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Reviews
Death in Holy Orders (2003)
Superb multi-murder mystery
This excellent murder mystery by the author P. D. James, finds James' sleuth, Commander Adam Dalgleish, trying to solve a multi-murder at a remote theological seminary, ST. Anselm's, on the east coast of England. Dalgleish is played in this film by the fine British actor Martin Shaw, who appeared in The Scarlet Pimpernel with Richard E. Grant several years ago. He is terrific. You can practically see the clues swirling about in his head as he tries to figure out who killed whom. Another major actor in this film is Robert Hardy as Father Martin, who most viewers will remember as Siegfried Farnon in the old British TV series, "All Creatures Great and Small." Hardy adds class, realism and style to any production (such as Sense and Sensibility) and this is no exception. He is the most natural of actors, creating totally believable characters. There are many smaller plot tidbits, such as the fact that St. Anselm's is about to go under for lack of funds. It has a number of artworks which the archdeacon wants to get his hands on, including an altar piece by Rogier van der Wyden.....all of these plots and clues make for a very entertaining film. Why was Treeves upset the day he died? Was his death a murder, suicide or simply an accident? What about the gardener Eric, who makes love to his sister? They definitely have something to hide. Who amongst the fathers or teachers is abusing young students, and why is Raphael, the head boy, so sure that the archdeacon killed his wife? What about Emma, the female teacher? Can she break into the shell Adam has built around himself to dull the pain of the death of his wife and child in childbirth? Can Adam trust Emma? Can Adam trust Father Martin, who seemed so happy to see him but who holds a valuable papyrus scroll in a secret place and will not give it up until his death? The fact that the cliffs periodically fall into the sea and have already gobbled up several villages medieval villages whose church bells, they say, can be heard ringing during the lonely nights creates a sinister feeling. Race against Dalgleish and see if you can spot the clues and solve the murders first! Happy sleuthing!
America's Sweethearts (2001)
Love Chick Flicks, but this a candidate for Worst of All Time!
I like every actor in this movie, but not in this film, an endless series of crotch and penis jokes (oops, the film is dragging, so let's insert another one to perk it up). The audience of mostly women, young and old, was completely silent throughout the movie. MY wife and I have seen every chick flick this year, even the ones that were panned by critics, and we liked them all. But this movie is as bad as it gets. How bad? Worse than the Avengers! Worse than Duets. Worse than Heavens Gate. (Actually, I'm such a softy, I enjoyed parts of all three of those bombs.) Worse than any recent Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, or Alan Alda movie. Worse than even Adam Sandler at his worst. The actors looked totally embarrassed speaking their lines, as if their careers were being placed in immediate jeopardy. The only funny part of the movie was unintentional: when Chris Walken tells the press that the script was worthless, so he threw it out and substituted hidden camera footage. Wish they could have done that here. Watching any of these talented people in candid dressing room footage would have been funnier and more romantic.
A Knight's Tale (2001)
Being clever does not make it creative. Literary references doesn't make it intelligent.
My wife liked it. The late teens in front of us were going crazy with glee each time an anachronistic Queen hit, audience doing the wave, or some such was woven. I found it excruciatingly predictable, slow moving, and stereotypical. Now that I've seen DaVinci added to Ever After, this Shakespeare in Love ripoff device, Chaucer, is getting trite (though it was the most entertaining, best-written, and well-performed part). The re-created London and other venues were neat to see, but the jousting arenas filled with computer-generated throngs and the jumpy-slow mos are now typical Gladiator stuff. The flashbacks were decently well done and a cut above. And yet another pure evil opponent with just sufficient motivation (a la Gladiator, Titanic, Patriot) to rise to comic book standards. In fact, everything seems comic book or video game these days among popular fare. And reviewers like the Orlando Sentinel's Jay Boyar, with five stars, had the audacity to label it's narrative style more successful than Princess Bride! All this movie does is retell a stock sports movie rather badly while pandering to teens. Being clever does not make a movie creative. Literary references and inside intellectual jokes does not make a movie intelligent. Not when it takes chances that aren't risky and makes no real statement not found in Eddie Murphy flicks or the Water Boy. But the women (and guys) are all gorgeous and it does contain several dozen jousts in every possible permutation.
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
We deserve better: Embarrassing Moments do not make a movie!
So-so rip-off of Pride and Prejudice and Emma books and movies, but this just doesn't cut it. Gwyneth did a less self conscious British accent in Emma. Colin looked bored and uncomfortable. There was no chemistry between him and Renee. Note to movie makers: nearly all chic flicks fail when there is no chemistry. In the promo VH1 and E-Channel shows, it was clear that Renee wouldn't even look at Colin and spent all her time joking (flirting?) with Hugh. Hmmmm -- the next mistake after Jim Carey?
