nekanderson881 Reviews

The Terminal (2004)

Castaway Redux

[8/10 · 4 July 2004]

Warning! Spoilers contained within.

This film is a Spielberg entertainment-machine of a movie. It's smart and clever with more product' placements than anything since "Minority Report", which ironically warned of the intrusion of advertising in our lives. The Indian actor Kumar Pallana playing the janitor, who once appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show", is the funniest thing in the movie. His juggling tricks during the formal dinner are hilarious.

This film has a weak first half. It is all Tom Hanks with themes similar to his 2000 release "Castaway". With this film he is a stranded in an airline terminal instead of an island, bonds with a can of Planters Peanuts instead of a soccer ball, and deliveries an autograph instead of a Fed Ex package. There are several bits in the movie which are way too contrived: the carpentry miracles Hanks performs and the photocopies of his handprints among others. Hanks is good as the foreigner without a country and Spielberg is such an accomplished filmmaker that they come through with another entertaining film. This is not a great film, but it makes for a reasonably enjoyable two hours.

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

LOTR 3: The Video Game

[1/10 · 22 April 2004]

Many critics cite the 1952 film "The Greatest Show of Earth" as the poorest Best Picture selection in Academy history. That dubious distinction should now go to "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which makes DeMille's circus epic seem like the greatest show on earth in comparison. It was not only the Academy, but also the once-relevant New York Film Critics Circle that chose this film as the year's best. It's a wonder that the ghost of Pauline Kael didn't use her after-life influence with the All Mighty to strike the entire group dead.

This video game-like film goes from one chase scene to the next with little in the way of plot development. I've seen all three films and don't have a clue what the fellowship of the ring is, or the significance of the two towers, nor where the king was returning from. Director Jackson failed to include much in the way of plot exposition in nine plus hours of film!

The computer-generated Gollum was the most interesting character in the film; at least he wanted to kill off those annoying hobbits. Ian McKellen is distinguished in his knightly role and added a touch of class to the otherwise endless stream of special effects. The female stars of the film, Tyler and Blanchett, have so little screen time that it doesn't make sense to even have them in the film. Apparently Tyler's character is present merely to suggest that Mortensen's character is heterosexual. Why Blanchett has such an annoying smile on her face each fifteen seconds she is on screen is a mystery to me.

Manhattan (1979)

On of the very best American films of the 1970s

[10/10 · 22 April 2004]

This wonderful film continues to amaze after repeat viewings. I had the pleasure of seeing this in the theater when it first came out and have probably seen it four or five times since and am still in awe of it. The tribute to Manhattan, the glorious black-and-white cinematography by Gordon Willis, the Gershwin soundtrack, the clever and funny dialogue by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman, and the acting by Allen, Keaton, Hemingway, and Streep make this one of the very best American films of the 1970s. Keaton is luminous, funny, and touching. Her 'I'm from Philadelphia' routine is so funny. The scene at the planetarium and the shot of Allen and Keaton sitting on the park bench with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background at dawn are breathtaking. This is just one in a long string of Allen's films, featuring Keaton, which made them national treaures.

Effi Briest (1974)

Beautiful but distant

[6/10 · 22 April 2004]

Exquisite black-and-white photography, gorgeous costumes, stunning landscapes, and actors photographed in mirrors and through laced-curtains are the highlights of this emotionally distant film. It is true, however, that the leading actress has her cathartic scene, but it comes late in the film. Too late to really make one care about the spoiled, rich young lady. But this is Fassbinder, and Fassbinder is always watchable, even at his most pretentious. One joy of this film is the presence of Irm Hermann, who can do more with one glare (she doesn't need dialogue as "The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant" proved for all time) then any actor I can think of. Schygulla and the other actors are mostly wooden. The beauty of the scene with the starkly handsome Lommel as the rich major and Schygulla picnicking at the beach makes one forgive the shortcomings of the film.

Shock Corridor (1963)

Made for the drive-in crowd

[22 April 2004]

*** Spoilers contained within ***

"Who killed Sloan in the kitchen"? is the question that ultimately drives a newspaperman insane. This is a very strange film. Our hero sets out to solve a murder and to hopefully win the Pulitzer prize in the process. Against the advise of his girlfriend/stripper Towers, he pretends to have incestuous thoughts for his 'sister'. After being attached by a group of nymphos, subjected to a shock treatment, and listening to various patients rant and rave, Breck begins losing his ability to speak. After he discovers the killer's identity, he loses his grasp on reality and becomes a permanent resident of the asylum. Director Fuller's film is in black-and-white, but he used three color clips of his home movies to accent the story, including a shot of a waterfalls and a Chinese parade. Instead of contributing dramatically to the film, it ranks this film with Ed Wood's howlers. Hearing a character's thoughts is nothing new, but they come off poorly in this film. This is the work of a maverick filmmaker, but that doesn't mean it's any good. However, there are several good sequences and one very good one: a thunderstorm erupts in the corridor with Breck becoming unglued. This is not a must-see film by any means, but it has a cult following.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Strange is par for this course

[6/10 · 21 April 2004]

