Bill Condon’s Gods and Monsters (A-) is a drama about the final days of Frankenstein film director James Whale, regally played by Ian McKellan, haunted by his WWI service and transfixed by his own homosexuality and his new gardener played by Brendan Fraser. Lynn Redgrave is outstanding as Whale’s disapproving housemaid. Superbly filmed and acted, the movie makes deft metaphor for the exploring and remembering of one’s demons.
Tag Archives: Drama
“Saving Private Ryan” Pays Tribute to Greatest Generation Through Search Party Story
Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (B) has one of the most amazing, bloody and grueling first twenty minutes of war re-enactments ever committed to film with its beach invasion of Normandy. Unfortunately, the remaining film featuring a search for the title character is rather pedestrian. Tom Hanks and an ensemble of Hollywood A-listers lead the charge to find Ryan (Matt Damon). The remaining film includes a series of exciting and nostalgic episodes but not a one that again matches the opening sequence.
“Titanic” is Simply Spectacular in Terms of Romance and Historical Sweep
James Cameron’s Titanic (A-) is an epic disaster spectacle mixed with an epic romance. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are the star-crossed lovers aboard the ill-fated ship. Their playful romantic sequences are the film’s heart. The effects and production design are also exquisite. I wasn’t wild about the framing device with Bill Paxton and Gloria Stuart or aspects of the shallow screenplay or the one-note villain Billy Zane, but it’s hard to deny the power of the romance, the James Horner music and the tragedy of the night the dream died. Cameron truly outdoes himself with this larger-than-life modern classic.
“Good Will Hunting” is Wonderful Drama
Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting (A) is a magnificent coming of age movie about a South Boston troublemaker (Matt Damon) who is also a secret prodigy and learns to give in to his abilities and learn from and love those around him, including an inspiring girl (Minnie Driver) and a fabulous teacher (Robin Williams). Ben Affleck, who in real-life co-wrote the script with Damon, plays his buddy in the film. Van Sant does a great job capturing the naturalistic settings and scores the film with superb music by Elliott Smith.
“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” Doesn’t Fully Gel
Director Clint Eastwood’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (C-) is an awesome atmosphere and environment in search of memorable characters and story. The mood and music conjure the iconic town of Savannah, Georgia, and the sultry, sassy Lady Chablis is marvelous playing herself. But John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Jude Law and others in the cast simply seem lost in an altogether non-engaging murder mystery. The clock just never seems to start ticking on much of a good time.
“Ice Storm” Shows America at Crossroads
Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm (A-) is set in 1973, but its suburban characters’ escape through adultery, alcohol and sexual experimentation could just as easily be present day. Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Christina Ricci and Elijah Wood are among the outstanding ensemble. Lee is wryly observant and brings an outstanding vision to what people do behind the outward veneer of manners.
“Gattaca” a Brilliant Look at What Makes Us Human
Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca (A-) is a cautionary sci-fi thriller about two men played by Ethan Hawke and Jude Law in a future world in which one’s aspirations are dictated by genetic makeup. Hawke’s character has defects that will hold him back from his dream of space travel, and ultimately he devises a way to escape his overly engineered future. Uma Thurman is exceptional as his love interest. All actors are strong in this thought-provoking piece, including Ernest Borgnine in a small role. Jan Roelf’s production design, Michael Nyman’s score and Colleen Atwood’s costumes are all central to the gorgeous look and feel of this magnificent film.
“L.A. Confidential” a Magnificent Hollywood Noir
Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential (A+) is a superb detective caper introducing American audiences to a trio of magnificent performers — Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey — as Hollywood cops circa 1953. The myth and illusion of Tinseltown versus the scandals and shakedowns is a wonder to behold. Kim Basinger is a symbol of the town shrouded in mystery. The labyrinthine plot, the knife-sharp camerawork and the epic characterizations make this a spectacular modern classic evocative of Chinatown.
“Contact” Finds Strong Place in the Universe
Robert Zemeckis’s Contact (A) succeeds on the power of its leads’ Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey’s central debate of science and faith as they explore the notion of finding life outside earth in the universe. The film’s powerful performances and effects are used at the mercy of its central questions and get a nice payoff in the film’s final reel.
“Lost Highway” is Trippy Lynch
David Lynch’s Lost Highway (C-) is a film noir with Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette that loses its way with some plotting hokum about characters that possibly move out of each other’s souls. It’s a jarring, disconnecting ride that starts with promise and goes off the rails.
“Donnie Brasco” Goes Deep
Despite the big guns, street talk and Mafia themes, Mike Newell’s crime drama Donnie Brasco (B) is essentially a love story at heart. Al Pacino plays a mobster and Johnny Depp an FBI agent who infiltrates the 1970’s Mafia, but the betrayal to the friendship that ensues has echoes of infidelity. It’s great to watch Pacino and Depp act together and the latter act without eccentric makeup. It’s an original relationship movie amidst lots of great action.
“Breaking the Waves” a Force of Nature
In Breaking the Waves (A-), director Lars von Trier crafts an elegant, heart-wrenching epic about a woman guided to the edge of sanity by a moral quest that leaves her physically, mentally and emotionally vulnerable. Emily Watson shines in the central role of this chilling film that deftly blends pathos and transcendence.