a six and a seven for me. There are many pluses, the story of chase and vengeance makes for exciting theatre, the characters are drawn well, and the film is beautifully shot. Special effects, as in the animals, injuries, bodies, etc., are pretty much flawless. And the director made you care what happened to the lead characters. The first half moves along pretty well, and with some convenient plot contrivances, so does the second half. A negative was continuity. There is a scene where the hero is being chased by a jaguar, shown running a few feet behind him. For the convenience of the shot the chase lasts a minute or so, where in reality it would last a few seconds, if that. There are several shots where men are running twenty feet behind the injured hero and they don't get him. Again, in real life they generally do. Reality gets strained in other ways. There is a scene where our hero is standing a hundred yards or so from the bottom of a wide eighty foot drop waterfall, yelling up at men standing at the top some feet beyond the beginning of the falls, and the men can apparently not only hear his voice but make out his words. If you've ever been in a bathroom with water is running in the shower you know how difficult that can make hearing a few feet away. And in that same shot his injured torso is healed. A crucial scene displays a full eclipse of the sun taking place in entirety within three or four minutes. All of these mean you have to cooperate with the film to stay in it. I think that's taking the requirement to suspend belief a bit too far. With all that, it is great spectacle. Prepare for a large dose of violence, blood and anguish, with a happy if fantastically coincidental ending.
Reviews
31 Reviews
Bram Stoker's Dracula
(1992)
Fangs a lot!
7 January 2008
Top notch production that is sabotaged only by weaknesses in the original story and by Reeves, who is a generally woeful actor in any movie not named "The Matrix". Oldham does fine in scenes opposing him but Ryder, who is supposed to be a weaker character, seems unreal because who could be more of a schlump than Keanu? It is a travesty that he played this part and I assume it was a studio requirement to get the movie made. Otherwise, the pace, cinematography and acting are first rate. As I said the story is not first rate, owing to the predictability of (nearly) any horror finale. Still, the ending is accomplished better than most of the genre. Sadie Frost gives a fabulous performance that, along with Oldham and Hopkins, holds the film together. Well worth seeing if only as a fine example of movie craftsmanship, but there is plenty of eye candy of all kinds, too.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
(2004)
Don't judge the book by this.
31 December 2007
Books can be tough to film unless they are straightforward stories, as "The Godfather" or "Lonesome Dove". "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", besides being written in a gorgeous, simple, lyrical style, has an inner faucet of irony that drips nearly all the way through. We are looking into a world that we are allowed to feel above, but that we are gradually drawn into by the sufferings and humanity of the characters, till quiet thunder explodes in perhaps the most memorable closing lines in American Literature. That would not be easy to film. The first question a director must ask, narrative or no narrative?. To add narrative allows that overview that is irony but can detract from reality of the scenes reducing their emotional impact. To go without forces a more linear stream that loses that overview and is tricky, requiring balance and intuition to arrive at the ending with impact. I'm afraid the director lacked either quality, or was so intimidated by the star laden cast that she bowed to their wishes. At any rate the movie isn't much short of travesty, telling neither a fathomable story or creating a mythic quality that might have replaced it. It is splashy, disjointed, and incoherent. If you haven't read the book please don't judge it by this movie. "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" is one of the finest works in the language. The movie, for all its good intentions, fails in just about every way of expressing what the book is about.
King Kong
(2005)
Fantasy or what?
20 December 2005
King Kong in two previous incarnations was really sci-fi with a monster. Jackson chose to go another route, largely ignoring physical realities to construct a mind-bending sequence of CGI brinkmanship. It does not matter to him that continuity is ignored to allow dramatic moments, that high improbabilities to the point of impossibilities are rampant, that ecological soundness is trampled on, or even that temperature is ignored allowing action contrivances. There is much good in Kong, BUT if you make a fantasy you ought to devise a world less reality based so that when we see a woman in evening dress climbing a metal ladder at zero or so degrees in no apparent discomfort, and without visible breath, we can ascribe it to the witch or dragon or moon dust that the plot has provided to explain such absurdity.
The Hit
(1984)
One of My Favorites
25 January 2004
The Hit is a story of how different realities face a life and death situation. Each character is sparingly drawn and their personalities are revealed by what they do, not Hollywood melodrama. The Spanish countryside is lavishly presented, the score spare and beautiful, and the acting by all is first rate. This is one of the better films I've seen.
