Taking a bite out of crime

THE FOUNDATION OF CRIMINAL EXCELLENCE  aka KRIMINALAS EKSELENCES FONDS (2018)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Although I tire of movies about making movies, I found much to enjoy in the leisurely paced meta pleasures of "The Foundation of Criminal Excellence," a Latvian crime comedy about a rather bland screenwriter who decides to forge criminal activities and make them part of his screenplay. Sure, perhaps nothing new technically but it is all in the execution.

Imants Veide (Lauris Klavins) is the screenwriter, a man who prides himself on writing stories about his life although he is more delusional than he might think. Apparently he had success with a romantic TV series called "The Flower of the Depot" that left viewers weeping with delight. Now he is commissioned to write a TV crime series though he doesn't know the first thing about the criminal underworld or con-artists ("My story is about con-artists, not criminals!"). What is a young, ignorant screenwriter to do except concoct criminal schemes with his friend Harijs Kuharjonoks (Andris Daugavins) such as stealing the neighbor's dog and selling the poor mutt; stealing burgers from a McDonald's drive-thru (the comical attempt is actually innovative), and finally a plot to steal pensioners' funds at the post office. It is supposed to work like clockwork but don't be surprised that it doesn't.

There are many colorful kooks in this film, including a naive black market seller who sells VHS tapes and musical cassettes; another naive dolt who rides a motorbike and wears his leather jacket backwards; the strong-willed female Neighbor of Imants who is ready to ignite the fires of Hell to find her missing dog, and many more. Though Klavins is slightly unappealing at first and takes some getting used to do, we root for him and his reluctant friend Harijs to survive whatever obstacle they confront.

Fluidly directed by Latvian-born Oskars Rupenheits (the first Latvian film to be funded through crowdsourcing), "Foundation of Criminal Excellence" is a comical riot that has the effrontery to deal with the messiness of real life (it is also, as advertised, set in the USSR in the 1970's though period detail is at a minimum). In its achingly festive criminal spirit, the movie consistently surprises with chaotic situations and real-life violent incidents. It has the vein of the Coen Brothers by way of Elmore Leonard to be sure but it gets by on its own unpredictability. Part of the fun of the film is seeing what criminal scheme Imants and Harijs will carry out next, no matter how harebrained. Sure, the film could be tighter paced overall but the movie never fails to captivate in its joyful frame of mind. It is about wannabe criminals who are idiots and there is a touching coda followed by a great visual joke. Unique in every way. 

Spaghetti with syrup is Breakfast at Champions for Elves

ELF (2003)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Christmas elves are magical beings who spend an entire year creating toys in the North Pole for Santa Claus. Okay, we all know that but accepting a human who becomes part of Santa's Elves is unusual to say the least. This is part of the story of "Elf," a heartwarming enough and sporadically funny Christmas movie that has become a classic since its 2003 release. My misgivings are that it doesn't go far enough with its pleasing narrative and most of the plot you will see coming from a lot closer than the North Pole.

That is not to say that there is no fun to be had here. Will Ferrell is perfectly cast as Buddy Elf, the human who is looking for his father who is apparently on the naughty list. Backstory on Buddy is that he was an orphanage baby given up his deceased mother who crawled into Santa's bag after seeing a teddy bear. Santa (lovingly and grumpily played by Ed Asner) sees his sack moving after delivering presents, finds the baby and thus Buddy is the given name. Buddy is raised by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart, of all people) yet Buddy, who is of course human, appears taller than all the elves not to mention the numerous Christmas trees in the wintry horizon. Buddy finds out the truth that he is not human (which may explain his inability to meet his toy-making quota) and wants to find his father (James Caan, again, talk about strange casting) who is a cold-hearted workaholic publisher of children's books.

There is much sprightly fun with Zooey Deschanel as Jovie, an apathetic worker at the Gimbels department store where she is one of "Santa's Elves." Buddy takes a romantic interest in her and their relationship is charming and rather sweet - she is clearly amused and smitten that someone takes a liking to her and her rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Not as much fun is James Caan who seems spectacularly uninterested in almost anything going on in his life, yet Caan's character eventually succumbs to Buddy's innocent charm. Mary Steenburgen plays Caan's wife who is tickled pink by this Elf and the scene where she pretends to enjoy Buddy's spaghetti is a doozy.

Though I enjoyed "Elf" overall, I wish more time was spent on the North Pole. It is truly hysterical watching Ferrell parade around his fellow elves like a giant who has to keep tilting his head to enter the small domiciles (it is also great fun seeing some Rankin Bass stop-motion characters) and who is often held to a lower standard to the point that he tests toys like Jack-in-the-Box. It is also damn funny seeing Bob Newhart as the narrator and Papa Elf who truly cares for his adopted son. It is only the James Caan subplot that hinders the enjoyment a little - how tired the notion that a childlike adult can make his real dad's heart melt who decides not to give in to corporate pressure (I am sure I remember seeing such cliches in animated TV Christmas shorts).

Still, Will Ferrell enthuses and is like a giant baby who whirls around the screen like some caffeinated elf who had one too many bowls of spaghetti with maple syrup (his food of choice). He is the heart and joy of this movie, not something I say very often about Will Ferrell. 

You Can't Help But Like Him

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? (2018)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

What I remember most about Mr. Rogers was his shoes. That is right, the cardigan-sweater-wearing, non-judgmental host, America's Mr. Nice Guy, was memorable to me because of his shoes. He would sing the famous song, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?," after arriving at his house in the neighborhood and would eventually take off his shoes and change into a pair of blue sneakers. He would also ruminate about them and you could tell that his comfort was your comfort. That is the central notion of Morgan Neville's documentary, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?," an emotional tour de force that will mean a lot to those who watched "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" on PBS back in the day. Even if you didn't watch it, you can't help but feel emotionally connected to a man who connected to childrens' feelings in ways that are hard to describe.

