Cindy-39

Isn't it odd that this movie shares so many similarities with

Charles Burnett's "To Sleep With Anger" (1990)? They are very

different genres, but both films feature a stranger who imposes

himself upon an unhappy family and eventually seems to solve

their problems when they get rid of him. And in both, the stranger's

name is, surprise, Harry.

I went into the theater knowing next to nothing about this film, and

am surprised to learn that it won so many awards and bore so

many comparisons to Hitchcock. I wouldn't give it that much, but

"Harry" is a thoroughly enjoyable film. It's well paced (okay, so the

second half seems to move alarmingly fast, but I say well paced in

that the 2 hour running time flies by nicely) , and the cast is pitch

perfect.

Special kudos to Laurent Lucas and Mathilde Seigner who are

completely realistic as a weary young family, in a story that is

otherwise implausible (though no one goes to see a dark comedy/ thriller for realism). One can't help thinking that if this were

Hollywood, they would randomly match up an attractive actor and

actress who wouldn't know the difference between a diaper and,

well, another diaper. But Lucas and Mathilde, both of whom are

quite attractive by the way, are so convincing as the young parents.

It gives strength to the family element, which is depicted as both

the cause of the main character Michel's problems as well as what

he is constantly fighting to defend. And of course, Sergi Lopez

seems to be having a blast as the slithery, charming psychopath.

"With a Friend Like Harry" is not suspenseful like traditional

thrillers, but that may be an asset. It is a film that you can just sit

back, relax, and enjoy. Plus, enough subtext and character

development to keep from being just another throwaway dark

comedy. And did I mention the great views of the lush French

countryside?

I could easily say that Curb Your Enthusiasm is the best sitcom currently being made, but that doesn't say much being that the competition is so poor. Believe me - I didn't expect to like the show at first - it just didn't look especially appealing, but it turns out to be brilliant. If I had to describe it, I'd say Curb Your Enthusiasm combines the neurosis and talkativeness of a Woody Allen movie with the cynicism and hint, hint,wink, wink celebrity appearances of The Larry Sanders Show.

Pi suffers from what I call the explain-it-to-the-audience syndrome,

where the filmmaker is convinced that he knows something we

don't, and feels the need to explain it to us. So whenever a

character speaks, either directly to us in a voice over, or indirectly

through a conversation with another character (though it is still

obviously directed at us), he is "teaching" us about some concept -

numbers, the golden rectangle, etc. It's not only pretentious, but

takes away any sort of realism in the characters, since they are not

allowed to carry on as any real human being would. It's hard to get

absorbed into Pi, because you can feel the director's presence

looming over every scene. It makes the movie very tedious to

watch. Unless, of course, you're in the mood to be talked down to.