Killers of the Flower Moon

This is an exceedingly difficult call to make. The issue right out in front: this movie is simply too long. The running time, combined with its languid pace, makes it a trial to keep focused on the story in its many beats. A healthy dose of economy in storytelling would have served the tale much better. Has this been a sweeping epic of grand scenes the length may have been forgivable, but this really is a much more intimate story than the largess implies. Also, lingering in the background of the whole thing is the sense that this is yet another example of Scorsese and De Niro making a big crime movie—practically to the point of seeing obsession in the repeated efforts. That interjects a feeling that we’ve seen all this before, in a sense, and dulls the feeling of there being anything truly fresh here. Finally, I note that the score features throughout a pulsating drum line—likely the contribution of the film’s musical director, the late Robbie Robertson—that may convey tension and drama...in smaller doses, but that starts to get on the viewer's nerves after a while. So much for the negatives. On the other hand, the performances are very good, everything looks fantastic—including the recreations of the 1920s milieu—the script is solid, with lots of great dialogue, and above all, this is a fascinating story that deserves to be told. It just should have been told with a little more brevity. If you have patience and are willing to make the big commitment this film requires, then I think it is worth a recommendation. But just know going in that you will be asked to sit and focus on this subject for a very long time in order to take in its full measure.

No Sudden Move

I have a sketchy history with Steven Soderbergh movies. I also have a sketchy history with crime caper movies, the kind that are convinced of how clever they are and think that you should be convinced of it, too. So what do you think happened when I watched this flick? Well, it wasn't all that bad, but you're not too far off. The bulk of the enjoyment here comes from watching veteran, professional actors like Don Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro playing off and against each other; they're fine, especially in the early segments of the film. But the plot eventually gets away from itself, becomes too convoluted, and then attempts a ham-handed effort at injecting a bit of socioeconomic commentary and muckracking into the tale, without that element really being part of the story from the start. It also doesn't help, either, that Soderbergh--despite or perhaps because of his reputation as an innovative filmmaker--seems unaware throughout the running time that his camera--possibly smartphone--created distortions of the image throughout the picture; a lot of the frames look like they were (unnecessarily) shot with a fish-eye lens. So despite some decent aspects of this movie, it mostly comes across as a muddle.

Monkeybone

A movie about a man in a coma, which is profoundly lifeless. I guess synergy does work. All the creative juice went into the visuals here; they are occasionally interesting, but that's barely enough to pull you in. At least the easy-on-the-eyes Rose McGowan is present. Brendan Fraser and Bridget Fonda can do better, and the Z-grade rest of the cast adds little to the mix. Mostly, there's just a feeling that this should have been much better than it is. Posted .

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Not quite as amusing as the first one (which I liked a lot). It never really has that spark, though it does get more interesting when the story begins to refer more closely to the backstory of the previous flick. And the stuff with The Rock and the "Scorpion King" is mostly retarded. Posted .

Bedazzled (2000)

Mostly harmless, occasionally funny. It suffers a bit by its being partly based on the preposterous notion that Brendan Fraser is a geek. (And no, I never did see the original, so I can't judge one versus the other.)

Blast From The Past

Cute. Not a whole lot to say beyond that, but as this movie aspires to little more than that, 'cute' is enough. In other words, it succeeds on its own terms.

Gods And Monsters

An entertaining look at Frankenstein director James Whale's last lusty gay days.