June Movie & Book Reviews
Movies at the Theatre
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Two young men just out of high school and their girlfriends are gone to Italy on vacation. This movie deals very explicitly with sex. Not only do they talk candidly, they screw like real people. Amazingly real. I highly recommend it.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
I enjoyed the ride. The chase scene at the beginning and the battle near the end are gorgeous and well paced. The character and plot development seemed thin and stilted. Maybe they were trying to cram so much in that no one had a chance to go for real depth. Yoda steals the show, when we get to see him fight with a light saber for the first time ever. There is also a beautiful fight scene with the lights flickering on and off. It's a pretty ride, but you have to remember that this is the middle episode of a trilogy and it mostly consists of build up for part 3. (Update: I went to see this a second time at the Cinerama, in all its digital glory. I enjoyed it more the second time, but have no idea what digital has over film. Maybe it doesn't break.)
Spider-Man
Fabulous. I really enjoyed this, and I haven't heard anyone I know complaining about it either. That's definitely saying something. Usually someone is. Great acting. The special effects gave it the right amount of comic-book feel without being cheesy. Willem Defoe gives amazing performance here as the Green Goblin. I find the hero to have a little too much of a martyr complex, but he's young and maybe he'll learn. All in all a great ride.
(A good friend, who knows more about these things, assures me that this is simply who Peter Parker is. "It has often been comented that everything that goes wrong in the Marvel Universe is Peter's fault, Just ask him, and he will tell you.")
Movies On Video or DVD
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
A little weird, but quite fun. Sherlock Holmes fights his own personal demons. Traumatic childhood memory and cocaine. As a distraction he solves a kidnapping case.
Office Space
Funnier than I thought it would be. Here's your average corporate rat. He hates his life, and has no idea what to do about it. He sees a hypnotherapist who dies of a heart attack just after putting him under with phrases like 'you haven't a care in the world.' He proceeds to sleep for several days and when he does go into work he doesn't even pretend to do anything. Of course they give him a promotion.
George of the Jungle
I've seen this movie at least 5 times now and I still laugh my ass off. Brandon Fraser all muscley and tan isn't bad either. Even if you aren't familiar with the cartoon you will still enjoy this. It's a lot of slapstick. George always swings into the tree, the bad guy falls face first into elephant poop and there is a talking ape.
From Hell
Brilliant. I absolutely loved it. I had heard people thought it was too violent. It's Jack the Ripper, what were they expecting. And too gorey. To this I have to say that some people have over active imaginations. This movie implied just enough about what was happening, but did not show much of it at all. It was simply put together beautifully. If you rent the DVD you will get to see a sort of documentary about what evidence there is on Jack the Ripper. Very interesting. Even though the story in this film holds little water in reality, it was still a great story. They put it together and executed it with amazing skill.
The Whole Nine Yards
I really didn't know what to expect, but it was fall down funny. Slapstick I mean. Well executed at that. A dentist who hates his wife and she hates him so much she is trying to hire someone to kill him. A Chicago mob - hitman moves in next door and things start getting complicated. We laughed a lot.
The Gift
Spooky. Annie, a clairvoyent, user her gift to support herself and her three sons after her husband dies in an explosion in a factory. The local girl disappears and when the police can't find anything they come to Annie. She doesn't really want to get involved, but the ghost of the dead girl haunts her until helps the police find the body and then identify the killer. This is a good thriller. You don't know who the killer is until they want you to know.
City Slickers
Not as funny as I remembered, but still funny. I like all of the over the top characters. It doesn't take itself too seriously which really helps. And, well, I like Billy Crystal.
Dr. Strangelove
Over the top in many ways. Very funny. And now I finally know where some of those quotes I hear from friends come from. I always enjoy finally hearing the lines in their original context. Many a good performance was seen. I'm sure that impact was much stronger before the Berlin wall fell, before the Cold War ended. To say nothing of when it was first released. I learned that it's original release date was the day JFK died. They postponed it as soon as they got the news.
