treadwaywrites Reviews

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Film History - This Is A Must See

[7/10 · 5 May 2009]

The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 silent film. The movie is based on two of Thomas Dixon's novels The Clansman and The Leopard's Spots. This early film is noted for its innovative technical and narrative achievements and is studied in virtually every Film History 101 class in colleges and universities. Of course it also provokes controversy due to its treatment of white supremacy and its positive portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan.

Originally this film would have been presented in two sections with an intermission in the middle. The first half depicts a before Civil War America and introduces two families, the Northern Stonemans and the Southern Camerons. The Stonemans visit the Camerons at their South Carolina estate. The elder Stoneman boy falls in love with Margaret Cameron and one of the Cameron sons, Ben (Henry B. Walthall), pines for one of the Stoneman daughters, Elise. Of course the Civil War breaks out and the young men join their respective armies. A black militia (with a white leader) ransacks the Cameron house. The Cameron women are rescued when Confederate soldiers rout the militia. Meanwhile, the youngest Stoneman and two Cameron boys are killed in the war. Ben Cameron is wounded after a heroic battle in which he gains the nickname, "the Little Colonel," by which he is referred for the rest of the film. The Little Colonel is taken to a Northern hospital where he meets Elsie, who is working there as a nurse. The war ends and Abraham Lincoln is assassinated at Ford's Theater, allowing Austin Stoneman (meant to parody real life Congressman Thaddeus Stevens) and other radical congressmen to punish the South for secession using radical measures supposedly typical of this period of the Reconstruction era.

The second part depicts Reconstruction. Stoneman and his "mulatto" follower, Silas Lynch, go to South Carolina to observe their agenda of empowering Southern blacks via election fraud. Meanwhile, Ben, inspired by observing white children pretending to be ghosts to scare off black children, devises a plan to reverse perceived powerlessness of Southern whites by forming the Ku Klux Klan, although his membership in the group angers Elsie. Shockingly a former slave proposes marriage to the other Cameron daughter, Flora. She is scared by the former slave, Gus (Walter Long), and runs off into the forest pursued by him. Eventually she is trapped and then leaps to her death. The Klan hunts down Gus and lynches him. A crackdown on the Klan is then ordered by Silas Lynch (George Siegmann). The Camerons flee fro the black militia and hide out in a small hut which is home to two former Union soldiers who agree to assist the Camerons.

Meanwhile Lynch tries to force Elsie to marry him. Disguised Klansmen discover her situation and leave to get reinforcements. The Klan, now at full strength, rides to her rescue and takes the opportunity to disperse the rioting "crazed Negroes." Just then Lynch's militia surrounds and attacks the hut where the Camerons are hiding, but the Klan saves them just in time. Victorious, the Klansmen celebrate in the streets, and the film cuts to the next election where the Klan successfully disenfranchises black voters and disarms the blacks. The film concludes with a double honeymoon of Phil Stoneman with Margaret Cameron (Miriam Cooper) and Ben Cameron with Elsie Stoneman. The final frame shows masses oppressed by a mythical god of war suddenly finding themselves at peace under the image of Christ. The final title rhetorically asks: "Dare we dream of a golden day when the bestial War shall rule no more? But instead-the gentle Prince in the Hall of Brotherly Love in the City of Peace."

D.W. Griffith, the film's director, agreed to pay Thomas Dixon $10,000 for the rights to his play The Clansman. Since he ran out of money and could afford only $2,500 of the original option, Griffith offered Dixon 25 percent interest in the picture. Dixon reluctantly agreed. The film's unprecedented success made him rich. Dixon's proceeds were the largest sum any author had received for a motion picture story and amounted to several million dollars. The film is estimated to have cost Griffith a total of $112,000 causing him to seek out many different investors. At the film's premiere in Los Angeles the title was The Clansman but it was later changed to The Birth of a Nation to reflect Griffith's belief that the United States emerged out of the Civil War and Reconstruction, ended by the Klan, as a unified nation.

The films stars Lillian Gish as Elsie Stoneman and Mae Marsh as Flora Cameron. They must be credited for causing some of the stir that arose when the film was released. Not only is the film polarizing, but as the black men in the film are being portrayed as sex crazed and violent men after these so innocent white women had to bring about a response. To stir up this type of emotion in 1915 is an impressive undertaking by D.W. Griffith.

As you watch the film you can't help be confused by part one and two as they look and appear to be two separate movies spliced together. Part two is the section with all of the disturbing material and does not match up with part one which has more cinema techniques. Watching the film without keeping history and film history in the back of your mind, one can easily find the film tedious and hard to keep your attention. It is like eating aged cheese, it takes a refined pallet. If you have an interest in film history and how we got from there to here with styles then this film is a must watch.

Star Trek (2009)

Visuals Will Leave You Stunned.

[8/10 · 27 April 2009]

By far Star Trek is the greatest movie adventure of all time. The story of Star Trek and its Enterprise crew should be well known by now, but in case you were hiding in a cave... The Enterprise is a starship from Earth's 25 century and the crew's mission is to seek out new life and to boldly go where no man has gone before. Way back in the day, 1966, came the Star Trek television series. Then in 1979 came Star Trek The Motion Picture. Now in 2009 we have Star Trek which follows those original characters of Captain Kirk and the Vulcan Spock, only this time we're getting a fresh new batch of actors.

This film allows us to explore Kirk and Spock before they have become their legendary selves. We meet James Kirk and learn how he was challenged from his home in Iowa into joining Starfleet, equivalent to our NASA today. We meet Spock who is tortured between his Vulcan heritage and his human nature and emotions. The other characters also come into our view for "the first time" and even though the actors faces are fresh the characters are very familiar. This is quite a challenge to the actors playing them and an equal challenge to real fans of the series who have embedded themselves and love of the characters with those original actors.

For Trek fans you're going to love this movie. It is fresh yet familiar. There is lots of new material here to keep you going for two hours. It is great to see this reboot of the characters and see them unfold from the beginning again. You'll love seeing Spock and Kirk save the galaxy for the first time. However, also for Trek fans the reboot isn't going to be able to follow every reference or look and act the same as it did in 1966 or 1979. When the series first rebooted itself with the 1979 release, little was thought about making everything match the t.v. series – thank god. It worked great. So hopefully Trek fans will see the choices made in 2009 as reasonable ones.

