Princess Blade, released in 2001, is a Japanese swordplay film set in a futuristic world with some wonderful imagery and an interesting concept, but lacks the cohesion necessary to make it a great film. It establishes a world and time of its own, set in an undesignated, almost post-apocalyptic world with a feudal system like that of ancient Japan. Within this setting, Princess Blade sets off in several different plot directions but lacks the details and interactions that would make the film feel more whole and complete.
Princess Blade follows Yuki, played by Yumiko Shaku, the last of the official Takemikazuchi bloodline. She discovers that her mother was killed because she planned to leave the Takemikazuchi House, a band of assassins that Yuki will inherit on her twentieth birthday. The man who killed her is Byakurai (Kyusaku Shimada), who now serves as the House’s leader. After her mother’s former servant, Kuka (Yoichi Numata), tells Yuki of her mother’s demise, she confronts Byakurai. She is then chased into the woods where she happens upon Takashi (Hideaki Ito), a soldier in a band of rebels.
‘Princess Blade’ (Shura Yukihime)
There is a lot of meat here with plenty of great story concepts. Unfortunatley not all of them quite flush out due to a lack of development. After spending some time with Takashi, Yuki eventually makes her decision to confront the Takemikazuchi House in a final, climactic and exciting fight, but nothing seems to be resolved beyond this. Several story fragments are presented but never seem to go anywhere, such as how the world has come to this almost post-apocalyptic state or exactly what the rebels are fighting against. The direction of the stories and drive of the characters is almost solely presented in several monologues throughout the movie and show little or no actual character development. There are a few very good interactions between Yuki and Takashi, but they seem to be cut short or hurried along in the form of a montage or monologue by the need to move on to the next fight scene.
The acting is generally good with the exception of a couple stiff fight scenes. The action is very stylistic and thrilling, and the visuals of the movie depict a very nice conflict between earthy browns and dark industrial grays. The general concept of the film and the execution on the part of the director, Shinsuke Sato, create a great structure for a film that generally seems to be lacking any solid character development. Princess Blade is a film that promises a lot, depicts more, but leaves you wondering why everything happened in the first place.
The DVD version that I am reviewing had no supplemental material about the movie, but I have since seen that a Special Edition has come out with a second disc which would seem to carry a lot material. However, even though the film has some great aspects, it lacks the ingredients that give me the compulsion to investigate the Special Edition’s extras.
There are probably a handful of actors around that I’d be willing to watch, regardless of the film. One of those people is Bernie Mac, who I think is a talented performer, and he definitely shines in Mr. 3,000.
The movie follows a loud-mouthed jerk of a baseball star, Stan Ross, who quits the sport when he reaches his 3,000th hit. Unfortunately, he quits as his team is in a pennant race, and virtually every one of his teammates hate him. Years later, after building several businesses based on his record, he learns that an uncovered error means he actually needs three more hits to make 3,000.
Dedicated to reclaiming his record, and finding his long awaited place in the Baseball Hall of Fame, he returns to the game for three more hits. But when he does, he discovers that his arrogance was wrong, and tries to teach a new collection of baseball players how to be a better team.
The first thing that surprised me here was how well Bernie Mac did in the film. He shifts from angry and arrogant, to soft and cuddly with precision. And when the role calls for dramatic deliveries, he captures the moments like a seasoned professional. In one scene in particular, his talents really came out.
He and a former girlfriend who he hopes to reconnect with, played by Angela Bassett, are dancing and getting intimate. She is a reporter for ESPN’s Sports Center, and is there covering his return to baseball. But after several games and no hits, she’s been reassigned and is leaving. Realizing that he’s failing as a ballplayer and the press has given up on him, he’s shattered. The shift in Mac’s performance from cool and collected to a broken man is done so well, I found myself feeling for the character in a way I hadn’t up until that point. He sold the moment, and this is one of the reasons the film worked so well for me.
If I was disappointed by anything, it was the relationship between Ross and Boca, played by Michael Rispoli. It isn’t really explored as much as I would have liked. I kept wondering just why Boca liked Ross, who was such a jerk. Or why Ross seemed to be so close to Boca. But its never really explained.
I’m not sure this film was that big of a hit, and I think the main reason for this is because people expected a comedy. And Mr. 3,000 really isn’t much of a comedy. It’s not so much that it isn’t funny, it’s just that there really isn’t a lot of laugh-out-loud humor in it. It’s really more of a drama, close in tone to Bull Durham. Viewers expecting a goofball comedy will be sorely disappointed.
