Friday, April 30, 2004

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

As one reviewer puts it, "switch off your cynicism" when you watch this film. Difficult for me to understand how anyone watching it could take it seriously, but it takes all kinds. It involves the adventures (aptly named) of a rock-n-roll-guitar-playing, martial-arts-devotee, particle-physics-tinkerer brain surgeon. See what I mean? Silly stuff. Besides it having one of the two most handsome leading men, Peter Weller, as its main character (you'll have to guess the other one), it includes everyone else fromthe 1980s, and I do mean everyone. Ellen Barkin is the sultry seductress, Clancy Brown plays a good guy for a change (I guess he turned bad guy later), Jeff Goldblum is a fellow (but nutty) brain surgeon, Christopher Lloyd and Dan Hedaya are some of the bad "lectroids from Planet 10," heck, even Detective Taggart from Beverly Hills Cop is here. Last but not least, John Lithgow goes WAY over the top to play the Italian scientist, delusional due to a bad particle physics experiment. It's a cult movie, sure, andnot just because of all the great character actors. Many quotable lines -- my fave is "no, no, don't tug on that, you never know what it might be attached to" as Weller and Goldblum are inside someone's brain. You want a really good laugh? Watch this. Better yet, own it. It's something you'll return to again and again.

year: 1984
length: 103 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086856/combined

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Dawn of the Dead

I just can't give a ZOMBIE movie more than 3 stars, I just can't. I mean, it's a ZOMBIE movie, for goodness sake! There's nothing enlightening or uplifting or hopeful or useful about them. They're only meant to make you pee in your pants. Which I didn't do during this one because I've learned to laugh at them. Even the absolute grossest stuff (like a baby ZOMBIE that must be shot) is hilarious. Because I know that the filmmakers are doing it to scare the bejeezus out of you -- that is their raison d'etre. All put together though, this film is not as entertaining as 28 Days Later... was. It wasn't as scary, which some folks may disagree with me on, but I'll stand firm. 28 Days Later... seemed plausible, which is infinitely more terrifying. This one was implausible from start to finish. I mean, why leave the mall to begin with, you dummies? Of course, the ZOMBIES will get you. That's what they're there for! Anyway, go see it if you just want to have a fun time with your pals, but if you want to watch a real ZOMBIE film, rent the British one instead.

year: 2004
length: 100 min.
rating: 2.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363547/combined

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

To Live

I think it's silly to call Gong Li the greatest actress in China. She's the greatest actor in China, to use the "generic" term. Close collaboration with Zhang Yimou hasn't hurt at all. He provides the scenery to chew on, and she does so. In this film, a family is ripped to shreds every several years. Everyone soldiers on, because that's how life works, but Zhang is not just creating a story of heartbreak, forgiveness and perseverance. He blends in the times, in this case starting with the Chinese revolution and continuing on through the Mao years, and everything that came with them. Even with the family's travails, they never blame anything on the government, only on what they didn't do correctly. But each new tragedy brings with it a hint that with a different governing force, none of it ever would have happened. Those (particular) times are past in China, but his films continue to be banned nationally, while being lauded critically outside his own country. (This particular film has never been legally shown in China.) No big surprise to anyone who's seen just a couple of his films. I, for one, will be lining up to see Hero, his newest film, if only because I'm bemused that he's finally taking on the martial-arts-with-wires genre. Where's the political commentary in that?

original title: Huozhe
year: 1994
length: 125 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110081/combined

Monday, April 26, 2004

Kill Bill: Volume 2

This film is better than the first volume. It's also better than Pulp Fiction. But before anyone jumps down my throat on that last one, the reason is because Quentin Tarantino seems to be learning how to create a film by not just cobbling together all of his influences. Having heard and read interviews of Tarantino (and if you've never heard him, it's worth it... once), I would be quite dense not to be aware that the man is driven by what has come before. This can be frustrating for the viewer, although it isn't so much for me because I enjoy his efforts at playing around with genre identification and trying to mix and match as many as he can. He certainly does that in this second part, but he also creates a nice (well, nice is far from the right word), cohesive, complete story. That's craft, and that's the difficult part. I wonder whether folks who haven't seen the first one would be lost in this one, but I consider them two completely different (and different types of) films. There's much more dialogue and less violence in this final part. I would caution some people from watching either, because although the violence is stylistic and meant to amuse as well as entertain (if nothing else, watch Volume 2 for the sword fight in the trailer), this may not be obvious (or desirable) to the inexperienced filmgoer. But you may not want to miss David Carradine. Thought Kung Fu was just another poorly acted 70s TV series? Clearly not.

year: 2004
length: 136 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378194/combined

