Change Your Image
kathrynatrand
Reviews
She's So Lovely (1997)
A strange kind of love
Maureen and Eddie seem like a pair of losers, they live without purpose, to most of us, yet what is amazing is they are in love, a love that is not shared, even with their own child. You wonder how this can be? It is a story about two persons who live life on the edge, yet have a binding, perhaps blinding love. They are two of a kind and both know it.
Before Eddie goes off to the mental institution, where he spends ten years, Maureen enters a secure marriage with a man who she does not really love her the way Eddie had; it is more a marriage of convenience and Joey, played excellent by John Travolta, is a husband who feels his wife owes him for saving her from a life of debauchery.
As hard as it seems imaginable, she never loves him, in fact, she resents him for changing her. Maureen is not a typical woman by any means; she dislikes Middle-Class life and being a housewife, as she is unfit to have a career. Same with Eddie, he may have improved some after ten years in a hospital; however, he is back to his drinking and slumming, which appeals to Maureen.
We find this strange love off-beat, yet it does happen in real life. This film is very strange, yet realistic for a small minority of persons who eschew the value of stability and security. Maureen has always loved Eddie more than Joey, and as hard as it is to imagine, she leaves her children, her home, and stable husband for the love she has only found with Eddie.
It is really a better film than most think, because it shows a side of life that seems so undesirable. It is as sad as it is fulfilling for the two long parted lovers. It funds itself in an unfamiliar territory, yet this does happen and as much as most feel it is a waste of life, it reveals the nature of individuality.
I think Penn went out on a limb making this film, it is much like abstract art, it can only be appreciated by those who see past the social conventions most adhere; they are not ordinary people and may end up broken unhealthy middle-aged alcoholics, but they live for today.
Armageddon (1998)
Like "Die Hard" you will like "Armageddon"
Armageddon is what most expect from Bruce Willis; it is much like his "Die Hard" films, all action, not much plot, you get it without having to figure out any hidden mystery.
The picture begins with NASA faced with a disaster, not a war as they first presume, rather it is a Earth destroying large meteor heading straight for earth, which all destroy all life on earth. Nuclear experts tell the heads of government no nuclear rocket will as much as deflect this huge meteor. They say it may be possible to blow it into peaces, which will pass Earth if a nuclear device was buried inside the meteor, as that will cause the needed pressure to explode the meteor, yet that is not possible because it would require humans to fly to the meteor and drill a deep hole to place the explosive in the centre.
Enter Bruce Willis; he is that lone individual who lives beyond the conventions of society. He has made a career out of drilling where most cannot, or will not attempt. Like him, his men are all on the edge of social convention; they are good at one thing, drilling and taking risks and getting into trouble!.
We see into Willis' character in the beginning when he finds out his one love, his daughter, has fallen in love with a man just like him, while Willis accepts being a reckless character, he does not want this life for his daughter; he has higher hopes; she should marry into respectability.
Willis, it seems clear, respects and admires, yet dislikes socialites; he finds then too restrained, too civil and Willis is one of the best portraying the outcast hero with a good conscience. All his men are like him, in one way or another, they are social misfits who have a propensity for eschewing social convections. One is a genius with two doctorates, yet he prefers the high dollar rough-neck work, and loves taking risks; he is a degenerate gambler. Another is like a Hells Angel, another, the perpetual adolescent. You get the picture, they are all misfits; however, they have found a way to earn money through the most individual of them all, their boss, the one man they admire, Harry Stamper, the ultimate super ego of all tough guys!
When the high government officials, who of course are the USA, as we know, when it comes to big weapons and missiles, the US is still tops at developing such devices, they locate Harry for his drilling expertise. However,Harry is not too impressed with the government trained conformists; they copied one of his drills and assembled it wrong. He tells Dan the man (played with excellence by Billy Bob, who seems believable, a feat in itself), his chosen crew are inept at doing the job and that it would take real drillers, his own men to get the job done.
