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Hearts in Atlantis ***
reviewed by the Phantom
There are two ways to
interpret this movie. You can see it as a nostalgic look at
Bobby Garfield, a coming-of-age eleven year old in the summer of
1960. His sort of idyllic childhood reaches a pivotal point when
he becomes friends with his upstairs neighbor, Ted Brautigan,
played by Anthony Hopkins. This sepia-toned interpretation is
sort of helped along by sound-track melodies such as “Twilight
Time” and “Sh-Boom”.
Bobby’s childhood
friends are so innocent and child-like that they make your heart
wrench. This point is punctuated by Stephen King’s peculiar
title for this work, as eluded to by Ted when he states: "Sometimes
when you're young you have moments of such happiness, you think
you're living in some place magical, like Atlantis must have
been. Then we grow up and our hearts break in two."
The second way to
interpret this movie is the scary one. As Stephen King fans
know, King is one of the most frightening people on earth and he
must also be the most frightened himself. He creeps us out by
taking an innocent things -- the posting of lost pet fliers --
and turns them into sinister warnings about low men in yellow
coats driving bright colored cars, who are coming after Ted.
Their reason for wanting Ted is never apparent, but Ted is
rather weird himself, having sort of a supernatural ability to
see into both the past and the future. King is playing on our
1960s cultural paranoia about “those dirty commies”, boogie
men, and all the other fears of that age, both real and
imagined, in order to remind us that those idyllic years were
really a pretty scary time indeed.
Bobby learns some
valuable life lessons through his experiences with Ted, and then
his heart breaks and he becomes a grown-up, who probably will
never see another pet poster again without chills running down
his spine.
Whichever way you
choose to interpret this movie, it well worth watching.(11/01)
High Fidelity
***
reviewed by Karen Dale
It's enjoyable and even a little
different. John Cusack, as Rob, is on a quest to become a better boyfriend
and to get his pathetic life in order. It seems that we can always relate
to Cusack's plights, whether they fall under the name of Rob, Lloyd, or
Martin. The supporting cast, including the de-rigueur zany
coworkers and edgy girlfriends, do a great job in fleshing out the rather
thin story. I caught only one, but perplexing nonetheless, inconsistency
in the story. The action centered around a record store owned by Rob. Look
beyond the fact that there are probably very few surviving vinyl record
stores to be found anywhere off-line. And the movie stayed true to this
reality by portraying the shop as primarily unsuccessful and next-to
bankrupt. However, in one scene, the store was having a really good
day! They showed the aisles packed with customers and the employees
making lots of sales. This day came and went without explanation or
consequence. What was that about, huh?!? Aside from this one small rant, I
would recommend High Fidelity for a stress-free movie experience.
The Holiday ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This romantic comedy has a wonderful ensemble cast with Kate Winslet,
Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black as the love interests. The plot: two
single women exchange houses, one in LA and one in the English
countryside. The women are retreating from their problems in the romance
department, and of course, the predictable happens, but the journey is
worth it. It's a light-hearted, funny and winsome movie that everybody
will love -- unless you don't like puppies and chocolate, feather beds and
romance.
The Hours ****
reviewed by the Phantom
Meryl Streep (again, yeah!), and Nichole Kidman bring the effects of
Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway to prominence in this very
complicated and intelligent film. It probably helps if you know something
about Virginia and Mrs. Dalloway beforehand, but the film itself is as
beautiful as it is powerful.
In America ****
reviewed by the Phantom
This is an exceptional
movie, it was one of those times when I was truly charmed by the
experience of just sitting in the theater and watching it. Summarizing the
plot for you would not do the film justice because it's the story as well
as the
performances by everybody in the cast that make this film so wonderful.
As proof, this small, relatively unknown film has earned three Oscar
nominations.
The setting is New York
City, a slum area of Manhattan where an Irish immigrant family lives, just
barely surviving, as is the norm for many immigrants. Dad wants to be an
actor, and mom keeps the family together somehow. But it's their two
little daughters who steal the show. Rent this one and be prepared for a
truly memorable evening.
In the Bedroom ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This movie is billed as a thriller and is
getting lots of publicity as a major contender for the 2001
Oscars, in both the “best movie” and “best actress”
categories. The hallmark of a thriller is fast-paced action, the
edge-of-our-seats nail-biting that we’re accustomed to. But
this one is different. The pace is excruciatingly slow, boring
even. We forget that it’s supposed to be a thriller by the
time the action starts…oh, about fifteen minutes before the
end of it. And then they squeeze it in, sort of haphazardly.
Here’s the briefest synopsis: Sissy
Spacek’s only son (Nick Stahl) is murdered and she and her
husband (Tom Wilkinson) agonize over his death until they
can’t stand it any longer and take up the matter of avenging
his death into their own hands. It’s a familiar plot, but this
time the emphasis is placed more on the anguish and “how life
goes on” and less on the revenge. That’s why it’s so
boring. Real life is that way, unfortunately. (2-02)
An Inconvenient
Truth ****
reviewed by the Phantom
A friend questioned whether humans really are to blame for
global warming, and a second friend questioned whether global warming was
real. (Yes, I actually do have a couple of clueless friends)…
Here’s what I told her:
Scientists have known
about this problem for years and have tried and tried to convince the
public that it is real. But powerful anti-environmentalists and
politicians have done their best to thwart the message. After all, the
public really doesn’t want to hear the bad news, and business men and
industrialists (capitalists!) know that profits are at risk if people get
clued in to the dangers we are creating by just doing business as usual.
