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April 23, 2002
What's good about this movie:
Amazing sets and costumes
Nicole Kidman in a corset,
Some funny moments (esp."Like a Virgin).
A sustained sense of visual invention,
A few good performances,
The evocation (if somewhat hyperwrought) of Lautrec's Paris.
The illusion that Kidman and MacGregor can really sing.
Some arresting dance sequences.
What's not good about this movie:
Maddenlingy fast editing in the first 30 minutes that make it absolutely impossible to focus on anything esp. the dance sequences.
An unbelievably trite and inept story; i.e. Kidman's character learns that she's dying and instead of going off to spend her final days with her lover, she tells him she doesn't love him and goes off with the Duke instead!?
The fact that modern studio technology cannot yet cover Kidman and MacGregor's glaring vocal flaws i.e. Kidman sings out of tune at times while MacGregor's high notes often sound forced and ugly.
The pervading sense of wretched excess-i.e. you feel sensorily assaulted at most times and instead of being stimulated, you ultimately just feel numb.
A disturbing aura of contrivance that pervades every production aspect. You feel that the director is trying to compensate the lack of real heart or originality with eye candy and overblown orchestrations.
MacGregor's accent that veers queasily between the US and Scotland.
One of the worst pieces of music ever to mar a closing credit sequence.
The inescapeable feeling that you just wasted two hours of your life to witness Baz Luhrmann's ego trip.
Not really recommended.
April 17, 2002
OK, this movie does take liberties with the facts and engages in quite a bit of historical conjecture however, they got the most important part about Beethoven right: his indefatigable spirit! This beautifully shot and acted film achieves something that is rare in musical bio-pics, that is, it manages to communicate why Beethoven has continued to inspire generations of music lovers. That he could write the transcendant glory that is the Ninth Symphony after what he had suffered through in his life is a marvel that is brought vividly to life by Gary Oldman and the writer and director of this film. Sure, it would have been better to get the straight poop on Beethoven's life but you just have to forgive a movie that is so beautifully well done and so rapturously uplifting. I urge you to see "Immortal Beloved" -even if you're not a Beethoven fan, it may just convert you.
Highly recommended
April 15, 2002
This project feels like an attempt at a "Baraka" knockoff. Unfortunately it's a rather feeble attempt. Although a lot of the images are undeniably beautiful, they are frequently marred by poor editing: camera bumps, abrupt fade outs, digital noise in places and overuse of filter type effects which lend many scenes an odd artificiality ala "What Dreams May Come". Also as another reviewer points out, the snappy pace of the constantly scudding clouds is more like an MTV music video than a meditation on Nature's serene beauty. What really mars the whole experience is the incredibly insipid music by Suzanne Cianni and Patrick O'Hearn. I'm afraid it's New Age music at its worst (I don't hate all New Age stuf,f BTW) with banal melodies, shopworn chord progressions and unrelentingly cheesy synthesized textures guaranteed to kill off brain cells as you listen.
Not recommended except in cases of recent brain surgery.
April 14, 2002
This disappointing film is an English language remake of a Spanish language film of the same name that apparently got great reviews -I can't comment on that version since I didn't see it. I *can* comment on the Hollywood remake and I can tell you that it's pretty lame. For a start, the initially intriguing premise transforms the concept of suspense into one of confusion and has enough holes in it to be one of Charo's dresses. My wife and I came up with a dozen inconsistencies within five minutes of leaving the movie- then we never spoke of it again- like cinematic Chinese food, nothing stays with you past the closing credits.
Once again Tom Cruise plays what seems to have become a set character role for him these days- he's like, well....Tom Cruise- the same character from "Mission Impossible", "The Firm", "Eyes Wide Shut" etc. It seems like he's losing range as an actor as time goes on. The rest of the film isn't much better- it's a typical manufactured Hollywood product- the car chase thing, the twist ending which since "the Sixth Sense" now seems mandatory, the "Fatal Attraction" love interest thing, the state of the art special effects, the pulse pounding music- it's all so "been there, done that". Was it all a dream?- I didn't care by the end of the movie and I don't think you will either.
