CinemaSpeak

by Warren Curry
10/28/10

(In The Reel Archives we spotlight forgotten favorites, catch up with movies that previously eluded us and reexamine films that warrant another viewing.)

Today in The Reel Archives we journey all the way back to the glorious year of 2002 and revisit Jill Sprecher’s (”Clockwatchers”) unwieldy titled second feature, “Thirteen Conversations About One Thing” (produced in 2001, released a year later). In fact, that wordy title will probably lead some to jump to a few incorrect preconceptions about the film. Visions of countless talking heads spewing forth interminable, pretentious banter may swirl around in your mind, but such notions couldn’t be further from the truth. Using an interweaving story, which shifts in time and character perspective, yet unfolds in a crisp, concise manner, “Thirteen Conversations” is immensely captivating and much easier to follow than it may sound.
read more »

by Warren Curry
9/7/10

(In The Reel Archives we spotlight forgotten favorites, catch up with movies that previously eluded us and reexamine films that warrant another viewing.)

Jimmy Wang Yu’s 1974 martial arts classic “Master of the Flying Guillotine” (aka “The One Armed Boxer vs. The Flying Guillotine” — the sequel to “The One Armed Boxer”) has been a cult favorite of mine for some years now. How was I introduced to the movie? Thanks for asking…
read more »

by Warren Curry
11/1/09 (originally posted 6/24/03)

The wonderful “Funny Ha Ha” is the type of quirky American indie comedy that used to be a bit more commonplace pre- Quentin Tarantino. The film feels familiar, yet it’s hard to make any definite comparisons. Woody Allen? No, not as paranoid. Jim Jarmusch? Closer, but this film is more talky and operates with a noticeably quicker pace. How about a post-Tarantino filmmaker like Wes Anderson? In the same ballpark, but “Funny Ha Ha” isn’t as polished and seems glad to be that way. Writer/director Andrew Bujalski clearly has his influences, but instead of just merely paying homage to them, he uses this inspiration to create something uniquely his own. “Funny Ha Ha” isn’t the sort of movie you simply “like” — it’s the kind of film that you thoroughly embrace, its scenes repeatedly playing over in your head long after it has ended.
read more »

by Warren Curry
11/1/09 (originally posted 11/12/03)

I wonder what studio will purchase the American remake rights to this fluffy, sticky sweet, and enjoyable romantic comedy from Norway. Director Morten Tyldum clearly knows how to entertain, and “Buddy’s” 104-minute running time races by in a flash, but there are gaps in the story, awkward subplots, and characters in need of further development. (I guess small-budget European romantic comedies and their big-budget Hollywood counterparts can share the same problems.) Actually, in this case, an American remake sounds like a pretty good idea, because a retooling of the script could pay huge dividends, and I’d love to see Ben Affleck or Freddie Prinze Jr. in the lead role. Umm…I might be kidding about the second half of the previous sentence.
read more »

by Warren Curry
10/20/09 (originally posted 4/7/02)

Having played the festival circuit for well over a year now, it’s nice to see the Canadian export, “Maelström” (in French with subtitles), finding its way into cinemas (albeit a limited amount of them) here in the U.S. Writer/director Denis Villeneuve has crafted a captivating portrait of the many tangles and twists of love and loss, and the often thin line which separates these things. He does it all with a taste for the surreal, which accents rather than overwhelms this bittersweet tale.
read more »