"You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you; and I like you just the way you are" - Mister Rogers

This was the quote that would end every show of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Such a closing line was indicative of someone full of humanity and forthright wisdom, wanting to share and listen to all who were willing to do the same. That such a noble, perfectly human conceit is not always shared still mystifies me but that is the nature of our world. What is most revealing about Mr. Rogers is that, on one rare occasion, he could not always share or listen to those who were shunned. That gave me a cold, hard slap on my face but you have to consider the times as well. For example, Francoise Clemmons, a trained opera singer who played Officer Clemmons on the show, was actually a closeted gay man yet in the turbulent year of 1969 he could not come out as gay, nor could he frequent gay clubs per Mr. Rogers insistence. It would've proven to be scandalous for the show, and Mr. Rogers was already sharing a foot bath with Clemmons during a time of desegregation.

That is about as much controversy as you will get from "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" The documentary shows good-natured Mr. Fred Rogers as a great humanitarian who had children of his own and was happily married. It is abundantly clear that he loved children and always felt they had to be protected and listened to. Rogers' would try puppetry to gain insights into kids, even using such voices at home to talk to his own offspring who may invariably be upset about something. My favorite of the puppets has always been Daniel, the Striped Tiger, who listens very intently and often said afterwards, "I like him." The most memorable puppet for me personally was King Friday XIII, the monarch of the neighborhood who had a temper (though considerably less temperamental than say Sesame Streets' own Oscar the Grouch).

When it came to tragedies such as the unfortunate assassinations of political leaders of the late 60's, notably RFK's assassination, Mr. Rogers felt compelled to talk to children about tragedy and sadness (he had a tougher time explaining 9/11). He wanted his sensibilities to be shared among other adults, especially parents whom he felt should be able to talk to their kids about difficult topics.

"Won't You Be My Neighbor?" is a remarkable portrait of a kind, remarkable man who felt anyone could be his neighbor. There was no separation between the television personality and the man offscreen - they were one and the same. Though I would've loved more insight into Mr. Rogers' own family, it is the families he connected with on television (a medium that cheapened virtues, in his mind) that is at the heart of the film and the man. You can't help but like him the way he was.  

Liberated Escape From Trauma

THREE COLORS: BLUE (1993)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Original Review from 1993

"Blue," the first of the Three Colours Trilogy, is a mellow, extraordinarily visceral and meditative experience that no one should miss. It also provides Juliette Binoche ("The Unbearable Lightness of Being") with the greatest performance of her career.

Binoche stars as Julie, a survivor of a fatal car crash that killed her younger daughter and her husband, a composer. She is suddenly confronted with grief and loss; she sells her house and her possessions and rents an apartment. Julie feels liberated yet she is surrounded by gloomy circumstances that pique her interest. One night, she's awakened by a victim of a mugging who pounds her door to no avail, an extremely unsettling moment. The next day, there is a rat giving birth in Julie's closet. Every time a door slams shut, she goes bonkers. In order to escape, Julie has a brief affair with her late husband's friend (Benoît Régent) who wants to complete the unfinished concert piece her husband wrote (a piece that continues to haunt Julie). Julie also becomes acquainted with her downstairs neighbor, a stripper (Charlotte Véry) who sleeps around to say the least. At the local cafe, Julie becomes aroused by her environment and sits awashed by sunlight. She is capable of finding an escape from her trauma.

"Blue" is an incredible, visually astounding film with an astounding music score by Zbigniew Preisner. Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski and cameraman Slawomir Idziak do a fine job of rendering visually and emotionally the melancholy loss and sense of liberation that Julie feels in any environment (the underwater pool scene is unlike any other I have ever seen). Some of the images and characters in "Blue" might be a little confusing but it is the incredible, unforgettable performance by Juliette Binoche that gives the film its mystery, allure and power. 

No Mercy, No Laughs

SCARY MOVIE 2 (2001)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Originally written in 2002

No Mercy. No Shame. No Sequel. Well, I felt shameful watching it and it was as merciless an assault on the senses as "Requiem For A Dream" was (how ironic that both movies star Marlon Wayans). Is Miramax so eager for the easy buck that they will forge the money to produce a sequel so cheaply and quickly to diminishing returns? How can Miramax see no fault in including endless bodily fluid jokes without censoring any yet be compelled to cut the violence in Martin Scorsese's long-awaited "Gangs of New York"? Okay, back to the movie.

"Scary Movie 2" is the sequel to 2000's inexplicable hit "Scary Movie," a movie that did not deserve a sequel. Someone with far more imagination and inspiration than director Keenan Ivory Wayans should have taken a shot at all those slasher movies that were rejuvenated by 1996's "Scream." The irony was that "Scream" managed to do that already and Mr. Wayans knew it. Instead, he opted for endless sexual jokes and puns with such alarming crudity that I lost all sense I was watching a slasher film parody. "Scary Movie 2" offers more of the same in even more crude taste. I left the movie with a sour taste in my mouth, and hardly ever laughed as a result.

This time, the characters from the last film are college students invited to some haunted mansion by a devilishly witty professor (Tim Curry, always a pleasure). The mansion is haunted by extremely horny spirits so of course this is an excuse for more bodily fluid jokes. Some are more crass than others and almost all are not funny. There is one exception. Kathleen Robertson plays one student with plenty of cleavage who uses it "Erin Brockovich"-style to get keys from a wheelchaired-nerd to the mansion to escape. It is funny until it ends with a masturbatory joke that ruins it.

"Scary Movie 2" spoofs horror films such as the awful remake of "The Haunting", "Hannibal,"  and non-horror oddities like "Charlie's Angels." The best scene involves a very funny poke at the oft-imitated "The Exorcist," and it casts James Woods as an exorcist. The jokes get repetitive and involve flatulence and vomiting but it has better gags than the rest of the movie. What a shame it is at the beginning. 

Crick's Life Literally Reads Like a Book

STRANGER THAN FICTION (2006)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Stranger Than Fiction" is a fascinating film, and its fascination stems from a screenplay that aims with a delectable charge to remind us of what movies can be. It is a sparkling, imaginative delight from start to finish with enough humor, chaos, light sentiment, big laughs and a tightly woven screenplay of supreme intelligence to remind us that films need not always cater to the dumb and dumber set.