When cave men roamed the earth there were very few of them, but once we
humans discovered fire, the game was on. The earth’s population was
stable at around one half a billion people until “recent times” —
until about the beginning of the 17th century. That’s when the
industrial revolution began. Population began to skyrocket. We’ve gone
from half a billion to around 7 billion covering the earth (somewhat like
a fungus gone wild from a scientific pov). And we all burn fossil fuels
for heat, to cook our food and for transportation. Burning coal fires is a
big culprit, also cutting trees and burning them.
Trees play a dual role in things. As long as trees
are alive and well, they take in carbon (the stuff that causes global
warming, which is released when coal or oil is burned). As long as they
are alive, they store the carbon and it is no threat to global warming.
When we cut the trees, they can no longer store any more carbon
(obviously), BUT when we burn the wood, the carbon is released into the
air. The other thing that trees do is provide shade which cools the earth,
and forests of trees play a role in weather patterns. When rain forests
are cut down (and they are being cut down so quickly it’s unbelievable
in So. America, Canada, and parts of Asia), it changes the weather
patterns. Scientists know this and have been reporting it for years. But
the politicians have been successful it making the environmentalists look
sort of foolish when we try to send out this message.
Burning fossil fuel causes so many problems, in
addition to the carbon release. The air pollution is horrific for the
earth in general and for those of us who have to breathe it. But we are
also destroying other parts of the earth too. We are devastating the
oceans, taking out too many fish, destroying their populations and their
ability to reproduce. We are destroying the coral reefs, which are truly
important to our fish population. (I could go on to point out other
problems, but I won’t
There is very little good news. Humans are in
control, we are the only animals who have the ability to make changes. But
first we must get our heads out of the sand and wake up to the facts. It
still might be possible to create a sustainable abode for ourselves well
into the future. But it will take a committed social movement to do it.
That’s what the “average person” can do. We must become
knowledgeable about what’s going on and not let business, politicians
and complacent people continue to ignore the obvious problems. It is in
our hands, not out of our hands. We like to think that it’s all up to
somebody else to figure out this mess, but that’s not really true.
Gore has been a committed environmentalist for
years. I applaud him for this latest effort but just watch the news. If
and when people actually start seeing this movie and believing what he
says, the cynical politicians will say that his real purpose was just to
get more publicity for himself, maybe to try and run again. Don’t let
that message be the lasting one. It’s about the environment, stupid!
The Incredibles
*
reviewed by The Phantom
Was I the only person in the audience who felt like she went through
the wrong door? No, not really. My daughter didn't like it either. We both
walked out about half way through, deciding it was more pleasant to just
wait in the lobby until the dreadful thing finally ended. Granted,
zillions of people think this is a terrific film, but I thought it was
boring, trite and stupid beyond the pale. I should have known better than
to waste my money on it. These films are just not for everybody, believe
me.
The Insider
***
reviewed by the Phantom
Have you been watching 60 Minutes for
years?
Been following the Big Tobacco Scandal?
Do you hate reruns and movies that are billed as "just a little too
long"?
If you answered yes to these
questions, why would you want to go see The Insider? That's what I
asked myself, so I waited for the video. And guess what? I was pleasantly
surprised by this intriguing movie about all of the above. Al Pacino was
great as the 60 Minutes producer, Lowell Bergman, as was Russell
Crowe as the whistle-blower, Jeffrey Wigand, and Christopher Plummer as
Mike Wallace.
The movie goes beyond, well, way
beyond, the 15-minute segments that were run on 60 minutes. We find
out that 60 Minutes didn't want to run Wigand's story, for
complicated legal reasons having to do with a confidentiality agreement
Wigand was forced to sign upon leaving Brown and Williamson. We also find
out that Wigand had a terrible time deciding to come forward. And then
when he did, he was threatened and harassed, which eventually led to his
marriage breaking up. Lots of moral intrigue and heavy drama and several
replays of those famous film clips showing the tobacco execs swearing that
nicotine is not addictive. But overall, it's the actors who bring this
story to life. I recommend it.
Jaws***
reviewed by the Phantom
A beautiful woman goes
swimming in the ocean at night, ignoring the music that signals the arrival of the
greatest white shark, which bites her to death, leading to the shark hunt of all times by
three guys in a soon-to-be-very leaky fishing boat, who scour the ocean, before finally
blowing the great white's ass out of the water.
King of the Masks ***
reviewed by Carrol Chrys
This
is a great classic movie that reminds me in mood of The Good Earth. It is a
gorgeously photographed sliver of a film that is gritty, scary, tender, up-lifting and
truly UN-Hollywood -- perhaps that's the best accolade I can give it. (Note from
the Phantom: 1999, Chinese, art film -- oh, and by the way, Ebert and his guest host gave
it two thumbs up.)
Kinsey
****
reviewed by the Phantom
See this one if only to understand America's sexual history. Kinsey,
for all his personal flaws, made a huge contribution to American culture.
He brought us out of the sexual dark ages and into the light. He changed
us fundamentally and this movie does his life justice. It's a great
bio-pix and Liam Neeson is excellent in capturing the spirit and the era.
