Inside Man

INSIDE MAN wants to be a heist picture, a police procedural, and a (local) political thriller all at the same time. It succeeds through a combination of excellent performances; fine photography; and smooth, measured pacing.

I didn't see this as a propulsive thriller so much as a study in contrasting characters, and I enjoyed watching most of those characters muddle through a confusing situation as best they could. Why? Probably because Lee was astute enough to cast excellent, credible, and likeable actors in his leading and major supporting roles. I mean, who doesn't enjoy watching Jodie Foster kick ass; Denzel Washington stick it to the Man; Clive Owen be cool; and Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, and Chiwetel Ejiofor do just about anything?

Additionally, INSIDE MAN features a number of shots that are just plain fun to look at. Watch Denzel come through the door of his shabby detective's apartment and bemoan the fact that they never made a follow-up to DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS. Watch the early moments of the heist unfold and consider how fun it is to see modern sensibilities applied to this timeworn genre. Watch the variations in color and film stock (or digital reprocessing, as the case may be) and enjoy the fun Lee can have when he sets out to generate Product with a capital P.

Finally, the pacing. Folks here argue that nothing much happens in the second act, but I don't see that. The act gives us time to enjoy these characters and enjoy the turns in the situation. It builds tension as we try to deduce the plot behind the plot, and it dribbles out the reveals often enough to keep us involved. This movie doesn't move at a breakneck pace, but it moves at the right pace. I felt like I got my entertainment dollar's worth.

INSIDE MAN may be slick American filmmaking, but it's an excellent example of slick American filmmaking. I enjoyed every minute of it.

The Toxic Avenger

I hated the first act of THE TOXIC AVENGER like I hate red tide. Its actors delivered ghastly performances of ridiculous characters, the story had no soul, and the general quality was so horrible that it left me wondering how this thing even reached cult status. But THE TOXIC AVENGER grows on you - kinda like a fungus. It's so ridiculous, so over-the-top, and so doggone earnest that you can't help but warm to it.

Here's the deal. THE TOXIC AVENGER follows the standard superhero template. Its first act, in which it sets up its villains' evil and its heroe's haplessness spends so much time being painful that offers nothing but grind. Once Toxie actually shows up, however, the movie kicks into high-camp fun, with the industrial-age hero performing wonders like ripping off a villains arm and beating him with it, wooing a pathetic blind girl, and helping old ladies cross the street. Once the Big Bad gets wind of Toxie and puts his evil plan in place in act three, you can't help but root for the offbeat hero and hope he gives that villain a good arm-beating.

THE TOXIC AVENGER is gory, cheap, and strangely sweet. Though it starts out pretty roughly, hang in there: the movie does get under your skin. Like scabies.

Kung Fu Hustle

I didn't care for KUNG FU HUSTLE.

The movie can't quite find its tone: one minute it's a shot-in-the-back gangster movie, and the next it's a Warner Brothers cartoon. Its stunt work is overshadowed by its gratuitous CGI, the love interest didn't work, and the story didn't hang together.

While I did like the film's music, feeling that it worked perfectly with the action onscreen, overall the picture feels like Stephen Chow just cobbled together some cool sequences, then tried to work them into a movie. What a disappointment.

M

M scared the hell out of me in two different ways.

The first is in its portrayal of Franz Becker and his crimes. Becker, brilliantly played by Peter Lorre, is cinema's first serial killer. Where some films might drench such a character in Kensington Gore, M does something much, much worse: it forces us to use our imaginations, replacing screams and shrieking music with forlorn shots of an empty placesetting, an empty staircase, and a gradually panicking mother calling, "Elsie! Elsie!" Additionally, M makes effective (and probably groundbreaking) use of Grieg's "Peer Gint Suite", which Becker compulsively whistles when he's on the hunt. I'll never hear that tune the same way again.

