see them, too. You may want to see these films first, as a primer. I don't remember all the films he touched on, which is part of why I recommend taking notes, but some of them are:
*Michelangelo Antonioni: L'Eclisse, L'Avventura *Vittorio de Sica: Umberto D., I Ladri Biciclette, Matrimonia All'Italia *Federico Fellini: I Vittelino, 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita *Rossellini: Paisa, Europa '51, Il Miraculo, Stromboli, Germania Anno Zero, Roma Citta Aperta, Viaggio in Italia *Alessandro Blasetti: La Corona Di Ferro, 1860...and a few others that my brain is refusing to recall, including a fantastic color film about a degenerate Austrian officer that takes advantage of an Italian duchess.
This is a deeply personal film for Scorsese, and it's his impassioned plea to reinvigorate our modern culture to see these classics. If you see the films beforehand, you'll want to see this film even more.
If you love film, this will consummate that love. It's like finding a whole new dating pool!
Free Floaters (1997)
Quiet, interesting film; Quintessential sleeper.
Two Q's in the summary are followed by this Q in the commentary: 'Quirky.' A couple are travelling around America on their own mysterious crusade. It's worth it to see how far from traditional structure and character arc the film gets.
Mission to Mars (2000)
I was disappointed
I wanted to like this film because I like everyone in it and the people that crewed it. Unfortunately this movie was preceded by Contact, 2001 & Close Encounters, which singularly and uniquely each fulfilled any aspect of this film's importance. The CG fx at the end were fakey. The level of despair in the actors was uneven and unbelievable. The music (including hockey style organ music during a 'tense' space recovery) was inconsistent and obtrusive. The fore-shadowing was so obvious that I checked my scalp for blood. The coincidences were too incredible. The science was either inaccurate or incomprehensible. The editing was jarring. I'm surprised NASA lent their logo to this restrained 'space cowboy' concept of astronauts. I'd like to give a spoiler review so that I could really get into the lamer 'qualities' of this film, but alas, I hate it when reviews give things away!