Monthly Archives: May 2002

The Agony and the Ecstacy

Posted on May 11, 2002

Charleton Heston is Michaelangelo, Rex Harrison is Pope Julius II. Watch them go from fierce antagonists to squabbling brothers while Julius takes up the sword (and some magnificent armor) to fight off the French and German invaders. What is The Agony and the Ecstasy? It is the love of God, the love of something greater than a man and a woman. Or so then sort of hottie Diane Cilento finds out as her lifelong love for the painter goes unrequited.

This film is reasonably typical of the biblical/religious epics of the late ’50s and ’60s. Hell, it starts off with some kind of battle scene where there is no identification of who is fighting, or why, and we barely recognize that Heston is trying to carry a block of marble back to Rome for a Vatican statue. The politics exposed are farcical and bare only the slightest connection to what really happened in those years. Not to mention we are suppose to believe that a warrior pope would take the time to personally oversee a troublesome artist. Still, if you like your films on this kind of old-time larger than life scale, you might enjoy it.

modestly recommended

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Hollywood Ending

Posted on May 10, 2002

Woody Allen is once again a comic god. Hollywood Ending is funnier than anything he’s made in years. The script is sophisticated, well-plotted but Allen has still found ways to positively stuff the dialog with jokes and use the hysterical blindness for some terrific physical humor as well. Plus he drapes the sets with some incredibly luscious women who are also fine actors–Tea Leoni, Tiffany Thiessen, Debra Messing, and Jodie Markell not counting the unnamed extras.

The interplay between Allen and the Chinese translator (Barney Cheng) is priceless. The translator, a local business student, has no future film interest so he says things that no one concerned with repercussions would. Likewise, the scene where Allen attempts to make up with his estranged punk rock musician son ScumbagX (nee Tony), as he stutters and blusters his way past the green spiked hair, the many piercings, and the rat eating that’s part of ScumbagX’s stage act. Mark Rydell, who’s usually on the other side of the camera as the director (On Golden Pond, The Rose), is a natural playing Woody’s agent.

Highly recommended

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Spider-Man

Posted on May 3, 2002

You knew I was seeing this smack flick on opening night. Preceeded by sushi dinner with six pals, just love those 911 rolls, and a well-managed line outside the theater (thanks, Fandango). Did I enjoy the movie? Perhaps not as much as the bulk of the geek audience I saw the show with, they gave a standing ovation, but I thought the movie was really good, really cool.

The weakest point was the Green Goblin’s costume. The mask especially was far too rigid and ’70s Saturday morning cartoonish. Tobey Maguire was, Saturday Night Live goofs aside, a really good choice for the hero role since he can actually act. Willem Dafoe is always good as the slime although it’s too bad he had to wear that stupid mask for much of the show. Kirsten Dunst can act but I think they must have used some serious special effects on her breasts because she didn’t look anywhere near as large in, say, Bring It On. Yowsa!

Sam Raimi mainly directed genre flicks but steps up to the plate big time. David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Panic Room) gets a good balance between the original comics and the needs of a $100 million movie production. The studio has already signed off on the next Spider-Man movie, for release in two years and the entire cast and Raimi have been firmed although the writing duties are going to Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the guys behind the current TV version of Superman, Smallville, and the recent DeNiro/Murphy comedy Showtime.

Highly recommended!

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