No Direction Home: Bob Dylan

This outstanding, three-and-a-half-hour documentary by Martin Scorsese will not clear away the mystery that has always surrounded Robert Zimmerman, but he comes closer than anyone ever has. Through stunning archival performance footage, talking heads and (surprisingly, I admit) articulate interviews with the man himself, we learn of Dylan’s early influences (Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, et al; the Beat generation) his politics (none, really; hated the term “protest song” and resented being made a figurehead of the peaceniks) and his reaction to criticism (didn’t care at all about the booing when he went electric). Especially amusing are his rare press conferences in the ‘60s, answering questions from some unbelievably straight, buttoned-down reporters. Many people and movements tried to enlist and define him, but none succeeded. Perhaps even more than Old Blue Eyes, he did it his way, and he’s a true original. Interviewees include Seeger, Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, Al Cooper, Dave Van Ronk, Peter Yarrow and Mitch Miller. See it; you’ll learn something. (225 min)

Cinemas 19 36 71

King Kong

The first third of this three-hour remake (dreadfully misused word!) is a fairly interesting, deliciously anticipatory setup, bringing you metaphorically to the top of the first downhill rush of a great roller coaster. Then it grabs you and gleefully shakes you non-stop for the next two hours like an epileptic jackhammer. LOTR director Peter Jackson’s vocabulary clearly lacks the word “enough,” but I mean that in a good way. And if you think this is just a girl-meets-ape story, you’re forgetting, for starters, the giant bats, the dinosaurs, the big flesh-eating worms and the motorcycle-sized, fanged insects. Naomi Watts strikes a nice balance between damsel in distress and thinking hostage, and would be a shoo-in if they had a Best Scream Oscar. Jack Black and Adrien Brody do fine as the ambitious director and reluctant screenwriter, and the CG gorilla, with Andy Serkis (Gollum) “inside,” motion-suit wise, displays at least seven distinct expressions (putting him six ahead of Steven Seagal). This stylish, beautiful film is as fun as going to the movies gets. Big screen, please. (187 min)

Cinemas 2 3 10 11 26 45 60 70 90 95 96 99 102 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120

Chicken Little

Nearing the bottom of the barrel, are we, Disney? What’s next? Three Men in a Tub: The Movie? This relentlessly cute film about the alarmist chicken is amusing if not hilarious. Its awkward script is rich in pop-culture jokes and tunes, perfunctory in character development and arbitrary in its structure, jumping from social-outcast gags to War of the Worlds chaos to father-son bonding. It takes no chances, tries to please everyone, and as a result seems forced. Bottom line is that children will adore it. Parents will be occasionally entertained, but are advised to smash their DVD players right now. (82 min)

Cinemas 5 30 47 60 82 90 96 99 102 107 109 110 111 112 114 115 117 118 120

Bee Season

Self-involved Berkeley professor (Richard Gere) who fancies himself “enlightened” finds by the end of this strange and unique movie that he has lost touch with every member of his family. His house of cards begins to crumble when his previously ignored daughter (11-year-old Flora Cross in an inward performance of astounding strength) wins a spelling bee. He “helps” her train, but cannot see that she doesn’t need help, being able to “see” the words (with some nice visual flourishes). The message in this multi-level film is that a love of words does not necessarily indicate an ability to communicate. (104 min)

Cinemas 7 52

George Michael: A Different Story

Pop idol talks at great, great length about his rise to fame in the ‘80s, his 1998 arrest for lewd conduct, and his less-than-earthshaking announcement that he is gay. Includes archival footage (that “Wake me Up” video with the bathing suits could alone be considered grounds for arrest for public bad taste). We’re reintroduced to Andrew Ridgeley, a.k.a. “the other guy in Wham!” And on and on. Bottom line is fans will like it, nonfans will not. Trivia: The Guiness Book of World Records once listed Alexander Woollcott’s review of Wham! as the worst ever. He wrote one word: “Ouch.” (95 min)

Cinema 22

Where the Truth Lies

Perhaps Atom Egoyan (see Movie News, left) just wanted to try out a big, sexy potboiler. Though it’s not up to the penetrating and cerebral standards he’s set in such films as Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter, it’s a fairly good B-movie. Has to do with a mysterious incident (dead blonde in the bathtub) in the careers of a Martin & Lewis-esque comedy duo (expertly played by Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth) being interviewed years later by a young reporter (Alison Lohman). But Egoyan’s austere style doesn’t really fit the material, and I hope now that he’s tried Lynch lite, he goes back to the arty stuff he does so well. (107 min)

