Change Your Image
jpgburnett
Reviews
The Mighty (1998)
Good movie (Careful, possible spoilers)
After watching the great movie The Cure, I went on a binge of emotional, tearjerker movie. The Mighty, by Peter Chesolm and starring Kieran Culkin and Elden Henson, was one of the best.
Yet it follows a relatively common formula: Max Kane (Henson) is a slow-witted giant of a boy who is frequently bullied at school. He lives with his grandparents (Gena Rowlands and Harry Dean Stanton) in a poor part of Cincinnati as his mother is dead and his father's in prison. He leads a stable yet unhappy life, picked on by Blade and the doghouse boys because he can't read. Then Kevin Dillon (Culkin) moves in next door. Kevin is immensely bright and has a loving mother (Sharon Stone in a rare low-key role), but he is crippled by Morquio's syndrome, a disease where his bones stop growing but his internal organs continue to do so.
He is hired as Max's reading tutor and soon initiates a friendship. He introduces Max to reading and to the imaginary world of King Arthur and the Knights of the round table, effecively lending him his brain. In exchange, Max carries Kevin around on his shoulders, effectively becoming his legs. Together they roam the town as the knight "Freak The Mighty", going on "quests", doing good deeds and getting into trouble. Yet throughout their adventure, Kevin's disease and Max's recently paroled father loom over them like shadows.
I won't tell anymore, but the end result is an extremely uplifting story about the value of friendship and the human ability to overcome hardship and sadness with the powers of love and caring. The Mighty is thus in the same league as The Cure, although it doesn't quite hold the latter's magic, maybe because it was made later.
Yet it is in no way without qualities. The acting is impeccable. The supporting cast is fantastic, my favorites are Harry Dean Stanton as Grim and Gillian Anderson (not usually my favorite actress) as Loretta Lee, one of Kenny Kane's (Max's dad, played by James Gandolfini) old friends. Stanton has his usual charisma and Anderson's character is quirky and amusing. But the others are good as well. I mean, it's a stellar cast! But the real stars are, as is often the case in this kind of film, the kids. Elden Henson has the ever-important expressive face and gives a mesmerising performance. The end scene when he runs barefoot through the town is made spellbindingly emotional thanks to him. And Kieran Culkin is great as Kevin, he is smart and funny yet also encourages our sympathy and our emotion.Much better than Macauley! Together, Culkin and Henson rival Joseph Mazzello and Brad Renfro from The Cure in terms of acting talent. Yet one of The Mighty's problem lies with the actors, or more in their presentation. It has often been remarked that Miramax showed unbelievable incompetence when it came to the publicity and I would just like to add my own indignation to that of other viewers and of the cast (Culkin was annoyed that Miramax pushed back the release date, allowing Simon Birch to be released first). To advertise The Mighty as a Sharon Stone flick was a disaster. Too many studios undermine the young stars in favour of promoting the more famous supporting cast. It happened with Radio Flyer, yet The Mighty is ridiculous. Culkin and Henson's names appear after the movie's title in the opening credits!
Anyway, ranting finished. Back to the positive stuff! Apart from the acting, the direction is good as well. Chelsom's camera is fluid and there are no goofs and the whole film is very pretty to look at. I would reproach a slight overdose of colour, it tends to detach the viewer from the reality of the picture, making it seem less real. But I suppose that it's to put an accent on the imagination side of things.
The music is great as well. Trevor Jones' score has the right feel for the movie, with very medieval tunes and some very emotional melodies. It's up there with the scores of The Cure (Dave Grusin-fabulous) and Stand By Me (Jack Nitzsche-ditto). I also love the theme tune, 'Freak The Mighty', by Sting.
All in all, this is a pure, unadulterated emotional movie. The characters are endearing, the music is touching and the story is at times humorous yet fundamentally designed to provoke thought and a few tears. Again, it's a film about friendship, which is a sacred value. It's up there with The Cure, stand By Me and The Straight Story. In fact, here's the list of my favorite emotional movies: 1)Stand By Me 2)the Cure 3)=The Straight Story 3)=The Mighty 4)Central Station 5)Elephant Man 6)Simon Birch 7)Radio Flyer (I could've included the Spielberg greats, Empire of the Sun and Scindler's List, but they are part historical dramas. Also note that Central Station, Elephant and The Straight Story have more artistic value than the others, but that I'm just taking their emotional value into account.)
