Movie Review Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) 

Directed by John Cameron Mitchell 

Written by John Cameron Mitchell 

Starring John Cameron Mitchell, Michael Pitt, Andrea Martin, Miriam Shor

Release Date July 20th, 2001 

Published November 27th, 2001 

One of my favorite shows is VH1's behind the music and my favorite part is usually about 30 minutes in when the announcer intones "Fame came with a price." For Hedwig the genderless protagonist of Hedwig and the Angry Inch the price is one I know I could not have paid.

You see Hedwig used to be Hansel an earnest faced gay teen living in communist East Germany who decides to attempt to become a woman after falling in love with an American GI. I say attempts to become a woman because poor Hansel's operation went awry leaving him with an angry inch get it. Penis or no penis Hansel marries the GI, changes his name to Hedwig and moves to a Kansas trailer park. All of this is enough material for a fascinating offbeat comedy but this is merely the back-story to Hedwig. John Cameron Mitchell writes directs and stars as Hedwig, which he created in an off Broadway theater.

The music is the real star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch; it is brilliant rock music like nothing that's been heard in years. The music emulates Bowie Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls with only slightly more accessible pop edge. There is a great deal of Ziggy Stardust in Hedwig and thank God, if your gonna steal steal from the best.

Oh how nice it is to see a film that is surprising, that is not bound by the rules of genre or conventional filmmaking. Hedwig is a breath of fresh air and one of the best films of the year.

Movie Review Made

Made (2001) 

Directed by Jon Favreau

Written by Jon Favreau 

Starring Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Puff Daddy, Peter Falk, Famke Janssen 

Release Date July 13th, 2001 

Published October 25th, 2001 

I hate living in the Midwest, always hopelessly behind the times. I get Variety a month behind and no Hollywood reporter at all. But the worst is not getting indie films 'til they're very successful or headed to video. But thanks to Nova Cinetech I get too see some indies, though still much later than those of you in big cities. 

Which brings me to my review of Jon Favreau's Made which, for a lot of you, is a couple months ago memory and for me not exactly new having read so much about it. Nonetheless Made is the first post Soprano's gangster story all be it on the periphery of "gangsterism," as a pair of would be goomba's take on their first assignment a simple money drop that, of course, if it were that simple there wouldn't be a movie.

For Jon Favreau, it's not really the gangster part that interests him. It's the interaction between his character and his best friend played by Vince Vaughn, who seems to have been instructed to not just act his lines but to make sure he gets in the way of everyone else acting their lines. Favreau plays the flustered straight man to Vaughn's wacky troublemaker beautifully, tweaking their Swingers dynamic with a bit of danger and a dollop more of forced machismo, fitting of the gangster setting. 

Made is populated with great performances including a surprisingly good turn by Sean Puffy Combs. But it's clearly Vince Vaughn's show. As Ricky Slade, Vaugh he is a force of annoying nature. Ricky is the first post Soprano/Gangsta Rap wannabe gangster who believes that if he just knows the lingo and acts tough he can be a gangster.

Made is a funny and entertaining film that I highly recommend.

Movie Review Sexy Beast

Sexy Beast (2001) 

Directed by Jonathan Glazer 

Written by Louis Mellis David Scinto

Starring Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone, Ian McShane

Release Date June 15th, 2001 

Published March 13th, 2002 

All the talk has been about Ben Kingsley's Oscar nominated turn in the British gangster drama, Sexy Beast. Beast is an unsatisfying genre exercise somewhat elevated by Kingsley's blistering performance.

Sexy Beast is the story of retired British gangster named Gale and played by Ray Winstone. Gale is living the high life in Spain with his beautiful wife in a gorgeous, idyllic Spanish villa. Things are going well until a friend informs him that an old associate from England is coming to town to offer him a job he can't refuse. This isn't just any old associate though; this is the infamous Don Logan. 

We aren't introduced to Logan necessarily, but the faces of the people discussing him tell the audience everything we need to know. We eventually see Logan, played by Ben Kingsley, and though he is not physically imposing, we quickly see why people are afraid of him. Logan has no time for small talk, has no apparent sense of humor and seems as if he would piss on you as much as talk to you. 

Tbe plot turns on Gale's attempts to turn down Logan's offer but Logan won't hear of it, screaming and threatening him all the while firing expletives like bullets. Logan's words are so raw and so fiery that when he speaks people duck out of the way. Kingsley's ability to be menacing with manner, with presence, and with the expert deployment of four letter words. 

Unfortunately the rest of the film can't match Kingsley's pace or energy. The job Logan wants Gale to do is not all that interesting in setup or execution. And to be honest, I'm not sure I knew just what the job was because by the time the film gets to it, Kingsley's out of the picture and I had lost interest. 

Ray Winstone is a good actor but here, he seems lackadaisical, as if he isn't much interested in what's going on. I understand that some of that is by design but it's not helped by Winstone having to be compared to Kingsley's fiery performance. The man formerly known as Lovejoy, Ian Mcshane, has a supporting role as the mob boss who sets the plot in motion but all he did for me was provide an opportunity to make jokes about Lovejoy.

The cinematography of Sexy Beast is outstanding. Cinematographer Ivan Bird gives the film a gorgeously sun-baked look. Bird also innovates with an incredible boulders eye view scene early in the film as a boulder rolls toward Gale's home, one thematically reminiscent of the unstoppable force that is Kingsley's Logan. I also want to highlight the film's soundtrack, provided by British star Unkle. His energy is fitting of Kingsley's Logan in the most unexpected ways.

Ben Kingsley more than shows why he is Oscar nominated for this performance, he is awesome. If the rest of the film were as good as him it would be a Best Picture candidate.