The second is SPOILERIFIC, so skip this paragraph if you want to remain SPOILER free. When Becker's dragged before the underworld's kangaroo court, the top criminal and commander of the proceedings makes a compelling speech in which he argues that, rather than be turned over to the police and (almost certainly) confined to an asylum, Becker should be killed on the spot. As he really gets into his speech, his voice rises and takes on the strident rythms of the polished public speaker. We realize that this character (who is wearing a leather overcoat) is arguing for the execution of the insane, and the crowd is with him. We remember that the movie was made in 1931, when the Nazi party was really gathering steam, and we wonder what impact this film had on their policies.

Ok, THE SPOILERS ARE OVER. It's safe now. Technically, the movie is just plain brilliant. It doesn't feel like a film that's being made by people who are still figuring out sound technology. Rather, it feels like a masterpiece. There's just the right mix of music, dialogue, and silence; there's a tracking shot that hadn't been equalled until 'Goodfellas'; there's mirror and window-reflection photography that's just plain stunning; and there's a narrative that will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

What a great movie.

Jersey Girl

I liked JERSEY GIRL.

I shouldn't have. In fact, I should have hated it on principle. As near as I can tell, movies are made by some of the most ambitious, industrious, focused people on earth. In a business as cutthroat as the film industry, it takes extraordinary dedication to rise to the top. That's why it irks me when films say, "Hey, settle for second best - it's ok. The important thing is spending time with your family." Much as I may agree with the message, the fact that the messengers are a bunch of 14-hr-day espresso junkies strikes me as hypocritical, at best.

Ok, rant over. Back to the movie. Kevin Smith writes movies that are huge with the college demographic. He's big on drug and sex jokes, and he has a flair for the ridiculous. With 'Jersey Girl', he turns his back on that demographic, writing a story that comes from where he is today: a young father trying to juggle the competing demands of work and family. JERSEY GIRL is a more mature piece (well, it has fewer dick and fart jokes), and it's generally successful. Sure, it has some glaring flaws, such as George Carlin's entire performance, an extended rehash of the old "diapers are nasty" comedy formula, and a soundtrack that interferes with the film, rather than reinforce it. Nevertheless, it has a certain sweetness to it, Smith's dialogue is always a pleasure to hear, and it manages to erase the bad taste Liv Tyler has left in my mouth ever since ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S. JERSEY GIRL may not have worked with the college demographic, but it worked for me.

The Upside of Anger

If I wanted to spend my time watching people drink too much and make uncomfortable scenes, I'd go home for Christmas.

Lost in La Mancha

Watching 'Lost in La Mancha' is not a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half.

Well, I guess it could be pleasant, if you enjoy seeing dreams, hopes, trust, and bonhomie whither and turn to despair and hopelessness before an onslaught of bad luck, bad planning, and bad blood.

The film, a documentary that probably started out as a simple "making of" piece, chronicles director Terry Gilliam's effort to get his version of Don Quixote on screen. The film opens with Gilliam energized, excited, and ready to begin production. Then things start going wrong, and wrong, and wrong, until the viewer begins to suspect that God Himself doesn't want this movie to happen.

Is it interesting? Yes. Is it engaging? Kind of, in a car-wreck sort of way. Is it a good use of your time? Hard to say: do you like watching people suffer?

Cemetery Man

CEMETERY MAN had a stellar premise, but it doesn't deliver.

The movie takes an inherently fun story about a cemetery watchman who's duties including rekilling and reburying the reanimated dead and tries to infuse it with so much existential angst it winds up burying itself. How do you suck the life out of a movie featuring a troop of zombie boy scouts and a carnivorous flying head? You do it by saddling it with head-scratchingly repulsive supporting castmembers, brooding ponderings on the nature of life, and a degree of carnage that's so far from fun that you cease to care about the well-being of critical members of the cast.

If you're looking for a movie that knows how to have some fun with the zombie genre, see SHAUN OF THE DEAD again. That picture never forgets what it's about.