bluetwin Reviews

Drowning by Numbers (1988)

Definitely not for everyone, but if you like lush images this one's for you.

[6 January 2000]

The director Peter Greenaway will divide audiences into those who look on him as a brilliant experimenter with film as art and those who will be bored out of their skulls. I have to admit that this was the first of his films that I saw and I nearly walked out of the theater midway through (some people did). It won me over though and after seeing it again on television I have come to appreciate it even more.

If a traditional narrative film is what you're expecting, you will be disappointed. The plot does involve 3 sisters, murder and the use of the numbers 1-100 placed consecutively throughout the film. Greenaway uses surreal colorful images, influenced by his being a painter no doubt. He likes to challenge viewers too with full-frontal nudity and disturbing violence but not in an exploitative way. There are few other filmmakers which can be compared to him - maybe David Lynch comes closest. If you are a serious student of film, you owe it to check Greenaway's films out.

George Wallace (1997)

Angelina Jolie's breakout performance - a star of the future.

[8/10 · 9 November 1999]

She steals every scene she is in and oozes sensuality all over the screen. Mark my words - she will be a major star and actress of the next decade. He also gives a powerhouse performance of a controversial historical figure. John Frankenheimer directs the movie with a knowing and sure hand. Fascinating and informative movie of a pivotal moment in America's history and the relation of the races.

Ed Wood (1994)

Funny, touching, inspired, well acted Tim Burton movie.

[9/10 · 9 November 1999]

The director of great visual masterpieces such as Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands makes his best and most emotional movie here. Lovingly shot in black and white, it is a lovely tribute to people who make low-budget horror/sci-fi films.

Ed Wood, made "classic" films like Plan Nine From Outer Space and Glen Or Glenda (see them before this movie to get an idea of the unintentional humor in his films). Johnny Depp plays him brilliantly including his love for angora sweaters (Depp's roles are consistently underrated). It costars Martin Landau (who won an Oscar) as Bela Lugosi the star of Dracula in the last stages of his life. The love for Ed Wood towards the horror legend Lugosi is very touching.

Rather than make fun of Wood and his film-making friends, it treats them with respect for doing something they.Anyone who loves cheap B-movies should see this film and everyone else who ever dreamed of making their own movies will sympathise with this odd bunch of characters.

Rambling Rose (1991)

Criminally underrated film with great Laura Dern performance.

[9/10 · 9 November 1999]

It's unfortunate than few people have seen this film even though both Laura Dern and her mother Diane Ladd were nominated for Oscars for their performances. Laura Dern is AMAZING as a sweet innocent whose unabashed sexuality shocks those around her. Please, please, please see this film - you won't regret it.

Paris Trout (1991 TV Movie)

Harrowing tale of brutal Dennis Hopper character and his impact on the town.

[9/10 · 9 November 1999]

I saw this in a theater and later found out it was actually a HBO movie in the U.S. but had been amazed by how well done it was. The acting is superb - Dennis Hopper does evil men like almost no-one else, Barbara Hershey and Ed Harris are good in whatever they do. It starts out as a harrowing racial drama but soon grows larger into a tale of authority and the evils of power over those who are weaker unless society and its laws protect them. A powerful and disturbing movie. 9/10

Cape Fear (1991)

Creepy riveting thriller as good as the original 1962 movie.

[9/10 · 9 November 1999]

People tend to dismiss this movie as master director Scorcese wasting his talents in doing a remake. But I look at it as his only thriller filmed up to par with the original movie. It shows that if he wanted he could be a master of suspense too.

Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange are a bit underused, but DeNiro and Juliette Lewis in her Oscar-nominated performance are spectacular. The scene where he seduces her is one of the most creepy and riveting scenes I have seen. The music score by the legend Bernard Herrman (who did Hitchcock's classics) was used from the original movie and it is stunning.

Any movie which has been affectionately satirised in The Simpsons, as this one has when Sideshow Bob tries to exact revenge on Bart, has affected not only me but a good portion of those who watched it. Give it a try.

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

One of the best movies of the decade!

