ric-25 Reviews

Bad Moon (1996)

Forget this. . .read the book

[31 October 1998]

I checked out the book "Thor" by Wayne Smith several years ago. The book is the story of a German Shepherd named Thor who lives with a family (he considers them his "pack".) The family is visited at one point by the mother's brother, Uncle Ted. He happens to be a werewolf. Thor's attempts to deal with this threat to the safety of the pack are the main plot of the book. The exceptional thing about the book is that it is told almost exclusively from Thor's point of view. There are some charming parts of the book where Thor deals with things like how weird people are when they are on the phone and whether or not his frisbee is alive. It also goes into his fear of being a "bad dog" (which is completely intolerable for him) This sounds extremely silly but the author pulls it off beautifully.

The makers of "Bad Moon" failed to capture the viewpoint of the book. What we are left with is a kind of twisted episode of "Lassie" or "Rin-Tin-Tin" where you have a well trained dog performing some tricks that save the imperilled humans. It doesn't work at all and I wonder why the filmmakers even bothered with the story when the whole point of the book was the point of view.

Read the book. It's short, fun and much, much better than the movie.

Into the West (1992)

Not a cloyingly "cutesy" movie

[14 October 1998]

This excellent movie deals with issues of identity, death and family. It is also a very funny and gentle fantasy (set in contemporary times) about two Irish boys and their magical horse.

This may sound silly to many. I wouldn't even fault anyone for having passed on it during its initial theatrical release or for passing it by in the video store. The marketing of this movie made it seem like a wacky, silly movie about kids getting into and out of several situations with their horse. The only reason I even saw it was faith in the cast and crew. I feel I was well rewarded.

The performances are exceptional. The two boys behave in a completely natural way without resorting to traditional "cutesy" mannerisms and expressions (which isn't to say the movie does not have its cute moments. ..it's just that they don't seem forced when they happen). Gabriel Byrne's performance is absolutely beautiful. Even though the movie is about the kids and the horse (at first glance) it really is about him and his character's denial of what he really is and how he is set right again.

The cinematography, direction and music are all superb. You won't be disappointed if you just give it a chance.

12 Monkeys (1995)

Excellent

[10/10 · 29 September 1998]

A really great movie. The performances are uniformly magnificent. Bruce Willis surprised me at James Cole. I cannot imagine anyone else in this role. He's perfect in his use of body language and in how he modulates his voice. He manages to appear dangerous and extremely vulnerable and damaged at the same time. The plot is engaging particularly once you begin to believe that Cole might really be insane and this is all part of his delusion. The movie as a whole is beautifully put together and may be one of the best Science Fiction movies ever (even without the flashy effects).

Se7en (1995)

Disturbing, dark and brilliant

[29 September 1998]

I remember watching "Alien 3" and not being too fond of it. I was impressed with the overall look of the movie and the darkness of it but it just didn't seem to fit in with the previous two movies. I remembered the director's name and found myself looking out for more of his work. I was extremely excited in 1995 when I found out he had directed "Seven" since I thought his career had been destroyed by "Alien 3". I was clearly wrong. I saw "Seven" and walked out of the theater not knowing how I felt about the movie. It stayed with me for a week so I went to see it again. Brilliant! Morgan Freeman is so amazing it's painful. He takes a cop movie cliche (the soon to be retired, embittered cop) and takes it to amazing heights. He allows you to understand his character completely. A beautiful performance.

The movie is incredibly dark not only in tone but physically. Somehow cinematographer Darius Khondji manages to take a desert setting in the middle of the day and make it dark, shadowy and bleak. The dark look of the movie adds to the overall feel of despair.

"Seven" pretty much gets your attention from the very beginning (introducing Freeman's character and Brad Pitt. . .who is really good) and then throws you a pretty disturbed title sequence which makes you kind of twitchy and puts you in the proper frame of mind.

The movie starts off very graphically with the 'gluttony' killing. If you manage to make it through the scene where the body is discovered (I swear, you can almost smell that apartment!) and the autopsy scene you've already sat through the goriest parts. This doesn't mean that you can relax, though.

A good job by all involved. We can only hope that David Fincher keeps making movies this disturbing and interesting. It seems as if he's definitely on to something.

Babe (1995)

Not just a "silly kids' movie"

[29 September 1998]

I'll admit that I didn't want to see "Babe" because I didn't want to see some stupid kids'movie. I resisted and finally gave in after some serious needling by a friend who had seen it (and after I lost a bet to her).

I walked into the theater fully expecting to not like this movie. You have to believe this. I was so sure it would be something utterly reprehensible and devoid of any merit. I knew I would hate it. I was seeing this movie pretty much against my will just to keep my word. I actively resented being in the theater. I'm just trying to give you some insight into my mindset when I walked into the theater. I hope I've been clear that I would rather have been practically anywhere else but there. We sat and the movie started. I was completely wrong.

I mean it. I was so totally and completely wrong about this movie it took me by surprise. It is completely perfect. I walked out of the theater with a huge silly grin on my face, the music from the movie trapped in my mind along with images of the competition at the end (with sheep marching about in perfect formation behind Farmer Hoggett).

This is not just a "kids' movie". I love it. It is clear that it is a fantasy and that kids will love it but it doesn't condescend. The use of words in the screenplay is extremely different from what you usually find (not only in movies aimed at children but in many comedies as well). The effects are pretty seemless and you find that you can actually read the animals' lips as they talk.

The story is simple and charming. A young pig is won in a contest by a farmer and tried to settle into life on the farm. He kind of has a hard start at first but eventually finds a talent for herding sheep simply by being polite and gentle. That is pretty much it and yet it's not. The filmmaking is beautiful, James Cromwell is perfect as Farmer Hoggett (giving off an air if complete dignity towards the end).

It was released on video not long after I saw it. I was with my friend in the video store when we both saw the floor display selling the video. I immediately bought two copies: one for me and one for my niece.

I have made several friends watch 'Babe". They all approach it with trepidation and end up with the the same silly grin I had when I watched it. They loved it.

Basically the movie is beautiful and definitely worth seeing. I cannot see how anyone could be disappointed in it. It's phenomenal. Check it out.