danielbr Reviews

The Well (1997)

Lush Cinematography And Fine Performances

[11 August 1999]

The Well Starring:Miranda Otto,Pamela Rabe,Paul Chubb&Frank Wilson Directed By:Samantha Lang

The Well is a moody,atmospheric,chilling and riveting drama from Australia.

The Well stars Miranda Otto and Pamela Rabe,Otto I have seen before in True Love And Chaos and Rabe is new to me.Miranda Otto is an exciting and energetic actress who in True Love And Chaos and this film has impressed with two excellent performances.

The story of The Well involves a young,energetic,fun and free spirited girl (Miranda Otto) who comes to work as a maid for an elder,crippled lady (Pamela Rabe) whose life is currently mundane and she is eager to have a close friend.The young maid's exuberance and energy is just what the elder lady needs and the young girl's colourful personality delights her and the two become close friends.The two friends

are all set to travel to Europe together when a freak incident prevents them from doing so.

The Well begins as an arty and melancholy character study which is low key and subtle and excellently done by the two actresses and the director.Later as the two characters are placed in a tenser situation it becomes a mix of a quiet character study and a chilling thriller.Though it becomes a thriller it still maintains it's subdued and artistic style made all the more effective by it's stunning and beautifully drab cinematography.

This is an excellent example of Independent film making as here we have a film which excels in all facets.The acting and characters are credible,interesting and well played.The film's visual style is distinctive and sets the tone brillantly.The Well's story is also orginal,riveting and suspenseful without sparing on character development.

The Australians have done it again with yet another meaningful movie with well developed charcaters,an original story,terrific acting and exciting and different visuals.The Well is one of my favourite films of 1997 and it further cements Australia as a force in low budget movies.

4/5

Idiot Box (1996)

Another Stunning Film From The Aussies

[11 August 1999]

Idiot Box is a deliberately paced,philosophical and realistic comedy/drama from Australia.

Like many Australian films this is an artistic and original piece of film making with something important to say.If you were thrilled by Bad Boy Bubby's intelligent and insightful script you will be equally pleased by Idiot Box's insightful,realistic and philosophical script.

This film is also written by it's Director. It's David Caesar''s first film and hopefully not his last.Caesar has made a film filled with realistic characters and equally true to life situations and denouements to them.This is a film with great dialogue which amuses and provokes thought.His characters are all well developed and very credible as possible real people.

The story of Idiot Box is about two unemployed losers Kev (Ben Mendelson) and Mick (Jeremy Sims),who one day decided that robbing a bank wouldn't be such a bad idea.The movie deals with the lead up to this possible event and at the same time it is very much a slice of life style film.Like many great Australian film's (e.g. The Well) Idiot Box is able to have it's cake and eat it.By having solid character development and a enjoyable and original story.

The performances are also strong.Ben Mendelson as the explosive and angry Kev is extremely credible never becoming a caricature of his character for a minute.The smarter,slack and philosophical Mick is equally well played by Jeremy Sims.Sims brings to the screen a wonderfully multi-layered character who seems utterly credible.

David Caesar has also brought a sumptuous visual design to his picture making the most of cinema's widescreens.He shows us many lovely panoramic views of the wasteland of Australian suburbia.If this is not seen in the theaters or on video without widescreen much of the film's eloquence and beauty will be lost.

Overall Idiot Box is another powerful and meaningful film from Australia,which excels in all elements of film making.Idiot Box also packs an ending which though in some ways an anti-climax,it is one the truest and credible endings I've seen in film.

4/5

Waking Ned Devine (1998)

Good Fun But Nothing Brillant

[14 April 1999]

Light,whimsical movie,semi comic with good character performances all round.Not a terribly original movie with classic plot devices and typical sentimentally which appears in these non-american productions.Good fun but nothing too brilliant. 3/5

The Matrix (1999)

An Exciting and Fast Paced Disappointment

[14 April 1999]

How do you make the big bucks at the box office? see The Matrix and you'll find out. The Matrix is the latest blockbuster sci-fi actioneer directed by the promising Wachowski brothers who scored big with 1996's highly suspenseful,well made and original film Bound. But with The Matrix it seems the writer director team of the Wachowski brothers have sold out as here is a film with all the drawcards of your typical blockbusters e.g. a big name star,state of the art special effects and enough audience manipulation to make James Cameron proud.