Ferrell is Harold Crick, an orderly, lonely IRS agent whose domicile seems not unlike the one that Edward Norton occupied in "Fight Club." It is a bland apartment with all the cosmetic appliances one might expect - it may as well be a model apartment. He is finicky with his wristwatch, which is used as his alarm and his basis for punctuality. Nothing wrong with being punctual but Crick even estimates the time it takes to get from his bus to crossing the street, to the actual office

building he works in, etc. Now that is punctuality (we even see horizontal and vertical lines drawn with estimation of time and space, not to mention number of meters between spaces). At his workplace, every time he passes colleagues who ask him a multiplication problem, he answers correctly without missing a beat. Yes, people of the planet Earth, I am discussing a Will Ferrell flick.

One day, Crick hears a voice in the bathroom while brushing his teeth. The voice describes Crick's actions in explicit detail. Crick thinks the voice is coming from his toothbrush. When he is at work, he hears the voice. When he is at a bus stop, he hears the voice. When he performs a tax audit for a tattooed bakery shop owner, Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal) whom he is smitten with, he hears the voice. Is Crick going insane or is there a feminine, British-accented voice he can only hear? Is this a ghost who thinks she is an author? The mind boggles.

It turns out the voice belongs to a living, successful author, Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson). Every book of hers ends with the lead character dead. She is trying to think of how Crick can meet the Grim

Reaper. It is driving her crazy, and naturally it is driving Crick crazy.

There are ways this film could fail. It could either turn sappy where Crick pleads with the author to save his life, since he starts a relationship with Ana, and it could all end with a neat, sunny

resolution. Or it could exploit the idea of an author exploiting its lead character with a darker, bleaker resolution (well, she does want the guy to die). Strangely enough, "Stranger Than Fiction" goes with

the former narrative choice, and it does it with lots of surprises and a clear sense of humanity without resorting to cliches or sappiness.

Ferrell has proven himself comic gold in "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights," yet here he invests a restrained approach to the character and builds it with nuance and complication. We are never sure what to think about Harold Crick except that his life could be livelier and less attuned to punctuality. He is a boring individual at first, but his eyes sparkle when he first meets Ana (as we know from Eiffel's voice). And when the relationship is at first rickety and then blossoms, you wonder if the author is taking the approach of developing the character her way, or is Crick developing himself!

Then there is a sidelined character, a literature professor (excellent work by Dustin Hoffman), whom Crick turns to in the hopes of principally finding the author. Hoffman finds that Crick's life is

more comedic than dramatic until...but hey, you have to see the film to find out.

This cast is almost uniformly excellent. Maggie Gyllenhaal conveys a wistfulness and a roughness with a touch of sincerity that is unusual in films in this day and age - she knocked everyone's socks off with "Secretary" and with her small, vivid role in "Donnie Darko." There is a no-nonsense sensibility about her and the character, Ana, that is reassuring and urgent. There is one remarkable scene that is handled with admirable restraint by Gyllenhaal, among many. It is when she

bakes cookies for Crick without him realizing they were meant for him after he keeps resisting them. When he realizes his mistake and we observe the hurt look in her face - there is a tangible sense of

regret that romantic comedies could use more of.

Also worth noting is Emma Thompson as the weary author who is in despair of not discovering the appropriate death scene for Crick. Thompson shows the author's fragility and deepens it with an emotional sensitivity - of course, Thompson is known for making us care about her characters every time. Her final scene is quite a revelation, in a movie full of them.

The only flaw, and it is a minor one, is Queen Latifah as the author's assistant - there is not much need for her and her character doesn't really have much purpose.

"Stranger Than Fiction" is a stunning, marvelous, hysterical and truly profound work of art, well-directed by Marc Forster ("Monster's Ball"). Yep, I will say there is a happy ending and for once, in a

world gone mad with despair and cynicism, it is earned and a keeper. A wonderful film.

Ferrell Makes Love to the Crowd

BLADES OF GLORY (2007)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I don't think I'll ever grow tired of Will Ferrell. Even in junk like "Old School" and "A Night at the Roxbury," Ferrell was not boring or unwatchable. Fortunately, he graduated to riotous fare with "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights," and fueled his dramatic abilities

in "Stranger than Fiction" and "Melinda and Melinda." Add "Blades of Glory" to his riotous, wickedly funny palette.

Will Ferrell is Chazz Michael Michaels, the sex god of the figure skaters who can lure women with his prowess and presence on the

skating rink ("He wants to make love to the crowd," as one of the

announcers states). He has no coach yet his moves are legendary. His

competition is Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder), a disciplined skater who

lacks the presence of Chazz. They both tie for the gold medal, and

then practically beat each other to a pulp resulting in getting

knocked off the podium (and setting a poor mascot on fire). Both

figure skaters are banned for line. That is until Jimmy's former coach

(Craig T. Nelson) is convinced by Jimmy (and a delirious superfan)

that he and Chazz can skate due to a loophole in the rules: they will

skate as partners! Since males have never skated as partners before,

this is seen as historic in the annals of figure skating.

A sibling figure skating pair, Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg

(the hilarious Will Arnett and Amy Poehler), see Jimmy and Chazz as a

threat so they get little sister, Katie (Jenna Fischer, the secretary

from TV's "The Office) to woo Jimmy and Chazz! Naturally, Katie

develops feelings for Jimmy. You need not know anything about the

Olympics or figure skating to see where this is going.

"Blades of Glory" has many funny pratfalls and sexual innuendoes, and

clearly there are a few digs at the Olympic figure skating world (not

to mention a joke on the Tonya Harding scandal). Every actor basically

overacts except for Will Ferrell, who plays it so straight that he is

practically believable, and Jenna Fischer who exudes as much sweetness

and sympathy as she does on "The Office." Will Arnett occasionally

dials it down yet his demented smile is awakened every time he shares

a scene with Amy Poehler. And Jon Heder will still seem unrecognizable

to those who loved his geeky, iconic Napoleon Dynamite - he is so

placid, even when he shouts, yet he holds his own with Ferrell. And if

you have to give high marks for an inspired moment where Jimmy speaks

Japanese to a Japanese journalist perfectly (Jon Heder really knows

how to speak it, too).