That said, I really enjoyed the movie. It was a smartly told film of redemption that not only has some real drama and strong performances, but it also manages to deliver the expected happy ending without giving it in exactly the manner you think.
As for the DVD’s features, it pretty much has all the standards, and does them rather well. Aside from the basic “making of” documentary, there are three deleted scenes, an audio commentary by the director, and a few outtakes. There’s also a documentary about the extras who came out to audition as baseball players, which is interesting if not a little dull.
I enjoyed the outtakes. And there’s a special mockumentary that compiles the ESPN footage used in the film, as well as the commercials, along with some new interviews with real life ballplayers. They discuss how much they hate Bernie Mac’s character as if he were a real baseball legend, and it’s actually rather clever.
I remember when this film first came out back in 1998, I had little interest in seeing it. Couldn’t exactly tell you why, but I remember that the trailer really didn’t grab me. When I was offered the opportunity to review the film’s new “Special Edition” DVD released at the end of January, my wife urged me to agree to a review.
And after watching October Sky, I’m glad she did.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoy this film. I was moved by the relationship between Homer and his father, and thought the tale was inspiring. The fact that it is a true story makes it all the more wonderful.
The tale surrounds Homer Hickam, a high school senior who becomes awed by the sight of the Russian satellite, Sputnik, as it streaks over his home in the night sky. Suddenly filled with the desire to build a rocket, he enlists his two friends, and a nerdy outcast, to help him. Over the course of the school year, the boys get help from several people in their town.
Homer’s interest in rockets further damages his relationship with his father, the manager of the coal mine that employees the majority of the town. His father pressures Homer to take a job at the coal mine, but Homer constantly refuses, wanting nothing more than to get out of the town.
Failure after failure threaten to prevent the boys from attending a local science fair that holds the promise of college scholarships, but help from an unlikely source may make their dreams of life away from the mines come true.
This story is far from unique, but its grounding in truth helps make it original. Hollywood is chock full of inspirational stories about a man or woman who overcome the odds and leave their small town for fame and fortune. The difference here is that no one is looking to be famous, they just want a life better than working in the coal mines. It’s a more down-to-Earth mentality that is easily relatable and at the same time, feels more personal.
Virtually everything is done right here, from the direction to the acting to the writing. It’s a strong story with grounded performances and just enough realism to put you in the late 1950s. My only complaint would be the opening montage. The images of the miners and the town are good, but the fading in and out is sort of jarring.
I’ve only seen Jake Gyllenhaal in one other film, The Day After Tomorrow, but I thought he did a great job as Homer. He seemed comfortable in the role, but there was a moment or two were he didn’t really seem to be in the moment. Chris Cooper, however, delivers a perfect performance as his father. He’s a man who carries the world on his shoulders, at least the fate of the town, and struggles every day to keep it up and running. He fights the company to save jobs, and he fights the union to keep the mine operating. I think it’s probably safe to say that Cooper doesn’t do less than 100% when he agrees to take a role, and is undoubtedly one of our finest character actors.
What I really appreciated most about this new Special Edition DVD was the documentary, “Aiming High: The Story of the Rocket Boys”, which details the real men and women the film is based upon. There are interviews with the Rocket Boys, and each of them discuss their experiences and how their lives changed as a result of working on the rocket project.
Another great feature is the audio commentary by Homer Hickam, who wrote the book the film is based upon. He discusses the film, his book, and explores how the movie differs from reality. He doesn’t do it as a criticism, but as a terrific dissection of where a film my alter facts and compress events in order to tell an effective story.
One of the biggest issues I have with films based upon real events or people is how much they often alter the truth. The fact that the DVD helps sort out the truth from the fiction is just plain outstanding.
City of God is a well constructed, sometimes difficult to watch portrayal of reason and rationale in urban life, showing the progressive degradation of situations and lives in a ghetto. The particular ghetto portrayed in the film is a small, overpopulated area outside Rio de Janeiro, nicknamed “City of God” by its inhabitants because of their hope for a new paradise which was being built as they arrived.
However, virtually every positive action in this film or any attempt to overcome the slums is engulfed by the destruction caused by this paradise lost. The film’s narrative follows the lives of two main and several minor characters through two decades of their lives in the ghetto and shows how one man’s life can have an impact on another.
