Reviews

Public Enemies is a good, solid biopic of John Dillinger--with action, romance, good acting, and metaphors abounding about the nature of good and bad. I'm not sure how close director Michael Mann stuck to the facts of the story of John Dillinger, but he sure adds his trademark realism. We are brought into the world of Dillinger--the pay-offs, obtaining the cars, his ties to organized crime, his bank robbing. We are brought into the world of a forming FBI--the first uses of wire tapping and hard tactics to do whatever it takes to get their guy, Dillinger.

Mann picked the right actor for each role, knowing the particular strengths of both Christian Bale and Johnny Depp to bring what they did to each character. Bale brought a kind of stoicism and presence to the character of Purvis, which I don't think Depp could have. And vice versa, I think Depp played Dillinger well, and I think Bale was suited better to the Purvis character. Depp added an impish charm to Dillinger, and I was impressed by his acting, not being a fan of his acting at times. I think both men, too, were probably better suited to the physicality of their real life characters.

Bale plays Purvis as a new sort of G-man--able to think about the logistics of catching the criminal (wait until he buys a new coat; wiretapping) and he has the ability to use the muscle behind it (being a sharp shooter). Purvis wants to do a good job and meet his objectives--Bale says very little in the movie, but there is much in his face about how uncomfortable he feels when he ventures into morally questionable territory (basically, IMO, Dillinger is executed). Dillinger is just a simple man, really, who wants to be with Billie and have money--he's not bad, only in the fact that he'll kill anyone who gets in his way. He's made uncomfortable by Baby Face Nelson's joy and glee in violence and murder, but he doesn't really have a moral dilemma like Purvis does. In Public Enemies, Purvis and Dillinger are both the heroes while Nelson and Hoover (played well by Billy Crudup) are both the villains.

We can see the difference between Purvis and Dillinger during the confrontation scene at the jail. Dillinger is talkative and doesn't waste time on telling Purvis what he thinks of him, but Purvis says very little and just stares him down. During that scene (almost reminiscent of the scene between Agent Starling and Dr. Lecter in Silence of the Lambs), Dillinger questions Purvis on how it is to see someone shot down and dying....he knows that Purvis doesn't enjoy it. Throughout the movie, we see Purvis looking at each person (outlaw and G-man alike) shot down and dying. Towards the end of the film, we see Dillinger with one of his men wounded and dying--he optimistically refuses to believe the man is dying and tries to patch him up.

My favorite part of the movie was the romance between Billie Frenchette and Dillinger. Although most of it was played out in shallow clichés of first dances or witty repartee, it rings true. Franchette is a good girl being swept off her feet by a charming, good man who just happens to rob banks and kill people for a living. Frenchette confronts Dillinger with the inevitable--that he will eventually be caught or killed--but the cocksure Dillinger doesn't think he will be. Marion Cotillard does a good job with this role--their relationship is the key to making Dillinger a sympathetic character in the movie.

Character actress Lili Taylor plays the female sheriff of one of the prisons. Mann makes some surprising feminist commentary in this film--perhaps because one of the co-writer is female. We also have the interrogation scene of Billie being beaten by a brutal G-man adhering to Hoover's order to do anything necessary to make the witnesses talk. The one woman working at the FBI (secretary?) brings it to Purvis's attention when he arrives back at the office--he puts a stop to it in a very calm way. This is one of the key scenes that highlights the moral dilemma of who is the real criminal here--and is part of film's contemporary social messages that apply to our times today--in the time of such things as the 'Patriot Act.'

Public Enemies is an entertaining (sometimes slow) movie which can be enjoyed on many different levels.

After the great Johnny Cash/June Carter Cash biopic, Walk the Line, director James Mangold tries his hand at a western, 3:10 to Yuma. Expectations are high—with this being a remake of a classic western and with the hopes of this movie resurrecting the genre.

I purposely avoided watching the original Van Heflin/Glenn Ford 3:10 to Yuma. I also haven't read Elmore Leonard's short story that it is based on. I want the remake to prove to me alone its merits as a movie, as well as a western, without having to compare it to other things.

Besides focusing on the two main stars of 3:10 to Yuma--Russell Crowe as criminal Ben Wade and Christian Bale as rancher Dan Evans--, 3:10 to Yuma has a great ensemble cast. Some people claim that Ben Foster steals the show and out bad-guys Crowe as Charlie Prince, Wade's second man in command in his gang of outlaws. Peter Fonda gives a convincing performance as a bounty hunter who is not afraid to smart off against Prince or Wade against better judgment—Wade, handcuffed, throws Fonda off a cliff for insulting his mama. There is also the nice character of Doc (Alan Tudyk) who tells off the man responsible for burning down Dan's barn. Look for Luke Wilson in an excellent cameo performance as an evil, racist railroad flunky—who kidnaps Wade when he manages to escape from Dan and the other men. Wilson takes Wade's gun with a crucifix on the handle—according to Wade, the gun is cursed, and Wilson is shot down by Foster, who in turn takes Wade's crucifix pistol. Guess what happens to him.

I see the main story in 3:10 to Yuma as down-on-his-luck Dan Evans trying to prove himself to his family. The other story is Wade's robbery of the bank coach and his capture, which leads to Dan's quest of delivering Wade to the train bound for the Yuma prison—the only way for Dan to provide for his family at this point. All these stories and the characters make for a good western.

Dan may seem like a wimp—never mind how disrespectful his older son William (Logan Lerman ) is to him--for letting Wade steal his horses, but this character will do anything to protect his family. By the end of the movie, we know Dan is not a fool—the truth comes out about how he lost his leg to friendly fire in the Civil War and why he continues to live on the dying ranch in Arizona—because the climate is best for his youngest son suffering from tuberculosis. Dan tells Wade that he was no hero in the war and saw no action—and says, try telling that to your sons. Before Wade constantly annoys Dan with accusations that he doesn't take care of his family properly. At one point, Dan pushes Wade to the ground, gets right into his face and says, I'll cut you down right here. Dan is willing to stand up to Wade—perhaps killing him even if it would mean losing his gravely needed $200 to keep his home. With Dan's confession to Wade, who always wants to know how he lost his leg, Wade lets Dan escort him to the train—telling Dan that he has already escaped the Yuma prison several times. This is the turning point in the movie--white hats and black hats together.

Although all the other stories and characters are interesting, a valid criticism is that the movie doesn't focus more on the complex relationship between Wade and Dan—their scenes are the most interesting parts of the movie. Wade is a ruthless killer/criminal, but he acknowledges that he is rotten. Dan is an honest, hard-working man who believes on keeping his promises. In the hotel room hours before the train is to arrive, Wade offers Dan money to let him go, but he refuses—even though Wade makes a convincing argument that this is the money that the crooked bankers have cheated Dan out of. Who is the worst criminal—these men or Wade?

