Angels and Insects

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Price: $720.11   

Angels and Insects Review

This is a stunning period piece, awash with lush scenery and extravagantly beautiful costumes. It is also marvelously acted by all with virtuoso performances by Mark Rylance and Kristin Scott Thomas. The cinematography is breathtaking, and the movie could be characterized as a masterpiece. It is simply a cinematic gem.

The storyline revolves about an impoverished naturalist (Mark Rylance) who returns from the far reaches of the Amazon to England. Having lost his life's work in a shipwreck that he survived, he is taken in by the patriarch of a wealthy, upper class family. In return, he helps his benefactor catalog his eclectic nature collection.

The naturalist, a sensitive, intelligent, and kind individual, falls in love with one of his benefactor's daughters, the mysterious Eugenia, played to perfection by the beautiful and talented Patsy Kensit. He is, however, despised and mistreated by her boorish brother, ostensibly because of his low birth.

After the marriage, he begins an intense study of an ant colony, with the assistance of a poor relation of his benefactor. This poor relation is an intelligent, articulate, and well-educated woman (Kristin Scott Thomas). It is plain to the viewer that she, and not her wealthy and beautiful cousin Eugenia, is the one whom the naturalist should have married.

Meanwhile, there is clearly a deep, dark secret within the household. It becomes apparent early on what the secret must be. It is revealed several years into the marriage in a shockingly dramatic fashion, causing the forbearing naturalist to have the veil lifted from his eyes. This in turn acts as the catalyst for the poor relation to reveal her own secret passion.

This is a magnificent film that should not be missed by those who love period pieces and award caliber performances.

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Marvin's Room [VHS]

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Price: $497.81   

Marvin's Room [VHS] Review

One of the best dramas of the 90's. I've seen this movie a number of times since its release and it never fails to move me. It is a story of two estranged sisters whose life choices drove them to different paths but after years of no contact brought them together again when one needs a bone marrow transplant due to cancer. That's when they had the chance to talk about unsaid feelings and provide them a closure. Diane Keaton played the sister with the cancer and Streep the sister who'll try to give the transplant. Leonardo di Caprio (underrated actor) plays Streeps rebellious son and De Niro has a semi cameo as Keaton's doctor. The titular Marvin is the father of Streep and Keaton whose been dying for years without actually dying.

Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton were perfection. I especially enjoyed Streep's performance. It was fun seeing her play a bitch and she nailed the role. But Diane Keaton ultimately takes over the movie especially in the end. I was deeply moved by her performance, so natural and true that it stays with me long after the movie ends.

There's a moving scene towards the end of the movie, when out of the blue Keaton said to Streep that she's very lucky because her life was full of love and then Streep consoled her and said yes many people loves her. But Keaton said it's not about that. What she meant was she's very lucky to love her dad and her aunt so much. Makes you realize that the best feeling in the world is to love someone regardless whether reciprocated or not. The ending was just perfect, it's still sad but in a good way where the characters reached the peak of their character arcs. It's a triumphant ending.

I recommend this film to the highest regard possible. It's full of heart and I don't want to say life lessons because the movie ain't preachy, but I guess in some ways made you think about your own life.

Grade: A

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Instinct

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Price: $528.94   

Instinct Review

I was prepared to not like this movie. There were so many negative and lukewarm reviews. I'm glad I watched it in spite of those reviews.

This is a deeply moving story about an anthropologist who leaves everything behind and lives with a group of gorillas - we get glimpses of that life later in movie. The beginning of the movie is a portrait of him as a madman, who doesn't speak, and has killed two park rangers. He is transported to the U.S. and awaits trial in a prison for the criminally insane. Cuba Gooding Jr. is a psychiatrist who is trying to get him to come out of his shell and speak. Cuba Gooding Jr's performance is the stand out in this awe inspring movie.

For fear of giving too much away, I won't say much more. I will say, however, that this movie is not so much about the crime itself. It is more about the transforming nature of love and respect and, ultimately, the meaning of freedom.

Unlike some other reviewers, I would heartily recommend this film. It is a movie that makes you think. It is a movie that will be on your mind for days and days. It just may transform the way you think.