From the outset this film draws obvious comparisons to Alex Proyas's Dark City as both films offer similar premises and both films have dark and scary looking worlds.

This film is all just a clever excuse for the film makers to make the most of their whopping budget by use of high tech whizz bangery and revolutionary special effects. The reason I say this as after this "fake world" plot is established the film forgets concentrating on a complex story and instead sticks closely to action movie clichés including an ending suitable for an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, not that I have any dislike for his films but when you have started such a promising story as The Matrix did it seems a disappointment to fall back on tired old formula straight from the pages of an action movie script.

The Matrix however cannot be denied its ability to entertain and dazzle as with its action scenes and remarkable special effects as these are first rate. The action scenes are all super charged and fun but one must feel that though the action is good it is inappropriate and though the special effects are good they are not used for strictly storytelling moments. For top use of special effects for storytelling check out Dark City.

Another criticism I have of this film are its incredibly bland and lifeless performances. The star Keanu Reeves goes from hammy to just plain dull and his supporting cast also struggle to overcome the silliness of the production as flat and unappealing performances are dished up by everyone.

But in all, The Matrix, though an extremely flawed film, is perfect for undemanding and unseasoned movie goers as this fast paced mindless tripe with it's cliché riddled plot will light up the box offices as there is jaw dropping action and great special effects and at the end of the day that's what your average Joe Bloggs pays to see.

2.5/5

A Perfect Murder (1998)

Not A Perfect Movie But Still A Pretty Decent One

[14 April 1999]

Dial M For Murder is a classic Hitchcock thriller which manages to be suspensful and exciting and it was set almost entirely in one room - an achievement only the master of suspense could achieve.Dial M For Muder has since been re made and well titled, A Perfect Murder. It uses basically the same storyline but mixes it up a little and adds classic 90's formula like sex and violence to the works.It manages to play like Dial M For Murder faithfully but still add many good original moments and brings a cast of Michael Douglas playing the role orginally played by Ray Milland brillantly and Gwyneth Platrow standing in for Grace Kelly.

A Perfect Muder's style in a funny way reminds me of the movie The Fan. It's pumped up,stylish and glossy but The Fan despite being stylish was extremely over the top and formulaic and A Perfect Muder though slightly formulaic in some parts is not over the top. It is a great exercise in suspense and an actor in a role that was made for him.Like Douglas playing once again a role of cold hearted business man,but this time he has an unfaithful wife and he hires her lover to kill her!.And as the movie progresses there are several plot twists - some predictable some not and the ending is almost exactly the same as the old one only this time when one of the characerts does find out something it's resolved in a showdown clutching for knifes,bloody 90's style which is too often the resolution for movies nowadays.

A Perfect Murder I feel will be a lot more exciting for people who have not seen Dial M For Murder. As for viewers of the orginal you will know the end twist which will make it a tad annoying whereas people who haven't seen the orginal will be pleasantly suprised.

Gwyneth Platrow's character in this film is seen a lot but little is known of her and most of the time when we see her she is either in her underwear,in the bath or generally showing some skin. I'm not complaining but when I think of Paltrow I don't see her in roles like this. She is much better used to acting than showing off her body.

A Perfect Murder is not a perfect movie but it is one of the better films of 98 so far. It is brimming with style,clever plot twits,suspense and has Douglas in a great performance and it shows us what a thriller should be like This is much better than more recent thrillers which all seem too predictable and similar.

3.5/5

Payback (I) (1999)

Payback puts new twists on an old theme effectively

[14 April 1999]

Payback is Director&Screenwriter Brian Helgeland's debut film and it is a familiar story of revenge told in a new and interesting way.

Payback tells the story of a man named Porter (Mel Gibson) who when stealing money from a group of men he is double crossed by his partners who leave him for dead and take his share of the money. When Porter awakes he is obviously annoyed and extremely determined to get his $70,000 back and is willing to go through extraordinary circumstances to get his money back.

Payback stars Mel Gibson (who like John Travolta) is able to be a "Hollywood" big time face and still star in some good films in which he is very credible.Gibson had impressed me three times before this picture when he starred in 3 pretty good films Maverick,Ransom and The Man Without A Face. Not only were those suprisingly good films for Hollywood Blockbuster standards but Gibson was able to deliver three very good performances.

