Thursday, October 10, 2002
STILL HERE - No, I haven't disappeared...just swamped with work and trying to see as many films as I can at the Chicago Film Fest. I don't know how my blogging brethren are able to do it everyday. But here's an update: Saw Evelyn last Friday night. Saw Mike Leigh's All or Nothing last night, and my appreciation for it keeps growing the more I dwell on it. Tonight's film: Roger Dodger, starring Campbell Scott. Here's the synopsis: "Men are doomed. That is, if Roger Dodger’s deft and humorous, film-opening predictions are right. Roger, a cynical copywriter who “makes people feel bad” for money, is a master of the art of conversation, especially when it comes to dealing with women. So when his sixteen-year-old nephew Nick (charming newcomer Jesse Eisenberg) shows up at his office one day for advice on getting laid, Roger doesn’t hesitate to expose the subtleties of female sexuality to him. He takes Nick on the ultimate sexual-courting field trip: a night out in Manhattan. The two run across all walks of nightlife, some witty, intelligent women (Isabella Rossellini, Elizabeth Berkeley and Jennifer Beals), and one not-at-all-together woman. Over the course of their time together Nick picks up a new bravery from Roger, and the caddish Roger begins to see that perhaps there’s validity in Nick’s innocent wisdom." Sounds decent enough, huh? And hey, Elizabeth Berkely AND Jennifer Beals...who can resist that?
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Tuesday, October 08, 2002
MORE ON RED DRAGON/FILM FEST FINE PRINT - CS contributor Eric Baker stole the final line of my Hannibal review for his review of Red Dragon, which appeared today in The Daily Iowan. I'd criticize him for it except I know it wasn't intentional and the fact is, it's such a cliched, hackneyed conclusion that we should both be ashamed for using it. It's worth noting though that this final line aside, my Hannibal review may actually be my favorite review from my own DI days, except for maybe my dismissal of the abominable Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. So if you're fairly new to CinemaScoped and you read these reviews and think I'm clueless, well, it's safe to say you probably shouldn't be reading my site because that's probably the best I can do. Eric's analysis seems pretty sound and in line with other critics who found the direction a bit overdone and tacky: "The great mystery is how the director, Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour series), could coax such understated performances (except from Hopkins) from his ensemble cast yet shoot it as though it were a Major League Baseball game on Fox." Like David Edelstein, Eric wasn't fond of Ratner's constant use of closeups. But unlike Edelstein, Eric ultimately recommends the movie. The one final point I wanted to make about the film is that I am even more curious to see it after reading a few reviews that comment on its ending. Apparently, there's some kind of psychological twist and, frankly, anything would be better than Manhunter's clumsy, shoot-em-up ending. It's the biggest blight on an otherwise pretty good movie.
I spoke too soon back on 9/25 when I reported how excited I was about my Chicago Film Fest schedule. My 18-movie pass was going to get me into such highly-anticipated movies (by me, anyway) as Auto Focus, Bowling for Columbine, Punch-Drunk Love and Bloody Sunday. I guess I failed to read the part that said my pass wouldn't get me in to movies that are "Critics Choices" and "Special Presentations" -- in other words, all of the movies I really want to see! I suppose I can't blame anyone by myself, but I can still argue it's incredibly lame of the organizers to expect patrons to buy passes for every movie BUT the best ones in the schedule. Don't get me wrong, however, I'm still pretty pumped about all of the movies I plan to see and review over the next week-and-a-half. Below is my schedule (subject to change, of course):
Wed, Oct. 9 - All Or Nothing
Thurs, Oct. 10 - Roger Dodger
Fri, Oct. 11 - Tribute
Sat, Oct. 12 - Only The Strong Survive
Mon, Oct. 15 - The Dancer Upstairs
Wed, Oct. 16 - Rabbit-Proof Fence
Hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze in a few more. I may even break down and pay the $13 to see Auto Focus and Bloody Sunday, though I suspect they are already sold out like Bowling for Columbine and Punch-Drunk Love were. I'll have some comments about Evelyn, the Fest's opening night movie starring Pierce Brosnan up tomorrow, along with a description of each of the movies listed above. If you've seen any of the movies that are playing here in Chicago, or actually plan to see some of the movies at the Festival, I'd love to hear (and post) your thoughts.
