LilithOfSherwood Reviews

Chapter 27 (2007)

Not light summer entertainment, certainly

[9/10 · 21 April 2007]

I wasn't sure what to expect of this movie, given the reviews that were all over the place. I was prepared for it to be dark, and for the narrative to not necessarily be straight-line. But... I wasn't prepared to like it as much as I did.

Yes, the movie doesn't give you any answers, that much of the criticism is true. But in the end, I think it's more satisfying that way. We get a little glimpse at a person who committed an inexplicable act, and maybe know a little more about him, but in the end, do we really understand? No. And that's fine. Sometimes we just DON'T know the answers to everything.

Jared Leto's performance is amazing, and well worth seeing even were the movie much worse than it is. He goes to some other place entirely, and shows us what it's like there - which, in my mind, IS great acting. Lindsey Lohan is quite good in her role, but the part is very limited - the movie belongs to Jared.

It's a shame this movie wasn't seen more widely; it certainly deserves to be.

The Prophecy (1995)

Just as good as you've been told!

[24 July 2002]

Did you friends tell you how great this movie is? And you wondered what they'd been smoking? Well, give it a chance and watch it for yourself--it's brilliant.

The casting is what really *makes* this movie. Christopher Walken is just the correct amount "over the top" to make Gabriel larger-than-life, as he must be, and not just a human villain. Eric Stoltz is tragic as his counterpart Simon, who has remained loyal to his god through the two wars in heaven, and now has only his duty to sustain him. Elias Koteas brings real feeling to a role that could have been cookie-cutter--the once-almost-priest who now must save the world from evil. And Viggo Mortensen, in his brief on-screen time as Lucifer, is absolutely electrifying in showing that the dark angel is indeed the most beautiful of all.

Ash Wednesday (2002)

So much more than I expected

[10/10 · 13 May 2002]

I went to an advance screening of "Ash Wednesday" at the Tribeca Film Festival, basically to see Elijah Wood in his first adult role. That I did, but I was also totally awe-struck by the genius of Ed Burns--I'm now a convert.

This movie is predominantly set on Ash Wednesday, 1983 (with a brief prologue set on the same day in 1980) in Hell's Kitchen. It concerns two brothers, Francis (Burns) and Sean (Wood), sons of the late enforcer for the local leader of the Irish mafia, and how the violence of the past continues to replicate itself indefinitely.

What I think Ed does most brilliantly (as actor, director, co-producer and writer) is recreate for the viewer the feeling of impending doom that the brothers have lived with for the last 3 years--always expecting (and never expecting) the bullet that seems bound to come.

The film is dark and gritty and stylish (but never glossy) and totally captivating. The acting, especially that of Burns and Wood, is oscar-quality. I would definitely advise seeing it when it is released in the fall, and failing that--watch for it on IFC.