The ending sequence is suspenseful. William sneaks out of the hotel room to help his father—will he get killed? Who will finally kill the psychopathic Prince? As Prince compliments Dan on being a tough old rancher, he shoots him in the back—all the while Wade tells him no. Prince, holding the crucifix pistol, is shot down by his hero, Wade. William has a chance at revenge—to shoot down Wade, but he lets him go on the prison train, proving that Dan did the right thing as he told Wade that William would never turn out a criminal because he taught him how to be decent. The lesson is learned.

The main theme of 3:10 to Yuma is redemption. We have the redemption of Dan—who, though in doing the right thing, has made the ultimate sacrifice—literally dying for the salvation of his family. Crowe and Bale each give incredible performances. I think Bale's acting is the most impressive—playing the quiet desperation of his handicapped-in-many-ways character. Certainly Wade is the flashier cowboy, but Dan is the heart and soul of this story. We have the redemption of Wade who in spite of his willingness to shoot down even his own men is a sympathetic character. You think he is doing the right thing when he kills the man who burned Evans' barn—although Dan says that he was an a s s hole that he didn't necessarily deserve to die. Wade is funny and quirky—something of a thwarted artist who is always sketching. We also know of his abandonment as a child. Wade's redemption is letting Dan be the hero. He willingly goes to Yuma prison, but we suspect he may escape as he whistles for his horse who runs after the train—a great ending for a western.

Eccentric director Werner Herzog's film, Rescue Dawn, is based on the real life story of his friend, US pilot/German immigrant Dieter Dengler.

Christian Bale (Empire of the Sun, 3:10 to Yuma) portrays Dieter well—with his outgoing mannerisms, his boy next door looks, and more of an understated accent than the real Dieter had. Dieter assimilates right into the American Air Force world. During 1965, on a ship before his first flight mission over Laos, Dieter tells his sergeant to make sure his buddy makes the other son of bitch die for his country and not them—the famous quote from General George S. Patton. Before that the pilots chuckle at a b-type filmstrip about how to survive if they would crash. The survival filmstrip and this comment turn out to be rather ironic for Dieter. But in a way, Dieter seems to sense that something will not go right as the night before he painstakingly goes over his gear he may need.

Dieter's plane is hit, and he survives the crash. Some may think that this time from when he crashes until he is captured becomes tedious and boring, but it is not. You can't shake the feeling of wanting to know what is going to happen next. Herzog simply draws you in. Dieter climbs atop a rock waiting for helicopters. As no helicopter comes, he stands there looking like the most lost soul in the world.

Leaning down over a stream to take a drink, Dieter looks behind him to see the Vietcong pointing guns at him. The first of many things taken away from him are the most basic of rights: he yells continuously he needs to take a sh#t—one of the many moments of natural levity for such a serious situation. Nobody listens to him because of the language barrier. He is shouting in English; the other guy is shouting in Vietnamese. Scenes like this suggest the political undertones in the film. In another poignant scene showing the absurdities of war, a captor fires a gun around Dieter's face—one of the countless times Dieter cheats death. Dieter screams out loudly that the man never does that again while the man shouts in Vietnamese. Dieter hears nothing--the gunshots temporarily blow out his hearing.

Dieter refuses to sign papers relinquishing America: he says, "America gave me wings." The most important thing to Dieter is flying. He could care less about the war—his dream is to be a pilot. In one scene where Dieter is at the prison camp, a female guard smiles at him after he says his familiar greeting: "howdy." He then tells his fellow prisoners how he wishes there was no war when he saw that girl. Dieter also tells Duane, his fellow prisoner, about his experience of seeing an US pilot attack his hometown in Germany and says that from that moment on little Dieter needed to fly.

At the prison camp, Dieter meets two other American pilots Gene (Jeremy Davies) and Duane (Steve Zahn) who have been there for over two years. Gene believes the conflict with Vietnam will soon be over, and they will be free. Turning his head showing his boyish smile that betrays his naiveté, Dieter says that he'll escape at night. In a humorous transition, he asks what happens at night--cut to the POWs handcuffed together and their feet bound by wooden blocks. Yet Dieter never gives up on escaping because firstly his starvation is not as advanced as the other prisoners; secondly he survived World War II as a child. Dieter eventually files a nail into a key to undo their handcuffs.

Tensions escalate between Gene and Dieter over escaping. But the escape goes forth, and Gene has left only Dieter and Duane to battle the guards. After they meet up with Gene, it is clear from his severe starvation that the man is muddled in his thinking and becomes quite despicable for not helping them. Duane and Dieter set out together for Thailand.

Dieter's struggles become Job-like. Duane becomes more delusional due to starvation. When they are accidentally discovered by villagers, one kills Duane. Earlier when planning the escape back at the camp, Duane said that at this point he would rather escape and die than live as a prisoner. Dieter gets away from the villagers, but he has experienced his first real tragedy—the loss of his friend. Alone at night, Dieter can hear Duane talking to him—now he is the one suffering from advanced starvation and hallucinations. After many failed attempts at flagging down helicopters and being almost shot down by one—in all odds, this man should have been dead a long time ago—he is finally rescued. On the helicopter being interrogated, an elated, but exhausted Dieter shouts out his rank, name, and serial number—and name of his mission: Rescue Dawn.

After Dieter's rescue, his main concern of going back on the ship and flying again is a testament to his positivity--knowing that he had experienced all this and went through horrific things that his fellow pilots could never understand. I enjoyed the ending of the pilots sneaking Dieter out of the hospital and throwing a surprise party for him--although it is criticized for being too cliché for such a genuine film.

Rescue Dawn plays out as one man's will to survive. Herzog captures his friend Dieter at that exact moment in time. This is a no frills movie—the only frill was shooting it on location in the actual jungles of Thailand which adds to the realness. The cast does a good job, too, especially Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies. And there are not enough superlative words to describe Christian Bale's performance. If Bale does not finally receive an Oscar nomination for this, it will be a crime. This is a film that will stay with you.

Todd Haynes' film, Velvet Goldmine, is a masterful tribute/love letter to the glam/glitter rock movement of the 1970s. All the audience really knows of Velvet Goldmine's idols is what any fan would know. We experience the story through interviews and musical performances and that astoundingly provides us with enough information. It's the aesthetic of "man's life is his image"–that superficial beauty expressed through art reveals so much more than at first glance. Haynes (Far From Heaven, I'm Not There) has a passion for music and its artists that shows: his earlier short film, Superstar, about Karen Carpenter, acted by an-all Barbie and Ken cast, is referenced in Velvet Goldmine in one of my favorite scenes in which two young girls play with Brian Slade and Curt Wild Kens while T-Rex's "Diamond Meadows" spins on their record player. In Velvet Goldmine, a top-notch, well-chosen cast acts out the principle characters and stories here wonderfully.

Glam rock superstar, Brian Slade (based on David Bowie), is played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors," Elvis, Match Point) to perfection with his thin, effeminate looks and swaggering. Haynes has great fun with the notion that there was a time in popular culture history that androgyny and bisexuality were seen as a cool fad. Velvet Goldmine's main story is Brian Slade's rise and fall from fame. Slade's cold and calculating ways accumulate in the hoax of his own assassination—the ultimate symbol for the death of glam rock. His most sympathetic side is revealed during his affair and subsequent break-up with punk rocker Curt Wild.

Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Star Wars Prequels, The Island) plays Curt Wild by feverishly emulating Iggy Pop--although the history of Wild having electroshock therapy to cure his homosexual leanings is straight from the life of rock icon Lou Reed. McGregor's performance of "T.V. Eye" and "Gimme Danger" are startling and unforgettable. Both Rhys Meyers and McGregor do their own singing for their characters. Upon seeing Wild's performance, Slade is obviously envious of him and attracted to him—inspired, Slade takes his music to the next level. On his first trip to America, Slade doesn't forget about Wild and meets him. Slade and his entourage go to a club where Polly Smalls (Donna Matthews and Teenage Fanclub) performs in a very Suzi Quatro way. Wild sits in the corner, obviously strung out on heroin—all the while Mandy Slade, Brian's wife, laughs. But Slade gets Wild a music contract—and Slade becomes Wild's new "main man." Later Mandy describes Slade's and Wild's relationship as being marketed as some sort of new Tracy and Hepburn. Mandy and Brian become more estranged.

Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding, In Her Shoes, Little Miss Sunshine) is perfectly cast as the love-her-or-hate-her Mandy. Pay close attention to her accent: She is not doing it badly--here is an Aussie doing an accent of an American woman who would often speak in a faux English accent. Brilliant. Mandy goes from being an audacious woman to a cynical woman. Ten years later her broken marriage is the only interest anybody has in her as rock journalist Arthur Stuart interviews her in a bar.

Another one of the three gorgeous male leads, Christian Bale (American Psycho, Batman Begins, Rescue Dawn), plays glam rock fan/rock journalist Arthur Stuart. Although his part seems to exist as a frame tale, he's the most effective and relatable character in Velvet Goldmine. The subplot of Arthur is one of the most unique coming out stories about being a closeted homosexual along with being a closeted glam fan. In his bedroom, teen Arthur listens to his Maxwell Demon album while staring at the seductive gatefold picture of a semi-nude Slade. Does he want him? Or does he want to be him? Bale's acting here is a revelation—he reveals so much through those eyes and facial expressions. He also has a major transition: he goes from a wide-eyed, vulnerable, and fan-obsessed teenager to a downcast-eyed, jaded, and wiser adult. Much to his chagrin, the adult Arthur is given the assignment of finding out whatever happened to Brian Slade. He clearly wants to forget his past, but is it from embarrassment of youthful fanaticism, or is it something more? Leaving home because of his sexual orientation and love of glam rock, young Arthur does not have to live vicariously through his idols anymore and can start living his life as he must. After the Death of Glitter Rock concert, young Arthur meets Wild—that leads to a one night stand on the roof top and Arthur's literally taking the place of his superstar idol, Brian Slade, in Wild's heart if just for one night. Adult Arthur overcomes some of his jadedness as he confronts and makes peace with his past. During Tommy Stone's press conference, he asks him about his connection to "bisexual pop singer" Brian Slade—"Tommy Stone" being Slade's '80s more commercial reincarnation of himself. Earlier in school, young Arthur scribbles out a sketch of Brian Slade while his teacher reads from Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray, which sums up Arthur's experience: "He felt that he had known them all….It seemed that in some mysterious way their lives had been his own."

In Velvet Goldmine there is the theme of the permanence of art. Todd Haynes shows that this music—and this movie--is much more than disposable pop culture, but akin to the works of Oscar Wilde and the movie Citizen Kane, both which he references throughout, and that art is kept alive by the appreciation of it by the fans. Oscar Wilde's emerald pin symbolizes this—as it passes to one artist to another, then to a fan, Arthur. In return Arthur Stuart gives his Tommy Stone press pass to a young eager fan. An old favorite, "2HB," plays on the jukebox, and we see everyone enjoying the music. One person says, "God, I love this song." Velvet Goldmine ends with the final message of the song: "fade away never."

Based on the novel by Julian Barnes and directed by Philip Saville (Masterpiece Theatre's The Buccaneers, The Life and Loves of a She-Devil miniseries), Metroland is a charming little British movie. It's a character study of Chris, played by Christian Bale (American Psycho, Batman Begins, Rescue Dawn), in an early role that is a nice change of pace for him. Bale captures this sweet, geeky, funny every-man character brilliantly.

In 1977, now a married man with a baby girl, Chris lives in the suburb of Metroland, his hometown, where he vowed as a teenager that he would leave and never return. Every working day he takes the mass transit rail out of the suburb to London to his job at an advertising agency. He wanted to be a globe-trotting photographer, but settled for this.

Chris seems content with his life, but when his ne'er-do-well chum Toni, played by Lee Ross (Secrets and Lies), shows up, Chris has a midlife crisis, albeit a young midlife crisis. Toni's appearance brings back the memories of his carefree life before marriage and responsibility: during the 1960s, when he lives in Paris, takes photographs, and has his first serious girlfriend, Annick (Elsa Zylberstein). Bale plays a naive, love sick man to Annick's worldly, sexy French woman. They start an intense sexual affair, and Chris is quite smitten with Annick until he meets Marion—all decked out in go-go boots, liquid eyeliner, and a That-Girl hair flip. Chris is attracted to Marion mainly because she can see through some of his foolishness. In one conversation between the two—reminiscent of It's a Wonderful Life, in which James Stewart informs Donna Reed that he doesn't want to marry or have kids, but then gleefully gives in, kissing Reed—, Chris tells Marion that he wants to stay on in Paris and doesn't want to get married and have children. Marion cruelly replies, "You're not original enough to." Chris reconsiders his relationship with Annick, who he has nothing in common with—only lust. And he chooses Marion.

In one of many funny scenes, Chris is in bed with his wife, Marion, played by Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves, Hilary and Jackie, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep). He starts kissing her sweetly, but she is too tired for that. He says to her, "I can't remember the last time." "Yesterday morning," she replies. Then he says, "Yeah, we used to do it three times a day." She says, "It only happened once, and you complained about being sore a week afterwards." He smiles and replies, "Sore, but very smug." This changes Marion's mind, but they are soon interrupted by their daughter's cry--such is the life of a family man.

During Toni's visit, Marion makes her dislike for him clear to Chris who defends his lifelong friend. Toni is bound and determined to lead Chris astray, so that Toni can prove to himself that he made the right decision not to settle down. Toni plays his part well as the devil on Chris' shoulder. At his party, Tony convinces one of his free minded girlfriends to give Chris a shag. Just as Chris is considering consummation, he imagines Marion being carried away in an ambulance. When Toni happens to pass by the room, Chris realizes that Toni put her up to it—and is insulted and leaves. It shows how even the closest, longest friendships can die in adulthood when people choose to go down different paths. Later Chris suspects something happened between Marion and Toni, and he gets into fisticuffs with Toni. Marion tells Chris that he made a pass at her; she was somewhat tempted, but refused. As Toni gets ready to leave town, Chris and he make up somewhat half-heartedly.

