Sunday, December 28, 2003

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

For all you Terminator fans, you'll want to see this film, if only to see where they're taking the story. It won't surprise you that there isn't much in terms of actual story. After the first film, this was never more than an action franchise. (Although the second one wasn't bad either since James Cameron seems to be able to meld story and action better than most.) However, I believe it's safe to say that I've never seen a film with more TV-news mayhem in it. A wide-load monster truck with crane attached barreling through the streets of LA destroying (read: upending) literally every car in its path using a hook on the end of the crane? I actually started laughing because it was so believable and over the top at the same time. As to the actors, I don't get why Nick Stahl doesn't get more parts. Besides being able to glower seductively from underneath bushy eyebrows, he can emote with the best of them. Granted, he's not given a whole lot of pithy dialogue to work with here and occasionally over-does things. Schwarzenegger himself is, well, as ever, but this time it's clear they're making fun of the Terminator franchise itself. Silly sunglasses, psychology jokes, weight issues -- all based on his character. The DVD contains a gag reel, worth it if only to watch Schwarzenegger create a gag over handling multiple weapons at the same time.

year: 2003
length: 109 min.
rating: 2.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181852/combined

The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl

You can't come away from this film without conflicting emotions. On the one hand, you believe Frau Riefenstahl when she (adamantly) scoffs at any notion that she was involved in the party politics of the Nazis. On the other hand, you see pictures of her laughing and smiling with Hitler, letters she wrote him after his Blitzkrieg successes, and the obvious propaganda nature of her famous film Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will) about Hitler and his Nazi parades. But you cannot ignore her talent. This woman knew how to direct and how to edit. Her description of how she put together one of her earlier films after someone butchered it and what she learned from that process, and her thoughts on how to create an aesthetically pleasing film, show that she was as skilled a film auteur as any you can name today. Her technological innovations for filming her documentary of the 1936 Berlin Olympic games alone are astounding -- digging pits for the cameras so that they could film up at the runners, creating a balloon camera that would float above the stadium, placing a camera along the sides of the track that moved at the speed of the race. Several of her innovations are commonplace today. If she had been allowed to continue her career, without the allegations of her instrumental part in Hitler's reign, she would have been among the most famous German directors ever. Of that, I have no doubt. But, of course, there were allegations and her career was destroyed before it started. The genius of this documentary is that it lets you decide on your own whom you want to believe. By the way, the translation of the German "die Macht der Bilder" is "the power of pictures," which seems much more apt a title.

original title: Die Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl
year: 1993
length: 180 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107472/combined

Mystic River

Because Clint Eastwood films his productions with so simple a hand, a film of his might not hit you until well after you leave the theater. There are always hints that what you're seeing is not run-of-the-mill. A regular ending to a suspense drama is when the bad guy gets caught. In this case, no one who should get caught is caught, and the ending is a musing on the nature of community and friendship and love, which seems so at odds with the reality of the film that you wonder why Eastwood did it. Except that it has everything to do with the reality of the film. Kevin Bacon (playing the Eastwood character), Sean Penn, and most impressively, Tim Robbins, are old childhood friends with one horrible secret that comes back to haunt them -- that one of them was sexually abused as a child. But that's not really what the film is about. The film is about love, and the things that are done in the name of it, whether that be protection, deceit, betrayal, jealousy or even a cry for help. Eastwood is a master at realism (what you see is what you get) with the deeper symbolic meanings hidden below this surface. You watch a scene, played "as is," and you don't immediately recognize the thematic layer because what you're seeing is so involving itself. Are any of the rest of you amazed that an actor known for tight-lipped, unemotional roles can put out such complex creations? And he keeps getting better and better.

year: 2003
length: 137 min.
rating: 4.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327056/combined

