bcfremeau Reviews

And Your Mother Too (2001)

Mamacita

[8/10 · 7 June 2002]

Like its two brilliant teenage male leads, "Y Tu Mama Tambien" is confident, aggressive, and passionate. Their cross-country Mexican roadtrip with an older woman encounters the country and its people through anecdotes and foggy memories; the story balances side-splitting adolescent humor and gut-wrenching, sobering maturity; the sensuality is spontaneous, raw and unapologetic. In short, as beautiful, vulnerable, tragic, daring, and redeeming as teenage guys can be, as filmmaking can be.

Spider-Man (2002)

A Spider Can

[7/10 · 4 June 2002]

Not too bad for a throwaway summer flick. Tobey and Kirsten fan their romantic flames in classic fashion, delaying and denying their PG-13 attractions to each other as long as possible, even until the inevitable sequels. Dafoe is remarkably adept in his way-over-the-top out-for-blood-though-tortured villain. And the action-packed special effects are marvelously stunning, overcoming their cartoonish shortcomings (SpiderMan's jumps remind me of the Mario Brother's Nintendo games) by turning up the violence (when a madman drops a bomb, oh yes, innocents do die). But the real star is the script, expertly weaving campy dialogue with clever self-deprecating humor (SpiderMan's world wrestling debut was far and away the highlight of the film). It's always more refreshing when a summer movie knows its place and plays up the fun instead of pretending to be important.

Hollywood Ending (2002)

Needs a Hollywood Beginning

[4/10 · 15 May 2002]

There was a moment about five minutes into the film when I thought maybe Woody should have lopped off everything before that point and faded in right then and there. It just didn't feel like the movie had its bearings yet, it seemed to be muddling through unnecessary exposition, and the jokes were misfiring. But I got the same feeling at ten minutes, and again at fifteen, and then... well, uh oh. Of course, there were so many moments like that through the whole movie, I started to wonder if they were intentional. After all, the running gag of the whole film (from about 20 minutes in) is the movie within the movie's incoherent dailies produced as a result of the director's temporary blindness. Are we supposed to accept Hollywood Ending's failings as, nudge-nudge, an inside joke? Sorry, Woody. Didn't fly.

The only thing that really worked was Allen bumbling around like a wearied old man with countless psychosomatic disorders. In other words, Woody is perennially loveable as himself and getting to watch him standing helplessly in doorways, talking to walls, falling 20 feet off a set, and bumping into people was worth it. Everything else seemed like first-take or rehearsal junk clinging to a modestly funny, though formulaic script. And half the 20-something beauties who inexplicably throw themselves at him don't even seem to be in the same movie. Was Tiffany Thiessen's underwear part included just to kill 10 minutes and boost the teenage-boy demographic? Debra Messing's part too -- it was almost as though Woody wrote himself into a corner, conveniently removed her for as long as possible and then brought her back to try to save the ending. Sorry. Didn't fly.

Basically, the premise was solid, but the whole operation should have been tabled, reviewed, reapproached and redone. But keep the stuff with Woody Allen staring off into space.

Amélie (2001)

Naughty and nice

[8/10 · 1 April 2002]

Amelie is a delightfully mischievous muse on love and destiny where imagination bathes the world in color and light. But it isn't the soft-around-the-edges feel that makes an impact -- its the darker mischief. Amelie herself plays pranks involving shock-therapy, her boyfriend-to-be splits work between a porn shop and a horror show, and one of the most charming characters is an obsessive stalker. The effect is a contagious warmth for scratching beneath the surface, good will hunting, and collecting trash -- all for storybook love. Good not-exactly-squeaky-clean fun.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

A Beautiful Mind, an Elegant Blueprint

[7/10 · 27 March 2002]

First, the compliments. This is a well-told, heartbreakingly emotive true story of a profoundly brilliant man and his devastating mental illness. The direction is strong, the performances are strong. All told, it's a can't miss.