City of God is the story of two young boys, Rocket and Li’l Zé, who grow up in the same ghetto but choose very different paths for themselves. Li’l Zé grows up committing murder and other violent acts as a way of setting himself apart from others and decides to take control of the local drug trade. Because of an early childhood experience, Rocket chooses to become a photographer, setting himself apart from others as the one who shoots film and eventually decides on a career in photojournalism. City of God portrays Rocket and Li’l Zé’s interactions between each other and the “City of God”. It portrays what life is like for one man who wants to be someone who is known and another man who is more interested in being the man in the background, recording all that happens.
The film is structured through a series of parallels drawn between characters, particularly the two main ones. These parallels start at the beginning of the movie, which picks up near the end of the story when one of the main characters, Rocket, chases a chicken in a sequence that is similiar to another scene of him being chased by a gang. Li’l Zé’s gang serves as a focus, a micro-perspective of the ghetto where all of these characters live.
City of God is a multi-layered, multi-perspective film in which equivalents are drawn between shooting a gun and shooting film, taking a man’s life and taking his picture. These same parallels and comparisons fill the movie when virtually all of the same events are echoed throughout the movie but reinterpreted with new characters, new lives, and the ever increasing torment in seeing yet another life destroyed by the circumstances of the ghetto.
Every character’s destruction is compounded by the movie having taken time to properly establish enough backstory and interaction for the characters to become real. Each character is also given more essence and tangibility by amazing acting, particularly on the part of several young children. Smart framing and camera work also give the characters and audience a close and involved level of interaction. This along with a tempo created by score and pace makes each moment important in some way or another.
Although the film has great structure and rhythm, it is quite long, coming in at 130 minutes. Combined with subtitles and sometimes very graphic violence, City of God can feel lengthy at times. As a result, there are times where you may lose track of some of the stories and confuse some of the characters, but the impact of the film is easily felt on just one viewing.
After a few viewings, I can honestly say that this is a masterpiece, especially for its directors, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, who have little previous credit to their names. Ultimately, the length is both its strength and its weakness. Because of the film’s complexity, the long running time allows the story and characters to build beneath you, eventually giving you a sense of having really experienced the ghetto life.
The DVD has only one extra, a documentary about the real life “City of God”, filmed prior to the feature. At first it seems to have no real connection to the feature, but in the end, the documentary serves two purposes: It gives some extra story and conceptualization concerning the “City of God”; and at the same time reminds the viewer that even though City of God is an amazing film, it is just a film. A well lit, well structured, well framed vision of a very tragic and real existence.
Billy Bob Thornton coaches high school football in ‘Friday Night Lights’
After watching this DVD, I thought perhaps I wasn’t the right person to review this film. That maybe I should have found someone who is obsessively into football like the characters of the film, because to be quite honest I just didn’t get it.
To put it simply, this movie represented everythingI hate about sports. The obsessiveness, the arrogance, the win-win-win mentality. And what amazed me most about Friday Night Lights is that it appeared to celebrate those attitudes, instead of perhaps offering some commentary on the destructiveness of it.
Based on a true story, Fright Night Lights follows a collection of high school seniors in Texas through their season as they struggle to make it into the state finals. The star athlete of the team, expected to carry them through to the championships, gets tragically injured in the first game of the season. This leaves the rest of the team to pick up the slack. They struggle, and with a mixture of luck and talent, get to the state finals.
I could get into the characters a little, but I’m not sure it really matters. None of them are particularly developed. Football is the star of this film, and the characters are really secondary.
The team’s coach is played by Bill Bob Thornton. He seems like a generally good guy and dedicated coach, but his only concern for his players is the game. He, along with other players, witness a clearly abusive father berate his son, yet does nothing. When his star athlete is benched with a serious knee injury, he allows him to play again — resulting in completely destroying the teen’s knee. Personally, the man disgusted me, caring little about his players and more about results.
Noted, the man was under a lot of pressure. Throughout the film he is hounded by local parents and community leaders, all of whom offer advice and threats should he lose. But instead of the inspiring story of a coach thumbing his nose at authority, we get a man who does all that he can to preserve himself and his image. He nods obediently to the community, then turns around and tells the players that he believes in them and that he doesn’t care about winning. All this, while completely disregarding the well being of his players, from the star athlete he helps destroy, to the quarterback he manipulates. I could believe that perhaps he cared about the quarterback, but ultimately his brief pep talks are only a means for him to save himself and his job.
