6 Short Reviews: Dead Calm, Flirting and more!
During the summer season I watch more films than I can ultimately write reviews for. There will be some condensed posts such as this one. These films do not represent in any way ones that I do not want to write about. They merely represent the latest chunk of movies I have seen that I want to condense into one review post so that I can watch more films. HI will try to put several individual reviews in between these. I encourage you to check them out because there might be something you like!
Dead Calm (1989)
7.5/10
This tense Australian thriller by Philip Noyce based on the novel by the same name is a satisfying ride. It manages to be a cut above the standard thriller for many reasons. The structure of it is one of the standout qualities because it gets to the point a lot more quickly than one would think. The premise of the film is based on the idea that Billy Zane’s character Hughie is dangerous and very soon after the film introduces him, the fact that he is lying about the events that took place on the boat he came from is revealed. Hughie is not one dimensionally evil. His motives and characterization remain ambiguous throughout and it only is evident that he is very seriously troubled.
Another strength is that Nicole Kidman’s character Rae is smart and capable throughout the film and manages to make decisions that are either rational or realistically poor. She may be in a dangerous situation throughout most of the film but she is never truly helpless. Dead Calm has very little score which is very rare for a film of this kind. When there are scenes that feature a score, the film amps it up wonderfully into a moment of ferocity. The film transfers the claustrophobia to the viewer by contrasting tight frames with very open beautiful views of the Great Barrier Reef.
The only weakness of the film involves Sam Neill’s scenes. He is separated from the action throughout the film and unfortunately while he is a character to care about, he also brings the film down because they do not provide the same interest level or unpredictability to it. Other than that, Dead Calm is a thoroughly entertaining film, better than most thrillers and is marvelously sparse.
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
6/10
The Spiral Staircase is a good film that exceeds in many of its aspects but it is greatly brought down by one distinctive flaw. The good things about the film are that it, like Dead Calm, is mostly set in one place, in this case the house of Mrs. Warren. The cast of characters that inhabit the house create an interesting enough dynamic (and a standout performance from Ethel Barrymore) and they are what make the film succeed as well as the atmosphere. There is one death scene in the film that uses shadow to eerie effect creating an image I will not soon forget. The issue with the film is that in the first scene, the eye of the killer is shown. Unfortunately, from this image it is easy to figure out whose eye it is. The film heavily depends on the ‘who dunnit’ element and knowing who it is takes much of the suspense out. Also, Dorothy McGuire as the mute girl Helen is only mildly interesting. The strengths of the film were impressive and it is unfortunate that its weaknesses were few but detrimental.
Flirting (1991):
7.7/10
When done right, coming-of-age films capture that period of development where nothing makes sense. Usually these emotions are bogged down in genre clichés. Flirting presents many of these clichés in such a muted way that it takes nearly all of the drama out of the film through presentation without acknowledgement. This is a compliment. Noah Taylor and Thandie Newton play two boarding school students who make a connection in the 1960’s. The fact that she is black and he is white is certainly acknowledged but it is far from the driving force of the film.
Nicole Kidman plays Nicola, the queen bee and prefect of the girls’ school. The character embodies many of the traits associated with this character type in films like this. However, she is really just a girl who is doing her job as a prefect, likes being in control and makes herself out to be very concerned with money. She is far from malicious and in one of the best scenes of the film, she reveals herself to be far from the way she presents herself. When the film started it seemed as if Kidman’s Nicola would be thwarting Thandiwe and Danny and bullying Thandiwe in particular. The film is above such contrivances in this way.
Also, preconceptions about Thandiwe and Danny’s place in society are flipped on their head giving much more interesting and complex characters than was expected. Since both are outcasts in different ways, one would think they would be portrayed as unsure, shy and lacking confidence. This is not the case. Thandiwe is confident almost to a fault, incredibly intelligent and merely tolerates her classmates rather than attempting to impress them or justify herself to them. Danny is the student who is frequently bullied because of his stutter. Instead of crumbling though he also merely deals with it. In narration he explains that he voluntarily lets them pick him as their reason to feel good about themselves. He knows why they do it and knows he is above them for not resorting to the same tactics. He is also very smart and is not afraid to speak his peace. Danny’s arc started with director John Duigan’s previous film The Year my Voice Broke which featured Noah Taylor as Danny Embling again. Danny and Thandiwe are not necessarily in love but they make a very strong connection at an important time in their lives and it is nice to see Duigan treat their relationship as something very average but special rather than many romantic depictions which treat the couple as if they were the end all be all of couples.
