May's DVD Reviews, Part
II
Quick reviews from my Netflix queue and/or
the library.
Thesis, 1996
Spanish thiller that has turned
into a cult movie. It isn't bad, but it's a Spanish movie, so...
yeah, you can find something better.
Twin Peaks:
Season 2: Disc 2, 1990
There's still plenty of substance
at this point in the series, but you can see the seams starting to come
loose.
United 93,
2006
This was way, WAY better than
I had expected, not least of which because everything that was wrong with
WTC
was made right in this one. Sure, you know how it's going to end,
but the direction is phenomenal.
Hollywoodland,
2006
Sometimes real life isn't that
interesting, even if you have sex and murder and a private detective.
However, unlike the fact that Clark Kent was obviously Superman, you won't
believe that's really Ben Affleck playing George Reeves. Good job,
Ben, second only to you snagging Jennifer Garner.
Saw III,
2006
More of the same, only the producers
are running out of blood and becoming less coherent. It's hard to
run a good premise into the ground, but they did. Saw = not sharp
enough.
Death of a President,
2006
It's a post facto pseudo
documentary about what might (have) happen(ed) if the president had been
assassinated October of this year, but it isn't smart enough to even have
been written by him. There's nothing original about the filmmaking
here, and it isn't upbeat enough to double as a fantasy for, what?, more
than 65% of the country at this point.
Sherrybaby,
2006
Maybe you aren't me and you don't
have enough drama in your life. If that's the case, rent it.
It would have been great with a soundtrack to underscore the emotion, but
instead I'm just left sort of bored and depressed and thinking about people
in my life with their own problems between the scenes where Maggie Gyllenhaal
gets naked.
Alias, Season
4, Discs 1&2
New season, so they revamped.
It's a little too fast a change for the plots to be as tight as Jennifer
Garner's abs in most of these, and the story arcs are formulatic even if
the plot twists themselves aren't, but it's a good mix most of the time
that happens to be explosive under the right conditions, so handle it carefully
and detonate it when I give you the signal.
Twin Peaks:
Season 2: Disc 3, 1990
The Laura Palmer storyline at
the core of the show comes to a close here, and it's all about winding
down from this point forward. I'm just enjoying the familiar scenery
from the last couple trips I took down this road.
Notes on a Scandal,
2006
The story here just didn't go
anywhere interesting enough outside of one twist. That doesn't make
for much of a dance.
Nothing,
2003
Great parable and really inventive
movie. It's far from perfect, but it's one of the most inventive
comedies you've ever seen. (Assuming you'll rent it, which is what
I'm hoping.)
My Name Is Earl:
Season 1: Disc 1, 2005
I'm not sure I can review this
objectively since I swear I grew up with this guy. He bought us all
beer with his lotto winnings, but they were nowhere near $100,000.
Funny show though even where things aren't the way I remember them.
Hurricane Katrina:
The Storm That Drowned a City, 2005
An episode of NOVA. Not
about disaster footage so much as examining the causes of the disaster
that gave the world so much disaster footage to put on other shows.
No Such Thing,
2002
The story has a bit of fun with
the conventions and cliches of fairy tales, but then it gets completely
lost without breadcrumbs about halfway through and leads you to a disappointing,
incoherent ending. Don't bother with it unless you're a Sarah Polley
fan.
Pink Floyd:
Pulse: Disc 2, 1994
Just in case you haven't listened
to Dark Side of the Moon about a million times, here it is (plus
encores like Comfy Numb, etc.) and tons of bonus footage from the big screens
and behind the scenes.
The Ninth Configuration,
1980
This movie has a cult behind it
that I'll probably never be a member of. It begins as an almost slapstick
comedy, then morphs into a depressing drama about halfway through.
I'm not sure what the other seven configurations are.
PICKS OF THE
LITTER: United 93 is quite honestly the best delivery of material
that is both dense and riviting (<-I don't use critic's cliches lightly;
please take note here). It's probably the best film you're going
to see in a long time. If you need something lighter (and you likely
will), give Nothing a shot.
Copyright 2007
Ale[x]plorer.