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oliver9184 · 06-22-2010, 08:43 AM

The Horse Whisperer (1998) 8/10. Look at Robert Redford. When he was younger he would have been perfect for John Galt: his face really has always been the one without fear or pain or guilt. He could never be a baddie or anyone of seriously questionable integrity (think how miscast would he have been as Michael Corleone, as was Paramount's first intention); that is part of the reason of why Spy Games didn't really work. On screen he's the angel alongside Paul Newman's devil, and parallels have been drawn between his career and Brad Pitt's. I think I'd cast a young Redford over Pitt in most roles because I find him warmer and more genuinely likeable. Pitt is always affable but not, it often seems, simply for the sake of being pleasant; he just is that way by default and as likely as not he has an agenda you don't know about. One can't help wondering what Pitt's angle is. Anyway, The Horse Whisperer is a film starring and directed by Robert Redford in which he helps a young girl (Scarlett Johansson) and her horse (Pilgrim) to get over a bad riding accident. Most of its one hundred and seventy minutes is a pleasure, and seldom drags, thanks to the two leads and quite a brilliant horse. A lot of the film seems to have been shot at the "magic hour" and the weak horizontal sunlight playing across the Montana plains and Redford's aged, calm and calming features is a sight to behold. Sam Neill is usually the best thing about any film he's in but here he and his character are outclassed by everyone else. Kristen Scott Thomas plays the adult female lead, she's about the only element of the film that has dated, being a grossly stereotypical 1990s film woman whose career has gotten in the way of her family.

Watchmen (2008) 8/10 is a strange one in many ways. Such a credible and serious and mature film - based on a comic? Such a budget spent on a film that really is only for adults? Such a hallowed and precious property given the respect it (apparently) deserves - by a studio that has the clout to make it happen? Make no mistake, I do think this is a good thing. It's just pretty surprising. Films like this one, Harry Potter, Beowulf, Where the Wild Things are and (surely!) Inception show that Warner Bros is stubborn head and brawny shoulders above the rest of mainstream Hollywood when it comes to optioning the right projects in the right way using the right talent, and so giving non-stupid people what they want. For those that know about and like the source, Watchmen must almost be almost too good to be true; I don't know about or like the source and, watching Watchmen at home I feel slightly jealous of those who do. The super-dense, labyrinthine and schizophrenic narrative must make almost complete sense to those familiar with the book (it makes roughly 60% sense to me) and the visual and aural extravaganza must merely be the icing on the cake. Not really believing in or identifying with the lofty concepts and ideas that seem to somehow hold up all the strings of narrative, and not being very receptive to superhero/comic films except Spider-Man, my enjoyment mostly comes from the film's chaotic yet believable rendering of the nightmare 1980s, various efficient and well soundtracked montages and all the stinging, sadistic, and finely staged violence.

Secondhand Lions (2003) 6/10 is a silly, fluffy, light, heartwarming 'drama' with minimum drama, a perfect watch for a Sunday evening. No effort required whatsoever. It stars Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment and Michael Caine (being American again but better this time than in The Cider House Rules). It's the early 1960s and Osment has been dumped by his no-good mother at the house of his two batchelor uncles and charged with finding their treasure. As expected: bonding happens. A Lion (ONE lion, not SOME LIONS) gets bought. In by far the best scene of the film, Duvall brawls with some young greasers who try to steal his food.

The Falls (1980) 8/10. Yesssssss! Finally finished The Falls. At last. It's three hours seventeen minutes of meticulously, painstakingly created absurdist nonsense. It's probably not something you'll be able to watch in one sitting unless you're an unusually patient and docile idiot savant. Not being one of those, I divided it into about thirteen 15-minute sized bits. It still took about three months. There's no characters in the traditional sense, no story and no real meaning - just still photographs, supposed 'stock footage' and a voice-over telling us about one of 92 people, each of whose names begin with the letters F-A-L-L and all of whom were affected for better or for worse by the Violent Unknown Event.

