jp1713 Reviews

The Last Big Thing (1996)

Lame

[1/10 · 27 June 2008]

what ends up killing this movie is its self-consciousness, among other things. here's a short list: 1. irreverent behavior. when the beatles came over and injected their brand of "quirky, irreverent" behavior/humor, it was greeted as fresh. that was over 4 decades ago. get over it.

2. false sophistication. spewing out base, quasi-socio-political-isms is hard ground to make work comically. ask woody allen.

3. the post-modern "i'm hard on this phony world and yes, i recognize it in myself" snake eating itself - used as illustration with another animal in the film itself! - is such a retread.

4. smarmy, smug drollness.

5. amateurish writing, acting, direction... ever seen student films? a victim of itself, about the only thing i can say positive is that it at least has a sense of itself, and sheesh, now i'm getting caught up in the self-reflexive thing that it posits as worthwhile, of value.

but towards... what? ultimately, it just rings as hollow as any other pretentious piece - hey, ever see woody allen's take on bergman, ie: "Interiors"??? well, this just does it more amateurishly.

Garden State (2004)

If you like vapidity masquerading as "insightful" "thoughtful" blah blah blah

[1/10 · 4 August 2007]

Easily - no, EASILY - in my top 10 most hated films. Let's get the adjectives out of the way first, it's easier that way: Pretentious, corny, obvious, predictable, derivative, re-tread, PHONY...

Should I go on? The problem I have with flicks like this versus obvious pap like Stallone flicks (or whatever) is that it is NOT about "deeper things" but instead pretends to address "deeper things" by throwing out "quirkiness" masquerading as such. Now, there's "quirkiness" and then there's funny. A dog humping a leg or jacking off is funny - but what's that got to do with the theme much less the plot...??? Not even zacky knows.

It's just SOOOOOO exasperating watching this torture.

Last, if I never endure zacky issuing forth one of his patented open-lipped-clenched teeth smiles again, it will be ... well, you know the rest. And unlike zacky, at least I'm honest and tell ya so.

Blame It on Rio (1984)

They Don't Make 'Em ...

[9 August 2005]

...like they used to. Or, at the very least, like BLAME IT ON RIO.

One of my best friends, MM, and I saw this at least a million times back in the day when theaters were creative in bringing people in; one of the local mall theaters even went so far as to have ONE dollar Tuesday nights! But I digress.

There is a charm about BIOR that makes the current crop of Hollywood tentpoles look like the crass, movie-by-numbers product they truly are. The first thing to note is the top rate talent of Donen, Gelbart and Villalobos, seasoned pros all from the golden era of film-making (or one of them).

There aren't explosions, CGI (there was no CGI then to speak of) or smarmy twenty-something dialog that's "hipper than you could ever hope to be." Instead, solid acting by a professional cast, a stunning looker in Michelle Johnson, and witty dialog fill the screen.

Improbable? Maybe. Entertaining? Definitely. BIOR is an 80's throwback to the earlier golden age of screwball comedies with an update of sex and taboo while never crossing over to the obscene - it's tame by today's standards. But at it's heart lies, dare I say it, an innocence that speaks not only of the times then, but stands in stark contrast to the calculated assembly line movies of today's corporate movie machine.

In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)

Too Much for Too Much

[4/10 · 21 January 2005]

The *subject* of Darger and this film about him are two different things. Rather than coming at Darger as someone who understands outsider art let alone Darger, Jessica Yu has the eye of the typical person who is "fascinated" by Darger's story. She just happens to have access to capital and the means to make a movie.

This isn't meant to harp on Yu or her film-making abilities which are okay, but she lacks an emotional connection to the story outside of being "blown away," just like everyone else. In fact, I heard Yu describe her fortuitous discovery of Darger... but that's all it was. Unlike, say, Franklin Rosemont, who's been writing about Darger waaaaay before any of the critics or "experts" of late. What was Rosemont's impetus? He was a Surrealist...

