Tag: 90s

Following is a Brief Film

Following

The review:

Christopher Nolan’s Following is embryonic Nolan,* and is a good showcase of what we put up with in the 90s when it came to independent films.** I always enjoy a shifting timeline, so that was a win, but I found that the distance of all of the characters made it difficult to care about what was happening on screen.*** It’s nice to know that better Nolan films were on deck.

The verdict: Skip

(Unless Nolan Completest, or watching to keep up with Filmspotting’s Oeuvre-view.)

Cost: $2.99 via Google Play****
Where watched: at home

Consider watching these other Christopher Nolan films instead:

Further sentences:

*Including its paltry 69-minute (that’s one hour and nine minutes!) run time.
**A lot, including so-so acting. This wasn’t quite the showcase of 90s indie annoyances as Next Stop Wonderland was, but it did have a lot of them.
***The black and white felt like a bit much.
****The median length of a film between 1994 and 2015 is 107 minutes which means this should have cost $1.70 proportionally. (And yes! I just used algebra to solve that problem!)

Questions:

  • What did you think of Lucy Russell’s acting? Decent for the role that was written? Or not good?
  • Did you figure out the ending before the ending?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Principal photography of this film took more than one year. Because all cast and crew members had other full-time jobs they were only able to film about 15 minutes of footage on Saturdays until photography had been completed.

Following
(I do!)

The Wood is a Very Late-90s Film

The Wood

The review:

Rick Famuyiwa’s The Wood goes in a different direction that a slew of 90s “hood” movies, instead showing the close relationship of three friends in two different time periods.* This movie has a view of women that is very much of its time** and it excels in its portrayal of living in the hood, but being the guys who are not in gangs. It’s funny, and sweet and has some really great scenes.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: Free!
Where watched: 5th Avenue Cinema (alumni get in free, as do students!)

Consider also watching:

  • Love & Basketball (The main charcters are both in the Wood!)
  • Love Jones
  • Waiting to Exhale

Further sentences:

*The movie is double cast with Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs playing the older friends, while Sean Nelson, Duane Finley and Trent Cameron play their junior high and high school counterparts.
**It wasn’t going to win any feminism award in 1999 and most of the boy/girl interaction has not aged well.
***I think having a tough gang member named Stacey is one of the jokes and De’aundre Bonds was great in that role.

Questions:

  • What’s your approach to movies with humor/plots that don’t work with today’s understanding?
  • What are you favorite friendship movies?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

While writing his screenplay, Rick Famuyiwa worked full time at the Beverly Hills branch of Niketown.

The Wood

Red Rock West is the Best Noir Western

The review:

John Dahl’s Red Rock West was a film I watched in the mid-90s* and remember enjoying, but wasn’t sure how it had aged. I’m here to tell you that this film still retains all that was good in the 90s, is the best Noir/Western you will ever watch and has a Cage performance that is the perfect amount of Cage, plus Dennis Hopper being creepy in a fun way, not in a Blue Velvet way.** If you can find your way to this little gem, do partake.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $15.00
Where watched: Hollywood Theatre, with a Q&A by director John Dahl as part of the Hollywood’s “Cage Uncaged” series.

Consider also watching other peak Cage:

  • Face/Off
  • The Rock
  • Leaving Las Vegas
  • Gone in 60 Seconds
  • Matchstick Men
  • Wild at Heart
  • Adaptation

The lack of links is an indication that this movie blog and Peak Cage have not overlapped. I’ve seen all of those films, but prior to 2008. Here’s Roger Ebert’s review of Matchstick Men

Further sentences:

*It was recommended by my then-roommate, with whom I had almost nothing in common. Her father, however, watched a lot of good movies which meant some of those good movie trickled down to her.
**Props also to J.T. Walsh who is excellent as bar owner Wayne. Or “Wayner” as Hopper calls him.

Questions:

  • Have you seen Red Rock West?
  • What is your favorite Nicolas Cage role?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Dwight Yoakam brought his own pistol for his role as the truck driver. His hit single, “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere,” is used during the film’s closing credits. The version used is a studio demo recording, not the one from the album This Time.

(According to the Q&A I attended, Yoakam asked if Dahl needed an end-credits song, Dahl said yes, and 15 minutes later Yoakam called and played the song.)

