Reviews

(In theaters, August 2002) I liked the first movie well enough, but I must say that I like this one even better. Everyone seems more comfortable in their roles (with particular props to Antonio Banderas for poking fun at his tough-guy image.) and it mostly shows behind the camera as the sequel is grander than the original. More gadgets, more special effects, more fantasy-based sequences and a sense of fun that doesn’t let go until the very last second of the credits. Sure, Spy Kids is for the younger crowd, but it’s got enough action, adventure and comedy to hold everyone’s interest. Kudos to writer/producer/director Robert Rodriguez for doing a big-scale film on a relatively low budget. This is big fun for all families. Get the DVD!

(In theaters, August 2002) As with writer/director Andrew Niccol’s previous movies (he wrote Gattaca and The Truman Show), S1m0ne is best considered as a fable than hard-edged realistic science-fiction. The technical details are ridiculous, and deservedly so; Niccol is more fascinated by more abstract subjects like the relationship between truth and fiction, our fascination for celebrity, our craving for comfort through self-deception and the rapport between creator and creation. It’s a lot of stuff to pack in a single film (with a few other bits here and there), but as a result, S1m0ne feels like a heady trip in fantasyland. Not everyone will “get” the film, nor even care for it, but like Gattaca and The Truman Show, I suspect that the cult following of S1m0ne will only grow with time. There’s certainly a lot of material for cinema geeks, from the throwaway gags (you saw the “eye” poster passing behind Elia Koteas, I hope?) to color composition (such as the computer-green S1m0ne poster in the otherwise organic environment of the protagonist’s office during the audition scene) and the overall overly stylized shot composition. Al Pacino is great -as usual- in the lead role, but everyone else does quite well in the supporting slots. Don’t forget to stay during the credits for Simone’s real identity (Rachel Roberts) and a funny little scene.

(Second viewing, On DVD, June 2003) I quite liked the film in theatres, but I find my reaction to the DVD a bit more tepid. Oh, I still think it’s a good film: The dazzling mixture of themes still makes me giddy with goodness and my appreciation of Al Pacino’s work is once against confirmed by his amusing performance. But what seems more obvious than before is the forced nature of the laughs in this comedy. Oh, it’s not meant to be a serious film, but the merely light-hearted nature of the film doesn’t naturally lead to frank laughter and this very particular tone, I suspect, tends to be difficult to appreciate when you’re not in a proper frame of mind. Suffice to say that a script revision could have heightened the laughs without too much effort. But I still quite like the film as it is, and I can only wait to see what else writer/director Andrew Niccol is brewing up. The DVD offers an interesting array of deleted scenes (usually cut for a good reason) and two very brief featurettes. The lack of a commentary track is almost criminal given the film’s thematic depth.

(On DVD, August 2002) Slight but charming little low-budget comedy driven by performances far more than pacing. Joe Pesci is rather good, as are most of the supporting actors. But of course, the real star of the film is Marisa Tomei, who lights up the screen whenever she appears. Her Academy Award-winning turn may mark one of the few times an Oscar’s been given for sheer kittenish sex-appeal, but I’m not about to complain given all my drooling. The rest of the film elicits a constant grin rather than outright laughter, but My Cousin Vinny is satisfying in a comfortable way. That the “stakes” of the film are non-existent (an appeal would have settled everything anyway) but that’s part of the charm, and charm is something that this film has in spades. The DVD contains few extras, one of them being a dull director’s commentary that will make you wonder how such an unfunny man can direct such a charming film.

(In theaters, August 2002) The surprise hit of summer 2002 is nothing more (or less) than a deliberate attempt at giving a certain audience exactly what it wants. As such, it works really well: Writer/star Nia Vardalos delivers a romance, a family reconciliation tale as well as a duckling-to-swan transformation. The romance might be the film’s least impressive element, especially when compared to the impressive evolution of the protagonist. This isn’t simply a Rachel-Leigh-Cook-with-glasses metamorphosis, mostly because no one pulls any punches in representing the “before” state; baggy clothes, thick glasses, stringy hair, blank stare and makeup-enhanced face lines, Vardalos throws herself in the pre-transformation role with abandon and emerges as an even more adorable woman at the end of the process. That’s when the romance kicks in, but it’s not nearly as interesting as a process by which we discover the eccentricities of this particular Greek family. It’s a welcome glimpse in an ethnic group that’s long been neglected by Hollywood. (Expect a surge of imitators in the next few years.) It ends exactly as we think it will; no surprises, but good warm fuzzy feelings. It’s not a raucous comedy; the pacing is only a-joke-a-minute and the film wouldn’t have felt out of place as a television movie-of-the-week. But it’s worth seeing, especially if you’re stuck in a situation where you have to see a movie with a wide audience; this will do for the whole family.

(On DVD, August 2002) Though Made is billed as a mob comedy, this low-budget film written and directed by Jon Favreau is too often irritating to be consistently amusing. Vince Vaughn’s character is one of the most obnoxious protagonists in recent memory, and a large portion of the film’s suspense is in wondering when someone will finally shut up the loud self-centered idiot. The making-of featurette on the DVD, however, is gracious enough to let us know that this effect is fully intentional, as the filmmakers were self-consciously trying to mix an uncomfortable blend of comedy and tension. They recommend a second viewing. I’m not sure I’m willing to undergo that particular punishment. In any case, there are few bad things to say about the film’s technical polish; despite the low budget and the tight shooting schedule, the film looks great, makes good use of its LA/NYC location shooting and manages to build complete characters, despite how one may feel about them. (Though if someone can explain the sudden appearance of someone near the end…) If you liked Swingers (about which I have similar reservations), please feel free to enjoy Made.

