cscjr8 Reviews

Boys Briefs 2 (2002 Video)

Mixed bag

[4 August 2004]

This compilation of short, non-US films starts off well with "Doors Cut Down," a story about a Spanish teenager who is quite skilled in finding men for sex. It's funny yet realistic, erotic, and well-made.

Some of the other films don't fare so well, in particular: the unoriginal "Backroom," in which a camera floats through the backroom of a Barcelona club while the characters' thoughts are revealed in voiceovers; and "Touch" an interminably long, first-person narration of a teenager, kidnapped and beaten from a young age, who escapes and is returned to his family, only to seek out other men to beat him. "Touch" could have been a harrowing. It could have been erotic. Instead, the monotone narration renders the film BORING.

Three Kings (1999)

Great satire slightly marred by ending

[8/10 · 30 August 2003]

This film opens as a great satire on war: Americans at war, journalism, the craziness of war, naked greed, and people doing anything they need to in order to survive. Nora Dunn gives a ferocious performance as a veteran reporter embedded with the troops during the first US-Iraq conflict. Director Russell also elicits great performances from Ice Cube and Mark Wahlberg.

Unfortunately, Nora Dunn's character goes missing during much of the middle section of the movie, and a Hollywood resolution mars an ending that seemed to be headed toward the grim and bitter. (Perhaps military commanders have softened since the days of "Dr. Strangelove.")

But along the way, Dunn, Ice Cube, and Wahlberg demonstrate that they are worthy of any serious and demanding films that may come their way. Film directors: please take note!

Drift (I) (2000)

Slow to start, but ultimately compelling

[7/10 · 8 September 2002]

_Drift_ is an independent movie about a Canadian Asian guy living in L.A. who decides to break up with his boyfriend of 3 years to find his "soul mate." The movie shows 3 possible paths his life could take. I found the first 30 minutes to be reminiscent of film school productions I've seen, with unoriginal dialogue and earnest but amateur performances. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because the writing and the acting got much better during the 3 different variations of the protagonist's destiny. In the end, the movie rises above its gimmick.

Blood Work (2002)

Eastwood is excellent, film's ending not

[7/10 · 19 August 2002]

Eastwood again proves himself an excellent judge of great characters for himself. Since "Unforgiven," he has found roles which are made for his economical expression and his tough shell/inner vulnerability. His portrayal of Terry McCaleb, especially in the first half of "Blood Work," is among his best performances.

Eastwood is assisted in strong supporting performances by Anjelica Huston and Tina Lifford, and I liked the way that a previous intimate relationship between Lifford's and Eastwood's characters is alluded to but not spelled out.

Unfortunately, the movie itself is undone by a melodramatic and awkward performance by Wanda De Jesus, who perhaps needed more screen time and stronger direction (here we must fault Mr. Eastwood) to allow her character's growing attraction to McCaleb to seem more natural.

The ending of the movie is another problem, as developments become more and more ludicrous. The revelation of the killer's identity, which I could see coming an hour or more, wasn't the worst part. Instead, we are subjected to a variation of the killer-loose-in-a-dark-house sequence. I'll grant that the final set is atmospheric and unusual, but questions about the logistics of how hostages could be convinced to travel there, and about how the killer's approach to the site in daylight would not draw suspicion from everyone in the area, were too distracting for me to suspend disbelief.

Eastwood has found a great character. He now just needs to find a better script.

Waking Life (2001)

An undergraduate lecture set to animation

[6/10 · 23 November 2001]

This film is visually interesting -- we see once again how animation can be liberating for artists. People float, fly, transform into other people and other things. The surreal nature of a dreamstate is certainly recreated.

However, much of what is said in the film reminded me of being an undergraduate at university and sitting through classroom discussions about philosophy. The monologues about love and the meaning of love have probably already been heard or spoken by any college student who ever stayed up to the wee hours talking with his or her roommates and friends. If you ever stayed up late smoking pot or drinking and talking with friends, then you've probably had these same conversations.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Brits suffer again from Hollywood

[7/10 · 23 November 2001]

Robbie Coltrane and Emma Watson are the best reasons to see this movie. Both are consistently quite good. Daniel Radcliffe gets better as the film progresses and I can see that he could be good as Harry Potter in the sequels.

Key scenes are marred due to poor special effects, esp. the Quidditch sequence, which is esp. sad because other effects are very good (for example, the 3-headed dog and the life-size chess game). The music score is also very disappointing. John Williams recycles music he wrote for both the Star Wars series and Jaws!

I have not read any of the books and suspect that this helped me to like the movie as much as I did. My friend who accompanied me has read all the books and walked out absolutely it.

Planet of the Apes (2001)

An incredible waste of effort

[6/10 · 6 August 2001]

Tim Burton's latest bears his signature: it looks great. Most of the sets are original and the actors' stint in "ape school" has paid off. The ape characters walk, move, and even fidget like apes, chimps, and orangutans, and the actors blend their movements seamlessly into their performances and the scenes. No one seems to be saying "Look at me! Look at me!" (with the exception of Charlton Heston). Helena Bonham Carter and especially Tim Roth give standout performances.

