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sammysagitarius
Reviews
Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006)
To Quote Roger Ebert
Ebert said something a while back that caught me...
"If you understand why the new 'Texas Chainsaw' was bad, but 'Kill Bill' was good; why 'Cat in the Hat' was bad, but 'Bad Santa' was good... Then you have freed yourself from the belief that subject matters. You instinctively understand that a film is not about WHAT it is about, but HOW it is about it." That said, it's not that gay teens haven't been done. They actually seem to be the latest trend. It's not even that there's much of a shock value to the film (a boy in lipstick? see 'L.I.E.' or 'The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things'). And I've seen this compared to 'Mysterious Skin' as well, a likening I wholeheartedly reject. Skin left me nauseous (I thought it was brilliant, but quite difficult to see). Tigers left me somewhat dumbstruck.
The entire film plays out like a haunting music video. Low rumbling, chimes, bells fill in the silence so there really isn't any. Each song seems it's own plot revelation, and if I see it again, I'm sure I'll find they are. In between the intentionally 'tape playback' narration, which reminded me in style of 'Gummo', and the music scenes, there are vignettes, almost, of moments in Logan's life.
I think this film tells it's story, not so much through dialogue and plot (though I don't discredit the story at all), but rather in tone. Sitting alone on my couch in the dark with the music and eerie noise and occasionally psychedelic visuals... I got lost for while. It's like a guided tour through how Logan FEELS, instead of what he does.
A must-see. (MAR '07 - See it in theaters or rent from Digital Cable's On Demand)
The Matador (2005)
Review from the Feb '06 "The Spectacle"
The Matador Is No Bull
I'm gonna come right out and say it for those of you hate reading film reviews. The Matador is good. Go see it. But for the rest of you, allow me...
Pierce Brosnan has received some acclaim for his role as a charming, alcoholic, pedophile, loner who works as a hit-man. Yes, charming. The film sets you up to abhor this man, but somehow, he wins you over. If I had to tell you why I started loving him, it was because he was so unapologetic. I think his acceptance for his flaws, for the things that make him a monster, is what eventually allows us to accept him for a while, too. He knew he was horrible, but he also knew he didn't care to change, so there was no reason to feel guilty about it. Well, that's how he saw it. I'm not on trial here... Moving on... (By the way, this role felt like no one but Brosnan could've played it. He really made it his own, and he deserves all of that acclaim.) The second billing here goes to Greg Kinnear. He's the Oscar-nominated gay guy in As Good As It Gets (Oh, see that one if haven't yet. Just trust me.) He plays a very mild-mannered and likable married man on a business trip in Mexico. I admit, he was so nice, I was waiting to find out it was a front. By the second act, I had accepted him as a genuinely nice guy. I'm telling you, so you don't feel the slight angst I did. I find slight angst so much more annoying that full on angst. Wow, do I stay off topic or what? Kinnear was fabulous. Truly. I think the best I can really say, though I wish I could say something more memorable, is that he hit each pitch perfectly. I have no complaints at all with his performance.
The one who needs some recognition, because with two such strong performances from her male costars, is Hope Davis, as the nice guy's wife. She's in the first 5 minutes... She's the second act... and she's in the last 5 minutes. Her no more than 30 minutes of screen time is so filled with nuance and eccentricities, that I feel the need to watch her previous work (About Schmidt, The Secret Lives of Dentists, American Splendor) to see what other characters she can embody. What do I mean by nuance and eccentricity? She made me choke on a cola by simply moving her shoulder in response to a question. She didn't have to say a word. She was, hmm... delightful to watch.
You may have already picked up that this film follows the three-act structure. It was three separate short films, but about the same people. This was directed insanely well by first time writer/director Richard Shephard. The look of this film was noir, an increasingly favorite genre of mine. But this was a different kind of a noir. This had color. This noir was neon pink, pastel yellow, khaki pants, and bright blue lights. David Tattersall, who did a remarkable job on The Green Mile, made the look of this film its own art.
This a Comedy Noir. Despite being a crime thriller, if you aren't laughing, you're missing the other wonderful half of this film experience. I'm really happy to say I got my first 10/10 this early in the year. Please go see The Matador in theaters before it's too late. It might not make it to a video store near you... It's not faring as well I wish at the old Box Office.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
I'll remember it as the spark.
I think it's safe to say that when 2006 and 2007 are filled with more and more gay-themed films, Brokeback Mountain will deserve credit as the spark that lit the fire.
I hear lots of straight people, namely my parents, complaining already that now every sitcom "has to have a gay person on it" and I respond, quite truthfully, "There was a time when every TV show had to have a black person, too. Now it's nothing to even think about. It's a process of acceptance, and the media is just acting on it like they're supposed to." As a young, gay male living in Kentucky, I suppose I'm lucky to be in Louisville, the northernmost, not to mention, most diverse city in the state. But it's sad I still have to be "lucky" that I'm hated to a less degree... I shouldn't be hated at all. Politics aside, on to the film.
I had been hoping for a triumphant love story that left me beaming. I didn't get that. As a lover of cinema, I have to say that this is one of the most well done films in the last 3 or 4 years. I was thrilled to be there on opening night.
Jake Gyllenhaal, best known as Donnie Darko, fulfilled one of my personal fantasies in this role, Hahaha. His acting was absolutely stellar. I admit, the accents were thick and the surround sound was echo-y, so I had a little trouble understanding some of the lines, but he was fantastic. I'd read so much about what the leads thought of this part, and I have to say, he managed to hide any trepidation while on screen. I believed it. That's all I can ask of an actor.
Heath Ledger apparently claimed he did the role because, after three box office flops in a row, he didn't have anything to lose. Again, he left that sentiment at the door. Thank God. I thought "Ennis" was the more complicated character here. The one who had a harder time admitting to himself he wanted a man romantically. He was the one who desperately needed a wife and children to submerse himself in. Of course, the discovery of why he had that attitude was so well-played -- by Ang Lee, most notably.
Of course, the bitter irony there is the ending to the film. I was shocked, and I certainly didn't get to leave the theatre beaming with a smile... But I think I got a lot more from it. I think, because I was forced to do some soul searching and find my own happy ending, I was able to still love this film with the intensity I do. It was absolutely unforgettable...
While I know that for every 2 good gay-themed movies we get in the next few years, there will be 4 crappy ones and a bucket-load of unwatchable comedies, I welcome them into the world. It's high time "gay" becomes overused, and therefore ineffective as an insult, and generally accepted. And there's always that side of me that is a little biased and will watch anything with a gay person in it... but maybe that's just more about wanting it in my life, because it hasn't been there yet.
You must see Brokeback Mountain. It's an incredible love story, so powerful I can't stop flashing to it in my mind.
Tucker (2000)
It Could've Been a Hit
This show was great, and had a cult following in the NBC.com group. Teenagers who watched the show loved it, which isn't a surprise as it was based on and for teenagers.
Either way, it was a great show that was, unfortunately, put on a Monday night against a hit ABC show, so... it died after 5 episodes (which is too bad, because that cult following was awaiting the Halloween show, only to find that we ended up with some generic news show during the time slot)
Tucker was a good one. Seth Green was hilarious as himself (heh!) and Katie Segal was great. It's sad to see that she's got stuck in these dying shows, because with the death of John Ritter, I can't see 8SR lasting much longer, despite them trying.