Starbuck-2
Joined Aug 1999
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Reviews13
Starbuck-2's rating
A well-crafted, rhythmic story knitting together a dozen lives (some well-explored, some not-enough) with handguns as the common thread.
Like Short Cuts or Magnolia, the story builds not though a single protagonist/antagonist pair, but through a mosaic of different people. The ensemble cast (especially Joan Allen, Andre Braugher, Gary Sinise, Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin)is wonderful and except for Allen, all play parts that seem well outside their usual range. Braugher and Daniels especially play parts different from what they've done before and both are convincing. Only an accomplished stage actor like Sinise could have fully developed "Morgan", a character that could too easily have become a charicature; he probably deserved some award nominations for supporting actor for this, and it makes it more poignant seeing him in the mindless commercial pap that dominates his career.
The core theme is how guns, and owning them, affect different personalities. Some changes are the same in all the new gun owners; most are different. While it's clearly an anti-handgun film, I don't find that offensive; it's clear the writer knew actual urban people who obtained handguns and the way urban handgun toters change, sometimes subtlely, sometimes significantly. If you're a member of The Second Amendment Foundation or a survivalist whacko, you won't appreciate the film, but any of the 94% of the population that isn't will relish the tart commentary.
Editing and cinematography are both crisp and add a lot to the story.
This is a very, very good movie in every respect. I recommend it strongly.
Like Short Cuts or Magnolia, the story builds not though a single protagonist/antagonist pair, but through a mosaic of different people. The ensemble cast (especially Joan Allen, Andre Braugher, Gary Sinise, Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin)is wonderful and except for Allen, all play parts that seem well outside their usual range. Braugher and Daniels especially play parts different from what they've done before and both are convincing. Only an accomplished stage actor like Sinise could have fully developed "Morgan", a character that could too easily have become a charicature; he probably deserved some award nominations for supporting actor for this, and it makes it more poignant seeing him in the mindless commercial pap that dominates his career.
The core theme is how guns, and owning them, affect different personalities. Some changes are the same in all the new gun owners; most are different. While it's clearly an anti-handgun film, I don't find that offensive; it's clear the writer knew actual urban people who obtained handguns and the way urban handgun toters change, sometimes subtlely, sometimes significantly. If you're a member of The Second Amendment Foundation or a survivalist whacko, you won't appreciate the film, but any of the 94% of the population that isn't will relish the tart commentary.
Editing and cinematography are both crisp and add a lot to the story.
This is a very, very good movie in every respect. I recommend it strongly.
It's hard to believe an "action" packed Jet Li movie could be so boring, but this was transcendant trash. The plot is an amalgam of other Hong Kong chopsocky flicks. The martial arts action is all special effects and no human talent.
It's a comic book story about a group of super-human soldiers who are to be killed because they're mentally unstable, one of their number (Li) who holds off an incompetent army to save them and rebuilds a life as a pacifist librarian. The saved killers resurface with an Austin Powers quality plot to take over the world, and Li sheds his new life to save the world.
The version I saw was dubbed, and that may have accentuated the cheesiness of the wafer-thin plot and comic-book 25 cent special effects. But I suspect even Ninja-Turtle-watching 8-year olds would have found this juvenile and hollow.
It's a comic book story about a group of super-human soldiers who are to be killed because they're mentally unstable, one of their number (Li) who holds off an incompetent army to save them and rebuilds a life as a pacifist librarian. The saved killers resurface with an Austin Powers quality plot to take over the world, and Li sheds his new life to save the world.
The version I saw was dubbed, and that may have accentuated the cheesiness of the wafer-thin plot and comic-book 25 cent special effects. But I suspect even Ninja-Turtle-watching 8-year olds would have found this juvenile and hollow.
Winter Sleepers, a film Tom Tykwer made before his brilliant Run Lola Run, shows some of his development. A few of the more dramatic shots were things he tried here first. From a technical point of view, the work is excellent: editing, photography, lighting, music, sets and locations were all beautifully delivered. At times, that's enough, but this is both an unrelentingly down story and it's probably about 25 minutes too long...a rough combination. I'm glad to have seen it; I enjoy Tykwer's vision and technical crispness; he knows how to grab your attention powerfully without resorting to cloying tricks like Spielberg. On the other hand, there aren't many people I would recommend Winter Sleepers to. Great work, so-so outcome.