Man on the Moon

Milos Forman - Director
Jim Carrey - Andy Kaufman
Paul Giamatti - Bob Zmuda
Danny DeVito - George Shapiro
Courtney Love - Lynne Margulies
Jerry Lawler - Himself

Jim Carrey is magnificent as Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon

Man on the Moon tells the story of late comedian Andy Kaufman. Kaufman was one of the most eccentric, misunderstood entertainers of his time. He enjoyed singing and playing large scale practical jokes (he once hired 40 actors to runthrough the Chicago Zoo in a group screaming that there was a lion on the loose.) The people he worked for wanted him to simply tell jokes and make the audience laugh. When ABC offered him a spot on the sitcom "Taxi," he was more offended than honored. Andy seemed disgusted and offended by conventional entertainment.

Andy Kaufman achieved much of his fame on the show Taxi, playing the wacky character Latka. Eventually his standup audiences only wanted to see him as Latka, which offended and wounded Kaufman. He felt like a sellout, getting cheap laughs by acting out scripts which he didn't write. He would make public appearances as phony, foulmouthed lounge singer Tony Clifton more to entertain himself than his audience. He did his best to offend his audiences because he and his friend/writer Bob Zmuda found it funny. The only problem is that he would never let the audience in on the joke. Eventually Kaufman became a victim of his own game, hated by audiences and distrusted by almost everyone he knew.

Jim Carrey is perfect in this role. He can do the funny parts as I knew he could; he's Jim Carrey - he's great at being silly, making funny faces and making people laugh. It's the way he exposes the vulnerable, kind man within Kaufman that makes this a career performance for Carrey. Kaufman is able to laugh at himself and at the rest of the world. He treats every project he undertakes as a sort of psychology experiment to see how his audience will react to whatever he's trying to put past them. Rather than giving people what they expect, he gives them something different. Unfortunately, most people hate that. And once people were on to what sort of humor he was doing, they expected Kaufman to shock them everytime. There are few things tougher than trying to shock someone who is expecting it.

This film is terrific all the way around. It's everything a movie should be. It's funny, it's touching, and it's entertaining. That Carrey didn't recieve an Academy Award nomination for this role is obscene. The acting performances are great all throughout the cast, and the film's ending is one of the most touching I've ever seen. Sadly, Andy Kaufman is one of those people that was only really appreciated after his death.

Man on the Moon earns 4 wombats out of 4

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban

JK Rowling - Author
Alphonso Cauron - Director
Daniel Radcliffe - Harry Potter
Rupert Grint - Ron Weasley
Emma Watson - Hermione Granger
Micheal Gambon - Albus Dumbledore
Maggie Smith - Minerva McGonagall
Alan Rickman - Severus Snape
Gary Oldman - Sirius Black
David Thewlis - Professor Lupin
Tom Felton - Draco Malfoy
Emma Thompson - Sybil Trelawney
Robbie Coltrane - Rubeus Hagrid

A confrontation at the Shrieking Shack in Prisoner of Azkaban

Prisoner of Azkaban, the third film in the 7 movie Harry Potter series, finds itself under the guidance of a new director who has a couple of unavoidable problems on his hands: Death and puberty. Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore in the first two films, passed on this past year. Whenever someone is asked to play a role that another actor has already played, it is difficult and unfair for the both the replacement and the audience (Jodie Foster being replaced by Julianne Moore in Hannibal comes to mind.) Surely everyone who watched Azkaban was taken out of the film experience at least for a moment, long enough to think "Wait...that's not Dumbledore." While Michael Gambon is an adequate replacement, Richard Harris brought both grace and power to the role; Harris' Dumbledore was as he should be: kind and gentle, but also able to command the attention of an entire room without raising his voice. Regardless, Gambon does a fine job and, to his credit, he plays the character in his own way rather than trying to mimic Harris.

