Damn You Hollyfeld! DAMN YOU! Today we have Hollyfeld's review of Finding Forrester. With good film prospects turning into bad movies in this very boring year 2000, Finding Forrester seems destined to save this cinematic year for me. I have always been a huge fan of Gus Van Sant and his Good Will Hunting has a place in my Top 10 of all-time. I hope it's as good as Hollyfeld claims or else... Also included in this issue is Q-Brick's take on O Brother Where Art Thou. More this week with Q-Brick's review of Traffic and much more...
Finding Forrester Review
"Hollyfeld, here. Unlike last year, which had an unusually large number of good films spread throughout the year, 2000 has featured a particularly small number of good films, and most of them seem to be coming out this month. Proof? Think fast! What really good, Best Picture-worthy films have already been released as of December 1st? Hmm... Chicken Run, Erin Brokovich, Gladiator, Almost Famous, Dancer In The Dark, Requiem For A Dream, maybe one or two more. As of December 1st last year? American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, Toy Story 2, Election, Boys Don't Cry, The Straight Story, Eyes Wide Shut, Fight Club, The Insider, Princess Mononoke etc. I could go on, but you get the idea.
Okay, so in this context, 2000 is weird. On the upside, though, there are finally a bunch of films out there in the theaters that are worth seeing. Among them is Finding Forrester, the latest film from Gus Van Sant. A lot of people have made comparisons between this film and Van Sant's previous film, Good Will Hunting, because both feature a young genius being brought under the wing of an older, reclusive genius. I myself, moments before the film began, remarked to a companion of mine that we were about to see 'Good Will Hunting 2,' but I was wrong. Finding Forrester is NOT Good Will Hunting revisited. It's a lot better than that other piece of crap.
Don't get me wrong - I like Good Will Hunting very much. But it is one of those films that you think is the bee's knees upon first viewing, but and then later come to realize that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. (Titanic, anyone?) Every successive viewing of GWH to me reveals the film more and more to be a mere showcase for the actors (who are magnificent). The problem with this is that the story falls by the wayside, and easy emotional moments ('It's not your fault') take the place of real feeling. Finding Forrester takes the good from Good Will Hunting, and then makes it better.
Robert Brown stars as Jamaal Wallace, a typical black Bronx teen - he's a fantastic basketball player, he has a large group of loyal friends, and gets a 'C' average in school. Unbeknownst to everyone, though, he is a genius, particularly at writing, and has avoided calling attention to it because he likes being 'normal.' His test scores reveal him for what he is, however, and he is soon given a full scholarship to a hoity-toity private school (where he is also allowed to play basketball, naturally). Along the way he befriends William Forrester (Sean Connery), a reclusive writer a la J.D. Salinger, and they become each other's mentors.
Hey, download the trailer.
The performances in Finding Forrester really shine, especially Brown and Connery, who have a particularly nice rapport. In William Forrester, Connery finally finds a film to showcase his acting talent (which has been decidedly AWOL for the last decade or so). He is both charismatic and flawed, and will no doubt become one of the characters for whom Connery is best remembered. Frankly, I would be extremely surprised if Connery doesn't get an Academy Award. He's that good. Brown also shows a kind of understated charisma that is hard to find these days, and looks to be an actor to be reckoned with in the years to come. Also acquitting themselves nicely are Anna Paquin (who is really having a stellar year, isn't she?), Busta Rhymes and F. Murray Abraham, who does better than anyone else could with a very one-dimensional character (he pretty much exists to doubt Jamaal's writing ability).
The screenplay by Mike Rich is full of wonderful, yet quiet moments, and Van Sant's directing top notch. The editing and cinematography, however, deserve special mention for capturing a very realistic viewpoint of these characters' lives. The audience effectively becomes voyeurs, much like Forrester in the beginning of the film, and although this ran the risk of alienating us from the characters, it actually brought us into their world more effectively. Van Sant also chooses not to linger on the more important and emotional moments, making them more sweet and welcome, because they are not shoved in the audience's face.
I feel that this review has not done Finding Forrester justice. That is a shame, because it truly is a remarkable piece of filmmaking, and will probably end up being my favorite film of the year. Perhaps if I had taken notes or something during the movie I could have gone into greater detail, but this is really just one of those films you get lost in. I look forward to seeing Finding Forrester again and again in the future, and would highly recommend it to anyone."
(Review sent in by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)
Another Look at 'Oh Brother'
"Thanks to the Coens I have now discovered that I like dusty, old country gospels. And thanks to George Clooney's entertaining portrayal of Ulysses McGill, I will never be able to think about that gross hair preparation known as 'pomade' without laughing out loud. But as soon as the credits began to roll and the house lights came on I had to wonder...will everybody else enjoy the new Coen Brothers film as much as I did?
O Brother Where Art Thou is a new depression era comedy starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Charles Durning and Holly Hunter. It's also the most fun I've had in front of a movie screen in the past few months.
Clooney's Ulysses along with Pete Hogwallap (Turturro) and Delmar O'Donnel(Nelson) are a trio who flee a Mississippi prison chain gang. They set off to retrieve a cache of stolen money before it is swept away in the flood of a new lake created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Along the way they encounter everything from a blind seer on a railroad hand car to dancing, singing Klansmen! After all, it's based Homer's 'The Odyssey'. It will not matter if you're not even remotely acquainted with the ancient adventure. O Brother Where Art Thou is really funny but discovering the Homeric plot elements only adds to the fun.
Where would the Coens get the idea of morphing the mythic tale of Ulysses into the 1930's South and stock the soundtrack with traditional gospel tunes? I don't think that Joel and Ethan would admit it, especially since they love to play with the press, but I bet that they are tweaking Hollywood's nose just a bit.
Think about it, ever since the runaway success of Star Wars, Hollywood became enamored with the concept of the classical 'hero's journey'. Supposedly, one of the most influential books in the Industry is Christopher Vogler's 'The Writer's Journey'. Vogler dissects some of the cinema's most popular titles to reveal a core myth. Although Joel & Ethan make wonderful films, their 'product' hasn't exactly burned up the box office. Could it be that some studio suit told them that Coen Brothers' films were not accessible...that they needed to connect with the masses by sticking with mythical themes like other blockbusters? Then again, it might be that the Coens were inspired by one of my favorite films, Sullivan's Travels. This 1942 classic is a broad farce written and directed by Preston Sturges. In the film, Joel McCrae plays a successful director of comedies who decides he wants to make meaningful pictures. He goes on the road, ends up in a southern chain-gang. O Brother is the name of the serious film that McRae wants to make and went on the road to research.
As usual, the Coens demonstrate their giddy technical joy of simply making good movies. Joel and Ethan also remind us that they are gifted comic writers who know how to enrich great dialog with local and historical color. George Clooney benefits the most from their writing, thanks to his character's penchant for hayseed eloquence. My admiration for Clooney only grows with every film. In O Brother Where Art Thou he is a total hoot. I'm sure his portrayal was aided by the presence of John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson and John Goodman who stoke their roles with lots of comedic energy.
O Brother Where Art Thou is the Coen Brothers at their best...endearing off-center characters, instantly memorable lines and a firm Wellesian grasp of film making skills. It will be interesting to see just how their latest efforts fare at the box-office. I hope you like it as much as I did."
(Review sent in by 'Q-Brick'.)
Stay tuned...
That's all folks...
DeadPool