When the government officials meet these misfits, they cannot believe these men could follow their way to the public connivance, yet alone manage a mission for trained specialists! Here is the twist" Dan knows it is a big risk, yet he knows it is the only chance to save the world, use derelicts, or die!
Off they go with a few astronauts flying them to the meteor, salvation by the wildest!
This is typical Willis at its best, just as one sane person imagines a man could do what Willi8s does in "Die Hard", this is a pure fiction adventure fir entertainment. There is no need for suspension of disbelief, as all this action-packed picture is not much different that comic book heroes where the bad boys have redemption.
Willis dies in this one, blown into infinity by the nuclear blast, a fitting death a super hero. Now his more sane, I mean more attuned to the conventional, his daughter's love mate can take his place and be married; we assume they live happily together, taking the same risks, but A. J Frost, (played great by Ben Affleck), as the cooler man who will take replace Harry; he is not as hot as the volatile Harry Stamper-your- lights-out if you anger him. LOL!
If you like pure fictional adventure and the "Die Hard' movies, you will ;like this longer movie with none stop action. It has the same pace as "Die Hard" more a bizarre cast of bad boys with good hearts and us not as slow as "Last Man Standing", "Unbreakable", or "Hostage", along with other movies staring Willis. with the exception of "The Jackal", which is excellent, yet less fantastic.
I would say, given its length, it is right up there with the "Die Hard" films and the somewhat comic tragedy "Striking Distance".
Dark Passage (1947)
Dark Passage, a new character for Bogart?
To enjoy this film, one must be able to suspend disbelief. The picture begins, Bogart escapes with sirens all around, suggesting they know he has escaped, yet they fail to note a truck with a large barrel? I think here, the audience is supposed to pay little attention, as this could be a story in itself.
The story begins with Bogart narrating his own thoughts and planed moves; such that we soon become aware, he has not much a solid plan. The film is to hurry the audience to the beginning of the drama: he meets the inquiring small time burglar, then, disliking his gab and being suspicious, Bogart asks to be let out of the car and here he meets Lauren Bacall.
It seems unusual to me, for Bogart to play such a vulnerable character, as well, Bacall, as Miss Jansen seems motivated only because she had a belief that Bogart was not tried fairly, yet we do get some indication of something beneath her 'mater-of-fact- exterior.
There is no strong passion, yet at this time (1940s) there was many such films where passion not topical,, yet evident in actions, beguine, as well, deleterious. There was a hunger for emotional depth, which went beyond outward affections.
Next scene,Bogart is picked up by the most affable and benevolent cabdriver, such as I never encountered! As many cab rides I have taken, not once was there more than banal exchange, unless he was one of the gooney ones who thought he could score with me.
Not only is the cabdriver nice and accommodating, he also knows an iconoclastic plastic surgeon who lost his legal practice and is now doing surgery in his house at 3:00 AM!
As I previously mentioned, this film requires suspension of disbelief; this was more common during this time than any other, as even the 1950s placed more concern on realism and this seemed to come to a peak during the 1970s.
It is a matter of taste, as to how much of what seems impossible in a film based on a serious subject may be overlooked for the more interesting aspects, such being love, hate and indifference. Much of this confusion was part of what made film noir appealing at this time, meant persons were disillusioned, yet tried of the big glitzy pictures that distracted the effects in the Depression, ten years before.
People had more outer security, but felt lost, after WWII. Many of these films are about alienation, the need to be needed overwhelms sensibility. We see Irene Jansen revealed as someone safe, yet alone and here he have a different Bogart, as another confused lost person who is looking for escape, yet without direction; he is not the tough detective, or arch criminal, but the victim of a cruel jealous woman, who would rather harm him if she cannot possess him; here, this character lacks the street wise wit most expect from Bogart, he is just an average man in search for redemption. He wants to find the true killer, to solve a crime and vindicate himself.
Moreover, this Bogart, as Allen is hoping to find a way into the light. As the film ends, we find two unlikely characters both looking for what is darkly missing,, which is love. The picture is quite good, although too incredible for realism; the story shines though for those who appreciate something more a mystery, melodramatic film noir.