[10/10 · 9 November 1999]

John Singleton and Cuba Gooding Jr have never been better than here and Laurence Fishburne is amazing. At the time it came out, no other film had portrayed the culture of violence in the inner-city ghettos and the devastation that young black men were facing in the 90's. If you live in the quiet suburbs it's horrifying that in these communities just going to the corner store can result in you being shot down in a hail of bullets. Along with Spike Lee's films, this one brought acclaim to African-American directors and opportunities for others to let their voices be heard. It is a powerfully emotional film that will live on as one of the best of the decade.

Buried Alive (1990 TV Movie)

Well made B-movie from director of Shawshank Redemption.

[8/10 · 9 November 1999]

Frank Darabont went on to make the brilliant Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Here is an early effort which is a nice combo of film noir, horror and revenge pictures. Jennifer Jason Leigh, a very underrated actress, plays the wife who along with her lover plan to murder her husband Tim Matheson. After the plan doesn't go according to plan, it's the husbands turn to turn the tables. Jennifer's character is so bad that the viewer wants her to get her just reward. Well worth seeing and rates 8/10.

My Left Foot (1989)

One of the best performances by an actor in the last decade.

[10/10 · 9 November 1999]

I am in awe of Daniel Day-Lewis' acting in this movie. I can't think of anyone else who could have portrayed the real-life writer Christy Brown as well as he does. He doesn't just portray the ravages of cerebral palsy of his character but the intelligence, humour, courage and love of the man. The character also is not deemed a saint but allowed to have humanity - the foul mouth and love of booze and women. If a movie can be called inspiring than this has to be it.

Lewis and Brenda Fricker as his mother both won Oscars and Ray McAnally as his father also deserved one. The movie is well directed by Jim Sheridan with whom Lewis again worked with in the excellent In The Name Of The Father as well as The Boxer.

Body Double (1984)

DePalma the great suspense director takes a parting shot at his critics.

[8/10 · 9 November 1999]

Even though Brian DePalma began copying Hitchcock's techniques, he succeeded in creating violent suspenseful movies of his own. Obsession, Carrie, Dressed To Kill and Blowout were visually stunning and emotional thrillers. After the swamp of female-in-jeopardy movies started by Halloween, Friday The 13th and paler imitations, there was a backlash against them. As a superior director of these suspense pictures DePalma was criticized savagely and you can see some of his reaction in Body Double after which he proved his versatility with crime (Scarface, The Untouchables) and drama pictures (Casualties Of War).

Using elements of Rear Window (Craig Wasson sees a murder being committed but is powerless to stop it) and Vertigo (he fears confined spaces), DePalma weaves a suspenseful plot. The acting is headed by Melanie Griffith's breakthrough performance in which she manages to combine a weary knowledge of the world with a sweet innocence.

Placing his main character as an actor in horror films, he is able to take some potshots at the voyeuristic audience (what all movie lovers are) in that we crave sex & violence (the film's final scene symbolizes this) but in effect this is what life and death is all about.

Pennies from Heaven (1981)

Steve Martin took big risk in proving he was more than 'the jerk' and succeeded.

[8/10 · 9 November 1999]

Although the film failed horribly at the box office, it remains an artistic success. From the brilliant mind of Dennis Potter (check out The Singing Detective for his most brilliant work), this movie juxtaposes the movie musicals of the 1930's with the depression-time reality of the period for an emotionally complex film. When the characters in the movie want to expound on their feelings, they break into musical numbers. The actors including light-footed Steve Martin and a surprising Christopher Walken (who had studied dance but sadly never got to use it in a movie again) carry off the musical numbers spectacularly and unlike the 30's musicals also suffer bad moods and depression unlike anything Fred and Ginger ever did. A very unusual but rewarding movie rated 8/10.

Sybil (1976)

More than 20 years later, I still remember this riveting and emotional movie.

[10/10 · 9 November 1999]

I was only 10 when I saw this on TV but still remember scenes vividly from it (I believe I watched it again since). Sally Field is awesome as she portrays a woman who was abused as a child by her mother and has developed multiple personalities as a result. It is fascinating and heart-breaking as the psychologist played by Joanne Woodward (also very good) uncovers all her personalities and reveals the suppressed memories which caused them. I can't recommend this movie enough. 10/10