filmgurl Reviews

Ghost World (2001)

smart and sassy

[27 August 2001]

see this film. it's not too often one comes along like it.

the performances are subtle and intriguing. thora birch is fantastic. she shows a range of emotion you don't see in many young actors these days. she's visually striking and enthralling to watch. scarlett johannsen plays an incredibly realistic rebecca. low key and nearly monotone, she's perfected the teen "everyone else is so lame" role. steve buscemi is... steve buscemi. classic indie actor. love him.

having said that, the script and story is what makes this movie jump off the screen. it's subtle and quirky enough to be truly believable. it sucked me in and never let go. the humor is clever enough to be genuine laugh out loud. none of that fake giggling.

in a summer of lame teen flicks, here's a smart and sassy film with real heart.

check it out. really.

Drowning Mona (2000)

So much Potential... wasted.

[5 March 2000]

You know, this film has everything going for it. A great cast, a quirky plot, and a really clever premise. The subtle "Yugo" jokes are great. Unfortunately the screenplay is cheap and cliche. The characters, who COULD be so developed and rich, come off as flimsy and opaque because their lines are so stupid. Granted, these people are stereotypical "white trash," but that doesn't mean they have to be one layered. Real white trash are VERY dimensional (eg: Jerry Springer). There were SO MANY opportunities to capitalize on these character's goofy personalities, but the script just didn't allow for it. Don't get me wrong. It's a semi-funny flick, with some laugh-out-loud moments. I guess I just wanted more. I wanted to hear clever, witty jokes... real zingers. Instead we're left with a series of in-your-face, lame-o "hand" jokes. I just think there could of been SO MUCH MORE. If only there'd been a couple more script re-writes... or something. It's just disappointing. So much potential... wasted. For me, it was a let down.

Dogma (1999)

Trapped in the Dogma

[7/10 · 24 October 1999]

Kevin Smith has made some great films. He's a clever guy with some great dialogue, however his newest flick "Dogma" just isn't up to par. Don't get me wrong, it's got some good laughs and for the most part it's pretty entertaining, but in choosing to make a film about religion, Smith has trapped himself in the "Dogma."

There are only so many cliche questions and answers that can be used in a religious discussion. Unfortunately, Smith uses them all. I was hoping this film would be clever, possibly even enlightening on some religious level. But it wasn't. Smith's script uses every overstated argument, every stereotypical Bible bashing comment that I've heard used a million times. Who hasn't heard the "Jesus was black" argument. What's new about the rips on organized religion: "It doesn't matter what church you belong to, just as long as you live a good life, treat others with kindness" blah blah blah. Whether Smith is espousing these beliefs, or merely mocking them, they're still old and dull and over used. Instead of any subtleties, Smith beats us over the head with his "Dogma." Which is just too bad. If his intention was to enlighten anyone, or provoke new thoughts or ideas, well, he failed miserably.

Happy, Texas (1999)

Happy, Texas. It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

[20 September 1999]

I saw this film at the CMJ Film Festival in New York City. This is a very entertaining film with an extremely solid cast. In fact, it's the strength of the cast that carries the otherwise unbelievable and cheesy plot.

Steve Zahn does a great job playing a hilarious bumbling escaped criminal who poses as a beauty pagent coordinator so he and his partner in crime, played by Jeremy Northam, can rob the local bank. Jeremy Northam makes a galant effort at playing a role other than the snobbish british gent he usually plays... but he only does an okay job. I think the part could have been better cast, although I did enjoy watching Northam's attempts at an American accent, which he did pretty well. William H. Macy shines once again, this time as the local law enforcement. He always brings such dimension and energy to his characters. His "crying scene" is one the funniest movie scenes I've seen this year.

The script itself is clever and witty, but the plot is not all that believable. I found myself thinking "oh, come on!" as the plot twisted and turned, but the lines were so clever, that I gave in, and laughed at the sheer absurdity of it all.

So overall, Steve Zahn and William H. Macy deliver stellar performances. The plot is stupid, but the clever scripting almost makes up for it. Almost. It's worth seeing.

The Minus Man (1999)

You WILL be Talking for Hours!

[10/10 · 20 September 1999]

There's a great trailer for this film that shows a couple on a date talking about a movie they just saw. It shows them in various locations and at each place, they're involved in animated discussion about various aspects of the film. Then suddenly, the sun is rising and the couple discovers they've been talking all night. When the woman realizes the hour, she takes off in a mad rush. She is late for work. When she arrives, she finds a couple of people floating face down in a pool. They are dead. She is a lifeguard. The tag line for the trailer says something along the lines of "The Minus Man, it'll have you talking for hours." It's a clever trailer for an even more clever movie!!

Holy Hampton Fancher! This guy is amazing. He wrote the screenplay from a book by the same title. The script is so incredibly well written that it really DOES leave you talking for hours. Each character is so dimensional you could eat them like a multi-layered subway sandwich.

Owen Wilson does an amazing job playing the likeable Vann. So amazing in fact, that not only does he manage to melt everyone's heart in the town, the audience falls in love with him too. That characteristic is key in creating a believable, and deeply dimensional, disturbing character.

Brian Cox is also amazing as the masochistic, fatherly landlord.

Janeane Garafalo breaks out of her "I'm so unamused" role, to play a fairly carefree, almost naive small town girl.

Some people have commented that this film moves too slowly. In making it, Hampton Fancher said he wanted it to move like a lullaby. Well, that it does. And it is as sweetly sung a lullaby as I've ever heard. I cuddled up into my theatre seat and sat back and enjoyed every minute of it.

I could go on and on for hours and hours about the complexity and implications of this movie, but I won't so you can go and enjoy it yourself! Then email me. We could talk about it for hours.

A Must See. One of This Year's Best!!!

Big Daddy (1999)

TV Commercials Took all the Punch out of the Lines in this Film.

[22 July 1999]

If you saw the commercials for this movie, you saw this movie. It's the classic case of a movie preview spoiling the actual film. Poorly produced promotions either oversell the film, or show the best parts of the film so there's nothing new when you see it. This was the unfortunate case with "Big Daddy." The film consisted of nothing but cheesy lines... which strung together the funny parts... that we'd already seen on the commercials... so they weren't funny. Get it? Don't get me wrong, I think Adam Sandler is a funny guy, but this film just didn't work for me. Its a sugary sweet story with a kid... so what can you expect? Uh, yeah. That's exactly what you should expect. If you didn't see the commercials, and you like sappy movies with doughey eyed kids... you'll love it. Otherwise, don't waste your time or your money.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Original, Clever, Never Seen Anything Like It.

[7 July 1999]

I saw "The Blair Witch Project" at a preview screening in Chicago back in April. Directors Ed Sanchez and Dan Myrick truly succeed in creating one of the most original films of this century. The horror is frightening. The emotion, unmistakably real. The way Sanchez and Myrick blur the lines between fact and fantasy is what will turn this film into a cult classic. My advice to anyone planning to see it: Don't read too much about it. There are a lot of spoilers out there, but the less you know about it, the more you'll enjoy it.