This is probably my favorite non-mythology episode. This series has more than its share of wacky and creepy characters, but this episode's a real showcase. Working my way through the full set on DVD, I'd forgotten that it came so early in the series. Both creepy and very funny, making good use of both David Duchovny's skilled delivery of Mulder's established quirky sense of humor, and letting Gillian Anderson display a few comedy timing chops of her own. And of course the late Vincent Schiavelli is excellent as always -- the world lost a gifted comedian with his passing. But the top honors go to Darin Morgan, for having the kind of strange mind that would think this stuff up in the first place.
Reviews
16 Reviews
Sherlock
(2002 TV Movie)
An Embarrassment of Riches.
5 November 2008
Or, the summary should perhaps more accurately read, "A richness of embarrassments." The script is embarrassing. The storyline is embarrassing. The plot is embarrassing. The direction is embarrassing. The characterizations of Holmes & Watson are embarrassing, although not totally the actors' faults. James D'Arcy's Holmes is duly intense and focused, and might have shone if given a script less stupid; as it is, he's just embarrassing. Vincent Donofrio's fake accent and surprisingly crappy acting are both embarrassing. Gabrielle Anwar's character's name (Rebecca Doyle) is embarrassing. The reporter's hair is embarrassing. Inspector Lestrade is embarrassing (but then, he pretty much always is). The heavily armed London Bobby SWAT team is embarrassing. The gratuitous sex scene is embarrassing. Holmes as a leering lecher is embarrassing. The hackneyed Victorian London drug scene scenes are embarrassing. The climax is embarrassing. The closing scene is more embarrassing than the opening was. In fact, about an hour & a quarter in Inspector Lestrade himself gives this film its best one-line review: "This is a complete waste of time and resources." Everyone involved in this production who retains any self-respect whatsoever should be thoroughly embarrassed. The violence done the Canon here, the complete disregard for fidelity to the original material, is more than embarrassing, it is a crime worthy of Moriarity himself. I could go on, but now I'm too embarrassed to have been caught watching it . . .
Bambi Meets Godzilla
(1969)
The Greatest Short Animated Film Ever Made!
18 March 2004
I first saw this film as part of a triple bill with Lenny Bruce's 1971 "Thank You Mask Man" and Philippe de Broca's 1966 "King of Hearts (Le Roi de Coeur)." A great way to send the evening in a theatre, I tell you! I won't spoil this wonderful gem for the six or so of you who haven't seen it yet, I will only remark that they had to delay the start of "Mask Man" because nobody in the theatre could stop laughing. 12 out of 10!
Ed Wood
(1994)
More than merely a biography, or an homage
9 March 2004
I am a Johnny Depp fan, and this film only reinforced my enjoyment of his genuine talent. He's whatcha call a real actor. He's on record ("Inside the Actor's Studio" & elsewhere) as saying that his characterization of Wood was a mixture of "the blind optimism of Ronald Reagan, the enthusiasm of the Tin Man from 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939) and Casey Kasem." Well, I must add that either he left out channeling Jon Lovitz or that's where Lovitz got his inspiration, too. It is at moments positively eerie how well it works, and without feeling like Depp stole Lovitz's act--his overall character is so much more, so much else, that the Lovitz echo becomes a small part of a larger coherent whole, although it never disappears entirely.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Patricia Arquette as the principal women in Wood's life are each endearing and effective in their own separate ways. Bill Murray is fun as always, and the secondary and bit players are very well cast.
Martin Landau . . . well . . . Martin Landau simply left me awestruck. Depp is all over the screen doin' his best wacky movie guy and chewing the scenery, Parker, Arquette, Murray, and the rest are obviously having a real fun time backing him up, and Martin Landau is shuffling around in the foreground muttering in Romanian and writing a book called "How to Steal a Movie." Mind boggling performance, and absolutely deserving every award it got him in 1995, which included a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Awards, and the American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. (Incidentally, his daughter Juliet, better known to millions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans as the vampire Drusilla, is one of the supporting players.)
If I weren't already a Tim Burton fan this movie would have made me one. He here makes an almost perfectly crafted period piece (anachronisms noted--see the "goofs" page--and dismissed), half cheesy fake scifi B movie and half period noir thriller, as a cinematic biography about the quintessential cheesy fake noir scifi thriller B movie guy. This film goes beyond pastiche, and beyond homage to a genre, although it is both. With this film Burton genuflects--no, prostrates himself--before the gods of 1950s low-budget black and white, and the gods are pleased indeed. It seems like he must have watched every movie made in America for under a million dollars between 1948 and 1962. I lost count of the echoes and parodies and pastiches and mini-homages that fill, I think, every darn frame of the movie, and which by no means are mostly of Wood and his work.