Deceived
(2002 Video)
How Bad Can A Movie Be?
12 December 2003
Well, it can be truly horrifically bad, as in "Battlefield Earth". Or it can be stupidly cheaply exploitatively bad, as in "Attack of the Giant Leeches". Or, it can be painfully embarrassingly bad as in "Face the Music". "Deceived" is innovative in that it creates a new kind of bad, cheap certainly but in a preachy posing altruisticaly bad way. It's as if the actors, most of whom are at least competent, sacrifice themselves for the good of the cause, saying words and performing actions that must have caused their thespian guts to wring themselves inside out. Still they trooped on and we have the result. There's enough camp to make it watchable, sort of, and of course with this kind of thing there's always curiousity about just how far down the road to "Plan 9..." it will go. The answer is quite a ways.
Love Actually
(2003)
Female Romance Fantasy
28 November 2003
It would be too much to ask for geniune emotion and relationships in a Hollywood movie. However Love, Actually goes well over the line toward utter fantasy. You won't be as disappointed if you don't expect much of anything real, since those moments are delivered only when Emma Thompson is on the screen-she's incapable of falsity. It's too bad so much talent is wasted on tripe like this, though.
The Ring
(2002)
Very Well Done
18 October 2003
Much much better than the average movie of this type, with fine acting and an intelligent script. Starts slowly but the punch in the last half makes it well worthwhile. Drawbacks are the inevitable difficulty of child actors although the boy does his best, and the uninvolvement of the police or other authorities in grisly deaths which lends an air of unreality to the proceedings. However the solid pacing and scare rating allows any negative to be overlooked when the time comes for show and tell. Don't watch it alone.
Wild Strawberries
(1957)
One of My Favorite Films
5 October 2003
I'll never forget my first viewing of Wild Strawberries. It won't be for everyone. But I suspect if you pay attention and simply watch the film roll and are content to understand what people are saying rather than trying to think about and judge things as you go along, at the end you will have a very pleasant surprise. On the level of City Lights, The Godfather, any great film you name.
The Parent Trap
(1961)
Fine Disney Fare
23 September 2003
One of the Disney company's trademarks for years was the placing of outstanding character actors with the kids. The Parent Trap is loaded with these top of the line people in supporting roles, Charlie Ruggles, Una Merkell, Cathleen Nesbitt, and my favorite, Leo G. Carroll. Keith and O'Hara are perfect choices for the parents and of course Hayley Mills set the standard for adolescent cute. One of the better Disney films.
Spirits of the Dead
(1968)
Toby Dammit
10 September 2003
My vote of 9 is only for Fellini's entry, Toby Dammit. The other two are below the level of the average Twilight Zone, in my opinion. But Toby is so fine that I wish it could have been expanded to feature length. Perhaps the tone of agonized despair wouldn't have held up for 90 minutes but it certainly is great for 40. Stamp is superb. His role isn't easy, he's in every scene and has to descend from a very low point to an even lower one. Terence is completely believable the entire time. I'm not a fan of Fellini but perhaps he found his metier in humanistic horror.
Modesty Blaise
(1966)
Geez.
10 September 2003
While watching Modesty Blaise I realized I had read the book. It was one of the detective paperbacks with racy covers I accessed by sneaking into my parent's bedroom closet 40 or so years ago. So far as the film goes I think the greatest likelihood is the crew was buzzed during most of the filming. That would account for the chaos of plot, script and action wasting Vitti and Stamp's considerable talents. They had to know in editing what a mess was on their hands. I don't remember the release so it probably died a quick and well deserved death.
L'Avventura
(1960)
Memorable
10 September 2003
Slow but evenly paced and unpredictable film of some people on a holiday where there appears to be a tragedy. Or is it? That question hovers over the story while another plot line is played out which hangs on a thread. Whether L' Avventura works for you depends on whether you see that plot as a gimmick or human truth. I thought it a terrific movie. Be sure to see it uninterrupted.
