stranger-3 Reviews

Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)

Last of the Mohicans get mugged by Burton's Sleepy Hollow

[9/10 · 17 January 2002]

I'll skip the plot summary here as there are plenty of them already. A lot of people have compared it to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon apparently on the basis that they are both foreign films with some combat sequences in them. Themeatically though they are very different films. To me this movie was basically a cross of Last of the Mohicans and Burton's Sleepy Hollow. What I liked:

• Acting, fairly solid all around - Cinematography, beautifully shot with some fabulous scenes - Monica Belluci, what's not to like? - Sound, wonderful sound design and editing, reminiscent of Ghost and the Darkness - Fight sequences, good and blood without being gory

What I didn't like:

• Romance angle, not developed enough, didn't believe that they were actually in love - Some plot sillines, not enough to be really bothersome but could have been tighter - Run time, not overly long and goes fast, but there are about 15 minutes that I would have cut to tighten it up, or could have been used better elsewhere (expand on the romance) - Not enough Monica Belluci, could have made her character much more interesting

Overall this movie falls into that category of movies that don't ask much of you, but give you a hell of a fun time. A lot of people have said that there are too many genres mixed into this movie - that it tries to be a period/horror/sci-fi/kung-fu/mystery movie, but I think that is unfair criticism. It doesn't have any asperations beyond being a classic Hollywood action film, complete with the hero, the sidekick, the villan and the girl. In this is suceeeds admirably.

Lantana (2001)

great characters without a purpose...

[5/10 · 16 January 2002]

Just saw a screening of Lantana last night. Lantana is ostensibly a mystery-drama about the disappearance of a psychiatrist, Barbara Hersey, that is investigated by a flawed-but-not-bad cop, Anthony LaPaglia. The movie creates almost half a dozen truly believable characters with very real motivations and actions. Unfortunately, that in and of itself does not a great movie make. The 'mystery' isn't all that interesting and really just serves as a way to connect all the characters. Each of the characters is dealing with some kind of emotional trauma that is causing them difficulty - the cheating cop, the psychiatrist whose child died, the cop's frustrated and lonely wife, the desperate 'other woman'. Again though, their traumas while believable just aren't all that interesting. So, in the end a half dozen fabulous performances are for naught as the script leaves their characters without a single memorable moment. The film never really builds tension or drama, as the facts are revealed we are neither shocked or disappointed - very... blah. A movie I doubt I'll remember in a few days time.

Vanilla Sky (2001)

so much promise, unfulfilled...

[6/10 · 12 December 2001]

This could have been a great movie, or at least a very good movie. Instead it ends up being merely an interesting so-so flick. Basic plot - David Aames (Tom Cruise) is a playboy millionaire living the good life, sleeping with his friend Julianna (Cameron Diaz) and playing tennis with his buddy Brian (Jason Lee). At a party he snubs Julianna and falls in love with Sofia (Penelope Cruz). Julianna exacts revenge by running her car off a bridge with herself and David inside, killing herself and disfiguring David. Weirdness ensues.

The movie tries to be a psychological thriller/drama, but moves way to slow. It loses its way distracted by scenes that don't advance the mystery, tension or plot. At around 150 minutes, the movie runs close to 30 minutes too long. Tightening up the movie would have done wonders for it, really.

The second major problem is the music - I've no idea what Crowe was thinking here. The music at parts is too loud and actually distracts from some of the more pivotal scenes in the movie.

The ending of the movie also left me feeling rather cheated. With a mystery like Mulholland Drive all the pieces start to come together and you see it all fall into place. Vanilla Sky is reduced to having one of the characters go into a ten minute speech explaining the entire 140 minutes that came before. Ugh.

In closing - a simple re-editing could improve the quality of the movie by a lot, removing the annoying soundtrack during certain scenes would help a little. Maybe we can hope for a new cut of the film when it hits DVD.