Punditries

Films of 1999

23 (German with English Subtitles) Based on true events in Germany in the 1980's: some German hacker kids break into computers all over the world and sell their secrets to the Russians. Kind of suspenseful but not really. More of a morality play.

The Acid House If you liked "Trainspotting", this is a must see, as it's based on stories by the same author, Irvine Welsh. "The Acid House" is three stories (told one at a time) about people in various stressful situations. Two of the stories are pleasantly surreal, particularly the stand-out third story about a kid doing acid who is struck by lighting and the weird transformation he endures. The film is Scottish but is subtitled in English - for good reason. The accents are difficult at times for Americans.

Affliction Nick Nolte plays a struggling middle-aged man in a New England town trying to get over his divorce and struggles with his family. Very downbeat but somewhat compelling.

All About My Mother (Spanish with English subtitles) Pedro Almodóvar's latest about a single mother whose teenage son is killed; she returns to Barcelona after a long absence to try to sort out her life. There she meets a bunch of characters (women and transexuals) dealing with their own problems. All the pieces of this drama seem to fit together a little too nicely. Still, a good female-oriented drama in a male-centered world of cinema. And it is beautifully filmed.

American Beauty (See Review) The best film of 1999 thus far. Kevin Spacey and Annete Bening are terrific as parents getting further apart, with Spacey's Lester going through a darkly funny mid-life crisis. Sad but funny commentary on the American family.

American Pie A bunch of guys try to lose their virginity by prom night as a contest.The 1990's answer to "Porkys", but an attempt to capitalize on the success of "There's Something about Mary"; some scenes seem thrown in to gross out the viewer. Somewhat entertaining but nothing special.

Analyze This Billy Crystal plays mobster Robert De Niro's shrink. Sometimes funny but ultimately a paint-by-numbers Hollywood comedy that will soon be forgotten.

Any Given Sunday Oliver Stone has finally made a film without a single Vietnam reference - a movie about football starring Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, and Jamie Foxx. Unfortunately, the film, though entertaining at times, drags on a bit too long and and too often becomes a series of shouting matches.

Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me More sophomoric jokes in the "Austin Powers" sequel. Mini Me is the best character, but we've seen most of his act in the previews.

Being John Malkovich (See Review) Surrealistic comedy about a struggling puppeteer (John Cusack) who somehow stumbles onto a secret door into actor John Malkovich's mind. Clever and original, sometimes very funny, though once the novelty of the premise wears off it drags a little.

Besieged Bernardo Bertolucci's poetic, spare story of a pianist who falls in love with his maid. There isn't much dialogue and some viewers may find the pace of this simple story maddenly slow. Best enjoyed if you can stop thinking and just let the film unfold. Try to ignore the excess (unnecessary) camera and editing tricks that only serve to distract.

Black Cat, White Cat (In Serbio-Croata with English subtitles) Emir Kusturica's wacky story of gypsy families, gangsters, and newlyweds. It's way-over-the top, outrageous comedy that some may find laborious but others may find hilarious. But Kusturica's style is fresh and original, and some of his imagery is extremely clever.

The Blair Witch Project Interesting indy effort that got blown all out of proportion as to its real achievement. No, it doesn't live up to all the hype - but what could? More creepy than scary, especially at the end.

Bowfinger Steve Martin's Hollywood parody in which he plays an Ed Wood-type no-budget filmmaker who schemes to get a big star (Eddie Murphy) to appear in his new film - by spying on him with a camera and using the footage. It's a fairly funny film that should have been a whole lot funnier. Murphy makes the film worth seeing (he has a dual-role here as in his other recent films) with another great character, Jif, a nerdy stand-in for the star.

The Boys (Australian - accents may be hard for Americans). A convict is released from prison and reunited with his two brothers and his girlfriend. But he can't help getting into trouble again, mostly with them. The drama seems sometimes exaggerated, but it does have an intensity to it. If you're not Australian, make sure you view the film when a good audio system is available, so you can understand the accents.

