Movies - Arch 2

Ron 11-05-01

When I was in the U.S. in July I was able to see The Score, now playing in Brazil, with Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Marlon Brando. They are tremendous actors, Frank Oz is a good director, and the story amusing. I don't strongly recommend this thriller, though. In addition to being too long it takes much time to develop, i.e. become exciting. The plot isn't original -- as in most movies -- and I miss such elements as a first-rate music score, humor, engaging dialogues, a fast pace, and an absorbing scenery.

In the United States movies are really big business. The newspapers, especially The Los Angeles Times, have numerous large film ads, many times carrying reviews made by critics. According to some of them, including my favorite commentator Roger Ebert, The Taylor of Panama is sensational. How foolish of me to have believed them. The film is so bad it's almost painful. And I left the theater not knowing if I had watched a comedy, a drama, or a thriller.

Regarding videos, there are two I would like to recommend: Galaxy Quest, a fun science-fiction comedy with Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver, and Thick as Thieves, a surprisingly effective crime story starred by Alec Baldwin.

Ron 10-24-01

Luis Mandoki has a knack for love stories. He has directed Message in the Bottle, with Kevin Costner and Robin Penn, and this year's Angel Eyes, starred by Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel. Sonia Braga plays a small part in this drama good enough for those passionate soles craving to watch a romance on the screen. Mr. Caviezel, who also appears in Frequency with Dennis Quaid, is surprisingly and incredibly fine as the "battered" man, while Ms. Lopez is, as my girlfriend pointed out, unexpectedly chubby.

Ron 10-15-01

On Saturday I saw Nurse Betty, which I had read was a pretty good film. I thought it was a comedy but it's actually a drama about a small town woman who, like many Brazilians, can't stop watching a soap opera and reveres the main character, a doctor. One day, for reasons I won't tell you in order not to spoil the plot, she decides to go after the man she believes is the love of her life, the doctor from the program. Chris Rock and Renée Zellweger -- who won a best actress Golden Globe Award for her role in this film released in the U.S. in 2000 -- have very good performances. The movie doesn't fulfill my expectations but it's certainly not disappointing, especially the second half.

Ron 10-08-01

I liked Rush Hour much less than Rush Hour 2. The latter, which premiered in Brazil on the 5th, has made over 200 million dollars in the United States since the beginning of August, deservedly so. I don't mean that it (a typical American adventure film filled with fight scenes) is excellent. The movie simply fulfills its purpose of being amusing for about one and a half hours. Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan are jovial and enjoyable actors to watch, Chan being the greatest acrobat I've ever seen on the screen (Jet Li is closely behind).

Would you like suggestions on what videos you should rent for the holiday on October 12th and the weekend? Among the new releases you can't go wrong with the following:

Drama - Cast Away, with Tom Hanks; Duets, with Gwyneth Paltrow; High Fidelity, with John Cusak: and Traffic, with Benicio Del Toro.

Thriller/Crime story - The Cell, with Jennifer Lopez; The Limey, a film directed by Steven Soderbergh, the same from Traffic; Shaft, with Samuel L. Jackson; Unbreakable, with Bruce Willis; and What Lies Beneath, with Michelle Pfeiffer.

Adventure - Charlie's Angels, with Cameron Diaz; and Space Cowboys, with Clint Eastwood.

Ron 10-01-01

Among the new films this week I've watched:

The Fast and the Furious - It's not a good one not even for car enthusiasts. Wheels turn fast and, a few times, excitingly. But the film is dull.

Thirteen Days - Kevin Costner plays one of John Kennedy's main political advisers in this account of a real political crisis that unfolded in the 1960s. If a film of give or take 2 hours and 15 minutes isn't captivating, even a good story becomes tiresome. Although the historical facts were unquestionably absorbing, Roger Donaldson's narrative lacks drama and passion. And I also didn't like the actor who played the American president.

Regarding movies that have been playing in Belo Horizonte for more than a week here are my comments:

Original Sin - Starring Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie this is a story about greed, betrayal, and love. Despite having stronger sex scenes than what we normally see in American films it's lackluster. The plot's twists are ineffective and unable to stir emotions up.

