Tape (film review) Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman

Very well written drama with sharp dialogue.  Linklater proves again here why he was one of the best writers of dialogue of the 90's.  Ethan Hawke plays a loose canon drug dealer and volunteer firefighter who travels to Lansing Michigan to attend his High School buddies film screening at the Lansing Film Festival.  The drama begins right as the two reconnect and keeps escalating.  Captivating interactions, great character studies and many twists and turns.  Again Linklater shows what can be done with solid actors, a good script and a low budget.  The entire film takes place in one room.  Incidentally this would be a good play as well.  Reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock s "Rope" which also took place in one room and built an intriguing story and film.  "Tape" is a thinking persons film, if you are looking for something cerebral this is a great choice, if you want lots of bangs and action look elsewhere.

Collapse (film review)

As a fan of Chris Smith the director of "Collapse" earlier work like "Home Movie" and "American Movie" I eagerly anticipated this 2009 documentary.  The film is well done, almost in Errol Morris style with a haunting score, and random clips played while the interviewee speaks.  Micheal Ruppert the subject of the film, has a long history of whistle blowing dating back to the 1980's.  He speaks in a style that is a combination of a conspiracy theorist and a professor but with a wealth of facts and knowledge.  Overall, his theories are intriguing about peak oil, and quite possibly he is right about what he says, however I disagree with his doom and gloom prophecies, I believe that necessity is the mother of invention.  With a combination of wind, solar, recycling and resourcefulness from local farming our species can avert the impeding depletion of the worlds remaining oil reserves assuming they are indeed running out.  He negates part of his own argument by referencing Cuba and how they turned to local farming and now are producing the best organic food they have had in years.  I do agree with him that our current industrial model of food production is completely wasteful and unsustainable.  Overall, a captivating film and worth watching.

The Hangover (film review)

Like "Sex and the city" last summer was a film for women who acted stupid and vulgar, who dredged up the most moronic and insipid aspects of American culture, this is it's spiritual twin, the movie of the summer, the comedy that will make 300 million dollars, that morons will be quoting over and over even though the lines were not clever or quotable. The film is one five minute joke stretched out for what seems to be an eternity. I saw this today and spent 20 bucks including food on this piece of garbage, two hours of my life gone forever, if only I was as lucky as the characters in the film and could have forgotten the entire thing, what happens when you see the hangover stays with the hangover, that would be great. I actually left the theater hoping I didn't see anyone I knew as I was walking out because I was so embarrassed to have sat through the entire film. All in all this movie was no where near as good as the book, boring as hell, lame, stupid, embarrassing. It will make 300 million dollars this summer.

The Cable Guy (film review)

When I saw this film for the first time in the theater in 1996 it was shortly after Ace Ventura had come out and a bit after Carey had left "In Living Color" what I was expecting was a screwball comedy, what I got was a dark cinematic masterpiece that I didn't appreciate until two years later when a friend insisted I watch it again. Jim Carey in this film demonstrates that he is a genius. One of the most talented, best acted, comedic performances of all time, no joke. This film is brilliantly written, not a bad note, skillfully directed and coupled with outstanding acting from Jim Carey this becomes one of those rare cinematic gems that like a fine French wine or Farrah Fawcet gets better with age, as time goes by this film gets better and better with each passing year and can only truly be appreciated with repeated viewings.

Tenebre, (film review)

As a fan of Argento's earlier films such as Suspiria and Profundo Rosso, I found that Tenebre is in the same vane as the previous two. In saying that, a serpentine story that involves a great soundtrack and creative gore. As in most of Argento's films, it really is difficult to decipher who the murderer is and this is no exception. Not my favorite of his oeuvre, but worth while all the same. Argento is one the best Horror film directors of his day, or any day for that matter. For some reason the best Horror films came out of the 1970's, not only in America but worldwide. Something about the grain of the film or the lack of advanced special effects forced the directors to be more creative and use psychological rather than visual devices to tell the story. Hitchcock, Argento, Romero, and many others created the best horror in the seventies and to a lesser extent the early 80's.

