Fletch's Film Review: Next

Much like an atheist that feels compelled to go to church, or a Democrat that religiously watches the Fox News network, I too had an overwhelming urge to keep tabs on the enemy. As such, despite my unwillingness to part with my money (much less give to the opposition), I had to see Next, the latest from the Blog Cabins' favorite whipping boy, Mr. Nicolas Cage. And let me tell you, I'm as shocked as you are...

As much as it pains me to say it, and as un-hungry as I am to eat pounds of crow, this is Cage's best film since Leaving Las Vegas. His portrayal as Vegas showman Cris Johnson is as spot-on as if Penn Jillette (or The Amazing Jonathan) himself were playing the part. Half the time, I sat in amazement, just waiting for the next illusion to literally blow my mind.

The direction, by the aforementioned Lee Tamahori, is solid if unspectacular. He takes Philip Dick's story and weaves it into a parable for postmodern life in the 21st century. If you could see the fate of those around you (for however short the time frame), would you? And how much would that weigh on your psyche?

One thing I got right for sure, though, was Jessica Biel's role - she is clearly over matched by the veteran Cage, and would have been better off playing the lead girl character in Disturbia rather than playing with the big kids. Julianne Moore is in full Children of Men effect, as a hardcore FBI agent attempting to cradle Cage's gifts. As she did in Boogie Nights, she commands the screen with her presence alone, and the film suffers only when she is missing.

All that said, the true shock of the film was the endearing performance (cameo) by tiger-mauling victim Roy Horn. Showing true grit and determination, Horn gives a tour-de-force effort playing the right-hand man to the main baddie attempting to take down Cage. His spirit and gusto are unrivaled, and he is hands down the best actor not named Nicolas Cage in the film.

Fletch's Film Rating:

Would I lie to you?


(In case the subtle hints embedded above and below weren't enough, the above review is completely false. As if I would spend more than a nickel to see this...)

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: Grindhouse

If you're thinking...about seeing...Grindhouse...DON'T!

That's not my actually recommendation, that's just a reference to the film that those who have seen it ought to appreciate. In fact, I highly recommend the film (to a certain group of people). Let me explain...

Actually, first I have some business to attend to. A few months ago, I harped on both Grindhouse and Black Snake Moan for their seeming lack of purpose. Well, I have yet to see Moan (and still don't have much of a desire to), but I owe an apology to Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, for I could not have been much more wrong about Planet Terror or Death Proof.

The directors have not set out to re-create the blaxploitation genre necessarily, nor are they attempting to exploit anything in this film. This is a trip back in time to the 70s, a trip to their teenage years and the films they grew up on. And regardless of whether or not you grew up watching or loving those movies, Grindhouse is made for the 13-year old boy inside everyone.

And there is the crux, the deciding factor as to whether or not Tarantino and Rodriguez have made a film (or films, rather) for you.

In case you haven't heard, here's a recap: right off the bat, you are introduced to the fact that these aren't just movies that you've come to see, but a cinematic experience, complete with "Coming Attractions" of films that will never see the light of day* and rating messages, all done with a 70s kitsch and tongue planted firmly in cheek. (*The first preview, for a revenge pic titled Machete, starring Rodriguez vet Danny Trejo, looks like it will be made after all, and should be either in theaters or straight-to-DVD sometime in 2008. I can't wait.)

After the Machete preview is Rodriguez's Planet Terror, an adrenaline-soaked, testosterone-filled zombie flick, with enough severed limbs and spurting blood to rival 300 (perhaps). The diminutive Freddy Rodriguez stars as "El Wray," a mysterious sort who has some sort of military training and a chip on his shoulder. But the plot is really besides the point. Rodriguez (Robert, that is) wants to throttle you over the head, and he achieves that in often-hilarious ways.

The "intermission" brings three more previews: the Rob Zombie-directed Werewolf Women of the S.S. (which needs almost no explanation, though I must mention that it features a pretty-funny Nic Cage cameo. Kudos to you, Ghost Rider.), the Eli Roth-directed Thanksgiving (an alternate take on the holiday-themed slashed pic), and the Edgar Wright-directed Don't (a haunted house gone demented). All have their moments, and all are raunchier (and funnier) than just about any preview you've ever seen.

And now time for something completely different...

