Reviews by Xanadon't

I love this movie for all the reasons every other right-minded human being loves it, but the thing that has kept it so fresh and intriguing over the years are the giant existential concerns at the heart of the film. My god, my god, this is a Jean-Paul Sarte essay dressed up in fantasy/fairytale! And the best part is that in the end imagination wins. Oh, and let's talk about G'mork. The were-pire-wolf and ambassador of the NOTHING. How absolutely frightening is he? Sinister and evil, but in the sense of those traits merely existing as the shadows of love and goodness. The absence of good. The anti-good. Truly among the best cinematic villains of all time, in company with the likes of Darth Vader. I'm not joking. The NeverEnding Story is a film that deserves to be watched again. "They look like big, good, strong hands, don't they? I always thought that's what they were." Are you kidding me?...If that doesn't break your heart at least a little bit then we probably aren't two people that would get along.

Ok, so I just watched this for the second time in 3 months...and my orginal recommendation still stands: If you have never seen Eraserhead watch it because it is good for you. If you have seen Eraserhead more than twice stop watching it because it is probably bad for you. There really isn't much else one can say about it without launching themselves into a 5 page essay. Except, maybe, and in all sincerity, good luck to you.

Based on my favorite American play by my favorite American playwright, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof succeeds wildly when approached in the context of 1950's film, but stumbles considerably as a truthful adaptation of the original work (one can start by blaming the censor boards). By completely dismissing the suggestions of homosexual relations between Brick and the late Skipper, the story as adapted for film loses much of its gravity and power. There's a wealth of material about social mores that never plays out here; ideas intrical to the central theme of mendacity that runs throughout the work. Because I expected this from the get-go, I wasn't terribly disappointed by some of these over-sights and omissions, but still can't help but begrudge the loss. Luckily, Tennessees plays are so rich and multi-faceted that theres plenty left over for these filmmakers to tackle, and most of these remaining themes are handled very well. A highly talented cast lends this film the urgency and dignity it deserves, Taylor, Newman, Carson, and Ives all bring a brilliant energy to these characters, theyre performances so potent that they still linger over many modern stagings. The costuming and set design are very well realised also, giving us an authentic feel of a wealthy plantation house and family. The direction here isn't terribly noteworthy or daring, but neither does it slow us down. As a whole the film does feel very much like a play for extended periods, which is more observation than criticism. If you enjoy dramas of the American family, or catching up on the films that launched a bygone generation of Americas great actors into stardom, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is one not to be missed.

This documentary always already sucks...very intellectually stingy, on the filmmaker's part, but also in regard to the subject. It's still unclear to me just what this production team set out to accomplish. Nothing here made a strong case that Derrida the man, or his brand of ideas warrants a documentary at all. Fans of this major thinker in deconstructionism, post-structurism, post-modernism will be largely disappointed and I suspect a bit offended, or disenchanted, while a few critics of Derrida will gain little more than a small, smug sense of satisfaction, feeling that this incompetent documentary somehow illuminates the over-excitement about Derrida that exists in some circles. As for myself, I generally sympathize with the argument that Derrida can often be deliberately overly obscure, and sometimes pretentious, but do find points of interest in some of his ideas. I would have enjoyed a film that adaquately exposed either of these, but simply have no use for this.

I was excited to go back and watch this movie that I somehow missed a decade or so ago. I've always enjoyed Downey's work, and after recentley reaquainting myself with Annette Benning in The Kids are All Right, I figured this to be a sure thing. Holy sh*t was I wrong. How could both of these talented actors make such a horrible mistake? What could have possibly attracted them to this joke of a script? Every minute of this ridiculous film is a tired, brutally mundane excersice in insulting its audience. Non-sensical story-lines and gaping plot-holes abound, while the director attempts to distract us from the films incompetence with a bit of cliche^d , half-assed imagry, and over-wraught, psycho-shmycho hysterics. The director trips over himself non-stop, never achieving the desired effect. The scenes that are supposed to be touching and emotional are uncomfortably awkward and laughable. Edgy is dull, creepy is lucdicrous, tense is tedious, and emotionally gripping is unconscious eye-rolling. Bad, bad, bad.

