Change Your Image
dgarwood
Reviews
American Teen (2008)
Staged
I kept thinking throughout the whole film that there was something inauthentic to it. It seemed staged. Manufactured. Not all of it but certain plot points seemed "created". That kept me from really enjoying the film. Additionally, Megan's Hate Crime goes largely unpunished, at least what they chose to show. If she had scrawled a racial slur on that young man's window, it would have been taken very seriously. It sends a dangerous message, although that can be said for a lot of this film.
Bottom line on this film for me is that it doesn't feel authentic. It feels false. Even though she probably is guilty of it as well, I never get the feeling proceedings have been staged while watching a film by Barbara Kopple.
Year of the Dog (2007)
AN opposing Point of View
Don't take Professor Klickenberg's comment too seriously - he does his Bitchy best to deride this film for the the actor's appearances, and it made me sick and motivated me to write this. THis is a sweet film, and much like a lot of Mike White's quieter work, is very evocative of 1970's independent film. It reminded me of Scorcese and Bogdonavich's work in that era. It defies expectation, and is has a narrative that is beautiful in its simplicity and complexity. It's not a story about loud noises and high concepts, it's a story about people who are flawed - in appearance, emotional development, and self awareness. It's a great little film - I saw it directly after seeing Pirates of the Caribbean III and it was such an antidote to that overproduced and written sequel. This is a story about people, warts and all. And to Professor Klickenberg - dial down the bitchy. If you're such a perfect specimen, post a pic so we can all wallow in your wonderfulness. Otherwise, quit attacking actors in this film, take a deep breath and look in a mirror. Then attack. That's the person you really hate. Cheers!
The Innocents (1961)
They could never remake this movie - but they should.
(Sorry for the remake heresy, but I think someone talented could do a SPECTACULAR remake. Then again for ten years I said the same thing about THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE and well we all know how that one came out...) I tivo'd THE INNOCENTS and watched it late one night and couldn't believe how good this film is. Deborah Kerr was great - so overly dramatic, but in the end, pathetic and WRONG. Loved it. I couldn't believe how many films and literary works have been influenced by this film. The woman standing in the reeds (Miss Jessel) is a surreal standout. You never see her face, just her visage - a masterful, creepy touch by director Jack Clayton. I'm haunted by this film and how it stays with you. GREAT STUFF. I'm buying it on DVD. WATCH AND LEARN how to make a real horror film.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Stands on its own as a good if not GREAT film.
True, the original is a "perfect film", but I give kudos to Demme for making a straight up re-make. It's not a shot for shot mimicking like Gus Van Sant's Psycho (why even bother when you can see the real thing in all it's glory???) or a "re-imaginging", it's a thoughtful, stand on its own remake of the original film and source material. I've seen the original at least 20 times, and was thoroughly engrossed by the remake. Isay four stars for the original, 3 and 1/2 for Demme's version. It's not the same as the first film, it's much richer in plot, and much more subtle in menace. If you want to pick on Demme for remakes drift on over to The Trouble With Charlie....
The Wicker Man (2006)
"Step away from the bike!!"
First off, I'll admit that I loved Nic Cage's early work, Valley Girl - Birdy - Peggy Sue Got Married, but somewhere around The Rock, his performances and appearance began to distract me from whatever I've seen him in. His melodramatic, lumbering performance in The Wicker Man, is one of the main reasons I found it hard to keep a straight face. Beyond the fact that his overly dramatic performance (a homage to Edward Woodward in the original?) made his character very unlikable, his wig was completely distracting. It looked like he cut the tail off a horse and glued it to his head. It also seemed like he was medicated or chemically altered and delivered his lines with a Brando-ish slur (perhaps because of his grotesque porcelain veneers??). Anyway, I'm confused by who his audience is? The elderly?? No idea, but I could have seen World Trade Center shortly after Wicker Man, but I couldn't stomach the thought of sitting through another Cage performance. (The previous paragraph is just MHO.) That aside, the ending is just an unintentional hoot. As soon as Ellen Burstyn begins the "dance" she does whilst leading her followers to the sacrifice, I couldn't keep a straight face, and I was far from the only one. Nic Cage's bizarre over the delivery of his lines had people howling. The last film I went to where that happened was Basic Instinct II. (Basic 2 might have worked if Cage had played the male lead. He and Stone could have spent the whole film trying to top each other in the overacting department.) It also looked as if this thing was heavily edited. And what was up with the guy covered in boils and missing an eye in Lady Summersilse's house? It was apparent they didn't like men much - why would they keep that eyesore around - for a cheap creep-out whenever a California Highway Patrolman comes calling? Lame.
