bejasus Reviews

The Object of Beauty (1991)

Funny and Bittersweet; One of my Favorites

[10/10 · 20 October 2012]

This film probably has the highest ratio of great lines/minute of any film other than "Withnail and I." If you liked "Withnail and I," you might like this one. For all their differences, the two films share many of the same characteristics: a great script, a couple of grifters as main characters, quotable lines, funny scenes, and one or two moments that will break your heart. The two main characters in this film are also scroungers -- but at a high-end London hotel. The film follows them as they try to climb out of a hole they've dug for themselves, but the plot is less important than the characters. It's a great cast, working with a clever script. Like "Withnail and I," it's funny and ironic, but about love and hopes and individual identity underneath all that. Some of the scenes -- the funny ones and the bittersweet ones -- have stayed with me for years. I think it is John Malkovich's best role (which is saying something); Andi McDowell's also (which is saying less, but she is well nigh perfect in this).

Ondine (2009)

A disappointment

[10 August 2011]

Ondine had so much going for it: Neil Jordan, Colin Farrell, Stephen Rea, the southwest coast of Ireland, the selkie myth, the complexity of modern Ireland. But the film was surprisingly poor. It starts off very promising, and that promise is a film that offers an interesting mix of fairy tale and realism. But the mix gets muddled about halfway through, and the last twenty minutes are ridiculously poor. The scenery is beautiful. Colin Farrell at his most handsome. The soundtrack is lovely. But the acting, across the board, is mediocre -- primarily, I think, because the screenplay just doesn't hold up. But I also think the little girl is weak, and woman who plays Ondine is just vacuous, not mysterious. I forced myself to watch it a second time, just in case I just came to it with false expectations, and found it to be worse the second time around. Once you know the ending, you can see that the earlier scenes don't add up: they were "tricks" that the film plays on you.

Downton Abbey (2010–2015)

Poor, with a few rich moments

[3/10 · 14 February 2011]

I wanted to like this, and it started strong, but Downton Abbey is just terribly written and awkwardly paced. Every time it creates a little tension, it seems to want to relieve it, post-haste. And the resolutions it comes up with are often trite, sometimes out of character, and almost always anticlimactic. It's fluff at best, with some entertaining bits and pieces. Maggie Smith, in particular, carries the whole thing, like Atlas. But it's Maggie Smith, not the character and definitely not the script, at work in that one consistently good thread. By the last episode, even the lethargic, bland yellow lab got under my skin when it appeared, as if all its scenes had been shot in the same 10 minutes.

Withnail & I (1987)

Not just a comedy

[10/10 · 30 July 2010]

This is one of the funniest movies I know, but its reputation as an all-time great comedy can set up false expectations. There are more funny lines and great quotes in this movie than any comedy I've ever seen -- but its overall mood is an elegy.

The first time I watched it, I was out of sync. People told me it was a riot of laughs, so I was caught off guard by its much more mixed atmosphere. I laughed, but wasn't expecting the melancholy. When I watched it again, with different expectations, I found it both funnier and sadder, simultaneously -- and that feeling grows with every viewing.

It is brilliantly written, acted, and produced. Don't miss it, but don't expect it to be light.

American Gangster (2007)

Great for what's there; too bad about what's missing

[7/10 · 15 April 2008]

The most outstanding element of this film isn't the story or the acting -- it is the production values. It is almost as if Ridley Scott has reconstructed NYC of the 1970s or traveled back in time. The story is interesting, and it follows history pretty accurately -- at least more accurately than many "based on a true story" movies. But, as many other users have noted, the movie doesn't take full advantage of the dual story threads -- the relationship between the gangster and the cop should have received more time at the end, and there are many minutes of film in the first half that could have been cut to make that possible.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)

Insights into "organizational behavior"

[10/10 · 1 April 2008]

I agree with many of the comments posted so far: This series has some of the greatest ensemble acting you will see in a dramatic television series. Some people quibble about an actor here or there, but I think they area all perfectly cast, and their roles perfectly executed. The plot is somewhat difficult to follow first time through if you haven't read the novel, but the intelligent and elegant way this complex novel was brought to life makes this a masterpiece of television drama.