For normal movie goers this film is a marvel of modern CGI and everything looks so real that it is hard to believe that it is not real. It is a gorgeous looking film and that is hard to argue. J.J. Abrams, the film's director has done a remarkable job in getting this project off the ground and also pulling this movie together considering the special effects. It's almost like pulling a movie out of thin air. Just as the model making was incredible in the earlier films it is the computer imaging that makes this movie look breathtaking.

The acting in the film is a bit uneven and unbalanced. The actors certainly had enough reference material to pull from and while I wasn't looking for any type of impersonations from the actors, the characters are pretty much set in stone from the books and previous movies. This might be where Trek fans are most critical. From a non Trek point of view, the development could have been much deeper that it was. One of the surprise performances comes from Simon Pegg who plays Scotty, the ship's engineer. His delivery and skill takes many of the scenes that he is in.

As fir Chris Pine (James Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock), their chemistry together has a certain flair, but the spark never ignites fully. They play their parts very light without letting themselves go too deep into these characters. The tension of friendship is there but at times I just wasn't convinced that these guys had the bravado necessary to save the galaxy. If their chemistry doesn't do it for you, don't worry. There is still some sexiness to this geeky film. Just like its predecessors, this film finds a way to work in some sex appeal.

I am forced to admit that I am a Trek fan. Therefor I like the movie. I think I'm able to be unbiased enough though to say that non-Trek fans will like this movie too. It is a great sci- fi ride with some awesome graphics, great fighting, some twists and turns and all around good fun. If you're not a fan this movie just might make a fan of you.

17 Again (2009)

It Didn't Make Me Throw Up

[6/10 · 17 April 2009]

I don't think it should be any surprise that this movie is merely a quick vehicle to get Zac Ephron in a movie and making money as fast as possible before, god forbid, he becomes a flash in the pan. If you have seen a trailer for the film then you've pretty darn near seen the film aside from the juicy bits that all the tween girls in America are frothing to see.

Basically this is about a guy named Mike O'Donnell (Mathew Perry) who is having a rough time in his life. His wife is wanting a divorce, his kids are remote at best, he didn't get the big office promotion and let's just say his life has been going down the drain since his life at 17 when he was the big basketball star. And, let's cue the body swap movie.

In order to get us, the audience, where we need to be which is watching Zac play out this 17 again life while maintaining his middle aged knowledge, Mike (Perry) falls into a Twilight Zone type of vortex where the switch happens. Switch? Instead of being 17 again he should have asked to go back in time 20 years. Think of movies like Big (in reverse) or Freaky Friday, only in a good way. Perhaps Like Father, Like Son comes to mind. Maybe even a dash of It's A Wonderful Life is even thrown in.

Whatever movies you think of, and there are plenty to think of here, writer Jason FIlardi is responsible for the premise being rammed down our throat. I use the word writer loosely as do I also the word responsible. Filardi has brought us Drum and Bringing Down The House. As for responsible, well that should go to the executives that were determined on creating a Zac Efron project rather than looking for a project for Zac Efron.

The real question was why I was even attending a screening of this movie. Well, I have a just turned teen daughter who had to see this trifle so when the passes came up I had to take them. In attendance was also another 100 teenage girls sans boyfriends. Just as contrived as the movie itself is shirtless Zac, who when he took off his T-shirt, my hearing failed from the squeals that only teenage girls can make. And why does he have to play basketball again!!

I can tell you that this is harmless entertainment. We've seen actors stoop much lower than this though I can't tell you how we ended up with Matthew Perry cast as adult Efrom. I also can't tell you why we need to have Brian Doyle Murray as the janitor that just happens to have the magical ability to make vortexes appear at his whim. Seems like he could do better than the janitor gig.

Overall, I didn't throw up. I actually found a couple of the scenes funny and fresh. There was a lot that I didn't like that with a little work could have been made much better, but Hollywood is lazy that way and if they don't have to do the work, they won't.

Get Shorty (1995)

Not Short On Goodness

[8/10 · 28 March 2009]

Sometimes all you have left to play is attitude. With a lot more than attitude to play, this film starts with attitude, stirs in some laughs and then adds quite a lot of good actors. Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, Get Shorty is a delightful, well written, smart film with loads of plots twists. The pace is deliberate and the character studies are fun and well thought out. The character study for John Travolta comes one year after his comeback role in Pulp Fiction with Quintin Tarentino.

The main character is Chili Palmer (John Travolta) who works as as loan shark and part of a group of mobsters out in Miami. Chili has become tired of his mob life and when a job comes to him that enables him to perhaps go to L.A. and try another line of work, he seizes the chance. There Chili meets up with B-movie mogul, Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) who owes quite a considerable debt.. Zimm agrees to help Chili get a project off the ground with the help of his girlfriend, Karen (Rene Russo) and they suggest casting academy award nominee Martin Weir (Danny DeVito), while Chili also tries to get his immediate job finished.

Director Barry Sonnenfeld provides a film that takes the idea of loving movies and its tongue-in-cheek gangster characters in stride as if that idea is simply a starting off point. He doesn't rely on conventional clichés of the criminal underworld and tells this search for a new career in a refreshing new light. Even when the characters are not the most likable they are still very entertaining. The added bonus that Chili is such a movie fan makes him doubly likable in the film.

This film is a totally character driven film and everything in the film is for the characters. The combination of John Travolta (won Golden Globe, Best Actor), Barry Sonnenfeld and Elmore Leonard's words are a wonderful ebb and flow of comedy and drama. There are some terrific L.A. spots and locations that are also highlighted. The location which is also my favorite movie mogul office of all time is Harry Zimm's office.

Wall Street (1987)

Very Relevant

[8/10 · 27 March 2009]

"Greed is good." Gordon Gecko proudly offers that idea or perhaps way of life lived by the elite of the stock market. Gecko explains it best when he talks about making nothing except wealth. Gecko signifies for many what they believe New York and the financial markets to be which is one big sham. The movie is not a burning question or even a quest for the truth as much as a hypothesis and then argument for the truth of excess. Right from the beginning of the movie Oliver Stone shows what he thinks of the tainted system and the superficial people in it.

The story follows Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a young, struggling stock trader, looking for shortcuts in the market and ways to get rich quick. He works the phones, trying to find new clients who have the money and the where with all to make him wealthy without getting old in the process. Gordon Gecko is the man in this world of make believe and money. Gecko has it all and more importantly has it all to offer. Gecko teaches Bud Fox just how the world works, how people like him gobble up entire companies. He provides Fox with a tall, blonde girlfriend by way of Daryl Hannah and even manages to make him balance his best friend (James Spader) by way of his slight of hand business dealings. The most prominent theme throughout Oliver Stone's film is greed and it is what binds everyone in the film.

