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jrobins2
Reviews
Gods and Monsters (1998)
A respectable, if not lovable film
Gods and Monsters is one of a glut of critically acclaimed biopics that I always find to have fine acting, a well written script and a sure hand at the helm of director and yet it was all so... formal feeling and noble, going through the proper motions with the proper subtle yet predictable emotions and the subtle but predictable flashbacks. It's just not a compelling genre to me. Also, and I know others feel otherwise, but I felt that Whale's sexuality was treated very bluntly and rather tastelessly, it distracted from the more interesting aspects of the man. He was more that just a lonely old gay man. Not Mckellen's finest work, as some will tell you, but respectable, as is Redgrave. Fraser is the most adventurous of the three, giving the character deep and ugly flaws, and yet he's no stereotypical 'bigot' either. It's by no means a boring movie, it's just that I felt the movie was an exercise in excellent film-craft and cerebral, but lacking any emotional punch.
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)
I just didn't feel it.
I stumbled upon the trailer on the internet, and it looked like it had all the makings of a quirky indie film: an interesting setup, a road trip, Tom Waits, so I was excited to see it, and... I don't know, it just fell kind of flat for me. It was neither all that funny, or all the dramatic, just sort of plodded along. There were whole spans of this movie that were aimless and without spark. The characters never become full or interesting. It's not bad, it's not good, it felt like cinematic purgatory. I just kept waiting for the movie to take off, but then it was over. Patrick Fugit does a good job trying to make an incredibly uncompelling character watchable, and Shea Wigham's a riot when given the chance. Still, you'll spend the movie wishing there had been a more experienced director, crew and a more innovative writer (Charlie Kaufman, vielleicht?)