TheTrumanShow Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Our Favorite Summers: 1998
Filed under: Fandom », Summer Movies »
Believe it or not, I wasn't yet a full-blown movie geek in 1998. I didn't even start saving my ticket stubs until the summer of '99. In all fairness, I hadn't been quite old enough to go to the movies by myself yet -- not much younger than any of my colleagues in the summers they covered, but young enough to spare you the math.
Every third weekend, my younger brother and I spent with our father, and a reliable way to spend time together was often to go to the movies or rent something and stay home. So by only (probably) going to the movies every third weekend, I only saw maybe six movies theatrically over the course of those eighteen weeks. I'll bold those that I remember going to see as I go along, and then touch upon the rest of the releases in between.
(By the way: the weekends in the summer of 1998 happen to line up with those of this summer. Let's see just how far we've come...)
Andrew Niccol's Next Project Will Blow My Mind
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Newsstand »
I have a few obscure heroes in show business. One of them, as I note here from time to time, is Vincenzo Natali, best known for Cube, but also for an awesome little techno-thriller called Cypher, an offbeat, surreal comedy called Nothing, and the forthcoming Splice (which I would commit atrocities to see right now). He shares my fascination with the unknown and otherworldly, and expresses it on the screen in unfailingly creative and intelligent ways. Another example along the same lines is Don McKellar, whose Last Night is one of the most perfect little movies I've ever seen (though his participation in last year's godawful Blindness shall not go unpunished).
A third hero of mine is Andrew Niccol. I didn't think much of Lord of War, but all of his other projects have been conceptually brilliant in ways that are very much on my wavelength: The Truman Show (which Peter Weir directed from Niccol's screenplay) is probably my favorite film of the 90s (though that changes from week to week); Gattaca is deservingly becoming a sci-fi classic; and Simone is tragically underrated. He's smart, he's careful, and he has a wonderful imagination. Oh, and his just-announced next project, The Cross, is destined to rock my world.
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 12/30
Filed under: New on DVD », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »
What are you renting this week? Let us know in the comments! To get you started, here's our look at more than a dozen new releases.
Serenity
Joss Whedon's TV series Firefly inspired a rabid fan base, myself included. The sci-fi Western featured good-looking, likable characters, witty dialogue, and a breezy pace. The 2005 movie was a thrilling, fitting capstone for a series that ended far too soon, but stands on its own just fine. Previously released on DVD and HD-DVD, the Blu-ray version adds several new features (detailed by Peter Bracke at High-Def Digest). Serenity is buoyant entertainment and rewards repeat viewings. Buy it.
Woman on the Beach
A sublime tale, Woman is a leisurely, dramatic battle of the sexes that's funny and insightful. J. Hoberman of the Village Voice described it as "a rueful tale of karmic irony, self-deceived desire, squandered second chances, and unforeseen abandonment." He noted director Hong Sang-soo's affinities with Eric Rohmer and Albert Brooks "in his deadpan presentation of absurd antics." In Korean with English subtitles. The DVD includes a "making of," interviews, and a trailer. Woman on the Beach is an ideal choice for date night. Rent it.
Towelhead
Directed by Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under), this "controversial and polarizing" drama relates what happens to "a 13-year-old Lebanese-American girl living in Texas during the first Gulf War," per our own Eric D. Snider, who was writing in response to an Islamic group's call for a title change. The DVD includes a two-part featurette, "Towelhead: A Community Discussion." Sight unseen (by me), it sounds like a sure cure for a New Year's Day hangover. Rent it.
Also out: An American Carol (DVD; Blu-ray next week) and Surfer, Dude (DVD and Blu-ray).
Peter Weir Picks His Next Project
Filed under: Drama », Scripts », War »
Peter Weir directs movies about as often as I do, these days, which is a damn shame, since he's one of the best there is. He hasn't touched a camera since Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World in 2003, and 1998's The Truman Show before that. He was attached for a while to Johnny Depp's Shantaram as well as the WWII epic War Magician, but neither of those panned out. This week, Variety reports that he's committed to a new project: The Way Back, a true story of a group of soldiers who escape from a Siberian gulag in 1940. As with Master and Commander and his best film, Gallipoli, Weir wrote the screenplay for The Way Back himself. He starts shooting the movie in March, in eastern Europe.
I suspect that Weir's selectivity is the key to his fantastic track record. He's a solid, straightforward director, but he really knows how to pick the great stories -- the ones that mean something. (Though I hate Dead Poets Society, so go figure that one out.) Two of his films are among my all-time favorites -- Gallipoli and The Truman Show -- so I'm basically obligated to get excited about anything he does. He does anything rarely enough that it's not too much of a burden.
Popular Mechanics Names 10 Most Prophetic Sci-Fi Films
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Newsstand », Lists »
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In honor of the late Arthur C. Clarke (see Richard von Busack's obit here), Popular Mechanics has a great piece called "The 10 Most Prophetic Sci-Fi Movies Ever," discussing the movies whose predictions of the future turned out to be eerily accurate. (They also note what the films got wrong -- at least so far). The winner? Gattaca, whose vision of a world dominated by genetic profiling has gone from a far-fetched nightmare to (according to the magazine) a very real possibility.The article puts a strange amount of emphasis on reality television -- The Running Man and The Truman Show both made the list thanks to their prediction of a culture obsessed with voyeurism and sensationalist "real-life" entertainment. But it's still a great read, often with a delightfully wry sense of humor. (For Soylent Green: "Hits: climate change; Misses: industrial cannibalism." Misses, indeed.) Be sure to take a look at their take on Minority Report, which has some great insights into changing computer interfaces (though I have to insist that swinging your arms around to use a computer would get tiring very quickly). Moreover, I can't think of many films they missed. Maybe I'd add the Terminator series for its Sky Net concept, even if an actual cyborg revolution is, I hope, still a ways off. Anything else? They did leave off Planet of the Apes...
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James Cameron Never Wanted to Make 'Titanic'
Their Best Role: Brad Pitt and 'Fight Club'_thumbnail.jpg)
Megan Fox's Scratched SNL Hitler/Michael Bay Joke
Quick List: Five Favorite Ice-Bound Movie Moments
Blu-ray Review: Funny People
