MeanderingMegan Reviews

Signs (2002)

Not Bad, But Not As Good As Expected

[6/10 · 4 August 2002]

I went to see this movie with such high expectations. The trailer was great, The Sixth Sense was awesome and my hopes were that M. Night would live up to the same high standard on this film. Sadly though, he didn't. The subject matter was juicy, the possibilities were endless, and although I did scream a couple of times in my seat, the movie never gave the payoff that one waits for in a stellar film. Gibson was great, no fault on his part, as was Joaquin Phoenix and the two kids, but the film seemed to missing something in the equation that took it out of the league of exceptional and into the category of a near miss. After having looked forward to seeing this film for a month, it was a letdown. That being said, it's still a better summer movie than most other choices and certainly seemed to satisfy a lot of other audience members - my advice, see it on a weekend afternoon when you've got some extra time on your hands to kill.

Looking Through Lillian (2001)

An Emotional Reality Check

[9/10 · 3 August 2002]

Looking Through Lillian was an awesome viewing experience. I saw it at the Cinequest Film Festival earlier this year while down in CA. After watching a host of other indies there, I was losing hope on seeing something comparable to what I see in an Art House Theater or on IFC and then bumped into this flick. For the host of other movies that I wasted my money on seeing, this one made up for the whole experience. The humanity of the film and it's lead character and the truth of a flawed world full of flawed people was so refreshing to see in a film. Movies are supposed to be about extraordinary things happening to extraordinary people, but what seems to get forgotten is that extraordinary doesn't necessarily mean the sinking of the Titanic or the presence of Superman. Ordinary people have extraordinary moments and this film acknowledges that. That being said, this film also deals with the fact that perhaps nobody is ordinary when it comes to the standard definition of the word. We are all unique in our dysfunctions, yearnings, problems and backgrounds. So perhaps the big connection to this film was that while the film dealt with a very specific reality not known to all of us, it does deal with most of us on a different level. Our vices may not be the same or our problems, but emotions are universal as are our psychological difficulties and because of that Looking Through Lillian leaves one with much to grasp, much to ponder and an overwhelming number of emotions and feelings - and questions. Hats off to the people involved in this film, especially the writers for creating Gene and Lillian. And hats off to the two actors who decided to have the balls to tackle these two roles.

A strong recommend if you like quality indie filmmaking.

Things Behind the Sun (2001)

Hard subject matter sensitively portrayed

[8/10 · 3 August 2002]

A compelling film. This film really touched my heart. While the film is certainly far from perfect, I thought it dealt wonderfully with the subject matter and showed such a sensitivity towards not only victims of violence but also towards how scars incurred in childhood can mar us forever.

Gabriel Mann was awesome in this. He gave the role such a conscience and it was nice to see him used fully as an actor as opposed to his rather less than full role in 'High Art' (which I happen to love nonetheless). But whereas High Art was Radha Mitchell and Ally Sheedy's film, this film really, for me, belonged to Mann. Kim Dickens did a great job also, but Mann still takes top billing in my book. My hat off to Allison Anders - it's nice to know that there are filmmakers out there that are not so concerned with commercialism as they are with substance and exploration. The fact that it says that the film is semi-autobiographical just makes me applaud her more. If you're into character studies and the way the past effects ones life, this is a movie worth seeing.

Under the Sand (2000)

Not Up To Par

[7/10 · 3 August 2002]

I bought this film on DVD after hearing that it was Charlotte Rampling's best role/work since The Night Porter and having always been a big fan of hers, I promptly went out and bought the DVD. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed. While Rampling is great in it (when is she not?), the movie itself just didn't stand up. I kept finding myself saying, "What's the point?" Not a good thing to find yourself doing in the midst of viewing a film. I blame this not on the actors but rather on the director. Where was his sense of direction when he made this film. Was he just so happy to have Rampling that he came up with the story as he went along or what? This is not a movie that I would recommend unless you're just killing time watching cable - even then, better to just pick up a book. That being said, I hope to see Rampling again in something else soon. She is unique, one of a kind and always a pleasure to watch.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Commenting on Apocalypse Now Redux, Not the Original

[3 August 2002]

I'm sure a couple of people would probably shoot me for this, but after seeing the 'new' version of Apocalypse Now that screened at Cannes last year, I was really disappointed that Francis Ford Coppola took what was, in my opinion, a perfect masterpiece and added so much more footage to the movie. The thing that was so absolutely chilling and chaotic about the original was all the little spaces left where one understood the insanity and chaos of the war but did not get straight linear explanations for each step of it. To me, not having been around for the war, it gave me (what I felt like to be) a really guttural feeling for just how confusing, violent and generally f*cked up the whole Vietnam experience was. How difficult it was to figure who the bad guys were and who were innocent. It brought up the pivotal question "What is this war really about?" I was truly mesmerized by the film and walked away with alot of compassion for both the men that fought in Vietnam and the innocent locals that got caught in the middle. I also walked away with so many moral, ethical and psychological conflicts as to everything that went down there and found myself wondering how anyone who was involved with this war on either side could possibly come out any other way but scarred.

For me, Coppola diluted his film by redoing it and adding the extra footage. It took away it's strongest point - that of being a film that put you in the experience but made no overt statements about it - thus making the strongest statement possible. What I walked away with after watching the recut is a little too much indicating and less of the chaos that made this film the classic that it is. My advice to Coppola? Don't mess with a good thing. Sometimes things should be left well enough alone.