Way Tyoo Many Movies, Conclusion

Or at any rate I certainly hope this is the last column like this. Now that MSPIFF is over, I'm sincerely hoping to be able to get back to reviews every few days at regular length. For this one last time (for now) though, a column filled with not much more than couple-of-line comments about, yes, way too many movies.

1. "Dog Nail Clipper." A MSPIFF film from Finland, this is the story of a veteran returned from war a bit brain-damaged and unable to remember any of his past, including his beloved fiance, who is not sure if he's still alive. The typically deadpan Finnish style isn't too well suited for a film the subject of which would seem more naturally French (as in the recent "A Very Long Engagement"). Not bad, but not quite the right approach for the material.

2. "Czech Dream." A wonderful documentary from MSPIFF. Two phony entrepreneurs announce they're opening a new "Hypermarket" and through a fake advertising campaign make the public believe it will be the fulfillment of the Czech Dream. The basic phonyness of the Czech Dream and, by extension, much of the American Dream as well are exposed in a very witty, perceptive and biting satire that happens to be 100 percent real.

3. "Head-On." A suicidal man who didn't quite succeed meets and falls in love with a similarly inclinced woman who asks him to participate in a marriage of convenience that turns into something more, at least on the part of the man. This film ought to have more impact than it does, and it does still have a fair amount... but there are a few too many cliches about suicidal and emotionally unstable people that make you wonder how many... if any... the film makers have ever actually met.

4. "Off The Map." Campbell Scott directs this comedy/drama about an eccentric family headed by Joan Allen and Sam Elliott who live out in the desert, "off the map," and their life-changing encounter with an IRS agent. The film is filled with fascinating characters and performances, but the script doesn't give us much of a story. At the end of the film, I found myself saying "That's it?"

5. "Winter Solstice." Anthony Lapaglia plays a widower still in mourning and trying to raise his two teenage sons, and the family's encounter with a new life-affirming neighbor played by "The West Wing"'s Allison Janney. Emotionally distant character meets life-affirming member of opposite sex... if you don't know what happens, you haven't seen many movies. In which case, you're probably the target audience for this film.

6. "The Interpreter." Well, after all these disappointing art films, a totally commercial release that I quite enjoyed (and I'm ob viously more of an art-film guy, usually). Nicole Kidman plays a U.N. interpreter who overhears two would-be assassins plotting the murder of her nation's ambassador, who must then make secret service agent Sean Penn believe her before it's too late. This is absolutely a total commercial popcorn movie, but director Sidney Pollack knows how to push all the right buttons, and the result is a fine example of Hollywood suspense done better than it is usually done. A fun thriller.

7. "Kung Fu Hustle." Writer/director/star Stephen Chow's likely breakthrough film, in which he plays a would-be gangster who doesn't find taking over the slum of Pigsty Alley nearly as easy as he'd expected. A pure Chow movie generally has more in the way of jokes (verbal ones) than this and not as much action, so this may not give you the best idea of what his films are typically like. But there are still plenty of laughs, and the action IS amazing (if a bit too obviously CGI at times), so it's safe to say you'll likely have a very amusing time if you don't have a problem with sub-titles.

8. "Look At Me." French import about a teenage girl who has problems dealing with her emotionally distant father, a famous author, as well as other people's expectations of her because she's the daughter of a celebrity. It's a comedy, by the way. At least it's supposed to be. I didn't find myself laughing all that much, and there aren't enough original insights for effective drama. Most of the press loved this one, but I wasn't so impressed.

9. "The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy." Probably best appreciated by those who have actually read Douglas Adams' original books, this VERY long-awaited film version might disappoint some readers too, as Adams' humor does tend to be more effective in print. But a surprising amount of it does make the transition to the screen successfully, and the film is quite faithful to the source material. Also featuring outstanding performances, especially Allan Rickman as the voice of Marvin, the depressed, paranoid android. Maybe it's not quite the book(s), but it's still a lot of fun.

10. "Millions." Director Danny Boyle gets as far away as he possibly could from his previous release, the zombie film "28 Days Later," in this family film about two young British brothers who find a stash of stolen money and try to decide what to do about it in a kind of kid version of "A Simple Plan." Nice and harmless, but a little too self-consciously arty for its own good, especially with one brother's constant obessession with and visions of various saints. Much to like, nonetheless, but in his attempt to make a film in dramatic contrast to his previous one, Boyle seems to have strayed into a genre that doesn't isn't really his greatest strength.

11. "Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room." A startling documentary that will enlighten everyone who THOUGHT they knew all the details of the Enron collapse. By no means the standard "talking head" documentary, this very cleverly-made film has a lot of significant points to make about not just Enron specifically, but the culture that gave birth to such corruption and how deeply the tentacles of organizations like Enron have extended into government and other fields. It also raises the unsettling question of whether we've learned enough to prevent it happening all over again. It manages the difficult feat of being both highly entertaining and highly informative. Essential
viewing.

12. "Oldboy." A South Korean drama (with subtitles) that Hitchcock would have been proud of, though he wouldn't have made it quite so bloody. A man is captured and imprisoned not in a jail but an apartment for fifteen years, and finally released without his knowing why or who his captor was. But he's not exactly free, because he's still being watched by his captor, who still has plans for him. A sinister, brooding atmosphere and genuinely surprising plot twists make this far eastern film noir one of the better suspense efforts to hit U.S. theatres in a while. Audiences should probably be warned that it does get rather bloody in the last 15/20 minutes or so, but if you can handle that (it earns its R rating) and are in the mood for some dark entertainment, this will fill the bill quite well. Playing as a Twin Cities exclusive not at any art theatre, but, strangely enough, at the highly commercial 15-screen Crown Theatres multiplex at Block E.

Okay, now hopefully next time I'll be back to more extended reviews of only a few films at a time, and sooner than two weeks from now, too.
I think I can, I think I can...