Come on, seriously, how can you watch and listen to Cage deliver this howler of a line while pointing his gun at Molly Parker - "Step away from the bike!!!" I went to see this because I like Burstyn, LaBute, and the original film. Imho this is a botch from start to finish.
Sleuth (1972)
old school
Okay, I don't want to make anyone angry, but this doesn't hold up very well. In fact I posit that the interview with Anthony Shaffer on the DVD is more entertaining than the whole film. Mankiewicz was a talented man and so was Shaffer, and so were the actors, but this is dated. It's talky, easy to figure out, and mostly something for fans of theater, Mank, and Olivier and Caine. The editing is particularly jarring, with quick cuts of inanimate objects inserted rapidly, something David Lynch does much more poetically in his work, most notably, Twin Peaks. This would never be filmed today, unless it was for Lifetime, with the leads changed for women and the script tightened, and reworked. It's a rambling old dinosaur of a play/script - it thunders along kicking up dust and then heaves its last breath and lays there wheezing on the ground, leaving this viewer wondering if it ever should have been translated to film. I'm sure it worked quite well as a stage play but in the cinematic day and age of Fight Club, The Sixth Sense, and The Others, it's old and musty and easy to figure out, (does anyone not know that's Michael Caine as the Inspector Doppler in the second act???) and if it does fool you, it's only for a second and not to very great effect. Deathtrap, also with Caine is a subtle retelling of this tale, only tighter, and with a woman character added. And both Deathtrap and Sleuth borrow Heavily from Diabolique. Heavily.
If you do purchase or rent the DVD, watch the extra feature with Shaffer. It's Magic, which is what I expected from the film - but its time has come and gone. It has wrinkles and liver spots and will do little more than bore most viewers under 60. I know I'll get reamed for this, but it had its time and even then, in my humble opinion, it was over rated.
If you like Olivier, there's a lot of better choices out there, as well as Caine. If you want a more lively 1970's work from Shaffer, try Frenzy or The Wicker Man. As for J. Mank, All About Eve was made 56 Years Ago (!!) and still holds up quite nicely as a savage black comedy of words, forever a monument to the man as a writer and director. Sleuth is little more than a dated footnote to his career. Everyone's actually - it just doesn't pass the test of time.
Wild Palms (1993)
Best CYBER-Noir Dialogue EVER
The real credit for WILD PALMS should go to Bruce Wagner and his flowing, prosaic dialogue. It's like classic Film Noir crossed with cyber-speak, doused with a fifth of Single Malt Scotch and set on fire. There are so many clever, nimble phrases that are turned on their axis and spun into something entirely different.
Examples:
"Mystery loves company."
"Do you know how much it hurts to be SHOT IN THE CHEST??"
"You're no General! You're a pimp with the wings of a bat!"
"You've got quite a mouth on you! Take care someone doesn't take a needle and sew it up."
"Weak dog! You stillborn calf! YOU MAKE ME VOMIT!"
Granted the whole package is a little hard to take in all at once - it's one of those things that becomes more interesting the more you watch it. And for everyone who argues it ends with a whimper, not a bang, well, you may be right, but I posit that The Senator, Harry's real lineage, The Go Chip, and the Mimezine are all besides the point. Enjoy it for one of the campiest, cleverest, most intelligent scripts ever written for television.(Thank You Bruce Wagner) This is a project that is not only entertaining to watch, but a JOY to listen to. It's FUN.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
A Holy Splatter film...
In my humble opinion, this film was an interesting idea. And Mr. Gibson had every right to make it, the way he envisioned it. The draw of this film is the violence.
The film's eye lingers on the the torture and the suffering - to a point where it becomes almost comical. I understand what he was trying to show with the length and detail of the suffering, but more, in this case, might have been less. People are going to see this film for the brutality - most hopefully understanding why the brutality is as extensive as it is.
Case in point - If a film company or Mr. Gibson announced they were making a sequel called THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST, which would be G rated, because, hey we already covered the suffering, this is gonna be the good news, what do you think the chances are that it would make $350 million domestically? ? This film's drawing power lies in its brutality - For whatever their reasons people want to see and experience the suffering of Jesus Christ like they've never seen it or experienced it before. Bottom line.