While it focuses on the intelligence community, I love the way this series (and the book) highlight what the MBAs would call "Organizational Behavior." The way alliances, loyalties, and antagonisms are made, enacted, and broken throughout the story is very insightful into human nature as it plays out in an organization -- not just an intelligence organization! The interactions among the key players parallel the types of things that go on in board rooms and conference rooms everywhere, even if what's at stake isn't a cold war for most of us. The toady, the know it all, the game-player, the bon vivant who's actually a snake, the way dominance and subservience play out in thousands of minuscule ways over the course of a day: body language, "jokes," sarcasm, posturing. Le Carre has the human side of an organization down, and the series captures his insights perfectly.

Legally Blonde (2001)

Two actresses make this funnier than expected

[7/10 · 8 April 2007]

Reece Witherspoon rightly gets a lot of credit for her strong performance, but I think the whole dynamic between Elle and Vivian is great. The two actresses do a great job -- their performances overcomes a fairly perfunctory script. For instance in one scene Vivian shakes her head, parodying Elle's chipperness, and she gets it just right -- perfect parody and perfectly mean. And the extended scene where the camera stays long on Elle's face as her former boyfriend tells her she's not smart enough for law school . . . Witherspoon's subtle changes in expression are classic. The script is silly, but thanks to the great performances of the two main female characters, at its core Legally Blonde is an unexpectedly funny, charming light comedy.

Screen Two: Naming the Names (1987) Season 3, Episode 6

Unpredictable

[8/10 · 28 January 2007]

One of the best movies I've seen about "The Troubles," primarily because there is little that is predictable about where the story takes you. There are few clear-cut good guys and bad guys -- just a complicated mess of political troubles that embroil a teenage girl who is on her own in Belfast. The movie looks at the outbreak of the Troubles in Belfast through the eyes of a girl who is too young to comprehend what is happening to her, yet too old to be seen purely as an innocent victim. It's an interesting story in its own right, but it also shines some light on the troubles for those of us who are at a remove. The production values are weak, but the performances are solid and the story line very good. Definitely worth watching.

Henry V (1989)

Tremendous achievement

[10/10 · 13 January 2007]

It achieves so much on so many levels. It's a great interpretation of Henry V (regardless of medium) and it is a great film adaptation of a Shakespeare play. It's an interesting take on this patriotic play in our time, the way Olivier's was in his. The actors do a great job, the cinematography is gorgeous, and the soundtrack glorious. I never get tired of it. In fact, there are certain scenes that can always be counted on to make me tear up -- no matter how many times I've scene them. And although the play contains several of Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies, they don't sound stilted when they come around, as often-quoted lines usually do, even though Branagh pretty much plays them straight.

What surprises me is that Henry V stands head and shoulders above Branagh's "Hamlet" and "Much Ado," both of which I thought were just OK. Henry V, however, will stand the test of time -- until, that is, some other upstart puts his stamp on it!

The Wicker Man (1973)

One of a kind

[8/10 · 16 December 2006]

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of the original British hippies, talked about "the willing suspension of disbelief." How well you enjoy this movie depends on whether you can reach that state of acceptance, given the weak production values and the odd pacing and the odd way the (odd) music is incorporated into the movie. First time I saw it, I started out thinking it was serious as Sgt. Howie flies to the island, then thinking it was a joke (a la Monty Python,) then thinking it was just a B-movie, then thinking I was going to have to sleep with the lights on. I've since become one of the movie's cult fans. I love to watch it and see things I didn't notice before. It's a one-of-a-kind, and taken on its own terms it is very enjoyable.

The Field (1990)

Great, if you have a good understanding of Irish history

[8/10 · 7 October 2006]

I first saw this movie before I had any real understanding of Irish history -- and came out of the movie theater totally unimpressed with the almost laughable ending. All that for THAT? When I heard it was one of the Irish's favorite movies, I was mystified, since it doesn't paint a very complimentary picture of any of its characters.

Fifteen years later, I still think the ending is ridiculous, and Tom Berenger's performance is terribly wooden. But with a better knowledge of Irish history, this movie has transformed into one of my favorites. Bull McCabe's speech in the pub in response to the publican's statement "The English are gone, Bull," is one of the greatest scenes in any movie, ever.

Richard Harris and John Hurt give great performances, and the movie captures a lot of the agony and the glory of history's legacy in Ireland. For those who aren't Irish: If you know the history, you'll appreciate it better. If not, you'll probably find it obtuse.

The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

Atmospheric

[7/10 · 6 October 2006]

I happened to watch this on TV late one night when I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. The movie was just starting, so I didn't know what I was watching or what kind of movie it was -- I first thought it was going to be a Richard-Gere-Unfaithful kinda thing.

