wsanders Reviews

Andrei Rublev (1966)

I can see the greatness

[7/10 · 11 January 2008]

You must be patient to appreciate the greatness in this film. It's long, but portions of it are as majestic as any film even made, there is some astonishing camera work, and, yes, some of it is trademark Tarkovsky, ponderous and with seemingly superfluous imagery and dialogue.

I like "Solaris" more (in fact is one of my favorites), if only because the bafflement of the characters in "Solaris" at the alien presence is more perfectly matched in that film to Tarkovsky's often baffling style. But if "Roublev" is your favorite movie, I'm not going to argue with you. Roublev's, his brethren filmmakers', and, occasionally our own, struggle to create great things speaks powerfully from this film.

Oliver Twist (2005)

Dickens own holocaust

[8/10 · 19 November 2006]

I couldn't help recognizing all the parallels in style between OT and "The Pianist", almost as if the "The Pianist" was the grownup version of the same story, using the same sets and crew. Dickens was witness to England's own holocaust; young children were routinely hanged for trivial crimes, and eventually the English got fed up and simply began transporting them to Australia. Dickens took no small part in these reforms.

For Dickens fanboys, the movie might be a travesty, but all adaptations are travesties, ask any author except those writing with selling their book to Hollywood in mind. The conventions of the time forced Dickens to tell his story in a different way, with plenty of space for diversions and side plots. Were Dickens around now, think of a combination of Garrison Keillor and Bono, I think he'd reluctantly approve, with the same reservations as any author would on seeing their baby stripped down and pimped up for Hollywood. But Polanski's treatment (and Ben Kingsley's funny and tragic Fagin) preserves the humor, tragedy, brutality, and call for reform in proportion to the novel. his is not Masterpiece Theatre, with 12 hours of screen time, you can only cram part of the story and characters into a two hour picture. This is a tribute to the core of the story, viewed though the eyes of one who has witnessed a Holocaust of even greater magnitude. I consider it a faithful adaptation.

Cast Away (2000)

What went wrong?

[3/10 · 19 August 2006]

What, exactly, went horribly awry in this film? Was it the hideously inappropriate corporate product placement? Was it the studious solemnity of Tom Hank's performance, and the resulting uncomfortable laughter at dental procedures and love for volleyball? The sheer obviousness of the film's attempts to grab at our heartstrings? Was the ending much admired in France? The whole caboodle looked great "on paper" I am sure. Robinson Crusoe! Rip van Winkle! Tom Hanks! Somewhere, in committee, were the makings of something that looked fine, yet, in its execution, went terribly wrong. No discredit to Broyles or Hanks, but the rest is left at as an exercise for film students and fans - excellent fodder for - what the heck happened with this? Like a fine wine, corked.

The Aviator (2004)

Brilliant and Eccentric

[8/10 · 2 January 2006]

I was expecting a long conventional biopic and much to my surprise this picture turned out more eccentric and interesting than I thought it would. The SFX were understated and perfect, particularly the brilliant use of large-scale remote controlled model aircraft instead of cheesy-looking CGI. I kept guessing why the color palettes shifted so wildly and inexplicably (the movies doesn't really kick into full color until we are introduced to the celestial lair of Hughes' arch-rival Juan Trippe.) The cast is eccentric and spot-on. Everyone noted Blanchett's turn as Hepburn, but the rest of the cast rises to the occasion; Adam Scott is especially fun as Hughe's pencil-mustachioed, fast-talking publicist. There's the odd mix of dangerous and jolly fun from "Goodfellas" here in the progressions of Hughes' philanderings and worsening mental illness, and the movie builds steadily to its climax. Stick with it and you will be rewarded.

The Hidden Fortress (1958)

Even a Kurosawa lesser masterpiece is a favorite

[10 December 2004]

It's pointed out often that this picture is not one of Kurosawa's masterpieces. That doesn't make it any less watchable. The film was made on a big budget and looks magnificent in the new Criterion DVD release, and Toshiro Mifune is more restrained (and thus all the more magnificent when he appears in the next-to-last scene in the movie). It has a plot, style, and stock characters that will not be unfamilar to Western audiences; of course that was why Kurosawa was so revolutionary, combining eastern and western styles. A good "starter" film, and a good yarn for experienced fans, even older children who speak Japanese or are willing to read the subtitles will enjoy it.