Tarantino's Death Proof closes out the experience, all style and mood, with a frame of a plot thrown around it. But the plot is immaterial as well. Taking a 180 from Planet Terror, Death Proof hits you with dialogue, some groovy music, some more dialogue, and then some shocking violence. Rinse, lather, repeat. And though that might not sound like much, this is Tarantino's strength (unlike his acting, which pops up its dirty little head in both features, though less egregiously in Death Proof) - he sets a mood, gets you comfortable, gets you a bit anxious for what's next, then blows you away with what follows (a la the razor scene in Reservoir Dogs or the unfortunate shooting of Marvin in Pulp Fiction).

So, if you're looking for a thrilling, visceral, over-the-top cinematic experience, complete with gratuitous sexual themes and violence, Grindhouse is most definitely for you. However, judging by the box office receipts, I'm guessing it's not.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"It's in the hole!"

And then...

Measuring up.

I recently read in an article about the new Harry Potter movie that lead actor Daniel Radcliffe stood, at age 17, at 5'6". So, just for gits and shiggles (and to get us in the mood for the upcoming 1st Annual Blog Cabins Summer Movie Preview), here are the heights for some other leading men and women from this summer's crop of movies (from shortest to tallest; all heights from http://www.imdb.com):

Scarlett Johansson (The Nanny Diaries): 5' 4"
Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer): 5' 6"
Tobey Maguire (Spiderman 3): 5' 8"
Mike Myers (Shrek the Third): 5' 8"
Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End): 5' 10"
Matt Damon (The Bourne Ultimatum): 5' 10"
Nicole Kidman (The Invasion): 5' 10½"
Shia LaBeouf (Transformers): 5' 10½"
Bruce Willis (Live Free or Die Hard): 5' 11¾"
Nicolas Cage (Next): 6' 0¾"
Chris Tucker (Rush Hour 3): 6' 1"
John Travolta (Hairspray): 6' 2"
Morgan Freeman (Evan Almighty): 6' 2½"

The lesson here: In Hollywood, it's big to be short.

And then...

(Insert bad pun here.)

Caught in a web of overexposure? Spinning webs of publicity? Spider infestation? Yea, they all suck.

Anyway, the point is, with summer's first big blockbuster less than two weeks away, have we heard too much about Spider-Man 3 to care at this point?

The ads on television are ubiquitous. On Yahoo! Movies, there are four trailers and a separate clip for it. On Apple's movie trailer site and on the film's homepage, there are no less than three, with the homepage having another six clips or so. IMDb lists the estimated budget at over $250,000,000.

The thing is, I don't really care how much money they've spent or how many times the trailer/commercial is played - I just don't want to see the whole damn movie before it is actually released in theaters! But with so many different versions, and with each version having to have different footage from the one before, you can't help but feel as though there are no surprises left. And who wants that?

Recently, Tom Roston wrote a great article for Premiere magazine that covers this same ground - I wish Spider-Man's producers had read it.

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: The Hoax

A big problem with a lot of films is that they either don't have enough story, or what story they do have isn't enough to sustain your attention for 90+ minutes. That's not the case with The Hoax, a forgotten "true life" drama starring Richard Gere, Alfred Molina and Hope Davis, currently leaving your local theater.

The film, directed with a quick pace and eye for accuracy by Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, The Cider House Rules), plays out like Catch Me If You Can mixed with Shattered Glass mixed with The Aviator (which can't help but be intertwined due to its subject matter).

Gere plays somehwat-failed 70s novelist Clifford Irving, known more for this story than for any other piece of fiction that he wrote. Near the end of Howard Hughes' life, with all of his idiosyncrasies (to put it gently) still fully intact and his shyness from the media (and the general public) still in full force, Irving claimed to have a whale of a tale - the authorized biography of Hughes.

What starts as a desperate ploy for money and fame soon avalanches in a most dangerous game, involving Irving's wife (Marcia Gay Harden), his best friend/assistant (Molina) and his mistress (Julie Delpy).

Gere gives his best performance since 1996's Primal Fear, and he may even be better here than he was there. You can feel the giddy delight in the rush of his ruse, his stubborn refusal to go down in flames, no matter the stakes or the consequence.

The film takes a (somewhat) odd turn in the last act, what with conspiracy theories and A Beautiful Mind-like sequences, but it's not enough to overshadow the exciting first two acts.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"Darn tootin'!"

And then...

Time to bag on Nicolas Cage again...

