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The White Countess (2005)
a truly wonderful film
I was caught up in this film from the very beginning. For me, Richardson's performance is Oscar-worthy and Fiennes does a credible job as a recently blind diplomat doing his best to hide from the realities of the world by creating a world of his own. This film could be considered "Casablanca" turned on its head, where people of all different races and religions and beliefs come together at a nexus of great social turmoil, and the story of two small people doesn't amount a hill of beans to anyone but us, the audience. The White Countess is one of my favorite films of 2005. And I have to admit I'm not much of a Merchant-Ivory fan, but this one was truly exceptional.
Chicago Filmmakers on the Chicago River (1998)
A superb documentary about screenwriters
I teach screen writing at Columbia College Chicago and have used Mr. Carlson's film in several classes. It offers a rare glimpse into the creative thought processes screenwriters - and filmmakers - must go through. By placing his subjects on a variety of boats, and then interviewing them on the historic Chicago River, Mr. Carlson has juxtaposed the fluid qualities of these talented individuals with the elusive nature of their business. In his documentary, Mr. Carlson has offered the public a wide variety of writers and filmmakers who open up to Mr. Carlson's camera with thought-provoking insights into just how challenging their work is. I recommend this film to anyone interested in screen writing, film-making, or the numerous talents to have emerged from this great city.
The Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation (1999)
One of the best films of the year, Chuck Workman creates another excellent documentary
The Source takes some priceless footage of this country's seminal beat poets and traces their impact on our society over 5 generations, from the 50's up through present time. Back in the 40's a young football player named Jack Kerouac at Columbia College in New York broke his leg and spent some time talking with other intellectuals, befriending one spindly young lad named Allen Ginsberg. Eventually they met up with another fellow named William S. Burroughs. From this small kernal sprang a movement that begat or aided in the progress of other movements throughout the past 50 years.
Piecing together footage from home movies, interviews, TV shows, films, and many other sources, Workman has built a very effective argument for this thesis: young intellectuals sharing thoughts about humankind's existence and our reason for being. It was right after the atomic bomb had been dropped. Film noir reflected the country's fears and anxieties. The world was no longer what it seemed. Existentialism and intellectualism were entering a new phase in society, and a group of free thinkers were born. Kerouac published a book which gave this group a name - "beats." Thus the beatnik was born. Gone. Crazy. Hip. Far out. Anything that questioned authority or existence, whether art, music, poetry, writing, performance...anything.
Strangers in their own country, these restless explorers were considered too weird for maintstream society, and were largely ignored or shunned. Eventually beatniks were accepted for what they were, evolving into "hippies." The movements of the 60's gave us "special interest groups" - gay & lesbian groups, the feminist movement, and others that owe a debt of gratitude to the free thinking beats.
The Limey (1999)
Steven Soderbergh's film is a masterpiece of modern film noir, told in stylish jump-cut sequences intercut with flashbacks to an earlier Terence Stamp feature, and fully packed with tongue-in-cheek dialogue.
In The Limey, Terence Stamp plays Wilson, an English ex-con trying to find out the real cause behind his daughter Jenny's death. She is supposed to have died in a car accident on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles; one of those treacherous, winding roads in the LA hills. Despite being described by Jenny's friend (Lesley Ann Warren) as "a ghost in her life," Stamp remembers vividly each and every moment spent with his daughter, as shown in frosted flashbacks at varying stages of her youth.
Steve Soderbergh, whose prior film was the very finely presented "Out of Sight," once again plays with jump-cuts, flashbacks and time distortion. This is a masterful technique in his hands, as we are shown in the climactic scenes, which would lack their impact without the background provided through these cinematic flashbacks. This time he has created an L.A. noir that is more a tale of alienation that embraces the outcast in this suspenseful and stylish film.
The Matrix (1999)
There is no spoon.
In the classic tradition of earlier sci-fi greats such as Soylent Green, Planet Of The Apes, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and others, The Matrix has a frightening social dilemma wrapped up tight in a nice little "what if" scenario that takes us one step further into this virtual reality thing. It's a scary thing, this future world, and it houses a very frightening monster that is man-made. That's right; we've done it to ourselves once again. We've created another 'Frankenstein,' only it's computer generated, robotic, and can think for itself. Sometime in the future machines become intelligent enough to create original thought. And, since these future super-computers can think millions of times faster than humans, we aren't even aware of the 'revolt.' Much later, a small group of rebels frees Keanu Reeves' character from this mind-controlling situation, and this is where the story of The Matrix begins.
Elizabeth (1998)
A wonderful historical drama that should make a star of Cate Blanchett
Intrigue and treachery guide this lush film of the crowning and political maturity of England's "virgin" queen, Elizabeth I. An outcast of her own family, an independent thinker, and perhaps the worst of her sins-a non-Catholic, Elizabeth is saved from a life in the dungeons by virtue of the fact that she is a woman and can thus bear children. Her sister's untimely death before producing a "proper male heir" is her saving grace.
Elizabeth's teenage life is quite simple and serene, with nothing to challenge her obviously high intellect more than innocent children's games, her studies of the arts, and the pure joys of young love as personified in the supple form of a lusty Joseph Fiennes. Suddenly Elizabeth is thrust into the role of Queen, on the very day her sister dies, and the transformation as played by Cate Blanchett is revealing of a knowledge of the strength in this legendary figure that is remarkable for an actor of any age or experience. Blanchett presents a child-woman who is aware of the multifaceted dangers awaiting her ascendance to the throne.
