metrobiz Reviews

Female Agents (2008)

Sophie Marceau As Not Too Often Seen

[9/10 · 25 January 2016]

(French with English subtitles on Netflix)

An excellent WW2 French resistance film based on a real life highly decorated French heroine who died in 2004 at age 98. Marceau portrays a woman with and on a deadly mission with selected other women not to seduce but to kill certain Germans in prep for D-Day. Marceau plays well her roles as sniper &/or assassin and team leader with a commanding yet understated performance. There's more to Marceau than has been seen - and probably more yet with the right Direction.

Without showing everything about WW2 and German criminality, the film is well cast, directed, scored, and photographed. What a time it was ...

The Sessions (2012)

Good to See

[7/10 · 14 March 2013]

Adult movie in the good way - based on an autobiographical account.

Helen Hunt makes 50 look good, especially from the neck down, with an unabashed and lovely display of her Cleft of Venus in the role. The ending was understated and lovely in a way not seen since the wonderful "Big Fish."

Was not aware the Iron Lung was in use in Y2K (mostly it's not). Thought it was out mid-20th century, along with polio.

This is a film that is thought provoking on several levels. It uses a light touch showing the gray areas of life where the usual rules don't quite seem suitable. Macy gives a great perf in a supporting role. It would've been even better without the "hippy" hair (that might've been autobiographically authentic).

Helen Hunt earned her Oscar nomination in spades. She would be even better if her Directors could help her not end sentences on an up-note (voice pitch rising) in the Jewish mother sense.

Overall, a unique and very interesting production.

* Would like to have seen in the credits the digital photography equipment - Red or Arri Alexa, etc.

Bride Flight (2008)

Brilliant | One of Cinema's Best Non-Dialogue Sequences

[10/10 · 18 February 2013]

In spite of its Lifetime Network title, this film's story was deep, novel'esque, and progressively engrossing, unmasking some of the consequences of mid-20th century morality. The cast ensemble is excellent as their characters' intertwine and orbit about a central character who actually doesn't have much screen time.

A cinema "hobby" is identifying scenes that are among the best or most unique of their kind - the ill wind that blows in "A Very Long Engagement" (highly staged though it has the appearance of serendipitous perfection) or cinema's most intense close-up of the look of Love during a love scene in "Dangerous Beauty" (Catherine McCormack). In "Bride Flight," it's the sequence (near the end) on the airport tarmac and the steps of the DC-3 airliner, and without a word of dialogue.

Fine filmmaking of a Dutch production in New Zealand - and a lovely surprise. Probably this film would rate higher if it had more English dialogue segments. Nevertheless, a really good film.

Lincoln (2012)

LINCOLN: Au Contraire

[7/10 · 22 November 2012]

The reviews are glowing ... but the film is not. The performances are good - and in the case of T. Lee Jones and D. Day Lewis, terrific. It's almost as though the President has returned to life. The other perfs are somewhat canned. And, though some are calling the film Spielberg's "maturing" as a Director, really it's more like he phoned it in. There was none of the "something new," or an angle or perspective, or a gem technique such as the color frame(s) of the child in "Schlindler's List," or the final, powerful panning shot before credits roll in "Munich."

And then, the trite, saccharine, contrived chorale of the illiterate soldiers reciting back to Lincoln the Gettysburg Address in the Opening. Highly unlikely. Disney-like. Did they have NPR in their knapsacks? Or even a newspaper with the text (they'd already memorized)? Weird.

Lincoln deserved a better effort from the Director. Even the nat sound was like something from a '50's Western. The 1950's. Williams music? Something he had in a file cabinet somewhere. The music was restrained, properly probably, but it contributed little. The cinematography? Dark and contrasty. But at least that was intriguing and atmospheric as one contemplates the actual lighting of the day, night, and time.

On top - or bottom - of this, the movie was tooooooo long for comfort in the multiplex environment of today. Already, at the end of its first week, the picture was relegated to the smallest screen and auditorium. It will best be seen later on Blu-ray, after it has a run on PBS, where it belonged. Ken Burns "Dust Bowl" topped this (as did his "Civil War") ... Steven. On a Blu-ray Director's cut it could have been longer - because then one can stop the player for a break, or not.