Charlie Sheen carries the movie along with veteran Michael Douglas. Douglas won Best Actor for his portrayal. There are some very corny scenes that involve Martin Sheen but thankfully they are lost in the body of the film. Generally the film holds up under scrutiny and is very easy to understand which is something that can't always be said of stock market pictures and stories. The world of high finance is always easy to follow since everyone knows what greed is and that is always the way the film is framed.

I confess it took a couple of viewings of the film to come around to my good side. Stone manages to put the entire financial system on trial rather than just those manipulating the system. He shows the system for what it is and how the corrupt few at the top keep getting richer on the backs of those at the bottom.

I Love You, Man (2009)

Some Good Laughs

[7/10 · 27 March 2009]

Everyone would like to have a best friend or best man like Sydney Fife (Jason Segel). Peter (Paul Rudd) is engaged to the girl of his dreams and faced with an upcoming wedding realizes he has no male friends and certainly none close enough to be his best man. That is where Sydney comes into play. This movie strikes at the heart of all men who have either had their own version of a Sydney or are still looking for one. Sydney is a charming guy, he's personable, and opinionated, and before long he and Peter have become inseparable. Of course none of this is what Peter's fiancé has in mind.

While there are some laughs to be had, and I think you see where I'm going with this, this is your basic romantic-comedy which means that it is very formula based. The movie is like a dozen other films with just a little bit of new stuff thrown on top. Paul Rudd is good, as always, and give his standard nice guy act. It was also great to see Lou Ferigno without green paint though he still could not escape the Hulk reference and probably never will. Jason Segel provides one of the better performances in the film, but he has plenty of models to refer to in other films in order to get it right.

Certainly the movie can only be credited with all the great actors in the film. Rudd is joined by J.K. Simmons and Jane Curtain as dad and mom and little brother is Andy Samberg. It is always good seeing Jon Favreau on screen and he's paired up with Jaime Pressly. John Hamburg makes his leap from directing television with I Love You, Man and some great scripts.

The film has to get in line with a lot of other very similar movies but that doesn't make it too much less funny. The film would do a lot better to have relied on its original material rather than the heavily formulated script. Given Hamburg's ability to turn out a decent script it is too bad that he could not save an entirely new script for himself to direct here.

Nosferatu (1922)

Some Better Ideas Than Dracula

[8/10 · 23 March 2009]

Nosferatu is one of our earliest films and certainly one of our most entertaining of earliest films. The film is shown in virtually every film history class throughout universities around the globe. It has been picked apart from every angle of meaning from that of pure expressionism to political nuance. The film did not win any awards after all the Oscars were still 5 more years away from creation.

The film is German and actually titled Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens which translates to Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. The film was instantly paired down to just Nosferatu. Directed by F.W. Murnau and staring Max Schreck as the vampire, the film was shot in 1921 and released in 1922. The story is an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula but the names and details were changed in the movie because the studio was unable to buy the rights to the novel. Items like "vampire" became "Nosferatu" and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok."

We're lucky to have this film at all. Nosferatu was the first and only production of Prana Film company which was founded in 1921 by Enrico Dieckmann and Albin Grau. Albin Grau was an artist and specialized in the occult. Due to lawsuits by the Stoker estate the film company had to declare bankruptcy and evades the lawsuits altogether. Grau had the idea to shoot a vampire film during his wartime experiences. During the winter in 1916 a Serbian farmer told Grau that his father was a vampire and an Undead. Of course this gave Grau several ideas for movies. On Nosferatu he was not only the producer but he was also the production designer and responsible for how the entire film and characters look.

Henrik Galeen was sought after and wrote the screenplay for the film. He was especially experienced in dark romanticism and had worked on other screenplays. He set the story in a fictional North German harbor town named Wisborg. It was also his idea for the vampire to bring a plague to Wisborg when rats follow Nosferatu off the ship from which he lands in the harbor. It was his decision to leave out the character of Van Helsing, the vampire hunter.

The film is very engaging for 1922. The establishment of the alternate vampire that came to be known as "Dracula-type" this more rat-like depiction is very believable. This adaptation of Dracula is as positively hailed as the original Dracula itself. The movie is in public domain and because of that most of the copies of this film are of poor quality though it is easy to find the film. There are some very nice quality of film in release and it is well worth it to view one that is high quality so as not to miss any of the fine details of the film.

The film was remade in 1979 by German director Werner Herzog. Like all remakes that film is a film unto itself and should not necessarily be compared though it is also worth time to be viewed. Nosferatu is a part of film history but aside from what grade history may give, the film is scary and well made. It is a wonderful film and Max Schreck as Count Orlok is terrific to watch.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

Perhaps Some Self Sensorship?

[7/10 · 20 March 2009]

Since I have always been a film nut and everything about the movies has drawn my attention, the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) is one of those things that has fascinated me even though I didn't understand it. Movies like Jaws received PG rating. I remember Clockwork Orange being rated X; it was always a mystery what those ratings board guys were thinking. Kirby Dick's film This Film Is Not Yet Rated tries to explore how the ratings were figured in the past and how the MPAA is working in today's film world.

The documentary is about the once corrupt MPAA and also and education on the procedures or rules that are applied to movies in order to obtain a rating for them. Director Kirby Dick apparently figures that he is teaching a classroom or making a 16mm how to film instead of making a documentary film for adults and film enthusiasts. Unfortunately his directing style is just too juvenile for such a savvy audience and had he stuck to just a boring talking head style documentary the film would have been better for it.

This film takes on a lot of complaints against the MPAA board and tries to explain them rather than taking on definitions of the MPAA and its purpose head on. The members of the MPAA are anonymous as to keep feature filmmakers from appealing to them directly. Originally the ratings was the way to keep government from censoring the movies and Hollywood, but at least the government would have created solid rules to follow rather than the random and often conflicting way the early MPAA handled the film industry. The MPAA insists that it applies its rules evenly but the procedures are secret so nobody can tell what they are. If something is not allowed it is simply against the invisible rules.

