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Reviews
The Paper (1994)
almost a docu-drama
"The Paper" is certainly a screenplay that Ron Howard spent more time analyzing and making a shot list of. There are times when things at The New York Sun get so hectic that the camera doesn't know where to go, and that's probably what the true Opie of Hollywood was thinking. CONFUSE THE CAMERA. Incorporate it into your story. So many directors forget this these days. The camera IS a part of the story, and, if anything, the attention to that absoloute truth is what made me enjoy this movie.
Michael Keaton is great. He does a great job at playing off his character model, which is certainly Robert Duvall's Frank Hackett from "Network". The other performances are good as well, and it's a nice contemporary treatment to Howard Hawks' "His Girl Friday". This film will certainly open up viewers to classic screen comedies as it is certainly bent on the social satire of Frank Capra. Anyway, a fair movie to see.
American Pie 2 (2001)
the fourth sequel i have seen in four weeks
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
IN four consecutive weeks this summer, I have seen four consecutive sequels (if "planet of the apes" can count as a sequel, it's more of a remake). "American Pie 2" is definately the worst one, but it was still really great.
The film is certainly bent on gruesome sight gags for humor, but let's not forget that what makes them far more enjoyable is that we know the characters, and we sympathize with them. For instance, the now famous "crazy glue" sequence (made famous through some inventive advertising) would not have been half as funny if we had not already seen Jim making sweet love to his mother's apple pie two years ago.
This film falls just 10 percent short of the first one, and for one blatant reason: the first one was much subtler, as the gang had tons to learn about sex, and how to keep a girl. In this one, there is just the typical male curiosity with sexuality. Nevertheless, the film's message is not lost. Okay, it may be a little melodramatic toward the end, but that is all fortuanately broken up when Simon and Garfunkle's classic tune carries over the background and lets us remember the whole groove of the film. J.B. Rodgers is definately progressing as a director. Just think, earlier this year he gave us the absoloutely DREADFUL "Say it isn't So", and now he gives us this film that is almost impossible to not enjoy. I think that he's a director who is getting better at finding the theme of the story.
Anyway, go see this one, even if you are tired of sequels.
Rush Hour 2 (2001)
Chan and Tucker are just as good as Gibson and Glover
Just like "Lethal Weapon" fought police force racism in the early '90s, "Rush Hour" has definately become the film to alleviate the same in the new century.
I laughed myself out of the seat and all the way home. Jackie Chan has never been faster, and Chris Tucker has never been funnier. Plus, Don Cheadle's cameo had me in stitches.
It's really the same thing as "Lethal Weapon 2", where we learn more about the characters and the traumatizing events in their lives, but we have plenty of comic relief to break that up. There's enough of a plot to make for an enjoyable movie. And I would not mind at all if there were to be a "Rush Hour 3" in the works. Which surprises me.
Anyway, the quintessential summer movie, and then some. Go see it.
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
a wonderful climax to the romantic comedies of the late 80s
SPOILERS
There is a trilogy of films that were released beginning in 1987 and ending in 1989 that all deal with the same issue, but each handle it in its own genuine way.
The subject: Keeping a friendship between a male and female plutonic in this most desensitizing of all worlds.
The films: "Broadcast News" ('87), "Working Girl" ('88), and "When Harry Met Sally" ('89).
"When Harry Met Sally" is the one to touch the issue with an extremely open eye, and answer all questions concerning the subject. In the end, we discover that it is not sex that can ruin a friendship, but simply letting the things that attracted you to each other in the first place die out. In the last line of the film, for example, Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) is noting the detailed arrangements of her wedding to the camera, and she goes far out of her way to mention what went on the side of every dish served at the commencement. This reminded us of earlier in the film when Harry (Billy Crystal) first noted his attraction to her in the diner after they had finished ordering. I learned so much from this film. And I laughed at the same time.
American Pie (1999)
a fine piece of movie
"American Pie" is a film that has been taken at face value by most of its target audience. To many, it is simply a film about four friends trying to get laid before they graduate high school and go on to bigger and better things (well, maybe, let's see the sequel). But I believe that the writers and the concievers had something else in mind. If they wanted to do another sex comedy, they could have done a remake of "Losin' It" or "Porky's" or something else from the '80s. Instead, they found a way to incorporate those entertaining tactics into a film with a finely developed coming-of-age message. The sex part is really just to keep the viewer watching.
