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slovak19
Reviews
Soaked in Bleach (2015)
What really happened?
Did Courtney kill Kurt? Who really shot JFK? Did Neil Armstrong really land on the moon?
The conspiracies that won't die.
This film was so heavy-handed that it took me a couple of hours to get off of the ground just to write this. A narcissistic cop-turned-PI, who always wanted a movie written about his life, gets some time in the spotlight by being involved with a famous suicide, only to find his fame dwindle as the years go on. And then he found someone to listen.
This isn't a documentary. It's dramatizations surrounded by interviews. This is a documentary for the CSI generation; those who don't have the attention span for a real documentary or a realistic, balanced and unbiased view of Kurt Cobain toward the end of his life.
Are you interested in Kurt Cobain? Then watch Gus Van Sant's "Last Days." It's beautiful, it's poetic, and it's not officially about Kurt (because he knew Courtney would sue him because she sues everyone). Everyone is represented, even this self-important PI, Tom, who is portrayed much more favorably than he otherwise could have been (kind of a know-it-all blowhard, but not an idiot). Some of the best scenes on film are in that movie. Michael Pitt should have at least been nominated for best actor for it. Not everyone is Gus Van Sant (okay: no one is Gus Van Sant but Gus Van Sant), but it's crazy to me that someone could produce something like this after "Last Days". If this had come out after, then it would have been easily forgivable, but there's no reason for anything like this.
I mean, maybe you like being told what to think on every turn of events. Maybe you really hate Courtney Love. I mean, I'm not on her side: Courtney Love is a terrible musician and songwriter and seems like a horrible person. But there are lots of terrible people out there who are not murderers. But, if you really want to believe a self-loathing heroin addict, who hated the attention he got, had some complex conspiracy to murder him executed by other heroin addicts without being detected by the police, then go ahead. It doesn't change anything.
And watch "Last Days."
Columbus (2017)
Gorgeous, Touching, Maybe the Best Film of the Year
I was drawn to the film from having spent a few years living in nearby Bloomington (which gets an early nod in the film) and gaining an interest in Columbus and its odd placement as an architectural mecca while there. The story of why Columbus stands in this position isn't addressed in the film but is worth looking up, because I think it's an interesting story. This is beautifully shot. The real Columbus is not quite as charming as the film leads you to believe (though I will say that Indiana is generally not given the credit it deserves in terms of natural beauty), but I'm certain they'll gain some tourist visits simply due to how well the city was framed throughout the movie. Everything about how this film is shot is so atypical of most films. For instance, shots are reused multiple times, but they're reused to convey a passage of time and to sometimes separate scenes. There's a shot that's used again and again of a well-lit, cubed-windowed bank building, but it's not until near the end of the film that the other side of the building is revealed, and it's all shown to be much more subtle and understated than what we had previously seen: there's a parking lot, an ATM and a sign for the bank. It looks scarcely different from other banks framed this way, at least to the point that most people would not notice it, but I think that's a point the director was trying to make in reference to the characters. Then there's the alley with the bench. This shot is used at least five times throughout the film, and appears to be used to mostly to provide the viewer with a sense of the time of day. The alley is not significant to the plot. It's a very interesting technique that I found really enjoyable. For performances, I think this has made me a John Cho fan, when before I just saw him as Harold. I don't know if it's totally intentional or not, but I found his way of speaking throughout the film resonant of a typical non-native English speaker who has learned to speak English fluently. I guess that sort of describes Cho himself, but I don't get the same sense when I hear him in other movies. There's a subtly stunted flow to his speech and occasional awkward distance between words that's contrasted further by the quick drawl (she did a pretty good job of replicating the Kentuckiana accent of the region) of Richardson's character. I don't know if I'm giving him too much credit or not, but this would be quite a feat if he had actually pulled that off. I also have to mention Parker Posey, of course, who is superb in everything she graces her presence with. She doesn't disappoint in this, playing the wealthy, architecture aficionado spinster so well. I think this could easily be disregarded by some as a film about architecture, mostly because the majority of the dialogue revolves around that subject. But it's not (I mean, you'll probably learn a little about architecture indirectly). It's also not a sappy love story, which I believe the trailer unfortunately conveys. There are such beautiful, genuine moments in this from the unfolding stories of the characters' lives, and it's all punctuated by the beauty of the architecture. It's weird and hard to convey without spoiling the plot of the movie. If this is in your area, please go see it. This deserves to do well and to be seen.
What's the Matter with Kansas? (2009)
Small window on the Religious Right with occasional moments of glory.
I liked this because it provided a rare and relatively unbiased glimpse at the thoughts and opinions of the ultra religious right, who most in the world (including most Americans) simply just write off as "crazy." It was interesting, to me, to be able to listen to them move past the typical talking points that the talking heads of the right harp on extensively, and actually provide a window on where they were coming from. In the end, you feel kind of sad for a number of the people, not because of their values, but because of what happened to them in the end.