While taking a bath together, Chris tells Marion about the girl at Toni's party who he nearly slept with, and, of course, Marion has an ongoing joke of telling Chris to go ahead and have an affair. Marion then reveals to Chris she had a one night stand long ago and tells him that it won't happen again. We don't know if this is true, or if Marion is only trying to spice things up—because as a result of her confession, they have passionate sex. And afterwards she kids him about having sex with the girl at the party.

Christian Bale's mutton chops and flared collars and pants legs give the movie a real retro feel. Bale has some great comedic moments here. In one of two very good scenes, Toni takes Chris to a punk rock concert, but Chris hates punk and only tolerates it by getting drunk and stoned. Chris comes home quite randy and keeps trying to pull Marion down on the bed in his inebriated state. The other scene is Chris' first date with Annick in which he conspicuously kisses her—and pulls her into bed awkwardly.

The female characters teeter on being stereotypical. Annick and Marion are the archetype of the all-knowing, all-beautiful, all-witty woman to the archetype of Chris as the bumbling, sex obsessed male. Emily Watson's performance elevates Marion's character, so she doesn't turn into a shrew—we can sympathize with her as Chris shuts her out as he daydreams about his glory days of youth. We also feel sympathy towards Annick as she goes from being the experienced one in the relationship to being the needy and jealous one as Chris matures.

I describe Metroland as a British cozy romantic dramedy—if such a thing exists. Some memorable scenes and some funny moments make the film worthwhile. As does the good acting between Bale and Watson, who make it more than a forgettable flick. Bale and Watson have good chemistry and repeat that again in the 2002 Sci-Fi cult classic, Equilibrium. Metroland is a movie you rarely see now: a movie that deals intelligently and realistically with themes of adulthood.

Directed by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol, The Notorious Bettie Page) and based on Bret Easton Ellis' (Less than Zero, The Rules of Attraction) controversial novel, American Psycho follows the antics of stockbroker/serial killer, uber yuppie Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale). When watching this movie, you must remove all serious films about serial killers from your mind because American Psycho is a parody of horror movies and a satire about the materialism and shallowness of America during the 1980s. If you can view this as a very dark comedy, it works.

Patrick Bateman is a blank slate of a human being who puts on the mask of being the modern male. He displays all the trappings of what constitutes the successful male in our society: lots of money, lots of women, lots of partying, and lots of toys (i.e., for the '80s, his Walkman, CDs, and, of course, video tapes.) But all the successful male trappings are only Patrick's outfit he wears in society to fit in. The shiny superficiality is reflected in the immaculate white and stainless steel décor of his apartment. The only thing that that makes him human ultimately is his blood lust. When committing his horrendous acts, he breaks through the shiny exterior to the "meat and bones" of it all where the deeper meaning might lie—that is why when Patrick murders Paul Allen, it so disturbingly satisfying and amusing. After Patrick is done hacking up fellow stockbroker/nemesis Paul Allen (Jared Leto) who keeps confusing him with another stockbroker, he turns, and one side of his face is covered with blood, and the other is not, so you finally see the two sides of Patrick—a human with some complexity. With all the mistaken identity in the movie among the stockbrokers in their accepted uniform of identical designer haircuts, glasses, suits , and not to mention business cards, Patrick commits suicide in a sense with Paul Allen--murdering himself, and all the artificiality of his lifestyle.

As for the anti-feminist, misogynist criticism that both the book and film received, having Mary Harron as director does bring more of a female sensibility to American Psycho. I don't think a male director could have objectified Christian Bale's body as beautifully as Harron did, especially in the shower and chainsaw scenes. If you look at the female characters, they are quite lost, and that is a commentary on society. Courtney Rawlinson (Samantha Mathis), Patrick's mistress, is a high society girl whose only function in life is to take pharmaceutical drugs, and Evelyn Williams (Reese Witherspoon), Patrick's fiancée, is a rich Daddy's girl whose only function in life is to shop. On the DVD there is a hilarious deleted scene in which Patrick and Evelyn are in bed, and Patrick strides on top of her, unzipping his pants, while Evelyn looks away at the TV and tries to watch the Home Shopping Network; then she looks up and deadpans, "What you want me to do with that? Floss with it."

The most disturbing scenes to me are when Patrick kills the homeless man, the dog and Christie the street prostitute. The homeless man scene is pure camp as Patrick tells him that they have nothing in common. As for the stomping of the dog, it is all implied with sound effects. For a movie that is considered so violent, much of the violence is implied and left up to the mind of the viewers. The chainsaw scene is where the movie uses every cliché in the scary movie business: the madman chasing the woman in jeopardy and bloody corpses popping out of closets. As Patrick wields his chainsaw towards Christie, it becomes more phallic—the chainsaw, the nail gun are all just extensions of his penis, an ironic sign of both power and insecurity. As Christie runs down the stairs, from a top Patrick positions the chainsaws and flings it down the stairwell with perfect aim, piercing her body. After that Patrick becomes an unreliable narrator in the movie, and you wonder if this is real. For some reason, the image of Christie pierced with a chainsaw reminds me of the infamous Hustler cover of the woman being fed through the meat grinder—a much referred to image by outraged feminists. But as disturbing as both scenes are, both are crucial to the movie's point of being a dark comedy and parody.

Christian Bale (Batman Begins, The Prestige, The New World) will always be remembered for his role of Patrick Bateman. He eats the camera here—although not literally! Some have thought his acting to be exaggerated, but that is the point: Bale plays someone who must act through his life to achieve his goal of "fitting in." Bale's performance also gives a bit of humanity to Patrick, especially during the scene where Jean (Chloe Sevigny), his secretary, is at his apartment. Bale acts charming to Sevigny's obliviousness all the while he looks in his kitchen cabinets full of murdering tools. He aims a nail gun behind Sevigny unbeknownst to her. A comical misunderstanding happens between them as Jean thinks that "getting hurt" by Patrick would be by having an affair with him while he knows that it would be killing her. Sadness washes over Bale's face as he tells her that she better go, and, for a second, you see a real person.

American Psycho will not be for everyone, and the ending is cryptic. It doesn't romanticize the '80s, but it captures some of the ugliness of it. The soundtrack is pure guilty pleasure with Katrina and the Waves,Simply Red, The Information Society, New Order, Phil Collins, and Huey Lewis and the News. Bateman spews out little interesting, if somewhat pathetic reviews of these musicians and songs to his victims beforehand. You'll never hear "Hip to be Square" or "Sussudio" in same way again after watching this movie.

I can't see why I ever liked this movie--and even recommended to family and friends. Maybe I was reading too much Camille Paglia when I saw it on HBO in the early '90s--although it was a TV movie made in 1984. It's very '80s by the way.

Amazons seems to take itself a bit too seriously. In what world would there be an underground group of Amazons, trying to kill off the male "race" one powerful rich dude at a time? Okay, I guess it does make it a bit fun.