The cast is wonderful and it is also nice to see Naomi Watts in an early role in addition to other future A-listers Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman. Noah Taylor who has gone on to become quite a character actor is perfect as Danny. Besides the end, which is still good but goes on for too long, this is a standout example of the coming-of-age film that is not bogged down in contrivances but concentrate on the kids’ experiences at their boarding school.
Get Him to the Greek (2010):
6.5/10
The trailers for Get Him to the Greek are very misleading. The trailers make the film look very dumb. Parts of this film certainly are but overall this is an extremely funny and surprisingly serious look at celebrity and stardom. In Funny People, Judd Apatow explored the idea of celebrity and the false life it creates around a star. It explored the world that it created for these people which is filled with unanimous praise and excess in every regard but most importantly loneliness. Get Him to the Greek, is not an Apatow film but it is an Apatow produced film. Based on a character from director Nick Stoller’s 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek takes rocker Alodus Snow and explores the same themes from Funny People but in a different context.
The main problem with this film is that there are whole stretched that do not work which contributes to the film’s abundant running time. If these stretches were taken out than this would legitimately be a great film. Instead it is merely good. The best parts rank among the funniest material out of all the Apatow related films. Jonah Hill and especially Russell Brand give two very strong performances, especially Brand in one of the best performances I have seen this year. Not only does he keep the comedy consistently interesting but he submits a layer of supreme sadness underneath his exterior which finally comes out near the film’s end in a rather shockingly troubling and tragic way. Sean Combs and the supporting cast which includes Mad Men’s Elizabeth Moss are all very strong as well. There were so many fantastic moments and scenes in this film that it is very difficult to give it as low a grade as this.
There is a great film in here. It is well worth seeing and will surprise you whether or not it works for you. The parts that do not work however, really do not work and it brings it down as a whole. Also, their inability to let women do anything in their films besides being annoyingly rational and from their viewpoint falsely assert their own authority is becoming unbearable. Despite this, Get Him to the Greek is worth multiple views because of the laughs and insight into celebrity it portrays.
Westworld (1973):
4.5/10
Westworld is a film I have been meaning to see for years. Not only is it one of the most famous cult films of all time but its high concept is irresistible. Written and directed by Michael Crighton, Westworld tells the story of a world in which unique vacations are offered. Choosing from Medieval World, Roman World and Westworld, people can pay a high price to take a vacation in recreations of these time periods filled with robots that look and interact like humans. Of course, like the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, the robots cannot be contained and break out of their controlled states.
The look and feel of the film was exactly what I wanted. The 70’s vibe was in full effect as well as the 70’s interpretation of futuristic concepts. The first half hour introduces us to the two main characters and to Westworld and the program in general. This was the highlight of the film. Yul Brynner himself who plays a Gunslinger who keeps coming back is the most effective part. The last 45 minutes though deteriorates into a series of chase sequences that work only in moments and otherwise is bogged down by too much of them and not enough variation between them. If the film had more going on in its second half, this would have been a much better film. Instead it runs out of steam quickly and cannot produce its conflict in a way that really does something with its concept.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988):
7.7/10
Almodovar’s comedy about the hysteria associated with women starts off a bit shaky but becomes an amusing film filled with vibrant camp and wacky situations. Almodovar is really establishing many trademarks here with his twisted humor, penchant for female characters, use of color and the indulgence of melodrama, in this case light-hearted. The array of women that populate the screen (and Antonio Bandaras) each manage to assert themselves as individual characters in a very short period of time especially considering that Pepa (Carmen Maura in a fiercely confident performance) gets most of the screen time. By the end, Almodovar makes Lucia the iconic representation of the psychotic woman using startling shots, amusing slow-motion and music to accompany Lucia’s emotional state. This was easily the funniest Almodovar film I have seen and it suits him well as this is a triumph in controlled zaniness.