There is some good work in the film. Not a lot of history and not a lot of making sense of the nonsense, but some good work. There is Matt Stone from Southpark, Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry), Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), Allison Anders (Grace of My Heart), John Waters (Hairspray). While there is interest, especially to film geeks everywhere, the storytelling needs some censoring of its own. There is also a bit of one-sidedness the the film which is to be expected from any documentary except when that one side needs the other to hold the attention of the audience.

After watching This Film is Not Yet Rated you'll no doubt be mulling the questions of censorship, government involvement in the Hollywood machine, how power can be misused and all that big machine power sort of stuff. Or you may more likely be wondering why this movie wasn't any better with such a topic to be trounced. *

* The poster holds my attention and not because of the naked model. In some, if not all, the postings of this advertisement the butt has had to be censored by a black box. Sometimes the irony does make its way through.

Knowing (2009)

Worth Seeing – Before the End!

[7/10 · 19 March 2009]

From the trailers of Knowing you'd be convinced that you're going to watch a cheesy, try to save the world picture with a wound tight Nicolas Cage at the center gritting his teeth and ducking his way to the perfect ending. Well, you'd be partially correct. Cage is definitely giving his wound tight hero routine that he's worked so hard to develop over the last half dozen films. As for the cheese factor, that's where you'll be surprised. Director Alex Proyas manages to deliver a rather decent sci-fi flick that has plenty of suspense and intelligence.

The plot turns around John Koestler (Nicolas Cage), an MIT astrophysics nerd turned Indiana Jones when a time capsule is discovered at his young son Caleb's (Chandler Canterbury) school. Inside are drawings from students in 1959 predicting what things would be like in 2009 some 50 years later. The drawing that Caleb comes home with isn't a drawing at all but a series of seemingly random numbers. Koestler becomes obsessed with the numbers and their meaning or what they seem to mean. The whole thing shakes him to his scientific core and a quest has begun.

The film is very lucky to have director Alex Proyas from films such as Dark City which is his true geek film and critical acclaim as well as I, Robot and Garage Days. The visual and special effects are outstanding. It was surprising how much suspense was in the script (Ryan Douglas Pearson and Juliet Snowden) which gave the film a real thriller atmosphere which continues to build in tone as the mystery is unraveled.

I admit I went into this film expecting a rehash of National Treasure on a more global scale. The sci-fi aspect of the premise is very well thought out and told. The acting by co-stars (Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne and Lara Robinson) are solid performances and stand in complementary contrast to that of the tightly wound Nicolas Cage. The geek factor of Knowing is rather high with lots of number configurations and what-if scenarios which is great for the sci-fi fans. At times your brain may have to turn on in order to follow the film, but that is what made Knowing such a pleasant surprise to me.*

Rolling (2007)

The Film Says Some Interesting Things About Ecstacy

[6/10 · 19 March 2009]

Rolling is perhaps what you might be able to gather by looking at this poster. This documentary-style film is about the L.A. Ecstasy-riddled underground party scene. What attracts me to the film is that the location does not have to be CA, it could be any U.S. city. Rolling takes as entertaining a look as one can of this odd drug phenomenon.

Here's the downer. This film would have been so much better had director Billy Samoa Saleebey attempted a genuine documentary of the subject matter. There is certainly enough in the film to draw the interest of the audience, but the hokey script and low budget 16mm just doesn't hold the attention for feature length.

Helvetica (2007)

A Quietly Good Film

[8/10 · 17 March 2009]

I'm a sucker for a good font. Typography has been a passion of mine since I became involved in publishing. Most people never give a second thought to that little piece of type urging them to make this or that decision. A lot of thought has gone into that font. Some designer had to sweat out the decision and finally choose that font. The most used font in our society is Helvetica. It has become a standard on computers everywhere.

Helvetica is a cute documentary by Gary Hustwit and introduces a lot of people that are passionate about fonts and typeface design. The film explores the font of Helvetica from social, historical and design standpoints. Hustwit gladly investigates what can be considered the worlds most ubiquitous typeface and traces the roots of Helvetica back to a small foundry names Haas, in Münchenstein, Switzerland in the 1950s. The film charts its rise as a basic of corporate logos, warning signs and other functionality. He uncovers its controversy in the graphic arts community over cultural connotations and artistic worth. One interview with German typographer and designer Erik Spiekermann even goes so far as to compare the uniform appearance of the font to Nazi soldiers marching in line.

The film is artfully photographed and sharply edited. The photography, which can be credited to Luke Geissbuhler, is sublime. The soundtrack pushes the film through strong ambient rock. The film is a study in philosophy argument rather than the forced construction of say a Michael Moore offering. The seemingly unremarkable subject matter should not keep you away from this film. Helvetica is a witty, diligently researched documentary. It is very interesting, even if you're not a fan of the typography. Gary Hustwit has put together one of the most captivating documentaries of the year. One thing is guaranteed. After viewing this film you'll spend some time afterward scanning all that you see for Helvetica.

The Caine Mutiny (1954)

This Film Deserves A Salute

[9/10 · 17 March 2009]

This film is one of the great 1950s movies about a WWII naval ship with numerous conflicts on-board. The very independent officers of the Caine also have some issues with the Captain (Humphrey Bogart) which culminate with a court martial trial. The film is reminiscent of other great naval court-martial films such as Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Sea Wolf (1941) and Treasure Island (1950).

Based on the best selling, 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Caine Mutiny was originally adapted for the Broadway stage (by producer Charles Laughton). The story follows young Willie Keith, junior officer, who has come aboard the worn out ship, The Caine, which is a less than stellar ship when it comes to reputation and discipline. The Captain of the ship is replaced during an assignment by another Captain by the name of Queeg. Queeg has had an illustrious career and is determined to bring the tired old mine sweeper back into Navy regulation. The officers on the Caine don't give Queeg any slack and not much favor and quickly he loses the respect of the crew. After a crucial mission the Caine and the rest of the fleet is caught in a hurricane which results in Queeg losing command and a trial of two of the officers one of whom is Keith.

Even though Keith (Robert Francis) is considered a main character the two characters that end up with the screen time are Lt. Commander Philip Francis Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) and Lt. Steve Maryk (Van Johnson) with a nod going to Lt. Barney Greenwald (José Ferrer). There is just no way that meek little Francis can hold his own against Bogart. On the screen Bogart has such presence that the audience is forced to root for him no matter what is incapacity seems to be. The court scenes which take up the last act or 1/3rd of the film are almost a toe to toe face-off between Bogart and Ferrer with both of them winning. The acting is thick in the picture's Technicolor backdrop.

