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Reviews
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Emperor's New Movie
With great anticipation I went this film, having heard so much buzz from critics, Internet postings and such. My oh my. Rarely has there been so much ado about nothing. I'm not going to outline the plot because you know it by now but here's a couple of thoughts: exactly who was the audience for this "documentary" that was being shot? It's filmed with all the technique of Uncle Jim's video of Timmy's birthday party. There's not even the slightest pretense of trying to make it look somewhat professional with interesting compositions, framings. The footage was UNWATCHABLE. I couldn't imagine watching their video for ten minutes much less a half hour to an hour.
Why must every banal moment be filmed? What possible interest could their viewers have in watching the filmmakers shoot the breeze in the motel room or talk in the car? It was unbelievable to see the amount of video that was used to capture moments that flat out did not belong in a supposedly serious documentary about the Blair Witch.
Here's the situation: You're in the middle of the woods at night in pitch black darkness. You hear groanings and rumblings in the distance that scare the living hell out of you. The first thing you do is... a) grab a weapon or some means to protect yourself and wait
b} grab a flashlight to investigate or c) turn on your video camera even though it's far too dark to see anything. EXCUSE ME!!???
Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. All of the above contributed to my never buying into the nonfiction reality the filmmakers tried to convey and as a result I wasn't scared or thrilled one tiny bit by this film. It was a gimmick movie and the gimmick didn't work. Its sole redeeming feature lie in its performers. They were very effective. But other than that, you can have this movie.
Most disturbing film since The Exorcist? Puh-leeze.
Going All the Way (1997)
Private Upham Gets Some
There were two things that shocked me about this mostly average film. First, Jeremy Davies gives almost the exact same performance as he gave in Saving Private Ryan, the tics, the mannerisms, the speech patterns, it's all there. Second, his character, an awkward, nerdy photographer home from WWII bags both Amy Locane AND Rose McGowan! Huh? Unbelievable but true.
As to the film itself, my main problem with it lay with the friendship at the center. Why does Ben Affleck's character, an outgoing, popular vet also returning from WWII, want to hang out with Davies' character when they are clearly opposites? It's never explained. Also lacking is the plot. There is none. The film simply follows those two characters around on their various exploits but there's never any kind of narrative driving the "story" from scene to scene.
All in all, the film is interesting only to see some early work by actors who have gone on to become more popular today - Affleck, Davies and McGowan.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Worth the Wait
I just got back from the midnight showing and let me say this first so I can get it out of the way: I take back all the concerns I voiced in response to the early reviews that came out 2 weeks ago. THIS FILM ROCKS!!!I don't know what movie some of those critics were watching but the one I saw had me riveted from start to finish. Star Wars fans, international ones especially, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. I sat in that theater literally with my jaw open at some of the sights Lucas puts up on the screen: Coruscant, with its skyline that extends over the whole planet, is like nothing you've ever seen before in the movies. Likewise the Senate chamber with its honeycomb-like interior. The lightsaber duels resemble nothing you've seen in previous SW films. Their intense pacing seems to draw from Hong Kong martial arts movies and they had the nearly capacity crowd cheering. I also have to admit I was hasty in my judgment of Jar Jar. He wasn't nearly as annoying as I thought he would be. I actually came to think he was kind of cute. He didn't detract from the film in anyway for me.
The actors were all fine in their roles. The standout is, obviously, Liam Neeson. This is his movie and he brings exactly the kind of stoic, commanding presence to Qui Gon that the role needs. Ewan MacGregor is more than adequate as the young Obi Wan and does a nice job affecting Sir Alec's accent. Portman is fine as well. I know there were grumblings about her accent from the trailers. Take heart, her accent is perfectly fine. Jake LLoyd is adequate as Anakin. He's not great but he doesn't embarrass himself either. Pernilla August is more than effective in the few scenes she has as Anakin's mother.
My one criticism of the film - not nearly enough Darth Maul. He has no more than ten to fifteen minutes of screen time and most of that comes at the end. It's a shame Lucas couldn't find a way to give him more of a presence in the film because when he's onscreen, he's menacing and his lightsaber skills will blow you away.
All in all I would have to say this film exceeded my expectations. There was never a moment that I was bored or disinterested. For me it was more than worth the wait. My only regret is that having seen it, my next new Star Wars film is three years away.
My Rating: ***1/2 out of **** My Ranking (in descending order): Empire Strikes Back A New Hope Phantom Menace Return of the Jedi
Mind you, it's not a bad thing that I have TPM listed as the third best out of the four. It's just that the first two I consider absolute classics and TPM isn't quite on their level but close to it.