Well, it sure didn't help me sleep! I was scared to death. Just so eerie! Not having any idea what I was watching or what the plot was or what was likely to happen next was a great experience! Not sure how much of those specific circumstances played into why I loved this scary movie, but I did, crazy as it was. I'd recommend it for anyone who likes atmospheric scary movies . . . . the plot-logic isn't the greatest, but if you get into it the atmosphere is relentless!

Far and Away (1992)

"It plays like "The Quiet Man" on Quaaludes"

[1/10 · 21 June 2006]

As a previous commenter said: Far and Away "plays like "The Quiet Man" on Quaaludes."

What a great turn of phrase! And so true! This movie has a painfully asinine storyline, pitiful dialogue, hokey acting, the subtly of a comic book, and manages to insult the intelligence of the audience (and the Irish) in almost every scene.

The photography is beautiful, though, including the opening sequence, filmed on the Dingle Peninsula.

"The Quiet Man," hokey as it is, is more satisfying than this tripe, and has the benefit of moving through its storyline at a quick clip. The love scene in the Cong churchyard amid the thunderstorm is one of the great romantic moments in romance movies. Far and Away never reaches the level of true emotion seen in most "made for TV" movies.

Stepmom (1998)

Ludicrous

[1/10 · 25 March 2006]

Spoiler alert -- (if you care about spoiling such an awful movie) -- There's one scene that captures just how ludicrous this movie is. A heart-to-heart between Julia Roberts, the younger new bride-to-be, and Susan Sarandon, the dying, middle-aged ex-wife. Susan Sarando talks about how she'll miss out on her children's future. Julia Roberts replies by saying imagine how *she* is going to feel in the future, when the girl is getting married and can only think about how she wishes it was her mother and not her stepmother there to help with her wedding.

I guess the screenwriter really expects us to swallow this. Sure, yeah, the REAL tragedy is that the new trophy wife will lack confidence. Come on Mom, quit feeling sorry for yourself! Cancer, chemo, and death before your children hit puberty -- well, that's nothing compared to the suffering Julia Roberts is going to face.

Wish I could get the two hours I wasted on this movie back.

Empire of the Sun (1987)

Memory and Innocence

[10/10 · 10 March 2006]

At the most superficial level, this movie is everything Spielberg is typically thought to be: masterful, but a little cold and too perfect and unreal and simplistic -- but still more entertaining than most in spite of all that.

Watch a little closer, pay a little more attention, and you realize that this movie isn't that at all. The story happens to be about an English boy in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. But the real subject is memory and experience. It is a true masterpiece, although, like many great works of art, it can trick you by seeming to be straightforward when it is really somewhat subversive. Wrapped up in the Spielberg packaging, the movie hides itself from you if you take it at face value.

And that face value is, as I said, just fine if that's what you are looking for. But if you want to watch it closer, you'll see another, more remarkable picture the second time around.

The performances of all are tremendous. Christian Bale is extraordinary beyond words. One of my all-time favorites.

Wonder Boys (2000)

Parts are Greater than the Whole

[9/10 · 29 January 2006]

I avoided this movie for too long, because Michael Douglas is not one of my favorites. I'm sorry I waited so long! The movie as a whole doesn't add up to too much -- and in fact, I think the ending is terribly trite. But I had so much fun by the time the movie ended, I didn't care.

Although the subject matter tends toward the cliché (substance abusing bohemian celebrity writer causes trouble on college campus), Douglas does an outstanding job in making his character live and breathe.

He also has great chemistry with the other actors. One of the funniest lines in any movie ever happens when Downey, the writer's agent, explains why he doesn't fit in with his firm's new "corporate culture." These are two great actors, made greater in how they play off each other. Tobey Maguire does very well in a chameleon role -- in all its different guises.

Michael Cavadias has a small role as Miss Antonia, but his performance sets the movie off on the right track. Richard Knox, the actor who plays "Vernon Hardapple," also takes a minor character and makes him one of the most memorable in the movie.

Bob Dylan's songs "Things Have Changed" and "Not Dark Yet" are masterpieces -- but, as good as they are, seamlessly become part of the fabric of the movie.

All these pieces are so satisfying, it doesn't much matter that the movie as a whole falls somewhat short of great.