As with, I think, every movie biography, there's the odd gratuitous fact changing (see the "goofs" page again)--you know, the "Why'd they do that when the truth wouldn't make any difference?" kind of stuff, and as glowing as this review obviously is I must also say that it is in some ways an imperfect film--it glosses over Wood's later career, for example. But it it so obviously a labor of love and joy for all involved that in my opinion its imperfections are inconsequential. Ed Wood stands proudly, with that slightly odd gleam in its eye, with the best movie biographies made.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Patricia Arquette as the principal women in Wood's life are each endearing and effective in their own separate ways. Bill Murray is fun as always, and the secondary and bit players are very well cast.
Martin Landau . . . well . . . Martin Landau simply left me awestruck. Depp is all over the screen doin' his best wacky movie guy and chewing the scenery, Parker, Arquette, Murray, and the rest are obviously having a real fun time backing him up, and Martin Landau is shuffling around in the foreground muttering in Romanian and writing a book called "How to Steal a Movie." Mind boggling performance, and absolutely deserving every award it got him in 1995, which included a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Awards, and the American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. (Incidentally, his daughter Juliet, better known to millions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans as the vampire Drusilla, is one of the supporting players.)
If I weren't already a Tim Burton fan this movie would have made me one. He here makes an almost perfectly crafted period piece (anachronisms noted--see the "goofs" page--and dismissed), half cheesy fake scifi B movie and half period noir thriller, as a cinematic biography about the quintessential cheesy fake noir scifi thriller B movie guy. This film goes beyond pastiche, and beyond homage to a genre, although it is both. With this film Burton genuflects--no, prostrates himself--before the gods of 1950s low-budget black and white, and the gods are pleased indeed. It seems like he must have watched every movie made in America for under a million dollars between 1948 and 1962. I lost count of the echoes and parodies and pastiches and mini-homages that fill, I think, every darn frame of the movie, and which by no means are mostly of Wood and his work.
As with, I think, every movie biography, there's the odd gratuitous fact changing (see the "goofs" page again)--you know, the "Why'd they do that when the truth wouldn't make any difference?" kind of stuff, and as glowing as this review obviously is I must also say that it is in some ways an imperfect film--it glosses over Wood's later career, for example. But it it so obviously a labor of love and joy for all involved that in my opinion its imperfections are inconsequential. Ed Wood stands proudly, with that slightly odd gleam in its eye, with the best movie biographies made.
Two for the Seesaw
(1962)
Beautiful but frustrating
12 November 2003
This film is a good example of why I love black & white movies.
Director Wise, cinematographer Ted McCord, and production
designer Boris Leven craft light, shadow, and line into two hours of
absolutely lovely images, making the most of such elements as
the contrast between MacLaine's hair, eyes, and skin, and the
juxtaposition of the hard lines of doorframes and shadows with
the softness of rumpled fabric and fluid dancer's movement. (And I
loved the split set.) Total eye candy for B&W lovers, and an
incidental, abrupt reminder of what a beautiful woman the young
Shirley was.
Unfortunately, the script seems very dated here in the twenty-first
century. The characters' relationship is frustrating, and (reported
offscreen chemistry notwithstanding) MacLaine and Mitchum look
very much mismatched. (Supposedly it was originally to be Liz
Taylor and Paul Newman. I can't see Liz here, but a MacLaine- Newman pairing could have been hot. But we'll never know.) I
found MacLaine's character to be much more believable--more
rounded, containing more nuance--than Mitchum's. While this
seems mostly the script's fault, I do feel that MacLaine here brings
more quirky humanity to her work than does Mitchum (who I like
very much in general).
"Seesaw" stands out for me as one of those films that, because of
its meticulous attention to visual detail, becomes an archetypal
period piece as it ages--firmly among the films everyone making a
movie set in the early 1960s should study carefully.
Director Wise, cinematographer Ted McCord, and production
designer Boris Leven craft light, shadow, and line into two hours of
absolutely lovely images, making the most of such elements as
the contrast between MacLaine's hair, eyes, and skin, and the
juxtaposition of the hard lines of doorframes and shadows with
the softness of rumpled fabric and fluid dancer's movement. (And I
loved the split set.) Total eye candy for B&W lovers, and an
incidental, abrupt reminder of what a beautiful woman the young
Shirley was.
