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Reviews
Rebecca (1940)
Proof people praise what is expected to be praised
There are two moments of cinematic greatness in this film. 1)The home movie scene, and 2)the scene involving Danvers manipulating Joan Fontaine after the costume ball. But though these memorable instances attempt to cajole us into admiration during the viewing, the overall product beckons us to reexamine our initial wooing. There are a few other moments of atmospheric success, and Fontaine's initial arrival and exploration of Manderlay and its characters is interesting, but otherwise, the film is often mediocre, and sometimes even poor. Laurence Olivier is very stale and does not exude much of a presence, nor a riveting sense of charm. Fontaine is better, but her character is completely over-the-top. She seems well adjusted and interesting at first, then does nothing but shake and stand with lost eyes for the rest of the film. I know the situation is supposed to bring about such behavior, but it is just too much. The chemistry between the two characters is horrible. Perhaps that is supposed to demonstrate the awkwardness in their relationship. But, then we find de Winter really does love her, and he hates his dead wife. So while his madness translates well, his supposed love for her never does. Not even at the end. And hers for him feels impossible to get our heads around, since he never does anything but be rich and handsome to impress her. I know, I know, those are the dynamics of the relationship, and some of them are more subtle (e.g. de Winter probably goes for her because she seems sexually tame and timidly obsequious), but it still does not feel right in the end. The characters' actions are too shortsighted for the overall plot.
The film often has no momentum, and drags on forever. The entire opening courtship can be eliminated since it is not efficacious in convincing us of much romance anyway. Then there is the second part, where Fontaine slowly learns the secrets of Manderlay, and though this probably is the best part of the film, it still never feels like it is building to a climax, even though every scene attempts to convey a bit of foreboding intrigue. Instead, it becomes monotonous; precisely because every scene is exactly the same. The end feels like it should approach soon after Danvers diabolical rant. Then there is Olivier's admission, and it feels like it should come again. But again it doesn't, and when the ending finally does come, it is of such an enormous magnitude that it feels too brief.
Then there is the story, which I believe has a couple of plot holes, and realistic dilemmas, though I cannot say with absolute certainty. The film has a chance, but not without a reassessment of the script. Another chance at astonishing greatness blown.
The Village (2004)
Do I have to be the one that says it?
Let us just get it out of the way- M Night Shyamalan sucks. He is a horrible director. He glosses over poorly written dialogue and shallow, plodding scripts with sumptuous cinematography and good tunes. He is so inept that he cannot even get good performances out of William Hurt and Joaquin Phoenix, and the probable reason many people complain of boredom is because M Night. is no Kubrick- he does not know how to construct hypnotic sequences of dialogue between interlocutors, or even how to shoot dialogue effectively (first poor scene I remember- the daughter asking William Hurt for his permission to court Lucius). Nearly everything Noah (that’s the retarded guy) does is to advance this poorly written script, which makes it obvious that he is included only to advance it, and hence, more inferior writing becomes apparent (if the rest of the one dimensional cast did not make it so already).
If the film wanted to make its allegedly "brilliant" statement, it was not necessary to have the film set in modern times- that was supposed to be some sort of "whoa, I got you" climax to make up for the preceding tedium, which, by the way, was not that difficult to figure out since M. Night prides himself on "twists." The revelation of the monster rouse is discovered in the least cinematic way possible. Instead, someone should have started to notice that the monsters may be a farce, and finally confronted the elders. More incidents involving the monsters should have unfolded (including all the rituals the people performed to keep them safe)- unless of course you enjoyed the redundancy of the interminable middle hour.
The entire thread about living outside of modern times should have been discarded, since the film gives it short philosophical elaboration anyway, and it is not a brilliant rumination, unless you're the same person who just read Brave New World or 1984 etc. and thinks they have some sort of philosophical depth now absorbed into their soul. The plot line about the monsters would have been sufficient- it would have tackled the actions of the elders, could have taken place in the 19th century, and brought all the same philosophical qualms, which are not even tackled by the film, just raised. Unfortunately, even that plot line is shoddy and unsuccessful.
Garden State (2004)
I can't believe this is in the top 250
This film is so overrated, and I'm in my twenties so it isn't an age thing. Here's my review of it. I give it *1/2 out of **** or 4/10.
Amidst a series of outlandish characters, maudlin romance and a barrage of contemporary, suburban broken-heart songs sung by grown men that sound like babies, a few moments of clever cynicism and wit make Garden State slightly easier to endure. Copious reviews from twenty-something film critics on the internet call Garden State inspirational, funny, well written, romantic and even one of the best films of the year, and a troop of cranky older critics also acquiesce to its success, though not as fervently. Of course, a thrust of this acclaim is probably due to the rush of orgasmic pleasure most young men receive while observing Natalie Portman act unbearably, sickeningly cute. And it only follows, logically, that they may have identified themselves with Zach Braff's character -and his complete lack of personality- as a poster for drab slacks, sweatshirts and tennis shoes. You're suckers I say!
Aside from the fact that I am a cynical old codger, Garden State is not a special motion picture. Its premise- in which a young man returns to his hometown and reunites with his former buddies, and ultimately finds love- is not new. The relationship between Portman and Brahf seems forced, and the build-up (leading them to tearful love in just four days) is not convincing; perhaps this is why Portman's performance is so childishly exuberant and adorable- she is trying to make up for the rash bond of the screenplay, or it could very well be that most people fall in love this easily, in which case physical appearance and happenstance are the main criteria. Slowly, Garden State descends into a whirlpool of sappy troubadourian courtship; however the courtship is frenetic, and the final scene like caramel stuck on teeth.
Most irksome is the awkward creation of zany characters. They exist solely to convince the viewer that Garden State has a quirky distinctiveness, and they crop up everywhere, nearly every scene. If a middle aged mother having sex with her twenty something son's peers and smoking the bong, a retarded television quarterback, a grown adopted black man into a single-parent white family, and a girl who buries countless dead hamsters sound funny or 'fresh,' then Garden State might work for you. I, however, am getting tired of these outlandish "odd-ball" characters that are, just there; the same tactic Napoleon Dynamite attempted to mask as comedy. I am not saying strange characters detract from a film, but the approach is all wrong, and it's obvious they have been inserted here to feign originality. Ghost World would be an example of a film that does the zany character thing better.
If this isn't all bad enough, there are a few lines of juvenile philosophy parading as disquisitions of hardened experience that can't help but instigate a regretful roll of the eyes.
The positives: It moves fast enough, has a few moments of humor and and it moves fast.