planzing Reviews

October Sky (1999)

A good solid film, and an original turn on an age-old theme.

[4 November 1999]

This film, to cut to the chase, is a 6.5 out of ten, a "coming of age" film which hangs on the aerospace aspirations of Homer Hickham, who is headed to replace his father in the W. Virginia coalmines but who really wants to be a rocket scientist. It is well shot, with an intelligent script, but it is painfully predictable in virtually every way. Worth seeing for the several fine performances, notably Jake Gyllenhall in the lead role, who is absolutely marvelous. But if you are looking for a really great film about a young person growing beyond his limitations, see The Mighty, now sitting lonely on the shelves of your local Blockbuster. This is a stone classic which has been totally overlooked, one of the very finest films of its type ever made.

PKL

The Mighty (1998)

This is one of the very best films of the Nineties, and sadly overlooked...

[4 November 1999]

The Mighty is just a brilliant film which really does defy description. This is a film which the viewer should approach without preconception, and any description of the plot or action would fail to capture its originality, heart, quirkiness, humanity, intelligence, imagination and above all, its tremendous emotional power. Just absolutely wonderful in every respect. This is available on DVD and VHS and should be seen by anyone with a heart, a mind, and a love of film. This one gets 9.75 on a scale of 10. See it. If you have kids, watch it with them. If not, no problem, because this is an adult film which kids enjoy, not the other way around.

PKL

U Turn (1997)

A grim but comic confection.

[9 August 1999]

In "U-Turn," Oliver Stone narrows his focus from the broad-canvass projects he typically produces. Those seeking the knowing profundities of "JFK" or "Nixon" will be disappointed. This is a genre picture of the desert southwestern potboiler variety, a much-updated "Painted Desert" kind of film. Lots of bad luck, scorpions, whiskey, sexual perversity, bullying, greed, lots of sweat and very little shaving. The basic questions begged by a movie like this one are these: Who will have sex? Who will live? Who will die? And who will end up with the money? By the final reel, all these questions are very satisfactorily answered. For a picture of this type, "U-Turn" is very good indeed.

Sean Penn is smashing, Nolte has never been creepier, and Jennifer Lopez is, er, extremely effective in this film's only real female role. John Voight, buried in the role a mystic Indian, is most entertaining. And we get another patented oddball performance by Billy Bob Thornton that is absolutely worth the price of admission. For good measure, Juaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes deliver a too-brief but electrifying turn as a young couple adept at creating trouble. As if Sean Penn, in this picture, didn't have enough already.

Sure, the predictable desert atmospherics are a bit overdone. But the solid script by John Ridley, the letter-perfect performances, and Stone's sure directorial hand make this one of his better films.

This movie is out of the theatres, so one word to you parents about "U-Turn." This is not one to watch in the presence of the kiddies. It contains very graphic and violence and sexual material clearly unsuitable for young folk or the sensitive soul of any age.

But if you like your film noir with sand and scorpions thrown in for good measure, this is a sure-fire rental that will leave you fully satisfied.

The Exorcist (1973)

The Classic. See it again on DVD soon. Banishes the Blair Witch Blues...

[10/10 · 9 August 1999]

In this millinneum summer, when little stick figures and poor camera work and three whiny improvers have convinced America to be very afraid, it can be instructional and even inspirational to revisit the truly great works of the horror genre.

The Exorcist may be the best ever. Now available on a beautiful DVD transfer, this brilliant William Friedkin film looks better than ever. Devoid of the considerable hype which accompanied both the book and subsequent film of this title when first released in the seventies, the film actually grows in power. Director Friedkin, working a familiar vein, never once falls into the kind of cliches which endear the old Hammer and Castle films. It all looks and sounds fresh and real. The cast is simply perfect, the pacing is impeccable, the horror truly and deeply delivered directly to the viewer's soul.

If you felt let down by all the hype (and then the reality) of The Blair Witch Project, or if you'd simply like to see one of the really great horror films, check this out soon, even if you've seen it before. I had, several times years ago. But The Exorcist, if anything, has gained power with time.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

A taut excercise in directorial discipline...truly thrilling.

