Silverzero
A rejoint le juil. 2002
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Note de Silverzero
Diseases? Check. Feministic over-tones? Check. Lesbianism? Check. Meryl Streep? Check. This seems like the perfect recipe for `lurid chick-flick-of-the-week', but `The Hours' is something far deeper and captivating. Two immediate thumbs-up for originality. Not only does David Hare adapt the famous story by Virginia Woolf; he also intertwines two different stories that criss-cross in the most engaging style possible. Each story gets a rousing treatment with an equal proportion of attention divided among them.
The first takes us to 1923, New England where mentally unstable novelist Virginia Woolf is writing `Mrs. Dalloway'. In the second, Laura Brown, an unhappy housewife is reading the book in Hollywood in 1951. In the third, Clarissa Vaughn finds herself becoming the character in modern day Manhattan. British director brings the movie depth and meaning as the plots unfold and interact in a thoroughly earnest and believable manner. Of course there are those that complain that the film is made up of a series of `they'll show this clip for my Oscar nomination' moments, but this isn't enough to really hold a grudge against it. Okay, perhaps it is manipulative in that sense but it was hardly intentional.
Technical credits are surprisingly terrific all round. In particular, the silky, brazen editing cleverly switches from one scene to the other with the just right amount of emphasis on key elements. Scenery, cinematography and costume designs are spectacular as well. Though hardly breath-taking compared to `Chicago' and `Gangs of New York', the alternating sets are magnificently detailed. Such is the case with the image of Hollywood in 1951. Always sunny and seductive, there is a perfect overbearing of cleanliness in the idyllic household and crystal clear roads. The solemnities of the plots really go right to the core. The subtext is hidden far enough to consider the film `sophisticated' and every little detail, no matter how irrelevant is chosen for a reason.
But the main power is generated by the host of superlative performances. Nicole Kidman of course won an Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf (not to mention the heavy prosthetics). Though the performance is convincing, it is too small to consider in the `Best Actress' category. Meryl Streep gives the expected fine delivery and is as mesmerising as one would come to expect. It must have been tough for Julianne Moore to pull off her part. Mainly because she has played the same variation on the `disillusioned wife' character so many times. But she really makes this role her own, totally different from her character in say, `Magnolia', thus she is a brilliant character actress. Support is noteworthy all across the board from the likes of Miranda Richardson, John C. Reilly and Jeff Daniels; the best supporting turn coming from Ed Harris.
Under-rated and often misunderstood, `The Hours' is as subtly commendable as its haunting musical score with a shock ending to achieve the considerable impact. Easily one of the Top 5 best pictures of the year. My IMDb rating: 8.0/10
The first takes us to 1923, New England where mentally unstable novelist Virginia Woolf is writing `Mrs. Dalloway'. In the second, Laura Brown, an unhappy housewife is reading the book in Hollywood in 1951. In the third, Clarissa Vaughn finds herself becoming the character in modern day Manhattan. British director brings the movie depth and meaning as the plots unfold and interact in a thoroughly earnest and believable manner. Of course there are those that complain that the film is made up of a series of `they'll show this clip for my Oscar nomination' moments, but this isn't enough to really hold a grudge against it. Okay, perhaps it is manipulative in that sense but it was hardly intentional.
Technical credits are surprisingly terrific all round. In particular, the silky, brazen editing cleverly switches from one scene to the other with the just right amount of emphasis on key elements. Scenery, cinematography and costume designs are spectacular as well. Though hardly breath-taking compared to `Chicago' and `Gangs of New York', the alternating sets are magnificently detailed. Such is the case with the image of Hollywood in 1951. Always sunny and seductive, there is a perfect overbearing of cleanliness in the idyllic household and crystal clear roads. The solemnities of the plots really go right to the core. The subtext is hidden far enough to consider the film `sophisticated' and every little detail, no matter how irrelevant is chosen for a reason.