It's been two months or so, I figure it's high time to rant about Nicolas Cage's next new movie (this topic could get old quickly, considering how much the man works - detailed here), brimming with sarcasm and negativity. Such are the effects brought on by Mr. Ghost Rider.

Next, coming to a theater near you on April 27th, is brought to you by the acclaimed (or not) director of Die Another Day and xXx: State of the Union, Mr. Lee Tamahori. In it, Cage plays a Las Vegas showroom magician (get used to the gig, Nic) who can see two minutes into the future. Blah blah blah, he will use this gift to save the world (I'm assuming). None of this should sound all that strange to Cage fans (or haters) - it's practically a stock character in a stock film - he might as well be Ben Affleck starring in John Woo's Paycheck.

Funny (not really) that I should mention Paycheck. It, like Next, was based on a Philip K. Dick short story (this one called "The Golden Man). Though I've never read a Dick story, the list of "good-great" films made from his stories is impressive (among them: Total Recall, Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly, and Minority Report). However, the list of "bad-terrible" films from Dick stories is gaining ground, what with Paycheck, Screamers, Impostor, and (naturally) Next making up that list.

If there's one common link that stands out, it's the director - the "good-great" films mentioned have, as their respective directors, Paul Verhoeven (talented, if embattled), Ridley Scott, Richard Linklater, and Steven Spielberg. Contrast that with, also respectively, John Woo (whose English-language filmography can be best described as "gawdawful"), Christian Duguay, Gary Fleder, and the aforementioned Tamahori.

I think it's safe to say that Next will stink up the joint, regardless of Cage's presence.

Speaking of actors, the real enigma that is baffling me has nothing to do with Nic. Nope - it's his costars. The only recognizable names in the credits outside of Cage's are:

* Peter Falk (literally turns 80 years old this year - you are forgiven.)
* Jessica Biel (Hi Jessica. You know all that good career momentum you might have had after The Illusionist? Guess what - it's all gone now.)
* Most egregiously....Ms. Julianne Moore.

Julianne, are your kids going hungry? Mortgage a payment or two behind? I hope so, because I can't think of many other valid reasons to be vaguely associated with this film, much less co-starring in it. For shame - I don't care how much you might be able to class up a joint, pouring perfume on a turd is just going to make it smell like a fancier turd.

(See, I wasn't even that hard on Cage. Just on others for being associated with him. It's all relative.)

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: First Snow

If we're not careful, we're soon going to neck deep in the Piper Perabo renaissance. After (kinda) making a name with the dreadful Bruckheimer-produced (shock!) Coyote Ugly (co-starring Tom Brady's former flame, Bridget Moynahan), Ms. Perabo pretty much disappeared off the face of planet, only to barely resurface with the equally bad Cheaper by the Dozen films, playing one of Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt's kids, despite being 27 years of age when the first was released. But that's neither here nor there. With parts in last year's The Prestige and this year's Because I Said So (I say don't see that, but I'm just guessing), coupled with her supporting turn in First Snow, a comeback is afoot.

However, that's all much ado about nothing, at least as it pertains to Snow. Piper has a supporting role as Guy Pearce's girlfriend in the New Mexico-set noir thriller, with Pearce playing a sleazy floor salesman who (without spoiling) learns some bad things about his future, and does his best to change them.

Directed by first-timer Mark Fergus (though he was one of the myriad writers of Children of Men, reviewed here), First Snow is slowly paced and well acted, but lacks enough of a story to really pull you in. Refreshing as it is to see films set in New Mexico and other not-so-used locales (though New Mexico seems to be growing as a filming destination, what with The Tao of Steve, 21 Grams, Flirting with Disaster, and Little Miss Sunshine amongst the more recent films set/shot there), with such a sleepy setting, there needs to be some faster pacing, or just more story, to keep you from getting bored.

In the end, there aren't really many surprises in First Snow. If you're looking for a casual, straightforward piece of noir, this is it. If you're looking for anything new or groundbreaking, look elsewhere. Amongst the few surprises:

• Guy Pearce, with his stringy long hair, looking like a young David Carradine at times. I kept waiting for the "grasshopper" line.
• J.K. Simmons playing pleasantly against type as a quiet drifter (of sorts). With his larger-than-life performances in (amongst other things) Oz and the Spiderman films, I was a bit taken aback seeing him so low-key. The guy is amazing.
  
• William Fichtner shows up and doesn't play a bad guy! Good for him - he's another great character actor. ("It's Confederated Products, it's, it's... it's a different company. It's a different quality of product.")