The other problem lies in the aging of the 3 main characters. The actors who play Harry, Ron and Hermione are 15, 16 and 14. Between the last film and this one, the characters have suddenly sprouted and sound markedly older. This, like seeing a new Dumbledore, simply takes time to adjust to. These problems were unavoidable and the film is still enjoyable despite these and other drawbacks. For me, reading the book first lessened my enjoyment of the film. As is the case with many conversions from book to film, much is left out. For example, the origins of the Marauder's Map is absent as is the appearance of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Included also, are some things that were not in the book. The children in the Great Hall singing "Something Wicked this way Comes" was a nice touch. The other additions, such as the annoying Jamaican shrunken head on the Knight Bus, and appearance of budding romantic feelings between Ron and Hermione are wholly unnecessary and ridiculous. Also gone is the mysticism of Hogwart's. In past films the school seemed full of mystery and secrets. In Prisoner of Azkaban, the students are in muggle clothes much of the time and Hogwart's feels more like a standard private school than a school for witchcraft and wizardry.

Harry repels a swarm of dementors with a Patronus spell.

If this has made it sound like I disliked the film, that isn't the case. Becoming a fan of the books has made me much more critical of the films. I did enjoy this film overall. The scenes with the boggart and the scene where Harry encounters Snape in the middle of the night were especially well done, as were the dementors themselves. The acting was also very good. Newcomers to the series Gary Oldman and David Thewlis are especially good as Sirius Black and Professor Lupin. Alan Rickman, as he has in the previous movies, embodies Severus Snape exquisitely. I only wish Oldman and Rickman had more screentime. This is a fine film and any Potter fan will enjoy it. Here's hoping that Snape, Black and McGonagall get more screentime next year when Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire comes out.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban earns 3 Snapes out of 4.

Cold Mountain

Anthony Minghella - Director/Screenplay Writer
Charles Frazier - Book writer
Jude Law - W.P. Inman
Nicole Kidman - Ada Monroe
Renee Zellweger - Ruby Thewes
Eileen Atkins - Matty
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Reverend Veasey
Brendan Gleason - Stobrod Thewes
Natalie Portman - Sara
Giovanni Ribisi - Junior
Donald Sutherland - Reverend Monroe
Ray Winstone - Teague
Jena Malone - Ferry Girl

Jude Law and Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain

Cold Mountain, on the surface, appears to be a love story. In actuality it is a story of perserverance and how people endure trying times. The civil war makes an effective backdrop for this story. This is the story of two people who fall in love (or at least are about to do so) as the civil war begins and Inman (played by Jude Law) must go off to fight. The two characters face the trials and adversity that comes with war - for both those who fight it and those who must stay at home.

For Miss Ada Monroe, she is charged with maintaining her farmland after her father passes on. She is, as she notes, hardly adequate for this task. Little of her education up to this point is helpful when the fields need plowing and the wood needs chopping. She also has to deal with the local law/lynch mob leader, Teague. He rules the area mercilessly and feels that Monroe's farm should've been his. Monroe eventually ends up with a helping hand in the form of Ruby Thewes, a hardy local girl who demands only food and shelter in exchange for her work on the farm. Her character is the polar opposite of Monroe - Thewes is rugged, blunt and treats everything in her life with a no nonsense attitude. When Monroe warns Thewes of a particularly viscous rooster who has a habit of biting her, Thewes walks up to it, snaps its neck and suggests they stick it in a pot and cook it. I'll admit I had doubts when I saw Renee Zellweger cast in this role, but she pulls it off flawlessly. She is unrefined, funny, and resilient but still manages to reveal a sensitive, vulnerable being just beneath the surface.