Cinema 52

The Final Cut

In this morose sci-fi fantasy, Robin Williams dusts off his grimly introverted One-Hour Photo persona to play a “cutter.” Some people, you see, have implanted in their brains at birth a chip that records all they see and do. After death, these high-tech AV morticians sanitize and edit all this into a flattering infomercial called a “rememory.” Williams’ “delete” key clearly gets a lot of use, although, god-like, he sees all. This is something that will appeal to fans of intellectually challenging science fiction, but in its execution it’s a frustrating example of missed opportunities. And a little dull. (105 min)

Cinemas 9 30 43

Fun with Dick and Jane

Remake of a 1977 Jane Fonda/George Segal flick about an affluent couple (Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni) who become nouveau poor when the corporation he works for experiences an Enron-style meltdown. After trying to make ends meet, they turn to a sporadically funny life of crime before they hit on the idea of stealing back the millions the CEO stole. There are some sly political jokes (smarmy CEO Alec Baldwin to a TV camera: “I’m devastated. Now watch this shot.”), and even a Ralph Nader cameo. Not Carrey’s best but okay in a rainy-day sort of way. Stay for the closing credits.

Cinemas 1 27 40 65 71 82 96 102 109 111 112 113 114 116 119 120

Taboo

This is an amateurishly and very cheaply videotaped performance (you can’t understand squat over the air conditioning and ambient audience noise) of Boy George’s musical about his own life. A few global hits during a decade known for its sucky music don’t make you Paul McCartney, George. Or even Andrew Lloyd Webber. Personally, I never had strong feelings one way or the other about Culture Club or ‘80s music in general, but, Boy, after wasting two and a half hours of my life watching screeching drag queens, yes, I really want to hurt you. I really want to make you cry. (145 min)

Cinema 37

Lord of War

This entertaining and at the same time repellent film from Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, S1m0ne, The Truman Show) has no idea what it is trying to be. Is it a gloomy, dark comedy, a protest against gun trafficking, a thriller or a character study? It’s all over the map. The story plots the evolution of Yuri Orlov, played by Nicolas Cage (who else?), from a poor Russian émigré in Brooklyn to a globe-trotting gunrunner with the moral conscience of a mushroom spore. He’s an apolitical arms dealer who plays no favorites, a man who has sold guns to “every army but the Salvation Army” (although bin Laden is out since his checks bounce) while playing a running cat-and-mouse game with a dogged Interpol agent (Ethan Hawke) who’d like to put him out of business. The movie says that guns, of course, and by extension arms dealers, kill. But Cage’s coolly sardonic, glib voice-over is actually informative. So I didn’t get the message. But then I’m assuming there is one. Cinematic schizophrenia aside, better than most of what’s out there at the moment. (122 min)

Cinemas 2 34 50 61 109 110 112 116 117 119 120 119 120

Down in the Valley

When a charismatic cowpoke (human chameleon Edward Norton) blows in off the South Dakota range and down into the valley (San Fernando, that is), his old-school, gentlemanly ways catch the eye of teen hottie Evan Rachel Wood, and natural chemistry kicks in. But her sheriff single dad (David Morse) is not fooled for a minute by his polite, aw-shucks attitude or his back story, and wants to know what his game is. So do we. This subtle portrayal of madness from David Jacobson (Dahmer) is completely original and, though it sags a bit in the middle, mostly edge-of-the-seat stuff. (125 min)

Cinema 20

Memoirs of a Geisha

Yes, yes, it’s a gorgeous adaptation of Arthur Golden’s Kyoto-style Cinderella tale, and yes, it’s notably the first big Hollywood movie to feature all Asian actors, etc. But you don’t read this page for the PR reprints, so let’s get to it. The Japanese are upset because Chinese actresses were cast in the leads. But this is what happens when you emphasize young and cute over talent in your entertainment industry, so tough. Rob Marshall (of the overrated Chicago) has fashioned a beautiful thing to look at, the screenplay is adequate (if you’ve read the book), and all these fine actors (Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Watanabe) act their hearts out. But it’s all sabotaged by the decision to film the thing in English. Stiff, studied, language-school English. At times I felt as though I were in an ESL class for beautiful and/or talented Asians. Usually one gets over this kind of cinematic linguistic device, but it continually kept me from enjoying the performances and emotions. It would have been more effective (if less globally marketable) had it been filmed in Japanese and subtitled. Called Sayuri in Japan. (144 min)

Cinemas 4 5 30 48 63 81 90 95 96 99 102 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120

