Silver Screen in a Red Envelope: A Diary of Time Wasted

 Peter Bogdanovich does the retro thing again in this film, although where What's Up Doc ? hearkened back to the mere screwball, Paper Moon more fully embraced a slightly different thirties style, more like Clark Gable than Cary Grant. Those of you who enjoyed O Brother Where Art Thou  will recognize many of the elements of this film, although the comedic elements aren't quite the same. Although the scripts had the same, long lines and monologues that older films seem known for, in Paper Moon  the actors more fully embraced them, delivering them like they would Shakespeare, instead of George Clooney's rattled-off, barely intelligible, and over-written one-liners from O Brother. Although Tatum O'Neal won an Oscar for her performance here, I truly think both Peter Bogdanovich and Ryan O'Neal deserve some significant credit (though I think I'm going to have to disapprove of any father who would allow his nine-year-old to smoke at all, let alone on camera) (and...

 Although not a particularly romantic or away-sweeping role, Bullitt brought out the best of Steve McQueen, which, if you ask me, is his ability to play put-upon and still seem sexy. Although his girlfriend dumps him for the stupidest reason I've ever heard, he still comes off a winner, especially through the harrowing car-chases, in which McQueen typically does a significant chunk of his own driving stunts. Knowing he eventually died of his cavalier recklessness does nothing to mitigate the fear, sensibly enough. Robert Vaughn surprised me, playing a character despicable, if not truly evil. I had been used to seeing him from U.N.C.L.E. and even as a schmuck, I still think he's cute. I wouldn't date him, though. The plot of this film rolls evenly, mostly set pieces for moments of adventure. The full story could be summed up in just a few words. The filming and script are typical minimalist, and neither indulges in feeling or sentiment. Even the sense of relief when t...

 It didn't blow me away. I did develop a real hatred for the stereotyped military/establishment/colonialists, which indicates good filming, but doesn't at all veer from the norm, or show any depth or nuance. The way in which this film immerses the viewer in a whole different world/eco system seems to have garnered all the attention for this film (along with the ground-breaking special effects, which honestly, kinda did blow me away), but it's all aimed at creating Utopia, where most fantasy realms are dystopic. I speculate that the reasons for this common dystopia include a prevalent belief that any Utopia is either behind us or never existed, and anything we could create/discover in the future would be as flawed as we are. The optimistic-to-the-point-of-delusion belief that we might someday meet a culture/world who did it correctly, or who have some essential evolutionary advantage that makes them successful in a way we will never achieve faces down and ultimately lose...

 Okay, not an instant classic, but this movie certainly caught my attention, held it for at least an hour, and made me smile, giggle, and even laugh out loud. As long as you don't expect Nicholas Cage to win any awards for his acting (nor the main character for his looks - the poor kid lacks chin), you should be able to take this experience all in with little to no salt at all. It's just fun. It's not deep, or particularly well-made. The plot, special effects, minimal characterization, and amusing script make for a couple of really enjoyable minutes. Just sit back and turn off the inner critic. Remember when you were a kid and movies were just these flashing lights that told a story? Although I have to admit, this film contained some truly funny lines, and some real cleverness. This movie has been streamlined - any elements that don't fit the "good, clean fun" ideal got sanded down in post-production, which took real skill, as did the special effects. I...

 This commercially produced film, steeped in the most crass of Hollywood and the music industry, nevertheless contained much more substance that I would have anticipated. At moments the audience may wince at the pretty, clean, white people in roles that seem more common in a different kind of neighborhood, but who is more racist: me, for thinking only non-caucasian ethnicities kill each other, or them, for making a movie with only a single non-white actor of any note? Racial issues aside, this film still startled me with its depth of emotion. Although the plot itself held no real surprises, and the ending was a kind of slow exhale, nothing in the film shook me out of the experience. Like most films, one or two lines may have been somewhat underdone, but for the most part, they worked in context. The eventual reluctant alliance between the two main characters built naturally from propinquity and forgiveness, rather than from some artificial, hormonal thing one usually gets in teen...

 My little sister, for no apparent reason, loves scaring herself (and she truly does get scared). We watched this film together (she cuddled with her boyfriend, and me making snide remarks as I slid off the couch) until she decided it was too scary, and shut her eyes. Although none of the actors or actresses were at all recognizable, though the acting was certainly passable, this film had a big studio feel in the camera work (excepting a few amateurish moments), and some real skill went into the lighting (although I did notice a few rough spots). The special effects came across brilliantly in the eerie darkness. The plot was likely not intended to do much more than build the opportunity to scare children. Although the monsters are real (proven by a kind of second-hand gimmick), the audience doesn't get the courtesy of any kind of explanation, which fact, although profoundly realistic, also reduces the story to a series of frightening moments held loosely together by family and ...

 Any Glee  fans MUST see this filmed concert, especially for Idina Menzel (who, although she has obvious vocal strengths, occasionally reveals some bad habits - the danger of Broadway). Any chess players should, just for the atmosphere (no real chess moves/strategies are more than hinted at, and the actual moves are portrayed in interpretive dance). (I know - it sounds silly, but it's really quite amazingly beautiful). The musical speculates on a possible story around the cancelled 1979 match between Anatoly Karpov (Anatolij Sergievskij in the script, sung by the breathtaking Josh Groban) and Bobby Fischer (Freddie Trumper, sung by a brash and impressive Adam Pascal). Although most of the characters were imaginary, and any real people were heavily disguised, those two shadows fell unmistakably across the stage. The story involves several large "what ifs." It began with: what if they had actually played? and ultimately focuses more on the politics and relationships th...