springsoft Reviews

Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)

Lightweight escapist fun

[6/10 · 12 September 2000]

This is a charming, rollicking yarn, full of mischievous criminal acts perpetrated by Spacey and his cronies. It's light, frothy, and doesn't develop much suspense or real drama, and ultimately is a pointless exercise in movie making.

Spacey is OK, Linda Fiorentino is wooden (perhaps concentrating too much on trying to master the lyrical cadences of the Irish accent - she fails!). Helen Baxendale is simperingly gorgeous as usual, but she too fails to get as close to the accent as Spacey. The supporting cast of British and Irish actors are wonderful, and there are some delightful cameos.

Sadly, Patrick Malahide is wasted, his character being painted with a broad and parodied brush.

Boorman's "The General" covered the same subject matter much more expertly, but without the benefit of a Hollywood "A-list" actor to kick it along.

I'm still wondering what possessed Kevin Spacey, who is a fine actor, to get involved in this movie.

Onegin (1999)

Ponderous, self-important.

[5/10 · 12 September 2000]

On the night I viewed Onegin, the cinema was overly warm, and at one stage I nearly dropped off to sleep, along with a number of other nodding heads that I spied.

The movie wasn't helped by the climate, nor by it's own pace and lack of dynamics. There was only one scene where any real sense of climax or drama occurred - the duel. The rest of the movie seemed to be dedicated to lingering on Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler - two undoubtedly attractive actors whose talent would have been better served had the camera not obsessed on their features, and focused instead on developing greater character depth.

The soundtrack, attributed to another of the Fiennes clan, was delightful.

Ultimately, it equivocated between romantic drama, costume drama and star vehicle, and failed to adequately achieve any one of them.

The War Zone (1999)

The Unbearable Bleakness of Being

[10 September 2000]

This bleak, disturbing movie leaves many unanswered and unresolved threads, and viewers who like to be spoonfed in the traditional Hollywood style won't appreciate it. It leaves many issues to be played out in the viewer's mind's-eye.

It deals with incest, and the drama is played out in the bleak Winter of North Devon. Against this bleak countryside, beautifully filmed scenes of the roiling seas driving against angular tectonic plates leave us with no doubt that something unpleasant is about to unfold.

Other reviewers have covered the plot line, so I won't rehash it. I will, however, offer the comment that it deals with this unpleasant subject with great taste. Still, I found the one graphic scene of incest difficult to watch.

It reminds me of "The Piano" in many ways - the visual bleakness, the distorted power relationships between the main protagonists, and in the haunting soundtrack. 9.5/10