Sweeney Tod, (film Review)

As a Tim Burton fan going back to seeing "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" in the theaters, I have followed Tim Burton's career and seen all his films. He is a true talent and "Sweeney Todd" did not disappoint. In Victorian England, Sweeney Todd returns to his home of London after being falsely imprisoned for fifteen years by the dastardly Alan Rickman, to find his wife ostensibly dead and his daughter imprisoned. He seeks revenge and quickly decides to take it out on all of London, not just the man who did him wrong, this was an interesting twist. The tone, as one could imagine, is very dark and Gothic, what Burton does best, but what makes Burton stand out amongst almost everyone else is that his visual style is accompanied by a very brilliant and dark sense of humor. The combination of these two things, together with fine acting performances, the boy who played Toby was outstanding, truly made this a haunting, surreal, dreamlike film that was well worth the price of admission. Who doesn't love Tim Burton's take on London? Dark, dirty, foggy and man those meat pies!

Single White Female, (film review)

I saw this movie in theater in 1992 and remember it being very entertaining and somewhat racy. Fourteen years later the film holds up well to the test of time. A major difference is in the level of nudity between this film and the thrillers of today. Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh are hot! lets see them naked and often. Barbet schroeder understands this, and we see them both naked from the onset of the film. The story and acting develop well, the dialog is well written and the camera work is adequate.

Jennifer Jason Leigh steals the show in this film, she does a superb job handling the transition in the character of Heddy with her body language and shyness into the transition of a sexually charged woman, who is assertive and obviously losing her grip on reality. She takes more risks and becomes bold and violent. Overall much better and more entertaining than any of the crap you will find being made today in Hollywood. Don't expect Shakespeare and just enjoy the ride.

Sideways, Alexander Payne, Film Review

After hearing much hullabaloo about how great this film was, it was hard to see it with an open mind. As a big fan of the previous Alexander Payne film Election, I was expecting a wry film with some interesting shots and editing. As a whole, this film disappointed me, it took a long time to get going and when it did, the characters depressed me, but not in the way they were supposed to. I have no problem watching two guys in a motel room, watching golf, as long as it is a home video of myself on vacation with a friend. As a matter of fact on second thought, I would rather watch a pot that was going to boil than watch two guys sitting in a motel room watching golf.

What stuck out in my mind the most about this film was its obvious parallel to Midnight Cowboy. You have the crippled con man who makes the oddest of friendships with the all American, ruggedly handsome, American man. Paul Giamatti of course being emotionally crippled and Dustin Hoffman physically, but you get my drift? Both blonde men in both films, have no problems with women, while the friends struggle just to survive in the world at all, the blonde men both believe that life is all about sex, and give the friends a hard time for not "getting any", and the crippled friends will let you believe that is the furthest thing from their minds. They don't seem believable as friends, yet they both need each other, and after time you see how they fill each others voids. I digress, back to Sideways, and put Midnight Cowboy on hold, the film tried to be too smart, the dialogue about why Paul Giamatti loves pinot was an obvious attempt at clever script writing, if you are watching a film thinking this is trying to be intelligent, rather than getting carried away by it, it is a failure and pretentious. The acting was pretty good however which is the only thing that saves this depressing waste of time about two men going through midlife crises. The only reason this film is worth while is for the acting. Go see Midnight Cowboy, and if you've already seen it, see Sam Peckinpahs Straw Dogs.

Shortcuts, Robert Altman (film review)

This movie exemplifies why Altman is one of the greatest American directors. It paints a picture of a community using broad strokes, you have every type of person here, all personalities represented and we see much in the way of human weakness and lust.

Altman is a master at weaving together stories that ostensibly shouldn't connect, other film makers like P.T. Anderson attempt to achieve the same effect with varied results. The uneven Magnolia and the stellar Boogie Nights are examples of mimicking the Altman style. Of the four films Altman attempts this technique "The Player, Short Cuts, Pret A Porter, Nashville and to a lesser extent M.A.S.H and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Short Cuts is the most effective.

Highly recommended piece of American Cinema.

Sheitan (film review)

This was an amusing film but not for the reason it was meant to be. It was amusing as a cross between Psycho and Cabin Fever. During the film you had no idea where the Hell it was going, it was completely serpentine in the story line, while at the same time being straight forward in a bizarre way. The characters were jerks, so you didn't mind seeing bad things happen to them.

Interesting to watch and some good performances. Genuinely disgusting and creepy at times. Cassell does a great job at playing a French psychopath. This movie is interesting, moves quickly, however without giving away the ending, its built up to a disappointing conclusion. Probably a good idea to check it out if you are a fan of French horror films, or Vincent Cassell, but other than that rent something else.