Bravo.
Kissing
Jessica Stein ***
reviewed by Karen Dale
Yes,
I am giving this movie three stars. Yes, I laughed my butt off
and I was sad when it ended. Yes, I would recommend it to a friend.
All that notwithstanding, I’ve got serious issues with this movie.
A 30ish woman looking for love and finding only wackos and
losers reads a personal ad and finds a likely candidate, who turns out to
be a woman, who is also straight but looking for a new skill to add to her
sexual resume. They begin a sort of lesbian romance, but their attempt
actually insults the lesbian community. But this movie completely
minimized the seriousness and importance of gay relationships.
La Vie En Rose
***
reviewed by The Phantom
I really wanted to love this movie. After all, everybody who knew her
music simply loved the great Edith Piaf. It's French film, a biography of
sorts, beautifully photographed, with a tremendous performance by Marion
Cotillard, as Edith. But I think it was the format that thru me. Every
other scene was a flashback, the story jumped from Edith as a child, a
young girl, to Edith near the end of her life, endlessly back and forth
until I wanted to scream. Why couldn't they have just told the story. So
much was left out, including WWII, for some reason. We are left to
speculate about what may have happened to her to bring on such an early
death, was it alcohol, drugs, some mysterious ailment? One could not know
from watching this film, so I cannot call it a biography -- too much was
left out. Edith lived a short, and apparently very unhappy life, as many
extremely talented people do. The music was good, and it was a feast for
the eyes, but really left me wanting to see the real life story of Edith
Piaf.
The Last King of
Scotland ****
reviewed by the Phantom
Don't be fooled by the title, this is not a movie about Scotland. It's
about Idi Amin, Uganda's brutal dictator, played deliciously by Forest
Whitaker, for which he wins the Oscar. Who knew that playing this tyrant
would lead to such an achievement. This is another convincingly brutal
film, of course. Africa has lots of problems, and they continue -- well
after Amin, who died just a couple of years ago exiled in Saudi Arabia.
Legally Blonde
***
reviewed by the Phantom
Blonde women take lots of heat in their everyday lives.
Blonde jokes seem funny to many people. (Since
the Phantom happens to be blonde herself, you may have noticed that
their are no blonde jokes in Clever's archives.) So
when I heard that this movie was getting good reviews, I put it on
my must-see list. I was not disappointed, even though the plot and
all the characters are created from every clichè and stereotype
you've ever heard about blondes, lawyers, relationships, graduate
school, and even gays and lesbians. Nobody was left out. But
somehow, thanks to Reese Witherspoon and company, it all worked as a
smart, screwball comedy.
Reese plays Elle Woods, a total Barbie Doll sex
pot right out of a college sorority who is determined to make her
ex-boyfriend fall back in love with her by getting accepted to
Harvard Law School so he'll realize she's more than the sum of her
parts. The set-up is classic, and the humor relies on tried and true
comedic turns, but somehow we're all laughing in spite of
ourselves. It reminded me of those old classic comedies starring
Hepburn and Tracy -- cute and silly, but with a touch of heart that
leaves the audience feeling great.
Magnolia ***
reviewed by Karen Dale
I pretty much wrote it off after first seeing it, but then I had a chat with someone who has a great eye for
symbolism and a deep respect for the profound.
And I saw new layers in the film that I hadn’t even considered.
Certainly it explores sweeping themes that may resonate stronger
with some people than with others. What
impressed me the most was witnessing Tom Cruise finally break free from
his Maverick character, which seems to be his standard interpretation of
roles. Magnolia
is probably most enjoyable for those who enjoy doing a little work as part
of their movie-going experience.
Man in the Moon ****
reviewed by the Phantom
This film is worth watching even if
you're not a fan of Andy Kaufman. It's actually worth it even if you don't
know a thing about Andy Kaufman. I
didn't pay much attention to Kaufman while he was alive (he died young)
because I don't watch Saturday Night Live and somehow I forgot what
was so funny about Taxi, the two vehicles that helped make Kaufman
popular. Kaufman wasn't particularly interested in being popular or
well-liked. According to the
film, he wanted to irritate people, to shake them up, to mess with their
minds and then leave it up to them to figure out what he was doing to
them. That's an interesting
twist because we usually think of performers as people who crave attention
and want, above all else, to be loved by their fans.
The film details Kaufman's
professional life, and focuses on helping the viewers understand his
mindset. That’s what makes
the film different from the usual film biography. Jim Carrey does a superb
job of becoming Kaufman. He
worked hard at it and he got it right. I think it's probably Carrey's best
work yet. Carrey has come a long way from Ace Ventura-Pet Detective.
He just might be on his way to becoming a first-rate serious actor.
Mansfield
Park
****
reviewed by Karen Dale
This is a Jane Austen-based tale; apparently it was crafted from
ideas taken from her novel of the same name, as well as her early writings
and journals. So said the opening credits. It certainly contains many of
her stories’ basic elements: the idle rich, woman’s dependence on
attaining a man, sharp wit and intelligence, and stunning English scenery.
The plot was just a bit more complex than the standard ‘I love him, he
loves her, no wait -- he loves me’ fair.