Unfortunately, the script seems very dated here in the twenty-first
century. The characters' relationship is frustrating, and (reported
offscreen chemistry notwithstanding) MacLaine and Mitchum look
very much mismatched. (Supposedly it was originally to be Liz
Taylor and Paul Newman. I can't see Liz here, but a MacLaine- Newman pairing could have been hot. But we'll never know.) I
found MacLaine's character to be much more believable--more
rounded, containing more nuance--than Mitchum's. While this
seems mostly the script's fault, I do feel that MacLaine here brings
more quirky humanity to her work than does Mitchum (who I like
very much in general).
"Seesaw" stands out for me as one of those films that, because of
its meticulous attention to visual detail, becomes an archetypal
period piece as it ages--firmly among the films everyone making a
movie set in the early 1960s should study carefully.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
(1995)
Like every movie of its kind, and yet like nothing I've ever seen
7 June 2003
Dilwale made me glad to be a Westerner, just so I could experience the sheer rush in the glorious way this film simply throws its Indian sensibility in your face. It is one of the most completely, openly joyful films I have ever seen. In many ways a totally Western film, it is yet completely un-Western, and absolutely invigorating.
I found the (rather oddly looped in places) mix of Hindi and English dialog to be a lot of fun to follow (as incomplete as the subtitles sometimes seemed). The Indian/Western pop structure of the songs was entertaining and infectious. The choreography is simply amazing, and some of the most sheerly athletic I've seen. The Indian roots of the dance routines were at first almost unnerving--at once familiar yet bizarre, almost surreal (to my Western eyes). It was sheer fun making the cultural adjustment.
The plot is predictable, almost pedestrian--certainly not what you'd call "never done before," and yet I found myself completely absorbed in the story, and rooting for the main characters. This is in large part due to Shahrukh Khan's and Kajol's performances as Raj and Simran. He is totally endearing, and she is totally hot!, and their on screen chemistry is as cute & perky and smoldering & steamy as Fred and Ginger at their peak. It was, simply put, fun to watch them having so much fun.
Director Aditya Chopra was, I understand, only 24 when he made Dilwale, and the film was so successful its Indian first run lasted a world-record 11 years (and may still be going on, as far as I know). A heckuva testimony to Bollywood indeed. This movie has instantly become one of my favorite musicals, and I look forward to finding more films from Chopra, Khan, and Kajol. What a treat!
I found the (rather oddly looped in places) mix of Hindi and English dialog to be a lot of fun to follow (as incomplete as the subtitles sometimes seemed). The Indian/Western pop structure of the songs was entertaining and infectious. The choreography is simply amazing, and some of the most sheerly athletic I've seen. The Indian roots of the dance routines were at first almost unnerving--at once familiar yet bizarre, almost surreal (to my Western eyes). It was sheer fun making the cultural adjustment.
The plot is predictable, almost pedestrian--certainly not what you'd call "never done before," and yet I found myself completely absorbed in the story, and rooting for the main characters. This is in large part due to Shahrukh Khan's and Kajol's performances as Raj and Simran. He is totally endearing, and she is totally hot!, and their on screen chemistry is as cute & perky and smoldering & steamy as Fred and Ginger at their peak. It was, simply put, fun to watch them having so much fun.
Director Aditya Chopra was, I understand, only 24 when he made Dilwale, and the film was so successful its Indian first run lasted a world-record 11 years (and may still be going on, as far as I know). A heckuva testimony to Bollywood indeed. This movie has instantly become one of my favorite musicals, and I look forward to finding more films from Chopra, Khan, and Kajol. What a treat!
City of Joy
(1992)
My favorite Patrick Swayze film
13 May 2003
I think City of Joy is one of those films you either do or don't connect with. It's a study of growth, of friendship, of acceptance. It's a coming-of-age film. It's a study of how similar humans everywhere are in spite of vast cultural differences. It's a well-shot location piece. It's a character study. It's an action film, in its own way. Patrick Swayze and Om Puri put their hearts into their roles. The supporting cast is interesting and effective. The script has drama and emotional depth.
Although the plot certainly can't claim absolute originality, director Joffé's nuanced look at the cultural milieu and the care with which he portrays the characters' relationships and internal struggles make this a worthwhile, enjoyable film.
"Roadhouse" and "Dirty Dancing" were both lots of fun, but for me this is Patrick Swayze's best performance, and one of my favorite films of its kind.
Although the plot certainly can't claim absolute originality, director Joffé's nuanced look at the cultural milieu and the care with which he portrays the characters' relationships and internal struggles make this a worthwhile, enjoyable film.
"Roadhouse" and "Dirty Dancing" were both lots of fun, but for me this is Patrick Swayze's best performance, and one of my favorite films of its kind.