Fletch's Film Rating:

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."

And then...

Stay for "The Credits"

Unless you're blind (and if you are, kudos to you for reading this site), you've probably already noticed the latest feature ("The Credits") that I've added to the Blog Cabins. Though there is hardly a need for any breaking-type news or other such nonsense, I wanted a place where I could post one-liners about upcoming posts, important things to see, upcoming events, off-the-wall nonsense, and, of course, the occasional Fletch quote. Hopefully, it's just 1/10 as fun for you as it is for me - I'll do my best to update it frequently.

And then...

Fletch's Video Miniview: Half Nelson

I call them "Video Miniviews," but in truth, they often end up being the same length as any normal (read: theatrical) review. I guess the only point that proves is that the medium in which I watch a film has no correlation to the length of the commentary in which I'm inclined to write about it.

What does this have to do with Half Nelson? Not much, except that in this case, the "mini" ought to come into play, as it has been a least three weeks since I saw it and yet I really don't have all that much to say about it. I guess in a way this makes me feel somewhat bad - after all, this is supposed to be one of 2006's best films, and I've a number of
non-critics sing its praises as well, comparing it to films such as Trainspotting.

So? I liked it. It is a "good film." It's well-made, albeit on a budget, with quality actors, a great soundtrack, and oodles of "atmosphere." But it really didn't strike me as being vastly memorable or "important" or whatever. The best thing about it, to no surprise, is the performance given by Ryan Gosling. He's a real character, immensely captivating to watch - heck, I'm even comptemplating watching the uber chick-flick The Notebook just to see his performance (and also eager to see the otherwise un-thrilling thriller Fracture based on his presence above all). And I guess that's the best possible thing that can be said about Nelson; after all, it is a character study.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"Darn tootin'!"

And then...

Fletch's Favored Five: Movies that Roll

It's high time to unveil a new feature here in the Blog Cabins. While Top 10 lists are highly cliched and terribly unoriginal, "Favored Five" are wildly clever and wholly unique. Therefore, I shall periodically choose a topic of my liking and tell you which are the top, er, favored films that fit into said topic. (If you like, you can suggest a topic for me to cover by emailing me.)

Today's topic: Movies that Roll

I don't know if you've noticed, but movies that either revolve around or feature bowling are much better than those that don't. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but there certainly seems to be some magic brought on by the scent of cigarettes and beer and the sounds of pins crashing - just go here for more evidence. For the purposes of this article, I'm only looking at films that feature bowling, but do not revolve around it completely (which, to my knowledge, only knocks out Kingpin and possibly some documentaries about real-life bowlers).

5. Pleasantville: There's really not a lot of bowling going on here, but the scene in the bowling alley is pretty key, and features a pissed off J.T. Walsh, which is always a good thing when it comes to film. William H. Macy has just come home from work, only to find out that his loving wife has not cooked him dinner (!). Cue thunder and lightning, along with a walk to the bowling alley, where the men have gathered (naturally) to discuss just what in sam hell is wrong with the womenfolk. (Note: Pleasantville also may make a list in the near future for having one of the all-time great soundtrack songs/cover songs, with Fiona Apple's interpretation of The Beatles "Across the Universe." Check it out if you can.)

4. Napoleon Dynamite: Another short bowling scene in a pretty good movie, as we get a dose of Uncle Rico and Kip making their way to the lanes to strategize their sales and marketing strategy as only they can. Docked some points here for the brevity of the bowling.

3. Teen Wolf: That Scott Howard sure turned into a cocky bastard once he became a little more comfortable with the "wolf out" abilities. Here we see young Scott raising the ire of 35-year old Mick by taking his girlfriend, the much desired Pamela Wells, to the lanes for an evening of bowling lessons, ball throwing and extraneous hair.

2. Uncle Buck: Entire books could probably be written about the mystery that is John Hughes' career. The undisputed King of the 80s teen comedy has written a ton of movies, though the last good and/or successful one was 1990's Home Alone. Meanwhile, he has only directed 8 films in his entire career (!!), starting with Sixteen Candles in 1984 and concluding with Curly Sue in 1991. In between, he made (in order): The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Ferris Buehler's Day Off, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, She's Having a Baby and Uncle Buck. A simply amazing run of success if ever there was one.

