Category: Ones

A Franchise Matures Wow. There are few things more interesting than the evolutionary forces of the market that push and pull something to ensure survival. I’m a strong believer in how market forces shape film, even our most exotic art films. This isn’t art, of course, not in the usual sense. But it is a… Continue reading American Wedding (2003)

Missed Baywatch I’m constantly amazed at how quickly some fresh, edgy cinematic ideas go stale. This was strange enough it its time to be noticed: the placement of the narrative stance within the sixth grade. Having played its small role in advancing the scope of narrative irony, it is now merely stupid. I guess the… Continue reading Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)

Visions of the Other Side Unless you are just filling space until you die, you’re going to want something out of experiences like this. The idea is supposed to be that someone can guide us to alternative worlds and report back with something useful or at least interesting. It is not enough to merely watch… Continue reading The Basketball Diaries (1995)

Hair, Cut “Fargo” without the go, “Albino Alligator” without the wrinkles, “The Gardener” without Angie, “Invisible Man” made visible, “Insomnia” without the light and most of all, “Twin Peaks” with only one peak. McDowell has built a career of his role in “Clockwork Orange:” a demented brilliance of character. It is possible to make an… Continue reading The Barber (2002)

Just Bad There are an astonishing number of movies about the movie business. many of these interest me because they use the situation as a way of engaging the audience: we are tricked into being the audience IN the film. This is a common trick, which I believe to be the most effective in all… Continue reading The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

Parts I believe that after a while the movie studios will start selling movies like this in all its components. Probably Apple will be involved. So I will be able to buy all the raw footage of “Beauty Shop” in a Final Cut Pro project and edit it my own way adding and taking things… Continue reading Beauty Shop (2005)

Mildly Psychotropic Those expecting a fine experience based on prior Nolan projects, even Bale ones, are bound to be disappointed. I was. There are only two redeeming elements here. The first is the mildly radical cutting of the action scenes, at least those involving fights. This technique is usually used when the budget requires confusion… Continue reading Batman Begins (2005)

Talk to Him A great joy in a life with film is to discover a film that is competent and coherent, that exists cinematically but which on reflection has dynamics worth rejecting. After all, you build your life not so much on absorption but on paring. A great sorrow in film is to encounter a… Continue reading Barcelona (1994)

Captured I’ve been involved in a dangerous business, diving into the catacombs of film, digging around in trash pits and seeing grand things. Part of this endeavour comes from my appreciation for the vitality of film today which in large part is anchored by Spanish and Spanish-speaking filmmakers. There’s an easy sliding of realities, a… Continue reading Barbed Wire Dolls (1976)