Reviews
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
Pleasantly Surprised
Like most of those who have posted before me, I am an avid Vonnegut fan and went into this movie with a guarded optimism that it would just be decent.
But George Roy Hill did an excellent job conveying the overall feel of the book -- the time jumping was flawless and I didn't find it hard to follow at all. The actor who played Billy Pilgrim captured Billy's passive, calm and vaguely anti-social demeanor. Lazarro, Montana and Billy's wife are also well played.
George Roy Hill had a knack for directing movies made from great books -- e.g., "The World According to Garp" -- and in the end, I was pleasantly surprised how well this movie turned out.
As far as the Vonnegut adaptations go (I know of four -- this one, "Mother Night," "Breakfast of Champions" and the god-awful "Slapstick") this one is the best of the bunch.
I've always wanted to see a movie version of "Sirens of Titan," but it'll probably never happen -- so "Slaughterhouse Five" is my only chance to "see" Trafalmadore.
Recommended to any true Vonnegut fans. Other people probably won't appreciate it.
Pacific Heights (1990)
Never happen
I saw a few people asking in other comments whether the law would really allow Keaton's character to do what he did. The short answer is no. First of all, Keaton never signed a lease; thus a landlord/tenant relationship was never formed and Keaton would have been deemed a trespasser and Modine could have brought an ejection action immediately and had Keaton out w/in weeks (at the most).
Even if Keaton's character was deemed a tenant, Modine could have brought an ejection action for the unpaid rent. The ejection proceedings would have been summary (i.e. very limited) and Keaton would only be able to adduce landlord negligence or violations of the warranty of habitability (i.e. unhealthy conditions) as a defense -- the only thing that would allow him to stay w/o paying rent. Otherwise, Keaton would get the boot from the sheriff.
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
An empty film with no pulse
I like Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA), I really do. But I think 'Hard Eight' and 'Boogie Nights' were his better films. 'Magnolia' just didn't do it for me. Sure, it had nice cinematography, some interesting scenes, but in the end it's a meandering, semi-pointless, over-wrought film.
'Punch-Drunk Love' (PDL) is not quite as bad as 'Magnolia' in the above regards, but it does have many similar qualities. The pacing is very difficult - you keep waiting for something to happen, but nothing does - and the plot points aren't enough to drive the action. The movie is disjointed and often monotonous - almost like hearing a church bell ring and ring and ring the same note until you want to kill yourself. This is not a superb or remarkable story, and that short-coming is accentuated by the tense feel of the film. Sometimes it is just hard to watch - not because its plot is hard to follow, but because the scenes just aren't that interesting. PTA's narrative leaves a lot to be desired.
The acting is okay. I've seen much praise for Adam Sandler's work in PDL, and I take exception to that. Although Sandler's acting in this film is different, it has not reached new heights. Different is not necessarily better. Sandler's acting just doesn't have the right power in certain scenes. When he gets angry in the final confrontation with Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, his lines are delivered in a thoroughly placid and unconvincing way. A man in love shouldn't seem so passionless.
Watson's acting in this film was neither good nor bad, just unremarkable. She actually looked somewhat attractive (as opposed to some of her other films), but her lines were few and her screen time with Sandler limited. A parrot might have delivered the same lines and it would have made little difference.
With a title like 'punch-drunk love,' one would expect some passion from the characters. Watson and Sandler have little, if any, chemistry - certainly not enough to make one believe these two are in love. The love-story as a whole is underdeveloped, despite the titular claims.
You don't really know where this movie is going to go while you're watching it; at first you might think Barry Eagon's mental problems are the main focus, then you have the phone-sex entanglement, and finally the love story. The truth is it goes to all those places but doesn't ever come full circle.
Already mentioned was the under-developed love story, and the same can be said about the phone-sex scam. Nothing ever really happens. Sandler is harrassed for a bit, has his money stolen and his car damaged with his girlfriend in it, and then he undergoes a change from meek to assertive. This transformation is underwhelming and leads nowhere.
The 'confrontation' between Sandler and Hoffman is anti-climactic and dull. There is no real tension in a scene between two guys on the verge throwing fists - and any guy who has been in a fight before knows that when you're face to face possibly about to take a swing or get hit yourself, the adrenaline is pumping. There is zero adrenaline in this scene. The end result is a flat-line.
Hoffman was also praised a good bit on here, which I find strange. He was in the film only briefly, and be honest - if that was a B-list actor, or any other actor for that matter, you wouldn't have noticed.
Basically, after watching this movie, you should be thinking "So what?" This is a dull half-baked story that leads nowhere and is delivered poorly - all wrapped up in some decent and sometimes great camera work. But it takes more than creative sets and shots to make a movie - it takes a plot, it takes emotion, it takes a driving force, and a connection to the audience. This movie does not have any of that. While artistic and unique in many respects, 'PDL' is an empty film with no pulse.
I hate Hollywood-type movies - you won't see me in line for tickets to Terminator 3 or the ridiculously-titled '2 Fast 2 Furious.' I like movies that make you think. I like movies that are different, that don't cram everything down your throat. I like subtlety and appreciation of the aesthetic. This film tries for that, it tries to win with style, but it lacks substance. You need both to make a meaningful movie.