“Law of Desire,” aka, “La Ley de Deseo”, 18 January 2005 (1987), vhs. Wow, three in one long weekend. Anyway, Bronwen and I enjoyed part of this mess from Pedro Almodovar’s later early period, that is to say, 1987. Unlike his more structured pieces of recent years where, for example, plots sort of make sense,…
Bye
“Bye, Bye, Birdie,” December 15, 2004 (1995), video. Whatever you do absolutely avoid this wretched remake of the charming 1960s (50s-style) romantic, neurotic comedy about the rock star, the mamma’s boy, and America. This turkey starring the very talented Jason Alexander (why is he stuck doing total trash since Seinfeld?), George Wendt, and a supporting…
Sideways
“Sideways,” 24 November 2004, theater. This is a very good movie by Thomas Payne (“Citizen Ruth,” “Election,” “About Schmidt” all reviewed in this list) about the road trip by two unsuccessful former college roommates, one a failing novelist cum English teacher (Paul Giamatti “American Splendour”) and a failing soon-to-be married actor (Thomas Hayden Church)…
Coffee and Cigarettes
“Coffee and Cigarettes,” 20 November 2004 (2003), DVD. The latest from Jim Jarmusch, this is sort of Jarmusch does Beckett over lots of coffee and lots of cigarettes. Funny in parts, meandering in others, this is a plotless exercise in meaning, lack of meaning, conversation, social climbing (in a lovely piece staring Alfred Molina…
Ararat
“Ararat,” November 17, 2004 (2002), DVD. Very interesting Atom Etgoyan film about the making of an historical film about the Armenian genocide that is itself fraught with half-truths and outright falsehoods to make the larger point about the masking of the genocide. It also chronicles the modern legacy of the acts and their…
Bourne Identity
“Bourne Identity,” November 17, 2004, DVD (2002). Matt Damon stars in this good remake about a CIA assassin who develops amnesia and sets out to find out about himself. Chris Cooper as the evil spymaster. The whole system is rotten. A good spy mystery/action flick. Very well made.
Around the World in 80 Days
“Around the World in 80 Days,” October 17, 2004, DVD. Little Bronwen and I watched this video while her mom was off at a conference. The original, with David Niven and an amazingly young Shirley Maclain and Cantinfloss as the Mexican butler make this worth watching as a curiosity piece. Lots of very silly cameos…
Finding Nemo
“Finding Nemo,” October 12, 2004, animated, theater. We really liked this Pixar animated film about a clownfish taken in the waters. His father, voiced by Albert Brooks, risks everything to go after him and, amazingly, rescues him. A wonderful bit by Ellen DeGeneris as a ‘friend’ with short term memory problems, a couple…
Together
Together,” 11 September 2004, video. This is a marvelous Chinese film about a child prodigy violinist and his peasant father. The father, seeking the best for his child, sacrifices everything to get him to the city for lessons. It is a lovely and humane film. Really worth watching. See this film.
Rabbit Proof Fence
“Rabbit-Proof Fence,” 6 September 2004, DVD. “Rabbit Proof Fence,” 6 September 2004 (2002), DVD. This is a very fine and serious Australian film about the shameful period from 1930-1970 where the Australian government stole the mixed race children of aboriginal women and ‘reeducated’ them to civilize them and eventually encourage their deracination….
A League of their Own
“A League of their Own,” 5 September 2004 (1992), video We saw this fun film about the women’s professional baseball association during WWII again with the kidlet and really enjoyed it. She enjoyed it too although the language was a bit coarser than I remembered. I’d forgotten Tom Hanks’s part in the movie (including…
Intolerable Cruelty
“Intolerable Cruelty,” August 10, 004, DVD. George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones star in this Coen Brothers lightweight. Clooney plays a take no prisoners divorce lawyer, while Zeta-Jones is the gold digging former wife of one of his clients. Some pieces work, but as a whole the film is less than the sum of its parts….
Starsky and Hutch
“Starsky and Hutch,” 5 July 2004 (2004!), airplane. Silly and occasionally funny redux of the 1970s police show. A couple of laugh out loud pieces spoiled by fake seriousness to carry the plot along. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as S & H are funny together and Snoop Dog is cool as Huggy. Will Farrell…
Open Range
“Open Range,” 5 July 2004 (2003), airplane. First, and a later addition, this is too big a film to see on a small screen. Even a good-sized TV made this better. Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner are fine in this slow moving western about independence, justice, and evil. Great gunfight, but too trite for its…
Goodbye Lenin
“Goodbye Lenin,” 21 May 2004 (2003), theater, subtitled. We really liked this lovely little German film about a young man dealing with his true-believer mother after she wakes up from a coma following the fall of the Berlin wall. It is a healthy critique of the west, a loving nostalgic piece for the east…
Spellbound
“Spellbound.” April 15, 2004 (2002), video. A very cool look at the national spelling bee with some truly geeky kids. Really worth seeing
ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
“ET: The Extra-Terrestrial,” February 17 2004, video. Watched this again with the kid for the first time since 1981 or 2. We all loved it, although the little one found it rather scary. I was much more tolerant of the romantic fantasy elements of the thing this time (the flying) and much more aware…
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
“Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,” February 15, 2004 (2003), theater. What can I say?. We really liked this huge and dramatic third episode in the trilogy. The film is exciting, although there are too many increasingly boring endings piled onto one another, and the Shire looks pretty boring to me as…
American Splendor
“American Splendor,” February 15, 2004 (2003), video. We liked this interesting directorial conceit about Harvey Pekar, the Cleveland writer who chronicles his own life in the comic books he doesn’t draw. Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis are really great as Pekar and his wife Joyce, and they appear as themselves as well, as do…
Whale Rider
“Whale Rider,” 25 January 2004 (2002), video. We really liked this PG-13 film about the crisis in Maori culture. With no male heir, a traditionalist Maori community leader in New Zealand disregards and disrespects his granddaughter who is totally connected to the traditions of her people. She learns the rituals on the sly and…
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” January 1 2004 (2002), video. This is part two of the trilogy. It’s Frodo’s attempt to get the ring to Mordor but intercepted by men; the uprising of the trees (the Entwives), the stand of the horse people and the renewed alliance of the elves…
Pirates of the Caribbean
“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” December 31/January 1 2003/4, video. We all really liked this silly pirate/ghost story/costume drama. Johnny Depp is wonderful, inspired actually, as pirate captain Jack Sparrow, Geoffrey Rush works well as his nemesis, the captain of the ghost ship. The romantic characters are ok….
Holes
“Holes,” December 17, 2003 (2003), video. We really liked this kid’s movie based on the very popular novel of the same name. A young boy, Stanley Yelnats IV, gets sent off to reform-camp run by a horror show of a warden (Sigourney Weaver) and a chief guard (Jon Voight) because his family is…
Looney Toons:. Back in Action
“Looney Toons: Back in Action,” December 15, 2003 (2003), theater. We liked the cartoon characters in this fast paced piece with Brendan Frasier and Jenna Elfman as the human straight men. Steve Martin is terribly over the top and not effective. Not my favorite toon/human mix. See “Roger Rabbit” again for a really good…
Elf
“Elf,” November 25, 2003, theater. So sue us, we all liked this silly Will Farrell vehicle about a human raised by the elves at the North Pole. It’s fun to watch, and dumb in the extreme. Good for all ages. Interestingly, the only ones who didn’t work in the movie (for me at least) were…