Dead Calm (1989)
7.5/10
This tense Australian thriller by Philip Noyce based on the novel by the same name is a satisfying ride. It manages to be a cut above the standard thriller for many reasons. The structure of it is one of the standout qualities because it gets to the point a lot more quickly than one would think. The premise of the film is based on the idea that Billy Zane’s character Hughie is dangerous and very soon after the film introduces him, the fact that he is lying about the events that took place on the boat he came from is revealed. Hughie is not one dimensionally evil. His motives and characterization remain ambiguous throughout and it only is evident that he is very seriously troubled.
Another strength is that Nicole Kidman’s character Rae is smart and capable throughout the film and manages to make decisions that are either rational or realistically poor. She may be in a dangerous situation throughout most of the film but she is never truly helpless. Dead Calm has very little score which is very rare for a film of this kind. When there are scenes that feature a score, the film amps it up wonderfully into a moment of ferocity. The film transfers the claustrophobia to the viewer by contrasting tight frames with very open beautiful views of the Great Barrier Reef.
The only weakness of the film involves Sam Neill’s scenes. He is separated from the action throughout the film and unfortunately while he is a character to care about, he also brings the film down because they do not provide the same interest level or unpredictability to it. Other than that, Dead Calm is a thoroughly entertaining film, better than most thrillers and is marvelously sparse.
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
6/10
The Spiral Staircase is a good film that exceeds in many of its aspects but it is greatly brought down by one distinctive flaw. The good things about the film are that it, like Dead Calm, is mostly set in one place, in this case the house of Mrs. Warren. The cast of characters that inhabit the house create an interesting enough dynamic (and a standout performance from Ethel Barrymore) and they are what make the film succeed as well as the atmosphere. There is one death scene in the film that uses shadow to eerie effect creating an image I will not soon forget. The issue with the film is that in the first scene, the eye of the killer is shown. Unfortunately, from this image it is easy to figure out whose eye it is. The film heavily depends on the ‘who dunnit’ element and knowing who it is takes much of the suspense out. Also, Dorothy McGuire as the mute girl Helen is only mildly interesting. The strengths of the film were impressive and it is unfortunate that its weaknesses were few but detrimental.
Naomi Watts, Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman
Flirting (1991):
7.7/10
When done right, coming-of-age films capture that period of development where nothing makes sense. Usually these emotions are bogged down in genre clichés. Flirting presents many of these clichés in such a muted way that it takes nearly all of the drama out of the film through presentation without acknowledgement. This is a compliment. Noah Taylor and Thandie Newton play two boarding school students who make a connection in the 1960’s. The fact that she is black and he is white is certainly acknowledged but it is far from the driving force of the film.
Nicole Kidman plays Nicola, the queen bee and prefect of the girls’ school. The character embodies many of the traits associated with this character type in films like this. However, she is really just a girl who is doing her job as a prefect, likes being in control and makes herself out to be very concerned with money. She is far from malicious and in one of the best scenes of the film, she reveals herself to be far from the way she presents herself. When the film started it seemed as if Kidman’s Nicola would be thwarting Thandiwe and Danny and bullying Thandiwe in particular. The film is above such contrivances in this way.
Also, preconceptions about Thandiwe and Danny’s place in society are flipped on their head giving much more interesting and complex characters than was expected. Since both are outcasts in different ways, one would think they would be portrayed as unsure, shy and lacking confidence. This is not the case. Thandiwe is confident almost to a fault, incredibly intelligent and merely tolerates her classmates rather than attempting to impress them or justify herself to them. Danny is the student who is frequently bullied because of his stutter. Instead of crumbling though he also merely deals with it. In narration he explains that he voluntarily lets them pick him as their reason to feel good about themselves. He knows why they do it and knows he is above them for not resorting to the same tactics. He is also very smart and is not afraid to speak his peace. Danny’s arc started with director John Duigan’s previous film The Year my Voice Broke which featured Noah Taylor as Danny Embling again. Danny and Thandiwe are not necessarily in love but they make a very strong connection at an important time in their lives and it is nice to see Duigan treat their relationship as something very average but special rather than many romantic depictions which treat the couple as if they were the end all be all of couples.
