rolinmoe Reviews

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

I'm So Depressed

[3/10 · 1 May 2005]

For anyone well-versed in the HHGG trade, this movie can only come as a disappointment. At the outset, it is masterful; an incredible teaser, Stephen Fry reading as the Guide quite well, and a great musical number to get us to the story. From there, a hodgepodge of disaster that only stops once the lights come on, the stark realization that your heroes are no more. Hollywood has taken Douglas Adams' brilliant machinations and smudged them into 110 minutes of formulaic story, centered around convenience for those poor souls forced to emulate Adams.

The movie does several things better than the BBC version: better camera, wonderful computer graphics, quality sound, and a spirited performance from Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast. Alan Rickman give a great effort as Marvin the Paranoid Android, although the new lines he is written do nothing for him as a character. That aside, this movie sorely lacks the wit and nuance of the Adams franchise, instead rife with the acrid stench of stereotype.

Sour grapes from someone who can't let go of HHGG and let it see mainstream acclaim? Sure, there are a dozen or so of the great dry jokes left, which get the best laughs in the place. So why not put more in? Why turn the sad-luck Arthur Dent into a complete dolt, who I cannot imagine cheering for at the end? All the main cast is flat, each playing one-dimension, those dimensions dying out much sooner than the filmmakers hoped. Some of it is poor casting, much of it is poor writing to help along the Hollywood plot. As the movie wears on, it becomes less Adams and more focus group, giving the audience a visual dose of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.

This movie also includes a device that is, without a doubt, the most obvious writer's convenience ever to hit the silver screen.

Bittersweet. I wish to tell all HHGG fans to see this film, revel in the culmination of what Adams wrought. However, this is no work of the Douglas Adams I grew up reading. If you want to see life from Adams' perspective, get a good towel to lie on as you place a paper bag on your head. Seeing this flick will make you feel more like Marvin than anything.

Last Party 2000 (2001)

Good Rallying Cry, not a great film

[7/10 · 22 April 2004]

The prior reviewer of THE PARTY'S OVER takes issue with the editor's choice not to cut the Republican and Democratic conventions in a parallel, us versus them fashion. That's fine and dandy, except that was not the intent of the film.

Documentary is an odd beast that few people understand. The uproar behind Michael Moore's BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE came in part because Moore *gasp* didn't specifically edit in sequence; sometimes his reactions to the words weren't the reactions given as the subject spoke. "They are lies!" the Right chanted, assuming the use of B roll caused Moore's film moot. Forget that everything Charlton Heston says on camera is, in fact, what Charlton Heston said to Michael Moore.

Frederick Wiseman, the grandpappy of cinema verite, would be the first person to tell you that documentary film is not the Truth in the way that ye olde traditional audience would expect it. How can it be? Someone chooses to film specific subjects, use specific music, edit in a specific fashion because it begets the theme of the film. This doesn't make documentary a faux relayer of society; it makes it more real than the simulacrum we inhibit, because the filmmaker chooses not to let society dictate her parameters.

I'm not saying THE PARTY'S OVER (its name through FILM MOVEMENT) is a great film; expecting the Green Party to fill the role of protagonist is a large hope to pin, and this is coming from a Green supporter. What the film does do well is document what happened, showing us things we didn't see on the news -- protests in Philiadelphia, questionable police brutality, the shutting down of protests that were zoned for a longer period of time, and the lack of substantial difference between the Republican and Democratic parties.

The best lines come from the politicians themselves -- Barney Frank, Christopher Shays, Henry Ford, and Gary Johnson all make great points about the inefficiencies of the system they inhabit, and they come at it from different sides of the aisle (who knew Frank was a Republican?). At the same time, turgid yes men like Newt Gingrich, Tim Hutchinson, and John Kerry come off as nothing more than arms of the establishment.

If you expect a beginning, middle, and end to this film, you'll be disappointed. If you want to see a part of history you didn't get from Tom Brokaw, it's good viewing. Unfortunately, your political views will color how you perceive this film, as the number of 10 and 1 ratings here do show.

Greendale (2003)

I see there are a few Neil Young fans here

[4/10 · 2 March 2004]

I'm a big mark for the music of Neil Young, and with that and the glowing praise the film received in many alt-indie press circles, hit the first showing of Greendale I could find. My excitement was short-lived, as this turgid storyline and weak lyrical momentum left most filmgoers either asleep or disappointed.