Bringing Out the Dead The latest from Martin Scorsese - with Nicholas Cage as a burned-out paramedic in New York City - lacks passion and involvement. It is shot too beautifully to seem authentic. Most viewers will be disappointed.

Cabaret Balkan (Also known as "The Powder Keg" on the film festival circuit).
Tensions are high in the city of Belgrade (even before the 1999 American bombing campaign). Friends go at each other's throats, thieves harass bus riders, small-time hoods are on the prowl. "Cabaret Balkan" shows how volatile things can be in the former Yugoslavia - though in truth the same situations could have been staged in almost any major city during tense times (like Los Angeles in 1992).
Still, the genius of this film is in raising the level of suspense to new heights - you'll be on the edge of your seat several times. The film is sometimes graphically violent as well. But very powerful.

Cider House Rules Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron star in this adaptation of John Irving's novel of the same name (Irving also wrote the screenplay). The story is about an orphanage in New York state in the 1940's where the head doctor (Michael Caine) also happens to perform abortions. Fairly good drama.

A Civil Action A seedy injury lawyer (John Travolta) gets involved in the case of his life: a lawsuit against two manufacturing companies in New England who may have polluted wells and caused some kids to die of Leukemia. The film is fairly good, but the book by Jonathan Harr of the same name (a true story - a non-fiction novel) is incredible, hard to put down.
[Buy DVD at Amazon]

Cookie's Fortune Robert Altman's story of intrigue among relatives trying to gain the fortune of a dead family member. Glenn Close and Julieanne Moore star. It's a decent film, but Altman's style is really starting to get on my nerves.

Cruel Intentions Remake of "Dangerous Liaisons" with "Buffy" (Sarah Michelle Gellar) playing a heartless, snobby, but beautiful young woman who schemes with her playboy step-brother (Ryan Phillippe) to seduce their prep school's innocent new debutante (Reese Witherspoon). Entertaining.

Desert Blue (See Review)

The Dinner Game (French with English subtitles). Some rich snobs have a weekly dinner held so they can humiliate their dinner guests: the dumbest people they can find. One participant stumbles onto the most annoying, idiotic person he has ever met and feels sure to win this week's competition, but things don't go as planned in a comedy of errors.
Though it has a touch of TV Sitcom, it is still hilarious.

Dog Park Singles meet at the park where they walk their dogs. Could have been cute but instead was filled with cliches and almost no humor. Ugh. Starring Janeane Garofalo and Luke Wilson.

The Dreamlife of Angels (In French with English subtitles) Two young women in dead-end jobs find each other and become best friends - for a while. Then jealousy and romantic entanglements intervene. Great performances but somewhat depressing.

Election Reese Witherspoon is an annoyingly perfect high school student running for class president. Matthew Broderick is a cynical teacher determined to stop her. This slightly dark comedy about high school politics takes a politically incorrect "this is what really happens" view of things while embracing many stereotypes at the same time. Occasionally very funny but somehow hollow.

Emportre-Moi A teenage girl in the 60's obsessed with Goddard comes of age in Montreal while her parents quarrel endlessly. Moving story

End of Days A Terminator-like vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays a burnt-out ex-cop trying to stop Satan (Gabriel Byrne) from mating with a special young woman (Robin Tunney) before the end of the millennium, to prevent the "end of days" (end of the world). What could have been at least an average sci-fi/fantasy thriller is ruined by a huge hole in the premise: how come Satan can make people in the film do anything except when it comes to Arnold's tough cop, who continues to beat back Satan with all kinds of heavy weaponry? The whole thing seems merely an excuse for lots of explosions and shoot-em-ups, which have been done infinitely better before. James Cameron's "Terminator" films are far better in every way.

Existenz David Cronenberg film dealing with virtual reality. Sometimes creative but more often sloppy and numbingly dull.

