Change Your Image
lushgreen_2003
Reviews
Gloria (1980)
"He Don't Even Speak English..."
A genre-bending odyssey, full of dank, dark alleys, filthy side streets, buses, taxi cabs, trains and subways, John Cassavetes' film "Gloria" is perhaps the most impersonal of his personal work, which surely inspired Luc Besson's 1994 action-packed "Leon," the film explores the development of the mother-son bond under extreme circumstances.
One of Gena Rowland's most underrated performances, Gloria stands shoulder to shoulder with other iconic heroines of American cinema; such as Dietrich's Shanghai Lily and Uma Thurman's Beatrix Kiddo.
Cassavetes explores new narrative possibilities unlike any other of his contemporaries. Though there always seems to be a surplus of emotion, dialogue or trivialities in his work - and I'm not the first to make such an observation - Cassavetes maintains his focus, which is of course, to show us a slice of life, however extreme or crazy it may appear to an audience.
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Storytelling VS Special Effects
This original screen adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic story of interplanetary war offers plenty of special effects, and floating spaceships of death. While dated by todays standards, the effects do not detract from this film, which offers a multitude of readings into the general mindset of America during the 1950s when paranoia and the possibility of nuclear annihilation by the reds was at its highest. Though the medium's technological limitations change certain aspects of the novel, the overall themes remain. An exploration of humanity's vulnerabilities and ultimate fears that is still applicable to our contemporary world.
Capote (2005)
Capote Avoids Biopic Territory
For the film Capote director Bennett Miller, along with his cast and crew traveled back to the late 1950s and early 1960s to shoot their film. Somber lighting, empty fields of farmland and poignant color conveys an assortment of moods throughout the film, from impending death, to the infectious laughter of a high society party scene.
Cast and Crew are in top shape; it is a rare treat to find such rich performances from both principal and secondary actors. It is not only an era that is captured on screen but the personalities of the characters within the frame. Especially important in films depicting actual historical figures.
Never condescending or judgmental the filmmakers offer a rare and intelligent discourse concerning the relationship between writer and subject. The score is used to conjure a specific mood, and though the same solemn piano score has been used to the same effect in other films, the restraint of the director and others involved prevent the film from indulging in any kind of sentimentality or forcing the audience to feel something that is not present.
King Kong (2005)
A Little Hulky
This is a true adventure film; Peter Jackson handles himself exceptionally well in the world of computer animated dinosaurs and giant silver-back gorillas; he understands how to make the technology work in his favor far better than anyone else in the field. Interestingly enough there seems to be a little Hulk in Jackson's Kong; there are few doubts in my mind that much of Ang Lee's work in the 2003 film has influenced this 3 hours epic. Though there's paper-thin plot and very little character development, Jackson does not concern himself with making us believe the story is "real." The exquisite mise-en-scene and costumes help to place us in a magical New York of the 1930's much the same way he put us into Middle Earth. Jackson also conquers the action-adventure film genre adequately giving us larger-than-life pursuits and confrontation between man and nature, that work far better than few I have seen before. Perhaps what astounds me the most is his ability along with his co-writers to script such ridiculous chase scenarios and the way he along with his production crew execute them so well!