Grand Canyon
(1991)
Kasdan's best work to date
1 February 2003
Kasdan, Glover, Kline, McDonnell, and Woodard fashion a fine, graceful piece of work. Dialog and story have style and substance; performances have wit and flair. Makes our spiritual evolution seem more than just a dream. Kasdan's best film. My favorite Danny Glover movie (and I'm a fan of the Lethal Weapon series). For
McDonnell's and Woodard's best, see "Passion Fish." Kevin, well, he can be great in a good film (as here or in "A Fish Called Wanda"), he can make a mediocre movie worth watching (see "Life as a House"), and heck, he can even make the boring ones tolerable (see "French Kiss" or "Dave"--yeah, I know I'm gonna step on some toes with that last one, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em). One of the good movies.
McDonnell's and Woodard's best, see "Passion Fish." Kevin, well, he can be great in a good film (as here or in "A Fish Called Wanda"), he can make a mediocre movie worth watching (see "Life as a House"), and heck, he can even make the boring ones tolerable (see "French Kiss" or "Dave"--yeah, I know I'm gonna step on some toes with that last one, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em). One of the good movies.
The Big Chill
(1983)
A generation's middle-class angst
1 February 2003
Rockin' little movie that works like a good stage play. Entertaining faceoffs among disparate characters searching for a truth to call their own. Outstanding ensemble cast of mostly then-unknowns gets down and dirty with each other in the most
genteel manner. An excellent character study of how basically okay old friends in pain cope with death, life, each other, and being forced to grow up. Generally fine script has its overdone moments, but for the most part rings as true as any film of this type. Features some of Kevin Costner's best work to date.
genteel manner. An excellent character study of how basically okay old friends in pain cope with death, life, each other, and being forced to grow up. Generally fine script has its overdone moments, but for the most part rings as true as any film of this type. Features some of Kevin Costner's best work to date.
Manhattan
(1979)
Near-perfect cinema, eerily prescient Woody
1 February 2003
I like this film very much, even today, allowing for the eerily prescient plot elements that mirror all that I like least about Woody now. Gershwin's music is used to perfection, with much evident love. Gordon Willis is a gifted, gifted
cinematographer whose eye for line and composition reveals itself in black and white like it never could in color. Woody, as we all know, is the consummate film student as well as filmmaker, and here he absorbs and reflects the finest of
1930s and 1940s New York location movies. Screwball comedy meets Ingmar
Bergman in slap-happy film noir psychoanalytical angst. The script never falters. Wonderful work!
cinematographer whose eye for line and composition reveals itself in black and white like it never could in color. Woody, as we all know, is the consummate film student as well as filmmaker, and here he absorbs and reflects the finest of
1930s and 1940s New York location movies. Screwball comedy meets Ingmar
Bergman in slap-happy film noir psychoanalytical angst. The script never falters. Wonderful work!
Lovely & Amazing
(2001)
Wretched & Depressing
26 January 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Warning: Maybe a spoiler, but I don't think so.
Lovely & Amazing sketches/illustrates/illuminates a "slice of life" of several intertwined characters. It falls into that category of films (what I think of as the "Short Cut" class) that assumes completely erroneously that (1) presenting
painfully intimate, detailed vignettes of characters whose lives are completely out of control, who are rendered nearly immobile with despair, and who have no clue whatsoever how or even whether to save themselves, (2) building these vignettes to a crisis climax of sorts, (3) having the cast collectively smile wanly at a partial resolution of a major plot point, then gamely move on, and (4) ending abruptly on that note without the faintest attempt at explaining or resolving the characters' primal crises--that 1+2+3+4 equals cinematic profundity. This is so not true it makes my skin crawl. Cheat me, trick me, jerk my tears, but don't EVER leave me with less than I came in with. And especially don't ever expect me to believe you know more than you're telling, 'cause all the evidence is against you.
I didn't even realize the darn thing was over until the credits came up. For a moment I actually thought they'd cut the closing scene from the dvd.
What makes my assessment all the more painful is that the cast gave it everything they had. Keener, Blethyn, and Mortimer were all very good, as were the
supporters, notably Raven Goodwin in a performance of supremely nonchalant
nihilism. Doggone it, this movie shoulda gone somewhere! But, sad to say,
director/writer Holofcener couldn't think of anywhere to go.
To paraphrase in closing: There are more things in heaven and earth, Holofcener, than are dreamt of in your filmosophy . . .
