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Reviews
The Dark Knight (2008)
The jokes on us
I may run out of words to end with "less". Mindless, witless, a view of the world that's hopeless. Horrible acting, writing, editing, lighting and music. I've seen it all before only done better. Nicholson's turn at Joker was far, far superior. Ledger? Mirthless, just a distracting concoction of tics. Bale? Who knows? His augmented voice and masked face made his 2-dimensional performance meaningless. Dent? What a horrible performance, something you'd see on "Knot's Landing". Where have we come as a society? Kubrick made "A Clockwork Orange" in '71, a devilishly clever, mean and stylish film that pushed the limits when it came to on-screen violence. His young monster, Alex, played by the brilliant Malcolm MacDowell, was a thing to behold. Now we have families taking their kids to the '08 version of ultraviolence and yukking it up. The dark night of America film-making is more like it. Are we really this numb, are we really this nihilistic?
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Marx Brother
A very funny movie using a classic comedic structure: disorienting word-play, getting the best of the bourgeois, zany and shocking - George S. Kaufmann (writer for the Marx Brothers) would be delighted. Sacha Baron Cohen is hysterical, and what a great moustache! But I prefer Charlie Kaufman. I think Carrey and Ferrell and Stiller are far more original and adventurous with their work, every bit as anarchic, and far less predictable. I found the hooker with a heart of gold especially disappointing. And I know films are now made to be ugly, but I can't resist the rant - Gondry makes beautiful images, Peter Sellers appreciated the artistry of what he was up to, and look at the Mr. Hulot films - very, very silly - yet stylish and masterfully shot. And then there's the magic of Chaplin and Keaton. Is this love of amateurish film-making just a fad, or is this all that American directors, inspired by HBO rather than theater, are capable of?
Shadowlands (1993)
Does he hear you?
I can only think of one movie that does as good a job of dealing with a child's loss: "Careful, He Might Hear You", directed by Carl Schultz. Both are so masterfully executed they don't deserve to be compared. "Shadowlands" is everything the other IMDb reviewers have so eloquently said. I just wanted to add a few comments regarding the look/design of the film. Ugliness is very cool right now, in commercials and and in our movies. I expect the studios to do away with posters and start promoting their new releases with spray paint on underpasses. "Shadowlands" is a period piece in more ways than one. Not only in terms of the story, but in how it's made. The clothing, the sets, the lighting, the pacing, the music...pitch-perfect. That's all. Not cool. There's even prayer. But with the powerful notion that he may not be listening.
A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Glowworms and Nightingales
So funny so scary so beautiful so clever so perfectly crafted!
(I wish Brad Silberling and Robert Gordon would make Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita".)
Two kids in unrelentingly dangerous situations. They only have each other. Oops - three kids! How could I forget that baby? Three kids in unrelentingly dangerous situations, yet it's the most joyous children's movie since "Mary Poppins". Sort of a Hellzapoppin' Mary Poppins. It weaves a spell. As the credits roll you need someone to wake you, lead you out of the theater by hand. What else is there to say? Glowworms and Nightingales. That's about it.
You Can Count on Me (2000)
Opal
This is the tender yet very raw story of a troubled young man and his sister who never gives up on him. Laura Linney is like a variegated opal, cool and lovely, offering her brother hope and comfort, offering words true and kind. This is one of those very small movies that calls to mind a few lines from "Pastoral" by William Carlos Williams:
"No one/ will believe this/ of vast import to the nation."
I think it was the most magical movie I saw that year. I can't explain why. Something about watching and listening to these characters moving about inside the wreckage of their family, and seeing the story gently unfold, made this a remarkable experience.
Quiz Show (1994)
Paul Attanasio's masterpiece
Paul Attanasio may be the best screenwriter alive. This movie's script challenges every actor, and each actor rises to it - particularly Paul Scofield. His story captures the corruption of the creative class by capitalism, or more precisely the damage done to the imagination by the artists of capitalism, the admakers, better than anything ever put on screen. The story takes place at the zenith of the power of the packaged goods marketers as they wrestle the networks into submission. You don't see the ads being made or any overt presentation of the marketers at work. But they're there, behind the scenes; you can feel the pressure on the programmers. I'd love to see how Attanasio and Redford would look at what they're now doing/trying to do with the internet.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Brutal and Capricious and Delightful
In Jacques Roberti's novel, "A La Belle De Nuit" (Houses of the Lost) about lives led in Paris brothels, he talks about the women who drink too much and dance too much, and the brutal and capricious men in their lives. Welcome to Hollywood. This is a great movie: funny, terribly smart, brilliantly written and acted, even the opening credits are spectacular. And beneath it all, barely audible, runs a subtle decency and charm. Just a great, great film. Too bad they don't give an EVERYTHING Oscar for a movie that does a superb job with every element. Perhaps that should go to the Executive Producer? This is the first buddy film in ages where I hope there's a sequel. Downey and Kilmer are sublime.
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
Fur Far From Fun
This is another fairly ambitious film by a young American director that fails due to a certain lack of generosity. "Fur" is a brooding, single-note study of a sad young woman's cheerless world. But is it the world of Diane Arbus? The script is very good and the acting top-notch. But the assembled film is the director's film. And it's long and a bit dreary. The great soul-exploring films employing visual poetry - Fellini's "Juliet of the Spirits", Peter Medak's "Ruling Class", and Lindsay Anderson's "O Lucky Man!" - are successful because no matter how dark the terrain, their inventiveness and spirit is wonderfully entertaining. They're fun to watch. Unlike those films, Steven Shainberg's "Fur" is more like Woody Allen's "Interiors". (Harris Yulin and Jane Alexander seem to have stepped into the roles played by E.G. Marshall and Geraldine Page.) "Fur" and "Interiors", both more from the head than the heart, create a psychologically-thick/spiritually-thin atmosphere where a stifling elitism is the order of the day. I suspect Shainberg, like Allen, is unhealthily in love with his youth.