Enough competition. The Mighty is a fantastic movie that all ages can enjoy. It is smart, funny, profound and infinitely touching. I recommend for anyone who enjoyed The Cure or Stand by Me. The acting is teriffic! 8/10
Uppers: 1)The acting, especially from Kieran Culkin and Elden Henson; 2)Chesolm's direction; 3)The music; 4)Sting's song; 5)The scene where Max runs through town at the end; 6)The dialogues and the humour; 7)The fireworks scene; 8)The very last scene with the book and the ornithopter; 9)It's incredibly emotional; 10)The scene where they "walk high above the world"; 11)Great chemistry between the two boys.
Downers: 1)Miramax's bungled publicity; 2)Why isn't it called Freak the Mighty like the book?; 3)"Jingle Bells" scene is a bit twee; 4)Maybe just a bit too much color.
Radio Flyer (1992)
A difficult, mixed movie (WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!)
In many ways, Richard Donner's Radio Flyer is magical. There are some really terrific moments. But often enough, it lacks a certain fineshing, and leaves you feeling unsatisfied, mainly because it doesn't know what audience it should target.
Radio Flyer is the story of two young brothers, Mikey and Bobby (Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello), aged 10 and 8 respectively, whose father deserts them and their mother (Lorraine Bracco). She takes them to live in California where she meets a new man (Adam Baldwin) who likes to be called 'The King' by the kids. They marry, and she is finally happy. But the children are not, because, unknown to their mother, their stepfather drinks a lot and starts to beat young Bobby. The kids don't tell their mom, not wanting to upset her, and take refuge in their imaginations, living out imaginary situations and fantasies, particularly with the project to convert Bobby's Radio Flyer truck into a getaway plane for him.
Unfortunately, it's this very important side of the movie that causes a problem: the importance of imagination. The narrator, a grown-up Mikey (Tom Hanks), explains that kids live in a world where anything can happen that becomes lost once you turn 13 and you start the long road to adulthood. As such, Mikey and Bobby's antics are closer to the hearts of children, and Radio Flyer could thus be seen as a kid's movie. However, the subject of child abuse is a difficult one that is well approached here but that is more directed at a mature audience and could even be seen as unsuitable for children. We end up with a mixed bag of a movie that has a theme directed at adults yet that is seen from the perceptive of children, which is, in the film's own words, lost on jaded, cynical adults.
But it's a nice idea, and Radio Flyer has some nice touches. Donner's directing is impressive, whereas most directors avoid artistic touches in sentimental movies, focusing solely on the emotion. (something even the wonderful The Cure, the master of the genre, is guilty of.) The scenes with 'The King' are the most striking, as you never properly see his face. He is always filmed either from the waist-down, or behind, or partly obscured by shadows. Donner thus turns him into a beast figure, a monster that, unlike the others, are not imaginary and cannot be beaten by "conventional" means. !Spoiler! The scene when he seriously beats up Bobby and lands him in hospital is also very well filmed. Donner uses parallel editing between the violence of 'The King' and the violence of the neighbourhood bullies who beat up Mikey. That scene and Mikey's return home is very powerful. !Spoiler finished! And Radio Flyer is very emotional as well. The much talked-about ending must also be noted for it's emotional power as well as it's ambiguity, although I'll get to it later.
But there are negative touches as well. Firstly, the much-acclaimed music. I found it to be overly-cutesy, relying too often on plinking (for want of a better word), Beethoven-like tunes. It was only really impressive during the violent scenes and during the emotional bits like when !Spoiler! Bobby flys away. !Spoiler finished! If you want to get an idea of plinking music, just check out the end titles and the playing scenes (e.g. the scene where they cook some anti-monster brew). Again, the music is a mixed bag of touching and sappy. Shame. If you want true quality music, watch The Cure, The Mighty or Stand By Me. Also, Lorraine Bracco's character is a farce. It's possible that, as she works late, she might not notice what's going on. But she proves to be nothing but a weakling, letting 'The King' back into her family's life after he put Bobby in hospital. She doesn't get my sympathy, she just seems pathetic. Plus, she's not in the movie as much as the kids or even 'The King', yet she gets first billing in the credits. So does John Heard, and he's only in the movie for ten minutes. It's just like The Mighty. On top of that, neither of them gives a particularly brilliant performance (Bracco is ten times better in Goodfellas-and she's in that more!-and Heard isn't around long enough to make an impression). But the kids do. Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello are two of the best young actors out there, and it shows in Radio Flyer. My only gripe is that Donner tries to over "cutesify" Bobby, which makes the film too sappy. It's a pity, because otherwise Mazzello gives a trademark performance, touching and realistic, impressive seeing as he's only eight years old.
