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Reviews
Actress Apocalypse (2005)
Here's a fun little feel-good movie ...
Well, maybe not.
Constructed like a behind-the-scenes documentary, the kind that end up as DVD extras by pretentious directors, Actress Apocalypse follows the exploits of ostentatious filmmaker David B. Lincoln the 3rd as he attempts to make his magnum opus. Along for the ride is his goofy horn-dog brother Vance and a ragtag crew of incompetents, and the production is pretty much a disaster from the get-go until Vance comes up with a less-than-inventive use of the casting couch and a much-more-inventive means of dealing with prima donna would-be actresses.
This film is not for everyone, but if you can get past David's grating personality, Vance's in-your-face fratboy sensibilities, and the shrieking profanity spewed by many of the cast, you are in for a good time. This film feels less directed at the mainstream viewers and more of a wish fulfillment for any filmmaker out there (and in this day and age of DV, we are legion) who has troubled deaf heaven with bootless cries while watching his or her personal vision circle the toilet in the hands of incompetent elitists.
It's hard to like most of the characters in this film; that's not the point. Rather, see them as a microcosm for the indy film scene, a cadre of extremist kabuki actors preening for a more esoteric group of fans. It's not always pleasant, but neither is Pasolini's Salo, but that never stopped people for paying $500 for as bootleg disc when Salo was out of print. Actress Apocalypse doesn't even cost 1/20th of that, and it throws in lots of nudity and some steamy girl-on-girl action to boot.
What more could anyone ask?
The Boondock Saints (1999)
Cat killing ruined it ... and the Tarantino ripoffs
By 1999, the Tarantino ripoffs were in full swing. This is a movie by a filmmaker who knows a particular style and sticks to it without really bringing anything fresh to the party. If you don't know the premise, go read it on the IMDb page. Suffice to say, the performance by Willem Dafoe as a homosexual Federal investigator is one of the films saving graces. A rather shocking and brutal moment when a cat is accidentally killed (nay, splattered against a wall) was the point where I almost turned this film off. I wish I had. What started out as an interesting premise turned into a rather plodding hike to its somewhat clichéd conclusion.
Talk Salò (2002)
Film as paradigm shift.
Salo o le 120 Giornate Di Sodoma is one of those films you can't unwatch. With its sterile, nihilistic themes peppered with random atrocities (rape, torture, consumption of feces), the film is one of the most controversial of its time. In Talk Salo, young Spencer convinces his friend Aaron to watch Salo, an experience that devastates the latter so much that he runs from the house in repulsion and fear. In the conversation that follows, Spencer's motives slowly come into focus, and Aaron's once-detached perspective of the world is reeling from the sucker-punch that Salo has delivered.
As a fan of Salo and of short films in general, I appreciated what Talk Salo was doing. In a global culture saturated with movies, a film like Salo comes along once in a lifetime, challenging us as much with their political statements as their horrifying images. It helps to have seen Salo (or at least read enough about it to "get" it) to appreciate Talk Salo, but it is not necessary. Ultimately, Talk Salo is about those moments in life where everything we thought we believed comes crashing down around us, forcing us to see the world as it really is. Any number of catalysts can bring about those moments; in Aaron's case, it just happens to be a movie.
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)
Cooool thriller, ending a letdown
Florence (Jeanne Moreau) and her lover Julien (Maurice Ronet) conspire to murder her husband so the two can be together. The film jumps in with both feet, the killing occurring right away, and then a series of unfortunate events (for want of a better cliché) prevent the otherwise well-planned crime from being the perfect murder. In typical French fashion, the film takes its time and follows multiple story lines, the lingering undertow of fate tugging just below the surface. SPOILER: In the end, no one gets away with anything, but an inconsistency lingers, tainting a story that is otherwise crisp and near-flawless. We learn that Julien, the trigger-man for the crime, will probably get out of prison five years (for murder, no less), which his co-conspirator, Florence, who was blocks away when the crime occurred, will be locked up for four times that much. Maybe it's a French thing, but as an American who has a fascination with murder trials, that just didn't gel with me. :END SPOILER. Still, there is a lot to love about this film--the sterile noir cinematography, the cool, cool, cool score by Miles Davis, and the haunting image of the lovely Jeanne Moreau, wandering through the night along the desolate streets of Paris.
Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Well done film, but underwhelming by today's standards
We tend to forget that in 1972, in the heart of the whole "blaxploitation" movement, that the very idea of casting African-Americans in traditional white roles was daring in and of itself. As such, Buck and the Preacher, starring Sidney Poitier (who also directed) and Harry Belafonte in the titular roles must have created quite a stir upon its release. The story is pretty standard for a western--a wagon train heading west, led by a tough-as-nails trail guide, is harassed by outside forces (usually bandits or American Indians), but in this case, the settlers are all freed slaves, and the "outside forces" are hired guns by the south, bend on stopping every black settler group, destroying their supplies (and murdering a few of their people), thus terrorizing them into returning to the plantations. Former military sergeant Buck (Poitier) will have none of that, and the slick-talking con man "Preacher (Belafonte), whose initial intentions may seem questionable, mans up and does the right thing, joining forces with Buck for a typical final showdown. A fun western, to be sure, but if you're looking for deeper social commentary that what has already been described, you won't find it. A traditional western with an African-American cast is daring as it gets in 1972, but don't let that keep you away. The original score by Benny Carter, heavy on the mouth harp and that weird pig-sounding instrument they use on Green Acres, will annoy the hell out of you yet stay with you for days.
