by Ethan Johnson
January 27, 2001
I've been taking in a lot of movies lately, both on VHS and on the big screen. Here are my thoughts concerning a few of them:
Casablanca
I didn't think I'd like this movie as much as I did. My only complaint was that they kept filming Ingrid Bergman with a soft lens, and Bogart with a standard one, back and forth, back and forth. I liken it to the Diet Coke commercial that Elton John did with Paula Abdul (remember her?) some years back. He sang the jingle "straight up", whereas her voice was processed to the hilt with electronic effects to "smooth it over". Sheesh.
My pet theory is that while Star Wars was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, I think that the Han Solo persona was loosely based on Bogart's character in Casablanca. There are remarkable similarities: they both have "a price on their head", both are maverick renegade-types, and there's a war on, but neither one wanted to get involved. I may be dead wrong. But I had a creeping suspicion as the movie unfolded.
I was surprised at how many famous lines came out of that film. And I can't for the life of me understand how "Play it again, Sam" ever got attributed to Humphrey Bogart. Oh well.
Ethan Sez: See it at least once.
Gladiator
So speaking of Star Wars, I watched this 2 1/2 hour monstrosity and thought, "why couldn't Episode I be anywhere near as competent?" Some of the sets looked like they may have been left over from the Episode I shoot. Just substitute Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen for Yoda and Samuel L. Jackson, and you've got essentially the same background but with different actors (or Muppets).
My beef with this movie was that more than once, there's a real "stretch" to develop some sort of reason why we should cheer for Russell Crowe and despise Joaquin Phoenix. In fact, the only real character flaw that we're treated to by Phoenix is that he so desperately wants to be Caesar of Rome that he'll do anything to get it, so long as it involves treachery and cowardice. But then they ham-handedly hint at him having eyes for his sister, and then they hint that he's a pedophile, hint hint. WHY can this movie graphically depict pretty much every bodily extremity getting chopped off on some form or another, but they can't decide just HOW evil Joaquin Phoenix's character is supposed to be?
Ethan Sez: This better not win any Oscars for acting. Maybe SFX, but that's about it. Also, plan a picnic lunch for this, as it runs 2 1/2 hours. I had to take the phone off the hook so we could be sure to get through the flick with minimal interruptions.
Taxi Driver
This movie seemed rather dated, whereas Citizen Kane and Casablanca would seem to be more so, but strangely they weren't. I wanted more from Albert Brooks and Cybill Shepherd than I got. It was weird to see a) Jodie Foster, the 12 year-old, and b) Harvey Keitel looking like, well, Harvey Keitel always does only with long hair and clothes that scream "resale shop". I thought DeNiro was outstanding overall, though. He played the "guy with zero personality" to a T. Worth the rent.
Ethan Sez: You talkin' to me? I'd only heard that line in some filtered-down sense, but never saw THE scene before. Now I'm one step closer to achieving cultural non-bereftness. But I have miles to go before that ever happens.
Traffic
You WILL think about this movie for days afterward, whether you think it's better than sliced bread or the worst movie of 2001. It was totally weird seeing Topher Grace (Eric Foreman on That 70's Show) playing the role of smart-ass rich kid. Or, you could just have watched That 70's Show this past Wednesday and seen their take-off on Reefer Madness, which gee, could this have anything to do with Traffic?
Benicio Del Toro: Excellent. Worth the watch just for his role, I think. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones-Davis-Alonzo-Herrera-Conchita-Del Mar-Douglas did OK I guess, but I wasn't particularly "wowed" by either of 'em. Look! It's Michael Douglas playing the part of an executive!
Ethan Sez: A must-see.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Go. Now. See this. Jeez, what more do you need to hear about this movie? The place was jam-packed for the freakin' 2 o'clock MATINEE, for gosh sakes! I've never heard a movie audience laugh this hard, at least not lately. We are so buying this when it comes out on video.
Ethan Sez: You still here?! <EM>