Search and Destroy (film review)

This is a gem that is lost amongst the crap that came out in the mid nineties American cinema. The first time I saw this film I thought that it was bizarre, yet in some odd way compelling. I have since seen it seven or eight more times and it gets better each time. The humor is dark and unconventional, and the dialog is odd in that it is difficult to determine whether or not its meant to be funny or is simply poor writing, I still have not figured that out which is probably one of the reasons I love this film.

The cast is of course outstanding, which is why I first rented this film knowing nothing about it. It must have had a very short theater shelf life. Dennis Hopper, Ethan Hawke and produced by Martin Scorcese, how could you go wrong? But the truly outstanding performance, and the majority of the quotable lines are spoken by Christopher Walken. His characters name is Kim Ulander, classic, and walken does what walken does best in this role, he plays a psychopath. See this film, and see it again and again and again.

Schizopolis

The first time I saw this film I was entertained and mildly confused by what I had just witnessed, it primarily represents a satiric look at modern life Pre Office Space, but saying just that does not do the picture justice. The combination of surrealism, satire and general creativity make this film worth while and most importantly worthy of multiple viewings. At times it feels as though it is being weird for the sake of weird but remains to peak curiosity. Some very funny situations and lines. Not for everyone, but for those looking for something different and willing to keep an open mind this is an excellent, original film. If you want loud bangs and shiny things, watch Soderberghs other films like Ocean 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 etc.

Rosemary's Baby

A great film from the mind of Roman Polanski, one of the masters of twentieth century suspense. Over the course of time, this film has stood the test, remaining horrifying to an entirely new audience. The suspense is fantastic, and the characters well developed. Without a doubt, one of the films that should be on every movie fans list.

Mia Farrow plays an innocent, naive woman, who mature's overnight, in lieu of her motherly instinct in reaction to losing her child. The fear of losing her baby is countered only by the realization that keeping it possibly entails endangering the fate of the human race.

an interesting note about this film, Mia farrow was going to walk off the production because her then husband Frank Sinatra wanted her to quit. Robert Evans the producer told her that the buzz on the street was she would win the Oscar for best actress. Her response was "Frank who?"

Rocky Balboa

Am I the only one who thought this movie was painful to watch? Major plot holes, huge disappointment. Had I not seen this movie about ten years ago when it was the last rocky picture I would have possibly enjoyed this film. Aside from the initial problems with the premise, a sixty year old man boxing the twenty two year old heavyweight champ, the rest of the film is cheesy, lame and pointless. Am I the only one that remembers him having serious brain damage in the previous Rocky? How the heck can he box now after the damage would certainly be worse as he aged. He would be a virtual vegetable. The relationship he has with his son seems unreasonable and aside from that, his son is not a person I would even care to know. Rocky was the heavyweight champ and now he lives in what looks like a dilapidated shack, yet he has enough money to own an upscale Italian restaurant. Like the previous Rocky, he takes in a surrogate son because he has problems relating to his own son, yet after one conversation with his son the boy is suddenly in his corner and forgotten about living in shadow, he simply resigns to it. Don't waste your time with this one.

Quintet, Robert Altman, (film review)

After tracking down this video and reading predominantly negative reviews, this perplexing, yet interesting and forgotten Altman film has something going on, I'm just not sure if it was accidentally interesting or intended. In a room without an air conditioner, in the beginning of August in New York City, this film actually made me feel cold. It was amazing how well the mood is set by ice in every scene. The acting by Newman is stiff, which may have been intentional in order to portray the concept of the frozen atmosphere? Who knows, I would love to extend Altman that credit.

The Vaseline on the lens of the camera was a horrible mistake, the intended goal was missed, all it accomplished was making the viewer feel as if the film were out of focus, what an idiotic mistake that was by Altman! To give Altman some credit, this film is bold, perplexing and worth a look. It may be perplexing for the sole reason that the lines are difficult to hear on a fifteen year old VHS copy of an ex-rental. Far superior to "Buffalo Bill and the Indians" which ironically was the other film Newman starred in which Altman directed, and his previous film to "Quintet" in addition to being one of the other misses by Altman in the seventies, when the man was creatively on fire. Newman and Altman did not connect on a good film, which is perplexing in and of itself. As a whole, worth a look for serious Altman fans, but not recommended for those who are not into sci-fi, incomplete ideas, or blurred vision. A must see if you are sweating in an apartment with out air conditioning.