That's my only problem. Why does it feel like a producer bought the rights to the latest smash Vanity Fair article, assembled all the best players and sat back and watched them deliver a box-office-winning single up the middle? "A Beautiful Mind" comes to theaters 3 or 4 times a year, usually around November when the teenage-boy vehicles clear out, all other American demographics pack inside and everyone blindly embraces the "it" film of the year. Hollywood lifts itself on its shoulders and pats its own back for a job well done.

I recognize the elegance but resist the blueprint. I would rather gush over a movie that moves me through its originality and daring.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Fine effects and a whole lot of setup

[6/10 · 27 March 2002]

Its quite remarkable how well the first installment of the Rings trilogy works as a stand-alone epic, considering how much screen time is devoted entirely as exposition for the next two movies. Basically, Rings 1 is just a series of ante-upping battles with abominable creatures as our fellowship of heroes sets of on their journey to save the world and meets all the important players. I will admit that I am one of the deprived few to have never read Tolkien's trilogy and therefore fully expected the "Fellowship of the Ring" to conclude with Frodo casting that ring into the depths of hell from whence it was created. Imagine my surprise when I realized this finale would be delayed until the end of movie three!

The glaring lack of a proper narrative arc in this story throws down a daunting challenge to the film trilogy. Is it possible to make theater entertainment by offering a 9 hour epic in thirds, one segment every year for three years? I'd say yes, as long as the movie fills the narrative pleasure gap with something else -- in this case special effect shots. The make-up, costuming, and art departments on this film should be proud of their work, but it all pales in comparison to the jaw-dropping computer generated work that fills out every frame. Truly engaging and thrilling to watch, but I wonder... Will I care by hour 9 of the trilogy about the completion of the story, and if not, will the effects be enough to get me to shell out 9 bucks? So far, The Lord of the Rings is just excellent popcorn fare.

Monster's Ball (2001)

Storytelling with depth

[8/10 · 18 March 2002]

The simple beauty of "Monster's Ball" is that it gets everything right. It's hard to believe how little screen time is actually occupied by the magnificent supporting performances as each one balances tremendous emotional weight and nuanced touch. Add Billy Bob Thornton's ex-corrections officer, ex-father/husband/son, and ex-bigot who finds worldview-altering depth in every gesture. And Halle Berry delivers the most unforgettably powerful performance of all, triumphing over her devastating life circumstances and embodying the thematic core of the film: truth. It isn't exactly about racism, the breadth of which is often ignored or over-simplified in film. "Monster's Ball" simplifies its truths in a refreshing way by allowing its characters to deal with their humanity and emotions, reach out to each other, and find room to grow beyond the scope of a two hour drama.

In the Bedroom (2001)

Compelling fatalism comes up empty

[7/10 · 14 March 2002]

Marked by terrific performances and subtle direction, "In the Bedroom" has plenty of strong ingredients but managed to leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. There are deliberately disguised story twists that I won't discuss in detail, but as the film progresses and morphs, one can't help feeling like the fabulous character studies by Tomei, Spacek and Wilkinson are marginalized along the way. Framing countless shots through windows, doors and other obstacles, Todd Field holds tension quietly and evenly throughout, but by the third act, the effect is tiresome and the story weakens around the edges. And finally, the ending inexplicably betrays its characters and its audience. It isn't so much that the characters behave unexpectedly -- it's that the story boils down to a theme absent from the rest of the the film. Puzzling. It simply isn't enough to assemble a brilliant cast and two stong acts -- your final act must at the very least answer the question, "why tell this story?" "In the Bedroom" cannot.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Experimental Hollywood

[8/10 · 7 February 2002]

Try to imagine the most fascinating television series of all time, an ensemble of Hollywood power players and LA hoods, starstruck wannabe actresses and amnesiac starlets, plus a touch of exoticism and a heavy dose of mysterious sensuality. Now imagine the pilot episode and the season finale of this television series edited together with a season's worth of dramatic glue missing, and you'll have something approaching Mulholland Dr. What isn't missing is the thematic muscle, lush cinematography, and a wickedly imaginative story. Lynch dutifully leaves the ends open, refusing a typical summary conclusion or even a Sixth Sense-style OhWow finale, spinning our narrative expectations and elevating cinema.