I must add how impressed I am by Will Ferrell. He is loose, engaging,

energetic and has priceless reaction shots. I don't care how many

variations on sports comedies he makes - as long as he is allowed to

be so loose and not overplay his part, I will be there watching.

"Blades of Glory" is a cartoon of wild comic implausibilities and, if

admired on that scale, it works. The ending is slightly longer than it

needs to be, but there are so many choice moments that deliver belly

laughs (including a truly original chase scene involving skates) and

so many insane song choices (such as Queen's "Flash Theme") and so

much tomfoolery that I was left smiling and in high spirits. For truly

wacky, wild, boisterous humor, you can't go wrong with "Blades of

Glory." And if any of you out ever want to be figure skaters, watch

out for the Iron Lotus routine!

120% effort with love

FILMWORKER (2017)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

If I could spend the rest of my life watching actors, associates, personal assistants and writers talk about working with one of the few masters (or taskmasters to some) of cinema, Stanley Kubrick, I would be more than satisfied. Kubrick was not just any movie director, he held the medium in high esteem, cultivating it for the maximum potential best he could get out of it. "Filmworker" is about Leon Vitali, a notable presence in any Kubrick film after his stellar performance in "Barry Lyndon," who devoted his life to do anything he could to uphold Kubrick's vision. It is a tremendous accomplishment and one that finally gets the attention Leon deserves.

Leon Vitali first came to prominence as an actor in various British TV dramas and movies. When he landed the role of Barry Lyndon's angry stepson Lord Bullingdon in Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon," Vitali's acting career could've skyrocketed. Perhaps that was the perception by the media and the Hollywood industry yet Vitali had other ideas - he wanted to work behind-the-scenes for Kubrick. Vitali became the personal assistant to the perfectionist director, keeping a close eye (along with the director) on film prints from the labs, color correction and timing of prints, overseeing film trailers and packaging of home video from around the world, sending memos to actors who have been reassigned to different roles, and so on. Everyone was scared of Kubrick and had faced intense pressure on the set of all of his films ("Full Metal Jacket" was apparently a tougher film to work than most). Leon seemed to be the one who could face ungodly, 24 hour pressure without losing his own temper - the stress might have killed Leon but he loved Stanley as a friend and perhaps that is what carried him through. Clearly more than just an assistant - he was a "filmworker." That and he also helped with menial, non-film related tasks such as cleaning rooms at the Kubrick Estate or keeping track of the cat compound!

"Filmworker" is smoothly edited and structured by director Tony Zierra, establishing an intimate rhythm with Leon Vitali's skills as a storyteller - most of this documentary focuses on him and Leon's tremendous presence and lion-like voice keeps interest afloat. Though the film shies away a bit from Leon's life as a family man and those lengthy periods where Kubrick was not shooting a movie (though Leon was involved in other jobs such as locating all known Kubrick film prints and categorizing production details on the never-filmed "Wartime Lies"), it is established that his rigid work ethic was his life. "Filmworker" is also about a devoted friendship and loyalty between two hard-working men who did their best to make sure that the artistic vision remained true to the artist. It was not just giving 110% - it was giving 120% effort with love. And the cat compound.

Why can't you say I look nice?

LADY BIRD (2017)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Lady Bird" is an example of a near-great film that could've been expanded and fleshed out closer to a 2 hour feature than the 1 hour and thirty-five minutes we get. But why carp when you got redhead Saoirse Ronan as a misunderstood Catholic schoolgirl who can't seem to find her footing in her world - her character is one of the more unforgettable teenagers we have seen in movies in a while.

Saoirse Ronan dominates every second of "Lady Bird" as Christine McPherson, a Sacramento teen who expresses doubt about most everything, and it is implied that she has doubts about God. She centers most of her doubt on her domineering mother who works double shifts as a nurse, Marion McPherson (Laurie Metcalf), and who is so bluntly honest that she tells Christine she will never make it to any Ivy League school because, well, she is not smart enough. Christine's rebelliousness extends mostly to her moniker - she prefers everyone call her Lady Bird. She is very close to her unemployed father (Tracy Letts) - they have their secrets such as when he helps his daughter with college applications. Lady Bird spends most of her time smoking in bathrooms, performing pranks on nuns, and has a keen interest in a charmless, humorless musician (Timothée Chalamet) who would rather go to clubs than the prom. Ladybird's best friend is Julie (Beanie Feldstein) but eventually, and regrettably, she avoids Julie for the "Heathers"-like crowd of sexually active girls who speak of their sexuality openly. What draws Ladybird to this crowd is hard to say except she is still trying to find her own place.

I cannot dispense with enough positive praise about Saoirse Ronan (who was truly divine in the excellent 2015 drama "Brooklyn") - she not only embodies Christine, she gives her soul, panache, humor, an air of vulnerability and sometimes she is not easy to warm up to. Christine is only human and wishes for acceptance and some measure of approval yet getting it from her aloof mother (who proves *SPOILER ALERT* otherwise in one stunning scene) is a heavy, laborious task. But it is also Lady Bird's ability to be compassionate and accepting of others (even someone like the loser musician, or the theatre actor who turns out to be gay) that gives her character humanity. As I said years ago about another talented actress, Jennifer Lawrence, Ronan will be one of the greats if she is choosy with her projects. After "Brooklyn" and "Lady Bird," expect my optimism to be a reality.

I am just as doubly excited by Laurie Metcalf as Lady Bird's mother, Marion - it is a tricky role yet she is able to convey her own doubts about her daughter. You sense that she loves Lady Bird yet she doesn't want to see her get hurt - perhaps Marion had many more obstacles and imagined her life would work out differently. Either way, one of Metcalf's final scenes will leave you weeping.