This is the second recent Miss for Spielberg, the last one being the Disney'esque "War Horse" where the begged-for ending was missed, where the soldier SHOULD have returned with grandpa and the horse back to the granddaughter who also loved the horse ... and then they TWO go riding into the cinematic sunset (remember, at the end) to the soldier's home, or anywhere, leaving it to the audience to imagine what might happily happen next. This was the kind of film it was, one that should have circled back to a happy, loose-ends tied-up ending - and Spielberg missed it. It was a horse story folks.

As for LINCOLN, it could have been performed on a stage nearly to the same effect. But this is film. And, for Spielberg, it was lacking.

One scene that does capture an essence better than most is Lincoln's ride through the carnage of the War. It's easy to understand that Lincoln would struggle with Depression, as has been reported. What an unholy mess in which to be mired with little in that day and place besides alcohol to relieve the horror, the sadness, the nation so sadly asunder. The theatre maybe? Even that was a tragic idea ...

Bravo to D. Day Lewis though. One wonders if his voice was that of Lincoln, a little tinny. A line of dialogue somewhere could have clarified that. As for Lincoln the man, he was easy to find in Lewis' performance.

Lilies of the Field (1963)

A Crystal Ball from 50-Years Ago

[10/10 · 19 November 2012]

Before the serious part of the Review, this film contains probably the first on-camera use of "whatever," so prevalent among today's "mean girls," spoken by the Mother Superior.

•• Not only is the cinematography B&W beautiful, showing the dunderheaded Instagram narcissists of today as Zuckerburgs using the internet to find girls, and the Poitier performance Oscar-worthy - deserved - for its perfect pitch of old-southern- black'ery that never quite breaches cliché' and a black man with modern aspirations, it serves as a a Crystal Ball vision 50-years forward to what we have today politically - with the clash of Euro-Black-Latino integration and a black man leading the amalgam. Add to that the uneasy Baptist-Catholic traditions, the agnostic, the entitled white "hey boah (boy)" business owner, latinos looking for work in the building trades, etc., and we see exactly what exists today, with a black man actually providing the leadership, if somewhat unwillingly at first, prodded by a zealot.

In a sense, one sees all that's "bad" about America thrown into a filmed pot (plot) in the arid Southwest to combine to make the finest Louisiana gumbo one can imagine - the genius of the American Experiment for all its contentious nonsense and prefab prejudice. The film even presages the rise of Austrian nuns 2-years later as an entertainment motif in "The Sound of Music."

And yet, for its themes, it emerges in the milieu of "It's A Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street," and "White Christmas" somehow. It's title? From the Bible, Matthew 6.

Amazing. A must-see for true film'ophiles. An under-sung classic.

Skyfall (2012)

Here's What Is Missing

[6/10 · 9 November 2012]

... and 7 is on the high side.

James Bond is supposed - required - to display male mystique, idealism, escapism, vicarious experience, hoped-for cool, turn-of-phrase fun, and romping romance with the best the other gender has to offer of that release's generation - and a great watch.

A lot has gone missing with the Daniel Craig incarnation ... and he's not to be blamed. Craig in "Munich" is da bomb and presaged what he could do with the Bond role. In "Munich" he WAS the young Bond, yet-to-become suave, in-charge, & licensed as 007.

Now the franchise has gone "real," "feminine feelings" & "woundedness," set-backs, childhood deficits, and the crazy time-warp thing - is this prequel Bond or is it today's Bond while trying to be both at once? "Casino Royale" was OK; but it's been a meander downhill from there. It's kind of the Dalton Bond without the Wayne Newton type of fun and chicks sturdy enough to keep-up & survive all the action ... both kinds.

What should Bond be? A marriage of "Taken 1" (and that should have been QoS with Bond rescuing the Eva Green character and bringing her along for another romp, which would've been new, by the way) and Jason Statham's "Killer Elite" shaken & stirred with "Entrapment" - with some scenics & time-off for wide-screen romantasy & martinis.

In "Skyfall" even the watch is unworthy. It doesn't need an internal laser or cutting saw bezel ... just be cool, not middle manager dull with a Speidel Twist-o'-Flex. Bring on Breitling.

What we have now is neither fish-nor-fowl. Something needs to change - perhaps even bringing back Pierce Brosnan who had most of the Bond joy- of-cool going-on. Remember "Die Another Day" and his thing with kick-ass Michelle Yeoh blended with the svelte Teri Hatcher? The fight in the sound proof studio? Yum. BMW car debuts? How the '80's & '90's are missed.