Vanilla Sky (2001)

The higher you climb...

[5/10 · 6 February 2002]

Heading into the last third of the movie, Vanilla Sky had plenty going for it. Consequently, it had plenty at stake and the final third of the film became one of the most frustrating, disappointing and underwhelming finales in memory. Two glaring complaints:

1. The dreamworld/reality plot labyrinth was foolishly summarized like a 3rd-grade book report... twice.

2. All that build-up, dreams piled on top of dreams, masquerading as a possible crime story, all the while instructing us not to take everything at face value... and all it amounts to is ____________ ?!!

No, I don't want to ruin it for everyone, but its almost as if Cameron Crowe wrote himself into a corner, grabbed the screenwriter's bible on coy-plot-developments-that-can-get-you-out-of-any-jam, and just plugged in the latest in hack sci-fi vision-of-the-future crap. A note to Crowe: If your entire film amounts to _________ , make sure you craft it in such a way that we care when we finally do find out. Or better yet, take advantage of the mesmerizing first 2/3rds by having it all amount to something original and thought provoking.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Spectacular spectacular

[9/10 · 3 February 2002]

In one word, sublime. But it is far from appropriate to describe Moulin Rouge in one word. And quite impossible to describe it accurately and effectively. You simply have to watch the frenetic first fifteen minutes, a mesmerizing assault on your eyes and ears that thrusts you full throttle into the saturated all-night bohemian underworld of turn-of-the-20th-century Paris. You have to let your jaw drop in giddy disbelief as Ewan and Nicole, atop an elephant, duel to love or not to love in the language of late 20th century pop music verse. Yes, the story is simple, the music deliberately plastic, and the entire production outrageous. But there are dozens of moments in this movie that will have you falling in love with the film in spite of yourself. Moulin Rouge unabashedly champions the greatest thing you'll ever learn; just to love the cinema and be loved in return.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Another family member to be proud of

[7/10 · 30 January 2002]

What's most admirable about Anderson's own prodigious film career is that, unlike the Tenenbaums, his creative and prosperous well will likely never run dry. For me, "Bottle Rocket," "Rushmore," and now "The Royal Tenenbaums" have each successfully pulled off the seemingly impossible: exceeding all expectations and elevating imaginative storytelling to lofty heights. Wes Anderson is one of my favorite filmmakers not because his films are my favorites, but because each sublimely satisfies AND leaves me craving the next helping.

Every character in Tenenbaums is blessed with a ludicrous past and an extraordinary future, with enough present peculiarities to keep the mass ensemble as inseparable as family. The Canterbury Tales-approach to the story serves to focus our attentions on the individual characters and performances, but particularly to the profilmic details (set decoration (watch for the underwear art on the wall; it changes), wardrobe (beards for everyone!), and what's the deal with all those beat-up taxicabs?! Inexplicably hilarious.) If I have one complaint, it's that overall, the sheer volume of material smothered some of emotional attachment I was looking for: by the end, I had less invested in what happened to everyone, though I trusted the story to reach an inevitably satisfying conclusion. And I'm already eager for the next one.

Gosford Park (2001)

Style and elegance

[29 January 2002]

As expected, Gosford Park is an expertly executed web of quirky characters, British class mannerisms, and witty dialogue. Oh yeah, and there's a whole pot of motives boiling over even before the centerpiece crime is committed. Complaints? I never found the dialogue indecipherable, though a repeat veiwing would likely reveal more humor and more plot details. But even when the exact speech is lost among the mumbles, the tone is dead on and the story never stumbles. If for nothing else, this film is worth seeing for Altman's masterful orchestrated direction.