Eyes Wide Shut Stanley Kubrick's final film is long and difficult to digest. It has many patented Kubrick features, but the whole thing seems pointless. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star as a New York doctor and his wife who might be approaching the seven-year itch. Despite what you have heard, there isn't too much steamy sex between Tom and Nicole - the edits made after Kubrick's death appear in an unerotic orgy scene.

Felicia's Journey Atom Egoyan's latest, about an Irish girl who comes to England looking for her lover; she is aided by a kindly-seeming loner (Bob Hoskins) whose intentions may not be what they seem. Occasionally suspenseful and creepy. A great performance by Hoskins.

Fight Club (See Review) Brutal and twisted (and extremely violent), "Fight Club" is nonetheless a terrific, creative film about a lonely, conformist yuppie (Edward Norton) who seeks outlet from his dull, miserable life. He seems to find it when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), who is everything he is not: free, rebellious, and alive. He and Durden start a Fight Club - men who fight every Saturday night behind a bar - seemingly as a recreational activity, but soon the game escalates. And who is Durden really?
An amazing, wild ride of a film.

Galaxy Quest Sometimes amusing parody of sci-fi shows and movies (particularly "Star Trek"), with Tim Allen standing in for William Shatner. It's about a bunch of actors longer after their show was a hit who meet some real aliens who need their help. Laughs occasionally, but very forgettable.

Genghis Blues (Documentary) Legendary blues guitarist Paul Pena (who also happens to be blind) heard a strange sound years ago on his short wave radio. It turned out to be Tuvan throatsinging, "kargyaa", unique style of singing where the vocalist produces four notes simultaneously. Intrigued, Pena taught himself to sing in this style. This film follows Pena eleven years later to Tuva itself (between Russia and China), where Pena enters and wins a throatsinging contest against all odds. Amazing story.

Go (See Review) Great, energetic story (once it gets started) of some teenagers who get mixed up in bad drug deals and Las Vegas escapades. The story has time shifts and is told from the perspective of three different characters. It owes a lot in style to "Pulp Fiction" but it is not a copy by any means. Doug Liman ("Swingers") has created a film that is suspenseful and darkly funny. Sarah Polley ("The Sweet Hereafter") and Katie Holmes star.

God Said, 'Ha!' This is a film of Saturday Night Live alum Julia Sweeney's ("It's Pat") one-woman show about her family's bouts with cancer. First her brother gets cancer, and her parents move to LA into Julia's small cottage to help out. Then amazingly, Julia herself gets cancer. It's a funny look at a terrible situation, the way we can use humor to get through the worst times. Sweeney shows how talented she is by making this material surprisingly enjoyable, not as depressing as it might sound. Instead, it's a celebration of life.

The Green Mile Based on the novel by Stephen King, about guards on a death row cellblock in the 1930's (the head guard is played by Tom Hanks). One of the meanest-looking prisoners has something special about him, which the guards come to realize. Great film - another in the series of "mystical" films like the "The Sixth Sense" that have been popular in 1999. Though "The Green Mile" is three hours long, it is paced perfectly; it needs to be this long to tell the story.

The Harmonists (German with English subtitles) True story of a popular German vocal group in the 1930's forced to split up due to the Nazis' anti-semitic policies. Sentimental and entertaining.

Hilary and Jackie The sad (true) story of two sisters. Brilliant performance by Emily Watson as Jacqueline Du Pre, the ill-fated cellist; Rachel Griffiths is also excellent as Hilary. Bring a box of tissues - if you are human, you will cry.

I Stand Alone (French - English subtitles). Disturbing film about a down-on-his-luck butcher who mistreats his girlfriend but yearns to be close to his autistic daughter. Brutal and hard to watch at times - there is much violence, physical and emotional. Kind of a downbeat "Taxi Driver", if that's possible.

The Impostors Disappointing attempt to recreate the Laurel and Hardy slap stick comedy genre of years past. Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci (who also directed) play two comics/street performers who run away due to a case of mistaken identity and wind up as stowaways on a cruise ship. Perhaps if you love this genre you will be heartened, but otherwise it may seems a bit tiresome

The Inheritors (German with English subtitles) Depressing account of poor workers at a German farm who inherit their dead master's estate. Unfortunately, the local land baron wants the property so he schemes to chase them out. It's a story that has been shown countless times and certainly more creatively than this.