Knife in the Water (1962)

One of the great films

[10/10 · 22 September 2004]

Not a frame, not a glance, not a word is wasted. Every phrase and shot is a movement in the game this film coolly and calmly portrays. Even the banalities exchanged between the boy and the woman late in the film: especially funny when you learn that the inanities were just the right touch of Socialist Realism Polanski needed to get the film past the censors (watch the interview in the Criterion DVD.) The Criterion DVD quality is perfect, and comes loaded with an extra disc of Polanski's short films. "Dead Calm" may be the greatest "Three People On A Sailboat" movie ever made (by all means rent it too!), but "Knife in the Water" is one of the greatest films made, period.

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)

Rent All Three

[31 January 2004]

This title is really only the first part of a three-part story of the early life of Musashi, the legendary Samurai. The three parts were released separately and Criterion DVD has released them on three separate discs, each disc about an hour and a half to two hours long. You can try to watch the first disc alone, it stand by itself, but it ends just as Mushashi starts out on his quest, and you'll miss Koji Tsuruta's serene and slightly creepy role as Kojiru, Musashi's arch-enemy, which for me was the best part of parts 2 and 3.

The DVDs feature not very well restored prints, maybe it was the best they could do, and there is no supplemental material.

The movie itself is a fun and lively retelling of the legend. Mifune is more wooden than usual, but this is a time when Japanese action films were taking their cues from westerns, and his Musashi grows from a wild spirit to the requisite strong, silent type. For a modern, charismatic, manga-style Musashi, try to get your hands on 2003's "Musashi" NHK miniseries.

Naked Lunch (1991)

Worth watching if you're a fan

[30 January 2004]

I didn't exactly nod off, but the panoply of "The Fly"-surplus bugs and monsters wore me down and I resumed channel-surfing after the first half. Still, a good cast, nice noir look, and a faithful rendering of the Burroughs style, if not the text itself. (If Burroughs himself was not the "voice of the typewriter" then it was a good impersonation.)

Musashi (2003– )

An exceptional samurai miniseries

[9/10 · 11 January 2004]

NHK's miniseries' are a guilty pleasure of mine - usually they are formulaic: a spunky hero or heroine overcomes obstacles; but they provide a peek inside daily Japanese life (or show business) that is hard to see even here at the Eastern nexus of the Pacific Rim. Medieval samurai epics are part of the repertoire - again, usually, a spunky hero overcomes obstacles, amid historical spectacle and medieval politics.

However, "Musashi" takes it to the next level. What's exceptional is Shinosuke Ichikawa's charismatic performance in the lead, recreating the body language and speech of the great samurai movie legends of the 50s and 60s, but with a modern love interest to give the series its necessary sentimental focus and an emotionally modern feel. There is a great supporting cast, and Ennio Morricone's dramatic music helps too.

This is 50-plus hours of television - if it airs in your town, tune in and get hooked. I missed the first few episodes, so I'm looking forward to finding this available on DVD somewhere.

Bowling for Columbine (2002)

What does it mean to be an American?

[11 November 2002]

After watching Michael Moore's previous films, I was prepared for some liberal anti-gun dogma. But this picture exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and opened up into exploring the roots of America's culture of violence and rage - it is guns themselves? Racism? The fearmongering mass media? Libertarianism? "South Park"? Aside from cheap-shot ambush interviews with Dick Clark and Charton Heston (well, maybe Heston was asking for it as NRA President.) Moore does not get an answer but ties together these themes in unpredictable ways, with anger, humor, pathos, and irony. It's a film about much more than guns.

I only have one question - Why did the MPAA give this film an R rating? I would not hesitate to show it to a high schoool class.

Le Dîner de Cons (1998)

Don't Wait for the American Version!

[12 July 1999]

Go see it now in Francais now before the Americans get a hold of it and screw up another perfectly good Veber movie, as usual. (I can't wait to see what bodily fluid gets fashionably added to the Lafitte Rothchild '78 in the US version. Ugh.)