take that twisted heart of yours and put it in her hand

in recent days, i've been plowing through quite a few dvds. and because i don't quite feel like going to sleep yet, some short reviews to pass the time:

i was very very glad i saw 'before the devil knows you're dead'. it is just such a delightful movie. it's so obvious from the film why sidney lumet is considered one of the greats. lumet has gone from the black and white film, to color, and now to digital, and he's done so with such a conviction in his ability to tell a story. instead of saying anything about the film, i was actually most affected by the making of feature that was attached to the dvd. lumet described the film as a melodrama, which is a little strange considering what kind of film usually gets put in that genre. he is careful to clarify what he means: he's not talking about the kind of movie douglas sirk made, but rather the emphasis on very heightened emotions. it's very interesting that lumet chose to interpret the script in that way. it could be read as a very straightforward mystery thriller, with its non-linear narrative and crime story, but it's also something that is highly character driven. knowing how the movie was crafted just made it that much better. well worth a viewing.

'charlie bartlett' was one of those quirky teen films that i have a soft spot for. it's actually very similar to this movie i saw not long ago called 'rocket science'. i think the movie tries to do more than it is aware of, and in the end the complexities get devolved into something of a simple moral point. it's quite a common outcome for such movies, which is also symptomatic of so-called "indie" films these days: it's almost as if unbelievable things are now expected in these movies, and they take their audience for granted. it's as if they thing that if their characters talk fast enough, or if obscure music is played over odd montages, we'll forget that the movie has a lot of ridiculous aspects, and if they slap-on a feel good ending, we'll all leave satisfied. i'm not sure i like this trend. the film is decent enough, but not particularly satisfying.

my love for nicholas cage actually has limits. 'next' might be one of the most horrific movies i've seen. not only does it cheat the audience out of an ending, it totally fails to engage what is a decidedly cool premise. it's almost as if the filmmakers themselves never figured out what exactly nicholas cage's character is meant to be able to do, and they just tossed together a few situations that they think he could resolve. there are some brief moments when they get it right, and those are actually really cool, but as a whole the movie is just painful to watch. the main plot involving the nuclear bomb is one of the most blatant uses of a macguffin ever, and if the real FBI is anything like their movie counterparts, i'm very scared. i just hope that the filmmakers have recovered from their bout of temporary insanity contracted in the making of this film.

finally, woody allen's 'cassandra's dream'. it didn't review too great, but i actually enjoyed it quite a bit. it's highly predictable, and the ending feels very slapped on, but the acting is terrific and the film feels very cohesive. in a way, it's very similar to 'before the devil knows you're dead'. they are both "thrillers" with brothers as the main protagonists, and family lies at the heart of both. 'cassandra's dream' has more of a moral agenda, which harkens back to 'match point', and i think i enjoyed the former almost as much as the first time i saw the latter. 'cassandra's dream' does feel different, in a way that i can only describe as muddy. i think the darker film stock makes it feel very different, and i like how the setting is more inconspicious this time round. i guess i'm just a fan of woody allen's style of filmmaking, with the characters verbalizing most of their thoughts. also well worth a viewing.

in a separate note, it's almost time for me to go home. been thinking about it so much these days, and the anticipation is becoming a welcome change from my depression.