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MWillis
Reviews
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
"B" Movie of the Week Material.
This was on cable. I watched it because somebody else had the clicker. It was melodramatic and tedious from the first minute. It gets its hooks into you because, well, how the hell does it end?
Curious to see how this dog ended, I pulled out the laptop to read IMDB. I think the overall rating of 6.1 out of 10.0 was overly charitable. The plot has promise but stinks. Whoopi Goldberg is simply ridiculous. Is she playing a detective or "Guinan" from Star Trek? I give it 4 stars. I watched it right until the ending:
There are a ton of stinker/groaner lines. Cedar trunks. Groan. Man, I wanted to slap sense into almost every single character.
Spoiler:
The kid gets kidnapped by some bad mother from a bad mother. Nine years pass. Woman feels guilt for being a bad mother. The family gets him back, but the kid fits in better with his new family. The kidnap kid goes back with the father (the kidnapper is gone). One of the other kids gets arrested for stealing a car. More excruciating stuff, like night basketball and settling of accounts. The kidnap kid moves back with Michelle Pfieffer for the dramatic finale.
Redeeming:
So bad it just might be enjoyable.
The Dish (2000)
Big things happen in small places
This movie examines true events surrounding the Apollo 11 moon landing: a small town in Australia has a strategically important role to play, as the site of a massive radio telescope. When NASA is unable to receive signal from the Moon, the town of Parkes plays a critical role in bringing the events from the lunar surface to the world. The experience is not without mishap, however, and the people of this small town race to prevent their time of glory from turning into a huge embarrassment. The interactions between the straightlaced NASA agent and the local Australians are particularly funny. The conclusion is stirring: because of many unheralded actions, the world was able to see man on the moon, some of the most evocative images ever captured.
Memento (2000)
An excellent intrigue, backwards
This movie concerns the memories of a man, Leonard, who suffered the loss of his wife and of his short term memory. Because of a head injury, he cannot recall events more than a few minutes' distance. For Leonard, every wakening is a complete mystery or rediscovery. Armed with notes to himself, many helpful tattooes and a polaroid camera, he examines the mystery behind his wife's death. We see his experience in reverse, in a way that disables us in the same way as Leonard. The movie succeeds in conveying the confusion, mystery and experience of a man bereft of memory.
Besat (1999)
Good Medical Horror Flick
A man shows up in airport, dead of symptoms distressingly similar to Ebola, or something much worse. What begins as a search for answers becomes a race to stop what could be a global plague. There are some very creepy scenes in Romanian morgues, and the ending is particularly suspenseful.
Bob Roberts (1992)
Great Rorshach Film
I have a special place in my heart for this film. I guess that if you are dyed-in-the-wool Republican, you may be offended, because Tim Robbins plays the heartless Republican stereotype for laughs. Some may question the plausibility of electing a lying weasel, but students of history will not. The movie takes a multitude of real-world scandals, combines them amusingly, and leaves the viewer with a chilling finale.
Mac and Me (1988)
One long annoying TV commercial
This movie only makes sense once you examine the many heavyhanded `product placements'. It is one long ad for Coke, McDonalds, and other products. Unfortunately, it is also a bad photocopy of ET. This movie is the worst I have ever seen. It is truly outrageous, but might be funny in a `worst movie contest' film festival.
Nichts als die Wahrheit (1999)
A close look at the face of evil.
This is a disturbing movie, a courtroom drama in which a man claiming to be Josef Mengele voluntarily returns to Germany for trial. He enlists an unwilling lawyer to defend him in a court of law. The lawyer must defend the indefensible, an act he finds personally repugnant but accepts because of a need to understand the holocaust and what let it happen. The answer seems to be that unspeakable evil lurks closer than one might comfortably imagine.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Wonderful (and the advance word was completely wrong)
Where to begin. A powerful film. Not what I expected (some kind of lame frosty relationship between psychiatrists who sleep with their patients). Happily, much of the advance information about this film was completely wrong. The main characters, rather than psychiatrists, are an art dealer and a doctor. And there is no sleeping with patients. Go with an open mind, and look for Kidman's performance especially.
I loved it. I don't want to spoil anything. I found the relationships beautifully ambiguous, and you will argue over what really happened at the masked party. Good bye, Kubrick. You are missed.