Movie Review: Chasing Holden

Chasing Holden (2001) 

Directed by Malcolm Clarke

Written by Sean Kanan

Starring D.J Qualls, Rachel Blanchard

Release Date October 11th, 2001 

Published June 3rd, 2002 

I have never read "The Catcher In the Rye". When I was a kid I thought it was about Yankee's catcher Yogi Berra, because I thought it was set in the 50's and Yogi was a catcher in the 50's. I still don't know the story fully though from seeing the straight-to-video feature Chasing Holden starring DJ Qualls I now have a good sense for the story and I may check it out. Maybe, if I find the time.

Holden is the story of Neil (Qualls), the son of the Governor of New York. Neil has just been released from a mental hospital after his father suspected he was contemplating suicide. Neil is troubled by his father’s distance that is covered by his father’s high-profile job but has more to do with a brother we never see.

Neil is enrolled at a private school where he meets the equally messed up T.J (Rachel Blanchard). They bond over Neil's dog-eared copy of “Catcher in the Rye” and their coupling in drama class. After following her home and having dinner with her parents, Neil is convinced she is a kindred spirit and invites her on his spiritual journey to meet the author of “Catcher in The Rye”, JD Salinger.

As Neil hides his past from TJ, she too has a secret health problem that she doesn't want to reveal in fear of scaring him off. As the journey goes on we begin to see that Neil's obsession with Salinger may not be a healthy one. An obsession that is well documented in a rather creepy scene where Neil explains to TJ why Mark Chapman killed John Lennon and how Chapman's motivation was linked to Salinger's book.

Qualls is a very unlikely romantic lead, but then with his gawky frame and goofy manner he is an unlikely actor. In Chasing Holden, Qualls's strange look works, giving the character an edginess that is unsettling from beginning to end. Blanchard on the other and isn't as successful. Her TJ isn't quirky enough to match Qualls's weirdness and her character's motivations are a little thin. In the end she seems more like a plot device in service of Qualls' Neil and his journey, rather than being a character in her own right.

Director Malcolm Clarke gives the feeling of a director still feeling his way around a camera. He has an idea of what he wants to do with each shot but isn't entirely sure how to make it work. In the end, Clarke's Chasing Holden is an interesting film. A little dull at times, but saved moderately by Qualls’ interesting performance.

Movie Review Buffalo Soldiers

Buffalo Soldiers (2001) 

Directed by Gregor Jordan

Written by Gregor Jordan, Eric Weiss, Nora Maccoby 

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin 

Release Date July 18th, 2003 

Published November 11th, 2003 

We have been waiting for quite awhile now for film adaptation of Robert O'Connor's caustic military novel Buffalo Soldiers. The film version is one of the last films delayed by the tragedy of September 11th.

It gathered dust on the shelves of Miramax because of its decidedly unpatriotic look at military life. The soldiers of Buffalo Soldiers are not the patriotic stick figures trotted out for numerous war movies dating back through all of Hollywood history. These soldiers are drug dealers, murderers, racists and pimps. So it's not surprising that after September 11th and subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that the film stirred enough controversy to be dumped into limited release and essentially disowned by it's studio.

This decidedly nihilistic look at military life on a German base in peacetime stars Joaquin Phoenix as PFC. Ray Elwood. From his smirking demeanor, he looks like any other acerbic rebel of a number of different military movies. However, on closer inspection, Ray Elwood is no one liner spouting caricature but rather an amoral drug-dealing, wheeler dealer with few if any redeeming qualities. Bill Murray-lovable loser type this is not. 

Ray runs the military base from the office of Colonel Berman (Ed Harris). As Berman's assistant, Ray can requisition any and all material goods and what he can't get he can trade for on the black market. Ray is also the best drug cook in the military, a skill that landed him in the military when a judge offered him the choice of the army or jail. Ray acquires and prepares heroin for the base's top drug dealer, a military police officer played by Sheik Mahmoud Bey.

Elwood's operation is thrown into jeopardy when a new top Sergeant (Scott Glenn) decides to put Elwood out of business. A former Vietnam veteran, the top sergeant has a reputation as a killer. This doesn't stop Elwood from pressing the Sergeant's buttons, even going as far as dating his daughter Robyn (Anna Paquin), a wild child in her own right, who introduces Elwood to ecstasy. The rivalry between Elwood and the Sergeant is the crux of the film.

From a story standpoint, it's interesting to consider what it must have been like for our military for the number of years between Vietnam and the first war in Iraq. Aside from the minor skirmish here and there, our military guys had a lot of time on their hands, and you know what they say about idle hands. Try idle hands with access to a lot of weapons and drugs.

The problem with Buffalo Soldiers however, is that it never establishes a rooting interest. Phoenix's Elwood is nearly charming enough for us to buy into his anti-hero bit. However, he just doesn't quite have the offhand charm of a good movie scoundrel. The performance is all too earnestly nihilistic to care about.

Director Gregor Jordan seems to go out of his way to separate Buffalo Soldiers from obvious genre movies. He isn't making straight drama or comedy but he seems to go out of his way, especially to avoid comedy. The film’s funniest moments come from Ed Harris playing against type as the bumbling Colonel Berman.

Imagine Stripes as envisioned by Chuck Pahlaniuk and directed by David Fincher and you get an idea what Buffalo Soldiers is going for. It's a take it or leave it portrait of questionable behavior, death, machismo, and murder. No one liners, no forced perspectives or lessons to be learned. Buffalo Soldiers is more of an interesting concept than it is a great movie.

Movie Review Tape

Tape (2001) 

Directed by Richard Linklater

Written by Stephen Belber 

Starring Uma Thurman, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke 

Release Date November 2nd, 2001 

Published April 16th, 2002 

Someone once said that there are three sides to every story: Yours, mine, and the truth. This is the central theme of Richard Linklater's film Tape starring Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Uma Thurman.

