Change Your Image
Anth-M
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
A crowd-pleaser for the less discriminating.
A young man from an Indian slum wins millions from a trivia game show but is tortured and detained by police on suspicion of fraud. In order to prove his innocence, he recounts his life story and how its incidental details informed each correct answer.
Director Danny Boyle complements this fresh narrative structure with an effusive energy, creating mystery and exciting melodrama. But as the mystery dissolves with exposition, the structure turns predictable and soon collapses in its redundancy. What remains is a long yarn of melodramatic talessome exciting, some heavy-handed but when tallied up, it's fatiguing. Still, the film manages a sweet, uplifting resolution; it's a crowd-pleaser for the less discriminating.
The Truman Show (1998)
A good film instead of an American classic.
This film is admirably original in its premise but its execution leaves something to be desired. With Andrew Niccol's deftly original screenplay, "The Truman Show" had the potential to be an American classic along the lines of Paddy Chayefsky's "Network." Instead, director Peter Weir elected to make a high concept Hollywood comedy with bankable funnyman Jim Carrey as his star.
The story unravels in a somewhat choppy manner coveting easy laughs instead of fully realizing the satirical power at its core. In fact, the comedy, specifically, the cutaways to "show viewers" and the interview segment with the "creator", is rather banal and uninspired.
As for Jim Carrey, to his credit, he does a fine job balancing comedy and drama, particularly in the film's climactic rite of passage.
Cop Land (1997)
Bad CopLand
Despite some interesting elements, notably its cast of fine actors, this is a film that just doesn't work. From the very beginning, its cop corruption subplot overwhelms its more subtle main storyline of a slow-witted sheriff's inner conflict. Writer James Mangold's canvass is too broad, suffers from superfluous characters and some silly, unrealistic passages.
As for the acting, much was made of Stallone's "image altering" performance and while he does subtle well, it's not unlike what he did in the original Rocky. Keitel, Liotta and De Niro give their trademark intense performances, which are effective but very familiar.
Love Affair (1994)
Great ending redeems sluggish first half.
This version of Love Affair (made for the third time) is a film that suffers from a sluggish first half while trying to achieve its goal of having its main characters fall in love. To aide this goal, the characters played by Warren Beatty and Annette Bening take an excursion to a remote Pacific Ocean island to visit the Katharine Hepburn character, a plot point too transparent and contrived to truly be effective. Still, the film manages to redeem itself in the third act with subtle yet powerful drama. The acting is fine, particularly Annette Bening but both she and Warren Beatty shine in the final, heart-wrenching scene.
The Impostors (1998)
Why be yourself when you can be someone else?
Goofy fun pervades Stanley Tucci's wonderful new film "The Imposters". This comedy is genre filmmaking at its most reverent with sparkling performances by Tucci and Oliver Platt playing a couple of out-of-work actors. Their chemistry is very apparent and very humorous. In fact, the entire cast turns in delicious performances in this highly entertaining film.
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
It Has Oscar Written All Over It
From the brilliant creators of the brilliant "The Remains of the Day" and a host of other notable films, comes "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries." This insightful portrait of a family adjusting to each other, their environment and those who surround them, is filmmaking at its most assured. A picture of profound subtlety that is not to be missed by anyone, particularly the voting members of this year's Academy Awards.
Buffalo '66 (1998)
The Arrival of a New and Powerful Voice
The dysfunctional charm of Gallo and his film make for surreal and riveting cinema. While his directorial style is somewhat informed by some of our great independent filmmakers, Gallo's film proves very original and thought- provoking. Despite his own convictions, the multi-talented Vincent Gallo is sure to become a cinematic force to be reckoning with!