Law's path is likewise difficult. After being wounded fighting for a cause he doesn't really believe in, he decides that he's had enough and attempts to return to Cold Mountain and his dreams of Ada Monroe. Of course, things aren't that easy - Inman has to travel by foot without being found by either Union or Confederate soldiers - to the Confederates, he was a deserter and would be punished, or at very least returned to his place in battle. In his travels he meets both friend and foe, and a very entertaining companion in Reverend Veasey. Indeed, supporting actors Hoffman and Zellweger steal the scenes in which they appear. It's not so much that Monroe and Inman are in love as they are in love with the idea of loving each other. When people face terrible struggles, they tell themselves whatever they must just to get through each day. Before Inman leave for battle, the two barely know each other, having only exchanged a few sentences between them. One of the major complaints that people have had about this film is the fact that it's two main characters have very few scenes together; I think this is a good thing, as I saw little chemistry between Kidman and Law.

Renee Zellweger won an Academy Award for her performance in this film

I enjoyed the characters and the acting more than the story. Though, I must say, as much I enjoy Nicole Kidman she appears out of place in this film. She is beautiful and stylish, a supermodel dropped onto a farm in 1850. This film is worth watching just to see Zellweger portraying Ruby Thewes. She has blossomed into a complete actress and I look forward to seeing what sort of roles she will be offered from now on. Cold Mountain is an average story elevated to a very good movie by its cast and director.

3 Wombats out of 4

Donnie Darko

Richard Kelly - Writer/Director
Jake Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Elizabeth Darko
Drew Barrymore - Karen Pomeroy
Noah Wyle - Kenneth Monitoff
Jena Malone - Gretchen Ross
Holmes Osborne - Eddie Darko
Mary McDonnell - Rose Darko
James Duval - Frank
Patrick Swayze - Jim Cunningham
Beth Grant - Kitty Farmer
Katherine Ross - Lilian Thurman


Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone and er.....Frank.....in Donnie Darko.

"What if you could go back, take all those hours of pain and sadness and replace them with something better?" This question, posed by Gretchen Ross, is the central point behind this film experience. Donnie Darko is a deep, powerful, thought provoking film that winds the viewer up in a labrynthine plot that, in the end, shows us what happens but leaves many of the details of why it happens open for debate. If done imporperly this sort of ending will leave the audience feeling frustrated and short changed. Kelly, however, gets it just right. This movie left me sitting for half an hour afterwards, staring at the blank screen, mumbling to myself while trying to tie all of the facts together. Each conclusion only seemed to come with some serious thought and the addition of one or two of my own ideas. In this way Richard Kelly's movie belongs not just to he and his cast, but to the fans as well. Doing a bit of searching on the internet revealed an entire subculture of fans for this film, all discussing and delivering theories and philosophies behind this film on their message boards.

The movie takes place in 1988, depicting the era in such a way that it is believable without being over the top and mocking the culture of the time as many films do. The references to the time period are effective but not obvious. Donnie Darko, played very convincingly by Jake Gyllenhaal, is a teenage boy who carries some emotional baggage (ever met a teenager who doesn't?) and seems angry and withdrawn. And this is before things get weird onscreen. One night Donnie is awakened by a voice that draws him up and out of bed and eventually leads him to a golf course far from his home. When his sleepwalk leads him to his destination, he meets Frank - a man in a very disturbing bunny suit. Frank woke him from his slumber to bring him here and inform him not only that the world will end but also when: 28 days from now . Thus begins a countdown to the end of the world - 28:06:42:12. Donnie returns the next morning to find that a jet engine has fallen on his home and through his room - Frank has saved his life. Donnie continues to see Frank ("daylight hallucinations" as his doctor informs his parents) who encourages Donnie to commit acts of vandalism.

As the countdown nears its conclusion the story twists and twists becoming continually darker - and so does Donnie. I will not give away its conclusion, which I found very powerful and moving. Let it suffice to say that it answers several questions and raises several more. Donnie Darko is a terrific movie whose cast simply did a magnificent job. This film is the one of the best, most original movies I've had the pleasure of seeing. Kudos to Richard Kelly for leaving the story open and giving his audience credit for being intelligent enough to participate; I'm sure some viewers were upset by this, as people are very much used to the whole story being wrapped up and handed to them with a bow on top by the end. There is nothing wrong with that, but it's nice to have a film that breaks away from the old tried and true storytelling formula. Donnie Darko is a work of art.