Ronin (1998)
John Frankenheimer gives us the most intelligent suspense thriller in recent memory, and there's still plenty of action for those more testosterone-prone among you.
In John Frankenheimer's 1998 suspense thriller Ronin, a group of individuals with special skills is brought together for a one-of-a-kind job. They are offered a tidy sum of money to steal an object from a wealthy, and heavily guarded, party. The object is a case, and its contents are never revealed. The identity of the party holding the case is never revealed, either. But, for purposes of the story, this is not important. The band of men gathered to pull this job are relics of a different era, each applying different skills and methods in order to accomplish their individual tasks. There is a preface to the film which explains the meaning of the word "ronin." In feudal Japan, samurai who lost their lord became, essentially, without purpose or alliance or, ultimately, without meaning. Cast out from the only world available to them, they wandered the country until they could find some shred of familial connection to ally with, or they committed hari kiri (suicide). In the year 1998, long after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of "world wars," this group of specialists are truly ronin, relics of another time struggling to find purpose, and living from one job to the next.
While this may sound like a scenario for just another action flick, it is far from that mundane misanthrope. Director Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, The Birdman of Alcatraz, Reindeer Games) trimmed away the "fat" of background errata and left us a compelling, intellectually stimulating cinematic treat. The characters are introduced slowly and tantalizingly, allowing the viewer to be pulled in while also permitting multiple layers to build. The result is a masterpiece of double-crosses, misrepresentations, and surprises that never fails to entertain.
And the Band Played On (1993)
This is the must-see story of the early days of the AIDS virus and the key individuals who led the battle against "death by red tape."
This made for HBO movie is a little heavy handed and hard to stomach at times; but if you've ever known anyone with AIDS, or lost someone to this terrible disease, then you will probably share my feelings that this film was long overdue and very important. This may also be the finest performance of Matthew Modine's career. Personally, he is not an actor I prefer watching. But in this film he creates a very human, very accessible character. As a young doctor who has fought against incredibly horrible diseases in some of the remotest areas of the world, he paints the perfect portrait of a researcher for the Centers of Disease Control who is tilting at windmills in the earliest days of the battle against AIDS. The obstacles a government agency faces in obtaining funding and resources for simple day-to-day operations are minor compared to those required to deal with the sudden outbreak of a killer virus, especially on a national level.
The film shifts between the efforts of the CDC's research staff and a few pivotal individuals in San Francisco, most notably Lily Tomlin and Ian McKellen. Initially, Charles Martin Smith is the connection between these two elements, as the CDC representative sent to San Francisco to investigate the outbreak in this major domestic city. He soon proves Tomlin's greatest ally and facilitator within the government, and she proves his greatest asset within the community. A rift develops within the community as the CDC pushes to close down the bathhouses, which is seen by many gay men in the film as a symbol of their sexual freedom. The community is typically divided between those who wish to give up their sexual independence and attendant identity, and those who recognize the threat to their health. The film also follows, briefly, attempts by other CDC researchers as they travel the country gathering evidence of a virus in hopes of finding a solution through knowledge of their common enemy.
Return to Me (2000)
Actress Bonnie Hunt shows off her writing and directing skills in this enjoyable love story that recalls classic films from the Forties.
In many ways Return To Me is a tribute to the old-fashioned romantic comdies of the 1940s. The film was directed by actress Bonnie Hunt who also co-stars as Grace's best friend. When Duchovny's wife dies, his best friend (David Alan Grier) tries to set him up with a string of women. But no matter who it is, Duchovny fights it, because he can't let go of his wife's memory. This was a good role for Duchovny. He shows off depth and real growth as an actor.
Minnie Driver is a wonderful actress who seems to be headed to bigger and better things. She plays a good girl who has led a sheltered life surrounded by a loving family. Driver's "family" are an odd bunch, including Carroll O'Connor as her Irish "Grampa" and Robert Loggia as the Italian uncle. Together they get some of the best comic lines in the film.
This is Ms. Hunt's directorial debut, and she does an excellent job of creating a story reminiscent of the old Irene Dunne-Cary Grant romantic comedies. Return To Me is an enjoyable mixture of fantasy and humor and warm-hearted fun, the main message of which would seem to be, "life's too short."
Drowning Mona (2000)
Could have been better...
(from a review by Jon Bastian)
Drowning Mona is a lot like watching an episode of Wheel of Fortune, if you're a fan. You may root and cheer and laugh while the game is on, but half an hour later, you won't remember the solution to the big money puzzle. It's a shame, because the film is full of great actors playing incredibly well defined and minutely observed characters. By the final credits, though, the plot twists and character bits fall a few turns short of being satisfying.
First, a few words on what Drowning Mona is not, ad campaigns to the contrary. It is not a Bette Midler star vehicle. In fact, despite Ms. M. playing the titular drownee, she isn't in the film nearly enough. In the far too few scenes in which we see her play a shrill, nasty, zaftig, white trash harridan, she steals the show -- and it's no stretch at all to imagine why anyone (or everyone) would want to kill her -- which brings me to the second point. Much is made in the film's advertising that the entire population of the small town of Verplanck, New York, wants to Mona dead. In reality, there are far too few suspects, and that is the main point on which the movie falls down. The solution to the mystery is rather obvious, despite a big fat red herring planted about midway, and so the resolution feels unfulfilling. It's kind of like going to Verplanck's only diner expecting the "heart attack special" and only getting the vegetarian plate.