Hey folks, Harry here with that emperor of Chi-town - the napolean of the lakefront - the sexiest man in uno's. That's right, Capone, and he has a heaping helping of films to tell you about... Key amongst these are ADAPTATION and NARC... Don't Miss Those Two! Here he is...
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here, and I'm feeling a little backed up. I've
seen four soon-to-be-released films in the last two weeks, and have barely
had time to review any of them. Thank god for the holidays. While I've got
the floor, let me just thank everyone who came to the screening on Saturday
of Takashi Miike's THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS. Everyone seemed to love
the film, and the discussion afterwards was spirited. On to the reviews...
ADAPTATION
I’ve read several early reviews of this latest work from the director (Spike Jonze) and writer (Charlie Kaufman) of the splendid BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, and they all have something in common. No matter how eloquently they are written, not one captures what makes ADAPTATION so wonderful, so perfect. I’m sure I’ll be challenged to death on this point, but ADAPTATION is simply the finest film about making movies I’ve ever seen. Is it the most accurate? Probably not. Does it have the sleaziest producer characters and most beautiful starlets ever put on film? Nope. What it does have is the note-perfect tone of a modern Hollywood movie. By letting us into the mind of its lead writer characters (named Charlie and Donald Kaufman, both played by soon-to-be two-time Oscar winner Nicolas Cage), we expose Hollywood for what it is: a place where formulaic films are wrenched from even the most talented artists.
Part of what you will love about ADAPTATION is the discovery process, so I don’t want to give away too much of the plot. All you need to know going into the film is that it’s based on Charlie Kaufman’s real-life experience trying to adapt Susan Orlean’s popular book “The Orchid Thief.” But since the book has no actual story (it’s more of an extended essay on a Florida man named John Laroche), Kaufman ended up typing up a story about himself struggling to write this screenplay. That’s the jumping off point. Where ADAPTATION takes us is an entirely different set of pages. Meryl Streep plays Orlean in what I believe is a deliberate take on her character from THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY; Chris Cooper is the toothless Laroche; the unstoppable Brian Cox is a writing workshop instructor who changes the Kaufman brothers lives as screenwriters (and, thus, our lives as film screen watchers).
I’ve made a couple of attempts to describe in detail the plot and structure
of ADAPTATION. It’s impossible to do so without taking someone all the way
through the film. It’s less effort (and will be ultimately more satisfying)
to simply say: see this film as if your life depended on it. It’s that
strong and flawless. This opportunity to step into Charlie Kaufman’s mind is
extraordinary. Cage’s dual role is nothing short of miraculous. And watching
this film unfold is like watching creation. In every showing of this film,
there will be a wonderful shared moment when everybody understands EXACTLY
what is happening. You may hear an audible gasp from the audience at this
point. This is a film that you will consider and cherish for months after
you see it. Having your faith in the potential of filmmaking restored is a
rare occurrence for any person. You usually have such an epiphany when you
discover an old classic for the first time. I honest didn’t think that a
film directed by Spike Jonze would have such an impact on me. I loved BEING
JOHN MALKOVICH will all my heart, but ADAPTATION works on a higher plane.
It’s not about being clever; it’s about being brilliant. This is no gimmick
film. ADAPTATION gets inside your head and actually rearranges your brain.
Enough ranting. Go see it.
ANALYZE THAT
I know I’m in the minority here, but I was never a big big fan of ANALYZE THIS, the 1999 Billy Crystal-Robert DeNiro comedy about a cartoon mobster that sees a cartoon shrink. But assuming that the big box office this film generated should make me reconsider my opinion, I tried to go into ANALYZE THAT with an open mind, and with a few reservations, I can safely say that the sequel is far funnier than the original.
DeNiro is the key. He gets far more screen time than Crystal, and his jokes are ten times funnier. There’s a scene at a wake near the beginning of the film where DeNiro simply kills. He manages to offend a roomful of people with the simple flick of his robe and a few choices inquiries about how he might acquire some food. Crystal barely registers here. Lisa Kudrow as Crystal’s wining wife registers even less (these are good things, by the way). DeNiro’s Paul Vitti begins the film in jail but fakes being crazy and is eventually released into the out-of-prison custody of Dr. Sobel (Crystal). The FBI doesn’t believe Vitti is crazy, but think that by having him on the outside, he made lead them to bigger fish to fry, such as mob boss Cathy Moriarty, who appears to have had a sex change operation since co-starring with DeNiro in RAGING BULL. I may be wrong about that.
DeNiro is forced to find employment once his insanity is in check, and in
some of the film’s best moments we see what it would be like for a mob boss
to be forced into the role of a car salesman or restaurant host. Eventually
Vitti gets a job as a consultant on a “Sopranos”-like show called “Little
Caesar,” starring Anthony LaPaglia. The scenes with LaPaglia trying to pick
Vitti’s brain for inspiration are worthy of a couple laughs, but they should
have been much funnier. The final third of ANALYZE THAT strays far into the
realm of unbelievability and focuses more on a final caper sequence and car
chases than any actually story or joke telling. But the fact is, I laughed
more. DeNiro seems more comfortable in his comic setting, and the humorous
vulgarities fly from his tongue with greater ease. If you were a fan of
ANALYZE THIS, you fell like you’re in heaven. If not, you’ll manage a
chuckle or two.