4 wombats out of 4

Rushmore

Wes Anderson - Writer/Director
Owen Wilson - Director
Jason Schwartzman - Max Fischer

Bill Murray - Herman Blume
Olivia Williams - Rosemary Cross
Seymour Cassel - Bert Fischer
Brian Cox - Dr. Nelson Guggenheim
Mason Gamble - Dirk Calloway
Luke Wilson - Dr. Peter Flynn

Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray in Rushmore .

Rushmore is a complex film. If you like your heroes and villains simple and clear cut, look elsewhere. The main character is, at times, a downright wicked little bastard. But he certainly is charasmatic, though when all was said and done I ended up disliking him more than anything, which is ok. I enjoy it when a film steps outside the norm and gives a a protagonist I don't necessarily care for. This is an unusual, if flawed, movie.

Max Fischer is a 15 year old student at the prestigious Rushmore Academy. He writes and directs school plays that are huge, extravagent, must-see events. He is in charge of, among others, The Fencing Team, The French Club, The Debate Team, and The Calligraphy Club - the list goes on and on. He is also one of the worst students at the school and is failing most of his classes. His ambitions are huge, and he seems capable of succeeding at anything he goes for until he falls in love with second grade teacher Mrs Cross. This is where Max's frailties begin to show through.

Max is a boy who does not know himself. The major contributors to his problems are the facts that his mother died when he was 7 and his father is a barber, and thus he is in a different economic class from his classmates. He is used to getting the things he puts his mind to, and when Mrs Cross refuses a relationship with him, he continously struggles after something he obviously cannot have. That's the first part of Max's problem. The second is that his friend, millionare Herman Blume has fallen for Max's crush. This leads to a childish competition to win her affections which often turns downright cruel and nasty. Are we supposed to laugh when Max informs Herman's wife that he is cheating on her? Or when he cuts the brake line in Herman's car, LOL. Max takes turns doing and saying terrible things to the people closest to him. That these people all stick with him through the end of the film is a miracle in and of itself.

That said, the acting performances in this film are superb. Murray won several awards for his portrayal of Herman Blume who is rich, unhappily married and thoroughly depressed. Schwartzman is fine in his big screen debut as the brilliant, charismatic, selfish Fischer. Olivia Williams reveals the beauty and naivete of Mrs Cross, a woman who is forgiving - perhaps to a fault. Wes Anderson films seem to have a distinct tone and feel, such as The Royal Tenenbaums had. Rushmore is no exception. It is beautiful, quirky and has a terrific soundtrack which helps set the mood very well.

I freely admit that I did not 'get' this film. I enjoyed it on some level. Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson have a talent for making movies. The fims took a couple of turns that I was unprepared for, and I was left at the end scratching my head and feeling a bit unfulfilled. Perhaps my brain was simply on the wrong frequency to recieve this film. I wanted to like this film. Anyone reading this can feel free to give me their take on it, I'd appreciate another point of view...

2.5 wombats out of 4

The People vs Larry Flynt

Milos Forman - Director
Woody Harrelson - Larry Flynt
Courtney Love - Althea Leasure
Edward Norton - Alan Isaacman
Brett Harrelson - Jimmy Flynt
Donna Hanover - Ruth Carter Stapleton
Crispin Glover - Arlo
James Cromwell - Charles Keating

Woody Harrelson sporting the latest in courtroom fashion in The People vs Larry Flynt

The People vs Larry Flynt is, at its core, a movie about two things: It is a love story between Larry Flynt and Althea Leasure, and it is a film about the First Amendment. Larry Flynt is the producer of Hustler magazine, which for those of you don't know...well, you all know what Hustler magazine is. Flynt is played superbly by Woody Harrelson as a man who knows what he wants in life and won't let anything stand in his way.