But the main power is generated by the host of superlative performances. Nicole Kidman of course won an Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf (not to mention the heavy prosthetics). Though the performance is convincing, it is too small to consider in the `Best Actress' category. Meryl Streep gives the expected fine delivery and is as mesmerising as one would come to expect. It must have been tough for Julianne Moore to pull off her part. Mainly because she has played the same variation on the `disillusioned wife' character so many times. But she really makes this role her own, totally different from her character in say, `Magnolia', thus she is a brilliant character actress. Support is noteworthy all across the board from the likes of Miranda Richardson, John C. Reilly and Jeff Daniels; the best supporting turn coming from Ed Harris.
Under-rated and often misunderstood, `The Hours' is as subtly commendable as its haunting musical score with a shock ending to achieve the considerable impact. Easily one of the Top 5 best pictures of the year. My IMDb rating: 8.0/10
It appears that conventional paint-by-numbers romantic comedies are the order of the day. While writing these reviews, I try to be as original as possible, whenever possible. But when films (particularly rom-coms) are so alike, it's really a case of changing names and writing pretty much the same thing. So while `The Mirror Has Two Faces' is quite satisfying, it's hardly earth shattering or anything we haven't seen before. The world won't collapse if you don't get to see the film.
One thing that bogs down the standard of these movies is the `playing it safe' aspect. The inability to take risks doesn't guarantee consistent interest. Also, it more often relies on fluffy, glossy charm as opposed to good laughs and memorable situations. But it has its moments. It also makes some good points in showing the superficiality of `love'. But it soon falls into line with the slick `deux ET machina' ending which may be appropriate with most movies for this genre, but giving the circumstances, it was a wrong move.
Directed by singer/ songwriter/ actress/ newcomer director Barbara Streisand, there is a gently unpreachy tone throughout, but things are all too much in her favour. While she brings a spunky (if not increasingly feministic) charm to the proceedings, it's just not realistic. She takes it upon herself to recreate New York as the perfect haven for frumpy, single, middle-aged women. It's highly questionable that se should be the `coolest' person in a class of hundreds of college students, and also by able to memorise all of their names. And it's true what they say. She looks better before, as opposed to after, her transition to a `sex goddess'.
The support, on the other hand, is quite good all round. While none of them are suited to this genre, they're good all across the board. The standout is Lauren Bacall (on Oscar nominated form) as the typically overbearing mother. And Jeff Bridges finally finds a definition of character with an underwhelming, but convincing performance.
Certainly not flawless and very much cliched, `The Mirror Has Two Faces' is latte-light material. But certainly not the worst of its type, this is satisfying for what it's worth, and most importantly of all, there are a couple of laughs to be had along the way. My IMDb rating: 5.5/10.
One thing that bogs down the standard of these movies is the `playing it safe' aspect. The inability to take risks doesn't guarantee consistent interest. Also, it more often relies on fluffy, glossy charm as opposed to good laughs and memorable situations. But it has its moments. It also makes some good points in showing the superficiality of `love'. But it soon falls into line with the slick `deux ET machina' ending which may be appropriate with most movies for this genre, but giving the circumstances, it was a wrong move.
Directed by singer/ songwriter/ actress/ newcomer director Barbara Streisand, there is a gently unpreachy tone throughout, but things are all too much in her favour. While she brings a spunky (if not increasingly feministic) charm to the proceedings, it's just not realistic. She takes it upon herself to recreate New York as the perfect haven for frumpy, single, middle-aged women. It's highly questionable that se should be the `coolest' person in a class of hundreds of college students, and also by able to memorise all of their names. And it's true what they say. She looks better before, as opposed to after, her transition to a `sex goddess'.
The support, on the other hand, is quite good all round. While none of them are suited to this genre, they're good all across the board. The standout is Lauren Bacall (on Oscar nominated form) as the typically overbearing mother. And Jeff Bridges finally finds a definition of character with an underwhelming, but convincing performance.
Certainly not flawless and very much cliched, `The Mirror Has Two Faces' is latte-light material. But certainly not the worst of its type, this is satisfying for what it's worth, and most importantly of all, there are a couple of laughs to be had along the way. My IMDb rating: 5.5/10.