Saturday, April 24, 2004

The Spanish Apartment

It makes no never mind that this film isn't very weighty. If you've ever lived for an extended period of time in Europe, everything in you will ache to return after watching it. All those things you experienced -- the techno-Euro-pop, the crowded and dusty streets, the sounds of the scooters. Jeez, didn't I complain about these very things when I lived in Italy? Well, the film addresses that also -- moving to another country, how you grow to love it, and when you return to your own, how you love to tell about the horrific adventures (which were so painful at the time) you had while adjusting. Truth! Plenty of standard cliches in the film (e.g., the German is neat, the Italian is messy), although the one ugly-American type isn't American, he's British, which is refreshing. Apart from the yearning to be young and free and living in Europe, the film doesn't provide much more. There are lessons on how to be a "real" man, an amusing boyfriend- arrives-while-girlfriend-is-sleeping-with-someone-else scene, and the realization that life is the same anywhere and everywhere. And yet, the super-hip style (especially the initial walk through the Ministry offices) is interesting in and of itself. The ending tries to make you believe that they've been discussing the state of the European Union all along, but I guess I'm dense since this wasn't obvious to me until then.

original title: L'Auberge Espagnole
year: 2002
length: 122 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283900/combined

Friday, April 16, 2004

Good Bye, Lenin!

Right after the closing credits started rolling, the couple in front of me said "What a charming film!" That, and the brilliant concept the film is predicated on, make it one of two films so far this year that are a "must-see" (yes, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the second one). The film is not without its flaws (that darn boom operator, and the numerous teeny tiny plot holes) but those really, truly don't matter by the time you get to the end. The director has crafted a film based on his experiences living in East Germany before and after the wall fell, and has written a fabricated story around his mother being in a heart attack-induced coma during reunification. In order to keep her stable, he must make her believe that East Germany still exists. This is both funny and touching at near simultaneous moments throughout the film (in no scene more so than when the statue of Lenin is helicoptered past the mother, pointing his finger at her as he flies by). And underneath it all is the radical notion that elements of socialist East Germany weren't so half bad. Or at least that a mix of capitalism and socialism is better than the polar opposites we have now in the world. I heartily endorse the film, and recommend it to anyone interested in different world views. And those who like to laugh hard.

year: 2003
length: 121 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/combined

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Hellboy

I expected more from this film, uh, flick. It had the strong support of its creator (Mike Mignola) and included some halfway decent character actors. Plus all the special effects you can buy. Maybe that's it -- it was all special effects and not enough story. As opposed to, for instance, Spider-Man and X-Men, which had plenty of story to keep you interested in the fight scenes. I believe the studios are finally getting around to realizing that not only boys ages 7-15 are going to see these films. Perhaps they thought that Hellboy, not being a household name, wouldn't gather a lot of attention from the regular masses. Then why even bother with a character who's wisecracking and sarcastic? In other words, I'm not sure the filmmakers had a particular audience in mind during the making of the film, and it shows in the lack of cohesion between story and special effects. Now, for all of you who don't know who Hellboy is, he was "discovered" in the 1930s, is bright red with horns, likes stogies and Baby Ruths, and works for a paranormal research government facility. Oh, and he's a comic book character, in case that wasn't obvious yet. Played by Ron Perlman (who is much more interesting in La Cité des Enfants Perdus). I'm not even going to comment on the love triangle. Okay, one comment: he's not supposed to be in love with Liz Sherman! She's a friend! Always was, and nothing more! Done now.

year: 2004
length: 132 min.
rating: 2.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167190/combined

Monday, April 12, 2004

Victor/Victoria

My, can you ever see Blake Edwards in this film. There are even pratfalls! (Reminiscent of Inspector Clouseau, natch.) And in a musical, no less. Julie Andrews and Robert Preston star as desperate singers who will do almost anything to get a gig. James Garner is the love interest. But, there's a catch. Robert Preston's character is gay and Julie Andrews' character is a woman playing a man playing a woman. So, as could be expected, lots of commentary on gender bias, differences, and attitudes, both societal and individual. You might claim that this is subtext in the film, but it's much too blatant to be subtext, I think. Dame Julie is eye-openingly different from her Mary Poppins or Sound of Music incarnations, but I found it difficult to completely remove those prior film roles from my mind as I was watching. It could be because her diction and bearing are as spotless as they ever were and I was expecting something a bit more grungy. It's a minor complaint, though, since we get to hear her sing, and was there ever a more perfect voice? The best stuff happens at the end (and everything is set up nicely from previous scenes), especially Andrews and Preston dancing and singing at Chez Lui, and the final Spanish tune. I laughed till my face hurt. Preston deserved his Oscar nomination just for that scene.

year: 1982
length: 132 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084865/combined