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SkippyO
Reviews
Still Life (2001)
Film life at its best
When I first saw Still Life at Flickapalooza, I was completely floored. From the opening shot of the ensemble cast (Zak Jeffries, Jamie Sinsz, Natalie Roers, and Michael Caloia) to the closing shot of a broken down car on a highway in the middle of nowhere, I was captivated. This film set a new benchmark for independent film that will be hard to surpass.
The characters in this story were amazingly real and complex - a nice change of pace from the cardboard cutouts that come from Hollywood. Zak Jeffries (as Danny Potter) showed such deep inner turmoil and angst that he nearly broke my heart, and yet he never let his acting become too melodramatic. Someday this kid is going to go far in the world of screen acting.
Another brilliant performance came from Jamie Sinsz playing the role of David Stiles. Many people, including myself, feel that Mr. Sinsz's portrayal of David is brilliant, funny, and tragic. David is a living, breathing individual who's change through the film is astounding, yet the audience can't help but laugh at his sarcastic one-liners which, at times, steals the movie.
Natalie Roers is an incredible and lovely woman who pulls off an amazing performance in Still Life. Her style, charm, and class created a tragic sense of hope in everyone around her, yet her character, Karma, was incapable of ending a bad relationship which threatened her life and sanity.
Apart from the plot, which is completely engrossing, the cinematography was done so well, that at times I would wonder what they actually shot the movie on. It was shot on Digital Video, but the D.P. (The award-winning Nate Stark) managed to make me wonder if what I was seeing wasn't 35mm film.
Someday very soon, the writer/director/editor Mike Flanagan will be recognized by the general public for his talent in the area of film. I expect to see big things from him in the coming years, and can't wait to see his next film (whatever it may be).
If you have the chance, see Still Life while it is still running through the festival circuit. And, if not, go to Baltimore, look Mr. Flanagan up, and pay him to get a look at this jewel of a film. It was worth every dollar I paid to see it.
SLC Punk! (1998)
I was amazed
When I first saw SLC Punk, I was flipping through the channels and happened to see a snippet of it on Starz. After watching it for a few minutes, I was completely hooked.
I normally don't like Matthew Lillard (playing Steve-o). I find that he plays the same character in nearly every movie he does. But I was truly impressed with his acting ability in SLC Punk!. He pulled off the punk attitude of the early to mid eighties perfectly. He was playing a character, rather than a archetype. In the climax of the movie, his acting is truly beautiful.
Lillard also had a brilliant supporting cast backing him up. Christopher McDonald was great as his father, and Michael Gorrjian was excellent as Heroin Bob.
I'd recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a good and well made film.
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)
Why, god, why?
I have one thing to say about this film: Germans shouldn't make movies. It was intriguing at first, but the charm quickly faded. By about the tenth iris fade between scenes, I was sick to my stomach. Then using the same technique to do closeups was about as impressive as a student film. I started to hate the movie moments after watching it, for its pretensions style. I'm sorry, I hate expressionism. It may work in painting, but it sure doesn't work for movies. Do you know why no other film looked like Caligari? Because it looked like donk!
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Three hours of my life that I will never get back
What can I say about Pearl Harbor that is nice. Well, it did make me laugh all the way through it. I've seen some bad movies in my life, but then I was subjected to the hell that is this movie.
I'm not saying that this movie didn't have anything good about it. It is immensely quotable, with lines such as "No, we have lost surprise," said by Admiral Yamamoto. Or the line said by Jimmy Doolittle "We're going to Tokyo, and we're gonna bomb it!" Other than that, there was nothing redeemable about the experience.
First, being a history buff, the way they portrayed the attack was laughable. The subplots were sub par, and often times, I found myself wondering why this movie was called Pearl Harbor, when only a few minutes actually dealt with the raid. Then again, there were those shots of kids playing baseball, which just warmed my heart. Too bad that they were playing ball at seven in the morning on a Sunday. The eagle squadron in England was not comprised of volunteers in the US Army Air Corp., because anyone who wanted to fly with them had to relinquish his commission. Finally, the whole story about FDR standing up was atrocious. FDR was paralyzed from the waste down due to polio. There is no way, save perhaps a miracle from god, that he could achieve that feat. Then there was the flashback sequence at the beginning, which broke every rule of what not to do in as script. Can anyone say "Titanic"?
In the end, I would recommend that this movie be shown to people by the defunct KGB as a torture device. Only people who like to make fun of movies or masochists should watch this on purpose.
"You ever seen Pearl Harbor at sunset?" "yes." "No, have you ever seen Pearl Harbor at sunset, in an airplane?" "Have you ever seen Pearl Harbor at sunset in an airplane...on weed?"