To think that The Caine Mutiny could have such star power and have the good graces of the Navy when the ship and the officers are portrayed as sub par is unbelievable and must rest on the shoulders of Bogart. Director Edward Dmytryk doesn't seem a likely candidate to get the Navy's approval given that he is one of the original blacklisted "Hollywood Ten." The direction is great as is the acting. This was Bogart's last great role (he died three years later). The film was nominated for 7 Oscars but could not take any.

The Black Balloon (2008)

Solid and Truthful, A Movie Worth Seeing

[7/10 · 8 March 2009]

This true to life film is a inside glimpse into a family that is, at its core, held together by the mother. Toni Collette plays the mother of an autistic son. Her performance is real and a driving force in the film. Her autistic son Charlie is a trial for the entire family and for his mother, whose life is so static and day in day out, she has come to accept Charlie for the person he is and she does this through simple love.

At the center of the story is the other son, Thomas (Rhys Wakefield) and his burden of keeping his brother Charlie a secret and his further burdens of family life. When father Simon is away from the home it is Thomas who tries to run the household. Charlie is played by Luke Ford who gives a wonderful performance (remember him from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor). Their family struggles with bouts of seeming normalcy and shocking bits of harsh truth and bitter reality.

Thomas develops a strained relationship with a girl that is nice to him. This girl, Jackie (Gemma Ward) is striking and upon making it clear that she likes Thomas finds that he doesn't know how to deal with this. Both solid performances by Gemma Ward, a model, and Rhys Wakefield with his truthful, from the gut acting.

Written and directed by Elissa Down, who has two autistic brothers in real life, obviously brings her experiences to bear and is innately able to bring pressure to this trouble torn family while bringing out some very emotional love. The winner of this film is Toni Collete whose acting through the turmoil is completely convincing. The acting together with a strong script really make this a movie worth seeing.

Watchmen (2009)

Worth Watching More Than Once

[8/10 · 8 March 2009]

It is tough to declare who is responsible for Watchmen. On one side is director Zack Snyder who has given us films such as the remake of Dawn of the Dead and comic adaptation 300. Certainly in the movie 300 we see Snyder's style with that slowed down, quick pan or zoom and loads of blood. He is not afraid of blood. Arguably Snyder his style has been defined from 300. Snyder vowed that for Watchmen he would be using the graphic novel's book panels as his storyboard and his bible. For the most part the film is what it appears to be which is a pretty faithful rendition of the novel. The film is an emotional, gripping story with visuals that are riveting. Mesmerizing film-making.

The film is set in 1985, masked vigilantes have been outlawed. Edward Blake is attacked in his apartment by and intruder. He is thrown thrown through window and falling to his death, he remarks, grinning, "Life's a joke". Following this sequence is a montage of historical scenes painting an alternate history from World War II through the 1980s. The montage includes historical events such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War. Due to the success of the Vietnam war, Richard Nixon is shown to be elected to his third term as President. Even though they have been outlawed the Watchmen are brought together again.

Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) is the only one with real superpowers. He lives outside ordinary time and space. Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) is the world's smartest man. The Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) is isolated from life by his mastery of technology. Rorshach (Jackie Earl Haley) finds meaning in patterns that may only exist in his mind. And Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) lives with one of the most familiar human challenges, living up to her parents, in this case the original Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino). Dr. Manhattan is both her lover and a distant father figure living in a world of his own.

The Watchmen suffer what all superheroes have faced. How their humanity comes into play against their super powers and how their super powers can interfere with humanity. What kind of non-super lives can the superhero live and why are they both hated and revered at the same time. Fundamental questions that have plagued most superheroes of any depth in reality. The one caveat is Batman because he is so human and must rely on his human side in order to feed his super human desires. And what about Dr. Manhattan? Does he even remember what it is like to be human and is he doing his part in this for some kind of human feeling he has deep within himself.

Like a superhero I was also torn between two worlds while going to see Watchmen on the big screen. Half of me wanted to see a good movie while the other half wanted to side with Alan Moore and wish for the film to be a big pile of crap. Writer Alan Moore. Alan Moore has refused to have his name on the movie (ditto its Moore-based predecessors, "V for Vendetta" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") and he has declined all reimbursement in an effort to protest the entertainment industry's fundamental lack of respect for intellectual property. He too is like a torn superhero. I admire Moore for his inner morality.

I think that Zack Snyder has done a respectable treatment of Watchmen. It is a sharp movie largely due to the really great graphic novel the material has come from. I believe it is because the material was looked at as virtual storyboards that we get such a visceral movie. We can only hope to see more from both this writer and director.

Doubt (I) (2008)

Subject Matter Seems Too Late

[7/10 · 8 March 2009]

About 10 years ago this film may have been considered cutting edge. Certainly the subject matter is still considered a hot button in many sects of the country. The performances in Doubt are given by two of the best actors of our times. I can't help feel that the subject matter is just a little late and with that feeling comes a little heavy handed as well.

The film is set in a Catholic school, the Bronx and the year is 1964. Father Flynn (Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman), seems to be trying to bring the church and school's culture into a new age. Unfortunately for him Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Academy Award winner Meryl Streep) is holding onto her disciplines as closely as she can. The school has just accepted their first black student while Sister Aloysius begins to suspect the Father of inappropriate attention, in fact child molestation.

Though the original play came out a couple of years after the Catholic Church sex scandals, the time has been set in 1964. Rest assured there are some weighty issues that come with this film. There are no easy answers and many many undertones and ambiguity. The film looks and feels stage-like. The movie never clearly seems to make that necessary crossover into the film world and we are left feeling like an audience instead of a voyeur.

The performances are very good, the actors are top notch and try to work with the material. The writing is also good, without taking on the challenges of converting to the screen. The film always seems limited by the confines of the stage. Academy Award winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley ("Moonstruck") adapted his own play for the screen and I think he was just too close to the material. Add to that Mr. Shanley directed his own script. There is some good, juicy work here on everyone's part, but it never quite clicks for me. There are many chances to make a social comment on the sex scandals but just when we get close Shanley takes us in another direction.

Changeling (2008)

Just A Cut Above Average

[7/10 · 8 March 2009]

Changeling stars perhaps the most talked about person in Hollywood. Why do I even mention that? Well, I think it has an impact on the marketing for the film. Anything with Angelia Jolie is going to get attention whether it is deserving or not. I think this movie is worth talking about but I'm not so sure that Jolie's performance in the film is one of the best of the year as her Oscar nomination would tend to disagree with me.