06-22-2010, 08:43 AM	#3862 (permalink)
oliver9184 Psycho	The Horse Whisperer (1998) 8/10. Look at Robert Redford. When he was younger he would have been perfect for John Galt: his face really has always been the one without fear or pain or guilt. He could never be a baddie or anyone of seriously questionable integrity (think how miscast would he have been as Michael Corleone, as was Paramount's first intention); that is part of the reason of why Spy Games didn't really work. On screen he's the angel alongside Paul Newman's devil, and parallels have been drawn between his career and Brad Pitt's. I think I'd cast a young Redford over Pitt in most roles because I find him warmer and more genuinely likeable. Pitt is always affable but not, it often seems, simply for the sake of being pleasant; he just is that way by default and as likely as not he has an agenda you don't know about. One can't help wondering what Pitt's angle is. Anyway, The Horse Whisperer is a film starring and directed by Robert Redford in which he helps a young girl (Scarlett Johansson) and her horse (Pilgrim) to get over a bad riding accident. Most of its one hundred and seventy minutes is a pleasure, and seldom drags, thanks to the two leads and quite a brilliant horse. A lot of the film seems to have been shot at the "magic hour" and the weak horizontal sunlight playing across the Montana plains and Redford's aged, calm and calming features is a sight to behold. Sam Neill is usually the best thing about any film he's in but here he and his character are outclassed by everyone else. Kristen Scott Thomas plays the adult female lead, she's about the only element of the film that has dated, being a grossly stereotypical 1990s film woman whose career has gotten in the way of her family. Watchmen (2008) 8/10 is a strange one in many ways. Such a credible and serious and mature film - based on a comic? Such a budget spent on a film that really is only for adults? Such a hallowed and precious property given the respect it (apparently) deserves - by a studio that has the clout to make it happen? Make no mistake, I do think this is a good thing. It's just pretty surprising. Films like this one, Harry Potter, Beowulf, Where the Wild Things are and (surely!) Inception show that Warner Bros is stubborn head and brawny shoulders above the rest of mainstream Hollywood when it comes to optioning the right projects in the right way using the right talent, and so giving non-stupid people what they want. For those that know about and like the source, Watchmen must almost be almost too good to be true; I don't know about or like the source and, watching Watchmen at home I feel slightly jealous of those who do. The super-dense, labyrinthine and schizophrenic narrative must make almost complete sense to those familiar with the book (it makes roughly 60% sense to me) and the visual and aural extravaganza must merely be the icing on the cake. Not really believing in or identifying with the lofty concepts and ideas that seem to somehow hold up all the strings of narrative, and not being very receptive to superhero/comic films except Spider-Man, my enjoyment mostly comes from the film's chaotic yet believable rendering of the nightmare 1980s, various efficient and well soundtracked montages and all the stinging, sadistic, and finely staged violence. Secondhand Lions (2003) 6/10 is a silly, fluffy, light, heartwarming 'drama' with minimum drama, a perfect watch for a Sunday evening. No effort required whatsoever. It stars Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment and Michael Caine (being American again but better this time than in The Cider House Rules). It's the early 1960s and Osment has been dumped by his no-good mother at the house of his two batchelor uncles and charged with finding their treasure. As expected: bonding happens. A Lion (ONE lion, not SOME LIONS) gets bought. In by far the best scene of the film, Duvall brawls with some young greasers who try to steal his food. The Falls (1980) 8/10. Yesssssss! Finally finished The Falls. At last. It's three hours seventeen minutes of meticulously, painstakingly created absurdist nonsense. It's probably not something you'll be able to watch in one sitting unless you're an unusually patient and docile idiot savant. Not being one of those, I divided it into about thirteen 15-minute sized bits. It still took about three months. There's no characters in the traditional sense, no story and no real meaning - just still photographs, supposed 'stock footage' and a voice-over telling us about one of 92 people, each of whose names begin with the letters F-A-L-L and all of whom were affected for better or for worse by the Violent Unknown Event.