What makes a period film worthy of your time and attention span? The abilities of the actors to convince us they are of that time. The abilities of the directors and cinematographer to convince us that the time is real. The extent to which the costumes and setting, along with the acting and directing transport us to the time. If one fails, in my mind, the movie fails.

Frank Miller’s 300 directed by Zack Snyder is a visually stunning, beautifully directed, perfectly acted, operatic cinematic event. I was skeptical about watching such a hyped film though I was very much looking forward to it. Frank Miller’s Sin City directed by Miller himself and Robert Rodriguez was as visually stunning, but not as jaw-dropping. 300 feels like an epic without feeling too long and overly dramatic. Of course the story of 300 Spartans fighting the Persian army of thousands is itself drama, but the acting, cinematography and art direction is never campy or even unbelievable. Well, perhaps Xerxes’ giant stature is a bit unbelievable, but the tallest man in the world now is almost 8 feet, right?
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May 13th, 2007 / Want to Comment?

What makes a period film worthy of your time and attention span? The abilities of the actors to convince us they are of that time. The abilities of the directors and cinematographer to convince us that the time is real. The extent to which the costumes and setting, along with the acting and directing transport us to the time. If one fails, in my mind, the movie fails.

Circular fade ins and fade outs, scratchy screens, gold tinted scenes and soft directing create a vision of turn-of-the-century Vienna that is magical. The Illusionist is a work of film art and visual art. My expectations were null for this film because I hadn’t read much about it and am not a fan of Jessica Biehl. But, Jessica Biehl and Paul Giamatti were surprisingly good and Edward Norton as usual held his own. Rufus Sewell was a delightfully evil character. The plot was well perceived and the twists in the film were completely unexpected. Continue reading

May 13th, 2007 / Want to Comment?

What makes a period film worthy of your time and attention span? The abilities of the actors to convince us they are of that time. The abilities of the directors and cinematographer to convince us that the time is real. The extent to which the costumes and setting, along with the acting and directing transport us to the time. If one fails, in my mind, the movie fails.

The director of Heading South, like 300, creates a distant world, but not distant because of space and time, more distant because of perception. In 300, our preconceived notions of ancient Greece give way to the surreality of a time we thought we knew. In Heading South, our preconceived notions of the sexuality of older women, the reality of impoverished 1980s Haiti, and intra- and interracial relations give way to the complex reality that nothing is what it seems. Where 300 is a feast for the eyes and the imagination, Heading South is a feast for the mind and soul. Layer upon layer of social and political confrontations never overwhelm the film and bog it down with heavy-handed moral lessons. Instead, the layers peel away, break off, flake, to reveal the truth of the characters and the truth of the political and social characters in matter-of-fact and sometimes subtle ways.
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May 13th, 2007 / Want to Comment?

It’s a mystery to me why good shows get cancelled on television and bad ones seem to go on achingly forever. Friends and ER have been on the air longer than I care to remember, but Arrested Development, Deadwood and Firefly get cancelled at their peaks. Firefly didn’t even make it through an entire season. In Deadwood’s case, HBO couldn’t afford another season of the $60 million show. I get it. But, Fox’s Arrested Development and Firefly were the network’s best shows then and for a long, long time. But viewers who “think and watch” are so much fewer than those who’d rather watch (without thinking) the watered down drivel of Friends and ER. What’s the world coming to? Well, we have our memories, no?

One of the best Science Fiction series on television was cancelled not even half way through its first season. Firefly was for me one of those science fiction series that convinced me that all TV wasn’t crap and all science fiction was not wholly too unbelievable to even entertain the possibility of a future where we could live on any other planet but earth.
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March 14th, 2007 / Want to Comment?

It’s a mystery to me why good shows get cancelled on television and bad ones seem to go on achingly forever. Friends and ER have been on the air longer than I care to remember, but Arrested Development, Deadwood and Firefly get cancelled at their peaks. Firefly didn’t even make it through an entire season. In Deadwood’s case, HBO couldn’t afford another season of the $60 million show. I get it. But, Fox’s Arrested Development and Firefly were the network’s best shows then and for a long, long time. But viewers who “think and watch” are so much fewer than those who’d rather watch (without thinking) the watered down drivel of Friends and ER. What’s the world coming to? Well, we have our memories, no?

