City of God

Harsh reality in full bloom. The violence can seem excessive, but watch the documentary feature in the included "extras", and you'll realize that what is portrayed here is true to life. One scene involving a child no older than 10 staring down the barrel of a gun wielded by one of his friends was so devastating I had to fast-forward past it. You won't forget the look on the boy's face. There is hope to be found within the film, but it must be emphasized that the hope is buried in the midst of a terrible darkness.


Written 6/4/07

The Wages of Fear

Extremely disappointing. The two main characters we're forced to follow are detestable. Watching them berate each other and one repeatedly brutalize his girlfriend was a miserable experience. Sure, the opening half-hour drips with tension, and the action sequences on the long and treacherous truck ride are compelling, but even at this late stage of the film not one character had earned my compassion (scratch that: one had, but he's snuffed out of the picture soon enough). The ending is excessive tragedy. The black and white print is lovely to look at, but it will be a challenge to fix your eyes on such loathsome creatures for over two hours.


Written 6/4/07

Grease

Nothing I say will change anyone's mind about "Grease". I'm sure you've made up your mind already. There are some undeniably fun moments in this top-grossing movie musical of all time. At least half the songs are excellent. Unfortunately, there are 3 or 4 ballads that do not merit inclusion. These inhibit the pacing of the film and watching the actors deliver them is a torturous ordeal. If you want to hang out with manic, horny teenagers for an hour and a half, then watch "Grease". 

The Deer Hunter

This is the first mainstream Hollywood picture to present a dissonant take on U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Robert De Niro is excellent in the lead role. Christopher Walken won the Best Supporting Actor award for his work here. He is worthy of it, too. Meryl Streep is luminous here, appearing in only her second film. Unfortunately, the story is lacking. The latter half of the film is overly reliant on Russian Roulette set pieces. This is unfortunate. The Vietnam War provides plenty drama - there is no need to add this artificial, heavy-handed element. People squaring off across a table from one another, revolvers in hand again and again, gets to be too much. The last half-hour of the film is particularly miserable. Things feels forced. The premise of "The Deer Hunter" is good - this is a film that needed to be made, with a point of view that needed to be heard - but the execution is unsatisfying.

Winnebago Man

Former pitchman Jack Rebney is a cult figure well known for his explicit tirades and seeming meltdown on a shoot for a Winnebago infomercial. Footage of him reaching his breaking point has been circulated for decades. In the Internet age of streaming video he is more viewed than ever. Who is Jack Rebney? What's the story behind that fateful infomercial shoot? Does he realize that he is "famous"? Does he care? This resulting documentary is solid, though unspectacular. We learn more of Rebney's back story and get to know him in older age. He's mellowed. Or has he? 

Casino Royale

Casino Royale is a brilliant action movie. Normally, I'm not a big fan of films of this genre, but this one kept me enthralled from start to finish. Daniel Craig imbues his "Bond" with a simmering, almost humorless, intensity. Craig commits himself to this character and should impress any Bond fan who doubted his casting.


Written 5/30/07

The Queen

This film is a compelling portrait of a period of crisis for the British monarchy. However, there are two elements of the film that compel me to rate it at 3, rather than 4 stars. The queen's up-close encounter with a buck is ridiculous. We viewers are to believe that encountering such a creature in the wild forces the queen to reconsider her view of Princess Diana. "You're beautiful", the queen murmurs to the buck, slowly understanding how unique, rare, and, yes - beautiful Diana was herself. This sequence struck me as silly and over-reaching. Second, Tony Blair's wife is portrayed as an exceedingly negative witch. Presenting a living public figure so one-dimensionally is careless filmmaking. Mrs. Blair could not have been pleased with her on-screen counterpart. Helen Mirren is, of course, excellent.


Written 5/26/07