Change Your Image
clcook2000
Reviews
The Invasion (2007)
Turned a great idea into utter pap
How can someone take a great idea that worked fine in two previous movies (the original and a remake) and with another remake turn the movie into such utter pap that even the least critical moviegoer will wonder what went wrong? Well, I dunno. But they sure did it with this flick.
Actually, maybe it's because Joel Silver was involved in the project as producer. The guy used to do some interesting work, at least now and then, but I can't recall the last time he was involved in anything worth watching.
I don't want to list all the problems... but you know when a remake resorts to silly car chase & car crash scenes to juice it up, then the whole project is in trouble.
Don't bother with this movie. See the original instead. Or the 1970's remake, which was good.
Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)
Manipulative & mean-spirited
About 20 minutes into this flick, I nervously thought to myself, "Man, I sure hope this isn't gonna turn into an over-the-top manipulative piece of bad film-making." Because it became clear at that point it could go either way, and being a fan of Pierce Brosnan, I was hoping it would rise above my fears.
But it didn't. It just got worse and worse... and worse, and finally resolved itself with exactly the manipulative end-game that I'd feared.
The plotting is mostly crude artifice (as opposed to the carefully crafted artifice of a fine movie). The acting is overdone, but only because they stayed with the overblown script. I'm curious how or why an experienced actor like Brosnan didn't see that before filming even started.
Apparently, this film was never released into cinemas. That's no hard to understand. It is, really, a hateful mean-spirited film, with no redeeming virtues. I do not recommend it to anyone.
Avalon (2001)
A brilliant piece of work
I notice on the rating chart that the younger a person is, the higher this film gets rated. Well, I'm 53 years old and I'm giving it a 9 because it's brilliant. Maybe most "older" people simply aren't intellectually equipped to understand this film's blending of sci-fi, virtual reality, classical mythic archetypes, and terrific film work. Too bad. And I suppose the movie poses a challenge to most Americans with their aversion (provincial fear) of subtitles.
In any case, this is a Japanese production filmed and set in Poland, using Polish actors. And it is strangely wonderful in all respects: story, theme, characters, style, cinematography. It explores a virtual reality, William Gibson sort of story and theme. The protagonist is a young woman named Ash (Malgorzata Foremniak) who dons a headset and plays virtual reality games. And we, the viewers, go inside the games with her. What is real? What is virtual?
The director uses special film stock to get dream-like tones and visuals that will knock you out. In that respect, the images often remind me of early B&W American films. Lovely.
Je treba zabít Sekala (1998)
A terrific film
This terrific Czech movie was a wonderful surprise. Set in a small, isolated Czech village during World War II, it does not focus on the war but instead on how the distant war could deeply impact such a remote place and its reclusive inhabitants. Within that background, the story is a powerful one, straightforward but not simple. The characters lead simple lives but are complex individuals, and the tensions between them are palpable.
The acting is superb (the two male leads and female lead are all Polish actors). And cinematically, the movie is very well made.
Some viewers, particularly Americans accustomed to action- oriented dramas, might say the film moves too slowly. Not so. It moves perfectly, inextricably towards its surprising end. This is altogether first-class work.
Samehada otoko to momojiri onna (1998)
Sound & fury signifying little to nothing
I'd heard this Japanese flick is edgy, creatively interesting, a "cool new thang" on the Asian movie-making scene ... maybe even something as innovative as Hideo Nakata's "Ringu" or Chan-wook Park's "Oldboy", especially the latter.
You can imagine my disappointment when, instead, I found the movie disjointed both narratively and cinematically (though not in a way that a film aficionado appreciates), cliché-ridden, even sadly silly instead of funny --- on the whole, a very bad knock- off of the "Pulp Fiction" style.
I stopped watching after 30 minutes, when I gave up on it becoming something more than it is.
Crash (2004)
Good, but not groundbreaking
"Crash" is a good film but over-hyped; in terms of both craft and subject matter, it is neither ground-breaking nor earth-shattering.
The movie's structure---following an ensemble of characters who cross paths via intersecting story lines---is interesting but not new. Director Robert Altman has done it for years, as have more recent flicks ranging from "Pulp Fiction" to "Magnolia" (both of which are better films than "Crash").
The flick's subject matter---exploring race relations and conflicts, in LA in this case---is important, but here the script falls short . The first 45 minutes is almost completely dominated by unsympathetic characters behaving in unsympathetic ways, a problem that isn't solved by having most of them flip into highly sympathetic behavior late in the story. If anything, this sort of "cheat" appears as a feeble attempt to create a "nice Hollywood ending," which isn't what you'd expect (or want) from this sort of movie.
It is not the sort of movie I'd watch several times. Maybe twice. Disappointing. So I give it a 6.
Miller's Crossing (1990)
The very best of the Coen movies
"Miller's Crossing" is, in my opinion, the most accomplished of the Coen brother movies, which is saying something; they have made some very fine flicks.
Among the criticisms I've heard about the Coens are: (1) they are too zany ("Raising Arizona"), (2) they are too offbeat ("The Big Lebowski"), (3) they are too dark ("Barton Fink"), and more recently (4) they have sold out to commercial Hollywood ("Intolerable Cruelty").
True or not, none of those complaints can be made about "Miller's Crossing", which is one of the most well-crafted movies in Hollywood history. Perhaps because no one aspect of the film (scripting or directing or acting or cinematography or sound) stands out above the others, it's easier to overlook how superb every film element is accomplished.
As a result, this is a movie I bought, and one that I watch over and again, especially when I'm trying to learn something about the craft of movie-making.
About Schmidt (2002)
Very smart movie
This is a very smart movie. It nudges you, the viewer, along, step by step, without much fanfare, until you are more deeply involved with the characters and their complex relationships than you realize. In short, the movie makes you forget you are watching a movie, which makes it fine artwork. But then, if you know the director/writer also created the superb film "Sideways", this may not surprise you.
I gave this film a 10 because it scores high on every important count---script, acting, directing, camera work, sound---without drawing attention to any of those elements. This isn't so uncommon in European films, but it's a very nice change for U.S. cinema.
You Can Count on Me (2000)
Terrific film
I noticed one reviewer who loved this flick seemed bewildered by their own response because because the story (they said) is "slight".
Actually, it's the plot that is slight (this isn't a whodunit). But the story is profound and rings oh-so-human and true.
The scripting and dialogue are both superb. That writer/director Lonergan could write both "Gangs of New York" and this script shows the man has a broad range; I'm eager to see what he does next.
Both Linney and Ruffalo give brilliant performances, Academy Award level work if the Academy awards were . . . well, you catch my drift.
Do see this film.
8MM (1999)
Disappointing subtext
While going after sordid snuff flicks (and who would argue with that?), Schumacher manages to communicate a powerful subtext about American attitudes toward sex: that human sexuality is bad. Problem is, Schumacher does nothing to indicate there's any other view. Every character in the movie seems to have either a lousy sex life (the Cage character) or a guilt-ridden and perverse sex life (everyone else). I doubt that Schumacher intended this result, but the overriding feeling in the flick is that all active sexuality inevitably spirals downward into perversity---a distinctly American attitude. If the mass American film audience was more sophisticated---and this is a film geared toward a mass audience, not a critical one--- that would seem less problematical. As it is, I am disappointed when I think of a subtext absorbed by so many unlikely to question it.