Sideways (2004)

The Odd Couple for Our Age

[7/10 · 28 December 2005]

Sideways is hard to pin down. In some ways, it is just pure farce. The middle-aged playboy is skewered mercilessly, but the plot twists that revolve around his "romances" on the road are a riot, and he seems almost immune to shame or self-reflection. Meanwhile, his traveling partner is obsessively self-reflective, even though all this self-awareness doesn't seem to be very productive for him. His uptight reactions to the playboy's ridiculous "shenanigans" make for a very funny movie if you aren't prudish (it's pretty graphic, and not real pretty at times!). But somehow in the middle of all the farce, there are moments of real emotional honesty that don't seem forced and don't upset the generally comedic mood of the piece. I don't know of another movie that balances farce and seriousness so well. The movie made me laugh from beginning to end, but I still cared about the two main characters in the end. They were ridiculous, but not objects of ridicule.

Down by Law (1986)

Brilliant in every way

[10/10 · 29 July 2005]

I first saw Down By Law when it first came out, and loved it. I watched it again recently, and it really hasn't aged at all. In fact, it has gotten even better. I'm not sure there's another movie like it (unless the other Jarmusch ones are -- I haven't seen them). There are very few movies that spend so much time on character development that still have great plots. Like the "Big Easy" where it is filmed, this one takes its time but has an easy charm once the plot gets where it was going. The dialogue is wonderfully written, and better acted. Each scene is like a work of art in how it is staged. The soundtrack uses one of the best albums ever recorded, "Rain Dogs" by Tom Waits, who stars. One of my all time favorites.

The Party (1968)

Slapstick at its best

[8/10 · 27 May 2005]

I'm not particularly interested in slapstick comedy, but this is a grand tour de force that I can watch over and over. It is one of the few movies that took full advantage of Sellers' unusual gift. It is so wonderfully timed, and so complex in its staging, that I have watched it many times over the past two decades -- and it never gets stale. The scene with the dinner party is a classic ensemble piece.

I am not sure how this movie could have been done without Sellers. He is the star and the script at the same time. Every time I watch it, I wonder how it actually got produced -- it seems so flawless, but it also seems like one long ad lib. I can't imagine pitching the idea to a studio, and I'm not sure I would have rented it the first time if I'd known the plot: "Peter Sellers plays an awkwardly polite man from India who accidentally crashes a Hollywood dinner party and creates havoc. It's a gas."

Wings of Desire (1987)

Our Town for the Cold War Generation

[9/10 · 22 February 2005]

If my grandchildren ever ask me what it was like back in the Cold War, I'll tell them to watch this movie. It is both frighteningly bleak and lyrically beautiful. It captures the spirit of the times (Western civilization immediately before the fall of the Berlin Wall) better than any movie I've ever seen. And it manages to be a love letter to those times while also showing the place and time in all its inescapable ugliness.

The overall plot moves forward pretty nicely for a movie where plot doesn't seem to matter all that much, and there are some beautiful vignettes, beautifully photographed, acted, and directed. I'm not sure how anyone can make it through the movie without falling in love with Bruno Ganz's angel. I think the movie's lyricism holds up well on multiple viewing -- as long as you liked it the first time. If the self-consciously art-house form bugs you, however, or you find the screenplay's "poetry" to be too facile, you'll probably find this movie grating. I, however, have never seen people reading silently in a public library without thinking of this movie . . . .

Troubles (1988)

Not worth the trouble

[3/10 · 19 February 2005]

Erratic pacing, this movie doesn't know what it wants to be: satire, farce, or melodrama. No matter which mode it is in during any particular scene, it gets it wrong. For instance, there's a running "joke" about the cats that have multiplied to astronomical proportions, taking over the Majestic Hotel. During a fire, there's a funny shot of the cats tearing out of the hotel. Kinda funny. But then there's a shot of a cat stuck in a chandelier, and obviously about to be killed by the flames. Kinda horrific. But then you start thinking -- how did the cat get in a chandelier in a building with 20 foot ceilings? None of the resultant conflict in emotion (laughter, horror, confusion) seem to serve any role in moving the plot forward, nor does the director seem to want you to be torn between two moods. It's just awkwardly written and directed.

Ian Richardson, however, gives a great performance as always.