Hawke is Vince, a low level drug dealer and a world-class fuckup. Vince is in Lansing, Michigan for the Lansing Film Festival where his friend John (Leonard) is debuting his first film. The two meet at Vince's rundown hotel room with John expecting to go to dinner, but Vince has another agenda. Thus begins a game of verbal cat and mouse with Vince attempting lead John to the conclusion that best fits what Vince wants to hear.

The disagreement is over Vince's high school girlfriend Amy and an incident between John and Amy that each remembers differently. Vince has a surprise for John in that Amy is in Lansing and on her way to the hotel as they speak. Amy (Uma) is surprised to see John and is obviously unnerved at seeing him again. Vince quickly steers the conversation to high school and the thing that happened between John and Amy.

What happened between John and Amy? Well that’s interesting you see, they aren't quite sure. Each character remembers it differently which leads to amazing bouts of verbal warfare, shifting alliances and childish name-calling.

Linklater, the man behind Dazed and Confused and Slacker, here crafts a story that would easily translate to a play. A single set three actors and a lot of very good dialogue. The actors are up to the challenge. With each line of dialogue they make their point while their faces and actions give the audience insight into who they are. There is some obvious improvisation going on and the improv makes the dialogue feel real.

Linklater shot the film on digital video, which allows him to use the room’s natural lighting and adds to the feeling of intimacy, of being there, witnessing this conversational warfare. As the film progresses, Linklater uses the DV camera to visually shrink the room with tight, claustrophobic, close-ups, magnifying the tension in each characters face.

Tape is a small but powerful film that, like Changing Lanes, is an insightful look at human nature and how right and wrong can at times be decided by what is perceived instead of what is true. Emotions, instincts, anger and self-preservation are all part of being human; it's how you deal with them that define you as a person. I may be over-intellectualizing this film, maybe it's just about three people and a misunderstanding. This review may be more of an insight into this reviewer than this film, but these are honestly all the things that went through my mind as I watched this magnificent film. 

I highly recommend Tape. 

Movie Review Shallow Hal

Shallow Hal (2001) 

Directed by The Farrelly Brothers

Written by The Farrelly Brothers 

Starring Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tony Robbins, Jason Alexander

Release Date November 9th, 2001 

Published March 15th, 2002

The Farrelly Brothers have had an extremely hit and miss career, having created two of the best comedies of the last ten years, Kingpin and There's Something About Mary, and a couple of the worst, Dumb and Dumber, Say It Isn't So and Osmosis Jones. I'm glad to say that with their latest effort, Shallow Hal, starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow, the Farrelly's have a hit on their hands. The Hal of Shallow Hal is High Fidelity's wind up toy from hell Jack Black and he is back himself after the misfire of Saving Silverman.

Hal is an extremely self deluded jerk who believes that all that matters when it comes to women is physical beauty, neglecting the fact that he is no prize pig himself. Jason Alexander plays his best friend Mauricio who shares Hal's delusion to an even greater degree, Mauricio also has a few of those truly Farrelly Esqe physical features that payoff with big laughs. One day Hal gets locked in an elevator with self improvement guru Tony Robbins, in a surprisingly dexterous turn, who listens to Hal's life story and decides to help him by hypnotizing him into seeing people's inner beauty.

Then Hal meets Rosemary who he and we see as Gwyneth Paltrow but who is actually Gwyneth 300 hundred pounds heavier. This is where the film could have gone wrong. It could have gone very wrong with disgusting jokes at the expense of overweight people but the Farrelly's deftly turn it into an almost afterschool special like a lesson on not judging a book by its cover.

Don't get me wrong, the film is very funny and often raunchy, but the inner beauty message is laid on a little thick at times. Gwyneth Paltrow is amazingly sweet and beautiful even under 300 hundred pounds of makeup. She and Jack Black make a surprisingly fantastic pair with great chemistry and timing. Paltrow is a tad stiff with the Farrelly's brand of physical humor but she makes up for it with a go for the gusto laughter that is very endearing. 

The Farrelly Brothers, when they indulge in their sweet side as they did in both Kingpin and There's Something ABout Mary, and now in Shallow Hal, are quite good at introducing and taking care of sweet, vulnerable characters. It's the sweetness that rescues the often quite sour humor of The Farrelly Brothers whose raunchy jokes may not be for everybody but when they are delivered with earnest good nature, they can reach all audiences equally. 

Shallow Hal is the proof of concept that not all Farrelly Brothers characters have to be obnoxious or on all the time in order to draw out a laughter. The Farrelly's deploy romance like weapon and use it soften the blow from their more sophomoric style of humor. 

Movie Review Kate and Leopold

Kate & Leopold 

Directed by James Mangold 

Written by James Mangold, Steven Rogers

Starring Hugh Jackman, Meg Ryan, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer, Natasha Lyonne, Bradley Whitford

Release Date December 25th, 2001 

Published January 24th, 2002 

There has been talk that romantic comedy is a dying genre. The plots and conventions of the genre have become too familiar and many filmgoers are growing more pessimistic about on-screen romance. Kate & Leopold may not be the film to breathe new life into this struggling genre but for what it is, a light little cookie of a film, it's not bad.

You know your watching a romantic comedy when Meg Ryan comes on screen wrinkling her cute button nose that screams, “Love me.” In this film she is the titular Kate, who is more concerned about getting ahead at her job in advertising than finding a meaningful relationship. Her last relationship was with a quirky scientist played by Liev Schreiber. Schreiber is trying to solve the puzzle of time travel so that he can travel through time to meet his great-great uncle Leopold (Hugh Jackman), an inventor who may hold the key to Liev's scientific writer’s block.

