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Reviews
Incognito (1997)
pretty cool, pretty good
Well, not technically sound all the way through, but for 2am on HBO, this is quite a good little movie. Patric seems a little lost, and the whole thing with his father isn't done very well, but Jacob is always nice to watch, and there were enough interesting parts and nice shots, to keep one's attention. In any event, watching those paintings was pretty cool. Pretty good. All in all, a rather pleasant movie.
The Last Days of Disco (1998)
SUBTLE!!!
Last Days is a rather convoluted, uncompromising exploration of the ivy-grad social circle in NY during the end of the disco era. Stillman is interested here in expanding some of his favorite motifs such as, of course, disco, intellectualism (for lack of a better word), wit, snobbery, and relationships, and sacrifices very little for a mainstream audience: thus, a lot of loose ends, difficult to follow dialogue, disagreeable characters, and a generally scattered storyline. Though the average movie-goer may see these as shortcomings, the experienced Stillman watcher realizes that much of the film's charm comes from this relatively unconventional style of filmmaking. With overwhelming subtlety, Stillman develops his characters and their situation through vignettes and bits of dialogue. More so than Barcelona or Metropolitan, Last Days demands the viewer's attention, as important details are easily missed as the dialogue rattles by; unsurprisingly, many viewers are left angry and embarrassed because they just failed to dig Stillman's latest groove. For those who like to leave in the middle of the movie for more popcorn, this is not the flick for you. But, for those who pick up on the subtext, Last Days is as hilarious as Stillman's other movies, and would certainly be the most quotable if one could just catch all the lines.