Robbo-7's Reviews

Dogville (2003)

10/10

17 May 2004

Warning: Spoilers

My wife and I found the movie to be brilliant and engrossing -- mostly an examination and indictment of human nature, but with a definite critique of America's particular weaknesses. We were so glad to have seen it with no preconceived notions. If you've not seen it yet, I'd recommend avoiding the rest of this review -- some spoilers.

I feel sorry for most of the negative reviewers here, who have expressed disappointment that the characters weren't realistic, that the plot needed help, etc. Do these folks get upset about "unrealistic" mythology or complain that Jesus couldn't really have turned water into wine?

The characters could have been written to be more well-rounded and realistic. Some could have been admirable and others evil, allowing us to identify with the good guys and feel superior to the bad ones. That's the American way. But Von Trier decided to show each character's weak side; each character's propensity to rationalize bad behaviors; each character's willingness to degrade and destroy Grace out of fear that they could never live up to her beauty, empathy, and high ideals. And he decided to show these things in slow, measured detail, giving his audience ample time to marinate in our discomfort.

This film raises myriad philosophical questions relevant to modern-day Americans, and others. How much human suffering do we rationalize away for selfish reasons? Is vulnerability inevitably exploited once it becomes exposed? Does capitalism in particular promote such exploitation? What is the essential difference between democracy and mob rule? At what point do our intensely self-interested attitudes and behaviors start to measurably degrade the quality of our society and its claims to moral superiority in the world community? Is cognitive dissonance emerging between our own idealistic vision of America and the world's perception that we've become a different sort of place?

4 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Death to Smoochy (2002)

cast waste

6 April 2002

I'm not eager to waste more time on this movie, but I wasted $17 taking an old friend to this generally unfunny film and hope to save others time and money. I enjoy most of the people in this cast -- particularly Ed Norton -- and heard a review suggesting that it was a good role for Robin Williams. I don't agree, and my friend and I eagerly walked out on this one as soon as Smoochy began playing at a Nazi convention. What a wacky, over-the-top, madcap, krazy thing to happen! (The concept wasn't clever last year in Rat Race -- now it's both derivative and un-clever.) If you love Danny DeVito movies, or if you loved Rat Race, then you'll probably enjoy this. Otherwise, you've been warned.

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Monster's Ball (2001)

A Great Year for BBT

10 March 2002

Set in modern-day Georgia, Monster's Ball tackles racism, inter-generational machismo, and the death penalty -- a flammable triad familiar to most Americans (with graphic portrayals of these unpleasant topics, it should go without saying that this film is not for everyone). Billy Bob Thornton and Heath Ledger play father and son prison guards (Hank and Sonny) who work on death row and live with grandpa Buck -- a retired prison guard. Thornton masterfully portrays Hank as a decent guy who internalized his father's toughness and race-hatred, while Ledger plays a conflicted soul who works in the family business but refuses to dehumanize himself in deference to patriarchal expectations. The other side of the race card features the Musgrave family -- condemned husband Lawrence (Sean Combs), his lovely wife Leticia (Halle Berry), and obese son Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun). The film eventually boils down to Hank and Leticia attempting to break out of the prisons of their ancestry and circumstances in order to create a more promising future. It's all about adults of both races attempting to escape the sins of their aging fathers. The events that make up Monster's Ball come together far too neatly to be believed, but the dialogue is entertaining enough, the acting is good enough, and the subject material is important enough that I was more than willing to suspend disbelief for a couple hours. Hard to believe Thornton didn't receive a Best Actor nomination in 2001.

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Amores Perros (2000)

8/10

A Bitchin' Film!

