Girl With a Pearl Earring

This so rarely happens -- I like a film better because I originally read the book. Usually, I'm disappointed in a director's vision because I had my own vision while reading. (Lord of the Rings is another exception to the rule.) In this case, I enjoyed the film better because someone (read: art director) cared enough to make every scene look like a Vermeer painting. And since one of the intents of the book is to enhance your appreciation of Vermeer's masterpieces, this is manifested as subtext in the film. I found nearly every image breath-taking, and I don't have qualms with the story -- a young Dutch maid secretly becomes a model for a famous artist -- as some seem to. Since it mirrors Tracy Chevalier's novel, perhaps it's the book people should take issue with. Scarlett Johansson is perfect. When she finally turns her head to the camera with the pearl in her ear and the blue and yellow wraps on her head, you think "how lucky were they, finding an actress who can do subtle and who looks the part?" Colin Firth is better here than in recent films, if only because he gets a chance to use those chaste smoldering glances he became famous for in Pride and Prejudice. And, in one of my more surreal movie-going moments, I watched 28 Days Later... several hours after seeing this film. Yes, that is Cillian Murphy in both films (starring in the former, while only window-dressing in the latter), and I never even noticed until the rolling credits. But, that's a review for another day...

year: 2003
length: 95 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335119/combined

The Last Samurai

Sometimes films come along that fall between my ratings categories. In this case, my inkling is to give the film a 3.25. It's certainly slickly produced and very well acted, with scenes that alternate between deeply moving and thrilling. This is usually good enough to merit a 3.5 in my book, however, it falls short of a true 3.5 by not giving us enough to hang the scenes on. There's an interesting story line -- Tom Cruise plays a deadbeat American Army officer hired by the Japanese to train their troops to fight the samurai, but is captured by the samurai and learns their way of life -- and while it's affecting on several levels (the destruction of the samurai, how a foreigner views a radically different culture) it seems to have been made to showcase some brilliant battle scenes. The best way to describe this is that the film has no soul, and for a film about the samurai way of life, with its philosophy of honor, that's a grave error. I was impressed, as many were, by Ken Watanabe who brilliantly understates his role as the samurai leader, and it's possible that this rubbed off on Cruise, not known for understating anything. Here he did a good job of not making his character a passionate convert, which would never have fit with the cynical, bitter man who first came to Japan. So, I give the film the higher mark if only to recommend it to those interested in the subject matter who might otherwise discount it.

year: 2003
length: 154 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325710/combined

Upstairs, Downstairs

I can safely assume that the rest of this series will be as promising as the part that I've seen to date (almost half). Granted, there is one major character change which seems hastily arranged but, in toto, this is one of the more thoroughly enjoyable BBC series ever produced (and yes, The Forsyte Saga takes a second seat to this one). Set in Victorian England, it is the story of the gentry, their downstairs servants, and how their lives intertwine and remain separate at the same time. If nothing else, you learn the mores and ideas of the time (e.g., feminism, divorce, that pesky merchant class). For instance, in one episode the lady of the house must let a servant go who is too old to perform her duties anymore. How she told her was something I'll always remember. Even though the language of that time may sound like everyone is walking on eggshells all the time, there are take-away lessons for our times. In this case, the lesson is that there is always a kind way to do a normally repulsive task. The acting is uniformly perfect, with everyone inhabiting their characters to a T. In fact, I saw Gordon Jackson in another production at some point and found him not at all believable, not due to his acting skills but to the fact that he was the butler on this series, and in my mind, will always be the butler.

year: 1971-1975
length: 68 50-min. episodes
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066722/combined

Freaky Friday

Like, y'know, like, this is so word, dude. (OK, that's my lame attempt at invoking the flavor of this film.) Since it's a remake of the 1976 film starring Jodie Foster, it involves a mother and daughter switching bodies, but that's about all it has in common with the original. This one is updated for this day and age, and not just because it has Lindsay Lohan in it (new teen sensation!) but because instead of the mom being a homemaker, this mom is a psychiatrist. Instead of braces ruining your life, you wear the wrong style of shirt to school. Instead of the dad, you have the boyfriend (and a cute one at that -- Mark Harmon). So, it's hip with the times, but better than that Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis rule. Curtis has a blast acting like a teenager, and is brave enough to look old on film. Lohan is a marvel. I'd never seen her in anything before, but, yes, she is very talented. I completely believed her channeling her mom's personality. And that made for a way fun time, so, like, kick back, enjoy, okay?

year: 2003
length: 93 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0322330/combined

Kundun

Watching this film reminded me of watching films like Waking Life. While visually and emotionally stunning, the pieces have to work extra hard to make up a whole. Martin Scorsese is yet again in his element, describing a cultural phenomenon in pictures, this time the life story of the Dalai Lama. And with non-actors to boot! The feel you get for life as a Tibetan monk and for the conflict between Tibet and China is unparalleled -- the making-of and tearing-down shots of mandala sand paintings, costumed religious dances, the swearing-in ceremony. Even on a tiny screen, the impact of these scenes is visceral. The "confrontation" between the Dalai Lama and Chairman Mao is almost funny, which sounds sacrilegious (and probably is). But, why do I give it a low-ish rating? Because Scorsese works so hard to present all the facts that you are left a bit adrift in how to put all the facts together. For instance, you understand the Dalai Lama's principle of non-violence, but aren't completely sure how it benefited the people of Tibet. And that's probably my main complaint about the film, that it shows us so much of the life of the Dalai Lama that we lose sight of the life of his beloved people. But, if you're up for a spectacle (although not a spectacular spectacular as in Moulin Rouge), this should not disappoint.