Very little is explored about any of the players, aside from the one receiver and his abusive father — played well by country singer Tim McGraw. However, there isn’t much development so much as a collection of scenes where McGraw mentally abuses his son. A former high school football star who’s life has apparently gone down the toilet since, he pushes his son to be a better player so the son can share in the same glory he had when in high school.
Personally, I don’t understand why I’m supposed to care about any of these people. None of them are terribly interesting, and their brutal dedication to a game borders on insanity. The entire town seems to revolve around the sport, where these teenagers are treated like celebrities.
It is not my intention to belittle the real people Friday Night Lights is based on, but the film fails to either explain the town’s obsession nor provide any relatable motive behind it. At the end, I half expected that perhaps the film was done with a sense of humor, where we the audience are supposed to be shocked by the narrow-minded view of the townspeople and the pressure they put on these kids to win. But upon watching the special features, it seems that wasn’t the case, and instead we’re supposed to admire it somehow.
There are some pluses to the film, and that’s really in the performances. Thorton is flawless, Lucas Black — familiar to most as the young boy from Slingblade — has always been an impressively strong actor and does a great job here. Visually the film’s documentary-like imagery is dizzying at times, with some confusing editing, but I like Peter Berg’s flashy style and thought it worked for this particular subject.
There are some nice special features on the DVD, with the most notable being a documentary about the real people the film is based upon. The commentary featuring Berg and H. G. Bissinger, the author of the non-fiction book the film is based upon, deliver a rather good discussion about the film. Bissinger discusses his experience writing the book and meeting the real people, and from what he says, the book seemed to explore the subject matter with much more depth than the movie even attempts.
Ultimately, I’m not sure a viewer who isn’t into football would be interested in this film. The movie is about football, and little else. But if the sport is something that you love, than this may just be the kind of movie you should have on your DVD shelf.
Goofy is among the cartoon legends featured in ‘Walt Disney’s Classic Cartoon Favorites’
I think it’s probably safe to say that the animation industry would not exist without Walt Disney. Say what you want about the company, it’s politics or whatever, it established the standard by which all animation films and shorts have been judged.
And the characters who helped set those standards are Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Those three iconic figures grew beyond the two-dimensional drawings they are into pop culture standards. But it always seems to me that Disney has shied away from using these cartoon greats too often. It’s been years since any of them have been seen on the big screen. The closest we have is Goofy, who made his most recent big screen appearance along side his son.
I think it would be in Disney’s best interest to give these icons a chance to shine again, and present them in a full-length motion picture. But, since that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon, we still get to enjoy these guys in short form on a collection of DVDs recently released by Disney.
And, yes, I did avoid mentioning another pair. Although not on the same billing as the big three, Chip and Dale have also been handed their own DVD. To be honest, I was never a Chip and Dale fan. They were always on par with Woody Woodpecker, often obnoxious and generally troublemakers more than likable characters. But, I’ll get into that more later. Right now, I want to take a look at the four DVDs in the Walt Disney’s Classic Cartoon Favorites series.
The first in this series is, of course, Disney’s top star: Mickey Mouse. I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed the shorts here. Like with the other cartoon DVDs, I watched them with my son, curious to see how and if he will react to them. I actually didn’t expect much, but his attention was grabbed a few times.
One particular moment was during “Mickey’s Circus”, when the seals played the instruments. He chuckled, and seemed to really enjoy the entire short. The selection of shorts in this volume was actually pretty good, but what surprised me most was how several of them hardly featured Mickey. For example, “On Ice” is more an ensemble short that probably focuses more on Donald Duck and Pluto than any of the others. Even “Mickey’s Circus” is an ensemble, although Mickey does play a larger role. “Moving Day” is also a group short, where Donald, Goofy and Mickey team up.
I think “Orphan’s Picnic” really captured the family friendly, goody-goody Mickey most. That wholesome image that has made the character a lasting figure in American society, but also the bane of some people’s existence. Regardless of what you may thing of him, the Mickey cartoons are fun entertainment with a positive message, and that’s good enough for me.
I always thought the Donald Duck cartoons were much more of a hit and miss than any of the other Disney characters. They are often funny, but sometimes a little hard to get into because Donald is so often the victim of his own failings, chiefly his temper. As much as I understand that is the appeal of the character, for me it got old sometimes.