"Lady Bird" is a coming-of-age comedy/drama yet it is adult in its reflective look at teenagers who are anxious about their next stage of development and tough-loving mothers who want the best for their children. Director Greta Gerwig ("Nights and Weekends") bestows an immediacy, a quirkiness and an intimacy rarely seen in most films. I have a feeling that if Gerwig and Ronan make another picture together, it will be every bit as good as "Lady Bird." 

Movies and friendships, those are mysteries

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND (2018)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I first heard about "The Other Side of the Wind" back in 1996 when I read film critic and scholar Joseph McBride's fascinating book entitled rather appropriately, "Orson Welles." The film in question, an unfinished marvel and frustrating film-within-a-film-within-a-film was deeply surprising and confounding to read about and the most famous unseen film with a galactic cast. How could a major film by Welles starring John Huston in the lead role of a movie maverick of a director ("The Ernest Hemingway of cinema") not get proper financing from a Hollywood studio? Welles's notorious reputation, of course, was the answer - he was not trusted to direct films, only act in them. "I am subsidizing myself, in other words, I am crazy," Welles once said at the 1975 AFI film awards show that honored him. So, after more than forty years of seeking completion funds to edit and release "The Other Side of the Wind" first thru Welles and then after his death, through fellow director and actor Peter Bogdanovich and McBride and the late cinematographer Gary Graver, Netflix (that streaming giant) bought the rights to the film, had it finished and edited according to Welles' copious notes. Here we are with my review for a film I never expected would see the light of day. How is the film? It is a sensational, purposely messy, purposely confounding, unsettling and often mesmerizing work - perhaps Welles' most unusual film and one not likely to find mass appeal...at all. I am not putting that lightly because the film has a drunken, pot-hazing stupor about it - like a late-night boozy party where everyone who is everyone is discussing filmmaking and slowly finding out who their real friends are.

"The Other Side of the Wind" is mostly confined to the late-night birthday party for Jake Hannaford (John Huston), the wise, safari-shirt-wearing film director who is broke and hopes his budding friend, a hotshot film director named Brooks Otterlake (Peter Bogdanovich), can get a young studio boss (Geoffrey Land) to finish financing his work. Sound familiar? Of course anyone who has read about the titan of cinema, Orson Welles, knows he had a bad habit of not finishing some of his films, for one reason or another. Bogdanovich himself was a fan and friend of Orson's and it is mentioned in Josh Karp's wonderfully entertaining and distressing book, "The Making of The Other Side of the Wind: Orson Welles's Last Movie" that Orson had hoped for Peter's circle of Hollywood elitists to help with financing (this was not to be).

At this same party, we are introduced to the nosy, Pauline Kael-type film critic Juliette Riche (Susan Strasberg); an ex-alcoholic stooge of Hannaford's who has some history with him (Norman Foster), who's always eating gum drops so he won't drink; a striking Lilli Palmer as Zarah Valeska, an actress who had appeared in Hannaford's work and declares she never slept with the legend; Edmund O'Brien as another stooge and former actor of Hannaford's who uses the megaphone to announce screenings of the director's incomplete footage; Joseph McBride as Marvin Pister, the nervously awkward film critic who asks seriously misguided questions like if the camera is a phallus (what on Earth could that mean?), not to mention Mercedes McCambridge as Jake's secretary who tries her best to shield cameras away from Jake's private conversations, and actual film directors like Paul Mazursky and Henry Jaglom pretty much playing themselves. At this party, the young cineastes ask ridiculous questions to Hannaford and his "Mafia" stooges, or are overheard saying such incomprehensible remarks like, "He can make a bad film look atrocious." No doubt that Welles is poking fun at people who overanalyze a film director's work.

There is also curious, electrifying footage of Jake Hannaford's incomplete movie called "The Other Side of the Wind" with Oja Kodar consistently nude as a Native American wearing various beaded necklaces and carrying dolls with her who is either being pursued or actively pursuing a young man on a motorcycle (Bob Random, playing an actor named John Dale who split thus leaving Jake's film unfinished). Both actors never say one word throughout the film-within-the-film or when they appear as the actors at Hannaford's party.

"The Other Side of the Wind" is a powderkeg of a cinematic punch to the gut (excitingly and daringly edited with a great deal of cross-cutting, some by Welles and most by Bob Murawski, complemented with a jazzy score by Michel Legrand) and it is worth seeing for anyone who calls themselves a movie buff. For average audiences, the historic value of a 40-year-old movie may be all they see and may reject it on that basis (Social Justice Warriors have already decried the racial slurs and how women are objectified despite missing the satire of it all. We were living in an age of Existentialism, followed by Irony, then back to Existentialism to some extent post 9/11, to an age of Meta Nothingness where satire seems to have no place). This film should be a major event and will most likely be forgotten except by select movie fans and Wellesian completists. Shameful because Welles has made an autobiographical, deeply personal film about his love/hate relationship with Hollywood, the industry that shunned him after he made "Citizen Kane." As the 1970's approached, he was loved by the college crowd perhaps but he was not making the films that the new generation of Movie Brats were making (Lucas, Spielberg, Scorsese, Friedkin, Hopper to name but a few). Neither is Jake Hannaford, hence the tantalizing, sexually charged film he is making that is meant to either be a spoof of director Michelangelo Antonioni (who helmed "Zabriskie Point" back in the 70's) or youthful, rebellious pictures full of sex and violence that meant little or both.

"The Other Side of the Wind" is full of aloof, drunken regret encapsulated by John Huston's richly layered performance (only one of two lead roles Huston ever played). Any scene with Huston is remarkable due to his nuanced, detailed, often drunken expressions with the voice of a cigar-chomping God of Film - when has Huston ever been boring on screen really? Bogdanovich's Otterlake does his best to help Jake, just as Bogdanovich did with Welles. But the pervasive feeling in "The Other Side of the Wind" is that old Hollywood never catered to artists with knowing, admitted self-expression - they wanted directors-for-hire who knew how to complete a film on time and on budget and could make a killing at the box-office. Art existed only to serve commercial prospects in the studio-run Hollywood of the 1970s. That is Otterlake in a nutshell, as it was with Bogdanovich who later suffered the same fate as many of the Movie Brats at that time - box-office failures and fewer pictures to direct. It is only fitting that an older Bogdanovich narrates the opening scenes - he could best understand now what Welles and Jake were dealing with. 