A Knight's Tale - More than predictable it is a lot of fun. An important characteristic of this tale of the Middle Ages is it's emotional crescendo ( I must confess that tears ran down my cheeks a couple of times). In addition characters sing and dance to songs from the 1970s, which, like in Moulin Rouge, is a very nice touch.

Pane Tulipani - This film from Italy has been going strong in Belo Horizonte for weeks. I haven't watched it because I'm not that fond of European movies. However, my beautiful and smart girlfriend Adriana strongly recommends it.

Ron 9-17-01

Singin' in the Rain, a 1952 film with Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds is considered by many the greatest musical of all time. I think it's wonderful as well but Moulin Rouge is my favorite. Baz Luhrman wrote and directed a moving love story, that happens at the beginning of the 1900s, with superlative photography, vibrant dance numbers, and a musical score filled with modern and good songs. The male star Ewan Mcgregor summarizes it well. "It's a feast for our eyes."

Ron 9-10-01

Awful! This was my first reaction as soon as A.I. ended. Before I watched it I believed Steven Spielberg was one of the best filmmakers of all time because none of his pictures -- Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, etc. -- had ever been uninteresting. Artificial Intelligence was a total disappointment: tedious, pointless, and tiring.

Not many videos are worth a recommendation. If you enjoy dramas and good music don't miss Duets starred by Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis (from the band Huey Lewis and the News) and directed by her brother Bruce Paltrow.

Ron 09-03-01

There are two films now playing in Belo Horizonte that I recommend: Memento and The Gift. The first one is about a man who doesn't have short term memory. It's truly original. The two small problems I had with this not very easy to follow flick were the length (the screening time, 113 minutes, was too long) and the number of takes of the main character's car (the Jaguar appeared too often).

I consider Memento as good as The Gift, a fine, not extraordinary, piece of film-making. It's not only a thriller but also a touching drama. Cate Blanchett, the soothsayer, and Giovanni Ribisi, the mechanic, are excellent and were the best actors in the picture.

*****

I'm Ron and today is August 14, 2001. "Long, long, time , no see". But I'm definitely back, baby.

In July I went to the U.S. (lucky me) and was able to watch a few movies, among them Jurassic Park 3. On one hand this film was very well produced, with sensational effects, which satisfied my eyes. On the other hand the script was poor, without originality or engaging conversations, which did not satisfy my brain.

Planet of the Apes and Final Fantasy are in the same category. It's a shame that American studios pour so much money into flicks with bad stories.

A good film, which hasn't been fully released in Belo, is Bridget Jone's Diary. It's a British production with no visual effects but, to my delight, a decent script.

Now I'm anxiously waiting for Memento, which my brother Alexandre, who lives in Los Angeles, said was something special.

4-16-01 Ron

You may be asking why I stopped writing for two months. It's not because of the great number of uninteresting films. The reason is my love life. It has become so much better the last month and a half that it threw me off balance. My heart is beating harder and faster and now I feel like writing again.

You've probably watched most, or all, of the movies criticized below but if you haven't check out my opinion.

Proof of Life, with Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe. Among all the films playing in Belo Horizonte's theaters this week this is the one you should see. It depicts realistically the kidnapping of an American in Colombia.

Traffic, with Benicio Del Toro and Michael Douglas. I like Mr. Del Toro as an actor and he's very convincing here. Mr. Soderbergh deservedly received an Oscar for his direction of an unromanticized story about drug-trafficking between Mexico and the U.S. One problem with the film I would like to point out is the seemingly belittling characterization of Mexico as a society.

2-20-01 Ron

This last weekend I had planned to go see American Psycho and Remember the Titans. I ended up, however, watching Chocolat and Red Planet, the first one because my companion wanted to see something romantic and the second because Titans was sold out. I didn't believe they would be very good but, surprisingly, they were pretty entertaining.

Chocolat, with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. This is a light and charming, not original though, depiction of life in a small town. It's not a grand film but it was able to touch my heart at times.