This is a factual story of a mother, Christine Collins, and her 9 year old little boy that disappeared. The Los Angeles Police Department is running wild with corruption in 1928, when the boy went missing. A few months after the disappearance, her son, Walter, was found alive in Illinois. There was a big problem. Collins said the boy was not hers. The police naturally tried to hold this case up as an example of their good police work. Collins protested and the police were determined to silence her. It was proved that the returned boy was three inches shorter than Walter, he was not recognized by school and classmates, not even the dental records matched. Still Collins was informed that she was crazy and the police had her locked up in a psychiatric ward.

This film is directed by legendary Clint Eastwood. He chooses not to structure the film in a thriller type of format and does not keep his audience in the dark but rather tries to educate the audience and engage them. The story is more of a commentary and forthright storytelling in an artfully edited way. Eastwood does some amazing work here. He does it with just the right actress in Angelina Jolie. She is wonderful to watch in this totally believable and just portrayal of Christine Collins.

Equally delightful in the film id John Malkovich as Reverand Gustav Briegleb. The Reverand was a radio preacher and used his show to bring attention to the rampant police corruption of the time. The LAPD works to hide their bad reputation. Collins is treated as mentally ill, which is virtually looked at as a crime in 1938 and handled with drugs, shock treatment and restraint. The story is told by the filmmakers, just told as it happened. The story is neatly condensed.

Changeling is a good film and Eastwood delivers with a great cast. It is also a story worthy of being told as most stories of this caliber are. This is meat and potatoes story telling and few chances are being taken and while there is certainly commentary in the manner of the film-making and choices made by the actors there just isn't much thinking outside the box and that is what makes the film more ordinary than extra.

Annie Hall (1977)

Annie Hall Is Iconic

[9/10 · 15 February 2009]

I am a Woody Allen nut but you don't have to be in order to love this movie. Winner of four Academy Awards, the film brought Woody Allen and Diane Keaton to the top of mainstream Hollywood. Woody Allen was already a successful filmmaker and actor so when this film won 1977 Best Picture becoming a better picture than Star Wars that was all he needed to skyrocket to the top. Even now he remains an acquired taste and a sort of love him or leave him filmmaker. With Annie Hall the quirky barriers were broken down and the movie crossed over into a blockbuster film.

There is little question that Woody Allen is a great writer and filmmaker. Even those that don't care for his high brow comedy will admit to his certain brand of genius with a camera and his keen scripts. Along with Marshal Brickman, Allen was also able to secure and Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. Allen chose not to be present at the awards.

Annie Hall is about the romantic adventures of neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer and his equally neurotic girlfriend Annie Hall. The story follows their relationship from first meeting and the documents their rocky romance while making comments about love during the 1970s. Throughout the movie Allen uses different and innovative ways to tell the story from speaking to the camera, entering other people's narratives and even the clever use of some animation.

Of course just like the later Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters and Radio Days, Annie Hall clearly has its share of semi-autobiographical elements. The film is total Allen representing the his socially inept and pessimistic view of dating and people bringing all his New York raised bias to bear. The relationship between the two main characters is also autobiographical as Allen and Diane Keaton dated and had a breakup in the early 1970s.

Annie Hall gave Woody Allen a chance to capitalize on the success elements from his previous films with the subjects of anti-Semitism, life, romance, professional angst, drugs and death, his obsessive love of New York. Themes that would continue in his films until present day. This film allows his neuroses to take center stage and along with his pessimism and distorted memories of his childhood creates an alter ego for the screen that he refines and which the public comes to think of as actual Woody Allen. This film along with other Allen work combined with his personal life he had chosen to make public come together and make up the true but sort of fictional Woody.

Few movies come through American culture and stand the test of time. Annie Hall is a fresh movie today as it was 30 years ago. The comedy is still just as relevant and the New York centeredness still exists 100%. The film has transcended just a flick at the metroplex and is now taught as part of film history at most universities. Annie Hall the character became an iconic figure in the late 1970s just as Annie Hall the movie has become an icon in film and American culture.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

A True Movie of Character

[9/10 · 8 February 2009]

The story that emerges from from this unlikely source is hope and inspiration. I say unlikely source because the story comes from the pen of horror master Stephen King. This is not a story you can easily envision coming from his tortured soul. But perhaps King is in his element when words like prison, solitary confinement, torture and unrealistic all spring forth to describe the story of Andy Dufresne and his years at Shawshank prison.

Narrated by "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), Shawshank Prison has become his captive home of customers since he is able to procure certain items like cigarettes, candy and so on. For a self proclaimed innocent victim of the system, new comer Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) "Red" is asked for a most unusual item - a rock pick. Andy is an amateur geologist. Andy and "Red" gradually become friends as people come and go, one way or another, from Shawshank as time passes them by.

What on the surface might seem like a depressing story and situation is filled with personal challenges and one's will to overcome impossible odds. The prison is speckled with interesting characters such as the oldest convict Brooks the librarian (James Whitmore) or the bible thumping man at the top of Shawshank, Warden Norton (Bob Gunton). Whether doing time like Andy or finally being release like Brooks or being torn between beliefs like Warden Norton, each man faces their own challenges while all of them endure the ravages of time.

Everything about this movie is done with the backdrop of the prison even though it is nothing like any typical prison film. The movie is based on Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King. There is no horror that is normally found in King's work. Instead this is more of an inner character struggle like is found in another of King's work, Stand By Me. Like that story the two main character are linked in partnership with Tim Robbins giving a moving and powerful performance next to a solid character study by Morgan Freeman.

Director Frank Darabont delivers a solid film adding lots of life to what could have been a dreary background. The story flows evenly with a genuine care given to each character and each actor's performance. Shawshank is an instant classic and puts Robbins in the lead to play any every-man role aside the likes of Jimmy Stewart.

The 400 Blows (1959)

The Birth of French New Wave Cinema

[10/10 · 6 February 2009]

A 13-year-old Parisian boy, Antoine Doinel, neglected by his derelict parents, spends his days skipping school and sneaking into lots of movies. His life is on somewhat of a downward spiral as teen angst catches up with him and he begins to be seen as only a trouble maker by the adults in his life. Antoine runs away from home, is a failed thief and suffers through believing he is in the right as he continues to do wrong. Living in between arcades, abandoned factories and Paris flats he sees the city as opportunity and hope, but his vision is still only that of a child.