The cast is wonderful and it is also nice to see Naomi Watts in an early role in addition to other future A-listers Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman. Noah Taylor who has gone on to become quite a character actor is perfect as Danny. Besides the end, which is still good but goes on for too long, this is a standout example of the coming-of-age film that is not bogged down in contrivances but concentrate on the kids’ experiences at their boarding school.
Get Him to the Greek (2010):
6.5/10
The trailers for Get Him to the Greek are very misleading. The trailers make the film look very dumb. Parts of this film certainly are but overall this is an extremely funny and surprisingly serious look at celebrity and stardom. In Funny People, Judd Apatow explored the idea of celebrity and the false life it creates around a star. It explored the world that it created for these people which is filled with unanimous praise and excess in every regard but most importantly loneliness. Get Him to the Greek, is not an Apatow film but it is an Apatow produced film. Based on a character from director Nick Stoller’s 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek takes rocker Alodus Snow and explores the same themes from Funny People but in a different context.
The main problem with this film is that there are whole stretched that do not work which contributes to the film’s abundant running time. If these stretches were taken out than this would legitimately be a great film. Instead it is merely good. The best parts rank among the funniest material out of all the Apatow related films. Jonah Hill and especially Russell Brand give two very strong performances, especially Brand in one of the best performances I have seen this year. Not only does he keep the comedy consistently interesting but he submits a layer of supreme sadness underneath his exterior which finally comes out near the film’s end in a rather shockingly troubling and tragic way. Sean Combs and the supporting cast which includes Mad Men’s Elizabeth Moss are all very strong as well. There were so many fantastic moments and scenes in this film that it is very difficult to give it as low a grade as this.
There is a great film in here. It is well worth seeing and will surprise you whether or not it works for you. The parts that do not work however, really do not work and it brings it down as a whole. Also, their inability to let women do anything in their films besides being annoyingly rational and from their viewpoint falsely assert their own authority is becoming unbearable. Despite this, Get Him to the Greek is worth multiple views because of the laughs and insight into celebrity it portrays.
A Yul Brynner robot!
Westworld (1973):
4.5/10
Westworld is a film I have been meaning to see for years. Not only is it one of the most famous cult films of all time but its high concept is irresistible. Written and directed by Michael Crighton, Westworld tells the story of a world in which unique vacations are offered. Choosing from Medieval World, Roman World and Westworld, people can pay a high price to take a vacation in recreations of these time periods filled with robots that look and interact like humans. Of course, like the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, the robots cannot be contained and break out of their controlled states.
The look and feel of the film was exactly what I wanted. The 70’s vibe was in full effect as well as the 70’s interpretation of futuristic concepts. The first half hour introduces us to the two main characters and to Westworld and the program in general. This was the highlight of the film. Yul Brynner himself who plays a Gunslinger who keeps coming back is the most effective part. The last 45 minutes though deteriorates into a series of chase sequences that work only in moments and otherwise is bogged down by too much of them and not enough variation between them. If the film had more going on in its second half, this would have been a much better film. Instead it runs out of steam quickly and cannot produce its conflict in a way that really does something with its concept.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988):
7.7/10
Almodovar’s comedy about the hysteria associated with women starts off a bit shaky but becomes an amusing film filled with vibrant camp and wacky situations. Almodovar is really establishing many trademarks here with his twisted humor, penchant for female characters, use of color and the indulgence of melodrama, in this case light-hearted. The array of women that populate the screen (and Antonio Bandaras) each manage to assert themselves as individual characters in a very short period of time especially considering that Pepa (Carmen Maura in a fiercely confident performance) gets most of the screen time. By the end, Almodovar makes Lucia the iconic representation of the psychotic woman using startling shots, amusing slow-motion and music to accompany Lucia’s emotional state. This was easily the funniest Almodovar film I have seen and it suits him well as this is a triumph in controlled zaniness.
Horrorphile
My fave Apatow movie is The 40-year-old Virgin, how does Greek rate against that?
Westworld is exactly the kind of movie that should be re-made; with a bigger budget, more violent, and with a better screenplay.
Horrorphile
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Good idea with the 6 quick reviews