The Insider (See Review) Based on the true story of a tobacco company researcher (Russell Crowe) who gets in touch with a producer (Al Pacino) from 60 minutes to talk about his company's research into making cigarettes more addictive. CBS caved to the threat of a lawsuit and decided not to air the interview. A feel-good story with simple characters and a clear sense of right and wrong. This long film drags a little, but most mainstream viewers will enjoy the film.

The Interview (Australian - accents may be hard for Americans) One morning the police arrest a seemingly-innocent young man and accuse him of murder. The unscrupulous interrogator will do anything - ethical or not - to get his man to confess. Is this an innocent man wrongly accused or is the interrogator on to something? Cool film - it has an intensity to it, and it is frightening to contemplate the possibilities.

Jam (Taiwan - with English subtitles) Story of two young kids who steal cars. Kind of pointless. (A film festival film.)

Joe the King (See Review) Sad story of Joe, a boy growing up in a poor family in the 70's. Joe has friends, a brother, and two parents at the home, but no one seems to care about him or give him the slightest affection. So Joe takes to mischief and stealing. Goes to show that two parents at home could be worse than one good parent. Virtually a remake of Francois Truffaut's classic "The 400 Blows".

The King of Masks (See Review)

The Last Big Thing A very unusual film - a low-budget indy flick about an eccentric guy and his girlfriend who live in LA; the guy is obsessed with putting together a new magazine called "The Next Big Thing", but he has trouble getting it off the ground. Is it a parody of modern life? Not quite sure I understood it, but in the end I found it very rewarding. Somehow.

Limbo Interesting John Sayles drama about a guy in Alaska who unwittingly gets his new girlfriend mixed up in a scheme with his brother. The worst part is the terrible ending - some sort of play on words, as the ending sort of leaves the audience in limbo. Kind of a cop-out. Still, any John Sayles film is worth checking out and this one is no exception.

The Limey Gritty Steven Soderbergh ("Out of Sight", "Scizopolis") film about a British ex-con (Terence Stamp) who comes to LA to find out how is daughter died. Soderbergh uses too many stylistic tricks with flash-forwards and flashbacks, to the point of distraction, but Stamp is excellent.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (See Review)
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The Loss of Sexual Innocence I'll tell you what I remember from before I walked out. The story of several sexual relationships are intertwined, including a set of twins apparently separated at birth but finally meet. Pretentious and dull to the extreme. From Mike Figgis, director of "Leaving Las Vegas".

Lovers on the Bridge A French film made in 1991 but not distributed in the states until 1999 - a love story about two homeless people (Juliette Binoche and Denis Lavant) who fall in love while camping out on a bridge in Paris. Poignant.

Man on the Moon Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman - a great impression, but is that the same as great acting? I'm not sure. Kaufman's short, wacky life is a terrific story (the movie is very entertaining), but director Milos Forman is extremely sloppy with details (such as which cast members were on "Taxi" the first season or when Lorne Michaels produced "Saturday Night Live": hint, not in 1982). Forman's film is mostly recreations of Kaufman's very public antics, so unfortunately we don't learn a great deal about him we wouldn't have known from reading the tabloids.

The Matrix At least Keanu was cast in a film where he could say "Whoa" - which is nearly the limit of his acting talent. Still, he does OK in this sci-fi fantasy. Nice special effects - pretty entertaining, if you like the genre.

The Messenger (See Review) Terrible Luc Besson film telling the story of Joan of Arc. Laughable script, bad acting. Stay away, stay far away!

The Minus Man Not a great outing for Owen Wilson ("Bottle Rocket", co-writer of "Rushmore"). This story of a gentle psychopath (Wilson) quietly stalking a small American town is totally involving and largely uninteresting. Janeane Garofalo stars as co-worker with low self-esteem.

