Change Your Image
punch0555
Reviews
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Underdeveloped Disappointment
No BROKEBACK breakthrough here. What has bits and pieces of the elements that fully presented could have made this a book-match to THE LAST PICTURE SHOW is a majorly flawed missed chance.
Beautiful scenery/cinematography with Canada as a totally acceptable "Wyoming". Four female actresses who are fine, fine, fine. One well-known actor (Quaid) who is so good he disappears into his role. Solid support from actors in small roles. Some excellent scriptwriting AROUND the main story. And finally, (aside from a handful of moments where the acting "shows")an astounding "what-James-Dean-mighta-been" performance by Heath Ledger. Really and truly, this actor picks up stylistically where Dean left off and develops it further. Amazing!
So what went wrong? No understanding of the central story and its nuances by the scriptwriters and the director. No passion/obsession on display (isn't that what the story is about?) After a wierdly "off" initial sexual encounter, all remaining encounters are staged like warm and fuzzy teenage "puppy love". There is no sense of two adult men caught in the middle of something which is emotionally mysterious and powerful to both
Jake is way out of his element here. He tries hard, but this isn't his territory (see his excellent work in DONNIE DARKO and JARHEAD) Ledger deserves the Oscar for not only doing his (superb)job, but somehow reacting to a not-present-in-this-movie person with whom he is pulled he is pulled into an emotional vortex.
The big issue: for all the trumpeted "breakthrough" of BROKEBACK there is no real risk here, particularly where feelings and emotions BETWEEN actors are concerned. Annie Proulx' story was about a subtle, powerful, and uncategorized encounter between two people who happen to both be men.
What happened?
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
mesmerising and beautiful
As a child, I liked the "idea" formed by the CS Lewis books more than the books themselves. This is a case where the movie has vastly improved on the original book. A big plus, is that the clunky, almost preachy Christianity of the books has been smoothed out and toned down. Aslan now "could" be a Christ figure as much as he "could" be an Osiris figure or any one of a number of mytho-religio figures who have triumphed over death. The pagan atmosphere has been ratcheted up a bit. This is just simply "The Other World".
I watched this on a gigantamoose. floor to ceiling screen with state of the art projection. The imagery and color schemes were so powerful that at times I was sure I had entered a Dream.
Strangely, as the film began with the London war scenes, as the faun played panpipes to the tea-sipping Lucy, as Father Christmas doled out his "tools not toys", and in many other places I wept inexplicably.
Tilda Swinton's albino viper/Snow Queen of a White Witch struck terror into my heart at EVERY appearance. One's never sure where she'll strike (waaaay beyond the book's characterisation) And Aslan . . . was fur ever furrier? Didn't I want to run my hands through his marvelous mane and hug his leonine neck for protection? Sometimes, the film "lapses" but these are "breathing spaces" rather than "faults" A children's film? No. A learned child will "appreciate" it but only a 50 year old child (like the author of this review) will know what it takes to "love" it: Passing Time's bittersweet loss and the cost extracted for passage through a magic wardrobe.
Kudos to all involved --- Ya' done Good!
The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
Breathtaking Total Theater.
Rational? I cannot be rational about this mad cinematic gem. I was spellbound as a child watching it over and over again on the Million Dollar Movie (on B&W TV, no less!) Like Martin Scorcese's mother, mine too would call from the kitchen (when I was sneaking yet another look) "Turn that off! You watched it yesterday and the day before. Now we've heard enough of that thing!"
Run, do not walk, to purchase the newly released Criterion DVD. It is worth every penny. Never has the color been so lush and the detail so finally delineated. And I know, I have pursued (rare) showings of this film nearly all my 50 years. If you think you've seen Hoffman before, wait until you see this!