10 March 2002

This Mexican film, apparently set in the state of Pueblo, tells three modern stories of life in a nation and world where money increasingly serves as the arbiter of `success.' The threads involve such disparate elements as dog-fighting, bank robbery, high-fashion modeling, magazine editing, and daytime TV. These are tied together by dogs, a high-speed car crash, and the character of El Chivo, a former Marxist guerilla who abandoned an upper middle class existence to fight the grimy war for social justice, but ultimately had to settle for the occasional contract hit on a member of the capitalist elite. Amores Perros is translated on screen as "Love's a Bitch," but the title is also a homonym of "Amor Esperas," roughly "Love Hopes." This must be intentional, but I found little honest hopefulness in this film. Whether in the barrio or uptown, we are presented a relentlessly dog-eat-dog world seldom touched by elevating elements like religion, art, or family celebrations. It is a world of diversions, such as sex, television, renting a movie, or buying a new car. Ever-present dogs alternately comfort or snatch up the remains (when they're not killing each other).

The acting is uniformly excellent, and the film's gritty feel and directorial style follow a path blazed by Steven Soderbergh -- most impressive for first-time director Alejandro Gonzales Iñárritu. One place where inexperience manifests is the film's length -- it didn't have to be 2.5 hours long. Otherwise, if you can stand more than a bit of violence -- and the bloody aftermath of violence with the (faked) dog-fighting -- this is a beautifully rendered and sobering view of human relations in a desperately poor country at the start of the New Millenium.

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

great film if you can stick with it

10 March 2002

In this stylish, mesmerizing, black-and-white film noir, Billy Bob Thornton plays Ed Crane, a nearly comatose barber in post-war Santa Rosa. Thornton's rugged features capture and reflect light like an Ansel Adams landscape, giving him remarkable screen presence even as he remains nearly motionless except to sweep the floor or drag off an ever-present cigarette. Frances McDormand holds up her end as his wife, and a variety of other larger-than-life players add life and laughs as they dodge into and out of a slowly twisting plot.

Crane hopes to break out of a deep rut by sinking some money into a mysterious new technology called `dry cleaning.' In the wondrously twisted universe of the Coen Brothers, dry cleaning is described in terms that make it seem slightly more fantastical than the flying saucers that appear sporadically in this film. This is part of a major theme -- that our perceptions of reality are, in many ways, flawed and confused. In a similar vein, the movie is rife with characters misinterpreting the actions, intentions, and motivations of their friends, lovers, and acquaintances. And when folks inevitably start dying, both prosecutors and defense attorneys show little interest in knowing or considering facts that don't help to build their respective cases. The upshot is that, despite the serious flaws inherent both in our perceptions of reality and in the workings of our justice system, capital punishment has long enjoyed the support of the American people.

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

1/10

A Real Travesty

10 March 2002

Vies with "Waterworld" for Most Unintentional Laughs in a Ridiculously Pompous Film. As such, it might actually be worth a rental, but (and I'm just going to "spoil" it for you) there's a very unfortunate scene featuring the torture of runaway robots during a heavy metal concert that should never have happened. Children really shouldn't see it. I shouldn't have seen it. Nobody should see it. Also, the darned thing is 145 minutes long, so perhaps it's best to just rent "Waterworld" itself. A real travesty.

8 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Amélie (2001)

5/10

cute film -- not a masterpiece

26 November 2001

I'd have found this movie more palatable with average-looking people rather than models, but I suppose it's more natural for movie-goers to root for really good-looking people. This film taps into our fantasy is that the dreamers are out there, somewhere, hoping that we'll see that they're not just physically gorgeous, but also quirky, thoughtul, inventive, and ready to embrace and nurture our own lovable quirks. Still, I'm surprised that IMDB users have ranked this film so absurdly high on the all-time list. C'est la vie!

I enjoyed the story's cleverness and twists, and there's a nice message about avoiding voyeuristic titillation and living one's own life, but by the end the project felt hollow and overly long. I agree with an earlier commentor that Marc Caro's influence might have helped this venture by providing a little more darkness. I loved "Delicatessan" several years ago -- think I'll rent it again and refresh my memory.

0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

K-PAX (2001)

puff psychology

1 November 2001

Ham-handed, vaguely moralizing, middle-of-road Hollywood puffery; unoriginal, unmemorable. Kevin Spacey plays, get this, a cool-detached guy floating above the consciousness of those around him. Jeff Bridges perfectly portrays "the Jeff Bridges character" -- affable, in control, somewhat conflicted, a little boring -- acting in another film of little consequence.