!SPOILER! MAJOR-LEAGUE SPOILER! And now for the ending. It's true that, if taken literally, the ending seems implausible and rediculously sappy, and too many people have taken it literally, hence the frequent poor reviews in this comments section. If you're going to take films word-for-word each time, then you are bound to hate most decent movies and love a lot of awful one, and you'll end up being a Stalone fan with very little in the way of imagination. And Radio Flyer is about the imagination. I believe that in the case of the ending, Tom Hanks' character made it up. He probably made the whole thing up. It's possible that Bobby died, it's a hypothesis. But the whole thing might be made-up to teach Mikey's own kids the value of a promise and of the imagination. As it is often pointed out, there's the line "History is in the mind of the teller". It's true that the postcards that Bobby supposedly sent lead to confusion and I think Donner should have left them out. If he had, the ending would have made the movie a lot better as it would have had a less sappy ending and one that would have provoked even more reflection. As it is, the postcards make Radio Flyer even more confusing and mixed up. But I think that if you take the ending so literally as to think that there is no second meaning to the ending, then it's not entirely the movie's fault. It just takes a little thought and it's actually a very good ending (except for those darned postcards!). !Spoilers over!
All in all, Radio Flyer just doesn't what it wants to say or who it wants to say it to. It has trouble choosing its audience and trouble conveying its message. It alternates between profound emotion and over-the-top sappiness, between intense, thought-provoking drama and confused messages. It's a shame because the child abuse theme is a powerful one, the direction is good and the acting from Wood and Mazzello is great. I think it just needed a little more work. 6.5/10
Uppers: 1)The child abuse theme; 2) The realistic and touching portrayal of imagination; 3) Mazzello and Wood are great; 4) Donner does some great directing; 5)Emotional and thought-provoking; 6)The thought-challenging ending.
Downers: 1)Sometimes a little too sappy; 2)Doesn't know which audience to target; 3)Weak supporting cast given too much credit space; 4)confused over message; 5)Overly cutesy in places; 6)Tom Hanks' narration gets in the way at times; 7)Postcard scenes are unnecessary and confusing.
Stand by Me (1986)
A masterpiece (possible spoilers ahead)
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** When it was released in 1986, Stand By Me didn't get much attention. However, since it was released on video, it has acquired quite a crowd of fans. Including me. Stand By Me is one of my all-time favorite movies, up there with the grittier, more violent films I usually give masterpiece status, i.e. Midnight Cowboy, Naked, Yi Yi (A one and a two), Pixote and Taxi Driver. Like these classics, Stand By Me gets top marks from me.
Based on the Stephen King novella 'The Body', Stand By Me is the coming-of-age story of four twelve going on thirteen-year-old boys who set off into the Oregon woods to find the body of a missing boy their age who they've overheard was killed by a train. Gordie (Wil Wheaton) is the main character who, as an adult (played by Richard Dreyfuss), tells the story. He is the brightest of the bunch, sensitive and emotional. Like his friends, he has family trouble. His older brother Denny died in a jeep accident, and his parents now just ignore him. His father is even openly hostile, considering Gordie, a wannabe writer, to be second-best to football-star Denny. Chris (River Phoenix) is the leader of the gang. He is Gordie's best friend but they are like chalk and cheese. Chris is tough and athletic, whereas Gordie is skinny and thoughtful. Chris comes from a bad family and everyone knows that he'll turn out bad, "including Chris". His brother is Eyeball, a friend of Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland), the local criminal and bully. The Chambers' family is very unpopular in Castle Rock, something that the intelligent Chris is only too aware of. Teddy (Corey Feldman) is the group's psycho. He comes from a loony family, his dad once tried to burn Teddy's ear off. It is generally considered that Teddy won't live to be 20. Yet he is devoted to his dad, who stormed the beaches at Normandie, as he shows by going into a rage when junkyard-owner Milo Pressman calls his father a loony. Vern (Jerry O'Connell) is a scaredy-cat. He's a jolly, roly-poly guy, the butt of many jokes from the others. He is the least serious of the group and his only known family trouble is with his brother, Billy, also one of Ace's goons. Vern is the group clown. In a way he is the most relaxed.