This film's main story when you think about it is not an entirely original one as I have often seen the theme of a anti-hero looking to pay revenge to someone. This is the storyline used in a few Clint Eastwood and James Woods movies. Films like Cop are a good example of the revenge theme.But what Payback does and rather ingeniously is it is able to tell its unoriginal story in a way which to the untrained viewer seems very original and even to the suspecting viewer you are not disappointed as the new twists to an old theme are strong enough to make a good film.Payback does this by making the Gibson character the traditional anti-hero hero but only with a few new twists because this time the character is a lot more direct to the point e.g. when a gun is pointed at him because he knows this is probably just a threat he grabs it off him.There are many other great moments which reveal his character which I will not give away.The film also manages to be very humorous in a conventional way and a dark way getting most of its humour through violence.One of the films funniest character's is a Japanese hooker who is very much a sado mashocist and the way she plays the character is very amusing.

The movie however does have a few problems which keep it from being a total success, such as just around the half way point there are a few cliched moments such as Gibson's relationship with an old girlfriend who happens to be a hooker with a heart of gold.Maria Bello is unable to bring any credibility to her character and because of this nearly every scene with her in it are very lame and do spoil the movie a tad.

But despite a few weak scenes Payback is a very good film which succeeds through excellent humour and a fun original style which puts excellent twists to an old theme and it also features James Coburn in an amusing cameo.

3/5

The Opposite of Sex (1998)

Good But Not Great

[14 April 1999]

The Opposite Of Sex stars the promising Christina Ricci who was superb in The Ice Storm and also had a decent size role in Buffalo 66.Ricci first gained noticed in The Addams Family in which she played Wednesday a stone faced,mean spirited member of The Addams Family.This was a role which she played out with perfection and since then she has landed roles in several independent productions.

In The Opposite Of Sex Ricci stars as Deedee a 16 year old seen it all,trashy,mean and manipulative tramp who runs away from her mother and crashes in on her gay half brother and single handily turns his life upside down.

The film also stars Lisa Kudrow another member of the Friends cast starring in a movie.Kudrow who I find extremely annoying and dislike her style of humour is suprisingly quite good in this film as she plays a serious role but manages to inject some of her kooky humour into the film which actually is quite funny,perhaps she is best if used in moderation.Lisa plays the gay half brother's (Martin Donovan) best friend and constant advisor on his relationships and life.

The Opposite Of Sex suprised me in the fact that it has quite a good storyline for a black comedy as there are many interesting twists and events in the film which always keep it at least entertaining.But it did disappoint me in its comedy as much of the humour seems overly self concious and not particularly funny though there is the odd good joke it has nothing on better black comedies like Freeway or To Die For.Most of the humour comes from Ricci who not only stars in the film but she also narrates it and in the narration she attempts to be funny by being smug and cynical by explaining all the films downfalls and clichés some of this is funny but as I said before it is pretty self conscious and it seems more forced than free flowing and natural like Freeway.

Ricci's performance in the film however is pretty good. She plays her trampy character very good but I was disappointed by the fact that her character was carrying on how she was supposed to really mean but in actual fact her good deeds and occasional niceness shines right through her badness. I believe the film would have worked better if it had made her character a lot meaner as I really like those evil never get nice characters who don't carry on how mean they are as they are oblivious to it.But this is not fault of Ricci but the fault of Don Roos the director and script writer of the film.

The Opposite Of Sex is still a pretty decent film. It has a good storyline and good acting but it never is as funny or as offbeat as you'd like it to be.

3/5

Armageddon (1998)

Armageddon well......

[14 April 1999]

Armageddon Is one of the worst movies of 1998. It is loaded with icky sentimentallity,pitiful melodrama and plenty of gung ho silliness redeemed only very slightly by Steve Buscemi who is rather humorous as per usual.A bunch of oil drillers save the world....pretty much lets you know what you're in for 1/5

The Spanish Prisoner (1997)

Did I Miss Something?

[14 April 1999]

The Spanish Prisoner is the latest offering from well known screen writer and occasional director David Mamet who is famous for writing a lot of wonderful films which all possess very smart dialogue films such as Glengarry Glen Ross and Wag The Dog are examples of the skill Mamet has with screen plays.Now comes Mamet's latest offering which he also directs and from the advertisements and reviews I've read of it,it is suppose to be a razor sharp,clever and icy thriller. Maybe those reviewers saw a different film because what I saw was definitely not razor sharp,clever or the slightest bit thrilling.