This movie tried to explore
themes deeper than ‘Love is nice’. The necessity of patience and
belief that the universe orchestrates events to occur according to divine
timing. The tension between formal education and soulful intuition. And
the relentless Austen notions of stubborn self-reliance and character over
beauty. These themes don’t tire as gentle reminders of timeless wisdom.
It is a lovely movie that is interesting, humorous, and quite clever at
times. My only area of discomfort was that the main character displayed a
certain wisdom and motivation whose origin was never explained. The acting
was very good and the English-ness was entirely authentic. Highly
recommended.
March of the Penguins ***
Running time: 1 hr, 24 min. Feels
like: 1.5 hrs (K), eternity (P)
P—Cold! And tiring! I was like, “Why do the penguins have to do
this?” And they weren’t eating!
I mean, I’ve always liked penguins, but I don’t understand why they
have to go through all that. It’s just so much work! Can’t we teach
them a new way? Poor penguins.
K—It’s cute. Very Discovery Channel.
Master and Commander ***
reviewed by the Phantom
Russell Crowe is Captain Aubrey in
the first movie of Patrick O'Brian's sea captain print series of
swash-bucklers. It's been awhile since we've been to sea in the tall ships
and something tells me that we'll be going again soon. It just smacks of a
film series to me.
This movie genre has been around a
long time, it's the ocean-going version of the big western and those of us
who are adults have been many of them. Nowadays movie-making is so
advanced that we can truly be immersed in the action, not like the old
days when we had to stretch our imaginations to believe we were actually
aboard a real ship. This particular O'Brian story's theme is about phantom
ships and deception, probably a common-enough occurrence in those days.
But predictably, the movie is mostly about cannons blasting, sabers
rattling and old tars climbing mastheads.
The main characters, Aubrey and
the ship's doctor, seem to be complex characters with enough intellectual
tension between them to be interesting, but I'm thinking that this is a
series that will appeal more to guys than girls. It's definitely not a
date movie, unless you've been dating for a very long time.
Match
Point ***
Reviewed by the Phantom
Billed as Woody Allen’s come-back (to greatness?) film, this
movie, for once, doesn’t star Woody himself. Whew! It’s a
romance/mystery, set in London, gorgeous scenery, good acting by
new-comers with big lips (what’s up with those injected lips
anyhow?). This movie is long on the romance part and short on
the mystery part, which is unfortunate. While watching it I had
a flashback to Theodore Dreiser’s classic novel, The American Tragedy. It’s the same story, folks. But sometimes
crime pays.
Mean Girls ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This is a
girl-teenager coming-of-age movie and yet another attempt to explain how
truly horrible the high school years can be. Picture this: a teenager has
never been to public school in her life because she has been raised in
Africa. We are supposed to think that living in the jungle would prepare
her for this new nasty and brutish place she must now endure. It's an
amusing film that rises above the average summertime fare, although the
ending is somewhat predictable. A good renter.
Memento
***
reviewed
by Karen Dale
Everyone is talking about this film. It’s said to be very intelligent,
suspenseful, and thought-provoking. I found it interesting, but the
loose ends that didn’t get tied up left me unsatisfied rather than
pensive. The story revolves around a bizarre brain malfunction that
leads the main character to avenge a murder in a very roundabout
way. The story is told backwards, so that by the end we get answers
to the questions that have been raised along the way. It’s not
nearly as sharp as a movie like The
Sixth Sense which gets you at the end and then you
realize you probably could have figured it out the whole time.
This
one throws in a couple of doozies from left field and dangles a few
participles to try to dish out a good “ah-ha!”,
or at least an “ooooooohh...!”. It’s a little unclean there at
the end, though, which leads me to drop off a precious star. This
movie is also slow-moving, which makes it feel overly long although
it doesn’t even reach the two-hour mark.
The film is very well acted and definitely something new,
which you always know is a plus for this reviewer. I recommend it,
but only if you’ve already seen Shrek.
(July 2001)
Memoirs of a Geisha
***
Reviewed by the Phantom
Most book-clubbers will have to see this movie, even though most of us
have forgotten the plot by now. It’s not really a memoir, but a novel
written by a man (with insight?) about geishas just before and during
WWII. It’s moody, dark, and beautifully filmed. The myth of the geisha
world is that while the women are devoted to pleasing men by using their
talents in pouring tea, playing Japanese musical instruments, dancing and
making light-hearted conversation, behind the scenes their world is
fraught with danger, back-stabbing and desperate female conniving. This
topsy-turvy world collapses as WWII turns ugly for the Japanese. The film
got some bad press because many of the roles were given to Chinese actors.
Once you get into the film, it makes little difference, the acting was
terrific across the board.
The
Messenger
***
reviewed by Karen Dale
Charisma, intuition, piousness, schizophrenia..?
This movie contemplates one or all of these attributes utilizing
the Joan of Arc legend. The film allows and encourages the viewer to choose
their own moral-of-the-story. There
is ample opportunity for rumination, debate and analysis. And if you are a complete history numbskull like me, the probable
lack of historical accuracy doesn’t effect it. Consideration of human motivation and questioning of the true
source of divine inspiration is much more meaningful matter than that of
the brains colorfully displayed for gore’s sake.
This movie is interesting for those who find questions of
spirituality and destiny intriguing...long and a bit tedious for those in
it for the plot. Worthwhile.
