wilm-1 Reviews

The Good Girl (2002)

Very Good movie

[8/10 · 26 August 2002]

Very good dark comedy about how you reconcile the lost dreams of youth with the life you've created for yourself. Unlike a lot of "women's movies", it's very true to life and had an ending that seemed realistic. Very well acted and filmed.

Road to Perdition (2002)

Solid Hollywood drama, but not a great movie.

[7/10 · 24 July 2002]

"Road to Perdition" is beautifully filmed, and Tom Hanks and especially Paul Newman are good. Much of the plot, however, is contrived. I found the ending of the movie implausible and a little silly. All the symbolic nonsense about redemption was tiresome and overblown. Many reviews, perhaps taking cues from the movie's press releases, compared "Road" to "The Godfather" and "Bonnie and Clyde." "Road" is simply not in that league. I think of it more in the category of solid, but not especially great movies such at De Palma's "The Untouchables."

The Bourne Identity (2002)

Low key thriller with minimum of nonsense

[9/10 · 1 July 2002]

In an era when we've been begging for a decent James Bond flick, this movie comes along and shows that Hollywood can still make a great movie about spies and intrigue with a minimum of explosions and special effects. Damon portrays a spy who has lost his identity and has to find himself without the use of a bunch of silly props and gadgets. I also like the chemistry between Damon and Franka Potente. Unlike a lot of the stupid, helpless women we have to endure in thrillers, Potente brings a smart, clever presence to the movie. This film is also beautifully filmed, with fine, sweeping images of the Alps, Paris, and the Cote D'Azur and excellent editing. My only complaint: a couple of the fight scenes were hard to believe. Still, this is a great movie, especially by today's standards.

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)

Traditional coming of age movie with new twists.

[8/10 · 1 July 2002]

This movie has a lot of elements seen in other works about coming of age, such as "Stand by Me" and "Dead Poet's Society." The young actors are engaging and well-directed, and Jodie Foster puts in a great supporting role as a comically desperate nun trying to keep them in line. The movie also has a parallel plot in which one of the boys interprets unfolding events in terms of a comic book plot involving four superheroes (the boys) against swarms of evil motorcycle nuns. My only complaint is that I found the ending implausible and a little out in left field. Still well worth seeing in my opinion.

Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

Well-executed movie about a controversial subject

[8/10 · 17 May 2002]

Anti-drug purists will not care for this nuanced, well-crafted work. At the height of the "just-say-no" nonsense, this movie took a strange, slightly comic view of drug addiction by using Matt Dillon as the head of a group that specializes in stealing drugs from drug stores. The dialogue is terrific - I especially like the scene in which Kelley Lynch curses poor Matt Dillon because the drugs have made him impotent. The movie's original, unconventional take on drugs and the emptiness they bring is compromised a little by the ending, which seems rushed.

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Well done movie with excellent performances

[8/10 · 17 May 2002]

In the same tradition of "The Lion In Winter", "A Man for All Seasons" takes true events and characters from history, and creates a great drama without bending facts. Despite the great acting, I found myself a little tired with Moore by the end of the movie. Still a great movie for any lover of history.

Spider-Man (2002)

Great movie that combines superhero epic with substance

[9/10 · 14 May 2002]

This movie, unlike most action-adventure junk, had a warm human presence because it involves growing up, an unrequited love, a family, and several friendships. It also had a substantive ending that teaches an important lesson. My only complaint: the last half hour of the movie was predictable. Still, a great show.

Casino (1995)

Great mobster movie

[9/10 · 14 March 2002]

This movie didn't get much notice when it came out, but it's evidence that Hollywood can still put out great work. The filming and editing are superb. All of the veteran actors, with Robert de Niro as the lead, are at the highest standard. This movie will probably also be remembered as Sharon Stone's best roll. Casino has a lot of graphic violence, so it's not be for everyone. A guy movie, but an intelligent one.

The Piano (1993)

Overrated pretty movie

[5/10 · 8 March 2002]

I think I might have liked this movie better if I had not read a lot of reviews that were positive. I found it over-wrought, and at times downright silly, trying to be full of a sense of importance that was never there to start with. I was especially surprised that the little girl in the movie, who mostly smiles and is cute, got an Academy Award. The movie is beautifully filmed and also has a good sense for how settlement took place in Victorian times. Still, can't say I'd recommend this one.

A Knight's Tale (2001)

Awful movie

[3/10 · 28 February 2002]

A silly movie with a very weak plot that is made at times unbearable by the inclusion of dated 70s rock music. I think it might appeal to children under the age of 14, but that's about it. To bad to see a good cast wasted on this oddity.

Braveheart (1995)

Some great scenes, but too long

[6/10 · 28 February 2002]

This movie is at its best in the big battle scenes. However, it goes on forever. Like "Giant", it's great to look at, but it's long and has many dull subplots that make it tough to follow. I admire Mel Gibson for the hard work he put into this movie and his role as Braveheart, but the evil king Edward is the more interesting of the two.

