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JANUARY 2003 FILMS IGBY GOES DOWN I believe that paranoia is narcissism's outward-looking kin, another way to inflate the self. I don't know if Igby suffers from paranoia but it would be the kindest diagnosis for his unreasonable vitriol against his mother. Looking inside himself and finding nothing he lashes out as if it were his raison d'etre, as if mom was to blame for the void. Not convincing. The "pity me I'm a spoiled rich kid with a domineering mother and ineffectual father" is simply a no-go. [C-] LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS Feels like filler before the big finale. The fellowship is broken and Gollum hogs all the character development although Legolas gets to do some fancy stunts. Aragorn almost dies (perhaps near-death counts as character development?) and his romantic quandary is laughable, both forced and slapdash. Frodo does an inexplicable bellyflop in a swamp but he doesn't come close to almost dying again. Comic bits involving dwarf jokes get tiresome fast. Talking tree sequences disappointing, wrapped in dark reminiscent of what the 1999 GODZILLA was hidden under. Good guy Gandalf summons up a new wardrobe but can't summon up anything faster than a horse to get help for Helm's Deep while those wraiths have since upgraded to winged bats as a mode of transporta- oh, wait that's for suspense; why exclaim "In five hours look to the east!" when you can fit in five days worth of our adventurers trekking panoramic vistas? Magical creatures/objects with even more wondrous powers show up to eclipse the previous magical creature/object like last year's model. I guess I'm just not the fantasy type. [C] MORVERN CALLAR I recall RATCATCHER's most inspired bit at its beginning when its protagonist, a dreamlorn boy, wraps himself around a lace curtain as if to suffocate himself with beauty. MORVERN CALLAR starts off in a similarly eerily beautiful way but the rest of the film goes down easier whereas RATCATCHER frequently drew too much attention to its surface, was often too precious. Ramsay seems at ease now, casually disposing striking images after another as if confident she could make them at will (and she does for much of the film), each a smooth elixir into Morvern's mind. Recalls Claire Denis' reliance on wordlessness in FRIDAY NIGHT. Samantha Morton deserves to be heralded sooner and louder. [B] Snippets: CHICAGO (Rob Marshall, 2002). Renee Zellwegger surprises, Catherine Zeta-Jones gives an enthusiastic performance that makes you consider forgiving her for ENTRAPMENT - almost. Sequences featuring male-lead songs disposable. [C] THE HOURS (Stephen Daldry, 2002). Yes, Virginia, in the right conditions, theatre seats can chafe. If this movie stuck its head up any higher during its suffocatingly self-important pronouncements on Death it would die from a nose hemorrhage. Arid in its preciousness and lacking a single grace note from Daldry, the actresses make THE HOURS bearable - but barely. THE HOURS is for party planning like salmonella in the main course. [C-] ESTHER KAHN (Arnaud Desplechin, 2001). Desplechin does the Haneke of FUNNY GAMES and refuses to give his audience the relief that they seek - a sympathetic protagonist. As Esther, Summer Phoenix gives a guttural performance that is an always watchable cipher. More to come. [B+] ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU (Shunji Iwai, 2001). Recently re-viewed, sure-footed now about its place on my 2001 Top Ten. Like most early teens, ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU is sometimes ungainly with its indulgences. However, Iwai sometimes taps into the dynamics of bullying so acutely and hits notes of isolation and loneliness with startling precision. The final hour is like a hormonal rollercoaster ride with wild successions of highs and lows, hope and despair. I bought a CD set of Debussy so I can play Arabesque No. 1 on an endless loop. More to come. [B+] | ||