[9/10 · 8 August 1999]

This is that rarity in American Popular film, a true director's picture. M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed The Sixth Sense, and it is so carefully constructed in every respect that it creates a world with its own natural laws, in the way that Hitchcock's or Ford's films do.

Every cast member is in perfect tune with the director's mission here. Bruce Willis, Toni Collette and Olivia Williams play each role beautifully, in service to Shyamalan's story. Haley Joel Osment, as the psychic child Cole, and Donnie Wahlberg, as a homicidal psychotic, deliver two of the years' most powerful performances.

This is another of those films about which the less said about plot, the better. Suffice to say there are thrills and chills but no gratuitous violence of any kind.

This may be one of the least melodramatic "ghost" pictures in the history of cinema. In tone, it's closer to a movie like "Little Man Tate" than to other horror films which feature children, such as "The Shining" or "Poltergiest". And that subtlety is much to the credit of the director, from whom I'll be looking for great things in the future.

PKL

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

South Park...Love It Or Leave It

[5 August 1999]

Absolutely no one who sits through the entire film has any right to complain. This is not Blair Witch, folks. You were not lured into the theatre under false pretenses. It is just like the TV show only more so. If you like the show, the movie will delight you. If you don't, what the hell are you doing in the theatre? Dementia of the highest order. An art film.

PKL

Dick (1999)

It's a Hysterical, Historical, Red, White and Blue Farce!

[8/10 · 5 August 1999]

The best skewering of Washington and its grandiosity since Being There. Here's what you need to know about this one: See it. Nixon gets off pretty easy. Woodward and Bernstien get minced like onions. Everyone obviously had a great time making this film. And you will too.

The best comedy of the summer, this leaves "Drop Dead" and "Pie" in its merry wake.

PKL

Dick (1999)

A red, white, and blue teen fantasy with lots of surprises...

[8/10 · 5 August 1999]

This movie is hysterical and historical, a blend of Romy and Michelle and Oliver Stone. It bravely sets forth on its own very odd course and never wavers. The result is a brilliant and likeable film, absolutely the best mass-market film comedy of the summer. It leaves American Pie and Drop Dead Gorgeous in its merry wake, roller discoing it's way where no movie has yet dared to go.

Many, many laughs await the viewer, but none are more truly gratifying than the yuks which attend the skewering of those heroes of my generation, Mssrs. Woodward and Bernstein. I deeply suspect that the real characters of these investigative reporters is and always has been closer to their portrayal here than in "All the President's Men." But it is this movie's sweet-natured way with Nixon himself that forms the comedic core of the story.

This is truly an ensemble picture, and all performances are nuanced and fun to watch. It does not take itself seriously, and is very funny right through the final credits. Unlike other so-called major films this summer, this one really does deserve a chance to unfold in the viewer's conciousness, in the theatre. So I will not spoil the picture by supplying details.

Go. Forget the teen-pic slant, the political thing, the starlet-feature hesitation, and perish the question: "Is this my kind of picture?"

It is. It is your kind of picture because it is just plain funny. Want to laugh? Go. You'll thank me.

Arlington Road (1999)

Lost in the Shuffle This Summer, This is an Hitcockian Ace

[8/10 · 5 August 1999]

One of those films about which the less said the better, Arlington Road is a suspense film with the unmistakable Hitchcock sensibility.

The opening scene and title treatment are much more unsettling than that overhyped monster, the Blair Witch.

This is Strangers On A Train for the Nineties, North By Northwest for the Numb Generation.

Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins, as always, are delicious to watch, but Joan Cusack is at the creepy heart of this nightmare.

Much was made in the original press coverage of this film of its "message" content, its political import. Balderdash. The messages of this film, just as in the very best of Alfred the Master, are these:

a) Trust no one. No one. You are alone. b) Maybe you deserve this.

Those who fail to enjoy this film will be those who did not enjoy Hitchcock: those who are cut off from the real world of the modern soul and live in a world of smooth complexions and endless consumption. Of nice suburban homes. And willful ignorance of the worst the world has to offer, and the fact that it lives within.