Not recommended.
April 13, 2002
"Beautiful Mind" has a lot going for it: Russell Crowe's great performance, a compelling story line, strong direction, good score etc. It probably also deserved the Oscar of the films that were up for nomination. Even though I liked this movie a lot, it bugged me that I wasn't seeing the absolute truth. It appears that Hollywood feels that they have to manipulate the stories they film- have a feel-good ending-add Hollywood gloss etc.etc. ala "The Player" I just wish they trusted us to be interested in the facts as they stand. I don't feel that distorting the truth, as they have in this film, makes a better movie. It insults our intelligence by assuming that we value entertainment (a formulaic entertainment, at that) over the real, truly interesting stories of real people. They could have avoided the distortion in "a Beautiful Mind" and instead of a great film we, instead, end up with a film that's merely a pretty good one. Still you should see it- there is still plenty to like and I recommend it.
April 12, 2002
The critics didn't seem to like this one and I'm not sure why: it's an updated re-telling of "Pinnochio" and is the fruit of the collaboration between two cinema giants, Kubrick and Spielberg. Both influences are readily apparent and that means there is a lot that's right and wonderful about this film. Perhaps the critics were expecting a massive blockbuster from these two titans, but the truth is, in a way, it's really a "small" film- not a combination of "Star Wars" and "2001" as the critics may have drooled for.
Under the glossy surface it's the simple story of a boy searching for his mother's love. Sure he's an android and it's set in a nightmarish hi-tek world but in the end it's just a magical fairy tale. As a movie it works on lot of levels- all the ingredients are there: Haley Joel Osment's amazing performance (actually, all the performances are quite good), amazing sets, costumes, special effects and a haunting score by John Wlliams. There are striking imaginative touches throughout this film and in virtually every production aspect.
Some argue that the movie should have ended at an earlier point than it does (to say more would be to give something away-you'll know what I mean when you see it) and true, it would probably have been a satisfying if deeply poignant way to end the film, but it would have deprived us of Speilberg's fascinating coda and the emotional release that we all secretly (or not so secretly) wish for throughout the film. Is it a little too precious an ending? Maybe, but remember it's *just* a fairy tale. A thought provoking fairy tale, yes but to see it as trying to be much more than that does a disservice to this fine film and to Speilberg, Kubrick and "Pinnochio" as well. I really didn't expect to like "A.I." based on the reviews but I enjoyed it very much and I think you will too.
Recommended
April 10, 2002
"Amelie"is a wonderful film in all respects: acting, script, direction, character development, suspense, comedy, originality and even special effects. This joyous and touching film is so far from the formulaic junk they are cranking out in Hollywood these days that I hope they take note of it's fresh and original nature and allow some fresh scripts to be produced. Of course what is more likely to happen is that given its success, Hollywood will buy the rights, water the script down, call it "Emily" set it in New York or Seattle and produce some cheese-processed English language version. But back to "Amelie". This film grabs you from the opening and never lets go. It was really better than all the word of mouth hype I had heard- a rare event indeed.
Prepare to be utterly delighted!
Highly recommended!
April 8, 2002
I know this film was embraced virtually all who saw it and my wife and I were excited to see it based on the reviews and word of mouth buzz, but my we came close to walking out on this film. Despite it's obvious popular success, it's hard to see what's so great about it. This film from self proclaimed feminist director Jane Campion seems to hammer home the point that men are beasts- yeah, what else is new? For some that may be a valid point but in this film, none of the male characters seem to reveal any redeeming qualities, reducing them to cardboard villains whereas our heroine, despite leading on Harvey Keitell at one point, appears to remain free from any approbation. A Feminism that denigrates Men in broad strokes only serves to polarize and harden the battle lines rather than leading to the mutual understanding.
