Change Your Image
wizard-7
Reviews
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
This can't be art.
Not since "L' Avventura" have my wife and I seen such pretentious baloney masquerading as art.
Where is "Spellbound" when we need it.
Heck, halfway through the film I was wishing for "Bud and Lou Meet the Niece of Frankenstein."
We're not supposed to give away plot elements in the reviews here at the IMDB. Director David Lynch must have agreed to that premise before he shot the film.
By the way I will firmly resist making any puns on the director's last name though dozens of appropriate ones come trippingly to the tongue.
A Murder of Crows (1998)
Murderer, murderer, who's got the murderer? On the writer/director knows.
As a fan of "Witness for the Prosecution" I admit to a fondness for surprises, for twists at the end of suspense films. "A Murder of Crows" joins a select few films where the writer/director shows you the story, and then says, "Oops, remember when I explained that? Well, I lied." Over and over we discover that's what Rowdy Herrington has done to us. You should see this movie. I did -- twice, back to back. It was better the second time.
What distinguishes this film from others, like "The List of Adrian Messenger" and even "Sleuth," is not that we are surprised but that our surprises grow out of an examination of conscience. We find ourselves pulling for a near alcoholic, disbarred attorney whose lies and plagiarism take him to the top of New Orleans society. That the film begins with him in jail does not diminish one whit our desire for his eventual escape.
That's partly the doing of the story and direction. It also results from Cuba Gooding Jr's very best performance. His academy award, I'm told, was for his good looking butt; he shows it again in this movie. He can't get nominated for this film, but he should. I estimate he is in 95% of the set ups. Mr. Gooding is the film. He is not a kid now. He's graduated from Da Hood. He's black, but that's irrelevant in this film; he could as easily have been green. Only a few black actors have so far transcended their blackness; Cuba took a long step with this property. Recommended most highly!
Deep Impact (1998)
Better than Armageddon
Viewers have commented already on Morgan Freeman's "deep impact" on this film. Without doubt, he brings a commanding presence to the role of United States president. During one of his speeches, I said: "I'd vote for him." Likewise, Robert Duvall, who pilots the Orion on its last voyage, gains our respect and admiration. These men prove this is a film about character.
One final, but crucial point: In most disaster films, the "average" person affected behaves in less than human ways, struggling to survive through looting and killing. (Some of that behavior is evinced in "Titanic.") But the people of "Deep Impact" rise above that. Humankind is almost invariably shown at its best, not its worst.
Perhaps, the filmmakers are saying, perhaps there is hope for us all. As the President said: "I wish....No, wish is wrong. 'Wish' is not what I want to say." The President prayed for mankind. I pray we would face the E.L.E. (extinction level event) as did the characters in "Deep Impact."
In brief: Steven Spielberg don't make no trash, baby.
Eye of God (1997)
The film will likely not make a dime, which says something about today's movie-goers.
Critics say the writer/director slowly brings two stories together. As someone who grew up in Kingfisher, Ok (or a Texas town just like it) the two stories are one: Everyone is connected in towns of that size.
Critics say the writer/director uses a shattered time line. That, too, is simplistic. As this artist knows, life is not a straight line, because life "occurs" and then on reflection, we discover it "happened." I was 18 yesterday, and I'm 62 now, and like the characters in the film, I've drifted back and forth from event to event. Memory is as real as reality.
Critics say the religious overtones of the story are the major weakness as the writer/director tries to give "significance" to his tale. Another simplified answer from non-religious, non-small town, non-Southwestern people. "The Prophet," now that's an abundance of religion. Tim Blake Nelson actually under-played religion in this very religious film.
Another member commented: SEE THIS FILM. I echo those comments. When I take movies to my island....
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
Old fashioned movie for old fashioned viewers. Great!
Movie reviewers seem to vie with each other for the most clever comments. One said DiCaprio was the "golden haired buoy" of Titanic. That reviewer didn't like "The Man in the Iron Mask." He probably didn't like "Casablanca" either.
Once I got past the opening scene between Porthos and Athos (with the flatulence and mammaary glands) I couldn't find much wrong with the film. I've seen over 10,000 and own 2500, including this one.
Perhaps it's an old man's fancy, but old-fashioned approaches to old-fashioned material sits very well with me.