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Reviews
Lumière et compagnie (1995)
see it for David Lynch's clip
In this film some twenty or thirty well-known directors from around the world take a shot a making a film with the first-ever movie camera. In between the films, the directors give awkward answers to questions along the lines of "what is film?" and "why do you film?". The films are for the most part cute but not especially creative, with the exception of David Lynch's, which comes second-to-last and is several levels more sophisticated than the rest, so much so that my first thought was that he had cheated. But he didn't. He does, however, seem to be the only one who took the challenge of making a work of art under these conditions seriously. If you're not inclined to the usual anti-Lynch objections ("it's weird", "what does it mean?"), which I'm certainly not, then his clip should make the whole film worthwhile.
Out of Sight (1998)
really, really good
From the moment George Clooney throws his tie down in the opening credits, you know this is a movie with style. It's got a great cast (there are at least four Tarantino actors in there) which includes Don Cheadle, who after Boogie Nights became one of my favorite actors, and Jennifer Lopez, who may just be the greatest thing ever. Clooney has always been a little cocky for my taste, but one has to admit he's good. There's some great cinematography (the hotel lounge scene is fantastic), and the storytelling is right on. A great surprise.
Angel Heart (1987)
one of my favorites
O.k., it's a little silly, and especially silly towards the end, but this is still one of my favorites. The period work is great, as are the settings and cinematography, especially in New Orleans. This is a film that pays attention to detail, not least of all in the plot, which may take a couple of viewings to decipher but makes sense in the end. Plus, Mickey Rourke was made for this role.