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jackstanley
Reviews
Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009)
Disappointing and trippy
Dead Like me was an interesting and unusual series, one of many post 9/11 shows whereby American TV audiences wanted to examine death more closely. Ironically it 'died' before it's time but still left several episodes to cherish on DVD.
This dtv movie bookend is a huge disappointment. It should be no surprise to fans that Mandy Patimkin was not returning for this installment, but to have characters cryptically blather about his absence, then theorize his disappearance was a perhaps a result of something more sinister - and then make no effort to investigate further - is simply lazy writing, editing or both.
Perhaps there were problems developing this script. Perhaps the writers ran out of time before production began. Ironically a movie (even a dtv one) is generally allowed more time to develop in pre-production whereas episodic TV has a huge time crunch. Yet compare this to any episode of the original series. 'Life After Death' seems rushed, as if the first draft of a script by an intern was greenlit and filmed with no further editing.
Most of the original cast are back, and do their best. Sarah Wynter has a decent stab at replacing Laura Harris as Daisy, but doesn't quite have the 'zing'. Henry Ian Cusick, great in Lost and great here, is underused. But the saving grace of this special is Britt McKillip as Reggie, who has blossomed from a talented child actress to a young adult with a hopefully great career ahead of her. Every scene of hers is filled with subtlety, pathos and nuance sadly lacking anywhere else.
Like the new Indiana Jones follow-up, this viewer sadly has to pretend that most of his 2 hours viewing was a bad dream, and focus on happier times in the past.
D-War (2007)
Dragons realer than people!
This is a fun, distracting movie with b-grade special effects and wonderfully-conceived action sequences - let down by some of the worst acting on the planet. It might have been more worthwhile for the director to have placed Barbie and ken dolls on screen. There are millions of incredibly talented AND attractive actors begging for work out there - what happened?
Jason Behr, so watchable in Roswell, seems to be on Prozac and is acted off the screen by his own hairdo and fashion choices. You know an actor isn't giving their all when you tune out of their line delivery to wonder where they got that great 70's shirt.
Amanda Brooks is truly dreadful. She seems to have been cast for a vague resemble to Sarah Michelle Gellar (the last scene has her costumed and hairdo'd remarkably like Buffy) - but unlike Gellar she has all the emotive power of a wet flannel. Watch her during a dramatic moment when Behr puts his life on the line for her - she looks vaguely concerned, as if Behr has developed a slight cough - maybe she should get some Vicks? WAKE UP!!
This could have been a solid B movie, fun all the way through, but sadly it has true DVD status given this viewer's keen desire for the evil dragon to eat the leads.
Tomorrow Is Today (2006)
A real tear-jerker
This is an unashamedly romantic, tear-jerking story in the tradition of Love Story.
I think Hollywood has been so lost in CGI-epics and not wanting the audience to feel bad for a second (apart from horror - there anything goes) that they haven't produced enough films which let people have a good cry in recent years.
From what I've heard this film was made for a relatively small budget though it boasts impressive production standards and beautiful locations. It could be enjoyed on DVD though the scope of the seaside backdrop suggests a big-screen viewing would be more effective. The acting is also very impressive.
Hollywood take note, an indie on a much lower budget has outsmarted you once again!
El verano del potro (1989)
A sweet family tale
This film is an endearing tale filmed, it seems, in perhaps two different languages and dubbed (badly) into English for a mainstream release. The story of four children and their various adventures on their uncle's farm is a touching one, and is made up for by strong performances from the young leads and Tomas Vamos' sun-dappled photography.
Alexandra London-Thompson makes a highly impressive movie debut with an emotionally resonant performance far beyond her years. She is complemented by Santiago González Crende's Martin, a strong screen presence as a young local (it's worth noting a scene was deleted hinting at an attraction between the two).
Sadly the younger-brother characters soon become irritating, the middle brother because of his almost psychopathic need to tame a nearby horse, ('you're MINE now' he whispers to the poor animal as his eyes glint with Gary-Buseyesque intensity) - whilst the younger annoys with his pointless erupting into either baboon-impressions or farts.
But this is ultimately a family film, and could be a great watch for parents and children on a rainy afternoon. Plus, despite it's flaws, it has something a million Disney pics often don't; real heart.
Flesh and Bone (1993)
An underrated classic
Perhaps some people only want to see Meg Ryan in romantic comedies, or perhaps IMDb voters give this a low average rating because 'nothing happens', but look beneath the surface and you will find a dark and haunting drama of the first order, with the best work from all involved for many years before or since.
Steve Kloves, completely 'miscast' as the adaptive screenwriter for the Harry Potter films (he writes in American, for heaven's sake) here produces a great original work as a writer/director, utilizing some amazing visuals from Phillipe Rousselot (d.o.p.) and music from Thomas Newman (a score suitably subtle, haunting and moving). Caan, Ryan and a pre-fame Gwyneth Paltrow are all on top form but the real star here is Dennis Quaid, whose face, a canvas of tortured memories and struggling decency, says more than Kloves could ever hope to write. As director he chooses wisely; he gives Quaid a single line, then keeps the camera rolling.
The Cave (2005)
Half-decent!
Yes, this is a B-movie, most assuredly. The plot is hilarious horror-hokum, and like so many of it's ilk it's shot on the cheap in Romania.