Monsoon
Wedding ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This film comes to us from India and it has been
gathering rave reviews, so I had to have a look at it right off the bat.
It's a family story, probably a very familiar one in India, about an
arranged marriage. It's a comedy, filled with bright color, wonderful
characters, charming music, and domestic scenes that ring true for families
all over the world. It's great entertainment, lots of laughs, and a
feel-good ending. What more could we ask for. April
2002
Monster ****
reviewed by the Phantom
This is one of those
movies that I felt I had to see for the performances. Charlize Theron and
Christine Ricci truly do their characters justice. Theron deserves the
Oscar for her work, which rises above anything that is expected of an
actor. In case you've forgotten, the movie is the true story about the
Florida prostitute who becomes a serial killer of her Johns and then is
executed for her crimes. The story ends when she is caught so we don't
have to go through all the prison stuff, which is a blessing, but the
horror of her life is displayed in full detail. Masterful movie, difficult
to watch.
Monster's Ball ***
reviewed by Christopher J.
Stephens
At his best, actor Billy Bob Thornton is our
new Humphrey Bogart. Look at that weathered, beaten face, those
eyes that have seen hell and kept it all inside. As Buck
Grotowski, a Georgia penitentiary guard who shepherds condemned
men through their last days, Thornton is devastating in what he
does not show, in all that he hides from the world. His father,
Buck (Peter Boyle), is a retired guard, stuck on the couch,
never far from his oxygen tank and a cigarette. Sonny (Heath
Ledger), Buck’s son, is also a guard. The Grotowskis are a white southern family steeped in a
racism that seems as natural as the air they breathe, but their
lives are about to change.
Director Marc Forster, working from a script
by Milo Addica and Will Rokos, takes his time with this story.
The condemned man, Lawrence Musgrove, (Sean Combs) is an artist,
reflective, contemplative, but not idealized. His wife Leticia (Halle
Berry) will soon be faced with being sole provider for their
son. Their scenes together are brittle with regret and sadness.
Their boy Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun) meets his own tragic twist of
fate, and it draws Leticia together with Buck in the usually
manipulative way Hollywood movies have of creating romance.
Monster’s Ball refers to
the final night ritual prisons go through for their condemned
prisoners the night before they are to die. It could also stand
for the slow dance of survival these grief-stricken characters
must face halfway through this film. It’s a cruel world, with
sharp twists and conclusive turns and nothing spoken can ever be
taken back, but there’s an undeniable beauty to this film.
The primary buzz is around Halle Berry’s
Oscar-nominated performance and the explicit love scene between
her and Thornton. The buzz is justifiable, and the scene is raw,
but it is far from obscene. These two characters are at their
most vulnerable, and they need this contact. Talking won’t
help. It’s a brave and explicit few minutes, but more so
because both performers are symbolically exposing themselves to
the world. They are investing everything into this work, and we
can’t help but watch in awe as their relationship develops.
Berry is fantastic in this film, but Thornton’s
ability to disappear into his character and wear the pain on his
face is pivotal to her development, and the success of the film
as a whole. It seems much harder to internalize grief. Thornton
knows this, and he speaks through a look from his eyes or a
touch of his hands. Amazingly, without resorting to Southern
redneck stereotyping or the usual one-dimensional looks at
superhuman African-American women, "Monster’s Ball"
offers salvation and a new chance for both these characters.
They will persevere, and we’re better for it. (3-02)
Moulin
Rouge
***
reviewed
by Karen Dale
This film is different, very creative, and somewhat inscrutable -- a
futuristic/historicmuscial love story. Pretty much a fairly tale that
seems as though it belongs on the stage, with the richness of the
scenery and the way the male lead projects his singing voice
throughout. Could also be a cartoon, as the sets and characters all
maintain somewhat of a surreal haze about them. This movie is loud
and energizing while managing to be tender and emotionally evocative
in the same space. Nicole Kidman --
fugedaboudit -- she truly just inspires incredible
pity for Mr. Cruise and his poor decision-making skills. This
one’s worth a look-see. (July 2001)
Mrs. Dalloway ***
reviewed by The Phantom
This is a film adaptation of
Virginia Woolf's novel of the same name. Mrs. Dalloway is Virginia Woolf's version of
Harold Bloom in James Joyce's Ulysses. This time the twenty-four hour "day in
the life of", takes place in London, rather than Dublin, and we follow Mrs. D's day
as she prepares for an elegant party. Along the way, we are treated to her life story, and
her inner thoughts as a genteel Victorian young woman who must choose between two suitors,
one who can give her the stability and pampered life of leisure she is accustomed to, and
the other who wants her to explore the world in a much different way. The film's setting
is beautiful if you adore all those things which exemplified Victorian England, but the
story is bland and slow-moving and I really didn't understand which of the suitors would
have made a better choice for her. I'm not sure if V. Woolf did either. Perhaps one must
read the book for the answer. But if you're suffering from insomnia and need a pretty
movie to help put you to sleep, rent this one.