Red Rock West

Round out your 90s Paul Thomas Anderson Film Fest with Hard Eight

The review:

Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film holds its reveal for much too long, but is worth watching for the performances.* It’s always a good sign when I’m curious about what’s going on, but also don’t really need to know because the acting is keeping me entertained.** This is clearly early PT Anderson, but early PTA is still a better movie than a lot of mid-career directors.

The verdict: Good

Cost: free via Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Watching 90s John C. Reilly in 2019, I marvel at how even when he was young he looked middle aged. He was 21 when this was released! Aside from looking reliably middle-aged for decades, he always turns in a winning performance.
**There’s also a bit part with Philip Seymour Hoffman. He’s such a gem. I still miss him.

Questions:

  • Do you think the casino rate card trick would work today?
  • What’s your dream team of PT Anderson regulars?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

When Jimmy (Samuel L. Jackson) and Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) have their confrontation, Jimmy mentions that he knows Sydney’s friends Floyd Gondolli and Jimmy Gator. In Paul Thomas Anderson’s next movie, Boogie Nights (1997), Philip Baker Hall plays Floyd Gondolli. In Anderson’s followup to Boogie Nights, Magnolia (1999), Philip Baker Hall plays Jimmy Gator.

Magnolia Holds Up Reasonably Well 20 Years On

The review:

Twenty years out, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia is full of incredible performances, especially by the men* and the film includes the usual Anderson mesmerizing aura. That said, some things didn’t work for me, namely the “random happenstance” that begins and ends the movie, but which I felt had no real connection to the movie itself.** It’s still worth the watch, especially for a particular reason I won’t spoil here.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home (And I stayed up much too late on a Sunday night. It’s a three-hour movie.)

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I found most of the women’s roles, especially Julianne Moore and Melora Walters, to have parts that left them with nothing much to do than be shrill.
**Also, John C. Reilly’s policeman character would have played differently today, and (as Boyfriend Matt pointed out) the movie is singularly focused on the experience of white people, so much so that the few people of color who appear are mostly irritants to the white actors’ stories.
***And which I didn’t remember as being so very bloody.

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite P.T. Anderson film?
  • Who do you think got the best role in this film? (I think John C. Reiley.)

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Claudia was the first character created, and the other characters were branched off from her.

Other reviews:

Chutney Popcorn Overcomes; Is a Good Movie

Sorry it’s not a better image. Surprisingly, 90s indie films about lesbians don’t have a ton of media presence on the internet.

The review:

Nisha Ganatra directs a film chock full of terrible acting,* and yet still manages to create a very enjoyable movie-watching experience. The plot has an interesting conundrum (offering to be a surrogate for your married, infertile sister) and the movie itself is a delightful time capsule of late-90s New York City lesbian culture. This is a great example of how serious flaws sometimes aren’t enough to bring down the movie.**

The verdict: Good

(with some caveats)

Cost: free via Hoopla, the library’s steaming service that isn’t Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Apparently, there’s a good reason that the main character’s acting isn’t great. See the trivia section. Jill Hennessy is in this and isn’t bad, but she isn’t great, either.
**Ganatra also directed one of my favorite films of this year: Late Night

Questions:

  • What’s a movie that isn’t great (for whatever reason) but you still love it.
  • Iconic lesbian films. Go!
  • Have you seen Late Night yet? Why or why not?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Director and co-writer Nisha Ganatra stepped into the lead role of Reena after the actress originally cast in the role quit the production shortly before filming began.

American Beauty Hasn’t Aged Well

The review:

Despite excellent performances, Sam Mendes’ American Beauty has not aged well, thanks to a social movement that calls out how women have to live in the world* and its lead actor’s real life.** On the one hand, we’ve got someone who has a goal, knows why the goal exists, and is working toward a life that is good; on the other hand we have someone who is floating along unhappy and only inappropriate desire can rouse him from the slumber.*** The film was also quite slow; the line readings had me wanting to snap my fingers telling them to speed it up!

The verdict: Skip

Cost: free via Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*#MeToo
**There’s a scene where Kevin Spacey threatens a sexual harassment suit against his male boss. Lo, nearly 20 years later Kevin Spacey would be the person being accused.
***Dude, you don’t like your life? Fine, change it. You think your wife is a phony? Examine why you are still with her and perhaps talk to her about it. You hate your marriage? Get a divorce or fix it. You feel sad that your daughter is so distant? Maybe ask her some questions. You want to sleep with your underage daughter’s best friend? You can’t. It’s illegal.****
****For the love of god, don’t blame everything on your wife. Have some agency. This movie was very much a last gasp (I hope) of the baby boomer mid-life crisis movie—right down to the cliched music.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

According to his Oscar speech, screenwriter Alan Ball was sitting at the World Trade Center Plaza when he saw a paper bag floating in the wind and was inspired by it to write the film, which was originally conceived as a stage play.