Stand By Me's story sounds a bit simple and a bit pointless, yet the search for the boy's body becomes a journey of discovery and growing up for all four boys. Gordie, my favorite character, goes through the greatest changes and hardships. The dead Ray Brower becomes a parallel with Denny, by seeing the body, Gordie is faced with coming to terms with his brother's death and his dad's anger and scorn. That is why he is obsessed with seeing the body, he needs to get a weight of his chest. He also discovers true friendship through Chris, who acts as a sort of father figure for Gordie, convincing him to join the college courses. The closeness the trip puts them in allows them to bond and help each other. Therein lies the true quality of Stand By Me, that whole voyage of discovery part. The same applies to Chris, who opens his heart to Gordie about his need to escape the town that hates him and his whole family. He has obviously been harbouring this feeling for a while. The trip gives him a chance to unload. And Gordie shows him his (Chris') true worth by convincing him to join him on the college courses. Again, they show the meaning of true friendship. Even Teddy shows signs of growing up, despite his conversation with Vern about the difference in strength between Superman and Mighty Mouse. He displays a surprising devotion to his loony father, which may stem from denial, but he seems to realise that he hasn't much chance in life: "I better go before my mom puts me on the 10 Most Wanted List", he says with a rueful, thoughtful smile. He then tries to make his peace with Chris, he's realised the importance of friends. Vern shows less signs of change: at the end, he picks up a penny, harking back to the beginning.
That is the real quality of Stand By Me: its intelligent portrayal of friendship and how 4 friends, who start off as just 4 kids, smoking, swearing and goofing about, who overcome hardship through each other and at the end have grown to be more than they were and have learned the true meaning of friendship. There's the line: "We had only been gone two days but the town seemed different, smaller." It resumes the whole message of the film, it shows how the boys have grown. (Warning!! Serious spoiler ahead!!!) And the adult Gordie remembers this friendship when he reads in a newspaper that Chris has died. It prompts him to tell us his story, and although he hadn't seen Chris in 10 years, he still remembers his unique friendship: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?" That is a truly beautiful line that also evokes the true message of Stand By Me.
Rob Reiner does a sterling job as director. He does several beautiful shots of the countryside, with the kids appearing in the bottom left-hand corner. Hence, they appear to on some kind of frontier, about to cross into adolescence. The train tracks they follow seem to be a road leading them onwards. Nice filming.
The music is great, the retro soundtrack is great, particularly the title song. My favorite element, though, is Jack Nitzsche's instrumental arrangement of the afore-mentioned 'Stand By Me' song. It's beautiful.
But it's the acting that's really brilliant. All four boys are terrific, but especially Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix. Phoenix is great as Chris, perfectly portraying Chris' mixed tough-guy/sensitive attitudes and his desire to escape. The campside scene where he breaks down in front of Gordie is stirring because of hom, you want to reach out and hug him. It serves to remind you just how tragic his death really was. I do still prefer Wheaton's performance though. He has a really expressive face and he really gets Gordie's sensitivity and his emotional turmoil across. A love the leeches scene, and the scene where he cries in front of the dead kids body, but these are just two of the many scenes in which he stands out. In no other film have I seen such wonderful acting from kids, except in Empire of the Sun (Christian Bale) and The Cure (Joseph Mazzello and Brad Renfro). The chemistry between the 4 boys, especially Wheaton and Phoenix, is fantastic. And the supporting cast is good as well, especially Kiefer Sutherland.
All in all, this is without a doubt the best coming of age movie ever. The acting is great, the direction is perfect and the story is both moving and profound. The ending is really touching, but then so is the rest of the film. It made me really nostalgic for my childhood. 10/10!
Uppers: 1)The tremendous acting; 2)Especially, Wheaton and Phoenix; 3)Great score/soundtrack; 4)Reiner's directing; 5)The landscapes; 6)The story and the message; 7)The perfect evocation of friendship; 8)The leeches scene; 9)The campfire scenes (dialogues: "What's goofy?"; Chris' opening up); 10)The discovery of the body scene (Gordie crying); 11)The train scene on the bridge; 12)The confrontation with Ace; 13)The dialogues in general; 14)The junkyard scene. And I could go on for hours! Downers: 1)A microphone manages to slip into view on two occasions (a forgivable error); 2)Nothing else!
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
A trifle disappointing
I'm not gonna make a bucket-load of friends with this review, but I'm sorry, Saving Private Ryan left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. (Note:one or two spoilers ahead!)
Firstly, the story is, well, stupid. The American army sends 8 men, under the command of Cpt. Miller (Tom Hanks), to go behind enemy lines is Normandy (just after D-day), to rescue Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), as his mother has already received telegrams informing her that her three eldest sons have been killed. A)It's simplistic; B)The army is not that compassionate. I'm sorry, it wouldn't happen, not then, not now.