Lovely & Amazing sketches/illustrates/illuminates a "slice of life" of several intertwined characters. It falls into that category of films (what I think of as the "Short Cut" class) that assumes completely erroneously that (1) presenting
painfully intimate, detailed vignettes of characters whose lives are completely out of control, who are rendered nearly immobile with despair, and who have no clue whatsoever how or even whether to save themselves, (2) building these vignettes to a crisis climax of sorts, (3) having the cast collectively smile wanly at a partial resolution of a major plot point, then gamely move on, and (4) ending abruptly on that note without the faintest attempt at explaining or resolving the characters' primal crises--that 1+2+3+4 equals cinematic profundity. This is so not true it makes my skin crawl. Cheat me, trick me, jerk my tears, but don't EVER leave me with less than I came in with. And especially don't ever expect me to believe you know more than you're telling, 'cause all the evidence is against you.
I didn't even realize the darn thing was over until the credits came up. For a moment I actually thought they'd cut the closing scene from the dvd.
What makes my assessment all the more painful is that the cast gave it everything they had. Keener, Blethyn, and Mortimer were all very good, as were the
supporters, notably Raven Goodwin in a performance of supremely nonchalant
nihilism. Doggone it, this movie shoulda gone somewhere! But, sad to say,
director/writer Holofcener couldn't think of anywhere to go.
To paraphrase in closing: There are more things in heaven and earth, Holofcener, than are dreamt of in your filmosophy . . .
Could have been made last week
26 January 2003
Depending on your point of view, this film is either a biting, insightful, timeless illumination of human dignity and indignity or a woeful commentary on how painfully slowly we evolve. The main story, humorous and poignant by turns, is punctuated by subplot bits that come right out of this week's news. Not bad for a film shot a quarter of a century ago.
Fernando Rey is simply wonderful, and Conchita are fabulous! Bunuel, as always, is once again a delight.
Fernando Rey is simply wonderful, and Conchita are fabulous! Bunuel, as always, is once again a delight.
The Phantom of Liberty
(1974)
Watch it over and over
12 January 2003
This film is proof of the film school maxim, "Any film worth watching at all must be seen more than once." (Subtitled films, of course, require an extra round just for reading, so you're free to watch from then on.) Phantom of Liberty--well, Bunuel's entire body of work, actually--simply demands repeated viewing. Not to figure it out, because you won't, but to happily immerse yourself in Bunuel's transcendent understanding that real life is in fact a series of non sequiturs, and that what makes sense at one moment or on one level seems completely irrational (even
chaotic) at another. Laugh-out-loud profundity.
chaotic) at another. Laugh-out-loud profundity.
Heat
(1995)
Pretentious indulgence, but it looks good
4 August 2002
This movie falls firmly in the "gritty urban pretentious self-important pseudopsychologically deep character study" genre. Ever since "The Godfather" (a truly classic, beautiful film) we've been subjected to more of these "Public Enemy" wannabes than any nation of self-respecting movie buffs should have to endure. Hi, I'm Al Pacino. In this movie I dare to play a role unlike any of my others--here I'm an angry Italian cop who's either icy cold or shouting at someone. Hi, I'm Robert De Niro. In this movie I dare to play a role unlike any of my others--here I'm a marginally articulate ridiculously tough Irish crook who'll kill you dead if you so much as look at me @!#%ing crosseyed. Yawn.
It is nicely photographed and tightly edited, though, and I must admit that Michael Mann maintains the dramatic tension like the pro he is. Watchable if you've got the free time, especially if you enjoy cinematic shootouts. Just don't get fooled into thinking it's as deep as it pretends to be.
It is nicely photographed and tightly edited, though, and I must admit that Michael Mann maintains the dramatic tension like the pro he is. Watchable if you've got the free time, especially if you enjoy cinematic shootouts. Just don't get fooled into thinking it's as deep as it pretends to be.
The Deadly Affair
(1967)
Classy, atmospheric spy film
26 July 2002
This enjoyable film captures the spirit of Le Carré's first novel very well. Lumet and Young's "preflashing" technique and their cinematic sensibilities fill the screen with the proper gloomy Sixties British atmosphere--in the weather, in the exterior scenes, in the sets, and in the characters' emotions and interactions. Mason is outstanding as George Smiley (inexplicably renamed Charles Dobbs), portraying with fine nuance both Smiley's wounded, bewildered angst and his gift for tradecraft. A treat for fans of Le Carré and of the genre.
Gorgo
(1961)
Perhaps Britain's best monster-wrecks-the-city movie!
26 July 2002
Entertaining rubber monster-suit movie enhanced by moody cinematography, actors with chops, and a good script. Well directed, with almost entirely realistic special effects (only a couple of bloopers, and you gotta be quick to catch them). A happy suspension of disbelief, great fun rooting for the good guys!
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