Compact Film Reviews 51-60

BEFORE DAVID BEGAN WRITING FULL-FLEDGED FILM CRITIQUES, HE CRAFTED BRIEF CAPSULE REVIEWS—HERE ARE NUMBERS 51 THROUGH 60

 

51. Funny Games (2007)

It’s rare that it’s difficult to know what to make of a film, but that’s certainly the case with Funny Games. Writer-director Michael Haneke’s 2007 shot-for-shot American remake of his 1997 Austrian film of the same name is a brutal, exactingly formal treatise on the evils of violent entertainment, but is itself violent entertainment. It resembles Stanley Kubrick’s polemical A Clockwork Orange, both in tone and in the way it unnerves not just its characters, but also its audience. The writing and directing are precise and calculated to terrorize. The actors—particularly the ever-real Naomi Watts—do good work here, and the film surprises, but I’m not sure it succeeds as a film (though it might work as a scolding). Not for most people.

**½ (out of *****)

2007 • 111 MINUTES
Celluloid Dreams • Halcyon Pictures • Tartan Films • X-Filme International • Lucky Red

STARRING
• Naomi Watts, Tim Roth

ALSO STARRING
• Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet, Devon Gearhart

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
• Michael Haneke

NO 2007 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

52. Legally Blonde (2001)

While Reese Witherspoon and her costars (particularly Victor Garber and Jennifer Coolidge) are fine, the direction is incredibly flat and the editing worse, enervating the entire production. The film misses any sense of lightness, and the music does not match the scenes. Not recommended.

**¼ (out of *****)










2001 • 96 MINUTES
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures • Marc Platt Productions

STARRING
• Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair

ALSO STARRING
• Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge

WRITTEN BY
• Karen McCullah & Kirsten Smith (Screenplay)
• Amanda Brown (Based on the book by)

DIRECTED BY
• Robert Luketic

NO 2001 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

53. Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962)

Nominated for an Academy Award, Katharine Hepburn joins heavyweights Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards, and Dean Stockwell in this family drama. Long Day’s Journey Into Night, based on Eugene O’Neill’s stage play, must have been shocking in its day, but it now seems overwrought. There are fine performances all around, but a bit too theatrical for film. Powerful themes begin to fade after continued repetition. Solid, but not terribly enjoyable, and even something of a slog at nearly three hours in length.

**¼ (out of *****)



1962 • 174 MINUTES
First Company

STARRING
• Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson

ALSO STARRING
• Jason Robards, Dean Stockwell, Jeanne Barr

WRITTEN BY
• Eugene O'Neill (Play)

DIRECTED BY
•  Sidney Lumet

1962 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS (1)
• Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn (Lost to Anne Bancroft for The Miracle Worker)

54. Lolita (1962)

Adapted from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, the story involves an older man falling for a teenage girl. James Mason is effectively creepy and pathetic in his role, and Shelley Winters is brilliant as Lolita’s sad, lonely mother. Unfortunately, Peter Sellers’ performance as a quirky television writer unbalances the work for no good reason. Darkly comic at times, Lolita is interesting, but not good.

**½ (out of *****)








1962 • 153 MINUTES
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer • Seven Arts Productions • Harris-Kubrick Productions

STARRING
• James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers

Introducing
• Sue Lyon

WRITTEN BY
• Vladimir Nabokov (Screenplay, bases on his novel Lolita)

DIRECTED BY
• Stanley Kubrick

1962 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS (1)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Lost to To Kill a Mockingbird)

55. Max Payne (2008)

Sometimes, I think I watch films and review them just to prevent readers from wasting a hundred minutes of their lives. Such is the case here. Perhaps I expected more from Mark Wahlberg and Beau Bridges. Both actors do as well as can be expected in Max Payne, but those expectations are decidedly low. The film looks good, but the visuals carry a certain monotony—perhaps not really a surprise for a film based on a video game. The idea of employing drugs to create fearsome soldiers is interesting, if not new, but the story falls flat and is wholly unconvincing.

