goodfellamf

My first screening at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival was The Machinist. It's a taut, slow-paced, involving thriller about a man (Christian Bale) who states that he hasn't slept in a year. He's beginning to show strain at work, in his relationships, and with himself when he begins to see things that might not really be there. Bale is good, and his weigh loss here (staggeringly shocking) puts Tom Hanks in Cast Away to shame. The music score is excellent, and reminds one of Bernard Herrmann, and the muted gray colors throughout keep one in an insomniac's limbo like its main character. If the resolution to the film's mystery and involvement hadn't been so weak, I would recommend it to those who liked Fight Club or Memento, but alas, it barely gets a recommendation at all, and only to those who are undemanding seekers of mysteries. B- *** out of ****

Smooth rough and tumble character western with a great grizzled performance from Lionel Barrymore, but a grating one from Wallace Beery. This one has a great closing scene of Barrymore trailing behind a horse on his wheelchair through the desert.

Misery is a dark, but witty venture into Stephen King territory. It's about a popular novelist who crashes his car on a snowy mountain road and is rescued by a nurse who claims she is his number one fan. As the time goes by, he realizes she has no intention of letting him leave.

The film moves with a brisk, taut pace thanks to director Rob Reiner, who helmed another excellent Stephen King film, Stand By Me. Tension is kept mostly throughout (there are some predictable moments...but who cares?) And the performances are also a major plus. James Caan is very easy to empathize with, and he manages to keep his cynical sense of humor. Richard Farnsworth, as a grizzled sheriff was a nice addition to the film since his character didn't exist in the book. He also has a nice sense of humor, and he's the kind of guy who you want to root for. But the most amazing performance is from Kathy Bates, who treads a fine line alternating between sweet and lovable to amazingly evil. She won an Oscar for this movie, and whole-heartedly deserved it.

Side note: This is one of the few films which took an Oscar, that you can actually say the Academy had the guts to give out. Can anyone name another horror film which won such a notable prize?

ANyway...by the end, the novelist and the viewer or put through some torturous activity. We sometimes feel his pain, and it is so much fun to hate this woman................the book is excellent.....the movie is just as good in about 1/6th of the time it would take to read. Either way, enjoy!