The Muse Albert Brooks' latest is a parody of Hollywood idiocy starring (unfortunately) Sharon Stone and Andie MacDowell, not two of today's brightest acting talents. Brooks plays a successful Hollywood writer who hits a bad streak and must stoop to hiring a Muse (Sharon Stone) to inspire him. There are many very funny jokes, though Brooks' humor is not for everyone. And there are some great cameos from some big names in film, including Martin Scorsese and James Cameron. The weakest scenes are the ones with both Stone and MacDowell.

My Name is Joe (Scottish with English subtitles - a first?) Ken Loach drama about a recovering alcoholic, a simple laborer with a good heart named Joe who struggles with love and life but prefers to play soccer with his buddies. As with most Loach films, it is extremely depressing, but also very well done. The subtitles are helpful with the accents - too bad more British films don't do this for American release.

Mystery Men

Mystery, Alaska (See Review) The New York Rangers come to the little town of Mystery, Alaska, to play the locals in an exhibition game. A crowd pleasing "Rocky" on ice.

Office Space Amusing, unsophisticated satire of office politics from Mike Judge ("Beavis and Butthead"). Very worth renting - some good jokes, but not very substantial.

Outside Providence Ick. I loved "There's Something About Mary", but this script from one of the Farrelly brothers just amounts to cliches and boredom. After 30 minutes of unfunny drug jokes every two minutes, I walked out.

Payback Mel Gibson plays Porter, an anti-hero in this remake of the old Lee Marvin film "Point Blank". Porter is a likeable small-time gangster who is robbed of $70,000 by his ex-partner. Left for dead, Porter recovers enough to go after the guy, taking down whoever gets in his way, including lots of bad guys, all of whom Porter outsmarts.
Gibson brings his "Lethal Weapon" style of levity to lighten up this dark film. "Payback" is very violent but fun and entertaining.

The Phantom Menace Disappointing "Star Wars" prequel.

Pizzicata (Italian with English subtitles) An Italian-American pilot (born in Italy) is shot down in World War II in Italy, not far from his home town. The locals hide him from the fascists. Mildly interesting but not particularly inventive or moving.

Playing by Heart (See Review)

Pushing Tin Billy Bob Thornton and John Cusack as rival air traffic controllers. Starts out well but turns into a cliche-ridden, routine film. Entertaining.

The Red Violin (See Review)

Return with Honor Compelling documentary about American fliers shot down in Vietnam and imprisoned for the entire war - some for eight years. What they endured seems unbelievable. Very much worth seeing.

Romance (French with English subtitles; unrated, with graphic sexuality) A young woman, despondent that her boyfriend won't have sex with her anymore, has some bizarre affairs, which we see in slow, graphic detail. The film is an exploration of this woman's sense of herself and her sexuality. Some of the dialogue is a little hokey, but otherwise it's an interesting film. The ending is bizarre and unexpected.

Run Lola Run Beautifully filmed, delightful film about a young woman (Lola) who must rush a large amount of money to her gangster boyfriend before he gets whacked for losing it. In an interesting "what if" take on this story, it is shown three times, with Lola gaining insight each time and improving her response. Not much substance here but it is a joy from start to finish - a blast to watch.

Rushmore The coolest film I have seen a long time - from Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, the writers of "Bottle Rocket". It's a strange coming-of-age story of Max (Jason Schwartzman), a gifted, energetic, but distracted young man at the Rushmore prep school who falls for one of the teachers.
"Rushmore" may be hard for some to like, because it does not have a deep "meaning" or a moral, but it has great characters and great writing. It's almost a meloncholic comedy - a little on the bleak side, but sometimes funny as hell. Bill Murray has a superb turn as an emotionally-bankrupt businessman befriended by young Max.
[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
[Buy DVD at Amazon]

SLC Punk A story about punk rockers living in Salt Lake City, Utah in the mid-80's. This is a nice little independent film that is surprisingly original. Worth checking out.