But - STOP PRESS - it's actually set in Romania! This is a huge advantage, to not have a flick with grisly NY cops growling in weird Eastern-European accents, but actually play to the strengths of the location.
Also; the monsters are actually pretty well-designed. They are nasty, big, bat-like things and as Piper Perabo pipes up, 'they freakin' fly!' - incidentally, what is she doing in this? I know Coyote Ugly was dire, but you cannot not like this actress. I would've hoped she would've graduated to leading-lady status by now. Still, despite being given four lines in the first half of the flick, she still manages to make us care whether she lives or dies. A similar story with Lena Headey, she of such promise in Waterland and Face - hopefully more projects beckon.
Less so for the bland Eddie Cibrian, supposedly our hero, or for other unengaging cavers trapped beneath the depths (though Lost's Daniel Dae Kim is wasted here)- and the film really does suffer for not being allowed to go gory. Still, the spectacle of the large underground settings and the evil beasties that inhabit it are worth the price of a cheap matinée ticket.
Red Eye (2005)
Best on the plane
Wes Craven has come back form the embarrassment of Cursed with a notable summer thriller, hinging on the strength of its two leads.
Rachel McAdams (who would be likable and engaging in a paper bag, let alone a decent film) is the gutsy heroine and Cillian Murphy terrific casting as the unsubtly-named Jackson Rippner - to see him go after her with a knife at the end is pretty satisfying, however, creating a modern take on a murder 'legend.'
That said, the film is incredibly weak when not cutting between our two leads on the scary flight. The set-up of the cardboard supporting characters in the airport is laughable (I was rooting for Murphy to off the nice old bag with the self-help book) and despite being an adept comic actress, Jayma Mays' Cynthia belongs in a different film. The last scene is also sadly a horrible comic cherry topping off what is mostly a pretty decent thriller-cake.
The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael (2005)
Respect the audience!
As another poster has written, it's a shame that all many will talk about is the final scene. Before the last ten minutes I experienced a low-key, beautiful and thoroughly engaging piece of work.
Little gems include a shared silence between three young leads on a lonely beach, the fantastic and underused Lesley Manville checking herself in front of a mirror before going out, and the quiet disdain a father has for his eldest, just released from prison.
It also features a scene which I believe shocks the audience in an intelligent way; rather than have anything thrust into our faces, we just hear something at a party, behind a wall, and imagine what it looks like. We don't need to see. Compare that with the final ten minutes, and you have a subtle and often moving story almost completely ruined by a talented young director's need to shock.
Open Water (2003)
Low-budget wins again (**SPOILERS**)
There is something about a 'mainstream' release which brings a sense of familiarity, of almost comfort, but ultimately, boredom. By 'mainstream' I mean a release from a major studio, probably starring a big name. Sometimes these releases are of high quality, occasionally they even give us something unexpected. But not usually, and nowadays, sadly, less and less.
It could be argued that Open Water gives us nothing new. Sharks? Been done. Couple in peril? Seen it. But what makes this piece special is in it's low-budget execution and casting of unknowns it already puts us far less at ease. The budget constraints aid the movie, proving necessity is generally the mother of good cinematic invention; the sharks we see are real, whereas a bigger budget may have tempted Chris Kentis to use CGI or some other crutch to remind us we are watching A Movie. Perhaps for reasons of cost he keeps the camera almost totally at the couple's eye level, putting us right there with them. As an editor he also shows a good sense of pace. He lets us spend time with the couple, documentary style, to get to know them, then actually lingers on some moments almost too long - we almost will Kentis to cut away to something pleasant, but no, we are still here with these people, coming to terms with their worst nightmare.
The real impact does come from the couple's fate. To go through an ordeal with these characters and then not have them saved at the final hour is, in a dark way, refreshing. Yes, this was based on a true story of two people who didn't survive but Kentis and producer/wife Laura Lau could've taken the peril as inspiration and changed the ending. Instead they stuck to the basics of the story - a wise move. People may come out of this film (as my friends did) feeling it was a 'downer', but I bet the images, ideas and emotions from the film will stay with them far longer. They will with me.
The Hitcher (1986)
Old dogs, best tricks
Before pretty young teens left their picket fences for ugly death, C. Thomas Howell ploughed his way though the barren landscapes of The Hitcher. He picks up Rutger Hauer some four minutes into the movie, sparing us Dawson's Creek subplots to give us what we want; the action. They don't make 'em like they used to.
Director Robert Harmon's first film is a dark, nasty little road/slasher movie gem, combining Eric Red's Pinter-in-Hicksville dialogue with John Seale's elegant yet intimate camerawork (the latter would go on to shoot The English Patient and Cold Mountain.) Hauer is on fine form here as a mysterious hitch-hiking murderer, conveying a doomed romanticism alongside his dark humour that places his character as perhaps a human cousin of Blade Runner's Roy Batty. Howell starts off the movie as a goofy teen, but skillfully eases into haunted and desperate refugee, and Jennifer Jason Leigh lights up the screen in what writer Red admits is a 'thankless but necessary' role.
The film is best when haunting us; either close-in with Ed Hopper-style diners or motel rooms, or out in the wilderness, the road stretching out, Mark Isham's sparse score echoing in the distance. It occasionally lapses into helicopter and car chases straight out of the A-Team ('more action'! cried the studio?) but this is still a superior uncle to young-whippersnapper chillers of today.