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Contact

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Price: $826.71   

Contact Review

In 1985, Pulitzer-prize winning author and astronomer Carl Sagan (1934-1996) wrote a brilliant "what-if" scenario in his novel entitled "Contact". In the novel, Carl Sagan created a scenario in which his protagonist, a radio astronomer named Dr. Eleanor Ann 'Ellie' Arroway, discovers an extraterrestrial radio transmission that is clearly from an intelligent alien source. The discovery causes intense debate between the proponents of science, religion and government that eventually leads to some very compelling questions on the nature of faith itself. In 1997, the novel was transformed into a film of the same name under the direction of the well-known director Robert Zemeckis, who had previously directed "Forrest Gump" (1994, for which Zemeckis won the Oscar for Best Director), "Death Becomes Her" (1992), "Back to the Future" (1985) and "Romancing the Stone" (1984).Carl Sagan, with assistance from writers Ann Druyan, James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg, slightly modified the original story by giving Dr. Arroway (played by Jodie Foster) a more personal adversary in another astronomer, Dr. David Drumlin (played by Tom Skerritt). At the beginning of the film, a brief exploration of Dr. Arroway's childhood (played by Jena Malone) is provided that helps to establish her purely scientific perception of reality that resulted in part from the passing away of her father, Ted Arroway (David Morse), who had also encouraged her love of science, astronomy and radio communications. As an astronomer, Dr. Arroway dedicated her work to the SETI project (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), which Dr. Drumlin considers frivolous and potentially damaging to Dr. Arroway's credibility. With her governmental funding cut, Dr. Arroway eventually gets private funding after she approaches one of the world's richest and most influential men, S. R. Hadden (John Hurt). With funding secured, Dr. Arroway's search continues at the Very Large Array (VLA) near Socorro, New Mexico. With her unorthodox method of personally listening to outer space static, Dr. Arroway suddenly and unexpectedly hears a bizarre set of sounds. She immediately gets her team, which includes Kent Clark (William Fichtner), busy working on analyzing the signal, which likely comes from an extraterrestrial source. Once verified, she announces her discovery to the world via the news media, to the disdain of governmental officials including Dr. Drumlin, National Security Advisor Michael Kitz (James Woods) and then President Bill Clinton (himself via archive footage). It also gains explosive response from very religious individuals who don't necessarily share Dr. Arroway's enthusiasm, except for Father Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), whom Dr. Arroway met in Puerto Rico in a more than casual sense. The content of the message itself raises some very large questions.What really brought Carl Sagan's vision to life in "Contact" was placing it within a contemporary timeframe. This included the use of many real events, people and places that included CNN, the VLA, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and many cameos from current politicians the television personalities (Jay Leno, Larry King, Geraldine A. Ferraro, Geraldo Rivera to name only a few). Also, Robert Zemeckis placed actors within archival footage in much the same way as he did with the film "Forrest Gump" in 1994. All of this, as well as superb acting from the principal actors (Jodie Foster, Tom Skerrit, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, William Fichtner and James Woods), great cinematography, wonderful sets and great special effects make this a brilliant film. Other memorable characters include Rachel Constantine (Angela Bassett), Richard Rank (Rob Lowe), the NASA Mission Director (Tucker Smallwood) and Joseph (Jake Busey). Some of the most memorable scenes in the film include Dr. Arroway hearing the message at the VLA, the public response, the political discussions, Dr. Arroway meeting S.R. Hadden, the machine, Dr. Arroway's relationship with Palmer, the pinnacle event and its aftermath.Overall, I rate "Contact" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars. In my opinion, it portrays many very probable debates and reactions if astronomers ever actually do discover intelligent extraterrestrial communication signals. I applaud Carl Sagan for his vision, as well as Robert Zemeckis and the many actors and other people involved with the making of this very engaging and compelling film. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews� Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | PermalinkComment�Comments (18)

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Caligula [VHS]

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Price: $513.78   

Caligula [VHS] Review

This new Imperial 3 disc edition of CALIGULA from Image and Penthouse is an "everything and the kitchen sink" affair. It should be a must buy for fans of the film, and offers two unique ways of viewing the infamous film known mostly for its peversity.

Disc One contains an unrated X-rated version including all the Bob Guccione inserted scenes of somewhat hardcore sex acts. The editing is a little off as Guccione assembled this cut from what Tinto Brass directed and put some scenes out of order thus blurring the narrative and character development.

Disc Two contains a pre-release cut of the film without the hardcore scenes, and a more logical progression of scenes assembled to depict the order Tinto Brass wanted them in. It runs 3 minutes shorter, and you'll notice alternate footage in many scenes. Three commentaries are delivered over this version with Malcolm McDowell on one, Helen Mirren on the second, and Ernest Volkman on the final track. Each are joined by authors and film critics who help keep the conversation flowing and on topic. Also included are a dozen cut and alternate takes.

The third disc contains featurettes, interviews, and archival footage from the production. A 1980 documentary proves interesting and provides more graphic footage.

The transfer is improved, but still looks blurred and lacking in contrast. The reason for some of this is the movie was shot like a magazine spread with soft focus cameras. It's never super clear, and there's plenty of grain and digital artifacts to contend with.