The characters just don't act and react to events in the film consistent with intuition and common sense and they fail to connect as a result. The photography is often murky and claustrophobic (as well as the story) and Michael Nyman's annoying new age type doodly music (especially for her playing) is absurdly anachronistic for the period depicted and woefully devoid of real musical value for any period. This was an "Emperors New Clothes" experience for us.
Not recommended.
April 5, 2002
"Barry Lyndon" seems to have taken a back seat to films such as "2001" and "a Clockwork Orange" whenever the subject of "great" SK films is raised. That is unfortunate because I believe this an excellent film in just about every respect: a compelling and witty story (it's really a comedy more than anything else), beautiful sets and locations, costumes and lush cinematography are among its many delights. Despite the three hour length and relaxed pacing Kubrick's assured direction and the strong performances preclude any sense of boredom. I saw and enjoyed this film when it was released in 1975 and enjoyed it even more in 2002. I'm only sorry I waited so long to see it again. The DVD remastering is superb-everything looks clear and vibrant. My only quibble is with the score which won an Oscar for "best adapted score". Kubrick's one great weakness IMO is that he seemed to think that his recurrent practice of stitching together bits of classical music (i.e. "2001" et al) was superior to hiring a professional composer to produce tailor made scores- and this already great film could have been greater still, had he hired John Williams, Alex North, Jerry Goldsmith or any number of other fine composers to enhance "Barry Lyndon"
.
Highly Recommended
April 4, 2002
This movie will touch your heart. Wonderful, if sad and tragic, story keeps you engaged at all times. The direction, cinematography and performances are all first rate. Special mention goes to Rachel Portman's haunting score- a beautiful blend of western music and Chinese themes and instruments. Unfortunately no soundtrack appears to be available so this is the only place you will hear it
.
Highest recommendation!
September 28, 2001
What it isn't is a film bio/documentary. In a pointillistic, fragmentary way the filmaker allows you a sense of who Glenn Gould was in a way that I think Gould himself would have been pleased with given his own modus operandi in his radio scripts: the interaction of many voices- tiny fragments making a larger idea clearer in a way that a more prosaic approach would have failed. Best enjoyed by people who have at least a passing knowledge of who he was but an interesting and moving film by any standards. As noted by another reviewer here: more than the sum of its parts.
Recommended
April 24, 2002
I really enjoyed "Ghost World" and having been an angst ridden "outsider" in high school myself, I could relate to the alienation of the central character, Enid. The movie, although peppered with prickly humor and oddball characters, has a true-to-life feel that effectively resonates that universal sense of alienation that we have all experienced at one time or another just by virtue of having once been a teenager. The movie starts off as a comedy but as Enid's self destructive behavior progressively manifests itself, it ultimately achieves a real poignancy. The ending is the sort of Anti-Hollywood ending guaranteed to leave it out of the running for an academy award. And that's a shame too, as the acting, directing and script were all first rate. And to all those who dismissed this as a "chick-flick", you missed out on a real comic gem and believe me, I'm no "chick".
Recommended
April 25, 2002
Christopher Nolan puts Hollywood to shame with this no-budget film. Proving that good scripts, good directors and good actors are the key ingredients that constitute good movies, not swollen budgets, big "stars" or special effects Nolan has created a very compelling film indeed. Although it's a no budget affair, it sure doesn't feel like it. The B&W treatment feels like a natural complement to the gritty story and turns a potential limitation into an asset- it actually has real artistic visual style. The performances are first rate as well, but what really floats this movie is the terrific script that will draw you in and keep you in suspense right up until the last frame. Then you'll want to see it again immediately. How many movies do you have that reaction to? The non-chronological narrative is dealt with masterfully and gives an already intriguing story a further dimension. An added bonus is Nolan's astute commentary and the alternate angle view of the shooting script, both wonderful resources for the aspiring filmmaker but fascinating for the rest of us too.
I saw this film accidentally because I grabbed the box too hastily from the video store, but boy am I glad!
Highly recommended.
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