It's a shame, as the film has loads of qualities, like most Spielberg movies. There are the battle scenes, which are immensely realistic. The beginning 'beach scene' is like watching a documentary, it seems so real and true to reality. In fact, most of the battle scenes are great, they're all very exciting. This is due to the great camera work: hand-held, and to the effects: the sets are fabulous, the music is absent during battles, for realism, and the scenes are bloody and realistically disturbing. Saving Private Ryan best invokes the chaos of war. Full Metal Jacket evoked war's stupidity, Paths of Glory was about the wastefulness of combat, and Deer Hunter (my favourite war movie) was about it's heartlessness. Bur 'Ryan' creates scenes of madness and chaos, in keeping with the madness of the mission. With the exception of Hanks and Damon, the acting is terrific. Adam Goldberg, Edward Burns, Giovanni Ribisi and Tom Sizemore are great, as is most of the cast.
Yet these qualities are wasted by a lot of drawbacks. I can make my peace with the story, it can be called poetic license, although, the supposingly compassionate American army did send hundreds and thousands of G.I.s to their deaths by making the land on and storm the beaches of Omaha and Utah, which were surrounded by easily-defended but hard-to-attack cliffs, from which the Germans easily massacred the advancing American troops. If they had chosen a duned beach like the English and the Canadians did, the casualties would have half those suffered. But I digress. What I don't like is the reckless clicheing. There's Upham, a detestable character, seen in about every war or adventure film ever. He's wimpy, feeble, and never uses violence. Oh, and his complacent wetness results in the deaths of several of his squad-members. Yet he's a corporal. Let's face it, he wouldn't have gotten past training. Also, the Germans are pictured to be monsters. They are the enemy, only there to be killed or to kill, and they are always more treacherous than the good old trusty G.I.s, who all have hearts of gold, even the aggressive Rieben (Burns), who is another cliche character, by the way. I mean, just look at the German they release, who comes back and cold-bloodedly kills a couple of our goodies, and is made instantly hateable. While watching it, my mum cried 'Kill that b*st*rd German!' I rest my case. Finally, the ending is awfully twee. The death at the end reminds me of every sappy film on earth: the tears, the whispering voice, the brave face, the honorable death. My God, it's like E.T.! I admit it, I laughed! Radio Flyer is less Sappy! As I said, I don't like Hanks or Damon. Damon is sort of smartass, big-headed yob, just like in Good Will Hunting (why did everyone like that movie?). And Hanks is just being Hanks. He's just reprising his Philadelphia persona, but at least it was original back in 1993. You know, he's all goody two-shoes, all honest and pure, and he's a tad over-weight, I hate to say it. He's almost as twee as in Castaway, which is a dreadful movie. I've only enjoyed watching Tom hanks in two movies: Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. At least in those, his performances were original!
It's a shame that Spielberg leaves realism behind halfway through 'Ryan', and turns to sentimentality and sappiness, because the beginning announces great stuff. A shame. 5/10
Uppers: 1)Great camerawork; 2)Realistic battle scenes; 3)Great sound; 4)Dramatic portrayal of the chaos of war; 5)The supporting cast
Downers: 1)Hanks and Damon are a four letter word rhyming with trap; 2)Riddled with cliches; 3)Upham's character: what a stereotype; 4)What is this, The Dam Busters? Why don't they just run up screaming "Filthy krauts!" and "Dirty Jerry!"? What a manichean portrayal of the Germans! Quite tasteless; 5)The ending is downright trite!
A quick note: It's amazing how, in the U.K. and France at least, Spielberg avoids severe certificates. Jurassic Park easily warranted a 12, it is a PG-13 in the U.S. After all, a man's arm does get ripped off! In Schindler's List, we witness the horrendous mistreatment and murder of Jews, plus several scenes of nudity, yet it remains a 15. And in 'Ryan', people are disembowled and shot to bits in grisly detail, yet it is also only a 15. I agree that we need to be more liberal, but why does Spielberg alone get this special treatment. I see it as a tribute to his talent as a director (apart from Saving Private Ryan and E.T.).
Simon Birch (1998)
Above expectations
Note:possible spoilers in this text
'Simon Birch' is, in my opinion, a movie that has been badly treated by reviews and critics. Many call it a God-botherers' movie or sappy or they bash it for not being true enough to John Irving's book, 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'. Yet to me, these criticisms are too harsh and a a few mountains are made out of mole-hills. But I'll get to that.
'Simon Birch' is based in the small, cosy Maine town of Gravestone in 1964. When he was born, doctors said that tiny little Simon Birch (Ian Michael Smith) wouldn't live through the night. But he did, and we join him 12 full years later. He is still minuscule, yet he believes that he is God's instrument, that he was made this small for a reason, and that he is destined to be a hero. He is, however an outcast, and his opinions put him in conflict with his unloving and uncaring parents, with his tyrannical Sunday school teacher (Jan Hooks) and with the local preacher, Reverend Russel (David Strathairn), whose actions and opinions are frequently contested by the theologically-minded Simon.