Dodsworth (1936)

Superb classic

[10/10 · 28 February 2002]

It's impossible to do justice to this work, which chronicles the complex breakdown of a long and successful marriage that cannot adjust to new challenges. Unlike many movies of the 1930s with high production values and a feel for old, glamorous Hollywood, the drama remains focused and disciplined. Aside from its subtle analysis of the end of a relationship, the movie does a superb job of contrasting the differences between the new, powerful go-getter culture of 20th-Century America and the more restrained, skeptical traditions of Old Europe. The movie in some ways represents a dialogue between these two cultures, which at time clash, most poignantly when an old Austrian baroness speaks frankly to the wife of an American industrialist. A great overlooked classic.

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Sumptuous treatment that brings alive a Shakespeare classic

[10/10 · 15 February 2002]

Purists will balk at this movie's omission and occasional alteration of the dialogue. However, for the medium of cinema, this is about as good as it gets for the Bard. Romeo & Juliet brings a life and urgency to a play that often comes across as too long for film. The acting throughout is absolutely first rate and it's hard to figure out what scene is the best. In addition, the sets and costumes are terrific. Even in our glib Moulin-Rouge era, it's virtually impossible not to be taken in by the opulent beauty and passion of this movie. I first saw this work when I was 11 in 1974. Since I had not seen or read the play, it was even more exciting to watch, and it's remained the standard by which I measure all cinematic renditions of Shakespeare. I saw it again last night, and it still stands.

Tender Mercies (1983)

Quiet, fine movie

[9/10 · 19 December 2001]

"Tender Mercies" is a tightly focused drama about a man struggling to find stability. The movie has an understated honesty and realism that makes it all the more eloquent. Robert Duvall is at his best here. This is a much better, more accurate depiction of small town life in Texas than most of the Hollywood nonsense out there.

Giant (1956)

Dull, Long Hollywood Nonsense

[4/10 · 19 December 2001]

"Giant" is one of the most boring, overly-long Hollywood contraptions ever. Many scenes seem utterly fake and without energy. Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean are wasted in this big Hollywood production. A central notion to this movie, that a rancher would ever resist drilling for oil on his land, is absurd, and I know this because I'm from Houston. A couple of scenes, especially Dean serving Taylor coffee, redeem this otherwise boring film. For a much more accurate and interesting depiction about how modernism changed the ranches in Texas, see "Hud" (one of Paul Newman's great performances) or "The Last Picture Show."

The Little Foxes (1941)

Terrific Movie

[9/10 · 18 December 2001]

"The Little Foxes" is a disciplined, focused drama. Davis' acting in other movies has often struck me as overdone and silly. In this film, good direction and a tight script contribute to one of Ms. Davis' best performances with superb acting from the rest of the cast as well.

Jezebel (1938)

Mediocre, overdone movie

[3/10 · 18 December 2001]

It's a good thing Bette Davis didn't make it to "Gone with the Wind." "Jezebel" is loaded with awkward scenes and overacting. The film's repeated racial slurs - even when one keeps in mind when it was made - make it unattractive to even think about. Davis is forced to deliver some of the silliest lines I've ever heard and the ending of the movie verges on camp. Fonda's performance is utterly limp and at times comical, especially in light of Davis' wide-eyed histrionics.

For a better film, which again teams Davis with director Wyler in a Southern setting, see "The Little Foxes" (1941).

The Devil's Circus (1926)

Superb Silent Classic

[10/10 · 13 December 2001]

The Devil's Circus is a beautiful meditation on the vanity and futility of human existence. Its plot is involved and at times borders on the maudlin, but it was made at a time when sentiments such as love and passion could be depicted without the irony and distance that are so necessary for 'serious' movies today. It depicts an individual who loses everything but finds his heart. Many of the scenes are disturbing in their artistic intensity. I was particularly taken by the circus scenes, which remind me of the painting Ensor, a famous Belgian artist whose work predates the movie only by a few years. The movie struck me more as having the aura of nineteenth-century Romanticism, giving it an unreal, spectacular quality. A must for any fan of silent Hollywood, who will find many of the cinema's great traditions anticipated in this fine work. I believe this was MGM's first production, underlining the film's important place in movie history.

Washington Square (1997)

Not a very good film compared to the Heiress (1949)

[3/10 · 11 December 2001]

This movie has some beautiful sets and Albert Finney does a great job as the ruthless father. The movie fails because Jennifer Jason Leigh is too jumpy as the daughter and is no match whatever for Olivia De Havilland's far more nuanced, mature rendering in The Heiress (1949). The film's feminist-leaning conclusion also goes against the austere conclusion of the novel, Washington Square, whose author, Henry James, savagely parodied feminism in some of his other novels. As a fan of old Hollywood and great literature, I found this movie very disappointing.