Questions:

  • Do you have a movie that you once loved, but hasn’t aged well?
  • What’s your favorite Annette Bening performance?
  • The teenagers in this film. Discuss.

Now and Then Would Have Been Better Off Sticking with Then

The review:

In 1995, Lesli Linka Glatter directed Now and Then, a coming of age movie with a lot of young actresses who then were girls but now are grown up and still fun to watch.* The plot is a little thin, and would have been better without the grown-up story, but it was a fine palate cleanser on a Friday night. Plus, it’s a good 1995 time capsule.**

The verdict: Good

(Again, we’re not talking fine wine. We’re talking house red. Or possibly Two Buck Chuck.)

Cost: Netflix monthly subscription ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching/watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Gaby Hoffman is always a treat.
**And possibly a good 1970 time capsule, though that was before my time.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The movie (a.k.a. The Gaslight Addition) was actually written about a town in Indiana named Winchester, and its gaslight addition. The author of the story I. Marlene King grew up there, as did the director Robert Wise, in vastly different years. Winchester declined to have their name associated with the movie, so the name became Shelby, but later Winchester began to preserve areas mentioned in the movie.

Little Women: the Gen X Version

The review:

Gillian Armstrong’s Little Women is my generation’s Little Women and it’s full of great performances and too much moralizing.* While everyone is batting a thousand, Claire Danes goes the extra mile, not only ugly crying, but also killing it in her deathbed scene.** I’ve never liked the bones of the story***, but this is still fun to watch.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home, in preparation for the Greta Gerwig version

Consider also watching:

  • In Her Shoes
  • The Virgin Suicides
  • Frozen
  • Sense & Sensibility

Further sentences:

*I mean, geez, I know how progressive Louisa May Alcott and her family were, but it seems like every time Marmee opens her mouth it’s to provide a mini-lecture about their advanced beliefs. My eyes were rolling.
**Pun intended. Simple words said beautifully, and the waterworks start.
***Amy. Brat with few redeeming qualities. Jo. Belongs with Laurie. Or at least a single writer. Anyone but that old guy.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

While filming, Claire Danes was carrying a candle up the stairs and her hair caught on fire.

Update: an oral history of this film’s production, provided by the New York Times. Worth reading!

Fight Club: Still Relevant 20 Years Later

The review:

I hadn’t seen David Fincher’s Fight Club since 1999*, and wasn’t at all certain it would hold up, so I pressed play with some amount of trepidation. My trepidation vanished in the first few minutes and I found myself settling back into the feeling I remember the movie giving me the first time I watched it.** It’s violent, a bit terrifying, hilarious, runs at a breakneck pace, and might be both Edward Norton and Brad Pitt’s best performances*** and if you haven’t seen this film, get thee to a viewing.****

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home, as part of Filmspotting’s 9 from ’99*****

Consider also watching these other fine Fincher films:

Further sentences:

*Or rather, since the year 2000, as the journal excerpt below proves.
**The feeling in question: This movie is awesome! I also want to be in a Fight Club! And also, no, I can see that it isn’t actually a good thing! But I still am enjoying myself tremendously watching this film.
***This movie also manages the impossible: it’s a movie about men doing men things that exclude women, its plot contains only one woman and she’s more of a plot point than a character, and yet still I find myself charmed. How does this film do that?
****It’s been 20 years since its release, so you probably know the twist. It’s still worth watching if you do.
*****And between this film, the Sixth Sense, and the Matrix the year 1999 was sending a very strong message that all was not as it seemed.

Favorite IMDB Trivia:

Author Chuck Palahniuk first came up with the idea for the novel after being beaten up on a camping trip when he complained to some nearby campers about the noise of their radio. When he returned to work, he was fascinated to find that nobody would mention or acknowledge his injuries, instead saying such commonplace things as “How was your weekend?” Palahniuk concluded that the reason people reacted this way was because if they asked him what had happened, a degree of personal interaction would be necessary, and his workmates simply didn’t care enough to connect with him on a personal level. It was his fascination with this societal ‘blocking’ which became the foundation for the novel.

Special bonus:

Excerpt from my journal the day I watched Fight Club: