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Reviews
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
At Least David Lynch Was Impressed
I found "The Killing" excruciatingly difficult to sit through because it was so repetitive. A few tropes (notably the weird, un-sexy cabaret act,) are played out over and and over with minor variations, providing a structural backbone for the movie. As a result, "The Killing" is an innovative thriller trapped inside a bloated self-indulgent work of improvisational theater.
This movie was obviously a major influence on David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive". Compare "The Killing"'s Mr. Sophistication and his Delovelies to "Mulholland"'s sketchy night club performers. The coffee-drooling scene in "Mulholland" is pretty clearly a Lynchian riff on a similar scene from "The Killing". I'm glad I saw "The Killing...", but primarily because for its historical value.
Storytelling (2001)
Tell Me Something I Don't Know
Storytelling disappointed me thoroughly. I have a soft spot for documentary spoofs, and I approached the movie in that spirit--it's not like I went expecting great performances or subtle characterization. Storytelling is supposed to be a multi-layered parody, but it doesn't have the substance to make its postmodern quirks effective.
Think about the difference between Storytelling and This is Spinal Tap. Neither is deep, but ST has some genuine insights into the phenomenon it portrays. You already know everything Storytelling has to say about suburban life,political correctness, and voyeurism and anomie. A good satire is "value-added". It's not enough to trot out exaggerated renditions of the flaws and affectations we all bemoaned in the original. Who wants to see that stuff again, if not in the service of a larger point?