After accomplishing time travel he accidentally brings Leopold back to the future with him. From there Kate meets Leopold who she assumes is some method actor. Leopold is immediately drawn to Kate but she at first just thinks he's weird. There is something odd about him, he's chivalrous and well mannered and well spoken. Very unusual for the modern male, but then as we already know he's not modern at all.

The love story develops well and director James Mangold doesn't let the film’s gimmicky premise get in the way of Ryan and Jackman's wonderful chemistry. All great romantic comedies are based on the chemistry of the lead actors, as Ryan has shown with Tom Hanks and Billy Crystal previously.

In Kate & Leopold, Jackman shows himself a worthy replacement for Hanks. Jackman's best work is in his willingness to humiliate himself while holding on to his Victorian era dignity. Jackman becomes a star right in front of our eyes, breaking out of the action genre and proving he can do just about anything as an actor, as he would later demonstrate in a brilliant hosting gig on SNL.

Ryan is her natural cute self in Kate & Leopold, which isn't a bad thing. But there are moments where you can see she is beginning to tire of this kind of role. More than a couple times she looks outright bored by material that she has done more than a few times. Jackman and the very surprising comic turn by Schreiber save the film. He steals every scene he's in with a goofy energy we haven't seen from him before.

Kate & Leopold isn't anything you haven't seen before but as a Friday night rental to relax and watch with your girlfriend, it’s an enjoyable rent that will leave you smiling.

Movie Review The Majestic

The Majestic 

Directed by Frank Darabont 

Written by Michael Sloane

Starring Jim Carrey, Amanda Dettmer, Martin Landau, Hal Holbrook, Bob Balaban

Release Date December 25th, 2001

Published January 30th, 2002

The 50's are a decade easily evoked onscreen. Simply have kids with seriously greased hair, drab clothing, long dresses for women, business suits and fedoras for men, and the ubiquitous white picket fences. There you have the fifties, throw in a couple of cultural touchstones like the first decade of TV, I Like Ike buttons, and the Hollywood Communist witch-hunt and you've got a decade ready made for the movies. The decade is the easily evoked backdrop for Frank Darabont's The Majestic, the story of a Hollywood scriptwriter accused in the witch-hunts and asked to name names or be blacklisted.

The scriptwriter is Peter Appelton; played by Jim Carrey as a somewhat arrogant but affable guy who, to impress a girl, accidentally attends a communist rally and now faces the wrath of the House un-American Activities Committee. Peter is set to testify in two days but before that happens he has an accident that leaves him with amnesia and strands in the small town of Lawson, California where he is mistaken for the army hero son of the local theater owner Harry, played by Martin Landau.

Both Carrey and Landau are good but neither can overcome the screenplay, which aims at the heartstrings while ignoring the brain. Carrey does have an effective scene in front of the House un-American activities committee where he explains his attending the communist rally as simply a guy being horny.

Beyond that scene, which is smart and funny, the rest of the film is crammed with emotional set pieces so obvious that you know everything that's coming well before it comes and then are annoyed at how they are resolved. The ending is truly uninspired as if someone decided the film desperately needed a happy ending even if it was going to have to force it and compromise the little integrity the film had.

Jim Carrey is a good actor, he proved that in Man On the Moon and The Truman Show. In The Majestic he seems a little desperate as if he chose this film for the sole purpose of courting Oscar and that desperation comes through in a couple of forced scenes, one with a dying Landau and another later in a cemetery. Still, Carrey is the strongest part of The Majestic which suffers not only from its weak screenplay but also Darabont's 50's setting, chosen because of the Commie Hollywood witch-hunts. Other than that, Darabont relies on those tried and true 50's set pieces like crewcuts, fedora's and the like.

I prefer the "noirish" take on the decade as presented in films like LA Confidential with hipster lingo and the seedy underbelly. The type of setting where the witch-hunts were more meaningful because Hollywood stars would attend underground meetings in secret locations in places like the seedy smoke-filled halls of an Elmore Leonard novel. The Majestic prefers uplift to impact and that is its main failure.

Movie Review How High

How High (2001) 

Directed by Jesse Dylan 

Written by Dustin Abraham

Starring Method Man, Redman Mike Epps, Jeffrey Jones

Release Date December 21st, 2001 

Published August 1st, 2002 

I'm a total sucker for movies set in college. Maybe it's because I went to community college and never experienced real campus life, thus I enjoy the idealized versions on the big screen. I love movies like the small-time comedy PCU with Jeremy Piven or Reese Witherspoon's 2001 hit Legally Blonde, I even liked With Honors! So I had an immediate soft spot for How High, though it is more about pot than college. The classic college movie cliches are in place and their familiarity along with the stars' relaxed performances help make How High one of the funniest movies of the year.

The plot creates the quickest way to get two drug-addled goofs into Harvard where the typical culture clash cliches come up. Battles with white-bred jocks and overly officious school officials, and the obvious romantic angles. Yet I still found ways to like How High. The two lead rappers, Method Man and Redman, have such a relaxed manner onscreen they look like they've been doing it forever. For the record they both have acted before, Method Man showed the same relaxed manner and chops in Black & White, more than holding his own opposite people like Robert Downey JR and Ben Stiller.

Of course the title may suggest another origin for their laid back acting styles. Whatever it is, both Method Man and Redman are fun to watch and hysterically funny and the supporting players are even better, especially Mike Epps best known as Ice Cube's foil in Next Friday. Epps plays the funniest pimp since Antonio Fargas was Huggie Bear.

The film is directed by first-timer Jesse Dylan, and yes if you were wondering he is related to Jakob Dylan of the Wallflowers. He directed How High not as just a pot comedy but as a broad, over the top satire of college movies and it worked for me. I laughed almost from beginning to end.

How High is stupid, ridiculous and one of the funniest movies of the year. And more than likely, High Times movie of the year. 