Amazons could have been better. Starksy (director Paul Micheal Glasser) does a good job at times with the images and music in the film. But there is too much time with the doctor, played by a pre-famous, pre-plastic surgery (?) Madeleine Stowe, who discovers the evil Amazons and becomes the only good woman in this movie. Too many hospital scenes and scenes with Jack Scalia are just stupid, typical TV movie fare. One unbelievable scene is unintentionally funny, in which the cop, Scalia, tells Stowe about his fear of going after the Amazons because his partner killed himself for messing with the wrong person (a senator.) Jennifer Warren is good as the hospital administrator (and leader of the Amazons.) There is a very good scene where she threatens a hunky man who she just had a one night stand with, with a letter opener--he was bad mouthing Amazons, dismissing them as a myth!

Amazons ends with a confrontation at the Amazon's Helena office. Stowe throws some beakers of chemicals that amazingly start a fire that kills off the Amazons--but Scalia and Stowe somehow survive. The ending shot is the president winning with the female vice president--who is wearing the Amazon symbol, the cross-bow bracelet--but, wait, police come in and arrest the VP. It would have been kind of cool if they left it up in the air--what if the Amazons were still out there, waiting to destroy mankind--but they didn't. How much influence could a vice president have anyway? Only seek this movie out if you are really, really bored.

Okay, just about everybody here seems to like Till Human Voices Wake Us. Maybe admitting that you didn't like it is admitting that you are stupid, don't know much about poetry, or can't understand artsy fartsy movies. Well, maybe I am just that. Oh yeah, I did get the whole movie was the guy's dream--not that the character of Ruby is the reincarnation of his childhood girlfriend, which is the movie's literal translation.

Guy Pierce is one of my favorite actors--and he is good here. Human Voices starts out promising enough with Pierce as a psychology professor giving a lecture about repressing memories. But Human Voices slides downhill from there. The pace is boring. I had the feeling if some scenes were added or edited, this could've been a good movie.

Pierce's emotionally cold father dies, and he goes back to his hometown to bury him--against his father's wishes to be buried in Melbourne. You never know why Pierce's dad was so distant--and do we really see the effects on Pierce's character because of that detachment? I also wanted to know what happened to his mother, but I didn't hear anything about her.

Pierce flashes back on his childhood and his handicapped girlfriend. She would sit on the sidelines reading T.S. Elliot while he would swim in the river. The two friends become romantic, but the movie is particularly slow getting there. On one tragic night, he helps her into the river holding her, but after awhile, she lets go of his hand, drowning in the murky water. But the adult Pierce saves the drowning Ruby, played by Helena Bonham-Carter, as she jumps off a bridge in a suicide attempt. Ruby has amnesia and seems to be the reincarnation of his childhood girlfriend. But how can that be? It must be a dream as Pierce says that he is like many psychoanalysts and doesn't dream because the subconscious doesn't like to be found out.

Human Voices sounds interesting, but it is not. It is tedious which is sad because it has an interesting concept. One of the few good scenes is the sex scene between Bonham Carter and Pierce because it seems to resolve much of the conflict in the movie. But it was still one of the many sub par movies I sat through that weekend.

A Must-See Controversial '70s Artifact

I have tried to post comments about Looking for Mr. Goodbar before, but it never went through--so I'll try again:

Looking for Mr. Goodbar is often labeled as moralistic, sexist, and homophobic. You can view it that way depending on your own personal beliefs. But I view Looking for Mr. Goodbar as a movie about repression--especially by religious beliefs.

Diane Keaton plays Teresa--watch for Keaton's comedic handling of this character, especially in the scene at her sister's swinger party. Teresa is trying to find her way in a world that is experiencing a huge cultural shift. She transforms from a student staying at home with her hypocritical, strict Catholic family to a teacher of deaf students living on her own in the city, cruising the singles bar scene of the '70s. She yearns to have a life as she watches on TV the feminists march on Washington as she spends New Years alone babysitting her sister's child. Next year she'll have a much more different, but tragic, New Years.

There are some problems with Looking for Mr. Goodbar though that turn it into something less than a classic movie. Teresa's quest for independence turns into self-destructive behavior that seems to stem from the fact that her father is dying. Melodramatics, over-the-top dialog--especially Richard Gere's--also make it a tad campy. But that might be all right. I also absolutely hate the scene where she oversleeps from a night of partying and is late for school. She finds the kids running wild in the classroom and blaming her for not caring about them. I guess they never heard of substitute teachers. A lot of her school scenes slow the movie down.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar has a great, guilty pleasure disco soundtrack--Donna Summer's "Could this be Magic," the O'Jay's "The Backstabbers," Boz Scagg's "Lowdown," Diana Ross' "LoveHangover," and Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me this Way." The songs work well with the scenes, too. The opening and closing scenes brilliantly capture the essence of the movie--the photo montage in the beginning credits and the haunting image of Keaton's blinking face in the end.

The Best Thief in the World is about a working class family in New York City trying to survive a crisis. It's another Showtime movie primarily involving kids (My Horrible Year!, Jack, Cavedweller, etc.)--Showtime is becoming the edgy After School Playhouse!

Mary-Louise Parker plays the mother of three young children. Her oldest son, Izzy, about 8 years old (?), is running wild on the streets, and she has no control over him. As the movie starts, Parker and her other children are going to see their ill father in the hospital. While Parker watches over her husband hooked up to oxygen, Izzy breaks into an apartment.

Izzy has his technique down. He buzzes the intercom until he finds someone not answering. He goes to that apartment through the fire escape and window. Some of the most humorous parts are what he finds and what he does in these apartments. He is not interested in stealing for monetary gain. He sometimes eats their food, takes a shower, moves their furniture around, and writes messages. The most disturbing thing that he does is that he always burns something--a candle or scraps of paper. It's all a ritual, a form of escapism, that helps him deal with his father's stroke.

Izzy's dad comes home because Parker's insurance is running out. She is an English teacher, and his coming home makes her unable to work. The stress point is high. Parker knows her son is up to no good, and he does finally get caught--the residents of this home were there in bed screwing, but not answering their intercom! Things escalate with Izzy's pyromania, and he sets an apartment afire. They live in the same building--and panic sets in on how they will get the father out safely because he is wheelchair bound. Fortunately, they are rescued, but they move back to Parker's hometown of Michigan as her over-bearing mother suggested because New York is no place for children--or for the down and out. The movie ends with the family, full of hope, leaving in the car, but essentially being forced by circumstances to make this decision.

I would probably like this movie better if it wasn't so depressing. Between scenes, two very young boys in the playground rap the filthiest things you probably ever heard. Parker swears and yells at Izzy, but you can tell she loves him. It's probably a more realistic version of a mother, but her comments border on verbal abuse--and it is no wonder that Izzy is on his way to delinquency. I don't know if I could watch it again.

Mona Lisa Smile is Hollywood's schizophrenic take on feminism. Julia Roberts plays an art history professor who takes a teaching position at the all-female Wellesly College in the 1950s. Roberts is characterized as a bohemian who encourages female independence, but it is only her kind of independence she endorses. She believes women should not marry and should be professionals--like herself. In other words, trade in one role for another role: trade in the apron for the briefcase.

