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Reviews
Romance (1999)
Pretentious and Boring
Let me start out by saying that I love non-English films, and I especially love those films with philosophical content, so with that in mind:
THIS FILM STINKS!!!
Supposedly this film investigates shows how "love without sex" for the main character is unfulfilling. What this film presents--lots of casual sex with endless philosophising about it---is really boring and quite unsexy. It reminds me of one of director Catherine Breillat's previous films, "36 Fillette," which I also disliked.
Breillat made a poor choice with lead actress Caroline Ducey. She has a expressionless face that engenders little sympathy for her situation. She also has the terrible misfortune of resembling Celine Dion.
The film, as serious as it is, has many unintentionally funny moments, especially the scenes with Caroline Ducey's principal at school. SPOILER ALERT: The ending is so ridiculous and preposterous that it seems to be a bad rip-off of a Michelangelo Antonioni movie from the '60's. (And I don't mean that as a compliment)
The English Patient (1996)
An excellent production, but a story that leaves you cold
The "look" of this film is incredible--every detail, from the clothes, the music, the locations, the cinematography, the acting, and Anthony Minghella's direction is of the highest order.
Then why didn't I like this film? I believe my unsophisticated neighbor gave me my answer when she said the film boiled down to "a fancier '9 1/2 weeks'." She was right!
In all, I was unmoved by the romance between the Count and Katharine, so much of the film was lost on me. I did, however, fall completely in love with the selfless charm of Juliette Binoche's Hana.
Dogma (1999)
Waste of Time...
...Literally! "Dogma" has violated the two cardinal sins (ha-ha!) in cinema: 1) it's incredibly BORING, and 2) for the most part, it's UNFUNNY. So boring and unfunny that during the movie I started to think about my dental surgery the next day (Yes, THAT bad!)
There is no coherence in this story which thus renders this film into small little bits and sight-gags, most of which are puerile. The biggest error in "Dogma" is that Kevin Smith did not adequately develop the story around the Bethany character (Linda Fiorentino) and instead focused on the many useless side characters.
As for the Catholic angle--who cares! I sure didn't. This movie was too lame to offend my lapsed Catholic sensibilities. It was smart of the Catholic Church to not officially picket this film as it would have brought unwarranted attention to such an undeserved movie.
In sum: A very disappointing film. If you must see it, rent it on video, so you can fast-forward through the many (I said MANY!) slow parts.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Hollywood creativity at its best!
What a clever and original film! It takes an outlandish premise (that somewhere in NYC there's a portal to John Malkovich's brain) and somehow I believed it. This was done through inspired casting, great direction, a fine musical score, and a wonderful and inventive screenplay by Charlie Kaufman.
All the lead performances were excellent. I have to single out Cameron Diaz's performance as exceptional as I really could not believe that was her under that gruesome fright wig!
P.S. What I noticed later is that this film tips its hat to one of my favorite movies, Kieslowski's "The Double Life of Veronique" with its puppeteering subplot and its premise of a linked sense of human identity.
Over the Edge (1979)
Underrated period piece of the '70's
Although the acting is quite strong and several of the actors went on to grown-up stardom, ultimately the strength of this piece lies in its social commentary of the times.
This film perfectly encapsulates the feeling of anomie, disillusionment, and utter boredom that teens faced living in American suburbia in the '70's. It is especially relevant for those Americans who lived in the newer towns of the Southwest and West (like Denver, Houston, and Phoenix) where there was literally NOTHING to do if you didn't drive.
This film would be a good sociological primer in explaining how the so-called Generation X came to be.
Sweethearts (1997)
A woman on the verge...
Janeane Garofalo is the only worthwhile thing in this low budget film. Her performance as Jasmine, the suicidal and embittered loner, is so original and on the mark that you wonder how much of Janeane's real personality is imbued into the character. I'm sure for many, Janeane's character is truly repellant. However if you'd like to watch a surly, sullen, and morose woman acting out, then this film is for you!
This film has zero production values. I believe the director must have been asleep at the wheel as the lighting is non-existent and the camera shots are inept. In fact, there are so many shots in the film that you can't see because there is literally no light. (And I don't think that was planned .
Despite these annoyances, Janeane's performance stands out as exceptional. I hope she develops this character further and brings it to a film that will better showcase her talent.
5/10
Street Trash (1987)
An Odious Movie
I had the misfortune of seeing this film at the Houston International Film Fest back in '87, initially thinking this was a documentary about street life. Boy, was I wrong!
From what I can remember of the film (or what I haven't blocked out) was that it was about some really disgusting homeless people. I can't say much more about the plot because somewhere after a bodily amputation, I walked out of this movie. I had never walked out of a film until "Street Trash." (although I really wanted to bail out of "Godzilla"--1998 version)
This is a completely vile and revolting movie which gives the homeless a worse name than they already have. Only see this film if you like grosser-than-gross films, or better yet, take somebody whom you want to completely offend so that they will never speak to you again!
The Story of Us (1999)
The Story of Ugh!
The good: Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis do a good job at portraying a couple whose marriage has been falling apart over the last 15 years. Despite their excessive screaming and yelling, you somehow still like them. Star quality, I presume.
The bad: This is a Lifetime TV movie-of-the-week, albeit with better actors. If you enjoy reliving unpleasant marriage memories with lame humor, then this film is for you. The film was mismarketed as a comedy. The few "funny" moments in this film were in the movie trailer. If you want laughs in a crumbling-marriage movie, please watch the hilarious "The Ref."
The ugly: The (un)"funny" friends--Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson, and the abominable Paul Reiser. It's more the rotten lines written for them, rather than their acting, that bothered me. Their jokes are of the bad TV-sitcom variety, which does not fit in with the serious nature of the film. It's jarring and annoying. Poor Rita Wilson deserves better--normally she's really funny!