I'm pretty sure that I'm right because 90% of the people I have talked to that are part of a face-value generation have said that "there's something there" and that it "has a message".
"American Pie" could be called an organized sex comedy. But I think it's an organized drama. The ending was a fine one--something that I could relate to as I am saying goodbye to my friends in High School and heading onto bigger and better things. Yep, I guess I'm starting the second film of my life, and maybe we all will understand the message of "American Pie" when we finish it. Anyway, highly recommended.
Scary Movie (2000)
surprisingly smart satire
I saw this one after having seen "Scary Movie 2", because of expectations. I didn't want to see the first one first, and then think that the second one was going to be better. "Scary Movie 2" is certainly the worst movie I have seen this year, next to "Swordfish", of course.
However, "Scary Movie 2" did make "Swordfish" look like "Casablanca...2". But, anyway...
This film was surprisingly smart. It was probably the best gross-out comedy we've had since "There's Something About Mary", and it was certainly every bit as entertaining. It was good at satirizing breast implants, homosexuality in men's sports, adult/youth relations, and even the horror movies themselves. We all thought we had seen it all when "Scream" spoofed scary movies, but this one took the cake at getting the last laugh with movies like "Halloween" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer".
Of course, the sequel was just a collection of witless sight gags and tasteless humor that didn't strike any chord with the audience (believe me, I was in a crowded theater). But, there will always be this film. It is a treat in the parody genre that won't probably last long (because of the pop culture, some of which, has already died out). But we can enjoy it while it's here. A good companion piece to "Scream", as well.
The Score (2001)
a return to american noir
"The Score" is not a perfect film. It is excellent, and well qualified as a noir piece. At times, it is reminiscent of those great post-war generation flicks like Kubrick's "The Killing" and Roy Hill's "The Sting".
It's nice that this film came out in the middle of a summer where anything goes (ie. "The Mummy Returns" and "Tomb Raider"). Big budgets seems to spell it all this time of the year, but "The Score" lacks explosions and car chases. It relies on the audience for a change to piece together its clues and deal with a few dragging moments so they can get to the ultimate payoff.
And what a payoff it is. With no gunfights, and almost no violence at all, "The Score" is an intellectual keeper--a satisfying work of peaceful, suspensful, filmmaking.
Diner (1982)
It's the movie of a lifetime
Welcome to the lives of virtually every young man in America. "Diner" tells the story of five college students going through one week of "after growing up" in Baltimore, Maryland. It is more, however. The film not only glorifies the camaraderie between life-long friends, but it is also an excellent portrait of a writer/director making a film with intimacy.
Eyewitness (1981)
structure
For weeks I have been looking for the perfect structure of a screenplay. This film had me in the first ten minutes because of what it set itself up to be. The structure had the camera following one principle lead, going off to meet the other principle lead, who would subsequently go off to meet the character from which the major plot developed. "Eyewitness" is a great film which showed me what I have been missing throughout my entire movie-watching career. After you meet the principle characters through following them, some kind of sub-plot, or major plot, or principle theme, will develop, and it will truly free up the entire movie. This is basically the structure of almost every independent film I have seen. Not to be missed.
Tommy Boy (1995)
it's not "the odd couple"
This movie is a perfect film to watch if it's late at night, and you have nothing better to do. Or if it's the middle of the day and you have nothing better to do and you just want to watch something funnier than your dad fiddling with the lawn mower.
"Tommy Boy" is, without a doubt, the best Lorne Michaels produced film ever made. Okay, so it's not that great, but, then again, or any of them? Anyway, they're perfect films for when you really don't care.