The films most analyzed shots involve Antoine after he has run away from the detention home and ends up on the beach. Truffaut ends the film on a freeze frame with Antoine looking into the camera. He has finally made it to the sea for the first time in his young life and he is seemingly caught between past and future.

This will not be the only time Leaud will play Antoine as he and Truffaut will have a long collaboration. Leaud will play the on screen youthful biographical Truffaut through four more films. The most notable is Stolen Kisses. However, none of the films come close to this first feature of Truffaut. This film was his release and breakthrough of the French New Wave.

The film is simple movie making, while at the same time showing layers of feeling and longing for something more. Jean-Pierre Leaud is stunning in his role and his innocence breathes right on the screen. The film, at times, almost takes on a feeling of documentary because of the vividly personal scenes. The story is told with deliberate measure.

At the beginning Antoine is living with his mother and stepfather in a elbow-room-only flat. They are literally stepping over one another. The mother (Claire Maurier) is attractive beyond her means while the stepfather (Albert Remy) is doing is best in a bad situation. Both struggle in their own way to keep everything together but nothing keeps Antoine's trouble from their doorstep and their over the top reactions.

Once Antoine has hit the streets adult hope is lost and he is at the mercy of social services. While on the streets Antoine hovers around trouble and close to disaster. He goes to the movies a lot which is clearly a force that he uses to stave off the tragedies that come his way. There are times when he is genuinely happy but the cold chill is always there threatening to break through his jacket with turned up collar - his shield against the bad over his shoulder.

This film is François Truffaut's savior from himself. His ability to bring his wild child story to the screen with such feeling and honesty has made him a directing legend and started the New Wave from classic to modern French cinema. Like Antoine, Truffaut was saved by movies and once this first and legendary film was made by the time he was 27 years old, he would never have to look back on that bad kid except through a lens.

Coraline (2009)

An Instant Classic

[8/10 · 5 February 2009]

Feisty eleven-year-old Coraline walks through a secret door and discovers a parallel reality. That reality is sort of similar to the life she already knows yet deeply unsettling in a number of ways. Coraline (voice of Dakota Fanning) begins a journey of adventure and self discovery when her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) relocate the family to Oregon from Michigan. No one in this new space has time for her so she spends her time exploring her new neighborhood with an talkative local boy named Wybie Lovat (Robert Bailey Jr.). After discovering the odd neighbors all of whom are true characters, she is still bored somehow.

All of this immense undertaking is courtesy writer and director Henry Selick, director of Nightmare Before Christmas, and the well crafted adaptation of Neil Gaiman's international best-selling children's novel. To Selick's credit this is the first 3D stop motion ever made; stereoscopic 3D. Selick himself worked on the film for three years. The style is stunning and the story is an unwavering fairy-tale nightmare that has some genuinely scary moments. is a masterful movie and an exciting tale of mystery and imagination.

In the rotting nooks and crannies of Coraline's new home the real story begins and where she discovers a hidden doorway behind the wallpaper. Inside is her alternate space where there are doubles of her distracted parents now lavish loving attention on Coraline, the oddball neighbors are friendlier, and her pesky friend long longer speaks. Only her parents' eyes now black buttons give a clue that something isn't quite right.

Selick has created a world as much for adults as children as there are references dotted throughout that the young won't understand. The imagery, however, is very child like. Both talents live side by side and bodes well for Selick's previous work in Nightmare before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and even Monkeybone. His work has always been fascinating. Gaiman is to be credited with the story for sure, but this is Selick through and through. This film is sure to become an instant classic and as well executed as this movie is it should be.

Australia (2008)

A Big Meal Of A Movie

[8/10 · 5 February 2009]

Director Baz Luhrmann makes big movies, grand and epic size movies. This giant scale film chronically the very birth of Australia itself has a lot going on. You may remember Luhrmann from Moulin Rouge - which is how he ended up with Nicole Kidman in this movie. When you sit down to let the swell of the music grab you for the cinematic spectacle he calls Australia hold on and make sure your drink is filled. You're about to encounter every type of movie magic that Luhrmann can muster.

Like his previous work this film feels gaudy and self aggrandizing but in the most sincerest way. There is no doubt that you're being beaten over the head with style and the most artsy way to tell a story. The screen is filled with looks of longing and heart felt passion of either person, thing or place. While watching you will also feel as though you have seen every movie cliché possible. Is that wrong? Most of the great movie epics have this dated sort of feeling about them. An almost, "did they really feel that way back then" kind of feeling. Luhrmann certainly accomplishes adding feeling to Australia.

There is a lot of weight in the film with some pretty heavy situations that exist and while the film is not in any way a downer, it is campy. The World War II elements of tearing apart the country to the romance between our main characters is wholly campy. Every scene seems to be filtered through a magic romantic lens that see things with a fond remembrance. When Lady Sarah (Nicole Kidman) arrives in Australia she transforms into a ranch hand. Then as music booms on the screen she joins forces with Drover (Hugh Jackman) when raiders try to take her land and then she herds some 2000 cattle across hundreds of miles. An epic journey for such an epic looking film.

There are some moments of the film in which I wish the excessive drama could have found its way to the cutting room floor. As for the images on the screen, it is a wonderful execution from cinematographer Mandy Walker. Australia is monumental and after two hours and 45 minutes you will have had a full meal of film theater experience melodrama with no excuses. Eat up!

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

Don't Give This Movie Any More Money

[1/10 · 4 February 2009]

Normally I would refrain from adding my 2¢ to a movie like Mall Cop. Not that I'm too good for Mall Cop. No no. I just don't know of too much more that can be said after viewing either the trailer (preview) or the movie poster. Too me this is the kind of movie I might have sneaked into in my youth simply because I had watched all the other movies in the metroplex. Those were the days, when I would pay $7 and then hop from theater to theater until I had gobbled up every movie playing. Of course there was also no cable TV then either.

Basically this is the story of a security guard working in a New Jersey mall. His dream has been to join the police force but his weight has always disqualified him. One day some criminals take over the mall and take hostages. Mall Cop Paul Blart is trapped inside and decides to help the police regain control and attempts to take on the gang on his own. Hilarity ensues.

