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phrogXIX
Reviews
Domestic Disturbance (2001)
Great actors.... great director... what happened here?!
Every now and then, a movie amazes me by completely missing the potential sum of it's parts. Domestic Disturbance is the perfect example. Vince Vaughn, who started out rocky in this reviewer's opinion by taking part in the b**tardization that was the the Psycho remake, has redeemed himself in recent times with a great lead in The Cell and a humorous cameo in the bizarre Zoolander. John Travolta, who can be forgiven Battlefield Earth simply by watching Pulp Fiction or Face/Off again, is one of today's great, versatile actors, and a darn likeable guy onscreen to boot, even when playing the baddest of the bad. And, I must admit, I am a huge Steve Buscemi mark. If there is a movie with this quirky, entertaining actor in it, I am sold. Having seen both Malice and City Hall going in, I felt these parts would be combined perfectly under skillful directorship. I was so incredibly wrong and disappointed.
First off, the score to Domestic Disturbance is superb. If a score was released (which I haven't seen) I would purchase it. Big kudos there. Sadly, from the beautiful music and interesting title sequence, the movie, if slowly, slips towards mediocrity and bore.
We are introduced to John Travolta's character, a fun, likeable boat builder who is divorced and has a child who lives with his ex-wife. His ex-wife is a cardboard cut-out character sadly... falling head over heels with no visible reasoning for Vaughn's slick smooth character, who in two years has become the pillar of the community. Why she has fallen for this guy, who acts controlling and suspicious in almost every scene he is in is beyond me, and apparently beyond the writer, who fails to bother with a backstory.
Travolta, likewise has a new flame who we see all of twice, once while she's leaving to make him oh-so-more desperate in a movie cliche as old as time. But let's get down to it... Buscemi's character is killed in short order by Vaughn, and is witnessed by his new stepson who is hiding out in his truck... because he hates him and wanted to see his dad. Make sense? I didn't think so. It's explained away later as Vaughn's spoken destination was supposedly near Travolta's place... plot convenient improbabilty makes me ill, doesn't it make you ill?
So, in a rushed and poorly thought out middle, Travolta gets drunk, investigates alot and turns up that, well my oh my: Vaughn isn't the good guy we thought. They confront each other... and I won't tell you the ending, but bear in mind, this movie is one fat ugly cliche and Travolta is the good guy. Figure it out.
Insert a lot of very uncomfortable sequences involving threatening a child , borderline abusing a child and there you have Domestic Disturbance.
Remember that really interesting fight in the water sequence you saw in the trailer? Not in the movie. The scene where Vaughn offers Travolta a share if he lets him go? Not in the movie. Hell, I think all of the interesting scenes were edited, yet still used for the trailer! I can only conclude that this movie is a victim of edits and revamps... most likely by studio heads. The pieces don't add up here, and I can't believe that all this talent turned out such a horrible, cliched, run of the mill, ugly film. And that's what I was thinking as I shook my head and left the theater, wondering what the point of it all was. There was no message, no moral point, nothing... no suprises, no interesting viewpoints, nothing.... just a movie about a stepfather who kills people and hurts a small child, only to be thwarted by a cardboard cut out that looks like John Travolta....
Where did I put that copy of Pulp Fiction....hmmm....
Jurassic Park III (2001)
Significantly better than the second, as well as most of the summer "blockbusters"....
After the entirely disappointing Jurassic Park: The Lost World (which, while not entirely bad, reached the point of goofy by the end), this movie is a refreshing return to many of the things that made the original so good. Spooky atmosphere, great dinosaur effects, and a rather simple, yet involving story all draw you in. The movie is indeed short, yet too much film can be just that. Any longer and the movie would've outgrown what it is, a thrill ride from start to finish. Joe Johnston, who did great work with Jumanji, really takes the movie and runs with it, and one really has to admire the filmmaking. In a world of movie cliches (which the end thankfully doesn't cave into) and drawn out action films trying to be something they aren't, Johnston has trimmed the fat, making JP3 a action-packed machine of a summer popcorn movie, and a movie that leaves you begging for more. If Johnston wants to do another one, I'd actually welcome it.
The Corndog Man (1999)
Racism gets a kick in the face like never before
In modern movie making, an unfortunate trend has surfaced. In order to keep people interested in a film, too much of the story is given away right away, due to lack of ability to properly develop characters in a subtle fashion. And this may be why Corndog Man receives rather mixed reviews. In reality, Corndog Man is a skillful work which purposely doesn't portray Ace Barker, our main character, as an evil man or a vicious one for a purpose. This is a work not only about the torture of an evil man, but about the difficulty to pin evil on him. Wonderful acting and plot development make you somewhat sympathetic for Ace, as his life is shredded, because you don't know why it's happening until the end. It's a quick reversal when your emotions see the truth, an all too common feeling in real life when things and people aren't as they originally seem. Not too often does a movie properly invoke real reactions. Yes, the sound of a phone ringing does tempt one to pull out some hair, but all in all it's worth it. My highest recommendations for Corndog Man.