Should you accept the role of paying audience member, be sure to stretch and do a few calisthenics beforehand -- you'll be asked to suspend disbelief many, many times. Patients on a mental ward somehow go missing for days, they mysteriously join forces on four floors to riot over the appearance of a computer-generated bird, and a deeply perplexing mystery unfolds with all the cleverness and subtlety of a Scooby-Do episode. If only there was some deep, insightful message of overriding worth that justified all the hokum. Ah well, it's a Jeff Bridges movie after all...

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Tao of Steve (2000)

2/10

obnoxiously bad

2 September 2001

My girlfriend and I reluctantly rented this clunker last night. We'd both kept hearing "good" to "great" things about it, but I made the mistake of not checking IMDB first. Reading the comments now, I know I'd have happily skipped it. She fell asleep within 20 minutes, while I watched the whole mess from beginning to end. Bad acting, bad fake fat, bad dialogue, b.s. "philosophy," unbelievable situations and coincidences, all wrapped up with a lame, 100% Hollywood ending. Oh, and HORRIBLE music. Almost everyone in the film is a two-dimensional (at best) caricature, and an uninteresting one to boot. The kind of "normal guys" you see on "Friends" or some other bad vehicle, but never in real life (at least not in mine, thankfully).

Having just seen "Swingers" again the night before, it was hard not to compare these two renditions of how the mating/dating game is played from the male side. But, of course, there's no comparison: Swingers, after another late night at the diner, still clears the fence with ease -- Steve, or Dex, or whatever, rips a bong-hit and strikes out. Booo.

5 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Memento (2000)

10/10

funny reactions...

31 July 2001

Warning: Spoilers

Having now seen Memento twice, and having discussed some plot details with friends, I went through the comments on IMDB looking for more insights. I did find a few -- thanks! -- but mostly I'm struck by the observation that many people who seemingly didn't follow the plot nonetheless LOVE this film. It's really so good that you don't have to "get it" to admire the hell out of it.

And, naturally, a good number of those who misunderstand the plot and/or underestimate the story's integrity HATE it. The sneers directed at a legitimate masterpiece (and the many viewers who rate it one) are, in a word, pathetic...

**Spoilers**

**Spoilers**

Memento is absolutely not about a plucky protagonist earnestly trying to find an anonymous assailant and avenge his wife's death. It's about our boy Lenny fumbling through an impossibly complicated psychological maze until, in a moment of perfect clarity, he concocts a happy ending for himself. It's also about a fascinated Teddy toying for a while with a dangerous freak but ultimately failing to foresee how a human mind might turn its own fatal flaw into an awesome weapon. If you consider Lenny's likely fate after the last scene -- how he will interpret his tatoos and unburned polaroids for the rest of his life (presumably back in the mental hospital) it's clear that Leonard managed to resolve (for himself) the crushing and seemingly impossible dilemma of his own guilt.

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Chocolat (2000)

6/10

likeable, forgettable

6 March 2001

Feisty, charming, ultimately trifling a first-class chick-flick! A beautiful woman and her daughter blow into a prudish French village and shake things up with the magic of sinfully dark, sumptuously rich, creamy, smooth chocolate. There's fine acting, nice craftsmanship, and a sweet little storyline suggesting that men are pretty controlling and useless unless they're Johnnie Depp on a riverboat. I misted up in the right places, then felt uplifted in the end, but the whole thing felt a little too fakey and contrived to take seriously.

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Boys Don't Cry (1999)

9/10

Um, Wow...

