Sunday, May 18, 2003

This ALWAYS, ALWAYS FUCKING HAPPENS. Every time I go to post some giant update, I fuck up and lose everything I've typed after it's nine-tenths done. Just goes to show that this is what happens when you're a stupid fuckin' slacker like I tend to be... fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck. No more putting off reviews.

Tonight's unfortunately abbreviated reviews:

X2: X-Men United (2003): Far superior to the first film in that it actually feels like fun summer entertainment as opposed to dour angst-fest; comes replete with energetic action, sly humor and spry pacing. Grade: B+

Holes (2003): Strikingly oddball until about the last quarter, when sentimentality and overly symmetrical structuring overwhelm. Jon Voight continues his transformation from matinee idol into Weirdest Big-Name Character Actor Ever; Tim Blake Nelson, at this point, should be declared a national treasure. Grade: B

The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003): More or less what I expected -- sweet, silly fluff with a few too many musical montages and the continuing-but-unnecessary desire to transform Hilary Duff into a pop-star princess, but enjoyable all the same. Make fun of me all you want, but the guys at "Film Threat" liked it too. Grade: B-

The Believer (2002): Compelling when it's not stupid and/or heavy-handed; Ryan Gosling's volcanic, career-defining performance makes most of the latter stuff worth seeing anyway. May have really been something if there were any other characters in the film. Grade: B

Esther Kahn (2002) [second viewing]: Even more striking the second time around; that dozens of people fail to get the point of this film baffles me, as few films come equipped with as much clarity of purpose as this one. Grade: A- [upgrade from B+]

Brigham City (2001): Saw this mainly on the strength of Nathan Shumate's rave review, and was not disappointed -- it's religious-based cinema, for sure, but it never forgets to be as much cinema as it is religion. The details are faith-specific, but the themes are universal... and it's also a pretty good crime thriller too. Major quibble is with the uneven performances, but I'll let it slide. Grade: B

See the Sea (1998): Made back in Francois Ozon's look-at-me-look-at-me shock period (before he started making films like Under the Sand and 8 Women), this is the film which put him on the map. This either needed to be a lot longer or a lot shorter. A longer film could have delved into the psychology of the two women; a shorter film could have dispensed with it entirely. At its current length, the only response that seems appropriate is "Yes, and?". Grade: C

My Little Eye (2002): Still unreleased in the U.S., which seems to be the entire basis of its high regard among horror-genre fanatics -- to get to the grim and primally disturbing last half-hour, you have to wade through an hour of screw-tightening buildup, which wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact that all involved characters are boring and occasionally obnoxious fuckwits. That final section really is quite something, enough to push the film to a mild recommendation, but the whole is such that you shouldn't really go out of your way to find it. Grade: B-