Hustler magazine began as a 'newsletter' advertising Larry's strip club. The newsletter was several pages long, featuring nude photos of the girls who danced there. Larry, dissatisfied with Playboy which he felt was too highbrow for regular people who just wanted something to jerk off to, decided to publish Hustler as a full blown magazine. The first issue tanked, and it appeared as though Hustler magazine would go broke before it had the chance to publish a second one. Larry, however, would get a phone call from someone claiming that he had nude photos of Jackie Onassis Kennedy. A month later, Jackie O and Hustler magazine were all over the news and Larry Flynt was a millionare.

His newfound fame quickly landed Larry in a courtroom, his first of many visits. Some of the lawsuits against him had some merit. others did not. His lawyer, Alan Isaacman, summed it up in that first courtroom visit when he said "I'm not asking you to like what Larry Flynt does. I don't like what Larry Flynt does. What I do like is that I live in a country where I have that choice, where I can choose to pick up Hustler magazine if I wish or throw it in the garbage if that's where I think it belongs." The bottom line is that the first amendment has to protect unpopular speech, otherwise it is useless. Flynt at one point is showing a slide show which consist of alternating photographs of war attrocities and pornography and questioning how people could possibly find a bare breast more offensive than a dead, mutilated body. The man makes a good point. I don't think Larry Flynt was a patriot; I think he fought for free speech out of self-interest and a desire to screw with the system. Larry Flynt was just a regular guy who wanted to make some money by catering to the basest human desires. He went from running moonshine as a child to owning a stripclub to publishing a porno magazine. Larry's much celebrated courtroom battles and business ventures are just part of the story.

The relationships are what keep the movie from being just a courtroom drama. Larry has a love/hate relationship with his lawyer Alan Isaacman (played by Edward Norton.) Once Flynt gets inside a courtroom, he can't help but be vulgar and disrespectful, showing the judges and lawyers that he finds them just as repulsive as they find him. The "FUCK THIS COURT" T-shirt shown in the above picture was an especially nice touch. At one point Alan tells Larry that he is no longer going be his lawyer and that he's had enough, to which Flynt responds "C'mon! I'm your dream client! I'm the most fun, I'm rich, and I'm always in trouble!"

The other key relatioship in the film is between Flynt and his wife, Althea. Althea (played incredibly well by Courtney Love) is a bisexual stripper in Larry's club and a drug addict. Even though Larry and Althea are definitely not monogamous, you can see that they truly do love each other, most importantly through the darker years after Larry is shot and paralyzed after one of his court hearings. Larry is a decent, if crude, man. He reminds me of Couch only without the ability to keep his mouth shut when he should. This is a fine movie and definitely worth watching at least once. It may make some people squirm, but these are likely the people that need this movie's message the most.

3.5 wombats out of 4.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Chuck Barris - Author
Charlie Kaufman - Screenwriter
George Clooney - Director//Jim Byrd
Sam Rockwell - Chuck Barris
Drew Barrymore - Penny
Julia Roberts - Patricia Watson

George Clooney and Sam Rockwell in Confessions.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind tells the story of Chuck Barris. This movie is based on the autobiography of his life, which he wrote in 1981. For those of you who don't know, Chuck Barris was the creator and host of game shows such as The Newlywed Game, The Dating Game, and The Gong Show, among others. He also killed 33 people while acting as a secret agent for the CIA, or so he claims in his autobiography. The validity of this claim is definitely in question. Then again, how does one go about proving someone was or was not an undercover government agent? Good luck. After watching the film, I hope it was fabricated.

I began watching this movie expecting an oddball, wacky, tongue-in-cheek story. What I got was the story of a very depressed, lonely, paranoid man who never managed to find happiness. The film opens with Barris, naked and dishevelled, holed up in a New York hotel room. The year is 1981 and he is writing a biography of his empty life. The film then takes us back in time to tell his story.