Uncle Buck brought us one of the last, great performances by John Candy, and it ranks number two in the countdown. Buck was a big-time bowler, so when he handles his nieces and nephew (a pre-Home Alone Macaulay Culkin) for a few days, you can't blame the guy for taking them bowling. The icing on the cake is when a sleazy buddy of Buck's comes over to hit on his 16-year old niece Tia, only to make a fool of himself getting a toothpick stuck inside his mouth. Ouch.

1. The Big Lebowski: As if there could possibly be another choice. Though it does not technically revolve around bowling in the way that something like Kingpin does, Lebowski isn't far off, with a good third (and possibly half) of its scenes taking place at the lanes, in some fashion or another. It's probably also the most realistic portrayal of bowlers/bowling yet, what with the ultra-competitive Walter Sobchak and the beer guts and wrist protectors featured in the opening credits.

F*ck it Dude, let's go bowling.

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: Blades of Glory

I'm convinced that Will Ferrell is gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

It's just that, with two films in less than a year featuring a (more than blatant) homoerotic theme, either Ferrell is a closeted gay man, or he is (not so secretly) a gay rights advocate. I find this funny more than anything - one of the crowning achievements of last year's Talledaga Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby was that it featured him playing a race car driver learning tolerance and humility (more or less), topped off with a lip-smacking finale with Sasha Baron Cohen. To classify the NASCAR audience as homophobic would be wildly unfair, but to say that they are probably one of the least gay-friendly sport audiences probably wouldn't be too far off, either.

Then again, maybe I'm just placing too much worth and social value to the film, much as audiences and the media were accused of doing with Borat last summer as well. After all, that is the same film where Ricky Bobby plunges a knife through his leg after believing himself to be paralyzed. However, Ferrell and company didn't stop at Ricky Bobby. With Blades of Glory, we see the story of two male figure skaters who, when ousted from their division, go from bitter rivals to a pair of dancing queens. And despite the romantic element thrown in for Jon Heder's Jimmy MacElroy, the character couldn't be more gay than if he were a member of the Village People. Meanwhile, Ferrell's butch Chazz Michael Michaels is a (heterosexual) sex addict who skates to the sensual sounds of Billy Squire's "The Stroke" and, in the end, can't help but soar like an eagle, hand-in-hand, with MacElroy.

Supported by a long list of comedy veterans (including Amy Poehler, Will Arnett and even Andy Richter) and real life skaters such as Brian Boitano, Nancy Kerrigan and Dorothy Hamill, the film is funnier than it might look at first glance. It goes from the bizarre to the absurd, but the writing is surprisingly strong. And besides, how can you not love any movie that features Coach playing a coach?

Fletch's Film Rating:

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."

And then...

This just in...

As it turns out, maybe boxofficereport.com and I (and the rest of the general consensus) should just keep our day jobs:

Blades of Glory whups on Grindhouse (and every other movie this weekend)

Though I was part of the problem - I had plans to see Grindhouse on Friday, but plans fell through and I'll likely be seeing it next weekend. Perhaps there will be a rebound, though that's not likely.

Next week's victims for the Blades chopping block:

* Disturbia, a Rear Window knockoff starring Shia LaBeouf, Carrie-Anne Moss and the always-excellent David Morse.

* Pathfinder, a Viking-Indian battle-type flick, starring "should be a star by now" Karl Urban and featuring Clancy Brown.

* ACADEMY AWARD (!) winner Halle Berry co-stars with Bruce Willis in Perfect Stranger, the story of a lovely Meeposian immigrant who has come to America to live with her high-strung cousin Larry. Wackiness ensues.

And then...

Fletch sees the Future

Over the years, I've found that the guys (gals? I have no idea) over at boxofficereport.com do a pretty damn good job at predicting the weekly take at the movies, and they also have a ton of other great data, including databases of things like "Top Adjusted [gross box office] Films" and top "Month by Month" which lists the highest grossing films for each month of the year. Anyway, they're great and stuff.

However, I fear their aim with the highest profile films (so far) of 2007 is way off. As I pointed out here a few weeks back, they guessed that 300 would make $43M in its opening weekend. It made ~$70M - meaning they were off by about 40%. Not good.

As of today, they have Grindhouse forecasted for $23M, or, roughly half of what the Fletch-hated (yet unseen) Ghost Rider or Wild Hogs made in their first weeks.

Really? You sure about that?