Thursday, December 18, 2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

I feel so much better now. I think I've been holding my breath for 3 years . I had huge expectations walking into this film and now I can let all that stress go because it was wonderful. The film is paced the same way as the first two, fairly slowly, but with bursts of exciting images that make you want to shout from the rooftops. In particular, I loved the lighting of the signals from mountaintop to mountaintop. The images themselves make a lump grow in your throat, but better than that was the reaction from Aragorn (played much more aptly than in the first two films, although he's still not adept at exposition, by Viggo Mortensen). There are plenty of opportunities to have your funny bone tickled, even so far into the film as the orcs who capture Frodo. There are also opportunities for surprise. The city where the King of the Nazguls resides shocked the heck out of me, and I think others in the audience. Orlando Bloom as Legolas once again gets the best stunt (although I didn't like this one as much as the one in the second film). Each major character learns and grows throughout the film, and the most eye-opening of these was Samwise Gamgee. Jackson should be counting his lucky stars that he cast Sean Astin in that role. And the ending is quite moving. I am not ashamed to say that tears were coursing down my cheeks. You'd think I wouldn't have been so moved knowing what the ending would be but it was so nice to see it enacted well. And, dare I say, correctly. A marathon of all three films back to back was shown in NYC (when they do this in Ann Arbor I'll be one of the first there). One fan, when asked why she was there, put down her book (do you have to ask which book?) and answered that she was there in tribute to Peter Jackson, "a fan who understood." In the final analysis, the films show that he cared about what he was making. And that's what really counts.

year: 2003
length: 201 min. theatrical release / 251 min. extended release
rating: 4.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167260/combined

Friday, December 12, 2003

The West Wing

Who's my favorite character on this TV series? That's so hard because they're all excellent. I suppose it comes down to two, Toby and C.J., because Richard Schiff and Allison Janney are so good at making characters out of their characters. I mean, they've fleshed them out better than the others have. And they're funnier, to boot. I could see how some folks might be offended at the idea of a wise-cracking White House staff, however Aaron Sorkin blends that with issues in a way that makes it fun to learn about politics and the process of politics. The first season is out on DVD, which I immediately purchased (the only TV series I'm probably ever bound to buy), and 95% of the episodes are fantastic. (There's one -- The Crackpots and These Women -- that seemed phoned-in and is offensive as well.) Moira Kelly is the only original series character not to be included in the following seasons, and it becomes rather obvious why she was "replaced" by Janel Moloney. Hands down this is my fave TV show and I wish it hadn't taken them so long to release it on DVD. Those of us without television, who've watched episodes here and there, were champing at the bit.

year: 1999-?
length: season 1 on DVD, season 5 in play
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200276/combined

The Italian Job

As heist flicks go, this one's got all the usual elements. No huge surprises -- a tech guy, an explosives guy, the master planner guy and the token girl, who just happens to know how to open a safe. I think I liked it better than most because the lead actors are strong and gutsy, and yet you can sympathize with them because they bring a fragility to their acting. Mark Wahlberg is probably the only actor in his generation that combines equal amounts of tenderness and toughness, and I just like Charlize Theron...well...for the same reasons. Apparently, this is a remake (re-thinking, actually) of a 1969 film of the same name, which I've not seen. I'm sometimes hesitant to watch older action/heist/thriller films because I know that I'm a product of my generation. If it's a blow-things-up film, then I'd like to see that done believably. Let's face it: the technology is better now. Of course, having said that I should watch the original and see for myself. They both have the cool little mini-Coopers in them. Although, watching Theron driving one really fast makes me clutch the edges of my seat cushions. Showing my age, I think. If you like these types of films, this one doesn't have anywhere the impact of Heat but it easily tops The Score. When you rent the DVD, watch the first deleted scene. I can see why they left it out (actually they left a lot of the comedy bits out), but it's well worth giggling over.

year: 2003
length: 111 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317740/combined