Shakespeare in Love This is surely the most overrated film in ages: a light romantic comedy about Shakespeare ...falling in love. Extremely polished and conventional, but unless you love Shakespeare, you won't get many of the references. This film is not bad but certainly not deserving of an academy award, as it will be soon forgotten.
[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
[Buy DVD at Amazon]

A Simple Plan Two brothers (Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Paxton) and their friend find a downed plane out in the woods with a suitcase full of money - probably a drug dealer's. Should they keep the money or turn it in? Sam Rami's simple morality play shows things get worse each time another wrinkle develops in their plan. It's a slow, methodical film but well done. A great acting performance from Thornton playing another "slow" character.

The Sixth Sense Troubled little boy is tormented by ghosts. Bruce Willis plays a therapist who tries to help him. Nice feel-good film if you like that genre.

Sleepy Hollow Entertaining look at the Sleepy Hollow story from Tim Burton. Johnny Depp is good as usual. The film is a little bloody - lots of severed heads.

South Park Creative and amusing, but not quite to my tastes.

Stir of Echos (See Review)

The Straight Story David Lynch's plain telling of the story of a elderly Iowa man (Richard Farnsworth) who finds out his brother is sick, so he rides his lawnmower several hundred miles to Wisconsin to see him. The film is disarmingly simple; it is also surprisingly powerful.

Summer of Sam Spike Lee's best film since "Malcolm X" tells the story of the summer of 1977, when the Yankees were going for the pennant, when a killer was loose in New York. Lee looks at Italian-Americans instead of African-Americans for a change, and the result is an even-handed, sometimes intense portrait of a long hot summer.

Sweet and Lowdown (See Review) The disappointing new Woody Allen film about a (fictional) jazz guitarist, Emmet Ray (Sean Penn), who struggles in depression-era America with his career and his love life. Samantha Morton is wonderful as his love interest, but the film's pseudo-documentary touches are distracting and the ending is terribly abrupt. Worst of all, the patented Woody Allen humor is mostly missing.

The Thin Red Line "Saving Private Ryan" is to D-Day what "The Thin Red Line" is to Guadalcanal? Not even close. Terrence Malick's film based on the James Jones novel - a prequel to "From Here to Eternity". Malick's film is uninvolving and long, full of hard-to-decipher narration and beautiful photography of plants, trees, and animals on Guadalcanal. The acting from the no-name actors is OK but cameos from John Travolta and Woody Harrelson are embarrassingly bad. Do we really need to be hit over the head with the "war is a crime against nature" theme for three long hours? I think not.

This is My Father (See Review) James Caan stars a an Irish-American searching for the father he never knew. In search of his father, he returns to Ireland with his teenage son to hear tales of his father from the locals where his parents grew up. Much of the story is told in flashback (Adian Quinn plays the young father). Heart-warming and conventional - bring kleenex.

The Thomas Crown Affair Remake of the 1968 film of the same name with Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen - with Rene Russo and Pierce Brosnon in the starring roles. A cute, light mystery/romance flick.

Three Kings Well-made, entertaining film about the Gulf War. Yet somehow the film is too politically correct and polished. Very good but not a classic.

Twin Falls, Idaho (See Review) Over-hyped story of conjoined twins who get sick and are cared for by a hooker with a heart of gold. Attempts to be gritty and innovative do not pan out.

The Winslow Boy David Mamet's film based on a famous British stage play about a naval cadet in the 1910's thrown out of the academy for theft. His father (Nigel Hawthorne), a man of honor and some means, devotes his life and health to clearing the family name, taking the case to the highest British courts to have the charge reversed. Mamet does a good job of making these "old British people" seem alive and fresh. The story is really about the characters, not the trial.

The World is Not Enough Good continuation to the James Bond series - action-packed, well executed, follows the formula well. Denise Richards doesn't have much chemistry with Pierce Brosnon, but I suppose that's not important. Brosnon himself is probably the best James Bond since Sean Connery.