The cool needs to be brought back to the mix. Chases & explosions can be found elsewhere & everywhere. The 007 franchise is wandering, adrift, trying to be "relevant" maybe when it needs to be mostly as it was - just better & better. Noe one almost expects to see Dr. Phil make a guest appearance.

Now let's all go for some Steve McQueen & Faye Dunaway to shake-off the Sky that fell short, even in IMAX.

Cinematographic Note: The Arri Alexa looked great. Forget the film- digital teapot tempest. The camera just needed to be pointed at more Bond-worthy sets, sirens, & scenery.

In Time (2011)

Poetry is Capturing the Essence of the Ordinary, the Overlooked

[8/10 · 23 March 2012]

Usually I don't like, don't watch sci-fi. But the reviews here & elsewhere were intriguing, transcending the genre. And Amanda Seyfried usually is watchable no matter what. Dropping a dollar in the red vending machine turned-out to be rewarding cinematically.

This film has been called an "action movie," a "sci-fi" flick. What it is is an ingenious "morality play." Congratulations to the writer/director and Fox for greenlighting it, no pun intended relative to the embedded arm timer(s).

We've all heard, ad nauseum, that "time is money." And that's the poetry of this production, to take that which is ordinary, known, obvious maybe, oft stated, and overlooked, and restate it in a way that captures and captivates. In this film time IS money, and therein also is its genius of concept and revelation.

Is the plot perfect in every regard about which some reviewers are nitpicking? Not sure; probably not. It's not important though. It's close enough to be sufficiently provoking. And it's original, creatively so.

TIME also is LIFE itself, stating the obvious. Without it, money does not matter, the old "you can't take it with you." And by flipping the time-is-money thing used mostly by bosses of the world as a people-prod - those who have plenty of money that others often are making for them - it hits close enough to human nature to make one think sitting there in the cinema seat, on the couch, commenting on how we value what we have, or don't have - and those who are greedy hoarders. Those who have TIME have LIFE. And since time is currency in the film's world, it shows us ourselves in an original, clever, and even poetic way - in today's cinema vernacular of guns, action, and violence.

The one-day-at-a-time sub-theme was interesting & stimulating.

This film is an intelligent concept staffed with actors good enough to make it really interesting. Timberlake was fine, even well cast; Seyfriend is nearly always totally watchable, and is here, too. Her make-up and hair was effective, almost subduing the Seyfriend look, while emphasizing it for a futuro effect. Good job.

The '70's retro-techno-non-piston (I think) cars were a warpish concept, interesting for some kind of future world & alternate universe environment. ('70's Detroit product was America's ugly automotive nadir, opening the door for the Japanese.) However, as other reviewers have noted, the Jag car crash early in the film looks like '50's model not-so-special effects. It's so bad it seems out-of-place in a film that otherwise is slick. The money must've run out here in the real world ...

Filmed with the ARRI Alexa, the digital capture uses a lot of the ugly fluorescent green and sodium orange available practicals of our real world. But it's effective, especially for the grittier parts of the action. To see how digital and available light can look superb, see Soderbergh's "Contagion."

As for "In Time," it's that rare original concept where the Hollywoodie stars & production make it work effectively & provocatively. Bravo.

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Terrific: Remembering Norma Jeane Mortenson

[9/10 · 22 March 2012]

As much as this is a movie about Norma Jeane Mortenson, aka, Marilyn Monroe, it's a sweet, nobody-would-believe-it-if-they-hadn't-seen-it coming-of-age true story. One incredible week likely influenced the entire life of the author of the book from which the film is adapted, Colin Clark. If the film gets it about right about Clark, can you imagine how he felt when she died ...?

"My Week With Marilyn" is very well done and deftly directed with an amazing supporting cast all having reputations surpassing that of the lead actress and the narrator character co-star. And the supporting cast are all playing actual famous persons. It's too bad Meryl Streep was nominated in 2012 or Michelle Williams would have given the acceptance speech for Best Actress. Williams did a really wonderful job evoking the conflicting yet enthralling elements of the public & reported private persona of a female icon.

The cinematography is evocative of '50's Eastman emulsions and lighting techniques, and that seemed neither to add nor detract. The 5.1 sound mix was good. The score was good-to-excellent.

