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Andor
Reviews
Permanent Midnight (1998)
something went very wrong
I was so looking forward to seeing this film. And I was so disappointed. The script seemed two re-writes away from good. Would it have been such a chore to give these characters something interesting to say? I was never convinced that the Stiller character could actually write. All the other characters said he was brilliant but it was never shown. Stiller disappointed but I'm not sure it was his fault. Maria Bello was the more interesting character and gave the best performance. When is Jeneane Garafalo going to write and direct her own film? I really want to see that movie!
I haven't read the book and yet I am certain that the movie failed because it tried to be too faithful to it.
Something is always preferable to something based on something. This film never got around to becoming its own "something".
My New Gun (1992)
An almost offhanded gem
You find yourself so mesmerized that at one point near the end when a cop almost but not quite touches a a pair of gloves and the mind goes the cop wanted to touch the gloves and almost did but didn't.
Another moment is when the crackpot intruder just barely touches the the edge of the sleeve of the dress two or three times.
Another is when Skippy touches Debbie's hair at the supermarket.
I loved the world in which this movie took place. I not only care about the time during which the movie took place but also all the time leading up to it and all the time after it ended.
The point now is to find out what Stacy Cochran has done since 1992.
Oleanna (1994)
David Mamet is an accent
Everyone in a Mamet film talks like everyone else in a Mamet film and like no one else in the world. This works because Mamet is a genius.
I have many friends who teach High School and College. The rule these days is never be with a student alone in a room. This is a movie about that.
Of course subject is the least important component of a film. What is important and worthwhile here is that the writing, the acting, the direction, the editing. Everything worked but the music. I suppose the point of the music was to not give the impression of intended hipness. In that sense it succeeded. Watch this movie twice. It gets better the second time.
Safe (1995)
Self-absorption turns to self-evaporation
For some inexplicable and troubling reason I with furrowed brow and mild anxiety loved this film.
I believed every moment. I approved of every shot and camera angle. It's rare for the writer/director combination in one so young as Tod Haynes not to lead to at least some degree of self indulgence. Not here.
I could write more but instead I'll rewind and watch again.
Sincere to the point of absurdity, Andor Ventorpent
Career Girls (1997)
Extreme accents in Independent British Films (this time discernable)
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Mike Leigh is one of those directors at least for me whom I would go out of my way to make sure to see everything they've done. "Naked" remains my favorite, though "Career Girls" certainly ranks high. One thing I appreciate about Mike Leigh's work is that the working class English accents come across as understandable to my USA Mid-western ears and sensibility. This is not always the case, as I have often sat down and prepared to enjoy a British film only to get the impression ten minutes into it that I am watching something foreign sans subtitles.
Trees Lounge (1996)
Modern Hero as Hapless Victim
A man stuck squarely behind a past he can not regain and a future he can not avoid. The past being happiness with the woman he loved, and the future being alcoholism and a premature death. All this in the guise of an upbeat comedy. Steve Buscemi is established here as a master film maker. Every word every gesture is perfectly placed and important to the forward flow of the film. And not a hint of the usual self-indulgence that finds its way into so low budget films. See this film! Then see it again! Then see it twice a year for the rest of your life!