Danie-6 Reviews

Timecode (2000)

Technically innovative, Actually Boring

[3/10 · 27 October 2000]

Here's the concept –later explained by one of the fictional characters as she makes her `sales pitch' for exactly the same kind of movie to a group of producers. Over the course of 98 minutes, four separate stories were filmed simultaneously and without any cuts, with the characters eventually intersecting at the same venue in the dénouement. What we the viewer get, is a collage of audio and video from all four scenes, divided into four distinct quadrants on the screen. While this perhaps more realistically reflects life, where we are bombarded with myriad stimuli and must choose what we look at and listen to and interact with … as a viewing experience it is very difficult to watch and hear. But in the end, that really doesn't matter because the individual and combined stories are inane. I couldn't have cared less one way or the other about any of it. Touted as a `technical achievement' and a `revolution in filmmaking', I guess it is. But there is no value added by pushing this particular cinematic envelope. Apparently the actors improvised their dialogue, which solves the mystery of why a good screenwriter is worth her or his weight in gold. I'm with Norman Jewison on this one: a good or great movie is all about the story, and this one is boring. The characters are uninteresting louts, and frankly I didn't care if they all got buried alive in the earthquake that threatens them throughout the movie.

200 Cigarettes (1999)

Hack, Cough, Choke, Gag!

[1/10 · 26 September 1999]

That it took eleven (11) producers to execute this piece of drivel is a colossal waste of human time and energy, as well as money. I recommend they go back to finish their high school degrees. Based on the maturity level of this script, surely these people are barely into puberty. The only thing missing from this movie, to make it a true music video, is strategic product placement and gyrating naked women. A quintessential MTV production, it is a vacuous and borderline moronic paean to the youthful pursuit of coupling. As an aside, I note that the cinematic chroniclers of modern history seem to think that each decade is defined by its obsession with having sex. The 50's were apparently all about "innocent" sex. The 60's were about "free" love/sex. The 70's about "kinky" sex. The 80's about "deadly" sex. Other than war, is there any other activity in which human beings seem to participate with so much passion? Back to this story ... it is New Year's Eve 1981 in New York City, as we follow a series near-adults detour toward their respective roads to the same house party. Their only goal is to find a date, either before the party, during it or after. To think the rest of the world, at this very same time in history, was worried about the implosion of the Middle East and Africa, the AIDS epidemic, environmental decay and global warming, just to name a few minor problems. Anyway, the private party is hosted by Monica (Martha Plimpton), a totally annoying whiner whose low self-esteem is rivalled only by her neurotic self-absorption. Working their way toward her apartment are Val (Gaby Hoffmann) and Stephie (Christina Ricci), two gum-chewing, nasal-talking louts who couldn't find their way out of a wet paper bag. Then there's Lucy (Courtney Love) who secretly pines for Kevin (Paul Rudd) who carries on endlessly about his recent break-up with girlfriend Ellie (Janeane Garofalo). Cindy (Kate Hudson) is an indecisive, accident-prone giggler (much like her mother, the equally irritating Goldie Hawn) who thinks she's falling in love with Jack (Jay Mohr), the simpleton to whom she recently donated her virginity. Kaitlyn (Angela Featherstone) and Bridget (Nicole Parker) are girls who just wanna get laid, so they pursue anything with a "y" chromosome including the bartender (Ben Affleck), the cab driver (David Chappelle) and their hostess' ex-boyfriend Eric (Brian McCardie). Tom (Casey Affleck) and Dave (Guillermo Díaz) round out this group of losers, as two punk rockers in search of true love. That's it. That's all. Bored yet? It took all of my willpower, motivated primarily by the desire not to waste my video rental fee, to sit through this piece of garbage. And finally, there are three people in this movie that really should have known better. There's a cameo by brilliant murder mystery writer Caleb Carr. What were you thinking?! Elvis Costello actually lends his name, fame and body to the dénouement. And my advice to Janeane Garofalo? Fire your agent!