Lycanthropy run amuck in bloody, noisy remake

THE WOLFMAN (2010)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

It is high time that someone revisited the doomed Laurence Talbot of the Universal Horror movie series. Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.), of course, was bitten by a werewolf and then becomes one, though he is suffering and wishes for it to go away. That was the principal plot behind the original 1941 classic "The Wolf Man," which also contained the always staggering presence of Claude Rains as Larry Talbot's father. The film had simplicity and was always too short for its own sake but it delivered the chills and an amazingly emotional finish. This 2010 version is longer, bloodier yet far less chilling and Benicio Del Toro's Larry Talbot is harder to sympathize with.

Larry Talbot is now some Shakespearean actor who has returned to the Talbot Estate after his brother has disappeared when, in actuality, he was savagely mutilated by a wolf. Well, we know this was a werewolf who did the mutilation. After some business involving the gypsies (there is a Maria Ouspenskaya-type character played all too briefly by Geraldine Chaplin), Talbot is bitten by a werewolf and, of course, slowly but surely becomes one. He becomes one rather expeditiously, almost too quickly (reportedly, in the uncut version, the transformation scene happens even sooner!) The werewolf appears and bites and kills innocent people. Del Toro is often seen in a reflective, angry pose, and then there is Anthony Hopkins as Talbot's largely unsympathetic, callous father who clearly has one too many skeletons in his closet. Who was that initial werewolf causing so much brutality? I dare not say but I am sure you will figure it out.

Most of "The Wolfman" is atmospheric and pretty to look at (how can it not be with the moors and the countryside all usually lit by moonlight) yet it can't compete with the black-and-white foggy landscapes of the original. The film tries too hard to be the Coppola version of "The Wolfman" (that is, Coppola's lavish "Dracula" from 1992) replete with grimly blood-soaked flashbacks and flashcuts that have already proven to be tedious in most horror films for the last decade. Danny Elfman's music score has flashes of Wojciech Kilar's amazingly thunderous score from Coppola's "Dracula" but the movie can never reach the heights of that heightened romantic horror tale. Everything in "The Wolfman" is a flash of something you have seen before and better (though, to be fair, the screenplay has more of a backstory involving Talbot's mother but none of it is seems to strike much of a chord). With a dull, indifferent leading man and a dull, indifferent father figure and only a small handful of chilling moments (the transformation scene is a keeper, despite CGI use), the movie is cut too together too quickly and abruptly - restless without any true momentum. Only Emily Blunt as Gwen (played in the original by Evelyn Ankers), the fiancee of Larry's brother, exudes some measure of emotion that resonates, especially in a tender final scene between her and the werewolf. You are not likely to howl at the moon after seeing this noisy, mediocre movie - you are more likely to look at it with indifference.

Trivial Battle of the Sexes

THE COMPETITION (2018)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Thora Birch is an actress with a rosy exterior yet her interior suggests less than rosy intentions. Here she plays a formula-devising scientist who has figured out a formula for men she temporarily dates - they will inevitably cheat within a 6-month period. It is actually a decent premise for yet another romantic comedy and Birch has the potential to deliver. Unfortunately, the screenplay by Kelsey Tucker is saddled with extraneous characters and a leading man who can suggest something less innocent than a rose, Chris Klein.

The formula, known as the PIG theory concocted by Lauren (Birch) on her popular blog, clearly suggests that no man is beyond cheating and that her theory is always correct. When she is on board a cargo plane with her boyfriend before he skydives, she exclaims, "We are breaking up!" Of course, we think this guy cheated on her hence why she ends the relationship. Then there is the initial encounter with Calvin (Chris Klein) who works at a law firm and, oh guess what, his boss is Lauren's sister! But this encounter is hardly accidental. Lauren's sister , Gena (Claire Coffee), for reasons only known to her, wants Lauren to quit her PIG blog and become less cynical and get married and settle down, or something like that (Gena doesn't seem to be involved with any man either). The only catch is that Calvin has to get Lauren to give up her cynical, misandrist blog, thus ensuring that his future as partner in the law firm is assured.

If "The Competition" ran along those lines, it may have sneaked past the shopworn cliches as a quirky romantic comedy of manners. There is potential there with Birch's Lauren trying to be convinced that not all men are, well, pigs. It could've been spirited fun seeing Klein's Calvin persuading her with endless attempts to prove that he is not like others. The initial premise is immediately shuffled aside when Calvin reveals the plot I just described to Lauren in the first 15 minutes! Calvin gets the bright idea that there should be a competition among his and Lauren's friends. If any of his male friends are tempted by another woman and act on it, he loses. If not, she loses and gives up the blog. There is much less urgency and tension when the movie is reduced to a few tedious set pieces that do not wring much in the way of laughs or romance, or shall I say any anti-romantic angles.

Chris Klein is somehow miscast though he works well with Birch, the latter who is capable of working up sparks with any leading man. My issue with Klein ever since his "America Pie" days is that he always suggest a demeanor of a calculating, smooth operator, and not some sensitive "I am not like other guys" attitude. Calvin's friends are virtually anonymous and free of any real passing interest. The women that Lauren approves of wooing Calvin's friends are mostly strippers (hmmm, what is the message here?) We also get an unnecessary subplot about Lauren's mother marrying a younger Latino man, and far too much time spent on Calvin's friendly (and married) female associate that involves flinging breast milk!

Thora Birch does work a few wonders with her Lauren character, though at times her role is left out of the story. When we get too many scenes of Calvin's group of non-idiosyncratic friends, I lost interest. "The Competition" is adequate time-filler (based on a short film called "The PIG Theory", also written by Kelsey Tucker) but it could have mined its initial premise for something more than a cheating contest. A battle of wills carries more urgency. 

A World of Zero Charisma

SUSPECT ZERO (2004)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Viewed on August 27th, 2004

"Suspect Zero" is one of the most nonsensical and implausible thrillers I've seen in a long time. Actually, its plausibility is so dependent on obscure plot twists that human characters are at about the level of human waste.

