It took me a few viewings to fully embrace David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” in all its strange, nightmarish glory. It still makes no sense, but it definitely has some bizarre appeal, due in no small part to Naomi Watts’ breakthrough performance as an aspiring actress who takes an amnesiac under her wing. Like a dream, “Mulholland” changes moods drastically and often, and Watts manages to shift along with it; the actress, like the film, is impossible not to watch, no matter how weird things get. (Dan Ciardi)
With “Amelie,” we saw a return to form for director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. But the real find here was the film’s pixieish, wide-eyed star, Audrey Tautou. As the titular character, Tautou is equally shy, mischievous, intelligent, passionate and —above all — utterly charming. The Oscars have made some unusually daring choices for its actress nominations in recent years, and hopefully this year will be no exception: Tautou deserves all the recognition she can get for this wonderful role. (DC)
With everyone talking about a potential second Oscar for Russell Crowe, the best lead male performance of the year has gone relatively unnoticed. Veteran British actor Tom Wilkinson hit all the right notes as the grieving father in “In the Bedroom,” helping to add subtlety and conviction to a film that could’ve easily been TV-movie fodder but instead turned out to be one of 2001’s most powerful dramas. (DC)
Everyone it talking about a second Oscar, with good reason, for the mighty Russell Crowe outdoes himself with his realistic portrayal of John Forbes Nash, a brilliant thinker plagued by schizophrenia. Crowe’s range of emotions, stretching to where he virtually inhabits a difficult, complex character, manages to elicit scorn, pity and pride, often all at once. (Chad Berndtson)
I reviewed “Memento” for Muse last year, and gave it an A. As time has gone on, I’ve realized just how far “Memento” is from the amazing movie it seemed to be. Sure, it’s awfully cool on first viewing, but then you realize that there’s more gimmick than you thought and less real substance. As far as modern forays into film noir go, “Memento” is definitely a cut above most, but is by no means a masterpiece. (DC)
A quick word to Cameron Crowe: stick to the fuzzy blankets and leave the metal shield mind benders to the professionals. A film that tries to be a total mind screw instead comes off as irritatingly illogical and forgettable, featuring incompatible story-director union of the last five years. “Vanilla Sky” wants to have the mind-messing punch of “Mulholland Drive,” or “Memento,” apparently with the star power of “Ocean’s 11,” especially given its media whore protagonists. I’d like to thank Crowe for sharing his music collection with us on one of the year’s best soundtracks, but when a soundtrack is the best thing about a supposed “dramatic, sexual thriller,” then you know we’re in trouble. (CB)
Good idea: make a gritty, hard-hitting war film that accurately depicts Somalia 1993, one of the worst military debacles in U.S. history (and an utter failure on all counts, with blood on the hands of two U.S. presidents.) Bad idea (c/o Ridley Scott): twist the event into a totally false sense of patriotism, depicting a triumph on the part of U.S. soldiers, and rush the release of the film to capitalize on post-September 11 patriotism. Stick pretty boys from the cover of Teen People in pivotal roles that are ridiculously out of their range, and pepper the film with clichéd, monotonous dialogue designed to show the power of the human spirit or some such nonsense. Nice try, Ridley. Liked the romantic comedy with cannibals and man-eating pigs better. (CB)
As I said in my 10 best list, “The Pledge” is an excellent film that, sadly, few people saw. While the slow pace may have turned some viewers off, those not willing to give the film a shot missed one of Jack Nicholson’s best performances in years. It amazes me that he can sleepwalk through a film like “As Good As It Gets” and win an Oscar, and act his heart out in a film like this and have no one notice. Perhaps this will eventually get the respect it deserves, but it hasn’t exactly been burning up the video rental charts, either. (Nolan Reese)
When I think of Robert Rodriguez, the director of the violent shoot-’em-ups “Desperado” and “From Dusk Till Dawn,” I don’t exactly think of family films. But that changed when I saw “Spy Kids,” a great little action/fantasy film that hearkens back to children’s classics like “Willy Wonka” and “Labyrinth,” while mixing in a little James Bond. Packed with imaginative set pieces, gadgets and villains, this is the kind of film that 10-year-olds live for, and cause those of us that are a little older to remember a time when there was more out there than “Snow Dogs” for young minds. (NR)
So many good ideas and some great performances ultimately did not drum up another success story for the great Michael Mann, who struck out in one of the year’s most widely anticipated releases. “Ali,” more than any other film of 2001, is so “almost there” that it’s painful to sit through two-and-a-half hours knowing that it’s not quite going to make it. Given a few more weeks in the editing room, “Ali” would have achieved greatness on the level of Mann’s “The Insider.” But what film audiences were ultimately given is a flat, unemotional set of scenes that are more soap opera than biopic. (CB)
It was supposed to be the stuff of cinematic dreams: one of the greatest directors of all time, Stanley Kubrick, leaving the completion of his handiwork to one of America’s most popular cinema giants of the last quarter century, Steven Spielberg. But alas, two conflicting visions made what could have been towering, first rate sci-fi into droning, preachy schlock that goes on far too long and leaves a bad aftertaste. I guess we’ll have to blame Spielberg for this one: he attached fuzzy ears and pink slippers to the dark, metallic movie model that Kubrick had originally intended. (CB)
Some called it self-indulgent on the part of Francis Ford Coppola, who decided to add 49 minutes of footage to one of the greatest films ever made. Some even went so far as to accuse the reissue, known as “Redux” of ruining the legacy that the original “Apocalypse Now” had secured. But upon closer inspection, credit must be given where credit is due, and it’s plain to see that Coppola is not trying to improve, update or even tweak his celebrated original. Rather, he is revisiting a classic, and urging his audience to journey with him as he does a little experimentation, playing with ideas old and new. (CB)
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