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Reviews
Miss Congeniality (2000)
Sandra Bullock at her comic best
This film is hilarious. Don't believe the nay-sayers--go see for yourself. The plot may not be the most original, but the execution is flawless, the timing for the slapstick impeccable. With good support from Michael Caine, Candice Bergen and William Shatner, Sandra Bullock carries off a virtuoso performance as a tomboy FBI agent who goes undercover in a beauty pageant to investigate a terrorist threat. Light fare, but good fun.
The Phantom (1996)
Comic strip come to life
I'm in the camp of those who learned to love the Phantom as a comic strip and are thrilled to see him brought to such vivid life on the screen. The fabulous cinematography keeps the Ghost Who Walks riding, running, swimming and fighting his way through this film. Far from being a rip-off of Indiana Jones or Batman, Phantom is the inspiration for these characters and the period of adventure between the wars. To those who bristle at some of the campy dialogue, it's important to remember that this was a "comic" strip that ran in the Sunday paper--it's not supposed to be taken too seriously. Billy Zane acquits himself well as a young, vigorous version of Phantom, who will grow older and wiser. Catherine Zeta-Jones is not only beautiful but has some great lines (to the thugs assigned to take care of Kit Walker/Phantom, "I'll come to claim the body"). So sit back and enjoy.
Rien sur Robert (1999)
Pleasant farce with French panache
A genuine comedy of manners and mores with razor sharp timing and a troupe of actors, including the inimitable Michele Piccoli, who can convey a vast range of feelings with the slightest nuances of gesture or tone. The story of a French critic most famous for reviewing a film he never saw and the ups and downs of his love life is especially delicious if you are familiar with the hothouse atmosphere of French intellectual life. But the French gift for portraying the childish emotions that beset adult activities makes this film enjoyable for a wide audience.
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2000)
Good job with a difficult task
Nero Wolfe has consistently defied a good translation to the screen, perhaps because so much of the attraction in Rex Stout's novels is the wit of the language. But this is the best job so far. Best casting is Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin, who succeeds in combining the smart alec and hardboiled just like the character in the book. Chaykin makes a good effort as Wolfe; he isn't really BIG enough, so that his high-pitched tirades don't really do justice to Wolfe's bellowing. Wolfe's office is just as you could imagine it, down to the red leather chair. The orchid room, by contrast, is disappointing--need more flowers, more jungle. Not sure why Golden Spiders was chosen as plot--there are perhaps too many characters and the suspects aren't developed enough. Hopefully, this will be the first in a series of films.
Magnolia (1999)
The Bergman of his generation
Magnolia gets Paul Thomas Anderson further along the road to becoming the Bergman of his generation. The film wrestles with the dark themes of Wild Strawberries and Winter Light in a contemporary American setting but with the same haunting undertones of despair and, one is allowed to hope, salvation. The brilliant, uncompromising script, the solid ensemble acting, the luminous cinematography are the hallmarks of the great Swedish director that Anderson has made his own. To this mix, Anderson adds his own distinct voice and, thankfully, a sense of humor.