Movie Review: The Royal Tenenbaums

Rushmore (2001) 

Directed by Wes Anderson

Written by Wes Anderson

Starring Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Danny Glover, Owen Wilson

Release Date December 14th, 2001 

Published December 24th, 2001 

In Rushmore, Wes Anderson took two very unique characters and used them to establish an unusual comic tone of irony and pathos that, for all it's quirks, seemed grounded in a weird sort of realty. In The Royal Tenenbaums, he applies that same unusual tone to an awesome ensemble cast to an even greater effect.

The Royal Tenenbaums is the story of a family of geniuses and the father who was the catalyst for their self destruction. Gene Hackman plays the father, the aptly named Royal Tenenbaum, a disgraced and disbarred lawyer whose luck and money have run out, and who now seeks to reconcile with the family he destroyed years earlier; not out of any emotional need for forgiveness, but rather because he just needs a place to crash.

Angelica Huston is Royal's soon-to-be-ex-wife, Etheline, a genius in her own right who is about to marry a man named Henry, played by Danny Glover. Luke Wilson is Richie Tenenbaum, a tennis prodigy washed up after a breakdown in the middle of a major match. Gwyneth Paltrow is Margot Tenenbaum (whom Royal makes a point of noting is adopted,) a genius playwright who wrote her first play at age 11 and has written nothing since. Ben Stiller is Chas, a widower who was a financial whiz at age 9, whose resentment of Royal is just one of the family's many dysfunctional aspects.

Bill Murray and Owen Wilson round out the cast in truly funny supporting roles. The whole cast is sensational, and though Stiller seems a little off key at times, everyone maintains this wondrous magical tone that makes the movie hum; never too loud, never too soft. Combine that brilliant tone with Mark Mothersbaugh's inspired score and the soundtrack of 60's tunes like the Beatles' "Hey Jude," and you have what amounts to a comedic symphony. The New York setting is as strange and wonderful as the rest of the film and when combined with the soundtrack give the film a feeling of timelessness. 

I don't know if there is a director I have higher hopes for than I do for Wes Anderson. I cannot wait to see what he does next. 

Movie Review Pinero

Pinero (2001) 

Directed by Leon Ichaso 

Written by Leon Ichaso

Starring Benjamin Bratt, Michael Wright 

Release Date December 14th, 2001 

Published March 1st, 2002 

On TV's “Law & Order,” Benjamin Bratt showed himself to be a capable dramatic actor. In 1999' Next Best Thing, co-starring with Madonna, he showed himself to be an actor who makes poor decisions. In his most recent work, Pinero, Bratt shows himself to be a future Oscar contender.

Pinero is the biography of the brilliant Puerto Rican writer and poet, Miguel Pinero. Born in Puerto Rico in 1941, Miguel and his family moved to New York City when he was 8 years old. Soon after arriving in New York Miguel's father walks out, leaving his mother to raise five children on her own. Without a father, Miguel quickly falls into a rough crowd and hooks up with his partner in crime, Tito Goya, played by Nelson Vasquez.

After a series of petty thefts and drug busts Miguel and Tito end up at Sing Sing prison where an inmate named Edgar, portrayed by Michael Wright, inspires Pinero to write a play called Short Eyes. After being released from prison, Pinero brings Short Eyes to Broadway and receives multiple Tony nominations. Pinero however is a volatile genius, who balances his good fortune with self-destructive behavior. Drugs and crime were the fuel of Pinero's creativity.

The film is not as linear as my description of it. Writer Director Leon Ichaso employs time shifts marked by changes from color in the present to black and white flashbacks to show what drove Miguel's genius and madness. The time shifts often make us in the audience a little off balance, and that’s appropriate in that Pinero himself is always off balance. The stylistic distorted narrative shifts help to bring the audience into Pinero's unapologetic perspective.

Of course the driving force behind Pinero is Benjamin Bratt whose performance singes the screen. The poetry sequences are mind blowing. With Pinero's words and Bratt's delivery every word has an impact. The use of metaphor and music is what made Pinero's poetry so distinctive and despite his addictions and behavior he still comes off as very intelligent, even brilliant.

Leon Ichaso's most well known piece before Pinero was 1992's Sugar Hill with Wesley Snipes, one the best gangster films of all time. In Sugar Hill, Ichaso showed his great ability to coax actors into great performances; he does so once again with Benjamin Bratt in Pinero.

Movie Review The Business of Strangers

The Business of Strangers (2001) 

Directed by Patrick Stettner

Written by Patrick Stettner

Starring Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, Fred Weller

Release Date December 7th, 2001 

Published January 14th, 2002

I recently wrote of how there are so few good roles for women in Hollywood films. In the indie film The Business of Strangers, there are two excellent female characters. Two fantastic actresses brilliantly bring both to life and both are botched by a first time writer-director who really didn't know what he had.

The film stars Stockard Channing as Julie, vice president of a software company from which she may or may not be getting fired. As she is to make a presentation to potential clients, Julie's temporary assistant shows up late and the deal is blown. The temp is a 24-year old Dartmouth grad named Paula (Julia Stiles) who doesn't seem all that fazed by her screw up, that is until Julie fires her on the spot. Thus beginning an unusual confrontation between two strong willed people.

Julie, now even more concerned with losing her job, has dinner with a corporate job hunter named Nick (Fred Weller). Julie soon finds her job is more than safe and has no need for Nick. Circumstances bring the three characters back together in Julie's massive hotel suite with the women playing Nick and each other, testing limits of psychology and sexuality.

The film has the feel and tone of Richard Linklater's superior indie Tape, though this film is from the female perspective. A good idea but one that writer-director Patrick Stettner abandons in favor of a confusing and somewhat convoluted revenge plot. The Nick character is never allowed to develop and half way through the film you're left wondering why we are being treated to flashes of him waiting for a plane that never comes. The character exists solely to fill in as a plot focal point after Stettner ran out of barbed dialogue for his two leads.

