The American dream is predicated on the concept that determination and true grit will eventually allow for success. Those of us who have found ourselves in the deep quagmire of desperation, clinging tightly to that fading glimmer of hope know just how difficult tenacity and consistency can be to maintain. I have to be honest. I was really beginning to feel that this holding pattern of career diversion was becoming more and more permanent. Thanks to some great opportunities that have arisen this week, I can say that, for the first time in a while, I'm beginning to feel like my career may be taking off again. This is an exceptionally exciting feeling. Should things continue down this path, I hope to be sharing some good news with those of you who have been faithfully reading these intermittent posts.
And now, on to the reviews!
51.) BE COOL
The sequal to Get Shorty, is more fun, more outrageous, and even more entertaining than its' predecessor. Chili Palmer (John Travolta oozing in his Scientological best) is still in L.A. He's made headway into the film world, and now he wants to turn his Shylock skills to the music industry and help a young artist (played delightfully and beautifully by Christina Milian) break her contract with a scheming manager. Extra kudos go to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Vince Vaughn for taking on such absurdly over-the-top characters and imbuing them with sheer comic brutality. The Rock plays a body guard of questionable sexuality that would rather croon country songs than bash heads. Vaughn plays a record exec who has co-opted Black Culture so far as to make a serious claim for pretender of the century. If you can overlook Uma Thurman (which is generally considered the best way of dealing with her performances) then you are in for a wonderful treat. Pay extra close attention to the special features which shows the complete, and un-cut music video starring The Rock.
52.) BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD
Sidney Lumet is a phenomenal filmmaker. This convoluted suspense drama is a fine example of his skill and acumen behind the camera. Filled with a fine ensemble cast featuring outstanding performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Rosemary Harris, this is sure to keep you riveted for the full 117 minutes. Two brothers (Hawke and Hoffman) find themselves in severe financial straights: one sees his alimony and child support bills mounting up, the other has let his drug habit catch up to him. They decide to plan a jewel heist at a Mom and Pop jewelry store. The ironic twist is that the store belongs to their parents (Finney and Harris). When the deal goes horribly wrong, the two sees their plans go spiralling into worse and worse situations. I was genuinely impressed with this film, constantly guessing as to how this would all play out. Very much worth your while.
53.) THE BELIEVER
Prior to watching this movie, I counted American History X as the greatest achievement in films dealing with the concept of tolerance. No more. Ryan Gosling is absolutely brilliant as a Jewish anti-semite. His daily struggle with hiding his identity and past, while pursuing a life in the modern Nazi movement is handled with no self-mockery, and with a genuine unbiased truth. What astounded me more than the story, which was very powerful, was just how smart this movie really was. I remember watching Crash, and having a "well, duh!" reaction to the message of "we should really try to get along". With this movie, the message was just as simple and straight forward, but it never shied away from the true complexities that make us unique and deep human beings. Though I found the ending to be a little too "art-y" for my taste, I was blown away by just how gripping this drama really was.
54.) BEN X
Wow! This Flemish import indie was quite an edgy and powerful piece of cinema. Ben is a teenager dealing with the effects of Autism. The one true joy he has is the online gaming world where he can live out exciting adventures that are a far cry from his tortured existence in high school. He is constantly harassed and abused by bullies, so he eventually can take no more. He is aided by a beautiful girl who recogizes his struggle and the two of them formulate a plan to get revenge for their actions. There are a few scenes that are tough to watch. The bullying and mistreatment that Ben suffers will definitely tug at your heartstrings, but the redemption he acheives by the film's end is quite rewarding. Made in Belgium, the language barrier is broken when you see the hurt and depth in the eyes of an extrordinary actor. Please watch this movie.
55.)BEOWULF & GRENDEL
Well, my good fortune with great movies was bound to be short-lived. Next on the shelf was this waste of a perfectly good piece of plastic. Though it tries to be as accurate to the period as possible (including a cast of actors with Norse names that are impossible to type), it seriously falls short in the execution. The Vikings in the Capitol One commercials seem more authentic than this band of also-rans. Starring Gerard Butler who growls and crunches his way through the sub-standard text. Trying to create a bit of realism (which is certainly what the Old English epic needed), Grendel is characterized as a giant, bearded simpleton, who sleeps with a witch (the odd-cap Sarah Polley) and pummels Hrothgar's men because they killed his father when he was a bearded child. So, basically this is a revenge tale, without bothering to worry itself with those pesky little details like plot, and motivation, and decent storytelling. English students, do not watch this place of doing your required reading.