Munich ***
Reviewed by the Phantom
Bloody, violent, loud, tense -- but that’s to be expected, right? It’s
a much more serious revenge movie than the usual fare. Spielberg has an
agenda, just like he did with Private Ryan. He wants to explain something
to us about revenge in general, and the historical roots of this present
era of terrorism. Kusher’s script is first rate. He was asked to write
this screen play, his very first, but he was working from previously
produced material, and historical records as well. Nevertheless, his
dialog works, which sets this movie apart from the usual thriller fare. We
do begin to feel what it must be like to be on an assassination team
(it’s not the OK Coral), and just how complex and distorted the rules
are. But bottom line, this is a guy flick. I don’t think most women find
this sort of film very entertaining or enlightening.
Music & Lyrics ***
reviewed by the Phantom
Who doesn't just love Hugh Grant, especially teamed with Drew
Barrymore, what could possibly be any cuter. Nothing I can think of. This
screwball comedy about an aging rock star is adorable and funny. Not
bring-tears-to-your-eyes, wet-your-pants funny (when does that ever happen
these days?), but it's filled with the small asides that Hugh is so famous
for. That's what we want to watch. And Hugh can still shake his booty like
the best of them. This movie is a winner.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding ***
reviewed by Karen Dale
My hopes for an uplifting sleeper were met with this movie. I hadn’t heard
anything about it and I’m REALLY trying to believe that this is NOT because
the main character is not some gorgeous, Anglo, anorexic, taco de ojo. I
need reassurance that our society is not so based on superficial…oh please,
who am I trying to kid? Just myself. Go see this movie! It is a really funny slice
of life that comes off as very genuine and touching. It’s one of those movies where you can forgive the small licenses the filmmakers take with
plausibility, because you just really want to believe that it’s working out
the way it looks. One thing that I appreciated about this movie was the way
the small plot tensions weren’t allowed to build into Three’s
Company style shenanigans, the way they could have. It told a story in a darn funny
way, and left us all with big goofy smiles on our faces. As far as I’m concerned, you can’t ask for more from a summer movie.
June 2002
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The Duds!
Hannibal **
reviewed by the Phantom
Anthony Hopkins is back as
Hannibal Lector for this Part II of grossness. Jody couldn't
stomach another film of this type so Julianne Moore took over
the role of Clarise and I think she did a creditable job of it.
Ten years has passed and Hannibal is in Florence, Italy, working
as a museum lecturer (or something). He's up to his old tricks,
and in one of his more gruesome murders, he reconstructs the
infamous hanging that occurred there during the 1400s. But
that's only the teaser. This film is a total gross-out, with
only the fine acting of Hopkins to redeem it.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
**
reviewed by Karen Dale
I have heard two reactions to this movie: 1) It’s perfect, a great
movie; 2) It’s too much like the book, not so good. I had both
reactions when I saw it. I’ve read most of the Harry Potter books, and
I was really excited to see all of the characters and events come to
life. It seems that this is what the audience cried out for, and that
is exactly what the filmmakers produced. They tried to include as many
scenes and imaginative sequences from the book as possible, and they
succeeded in perfectly rendering the spells, monsters, and characters
that made it a great read. In fact, the filmmakers reproduced the book
so well, in the exact manner that my imagination created it as I was
reading, that I felt rather under-awed by the display, as if it was
nothing new.
The filmmakers’ clear goal was to give a visual image to the wonderful,
creative ideas in J.K. Rowling’s books. They certainly brought the
story to life in the visual sense, but they forgot that life encompasses all the senses, rather than just the one. They failed to
develop the back-story in any meaningful way: the movie was clearly
created for people who have read the books and already know the intentions and motivations of the characters and the reasons for this
story to occur at all. The statement that the movie is too much like
the book is accurate, in the sense that they are both two-dimensional
media. The film describes the events and people visually, rather than
in words, but fails to provide the depth of detail necessary to give
the story meaning, purpose, and heart.
Personally, I was bored and I felt irritated that the story was not
made accessible enough for the person I watched it with to care about
what was happening, as she had not read the book. The movie’s plot did
not propel itself; the action jumped from scene to scene without any
explanation for what, why, how, and who, with emphasis on the why. Kids
should love it, since it’s very concrete and there’s not too much
complicated plot to follow. I’m putting this movie in the pile with
Monsters, Inc., as one that doesn’t cross over to the adult market with
success. No coveted Shrek award for Harry, sorry lad. (12/01)
Hilary and
Jackie **
reviewed by the Phantom
This film will probably mean more to
classical music lovers who actually know who cellist Jacqueline du Pre
was. It's another one of those music biographies that seem to come
along about one per year these days. This time it's musical sibling
rivalry between sisters who grew up in England during the 1950s. Actually,
the time period is not clear unless you're alert for the one brief
reference to the Beatles. The rest of the biography follows their personal
lives to the absolute exclusion of any historical or social reference
point. The sisters are totally involved in becoming musicians from early
childhood, Hilary the flute and Jackie the cello. At one point in the film
Jackie even says to Hilary that they are not fit for anything in life
except playing music.
Eventually, Jackie achieves success,
while Hilary opts for hearth, home and a loving husband and chucks her
career, perhaps to prove to sister Jackie that she could do something
other than play the flute. The sisters physically split up and go their
separate ways, but not for long. That's when the story becomes even more
bizarre as it leads to its tragic end.
Even though musician biographies have
found good audiences in the past, this time the magic just wasn't there.