It had been a long time since I’d seen any of the classic Donald Duck cartoons. When I sat with my son to watch this DVD, honestly, I laughed a lot more than I expected. The short that had me chuckling the most was “Bee at the Beach”. Although the concept was standard Donald fair, it was smartly done. Plus, the animation is rather clean, which for some reason is a real issue for me.
Of the Disney characters, Donald Duck always stood out as probably the most unique cartoon creation. From the voice to his bad temper, that uniqueness helped make his shorts really stand out from the rest. The tone and feeling of this set is, I think, starkly different from the others because Donald is basically the exact opposite from Mickey. Where the mouse is happy and friendly, the duck is grouchy and self involved.
Perhaps it’s that edge to him which makes him such a popular Disney icon.
Of the four volumes in this set, I’m pretty biased. Ever since I was a small kid, Goofy was my favorite Disney character. Forget the rest, that accident prone dog-thing was the one for me. I loved the character, I loved his films. He was the prime example of innocent fun, who always tried to do his best but always failed.
Watching this collection with my son was something I was really looking forward to, because I wanted him to see Goofy as I do. And while he didn’t laugh as much as I’d hoped, the Goofy DVD is the only one he watched all the way through. Every short.
The best of the collection here are the “How to…” shorts. The narrator’s dead pan delivery is part of what makes the humor in these stories so classic. He’s the straight man to Goofy’s comic genius. The rest of the shorts are more story oriented, and are just as entertaining. “Lion Down” is a classic piece of slapstick, while “Father’s Day Off” serves as the clear primer to what led to Goofy’s television series — the only one of the iconic Disney characters to have one — Goof Troop.
Goofy is the everyman. A loser who never sheds his good humor no matter how bad things get or how many times he fails. When it comes to animated characters, he’s my hero.
The problem I always had with these two is that I just never saw them as the good guys. They were not bad, exactly, but more often than not they always seemed to be the ones causing the trouble for someone else. I don’t know how much of that is true, and how much of that was my own perception, but my view of these two chipmunks were always forged with that idea.
After watching this collection, I’m in a bit of limbo about the two. I’m still not too fond of either of them, and while when in the wrong they often try to make right somehow, my feeling about these two haven’t changed much. At least in this form.
That brings me to something I wanted to talk about, and figured this was a good opportunity. I’m not that crazy about the way Chip ‘n’ Dale come off in some of these shorts, but when I was young I was a regular fan of the Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, a series that ran in the late 80s and early 90s. I think they made only about two or three seasons worth of episodes, but it was a fun show that actually made the two rodents likable.
This series also ran along with another Disney show, which I thought was their best animated series: Tail Spin. That show used Baloo from The Jungle Book as a pilot who existed in a world made largely of islands. It was an outstanding series, with some great animation and really great stories. I was a big fan of that show.
If Disney is really serious about DVDs, can I take this opportunity to request that they release Tail Spin, as well as Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, on DVD. The complete shows, all seasons. But not just the episodes, because I’d really love to see a documentary about each series. How they were created, where the idea of taking these familiar characters and putting them in completely new environments came from, because personally I thought it was brilliant.
Okay, that’s all I wanted to say. Thank you for your time.
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’
This was one of those films that came to me highly recommended by several people. For some reason, however, I dragged my feet in reviewing this DVD. The funny thing was my sister-in-law had recently loaned us her copy of the movie, which was the original single-disc release. But when I got the collector’s edition for review, I still dragged my feet.
Why? I don’t have a clue.
Either way, the recent snow fall allowed me to finally get caught up and watch several of the DVDs I’ve had sitting on my desk. The first one was, of course, the new collector’s edition 2-disc set of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Featuring Jim Carrey as Joel, an average, shy guy who meets an outgoing and slightly zany chick named Clementine, played by Kate Winslet. The two fall in love, but over time the relationship goes sour, and the two of them break up. Now, normally that would be enough, but Clementine goes the extra distance by have the memory of Joel completely erased from her mind.
When Joel finds out what his ex-girlfriend has done, he goes to the same clinic to get the same procedure. We then learn about the relationship between these two lonely hearts as Joel’s memories are slowly erased. And when he changes his mind and decides he wants to stop, he struggles to fight against the machine that is erasing his past.
