Movie
Weekend
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Review Archive:
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Capsule Reviews of Adaptation,
Quiz Show, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Iron Giant, Grosse Pointe
Blank, Persuasion, Pleasantville, Seabiscuit, Possession, Wishful Thinking, and
Star Trek: Nemesis
by Toby Adaptation (9.5 out of 10)
In this partially-true story from the bizarre brain
of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, we observe Charlie Kaufman agonizing over
his adaptation of Susan Orlean’s not particularly adaptable book The Orchid Thief. After several false starts, he finally
ends up writing himself into the screenplay—i.e., making the screenplay about
the terrible time he has making the screenplay. This sets up innovative levels of weirdness, especially since the
movie itself is the result of the struggle being played out on screen before
our eyes. Adding to the potency is
the fact that many of the characters are real (including those portrayed by
Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, and at least one of the ones played by Nicholas
Cage), and the events of the film are also true up to a certain point. Confused yet?
If you love brainteasers, you absolutely must watch this movie. I found myself thinking about it often in
the several months between my theatrical viewing and when my wife and I
finally sat down to see it on DVD. It
is certainly a bittersweet story, but gleefully maniacal in its bending of
reality. My wife doesn’t tend to like
‘twist’ movies or brainteasers as much as I do, but she was fascinated by
this one, and was certainly all the way ‘into’ it as we watched. Maybe I’ll get to teach a film-as-art
class someday. If I do, I will
certainly cover this thought-provoking, well-written, masterfully directed
self-portrait of a neurotic screenwriter.
In the meantime, I have no doubt it’ll periodically reach out from the
DVD shelf, grab me, and force me to watch it. More power to it. Quiz Show (9.5 out of 10)
Robert Redford’s minimalist touch as a director
attracted more attention in the 1980 Best Picture winner Ordinary People, but this much-ignored 1994 gem is comparable in
quality. Greatly expanded from a
chapter in Richard Goodwin’s nonfiction book Remembering I enjoy movies surround moral dilemmas, and this is
one of the best of them.
Thought-provoking, poignant, and solidly directed in such an
unobtrusive way that the visual flourishes really grab you, this movie seems
to have faded from the public view far more quickly than many less-deserving
films. It is just a joy to watch, and
I highly recommend it. You can find
many films that are faster, more visually exciting, and far more likely to
blow your hair back, but Quiz Show
is the kind of movie you might just walk away from as a better person, mind
and soul. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (8.5 out of 10)
Sergio Leone was the king of ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ in
the late 60s, and excepting Once Upon a
Time in the West, this is probably the best example why. This hyper-stylized movie, with its
craaazy animated opening credits, deliberately glacial pace, extreme
close-ups, and one of the most distinctive scores in movie history from Ennio
Morricone, qualifies as a classic in my estimation. Clint Eastwood stars, but although he is something of a one-man
archetype, his presence does not overshadow costars Lee Van Cleef and Eli
Wallach. I remember seeing this with my mother on television
and her commenting about there being plenty of bad and ugly and not much
good. There is something to
that. You have to be willing to root
for the bad guy to enjoy this. In
that sense it is a deconstruction of the prototypical western movie; however,
unlike Eastwood’s magnum opus Unforgiven,
this movie keeps a light touch despite the depravity of the characters and
the bleak, violent portrayal of the Civil War-era Old West. And although violent, it does not seek to
comment on violence by being overly violent like a Peckinpah western. Some may in fact argue that this movie glamorizes
violence, and were someone to base their behavior on such a far-fetched
portrayal of reality, of course that would be disastrous. A more plausible complaint against this
film may be that it is in the end an expertly crafted popcorn flick, with no
substantial or life-changing message.
That is perfectly fine, since it succeeds so well as what it is, but
at 162 minutes (and that is the net running time after numerous chopped
scenes, now viewable on the special features of the DVD) it is also a long
sit. The Iron Giant (8.5 out of 10)
Grosse Pointe Blank (8 out of 10)
Persuasion (8 out of 10)
Pleasantville (8 out of 10)
Seabiscuit (8 out of 10)
Possession (7 out of 10)
Wishful Thinking (6 out of 10)
Star Trek: Nemesis (4.5 out of 10)
Contact Information If you have questions or
comments about this web page or its contents, please e-mail me at tobybaldwin77@hotmail.com. © Copyright
2003 by Toby |