Playing by Heart (1998)
Somehow, a connection is made
I have a love affair with ensemble pieces, and this film is no exception. As much a love letter to Los Angeles (which only die-hard Angelinos will appreciate) as a celebration of love, Playing By Heart follows the lives and loves of four couples in the City of Angels. Gillian Anderson does her best to resist Jon Stewart's elegance and charm. Madeleine Stowe, bored with her marriage to Dennis Quaid, seeks danger and excitement in the eyes of a nervous lover (Anthony Edwards). Gregarious Angelina Jolie presses her charms upon Ryan Phillipe, who rebuffs her for painful and personal reasons. Meanwhile, Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands play an old married couple discussing an affair that may or may not have happened when Sean wore a younger man's clothes. Throw in Dennis Quaid's own late-night adventures and a moving B story of a young man dying of AIDS (Jay Mohr, in an impressive departure from his usual smart-guy persona), and you have a rich tapestry of those who live and love in this great American city. In the end, a series of connections between all the characters are revealed, and while some of the tied-up loose ends are a little too pat, the overall theme of human connection itself is sweet and life-affirming. Watch it on movie night with that special someone you'd like to see more of.
Inception (2010)
Bwaaaaaaaah!
Let's get this out of the way right now: This movie does NOT make you think. I am so sick of that cliché. A movie may be challenging to the senses and demand your undivided attention, but it can't make you think. You think independently of movies, people. Stop giving Hollywood that much credit.
That said, I found Inception to be a grand disappointment. One of the things that marks other Chris Nolan projects is his love of character and development of such. Nolan has interesting ideas, but once he gets the germ of an idea, he then populates his films with rich and interesting people, giving them compelling stories, making us care about what happens to them beyond the constructs of the idea. Not just masterpieces like Memento, The Prestige, and Insomnia (one of the few English language remakes of a foreign film to get it right), but even in his "comic book" movies, Batman Begins and THe Dark Knight, Nolan's love of character and relationships is what drew us into the story.
Insomnia is about 2-dimensional characters (okay, some of them flirt with being 2.5-dimensional) who wander through a complex and admittedly brilliant idea for a little over two hours. There are some stunning visuals and some quirky twists, but for the most part I fought to stay awake because I did not care. I was told not to leave to go to the bathroom or I would be lost when I came back; well, I nodded off for 15 minutes and did not miss a beat.
And for all this primal hooting about the breathtaking final shot, a moment that elicited gasps from audiences across America ... not to sound arrogant, but I must be smarter than most audiences because I saw that moment coming. I knew how the film would end, and I knew what that last image would be.
An okay film, but not up to Nolan's standards.
Gamer (2009)
An "old school" fan's take on a "new school" mess
Some people will love this movie. Those would be the generation weaned on the recent crop of video games, three-dimensional kill-fests with vibration joysticks and bleached-out imagery. If you like those kind of games, and if you want your movies to look just like them, then good for you.
The only reason I gave this movie a shot was because of the cast: Gerard Butler is one of my favorite actors; ditto with Kyra Sedgwick; and who hasn't watched Dexter without falling in love with Michael C. Hall? Here, Hall is the best thing about the movie, eschewing his Dexter persona as an arrogant techno-nerd with an annoying Southern twang and Blofeld-esquire dreams of controlling the world. Kyra Sedgwick does her best with a thankless roll; watching her in this sort of movie is like watching a baseball great stumble about a field years after he should have retired (not that Ms. Sedgwick should retire; I just think she's too talented to waste herself in this sort of project).
And Gerard Butler, so dynamic as Leonidas in 300 and as the titular character of Phantom of the Opera, so touching as Gerry in P.S. I Love You and as The Stranger in Dear Frankie ... alas, once his start took off, Butler has never met a script he did not like. He looks great, but he's wasted here, and even when he's kicking ass and taking names, the shaky-cam, 20-cuts-a-second editing pretty much blurs all his assets. Following action in this movie is like tumbling down the side of a ski slope yet trying to admire the view. At least I didn't crack my skull when I came to a stop.
Paris (2008)
Life in Summary
Journey to Paris. Watch the sun rise from the steps of the Sacre Couer. Have your midday meal along the Champ Elysee before climbing atop the Arc de Triomphe less than 50 paces away. Catch the last lift up to the top of the Tour Eiffel that evening and reflect on where you've been. If you're like me, contemplative and curious, it is hard not to go from one place to another, gazing back at where you've been (from the highest point of any of these sites, the other two are visible), contemplating the people you've seen in passing, wondering who they are or what their lives entail. Paris, the film, is reminiscent of watching my home videos of my last trip to the City of Lights and focusing on the strangers in the background, strangers I will never meet or see again, yet forever they are captured on my camera. Although the synopsis of this film focuses on the Juliette Binoche character, this is really an ensemble piece, like Altman's Nashville or Short Cuts, or the first two-thirds of P. T. Anderson's Magnolia (which degenerates to fantasy in its final third). Unlike those well-made American films, however, Paris is populated with characters whose intersecting lives feel less than forced. Most of the connections are no more clearcut than the connection you have with the woman on the street for whom you held open a door. And yet, each life is quietly beautiful in its own right, subtle and often unresolved. The film's final image will not so much take your breath away as inspire you to look out your own window, be still, and look for the beauty of your own passing moments.