That’s pretty much as simple an explanation of the film I can give. The plot itself is not particularly complicated, but the story is told out of order, and features a lot of mind twisting and location jumping that may confuse people. You really have to be paying attention to follow it. There are also very subtle moments throughout the film that are easily missed if you’re not keeping an eye on the screen at all times.
There are some subplots here, but I don’t think it’s necessary to go too deep into them. Mostly because they are the worst part of the movie.
Had Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind focused solely on the relationship between Joel and Clementine, I think this film would have been much better. It is in that exploration where the heart of the movie lies, and its also where all the interesting details exist. Once the story goes off the reservation and explores the minor characters, it falters, chiefly because none of them are terribly likable and you don’t really care about what happens to any of them.
Okay, I’ll explain a little.
The doctor’s office consists of an array of characters, such as Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo and Kirsten Dunst. Ruffalo is the technician who performs the procedure on Joel to erase his memory. Wood is his assistant, and Dunst is the office’s secretary. In order to clear Clementine from Joel’s memory, Ruffalo and Wood drug him and spend the night in his apartment destroying the select memories.
While there, Wood sneaks off because he’s taken advantage of the memory-challenge Clementine; and Ruffalo and Dunst get drunk and high and have sex, all while Joel is asleep in his bed.
Follow that?
Yeah, it’s pretty convoluted. But ultimately the challenge here is that the characters are all just jerky people. I’m not sure why anyone would care or like any of them, and as a result they serve as a distraction from the story that has some real emotion to it — the struggle of Joel to keep his memories of Clementine. It is here and only here that the story offers any real drama. It is also here where the film’s incredible visuals come through.
I was surprised by how much I actually liked Jim Carrey in this film. I don’t particularly find him to be a very good actor, at least in dramas. Generally, he always over acts. But here he captured a level of subtly that I thought beyond him. Kate Winslet also offers a beautifully natural performance. She has been one of a handful of actresses whom I really enjoy watching, and here she helps make Clementine come to life with smart precision.
The visual style of the film is absolutely impressive. Regardless of the story’s weaknesses, the visuals make it interesting to watch. From the use of the camera to the disappearing signs, it’s all pretty incredible. Never before has a dream-like atmosphere been captured on film with such accuracy. I’m honestly not sure that director Michel Gondry should win an Oscar, but he definitely deserved a nomination for his work here, since the style was so effectively guided by him.
This two-disc collector’s edition features some of the basics, such as deleted scenes and behind the scenes documentaries, but they are probably some of the best I’ve seen in some time. The deleted scenes are actually interesting to watch, because there are whole storylines and plot elements that were left on the cutting room floor. But my favorite featurette was the breakdown of one scene in the film.
The documentary explores how the scene was constructed, from the camera work to the special effects, and it’s one of the most interesting visual scenes in the film. What made this featurette so interesting was because the process to achieve the shot was almost as interesting as the scene itself.
I think it is unlikely this film will win most of the Oscars it was nominated for, with one exception: Writing. The screenplay is imaginative, and I think makes it a good shot for the award. However, the poor development of the minor characters may hinder its chances.
Andy Garcia in ‘Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead’
“Give it a name…” is a phrase that is often used in Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead as a way of saying, “…tell it like it is”, a phrase of communicating to a friend that someone understands and agrees with them. This phrase, in a film that uses stylish language to portray a criminal subculture, captures the essence of what this film is all about. The title of the film establishes virtually every action and word spoken about a world where people know and understand that their life is limited because of who they are and what they do.
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead is a clever, quick, and concise film, using a minimalist approach to storytelling and carrying very little baggage, rarely including details that don’t deal with the basic ideas of the story. Released in 1995, it is a post Reservoir Dogs movie in which rapid, smart, character driven dialogue between criminal characters, and an ever-present feeling of impending doom and violence establishes sympathy for otherwise unlikable characters.
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead is about a wiseguy named Jimmy the Saint, played by Andy Garcia, who has gone straight but is pulled back into the criminal underground for one last job. For this job, he decides to get together some of his buddies, his old crew, which rounds out an ensemble cast that includes Christopher Lloyd and William Forsythe. Inevitably and tragically, the job goes wrong and the crew is made to deal with the consequences of working for a sadistic boss played by Christopher Walken.
