Aqualung-2

The Bone Collector seems to mine the vein of historical suspense recently accessed by Caleb Carr in Angel of Darkness and E.L Doctorow in Waterworks. Gee, crime just seemed more fun back in turn-of-the century New York. Angelina Jolie is good but not believable as the novice forensics specialist. Denzel is believable and good as Dr. Rhymes. I wonder if Christopher Reeve auditioned for this film? The suspense was there, along with the unnecessarily gory shots of the victims, which I found to be a bit much. Silence of the Lambs was more understated, and the villian was much smarter. I did like the little skeleton doll which oscillated under the cabbie's rear-view mirror as he picked up more hapless victims. Not bad.

The Christmas Carol, starring George C. Scott as the old curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge, is one of my personal favorites. There is stark realism here as well as the Dickensian sentimentality of the prospect of redemption for the old protagonist. David Warner is excellent as Bob Cratchit and Susannah York is spiteful as his long starving but dedicated wife. Edward Woodward, of Breaker Morant, is superb as the Ghost of Christmas Present, although it is disconcerting to see him artifically tall. I guess it is because he is standing on the two pallid kids named "ignorance" and "Want". Maybe I am a little too sentimental, but this always brings a tear to my eye and a lump to my throat, especially in Cratchit's lament for his dead son.

Maximilian Schell defines acting in this superlative effort which I have used in my classes when discussing the Holocaust. When you watch it, keep an open mind and don't be put off by sayings such as "What is a Christian but a Jew with an insurance policy? Rent it and watch it...I guarantee you will be impressed and troubled by the implications of the subject matter.