The Corporation

The hook in this fascinating and thorough documentary from Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott is half-mockingly subjecting a corporation, which is legally defined as a person, to psychoanalysis. It was found to be hypocritical, fickle, greedy, deceitful, incapable of admitting guilt, and lacking regard for the well-being of others. In other words, a certifiable psychopath. At 2:25 it’s long for a documentary, but this is a big, complex and global subject that is, after all, the dominant institution of our times. I was frequently enlightened, occasionally entertained, and never bored. (145 min)

Cinema 38

Dear Wendy

Danish auteur Lars von Trier enjoys pointing out what’s wrong with America (though he’s never been there), and his latest effort (as a writer) is this trite and simplistic approach to the country’s complex relationship with guns. Has to do with a somewhat precious group of pistol-packing misfits who call themselves “pacifists with guns.” This misguided and insufferably smug piece of navel-gazing offers numerous shallow insights, no depth, no humor and rotten timing from its dramatically absurd beginning to its inevitable, overdramatic and clumsily staged gunfight ending. Cheap shot. (101 min)


Cinemas 35 49

Lords of Dogtown

This dramatic retelling of the events chronicled in Stacy Peralta’s excellent Dogtown and Z-Boys, though written by Peralta and directed by Thirteen’s Catherine Hardwicke, doesn’t really do anything the documentary didn’t do better. The narrative is stop/start, the characters sporadically interesting but two-dimensional, and the question is, why bother when you can rent the documentary? But Heath Ledger puts in a nice turn as drunk/stoned skateboard catalyst Skip Engblom and likewise Rebecca De Mornay in what they call a “courageous” role as a burned-out surfer mom. Rent the doc. (107 min)


Cinema 20

Noel

Chazz Palminteri has done an astounding thing here. He’s assembled a truly stellar cast for this sad and lonely Christmas mix pic (Susan Sarandon, Alan Arkin, Penélope Cruz, Paul Walker, Robin Williams and Marcus Thomas) and then proceeds to bore your socks off. It’s a big Yuletide snore from its clichéd beginning, through its unlikely subplot and time-frame intersections, right through to its falsely redemptive ending. Go ahead; call me a cynic. But this calculating tearjerker is so gooey and contrived that even nice people will gag on it. And by the way, have a Merry Christmas. (96 min)


Cinema 44 91 116

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

There’s some debate as to whether this Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie vehicle is a romantic comedy or a funny action thriller, or perhaps both (a marital martial arts flick?), as it alternates between sly and clever comedy and banal Hollywood action set-pieces (the director is Doug Lyman, who gave us The Bourne Identity). None of the above, really. It’s mainly a chance for the fans of these two extremely good-looking people to watch their idols have fun together. The central conceit is that John and Jane Smith (probably not their real names) are both, unbeknownst to each other, world-class hired assassins. Trouble starts when they are assigned, separately, to hit the same target, learn each other’s secret, and must be killed. Think War of the Roses with Uzis and plastic explosives. It’s all very, very Hollywood, rich in double entendres and with sizzling chemistry between the combative couple, but it’s fun (if forgettable) if you don’t think about it too much. Vince Vaughn puts in a nice turn as Brad’s boss. (120 min)

Cinemas 2 3 10 26 56 61 70 90 95 96 99 102 107 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The first two cutesy and overstuffed Chris Columbus movies were merely setups for the excellent third installment, by Alfonso Cuarón. Number three was better adapted and decidedly darker. But now, Harry, Ron and Hermione (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson), who have battled giant spiders and snakes, braved evil forests and even girls’ toilets, are up against their greatest and most frightening challenge: the hormonal bewilderments of puberty. Oh, and by the way, a regenerating Voldemort, chillingly if only briefly portrayed by Ralph Fiennes. The fourth film, directed by Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings and a Funeral), is a lot of fun, but its forward motion is halted several times to play with SFX, mostly related to the Tri-Wizard Tournament, an inter-school chance for budding wizards to flex their wands, and this doesn’t exactly make for smooth storytelling. But it’s a Harry Potter movie, and such narrative-busting arrangements are to be expected. Though overfilled, this Goblet continues the third film’s brilliant descent into darkness. Brendan Gleeson, as Mad-Eye Moody, is a constant scene-stealer. Not for little kids. (157 min)

Cinemas 1 4 5 23 27 40 47 60 65 70 71 81 90 95 96 97 99 102 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120