Overall though, this film lacks focus. The author of the namesake book appears a couple of times, but there's real clear connection for why he appears. The farmers union guy provides a minimal counter-balance, and the abortion clinic employee only vaguely fits with the premise (at least, what I interpreted as the premise). The film follows people, but it's not really about the people. It's about... I guess I don't really know. It may be that it's just trying to be too much.
Pretty Persuasion (2005)
great, but disturbing
I've read other comments, and this movie has apparently been billed all around as being like "Mean Girls." I had never seen this (I don't usually watch bad movies), but the person I went to this with had, and said that it was NOTHING like it and was a much, much better film.
"Pretty Persuasion" is not for the faint of heart. There is quite a bit of not just nudges, but shoves on the backs of Western taboos through action as well as language. The interesting thing is the way that it's done.
For instance, there is lots of teenage sex, but no nudity whatsoever in the film. There is racist language, but it is directed as almost commentary through the mouth of a supporting (but almost show-stealing) character, and is never done so in a hateful or malicious manner, but instead makes you laugh as one of the many dark jokes.
This is very easily labeled a dark comedy, however, much of the jokes are either subtle and easily missed, or they're too quickly interpreted as serious and can become offensive. What's most disgusting and offensive to me is that the director did "Underclassman" right after this.
The performance by Evan Rachel Wood as a twisted, emotionally-dead teenage girl was wonderful. James Woods comes very close to stealing the movie as the disturbed, aging father. After the first few minutes of his appearance, you find yourself ready to laugh the minute he comes back on screen, and he rarely disappoints in this respect.
I personally caught quite a bit that was an obvious homage to "American Beauty," especially at the end, which I believe the director was attempting to almost follow in the footsteps of.
The only issues I found were with the believability of some of the pieces of the plot. Some things are just not overly realistic and require a stretch of the imagination and an accepting attitude in order to continue following along with the storyline.
This is not your typical Hollywood flick. There is no real moral or lesson, and things do conclude, but their meaning is not explicitly obvious, and your intelligence is never offended. But isn't this why you go to see obscure indie films in the first place?
If you can stomach the taboos and are not easily offended, then this is a good film to watch.
14 Hours (2005)
another dog in the long-line of TNT's attempts at original drama
Like another commenter, I too noticed the unmistakable appearance of mountains in the background of the first shot, and the fact that the "Staff Entrance" to Memorial Hermann looked like British Columbia. Plus, a lot of the disaster shots were just stock footage, even though there was plenty of flood footage that they could have used, maybe even some with the Houston skyline, although that might make it seem too much like Houston.
I was in Houston in 2001, going to college and delivering pizzas and had to make a couple of deliveries to the medical center that day. Specifically, there was Texas Children's, where all of the elevators were shut down except for one, and I ended having to go to the 12th floor on the stairs. The beginning of the end for that job, but a fun memory. Nevertheless, I was drawn to the movie. Things like the big blue pipes from the pumps extracting water and the shots of cars submerged on 610 brought back memories of the whole thing, but the movie just couldn't do it. Cliché characters, terrible writing and an almost need to make the story uninteresting made me sad that I stayed up late to watch this.
Kris Kristofferson seemed either drunk or senile for much of the movie. Rick Schroeder overdid the obnoxious role, and even though the characters love him towards the end, you can't help but still hate him. One thing that surprised me was that the pregnant nurse didn't give birth, even though in one scene, you half expected her to and you get the feeling that the writers wanted her to.
The one thing that finally made me laugh out loud and turn it off soon after, was the scene where the man cleaning out his flood-ravaged home, after hearing on the radio that the hospital and all of its innocent patients were in trouble, yells "Hey, Memorial Hermann! That's right down the street! Let's go!" Everyone drops their wet carpet padding and follow in a line down the street, leaving their homes open to looters.
Sure, this is a made-for-TV movie, and there's almost nothing to expect from it. The little inaccuracies though were just a little too much considering that this happened almost four years ago, and it's not as if this movie had to be rushed into production.
Even if you're from Houston, and experienced TS Alison, you won't enjoy this movie because there's just so little of what really happened in the flood.
The Border (1982)
one of the few true border movies
Even though this film is now over 20 years old, and the attitude towards the border situation has changed, many of the moral questions it poses still hold true today. This is, unfortunately, the best film depiction of border life that I've seen. The Border Patrol has grown in strength, the attitudes of Americans have become more cynical towards migrants, but few things have changed in how things really work along the border. It's always bothered me that so few of the stories that appear in the Tucson and Nogales papers at least once a week, telling of violence, death, bribery, torture and general lawlessness make it past the eyes of locals, if even that, since they often appear only as side notes in the Metropolitan section. If you're one of those who insist that the only solution to the problem of illegal immigration is more security, then you should really watch this movie. The problem is so complex that there is no simple answer, and the policies of the current administration dictate the same ignorance that has let the problem fester in hypocrisy, and make it all the more sad that this film can be applied to the situation we face today.