It plays on Niel Simon's classic "Odd Couple" routine, and the two actors handle it quite well. The jokes may not be as subtle or as intellectually gratifying as the odd couple's, but they work just fine at making you feel not so bored. A wonderful tribute film to the comic genius of Chris Farley, as it shows how he can take otherwise conventional material and add a genuine spark to it.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
The bear
I thought that one of the most blatant symbols ever utilized for tremendous effect in a Spielberg film was Teddy, the classic "supertoy". It perfectly showed David's neverending boyishness as it traveled with him throughout the film and was standing right by him when he discovered the "ultimate truth".
The film is certainly a recollection of every Spielberg film and every Kubrik film ever made. And, in today's world of forced and contrived movie making, it would seem that the minds of two of Hollywood's most uncompromising directors ever would certainly crash in a storm that nobody would want. But somehow, it did work, and perfectly at that.
It is the first time Spielberg has been given full writing credit since "Close Encounters" in 1977. It is also the last time Stanley Kubrik will ever be given credit on film (except for the thank you notes on the credits of every single director of the next generation). I think it perfectly makes up for the critical lambasting of "Eyes Wide Shut" and it will, over the years, certainly develop a cult following, for it has something for everyone.
In closing, the movie is ultimately a film that looks extremely meticulous, but teaches the most simple of lessons: each and every person ever made is unique. It may be as cliched as Traffuat's freeze frame at the end of "The 400 Blows", but this film generates a uniqueness for retelling it. It will stay with you long after.
All the President's Men (1976)
Incredible, breathtaking
Quite possibly the largest political cover-up in U.S. history becomes quite possibly the best political thriller in history. The dead-on writing of William Goldman is flawless at developing characters out of action and action out of characters.
"All the President's Men" is a perfect allegory symbolizing the closing of the more pivotal times in the twentieth century. It clearly suggested that all was not right with America.
We know how it is all going to end, but somehow Pakula and Goldman find a way to keep us on the edge of out seats and smiling the whole way through.
I was extremely proud of myself after I was able to follow one of the most extensive plot-lines in film history, and I felt that I walked away from my VCR much more gratified and smarter than I was two hours earlier.
Definately recommedended to anyone studying screenwriting and/or filmmaking. Flawless structuring throughout.
Swordfish (2001)
i'm afraid not
I went to go see this movie thinking it would suck, so i accepted it with a narrow mind. After it's extremely enthralling opening action sequence, which began with an extremely interesting take on the meaning of "Dog Day Afternoon", I decided that this movie might not be so bad after all. But, I watched a little further in, and, yep, it sucked. One might wonder if they put the mention of "Dog Day Afternoon" and the theory that, these days, all Hollywood makes is crap just as an excuse for the next 2 hours of incoherent scenes that sacrifice character for action. YOU HAVE no sympathy for the main character, played by the new summer movie action star Hugh Jackman, as he swears like a sailor, drinks relentlessly, and does nothing else but hit golf balls off the roof of his trailor, then yearns to have nothing more but get his daughter back. He decides that a restraining order is all he needs to slow him down. But, suddenly, some hot chick in a red dress shows up, offering him a great sum of money to go to California and assist in "an operation" is just what he needs to assist his willingness to get his daughter back from the porn king of southern california. I never thought that a movie could go so far out of the way just to bad, but this one did it. Don Cheedle, as the FBI agent, is the only thing credible about this film. As he did in "Boogie Nights" and "Traffic", he brings simple hilarity and a raw since of vulnerability to every part he plays. Go see this only if you are a huge fan of Cheedle's or for the amazing visual of a bus trashing downtown L.A. Other than that, stay home and watch a good action film like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" or "The French Connection". This one is a huge piece of Hollywood junk from almost beginning to the definite end. And everyone in the theater knows it.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Could you say that in 1962?
First off, this film was great. It dragged in a few places, but I honestly found myself cringing at several parts. However, the story rings more familiar today than it did in '62. Reminiscent of the Brat Pack of the 80s, and Whatever Happened to Ringwald, Hall, Estives, Nelson, and Sheedy, among others.