All-in-all, well done and enjoyable - remembering Marilyn from childhood when the color pictures of her were not on television but in magazines ...

Gabriela (1983)

Latin Classic?

[7/10 · 18 March 2012]

Here's a film to see in the 21st century that is entertaining almost exclusively for its time-capsule quality, a tour back through time and Brazil, a Latin pot-boiler with a cook who's always simmering. The full-on sexy scenes with Sonia Braga add to the uninhibited foreign flavors.

The original title is "Gabriela, Clove & Cinnamon." No question she's a spicy dish, seemingly always ready & willing and never wearing (hot clingy) foundations under her dress. Hired as a house-cook, she becomes appreciated by the male locals, too, when she begins to bring a loving lunch (of food) to Nacib. Her presentation - and not the food - becomes a little too delicious for the male patrons and Nacib finds it necessary to reduce her exposure a bit.

Not quite sure about Marcello Mastroianni's appearance as Nacib except to get financing and generate some foreign box. Nevertheless, he's OK, even though his cook (Braga), then mistress, then wife to prevent the other locals from making her THEIR mistress eventually proves hard to manage ... and to keep satisfied. Finally, the duplicity common to females elevated from even the lowest social strata takes hold and generates conflict.

This film also is a look at a Latin male culture that is variously leering and lewd and legally lax in a way that makes 80's Brazil seem like much longer ago. One reviewer called this film a "male fantasy." At first maybe, surely, with Gabriela's happy, quick smoldering readiness ... but it becomes phantasm more than orgasm as Nacib finds her increasingly difficult to keep happy (like letting her go to the circus instead of a local society lecture). His desire is for her to be regarded as his wife instead of merely youth'ish house-help and wife-mistress. In the end ... well, you'll have to see.

And wasn't Mastroianni in another film called "Wifemistress?" (Yes.) It's better and more sophisticated - and maybe more sexy (in the uncut international version) with perhaps one of the loveliest and first and most natural non-porn displays of the vulva in film. It's a film that currently is difficult to find - cut or uncut.

One Day (2011)

A Good Rom-Semi-Com

[8/10 · 15 March 2012]

What's-up w/t bad Reviews seen here-&-there?

This was a fine rom-semi-com, a terrific younger'ish and more modernist remake-update of 1978's classic "Same Time Next Year" (Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn) and may be Anne Hathaway's best & most balanced performance yet. If anything, the film almost tackles too much with the Ramola Garai (looking great & possibly under-used) sub-theme; yet, ultimately, it's integral.

Great twist toward the end that has the right amount of surprise element. And it is a perceptive commentary used for dramatic effect on Life as this Reviewer's known it. Not quite "Crash" for profundity or "Love Me If You Dare" for crazy lifelong Love; but this is a GOOD movie - and may be underrated.

Map of the Human Heart (1992)

Filmdom's Best (or Most Unique) Love Scene

[9/10 · 15 March 2012]

This film reflects its international pedigree. Canadian films are wonderful when viewed in their "language" and film syntax, kind of a cross between French & English & Australian films in caprice, intelligence, plot development, and subjects.

American movie goers and film watchers (and Reviewers here) find something missing or too over-the-top in Canadian projects, wherever they're financed. "Snow Walker" was good but not "Hollywood." "Battle of the Brave" was good; not exactly Hollywood. "Map of the Human Heart;" very, very good in its own vernacular. Very good - and moving and thought-provoking, and so on ...

"Map..." has a love scene that could have come from the mind & imagination of Spielberg. Though not long or overly explicit, it may be one of the most unique and remarkable and perfectly contextual in all of film. Beautiful. Watch and see, near, or in, the 3rd Act.

Annie Galipeau is young here, and good, and presages her role in "Grey Owl" with Pierce Brosnan.

Thanks MIRAMAX for putting money into risky, off-the-worn-sprocket-hole projects.

The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

Beauty in an Unexpected Locale, for Beauty's Sake

[8/10 · 13 March 2012]

This is one of those films into which to just relax, almost like a warm weather hammock in French-Indochina, enjoying the sounds, the breeze, the sounds of the breeze and the creatures flying in, around, and through it. You're not going anywhere really, yet there's a sense of a pleasant journey into somewhere not quite familiar, but maybe better. This one is to be savored, perhaps with one's favorite cocktail, a companionable person, and a readiness for guided simplicity, especially in the 2nd hour.