Red Planet, a sci-fi with Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss, the heroine from The Matrix. Judging by the trailer I expected another one of those boring movies filled with philosophical questions about the meaning of our existence, sprinkled with action scenes and special effects. It's not among the best but it has enough ingredients, such as tremendous visual effects and an okay adventure plot, to keep me from grumbling about one more bad Hollywood flick.

Other notable films in theaters this week:

Cast Away, with Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt (as of February 15 the worldwide cumulative box office was 333 million dollars). T. Hanks is excellent playing a survivor in this realistic picture directed by Robert Zemeckis, the same from Forrest Gump.

Vertical Limit, with Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tuney (168 million). Golly, how could technicians create such sensational action sequences? Or were the mountain and climbing scenes for real? The plot let me down, unlike the visual effects which were a feast to my eyes.

Unbreakable, with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson (221 million). Most of the critics and people whom I talked to trashed it. However, the more I think about the film the more I like it. I can point my finger at two reasons: I expected a so-so film and ...I can't tell you the second one without spoiling the end of the film. I recommend it strongly, especially because of its originality.

Meet the Parents, with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller (277 million). If you're looking for a decent, but not slapstick, comedy choose this picture. Although not that funny it's good enough to make you smile.

2/28/2001 LYNN COMMENTS:

One more word to be said about CROUCHING TIGER, a film set in ancient China with characters who speak Mandarin and fly rather improbably over trees and rooftops. However, the Chinese, themselves, found the movie rather boring, lacking enough action. With so much inner drama, the film fell short of what people there are used to -- Jackie Chan type flicks!

Perhaps Ang Lee, the director, made a Chinese film for Westerners. For me, the only scene worth commenting on was the bamboo forest-martial arts choreography scene.

All I can say about HANNIBAL is, oh, hum....the usual, too dark and dreary. Thank goodness it wasn't true to the book's horrid "happy" ending where Clarice and Lecter go off TOGETHER to live happily ever after!

2/10/2001 Lynn comments:

VERTICAL LIMIT is great to cool off with in this especially hot weather (I'm speaking physically, not mentally). Personally, I didn't enjoy it so much because I saw it in Chicago when the weather outside was about 10 degrees below zero...Fahrenheit!

MEET THE PARENTS is cute but Ben Stiller 's character is enough to drive you up the wall.

TITANS is a high-school movie , but I love high-school movies, PLUS I love Denzel Washington PLUS I love football so that's a great movie for me!

RON RECOMMENDS (11-27-00)

Baby, I'm back! Josef, my best friend and a computer expert, had trouble battling a new virus that infected my PC, the reason it took me so long to write again.

Before telling you about the movies you should see , let me remind the English students or those interested in becoming so, that Lynn and Ron's has a great collection of videos, with no subtitles in Portuguese but with closed captions, comprising films such as Notting Hill, Chinatown, Fargo, Seven, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Jaws, and Pulp Fiction.

Charlie's Angels, directed by McG with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu. Despite being preposterous and predictable it's quick pace, very good music, funny moments, beautiful women, and tremendous action scenes made me feel as if I were chewing a delicious bubblegum whose flavor lasted for two hours. There's no doubt that Charlie's Angels is a much improved version of the James Bond series.

High Fidelity , with John Cusak. Romantics of the world don't miss this one! The script is extremely good and Stephen Frears' direction right on the money. An amazing aspect of the film is how down to earth everything seemed: Cusak's character looks like the guy next door, the women people I've met, and the shop workers dudes I knew from college. A story so real that made me ponder about my life.

The Cell, with Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn. This one is a very well made thriller about a serial murderer, that mixes reality and imagination. While I was watching the movie at Jardim, a new and comfortable cinema next to Pitagoras in Cidade Jardim, two women left in the middle of the screening right after gory scenes. So not everybody will enjoy it, especially because of the disturbing segments.

Shaft, starred by Samuel L. Jackson. When I was in Los Angeles in July (lucky me) I considered it the best movie I had seen during my vacation. Unfortunately, the summer batch of films was just okay, making this police drama no more than a solid entertainment. Mr. Jackson is impressive, as usual.