*** Spoilers contained within ***

Strange, strange film...but that goes without saying with Lynch as writer and director. Two-thirds of the film is linear and follows a storyline that is interesting, creepy, and most of all Lynchian. However, after Betty unlocks "Pandora's box", the story changes to the non-linear: actors play different roles, two characters become small enough to walk under a closed door all the while laughing and shaking their arms up and down. The acting in the film is very good. It is especially a joy to see Ann Miller. She plays the no-nonsense landlady, that we find out later is also the mother of the film director. Robert Forster is billed prominently, but appears only very briefly. Michael J. Anderson plays a different character than in "Twin Peaks", but the room he is in appears to be the same one in that TV series. There are many memorable scenes: the director finding his wife bedded with the hired man, and then taking her jewelry box into the garage and dumping pink paint in it; the conference room meeting to decide on the leading actress for the director's film and the ensuing espresso problem; the opening sequence with the 50's style dancing and later in the film the auditions with the musical number. We see the killings in the apartment building--following a hilarious joke a man is shot; the second shot is accidental, but goes through the wall, striking a large woman, whom the killer fights with. This is observed by the janitor who is standing with his vacuum, who becomes the next victim. The female rendition of Roy Orbison's "Crying" in Spanish is beautiful. This whole stage performance sequence is weird. If this had turned into the TV series it was originally planned to be, perhaps the minor characters would have been expanded and the plot gaps would have been developed. This film is unsatisfying as it is, due to its being edited down to feature length. Lynch is truly an independent spirit. It is quite a miracle that with today's emphasis on profits that he is able to make this type of film at all. This film is derivative of his other works--the same composer, whose music is so much like "Twin Peaks." Lynch's use of old-time actors has been a habit of his all along. And Jack Fisk, his production designer, has worked with Lynch off and on since "Eraserhead".

The Greatest Question (1919)

The Great Gish

[7/10 · 21 April 2004]

The great Lillian Gish is the main reason to see this dated Griffith film. She is wonderful, displaying a wide range of emotions. The other players don't come off as well. Harron, Besserer, and Graves are fine, but the rest of the cast overplays. The story has serious problems when viewed with today's perspective. Most glaring is the black man, portrayed in an extreme racist way. 'The Birth of a Nation' was not Griffith's only film that portrays blacks in this negative way. Also, the couple that murder the immigrant girl in the beginning of the film and abuse Nellie are such despicable characters that they come off as caricatures. The scene with Gish fleeing to the attic and then the couple piling suitcases on top of a table to reach her is pure melodrama. The good family strikes oil and becomes wealthy and the bad family sees the light, but too late--the are led away to be punished. The photography and the scenes with Gish and Harron are beautiful and make this worthwhile.

The Hours (2002)

Visit The Hours again

[10/10 · 20 April 2004]

The layers of complexity of this excellent film are better understood upon a second viewing. The past experiences of the characters are alluded to, and one has to listen carefully to understand the significance of these. Woolf has her past, Clarrisa had her youthful summer love affair with Richard, and Laura Brown had her painfully shy high school years. Each of these women's back stories informs us of their hours in the day that we are seeing unfold in this film. Laura felt different than the other girls; thus her shyness and painful marriage where she was trying to be the perfect wife, all the while wanting something else. Woolf suffered from mental illness and had no means of being treated in the 1920's. The present day Mrs. Galloway's passion is for a Richard, a gay poet dying of AIDS. His former lover visits and she breaks down from the weariness of seeing Richard ravished by the disease and the lover's presence bringing back so many memories.

Streep's performance here is one of her very best. To my mind she blows everybody else off the screen. We see Clarrisa working in the kitchen separating the eggs; buying the flowers from the lady who has read Richard's poetry and novel; talking to her lover Sally from the next room; kissing her lover after hearing Laura's confession; her sweet, yet complex conversation with her daughter; negotiating with Richard as he resists her caring; and then again later in the day when she witnesses his outburst after mixing his meds which leads to tragedy.

John Reilly, Julianne Moore, Toni Collette, and the little boy who plays the son are all remarkable in the 1950's sequence. There is real poetry in the scenes with Moore.

The whole enterprise with Kidman's Woolf and her relationship with her husband and the cutting back and forth between the other two time periods are masterful. I also appreciated Kidman's performance much more on the second viewing. This film seems to me a major achievement of its kind - a real multi-layered meaningful story about the human condition. The wonderful Philip Glass score also adds much to the film.

Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story (2000)

Interesting life of spoiled rich girl

[7/10 · 20 April 2004]

This interesting documentary of Warhol superstar Berlin (aka Brigid Polk) traces her life from the beginnings as the wealthy daughter of a Hearst employer and his socialite wife Honey. Berlin's life-long struggles with dieting and with her parents and siblings are detailed here. Clips from 'Bike Boy', 'The Chelsea Girls', and 'Imitation of Christ' are shown. Berlin's daily telephone conversations with Andy Warhol were taped by her and we're treated to several bits of these here. It is also interesting that she claims to have been filmed for three hours talking about vacuuming her George Washington apartment. We see her walk into the Chelsea Hotel's lobby. The weight issue with Berlin is monumental. Her cravings of key lime pie is sated only after two whole pies are consumed. She also has a 'c**k book' that is composed of her famous friends' renderings of the male organ. She talks about the impact of the Manson murders, Warhol's death, Max's Kansas City, and her annual chest x-rays. She is also renown for her 'tit paintings', which are created by smearing paint on her chest and pressing down on paper. Now 60 years of age, Berlin is in many ways the same rebellious person she was in her teens.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Burstyn's Picture Show

[6/10 · 19 April 2004]

Although the director and writers obviously care about the characters, the filmmaking techniques draw too much attention to themselves. The quick edits of popping pills, eyes dilating, and the effects of drug usage in the blood stream were quite effective however. But, I have to ask, is this what it takes to keep audiences involved nowadays? Ellen Burstyn gives a courageous performance in what had to be a grueling shoot. The most harrowing scene in the film for me was not the climax at the end, but a little earlier on when Mrs. Goldfarb is riding the subway on the way to Madison Avenue to try to get on television. The director left a natural lens on the camera long enough to let Burstyn?s performance come through. The other actors were also totally committed and the result shows in every scene. It was fun to see Louise Lasser and Marcia Jean Kurtz (memorable in "Dog Day Afternoon") as two of Goldfarb's friends.

The theme of the piece seems to be the yearning to hide the pain of everyday mundane life--whether it's done by overeating, drugs, or sex. If you buy this and haven't seen this theme dealt with in film too many other times ad nausea--this will appear as an original work.

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Starring Tarantino and Thurman

[8/10 · 17 April 2004]

*** Warning! Contains Spoilers ***

The second half of Tarantino's long-awaited martial arts revenge flick stars Uma Thurman as The Bride and David Carradine, as Bill. Looking so much like his late father John, Carradine has his first starring role in a major motion picture in years. Vol. 2 has more dialogue than its predecessor and gives much-needed background information on the characters. The best action sequence is between Thurman and Hannah in the trailer house of the recently deceased Madsen. He has died from the bite of a venomous snake which just happened to be inside a suitcase containing a million dollars in cash which Hannah brought with her to pay for a special sword of his. After he is bitten, she reads (to comic effect) from a small spiral notebook information accessed from the Internet on this snake and its deadly venom. One-eyed Hannah loses the other eye in this fight when Thurman pokes it out and subsequently drops it to the floor squishing it between her toes. The second best action sequence has Thurman shot and then buried alive. In this sequence there is a flashback of her extensive martial arts training by a master with a long white beard which he constantly runs his hand through. Thurman successfully breaks the wooden coffin she is buried in and surfaces to breathe among us once again. This woman is unstoppable. The music by 1960s spaghetti western composer Ennio Morricone is used in the film with great effect. Classic pop songs have been used brilliantly in Tarantino's other films and here we have the wonderful hit "About Her". The ultimate demise of Bill comes from The Bride's use of the five finger heart stopping technique taught to her by the master. Sure enough, after five steps Bill keels over and dies. Compared to Tarantino's best film to date "Pulp Fiction", this film lacks its originality and ultra-hip dialogue. "Jackie Brown" recreated the feel of the blackploxation films of the 1970s and here we have the same decade's Kung Fu and spaghetti westerns revived. This film is a must for Tarantino's fans. He is as much the star of the film as anyone. And no amount of praise is enough for Thurman, who gives the best female action performance since Sigourney Weaver in the "Alien" films.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Being Charlie Kaufman

[7/10 · 14 April 2004]

*** Beware *** The following contains minor Spoilers.

After "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation", do you think writer Kaufman would turn conventional? Not in the least. The film's title is a line from Alexander Pope and fits this plot precisely. The images are all mixed up, like a dream. No, like a dream that's being constantly interrupted, erased, and replayed. The screenplay is highly original, going where few movies have gone before, with the notable exceptions of "BJM" and "Adaptation". The cast is familiar, we've seen them in quite a few movies by now, but here they each create something different. Kate Winslet is Clementine, the girl of many hair colors, who decides to rid herself of all memories of Joel (Jim Carrey). Mark Ruffalo, with his hair standing on end, is the computer nerd who hurriedly rushes to put his pants back on when Joel's reprogramming ends prematurely. Elijah Wood, with the long, long sideburns looks otherworldly (again) as the assistant computer nerd who woos Clementine post-brain damage. Kirsten Dunst is sweet and her hair is not much different from previously seen in other films as is Tom Wilkinson's, who is quite the ladies man in this pic. Mr. Carrey goes from trauma to trauma, and is in dire need of a haircut. Why my obsession with the cast members' hairstyles, you ask? Why do Joel and Clem walk on thin ice? Why does Clem work at Barnes & Noble? Why does the house fall down around them, literally? Why does Joel hide under the kitchen table and shrink? What does all this mean? That even though you get bored with someone and are embarrassed to be with them in public and say all kinds of mean things about them behind their backs, it's still likely that this is your one true love? That premise doesn't work for me. I see this film as a slight disappointment after the two previous Kaufman films I've mentioned, but superior to much of what's in theaters now.