Almost every frame of every sequence is more photography than cinematography, barely moving images of a beautiful, sensate part of Asia that is associated with the opposite usually. For those with a photographer's sensibilities, this film will satisfy. Several times though, the filmmaker uses a jarring sound effect as a reminder of a world that is about to disappear. But even that sawtooth sonic waveform doesn't diminish the beauty - and even comments on the simplicity, human & natural, that seems not to be disturbed by, nor even comprehend, a sound that doesn't blend.

Looking for a Hong Kong actioner, Thai erotica, or even a chick flick? This isn't it. A tone poem? Probably an overused descriptor, but yes ... a film for adults who occasionally enjoy something more than titillation or mere entertainment.

Like Crazy (2011)

Arty Chick Flick At Best

[2/10 · 9 March 2012]

At best this might be said to be an arty chick flick "filmed" with a Sony Handycam & no tripod by high-school Soderbergh wannabes (way before "Sex-Lies" days). A mystery that this was released in Blu-ray. The picture was inferior DVD quality. About a duplicitous but cute female and an immigration play via marriage.

I went thru this process (legally) with my foreign wife. And if the couple doesn't follow the protocol - and this couple not only doesn't but violates her student visa - there's going to be trouble.

Then there's a dry meaningless subplot about the couple's dalliances while serving an enforced separation.

I thought the guys in Deere hats and gals in mom jeans weren't "understanding" this "film" (video) when it was so lowly rated on the red vending machine website. But, alas, they were exactly right. This is a lot of nothing going nowhere, some of it with a British accent.

Miniature golf & some skeeball would be a better way to spend 2-hours ... and something better for these "film"makers to do, too. What was Paramount (Vantage) thinking ...? The sun must have been dancing in their eyes after too many whatevers in Park City.

Grey Owl (1999)

Good. Not Quite Great. But Good.

[7/10 · 7 March 2012]

There's something a little funky about this movie - and yet it's still very likable, a true story, they say. How true to the real story? Who knows. PIERCE BROSNAN does a good job with his part ... yet it's a bit hard to get past the Pierce Brosnan thing. His brogue slips through occasionally when it shouldn't. But, still a pretty good film. Then again, I liked "Jeremiah Johnson." Not quite the same story, but some similarities there. JJ was the real thing of course. You'll see what's meant by that after seeing the film.

ANNIE GALIPEAU was good though her diction was at times both effective (good) and affected (not so good). But, again, she's easy to watch & to like - maybe it's the fantasy of having a slim young woman who was so with-it with you in whatever setting, comfy, or not. If Attenborough had added just a bit more free spirit nudity for her (of which she had tiny bits in the film) it would have made her seem more vulnerable to this unusual character for whom she had an eclectic attraction and love. OK. Give it a look and see what you think.

Saw it streaming and wish some of the DVD extra materials a reviewer elsewhere noted was available with info about the true story aspects and the leads the actors portrayed.

The streaming video image had a partial anamorphic squeeze look in a 4:3 frame - so it expanded to full screen OK w/the set controls.

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

Best Cinematic Shot in All of Cinema: "An Ill-Wind Blows"

[8/10 · 18 January 2012]

The best shot in all of cinema presaging the ominous portent of an ill wind blowing (if that isn't redundant) appears in this film. Going by memory (and not having seen the film recently), war officials approach in a carriage to inform Manech his somewhat idyllic life will be ending. As the camera booms-up to a wide-shot, a gust of wind appears to blow perfectly, synchronizing and underlining the bad news approaching.

On seeing (and being astonished by) this shot it was thought "what a wonderful bit of filming serendipity." Alas, in the DVD extra materials, the staging of this scene was explained, and it was no accident. A field was planted to ripen at the time of filming and the downwash of a helicopter's rotors were deftly and subtly used. But the in-camera (non-green-screen, non-CGE) effect is transparent and breathtakingly powerful.

Apologies for not having the time-mark to indicate where to see this. But it's on my "Best" list for cinematic composition and effect. Amazing, the aforethought for this shot.

Love Me If You Dare (2003)

The Anglo Title Should Follow the French: "Child's Games"

[10/10 · 18 January 2012]

Just saw this for the second time since it came out - and still a joy to see. This time, though, a 60-mile round-trip was required to a Blockbuster going-out-of-business clearance sale to obtain the only DVD copy available within a much larger radius. (The title is reported to be OOP and heavy bidding has been seen on eBay).