The Wizard of Oz
(1939)
Over the Rainbow
9 September 2003
Who wouldn't want to visit a world composed of everything and everyone beautiful or mysterious, where you are the centerpoint of all action, princess, heroine, friend? Oz is such a world and the incomparable Judy Garland is the fortunate visitor, with majestic results. Certainly one of the finest films ever made, "Wizard" is a happy accident resulting from perfect casting and the studio system that faithfully churned out it's product through superior organization despite upper echelon headaches. Garland could not have been improved on, the sets, music and pacing are perfection. Judy sums up the hopes of all mankind in her unmatched rendition of "Over the Rainbow", IMO the finest song in film. If you haven't seen it, I envy you. Enjoy!
The Quiet Man
(1952)
On of the Greats
5 September 2003
One of the best paced movies ever made. Also gloriously entertaining, with bigger than life performances, direction, and cinematography. The Quiet Man isn't intended to be a realistic film, it is an entertainment with characters drawn from John Ford's memories of his childhood. It may not appeal to people who want the milquetoast version of leading men and women now extant. This movie has STARS and is hugely wonderfully lavish and fun. One of my all-time favorites.
As Good as It Gets
(1997)
What?
3 September 2003
If the film wanted to depict real people doing real things it fell far far short. Really a polemic for PC as well as an ad for the AMA, no body in this horrible concoction ever walked a street. Every scene drips with falsity. If you look at it as a kind of fairy tale you might like it.
The Grifters
(1990)
Had a chance to be very good
3 September 2003
But Hollywoodized the last 1/2 hour. Bening is just fine and gorgeous too, the marks are too stupid and not coarse enough but still satisfactory. I have to wonder why the creators had to make the ending a die-fest? Why not just show these people in their empty lives going their empty ways? That is real tragedy.
Black Moon
(1975)
Saw it in Bloomington, Indiana
3 September 2003
It had a small US release, possibly in some college towns where there might be a Malle-knowledgable crowd. Much like a strange dream or nightmare, after Lacombe, Lucien it was a disappointment, but I've always remembered an image so it must have some power.
A Christmas Carol
(1951)
The Best "Carol"
3 September 2003
and the Christmas movie against which all others are measured. Sim was perfection throughout as Ebeneezer. His Christmas morning epiphany is one of the great moments in film. Perhaps it was old British film making method or lucky accident or inspired creativity but the darkened sets make for a timeless effect perfect for this tale. Don't confuse this with the 1938 Reginald Owen film or any other "Carol". This is the one to see.
The Bishop's Wife
(1947)
Atmospheric
3 September 2003
Almost timeless presentation of an angel visiting earth to help out a tired Bishop who is about to make a mistake-more than one. Superb winning sincere performances by the three leads. Religiously framed but humanistic in spirit, The Bishop's Wife belongs on anyone's Christmas movie list.
Face the Music
(1993)
Almost Unbelievably Bad
28 August 2003
One of the worst major motion pictures I can remember seeing. Script, editing, premise, are absolutely laughable. It could be worth a rental if you can find it to see the depths Hollywood can descend to. I assume the story was someone's pet or it could not have been made. I wonder if the editing was intentionally sabotaged so no attempt would be made to release it. But there is cable and that's where this train wreck ended up.
Arsenic and Old Lace
(1944)
It's still funny
2 July 2003
Cary Grant's high energy performance is the cornerstone of Arsenic and Old Lace. But everyone does a fine job and the story remains just enough on the edge that even in 2003 there are plenty of laughs. One false note anywhere, particularly by the actresses portraying Grant's aunts, would drop the curtain, but it never happens. That is a credit to Capra and no doubt the long experience of his cast. Definitely worth seeing.
The Sixth Sense
(1999)
Not just a thriller
31 May 2003
The Sixth Sense is about love, relationships, eternity and faith as much as it is a thriller. It is a very accomplished scare film but if it were just that it could join the hopper of similar forgettable movies made and forgotten every year. "Sense" rises far above the genre, creating people we care about in situations we understand and with a philosophical approach that says much about the way people live. I think it is one of the finest films of the decade and will survive a long time.
The Escape Artist
(1982)
A Relationship Movie
24 May 2003
About legacy, and fathers and sons. Much better and deeper than the ratings on this board give it credit for, in my opinion. There is little violence, sex or break-neck action but much boils under the surface and there are powerful moments. This is a fine movie.
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