Everyone Says I Love You

A depressed neurotic expatriate (Woody Allen) romances a beautiful fellow American (Julia Roberts) in Venice with inside information through his daughter from her psychoanalyst while his ex-wife (Goldie Hawn) and current husband (Alan Alda) and the rest of their sprawling family frolic in New York City while falling in and out of love. The usual Allen fare musicalized to old standards, Everyone Says I Love You is too unfocused, light, and scattered but often very funny. Highlights include specters singing during a wake, Goldie and Woody’s elegant number along the Seine, and the closing Marx Brothers masquerade.

*** out of ****

The Crucible

Vendettas, paranoia, personal interests, and mass hysteria rule the day in colonial Salem when rumors of witchcraft start circulating the village with a young, calculating girl (Winona Ryder) and her brood of posturing "victims" leading the mass accusations against residents, her aim to remove the wife (Joan Allen) of her former employer (Daniel Day-Lewis), a noble farmer who once fell prey to her advances and must summon the courage to stop this grave injustice. With Arthur Miller writing the script to his own seminal play (which again has relevance regarding today's media) some 40 years on, The Crucible is well-set and properly cast but nonetheless a tone-deaf treatment, even largely so in the Day-Lewis performance, but is truly worth the price of admission just to witness Paul Scofield's supporting turn as the cold and esteemed inquisitor.

** 1/2 out of ****

Secrets & Lies

A broken London family, including a well-to-do, people pleasing middle class photographer (Timothy Spall), his barren, melancholic wife (Phyllis Logan), his emotionally unbalanced, project housed single parent sister (Brenda Blethyn) and her miserable daughter (Claire Rushbrook), reaches a catharsis when a black optometrist (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) enters their lives, claiming to be the abandoned daughter of the sister. Lengthy and deliberate Mike Leigh effort is emotional and involving with a tremendous cast (really every principle performance is top caliber) and punctuated by sublime moments of revelation and welcomed detours. Spall's culminating speech is both beautiful and transcendent.

**** out of ****

When We Were Kings

Leon Gast's behind the scenes look at "The Rumble in the Jungle," the storied 1974 Ali/Foreman Zaire based title fight which features supreme footage, some funny, some just strange, with great fight clips and fantastic editing. Norman Mailer and George Plimpton's subjective commentary is a plus.

*** 1/2 out of ****

The Cable Guy

A disturbed and needy cable installer (Jim Carrey) relentlessly insinuates himself into the life of one of his customers (Matthew Broderick). After being maligned upon its initial release and although this black comedy clearly doesn't know where it wants to go, The Cable Guy holds up very well and is consistently funny, a marvel when put against today's studio comedies. Carrey is such a gifted comic, even if his bizarre schtick wasn't appreciated at first. The Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller (who directs) cameos are highlights.
*** 1/2 out of ****

Marvin's Room

A lonely spinster (Diane Keaton) who has cared for her infirmed father (Hume Cronyn) for many years is given a leukemia diagnosis. Reluctantly she calls her estranged sister in Ohio (Meryl Streep), a single mother whose mentally unstable son (Leonardo DiCaprio) has just torched their home,  to travel to Florida to perform the necessary tests. When the boy does in fact prove to be a match, the newly formed, distinctive bond between nephew and aunt reopens old wounds between the sisters and gradually leads them down the path of conciliation. From Scott McPherson’s play, Marvin’s Room is  warmhearted and funny, a unique take on both the disease and dysfunctional family movie. Keaton and Streep are outstanding, Leo shines in an amusing and challenging role, and Robert De Niro, Dan Hedaya, and especially Gwen Verdon are hilarious in supporting performances.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Fargo

To lift himself out of debt and remove the oppressive thumb of his domineering father-in-law, car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) travels from Minneapolis to the titular North Dakota locale to meet with two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) who will help him hatch a foolproof kidnapping scheme. When blood is unexpectedly and senselessly shed, a tenacious and very pregnant small town detective (Frances McDormand) picks up its trail and follows its tragic lengths. Fargo is among the richest movies I know, with the Coen brothers keeping the keenest eye for detail while presenting a top notch thriller, an uproarious comedy, and even something weightier all wrapped up in the same icy package. The film is expertly cast with McDormand and Macy turning in career performamces, Buscemi and Stormare unforgettable as inept and mindless baddies, and every other single character chosen with the utmost care.

**** out of ****

The Battle Over Citizen Kane

When William Randolph Hearst caught wind that RKO's boy wonder Orson Welles had chosen for his first feature film to tell the life story of a fictional newspaper magnate who gains the world but loses his soul, Hearst sought to destroy all copies of the film, was nearly successful, and actually did succeed in stifling Kane's initial blockbuster success. What Hearst didn't know, was that Welles' film was as much of a reflection of his own life as it was a sharp jab at the all-powerful media tycoon. The Battle Over Citizen Kane is really just separate biographies of these two larger than life personalities which draws fascinating comparisons between both while telling their compelling stories through the use of excellent stock footage, documentary technique, and guest commentators knowledgeable in relation to both megalomaniacs. 

The Way West/The West

In the mid-90s, PBS premiered two unremarkable documentaries on Westward Expansion, the first entitled The Way West by Ric Burns, the second simply called The West, which was more or less an extension presented by his brother Ken under the direction of Stephen Ives. Ric Burn's film is extremely dismal and grows redundant while focusing almost exclusively on the Indian Wars and receives little help from its uninspired cast and vapid contributors. Ives' followup casts a bigger net and generates more interest but is still dreary, repetitive, and somewhat disappointing considering the  inherent allure of its topic. 

Flirting with Disaster

After the birth of his first child, a New Yorker (Ben Stiller) undergoes an identity crisis and feels the need to go on a search for his birth parents, much to the dismay of his adoptive guardians (George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore) and his patient wife (Patricia Arquette). After an inquest with many false leads and additions to their growing caravan, which also includes a sexy social worker (Tea Leoni) and two gay federal agents (Richard Jenkins and Josh Brolin), he finally arrives at the home of his birth parents (Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin), two drug dealing hippies living out in the Arizona desert. Flirting with Disaster was David O. Russell's second feature, a farcical comedy with mixed results. It feels ways over-the-top at times and is funny in spurts (Glenn Fitzgerald is a hoot as Stiller's new found brother) and I appreciated the film most for the comic sensibilities of its veteran cast members.

Blood and Wine

Deeply in debt, a Florida wine dealer (Jack Nicholson) plots with his steamy Cuban girlfriend (Jennifer Lopez) and depraved safe cracking partner (Michael Caine) to rip off one of his clients. When his suspicious alcoholic wife (Judy Davis) and stepson (Stephen Dorff) are brought into the fold, the affair takes a quick and deadly turn. In "Blood and Wine", Nicholson reunited with Bob Rafelson, a familiar collaborator, for this cleverly plotted crime thriller, where you can feel the noir emulation running in the film's blood. The film does turn relentlessly ugly and strangely, Nicholson and Caine's scenes together aren't quite as entertaining as you'd expect (Jack is way over the top). The film is also seriously diminished by Dorff's abysmal performance, with Davis and Lopez (who is incredibly sexy here) not really working either.

Hamlet

Kenneth Branagh's 1996 adaptation, which he wrote, directed and starred as the much maligned Danish prince was and remains the only unabbreviated film version of William Shakespeare's great play. Shot in grand and gorgeous 65mm film stock, the last film to be done so prior to "The Master", the production also features, alongside Branagh's own commanding and very impressive performance, a slew of fine portrayals from the esteemed likes of Richard Attenborough, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet, and Billy Crystal to name a few. Branagh's "Hamlet" is both a sumptuous filmization and, for someone not familiar with the material, proves an excellent introduction and piqued my interest for further exploration of the classic.

Prime Suspect

Prime Suspect 7: The Last Act (2006)
On the cusp of retirement, Jane draws the case of a missing teenager which she refuses to let go until the killer is brought justice. Simultaneously fraught with personal strife, including her father's illness and her own alcoholism, Jane becomes drawn to a young girl central to the case, a smart and fiercely independent sort that reminds her of herself. With "The Last Act", Prime Suspect and star Helen Mirren go out on a high note, one that could have been a masterful one had it not been for some tacky plot choices, the kind of which have marred other episodes in this series. It goes without saying that Dame Mirren is excellent once more here, and its superfluous that I'm even stating so.  Director Philip Martin does an excellent job directing, which sort of continues the new style employed by Tom Hooper in the previous outing. There is also a really nice touch in the return of series veteran Tom Bell (who died before release and to whom this installment is dedicated) and his prickly, chauvinistic chief inspector. In closing, Prime Suspect was a series that both revolutionized the modern crime series while also inspiring the cliched, unworthy elements that plague it today. In also never featured anything less than perfection from its inimitable star.
*** 1/2

Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness (2003)
Jane once again finds herself bucking her superiors, who now try to force her into retirement, as she investigates the murder of Bosnian refugee, leading her on a journey to the Balkans and a ruthless war criminal. The sixth entry is the Prime Suspect series doesn't break any new ground as far as material is concerned, and follows the same blueprints as its predecessors, but is notable for the exceptional direction of Tom Hooper, who brings his distinct visual style to the series. Of course, Helen Mirren is excellent once again, following a long gap since the previous installment.
***

Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgement (1996)
Jane has been reassigned to a high crime district, but is being underused in her commission as a community liaison officer. When an aboveboard drug execution presents itself, she sees it as an opportunity to impress her commander. Things, of course, are not as straightforward as they seem, and the lead suspect proves extra wily and it soon becomes apparent there is a mole in the police department. "Prime Suspect 5" is more of the same with Helen Mirren carrying the rest of the overwrought and routine affair. An engaging supporting performance from Steven Mackintosh as the mad dog suspect help keep things in order as well.
** 1/2


Prime Suspect 4 (1995)
Part I - The Lost Child
Part II - Inner Circles
Part III - Scent of Darkness
The fourth series of "Prime Suspect" is divided into three sub-parts, with Jane working three independent cases. The first part is entitled "The Lost Child" and deals with the search for a missing child and a rush to judgement based on a prior sexual history. "Inner Circles" details the investigation into the murder of a bereft country club manager which leads to a scandal involving a housing complex. The final segment, "Scent of Darkness" follows Jane as a copycat murderer causes her to reopen the file for the case depicted on "Prime Suspect 1". Although Helen Mirren is quite good once again here, the redundant formulas have become glaring where a suspect is identified while Jane is harrassed who goes on to identify the correct perpetrator, usually the most ludicrous person imaginable. And still, "PS4" is nonetheless entertaining with Mirren standing triumphant at the center.
***


Prime Suspect 3 (1993)

Jane has transferred to head a vice squadron where the murder of a young male prostitute leads to a child sex ring implicating a devious sex solicitor, a transvestite, a seemingly noble head of a youth center, and possibly a disgraced recently retired police captain. The third installment in the "Prime Suspect" series is steeped in histrionics and replete with irritating gay stereotypes as well as outdated gay themes, yet it still remains an intricate and powerful series, with Helen Mirren continuing to lead the way with her dazzling knockout performance. I also appreciated the plotting here, and how you can't exactly pin down the plot or foresee where its going. Additions to the cast are strong as well which include David Thewlis, Ciaran Hinds, and Mark Strong, as well as the return of Tom Bell who appeared in the first installment and deftly again plays that oily character. Though maybe not quite on par on the first two entries, "Prime Suspect 3" continues to set the bar for quality television criminal procedurals.

*** 1/2

Prime Suspect 2 (1992)

As racial tensions gather over accusations of police brutality, Chief Inspector Tennison has earned the respect of her peers when a decomposed corpse is found in the backyard of a black neighborhood. To make matters more complicated, a black detective whom Tennison has had a fling with is brought over to work the case for PC reasons. "Prime Suspect 2" is a fine followup to the groundbreaking British series. Helen Mirren is as towering, excellent, and believable as ever and the incendiary plot plays out extremely well (although I though they didn't play fair with the identity of the perpetrator). "Prime Suspect 2" is a gritty and engaging film continuing the trend from its predecessor.

*** 1/2

Prime Suspect (1991)

Police procedurals have always been a standard on television, but especially today crime shows, particularly grisly forensic oriented crime programs, are dominating the airwaves. With the Prime Suspect, an excellent British series revolving around a criminal investigation, we see the bar being set for modern shows of the same nature, few of which succeed in meeting it. In a dynamic performance from Helen Mirren, we follow her character Jane Tennyson, a London investigator who has been passed over for promotion two many times due to her sex. When the beloved lead detective on a brutal homicide has a heart attack and dies, it is finally her chance to head an investigation. As things begin to point in a different direction than the original detective was heading, and the case begins to widen, she faces hostility from her colleagues both out of loyalty to the deceased and shear sexism. "Prime Suspect" functions excellently on several levels: as an investigatory program, as a character study, as an examination of sexism in the workplace, and finally as study of how bureaucracy places barricades in the way of a successful police investigation. Mirren here demonstrates her unmatched abilities as an actress and again the fact that they don't make women like her anymore as she demonstrates grit, determination, and elegance. Also making early acting appearances in the movie are Tom Wilkinson as her husband and Ralph Fiennes in a small part. "Prime Suspect" is a fine example of an intelligent cop movie that many modern ones could learn from.

*** 1/2

Bottle Rocket

A highly organized neurotic (Owne Wilson) convinces his two friends (Luke Wilson, Robert Musgrave) to rob a book store and then lam at an out of the way hotel in a desolate part of Texas. There while one of the friends falls in love with a kindly maid (Lumi Cavazos), the criminal mastermind plots with a local crime boss (James Caan) for their next big score. "Bottle Rocket" is the amusing and flighty directorial debut from Wes Anderson, which he cowrote with Owen Wilson, who shines in the lead role as the socially challenged Dignan. I've never found his brother Luke to be in possession of the same charismatic charm, and this also premier film debut is no exception. "Bottle Rocket" tends to wander and its material is not very demanding, but it is pleasant and humorous in that particular whimsical way which Anderson would develop and cultivate over the years.

note: On the Criterion DVD, you can view the original "Bottle Rocket" short also featuring Anderson and the Wilson brothers. Made in 199, it is basically a 12 minute black and white microcosm of the film.

The English Patient

Reeling from the harrows of battle and the loss of yet another one of her friends, a Canadian nurse stationed in Italy during World War II decides to remain behind at a bombed out, abandoned monastery with a badly burned, unidentified soldier. Given the title moniker due to his accent, the patient's amnesia gradually reveals his identity as a Hungarian Count and the events, including a doomed affair with his coworker's wife, that led to his current predicament. "The English Patient" is a sumptuous and strange film that magnificiently weaves its story in a manner that dies any and all traditional romantic storytelling modes. Made by the late and vastly underrated Anthony Minghella, adapting himself from Michael Ondaatje's novel, he manages to capture the sweep of the material while striking at the heart of the character's including their tenuous moral choices. Ralph Fiennes is excellent in the title role, playing the Count both in the past and as the present burnt specimen. Kristin Scott Thomas is great also, playing the wife of Fienne's coworker, with whom he has an ill-fated love affair. Also Juliette Binoche is absolutely splendid as the sweet but worn nurse who nurse Fiennes back to health. Rounding out the cast, Willem Dafoe, Colin Firth, and Lost's Naveen Andrews all have memorable bits. "The English Patient" is a well rounded and moving romance, reaches and attains so much more than we've come to expect from the genre.

Bound

An ex-convict and self-sufficient lesbian (Gina Gershon) secures a job renovating an apartment next door to a vicious, mid level mobester (Joe Pantoliano) and his sultry moll (Jennifer Tilly), to whom she shares a fiery and mutual attraction. After spending the night together, the two women determine to lift the 2 million dollars the gangster has stashed in his digs as part of a separate deal, leading them down a twisty and harrowing night of violence and desperation. Before the Wachowksi's fashioned their immensively successful Matrix trilogy, they debuted with this sleek and seriously sexy, gut wrenching noir that became famous for its sex scene, but succeeds at being so much more. Gershon and Tilly dazzle in the lead roles who are not only libidinous but are also tough and competent. Pantoliano nearly walks away with the entire show as the psychotic gangster, in a role that had to of guaranteed his casting on "The Sopranos". With "Bound", the Wachowski's disproved that these kind of B-pictures need to be schlocky, excessive, and artless and proves that they can certainly rise above themselves.

The Paradise Lost Films

In May of 1993, the mutilated bodies of three young children were found in the woods near Robin Hood Hills of West Memphis, Arkansas and soon thereafter three teen aged boys were charged with the murder. Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky began documenting the case, offering time to both the victim's family as well as the accused and, as the case began to take the national spotlight, it becomes clear that this is no straightforward prosecution. As questionable police interrogation techniques surface, circumstantial evidence is used by the prosecution, and an overzealous stepfather to one of the victims begins hoarding the spotlight, a great doubt is a cast over the accused's guilt. (Spoilers) Beginning with "The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills" in 1996, returning six later in visit the West Memphis 3 in prison and get updates from the participants in "Revelations", and finally with their release in the latest installment entitled "Purgatory", Berlinger and Sinofsky use the medium of film to present a gross miscarriage of justice and to call into question the justice system and how our prejudices affect our judgement. The "Paradise Lost" films are a surreal and powerful look at a harrowing case, which also can come off as manipulative and self-promoting. At times, even the filmmakers areguilty of bearing the same kind of prejudice which led to the conviction of its subjects. Still, Berlinger and Sinofsky have a great eye for this kind of filmmaking and it is the small details, such as one of the defendants combing his hair before appearing on the stand or people laughing before giving serious interviews to news cameras, that give these films such power. Beginning with the grisly murders, it would have been impossible to see where this case led and in spite of some questionable practices of their own, Berlinger and Sinofsky have crafted a heartbreaking look at a tragic event rocking a small town, that speaks volumes about our justice system and our prejudices.

Crash

A TV directer living a devoid life and seeking other arenas of sexual stimulation finds it following a serious car crash which leaves him severely injured. Meeting a man posing as a hospital photographer, the director and his likewise dissatisfied wife are led to an underworld comprised of people who attain arousal through their experiences with automobile accidents. David Cronenberg's controversial 1996 film (not to be confused with the 2005 Best Picture winner) is an alternately fascinating and dull look as sexual deviancy where the material is not as lurid nor sexy as one would expect. The cast, which includes James Spader, Holly Hunter, and Elias Koteas asssume risky roles, ignite the screen during the more intriguing scenes, and help propel the film during duller stretches. "Crash" is neither incendiary nor provocative, things one would expect of a film with its reputation and NC-17 rating. It is, however, somewhat successful in its brooding, laconic way.

Citizen Ruth

Ruth turns her latest trick and is tossed out in the cold, wrongly thinking she had a place to stay for the night. After bashing the john's headlights in, she heads to her brother's house (who is fathering one of her many children) to borrow, buys a can of paint, and proceeds to huff it in the alley on the side of of the store. She gets picked up for the umpteenth time and while in jail discovers she is pregnant once again. Behind close doors, the judge in the case offers leniency if she will terminate the pregnancy, and word of this gets out. Soon, Ruth will be the center of attention in the abortion debate, first on the side of the Pro-Lifers, then on the side of Choice. By drawing his heroine as an ignorant wench with no political thought whatsoever, Alexander Payne uses her as a device by which to lampoon the abortion issue on both sides, as well as bipartisan politics in general. "Citizen Ruth" was director Payne's and cowriter Jim Taylor's debut film, and it contains many of the elements that made their subsequent so warm, humanistic, realistic, and honest. This is a stinging satire that does its best to be objective, although I think they are drawn more towards one side than most reviewers would leave you to believe. The problem with the film however lies in Laura Dern's performance. Although she gives it a gutsy go, she is way to manic and loathsome for us to draw even the slightest sympathy for. "Citizen Ruth" is alternately funny and hard going, and is best viewed as a preview of the great work Payne and Taylor would compose down the line.

Looking for Richard

Richard III is the most performed of all of Shakespeare's works and yet it is a very complex and challenging work that many are unfamiliar with. In "Looking for Richard", Al Pacino examines the play as well as attitudes towards The Bard in America. At the same time, Pacino tries to stage a production of Richard III and while we are shown scenes from the play, we are given a dissection of the scene from Pacino himself, his actors, and various experts on the works of William Shakespeare. Pacino's directorial debut is a fascinating pseudo-documentary that is replete with so many thoughts, insights, and philosophical analyses. Pacino is captivating as he takes us through the play and helps us understand the tale of a deformed, heartless, and power hungry man, as are the many famous faces who also offer acumen such as John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Alec Baldwin, and Kevin Spacey. I don't mean this as a criticism, because I loved how the film was presented as a juxtaposition, but I would have liked to see the film version of the play as a whole, as Pacino is very captivating indeed as Richard III. "Looking for Richard" is not only an informative film but it is also an example of how to make an intriguing documentary, an art that is lost on many documentarians working today.