Speaking of title, the French translation would be more suitable than "Love Me If You Dare," although that works OK, too ...

If 10 lines weren't required, my Review would be, simply, Superb! - even after reading some of the biting critiques here (and Ebert's milder one). (Use of the French translation for the title likely would allay some of the negative criticism.) Aside from some of its dark notes and black comedy, this is joyful lyric cinema with a French twist - like the required lemon twist in a Dubonnet (red-on-the-rocks, please).

This film foreshadows in some literal aspects Marion Cotillard's star rising given the french songs in the film and her age defying performance. (The Philippe Rombi score is rich and lovely, too.)

(Sidebar: Just noticed in IMDb News that Cotillard's male lead co-star in "Dare" took the dare for real & is her current companion; they are the parents of a young son, Marcel.)

Interestingly, in a smaller supporting role in an American production, Cotillard reprises the film's whimsy (not hers) in another flight-of- fancy yet emotionally moving favorite, "Big Fish."

Whatever the takeaway as the credits roll - and one might be the very real risks of male-female game-playing in relationships - this is creative, beautifully executed film artistry. More please ...!

Partition (2007)

Finally, Neve Rises; Beautiful Take on Star Crossed Love

[10/10 · 16 January 2012]

This is a very good film on nearly all levels - and ultimately powerfully moving. Much better than the more promoted India-set films, like "Darjeeling Limited" (2 stars) & the Julia Roberts vanity piece "Eat, Pray, Love."

A tale relatable to our times, the underlying hatreds more true than fictional - and the unintended consequences of the arrogance of the English people of the now evaporated British Empire. (This reviewer's ancestry is English.) The actors should be grateful to have had such excellent material and production value, finally, in their careers, especially Neve Campbell, who rises in a lovely restrained perf to her natural assets (instead of the "When Will I Be Loved" James Tobak-type- clapcrap).

The score is lovely, too, appropriate to the near epic nature of the story - an updated take on star-crossed love and its ... well, watch ... An under-promoted gem here.

That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)

I Get It, But I Don't

[4/10 · 18 November 2011]

By the end of the film - and only because I like French films and locations was it viewed without fast-forwarding - a guess began to form on the theory of interchangeable actresses, but just barely, because the Bouquet character also is deferring, postponing, and teasing about flirtation, phallus-teasing, and seduction in her early, similarly amiable encounters with the male lead. OK, on top of the dual-actress, one character conceit is the flashback narrative story locomotion on the train to diffuse further the confusing, the train characters all appearing to be affirming and approving in their voyeurism, which is/was unlikely. The cold shower action near the opening, so-to-speak, so as not to plant a spoiler, was apropos, a welcome clever breath of something memorable and comedic. Then there's the violence toward women who certainly deserved some profoundly negative consequences, and that being left unquestioned. Is that French? French in the late-'70's? Or just late '70's sensibility? Add to this messiness some of the usually lovely French female nudity; here it was mostly superfluous. The whole running-time engendered a "what's going-on" experience. Call a film "art" and any and everything is justified by pseudo buffs and celluloid artistes, and their wannabes. Yes, obsession meets insincerity, wily female opportunism, and reverse exploitation. But sometimes films, French, or not, are just bad, even when populated by a lovely cast and labeled black comedy, "cult," or "artistic." Good premise here; very poor French execution. (And, by the IMDb rating, it would seem my op/ed is the minority opinion. But, for consideration orientation, I liked "The Tree of Life," and got it - though it needed tighter editing for a shorter running time.)

Red Riding Hood (2011)

Astonishing Cinematographic Lighting Design

[8/10 · 17 November 2011]

~ The lighting in this film is outstanding - some of the best and most eye-engaging on film. Incredible near shadowless design. Seeing it on Blu-ray was a treat and, of course, the best way to see the lighting effects. ~ The story here was novel - and better, to me, than some of the reviews. It was an interesting take on the fairy tale with its added backstory and plot enhancements. However, this particular film should not be mistaken as a version for children. Amanda Seyfried is well-cast, intriguing, and engaging as usual, if only for her appearance. The other cast is fine, too. ~ Would have enjoyed an EXTRAS featurette on the Blu-ray DVD showing some of the behind-the-scenes and perhaps revealing a bit of the lighting design that was so striking.