Blue Velvet is a bizarre, thrilling, and frightening neo-noir that takes the idyllic AnyWhere U.S.A. fairy-tale and spins it into a nightmare. A true masterpiece of American filmmaking, this film will mesmerize audiences, but repulse others, due to its heavy doses of disturbing content. At the start of the film when joe- college Jefferey's father suddenly falls ill and is hospitalized, much of his world is thrown into question. Soon later he finds a severed ear on the ground and its here that he begins to truly confront a reality far different from the one he's always known. With a zooming camera shot that dives into said severed ear canal, Lynch sends Jefferey and the angelic Sandy down the proverbial rabbit hole, where they promptly uncover danger, perversion, and violence that exists beneath the sunny, rose-pedal facade of their home-town. Rossolini gives a brilliantly textured performance as our femme fattale and Hopper is at his best plunging headlong into his role as the wickedly demented Frank Booth. Many of Lynch's trademarks run rampant througout this film, and his use of symbolism is as rich as ever. Blue Velvet does follow a far more traditional narrative structure than we've seen from Lynch in the past, so this one is pretty accessible, while still offering plenty of satisfaction through multiple viewings and interpretive readings of the film. This is definately among Lynch's strongest films and finely showcases his visionary talent. If you still haven't seen it, see it.

Being a big fan of both William H. Macy and Donald Sutherland I'm not sure how I missed this one for so long. Panic is a smartly written, tightly told story about one man's growing resentment of his father, his assessment of his own life, and his growing concern for who his 6 year-old son will grow up to me. The fact that he happens to be a hitman that works for his dad is, in some ways, treated almost as a sidenote within the film...but then again, it is a pretty important detail. With all this reflection going on our protagonist, played perfectly by Macy, finds himself at the mercy of a mid-life crisis, complete with therepy sessions and 23 year-old temptress. While this sounds simply like a combination of two stories we've heard a dozen times before, I assure you, what makes this film great is that it offers such a fresh take on both. Every character here is granted a striking humanity and originality. Their psychologies are familiar only in there Realness, not because we recognize cliche^s; There aren't any to be found. Panic breathes a tremendous amount of life into its characters and moral dilemmas. Don't overlook this one.

If you've successfully made it this long without seeing Tamara, for god's sake don't watch it now. Ok, maybe that's a bit harsh, but there's nothing new, clever, or interesting going on here. Sure, Tamara is hot but this film has little to nothing else going for it. See Jennifer's Body instead. It's essentially the same movie, but with a far smarter script and just all together better.

Grave of the Fire Flies is a bit slow-moving through the first act, but becomes a very engaging, moving film by its end. It's an interesting mix of material and method, of story and genre that is a little disarming at first, but ultimately works extremely well. You'll find yourself realizing that this film would never be made in America. The animation here is above average in most respects, and the backgrounds and scenery are fantastic, but all in all it's nothing incredible of groundbreaking. It's the story that really shines. This is a survival story about sacrifice, hope, despair, and the power of family. But the tone is sad, sad, sad more than heartwarming...though there are some of these moments at well. Don't watch this if you need cheering up. But do watch it when you're ready for something new, different, and more than you bargained for. Grave of the Fireflies gets my strong recommendation.

Poor acting, an overly-contived and inefficient story, and a few cheap, superficial, startle-effect scares do not make for a good enjoyable horror film. Dark Remains is just another dime a dozen ghost stories put to film, as lamentable in its telling as in its waste of celluloid. This movie relies far too heavily on the generic sudden loud music/quick flash of something vaguely creepy across the screen tactic. None of the scares are earned by compelling atmosphere or attachement to the characters. There's no overlying or growing sense of danger or fear at work because by the end we simply don't care enough. The movie does start out with some promise; the grief of a lost child is a heavy, serious matter that gives the film potential for interesting directions and places to go. But by the end the entire experience becomes tiresome. It's too bad. As a big fan of the horror genre I hate not liking any given horror film. But there just wasn't alot here to like.