Aaron Eckhart (who could certainly play a 1930's Indiana Jones, if anyone is interested) is the latest FBI agent in the movies, albeit one with problems in his career past. His name is Thomas Mackelway, who proves to be a loose cannon when we see him beat the living daylights out of a suspected killer before arresting him. Due to such unprofessional conduct, Mackelway is demoted to an Albuquerque, N.M. office, and his first case is a murder that occurs on the state line between Arizona and New Mexico. The murder victim is a traveling salesman found with his eye lids removed. Other murders begin taking place, including the killer that Mackelway tried to arrest. And he starts receiving faxes from someone who may be the killer, or not. His former partner, Fran
(Carrie-Anne Moss), tries to help him on this case, and to make sense of the endless faxes of missing persons. They are from a former FBI agent, Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley), who has a telepathic ability, with the use of GPS coordinates, to find serial killers. In fact, Benjamin may be killing serial
killers. Or is Benjamin the killer himself who enjoys leaving clues for our less than stalwart G-man?

"Suspect Zero" is the kind of thriller where Dutch angles, grainy film stock, intense, sweaty close-ups and a murmuring soundtrack give the semblance of a moody thriller. Sometimes, the conceit works. Here, the story is impossible to follow thanks to a dozen loopholes and plot holes. For example, how on earth can GPS help Benjamin locate a killer? The movie shows that Benjamin's own FBI
training came from a secret government project ("Project Icarus") where telepathy was the main course of action to find serial killers. That's fine, but how does one develop telepathic capabilities where they see crimson-colored images of crimes that are about to happen? Is he more clairvoyant than telepathic? And how come Mackelway has the same ability? And does Benjamin's
ability extend to people related to a murder case, not just the killer(s)? And what's with the constant migraines? And how come Fran refers to paintings of Jesus as the work of a freak?

The problem is "Suspect Zero" develops next to zilch in terms of characters and a story worth caring about. As played by Eckhart, Mackelway comes across as indifferent and apathetic. Since he is the main protagonist, we are left wondering why his only noticeable trait is that he takes a mouthful of aspirin before his day begins. His relationship with Fran does have one touching moment
that is squandered by the actor's indifference. At least Carrie-Anne Moss is a unique actress who can project vulnerability in spades, so much that we wish she was the protagonist and Eckhart was second fiddle. As for Ben Kingsley, he seems to have taken part in an extended cameo where he mostly sweats, jots down numbers, and is concentrating deeply on something. He does have one humorous moment where he sees a truck and says, "I wonder what is inside that truck."

Director E. Elias Merhige ("Shadow of a Vampire") believes frenetic, gory, fulsome imagery in quick flashes is a substitute for suspense. It could have been with empathetic characters and a fleshed-out story, but the people in this movie live in a world of zero charisma.

Interview with Rutanya Alda: Championing the 95%

INTERVIEW WITH RUTANYA ALDA: 

CHAMPIONING THE 95%

By Jerry Saravia
Reprinted with permission by Steel Notes Magazine

Poster for 1968's Greetings

Most actors start their careers in grade Z garbage, either some exploitation film or a demented slasher flick or a silly monster movie. Helen Mirren's inauspicious beginnings were in the catastrophically bad "Caligula," a minor example. Jennifer Aniston began life in the horrendous 1993 horror film "Leprechaun." Latvian-born Rutanya Alda had one of the luckiest acting debuts of all time, in none other than Brian De Palma's 1968 cult classic, "Greetings." To follow that role with "Hi, Mom!," another De Palma film and one of the finest sequels ever made, and then a long list that includes "Scarecrow," "The Long Goodbye," "The Fury," "Rocky II," "Black Widow," "Amityville II: The Possession," "When a Stranger Calls," "The Dark Half," "The Deer Hunter," "Mommie Dearest" and many more proves that she is one of the finest character actresses, period. A 50-year-career that includes over a hundred roles in television and film is nothing to sneeze at. As Rutanya points out, no matter how many roles you get, there is still concern when you are not a superstar of Angelina Jolie's status who represent the 1% who never worry about their next acting gig. "We are the 95% who struggle, who worry when they will get their next job."

The De Palma origins remain fascinating for a director whose specialty became Hitchcockian thrillers. "Greetings" and "Hi, Mom!" are counter-cultural late 60's satires that touch on everything from racism to porn to politics and even the Kennedy assassination! Rutanya counts both De Palma films as her "favorite film experiences." As for "Greetings," she states: "I had a really funny strip scene with Robert De Niro. Audiences always laugh at the scene. I am also on the poster for the film."

Following "Greetings" came the 1970 sequel, one of the greatest, shrewdest and funniest satires ever made, "Hi, Mom!" Rutanya had a memorable appearance in De Palma's "Hi, Mom!" as a member of a group of WASP's who enter a so-called theatre production of "Be Black Baby" - it is one of the more surprising, illuminating scenes about race ever. "It was gut-wrenching and powerful," says Rutanya. "It was a one-take scene, full of Brian De Palma's humor. All the dialogue was improvised - there was no script. Same with 'Greetings'." The controversial scene caused audience walkouts when she saw it a L.A. screening a few years back. "A woman was crying in the bathroom," explains Rutanya. "When I came up to her, I explained that the scene was not real, and I was not really raped. The woman screamed, 'It was real to ME!' I told her it was real to me too."

Rutanya Alda (right) in The Deer Hunter

Long before Oliver Stone's "JFK" arrived on the scene, there was a 1973 film called "Executive Action" where Rutanya was cast as a member of an assassination team. "The film opened and died at the box-office," explains Rutanya although she has no idea why the film didn't make it (according to imdb, the film was pulled because it was the cause of too much bad press). "The filmmakers were nervous throughout the two-week shoot. Everything was hush-hush, and a lot of the shooting locations were last-minute." [Footnote: Rutanya had been offered a role in Sidney Lumet's "Serpico" but she had to back out since she was filming "Executive Action" at the time.] Robert Altman, one of the premier iconoclasts of the 1970's and beyond, cast Rutanya in "The Long Goodbye." In the film she played one of Marlowe's neighbors (character's name is Rutanya Sweet, Altman's idea) and, though it is not shown in close-up, she shows some skin to say the least (not unlike her role in "Greetings".) "I had worked on the whole shoot," says Rutanya. "I was asked to stand in for Nina Van Pallandt" (Pallandt played the lead role of the wife of Sterling Hayden's character, Roger Wade).

