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Reviews
Berlin-Cinema (1997)
Ponderous but occasionally effective
Slow-moving documentary about the how a filmmaker (Wenders) and an architect (Nouvel) view their respective roles in chronicling (and glossing over) the German sense of guilt in modern Berlin. Lots of moving images, though, and it picks up a some steam during the second reel. A little less pointy-headed rumination would have helped hold my attention.
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972)
What's the proper temperature for ice in a martini?
Vapid observations such as these are the specialty of the hilariously repressed characters of "Discreet Charm," Luis Bunuel's wicked satire of the mannered class. The characters all dress well and set a lovely table, but can only satisfy their appetites behind closed doors and under tables.
In heavier hands this film could have become a wallow in self-hatred, but Bunuel treats his self-absorbed subjects with a good-natured touch, even as the characters are subjected to all manners of atrocity. I loved it!
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Haunted and brilliant
I agree with most everything said, and just wanted to add my nomination for the best line in the film. When Norma Desmond returns to the (Paramount) lot to pitch her old friend Cecil B. DeMille, the spotlight operator trains the spotlight upon her as the curious younger generation gathers around.
Norma is eating up the attention, and the viewer may even begin to hope beyond hope that her plan might get off the ground when DeMille--old, weary, and pitying--calls up to the man and says,
"Okay, put that spotlight back where it belongs."
And the crowd melts away. To me, it's the most heartbreaking and illusion-shattering moment ever put on film. Wow.
Wonder Boys (2000)
Great characters, but the script leaves them hanging
I was so disappointed by "Wonder Boys." Here is a movie with a real pedigree (Hanson, Douglas, McDormand, Downey, Maguire) and a story that would seem to hold great promise (angst-ridden novelist/professor perpetually struggling with the expectations of others, as well as his own). The characterization is wonderful, and Douglas is at his least dyspeptic.
But why, after establishing some interesting relationships, does the main character's big revelation come at the hands of a couple of undeveloped fringe characters that we have been given no reason to care about? The impact of a potentially fine movie completely dissipates, and the tacked-on upbeat ending goes a long way towards ruining everything good that had come before.
If it sounds like I'm being a bit harsh, it's only because there's nothing more disappointing to me than expecting a great movie and being given merely a good one. (7 out of 10)
Sanshô dayû (1954)
A haunting, heartbreaking masterpiece
Man's inhumanity to man is presented here with no artifice. This has long been a favorite of mine, although it's difficult to sell many others on the premise -- an honest, benevolent Governor in medieval Japan is imprisoned by the military regime, forcing his wife, son, and daughter to fend for themselves. They are soon captured, separated, and sold into slavery, but remained determined to reunite.
There's something about the medieval Japanese setting that lends itself to explorations of grandiose themes painted with a broad brush. This will break your heart, and belongs on your shelf next to "Ran".
American Beauty (1999)
Art-house label unfairly limits audience
I loved it. Hollywood isn't producing enough films of this quality because the label "art film" has unfairly been applied to mean "unaccessible" to a mass audience. Maybe everyone who enjoyed "American Beauty" ( and "Eve's Bayou", and "Ulee's Gold", and "Summer of Sam", and "Cookie's Fortune", and "Limbo") should commit to seeing it two or three times, in the hopes that those with the influence will notice. All of these movies uniquely and effectively capture an aspect of the American experience, and deserve our fervent encouragement.