Edtv (1999)

A light hearted look at the fame game

[26 September 1999]

I think the critics got it wrong when they reviewed this movie as a second rate Truman Show. The latter, much more akin to Pleasantville, is an Orwellian parable on social engineering and the insidious corrosiveness of conformity. EDTV on the other hand has much less lofty ambitions and has perhaps more in common with Woody Allen's Celebrity. It is a light hearted and comical look at the idea of fame as a virtue, the achievement of which is enough to make you famous. It reflects the public's insatiable appetite for celebrity, and a belief that it is their inalienable right to invade other people's privacy. Ed Pekurny (Matthew McConaughey) is a video store clerk and all around good guy, who agrees to have his life filmed 24 hours a day for "True TV." Needless to say, once the cameras invade his life and lured by the promises of riches and fame, Ed loses more than he gains, including his privacy, his dignity, his family, his friendships and his girlfriend. All he is left with is fame and he can't barter that for anything, nor unshackle himself from its clutches. Shari (Jenna Elfman) endures the vilification of the American public that polls show, doesn't think she's good enough to be Ed's girlfriend. Ray (Woody Harrelson) takes advantage of the media frenzy surrounding his brother, to promote one self-serving scheme after another. The myriad lies and deceptions of his mother Jeanette (Sally Kirkland), and her marriage to second husband Al (Martin Landau) are revealed, warts and all, under the glaring lights of the camera. And long-lost biological father Hank (Dennis Hopper), miraculously re-enters Ed's life for personal gain. Rounding out the group of sycophants is Jill (Elizabeth Hurley), a ruthlessly ambitious model/actress who taps in to Ed's fame to advance her career. Setting all of this havoc-wreaking activity in motion is Cynthia (Ellen DeGeneres), the TV executive who seeks to appease the whims of her egomaniacal boss Whitaker (Rob Reiner). What we witness is Ed's ascension in to fame heaven, his fall to infamy hell and his eventual redemption when he regains control of his own life. While the omnipresent eye of Big Brother watches over both Truman and Ed, there is a significant difference between them. Truman is completely unaware that his entire life is being scripted by someone else. Ed not only knows his every move is being monitored, but he made the choice to allow it to happen. The flaw in both movies is that the "bad" guys are misidentified. Much like the Truman Show, where the evil manipulator gets his comeuppance when the hero escapes his virtual reality, Ed turns the tables on his so-called victimisers, the moronic TV executives. It seems to me that they too are simple peons in the fame game. The true culprit is the public; those who subsidise the invasion of privacy industry.

The Out-of-Towners (1999)

A Fish Out Of Water tale that flounders

[5/10 · 26 September 1999]

A perfunctory and sparingly funny tale of fish out of water and the enduring strength of friendship. Advertising executive Henry (Steve Martin) is in the midst of a career crisis, at the same time as his wife Nancy (Goldie Hawn) faces the loneliness of an empty nest. With their two children establishing independent lives, and the havoc that routine and familiarity can wreak on a 27-year marriage, our resident Ohioans head for New York City for Henry's job interview. Trying to find new directions in their lives, they end up getting lost in the big city. With little surprise and much less originality, our fish out of water are re-routed to Boston, lose their baggage, are mugged, starving, kicked out of their hotel, incarcerated … and fall in love again. Except for a few minor giggles, Martin's usual flair for physical comedy and John Cleese's brilliantly sarcastic repartee, this is an unimaginative and wholly predictable movie that invested more in its production than in the script.

Playing by Heart (1998)

Derivative with some original moments

[6/10 · 24 September 1999]

Taking its structure from Robert Altman's "Short Cuts", this movie interweaves the stories of three sisters, their parents, friends and men in their lives. Meredith (Gillian Anderson) is a theatre director with a serious phobia of commitment and monogamous relationships. In Trent (John Stewart) she meets her match, as he pursues her with honesty, affection and lots of humour. Too good to be true? Joan (Angeline Jolie) is a bar-hopper who can't seem to meet the right man, until she hooks up with Keenan (Ryan Phillippe). His quiet introspection bruises as it bumps up against her more flamboyant and ebullient style. But their respective vulnerabilities open up the possibility for a more permanent attachment. Or do they? Accused of having no imagination and neglecting his wife, Hugh (Dennis Quaid) is a man who every night reinvents himself by entering a different social establishment and telling lies to unsuspecting patrons. To what end? Married, but not to each other, Gracie (Madeleine Stowe) and Roger (Anthony Edwards) are having an affair in which each understands the limits of the relationship. Or do they? Hannah (Gena Rowlands) and Paul (Sean Connery) are facing the most serious threat to their forty years of marriage - his brain tumor. Or is it? And finally, Mark (Jay Mohr) is dying of AIDS while his mother Mildred (Ellen Burstyn) sits vigil at his bedside. In their last moments together, each reconciles their relationship with the other as well as to their friends and family. Those are the characters and this is another in a long line of "love as a battlefield" stories. In this case, everyone walks away with scars, though some more deadly than others. While I was impressed with the acting and thought the evolution of these relationships was realistic, I was very disappointed in the lack of surprises and the totally predictable dénouement.