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I spoke too soon back on 9/25 when I reported how excited I was about my Chicago Film Fest schedule. My 18-movie pass was going to get me into such highly-anticipated movies (by me, anyway) as Auto Focus, Bowling for Columbine, Punch-Drunk Love and Bloody Sunday. I guess I failed to read the part that said my pass wouldn't get me in to movies that are "Critics Choices" and "Special Presentations" -- in other words, all of the movies I really want to see! I suppose I can't blame anyone by myself, but I can still argue it's incredibly lame of the organizers to expect patrons to buy passes for every movie BUT the best ones in the schedule. Don't get me wrong, however, I'm still pretty pumped about all of the movies I plan to see and review over the next week-and-a-half. Below is my schedule (subject to change, of course):
Wed, Oct. 9 - All Or Nothing
Thurs, Oct. 10 - Roger Dodger
Fri, Oct. 11 - Tribute
Sat, Oct. 12 - Only The Strong Survive
Mon, Oct. 15 - The Dancer Upstairs
Wed, Oct. 16 - Rabbit-Proof Fence
Hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze in a few more. I may even break down and pay the $13 to see Auto Focus and Bloody Sunday, though I suspect they are already sold out like Bowling for Columbine and Punch-Drunk Love were. I'll have some comments about Evelyn, the Fest's opening night movie starring Pierce Brosnan up tomorrow, along with a description of each of the movies listed above. If you've seen any of the movies that are playing here in Chicago, or actually plan to see some of the movies at the Festival, I'd love to hear (and post) your thoughts.
Monday, October 07, 2002
NOT YET ENTERED THE DRAGON - With the Chicago Film Festival kicking off last Friday -- I'll have some thoughts on the opening night tribute to Pierce Brosnan and his new movie, Evelyn, posted tomorrow -- plus assorted family commitments, I wasn't able to see the #1 movie in the country ($37.5), Red Dragon, this past weekend. In fact, since I am currently slated to see a different movie every night this week -- more on that tomorrow as well -- I may not get to see the Manhunter re-make/Silence of the Lambs prequel until next Sunday. On Rotten Tomatoes, 79 out of 117 critics have given it a favorable review, which doesn't surprise me much because the past few months...oh hell, the whole year for movies has been pretty bleak. Roger Ebert gives it 3 1/2 stars without ever really providing any substantial, persuasive reasons why. I suppose the most major disses would come from Elvis Mitchell in the NY Times and Michael Atkinson in the Village Voice. Both critics take a similar tack, denouncing the latest Hannibal Lecter effort as formulaic and overblown."
"Just when you think the picture can't go any farther over the top, it finds a whole new peak to tumble over."
-- Elvis Mitchell
"Red Dragon's formula is so risible and rote by now that the natural reaction to scenes of peril, torture, and suffering is flippant laughter."
-- Michael Atkinson
Online critics Stephanie Zacharek and David Edelstein -- from competing zines Salon and Slate, respectively -- also take a similar approach in their negative reviews, which is to compare it to Manhunter, Michael Mann's 1986 version of the Thomas Harris novel. I know I probably mention Edelstein way too much, but other than The New Republic's Stanley Kauffman, I don't think there's a more intelligent, insightful critic around. His Red Dragon review is actually more a review of Manhunter because he spends so much time praising it. A couple of his points caught my attention.
1) Edelstein suggests, as I did back on 8/7 (He's No William Petersen), that Ed Norton might be a little too young to play Agent Will Graham: "Graham is now Edward Norton, who can be a good, nervy actor, but whose gangly, boy-scout demeanor and reedy tenor don't begin to suggest the profiler's unsavory depths. When Hopkins purrs, "You caught me because we're very much alike," it seems as if Lecter is deranged: He has zero in common with this Gomer Pyle. The same line in Manhunter was palpably true: Cox and Petersen had the same morbid sadness, and so did Tom Noonan as the killer."