2 December 1999

I can't recommend this deeply disturbing film to people who watch movies for the usual reasons of wanting to feel uplifted, or to connect with a character's experience, but if you're truly fearless in your viewing this is not one to miss. Whereas most of the year's best movies touch upon weirdness in the urban/suburban American society familiar to folks like me, Boys Don't Cry is set in the hell-hole of Falls City, Nebraska. We are presented the gut-wrenching and sadly true tale of a young woman (Hilary Swank, who won't be unknown after this Oscar-worthy performance) who looks, feels and acts just like a dude -- a fearless and charismatic little dude from a bad home with a yearning for love and acceptance. The object of his desire, a bored young babe named Lana, is played magnificently by yet another budding star, Chloë Sevigny.

The work of yet another first-time director, Kimberly Peirce, all aspects of this film -- particularly the dialogue, cinematography and acting -- are first rate, although one might argue that it could have been about ten minutes shorter. Peirce (who also co-wrote) evidently allowed herself a measure of artistic license in developing the screenplay, but I am glad that she left plenty of warts on Swank's gender-confused character rather than setting her up as an unrealistic martyr. I found it easy to view Boys Don't Cry at the "Dr. Laura Level" (i.e., a horrific fate is destined to befall compulsive liars who hang out with sick people and thrive on committing dangerous acts), but my more powerful reaction was admiration for the bravery, humor and basic human dignity the two main characters somehow maintained in a poisonous small-town environment that would make Jerry Springer wince. Thank you, God, for responsible parents with sense enough not to live in a place like Falls City, Nebraska -- there but for your grace go I.

0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

American Beauty (1999)

10/10

True Beauty

8 November 1999

It's high time that someone reminded those Americans with particularly tight sphincters that they (and those around them) could enjoy their lives more (and discover more meaning in their lives) if they dedicated themselves to enjoying their lives more. And that might mean remembering stuff they once enjoyed doing and trying those things again. Here in the Land of the Free, this seemingly benign prescription becomes radical stuff when it involves both risking one's pathetic career and firing up the evil weed. There's a lot more going on in this movie and I'm not going to try to cover much of the ground, largely because it's so lovely discovering treasures on your own.

Kevin Spacey is building a legacy of greatness, both in his shrewd choices of roles and in their execution. Here he is allowed to do his finest work to date in a part that seems custom-made for his range of emotion and larger-than-life screen presence. Annette Benning is superb as The Wife, as are the remaining members of the cast. The directing by first-timer Sam Mendes is simply fresh and inspired, particularly in the sumptuously choreographed and filmed dream sequences involving rose petals and a perfectly slutty little cheerleader.

But the inner beauty of this film is in the way it manages to deftly and comically savage a rich suite of dysfunctions eroding the mental health and general contentment of the contemporary American family while paying very close attention to positive, hopeful qualities in almost every character. I was amazed and impressed that it was The Wife of all people who brought tears to my eyes. That the audience is allowed to empathize with these folks, rather than simply pointing fingers at their all-too-human deficiencies, is the film's genius.

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Being John Malkovich (1999)

10/10

BMJ Rocks!

4 November 1999

I couldn't have enjoyed this movie any more than I did. But then I'm a guy who loves an absurd, hilarious, infinitely self-reflecting, post-modern look at such matters as marriage, puppeteering, animal psychology, orientation videos, sex appeal, gender confusion, 60-foot-tall Emily Dickensons, pet obsession, and the semi-cool mystique of second-tier celebrities. So many laughs, so many memorable scenes, and such great performances, especially that of JM himself. What a fascinating way to change one's public image. Now what WAS the name of that jewel thief movie...

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Fooled Again

3 August 1999

The marketers deserve massive credit for this mediocre film's success -- I hope they negotiated for a big part of the gross. Maybe it's the Adam Sandler crowd who thinks this stuff's spooky, maybe I'm just getting old and cranky, but my main emotion was annoyance, not fear. I liked the bundles of sticks, though.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Orgazmo (1997)

7/10

I laughed till I hurt...

23 June 1999

I had no preconceptions renting this, and I must say I laughed most of the way through. The intro song, "Now You're a Man" is a hoot and the dead-on riffs (with the expected flops now and then) just keep coming. I've read a lot of negative reviews here and can only imagine they're from uptight religious types or people who can't tell the difference between bad and good lowbrow comedy. This is truly first-rate!