*½ (out of *****)



2008 • 100 MINUTES
20th Century Fox • Firm Films • Depth Entertainment

STARRING
• Mark Wahlberg

ALSO STARRING
• Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Chris O’Donnell, Donal Logue

WRITTEN BY
• Beau Thorne (Screenplay)
• Sam Lake (Based on the Remedy Entertainment video game by)

DIRECTED BY
• John Moore

NO 2008 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

56. Pride and Glory (2008)

Edward Norton and Noah Emmerich are particularly good in this smart police drama. Though the script contains nothing terribly inventive, it does possess some intense, worthwhile moments. While the audience never really identifies with the characters, the story moves along well and keeps viewers interested.

*** (out of *****)










2008 • 130 MINUTES
New Line Cinema • Solaris Entertainment • O’Connor Brothers

STARRING
• Edward Norton, Colin Farrell

ALSO STARRING
• Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle

WRITTEN BY
• Joe Carnahan & Gavin O’Connor (screenplay)
• Gavin O’Connor & Gregory O’Connor & Robert Hopes (Story)

DIRECTED BY
• Gavin O’Connor

NO 2009 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

57. The Big Lebowski (1998)

It’s rare that I laugh aloud at comedies, even those I find funny. In the case of The Big Lebowski, I actually laughed quite a bit. Offbeat and darkly funny, the film features Jeff Bridges in a great turn as a put-upon stoner, though he is the most normal of the characters in this bizarre caper flick. If you like the work of the Coen brothers (Barton Fink; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; No Country for Old Men), this is a must-see.

***¼ (out of *****)







1998 • 117 MINUTES
Polygram Filmed Entertainment • Working Title Films

STARRING
• Jeff Bridges, John Goodman

ALSO STARRING
• Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, John Turturro

WRITTEN BY
• Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

DIRECTED BY
• Joel Coen

NO 1998 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

58. Baby Mama (2008)

Though utterly predictable, Baby Mama offers up some modest amusement. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are fine and enjoyable in their roles, as is Greg Kinnear. While this wasn’t a laugh riot, it was a pleasant enough way to spend an hour and a half, especially if you like the work of the two leads.

**¾ (out of *****)









2008 • 99 MINUTES
Universal Pictures • Relativity Media

STARRING
• Tina Fey, Amy Poehler

ALSO STARRING
• Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, Sigourney Weaver

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
• Michael McCullers

NO 2008 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

59. All That Money Can Buy (1941)

Based upon Stephen Vincent Benét’s short story “The Devil and Daniel Webster” (and later re-released under that monicker), All That Money Can Buy is a sell-your-soul-to-Satan tale. Though a bit dated, Walter Huston’s Scratch and Edward Arnold’s Daniel Webster are terrific. Although the climactic “courtroom” theatrics lack legal heft, they don’t want for sizzle.

**¾ (out of *****)









1941 • 107 MINUTES
William Dieterle Productions

STARRING
• Edward Arnold, Walter Huston

ALSO STARRING
• Jane Darwell, Simone Simon, Gene LOCKPORT, John Qualen, Anne Shirley, James Craig

WRITTEN BY
• Dan Totheroh and Stephen Vincent Benét (Screen play)
• Stephen Vincent Benét (Based on the story “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by)

DIRECTED BY
• William Dieterle

1941 ACADEMY AWARDs (1)
• Best Original Score

Additional 1941 Academy Award NOMINATIONS (1)
• Best Actor: Walter Huston (LOST TO Gary Cooper FOR Sergeant York)

60. The Paper Chase (1973)

The Paper Chase earned an Academy Award for John Houseman and his taciturn portrayal of a Harvard Law School professor. A tale nominally about the rigors of study and primarily about the details of life people choose to believe are important, the film mostly works. Elevated by modern editing and a mature script, the story engages the audience intellectually, but not emotionally.

**¾ (out of *****)








1973 • 113 MINUTES
Twentieth Century Fox • Thompson-Paul Productions

STARRING
• Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman

ALSO STARRING
• Graham Beckel, James Naughton, Edward Herrmann, Craig Richard Nelson, Robert Lydiard, Lenny Baker, David Clennon

WRITTEN BY
• James Bridges (Screenplay)
• John Jay Osborn Jr. (Based upon the novel by)

DIRECTED BY
• James Bridges

1973 ACADEMY AWARDs (1)
• Best Supporting Actor: John Houseman

Additional 1973 Academy Award NOMINATIONS (2)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Lost to The Exorcist)
• Best Sound (Lost to The Exorcist)