Being John Malkovich (1999)

Strange Bedfellows

[9/10 · 17 February 2005]

Any movie that can make me appreciate (simultaneously) the acting skills of Charlie Sheen, John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and John Malkovich is doing something pretty remarkable. Yet by the end, they'd each rocketed up my list of favorite actors, and I suddenly started looking for movies with Orson Bean, Mary Kay Place, and Catherine Keener, too. It's a tribute to the great script, great directing, and actors willing to take a chance on something that must have looked pretty strange on paper when it was just a screenplay. We all owe some gratitude to John Malkovich (the actor, not the character in this movie) for his willingness to give the movie a shot. I can't imagine it working with any other actor in the title character/role.

Into the West (1992)

A couple of lads

[7/10 · 8 February 2005]

Irish themes often end up cloying or playing to stereotype. This movie, with its "mystical" Celtish theme and its message of Irish pluck could easily have fall into either trap.

But the kids -- and the horse -- save the day. Great actors, those boys. Great choreography with a beautiful horse. Together, these elements make the story remarkably engaging -- keep the story itself from devolving into bathos, and make it impossible for you not to suspend disbelief and root for the horse! Great directing to bring this all together.

Example of how such a fantastical story is presented with some subtlety: in one almost inconsequential shot, the two boys are walking down a crowded Dublin sidewalk, leading the horse. A couple of kids pass them, and throw unprovoked verbal abuse at the boys, disparaging them for being travellers. The older boy quickly spits back a retort or two in kind and then returns seamlessly to his ongoing conversation with his brother -- but doesn't break his stride and doesn't show any signs that the abuse has even registered with him. It is as once heart-rending (what does it say about his life so far that such an attack barely registers, it must be so common), and a testament to the boy's courage.

In that one brief scene, the movie shows the depth of character the kid will draw on throughout the movie, and you can't help but root for him! And the acting makes you feel like this is really who the boy is, not that he's an actor playing a part. (It was such a better scene than the heavy-handed scenes with the requisite bad cop.)

Ryan's Daughter (1970)

Interesting ending -- but not worth the wait

[3/10 · 8 February 2005]

The critics were right in 1970 -- this is a poor film, not improved by the passage of 30 years.

But in terms of plot, I was pleasantly surprised by the way the movie ended. Although his character was boring through most of the movie, in the end Robert Mitchum transforms into the most appealing cuckold in the history of drama. While in concrete terms all the characters seem to have ended up with predictable outcomes, the movie suggests at the end some real soul was gained: the cowardly father gained real respect for his daughter's true bravery, the priest lost his self-satisfied confidence in the status quo, Rosie ended up with a true marriage in spite of herself, and the village idiot provided real leadership, not just the accidental influence of "being there." It was an interesting plot twist not to have the rabble transformed by a hero, or the hero beaten by a quixotic struggle with the worst of mankind, but the rabble end up in the same state of ignorance in which the movie began, while the central characters were transformed. The last scene with Rosie, her husband, the priest, and the fool waiting for the bus to make it down the Dingle Peninsula road and the future for all of them very uncertain was remarkably touching.

Lean could have gotten us there in half the time for twice the impact, but after feeling lulled by a predictable plot it was interesting to find myself pleasantly surprised at the end by a movie that dragged so predictably through its first 90% . . . .

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Acquired Taste, but Glad I Acquired It

[10/10 · 17 December 2004]

I rented this on DVD from Netflix, and -- not for the first time -- I was glad to have Netflix's no deadline policy.

I hadn't seen it before, and it took me several viewings to start to realize what an extraordinary movie this is. I had a hard time paying attention, and kept getting distracted, it seemed so ponderous.

So, that ponderous pace probably makes Barry Lyndon worthy of being the commercial and popular failure it seems to have been.

But as art, it is a remarkable creation. And as an adaptation from a novel, it is a remarkable interpretation of a very interesting novel.

People find Ryan O'Neal's Barry Lyndon painfully artificial and stilted, but all that stiltedness really sets the viewer up for one of the most heart-wrenching scenes on film (his last conversation with his angelic little boy). All the words of bravado and deception are there in that conversation, but now, ironically, as Barry realizes how those war-stories pale in comparison to what he is losing. This scene has outstanding acting, outstanding direction, outstanding screenplay, outstanding art direction -- you name it.

And then, as Barry's attempt at nobility is in tatters, he has the famous duel with the stepson who hates him. And in that scene, Barry Lyndon does the first truly noble act of his entire life -- and it costs him everything.

Life is short; art is long. I'm glad I spent the time I needed to appreciate this movie, and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to invest the time to appreciate it. But, like James Joyce or Henry James, don't expect it to be a quick read.