What really pulled my involvement into this film, among so much great acting from Davis and Crawford, was the language that was involved for such an old film. I watched this one right after viewing "Spartacus" on the criterion DVD, which included the pages that the MPAA wrote to Universal in 1958 about the explicit contents of the Kubrik film. I noticed that they strictly prohibited the used of the word "damned". And it surprised me that they went from that to Davis calling Crawford a "bitch" in just four years. It really caught my eye, and made me question what else they could fit into this movie. I wasn't let down. This was a truly freaky movie and more-than-deserving of its box office success in '62 as well as its spot on the AFI's 100 Thrills List.
Shrek (2001)
A movie that works on "layers"
"Shrek" is for everyone. It is not a cartoon that hopes to follow in the likes of Disney by any means. It sets its own boundries and stays within them.
Some of the film's humor made me question how Dreamworks could get through the MPAA with this. There were crude jokes that were sure to offset the conservative growth of a child. But, oh well. It was just good, mostly clean, fun.
The script is brilliantly written. Not because of its story structure, but because of its ability to take jokes and multi-layer them, so that they appeal to kids on one and adults on another.
The joke where Donkey regards the evil King as compensating for a really small "something" is a joke I don't even think I'll hear in live-action films for years to come. Anyway, this is a film destined to be in theaters all summer. The most fun I have had in a long time.
Jaws (1975)
4 of the 5 most suspenseful moments in film of all time
The most thrilling and most suspenseful scene I have ever seen in my 18 years of movie-watching is the scene in "Jaws" where the fisherman is pulled into water by "the great fish" and is struggling to get out of the water before the broken dock comes within twenty feet of him. The shot where the dock turns around is one of the only times I actually find myself biting my nails.
This film contains some of the best ideas ever concieved. I saw it first when I was seven and I have never gone out more than five feet into the ocean. It's suspense is masterful and the only thing that has enough class to come close to it is the shower scene of "Psycho". One of my favorites and the true American summer classic.
Network (1976)
I think Howard Beal is still with us today
God, this movie is sick. But why not? It has a reason to be. There is so much sex, scandal, melodrama, anger, and greed in today's media than there has ever been, and the brilliant creative team of Lument and Chayefski predicted it all tounge-and-cheek.
I rented this movie just so I could see the scene that is shown on every movie montage ever made. You know, the one where Howard Beal comes in, soaked from the rain that he treats so forgetfully, then has the guts to get on the TV and yell "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!". I rented it, and even though the scene did not come until exactly an hour into the film, I found myself immersed in all other characters and situations. The film snags you from its opening sequence where Beal announces that he's going to kill himself on the air in exactly one week, and then make his courtesy known to the public relations people so that they can have enough time to promote the event.
I found how the film's two main characters, Max Schoomaker and Howard Beal, each parallel the other's rise and demise in opposite directions. Then, for that great serendipitous moment amid all the chaos, they both seem to have it worked out as Beal finds a way to express his anger and Shoomaker can finally be honest with himself.
The film's ending is one of the best in cinema history. Who would have thought that capital crime would have been a concurrent way out, and possibly their back-up plan the whole time?
"Network" is a film that should be publicly acclaimed once more, as it pertains to contemporary society more than it actually did when it was first released. We love sex and death on television. In a few days, the WGA will go on strike, and the public will be inundated more with bulls***ed reality shows and overly-dramatic news programs. Watch "Network" once and you will love it. Watch it again, and everything you've thought up to that point, as it pertains to standardized media, will be in question. One of the best films of all time.
Rain Man (1988)
Hoffman and Cruise
After watching this film for about the fifth time, I have to say that I'm disappointed that Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman never made another movie.
Oh well. This film is a rare gem in the drama genre that seems to be lagging these days. It proves my theory that if you give the audiance a character who has a defiancy, they will immediately believe you eat up everything that you have to offer. But the Rain Man's autisim doesn't steel the show. It's simply the great screenplay set against the backdrop of the consumer-driven world and what it does to relationships, both new and old.
The best scene in the film is when Charlie and Ray are in the bathroom at the Motel on their way to L.A. and Charlie is finding himself through his brother who cannot comprehend love.
This film is not the best, but is certainly among them, and the best Barry Levinson film next to "Diner" and "The Natural".