NARC
A couple of weeks ago, I watched a short film on bmwfilms.com called “Ticker.” It’s an amazing piece of work directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Clive Owen, Don Cheadle, F. Murray Abraham, and Dennis Haysbert, with a tiny cameo by Ray Liotta. I’d seen Carnahan’s first film BLOOD, GUTS, BULLETS AND OCTANE, but it didn’t make much of an impression on me. “Ticker” was a far more impressive piece. His second feature, NARC, made my eyes pop out of my head. What was this strange little cop drama with some of the best acting I’ve seen in this type of film in quite a while? Where did this come from? About six months ago, I was asked by some marketing firm to screen a work-in-progress trailer for NARC and I distinctly remember thinking that I couldn’t believe the final film would look as gritty and washed out as the trailer. I was wrong. With only his second feature, Carnahan has stepped into a tired genre and given it a much-needed shot in the arm.
It was also a particularly welcome sight to see Jason Patric back on the big screen and better than ever. I haven’t seen the guy in a movie since 1998’s YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, and I’d love to know why this guy isn’t working more. I’m sure it’s a personal choice, but damnit Jason, you rock. Make some more movies like this one. Patric is Nick Tellis a royal screw up of a cop who is given a chance to redeem himself by taking on an unpopular investigation of an slain narcotics officer. The dead cop’s partner, Henry Oak (played by Ray Liotta), is also working the case but seems to have all the loose ends tied up before Nick can get to them. “Boston Public’s” Chi McBride is their commanding officer who just wants this case closed as quickly as possible.
NARC is a dirty movie, as if there’s grit on the lens and on the actors. Liotta is in rare form. We look to him for guidance, but we know he might rip out someone’s throat if provoked. Stability is not a word he’s too familiar with. Patric is just trying to keep things together. By taking this case, he risks losing his family. His wife wants him to take a desk job, something he won’t be allowed to do unless he finds the cop killers.
We pretty much know that Liotta isn’t telling us everything and that the film will eventually come down to the two cops coming to blows, but don’t think you know exactly where this story will take you. Twenty years ago, the Nick character probably would have been played by Al Pacino, and Patric steps nicely into the role. He’s a twitchy, nervous guy who also happens to be very good at his job. Liotta isn’t particularly good at his job, but since he closes cases, it seems that he is. The dance that these two go through in this investigation is fantastic. Liotta wants it to look like he’s moving things forward, when in fact he’s throwing up smoke. Patric takes a while to catch on, but once he does, it unlocks something in him that is not happy.
NARC is a hypnotic, fast-moving exercise in atmosphere and acting. And
Carnahan has breathed new life into the police drama. The car chases are
kept to a minimum, as is the gun play. There’s an incredible intro to the
film that involves Patric in a foot chase that breaks all kinds of new
ground. It’s a simple story we’ve seen before, but told in a way that kept
hold of my interest and got me excited again about all the players.
MAID IN MANHATTAN
This film is an easy target, as are most romantic comedies starring larger-than-life actresses playing “normal” people. Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Meg Ryan. The only reason we might accept these actresses as non-beautiful simple folk is because we know we won’t enjoy the movie if we don’t. Jennifer Lopez is way too hot to play ordinary, but as maid and Bronx-based single mother Marisa Ventura, you kind of have to put aside her blind-man-could-see assets and go with the flow. If you accomplish this task, you may actually enjoy most of MAID IN MANHATTAN.
Marisa works at a high-scale Uptown Manhattan hotel where celebrities, politicians, and other rich types stay. Among these lofty guests is assemblyman Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), who runs into Marisa’s son, Ty (Tyler Posey), riding the hotel elevators. While Marisa is unwisely trying on a guest’s fancy outfit, Ty and Marshall walk into the suite and Marshall assumes Marisa is a guest. The three take a walk through Central Park, and thus the romance begins. Marisa has goals in life. She appears to be on the fast track to becoming a part of management at the hotel if she doesn’t do anything wrong during her six-week training period. Oops.
There aren’t too many things that happen in MAID TO MANHATTAN that you don’t see coming a mile away. But in the unlikely hands of director Wayne Wang (THE CENTER OF THE WORLD, ANYWHERE BUT HERE, THE JOY LUCK CLUB, SMOKE) and Lopez, the film works for what it is. It’s ambitions are little more than to make certain that two stunning people overcome their class differences and the paparazzi to end up together (it’s Jennifer Friggin’ Lopez; of course they’ll end up together!!). Stanley Tucci is on hand as Marshall’s No. 2 guy; Bob Hoskins does a quietly nice job as Lionel, the head butler for the hotel and Marisa’s career counselor. Not so great is Natasha Richardson as Caroline, the annoying rich bitch who has a thing for Marshall.
The finale of MAID IN MANHATTAN is where I found my eyes rolling a few too many times. Once again, a romantic comedy employs the tired old device of a far-too-public embarrassing displays of affection. I’m so tired of these types of endings. I will give a glowing review to any Hollywood romantic comedy that doesn’t fall back on this ol’ faithful trap. Lopez and Fiennes are easy on the eyes, and are probably far too talented to be in this kind of film, but so what. There are some good laughs in the film, courtesy of some of Marisa’s co-workers and little Ty. This is one of the best date movies of the year.
Capone