His story begins with Barris as a young boy, perhaps ten years old. It quickly fast forwards through his teens and early twenties. These years were spent unsuccesfully trying to get laid, attempting to "find the right combination of lies" to get women to sleep with him. Chuck Barris has never had love. He does not seek it. He does not want it. He is a lonely man looking for temporary fixes to fill the void he feels. He is trying to get into television, presumably to get money and thus sex. He is eventually approached by Jim Byrd (played by Clooney) who informs him that his personality fits a certain profile and offers him a job with a secret government agency. Shortly after undertaking his first mission, the network buys one of his shows, The Dating Game, and his televsion career takes off. But, as Byrd tells him, you don't just join the CIA and then quit. So it is worked out that the winners on his game shows will win trips, chaperoned by Barris, to locations where Barris has secret missions to carry out. Part of me reacts to this with "What? C'mon! He's the host of The Gong Show! He's not out killing people, give me a break..."

But as unlikely as it sounds, it could be true. And Sam Rockwell plays the role so well that it's believable. He exposes the emotional black hole that Barris lives in, filled with self-loathing. He is a killer. His game shows, while succesful, are slammed by the media and accused of lowering the entertainment standards. The only person who seems to be close to him is Penny. Their relationship begins as purely physical, and Barris is terrified of it becoming anything more. When she begins casually telling him about a dream she had, he interrupts with "C'mon, I didn't wanna do this whole 'dating' thing. I don't wanna have to pretend I give a shit when you're talking to me." She has the unpleasant experience of falling in love with a man who hates himself.

George Clooney's directorial debut is impressive. His job is made easier by the talent that surrounds him, but make no mistake, Clooney has a future as a director if he wishes it so. Rockwell and Barrymore play off of each other very well, and Julia Roberts obviously relishes her role in this film, a far cry from the roles she usually plays. I enjoyed this movie and I reccomend it. None of the things I've said here are meant as a slight against Chuck Barris; This is how the character in the film came across to me. Whether or not he lived filled with sadness and dread I cannot say. I have not read the book that this movie was based upon. I may do that. If anyone reading this knows more of his story than I do, please feel free to comment. This movie is not fun like I thought it would be. It is, however, a better movie than I expected.

3 wombats out of 4.

Shadow of the Vampire

E. Elias Merhige - Director
John Malkovich - Friedrich Wilhelm 'F.W.' Murnau
Willem Defoe - Max Schreck
Cary Elwes - Fritz Arno 'Fritzy' Wagner
Udo Kier - Albin Grau
Catherine McCormack - Greta Schroeder
Eddie Izzard - Gustav von Wangenheim

John Malkovich and Willem Defoe in Shadow of the Vampire.

In 1922, German film director Friedrick Wilhelm Murnau sought to make a film based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. Stoker's widow Florence denied him the rights to use the book as source material, so Murnau simply changed the names and locations and used it anyway. What resulted was one of most terrifying films of the silent movie era, and one of the most frightening adaptations of the classic vampire tale. Shadow of the Vampire is a dramatization of the filming of Nosferatu, one that asks the question "What if Max Schreck was really a vampire?"

Early in the film, we see director Murnau (Malkovich) shooting some of the first scenes for his movie. He explains that they will soon be moving the shoot to Czechoslovakia to film the scenes with Schreck (Defoe) who will be playing Count Orlock in his movie. No one on the set has ever heard of Max Schreck, and when they question Murnau about him they are told only that he is a very passionate actor who absorbs himself into the role he is playing. Thus, they will only see him in character, in full costume and only at night.

Nosferatu was made in the silent movie era, so characters had to display their emotions visually. The first time we see Schreck in the movie is one of the most frightening and effective scenes. The filming for the scene starts with Gustav (who has yet to see the man he will be acting with) apprehensively approaching Count Orlock's castle at night. He looks truly afraid as the doors slowly open and Orlock emerges from the shadows. What we see is not the modern day image of a vampire that we've become accustomed to. Orlock is not slender, debonair and well-dressed. He is awkward, slightly hunched with yellowing skin and eerily long fingers and fingernails. His two front teeth are longer than the others and come together at a point. This is appropriate, since the word nosferatu is derived from the Greek "nosophoros" or "plague carrier."

