stephenb Reviews

Respiro (2002)

teases but doesn't deliver

[7/10 · 9 June 2003]

Effectively imposes a sense of dismal despair and numbing boredom, and has many build ups that lead one to expect either some ominous catastrophe or titilating event but none come to pass. There is abundant religious imagery and symbolism but with one exception, there is virtually no recognizable religious dialogue or events. Depite the gorgeous stars, ocean and shore, this film is as bleak as the island on which it is filmed.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Quite a ride, but not for everyone.

[10/10 · 18 December 2002]

The Two Towers will thrill you and drain you, don't plan on doing anthing too ambitious afterword. The computer animated Gollum, Ents and hordes of orcs are perfect or near to it. Don't look for a beginning or an end as it is the middle installment of a trilogy but it moves you there so intensely from the opening flicker you barely notice that this is the first major sequel with no reprise of the first installment to bring you up to date. Peter Jackson and crew take a few liberties with Tolkien's masterpiece but none too objectionable for all but the most extreme purists, and there are some welcome surprises as well.

The Two Towers is dark and bloody with one of the longest battle scenes since The Longest Day with little relief from the intensity. Not for children and for those looking for women with large heroic roles. The first and third installments have more of that. The three hours fly by, though be sure not to drink too many fluids or you may have to get up and miss much in the middle!

Another masterpiece of film magic, I can't believe I have to wait another year for the last installment!

My Favorite Wife (1940)

Very funny romantic comedy

[10/10 · 30 September 2002]

Much better than the Doris Day Rock Hudson remake. Lawyer husband has wife declared dead after 7 years lost at sea and remarrys the day she returns after her rescue. Movie moves into high gear when Nick (Cary Grant) sees his first wife as the elevator door closes in the hotel on the way to the honeymoon suite with his bride and he's on the spot to break it to his new bride but then finds out his wife was stranded with a hunk of an anthropologist (Randalf Scott). She makes it worse by hiring a milque toast shoe salesman to impersonate the anthropologist so as to mislead Nick into thinking there was nothing to worry about but he's on to her. Many very funny scenes in the courtroom where a cantankerous judge weds, annulls, declares death and fines people for contempt.

If you like old fashioned romantic comedies, you'll love this

The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)

pleasantly surprised

[8/10 · 3 September 2002]

Though barely true to the Oscar Wilde play, the 2002 movie was quite engaging and endearing. Beautifully filmed in the lovely English countryside and in antique parts of London, one felt right at home in 19th century England. The lovely cast did a great job, with only Reese Witherspoon's performance lacking and only a little at that. The screenplay was so novel and creative, I barely recognized the play and the deviations left me pleasantly surprised. If you're a theater purist you might take offense but if you go with an open mind you will have a good time.

Read My Lips (2001)

Great except for the message.

[7/10 · 19 August 2002]

Interesting characters, lots of tension. As close to black and white without being black and white. I was turned off by how casually the supposedly sympathetic mainstream character, a quiet, near deaf secretary, was able to turn to crime to ruin colleagues, rough up people in her way and finally participate in a heist, and set up someone to be bumped off as a decoy to her own get-away. I'm a little put off by the trend for otherwise quality movies to portray criminals in a sympathetic way without addressing the injury they've done to others other than to portray their immediate opponents as jerks. In this film we never know who's money it really is they abscond with, or what happens to the innocent wife who the sympathetic deaf-secretary uses to set up the of the sleazy bar owner to take the fall for the missing loot. Too bad, the film could have been great.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Fine, meaty ensemble piece

[9/10 · 24 July 2002]

Excellent performances by a strong cast, great dialogue, a whimsical style and some emotional depth make this a satisfying, entertaining and endearing film. Gene Hackman and Angelica Houston deliver what we've come to expect, but Owen Wilson and Gwyneth Paltrow surprised me with the depth and craft they brought to their roles. I was only slightly disappointed by Ben Stiller who's role and performance seemed a little unidimensional. The screeplay was excellent, giving the film the emotional substance and complexity of a stage play and along with the art direction, the whimsy of an Edward Gorey cartoon. One wishes one could be part of this eccentric New York family in their amazing victorian NY house, as much a character in the film as any actor, with all it's interesting stain glass windows, intricate staircases and pennant topped turrets. All the characters are both likeable, neurotic and complex, one wishes one could somehow become their friends and love them back to mental health overcoming the rend in their psyches from the breakup of the marriage of the patriarch and matriarch of this hurting but loving family. This film makes you appreciate your own family, your parents and your kids more, and forgive their foibles. This film could have benefited from a little more length used for some character development of some of the non-family roles (as hinted to in the cut scenes in the DVD).

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

formulaic

[6/10 · 11 July 2002]

An over-rated, formulaic glorification of crime with high production values, offering young movie hunks but with only marginal acting or plot. Poor Julia Roberts gets an abyssmal part and but fails to redeem it with an uninspired uninteresting performance as the only woman in the film. The highlights were Carl Reiner, the chinese acrobat, and an interesting twist at the end.

Woman on Top (2000)

doesn't quite deliver

[8/10 · 11 July 2002]

Cute entertaining flick but fails on a few of points: it oversells the sexiness, with nearly none to be had, the supporting acting was abyssmal, and some of the dialogue was inane. Overlooking that, the movie had a nice, whimsical feel that helps you suspend reality enough to buy the magic and Penelope Cruz is endearing and engaging enough to capture your heart, though every once in a while, the camera catches her in an angle in which she looks like she's recovering from anorexia. Doesn't quite deserve the really bad reviews it got as it was a fun watch but almost.

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

under rated gem

[10/10 · 19 June 2002]

excellent comedic performances by Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin. Jack Warden, James Mason, Buck Henry and Warren Beatty all put in excellent performances. I was really impressed with Beatty. The only disappointment was Julie Christie who wasn't convincing as either an environmental activist or as a love interest. This was one of the best superbowl movies made. I particularly loved the scene where Beatty plays the rich new team owner who is trying out for quarterback and all the Rams keep intentionally sacking him offsides then apologizing "Sorry Mr. Pendleton, I didn't mean to crush you."

Charles Grodin is hilarious as the scheming personal secretary who's cuckolding Beatty with his wife Dyan Cannon. When Beatty walks in on them, he talks non-chelantly to Grodin hiding behind the curtain, after he leaves Cannon asks Grodin why he answered, giving away their tryst. Grodin answered "I'm powerless to resist him".

I don't know why this flick has had such bad press but I think it is great.

Rollercoaster (1977)

Well done underrated thriller

[10/10 · 19 April 2002]

George Seigel does an excellent job as a sharp amusement ride inspector who picks up early on a pattern of sabotage among amusement parks across the country. Fast paced, well edited and interestingly shot. Strong support by Richard Widmark as an arrogant FBI agent and Henry Fonda as his crusty boss. This may be Helen Hunt's debut performance as his teenaged daughter. If you like big amusement park rides you'll also appreciate the many shots on big coasters.

Iris (I) (2001)

Could have been worse

[6/10 · 10 March 2002]

Painful to watch, and seeming somewhat inauthentic, the relationship begtween Iris and her suitor and then husband seems disproportionate, she's somewhat of a worldly gadabout, he a lovesick masochistic whom she "graces" with an occasional kind word. He later becomes a candidate for cannonization for sticking with and caring for her after she is stricken with Alzeimer's disease.

A true story told by the widowered husband who later wrote two profitable books, one wonders how accurate his telling is. The movie does a particularly poor job of giving you a sense of what the world of her works were about (and thereby a clue to what she was about).

The acting was impressive, however, and the film was rescued by this and by not resorting to maudelin or melodramatic tricks. It was much more upbeat than I was expecting. I don't regret having seen it, our party of 4 were evenly split between those who liked it a lot and those of us who were disappointed but not disgusted by it.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Great fun, the critics are full of it

[9/10 · 29 June 1999]

We waited two weeks to see it because of all the hype about long lines but saw it in a house that was only half full. It was gripping from beginning to end, after which there was a loud long ovation. My wife and I enjoyed thoroughly, and have seen it again with great enjoyment, though we're both in our 50's. Our teenage son pointed out a subtlety we hadn't appreciated, that the Senator who is elected to lead the senate, is the same character (and actor) who becomes the evil emperor in the later installments. We can't wait for episodes II and III (and VII, VIII, and IX for that matter).