For one thing, the story was told from one sister's point of view and then
retold from the other's in a rather disjointed way. (Groan.) Second,
British filmmakers do have a tendency to linger over the scene just a beat
or two too long for my taste, which was definitely the case here. And
third, the camera work became quite annoying whenever the scene called for
Jackie to actually play the cello. The camera did 360-degree revolutions
around her throughout every performance, as if we would be bored just
watching her play straight on. (Groan.) While I did manage to stay awake
throughout and even watch it to the very end, I really can't recommend it
too highly for general audiences.
Home Fries
(no stars)
reviewed by the Phantom
I like Drew Barrymore, who doesn't? So
that's why I chose this one as a renter. I'd heard somewhere that it was
basically a romantic comedy. In my humble opinion, it wasn't funny. It
wasn't romantic. And it definitely wasn't good.
It was written by Vince Gilligan, who
also writes scripts for "The X-Files." I think that explains it.
In an opening scene a helicopter chases down a car, the driver gets out
and starts running away from it on foot, and then eventually becomes so
frightened that he dies of a heart attack. That scene could be right out
of X-Files. Next, we find out that the pilots are the step-sons of the
dead man, who have been enlisted by their mother to kill her husband. We
are encouraged to believe this is all very funny by the "cute"
background music. While I was watching this and other distasteful scenes,
I was thinking that if the background music were different, the plot
itself would be just another bad TV drama. It seemed as if they might have
actually been making sort of a suspense drama but it was so laughably bad
that they just added corny music and turned it into a "black
comedy." It didn't work.
House
of Mirth **
reviewed by the Phantom
Don't believe the title. There's nothing funny about
this movie. Scully (Gillian Anderson) gets dressed up in
beautiful Edwardian costumes and wanders listlessly through
Victorian sets as a hopeless case. We're not sure what she's
looking for and she doesn't either. Rent this one if you're
suffering from insomnia. It's a sure-fire remedy.
I am Sam *
Reviewed by Christopher J.
Stephens
Sean Penn has earned his right to a temperamental nature. His
two writer/director efforts, "The
Indian Runner" and "The Crossing Guard," along with last year’s sorely
neglected "The Pledge" (the last two starring Jack Nicholson), were sad and serious films touched by
greatness. Penn’s star turn in 1995’s
"Dead Man Walking" was legendary and should have won
him an Academy Award. His hard-earned
credentials as an "artiste" are impeccable, but with "I Am Sam" he very well may have
abandoned them. Folks, our last real actor may
be gone.
Penn is the title character, a retarded single
father of a daughter named Lucy Diamond
(Dakota Fanning.) The plot, loosely built by co-screenwriters Kristine Johnson and Jessie Nelson around
montages of Beatles cover performances,
involves this earnest man with the mental capacity of a seven year old fighting to retain custody of his girl.
Michelle Pfeiffer plays Rita, the
high-powered lawyer who is basically browbeaten into taking his case pro bono.
Of course, as this conveniently processed
story evolves, Rita learns that she has been a neglectful mother
to her young son. Her own marriage is
falling apart, but we really don’t know why she takes Sam’s case. She’s a pawn of the story, and she’s
going to be taught a life lesson by the
benevolent, all-knowing Sam.
All You Need Is Love, but product placement
obviously helps finance a film. The good
folks of Starbucks and Pizza Hut play roles here. Sam starts
as an employee of the former, and ends as a faithful servant of
the latter. Through the miracles of film,
this minimum-wage life allows him to keep
a fairly good apartment, and move to a better one when Lucy is
taken in by foster parents (the mother is
played with cloying earnestness by Laura Dern). The feature
length commercials are both annoying and insulting to watch,
but this is in keeping with the overall patronizing nature of
the film.
Director Jessie Nelson has given us a
"Lifetime" cable TV movie, and Sean Penn
has turned in one of the most annoying, patronizing portrayals
of a retarded man ever put on screen. Sam
doesn’t lose out in the end, but we do. We
are subjected to long stretches of shiny happy people dancing to
Michael Penn and Aimee Mann’s "Two
Of Us," or Sarah McClachlan’s "Blackbird."
Dakota Fanning is sweet and natural as the little girl, but it’s
always in the service of Penn’s mugging.
He was on "The Charlie Rose Show" musing about
how retarded people are just naturally sweet, and this is a
statement that smacks of ignorance.
Sweetness won’t pay the bills. Blissful ignorance won’t
support a child all alone. "I Am Sam" ignores reality
in exchange for the feel-good "power
of the human spirit." When Penn, as Sam, prances around in Beatle wig and suit, the movie ends up as a
horrible endurance test. You have been warned. (3-02)
Kiss Me Kate** (1953)
reviewed by the Phantom
"Brush Up Your Shakespeare..." This old-style
Hollywood musical, starring Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson and Ann Miller, is loosely based
on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, but that part is barely noticeable amid the
dancing, singing and general silliness of this comedy, that nevertheless, reminds us that
once upon a time, in a land far, far away, movies were really a lot of fun.