By the middle, I found Mona Lisa Smile insulting and false. The young women who went to college back then FOUGHT to go to college. They wanted an education--whether that led to matrimony or career didn't matter. Mona Lisa Smile just doesn't ring true for me. Women didn't live their lives like ads in magazine anymore than women do now. You might aspire to that, but reality sets in soon enough.

Roberts' pupils seem content with romance--and really don't think of much else. Even the most liberated of the bunch played by Maggie Gyllenhal is only concerned with her sexual liberation. Kirsten Dunst's character is a know-it-all snob who believes marriage is the only way. But Roberts is proved right when Dunst's marriage fails. Dunst goes from being a strident traditionalist to a strident feminist--either way she is annoying. The only girl who having a boyfriend is seen as a good thing is the chubby, plain-Jane girl. The movie seems to say that she should be grateful that she found someone. Julia Stiles plays the smartest girl who is accepted to law school, but she is really in love.

By the end of Mona Lisa Smile, Roberts rejects a marriage proposal by a male friend who she is close to--and he seems to really understand her. She accidentally calls him "Bill"--Dominic West's lying Lothario professor character who she really wants to be with (And we are treated with Roberts and West's predictable romance which drags the movie down.). All of this puts her in a bad light. Not good for someone who is supposed to be the heroine of the movie.

Roberts is furthered humiliated when she barges in on Stiles' after wedding reception, telling her she could work in law school with her marriage. But Stiles has to make it finally clear to Roberts that she doesn't want a career--her career will be raising a good family. She says that no one regrets not going to law school on their death bed--something to that effect. A-ha! Mona Lisa Smile shows its real stripes here.

The only positive things I can say about Mona Lisa Smile: the women's fashions were authentic right down to the clip on earrings (Again sometimes Roberts didn't look like she was from the '50s with her long hair. I guess they were telling us that she was the more free future.); the soundtrack was good with some remakes by contemporary artists; and I enjoyed the art lectures. But, other than that, skip this movie.

I think it is humorous (and ironic) that Morgan Spurlock borrowed his "documentary" film style from Micheal Moore. Perhaps seeing the rotund Moore was his inspiration for "Super Size Me." Spurlock is only slightly more down-to-earth than the condescending Moore. Spurlock seems nice to the obese and overweight people and the Big Mac eating guy while Moore makes more fun of his documentary subjects, especially those working class fools in "Roger and Me."

I admit I find these documentaries entertaining. But it's hard to take seriously a New York hipster and his vegan girlfriend (who we all must aspire to be someday in a world without junk food!) living in their precious city apartment with an arty poster of a naked woman. And it's hard to take serious his doctor yelling at him for his diet when the doc could stand to lose a few pounds--and also the nutrition expert guy could also take some of his own advice. And what about Spurlock's theatrics: the panting, the chest pains, and the vomiting?

Like our puritanical society, we do things to extremes. Spurlock was no exception. He went from vegan to fast food addict in zero seconds. What in the Hell did he expect? Most of us can handle a big mac every so often without falling ill.

It is my deepest wish that bad foods will not become the next cigarettes in our society. Let us make our own decisions. How about we avoid living altogether, so we can die of boredom at 200 years old?

I have such mixed feelings about this movie, but, after seeing it a couple of times, I do think it's worthy of viewers of all ages--just not teens, as it seems to be targeting at times.

The movie can exploit sometimes. For example, the idea of teen girls going wild can seem glamorous to other teens and inspirational for those teens. On the other hand, Thirteen runs the risk of becoming a cautionary bit of propaganda telling parents they better watch their teens, or they'll be next. To tell the truth, Thirteen is all these things. But what makes this movie good is how it captures reality so effectively--in other words, good characters and good plots.

******Spoilers**********

Thirteen starts out in a typical way--the same coming of age story about a girl starting high school who abandons old nerdy friends for new freaky friends. Tracy becomes friends with the popular bad girl, Evie. But Tracy is a complex character, though. Evie may be her corrupter, but the seeds were there. We find out that Tracy has been cutting herself for a long time--before her drug abuse and thieving.

When you think of Tracy and Evie's adventures in drugs, sex, and crime, it's not really that shocking because it is the same struggle that teens have been having since when?! Think about Penny Lane in "Almost Famous." The music has changed, but the song remains the same.

The scenes in Thirteen that make it a good movie, are between Tracy and her mom, Mel (Holly Hunter), who probably had a teenage hood something like her daughter. But Mel loves her daughter even if she is in denial about her. In the end, Mel won't leave Tracy alone in her darkest hours--after her "friend" Evie tells Mel about Tracy's secret life for vengeful purposes.

I like the realism in this movie--down to earth characters with flaws who don't live in a suburban world of white picket fences, two-parent families, and no money worries. For that alone, makes Thirteen a must-see movie.

I really wanted to like AIA--and I would probably watch it again--but, by the second half, I was disappointed. Aimless story lines and unsympathetic characters were major flaws.

I appreciated the effort at more realistic characters, but they were hard to care about at all. I disliked the Louis character--how could you possibly care about someone who leaves their sick partner. I couldn't really see the good side of Louis, except that he got back together with Prior--but only after he left Joe because he condemned him for his political beliefs. How artificial was that! It's almost as artificial as Joe's marriage--by the end of AIA, the Mormon couple were basically the same. Louis seemed like the worst kind of superficial person. Then, of course, the most unsympathetic character of all was Roy Cohn--played Emmy-worthy by Al Pacino. I guess the whole point of his part was that a homophobic, conservative, Christian-centered society produced a self-hating, Grinch of a man like Roy. Or maybe he was just a jerk on his own. The only likable character was Belize, but he was too saintly to be trusted. He should have put Roy's IV in painfully.

AIA still managed to be interesting, though. We learned that angels are not flawless, Heavenly creatures--they can be downright mean. We also learned that Mormon moms--played Emmy-worthy by Meryl Streep--can make several gay male friends and completely ignore her son--what was that ending about?

Seeing Mary-Louise Parker on the screen, I couldn't help but remember Longtime Companion, a movie about gay men and AIDS during the '80s. I enjoyed that movie more, even though it could be considered a typical, topical movie that didn't aim for the lofty height that AIA did.

"Bully" is one of those movies that can be seen as either realistic or exploitative. Sometimes I had the feeling that it was just sensationalism. Another movie with its doomsday warning about the horrible nature of today's generation. Yet thinking back on my high school days I did know morons like this--people can and will be cruel.

***SPOILERS***

Something keeps this movie from being truly a good movie. I suspect it is in the character development and motivation. More of something needs to be seen as to why Bobby is hated so much or why Lisa worships Marty so much. We are told Bobby is a bully who deserves to be killed, but he only seems slightly more mean than his peers.

In defense of the director's, Larry Clark's, crotch shots, I think in much of the movie he is trying to show us what these teens see--maybe give us an idea of what it's like to be a young male full of hormones. And in the scene where they meet with the mob wannabe guy and camera follows them around in a crazy, fast circle that makes the viewer want to vomit, maybe Clark was just giving us the feeling of being wasted on drugs in the middle of the day. Clark wants you to see how muddled the teens are in their thinking.

