Thinking Chaos, Thinking Fences

01 September 2002

I saw two movies today, Insomnia and Windtalkers. Here is the former, reviewed five ways: I've gotta give some credit Robin Williams. In Insomnia, he's chosen a movie that isn't soppy tripe and plays a character who is neither impish or comical. I can't wait for One Hour Photo. Maybe it's because they're both shot in British Colubmia, but there are eery similarities between this film and The Pledge starring Jack Nicholson. They both feature grizzled, caustic cops near the end of their careers trying to solve a murder. They're both about fish out of water--city cops in small towns. They're both meditative character-driven affairs with plenty of space around the characters. I'm glad I'm not from, say, Winnipeg. Because if I were from Winnipeg but living in Ireland, I would rarely get to see my home province on screen. Fortunately (for more than one reason), I'm from BC, so that means I've recently seen my home province in The Pledge, Best in Show, The Sixth Day and, most recently, Insomnia. There's a Phd thesis in how actresses like Hilary Swank and Juliette Lewis get type-cast as poor, white trash (is that comma usage correct?). Ambiguity is a rare thing in Hollywood movies. Generally it's pretty clear who's right and who's wrong. Up until its climax, Insomnia is a rare exception to this rule. 7:08:30 PM    comment []

In case anybody needs a reminder about the follies of war, here's a good one. 5:49:59 PM    comment []

Reviewed Five Ways: Windtalkers I saw two movies today, Insomnia and Windtalkers.Here is the latter, reviewed five ways: Nobody milks a dramatic moment like Nicholas Cage. His performance in Leaving Las Vegas had me convinced that he was the genuine article--a gifted actor with depth and versatility. However, a dozen unfortunate roles later (ending with the truly shameful Captain Corelli's Thing-a-ma-jig), I've given up on him. John Woo is the idiot-savant of directors. Visually, he's among his profession's best. His battle scenes are finely-tuned ballets, showing us grace and gore in turns. In a recent interview, he said that The Wizard of Oz was a great influence on him, and "that's why, even though some of my movies are pretty dark, there's always some kind of beauty and hope at the end." However, when it comes to his film's aspects--acting, plotting, and so on--he falls short. 90% of Hollywood acting is about shtick. Most of today's actors get by on the same basic set of affectations, looks, voices. Christian Slater and Nicholas Cage are particularly guilty of this practice, and their situation isn't bouyed by a couple of newcomers in Adam Beach and Roger Willie. Why do directors of war movies always try to insert important emotional moments into battle scenes? In most war movies, someone's always handing over momentos or doffing over racist ways or declaring love or hatred while the bullets zing over head. Windtalkers is full of these camp moments, typified in lines like 'transmit those Goddamn coordinates' and 'nobody else is going to die!' Steven Spielberg is the exception to this rule, and, of course, Saving Private Ryan raised the bar for war movies. It taughts us that all that apparently happens in combat is fear and death. The story of Windtalkers offers a world of potential for theme. To name a few: 'traditional ways are powerful and important', 'First Nations people continue to be ruthlessly exploited', 'we're all brothers in war', 'there is no redemption or peace for the warrior'. John Woo pretty much ignores all of these for a straight-ahead limbs-a-flying war movie. 5:47:45 PM    comment []