The two leads, Channing and Stiles, are spectacular. They have excellent chemistry and if The Business Of Strangers had been allowed to focus on just the two of them then it might have been a more interesting story, albeit one better suited to the stage than the screen.

I'll say this for Stettner, his first full-length script is an ambitious one, filled with psychosexual head games on par with Neil Labute. What Stettner lacks is an interesting narrative, a story that lets the audience in on the characters motivations. You don't have to lead the audience like a dog on a leash, but the characters need to have some reason to be doing what it is they are doing. Channing and Stiles rock, but the story does their performances a disservice and keeps the film as a whole from meeting its potential.

Movie Review: Bread and Tulips

Bread and Tulips (2001) 

Directed by Silvio Soldini

Written by Silvio Soldini 

Starring Licia Maglietta 

Release Date July 27th, 2001 

Published December 14th, 2001 

Is there any city in the world more beautifully filmed than Venice? Whereas New York is charismatic and vibrant and Paris remains unique and colorful, Venice is breathtakingly beautiful on screen. I have never been there but someday I hope to go there and if I'm lucky I'll meet people like the characters in Silvio Soldini's lovely film Bread & Tulips.

The film that swept Italy's equivalent of the Oscars, known as the David's, stars Licia Maglietta as Rosalba, a 40-ish neglected mother of three. And when I say neglected I mean it. While on a family vacation, the family accidentally forgets Licia at a rest stop and her insensitive husband Mimmo (Antonio Catania) blames her the mix up. Feeling rebellious, Licia decides not to wait for her family to come get her and she hitches a ride home. Once there she begins to feel restless and decides that she needs a vacation of her own and takes off for Venice.

Once in Venice she has dinner at a little restaurant where she meets a waiter named Fernando (Bruno Ganz). After her meal, Licia asks Fernando if he knows a place where she can stay and he offers to let her stay with him for a night.

One night turns into two and before long Licia takes a job and begins renting a room in Fernando's apartment. Licia's husband meanwhile can't get his mistress to do the housework and decides he needs to bring his wife back. Mimmo hires Constantino, a plumber who was merely applying for a position as a plumber when Mimmo noticed he listed detective novels as a hobby. Instead of hiring Constantino as a plumber he hires him as a detective to go to Venice and find is wife.

Guisseppe Battiston plays Constantino and he brings a wonderful comedic element to the film with his bumbling attempts to ape his detective novel heroes. Constantino also has a love interest in Licia's new neighbor Grazia (Maria Massironi) who describes herself as holistic beautician and masseuse.

The film, directed by Silvio Soldini, is charming and fun the characters are sweet and sensitive. Extra credit to Ganz for his heartfelt performance as Fernando who, when we first meet him, is considering suicide. Licia unknowingly restores Fernando and he does the same for her, though not with your typical romantic comedy stops and starts. The courtship is slow and steady and never forced. The audience feels for these characters beginning to end. 

Of course the real star of Bread & Tulips is the city. It's small shops and cobbled streets have unending charm. 

Bread & Tulips is at times a little too cute but still a charming film populated by sweet characters and worth seeing as long as you don't mind reading a movie. Yes, Jethro, this one has subtitles so put it down and go grab Joe Dirt. 

For you intelligent filmgoers, sit down and lose yourself in this gem of a film.

Movie Review: The Accidental Spy

The Accidental Spy (2001) 

Directed by Teddy Chan 

Written by Ivy Ho

Starring Jackie Chan, Scott Adkins 

Release Date January 18th, 2001 

Published September 4th, 2001 

Never having been a fan of Jackie Chan, I'm not sure why I rented The Accidental Spy. I respect Chan for his work ethic and impressive stunt coordination. However, his acting leaves much to be desired. That is probably because he doesn't speak English very well. Therefore, it may be an unfair judgment on my part. I'm told his early work in Hong Kong is far more spectacular than his recent Hollywood fare. 

I'm sure that's true because his Hollywood stuff, no matter how good the stunts are, are still typical brainless crowd-pleasers with no real point of view; just strung together action scenes and a couple of humorous one liners. So now, I'm still wondering what made me rent The Accidental Spy, and still don't have a clue.

As we join the story we meet Buck (Chan) an affable fitness store clerk. After a tough day at work, Buck foils a bank robbery. The robbery leads to his receiving a letter from a lawyer informing him of his dying father and a possible multimillion-dollar inheritance.

An intrigued Buck meets his father, who was thought to have died in the Korean War. In reality, Dad was a secret agent. Now on his deathbed he offers his son the chance to win a large inheritance. To do so, he must trek to Turkey and uncover a safety deposit box, which contains more than just cash. All the while, Buck is being chased by drug dealers whom his father was secretly doing business with. 

The Accidental Spy is an odd film. At times it's typical Chan slapstick and chop-socky, but it also wants to be taken seriously as it introduces one of two love interests--a young girl hooked on drugs and enslaved by Buck's pursuers. The odd switch in tone never comes together and Chan's tomfoolery deflates any drama the film might have had, making The Accidental Spy a very uneven, and at times dull, movie. 

As time goes by it's no surprise that Chan's action stunts slow down a little, and you can see it in this film, which has as much exposition and dialogue as it does fight scenes. As you can imagine, exposition isn't Jackie's strong suit and the awful overdubbing of American voices over Chinese faces makes the dialogue almost unbearable. That said, I will not judge Jackie Chan's Hong Kong oeuvre by this one film. In fact, I am going to make a point of seeing more Hong Kong movies as a way of broadening my horizons. 

Maybe that is why I rented The Accidental Spy. 