Neil says the film started as a soundtrack, and the characters came to life so much that they just filmed the soundtrack. Not the best way to craft a story. No character really has an arc, and when "significant" events do happen, the viewer doesn't cared, because film technique annoyance levels are so high by that point. The film is all song, and to that end, the characters on end mouth the lyrics as they're sung...the technique works for the first stanza it is done, and is grating on the nerves after that. It doesn't feel real or fake, it just feels unwelcome.

Terrible acting, with characters finding one mood and playing all of it. Poor lighting at times. The only kudos I can give the film are in regard to several scenes shot as newscast, but the technique is so used in cinema today that this film did little to further it. An alright soundtrack, but nothing I'm quick to buy. A bad film.

Distant (2002)

Not Understanding The Hype

[5/10 · 11 January 2004]

This film filled two theatres at the Palm Springs International Film Festival...for a morning show, that's impressive. And I wish the film had been too. The landscape was fantastic, and I love the subtlties of films like this, that show the essence of humanity across all borders. But how could you like either character in this film? Whereas a slow-progressing character piece like LOST IN TRANSLATION fills out the essence of each character, DISTANT did little other than establish the distance between the two relatives.

Character films are often tough to judge, on the basis that plots are light, and the bulk of the movie is in subtext. What you think about characters when you leave the film is imperative...did they move you? At the end of LOST IN TRANSLATION, I didn't know where the characters were going, but I hoped they did well...I missed them. When I left DISTANT, I didn't know where the characters were going, and I didn't really care.

Bukowski: Born into This (2003)

What Great Footage!

[11 October 2003]

An old friend of mine used to regail me with stories of Charles Bukowski, the great everyman poet who wasn't afraid to tell it like it his, who didn't care at all about formalism or what had come before him...he just wanted to put his essence on the page (no matter how crudely he might fashion it).

BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS is a great show into the life of this man. It meanders at points, and tries a bit too hard to exemplify this guy, but you can't argue with some of the majestic footage different folks got. A scene shot in 1986 shows a drunk Bukowski yelling at his wife and then literally trying to kick her off the couch...footage that silenced the auditorium and solidified the idea of Bukowski as a drunken belligerent. But at another point, we see Bukowski cry while reading a poem of his about a woman he lost...completely different from the mythical man. Other stories of his rudeness are shadowed by stories of his covert kindness.

There is nothing incredibly special about how this is shot...but for any Bukowski fan, this is a must-see...the most in-depth look into the life of the man so far shown in America. Too bad that one of the greatest American poets ever is more famous abroad than at home.

Klepto (2003)

Heavy handed?

[2/10 · 11 October 2003]

The premise of the film is a good one...girl gets her jollies from stealing stuff, and she ends up in a bit of trouble when a security officer notices her. Unfortunately, the film drops the girl's journey at this point and focuses on a myriad of issues that it will drop later, leaving you asking "Why?" at the climax rather than caring about what is happening.

The film looks pretty good on-screen...I wish they had used some of their time in writing a decent script, and not just in the editing bay. Little of the dialouge is believable, and instances that bring people together are better written in soap operas than they were here. The film invests in characters it throws to the wolves later, making you wonder why you even watched the life of this person. Silly tricks start subplots, and dialouge rather than action end them. The big moment in the film is something you figure out as soon as the crisis is introduced.

I saw the trailer after I saw this film, and it reinforced my thought that the idea behind the film is intriguing. The log line on this film is a good one...but the film itself doesn't stick with it. If you're going to make a film about a girl who is addicted to stealing, make it about that girl. Don't use the middle of the film to take me five other places and then later come back to this girl and expect me to care. And if you're going to write a film with a female protagonist, give us a character that is written as a person and not as a guy's idea of what a girl is/should be.

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Should be shown again today

[10/10 · 27 August 2003]

What is amazing about Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket isn't its action sequences or its exotic locations, its plot sequence, its cinematography, score, or editing cues. It is that no part of the film leaves your memory...everything that you see, everything that Kubrick wanted you to see, remains in your memory for the duration of the film, and in many cases, much longer.

I don't think many people realize just how well-acted this film is. Vincent D'Onofrio is nothing short of incredible in his performance of Pvt. Pyle, a Lenny-like character who unknowingly gets himself into trouble, and the military's lack of understanding causes trouble for all. D'Onofrio is not a big man...many might remember his performance from The Cell and think of a massive beefcake, but D'Onofrio is the same guy who plays the squirrly detective on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

As Pvt. Joker, played quite well by Matthew Modine, takes Pyle under his wing, compassionately teaching him how to succeed in the eyes of Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, we're brought to visions of Of Mice and Men, with George and Lenny and the care in that relationship, except here we begin to see Pyle succeed, and we feel good about ourselves and the world around us, seeing the underdog come from behind and become a success. We even see small moments of kindness from Hartman, when his derogatory remarks to Pyle are tempered to show the only care allowed in the Marines.