When I was in college I wrote a paper for a film class. The paper was titled “Homo on the Range”. I proposed that My Own Private Idaho, like a typical western was an homage or simply a commentary on the outsider’s struggle with identity, estrangement and perpetual search for a place to belong. I proposed the struggle was not reserved for anyone group of people, just typical human crazy. You know, the human condition where we stupidly believe there is a distinct line between good and bad (not that either really exist) and crossing the line to either side means you have no trace left of the side you left behind. A good film rides that line until there is no line ’cause good filmmakers know, there are no lines in the real world. Just the ones we make up.
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March 14th, 2007 / Want to Comment?

It’s a mystery to me why good shows get cancelled on television and bad ones seem to go on achingly forever. Friends and ER have been on the air longer than I care to remember, but Arrested Development, Deadwood and Firefly get cancelled at their peaks. Firefly didn’t even make it through an entire season. In Deadwood’s case, HBO couldn’t afford another season of the $60 million show. I get it. But, Fox’s Arrested Development and Firefly were the network’s best shows then and for a long, long time. But viewers who “think and watch” are so much fewer than those who’d rather watch (without thinking) the watered down drivel of Friends and ER. What’s the world coming to? Well, we have our memories, no?

Arrested Development is one of those shows with ridiculous storylines and outrageous characters that always leave you thinking “What the fuck is wrong with these people?” while laughing till you pee a little in your undies. Granted there are numerous television comedies about dysfunctional families with crazy characters and even crazier storylines, but none have what Arrested Development has: delivery, delivery, delivery! And no live audience to boot.
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March 14th, 2007 / Want to Comment?

The best filmgoing experiences i’ve had came in the guise of a surprise. I like lowering expectations, ignoring hype and going with the flow. Sometimes it’s hard, but sometimes it’s just necessary. Brokeback Mountain had so much hype surrounding it, but the Thin Man and Morvern Callar were films I never heard of until I watched them. All three films, nonetheless, are now at the top of my favorite film list because they knocked me over with feathers, left me smiling from ear to ear, conjure feelings of complete delight and satisfaction. It’s rare that a film, or anything in life really, can do this. When it does, I cherish it.

Morvern Callar is sincerely one of the most amazing, impressing and simple but complex films I have ever seen. It’s a character study as affecting as Anthony Hopkin’s portrayal of Stevens the ideal butler in 1930s Britiain in Remains of the Day. Samantha Morton’s performance could not have been better! It’s so nuanced, touching, disturbing and endearing. I couldn’t imagine any other actress playing Morvern. Lynne Ramsay’s directing was also superb. Hypnotic, simple and intimate.
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January 14th, 2007 / Want to Comment?

The best filmgoing experiences i’ve had came in the guise of a surprise. I like lowering expectations, ignoring hype and going with the flow. Sometimes it’s hard, but sometimes it’s just necessary. Brokeback Mountain had so much hype surrounding it, but the Thin Man and Morvern Callar were films I never heard of until I watched them. All three films, nonetheless, are now at the top of my favorite film list because they knocked me over with feathers, left me smiling from ear to ear, conjure feelings of complete delight and satisfaction. It’s rare that a film, or anything in life really, can do this. When it does, I cherish it.

I was ramped up on the possibility of man on man action. I’d heard about this movie about a year ago and could not believe Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, two Hollywood hotties, were going to make this film together. Then again, why not since despite their hotness they are damned good actors. I especially liked Jake’s (yes, I sometimes pretend I know him personally) fab performance in Donnie Darko (sans the crying scene in the shrink’s office) and Heath’s (him too) short but moving performance in Monster’s Ball. It’s hard to believe Ledger’s the same guy in the teenie-bopper film 10 Things I hate About You, huh. Anywho, Ang Lee is Ang Lee and usually never disappoints except for maybe Ride with the Devil (another frontier film) with, of all people, Jewel. All directors deserve to make a bad movie…just to get it out of their systems if nothing else.
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January 14th, 2007 / Want to Comment?