The Spanish Prisoner tells the familiar story of a young man (Campbell Scott) who suddenly gets suckered by a lot of smarter people who land this poor fellow in a lot of trouble.The story goes like this Joe Ross (the young man) is doing a good job for his company. He has created a formula which will earn them stacks of money and for this he is given a rather cruisey business trip which sees him , the company's lawyer (Ricky Jay) and a secretary (Rebecca Pidgeon) sent away to a sunny Cuba. During his stay he comes across a rather mysterious fellow named Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin) who offers him a large portion of money for his camera but rather nicely he gives him the camera for free and the two start talking and decide they will have dinner together in New York but as Joe Ross (the young man) is leaving Jimmy hands him a parcel and tells him whom and where to deliver it to.And as the film further progresses we see Joe slowly get suckered by everybody.

With David Mamet writing the screenplay and directing this thriller, which despite having a familiar set up, it is also a promising set up which could be well executed with capable hands (Mamet's are more than capable), you would think that he would turn this into an intriguing clever thriller with sharp dialogue and lots of unexpected twists. Instead we get one of the most poorly exceuted,directed and written thrillers I've seen in a while.

This film has some of the weakest dialogue I've heard in a film. It comes across as if everything the main characters say is supposed to artificial and fake as they consistently say the most stupidest and obvious things. Though this may be a new style by Mamet as a lot of the film's aspects other than dialogue seem to be going for this "artifical" approach it certainly is a poor one. Some of the dialogue given to the Rebecca Pidgeon character is the worst dialogue I've ever heard and as a result she delivers a pitifully bland performance as does Campbell Scott. Despite being a good actor he is directed in a manner which makes him come across as the most boring and lifeless character I've seen in a while. Steve Martin and Ricly Jay however deliver effective and colourful performances Martin in particular is terrific as a slimy con artist.

Not only is the dialogue weak, the characters unappealing and the film's story unoriginal, but the direction is ultra heavy handed and condescending. Some of the clues Mamet's gives us to figure out the plot are so obvious it's downright insulting. The scene in the airport Que is the worst scene. Worst as in the background. There is a conversation going on which is obviously linked to what the main character should do next. Not only is this obvious but what he should do next will be figured out by most viewers about half an hour before we get to that scene!.

The Spanish Prisoner is quite a lousy thriller which is full of bad features the only thing which keeps it entertaining is how amusing the bad dialogue gets and Steve Martin's excellent performance but unfortunately other than Martin's performance this is an atrociously bad thriller with a shockingly bad script which is written by one of film's most acclaimed script writers!.

2/5

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

A Clever Italian Fable

[14 April 1999]

Life Is Beautiful is a highly acclaimed Italian fable which has made a star of actor/writer/director Roberto Benigni who has received numerous accolades and even the coveted best actor Academy Award.Having heard of this praise and seeing Roberto's exuberant acceptation of the Academy Award I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Roberto Benigni creates a rather interesting film. For the first 30 minutes or so we have a light hearted,Charlie Chaplin esque comedy mixed in with a romantic sub plot.The execution of both the romance and comedy though not annoying or without its charm is rather weak as the comedy is rather simplistic slapstick - none of which is funny or inspired and the romance though quite sweet in some ways is rather corny and quite pat in its execution.But after this rather mediocre start the film takes on a more serious tone as Roberto's character Guido is a Jew and being World War two times he is quickly rounded up by Germans and also taken is his son (Giorgio Cantarini) and though not Jewish his wife (Nicoletta Braschi) insists she must come along and forces her way into a train on its way to a concentration camp.This sets the scene for the rest of the film to be a wonderful experience as Guido tries hard to make the experience for his son tolerable he tells him a clever story,he explains how this is all a game and that the Nazi's are just acting mean because they want to win,he tells him in depth the rules of this game and through the power of imagination and his son's trust Guido is able to some how shelter his son from this horrible experience.

Life Is Beautiful is a tremendous fable past the first 30 minutes. It tells a wonderful poignant story with strong and serious undercurrents all told with charming light hearted humour.The film is further highlighted by beautiful performances from Bengini and by Giorgio Cantarni who is unbelievably natural and excellent at conveying emotions for such a young actor. His character's vunerabillity&imaganation is perfectly played out and is a wonderful compliment to Bengini's charming,humorous and touching performance.