Intriguing concept isn't it. A film that takes place entirely in a phone booth in which a man will be assassinated if he leaves the area. And then the police attempt to negotiate when he is thought to have shot someone. From the start, you can tell that this will be a good movie. The concept in itself is worthy of 80 minutes of your time. The movie gets all of its power from the long high-octane thrill, which carries on from start to finish in a deadly one act. The premise never wears thin and ends just at the right moment. It is very strange that instead of being a small-scale A grade flick, this is a large-scale summer blockbuster. And that is one of the films downfalls. Schumacher completely overplays the effect, which bogs down, what should have been, plot subtlety.
I'm not saying that `Phone Booth' was bad. I'm just saying that it had the potential to be IMDb Top 250 material as a landmark in cinema history. But too often does Schumacher rely on 'outsider' help. The creation of modern era New York is perfectly realistic, but did this really need a narrator? This isn't helped by fast edits, split screens and flashbacks, which do nothing but lessen the effect. It must have been very easy to make. It might have been slightly better had they done the entire movie in one take and perhaps degraded the shots to make them look slightly less Hollywood like.
The small details are occasionally impressive, but others are un-necessary. Case in point is the fact that they fiddled with the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning. This was a neat idea when directors first started doing so, but here it just seems pointless. And they gave the opening a glossy `Broadway musical' style Barbershop score. But they have a dazzling `zoom in' on New York City. The outcome is accelerated by a shock ending which is followed by yet another shock ending which de-shocks that which we thought was true. That sounds confusing, but watch the film and you'll understand.
Colin `I've been in a million movies this year' Farrell quite frankly overdoes the `look at me! I'm an asshole' act in the opening moments but once he's in the booth, the performance kicks in. They should really have an Academy Award for `Best Voice'. If they did, Keifer Sutherland would be a shoe-in, as the menacing, antagonistic vocals are right on target. It's just too bad they made the inexcusable mishap of putting him on the front cover, as it answers the question of `Will he show up or not?'. Supporting turns are good from Radha Mitchell, Forest Whitaker and Katie Holmes.
Of course then there's all the symbolic, philosophical hokum that just doesn't work. Schumacher shouldn't have tried it out in the first place. You've probably noticed that most of what I've done in this review is complain about the picture, yet I still claim to like it. `Phone Booth' is great high-octane, thrilling fodder, but it had the potential to be a classic. My advice is to go in with low expectations and you won't be disappointed. My IMDb rating: 6.4/10.
I'm not saying that `Phone Booth' was bad. I'm just saying that it had the potential to be IMDb Top 250 material as a landmark in cinema history. But too often does Schumacher rely on 'outsider' help. The creation of modern era New York is perfectly realistic, but did this really need a narrator? This isn't helped by fast edits, split screens and flashbacks, which do nothing but lessen the effect. It must have been very easy to make. It might have been slightly better had they done the entire movie in one take and perhaps degraded the shots to make them look slightly less Hollywood like.
The small details are occasionally impressive, but others are un-necessary. Case in point is the fact that they fiddled with the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning. This was a neat idea when directors first started doing so, but here it just seems pointless. And they gave the opening a glossy `Broadway musical' style Barbershop score. But they have a dazzling `zoom in' on New York City. The outcome is accelerated by a shock ending which is followed by yet another shock ending which de-shocks that which we thought was true. That sounds confusing, but watch the film and you'll understand.
Colin `I've been in a million movies this year' Farrell quite frankly overdoes the `look at me! I'm an asshole' act in the opening moments but once he's in the booth, the performance kicks in. They should really have an Academy Award for `Best Voice'. If they did, Keifer Sutherland would be a shoe-in, as the menacing, antagonistic vocals are right on target. It's just too bad they made the inexcusable mishap of putting him on the front cover, as it answers the question of `Will he show up or not?'. Supporting turns are good from Radha Mitchell, Forest Whitaker and Katie Holmes.
Of course then there's all the symbolic, philosophical hokum that just doesn't work. Schumacher shouldn't have tried it out in the first place. You've probably noticed that most of what I've done in this review is complain about the picture, yet I still claim to like it. `Phone Booth' is great high-octane, thrilling fodder, but it had the potential to be a classic. My advice is to go in with low expectations and you won't be disappointed. My IMDb rating: 6.4/10.