But this is not a feel-good story...this is not like a WWII movie where Evil is defeated. In a scene out-of-nowhere, everything changes, and for the next 90 minutes, you never forget what you just saw.

This bothers a lot of people when it comes to the second part of the movie, but it shouldn't...it's what Kubrick wanted. We see Pvt. Joker now in Vietnam, joking about the world around him, a complete reversal from the previous tone. As an audience, we want to see resolution from the last part brought into this new part, but we can't...that's not how war is. And as Joker gets deeper and deeper into war, the events on-screen don't weigh as heavily...they can't, because the evil of the situation is no longer new...we are accustomed to it.

Many people have a problem with the climax of the film, either that it comes too fast, that it's not as big a deal as the end of the first part of the movie, or that it seems out of flux with the rest of the film. Yet again I point to intent. Most movies we watch happen completely on-screen...we become a part of the action only to an extent, and when the lights come up, we feel resolved. Kubrick makes the audience players in his films...we see actions, we react, and all of his future moves are predicated on our reactions. They seem off-kilter because life is off-kilter...life is dirty and unforgiving, never leaving time to breathe and truly reconcile situations. Kubrick keeps the movie going because he wants us to see just how awful war is. And according to Full Metal Jacket, war is awful.

One last note...I was dismayed to find that D'Onofrio wasn't nominated for any awards for his performance as Pvt. Pyle. However, Lee Ermey was nominated for several awards for his performance as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman. Ermey takes over the screen, bringing comedy to a scene where it doesn't seem to belong, yet remaining uncompromising at the same time. His full-bodied portrayal of the drill sergeant is astounding, and I wouldn't be surprised if he and D'Onofrio both acted so well that they canceled each other out in the minds of the Academy. Also, Full Metal Jacket is less than forgiving of its frank content and outlook on the military...tough to get the Academy to support something so brutally honest.

Beeper (2002)

Where did Harvey and Joey Lauren go wrong?

[1/10 · 23 July 2003]

This movie starts downhill the moment we fly with our protagonist to India, which is a montage of canned footage and poor set designs. The enciting scene where Ed Quinn's son is kidnapped is shot in a gaudy rendition of an Indian convention center, with stereotypical Hindi designs and gold plating covering every wall and pillar. Quinn runs outside to see if he can find his son, and we cut to yet another canned shot of Delhi street life.

The film says it was shot in India. I cannot believe that anyone with a budget to shoot overseas would create such atrocious sets rather than shoot on-location. I cannot believe that any native Indian would take part in such a grotesque representation of the nation and its people. The script is predictable, and while Joey Laruen Adams and Harvey Keitel aren't bad actors, this story does their respective careers no favors.

I hate to be rude, because it is an accomplishment that this film went through production and distribution, but the best moment in the film is the fade to black. This film shows no respect to the nation of India or its people, nor to the tenents of a good script or good acting.

St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

You can't go home again...

[10/10 · 3 December 2002]

There are some problematic points in St. Elmo's Fire...a feminist critique of the film would discover some interesting facts about the desires of the three girls versus those of the four boys...and Rob Lowe's saving of Demi Moore's character could be the worst moment from the Brat Packers. But even the greatest films have sore spots, and I don't think it's too far a stretch to call St. Elmo's Fire a great film.

From the moment that the kids walk into the Hospital, full of vigor and importance, spouting off inside jokes, barking orders, and feeling righteous, we see how close-knit a group this is, and it makes their inevitable distancing from each other that much tougher to swallow in the end. Because, fact is, these characters are easy to fall in love with. Andrew McCarthy and Judd Nelson both following their dreams, and both selling out in order to get them (and their respective employments aren't their only dreams), Allie Sheedy and Mare Winningham trying to find understanding for why they exist, and Rob Lowe's shown inability to grow up, even though he arguably leads the most adult life of the seven...life can't stay as care-free as it was when they are Alpha Omegas, no matter how hard they want it to.

The dialogue is trite, and much is unbelievable, but it is the small things that Joel Shumacher does that make this great...the placard on their table that says RESERVED, Rob Lowe's wearing of his letter jacket when life gets tough, Mare Winningham's moral center versus the other heroine's carelessness, and the forced fun that many have together that culminates in the fight at the mansion.