The crew are all quite afraid of Schreck, who always remains in character. His speech is very dark and cryptic; he becomes excited at the sight of blood. Murnau must continually remind him of his role and his commitment to the film, often speaking to Schreck as though he were speaking to an unruly child who has forgotten his manners. Murnau is devoted to making the perfect vampire movie almost to the point of madness. He is willing to put himself and his crew at risk to achieve his dreams.

I enjoyed this movie, though the overall feel of the movie was such that I felt dirty at the end of it. It is definitely a strange film peopled with strange characters. It is not scary in the standard horror film sense of the word. Do not approach this film with the mindset of going to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Jeepers Creepers or other such standard movies within the genre. The pacing is a little bit slow, but Shadow of the Vampire is entertaining. I reccomend it if a horror movie about a horror movie sounds like it's for you.

3 Vampire Bats out of 4.

Ed Wood

Tim Burton - Director
Johnny Depp - Ed Wood
Martin Landau - Bela Lugosi
Bill Murray - Bunny Breckinridge
Sarah Jessica Parker - Dolores Fuller
George "The Animal" Steele - Tor Johnson
Patricia Arquette - Kathy O' Hara

Johnny Depp is all optimism and energy in Ed Wood

Johnny Depp has made a career out of taking risks as an actor. He takes odd, offbeat roles that most actors wouldn't touch and he shines. Ed Wood is another example of this. For those of you who don't know, this movie is based on the true story of film director Ed Wood who has gained a cult following after being voted the worst director of all time in 1980. Apart from being an awful film director, he was also a cross dresser. Honestly, can you picture anyone BUT Johnny Depp in this role?

Ed Wood loves making movies. He goes about it with a sort of eager, blissful ignorance which Depp pulls off beautifully. Tim Burton directs his film with just the right amount of tongue in cheek humor without going overboard and making a movie about mocking Wood. Depp plays a character who goes about his art with genuine joy, determined to see the best in everyone's criticism of his films, which are truly awful. Wood sees the best in every film and, indeed, every scene he shoots. In one of the movie's more memorable moments, one of his actors walks into a wall, shaking the entire set. When Wood exclaims "Great! We got it!" after the take, one of his co-workers replies "What!? Don't you wanna.....shoot that one again, sir?" "Well...I think that's the sort of thing Lobo would have to deal with on a day to day basis. It's realistic. Let's keep it." is Wood's response. When one of his actors dies during production, he brings in a lookalike and simply keeps the new actor's face partially hidden for the remainder of the filming. When someone tells him that his movie is the worst thing they've ever seen, he smiles and replies "Well......the next one'll be better!" One can't help but smile at his eternal optimism.

While the entire cast does a great job, the other truly outstanding performance in this movie was turned in by Martin Landau who plays the washed up, drug addicted actor Bela Lugosi. Lugosi, out of work and sporting a drug addiction, agrees to work with Wood who has long idolized him. Usually when Lugosi's name is mentioned in the film it is followed by "Bela Lugosi?? I thought he was dead." Landau plays Lugosi perfectly, occasionally making us chuckle, occasionally garnering sympathy for the drug addicted old vampire who earned his fame playing Dracula many, many years ago. The Academy gave Landau a much deserved Best Supporting Actor award for his efforts.

Bill Murray is wonderful in another one of those little roles that he just runs with. And I loved seeing George "The Animal" Steele again (I remember watching him in the WWF when I was a kid.) The entire cast is terrific. The movie closes on the premier of Plan 9 from Outer Space, Wood's most succesful film. The film was originally titled "Grave Robbers from Outer Space" until the church that was funding it decided that the term "grave robbers" was offensive and asked that it be changed. The scene where they are baptized to please the people from the church is another moment that had me laughing. This movie was occasionally touching, often laugh-out-loud funny, and just all around entertaining. Go watch it.