His only friend of his age is Joe Wenteworth (Joseph Mazzello), also an outcast because his mother (Ashley Judd) refuses to reveal the identity of his father, a veritable scandal in the eyes of the town members. Simon's only friends in the adult world are the afore-mentioned Miss Wenteworth, who acts as a sort of surrogate mother to Simon, and her boyfriend Ben (Oliver Platt), who has to deal with Joe's hostility but who proves to be a very loving man.
Despite their problems, the two friends pass their days playing, swimming and getting into trouble. Then one day, tragedy enters the idyll and Simon's belief is put into question. He dedicates himself to finding out who Joe's father is and in the end proves that he is a hero, especially for Joe.
I won't give any more away. 'Simon Birch' is no masterpiece, it doesn't have the emotional and the reflective quality of 'The Cure'. There are confused and overly sappy moments and some feeble characterisations. Yet it is none the less a funny and heart-warming picture. People who have criticised its religious themes have missed the mark. It's not a statement that God exists and is guiding us, it's a film that teaches us to have faith in ourselves, in our own strengths. Simon thinks God gave him a purpose, but he finds that purpose. It's his accomplishment.
Plus, if you try to compare it to Irving's book, you're bound to have things to gripe about. I've had the advantage of not having read the book (although I'd like to some day), so I can be objective. But I do know that the film is only "suggested by" 'A Prayer for Owen Meany', not actually adapted from it. Hence, it is quite different, but this does not have to be a bad thing, more an achievement for Mark Steven Johnson, who managed to adapt the book into a more film-friendly version.
And kudos to Mr Johnson. For a directorial debut, he shows talent, with a lovely roaming camera and some great lighting.
The acting's great too. The supporting cast is great. Judd scintillates in the few scenes she's in and Hooks gives her caricatural character quite a presence. But the supporting actors who really shine are Platt and Strathairn, giving real depth and presence to their characters. Yet they are all overshadowed by the fantastic leading actors. Ian Michael Smith is great in his first movie, touching and funny, despite his irritating voice. Joseph Mazzello is best, though, always a pleasure to watch, brilliantly portraying the conflicts and emotions Joe Wenteworth is going through. He's almost as good as in 'The Cure', although the difference between the two parts shows how flexible he is.
All in all, this was underrated. It has its sappy and unbelievable moments, and it's nowhere near as powerful or as heart-warming as 'The Cure', but it's funny, touching and beautifully acted. I think people need to approach it with more objectivity and not expect too much. The only film I saw that was as good as the book it was based on was Kubrick's 'The Shining', because it was so different from the book. If 'Simon Birch' is really different from 'A Prayer...', then I take it as a good sign.
I give 'Simon Birch' 7/10
Uppers: 1)The acting; 2)Joseph Mazzello and Ian Michael Smith are fantastic; 3)The locations; 4)The soundtrack; 5)The story: humorous and uplifting; 6)Johnson's revelatory directing
Downers: 1)A bit sappy in places; 2)Some moments are totally unbelievable (e.g. The bus scene); 3)Some weak elements and characterisations
Braveheart (1995)
Wallace or Gibson? (possible light spoilers)
If anybody who reads this has ever read one of my other reviews, they will know that they tend to be long and that I always have lots to say.
Not so with Braveheart. The film does not leave much to say. It's the hugely historically inaccurate film of Scottish hero William Wallace's life: the death of his father, his life with his uncle, the tragedy that leads him to fight the English, his victory at Sterling and his eventual downfall. All this sadly directed by and starring the ever-awful Mel Gibson, boasting an absolutely pathetic accent. I should know, my family's Scottish!
It's a shame, because apart from Gibson, it's quite an enjoyable romp. It's no Oscar-deserver (1995 should have gone to The Usual Suspects and The Cure, the latter didn't even get any nominations, a travesty!), but it's fun. But Gibson manages to cross time and become Gibson of the 13th century. Wallace is just a Scottish Martin Riggs of Lethal Weapon or Porter from Payback. And they were suspending belief for the 1990s, he becomes ridiculous here.
The supporting cast, on the hand, is quite good. Ian Bannan gives a good, albeit unbelievable performance as Robert the Bruce's leper father, the kid who plays his son is marvellously expressive (one to watch) and Robert the Bruce is well-played by Aidan Quinn, I believe it is (forgot to check, I'm afraid). But Gibson is still just Gibson, and is looking silly.
