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Reviews
B-52 (2001)
So unbelievably disappointing.
Less a documentary about the B-52 than it is a documentary about filmmaker Hartmut Bitomsky learning about the B-52, this film disappointed me to no end. Made with an incredible amount of egotism, the director appears on camera throughout the film, even though he knows nothing about his subject. And then there is the pretentious, pretentious narration -- which sounds like what Mike Meyers character, Dieter, might say if Sprockets were doing a show about the B-52 -- spoken by a man...and a woman. This is a distracting and annoying device which serves more to say "look at what an interesting filmmaker I am!" than "here is some more information about the B-52."
And speaking of subjects, Bitomsky gets interviews with some excellent ones, B-52 pilots, mechanics, etc. and then goes on to cut several of them off mid-sentence. Meanwhile, the conceptual artist who creates art installations out of B-52s rambles on for 15 minutes straight. Luckily, this was a good source of comic relief for the audience with whom I watched the film. I have no idea whether this was intentional.
Bright spots in the pic were excellent camera work, and some great archival footage. Other than that, if you want to learn something about the B-52 bomber, you're probably better off watching the History Channel. If you want to learn about a filmmaker using a slightly unorthodox directing style whilst making a documentary about himself making a documentary about the B-52, see this movie.
Fishing with John (1991)
What a pretentious load of crap.
It's pretty obvious what happened here. John Lurie wanted to find a way to get someone else to pay for him to go on vacation. So he figured, hey why not call up some famous people I know and see if they'll be willing to go fishing with me for free, on the condition that I can tape it and sell it to PBS. It doesn't seem like these guys (I saw Jarmusch and Waits) even want to be there. You know that real nerdy friend you have who you hang out with maybe once a year? Well that's what Lurie seems to be to these guys. And I was frankly a little uncomfortable watching home video of their time together. It's boring as hell to watch. And of course, it's filled with plenty of lame John Lurie music that doesn't even fit the scenes.
Jackie Brown (1997)
The most boring movie...ever!
An action movie without action? What the hell was Tarantino thinking? "Endless scenes of boring, boring dialogue. People will line up around the block to watch that!" With the possible exception of Bridget Fonda's ass, nothing was exciting or interesting about this movie. Nothing.
The Center of the World (2001)
Showgirls: the Next Generation
Take Showgirls, make it all independent filmy and lower the budget, and you'll have this movie. Trashy as hell, but veiled as intelligent. The audience I saw the picture with laughed throughout the showing. See it for what it is, porn-lite fobbed off as art, and you will too. Perfs by Gugino and Parker are dead on. I got tired of Sarsgaard's one note performance. Still, I like to see DV features make it to theatrical, and I'll give filmmakers credit for achieving that much. And for getting my $10.
My advice: Rent "Center of the World" and play it with the sound off at the next literati cocktail party you host.
Spike of Bensonhurst (1988)
A fine independent film, which accurately portrays Brooklyn
Very humorous film, including some great, accurate Brooklyn dialogue. The film does drag in points, but it also takes a few risks in its ending, going for a more realistic rather than Hollywood outlook. I'm constantly surprised that this film has not received more attention, or even a cult following.