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Reviews
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
A yawner, but a keeper...
"The Talented Mr. Ripley." Where to begin? The movie explorers the character of Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), a down and out wannabe piano player. Ripley meets the father of Dickie Greenleaf(Jude Law) at a party and the father in turn offers Ripley money to travel to Italy and bring back his son. What unfolds is a journey into the mind of a sociopath who will do whatever it takes to join Greenleaf's world.
Damon and Law deliver top notch performances in this Anthony Minghella directed piece. Damon's performance is his best date, rivaled perhaps by only his performance in "Good Will Hunting." Law is perfectly cast as the American playboy spending daddy's money in Europe. The two female leads in "Ripley" are Gwenyth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett. Paltrow plays Marge, Dickie's girlfriend and delivers a performance that is at times bland. Blanchett plays Meridith Logue, an American girl who is also rich. Her, along with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, are vastly underused in this piece and I would have even liked to see Blanchett in Paltrow's part.
The movie, although a bit long and drawn out (much like the English Patient), delivers in the end and should be considered one of the best of the year(near the bottom of my top ten, albeit).
The Green Mile (1999)
You got me on why this movie is critically acclaimed...
Upon reading that Tom Hanks was in another "Oscar" worthy movie, I decided I needed to see it. This was four months ago. This much oscar hype about a movie should have tipped as to how boring this movie would be. Not since the "English Patient" have I been this bored with a movie. Using that formula, I guess "The Green Mile" will win 9 Oscars. I'm not really sure what exactly bores me about this movie, but I'm pretty certain I can pinpoint it to the mouse "Mr. Jingles". This mouse takes over way too much of the movie (precisely 1 hr of the movie is the guards chasing the mouse and it's relationship with the inmate played by Michael Jeter). I have never read the book by Stephen King, but it has been pointed out to me that the mouse plays a much more important role in the book. The book explores the relationship between John Coffey(whose initials, ironically, are J.C.). If Durabont would have done this, the movie would have been four hours. There is nothing special about the acting here. Tom Hanks does not, I repeat, DOES NOT deserve an Oscar for this picture. It's nothing I haven't seen before by Hanks. Edgecomb is a combination of his "Saving Private Ryan" character and "Forrest Gump." The one actor that does have a breakout performance is Michael Duncan Clarke. His portrayal of John Coffey is the one reason I didn't walk out half way through the movie. If you have three hours on hand and want to watch a movie about a mouse, go watch "Stuart Little" twice.
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
My comments are probably more exciting...(hopefully)
Bringing out the Dead. When I found saw that Martin Scorcese was reuniting with Paul Schrader, I thought this movie must be good. It's not. Plain and simple. Nicholas Cage plays Frank, a down on his luck paramedic. Frank cannot seem to save anybody's life anymore, so he turns to whiskey as his savior. Patricia Arquette plays Mary, the daughter of a patient Frank has brought into the hospital. These two are the two characters we see the most of the movie and it is difficult to see why. Cage gives his usual performance, and Arquette hasn't been good since True Romance. The story centers around Cage and never really develops. I found myself waiting for so much more to happen and it simply didn't. The beginning of the movie sets up a good plot, but Schrader doesn't do anything with it. The movie stands still, with many scenes repeating each other throughout the movie. John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and especially Tom Sizemore are vastly underused in their roles. The directing is good in this movie, as usual with a Scorcese flick. I would only recommend this movie if you are an insomiac and need to catch a quick nap.
American Beauty (1999)
Are you happy?
Are you happy? This is the question that is essentially being asked in "American Beauty." Sam Mendes makes his directoral debut in this film that at first seems to be a simple little story, but in fact is a dramatic ride from start to finish. Kevin Spacey, in the greatest role I've seen him in, plays Lester, a man whose favorite part of the day is masturbating in the shower. As the film develops, Spacey is searching for what makes him happy.
Although Spacey delivers as usual, the three younger actors give performances that equal or are better than that of Spacey's. Thora Birch plays Lester's daughter, a loner who is looking to for her place in the beautiful world. Mena Suvari plays Birch's best friend, a cheerleader who is pursued by Lester. Finally, there is Wes Bentley. He plays Ricky, the new kid next door who loves to film everything in which he believes beautiful.
The entire cast gives outstanding performances and this helps to make the movie so great. Each character is looking to experience life to the fullest in their own eyes and this helps the movie to continually develop. I walked out of this movie wanting to experience and live my life to the fullest. It had almost the opposite effect because I realized that there is no possible way to do every little thing you want to do. There is just no time to do everything, but American Beauty tells us you should be happy while doing it.
Dogma (1999)
Hope this gets released...
I read the script to this movie and loved it. I just hope someone picks up the movie to distribute. It is all because of the Catholic League and their consideration that this is an anti-catholic film. I myself am Catholic, albeit not a strict adherist to the ways of the religion, but still practice some of its ways. I should read the script again, but I didn't find myself offended because of these anti-catholic remarks, which I never really saw. This film NEEDS to be released. Not because of the opposition of the Catholic League, but because we need to see the work of these great young actors and those few older ones(Alan Rickman). The story line is great and this movie is that of a bit more mature Kevin Smith.
Hurlyburly (1998)
great ensemble cast, but...
Although the great ensemble cast of Hurly Burly, including the nice Meg Ryan as a drug addict, delivers the story line excellently, the story itself lacks a hook. I found myself straying from the movie at times due to lack of interest. Nothing new was introduced to sustain my interest. The story itself is good, but what is lacks is substance. The movie is scene after scene of the same thing. Kevin Spacey is great as always and Anna Paquin's character is underused. If you want to see a movie with a great cast, this is the movie. If it's a great story, I'd suggest looking a different way.