I would like to end by noting that it is historically inaccurate, all that stuff with the Princess of Wales is laughable. The battles are inaccurately portrayed (there were no longbows at Sterling), Wallace did not dress like that (he's a knight in every picture I've seen of him) and Robert the Bruce's dad wasn't a leper. And those bits with the Princess really are stupid, just a chance for the public to see Mel kissing a girl, what poor cinema! And the portrayal of the evil English is exaggerated, they were evil, but not that evil!
It's a shame, with a bit of finesse and work and without Mel Gibson, this could have been a very entertaining historical drama, along the lines of Elizabeth. The locations are fantastic, the music is touching and it's pretty entertaining during the battle scenes. But with Gibson directing, it becomes unbelievable and cheap. It feels less like a tribute to Wallace as one to Gibson himself, which takes away the point of a historical drama. I give it 3/10.
Uppers: 1)The cast (except Gibson); 2)The backgrounds; 3)The music; 4)The battle scenes
Downers: 1)Mel Gibson's big-headed filming and attitude; 2)Totally inaccurate historically; 3)Full of exaggerations; 4)Gibson's accent; 5)How can they make a Hollywood flick about British History?
Central do Brasil (1998)
One of the best road movies (could contain spoilers)
A few months back, I watched Takeshi Kitano's KIKUJIRO. I thought it was sentimental but well-acted, nicely-filmed and original. I may have to take back that last adjective, because Kitano's film has a feeling of a remake of CENTRAL DO BRAZIL. A story of an immoral person gaining a change of character through his/her meeting and subsequent trip with a 9-year-old boy looking for a lost parent.
Which brings me to CENTRAL DO BRAZIL. It's the tale of Dora (Fernanda Montenegra), who works in Rio's central station, writing letters for the city's numerous iliterate citizens. She is an immoral, cynical person, who often tears up or discards these letters, including one by a woman writing to her husband on behalf of her young son, Josue (Vincius de Olveira). But when the woman is killed in a car accident and Josue is orphaned, guilt drives Dora to take him under her wing. At first, she tries to sell him, but again her guilt makes her go back to him and she reluctantly agrees to take him up to the North of the country to find his father. She repeatedly tries to lose him but can't bring herself to and the journey becomes one of discovery for both of them: Josue of his roots, Dora of her long-dormant ability to love and show compassion. It is also a discovery of the country itself, for us and for the brazilians.
Indeed, Brazil is a country undergoing great change, socially, religiously and morally and director Walter Salles turns a critical yet tender eye on the people and ways of this country, which is both beautiful and rotting, corrupt and yet full of goodness. The best evocation of this is Dora herself, but I could also refer to the lorry driver, a kind man, true to God and the principle of good will who nonetheless refuses to allow himself to love or open his heart.
The film is also a reflexion on God and religion, rich with symbolism (something not present in KIKUJIRO). The two main characters resemble pilgrims and find spiritual strength in each other. The country itself, in its turmoil, turns to God for help. Help comes for some (Dora and Josue, for example), but whether it's God that gives it is for us to decide. It could be a deity or it could be mankind's own spirit, his inate goodness, often deeply buried under cynicism and anger. Salles gives no answer except this: man can do good, even the most apparently heartless, be it thanks to some outside force or to his own nature. I suppose it doesn't matter, provided we yield our jaded attitude in the end. In this way, no matter what, this is an optimistic film, full of hope, despite the bittersweet ending ( that almost had me in tears!).
Apart from the fantastic story and interesting philosophical and theological reflexions, this film benefits from great direction. Salles is a master with the camera and CENTRAL DO BRAZIL becomes a tribute to Brazil's receding and tragic beauty. The contrast between the dark, corrupt heart of Rio and the countryside: so open, full of hope and dreams that just need working at, is remarkable. Thumbs up for Salles.
The film also benefits from great acting, most noticeably from Montenegra and de Olveira. The chemistry between them is incredible. CENTRAL... also boasts a great score, moving and powerful.
This is a great movie, cinematic poetry. Between Salles directing, the poignant story, the reflective subjects, the score and the acting, there is so much that makes this the number one film of 1998. Better than SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE by far!
Uppers: 1)The poignant story; 2)Gives you things to think about; 3)Fantastic acting, especially from the two main stars, OSCAR-deserving stuff!; 4)Fabulous music; 5)Salles' directing: masterful, Kubrick-esque, a tribute to Brazil's tragically fading beauty; 6)The last scenes: bittersweet emotion; 7)The scenes with the lorry driver
Downers: none of great importance.
I recommend this to anyone with a heart and advise for all those that have lost touch with it.
