11-ball Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Film is a success despite loose adaptation and possible Oscar snub

[17 December 2003]

LOTR:ROTK was simply fantastic. I still probably enjoyed Fellowship the best (mostly because of the "WOW" factor of seeing the film brought to life--that film was revolutionary. I also liked the story best when the whole fellowship was together), but ROTK wrapped up the trilogy in the most spectacular fashion imaginable.

If you like the movies more as movies, then you will love this film. If you're a Tolkien die-hard you will probably find many things to nitpick (like the omission of the "Houses of Healing" sequence--just how is it exactly that Eowyn, Faramir, and Merry all get healed--oh well read the book or wait for the 4-disc DVD), but really, nitpicking is for the dweebs anyway.

I certainly think the film (representing the trilogy as a whole) deserves the Best Picture Oscar, but it has STIFF competition this year (Mystic River, Cold Mtn., Master & Commander, Kill Bill, etc.), stiffer than any previous year, plus the Academy doesn't like fantasy pictures or foreign directors--so it's Oscar success is not guaranteed.

Despite this, moviegoers are the true winners. People laughed, gasped, cheered ("I am no man!" generating the most thunderous applause), cried, and gave the film a rapturous ovation at the screening I attended. I think ROTK will be an absolute success in every way.

Aliens (1986)

Simply put, The Greatest Action Movie Ever Made

[19 November 2003]

"Aliens", is simply put, the greatest actioner ever made. The film is easily among my top three of all time, and is certainly the best thing James Cameron ever directed.

I think that one testament to its greatness is that so many movies have stolen from it (and to be fair, "Aliens" stole from movies before it, but the film perfects everything it borrows). Even James Horner's stirring theme is recycled in action trailers today. There is certainly great action, and the wisecracking team of Marines, each having a distinct personality (especially the hypochondriac Hudson, the badass Vasquez, and the ass-kissing Gorman), give the movie a great flavor as well as giving each of the viewers a character to relate to.

In the lead Sigourney Weaver is top-notch as Ripley--she should have one the Oscar--and through her relationship with Newt the film is given the foundation for its theme of motherhood and protection of young.

This film simply has everything a great action movie should have, and it belongs in the ranks of top films of all time.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Different is a good thing, give "OHMSS" a shot...

[26 November 2002]

After viewing "Die Another Day" recently, one thing I noticed was that the filmmakers were trying to do things a little differently. In the latest Bond, the producers and director Lee Tamahori give hit and miss results. Bond is tortured, held captive, and made to seem much more falliable than before. Halle Berry's Jinx is certainly the most active female in the series to date (save maybe Michelle Yeoh). I think the latest Bond film was overall good, and while the film scores points for trying to mix the serie s up a bit, ultimately the experiment is a hit or miss affair.

What "Die Another Day" should have modeled on was the vastly superior "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", the only Bond movie to really stray from the formula (babes, bombs, gadgets)effectively. Both "OHMSS" and "DAD" are Bond films about Bond maturing. Here, in "OHMSS", Bond matures enough to actually settle down with a woman and marry her. Diana Rigg's Tracy is that woman--probably running neck and neck with Honor Blackman (who also played Emma Peel) as Pussy Galore for the title of Best Bond Girl ever. Blofeld (played here by Telly Savalas, and not nearly as good as Donald Pleasance's Blofeld but superior in every way to the guy who played Blofeld in the awful "Diamonds Are Forever")--Bond's archnemesis--is Bond's equal in ruthlessness, as demonstrated in the shock ending. This is a key difference, for most bond villains are total buffoons.

Lastly, the key and unignorable difference in "OHMSS" is George Lazenby as Bond. He's not the best Bond ever, but after the rollicking and brutal beach fight ("This never happened to that other fella") in the opener, I accept him as Bond. Really, I only need to accept the actor as Bond, not have him be the best ever (or live up to Connery--an impossible task). In this manner, Lazenby passes.

Lazenby's performance is unique. Another post mentions that Lazenby's modeling background gave him a looser, more slinky demeanor. I wholeheartedly agree. If Connery is the Bond who is fierce and macho, Moore is Bond The Old Man, Dalton playing Bond as Shakespeare, and Brosnan's Bond as a modern Connery, then Lazenby is the only actor to really convince me that Bond is a SPY. His nimble movements are nicely balanced with blasts of ferocity, and the sublime, Hitchcockian safecracking scene really reflects this superbly. Several times in the film, Bond is forced to don disguises, something we rarely see him do. In fact, I can't think of a Bond film where the quieter "spy" moments outshine the action.

The romance is quiet too, and when Bond finally beds Tracy, it is earned rather than conquered. The score, and especially Louis Armstong's "We Have All the Time In the World" (so delightfully ironic)highlight these themes beautifully.

"Die Another Day" could have exploited differences in the Bond formula to fabulous effect, but the film really just is a string of sex, quips, gadgets and explosions (albeit above average ones). For those seeking a truly different James Bond film seek out "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". The purists should love it as well, for gadgets aside (radioactive pocket lint? c'mon Q, you can do better), the film has a great opener, a great villain, a superlative female lead (as well as a bevy of babes for Bond to be tempted by--in a Swiss chalet no less), plenty of hard hitting action (bobsled chase!), and globetrotting. "OHMSS" is easily the most effectively well rounded Bond film, second only to "Goldfinger".