The ending of the movie is quite good when the teens spill their guts about what happened--and that does happen in real life with homicide. It is reminiscent of another true crime story movie, Boys Don't Cry.

Spoilers May Be Here:

Chocolat is sort of like a French "It's a Wonderful Life." Binoche, Olin, Dench, and Molina all are good in their parts. But there is something I don't buy about chili powder and chocolate mixed together for a life-changing confection.

Molina plays the self-righteous, controlling mayor--who, by the power of chocolate, changes his hypocritical ways. Yes, if you don't take the movie too serious and view it as a fairy tale, a myth, then it may have all been possible.

The time period of the movie was also troublesome for me. Is it in the '60s? When I see Binoche's outfits or Depp's ponytail, I think the time period is now. When I see the stone cobbled streets of the village, I start to believe that it is all taking place at the turn of the century. I guess we get that is suppose to be "timeless."

Of course, Chocolat has all the clichés of a typical chick flick/woman's movie. Olin's abuse plot line is resolved neatly and quickly. And, as everybody knows, a woman's movie must have someone die by the ending of the movie. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who the Grim Reaper is going to visit in this one.

My biggest complaint is Johnny Depp. A good actor? I just don't see it. I wanted to cut off his ponytail and tell him to give up on his in-and-out Irish accent. I just keep thinking about his teen heart throb years in "21 Jump Street." Why is he in movies that I think would be good like From Hell, Blow, and Sleepy Hollow?

Spoilers may be here....

In my early 20s, this movie was a favorite of mine with many repeated viewings.

Say Anything definitely has the Cameron Crowe touch--his sense of humor and humanity. Here are some of those classic Crowe moments: Diane's dad singing "Ricki Don't Lose That Number" in the car; Lloyd driving the drunk guy around town all night until he finally recognizes his house; Lloyd describing to Diane's dad what he wants to do with his life; Diane telling her dad about her first time with Lloyd; and much more.

This is Crowe's transition film from teenage movies (Fast Times at Ridgemount High and The Wild Life) into real movies. Of course, he would go on to greater things with Jerry Maguire and the classic Almost Famous. But don't be afraid of Say Anything and not watch it because you think it is going to be a typical teen movie because it is not.

There is something old-fashioned and sweet about Say Anything. I think anybody could identify with the conflicts in it: first love, not fitting in, not knowing what to do with your life, etc. The subplot of Diane's dad's white collar crime also gives the film a good meaningful texture and adds complexity to characters who might seem stereotypical.

Say Anything is truly a feel-good movie.

********Spoilers--Careful*********

What can I say? I'm biased when it comes to Urban Cowboy. I love it and have watched it countless times--and usually find out something new about it with each viewing.

I think one of the things I like about it is that Urban Cowboy is about working class people, not rich people who live in either L.A. or New York. Well, it is true except for Pam.

Travolta plays Bud, a small town Texas boy who moves to Houston to work in the oil fields. And this is when Travolta actually played in good dramatic movies like Saturday Night Fever instead of playing stereotypical bad guys/good guys in big budget movies. This is a really good movie--the mechanical bull riding contest and two-step dancing may be silly, but you have to enjoy this for what it is.

Bud meets Sissy (played by Debra Winger with slutty brilliance)--and soon after, they are married and living in their dream trailer. But their relationship becomes a real life battle of the sexes. Bud wants to be a real cowboy. Sissy wants to be with a real cowboy. But in modern times, men's roles are not as clear. Where can Bud prove he's a real man? He can work his dangerous job by day and ride the mechanical bull by night--he can be a "urban cowboy." But Sissy wants to drive his pick-up truck, and she wants to ride the mechanical bull, too. So where does this leave Bud? As Sissy asserts her independence, she lies about riding the bull and flirts with the ex-con and prison rodeo star--a real bull rider--, Wes (played wonderfully greasy by Scott Glenn). Bud is threatened, and Bud and Sissy break up.

Sissy shacks up with Wes, who abuses her. Emasculating himself further, Bud becomes the boy toy of Pam, a rich girl whose Daddy is in oil and all that implies. Sissy comes by the trailer to clean it up--Pam doesn't do that kind of thing. She writes a make up letter to Bud, but evil Pam tears it up and takes the credit for Sissy's housework.

Bud's Uncle Bob dies tragically at work when lightening strikes and causes an explosion. Bud and Sissy have a chance at reconciliation, but are too stubborn. Later the mechanical bull riding competition is at Gilley's, and you know Bud is going to win. Pam realizes that Bud doesn't love her, but Sissy--he did it for her. Wes tries to rob Gilleys, but wouldn't you know that urban cowboy, Bud, saves the day and wins back the woman he loves.

Of course, you may ask yourself why Bud and Sissy would go to Gilleys about every night and "live like pigs." Maybe that contributed to their bad marriage. Or why didn't Bud stay with Pam--she wasn't that bad and had money. Or why they had to kill off Uncle Bob. Or why Bud and Sissy had such stupid friends like Marshall and Jessie who were always trying to break them up: Marshall says to Bud, "She {Sissy} rides that bull better than you do!" But part of the fun of Urban Cowboy is making fun of it a little bit--and saying, isn't that Bonnie Raitt on the stage!

***Spoilers***

I remember being thoroughly entertained by this movie when I was younger, but now I find it a bit of a bore. Although I never saw it during its heyday, when people left the movie theater, thinking they were possessed.

The priest's archeological dig, Burstyn's acting gig, and the other priest's homelife were all very slow placed scenes to me. Thirty minutes into the movie and nothing much has happened except some weird noises in the attic.

When we do finally see Blair with her gray face, red eyes, messed up hair, she looks like a kid made up for Halloween. The floating objects, the moving bed, etc. are almost laughable now. By the way, it isn't green pea soup she is spewing out--it's the mixture from her feeding tube--but in pop culture, it has become pea soup.

I recommend The Exorcist to horror fans and '70s pop culture fans only.

***Spoilers***

A lot has been written here about A.I., and I'm not sure what I can add. I do like it, but there are a few flaws.

I happened to see an episode of the old sci-fi series, Night Gallery, that had a similar story to A.I, but told it in less time. The story was about a husband and wife (played by Cloris Leachman) who keep abusing their robot maid and breaking her. They bring her back into the shop for another model, but this time the maid kills the couple. In the end, we find out that the robots have taken over the factory. They now make and sell each other, gradually taking over the human race.

The Night Gallery story, while showing that the humans were bad, also show the possibility of robots taking over . . . on purpose. I think A.I. leans too heavily on the side of orga (humans), bad; mecca (robots), good. The anti-mecca people were ultimately correct: we became extinct and the mecca survived. But A.I. seems to point to our stupidity for our demise: could it be environmental problems caused by pollution that only robots could survive? In A.I., we see how the humans misjudge the mecca: blaming Gigolo Joe for murder and blaming David for trying to drown Martin. But the mecca were capable of violence: David did destroy reading David in Dr. Hobby's office.

