chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuqui Q. Koala) (12/26/84)
It is truly amazing how many movies you can go through (cheaply!) with a
machine and a few days off... So, without further ado, more movies from the
bowels of the VCR-- things that should have been seen in a theater, but
probably weren't. Now, fortunately, you have that choice without worrying
about commercials or the whims of the cable people...
Zelig -- ***
An interesting but difficult film. Woody has put together a
'documentary' of a person from the early part of this century, someone
who really didn't exist. Zelig is a social chameleon, someone who not
only tries to fit in by pretending to be what he isn't, but actually
becomes it. Around fat men he gets fat, around chinese he becomes
chinese, around psychiatrists he becomes a psychiatrist. An interesting
concept, this film is very well fleshed out. The cinimatography is
astounding-- it is impossible to really tell what is real newsreel
footage and what isn't. The only real problem with the film, and the
reason why it probably didn't do as well at the box as it should have,
is that it is so realistic and true to the newsreel documentary that it
isn't an easy work to involve yourself in. The characters never become
real-- they are always being talked about, never shown, which makes it
a difficult piece to relate to. Well worth the effort, though.
Interiors -- ****+
Woody allen without the jokes. This work, an homage to Bergman, is one
of the better pieces of foreign film that never crossed the atlantic.
Not very well received by many critics, and unfoundedly so. This film
shows Woody for what he is-- not just a comic, not just a funny
filmmaker, but also very much a good filmmaker. This is serious
cinematography, on a par with the best you can find on any continent.
People who can't accept woody for being more than a clown will not like
this film. People who like film that pushes itself to the limits,
that force you to think and work with the filmmaker in understanding
his reality. Most film is entertainment. This film is art. It is also
entertaining art, which puts it in the rarest category of all.
Gumball Rally - **
If you liked Cannonball Run, you'll love Gumball Rally. If you saw
Cannonball run, you've seen most of Gumball Rally, because Cannonball
is one of the most blatant ripoffs of another film work that ever made
it past a studio legal department. Worse, it didn't even do it right.
This film is a well paced, well cast, non-stop chase scene. No heavy
plot, no heavy meanings, just trying to get from New York to Long Beach
as quickly as possible. Consider it Cannonball Run done right, it is
also cannonball run done first. They should have been real smart and
simply re-released this instead. Chase this film down for a good time,
if you can catch up to it.
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl - ** (required for MP fans)
If you are a python fan, this is a required tape. If you aren't, you
are better off watching the TV or tracking down a film such as 'And now
for something completely different' or 'holy grail'. Uneven pacing, a
few sketches that simply don't work very well, and a an implied
knowledge that most viewers will already know most of the skits by
heart make this a hard film for a novice to understand-- if only
because most of the really big laughs are caused by changes to the
gospel according to Monty, not the gospel itself. There are some really
good laughs here, especially for fans. There are times when the
realities of life performing (wigs flying off, sound equiptment
screwing up) make it hard for them to keep their own faces straight,
much less yours. If you like the python, you'll like the film.
Valley Girl -- ***+
With 'horny teenager' movies being the rage, when such well-thought out
dramas as 'Porkys' and 'Spring Break' running naked through the aisles,
finding a movie that can show the problems of being a teenager
intelligently, realistically, and humorously is about as rare as snow
in Fort Lauderdale. Valley Girl is such a movie, the story of your
standard socialite junior who falls for one of 'them', a punker from
Hollywierd. Set in LA, where people like these really DO exist, this
movie is suprisingly NOT a Moon Unit Zappa clone, but a very well done
study of being a teenager growing up. The trappings (and the language,
although not unintelligabely so) are Valley, but the problems are
anytown USA. This is a story about outsiders, peer pressure, and the
need to belong. Suprisingly for this genre, the women of this movie
have their clothes on almost continuously-- even more suprising, they
can act, and you don't mind. This movie, along with 'Fast times for
ridgemont high' are the only two that stick out in my mind from this
genre-- the rest seem to insist on portraying men as out-of-control
hormone generators and women as hormone repositories. Both of the good
movies, possibly coincidentally, were written by women, who might have
a better perspective on the situation, or perhaps simply more scruples
about doing good film. This is well worth seeing-- take it from a
person who promised to gag if he heard the word 'grotty' one more time.
--
From the ministry of silly talks: Chuq Von Rospach
{allegra,cbosgd,decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA
Deadbone erotica is the prickly panic of forgotten milleniums, it is the moldy
billion year madness that creeps deep along the spinal behind of my mind.