Movie Review: Amelie

Amelie (2001) 

Directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet

Written by Jean Pierre Jeunet 

Starring Audrey Tautou, Matthieu Kassovitz 

Release Date September 1st, 2001 

Published December 26th, 2001 

Working at a video store I've developed more than a few video pet peeves. One that sticks out is when a foreign film is released and some Jethro with a mullet asks me (direct quote) "Do I have to read this video". After resisting the urge to beat them senseless with the video in question I explained that the film is subtitled. Jethro then returns the film to the shelf and retrieves, I swear this is true, a copy of Joe Dirt. I bring this up because it won't be long until the brilliant French subtitled film Amelie will be out on video.

Indeed, Jethro will not be seeing Amelie and it's his loss because it's one of the best films of the last 12 months. Audrey Tautou stars as the title character who after discovering a box of childhood toys belonging to a previous tenant in her apartment sets out to return the memories to this man, and if it makes a difference to him she will do the same for others. Indeed the man is touched and Amelie, witnessing the man's joy from afar, begins her journey to spread joy to others. 

Along the way she meets and inspires an invalid artist, gives a blind man a tour of the world and encounters a young man named Nino who may be able to change her life. Nino, played by Daniel Kassovitz, and the courtship between his character and Amelie is one of the most unique dances of fate we've ever witnessed. Tautou and Kassovitz barely speak to each other but their courtship is very believable as it leads its obvious conclusion.

Director Jean Pierre Jeunet (Alien Resurrection) shows a flair for beautiful visuals that make France look like the most beautiful place on Earth. Jeunet's camera clearly loves Tautou whose expressive eyes, often seen in tight mischievous close-ups, may become a calling card on par with Angelina Jolie's lips and Julia Roberts' teeth.

Amelie is not a perfect film. At times it's flights of fancy are like a French version of Ally McBeal. Nevertheless it is a wonderfully romantic and lovely movie that should make Audrey Tautou a huge international star.

Movie Review: Waking Life

Waking Life (2001) 

Directed by Richard Linklater

Written by Richard Linklater

Starring Wiley Wiggins, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Nicky Katt, Adam Goldberg

Release Date October 19th, 2001 

Published December 25th, 2001 

I am a collector. I collect DVD's, sports memorabilia and movie collector cups, etc. But above all I collect intelligent opinions. I love to listen to and interact with intelligent people. Richard Linklater's breakthrough animated film Waking Life is a series of intelligent conversations set against one of the most visually striking backdrops I've ever seen.

The film is taken from the perspective of an unnamed character played by Wiley Wiggins from Linklater’s Dazed & Confused. (I'll explain the “played by instead of voiced by” credit later). Wiggins’ character is trapped in a dream, though he doesn't realize it right away. In the dream he interacts with a series of run-at-the-mouth philosophers who while at times obnoxious, actually do have interesting opinions.

The conversations are meaningful discussions of philosophy, religion and the meaning of life. None of the characters claim to have the answers to the many unanswerable life questions but they are at least brave enough to discuss topics like death and existence or nonexistence of a higher power. Questions that many people would prefer weren't asked.

While the film is, at times, aimless, the animation is so lively that you are at rapt attention throughout. Linklater and his team of animators did something very unique in Waking Life, first filming the movie with live actors, Wiggins, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy amongst others. Then the animators used computers to animate over the shot footage, which gives the film it's dreamscape and allows for visual experimentation that could never work in a live action feature.

You know how in dreams when you know where you are but it looks nothing like it does in real life? Waking Life seizes upon that dreamy feeling and uses it's dialogue to lead it's main character and the audience to a surprisingly satisfying open-ended conclusion. It's up to you the viewer to decide for yourself what happens to Wiggins’ character at the end of the film.

Richard Linklater is weaving an amazing career, from Slackers to Dazed & Confused to Tape and now Waking Life. Linklater has established himself on the new frontier of film as art.

It's a small, unnamed generation of young filmmakers like Linklater, Allison Anders, P.T Anderson and Darren Aronofsky who are championing filmmaking as art over mere commerce. They swim against the tide of Hollywood and attempt to say something. Film as sociological art. It's not merely about entertaining the audience but about inspiring them and touching them emotionally and intellectually. If only more filmmakers shared their vision and courage.

Movie Review Metropolis

Metropolis (2001) 

Directed by Rintaro 

Written by Katsuhiro Otomo 

Starring Yuka Imoto, Kosei Tomita, Nono Wakamoto, Toshio Furukawa 

Release Date May 26th, 2001 

Published February 2nd, 2002 

I must admit I am not the most qualified person to critique Japanese anime. My only previous exposure to this art form is channel surfing past those god-awful Pokemon cartoons. Nonetheless, at the urging of my hero Roger Ebert, I rented the DVD Metropolis.

Metropolis, based on 60's the Japanese sci-fi comic book series by Osamu Tezuka, is the story of a futuristic city where humans and robots coexist albeit with robots in subservient roles not unlike slaves. Into the future city comes a detective and his nephew searching for a mad scientist accused of using human organs to create human-robot cyborgs. The scientist, named Laughton, is in the employ of the evil Duke Red who has paid Laughton to create a human robot in the image of his late daughter. 

The robot, named Tima, will not merely replace the Duke's late daughter, but also be used as a weapon to take over the world. The Duke’s plan goes awry when his jealous, adopted son Rock kills Laughton and attempts to destroy Tima. The detective’s nephew, Kenichi, saves Tima and they begin a journey wherein Tima begins to learn who she is while falling in love with Kenichi and vice versa. The real star of Metropolis is its awe inspiring animation which combines classic 2D cell animated characters with CGI backgrounds. They are absolutely breathtaking, even on DVD.

