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Reviews
James Dean: Live Fast, Die Young (1997)
horrible seeing as it was Robert Mitchum's last movie
The worst thing, much worse than Casper Vain Thing's portrayal of James Dean, is that this was Robert Mitchum's last movie before he died of lung cancer the same year. It's immoral that they managed to fool the poor man who was obviously very sick already to appear in this piece of trash, just to be able to cash in on his great name. This is a TV movie? Not even worthy of TV, it's straight to video or an amateur home movie.
Imagine it! They managed to simultaneously violate the legacy of two Hollywood legends, Mitchum and Dean! They have no shame. That horrible grinding screeching sound ringing in your ears and setting your teeth on edge is not a teacher with long nail extensions dragging her hands down a schoolroom blackboard, it's the sound of the bottom of the barrel being well and truly scraped.
Eve and the Handyman (1961)
identity of the handyman
The handyman is played by William Burroughs, the writer, right? It certainly looks like him.
Is this the first movie which featured a completely nude (from behind) shot of a woman walking (in the laundromat scene)? Considering that Eve was Russ Meyer's wife, why does she not bear her breasts? Is it because the film would have been banned at the time? Is the reason why bare breasts are only shown in the artist's model scene (and for one minute if that) also due to censorship laws? Did he get away with it only because it could be justified by the censors as a depiction of artists at work?
Does anyone else find the repetitive music really annoying and think it completely ruins the movie?
Tragic that Eve Meyer died in the world's worst ever plane disaster when two planes crashed head-on on the runway in Tenerife in 1977. Does anyone know why she divorced from Russ Meyer? Surely he wasn't unfaithful. She looks like quite a well-constructed lady and seemed smart too.
Keane (2004)
extremely good - immersive, disturbing, moving and beautiful in equal measure
Lodge Kerrigan is a brilliant director, and Damian Lewis is one of the best actors I have ever seen. If you like thought-provoking independent drama, you must see all 3 of Lodge Kerrigan's movies. You will never forget them.
This is one to watch and rewatch, for sure, if you're a student of the craft of fine film-making - fantastic cinematography, masterful Oscar-worthy acting from Damian Lewis (I was sure he was American, and was surprised to learn he's English), about as gritty and realistic as you can get, to the point where you feel you're actually watching real life with all its humdrum tediousness and a true portrayal of the real urban America as seen through the eyes of the non-affluent, portrayed without any of the annoying, fake gloss you get in many American movies.
THE REST OF THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS: (so stop reading now if you didn't watch it yet)
In response to some of the theories propounded by other users about the subtext of the film, my impression (though you could call it a pessimistic take) is that Keane was never married and never had a daughter, due to the fact that he had been suffering for several years from what is apparently schizophrenia (or bipolar disorder), hearing voices and having bizarre thoughts and trying to silence those inner demons with alcohol and drugs, and effectively marginalized in society and unable to hold down a job, but he harbored a fantasy desire to have a normal family life with a wife and child, which is why he invented in his mind the idea that he had a daughter who was abducted. The part where he tells the girl's mother in her hotel room that he was married for 2 years and it didn't work out, didn't ring true to me. There was a subtle hint in the way he said it that it wasn't in fact the truth. He was confabulating and trying to convince himself. Also, near the end where he's sitting talking to himself and saying who he is and when he was born, and giving us a brief history of his life and family, it sounded to me as if none of that was true either. He was trying to make himself believe those made-up memories, probably because he had forgotten who he was. He may have previously suffered a breakdown so severe that he had amnesia about his entire past life, or he may have concocted those stories to comfort himself and bury painful memories of past abuse.
My only criticism is that they didn't make Damian Lewis look rough enough in appearance to portray the character. Even in the parts where he's acting the most disturbed he's still clean-shaven, fairly well-dressed and does not look sleep-deprived as you'd expect seeing as he takes cocaine and often seems to be acting manically.