This is the best the film has ever looked, and has tons of extra material to wade through. A dream for collectors, and a nightmare for the detractors. The film is dispassionate and brutal - depicting every peversity you could imagine and then some. Costumes and sets are amazing - including a five story machine that decapitates heads in a colisseum. Breathtaking for all the wrong reasons, CALIGULA is about ego out of control. Oddly enough those that made it suffered from the same malady.

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Ciao maschio [VHS]

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Price: $543.78   

Ciao maschio [VHS] Review

Marco Ferreri made some of the most peculiar, idiosyncratic, and controversial films of the twentieth century, and his first film in English, "Bye Bye Monkey," definitely fits those three criteria. Ferreri's films are generally compelling if difficult exercises in surrealism and social commentary. This film is rife with symbolism and interpersonal conflicts, and serves as a commentary on the changing social mores of the 1970s, and particularly focuses on the changing perceptions of women in society. Apparently. Some of the symbolism and content is quite opaque, and there is plenty of room for interpretation. Another interpretation is that it's a film featuring long boring stretches of nothing and a monkey. (That just doesn't sound as good.)

Heading the cast are G rard Depardieu as Lafayette and Marcello Mastroianni as Luigi, two eccentric immigrants living in a New York City that is even more pretentious and rat-infested than in reality. Lafayette lives in an apartment that is apparently half service station bathroom and half rat farm judging from its ambiance, and works as a stagehand and production assistant for a very off-Broadway women's theater group. The seven actresses have a distaste for men in general and Lafayette in particular (though his boorish behavior rightfully earns their scorn,) which leads to my question: if they are all about feminism, why didn't they hire a female stagehand? After Lafayette unwittingly assists in the most distasteful actor's workshop ever, he and Luigi find King Kong's body lying next to the water in front of the World Trade Center towers (the film was made in 1977.) They discover a baby chimpanzee nuzzled up to Kong, and in one of Mastroianni's worst fits of overacting ever, Luigi explains that Lafayette should adopt the chimp because he has allergies to ape hair. (!) When consulted on the issue Andreas Flaxman (James Coco, who steals the show) advises Lafayette to ditch the monkey: "You must get rid of this quadruped immediately....Forget the dictates of your heart!" Thank goodness he doesn't take the advice, as the chimp is by far the most appealing cast member.

As the film progresses Lafayette gets into a weird relationship triangle (I dare not call it a "love triangle" here) with two women. This plot element is truly offbeat, and his decisions are definitely not where my own would have been. Not only does Lafayette not get rid of the monkey he takes it to a registrar and lists it as his child, named "Cornelius Lafayette." This attachment to his chimp is oddly noble, but ends up costing him dearly in the end. I suppose that's a commentary on the nature of love and the fragility of the mortal world, but you interpret for yourself.

Some of the plot defies simple description, and some of the techniques are painful to endure as a viewer. First there is the whistling. Lafayette uses a referee's whistle to scare the rats, his eternal foes, away. He becomes so fond of it he begins to use it to communicate instead of dialogue. This is a bit of a mixed blessing, but I found it profoundly annoying. Along the same grating lines, the film features intermittent musical numbers, the less said of which the better: my only comment is that after the singing you will probably be glad to hear the whistle again. The film also incorporates many other cultural artifacts, mostly through Flaxman's wax museum dedicated to Roman antiquity. I actually enjoyed Coco's part in the film more than any of the other (human) actors, as he is passionate and intense, while still being loon crazy. In a tribute to the big government conspiracy theories so popular after Watergate, Flaxman is visited by a psychological agent from the government who wants him to modernize the look of the wax statues for a more modern time. He demonstrates how Caesar should be made to look like JFK, while Nero is made to look like Nixon in a bit of symbolism that's hard to miss. ("You put Nixon's head on Nero's body!") Nixon is also given a zither (it's not a fiddle anyway) of some sort to hold. This didn't surprise me, as Ferreri's Nixon predilection is seen in some of his other work as well. The film concludes in a genuinely dismaying manner, and careful observers might have seen it coming. In retrospect I should have, but didn't as by the time the ending rolled around I was a distinctly disinterested observer.

The DVD has a difficult menu to get to work correctly, and the disc didn't want to play on one of my DVD players at all. There is a bonus feature of a short snippet from the documentary "Marco Ferreri: The Director Who Came From The Future" included (other parts are scattered all over other works in his catalogue.) The image is fairly good for this vintage of film, and the photography is stunning. Imagery overcomes substance in many places (white gas masks, James Coco bursting into flames, etc.) and from a purely visual perspective the film is interesting. That the plot meanders all over creation and frequently approaches senselessness are its biggest problems, and while fans of 1970s surrealism, Ferreri, Depardieu, Mastroianni, or Coco may glean pleasure from it, "Bye Bye Monkey" is not a film for most viewers.

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