This film works perfectly because it could be 50 years old. At every turn I could see Rabbit as a white trumpet player from 1952, with his crew being the rhythm section, and Future being the promoter helping him gain respect at virtuoso 'cutting sessions' dominated by black musicians.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Ghost World
(2001)
Film of contrasts
7 December 2001
I had expected this to be just another wacky comedy, but I was treated to something a bit more special.
What I particularly liked was the way 'high' and 'low' art were contrasted [comic illustration vs. abstract sculpture; popcorn-flicks vs. Fellini]. This contrast was visible in substance as well as style: the script swayed between Farrelly Brothers-level fart and breast gags and Frasieresque wit, with just the right balance being struck. Ultimately I found it funny, sometimes touching, and very enjoyable.
What I particularly liked was the way 'high' and 'low' art were contrasted [comic illustration vs. abstract sculpture; popcorn-flicks vs. Fellini]. This contrast was visible in substance as well as style: the script swayed between Farrelly Brothers-level fart and breast gags and Frasieresque wit, with just the right balance being struck. Ultimately I found it funny, sometimes touching, and very enjoyable.
Storytelling
(2001)
Cerebral Picture
5 December 2001
A lot of people have commented on the humour of Storytelling. I didn't really find it funny at all, which is not to say that I didn't thoroughly enjoy it.
Although the film is divided into fiction and non-fiction, truth is the theme here. The irony of course is that the authoress' 'fictional' short story is in fact entirely true, and the documentarian's 'non-fictional' film is in many ways a conceit. The one wishes to expose the truth, the other wishes to abuse it, yet for both the common purpose is successfully to apply the conventions of their medium to tell a story.
This structuralist analysis could be taken a step further back to argue that Todd Solondz was doing just exactly the same. (Remember his nod to the audience when he had Giamatti's character talk about how he'd invited Jacques Derrida to narrate his film?)
Although the film is divided into fiction and non-fiction, truth is the theme here. The irony of course is that the authoress' 'fictional' short story is in fact entirely true, and the documentarian's 'non-fictional' film is in many ways a conceit. The one wishes to expose the truth, the other wishes to abuse it, yet for both the common purpose is successfully to apply the conventions of their medium to tell a story.
This structuralist analysis could be taken a step further back to argue that Todd Solondz was doing just exactly the same. (Remember his nod to the audience when he had Giamatti's character talk about how he'd invited Jacques Derrida to narrate his film?)
La squale
(2000)
An American in Paris?
24 November 2001
What struck me about this film was the influence of US culture on the characterisation. Initially I thought I was just superimposing my own preconceptions, but I was lucky enough to attend a screening where the director was there to take questions afterwards. He made the point that a lot of Black and Arab youth culture in France borrows directly from the American idea of 'the ghetto', and from the language of film pornography. Ultimately I was disappointed because I like my French films 'French' (that is to say, coquettish, poetic, and a little existential). But that's not to say that La Squale is an excellent depiction of a very real French way of life - a good example of its genre.
The Others
(2001)
I beg to differ(contains spoiler)
23 November 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Is it really so bad for a film-maker to re-explore an old idea? If the game of predicting the end of a movie becomes too easy, try watching for a different reason. Narrative in a ghost story is always more important than plot anyway - it's in the telling.
For the record, the parallel being drawn by many is incomplete: in The 6th Sense, Cole was alive and saw dead people, in The Others, Anne is dead and the 'intruders' that she sees (and we see later) are living people.
Incidentally, I wonder if Kidman shared Ewan McGregor stories with Christopher Eccleston and Keith Allen. She seems to be co-starring her way through the entire Shallow Grave cast!
For the record, the parallel being drawn by many is incomplete: in The 6th Sense, Cole was alive and saw dead people, in The Others, Anne is dead and the 'intruders' that she sees (and we see later) are living people.
Incidentally, I wonder if Kidman shared Ewan McGregor stories with Christopher Eccleston and Keith Allen. She seems to be co-starring her way through the entire Shallow Grave cast!
Pic stands on its own - it's not just a filmed book
10 November 2001
I haven't read any Harry Potter books, so I wasn't gambling any great expectations, and a lot of the story was new to me. But who cares? The film is dazzling - production design is the best of it. It's guaranteed to outlive the accuracy police who worry that details may be lost in the adaptation.
It is said, in general, that "the book is always better than the film." But when's the last time you heard anyone say that about The Wizard of Oz? The same should be true for HP. So why do we look down on film adaptations as tawdry 'Hollywoodised' versions? If someone wrote a ballet based on the Harry Potter story, it would be senseless to say that it was better than the book. Just my two cents...
(I was trying to think of words to describe how good Alan Rickman is, but I couldn't. However, if you close your eyes and imagine melted dark chocolate being strained through a velvet bag you might get the idea.)
It is said, in general, that "the book is always better than the film." But when's the last time you heard anyone say that about The Wizard of Oz? The same should be true for HP. So why do we look down on film adaptations as tawdry 'Hollywoodised' versions? If someone wrote a ballet based on the Harry Potter story, it would be senseless to say that it was better than the book. Just my two cents...
(I was trying to think of words to describe how good Alan Rickman is, but I couldn't. However, if you close your eyes and imagine melted dark chocolate being strained through a velvet bag you might get the idea.)
South West 9
(2001)
Not such a bitter pill to swallow.
18 October 2001
Set chiefly in squalid locations - squats, hang-outs, and semi-derelict buildings - and featuring a cast of pushers, crusties and skammers, SW9 is concerned to show how the drug culture can be equally alluring to parents, professionals and religious figures - with 'respectable' family or professional backgrounds.
Archive and media footage is used to paint a great picture of the colour and cultural history of a particular part of South London, and to reinforce the film-makers' concern with British and international political issues.
I enjoyed the restraint and narrative pace of the film and I particularly loved the twist whereby we discover something about a character we might have taken for granted.
Archive and media footage is used to paint a great picture of the colour and cultural history of a particular part of South London, and to reinforce the film-makers' concern with British and international political issues.
I enjoyed the restraint and narrative pace of the film and I particularly loved the twist whereby we discover something about a character we might have taken for granted.
The Fast and the Furious
(2001)
Long time since I've walked out of a picture...
14 October 2001
The Fast and The Furious is an irredeemably bad movie. It has nothing to recommend it in terms of plot, dialogue, photography, sound, editing or production design. It might very well have been produced by the computer programmers who designed Gran Turismo for the PlayStation. In fact, that might not have been such a bad idea. You know...for kids.
Moulin Rouge!
(2001)
Cults will be formed.
6 September 2001
I predict that in years to come, people will hold parties where they dress as Moulin Rouge characters and recite the dialogue by heart. This film is going to be the next Rocky Horror Show. I loved it from the opening scene - the first party's at my place.
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