Strictly Sexual (2008)

Better Than Expected

[7 October 2011]

This flick starts out like it's going to be soft-porn'ish goofball comedy. But it morphs into something of a softer story (with harsh dialogue) with a number of insights - agree or disagree - that resonate. It's an immorality play on stereotypes, but fun throughout. Good acting for such a pretty principal cast. Like an Amy Heckerling teen sex flick, it all winds-up kind of sweet without a neatly tied-up-in-a-bow ending. Language & situations are what rates this an "R." The male duet is compelling with buddy film overtones. The attractive female cast goes on voyages of different female discovery. The goofy but fun gumbo tends to work.

Man on Fire (2004)

Violent: Obnoxious Shooting & Editing

[26 September 2004]

This film is about Denzel and the Avid editing system. Denzel is good, but the shooting & editing is awful - MTV run amuck - and it subtracts from Denzel's perf.

But it is Denzel at better than his Oscar, which should have gone to Russell Crowe anyway. Everything else about this film is somewhat annoying. Denzel does not play nor make us believe he is the alcoholic he is supposed to be. It might not even be possible for him given his face & looks & movie-to-movie screen persona. Then he's an All-American coach for a scene, or two. Just doesn't work.

The movie goes sickly violent after a visually crappy opening act. Some of it is hard to buy.

The raw photography in the film is good, but the editing & effects turns it into overweening junk on-screen.

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

Spare Film Tells a Rich Original Story

[8/10 · 26 April 2004]

A spare film which gets richer in the recollection of it later. The seeds sown in the first (slow) hour yield a ripe story harvest in the second. Audrey Tautou presages her rise in "Amelie," in this just prior project, delivering a compelling perf as a determined waif without papers. Although a BBC production, the film has an international flavor not typical of some of the more popular British pics due to the multicultural cast and choice of ethnic locations in & around London. Several comments have mentioned the sexual content of this movie. There is plenty of it, but it is inexplicit and always in an unsavory or tragic context. The love and romance which surfaces in the film has a magnetic pull unto itself.

Tuck Everlasting (2002)

As the "Dude, Where's My Car?" Guys Would Say ... Sweet!

[9/10 · 8 November 2002]

It is what it is. Let go, relax in the dark, and remember youth and fantasy - and then discover something transcendent, all delivered with a light touch. The script could have been better, deeper, richer for the adults, but the kids will be fine. The cast is All-Star and good. They don't have a lot to work with, but Bravo to them for taking the gig, for whatever reason they did. It's an antidote for Jackass, and that can't be bad.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Punch Drunk Love Will Make You Feel That Way, Minus the Love

[1/10 · 4 November 2002]

This movie will be described as "film," or "indie style." It is neither. It is an insult to those so engaged. It is indie-like only in that it was made for no more than $2.50, with change left over. It is a waste of film, time, and money - up & down the line. It may be described as "genius." But it's not even mad genius. Those describing it thus are wishing to rationalize having been robbed of the price of a ticket or rental. Only studio and financier decoys will post favorable reviews - (Spoiler coming? Not really ...) since possibly the producer and director conned them into something looking (not much) like a trip to Hawaii. Really, there's no further way to spoil this mess. It spoils & soils itself. You'll sense it in the first 2-minutes. The film is shot in an apartment, a garage, an alley, a hotel, a restaurant - all of them cheesy, and not for atmosphere or effect. There isn't any reason why - nor for this ever having been greenlighted ... A high-school student film would have been better.

The theatre projector blew-a-fuse during the previews. Had no fuse been available to repair it we would have been done an immense favor.

Firelight (1997)

Victorian Complexity: A Man's, A Woman's, A Child's Hopes

[10/10 · 9 February 2002]

Sophie Marceau lights the screen in a romantic and eventually passionate love story in the Dickensian, Bronte, and Austen vernacular - the master and the governess. This might even be Marceau's best perf. The film has a spare understated elegance that satisfies all the way to the end. Good for an evening love story - the love between a man, woman, parent, child - by firelight.

(I'm editing this a bit years later. In the earlier days of IMDb there were enough lines of text (above); now there are not. Shakespeare noted "Brevity is the Soul of Wit." So, this must be made a bit more witless! I liked the film. It was difficult to find (on DVD) when I first saw it (and liked it); now it's available on Amazon streaming.)