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Reviews
Inception (2010)
Disappointing
There is an exercise that many actors use to help them develop their characters. They write autobiographies as their characters to give themselves a history/family/emotional base. No one in "Inception" had any discernible backstory. It was as if each character dropped out of the sky but no reason was given for the way s/he dealt with situations. I also had no idea why or how each of the characters came to the profession of "extraction" - what motivated them or interested them in being an extractor. Visually, the movie was fun. I did have some problem understanding some lines that were swallowed (Mr. Watanabe seemed to be the prime offender) and the interminable snow scene should have lost 15 minutes. However, special effects do no make up for lack of character development. Not caring whether a character lives or dies does not an engaging movie make.
Every Little Step (2008)
Misleading Movie
I share lor_'s dismay at the distortions and omissions in "Every Little Step". To ignore the contributions of James Kirkwood, Ed Kleban and all the actors in the original cast is appalling. McKechnie and Lee, the only two original cast members, have managed to turn "A Chorus Line" into a positive, but it took the other cast members years of negotiation and the threat of litigation to receive more than the pittance they received from their stories. As an aside, is any movie viewer so naive as to believe that Charlotte D'Amboise just happened to have the camera film her actual casting moment? We ain't that dumb. Disappointing on so many levels.
Is Anybody There? (2008)
A Waste of Talent
A 90 minute movie with Michael Caine and Rosemary Harris, not to mention many of the UK's heavy hitters, sounded like a little bit of heaven. Not so. The script was by-the-book, Harris was barely on screen and Caine could do this character in his sleep. I knew within the first 10 minutes that this story had been done before, and with better results. The characters had no history, they died without any reason other than their screen time was up, and Caine exhibited the fastest case of dementia known to humankind - unless, of course, the editing got a bit muddled and weeks or months passed instead of hours. There was also a problem as far as understanding the actors - unless it was the screening print I saw. Just a deeply disappointing evening.
Bonneville (2006)
Supremely Disappointing
Three of the four leads have strong theatre backgrounds (Jessica Lange has been on stage, but not to the extent of the other actors), all have extensive movie and TV backgrounds, and all four were hung out to dry with a wretched script and inept direction. No surprises in the script - one knew where and how it was going after the first five minutes. The actors were reduced to playing one dimensional characters with no assistance or inventiveness from the director. I live in hope that when the actors signed on, it was done mainly to have the chance to work together and the expectancy that they could bring depth to a shallow work. No such luck. Hope the paycheck was good. For the audience, it was a loooooooong 90 minutes.
Into the Wild (2007)
The Book Wins
I found Jon Krakauer's book to be a fascinating and sad study of McCandless, but the combination of Penn's screenplay, direction and a lead actor without the necessary talent/skills to convey McCandless' complex ideology resulted in a movie most notable for supporting actors' performances and stunning scenery. Unfortunately, Mr. Hirsch was unable to hold his own in scenes with Holbrook and Keener, who wiped him off the screen. Mr. Hirsch didn't even have to do the usual actor's homework of writing his/her character's autobiography; all he had to do was read Krakauer's book. So many literary layers were lost in translation to the screen, which resulted in deeply disappointing movie.
Syriana (2005)
A Movie for Grown-Ups
My test for a good movie is simple - if you're still thinking about it the next day, and discovering things about the plot which passed you by when you saw it, it's worth seeing. Syriana is a dense movie. You need to pay attention to myriad characters, seemingly unconnected subplots and avoid trying to second-guess what will happen. Well-made political thrillers rarely turn out the way the audience expects. The plot twists and changing agendas of the characters are what distinguish the inventive movie from the mundane. It's always nice to have an "Aha!" moment. It happens so rarely. Fine performances and direction make this a movie for grown-ups.
The Family Stone (2005)
Excruciating
When you think of all the movie scripts that are floating around, hoping to be produced, you must wonder how in God's green earth this incoherent mess managed to make it to the screen. The director/writer has ingested every cliché imaginable and then spewed it out to create a stupefyingly awful movie. I made it through 30 minutes and fled into the night. Life's just too short. The characters range from nasty to clueless to vacuous - not people with whom you'd wish to spend 5 minutes let alone 105. You've seen it all before, and seen it done better. It's one of those movies where you know what the next line will be and how it will end. Better to read a book.
The White Countess (2005)
Ultimately Unsatisfying
"The White Countess" is an ultimately empty movie. There was much that could have been mined in the history of the principal characters, and the Shanghai of the 30s is a fascinating and horrifying period in history; but just as the movie delved a little deeper into a character or event, it seemed to lose steam and moved on to something or someone else. What history each character did have wasn't fleshed out enough in the script to make the viewer more than superficially interested in the person. Perhaps a more concentrated focus on individuals and history, rather than a smattering of information, would have better served the audience.
The Thing About My Folks (2005)
The longest 45 minutes of my life
I confess, I only lasted 45 minutes before I ran from the screening of "The Thing About My Folks". I knew I was doomed when the film consisted of Peter Falk shrieking, Paul Reiser (doing his "Mad About You" character)cowering and the topper - every fifteen minutes Mr. Falk had an audible episode of flatulence. Three of those were enough for me. Mr. Falk's character was so abrasive that all I wanted was to flee his presence. And I did. Surely after a certain point, breaking wind with alarming frequency would tend to pall as a device of hilarity even to the most juvenile of minds. One plus - the scenery was gorgeous. Alas, that was not enough.