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Devdas (2002)
Remarkable. Stunning.
I loved this one a whole lot. What it lacks in plot it more than makes up for in visual beauty. And the music and the dancing, too, are incredible.
Ash is, of course, the most impossibly beautiful woman ever. This was my first movie with Madhuri Dixit, who is wonderful.
But oh, is the ending ever heartbreaking. I won't ruin it for you, but it was surprising and devastating.
Go see it now!
Edward
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Goes from Bad to Great
Funny, I leaned over to my date about halfway through the film and whispered, "Are you hating this as much as I am?"
She was.
But then, of course, everything changes and twists and turns and who knows what all happens or even has happened.
And I ended up really liking this movie. Go figure.
To me it was the exact opposite of Vanilla Sky, which I liked for the first half and then loathed the exposition. Mulholland Drive is similar in that you don't know what's real and what's not, but in the end you pretty much maybe still don't know but in any case don't necessarily care.
And, anyway and anyhow, that Naomi Watts is an absolute shining star, by turns perky & lovely and then damaged and dangerous.
Unforgettable, although sadly my date never did warm up to it.
ejb
Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
Good stuff
I really like that Aamir Khan. He was mostly the strong, silent hero in Lagaan, but here he's a goofy funny guy. The scene at the opera where he comes to many realizations is spectacular (if a little reminiscent of Moonstruck).
I really liked this movie, and I probably would've really loved it if I spoke a word of Hindi (or if it had been subtitled).
Aks (2001)
Bollywood is Better
Sure, there's elements of Face/Off and Fallen and the masks are pure Mission Impossible, but so what. Those movies didn't have Amitabh Bachchan or Raveena Tandon, now did they?
Probably too dark and disturbing for giant success, though. Too bad.
3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
Bad but not completely unenjoyable
Strangely moral tale of Good Elvis vs. Evil Elvis, this movie was killing me at first with how awful it was. I finally gave up and gave in, experiencing a satori-like state of peacefulness.
Yes, the flick is really bad, but it's only a mundane badness that doesn't approach the pretentiously self-important badness of say "Quills." This movie aims low, and while it misses, it doesn't fall that short of its already low ambition.
The morality of "3000 Miles" is exhibited early on, when Good Elvis chooses to fire his weapon at the ceiling instead of into the security guards like Evil Elvis (apparently murder is bad while being an accessory to murder is okay). Good Elvis has mutually satisfying sex with a spunky single mom, while Evil Elvis gets fellated by a teen (and later gives her away to a passing biker). Good Elvis teaches a boy that smoking is bad, while Evil Elvis just wants to kill the kid.
Look elsewhere for moral guidance, I guess. Mostly I hate that this movie wants to titillate you with Tarantino-ism while trying to champion it's own old-fashioned values. I say you can't have it both ways.
So after my satori I rooted for Evil Elvis, knowing that he'd be toast by the end. Sigh.
ejb
Chocolat (2000)
This year's Little Movie That Could
Okay, so it'd be a sleeper surprise in the Oscar nominations if not for the mighty Miramax machine that guarantees at least one Miramax product up for best picture.
Because otherwise this is a nice but humdrum familiar tale of tolerance for diversity, with cartoon villains and heroes. And the movie about the relationship between food and life has been done much better, especially in "Tampopo," but even in "Like Water for Chocolate" if you're looking for a better chocolate movie.
At least it was good to see Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin working together again, especially in very much reverse-different roles than they played in "Unbearable Lightness of Being." And hey, a surprisingly good performance from Carrie-Ann Moss. We expect, and of course get here, fine performances from Alfred Molina and Dame Judi Dench. And boy is that Johnny Depp a handsome fellow.
My favorite moment = Chitza's ashes spilling down the stairs. Lovely image and just right plot device. Later Vianne gives the remaining ashes to that pesky north wind. Nice.
ejb
Hannibal (2001)
It Doesn't Stink
Spoiler Considering that the book was unforgettably bad, that the movie comes in at unmemorable I'd have to say is a good thing.
The movie dispenses with the annoying Barnie & sister subplot, as well as the silly and monumentally unnecessary origin of Lecter story. I was sad to see the book's ending changed, however much I hated the rest of the book. The ending of the book sure wasn't what I expected, and I liked being surprised.
The greatness of "Silence of the Lambs" comes from the ta-ta-tension in the meetings and discussions between Agent Starling and Dr. Lecter. "Hannibal" has them apart except for the (now famous) dinner scene at the end, spending all of its capital on setting up a villain worse than Lecter and straining to find some way for Starling to have to save Lecter. Yawn.
The movie blows the ending not by keeping Starling committed to her principles, which is more believable but less fun than the book's ending, but by having Lecter declare (almost) his love to her.
At least he also declares the truth about love (and handcuffs): "This is going to hurt quite a bit."
Chop!
Wo hu cang long (2000)
1/1/00 7/10 Good, but not that good.
Critically acclaimed, with most pros falling over themselves to praise this thing, this movie just isn't all that spectacular. Chow Yun-Fat is underused, although it's nice to see Michelle Yeoh so much. Zhang Ziyi is amazingly pretty, matched nicely with the appropriately hunky Chang Chen, and hey she can swing a sword.
The wire work doesn't work for me at all. I much prefer Jackie Chan jumping through a ladder, i.e. stunt work, to this magical floating up walls business, i.e. special effects. The set piece up in the bamboo trees didn't move me one bit.
Narratively, this thing is all over the map. There's a complicated plot, too daft to recount, that's supposedly intentionally silly, but it's silly just the same. There's tiresome flashback which still fails to explain why Jen Yu is so annoyingly selfish; she remains unredeemed by her attempt at redemption at the end.
Sir Te sums it all up when the Green Destiny is stolen for the second (and feels like nineteenth) time. Where does this end?
ejb