This film is littered with lead-role character actors who make it easy to pair off for brief and clever conversational banter in which a complete yet separate world is established through the mixture of real and fiction underworld language and actions. Because many of the characters in the film are aware of their nearing death, language and the need to communicate to those they are leaving behind becomes a strong focus for them. Through the use of voiceovers, Jimmy the Saint’s legitimate job as the owner of a company that allows terminally ill people to leave video diaries becomes the structural framework for the film.
Voice-overs are a filmmaking tool that can easily be overused, but works in this film because of how these speeches are an actual part of these character’s lives. The reality created by the wonderful acting and stylish storytelling allows Things to Do… to create a mood in which some actions and characters that might not exist in the real world are allowed to walk and talk and bring the audience a point of view not otherwise available.
Although sparse, the DVD is of pretty good; I had no problems with the picture quality and the audio actually had some moments of interesting sound design that were part of the film and came through on this DVD version. There is only a brief Special Features section that includes a trailer and a small documentary, which talks a little about the language and characters of the film. I was glad to see the documentary because the film is so stylistic within it’s genre; it was good to have a little insight into the mentality of the writer and the actors who developed and portrayed the characters.
In any good DVD collection, there are various types of films. Some DVDs are bought because they are great films, some are bought because they hold a special, personal quality for the owner, and others are owned because they fulfill a certain need. Rainy or snowy Sunday afternoons are for staying home, drinking hot chocolate, and watching an older, maybe somewhat forgotten film on cable. However, because of some of the language and content, Things to Do in Denver When You’re Deadmay never make it to broadcast television and so I paid the $10 to own it on DVD.
Parminder Nagra and Jonathan Rhys-Meyer in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’
Bend It Like Beckham never would’ve been made if it had been pitched to a studio executive at a major Hollywood studio. A story about the obstacles faced by a young Anglo-Indian teen girl who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player would’ve been deemed too specific. Her problems wouldn’t be of interest to anyone outside of her race, class and culture. But Bend It Like Beckham was an international box office phenomenon when it played in theatres, and seeing it again on DVD, reveals why it has such broad audience appeal. In Bend It Like Beckham, audiences of all ages, races and cultures, can see themselves as they attempt to conquer insurmountable obstacles in pursuit of their individual dreams.
Bend It Like Beckham loses little in being reduced from the movie screen to the television screen on DVD. The story is the strength of this film and the comedy is just as crisp and laugh out-loud funny as ever.
Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) dreams of playing professional soccer, which is a next-to-impossible dream according to the constraints of her family’s Indian class and culture. According to her mother, instead of perfecting her considerable talents on the soccer pitch, Jess should be in the kitchen learning how to cook Aloo Gobi, when she isn’t making every effort to make herself more physically alluring for her future husband. For Jess, the daughter of second generation immigrants living in western London, an arranged marriage isn’t out of the question.
When the beautiful young tomboy Jules (Keira Knightley) catches Jess playing soccer in the park, she asks her to try-out for her team. The two quickly become best friends and co-conspirators in their secret passion for soccer, a game that is scorned by Jules’ mother and forbidden by Jess’ parents.
The only thing that could come between them, of course, is a handsome young man. Enter their team coach, Joe, played by the sloe-eyed Jonathan Rhys-Meyer, who takes a break from more intense roles in Velvet Goldmine and Michael Collins in Bend It Like Beckham. Joe isn’t impressed with Jess at first. Later he is charmed by Jess’ innocence and their shared love of the game draws them together romantically. But Jules also has a crush on Joe, and the love triangle that develops makes everything a little bit more confusing and complicated.
Bend It Like Beckham gave Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley their first feature film roles. It’s nice to see where they started as they’ve both since gone on to greater success in Hollywood. Knightley’s next film was the box office smashPirates of the Caribbean opposite teen heart-throb Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. And Parminder Nagra has become a regular on the cast of the television drama ER.
Jonathan Rhys-Meyer underplays his role as Joe, the soccer coach who catches the fancy of both leading ladies. Rhys-Meyer’s subtle and gentle portrayal adds an element of mystery to the on-screen romance. Juliet Stevenson, as Jules’ mother, steals every scene that she’s in. Normally a staple of period films, Stevenson stretches herself as a woman who fears she will never be able to reach Jules, her only child and only daughter, who seems to exist in constant defiance of stereotypic male and female sex roles.
The director of Bend It Like Beckham, Gurinder Chadha, has obviously been influenced by the films of Bollywood. Every frame of this film is packed with all of the color and vitality that is essential to Indian filmmaking. In the “making of” video on the DVD, Chadha reveals that Bend It Like Beckham is the most autobiographical of all of her movies, which is probably why this film seems to paint such a realistic portrait of modern family life.
