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Reviews
Immortel (ad vitam) (2004)
Technically ambitious but empty.
This movie seems to start in the middle, introduces peripheral players as if they were significant and presents main characters without any substance and paper-thin and/or impenetrable back-stories. Almost nobody has a credible or discernible motivation for their actions in this film. The plot rambles and ultimately goes nowhere, the dialogue is clunky and trite and the director has little concept of how to get the best from his actors. It almost feels like there's a first half of this movie but it never got made.
We're told that a mysterious pyramid has appeared over New York City and that Central Park has inexplicably become an arctic wasteland. Yet none of this seems to have caused much of a stir amongst the general population and is only of minimal concern to the government.
We're presented with the "evil corporation" in Eugenics but that's really just a convenient conceit to populate the universe with a couple power-tripping minions. The whole "Eugenics-is-bad" double-entendre is heavy-handed and never really pans out here. We're supposed to care about the central characters but we never learn enough about them to know why. So much about this world is underdeveloped or completely undeveloped that it comes off as a 1-hour, 40-minute fatalistic rationalization for rape.
On the "ground-breaking" digitally animated world created here, all I can say is that at about the same time as this film was made several other directors did the same thing with more seamless and believable results.
After spending the time to watch this film the most burning question left in my mind was, "so what?"
Lost Souls (2000)
Some good scares, no payoff.
You would expect more from a film that sets up the ultimate confrontation between good and evil.
Winona Rider is a mild-mannered French teacher by day and a mild-mannered exorcist by night. Although she does her best Linda Hamilton imitation, she just doesn't have that butt-kicking-babe-in-a-small-package quality. She can't even hold a cigarette convincingly.
This isn't to say that the film doesn't have some redeeming qualities. There are some genuine scares in this thing that'll lift you right out of your seat. Janusz Kaminski delivers up some fine imagery despite the monotonous greenish-gray pall he's thrown over the entire operation. John Diehl and Phillip Baker Hall issue the journeyman performances we've come to expect from them and almost pull this film's fat out of the fire.
To be fair, if I told you my biggest disappointment it would give too much away. But, lets just say it's the scene right before the credits and leave it at that.
Very Mean Men (2000)
Original script, great production values & fine performances.
This film is one of the most original I have seen lately. It simultaneously spoofs life in the LA suburbs, Hollywood culture and the modern mafia film genre.
The cast is loaded with heavyweights who lend legitimacy to what is otherwise a small, independent vanity project of Scott Baio's. Almost unrecognizable under his bleached buzz cut, Baio delivers a marvelously evil performance as Paulie Minetti, the boss' son.
Wisely, as producer Baio picked a script that allowed him to stretch his image but, did not require him to carry the picture. Instead, he surrounds himself with a menagerie of capable supporting actors. Ben Gazzara and Charles Durning legitimize the whole operation as the heads of the warring families.
Both mobs are stocked with quirky but memorable foot soldiers. Billy Drago is notably hilarious and creepy as Dante, the Minetti soldier who takes everything at face value. On the Mulroney payroll, Paul Gunning is deliciously dead-pan as "Coastal" Eddie, a hit man who is a bit too sensitive to the weather. Though these two stand out, the entire cast is solid and does great justice to this truly inspired script.
Terrific production values, including the award-winning editing, add just the right amount of polish to make this film something that should become an indie classic.
Although there are a few local references that might be lost on those unfamiliar with LA geography, all in all Very Mean Men is a very funny film.
Falling from Grace (1999)
An interesting and promising piece.
I found the film to be visually interesting. It was shot entirely on Digi-Beta and looks amazing. This especially true considering the usual downfalls that come with a video to film transfer. It has tremendous visual effects for what started out out as a student work. I was very impressed.