0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Matrix (1999)

Agent Smith Rocks

18 June 1999

I'll ditto most of the accolades given this movie by my fellow viewers, and add highest praise for Hugo Weaving's rendition of the incredible Agent Smith -- what a consummate creep, and funny as hell -- the forehead, the deadpan barely-hiding-disgust delivery of his lines -- my pick for Best Supporting Actor.

One minor nit to pick -- am I the only one bothered when an entire movie depends on everyone's inability to shoot straight?!?

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Opposite of Sex (1998)

Lisa Kudrow Good, Movie Kinda Lame

15 January 1999

Lisa Kudrow is very good! Her lines lose zip as the movie jags along, but she's a master of delivery and there's plenty of yucks for a while. Movie is not very good, since character development is hot & cold. We do learn quite a bit about the gay characters, which is nice, but there's plenty of straights in there, too, and we really don't learn much at all about them. An unexpected meteor about an hour into the movie would have made for a crisper viewing experience and I'd be sleeping right now.

Unfortunately, the last half hour just sucked along trying to tie a bunch of useless sub-plots together. Christina Ricci's the narrator and main character, but what makes her tick, beyond screwing everyone over and just plain screwing? Apparently it's being a mommy. Uh, okay, but it plays 100% banal. Martin Donovan does a nice job breathing some depth into a nearly comatose character. And I suppose you've gotta love Lyle Lovett, cardboard acting and all, but this ain't no Short Cuts or The Player. But Lisa Kudrow gooooood!

1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Henry Fool (1997)

3/10

Did I Miss Something?

13 January 1999

I was thrilled to rent this movie on the day it came out, having missed it during the week or two it played around here, and having heard great things from knowing people. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I really disliked this film. The acting was stiff and two-dimensional, and the supposedly fantastic dialogue clanked in my ears. I have no idea why this movie had to last 137 minutes. Have you all gone insane, or have I?!?

1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Gymkata (1985)

10/10

A Classic!

13 January 1999

This is one of my all-time favorite movies -- little Kurt Thomas as gymnast/martial artist/US agent -- what a concept, and from start to finish the laughs just keep coming! Pay attention to the start of "The Game" (the real one with Kurt Thomas, not the first "demonstration" one) and watch one of the villagers get creamed by a horse! The arrow through the back is another classic gaffe, and the dialogue never seems to disappoint. MGM put this out, and apparently with a fairly good budget -- I don't know what they were smoking, but I'm glad nobody killed this fantastic idea before it was released!

3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The General (1998)

6/10

The Butcher Boy 30 Years Later

10 January 1999

Not as great as the Butcher Boy, but another nice, small, deeply Irish film -- though billed as a "true story," it stretches credibility at points. Writer/director John Boorman and Cinematographer Seamus Deasy deserve a lot of credit for making a movie that's always easy on the eyes, and for using black-and-white, which works very well in this film. Brendan Gleeson, as clever Irish thief and working class hero Martin Cahill, gives a fine, nuanced performance. At the very least you gotta love his various piggy tee-shirts. John Voight finally gets a chance to show some complexity in his familiar role of bad/good guy. Dug the accents, but could have used sub-titles at certain points!

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Hurlyburly (1998)

6/10

What a Cast!

10 January 1999

Hey, it's another movie about nihilism run amok in Hollyweird! Without the powerhouse cast this movie would be unwatchable, but with the likes of Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri and Gary Shandling(!) menacing the screen, how can you say no? Meg Ryan finally gets to play the hooker with the heart of gold and pulls it off nicely. And little Anna Paquin (The Piano & Flyaway Home) is maturing, er, well, never mind (she doesn't actually show anything...).

Penn is to the "way-too-wired sleaze-bag" what De Niro is to the "Mafia hood," and I guess this is his Godfather II. The movie makes men look as ridiculous as ever, but then aren't we?!? As in real life, women fare only slightly better...

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Robbo-7

Reviews

Tell Your Friends

Recently Viewed