Spy Game (2001)

Unexpectedly hip and complex

[6/10 · 26 November 2001]

The opening sequence of "Spy Game" got my blood pumping, and I for one was surprised to find this thriller intriguing and engaging from start to finish. Vaulting from CIA headquarters to Hong Kong to war-torn Vietnam to Beirut to seemingly dozens of European hot spots in the years between, the story dashes back and forth in time to reveal truths and half-truths of two agents played by Redford and Pitt. The "game" of the title refers both to the life and death art of international espionage (chillingly highlighted -- or is it lowlighted? -- by American-enlisted suicide bombers), as well as the game Redford plays with the CIA executives as he weaves his version of events regarding his former protege. Suspend your implausibility detectors for a couple hours and discard some of the more flashy-for-flashy's-sake effects (how many times to we really need that gyro-scope-whip-circling shot?). But overall, it's pretty fun -- an above-average action-thriller.

Novocaine (2001)

Novocaine misfires

[4/10 · 26 November 2001]

A lot of the actors in this film HAVE made some very good movies, but here they are corralled by a painfully overwraught script without purpose. "Novocaine" is so determined to earn your sinister affection but finally qualifies as neither guilty nor pleasure. Steve Martin's dentist fails to pull us into his plight -- are we really expected to share in his sympathy for his crazy brother? Laura Dern's martial arts and Scott Caan's violent tick never materialize as the quirky character fringes they're intended to be that populate every crimedy since Tarantino. And the plot?!! The biggest problem with this film is its insistence on notching-up the violence-as-slapstick-o-meter every ten minutes to cover up the fact that at no point whatsoever does any character do anything resembling the world we the audience inhabit. An inspired rewrite would strip everything in the movie except Martin's everyman dentist and Kevin Bacon's Hollywood cameo in an original story about an actor shadowing an extraordinary mundane existence to prep for a movie roll. Alas, we are handed this uncomfortably bad film. Think 1999's brilliant "Election", minus the perfectly familiar characters and laughs, plus blood.

Heist (2001)

Classic chess game between the movie and the audience.

[6/10 · 8 November 2001]

There's something about a David Mamet film that completely absorbs you, and not in the traditional way. The story world isn't created to suck you in, to transport you out of the theater into another place and time. Instead, you're always aware of the movie and you're sucked into the con game between you and the film. You know it's up to something and you're always kept just a few steps behind, even after the credits roll. "Heist" is the kind of movie that invites you, coaxes you into playing a game you're probably going to lose, and the pleasure isn't in discovering the magician's trick up his sleeve, but rather watching yourself getting fooled.

Mamet's one-liners fuel the story of double and triple-crosses among a collection of biting characters who are professional thieves, but since they're all so good at it, none of them can be too sure they're winning. Which is exactly what happens to us. Think you know the score? Can you really trust your instinct? Careful, don't get burned. Check this movie out and get ready to play.

Tape (2001)

Simple and Powerful

[7/10 · 29 October 2001]

"Tape" is not the best film of the year (in fact, it's not even director Richard Linklater's best film of the year), but it's a strong and intriguing movie experience all the same. Just three characters, one hotel room and a whole boiling pot of backstory. One could almost imagine Linklater, Hawke, Leonard (hey, isn't that Ethan Hawke's roommate 10 years ago in Dead Poet's Society?), and Thurman hanging out with a cool stage play and a DV camera and shooting the whole thing in one night. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing discardable or amateur about this film. But watch how the play, a simple story of old friends confronting old wounds, is transformed by the camera. The story is told in real time in a cramped room, but Linklater's over-cutting almost seems to extend time and space, creating a fully-realized world outside the hotel room walls without ever taking the camera outside. The performances are dead-on and suspense builds right under your nose. Rich and engaging.