For years, Americans have had a bias against animation, relegating it to a genre only for kids. In Japan however, people are more open-minded to animation as an adult medium with film’s like Metropolis and Tezuka's previously adapted Astro Boy series. In America, the few attempts at adult oriented animation such as the recent Titan AE and Final Fantasy were colossal failures financially despite being artistic achievements. In fact, the last time an adult oriented cartoon was successful, it was the early 70's porno cartoon Fritz The Cat. Not exactly animation as art.

America's animation bias is likely to doom Metropolis to a long sit on video store shelves and that is a shame because, in my opinion, it is the most striking animated feature I have ever seen.

Movie Review Tart

Tart (2001) 

Directed by Christina Wayne 

Written by Christina Wayne

Starring Dominique Swain, Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips, Mischa Barton, Melanie Griffith

Release Date June 15th, 2001 

Published June 22nd, 2001 

In 1997, at the age of 17, Dominique Swain made an amazing film debut in Adrien Lyne's remake of the Vladimir Nabakov classic Lolita. Swain's performance was universally praised with many critics stamping her as a star of the future. What happened since is anyone's guess, be it poor management or the feeling she has to accept every role she's offered. Since Lolita and her follow up role in John Woo's Faceoff, Swain has been relegated to the straight-to-video market. Her latest straight-to-video feature, Tart, should have gone straight to the garbage.

Swain stars as an outcast girl whose best friend, played by Bijou Phillips, is getting her in constant trouble. After her friend is kicked out of school, Swain befriends a British girl played by Mischa Barton, who is her ticket into her elite private school’s popular clique. Once she begins hanging with the popular kids she gets her dream guy, the big man on campus, played by Brad Renfro. From there the film turns into a community theater version of Cruel Intentions with “too smart for their own good” teens bedding each other, drinking and drugging and generally annoying the hell out of anyone with a brain.

Tart is a mess that makes Rollerball look coherent. Characters appear and disappear and then do things with absolutely no motivation that in the end have no payoff. There are so many pointless scenes that have nothing to do with anything, one being a scene with Swain and Barton sharing a bath together. The scene is all of 20 seconds long and is apparently in the film to appeal to the same dirty old men who rent Tart merely for its video box cover art. The title of the film is absolutely superfluous, there is no reason to call this movie Tart. The only reason the movie is called Tart and Swain is on the cover box with her skirt in the air is to appeal to dirty old men looking for naked teenage flesh. Guess what, there isn't any. HA!

The film's disgustingly exploitative marketing is just that, marketing. The film itself is actually quite tame in the sex department. Why am I spending so much time complaining about the film's marketing and title, because there isn't anything else to talk about. Tart is simply horrid. Bad acting, bad direction from first timer Christina Wayne, bad cinematography, bad sound. The sound is atrocious, there is more dubbed dialogue in the first hour of Tart than in the dubbed version Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Memo to Dominique Swain, you can turn scripts down, it's not illegal. There is still time for you to turn your career around. So the next time some first time director calls offering you a role opposite Eric Roberts or Craig Sheffer or some other straight-to-video superstar, just say no and then pick up the phone and call John Woo, or Adrien Lyne. I'm sure they have room in their next picture for a prep school daughter in a tiny tartan skirt that you would be perfect for.

Movie Review: Vanilla Sky

Vanilla Sky (2001) 

Directed by Cameron Crowe 

Written by Cameron Crowe 

Starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee 

Release Date December 14th, 2001 

Published December 15th, 2001 

The combination of Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe is a meaningful one for me. This duo of director and star created my favorite movie of all time, Jerry Maguire. To be honest though my hopes were not high for their newest collaboration Vanilla Sky. My concerns were warranted with Crowe venturing out of his normal romantic dramedy safezone and Cruise hiding his leading man looks under piles of mangled makeup, Vanilla Sky was a huge gamble, one that I'm happy to report pays off bigtime.

Sky casts Cruise as David Aames, a jet-setting magazine impresario, emotionally stunted but staked by a father's fame and fortune. David has no meaningful relationships merely friendships of convenience with a woman named Julie, played by Cameron Diaz, who David sleeps with but still only considers a friend. David's best friend is a writer played by Jason Lee, but he too is merely convenient. David is bankrolling his buddy's book deal and though he calls him his best friend his tone doesn't convey that he means it. 

David Aames' life is changed forever when he meets Sophia, played by Penelope Cruz. David is immediately drawn to her and after spending one night with her without sleeping with her he vows to change his life work harder and take himself and those around him more seriously. Then tragedy strikes and this is where the film gets really interesting veering off in different directions, Thriller, Romance and even social commentary all of which is deftly handled by Crowe with his direction and razor sharp scripting. 

Early in the film I found it difficult to buy Cruise as a snowboarding, slacker, trust fund baby. But as the film goes on the character grows up quickly and becomes more Cruise-like; cocky, self assured but always shading the breakdown that is just under the surface. No one plays emotional devastation like Cruise, who is able to communicate agonizing emotional pain with his facial expressions better than any actor I've ever seen. 

The films supporting performances are just as good with Jason Lee as the standout. Yes it is hard to believe that Lee and Cruise as best buds but the film uses that lack of chemistry to add a deeper level to their relationship, one that plays into the unusual mystery unfolding throughout Vanilla Sky. Penelope Cruz is surprisingly good; I've never liked Penelope Cruz before but in Vanilla Sky I saw something I hadn't seen from her before, a pulse. 

The real star of Vanilla Sky though is cinematographer John Toll who should be nominated for his 4th Oscar for his beautiful work. Toll and director Cameron Crowe don't just make Vanilla Sky look good, they make it look too good in a way that plays into the central mystery of the movie. It's very subtle but those paying attention will be floored by the time the ending has arrived and how the bright visuals and color palette of Vanilla Sky was helping to tell the story. 

Vanilla Sky has the feel of a Kubrick film filtered through Cameron Crowe's pop sensibility, and that for me is an unbeatable combination.