P.S. For posterity, here is how I rank my top five Bond films: 1. "Goldfinger" 2. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" 3. "GoldenEye" 4. "From Russia With Love" 5. "You Only Live Twice"

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

An endeavor of Spectacular! Spectacular! proportions.

[10/10 · 2 June 2001]

I think it will be hard to find a person who having seen this Spectacular! Spectacular! film, is not entertained by it. Even if a movie-goer hated Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge", I fail to see how the film could be unentertaining for them...

Bombast is a quality too often unseen in modern American filmmaking. Aside from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", there was not a film released in 2000 that was as imaginative and daring as "Moulin Rouge". The film, quite literally, is a visceral and aural feast, and with scenes like Satine's (Nicole Kidman) swingset descent from the rafters of the Moulin Rouge reminded me of being in the theater for "Phantom of the Opera" and seeing the chandelier fall. And while some critics decry that the film uses too many modern pop songs that seem inappropriate in a late 19th/early 20th century setting, I think the songs give the film a universal appeal rather than having it seem artsy-fartsy. Besides, music artists have sampled for years now and people praise it, so why knock Luhrmann for "sampling" pop songs in his musical.

I hope that lots of people go and see "Moulin Rouge." It is delightful and sumptuous, brazen and exhilirating, bold and creative. This return to the movie musical wears its heart on its sleeve and is not ashamed to see it. Movie audiences- (parents, take your children) see this film over souless corporate shill like "Pearl Harbor", "Mummy Returns" and "Shrek" (I don't care how cute or clever people say this film is- it is designed simply to sell dolls and Happy Meals). You will be rewarded with a Spectacular! Spectacluar! feast.

Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000)

Best show about young people in a long time.

[21 March 2000]

"Freaks and Geeks" is about as good of a television show as tv can be. I'm only two years out of high school, and although the show is set in 1980, it effectively captures the life of high schoolers. Nowadays, with this huge surge in teen movies and television, I feel that young people are misrepresented by television shows like Dawson's Creek and movies like "Varsity Blues." Simply put, beautiful people were rare at my high school. Nobody I ever knew engaged in sexual relations with a teacher as a freshman, and I was never approached by women wearing only whipped cream (and I was a three-year varsity athlete). My high school life exactly resembles what the kids in "Freaks and Geeks" do: talk about sci-fi movies, get high, feel alienated by my parents, had confusing talks with guidance counselors, etc. And these kids look like teens, with big glasses, young faces, and zits. From watching "Dawson's" or all the other teen movies out there (although some of those films are admitteldly entertaining I liked "She's All That" and "10 Things I Hate About You) one would glean that all teenagers are young Adonises. "Freaks and Geeks" thankfully corrects that error.

Most importantly though, "F&G" is a great show. Hopefully NBC finds an audience for this show. It is definitely different, slower paced, and doesn't play the latest hit music at full volume, but it IS clever, funny, and warm. It also deftfully balances comedy and drama, without ever being cloying, manipulative, or condescending to its audience. I hope this show stays around for a long time. If NBC drops it, please, some other network, give "Freaks and Geeks" it's very well-earned chance.

Magnolia (1999)

"Magnolia": a combination of coincidence, tragedy and miracles

[10/10 · 17 January 2000]

With any film that takes three hours to unfold its running time, the experience had better be worth it. With "Magnolia," director Paul Thomas Anderson creates a masterpiece so magnificent, so epic, so original that when I had finally stood up after spending my three hours in the movie theater, I regretted standing up and wished I was there for three hours more.

Once again, as he did in "Boogie Nights," Anderson focuses his lens on the interrelationships between families in Southern California. What Anderson does here though is more special than in his previous film. He weaves coincidence with tragedy, joy with pain, the spectacular and miraculous with the simple and ordinary, and love with hate. Not to mention that the film is really about parents and children, husbands and wives. Anderson is most concerned with two things: overbearing parents and adulterers. These are the link between all of the plot lines in Anderson's story. The adulteries committed by the two patriarchs in the story, Jason Robards' Earl Partridge and Phillip Baker Hall's Jimmy Gator create the dysfunction in their families that Anderson explores. Most affected by this dysfunction are the characters played by Tom Cruise and Melora Walters. Walters' character becomes a coke addict and Cruise becomes a positively warped self-help guru.

Anderson also gets very biblical at times, especially in the shocker ending, which is too much of a surprise to be mentioned. "Magnolia" also has its angels and devils. The angels here are John C. Reilly's cop and Phillip Seymour Hoffman's nurse, and in a way the fathers are devils. However, while the dying men played by Robards and Hall show remorse at their time of judgement, the one true demon Anderson shows us is the father of the young came show contestant, Stanley. Stanley's father uses his son's gifts for his own benefit. When the young Stanley asks his father to treat him better and love him more, the fathers response is both evil and heartbreaking.

Most impressive about the film is the techniques used to tell the story. Anderson opens his film with a shot reminiscent of the movie "Slacker," where one character's intro leads into anothers. I don't think any director has ever used this technique so magnificently. Anderson also uses several impressive tracking shots and an incredible soundtrack by Aimee Mann and Jon Brion. At one point, the many characters engage in a sing-along to an Aimee Mann song, and the result is moving instead of corny.

See "Magnolia". It is a film that incorporates every aspect of filmaking, storytelling and acting to leave a profound and provoking experience on its viewers.