Meet the Fockers

Sluggish sequel to the 2000 sit-com Meet the Parents takes Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), his fiancée and her parents to Florida to meet his parents. Her dad (Robert De Niro), you will remember (or maybe not), is a no-nonsense ex-CIA agent. But his folks are aging hippies, and oil to her parents’ water. Sparks are supposed to fly, but aside from a few grins prompted by the over-the-top performances of Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand as the title caricatures, the jokes are all obvious and/or repetitive (I mean, how many times can the name Focker really be funny?). Fock it. Waste of talent. (115 min)

Cinemas 99 113 114

Pobby and Dingan

Rite-of-passage flick from Peter Cattaneo, who made The Full Monty but also the not-very-funny Lucky Break, had me scratching my head. Little Kellyanne’s two imaginary friends, Pobby and Dingan, disappear while visiting her dad’s dig in Australia’s opal capital of Lightning Ridge.
Then she develops a mysterious illness when they cannot be found, so her big brother elicits the town’s help in finding them. Then she decides they’re dead, and everyone troops up to the cemetery for their funeral. There must not be a lot to do in Lightning Ridge. Probably appeal more to South Australian opal miners. Also known as Opal Dreams. (100 min)

Cinema 100

Enduring Love

Creepy little “ethical thriller” by Roger Michell is an intelligent adaptation (by screenwriter Joe Penhall) of an Ian McEwan novel about a man (an excellent Daniel Craig), already upset about a freak ballooning accident he witnessed and feels he could have prevented, being stalked by a fellow witness, an erotomaniacal religious nut (Rhys Ifans as one of the scariest psycho-villains in recent memory) who continually professes his (and God’s) love for him in the most inconvenient of times and places. It’s complex, cerebral and even metaphysical. Also Samantha Morton and Bill Nighy. (100 min)

Cinema 52

The Merchant of Venice

No room here to tell you the plot if you don’t already know, so read the play. Remarkably, this is the first time this Shakespearean comedy has been filmed since talkies were invented, and its uncomfortable anti-Semitism is the obvious reason. But it’s also the play containing the classic “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” line, so go figure. The problem is that the Shylock character (Al Pacino) was an evil buffoon in the 1590s original, but here (and now) he’s played, necessarily, as a sympathetic, tragic figure, with feelings and wounds, who is ultimately ruined and deserted. Thus we have scenes of lighthearted love and merriment juxtaposed with those of a human being (acting, it must be said, as most of us would in similar circumstances) being totally crushed, and the result is jarring. All that said, this is a wondrous, fine-looking (filmed in Venice) adaptation by Michael Radford (Il Postino, Dancing at the Blue Iguana), in which Pacino absolutely outshines the rest of the cast. Given the state of religious intolerance in the world today, this “comedy” remains deeply relevant. (138 min)

Cinemas 8 96 119

The Brothers Grimm

Since Terry Gilliam, a poet of decay, is one of my favorite directors, I wanted to like this more than I did. It looks great, and it’s endlessly creative, but it’s scattershot. There’s no real plot to hang all this inventiveness on, and it gets a little (maniacally) tedious. The story, such as it is, presents the Grimm Brothers (Heath Ledger and Matt Damon, having a bad hair movie and sporting the worst British accent in recent memory) as sort of 18th-century, con-artist ghostbusters who are hired (forced, actually) to deal with some real, and really evil magic. It’s all just, well, silly. (118 min)


Cinemas 29 55 62 82 71 95 99 107 109 110 111 112 113 114 116 117 118

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride

This merrily morbid, pleasingly perverse cadaver comedy, a Halloween valentine from that wonderfully whimsical wacko Tim Burton, has to do with a nervous groom-to-be practicing his vows in a graveyard and mistakenly placing a wedding ring on the desiccated hand (looked like a twig sticking out of the ground) of a murdered bride, visiting the underworld, pining for his real (i.e., living) bride and finally putting things right. It’s done in stop-action animation, a refreshingly non-digital technique, and is absolutely awesome. Burton has rarely been in better form, and his tricks are a real treat. The living world appears cold and drab; whereas the underworld is more brightly colored and, well, lively. It’s not a horror story. The bride is not a villain, just dead (loved the maggot). There’s lots of sly humor, and all but the smallest kids will dig it. And as in the very best fairy tales, beneath all the intrigue, flash and action, there’s a core of truth. Voice cast includes Johnny Depp, Emily Watson, Helena Bonham-Carter, Richard E. Grant, Albert Finney and Tracey Ullman. (76 min)

Cinemas 5 30 47 63 90 96 102 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120

Would you like to comment on this article? Send a letter to the editor at letters@metropolis.co.jp .