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drichards
Reviews
Gleason (2002)
Great performance but confusing
I agree that Garrett's performance was amazing, he captured the essence of Gleason perfectly. My biggest issues with the movie were two:
1. Jumping back in forth in time. I got lost after three different levels of flashbacks in the first 5 minutes. Why?
2. Completely ignored his movie career. The movie jumped from his TV work in the mid-1950's to a TV interview in the 90's (probably supposed to be his "60 Minutes" interview in 1991). Why? I hope CBS is not so crass that they mainly wanted to present him in ways having to do with his appearances on CBS! That would be amazing. His movie career occupied a much larger portion of his life than his TV career. Most of us are familiar with his later silly roles, but he did some great movie roles in the 1960s: "The Hustler" (original), "Soldier in the Rain", "Papa's Delicate Condition", etc. You can check IMDB for yourself. All worth seeing.
On the plus side, the cinematography was excellent, and looked very good in HDTV. If you didn't see it in HD, try to next time.
Also Michael Chieffo gives a pretty convincing portrayal (though perhaps a little restrained) of Art Carney, in the few scenes he appears.
Finally, Garrett goes from young and thin to really quite chubby, in both body and face. Either an excellent job of makeup and costuming, or he gained a heck of a lot of weight for the role, or a little of both? If it was done with appliances, it was the best job I've ever seen. Completely convincing, even viewed in HD.
Popcorn (1991)
Fun for movie historians
This is a somewhat predictable, although fairly well done thriller. The most fun for me were the "mini-movies" that were being shown in the theatre throughout the film, all made to look like actual horror movies that used gimmicks.
One of the movies employs the gimmick of electrodes in selected seats to apply a shock to the viewer -- this is an homage to William Castle's "The Tingler" of 1959.
Another of the movies used scents deployed into the theatre air conditioning system -- this is reminiscent of Walter Reade's "aromarama" and Mike Todd Jr's "Smell-o-vision", used in "Scent of Mystery", 1960.
Finally, a 3D movie that includes a full-size model of a bug flying out over the audience at the climax -- this was an actual "process" (if you can call it that) called "Emergo".
For more of this type of thing, I recommend the movie "Matinee", which is a thinly-disguised parody of William Castle's shenanigans.
Barton Fink (1991)
A different perspective
SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen the movie please do not read the following comments.
Others have commented about Fink's apparent "descent into Hell", led by the neighbor/devil. I found a different interpretation, revealed by the very last shot of the film. To me, it is fairly clear that he is "in Hell" so to speak, but it is very much a Hellish existence on Earth, and the fire is merely allegorical of the intense pressure for him to deliver, compounded by the stifling Summer heat in his hotel room. I believe that at the end, Barton is still hopelessly blocked, having not written anything beyond his opening paragraph. He didn't get laid, there were no murders, no police, no package, and his neighbor has no dark secret. Those were all part of Fink's fantasy/insanity, created out of the desperation to come up with ideas, as he continues to stare at the picture over his desk. I even have doubts about the visit to the studio executive's home.
In short, at the end of the film, I think he is in exactly the same situation as at the midpoint of the film, the last time we see him staring into the picture, waiting for inspiration.