Down With Love

Another film you can't trust critics on! Oh, wait, that's me. I'm going to go against the grain, though, and not review it in terms of its use of film language or inclusion in the film oeuvre. Bleah. You need to recognize the spirit in which it was made: fun! The director had fun, the costume designer had fun, the score composer had fun, the actors definitely had fun. A tale of a woman who writes a how-to book -- how to not fall in love but still have plenty of sex -- and the one man she can't seem to work her theory on. So, your classic man meets woman, woman loses man, man and woman reconcile type script. Except that this one is a re-make of Pillow Talk (Rock Hudson and Doris Day) and includes Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger. I have to admit up front that his teeth and her chipmunk cheeks never did much for me, but this is okay for this film. They don't have to be classic model types. The film's too much fun for that. So, put a big smile on your face, slip this into the player and enjoy a well-made fluff movie.

year: 2003
length: 101 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309530/combined

Cries and Whispers

This is a meditation on dying, mostly symbolic with little exposition, as in many Ingmar Bergman films. Two sisters return home to their manor to take care of a dying sister, along with their long-time maid. I doubt Bergman thought of the film as melodramatic, probably more a thoughtful description of dying, whether corporeally or emotionally, but all the long glances and overwrought expressions can get on your nerves after a while. Besides, these are rich people dying, so already we're not inclined to be sympathetic. (Although it's clear that making it the rich dying serves to enhance the difference between the maid and the sisters.) The repetitious images of how bored and lonely the sister are just doesn't make sense in the time-crunched society I live in. Still, it's affecting in that it's difficult to watch someone die. And it is wondrous in its bleakness. I've only seen a couple other Bergman films, and the last one I enjoyed thoroughly (Wild Strawberries), but I don't remember leaving a film feeling so bereft of hope. The last scene is meant to bolster you, but how can you forget everything you've seen them do and say to each other? It makes you want to give up, and that's not a feeling I like to be left with no matter what form of entertainment I've chosen.

original title: Viskningar och Rop
year: 1972
length: 106 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069467/combined

A Christmas Carol

It's unfair of me to say that this rendition of Charles Dickens' famous story is my favorite, because I've only seen one other, Scrooged, and that was an adaptation (although Bill Murray was pretty darn funny). Among the A Christmas Carol cognoscenti, this one seems to be top-rated and I believe that's in large part due to Alastair Sim in the lead role. I watch the film every holiday season (on VHS, sadly) and every season it's more delightful than the last. This time around, I noticed what a comic genius Sim is. For those of you who have seen it, you may be thinking "well, duh, that's rather obvious" but what I mean is that he's using his comedic sensibilities throughout the film, even when he's a being a grinch. When the ghost of Christmas past asks him to follow him, he grimaces as a child would who doesn't want to do what his parent is asking. It at least brings a smile to your face. Of course, he's also very good at being a stinker, being heartbroken, and being tender, as in the scene with his nephew's wife. He, and the fantastic supporting cast, make this a joy to watch. It does exist on DVD, but beware the colorized version. It also might be difficult to purchase (Amazon doesn't seem to have it in stock), but I'm sure stores will be carrying it for the holidays to rent.

year: 1951
length: 86 min.
rating: 4.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044008/combined

Heaven

Tom Tykwer's films are about supposedly hopeless cases being saved in miraculous circumstances. His previous two, Run Lola Run and The Princess and the Warrior, meld stunning visuals (who can forget that opening scene to the latter film), intense, sometimes unbelievable storylines, and a bit of magic. He's trying to do the same in this film -- a woman convicted of a crime is helped to escape by a policeman who falls in love with her -- but for a reason I can't put my finger on it doesn't work as well. This is his first non-German language film (it's in Italian and English), and also the first time he's directing a script not his own, which could be a large part of it. He seems to be trying too hard here, and our empathy for the main characters isn't strong enough to make us want the ending he gives us. Cate Blanchett, however, is marvelous. Her revelation scene proves what a natural and believable actor she is. Both she and Giovanni Ribisi have no English or American accent (that I could discern) when they speak Italian, without which the film would have been more unbelievable than it already is.

year: 2002
length: 96 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246677/combined