Sure, Grindhouse is a long, R-rated film. Guess what - so was 300. And I believe (without having done market demographic research, mind you) that they have roughly the same demographic (mostly male, age 13-35 - assuming the 13 year olds can get in).

Fletch's Forecast for Grindhouse: $31 million

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: The Lives of Others; The Last Mimzy; The Lookout; Following

In the past 3 weeks or so, I've seen three films in the theater, all of which start with "The L-," yet that's about all they have in common. Here are some short takes on each (in the order in which I've seen them), plus a video miniview of Christopher Nolan's (Memento, Batman Begins) first feature film:

The Lives of Others
While Pan's Labyrinth got all of the pre-Oscar buzz (and deservedly so), the German film The Lives of Others was the one that walked away with the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. And the debate is closer than I would have thought. In what makes for a great companion piece to last year's V for Vendetta, Others takes place in mid-80s (East) Berlin, telling the story of a playwright who is under investigation for...well, being suspicious, amongst other things. The whole nine yards of surveillance and stakeout is set up to keep close tabs on him, his girlfriend, his friends, the air that he breathes, and his dog (if he had one). In other words, they think he's up to no good and will stop at nothing to find out what that might be. Chaos, confusion, etc. ensue.

Though Pan's will have a longer shelf life, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has made a very good film, and it carries a bit more weight (considering the recency of its history) compared to Guillermo Del Toro's film. It's dark, slowly paced, and intense, even carrying a documentary-like quality to it at times. Dont be afraid of the subtitles - check it out.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"It's in the hole!"


The Last Mimzy
Part E.T., part A.I., and part, well, I can't think of any other films to compare it to that whose titles consist solely of initials - how 'bout part *batteries not included, Mimzy is bound to be somewhat refreshing for those over the age of, say, 12. While it doesn't ignore the children's perspective, it certainly won't leave adults "cuted" out or anything like that. The plot focuses of two children who find a futuristic artifact sent back to the present to SAVE HUMANITY. Along the way, they gain some unique powers and the ability to freak out their parents, babysitters and possibly even the NSA. It's certainly fantasy, and never veers into preachiness, but it certainly has a pro-environmental agenda and some generally good messages for kids of all ages. Timothy Hutton, Joely Richardson, and The Office's Rainn Wilson lend some acting chops to the proceedings.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."


The Lookout
Based on the previews alone, I wasn't all that excited to see The Lookout. It looked kind of like Memento, and kind of like every other (generic) heist movie out there, with its big draw (for me) being star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who, despite sludging his way through the tiresome Brick, has a bright future ahead of him.

Then I saw that Lookout was written and directed by Out of Sight and Get Shorty writer Scott Frank. Considering my (well documented, at least for Out of Sight; I feel the same way about Get Shorty) affection for those films, I was now looking forward to his latest. Well, your first instincts are always your best - while certainly not terrible, and despite great performances by both Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels (as the "blind Larry Flynt"), The Lookout doesn't really stand out.

Sure, it has some hooks, and the characters are pretty well written considering the genre (outside of the uber-cliched character "Bone"), but the plot, once you get past the Memento-ish theme, is pretty boring. And predictable. And generic.

It's a rental.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"Whatever."


Following
Before the aforementioned Memento, Brit Christopher Nolan made the festival circuit in the late 90s with Following, an obsessive story about a bored writer who has taken up following people as his hobby. This (obviously) gets him into trouble, though not exactly the kind of ble you might think. His hobby takes a break as he picks up a newer, more dangerous one and gets mixed up with shady characters and the wrong lady. I'd say more, but don't want to spoil it.

Running at a short 69 minutes, I'd imagine that it barely qualifies as a "feature film" (not sure what the cutoff is between a "short" and a "feature" - I'd guess around 60 minutes). It's obviously a student film, with it's black and white, grainy filmstock, and cheap, cheap production values (few sets, few actors), but the story (and filmmaker's talent) is there. It's not hard to see how Nolan went from this to the similarly filmed Memento, and it's interesting to see the progression.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."

(It's rating is hurt primarily by the factors listed above; it's definitely worth checking out if you like Nolan's later work.)

And then...

Spam Words of Wisdom #2

Sure, this may be somewhat offensive, but how can you not love the excellent use of engrish?

"See how much girls love cum in Budapest @ www.eitherfish. and add com after the dot at the end"

If only we could all be so formal with our internet language. "Please enter your username, which may be your email address, which may be your name plus an 'at' symbol plus com after the dot."

And then...