Using her own family as extras in the wedding celebration scenes, Chadha includes all of the stuff that only happens at big family gatherings — high-spirited dancing, a couple making out in the ladies restroom, and a drunken argument that turns into a family brawl in the back room. Chadha’s commentary also reveals what the important role music plays in this film. From the upbeat music cue that introduces Jess’ talent at handling of a soccer ball, to the use of the opera aria, “Nessun Dorma”, when Jess finally manages to “bend a ball” like Beckham, music plays a very important and specific role. The music cues are all buoyant and bright and some are hilarious re-records of popular western music by Indian artists. All of the music emphasizes the youth and vitality on display in Bend It Like Beckham.
Bonus features on the DVD include commentary from the director Gurinder Chadha and her husband and co-writer, Paul Mayeda Berges. The making of this film was a family affair and together they share many of the happy memories they remember that took place off-camera during the filming of Bend It Like Beckham.
The DVD also includes 10 deleted/extended scenes that were eliminated from the final edit of the film, a music video and a short (and often hilarious) film hosted by Gurinder Chadha and her mother about “how to” make Aloo Gobi. Most of the deleted scenes that are included on the DVD would’ve done little to enhance the main storyline. It is easy to guess why they were not included in the final cut. But a couple of the scenes, most notably a wonderfully acted scene between Jess and her sister, Pinkie beautifully played by Archie Panjabi, reveal the depth of the acting talent of Bend It Like Beckham’s entire cast.
If you missed it in the theatre, check out Bend It Like Beckham on DVD. And even if you caught it in the theatre, you’ll want to catch it again on DVD. It’s just the thing to cure the mid-winter blahs.
Cahit (Birol Ünel) is a 40-year-old self-destructive drunk. To pay the bills, he picks up empties at a nearby club — often finishing the abandoned beers himself. He snorts coke when he can, he looks like a grungier version of Benicio Del Toro, and his apartment in Hamburg reaches levels of filth I never saw in four years of fraternity life. So it’s not much of a surprise when, during one bender, he totals his car by driving it into a brick wall.
As he recuperates, Cahit meets Sibel (Sibel Kekilli), a pretty young Turk whose recent wrist-slashing has landed her in the hospital. Frustrated that her family is keeping her from enjoying sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, she’s looking for any way out of her protective bubble of a life. Her Muslim parents, in turn, seem more concerned about how the suicide attempt affects the family’s honor than they do about Sibel’s well being.
For those not gifted with intuitive skills, Head-On, a film that swept the German Oscars and is being prepared for American release, is not always a cheerful movie. Directed by Fatih Akin (yeah, the name doesn’t ring a bell for me, either, but then I’m way behind on my German cinema), Head-On is the moving story of Cahit and Sibel, both Germans with Turkish roots, who enter a marriage of convenience so Sibel can get drunk and date others away from the watchful eyes of her parents. Eventually, their own love story develops, but not before the repercussions of Sibel’s free-spirited ways and Cahit’s proclivity for drunken violence land Cahit in jail. Disowned by her family — apparently, whoring around town when you’re married is another cause of familial dishonor — Sibel moves to Istanbul, promising to wait for Cahit.
But the movie is more than the story of two characters; Akin also delves into the clash between Muslim and Christian cultures. Head-On shows us three generations of Turks in Germany and, genuinely enough, gives us no solution to the problems that arise at this difficult intersection. At every possible clash of themes — social freedom versus strict religion, a woman’s career versus her marriage, love versus impatience, love versus jealousy, love versus responsibility — Akin consistently dodges happy compromise and gives us gritty reality. And here’s a hint: love, which is up against a lot, doesn’t always win.
Deep cultural commentary aside, Head-On is at its best when the focus is its two stars. Akin deftly explores how love can help two people too self-destructive to survive without each other, and the result is both sad and beautiful. Ünel, who wears a lifetime’s worth of sorrow on his rugged face, and newcomer Kekilli each turn in powerful performances that range from dark to joyous. Their chemistry and the slow development of love in their characters are so engrossing that the film stumbles when prison and international borders separate them. By the time Cahit is finally released back into society, it may be too late to resurrect his once-budding relationship with Sibel. Likewise, it may be too late to make this very good movie great.
