Brier Patch's Page

I think we have an example here of nostalgia outweighing taste. I am as susceptible to the pull of nostalgia as anyone, and can even conjure some up for the mid-90's. So I went into Empire Records with some anticipation, especially given the 3.8 average rating. And it was moderately amusing to watch. Renee Zellweger and Liv Tyler are at their most nubile and even LaPaglia manages to be cute here. The "best" parts were the soundtrack and watching Zellweger's spastic singing performance. But the script encourages over-acting, the character arcs are frantically compressed, and basically not one single moment of it rings true. So after it was all over I was left with the hollow, brain-puckered feeling you get from gorging yourself on high fructose cinematic pablum. Empire Records is certainly not worthy of the adoration expressed in many of the reviews. It is recommended only for Gen X-ers looking to relive their experience of watching this back in the day, not to reconnect with authentic generational archetypes or a cultural moment that actually existed. Just get the soundtrack or prepare for that hollow feeling.

Unconscious is one of those all too rare movies I’ll be recommending to just about everyone I know. The plot device, an investigation of a husband’s disappearance by his wife and best friend, is nothing new. But its execution is surprisingly funny and romantic, thanks to a sharp and clever script and some very appealing actors. Another surprising bonus is how interesting this time period (1913) is and the affects it has on the characters. Victorian mores are collapsing under a tidal wave of technological and social change. In particular, Freudian psychoanalysis and the exploration of sexual identity have dropped on Barcelona and this family like an A (analysis) bomb. This all gives the film a depth that is sorely lacking in most comedies, yet watching the abandoned wife and her brother-in-law navigate this minefield of sexual politics while steadfastly trying to solve a mystery is a real treat. So two of my favorite rentals in the past 4 months, Unconscious and Sex and Lucia, are both from Spain. Viva Espana and move over Almodavar!

Given the rave reviews, the "chills and chuckles" part of the description, and comparisons to Evil Dead 2, I was hoping for something along the lines of a Raimi flick, Frankenhooker, Shaun of the Dead, or perhaps even Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Turns out I didn't read the reviews carefully enough and was consequently deeply disappointed. So mainstream viewers beware. The cinematography is intermittently compelling and unique, the disembodied mayor's daughter provides a few laughs, and there is a beautiful woman to gawk at. Rupert Everett turns in a surprisingly dark performance, too, but my final assessment is: pretentious and moronic (an obnoxious combo), nonsensical, and worst of all to me, misogynistic and mean-spirited. There's nobody here to like or root for, it isn't scary, there is no rhyme or reason for what's transpiring, and I just wanted to stab the movie to death by the end. Well, I guess it successfully inspires a violent spirit, but really the film is only to be recommended to misanthropes or exploitation, Italian horror, and/or zombie completists.

Wristcutters provided me with just about everything I might hope for in an independent film. There's the fresh and eccentric story, the quirky characters imbued with spirit by actors up to a challenge, the oddball humor mixed with pathos, and the inventive low budget cinematography. Plus I didn't know where the film was going, which is a very good thing. I'll take an unconventional, sharp and bittersweet fantasy allegory such as Wristcutters over star-driven, lowest common denominator, written by committee, Hollywood fare any day. 4.5 stars.

The Hot Spot is aptly named. It is a steamy potboiler of a neo-noir featuring 3 actors at the peak of their hotness mashing it up in a Texas furnace. None of these characters are entirely credible, but a little suspension of disbelief is rewarded as the actors flesh out their archetypal roles well. There is no real surprise that the young Jennifer Connely appeals as the ingenue/damsel in distress. She has made a career out of being beautiful and tender. But I didn't expect to see so much of her flawless body. Meanwhile, Don Johnson walks the lines between hero/heel and himbo/tough guy in admirable fashion. This is one of his strongest performances as he is pulled between the poles of sweet redemption with Connelly and carnal criminality with Madsen. Which brings us to Virginia Madsen. She is the big smoking hot surprise as the sex-crazed, manipulative femme fatale. Collectively, these three make for a hot love triangle, and the script and lens both take full advantage. Throw in a sufficiently twisty plot, good pacing, and direction by Dennis Hopper, and you have a lurid pick for fans of Red Rock West, The Last Seduction, Palmetto, and any number of film noirs like Double Indemnity.