2) "Few movies open as disturbingly as Manhunter," Edelstein says. And he is dead-on. "The camera—to the accompaniment of a droning synthesizer—follows the beam of a flashlight through a dark house, up a staircase, to a bedroom where a couple lies asleep. The beam falls on the woman, who tosses briefly, then sits up and stares into the harsh light—whereupon the image, mercifully, goes black. This is, of course, the trek of Dolarhyde, who will slaughter the family in that house; but it could also be the vision of Petersen's Graham as he relives the night of carnage while staring at crime-scene glossies and bloodstained chalk-outlines. They're on the same eerie wavelength."
I have to say, this opening freaked me out, as did many images in Manhunter, when I finally saw it about a year ago. It was terrifying for the same reason Silence was, and the same reason Hannibal wasn't -- the real terror is left to your imagination. Throughout Silence I was just waiting for Lecter to get his chance to rip into somebody's flesh and sure enough, when he finally does bite into a prison guard, director Jonathan Demme was smart enough to cut. Whatever atrocious acts Lecter was committing, I was experiencing in my mind; I didn't need to see him actually do it. Compare this to, say, Ridley Scott's brain buffet in Hannibal. I have a few more thoughts on Red Dragon, but have to cut this short. More tomorrow.
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"Just when you think the picture can't go any farther over the top, it finds a whole new peak to tumble over."
-- Elvis Mitchell
"Red Dragon's formula is so risible and rote by now that the natural reaction to scenes of peril, torture, and suffering is flippant laughter."
-- Michael Atkinson
Online critics Stephanie Zacharek and David Edelstein -- from competing zines Salon and Slate, respectively -- also take a similar approach in their negative reviews, which is to compare it to Manhunter, Michael Mann's 1986 version of the Thomas Harris novel. I know I probably mention Edelstein way too much, but other than The New Republic's Stanley Kauffman, I don't think there's a more intelligent, insightful critic around. His Red Dragon review is actually more a review of Manhunter because he spends so much time praising it. A couple of his points caught my attention.
1) Edelstein suggests, as I did back on 8/7 (He's No William Petersen), that Ed Norton might be a little too young to play Agent Will Graham: "Graham is now Edward Norton, who can be a good, nervy actor, but whose gangly, boy-scout demeanor and reedy tenor don't begin to suggest the profiler's unsavory depths. When Hopkins purrs, "You caught me because we're very much alike," it seems as if Lecter is deranged: He has zero in common with this Gomer Pyle. The same line in Manhunter was palpably true: Cox and Petersen had the same morbid sadness, and so did Tom Noonan as the killer."
2) "Few movies open as disturbingly as Manhunter," Edelstein says. And he is dead-on. "The camera—to the accompaniment of a droning synthesizer—follows the beam of a flashlight through a dark house, up a staircase, to a bedroom where a couple lies asleep. The beam falls on the woman, who tosses briefly, then sits up and stares into the harsh light—whereupon the image, mercifully, goes black. This is, of course, the trek of Dolarhyde, who will slaughter the family in that house; but it could also be the vision of Petersen's Graham as he relives the night of carnage while staring at crime-scene glossies and bloodstained chalk-outlines. They're on the same eerie wavelength."
I have to say, this opening freaked me out, as did many images in Manhunter, when I finally saw it about a year ago. It was terrifying for the same reason Silence was, and the same reason Hannibal wasn't -- the real terror is left to your imagination. Throughout Silence I was just waiting for Lecter to get his chance to rip into somebody's flesh and sure enough, when he finally does bite into a prison guard, director Jonathan Demme was smart enough to cut. Whatever atrocious acts Lecter was committing, I was experiencing in my mind; I didn't need to see him actually do it. Compare this to, say, Ridley Scott's brain buffet in Hannibal. I have a few more thoughts on Red Dragon, but have to cut this short. More tomorrow.
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