Recent events cause us to be more in need of distractions than ever...
Dean's rating scale: ****Exceptionally
good, ***Quite good indeed,
**
I liked some things about it, but found it to be something closer
to average,* Not recommended.
| Amelie | *** |
| Hearts in Atlantis | *** |
| Innocence | **1/2 |
| The Man Who Wasn't There | **1/2 |
| Riding in Cars with Boys | *** |
| Serendipity | *1/2 |
Amelie -- (French with subtitles) -- A mischievous woman plays merry prankster for both good and evil purposes upon the people in her life, but is herself a coward until the tables are turned by a friend who realizes her vulnerability. This is a mostly gentle though at times rapidly paced light-hearted romantic comedy, but with a Feliniesque (or perhaps Tolouse Latrec) carnival-character surrealism. Audry Tautou uses her devilish smile and Audrey Hepburn looks to maximum effect. The movie takes a bit of effort to follow at times and there's not a lot of point to it, but there is plenty of fun in the pranks and ties together sufficiently into a pleasant package. (kids -- no; teens -- need patience for reading rapid subtitles) ***
Hearts in Atlantis-- A nostalgic view of a simpler time, a childhood romance, a friendship with a mysterious man, a rise and fall of faith in those closest to us and the courage to face a sometimes frightening and unkind world -- all of these things combine to make a captivating and memorable story, based on Stephen King's novel. Anthony Hopkins as mystery man is an added curiosity because one wonders from the beginning whether he will fall into something resembling his typecast as Hannible Lechter. Thankfully, he doesn't. The principle star of the show, however, is a charming 11 year old boy (Anton Yelchin) who rapidly comes of age when faced with the startling going-ons around him. Most parts of this story fit, though it is designed more for escapism than for point, and thus it needs to be cut some slack for occasional implausibility. If you can do that, you'll probably enjoy it, not least of which for its touching view of the world through the eyes of a child. (children -- possibly not, due to frightening scenes of violence; teens -- probably okay; adults -- yes) ***
Innocence -- (Australian) -- This is a movie unlike any I have seen, and at my age, that fact in and of itself scores it some points. A young couple attempts and succeeds at rekindling their love 50 years later as they approach their 70s, in spite of the heartbreak it causes for one spouse. It's refreshing to see a romantic film where the focus is not another set of pretty faces, though the frequent flashbacks to the couple's more youthful days provide some of the film's hormones. Nevertheless, the film felt neither as romantic nor as touching as one might hope, and the somewhat surprising ending leaves one feeling somewhat incomplete. It was also hard for me to buy that any woman would be willing to permit her husband to get away for one year, let alone 20 years, without saying "I love you". Still, the movie is worth seeing for the hope and inspiration it provides to any of us for love and youthful spirit in our older ages. (Not appropriate for children; mostly unappealing for teens; good for adult romantics) **1/2
The Man Who Wasn't There -- The Coen brothers continue their trend of odd quirky story spinning with another brilliantly scripted tale. With each new project, we find them exploring some different movie genre that they perhaps admired in their youth or studied in their college film classes. We can depend upon them to do so satirically but also with a deep respect for those who have crafted before them. Two common themes tend to characterize most of their films -- botched capers and regional or historical characatures. These are broadly evident in films such as Fargo, Raising Arizona, O Brother Where Art Thou and The Big Lebowski. This time, their method uses the film noir style popularized in the late 1940s (and repopularized more recently by characterizations such as Garrison Keillor's "Guy Noir, Private Eye"). The style uses the principle character as story narrator in a somewhat detached but curious posture, describing while trying to make sense out of what seems an odd pattern of events in his life but not really caring much what any of it amounts to as long as his simple pleasures are satisfied. Even though the character in this case is a relentlessly dull and poker-faced barber, there is always a suave sophistication in the noir type character. Billy Bob Thornton has the face of a shoe for over two hours, and one could never imagine how memorable such a dead-pan performance can be, but it seems truly Oscar worthy. The Coen's seem to have a way of extracting these kinds of performances from their actors -- George Clooney, William Macy, and Joel Coen's wife Francis McDormand (who also appears in this film) have been previously honored under their watch, and I think Thornton now has a better than even chance of being similarly recognized. The story line trods along a bit slowly at times and my companions were not nearly as amused by it as I was, but Coen devotees are likely to be pleased. It's not Fargo, but for me it was more than sufficiently fun. (Kids -- no, probably not; teens -- well okay, but the nuance may go over their heads) **1/2
Riding in Cars with
Boys -- Based on a true story,
the title unfortunately doesn't accurately reflect the path the movie takes,
and that has probably cost it a larger audience. It's too bad, because
this is the kind of movie where it's almost possible to forget you are
watching a movie and get thoroughly caught up in a story. It's not
that the story is so unusual. One would gather from the title that
it's a teen movie, perhaps something out of the American Grafitti gendre.
It has that, set mainly in the mid-1960s, with a little music, fun and
nostalgia mixed in, but the larger focus covers a broader range of life
and interpersonal relationships. Drew Barrymore is excellent in this
film as a young woman chasing a childhood dream that keeps getting sidetracked
by the decisions she makes and by those that are made for her. I
would consider her performance Oscar-caliber, though it may not be the
kind of role that would garner her such recognition. Relationships
between her and her father, played by James Woods, her husband, her son
and others include an assortment of sad and touching moments, but mostly
the film stays on a gently amusing and characaturistic plane while, with
a few notable exceptions, rarely deviates far from realism. Characature
in the context of working-class struggles seems to be a hallmark
of Penny Marshall films, whose style hasn't always impressed me.
With a few notable exceptions during this film, where she strays a bit
too far off the mark, she has crafted a mostly cohesive story that brings
the audience along at each turn. Drew Barrymore got lambasted soon
after the film was released for her public declaration that she would not
visit New York City due to the fear created in her by the September 11th
terrorism. She soon had a change of heart and came to New York to
host Saturday Night Live. In the meantime, more than one talk show
host and editorial writer called for a boycott of this film because of
what Drew said. Such talk never affected me one way or the other.
The film stands on its own. (Children -- probably not; teens -- okay)
***
Serendipity --
This year's Sleeping in Seattle is an adequate pastime, though the
new variation on a theme fails to capture the full potential of its title.
The concept of serendipity is one of my favorite notions, and the word
is one I tend to overuse in my writings, mainly because serendipitous events
seem to happen to me with bizarre frequency. Actor John
Cusack has been a dependable movie draw for me, mainly because he tends
to play a guy I can relate to who spends lots of time just trying to make
sense out of irony, particularly the kind of irony generated and perpetuated
by women. Kevin Spacey manages to find scripts of that sort as well.
This script, however, digresses too often into pointless and irrelevant
silliness that, with few exceptions, fails to amuse and distracts from
the romantic magic. Mindless slapstick sometimes strangely juxtaposes
with pseudo intellectualization, and neither work well in this case.
Cusack and his catch Kate Beckensale make a pretty couple, but relying
too much upon that is not up to Cusack's standards, though it's certainly
an okay movie to share with your date. (Kids -- maybe; teens
-- fine; adults -- with a little tolerance for silliness) *1/2
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