tomtomwww Reviews

The Month of August (2002)

Much ado about pigtails

[2/10 · 26 April 2003]

The one good thing about this movie: Ali Hillis, the actress who plays August. She's quite good. But the script -- with vague, unlikeable characters, tiresome film school dialogue, ridiculous misunderstandings and tedious redundancy -- is a sin.

The most baffling thing about the movie is that the August character is repeatedly described as "weird", a "freak", etc., but the script never explains what exactly is weird about her except that she has pigtails. Honestly -- the whole movie is about how some dull guy (a movie critic, we're randomly told in one dialogue exchange) can't bring himself to date her because of this "weirdness" represented by the pigtails. What, does he hang out with Dukes and Earls and types like that who would consider pigtails socially unacceptable? If the movie were about high school sophomores, I could understand the obsession with weird hair, but for full grown adults it's a rather odd thing to fixate on. (Or maybe San Diego is just a really conservative town.)

Anyway, this is a fairly awful, amateurish picture.

Apartment 12 (2000)

An indie romantic comedy that's a cut above

[7/10 · 26 April 2003]

The downside is that this is pretty much another indie romantic comedy about a backed-up artist who meets a girl and just can't quite get his act together.

The upside is that it's at times very funny, with quirky, well-drawn characters and terrific performances, particularly by a pre-"You Can Count on Me" Mark Ruffalo.

On the whole, it's worth checking out.

Manimal (1983)

I was nine ... and *loved* it.

[23 November 2002]

Panther and hawk only?? Don't be silly. I think I got a jumpstart into puberty when he turned into a kitten and nuzzled up against some beautiful woman under her bathrobe.

Granted, it was no "Misfits of Science", but still, quality television all the way! (At least for a nine-year-old ...)

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

Terrific entertainment, but ...

[9/10 · 29 October 2002]

I love this picture, sports movie cliches and all. But a tip to my fellow cricket-ignorant Americans: learn the rules of cricket before you see this movie. Seriously. The movie explains very little, and you'll be sitting there saying, "Yay! Oh, wait, that was a *bad* thing?" and "Oh no! Oh, wait ... that was good, I guess" and "Why does everyone look sad? What the heck just happened???"

Still, though, lots of (granted, corny) fun.

Obsession: A Taste for Fear (1987)

If you can find it, you should see it

[27 July 2000]

Yes, it takes place in the future, but I think that's just because the producers had access to a futuristic car and wanted to work it into the plot. In reality, it is a conventional erotic thriller, but it's a fairly worthy one. Alone worth the price of admission is an absolutely stunning brunette in one of the supporting roles. She and Virginia Hey get into a little romantic tryst that absolutely revolutionized my adolescent fantasy life when I saw this picture back in the 80's.