PKL

The Haunting (1999)

Help me...help meee...I'm falling...asleep!

[31 July 1999]

Should be renamed The Snoring. Better than Prozac. Truly a fitting follow up to Speed: Cruise Control. Only Jan de Bont could make an ocean liner crashing into a condo development a soporific experience, and he's done it again. Big house. Liam Neeson. And a big showbiz comeback for that big scary portrait painting from Ghostbusters 2. All the better haunted house decorators must buy from the same source. Bruce Dern is the scariest thing here, with screen time of about 45 seconds. You have been warned. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

So far, the best damn popcorn movie of the summer, bar none!

[8/10 · 28 July 1999]

Sure, it's a formula picture. Sure, the raw plot outlines are utterly familiar and predictable. Sure, the scripted dialog is creaky and the characters are wooden. Like I said, it's a formula picture. The question with movies like this is not whether it's original. The question is simply this: does it scare the bejesus out of the audience, or not? Further, does it incite gleeful riot in the theatre by dangling its players before the fearsome beasts like live bait? Does it surprise us at all? Do we jump out of our seats, really jump, at least once?

To these questions, be assured that every answer is "yes".A movie like this is all about sensation, just like a rollercoaster, and it must be rated on pure visceral power. Unlike the current release, "The Haunting," which put me to sleep, "Deep Blue Sea" had me in its teeth from the first scene. And I do not feel guilty. And niether will director Rennie Harlin when the box office flood of cash comes rolling in.

It must also have, if not plausible pathos, some comic relief. And at least one or two winning performances that make us care enough to set us up for the kill. "Deep Blue Sea" has, as it's two most memorable characters, Samuel L. Jackson and L.L. Cool J., who light this happy retread with humanity. Jackson and Harlin must still be cackling after perpetrating the best screen joke of the Ninties, bar none. You'll know it when you see it, folks, and it's worth the price of admission.

So, movie fans, take that nerdy friend of yours, the one who swears that "The Blair Witch Project" is "Scary as Hell," to this gothic house of horror on the high seas. Do not expect to see anything you have not seen before, as in the original "Jaws." But do expect to see it done, if with less realism and flair, with a much more powerful bite.

PKL

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Deserves an Oscar for "Hype of the Year"...

[1/10 · 27 July 1999]

The pre-release publicity campaign for Blair Witch was truly awesome in its success at building anticipation, from the teen-target word of mouth stage right through the SciFi Channel hourlong trailer that set the movie up very effectively for its limited release in major US cities. It's been many a full moon since this filmlover has seen an audience so charged up that they literally were running into the theatre to grab a good seat. We were going to see something new, something different. Above all, we were going to experience a film which was "Scary as Hell!"

Instead, we got faux cinema verite with just a hint of Tobe Hooper. Instead of shock we got a crock. The cinematography, let's face it, was just plain poor. The vaunted "performances" of the three leads were adequate acting-class improv. The ending simply did nothing with the basic premise except to close it within the acceptable minimum running time. As a fear-inducing entertainment, Blair Witch is dead on arrival. When it opens wide this weekend, many an exhibitor will be deluged with demands for return of the ticket price. Those reviewers and fans who suffer from the Emporer's New Clothes Complex (I believe this will be great, therefore it is!) are in for a mighty repudiation from the American filmgoing public, and Artisan, which artfully managed the hype-machine on this little movie, will be forced to pull the plug on any notion of mass-market success with this TBWP.

This said, Blair Witch does work really well on one level. As a metaphor for the ignorance and ineptitude of the American media covering any story of real importance, the film is, in fact, a powerful indictment. I do suspect this was the real intent of the filmakers, so blatant is this theme as the movie unreels. But as a fearsome chiller-thriller of the psychological variety? Please.

For real films of this type, I refer the interested reader to Polanski's The Tenant, to Cronenberg's Videodrome, to M, Peeping Tom, or The (original) Haunting. Blair Witch is worth seeing, but for none of the reasons put forth by its publicity campaign. Filmgoers not conditioned to believe everything they hear will feel ripped off by Artisan, the Sundance crowd, and the filmakers themselves.

To these, I have one last word:

Booo!