Donnie Darko (2001)

Tip-toeing Reality

[8/10 · 29 October 2001]

Is it "The Sixth Sense" meets "12 Monkeys?" Or maybe "Rushmore" meets "Being John Malkovich?" Somehow, I think if you enjoyed any of those movies, you'll find something familiarly intriguing about "Donnie Darko", but what's great about it is that it's so different. If your favorite movies have pretty little endings tied up in bows, this isn't the movie for you. But there's so much character and critique and cool in this film, it supercedes plot nit-pickers. Do not miss this movie.

Corky Romano (2001)

This movie couldn't have been worse. It could have been better.

[1/10 · 22 October 2001]

We are told in the opening credits sequence that one of Corky's brothers is a closet homosexual and the other can't read. Throughout the film, we periodically are prodded to laugh when one of Corky's brothers scopes out guys' butts and the other dodges opportunities to read stuff. In the end, a big deal is made out of Corky bringing his brothers' issues out in the open. And their father bursts out at Corky's wedding that he loves his defective sons.

Funny stuff, huh?

Now imagine if they hadn't blown the potential of this running gag by flat-out telling us their secrets in the first seconds of the movie. This movie's biggest problem is that it desperately needed a rewrite. I can actually laugh at Chris Kattan being a freakish weirdo on SNL; so why didn't they make a feature-length Mr. Peepers? Everything funny about Kattan is drained from his character and the script is an awful, awful series of first-draft ideas.

Waking Life (2001)

Visionary, Brilliant and Alive -- you have been Warned

[7/10 · 22 October 2001]

Waking Life has been called visionary, brilliant and alive and it truly is all of these. I honestly spent most of the movie marveling at the creative approach -- a digitally shot and edited film painted over with vibrant animation. In other words, it's fascinating to consider a character's subtle hand gestures as belonging to the original performance itself, and simultaneously witness the animators' palette and brushstrokes in his/her version of the edited film. Waking Life is a collaborative filmmaking achievement of profound philosophical muse, character development and improvisation, and an onslaught of stimulating line and color. Do not miss this film.

That said, my only complaint is that I felt overwhelmed. Oh, to be overwhelmed more often than underwhelmed, but the bombardment of ideas and art in Waking Life did have a negative effect. I wanted to see it again right away as much as I wanted to take a year or two off from it first.

Training Day (2001)

Brutal violence isn't easy to stomach any more.

[5/10 · 22 October 2001]

Perhaps the timing just wasn't right. Somehow, watching Training Day two days after the horrors of September 11th made my heart and stomach that much more sensitive to violence. But Denzel Washington IS as good as ever. Ethan Hawke is strong in the boy-scout role. The script is cleverly manipulative and the direction is great. I even thought Macy Gray and Snoop Dogg hit the right note. It just felt like a finely executed streak of violence. Accurate? Maybe. But not exactly the kind of film I was in the mood for. Too many bullets in the chest, not enough redemption. I'm not always a softy, but after September 11th I'm looking for more.

Max Keeble's Big Move (2001)

Dumbing down a 7th grade audience

[3/10 · 1 October 2001]

Who is supposed to enjoy this movie? Kids under 12? There's nothing fun for them except the inevitable and overwrought food-fight. Teens? Forget about it -- too lame. So how about the pre-teens, 7th and 8th graders who are peers of the main characters? Well, first of all, do they even go to the movies? They certainly don't want to drag their parents to this one, and parents everywhere will be relieved. This movie stunk. The jokes fall flat on their face, the evil ice-cream man is just plain dumb, the story is a jumbled mess, the 9th grade dream girls look like they're in their 20's, 'Lil Romeo's 'lil cameo is silly, and alas, Max Keeble just isn't cute enough. This movie needs a serious rewrite to take advantage of potentially fun characters like the principal and Max's gross-out slob best friend Robe. And dump the director who looks like he was in an MTV editing contest for most overdone style. It's remotely possible that this film will find an audience -- maybe I'm just out of touch with the kids these days. But it would be pretty exciting to actually assume a 7th grade audience is wise and make something cool, clever and entertaining instead of this slop.