Overall this is a lovely film which could have been a classic if not for a awful opening half hour but still if you forget the bad start you will be truly enchanted by a touching film whose title is an accurate summation of the film's powerful universal message.

3.5/5

Boogie Nights (1997)

Boogie Nights One Of The Best Of 1997!

[14 April 1999]

Boogie Nights is a brilliant film highlighted mainly by a clever and some times crude sense of humor and a host of memorable characters all played by terrific actors such as Don Cheadle,Phillip Baker Hall,Phillip Seymour Hoffman e.t.c.Not to mention a very intriguing story told with visual grace courtesy of Paul Thomas Anderson.Dealing with a difficult topic this film is never exploitive or judgemental of its characters.A great film marred only by a certain predictabillity about the story.Demands multiple viewings 4/5

The Frighteners (1996)

Peter Jackson Makes Another Great Film

[14 April 1999]

Effective supernatural black comedy/thriller. Very entertaining and well acted again by Jeffrey Combs. Look out for this guy. 3.5/5

The Daytrippers (1996)

One Daytrip Worth Taking

[14 April 1999]

The Daytripers is an excellent indie drama/comedy with plenty of powerful dramatic moments,sharp satirical humor and excellent performances all round.This film is a great experience let down only by rather bland direction.One of the better films of 1996. 4/5

Short Cuts (1993)

Altman's Reply To The Player Is At The Same Level

[14 April 1999]

Excellent movie with incredible cast (10+ good actors)

This is a 'slice of life' style movie telling the lives of several people in Los Angles.Very good performances by every one and the film possess a great sense of humour.recommended. 4/5

Re-Animator (1985)

Jeffrey Combs Is Great

[14 April 1999]

Wild,over the top,trashy Frankenstein style horror film with demented sense of humor and excellent performance by Jeffrey Combs.This late night style movie is my cup of tea.Decapatation, headless corpses walking around chasing naked females is fair indication what you're in for! 4/5

Analyze This (1999)

Good Light Comedy Film Punctuated By a Great De Niro Performance

[13 April 1999]

Analyze this is a fun little comedy movie which is relatively light weight in its use of gags, most of which are reasonably amusing. Robert De Niro is excellent in this comedy role, Crystal funnily enough plays the straight man and Lisa Kudrow has a rather inconsequential role. This is a fun film but it is never brilliant just consistently good. 3/5

Harvey (1950)

My Favourite Comedy Movie

[13 April 1999]

Harvey is a light hearted comedy filled with subtle and low key humor and not to mention a truckload of nostalgic charm. Many old-fashioned movies which are said to be classic 'must see' pictures seem goofy and obvious to me. Movies like Casablanca are said to be filled with Nostalgic Charm but I simply disagree, as the acting is absolutely awful.

Harvey's main character is Elwood.P.Dowd - a man who is so cheerful and polite everyone likes him until they meet Harvey, his friend. Now, Harvey isn't a rude fellow. In fact he never says anything that anyone can hear except Elwood (James Stewart). The problem with Harvey is that he is invisible to everyone apart from Elwood!. Elwood tells us that Harvey is a big white rabbit. In fact, so big the rabbit is 6 foot 3 and a half inches tall. People immediately think Elwood is nutty when he tries to introduce them to Harvey. And the people who hate dealing with this the most are his sister Veta (Josephine Hull) and his sister's daughter Mertal May who are constantly made to endure Elwood's antics. Many parties and social gatherings are either ruined or canceled because of Elwood.

The character Elwood.P.Dowd is one of the most likable characters I've ever met in a movie. He's so gentle to everyone and he is polite and never has a nasty word to say. He always has some great philosophies on life and some great little stories to tell. This character is so likable due to two factors. The first factor is the movie's script. This is easily the best script I've seen in a comedy movie. Every joke just seems to work - even the most obvious ones for which there are very little. And the 2nd factor is the actor James Stewart. This is easily the best performance of his career. How he did not win best actor in the Oscars is something I'll never understand.

There are some many delightful scenes in this movie which get better with every passing viewing. This is the sort of film which you could watch 4 times in one year and still enjoy it the next time you watch it. This film has a lot to say. It offers many kind philosophies and little words of wisdom which I will not give away and nearly all of its humor is original and heavily smile inducing. Harvey is one of the finest films I've ever seen and definitely the best comedy I've ever seen. 5 STARS