Lantana **
reviewed by Karen Dale
I only gave this film two stars because it somehow managed to be
interesting enough to make me fight between catnaps to keep my eyes open. I
remember that there was a murder and they might have been trying to solve it, but I think there was something more they were trying to say. It just
beats the hell out of me what it could possibly have been. This movie was S-L-O-W. I should have been forewarned that Ebert stuck his thumb up
at it…this was actually one of the reasons I rented it (stupid, stupid—read: “banging of head with hand”). He’s got some kind of immunity to
boredom that I wish he could bottle. If you’re compelled to see this one,
be sure to watch it at noon in a straight-backed chair while eating
Cornnuts. June 2002
Life as a House **
reviewed by The Phantom
Choose this one after you've seen all the
good ones. Kevin Kline is dying of cancer but his very dysfunctional
family doesn't know it. His last wish is to finally build his dream house
in his remaining four months. By the time he finishes it, his family has
become the Brady Bunch. What else can I say. Hankies may be necessary.
Life is
Beautiful **
reviewed by the Phantom
The Phantom really wanted to live this movie since it's getting
so much attention from "the academy" but I just can't. It wasn't the
subtitles, which I probably would have needed even if I spoke Italian because Roberto
Begnini speaks so fast, and he's always talking, or gesturing, or bouncing around the
screen, and he's in every frame of this two-act slapstick comedy-tragedy. Neither
act worked for me on any level even though I know I'm supposed to revere this movie
because of its subject matter. I just couldn't. Begnini reminds me of a smart Jerry
Lewis, if that's possible. Wait for the rental.
The Little Vampire *
reviewed by Karen Dale
I guess kids are happy with anything that has a little action and some neat one-liners to take back to school
with them on Monday. As bad as I typically find child actors to be, this was probably one of the worst
performances by a minor, this side of Nickelodeon. He truly excelled if he was going for consistency in
blankness of expression and stilted delivery of overly-precocious lines. This movie even managed to
take an idea as cool as flying vampire cows and package it into something hokey and uninteresting. Too
bad our kids are learning young to settle for this kind of crap. (I wonder if I’m getting old..?)
The Matrix
**
reviewed by Tom Beall
If you are looking for pure thrills, this movie will fill the
bill. In the distant future humankind lives a very “computerized”
sort of life, but a few have broken free and are trying to liberate the
rest. However, they have to contend with the computer-generated
opposition, and that is no easy task. Keanu Reeves stars as Neo, who
is recruited into the group of rebels and is taught how to fight with and
without weapons. He is thought to be the only person able to defeat
the system. The special effects are the show, with the story and
acting coming in second. It’s well worth watching though, and
should be positioned well for a sequel.
Must Love Dogs *
Running time: 1 hr, 30 min. Feels
like: 2 hrs (K)
P—Didn’t see it. (Smart girl)
K—Love John Cusack, hate that he did this movie. Major suckage. Zero
chemistry, zero depth to the plot, VERY trite.
Me,
Myself, and Irene
**
reviewed by Karen Dale
A fun movie from the Farrelly Brothers, creators of
There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber. As always, there is
definitely a strong emphasis on those things gross and utterly ridiculous,
but, for some reason, it just kind of works. Jim Carrey is great in a role
that taps into all of his abilities¾
physical/slapstick humor as well as earnest portrayals of a variety of
emotions. I can be very testy about movie depictions of mental illness;
however, this movie ventures so far out of the realm of the possible that
somehow it managed to suspend my disbelief. It’s entertaining, but also a
good one to wait for on video (insert DVD, satellite, HBO, etc.).
Message in
a bottle*
reviewed by the Phantom
(After watching 5 minutes of the Postman° , I swore I
would never watch another Kevin Costner film, but then I must have had a senior moment and
forgot that pledge, so I sat through this manipulative tear-jerker, feeling more angry at
myself than Kevin. This Nicholas Sparks novel has been turned into a two-hour torture
session of romantic drivel. Now, don't get me wrong. I love a good romantic movie, but
this one threw in every sentimental cliché they could think of to try to shift our
attention away from the fact that this was a totally implausible story; everything was
there except the puppy, which would have died, had they included it.
The Mexican (no
stars)
reviewed by the Phantom
Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt get to read
lots of scripts and can choose any project they want. Money is
no object. So my question is: why on earth did they choose to
make this dreadful movie? It’s unwatchable. (11/01)
Miss Congeniality o
reviewed by Karen Dale
This movie rated lowest on the stupid-o-meter. It was probably a bad omen that after
suffering through the first five minutes of this one, I had to excuse
myself from the theater. It was just sooo bad! I couldn’t imagine subjecting
myself to three more senseless, idiotic pictures, even for the sake of a
potentially amusing article.
Monsters, Inc. *
reviewed by Karen Dale
It’s not really fair that I review this movie for a couple of reasons.
First, I’m thirty years old, for god’s sake -- this movie was not made for
me. Second, I didn’t stay ‘til the end ‘cause I was bored outta my
mind. I think a high level of false advertising was poured into the
marketing of this movie.
They wanted us grown-ups to think the jokes were gonna include us, but the
slapsticky, tedious nature of the shtick
was barely getting laughs out of the seven-year-olds in the theater,
and the adults were paying more attention to their popcorn. And third
(thought I’d try to sneak one more in), a movie whose premise is
scaring the “s” out of little kids and bottling their screams needs to
reevaluate its priorities before deciding on it’s audience. Personally,
I was somewhat horrified. You could see where it was going, and I’m
guessing that I know how it ended, but I just didn’t have the patience
or masochistic chutzpah to subject myself to it any longer. (12/01)
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