Friday, 11 May 2001

WEEKEND PREVIEW

I went to a screening Thursday night and it felt oddly like we were the people left when the ship sailed for Cannes.   Part of that is that there just isn’t much going on around here.  The movies are iffy, with Heath Ledger’s underbuilt A Knight’s Tale joining Stephen Sommers’ overbuilt The Mummy Returns.  (Box Office Extra is here.)  At least next weekend some of us get Moulin Rouge, all of us get Shrek and Sony releases Angel Eyes… hmmm. 

Meanwhile, on the beach, there are a few happenings.  But it seems pretty quite over there too.  Francis Coppola has confirmed plans to make Megalopolis, starting in January.  Harvey Weinstein has made his first buy, picking up the “Thai version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” called Tears of the Black Tiger, which is in competition.  And Lot 47, which has grown quickly since its first release, The War Zone, a coupe of years ago, picked up the controversial Trouble Every Day from director Claire Denis.

There was a good piece about the state of financing in the indie biz by The Hollywood Reporter’s Stephen Galloway on the state of the art of the indie business.  (Read it here)

THE GOOD:  Terry Gilliam – one of my favorites – spent his first day as a Cannes juror weaing a T-shirt that read, “Can Be Bought.”  He explained to assembled journalists, "I think that will knock through all the confusion and angst one suffers when trying to choose the best. I am going to choose the one whose producer pays me the most money."  Great.

THE BAD:  Just when the sense that America had been locked out of Cannes in recent years was turned on its head by a big warm embrace this year, the Brits are upset.  They have no films in competition this year, after Bread and Roses and Billy Elliot were high profile at the festival last year.  Some in England are blaming this off year on a new commercial focus in British film.  I don’t see it.  This kind of thing is cyclical.   If Loach had a movie this year, it would be there.  If Neil Jordan had a film ready, it would be there.  And on and on.   But the last word goes to Terry Gilliam… again.  Asked about the lack of Brit flicks, he said, “Maybe they’re crap.” 

THE UGLY:  After not seeing it at festival after festival, I finally caught Baise Moi the other night.   And I’ve only showered a few dozen times before writing this.

You know, I’m a big fan of Catherine Breillat’s Romance, a film with graphic sex and nudity and kink.  I have no problem with a movie pushing that boundary.   The Lifestyle, A Clockwork Orange, the last 10 minutes of Something Wild, Carnal Knowledge, Raw Deal: A Question of Consent… there are a lot of films that challenge one’s sense of what’s right in the world that I support aggressively.

But Baise Moi is a piece of crap. The funny thing is that the film has an interesting core.  The idea of women who have lost all perspective on the value of human life, their own included, is disturbing and interesting.  But Baise Moi doesn’t effectively explore this.  It’s so busy showing up penises, vaginas, breasts, penetration, rape, murder and on and on that it forgets to make its points.  And there wasn’t a single example of hard core material in the film that I considered necessary.   Even the rape that sets the film off is no more unpleasant because we see the penetration.  It is in Raw Deal, because we know that it’s real.  But in this film, it feels like a gimmick… another insert shot that is more exploitive than anything else. 

This could have been a very disturbed version of Thelma and Louise.  But it isn’t.  There’s no perspective on the culture.  These woman aren’t really even consistent in their rages.   Some scum they hate and some they indulge.   If you aren’t like them, you may well be in trouble.  But again, this issue is never challenged.  What happens when you fight power until you become powerful enough that you would have to fight yourself?  Baise Moi isn’t really interested I telling you.

It’s too bad.  It could have been a contender.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY:  Okay, all you Guy Pearce fans out there… he’s going back to comedy.  (Hooray!!!)  Pearce will be teaming with the great Rachel Griffiths as a married couple in the criminal comedy, Blood and Guts.  They’ll be working for Scott Roberts, who also write the script and who hasn’t made a picture since 1991’s K2.  The picture starts in July and will unfold in real time.

JUST WONDERING:  Did I mention the 2001 Hot Button Pledge drive?

HAPPY TRAILERS TO YOU:  What is the most underestimated film of Summer 2001?  It could be Jurassic Park III.  Think about it, the film has to be better than The Lost World, since it isn’t just a blown of version of the original.  And the teaser trailer, now out in theaters, suggests just that.  First, you get a feel for Joe Johnston’s feel of things and not Steven Spielberg’s.  And then, the mind set of the story is clearly fresh.  Yeah, it’s still dumb rich people not getting the joke.  And there’s still Sam Neill as the voice of reason.  But this looks like a film that’s gotten over the“Gee, look at THAT effect!” phenomenon that has so overwhelmed most post-JP CG driven films.

BAD AD WATCH:  Not much to complain about… The Mummy Returns is staying away from quotes.  I’ve beaten on A Knight’s Tale before.  And the only eye-catcher in the art film ads is that Time and Tide offers “impossible mobile camera work” via Kevin Thomas and a “syringe full of adrenaline straight into your jugular vein” via roughcut’s former male member – in the critical vein – Andy Klein, writing for New Times L.A.  But I’m not complaining.  The Tsui Hark film deserves praise.   But they are catchy quotes.

READER OF THE DAY:  Steve Of The East has long been a THB favorite.  Is it his English?  Is it his ideas?  Or is he just plain loveable?  I don’t know.  All I know is that PayPal doesn’t service Taiwan, so he’ll have to get his merchandise some other way.  Here is his latest analysis:

"After I saw Bridget Jones Diary and Someone like You, I discovered there are lots of something in common between the two romantic comedies, separately from England and Hollywood.

1. She works for TV. Jane Goodale played by Ashley Judd is a assistant TV show producer, Bridget Jones is a TV reporter.

2. Handsome men are heartbreakers. Greg Kinnear dumped Ashley, Hugh Grant dumped Renee Zellweger, both guys are handsome and charming.

3. She is the third one. Both girls misunderstood that they were handsome boys' old love, later the truth turned out, they were so called 'Third one' in the relationship with the man and his old love.

4. Hugh works. Both films starred movie stars named 'Hugh'. Hugh Jackman in 'Someone like You', Hugh Grant in 'Bridget Jones Diary'.

5. The ending scene that Girl chased Boy. Ashley and Renee chased their boys in the ending, both guys stooped in the street, and they kissed.

6. A song called 'Someone like You'. While the girls were kissing boys, they all play the same song, 'Someone like You'.

7. Girls wears only underwear and hanging around. Ashley wears underwear and dance cheerleader, Renee wears underwear and drinks.

8. Girls loves writing. Ashley wrote the column, Renee keep the journal, and both films start in their words.

9. Hair Style of Girls' 'Mr. Right'. Please take a close look at Hugh Jackman and Colin Firth, I think their hair style are very similar.

E ME:  I never expected to receive such an in-depth analysis of these too films.   What obscure films do you know a little bit too much about and what do you know?