Apt Pupil (1998)
An interesting look at Nazism
I admit that I did not expect much of this movie. I know Bryan Singer directed The Usual Suspects, a classic, but he also was responsible for X-Men. And I'd heard mixed reviews of it. But, Brad Renfro was great in the Cure, as was Ian McKellan in God and Monsters. Plus, I got it cheap so...
Renfro plays Todd, a high school student who's top of his class, and a great baseball player to boot. He develops a fascination with the Holocaust and researches as much on it as possible. One day, he discovers that an old German man living up the road (McKellan) is in fact Kurt Dussander, a wanted Nazi former concentration camp officer. He assembles a ton of information on the man and collects proof of his identity. He then blackmails him: Todd won't inform the Israeli authorities if Kurt will tell him all the stories about the Holocaust that "they don't tell us in school".
It starts off harmlessly enough, but the stories begin to weigh on Todd's mind, and his school results go down. He also begins to develop a disagreeable behaviour towards his friends. His obsession grows: in one scene he gets Kurt an SS uniform and orders him to march, feeling he now has complete control over Kurt. He also kills an injured pigeon, a parallel to Kurt's attempt to kill a cat by putting it in an oven. But Kurt is pure evil, still a dedicated Nazi and Todd makes the mistake of crossing him. It is no longer Todd who controls Kurt, but the other way around, as they begin to resemble each other. The ending scenes are particularly unstirring...
This is an interesting look at Nazism and evil. They are contagious, evil spreads. Todd, facinated with what Kurt did, doesn't realize that he is becoming like him. And Kurt, haunted by what he did, still can't rid himself of his evilness. It's a chilling portrayal of the psychological power the Nazis had over people. As Nietzshe said, the desire of power animates us, guides our actions. Here, it makes us do evil.
Singer redeems himself with this. There is great acting, especially from McKellan and Renfro, though the latter doesn't live up to what he had me expecting after seeing the Cure. Stephen King, who wrote the book of Apt Pupil, is a genius and this is one the best adaptations. There are also some great camera techniques, too. A truly gripping drama.
Uppers: 1)The gripping portrayal of the Nazi mind and it's terrifying influence; 2)McKellan's performance; 3)Renfro's performance; 4)Singer's directing; 5)The creepy light effects; 6)The ending scenes Downers: 1)David Schwimmer's moustache; 2)Not quite as good nor as creepy as Marathon Man
The Cure (1995)
The only movie that cracked my armour!
I am considered to be a dreadful cynic when it comes to movies. I am a defender of the principles of the art of cinema, so I discard a lot of films (e.g."Gladiator") as Hollywood rubbish. Yet this film, The Cure, found the chink in my armour. Just by its subject matter, the story of a boy with AIDS and his friendship with his next-door neighbour, is fantastic. And to think that people avoided it because they thought it would be too political. Nothing of the sort! It's a tribute to boyhood friendship and the magical world of kids, even if one has a dreadful illness. I didn't even cry at "Schindler's List", but this has me going every time I watch it; I've watched 5 times in the 5 days I've had it.
A lot of people mention holes in the plot, yet these are neither important or noticeable. The film has an atmosphere that picks you and never lets you down. It boasts a fantastic soundtrack, some great backgrounds and fabulous acting. I would particularly like to mention the Oscar-deserving performances from young Joseph Mazzello as Dexter, the one with AIDS and from Brad Renfro as his best friend Erik. They were made to act together and they perfectly bring across the love and sadness that they are feeling. Mazzello's portrayal of a dying boy is heart-rending and heart-warming at the same time.
This is a film without pretentions. It doesn't try to be artistic or fancy or a blockbuster. It just trys to bring across emotions, and to bring out our emotions. It's a wonderful story, cinema poetry that I fell in love with the moment I read about it. I had to search for it for over a month. I have only one gripe: I want to buy the soundtrack, but I've learned that it does not contain the theme song "My great escape" by Marc Cohn. I'm gutted as it's a lovely song. Apart from that, no criticisms. You'd have to be the most jaded cynic not to love this movie, particularly the tent scene or the end scenes. Pure poetry in cinema form.
Uppers:1-The story; 2-Mazzello and Renfro's performances; 3-The music; 4-Annabella Sciorra's performance; 5-The tent scene; 6-The "My blood is poison" scene; 7-The backgrounds; 8-The last scenes; 9-It's just the right length:never gets boring; 10-The backgronds; 11-The realistic portrayal of friendship.
Downers:1-um..er..the soundtrack doesn't contain "My great escape"!
This film found the hole in my cynical armour and it opened my eyes to the reality of AIDS. I recommend it to anyone, it'll put your own life into perspective.