year: 1997
length: 128 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119485/combined

The Triplets of Belleville

Sheesh, I suppose Finding Nemo should have won for Best Animated Film, but only because while this film stuns with its images, it doesn't have a normal run-of-the-mill narrative (essentially the story of a biker stolen from the Tour de France and the grandmother who tries to find him). The same could be said about Hayao Miyazaki's work, though, and his films are beyond amazing. This minor quibble shouldn't keep you away from the film because how often will you see art-deco-ish cruise ships, a slow-mo of a dog barking at a train and its occupants, and the pièce de résistance, how one of the triplets catches frogs. Besides, the film relies nearly solely on its images. There are a few spoken words (French? English? I actually couldn't tell), but other than that everything is telegraphed by action, expressions, Stomp-like music, and whistle-blowing (yes, you'll have to see it to believe it). It is a bit violent, which might mean that you don't let your kids see it...yet. But I guarantee you will laugh out loud at least a few times, if not constantly.

original title: Les Triplettes de Belleville
year: 2003
length: 80 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286244/combined

Holes

Apparently, this film is an endorsement of author Louis Sachar, who writes children's books and is widely beloved for the eponymous book. It's cute and somewhat intriguing and definitely glossily produced, there's no doubt about that, but the jokes aren't sophisticated enough for an adult audience and the plot seemed too twisty for children. A boy is wrongly sent to a desert detention camp where he ends up digging 5x5 ft holes for some unknown reason. There are lethal lizards and tasty onions in the mix, as well as an outlaw who kisses her victims before shooting them to death. A little strange, yeah. The supposedly brutal desert digging sequences didn't seem that brutal to me. The famous star is Sigourney Weaver as the detention camp manageress, which it seems she took on to make her kids happy. Henry Winkler has a tasty little role as the boy's dad, and the camp kids are all pert and funny. Yet for me, the material was just too stale to make it enjoyable.

year: 2003
length: 117 min.
rating: 2.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311289/combined

Identity

How sad. A promising thriller with an interesting twist that proves that a good director is worth his weight in (box office) gold. In other words, while this film did okay at the theater, with someone's grand vision at the helm it would have outgrossed...oh...Panic Room (a film with just the opposite, too much style). The setting: Psycho, i.e., a motel in the middle of nowhere, dark and dreary, with an odd manager. The roles: every personality type you can think of stuck together at the motel and getting killed off (as fast as possible). The major star: John Cusack, who should be getting plum roles, but seems to have a crappy agent. Up-and-coming starlet: Amanda Peet, who was starting to scare me every time she opened her mouth to scream, and not because her scream was particularly scary but because it was becoming obvious how malnourished she is. The final denouement: obvious, if you pay even the tiniest bit of attention. With a little bit of style and vision, we would still have known what was going to occur, but at least it would have been an eye-opening ride. Instead, this ends up only slightly more pleasing than a Michael Bay / Jerry Bruckheimer film.

year: 2003
length: 90 min.
rating: 2.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309698/combined

Conspiracy

Another film that gets high marks for its content. It differs from And The Band Played On by being a very engaging film. HBO Films is fast becoming an obvious place to go for quality films that might not be made for theaters (I'm looking forward to Angels in America coming out on DVD since I've heard it's super). The film tells the story of the Wannsee Conference -- the meeting in which Nazi officials decided the fate of the Jews in Germany and its occupied countries. And, yes, it is basically the meeting on film, which sounds almost too boring for words. As you watch, though, you realize that you're looking at a meeting that could be happening in your own offices, in that it feels so normal...except for the horrific fact that they're discussing the extermination of an entire race. There was only one account that survived of this meeting and you have to believe that the personalities around the table, the jokes made, and the utter sincerity of these insane men is for real. But your mind wants to shy away from believing that people like this actually existed. You get a short description at the end of what happened to each man. Surprisingly, most of them died shortly after the Nuremberg Trials of fairly normal causes, but pay attention to what happened to Adolf Eichmann. If that's not karmic justice, I don't know what is.

year: 2001
length: 96 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266425/combined

The Great Dictator

Yet another film about Hitler. But so different from any you've seen before. Not quite serious and not quite funny. And in deadly earnest in places you wouldn't expect. I wish I'd seen this on the big screen for the riveting scenes, in particular the dance with the blow-up globe, shaving the man in time to Brahms, and of course, the final speech. At first, I thought I was going to be distracted by the fact that sound was coming out of Charlie Chaplin's mouth, but I quickly forgot that and was wowed by his genius. I didn't think it was possible to make a film that is knee-slappingly funny in parts and so poignant in others that tears well up. I can't think of a recent film that's done that to me. It is ridiculous to me that some critics call this "a film that seems an indictment of the Nazi regime." Seems? Even in hindsight I don't think it's possible not to see this as a blistering attack on right-wing politics and the treatment of Jews, at the very least. It's no wonder he had to escape the US for his left-leaning tendencies not meshing with McCarthy politics. But what a pity that we didn't get 20 more years of good film out of him.

year: 1940
length: 124 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032553/combined