Deep Red, Profundo Rosso

This is arguably the best Argento film. The camera work in this is outstanding and the acting is tight. The plot twists and turns in typical Argento style and keeps you guessing till the end. Some very gory scenes and an excellent soundtrack by Goblin. This is one of those films that could only have been created in the mid nineteen seventies. The best horror was made before special effects were firmly established the directors had to be more creative and actually worry about things like plot and character development as well.

Argento is skilled at mixing heavy metal with horror, he does it in a way that is imitated but never duplicated. A must see for any fan of horror films.

The Passanger (film review)

The way to watch this film is with the Nicholson commentary. This is a very good art film with intriguing ideas and an existentialist theme, however the pace is so slow that at times you would get bored, Nicholson's commentary fits perfectly into this and adds a great deal. Today this would be considered way to slow. In the seventies art films like this were able to have long shots with little or no dialogue. In this world of video games and high budget cgi action its refreshing to see something that you can get absorbed in or lost in like a dream, and reflects more accurately the pace and events of real life.

The story narration flips between past, present and location. At times it can be a bit difficult to follow, both where they are and when they are, but this adds to the overall intrigue of the film. Identity, time, place are all interwoven together. The themes are Bunuelian in many ways and this type of film, with real ideas and themes about the existence of life and what it means to live with an identity are explored very well. Movies like this simply aren't being made today.

The name of the game in this film is "understated." Everything, from the performance by Nicholson to the sex scene, or implied one, and car chase, or implied one is not over the top. Maria Schnieder doesn't give a stellar performance. In the commentary, Nicholson states she was on pain pills for a back problem, however it was well known at the time she had a drug problem. Seems like she was on drugs throughout the film. Maybe heroin or some kind of downer, I watched this film in many ways to see her follow up to "The Last Tango in Paris" where she was vibrant, charismatic, and very sexually charged. This film, seems like she is more subdued, jaded and reserved and she is still only 23 at the time this was made. "Last Tango In Paris" took its toll on her, even by this point it is apparent she was damaged by what had happened during the aftermath of that film.

Monks - The Transatlantic Feedback

I saw this film at the Chicago film fest knowing absolutely nothing about this story or the band. This was a great film from start to finish, fascinating. The story chronicles the current lives of the members of an avant garde musical group in Germany in the mid 1960's. A group of American G.I.'s who met each other while playing around on instruments in the equivalent of the Army mess hall, and got good enough as a band to play local gigs as a band called the Torquays around Germany. A team of German producers discovered them and turned them into The Monks, and branded them with corporate identity insisnting wherever they go they are monks dressed and acting like monks. The music was ten to twenty years ahead of it's time. A combination of techno, punk, metal and rock and roll, they have a sound unlike anyone else at the time. After a few years of touring Germany they came home to the U.S penniless, and found out thirty years later they were a cult band. Very worth while, well done documentary, highly recommended to all.

Misery, (film review)

This film is an excellent piece of American cinema. The story is gripping, entertaining, funny, and scary. Bates and Caan deliver flawless performances. The dialog is perfect, and very quotable. One of the best adaptations to film of any Stephen King book with exception of The Shining and possibly Shawshank redemption and Stand by Me. With a brilliant concept, most likely a fear of Stephen Kings at one point, a Romance writer Paul Sheldon is caught in a blizzard driving in Colorado and rescued by his self professed number one fan Annie. She saves him by pulling him out of his car and nursing him back to health. Although he may have been better off freezing to death in the snow

Medium Cool (film review)

This film is better upon the second viewing, the first time I saw this I thought it was somewhat dated or boring, I couldn't have been more wrong. Initially I watched this film because it was directed by Haskell Wexler whose work I admire, and I'm from Chicago and had heard it shows much of the city and the riots of 68. I enjoyed seeing the city forty years ago to see what was the same and what had changed, much has changed yet much remains the same from what I have seen of the people, places, buildings etc. It was great to see the Kinetic Playground on there, Chicago's electric ballroom, and other area's such as Lincoln Park. On the second viewing, I realized that this is a very important film in that it adroitly captures a moment in time, a moment we can never have again that is lost forever, that one second in our history that pivoted us as a nation between innocence and awareness and possibly that crucial moment which has brought us to the point we are at today. This movie is very important as a document of history, not to mention how well it's shot. The angles, the color, the way he goes in and out of focus make this a true gem that gets better the more you see it. Great soundtrack as well, Zappa, Mike Bloomfield and others.