The film itself is, I hate to say it, rather boring. Pedestrian. I also completely agree with the viewer who said that everything was in close up - it makes for a monotony that's palpable.

As is, this film should have been no longer than 45 minutes. It is simply far too long and monotonous...

One can only imagine what a film about Darger might have been if made by, say, Bunuel. It would have made all the difference. It would have hinted at the marvelous in the mundane, rather than been fascinated by a car wreck with a spectator's eye. As it is, it is "accomplished" and "polished". That's about it.

The Station Agent (2003)

Everybody Just Stay Calm

[3 January 2004]

The truth is that this is a solid effort, but that because of the *relative* dearth of good movies, TSA - by comparison - provides those who hunger for good films, indie or not, with ammo.

Here are the truths of TSA as I see them:

1) The strengths of TSA outweigh the weaknesses;

2) The strengths of TSA are: The acting, directing of the actors.

3) The weaknesses are: The screenplay, which falters in the second half by attempting to "make things happen" for the sake of, seemingly, "making things happen."

4) The ability to remain truly independent and make the film - off the beaten path for sure, for better or worse - that Tom McCarthy wanted to make.

There are moments of the first half that sparkle with "the ineffable stuff of life." That "stuff" completely missing from the Hollywood factory.

It's called a heartbeat. Or heart. Or soul. Whatever, it's present in this movie, justifies its presence as a work of art, and makes it all worthwhile.

The Conformist (1970)

CORRECTION

[3 January 2004]

David, who comments below, made a mistake: Storaro didn't dp "The Godfather" films - that honor belongs to Gordon Willis.

Storaro DID collaborate with Coppola, but on "Apocalypse Now," as well as "One From the Heart."

The Conformist (1970)

GREAT Form + GREAT Content = SUBLIME

[25 March 2002]

By far his masterpiece and one of the truly half dozen or so great feature films, Bertolucci's IL CONFORMISTA succeeds at every turn; intellectual, emotional, aesthetic. From Arcali's editing strategy to Scarfiotti's design to Storaro's lighting, brilliant casting and performances, and of course Bertolucci's direction, the production is world class and timeless. Many classic scenes: Sandrelli's retelling of her deflowering on the train and of course Sandrelli and Sanda's tango...

Bertolucci and Arcali here make pretenders like Lynch and particularly Tarantino look like the pretentious hacks they are.

Fused with Bertolucci's musings on Plato's cave allegory and ruminations on psycho-sexual behavior and politics, this film dares to go where the vast corpus of directors can't even dream of venturing.

The Conformist (1970)

Great Form + Great Content = Sublime

[24 March 2002]

"Il Conformista" stands as a unique accomplishment in cinema, tightly wedding form and content in a highly aesthetic manner that is deserving of the term "dialectical."

Kudos to Bertolucci who gives proper credit for the editing strategy to Arcali. Well deserved nods, of course, go to Storaro and Scarfiotti for lighting and production design - the fascist aesthetic is in full bloom here.

Everything about this movie reeks of classic, from the casting to the dresses to the acting on through, of course, to the themes. And that scene where Sanda and Sandrelli dance... mama mia.

One of my top 3 feature films, I've seen it at least 10 times.

Julia (1977)

eh...

[6 March 2002]

JULIA's pretensions unfortunately outshine its intentions. honestly, it plods along and i agree with a previous poster: fonda's overacting is atrocious at times - the scene where she throws out her typewriter was canned at best.

yes, fascism is "bad." and yes, there were some who resisted and fought. yes yes yes.

but to couch it in such terms doesn't even come close to the complexities of the times. in fact, it's rather OVER simplified; i'm thinking here of the simple-minded visual metaphor of lilly as a girl trying (in vain) to cross the log... yes, we get it. at least i did. <rolls eyes>

half way through, ask yourself if JULIA is in the same ballpark as THE CONFORMIST. ask yourself on second thought, if it's even in the same league...