Medley of Movies

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been increasingly bored, sitting on my couch, looking for a way to relax before the big back-to-school push on August 29 of this year… (Statistics and Greek/Roman Humanities this semester.) Either through renting them at my neighborhood Blockbuster (because I’m still a sucker for "FREE" coupons), or while flipping through the channels, I have watched one or two movies that I feel are deserving of a comment or two from yours truly. Therefore, I have decided to bunch them all into a medley-like review.

Joan of Arc:
Leelee Sobieski plays St Joan in this made for tv movie. I guess the thing is about 3 hours long. It's a pretty accurate depiction from what I know of what she went through. It's nothing compared to Dreyer's silent masterpiece with Renee Falconetti (which I watched once again not too long ago) but it's still entertaining enough to sit through. I still don't know if I buy Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Hauser) as the Dauphan. But it was a pretty good movie.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc:
Now THIS movie had a much better cast: John Malkovich as the Dauphan (SO much more convincing), Mila Jovovich as Joan, Dustin Hoffman, and Faye Dunaway. But the movie itself fell short in so many ways. St Joan has become sort of a topic of interest for me, and when someone as well- renowned as Luc Besson makes a movie about her life, that's motivation enough to watch it. But Besson, even though the battle scenes were close to flawless, made one crucial mistake- he almost made Joan seem like she was mad in her latter days. It seemed like he took a story about a woman who believed in her faith so much and threw in the Dustin Hoffman character to show how insane she was for believing. It was quite disheartening.

Wild at Heart:
Reunited Twin Peaks cast members do something different. Grace Zabriske (Sarah Palmer), Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer/Madeline), Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne), and David Patrick Kelley (Jerry Horne) all appear in this David Lynch about Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern), a crazy couple who try to get away from Lula's mother's (Diane Ladd- Laura Dern's real mother) vast array of hitmen that she sends to kill Sailor so that her beloved Lula can return home. The movie is very typical early 90's Lynch- and even spans as far as Mulholland Drive with its similarities. Ladd was nominated for an Oscar for her role, and she didn't disappoint. It wasn't without its share of cheese-factor scenes, like when Sheryl Lee shows up as the Good Witch of the North, but it was an enjoyable experience.

Chung King Express:
I searched 4 different stores to find this movie because the director is coming out with 2046 which I am dying to see. I finally found it, not too far away, drove out there and realized that I had seen it before. I didn't remember it, though, so I took it home anyway. It was a good movie. It's the story of a few lonesome people and how they go through life trying to get the attention of certain members of the opposite sex. One thing I did take away from it- I'll never look at another expiration date the same way again.

Mystery Men:
This may very well be one of those movies that I would watch over and over for the sheer mindless humor of it. Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofolo, William H Macy, Hank Azaria (whom I adore), and Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens are wanna-be superheroes who have to take down the evil villian after Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) is captured. It is very funny, with no shortage of mindless humor, very much like Stiller's other comedies (Dodgeball, Zoolander, Cable Guy). It's a very fun movie to watch when you don't want to have to think about what you're watching.

The Ice Storm:
Once again, I watched this movie- I hadn't seen it in so long. I remembered Kevin Kline being married to Joan Allen and having an affair with Sigourney Weaver, and I remembered that there was a key party, but that was the extent of it. I did not realize that Allison Janney was the hostess of the key party, or that Adam "Little Man Tate" Hann-Byrd was Christina Ricci's boy toy. I especially didn't remember that Katie Holmes was in it. (bleugh) Luckily, her part was not as meaty as everyone else's. It's a very sad movie with some wonderful acting in it. I missed the first 1/2 hour of it, so I'm hoping to catch it again while WE is still playing it this month. Otherwise, I'm going to have to rent it.

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch II:
Let me start by saying how innovative I felt the Blair Witch Project was. Heather Donohue had a wonderful idea. I really enjoyed The Blair Witch Project because it felt so real. The first time that I saw it, I didn’t know that it was a ruse. I think I saw it 4 days after it opened nationwide. And in a world of cookie-cutter horror movies, CGI’s, and unoriginal plots, it was a welcome change. I saw it in the theater 2 more times after that.

I hesitated seeing the "sequel" for fear that the commercialism of it would really diminish my appreciation for the 1st. I should have abstained altogether. The Blair Witch movie fans go out to Coffin Rock, trying to make a movie about debunking the Blair Witch legend, and end up not debunking it at all. Science Fiction and horror, generally, are about suspension of disbelief- the only thing I cannot believe is how Hollywood executives thought that it would be a good idea to put a goth chick, a tree-hugging wiccan hippie and 3 yuppies together to make this pile of shit into a "movie". If you're forced to see this movie at gunpoint, tell them to take their aim.