Monday, August 22, 2005

MORE Summer Viewing....

"2046" Directed by Kar Wai Wong, is the 'B' word! At least visually! The costumes, photography and production design are incredible! I don't quite get the 'attraction' of Tony Leung as he works his way through all of these affairs, but then I've never seen a 'Casanova' that I really LIKED. It's just a work of art! Yes, ART! It does run a BIT long and it is in Mandarin, Canton and Japanese, with subtitles, but don't let that scare you!! It's sort of a Hong Kong Fellini flick! I LOVED IT!! (Though "March of the Penguins" is easier to get through...)

"Forty Shades of Blue" Directed by Ira Sachs, is NOT the 'B' word! Well, maybe it is a "B" word - BAD! I tried to sleep through as much of this as possible. I found the entire thing so miserable, had I not been in the middle of the row, I would have walked out. Not even Rip Torn could save this thing. Miserable... Every character, led by Dina Korzun as some sort of Russian bride, who has affairs with Rip Torn AND his married son, is comatose with misery. GAWD I hated this thing!!

"Hustle and Flow" Directed by Craig Brewer, features a performance that is ANYTHING BUT Comatose by Terrence Howard! The man is amazing! Yes, I had problems understanding the thick Memphis dialect and some of the language, but there was no question to his every intention in every scene. And it feels like he is in EVERY scene, if not every frame! The work by the women (he's a pimp, they are his prostitutes) is just as incredible. He's looking to break away from pimping by rapping. I know, I know. It took me forever to get past the idea of the plot to walk into the theater, but it is WELL WORTH IT!!!

"Junebug" Directed by Phil Morrison. I guess. I keep forgetting that I saw this. And when I am reminded that I DID see this, I can't remember a single scene without looking up a synopsis. When I do nudge myself, I do remember liking Amy Adams' quirky little performance. However, the whole "families are much more 'real' in North Carolina than Chicago" is just a bit trite for my taste.

On the home video front, I FINALLY made it through "Miller's Crossing"!! I have wrestled with this thing for... well, 10 years now, I guess! Though the Coen Brothers do a typically BEAUTIFUL job visually, I just have the HARDEST time following the plot. This time, I FORCED myself, in one sitting, to get through it. And it did feel forced. The performances are all great to watch, though they are SO STYLIZED that I found myself watching their technique more than listening to the complex plot that they were explaining. I'm glad to have finally gotten through this, but it's not going to be part of the 'permanent collection' as I just don't think I could do it again.

I think that's all for the past couple of weeks... (Well, there was the 4+ hours of "Gormengahst" on DVD.)

I NEED to see "Broken Flowers", though the coolness factor is scaring me. Jim Jarmusch does that to me...

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