jchong-2 Reviews

She's All That (1999)

Ain't all that

[4 February 1999]

What saves this movie from utter doom is Rachel Leigh Cook's sensitive and mature performance. Laney Boggs is just about the only complicated and believable character in a movie full of cliches (reminiscent of those incredibly insulting John Hughes films of the '80s...yes, I think they all pretty much sucked).

If you're really desperate for some light entertainment, then go see this film (I'll say anything to support Cook, who really is a promising young actress). Otherwise, save your money and go watch Wes Anderson's RUSHMORE - a far, far better teen angst film. Better yet, stay home and rent HEATHERS, which is probably the best teen angst film ever made (never mind my obsession with Winona Ryder ).

How to Make an American Quilt (1995)

Ryder and Kaminski

[26 January 1999]

There are only two reasons to watch this film: Winona Ryder's wonderful (as usual) performance, and Janusz Kaminski's spectacular cinematography.

Ryder breathes life into Finn Dodd, portraying her as a charming, intelligent, and highly sensitive young woman struggling to define what love and commitment mean to her. Ryder is one of those few actresses who is able to relay a world of meaning in just her facial expressions alone. She's mesmerizing to watch onscreen.

Added to Ryder's enchanting performance is Academy Award winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski's beautiful, flowing images. There are many tiresome flashback sequences in this film, but they are all worth seeing just for the artistic value of the photography. Kaminski makes wonderful use of fluid camera movements and grainy filters to capture the essence of each time and place portrayed. It's no wonder Kaminski won an Academy Award for his work in Schindler's List and will most likely win another for Saving Private Ryan.

Other than these elements, this film has very little going for it. The screenplay is muddled and jumpy, and there are far too many characters with far too many inconsequential flashback sequences that say very little about the nature of either love or commitment. The story concerns nothing more than a bunch of old women sharing completely one-sided and sexist sob stories. Like The Joy Luck Club and Waiting to Exhale, this film portrays men as little more than duplicitous, moronic, emotionally immature children who are incapable of either expressing true love or loyalty. It is a completely shallow look at adult human relationships and has nothing new or profound to say about anything.

As a male supporter of feminism and feminist artistic expression, it saddens me that films like this are, first of all, even made, and then marketed as movies that modern women should see and even cherish. There are many far better films about women and their unique experiences, the most recent one being a small film called High Art, written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko and starring Ally Sheedy in one of 1998's best performances.

Buffalo '66 (1998)

Review: Touching and Brilliant

[22 January 1999]

Vincent Gallo's directorial debut is a powerhouse of fine acting, writing, and direction, not to mention a showcase for some truly jaw-dropping cinematography. Buffalo 66 is one of the finest independent films that I have ever seen, and perhaps the most fascinating character study I have yet to see on film.

Christina Ricci provides one of the year's best performances as Layla, the odd but tenderhearted tap dancer who provides Gallo's Billy Brown with the only true love he has ever received. Ricci's performance is brilliantly understated, and she relays just as much heartfelt meaning in one glance of her beautiful, dark eyes as Gallo does in his barrage of rapid-fire monologues.

There are also fine supporting performances from Ben Gazzara and Angjelica Huston, as Billy's utterly dysfunctional parents, Mickey Rourke, as a sleezy bookie, Jan-Michael Vincent, as Billy's touchingly loyal friend and owner of a bowling alley, and Kevin Corrigan, as Billy's slow but well-meaning best friend.

Buffalo 66 is an incredibly moving and beautiful film. It provides some of the starkest movie images of blue-collar society to come along since the '70s. The on-location Buffalo, New York sites are haunting in their bleakness, and the filtered photography emphasizes this all the more.

On top of all of this, Gallo provides a mesmerizing performance as Billy Brown-a man who has spent so much of his life pining for love and tenderness that he doesn't know how to deal with it once it is staring him in the face.

Simply put, Buffalo 66 is a staggering achievement. Vincent Gallo is a fiercely talented filmmaker and a force to be reckoned with in the future.