This movie is the dream child of comedian Kevin James who wrote and then stars as the main character, Paul Blart the Mall Cop. The director is Steve Carr of Daddy Day Care fame. I won't lie, there are a couple of times that I may have shaken my head with some inner prepubescent laughter. Over all this is what you would expect, bad jokes about being fat from a fat guy. I have chosen to give it a few words because as of January 30 this movie has made a little over $83 world-wide. It was finally removed from 1st place on the charts by the movie Taken with Liam Neeson. I can only hope that by giving this movie some air time here it will have brought some people that will discover some good movies that I have written about. I beg you to go see them and not give your money to films such as this one. 1/10*

The Apartment (1960)

One of the Best 100 Films Ever Made

[4 February 2009]

This is a brilliantly made film. With a legendary cast list and one of the greatest directors of all time, Billy Wilder, at the helm this movie goes the gamut of emotions. This is truly a film that grabs hold of you and you hold back. There is a lot going on through various levels of the film which enable one to see it over and over and always find a little something you didn't see before. Jack Lemmon has so many memorable roles that his role in The Apartment is sometimes over looked. Lemmon was nominated for an Oscar for lead actor in 1961 for this film and did win several awards including a Golden Globe. Lemmon is funny, handles a little slapstick, he awkward and even suave. He pulls them all off with ease. He plays an everyman character stuck in a strange situation, a type of character that he absolutely perfected through his career.

The Apartment takes place in Manhattan. C.C. Baxter, played by Jack Lemmon, is a clerk working at a large company and working for many bosses. In fact, he comments that his company has 31,259 employees at the home office alone. He's single and lends his one bedroom apartment to one of the executives for an evening. Word gets around and before you know it Baxter is lending his key to more than a few executives. The borrowed evenings are for rendezvous with mistresses and suddenly he is caught between company, bosses, landlord and neighbors. His evenings without his apartment get strained when Bud catches a cold. Shirley MacLaine is the lovely Fran Kubelik, the elevator girl that Bud has a crush on. A triangle of trouble develops when Bud discovers his boss Mr Sheldrake, played by an equally brilliant Fred MacMurray, has a thing with the lovely Fran Kubelik.

This movie is in black and white. The art direction is amazing. The scenes of Baxter's office and the Orwellian space of people with adding machines as well as the apartment itself are spot on. When you see the apartment for the first time, you know you're in New York and you know just who lives there and if there is any doubt Baxter's character mentions that he pays $94 per month for the apartment. Wilder's story and direction are compelling and hysterical at the same time. There is no doubt this is best picture material. I think MacLaine was probably overlooked for a supporting actress award, her performance is that good.

For me this film falls in the top 100 films ever made. I love that you can watch it many times and continue to walk away with something new. The black and while filming gives the movie a time reference and set of values frozen in that moment. The cast of Lemmon, MacLaine and MacMurray are amazing with the supporting cast playing an A game in their own roles. This film is a film-making lesson for anyone that studies film. 10/10*

Groundhog Day (1993)

This Movie Is Funny Over and Over Again

[8/10 · 3 February 2009]

When you ask someone to think of a Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day is usually the answer they give. The other half will say Ghostbusters. This is the kind of a role that one is born to play. Murray plays the character of Phil Conners and does it better than a real Phil Conners would have. His comedic talents are highly honed in this performance and he is working near the top of his game. It is so important to be inside a Phil Conner's head in this movie due to the repetitive nature of the movie. Murray is consistent, funny and just melds with the story line.

The story line is pretty basic. Phil Conners is a weatherman on assignment to cover Groundhog Day. He doesn't seem to be a nice man nor does he like his job very much. He mis-predicts the weather and end up getting stuck in Puncsutawney, PA where an annual Groundhog Day event is held putting the whole town on hold. Upon awakening the next morning in Puncsutawney the following day he discovers that it is Groundhog Day all over again. There is a great scene when Murray dresses as a cowboy with a date that is classic; and the way he is able to handle the Brink's guards is also very humorous.

Also fun to watch in the movie is the talented Andie MacDowell whose character of Rita is completely unaware that it is the same day for Phil. She tries to understand. Less understanding is Phil's cameraman played by David Letterman funny man Chris Elliot who gives his usual spot on dufus performance. The man who will always be synonymous with the film is Stephen Tobolowsky who plays the knee-slapping funny Ned Ryerson. The scenes, few as they are, with Bill Murray are comedy at its finest and also very Bill Murray.

Written by Danny Rubin and directed by Harold Ramis (Murray's co-star in Ghostbusters), this film was almost an experiment to see if Hollywood would let them make a movie in which the characters relive the same day over and over again. There have even been analysis papers written about time travel and how Phill Conners reacts in his environment so as to allow the same actions to take place again the next day. The film really found a cult like following when the replay rights were purchased by Turner Broadcasting and the movie received so much repeat airplay on TBS that some viewers thought they were in the actual movie. Ramis is to be commended for keeping all the scenes and continuity straight even with so many Hollywood tricks he could have chosen to use. This movie has turned out to be an important film of the 1990s. 8/10*

* The poster for the film is a little too cutesy and I never thought of this film as cutesy or talking down to the audience. Of course what does it is the addition of MacDowell on the poster. It must have been in her contract.

Brazil (1985)

One Of The Best Films Of The 1980s

[9/10 · 2 February 2009]

A throwback to the book 1984 by George Orwell, this Terry Gilliam cult classic is not just a movie ahead of its time but also some fantastic movie making. The designs in the film are sumptuous, whether costume they be set or just plain concept. Cowritten by Gilliam, playwright Tom Stoppard, and Charles McKeown, the script is pure brilliance. Brazil is considered by some to be Terry Gilliam's masterpiece. I would add to that the movie Twelve Monkeys.

Our story finds us following Sam Lowry who is mired in a futuristic society consumed with paperwork and procedures. He dreams of a pretend life where he can literally fly in the face of oppression and rescue the girl. There has been a wrongful arrest of a Harry Buttle. Sam Lowry (played by a brilliant Jonathan Pryce) who is just another cog in the system. Lowry gets connected with figuring out the confusion and finds himself more mired than before.

The design of Brazil is a constant in your face experience. Every inch of each set is covered in technology or some design element. Watching the movie once just doesn't cut it. There is always something new to look at. The acting is flawless and includes Robert DeNiro as Harry Buttle the HVAC guy. The idea behind Brazil is a frightening one, but to watch Brazil is a truly pleasurable movie going experience. This is one of the most important films of the 1980s and should appear on everyone's best list.