(In theaters, August 2002) I like adaptations of Oscar Wilde’s plays. I just do. Trying to explain why or how I loved The Importance Of Being Earnest would be useless if you don’t share my overall love of such stories. Wilde can be cynical without being dour, romantic without being sappy and this is one of this film’s biggest strengths. Did you like An Ideal Husband? Rush to see The Importance of Being Earnest, then. Good acting, warm finale and ultra-sharp dialogue. Plus great performances from Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon and Frances O’Connor, who should stick to period pieces if we’re to compare this to Mansfield Park and/or Bedazzled or Windtalkers. Wonderful date movie. I guess.

(In theaters, August 2002) Would you willingly see a subtitled period Chinese film describing how a man and a woman decide not to have an affair? Seriously; how much money would it take to make you see this? How about I throw in a fifteen-minutes-long epilogue that doesn’t lead anywhere? What if you have to see two great actors (Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung) do nothing during all that time? Would you mind a bunch of moody shots without whom this would become a short film? Can you feel my pain, now? Good.

(On DVD, August 2002) Innocuous, rather inoffensive gardening comedy starring convicts. Clive Owen is good as the lead protagonist (he’ll be James Bond one day, I swear!) and the rest of the actors hold their own. It’s a low-budget film, but an enjoyable one in The Full Monty tradition of British underdog comedies. There isn’t much here that is memorable or profound, but it’s a good time at the movies. The DVD is a bare-bones edition.

(In theaters, August 2002) There are times when I worry about seeing too many movies. The usual casual moviegoer sees maybe five to ten movies a year and likes most of them because, hey, he doesn’t know better. Big-time cinephiles such as myself easily see five times as many movies and feel their critical judgment consequently affected. Years ago, I would have hated Full Frontal, with its deliberately-muddy cinematography, non-linear structure, very loose narrative coherency and frustrating improvised dialogue. But I was surprised by how willingly I went with Full Frontal. In many ways, it’s another entry in what others have called the “Hollywood Home Movie” genre. But unlike The Anniversary Party, Full Frontal is funny. And unlike Time Code, it’s not quite as much in love with its own cleverness. We can almost feel writer/director Stephen Soderbergh nudging us in the ribs throughout; “Get it? Get it? It’s all a joke!” (Indeed, Soderbergh himself appears in a quirky movie-within-a-movie-within-a-movie moment, his face hidden behind a “censored” black box.) Full Frontal is a bunch of very loosely-connected vignettes. Some work; some don’t. I still ended up laughing more here than at Austin Powers 3: Goldmember. But don’t try to link everything together too much; many scenes simply don’t fit together anyway. See Full Frontal for the industry jokes, the tons of cameos or the edgy feel of a film made without studio supervision. Just don’t expect ordinary, safe material.

(On TV, August 2002) Interesting film that transcends its geeky origins to become a triumphant document on a pathetic filmmaker. Though the historical accuracy of the film can be taken apart with some elementary research (the screenplay mostly telescopes longer periods in shorter amounts of time and conveniently forgets a few intervening events.), it’s hard to dislike the sympathetic portrait of an anti-genius like Wood. What separates the film from a simple funny biography is the haunting (Oscar-winning) performance of Martin Landau as the dying Bela Lugosi. Acting credits are excellent throughout the picture, with a bunch of known names here and there. (Particular props to Johnny Depp as Wood, though I was oddly reminded of Steve Buscemi at times) Don’t miss the delightful opening credit sequence. This is an essential film for cheap-SF geeks, and a worthwhile one for everyone else.

(On DVD, August 2002) It doesn’t take much to deliver a fun buddy crime comedy, and that’s exactly what Robert Gallo does, after a laborious start, with Double Take. Granted, the film sank at the box-office, but once you get past the irritating opening, the film settles down as one of the twistiest fun thrillers since Wild Things. (It never attains the earlier film’s trash-thriller brilliance, of course. The lack of sex scenes alone is enough to take it down one notch.) While Eddie Griffin can often grate, you get used to him. Orlando Jones is a star throughout, though, as he switches comfortably from a chic Wall Street businessman to a loudmouth from the projects who just wants some Malt-Liquor. This whole theme of appearance versus reality is Double Take‘s motif, given all the twists and counter-twists in the film. The film’s internal logic eventually comes to make sense after many exasperated gasps from the audience, but the external plausibility (ie; why go through all the trouble?) remains highly doubtful. In any case, the filmmakers on the DVD commentary track take as much time self-congratulating themselves than discussing the film itself. But that’s fine, because the film is a little surprise, a solid buddy comedy that holds up rather well to a commentary-enhanced second viewing. It grows on you. Naturally, it helps that the film stars three luscious black women, with particular nods to Garcelle Beauvais, who appears in full lingerie in one of the film’s most regrettably cut scene, now included on the DVD for your viewing pleasure. Also worth viewing on the DVD: A surprisingly interesting “filmmaker’s diary” making-of feature that gives a real feeling of being on a movie set.