Unfortunately, most of the effort that went into making the film is wasted: very little seems to happen and there isn't much suspense. The humans escape from confinement too easily and then have a pretty clear path to their final destination. The explanation for the evolution of a planet of apes is a good one, both surprising and plausible. But then this explanation is quickly followed by a brutal yet lame battle sequence. The film's ending is a shocker, but more of the head-scratching than the jaw-dropping kind. Ultimately, this movie underlines the greatness of the 1968 version.

Cats & Dogs (2001)

Very few moments of fun

[4/10 · 10 July 2001]

I suspect that this movie will barely manage to entertain children. I laughed - out-loud - a handful of times. Unfortunately, the rest of the time I kept noticing missed opportunities. The characters of Ivy, Butch, Scott, and Prof. Brody are severely underwritten. These are characters that we're supposed to care about but I knew so little about them that when they were in danger, was so uninvolved I pondered the mechanics of the set, of the plot, of the actors' careers, etc. The script would have benefitted from even one more revision to add just a few details here and there. It wouldn't have been a great film then, but that would have been enough for a much better movie.

Sean Hayes stands out as Mr. Tinkles. He does a such a good job of being funny and evil, I wondered how much of his lines were improvised. (Given how lazily the rest of the dialogue was written, his lines were much appreciated.)

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

diverting, but not a classic

[7/10 · 23 June 2001]

This highly derivative film will be entertaining for the many who have not seen some of the more obscure anime films. I enjoyed most of it, especially after the rather flat opening minutes in the museum (although the pre-title sequence is very entertaining and includes some of the better bits of animation). James Garner as the Commander and Leonard Nimoy as the King give impressive performances.

Desk Set (1957)

Still very very good

[8/10 · 16 June 2001]

This movie about computers and human interaction still holds up very very well. The movie is very very funny. When the movie began, I had my doubts that Tracy and Hepburn would be miscast. I worried that they might be too old to pull off characters still unmarried at this point in their lives. And yet they make it make sense.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Audacious!

[7/10 · 7 June 2001]

I found the first half of this movie very impressive. The mixture of modern songs, big production musical numbers, gorgeous stars like Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman doing their own singing (good enough: they aren't as good as Meryl Streep in "Postcards from the Edge"), and editing tricks thanks to computer animation just had me sitting wide-eyed in appreciation. I would give this part of the movie an 8 or a 9 on the IMDb scale of 10.

However, then comes the second half of the movie. Early on, two or more songs are sung simultaneously (I remember particularly "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend") in such a way that works beautifully. But later, in a scene where 3 or 4 songs are sung in this way, the trick loses its magic and it sounds as if everyone is just screaming the lyrics. The story's superficiality also begins to take its toll on the film in the second half. The last 30 minutes are especially difficult to watch due to an excessively complicated plot and a drawn out finale.

But at least Ewan McGregor emerges from the movie unscathed. (I cannot say the same for the miscast John Leguizamo.) Let's have more of Ewan.

The Horseman on the Roof (1995)

Beautiful, but scattered

[7/10 · 20 May 2001]

Juliette Binoche and Olivier Martinez look great, and they throw themselves enthusiastically into their roles. They do have a certain chemistry together, but the film devotes much more attention to the effects of the French cholera epidemic in 1832 on the countryside. The plot that kicks off the story rather dramatically is that of the assassination plots against Italian nationalists by Austrians who'd like to take over northern Italy. The end of the movie, however, reveals the true focus of the story. I wish that the majority of the movie was devoted to that story.

The Mystery of Picasso (1956)

astonishing

[8/10 · 17 May 2001]

This film reminds us that film is visual - very few words are spoken in Le Mystère Picasso. Instead, the camera just trains in canvas and white paper and watches Picasso create. It could have been boring, but instead it's hypnotic. One learns about the creative process without lecture!

Love at Twenty (1962)

Antoine et Collette - excellent segment

[8/10 · 11 February 2001]

Truffaut's segment of this anthology is a worthy sequel to The 400 Blows. The impact may not be as great as the first film, but this short shows that sequels can be more than just retreads. Doinel's story becomes more universal as it is embellished, fleshed out. But this does not make it less interesting.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Magical

[10/10 · 13 January 2001]

Luminous, wondrous, magical: these are the words that came to me as I left the theater. I sat in awe, in wonder from nearly beginning to end. The special effects and the fight sequences are jaw-dropping, yes, but the subtlety of the actors' performances and the delicateness of the characters' emotions were equally impressive. This type of film, done so well, is rare in any language (but especially American English). Please, run and out and see this film.

-CSC

Night and Day (1991)

rent this movie if you have insomnia

[1/10 · 10 November 2000]

One of the most boring movies I've ever seen. Three immature young people have sex and talk about very little except their "love" of each other. They don't seem to be interested in much but each other, and only passively so. I was left feeling shut out. Most of the exterior scenes take place at night, so one can't even enjoy well-lit sights of Paris! I gave up after an hour and ten minutes.