Anyway, why would any guy care for a chain-smoking, boozing, insecure disaster area like Bridget. What is the lesson here? -- the sexist adage that guys are supposed to be attracted to helpless women. I loved Renee in her previous movies, and she owns the screen no matter what the part. The one contribution is that a woman actor can actually perform at a normal weight. Unfortunately, now "weird" Renee is on every media outlet plugging the movie after returning to her skin-and-bones weight. Recommendation: rent 4 Weddings, Notting Hill, the Winslow Boy, or Nurse Betty.
Metropolitan (1989)
Brilliant Talkfest
I saw "Metropolitan" a couple of months ago, was fairly impressed with it on its own talky, cerebral terms, and took it back to the video store. Since then, it's grown on me to the point where I have to place its script up there with the best of Chekhov and "The Big Chill." Concerning the Manhattan prep and deb season of some unspecified year past, "Metropolitan" transports your mind into a social order that exists just beyond our consciousness: where young socialites discuss Fourier without conviction, Jane Austen without having read her work, and love without never having really been in it. It's sweet, smart and touching all at the same time. The characters are flawed and doomed -- though, as one character notes, not doomed to failure, but just doomed to a normal, boring lifestyle -- and we can't help but love them for it. Go to Blockbuster and rent it tonight; if you can't find it there, go to Amazon, order it, and allow 1-2 weeks for delivery. It's that good. This was Whit Stillman's first of three similarly themed films; the second, "Barcelona," is subpar, but "The Last Days of Disco" closes the trilogy with a delicious return to form.
Wag the Dog (1997)
Very knowing look at the industries
I've heard a lot of talk about this movie being severely unfunny. This is not true. "Wag the Dog is an excellent look at the game of politics and how it filters into (and is filtered by) the film industry. Dustin Hoffman is the unflappable producer who is hired to avert the public's attention from a presidential sex scandal just before re-election, and he looks like he's having so much fun with the part. The dialogue is crisp and witty no matter how many times you've seen it, and the scene on the airplane (with Woody Harrelson as a psycho) is an instant classic; in fact, the entire film is an instant classic -- if you know how to look at it.
The Ice Storm (1997)
Severely underrated
Somewhere last winter, in the midst of all of the hoopla about "Good Will Hunting," (deserved) "As Good As It Gets," (deserved) and "Titanic," (undeserved) this completely realistic, marvelously satirical parable slipped through the cracks completely. This is a shame (and a great loss to the casual moviegoer), because the insights provided in this awe -inspiring tribute to the mutation of the clueless upper-class New England social circles in the early 70s are not to be missed, and certainly not to be taken lightly. Kevin Kline and Joan Allen star as the unfaithful husband and tortured housewife that we are all so familiar with, though more through personal experience than anything else. First-rate supporting performances are turned in by Christina Ricci and Tobey Maguire as their children, and a nicely apathetic Sigourney Weaver as the mother whom Kline cheats with. There is so much perfectly leveled dialogue full of poignancy and irony in every scene; Ang Lee and so many others deserved Oscars for their work on this breathtaking film.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Perhaps this movie lacks a true soul
I found "Saving Private Ryan" rather elementary. Yes, it makes me proud to be an American, but many movies do that ("Primary Colors" is a better, and more recent, standout), and Spielberg seems to be interpreting the horrors of war while rarely showing the human element behind it, and consequently dulls the impact of the message: War is very, very bad. The film lacks intelligence, and perhaps lacks a soul as well, despite its patriotic fervor. Tom Hanks is quite good, though, as the tortured captain whose face is a mask of quiet despair. In one scene, where the soldiers under his command want to shoot a German prisoner, Hanks turns away, trying to become blind to it all. His performance and the dazzling cinematography make up for a so-so story and a script containing approximately fifteen coherent sentences (still five or six more than "Close Encounters," though ).
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Rent This Movie Now
Despite what those dim-wits say about "Citizen Kane" being the best film of all time, it remains a fact that you will never see a funnier film than "A Fish Called Wanda." Kevin Kline is at his best in a flawless performance as Otto, a semi-psychotic American jewel thief who helps with a London heist that lands George, the ringleader, in jail. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Wanda, George's lover, who has to worm his defense strategy out of his lawyer (John Cleese). Rife with screwball antics and dozens of pointed jests at those stuffy Brits. Pungent social commentary also makes this a rare comedy that is a film instead of just a movie. Also features Michael Palin as an animal lover who nevertheless manages to accidentally kill several small animals. Kline can make anything sound funny if he tries, so a brilliant script like this is pure gold in his hands ("Shut up! We did not lose Vietnam! It was a tie!"). Includes many marvelous sight gags which make use of falling safes, bed-warmers, and construction machinery. Marvelous stuff.