The super mecca praise the human race, though. And Dr. Hobby seems to be shown in a good light for making such a creation as David. But wasn't he just a grieving father who wanted to replicate his dead son? Did Dr. Hobby ever think of the consequences of his creation? And why did Hobby let David wonder around when he was abandoned? Wasn't Hobby just as selfish as Monica? They were trying to make themselves feel better. In the scene in which David is being repaired after eating food, we see Monica clutching his hand, but she lets go of it when David says that it doesn't hurt Mommy--realizing that David is not human. And Monica's husband is really quite hypocritical: he doesn't agree with having robots and is freaked out about it, but he works at a place that manufactures and sells robots.

The mecca themselves even seem to recognize they are at war with humans. Teddy seems to be a wise sage who knows that he is not a toy. The other old mecca in the flesh fair cage says something about how humans are always trying to lower the number of mecca to increase their superiority.

My two favorite scenes in the movie are David's abandonment and the flesh fair spectacle. When Monica takes David for a drive in the county, I thought about how people take their unwanted pets for "a drive in the country." We have become the ultimate disposable society. If we created mecca, maybe we would show a little humanity and responsibility for them. But no--we have the flesh fair boss who doesn't really care if technology has taken over--he just wants money. But all this still points to the fact that A.I. makes us the bad guy and robots victims.

Still A.I. is destined to be a classic and definitely worth a look-see.

***Spoilers***

The director aimed to make a biopic that wasn't TV-movie like, but, in the end, it became boring and leaving the viewer wanting to know more about Abbie and Anita Hoffman.

Using a documentary like style, a reporter tries to find out why Abbie Hoffman is still in hiding. Why try to recreate a documentary when a real one would've been more interesting?

The technique of showing old film clips, etc. just didn't work, and, when the famous protests stopped and when Abbie went into hiding, the scenes with him, Johanna, Anita, and America went deep into Lifetime movie territory.

Personally, I did not know much about Abbie Hoffman and had not read much about him. I DID know that Nixon and Hoover kept files on '60s protesters and radicals--no real revelation there. But this movie leans so far too the left, I kept wondering if that capitalism and old mores were really that bad. Abbie seemed like such a jerk at times--cheating on Anita and doing drugs. His bad behavior didn't help his cause, which seemed to be the main problem of the '60s: we have a good message of love, peace, and freedom, but let's get stoned first!

This movie did leave me wanting to know more. I wanted to know more about Abbie's mental illness and suicide. I also wanted to know more about the other people of the movement like Jerry Rubin and Bobbie Seale and their conflicts with Hoffman.

Steal This Movie is not a total waste, though. You have good performances by Garofalo, D'Onofrio, Logue, and Corrigan. Some history lessons are in it. It was just another movie that had great potential, but lost it somehow. Sadly, it was often tiresome to watch at times. It's not a good thing to be checking the clock, waiting for the movie to be over.

***Spoilers***

I guess you could call Celebrity, 1984 mini series, some great and not so great moments in TV/pop culture history.

The story revolves around three Texas teenage friends who grow up to be famous, or infamous, and have some skeletons in the closet, including murder. Ben Masters is the most level-headed of the boys and grows up to be a world famous journalist. Joseph Bottoms plays the troubled jock who doesn't turn out to be a sports star, but instead becomes a closeted, famous actor. Michael Beck plays the sinful villain of the bunch who becomes a televangelist who starts to become cult-like.

The cast puts in some good acting, including Hal Holbrook as the district attorney prosecuting Beck for the murder of Bottoms. It's hard to believe that Beck is the same guy who was in Xanadu! For the time, there also is the risque plot lines about rape and homosexuality.

Like most mini-series, it's way too long. Only enthusiast of the novel would be thrilled about the length. It may have worked for the TV mini-series medium, catching you up on the previous night, but, in one sitting, a lot could have been cut.

Celebrity can be slow and boring--yes--but it picks up the pace with a surprise ending that wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be.

***Spoiler may be here***

I enjoy Mike Leigh's movies. Sometimes you get the feeling you are watching an awkward moment on somebody's home movies.

Career Girls follows the six year reunion of college roommates, and unlikely friends, Hannah and Annie. We see Hannah and Annie now refined in their older age, but, as they flashback to their flat mate days, we see two spastic girls.

Annie visits Hannah in London, and, in the first flashback, Annie recalls meeting Hannah as she moves into the flat. Hannah is mean and outspoken, and you wonder why Annie would ever want to be her friend--especially, as Hannah makes fun of Annie's eczema on her face. But they soon become friends--sometimes it is hard to watch these women. Annie jerks her head to the side and shakes with shyness while Hannah talks on the top of her lungs and flings her arms about. And, if you watch carefully, both revert to these nervous behaviors as adults in certain scenes.

I was waiting for the big revelation, but it was nothing, really. Hannah and Annie run into ex roommates and boyfriends during their weekend reunion--and one ex doesn't even remember them. Everybody their age has married and moved on. But these girls are outcasts. And in the end, you can see life has been unfair to them, except in their careers.

This type of movie is not everybody's cup of tea, and there is some thick English accents here. But if you want to know how to turn Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights into some sort of magic eight ball, this is the movie for you!

The Killing Fields follows the story of A New York Times journalist, Sydney Schanberg, and his Cambodian translator, Dith Pran. Schanberg is there to report on Cambodia's border being bombed by the U.S. during the last years of the Vietnam War. These bombings make Cambodia vulnerable to the takeover by the Khmer Rouge regime, which becomes Schanberg's new story.

Schanberg and his colleagues are journalists who want people to know what really is going on as opposed to the watered down/non-existent radio/TV coverage about Cambodia's problems. John Malkovich's photo journalist character makes a snide remark about a certain BBC reporter who must sneak reports past the Khmer Rouge soldiers in the beaks of chickens that somehow make it to Thailand.

Schanberg gets Pran's family out of Cambodia to America as the American Embassy and everybody else is getting out of Cambodia because they know that the Khmer Rouge is going to takeover the capital city. But Pran stays behind with Schanberg. Pran sees the Khmer Rouge parading through town and believes there might be peace, but his hopes are dashed as the Khmer Rouge soldiers kidnap Pran and the journalists for awhile. Things in Cambodia go from bad to worse, and the journalists are given one last chance to leave, but no Cambodians can go. The journalists try and doctor a passport for Pran, but it fails. Schanberg and the other journalist believe Pran will die at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Malkovich blames Schanberg for Pran's fate. Schanberg begins to symbolize America in the way we bombed (used) Cambodia (Pran) and left it behind just when they needed our help.

Disturbing scenes of children caring guns, a young girl suffocating a prisoner, and skeletons floating in a ditch show the atrocities of this dictatorship. Somehow Pran manages to survive in a prison camp--where he is starved, brainwashed, and tortured. He finally escapes and reunites with Schanberg.

There are some scenes in which some subtitles would have been appreciated. The Killing Fields has been criticized for leaning to the left in its view of what happened in Cambodia, and I agree with that. It's really amazing that a movie like this ever got made considering the Hollywood machine. I recommend The Killing Fields for fans of Vietnam movies. And considering our times now, it is certainly interesting viewing.