56.) BESIEGED
Not all that glitters is gold. Not ever Bertolucci film is an epic masterpiece. This snoozer tells the awkward love story of an African fugitive (Thandie Newton) and an eccentric musician (David Thewlis) both eking out a life in Rome. Though the visuals are stunning, the content is...not so much. Thewlis' Mr. Kinsky owns a large Roman villa, inherited from a deceased aunt. He hires medical student Shandurai to clean his house. Eventually (through means that are not made clear) he falls madly in love with her. The rest of the film becomes more of a journal entry than a plot. Shandurai's husband has been imprisoned by the brutal regime that has taken over her homeland. Once again, failing to accurately explain how, he is scheduled to be released and come to his wife in Rome. Spoiler alert!: the ending doesn't make a lick of sense! Billed as an erotic thriller, I found two things wrong with that advertisement.
57.) THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
This movie-version of the sitcom is silly, outrageous, and terrible. All that said, it's kind of entertaining. Jim Varney (God rest his denim soul) stars as Jed Clampett alongside Diedrich Bader and Cloris Leachman as Jethro and Granny, respectively. To be perfectly honest, if you can step away from the forced comedy, the stars put on quite a performance that is very enjoyable. Dabney Coleman is in his element as the harried Mr. Drysedale. Lily Tomlin is her constant warm self. The only dry spots in this sea of fun are the appearance of Rob Schneider and Lea Thompson as a scheming couple aiming to con the Clampetts out of their billions. Most of the jokes are fairly predictable, but there are a few golden hums that manage to elicit some genuine belly laughs. Take a chance on this one, and you won't regret it.
58.) BEVERLY HILLS NINJA
The comedy world lost a great talent the day that Chris Farley died. Though his work in Tommy Boy, Black Sheep and cameos in Billy Madison, and Dirty Work are superior examples of his extreme talent, this fun little movie is certainly not an injustice to his memory. Washing ashore in Japan, Farley's character, Haru, is mistaken for the mythic 'Great White Ninja' who is fabled to rise. Trained in the arts of ninjitsu, he never quite grasps the physicality of the methods, though he is well-learned in the spirituality. He gets embroiled in a mission for a beautiful American (Nicollette Sheridan) to uncover a counterfeiting scheme. He teams up with an underused Chris Rock, and the shenanigans are plenteous. Like most of his fish-out-of-water characters, this man-child is blissfully unaware of his own differences. He embraces the world around him like a fresh-faced youth. While not his best work, even Chris Farley's b-material is better than many of today's comics' A+ stuff.
59.) BEYOND THERAPY
The stage version of Christopher Durang's hit comedy is a winner. This dry attempt (fumbled through the fingers of the usually capable Robert Altman) is rather bland an boring. Despite having Julie Haggerty, Jeff Goldblum, and Christopher Guest, the film falls very flat in a most desperate and awkward way. To be perfectly honest, the comedy was virtually non-existent. The performances were ad libbed, and the overall feel was too blah to generate any interest whatsoever. This is quite a shame as the stage play is generally pretty entertaining. Jeff Goldblum's performance is all over the place, Christopher Guest plays effiminate without finding any real nuances. Julie Haggerty is frumpy mess. I think that the best way to deal with this movie is accepting that it is a failed experiment in attempting to blend realism with outrageous comedy. The result is just one long awkward and uncomfortable feeling.
60.) BHAJI ON THE BEACH
They say you should never judge a book by its' cover. You can, however, judge a DVD by its' cover. This little oddity is boxed like an imported bootleg. There are rampant misspellings and grammatical errors galore. What is contained inside is difficult to really describe. Apparently this was made for BBC television in the early 1990's, but it could easily have been an awkward MTV films production. This "life journey" tells the story of a group of Indian women making a daytrip to the beach town of Blackpool. There, each of them faces their own personal challenges that cause them to learn and grow, and accept who they are. While I'm not necessarily versed in traditional Indian culture, I do understand some of the underlying themes of racism, class struggle, and the need to rise above your situation. These are the issues that these women face, and all with the Lifetime Movie feel that makes their struggle more fun when paired with catchy music. If this were chronicling American women, there would be a montage of dancing to Motown music. Instead, these women end up at a male stripper revue. I'm sure it's lost in the translation.
There are many reasons that I find to celebrate the joys of life. Thankfully, SVC will be making her way to town in less than a month. The projects that I am blessed to be a part of seem to be blossoming into fruitful ventures.This is a good thing.
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