3.5 wombats out of 4.

Face/Off

Face/Off

John Woo - Director
Nicolas Cage - Castor Troy
John Travolta - Sean Archer
Joan Allen - Eve Archer
Alessandro Nivola - Pollux Troy




Face/Off is an action film, make no mistake. Action films usually aren't My Kind of Thing, but I believe that a good movie is a good movie is a good movie regardless of genre. Face/Off, however, is not a good movie. There are some qualities (or lack thereof) that come with an action film, and I can accept these things to a point. This movie just went a little too far off the deep end for my tastes.

The story revolves around Good Guy Sean Archer (Travolta) and Bad Guy Castor Troy (Cage) who is so ridiculously evil that it actually borders on being comedic. The character kills with absolutely no regard for anything whatsoever. Seriously, the citizens of Vice City get better treatment from Tommy Vercetti. Anyways, the movie opens on the typical 'Bad Guy does something terrible' scene, followed by the Good Guy catching the Bad Guy scene. This is where things get weird. You see, Castor's got a bomb planted somewhere in the city (the bad guy always has a bomb, doesn't he?) and only Castor and his brother know where it is. The CIA's team of mad scientists informs Archer that they can actually remove his face and replace it with Castor's face (Castor is in a coma.) It's simple, he's to become Castor, go to prison and find out where The Bomb is from Castor's brother Pollux. Of course, this is Top Secret so only 2 other people in the movie can know about it. And, of course, Castor is being kept in a hospital room all by himself with no guards and no supervision. And, of course, he wakes up and sees what happens, then makes a phone call to the Other Bad Guys who promptly arrive at the hospital with the doctor and the two people who are In On It. One quick medical procedure later and Castor is wearing Archer's face, ho ho. And he brutally kills the only 2 people who know what is really going on. Uh-oh!

I have, thusfar, given away nothing that cannot be surmised from the trailer. Here is something that isn't mentioned in the trailer: this movie takes place in an alternate universe. In this reality, everything explodes, sparks are frequently flying everywhere, there is glass everywhere that exists only to shatter (preferably in slow motion,) unless of course it is super glass which will stand up to gunfire because the story needs it to. Archer and Castor are impossibly accurate with their guns, unless they are shooting at each other of course. Now, many movies have been made in this reality. And I was entertained in spite of myself. However, everytime I began trying to forgive the movie its sins, it would commit another. The ending is the biggest sin of all. It's as if the director is saying "I've been a real jerk for the last hour and a half and I'm sorry. Ok everybody, here's a lollipop! YAY!!!"

Cage and Travolta have both been better, though it looked like they had fun making this film. I mean, Cage gets to play Travolta trying to be Cage and vice versa. How could that not be fun? Nicolas Cage is sometimes very good, sometimes over the top though I think he was directed that way. John Travolta has always been hit-and-miss with me, and this was a miss. I've never liked Travolta in villainous roles and this is no exception. Overall, despite the potential intrigue of having the two characters swap faces, Face\Off is just an action movie. If you like action flicks, add another wombat to the score.

Face/Off: 1.5 wombats out of four.

About this blog

This blog will be used simply for movie discussions. Perhaps people will read it, perhaps not. I am doing this simply to become comfortable with writing again. I love movies. I love watching them and I love discussing them. I have no formal training for writing, nor do I have any experience or credentials which qualify me to write about movies; Nothing makes my (or any film critic's) opinion any more valid than anyone else's. Having said that, I hope that anyone who does read this will feel free to discuss these films with me and with each other. All of my reviews will be linked to the relevant films and actors at www.imdb.com which is a great site for tracking which actors have been in which films. It also lists uncredited appearances and television appearances as well. Check it out.