SubUrbia (1996)
not the best, or among the best, but not bad
I'm getting ready to do a small 8mm documentary of my own suburban nightmare, so lately I've been renting countless films on the subject. Having already seen "Suburbia" 2 years previous, I figured this was the best place to start. While I never really picked up anything from the film that I could use, I was reminded of its ungodly ability to reach down into the everyman's soul. This movie made me think. It was raw, uncensored, exactly the way I know people in my own hometown.
It's depressing as spending a Friday night with your grandparents (sorry, ma), but makes you reevaluate your standards so that you can be half-glad about who you are. I think that this was Richard Linklater's last great film before he succombed to the flamboyant pettiness of the mainstream. No matter. It made me want to continue making movies, and I will for years to come, whether it be on 8mm or 35mm. I LOVE MOVIES. And this film is one that I will never forget as a genuinely touching film.
Broadcast News (1987)
My favorite movie of all time
Broadcast News is, hands down, my favorite movie of all time. It took me several repeated viewings to truly close on that issue. I guess it became my favorite one after I found myself having the same kind of an altercation with one of my best friends, just like the one Aaron and Jane had.
I have to see The Last Emperor to see how good a movie had to be to win the best picture oscar over this film in 1987. It is a flawless movie that should be RERELEASED in theaters to get more notice and recognition. MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME!
Blow (2001)
Like-minded movie
If you have seen "Goodfellas" or "Boogie Nights", either stay clear of this film or do not build up your hopes of seeing it. It is a good one, but it is burdened by the "how this works" movies of the past twenty years. The major MAJOR flaw of it is that it chose to go with narration by the main character--the protagonist who you are supposed to hate. It reminded audiance members of "Goodfellas" and from there on out, it was a blatant rip-off. True, "Blow" is a true story, telling of the rise-and-fall of one of Pablo Escobar's strongest advocates in the eighties. But then, "Goodfellas" did the same thing. That may have sounded cold, but hey, it's true.
The direction has been re-washed of Scorsese and Anderson (director Demme even thanks the two great ones in the closing credits). I liked it, though, in that it expanded on certain flaws like being true to ones biological family--something that "Boogie Nights" and "Goodfellas" did not do, not that it was needed. I also liked it because I recently saw "Scarface" for the first time, and I thought that if that movie could be a hundered times better, this would be it.
The ending is sad and depressing, and is so melodramatic it seems like it could have been a propaganda film funded by the DEA. Why not? It made me never want to smuggle drugs. I guess it was a fair film, like-minded, thought-provoking if you're a short-term thinker. It's just not a film I see myself watching over-and-over and analyzing like "Goodfellas" or "Boogie Nights". 7/10
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Could've used some TOM PETTY
I am one of the greatest movie buffs there is. Yet, I didn't get around to seeing this film until I was 18 years old. IT WAS GREAT. The friendship element, the commentary of society. This was a female EASY RIDER.
However, I was watching it, and listening to the score, and I thought that this film should have been scored by Tom Petty. In two hours-plus, it pretty much described every Tom Petty song there was. Especially LEARNING TO FLY.
I will love this movie for years to come.
Hurlyburly (1998)
a "drug and heart" movie highlighted by great performances
If anything, you will not know what to think of this movie. There are points where you will feel yourself laughing, and others where you will feel yourself breaking new ground in your emotional stability. HurlyBurly is a film that bases its existence on getting its viewer into the character. Sean Penn is often not the actor Sean Penn. Kevin Spacey can not by the two time Academy Award winner we all have come to know so well in the last decade. These are people, and the whole way through it is as if we are watching the whole thing through the eyes of a camera on a CBS "voyeur" show. Even though these people are drug-addicted Hollywood Sharks, and most of its viewers probably aren't, there are numerous ways of relating to the characters, and feeling every one of their anxieties and depressions, upliftments and feel-goods. It is a very depressing, often hard to watch movie, but, I guarantee you, it does pay off in the end, and since you are these characters, you will feel the end. This review made about as much sense as the movie will make to you in the first hour, but nevertheless, it's good and unlike any other movie you will see in your life. (Oh, and by the way, it's from a play, so most of the action will take place in one room and it will involve, long, continuous shots) Also recommended: Glengarry Glen Ross.