My First Mister
Excellent film. Albert Brooks and Leelee Sobieski both give amazing performances. He as a middle aged man who hasn't let anyone get close to him in years, and she a 17 year old who has never understood anyone, especially her own parents. He's a little overweight and would easily fade into a crowd. She's tattooed and pierced and likes to go to cemetaries to comune with the dead. When they become very close everyone wants to know if it's sexual. They flirt with the idea a little but really they become best friends, and chosen family. Almost father/daughter-like, but not entirely. It's not sickeningly sappy, but it did make me cry. It's a great story about two lonely people who find, and learn a lot from each other.
Broadcast News
I have no idea if this is what it's really like to work for a TV news station in DC, but the characters are very real. There interactions are easy to relate to. Even if you don't relate to them personally you have the feeling that you have known people like them. You follow them through an exploration of their strengths and weaknesses. Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks, William Hurt and a score of others give rich performances.
eXistenZ
Remind me never to watch another movie by David Cronenberg again. The only good things I can say about this movie are 1) it captures an element of truth about gamers (although most gamers would challenge a lot about the structure of the games being played. I have no idea why anyone would enjoy them), and 2) Jude Law is great.
10 Things I Hate About You
A fun movie that reworks the classic theme from 'Taming of the Shrew' into a modern high school setting. Heath Ledger as Verona is the high point in my opinion. I'm not quite sure why we haven't seen more of him. The only clues are that most of his movies are Australian, and one he did since this '10 Things...' bombed.
Memento
I spent most of the movie thinking I was going to want to watch all over again once we got to the end, but in the last few minutes I changed my mind about that. I can't say that I liked it. It left you feeling a little off center. I can appreciate what they were trying to do. It was interesting, and worth seeing once because it is so completely different from anything else I have every seen.
Books
The Shadow of the Torturer (novel) - by Gene Wolf
This guy reminds me of Michael Moorcock. Except you have to really pay attention in order to get all the details, I may very likely have to read it again. Oh and it's good to keep a dictionary handy since he likes to use large and obscure words in such a way that you think he made them up. But he didn't and he is using them properly. That said, this is the sort of Sci-Fi/Fantasy set in far distant future where our current day hardly even registers in myth form. He's brilliant, but I have to warn you that he doesn't spoon feed you the answers, you have to pay attention, and figure things out for yourself. Then you have to be satisfied with what you come up with because he isn't gone to congratulate you with any sort of confirmation.
Challenges: Book 3 of The Blending (novel) - by Sharon Green
Betrayals: Book 4 of The Blending (novel) - by Sharon Green
I might as well do these together since they are back to back episodes in the same series. My main complaint is that things just stop at the end of one book and pick up with the next. After reading books 1 & 2 I decided that I had to wait until they were all in my posession before continuing because it is far too infuriating to have to wait a year or more for the next one. The story: Five people from different walks of life are brought together by fate. In a world of high magic where each person has a talent in Air, Earth, Fire, Spirit , or Water magic. They was work together to overcome all the people working hard to make them fail in a competition for the five-fold throne. This competition has been rigged for at least a hundred years now. But there is a prophecy that says if fail there world is doomed in some mysterious way. There are totally engrossing and I can hardly put them down.
The White Mists of Power (novel) - by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A fairly enjoyable and quick read. Apparently Ms. Rusch is an amazing short story writer. I can believe that. Unfortunately those same skills don't translate entirely to a longer format. I really liked the story, and the world in which she set it. I was just disappointed that the ending seemed very abrupt. I think this was her first published novel, and will more then likely give her another chance.
A Dance for Emilia (novela) - by Peter S. Beagle
He is brilliant. I generally like Peter S. Beagle anyway. This is a charming story about life and death and friendship and relationships.... It touches on a great many things without feeling likes it's been drawn thin. All elements come together quite naturally. Only thing I am not fond of is the small square hardback format that costs $15. I think it takes advantage of popular authors and especially their fans.
The Fisherman and His Soul, and other Fairy Tales (shorts) - by Oscar Wilde
I like fairy tales because they are suppose to teach lessons. I think old Bugs Bunny cartoons did this, but newer ones (even from twenty years ago) started to lose sight of it. That's really too bad in my opinion. In this little collection of stories that Oscar Wilde told to his own children I learn something about the time period in which he lived. Sometimes I think I glimpse his political and religious views. I think all authors should write a fairy tale or two.
Interested in buying one of these books or movies online? Try Amazon.com.
|