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)
Tag: f1996
Films released in 1996
Beautiful Girls (1996)
Dorothy This is some pretty good writing. You know it is pretty good when it deals with ordinary silliness and is directed by a non-entity and yet still engages. This is a fellow that is not afraid to write junk films, but who has also written the amazingly deft self-referential “High Fidelity” and the ambitious… Continue reading Beautiful Girls (1996)
American Strays (1996)
Cutie Cleaner Quentin Tarantino gets under my skin, where Richard Rodriguez does not. It is a corner of myself I do not quite understand. If you have QT wonder, this could help. Tarantino places the viewer as a sort of museum visitor. He has this virtual video store of references, sometimes well arranged. You are… Continue reading American Strays (1996)
Last Man Standing (1996)
Kurosawa on Kurosawa Students of film have great fun with situations like this. Here we have three films (‘Yojimbo,’ ‘Fistful,’ and ‘Last Man’) with the same script but entirely different cinematic philosophies. All do well at what they attempt. Kurosawa is one of the great innovators of film, developing the notion of the disembodied eye… Continue reading Last Man Standing (1996)
100 Years of Horror (1996)
Horrible I only watched a third of these before giving up, so I will do a blanket comment. This is many hours of stuff stretched out possibly three times as long as it deserved. Interviews are reused in multiple weeks. There is lots of footage from the films they are talking about, but almost exclusively… Continue reading 100 Years of Horror (1996)
Killer Condom (1996)
No Protection When I enter one of these worlds, I expect risk. Not by itself of course, but paired with clever insight, unusual metaphor or sliding perspective. But above all, risk. Their risk is my risk. Quite literally, I enter these film relationships promiscuously without protection, bare, expecting permanent change. That’s why I have higher… Continue reading Killer Condom (1996)
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
Club Exotica One of the several foibles of the United States is that we have no indigenous sexual exotica. All sexual archetypes are inherited from predecessor cultures (excepting the competing African-American cultures), which is one reason — I believe — that US popular culture is so widely consumed internationally. We repackage. Not so with India,… Continue reading Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
First Strike (1996)
Step by Step Watching Jackie movies is sometimes a real challenge, especially the English language ones. This barely qualifies as English, but is the best one. What he does with ordinary objects is absolutely amazing. There’s a classic ladder bit here. Ignore the plot — standard filler. Posted in 2004 Ted’s Evaluation — 3 of… Continue reading First Strike (1996)
Crash (1996)
Not Sufficiently Extreme ‘Fight Club’ meets ‘Zed and Two Noughts’ meets ‘Bladerunner’ meets ‘Fearless’ meets ‘Leaving Las Vegas.’ I celebrate the intelligent vision of this film. But ‘Fight Club’ wove a more engaging neurosis; ‘Zed’ had a stronger disturbing vision; ‘Bladerunner’ a more thorough sense of programmed sex; ‘Fearless’ more visceral crashes; and ‘Leaving Las… Continue reading Crash (1996)