Forces of Nature (1999)

An attractive movie with some repelling faults

[6/10 · 24 September 1999]

This is the story of Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck), a man with a heavy disposition but a relatively light load to carry, and Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock), a free spirit weighed down by very heavy burdens. They meet after having survived the same plane crash. Both are traveling from New York to Georgia - he to get married and she to resolve some personal loose ends. Borrowing generously from the much more poignant and better written "Plains, Trains and Automobiles", our hero and heroine journey many routes in order to meet their destiny. In the attempt, each must separately and together brave the more obvious external forces of nature (rain, fire, windstorms and hurricanes) as well as the internal forces of human nature (lust, greed, envy, fear etc.). The irony is that sometimes, the forces that attract two people are the very same ones that eventually repel them. In the end, we are meant to marvel at the lengths to which human beings will go and the obstacles they must conquer, in order to express their love. A cross between a music video and the black and white sequences from The Wizard Of Oz, this movie had a lot of potential, some clever plot twists and solid performances by all actors. Unfortunately, the screenplay compromises with obvious and all too pat resolutions.

Go (1999)

Sometimes putting the breaks on is the best option.

[7/10 · 24 September 1999]

This is the aptly titled story of a group of twenty (and under) somethings who, at varying speeds and with varying urgency attempt, succeed and/or fail to extricate themselves from perilous situations. All of the events in "Go" take place over the course of one night. Every time we think we've reached the end, we're propelled back to the beginning of the story to start all over again from another character's perspective. This circular structure leaves us feeling as though we're playing an endless game of Monopoly in which we can never "pass go." In the first sequence, the amoral Rona (Sarah Polley) doesn't know when to stop. Working for minimum wage at a grocery store, and in desperate need of cash to avoid eviction from her apartment on Christmas Eve, Rona gets the whole thing going when she embarks on a misguided drug deal that ends in near-disaster. In the second sequence, her duplicitous and sleazy colleague Simon (Desmond Askew), goes along for the ride to Vegas with his party boy friends, Marcus (Taye Diggs), Tiny (Breckin Meyer) and Singh (James Duval). Having gone too far in all of their misadventures, the boys can barely get out of Vegas fast enough. In the hilarious third sequence, fictional TV detectives Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zach (Jay Mohr) are two dupes who don't know if they are coming or going. Forced to go undercover in a drug sting operation (involving Polley's Rona), they must avoid the libidinous leers of a real cop named Todd Gaines (Timothy Olyphant). When Gaines' true motives are revealed, his last name will be good for a few guffaws. And finally, Rona's best friend Claire Montgomery (Katie Holmes) goes out on a limb with drug dealer Mannie (Nathan Bexton), to protect the whole lot of them. This movie has a definite appeal to those who think gunplay, ménages à trois, drugs and sex are best performed at high speed. As I'm not, I took pleasure in the strong performances and some funny and clever dialogue.

Le Dîner de Cons (1998)

Guess Who's Ruining Your Dinner?

[7/10 · 24 September 1999]

The movie is set almost entirely in the living room of an apartment with a spectacular view of Paris, and involves dupes, mistaken identities, pratfalls and misdirection. Once a month, wealthy and handsome book publisher Pierre Brochant (French heart throb Thierry Lhermitte) organises a dinner party with several of his friends, in which their sole purpose is to compete for the honour of who can invite the best "idiot." Desperate to find his latest dupe, Pierre is tipped off about a man named François Pignon (Jacques Villeret), a tax inspector who rambles on and on about a collection of monuments he made entirely out of matchsticks. Inviting him to his home under the guise of wanting to publish a book about his collection, Brochant seriously injures his back just prior to Pignon's arrival. Thus it is that they never quite make their dinner - or do they? Judge for yourself. With great hilarity, the intended victim and his victimizer reverse roles. In short shrift, Pignon manages to aggravate Brochant's back injury, permanently alienate the man's wife Christine (Alexandra Vandernoot) and his mistress Marlène Sasseur (Catherine Frot), and set in motion an audit by the very angry tax inspector Juste Leblanc (Francis Huster). This is a light and perfectly digestible fare, in the genre of the classic French farce. Bon appétit!