One of Rutanya's first jobs when she moved to L.A. was in an episode of TV's "Cannon" entitled "Perfect Alibi," where she played a grieving widow, Mrs. Degan. The memories of working with William Conrad, who of course played Cannon, were a bit unusual. "You don't look at William Conrad, and he does not look at you. It was a rule," said Rutanya. "He was an odd duck."

Rutanya Alda (right) in Mommie Dearest

I did express curiosity about Rutanya's highly restrained performance in "Mommie Dearest," playing such a passive maid to Faye Dunaway's high-strung, explosive Joan Crawford, whereas in "Amityville II: The Possession" Rutanya played a highly emotional woman married to that abusive lout of a husband (Burt Young). I had asked about her preference when it comes to acting, raising it a notch or two or dialing it down. "It depends on what the script calls for. It is the job of an actor to justify the reactions of the characters," said Rutanya. "For 'Amityville II', director Damiano Damiani addresses the psychological terror of a family that is very dysfunctional. Even with 'Mommie Dearest', the input is on the actor." As for Diane Franklin's emotionally disturbing role as the daughter to Rutanya's mother character in the haunted house sequel, I had wondered if Diane clinged to her. "Diane was the most inexperienced of the cast yet she was wonderful," said Rutanya. "Damiano was on hand to help her emotionally."

I had not been aware until very recently that Rutanya was married to one of the grittiest character actors with the raspiest of voices of all time, the late Richard Bright. Being an actor married to an actor can result in petty jealousies and messy divorces, especially in Hollywood. "It was very tough," said Rutanya. "Two people have the same concerns and it is tough to be creative all the time. The best match for a couple is to marry someone who is not in the same business. It was fun to work on some of the same projects [1994's 'The Ref' was one of those projects as well as 1983's "Vigilante" with Robert Forster], though we did not share any scenes together. If you are committed actors in a couples' situation, you respect the same insecurities, fears and anxieties."

Lastly, I had to ask about Rutanya's small role as a museum curator in Bob Rafelson's 1987 suspense thriller "Black Widow" with Debra Winger and Theresa Russell (Rutanya considered Theresa a "doll to work with.") Aside from Winger's troubling relationship with Shirley MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment," I had wondered what was the experience of working with the notoriously difficult Debra Winger. "I saw Debra at an Academy luncheon at the 21 club. An academy member said,  'Look there's Debra Winger, didn't you work with her?'  Yes, I said. The member then said, 'Dont you want to go say hi to her.' No, I said. I think that says it all. I didn't need to elaborate then and I don't need to elaborate now. Shirley said it...that's all."

Be sure to read Rutanya's memoir of making "Mommie Dearest" at

What is seen, is not always what is real

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Remembering Wes Craven's Definitive Nightmare

"What is seen, is not always what is real" 

That singular line defines the Elm Street series in general. It also defines the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street," a 1984 horror film that plays with audiences' expectations of fear and dread and of not waking up from a nightmare. 1974's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was a living nightmare of real horror perpetrated by sick, degenerate killers. "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is about the fear that what happens in a dreamed nightmare is not just being dreamt - it is evocative of real fears we keep silent in our everyday existence.

Ostensibly marketed as the latest in a series of cumbersome slasher flicks during the mid-1980's, New Line Cinema's first major film, "A Nightmare on Elm Street," blew away all the slashing competition. Here we had teenage characters who possessed more than one dimension. The underrated performance by Heather Langenkamp as Nancy evokes a shy girl full of innocence who slowly gains control. At first, she is the innocent girl-next-door type who can't bring herself to sleep with her boyfriend (Johnny Depp), who lives across the street from her. Her parents, workaholic Lt. Thompson (John Saxon) and hard-core alcoholic Marge (Ronee Blakely), have Heather in their best interests yet they remain emotionally guarded. Tina (Amanda Wyss) is one of Heather's best friends yet she is having a little problem sleeping, having nightmares of some burn victim with razors for fingers. Amazingly Heather has the same nightmares, and so does Tina's troublemaking boyfriend Rod (Jsu Garcia). Who is that burn victim with a red-green sweater who haunts their dreams? Anyone versed in the Nightmare on Elm Street mythology will know the answer to that.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" has been described by Robert Shaye (New Line Cinema's own founder) as a dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream. That begs the question: at which point is the film part of any given reality? That I cannot say but I would not call it a Dream Film, like any of David Lynch's more preternatural excursions beyond "Blue Velvet." Obviously when a slimy tongue extends from a phone's receiver or when Nancy somehow pulls the creature's old battered hat from her nightmare, one can understandably view such moments as nightmares (keep in mind that Nancy stays awake for seven days while consuming copious amounts of coffee). I would say the whole film is a nightmare. The first clue may be the first daylight scene in the film where we see some kids playing jump rope and singing "One, two, Freddy's coming for you" while in the same sustained foggy shot, the camera tracks into the teenagers arriving at school. Nancy never quite wakes up -- she is fighting to stay awake but that is all a dream.

Horrormeister Wes Craven, who wrote and directed "Nightmare on Elm Street," has crafted an elegant film of uniform tension and extreme dread. There is no let up from what occurs from scene to scene. Just when Tina is trying to wake up from her nightmare, the horror continues with blood splattered across the walls and on the bed while laying next to Rod who tries to wake her up (a scene you would never understandably find in any of the teen sex comedies of the 80's). When Nancy wakes up screaming after falling asleep in class during a reading of Hamlet, she hastily leaves realizing she has an actual burn in her arm she acquired during her nightmare. Night or day, or whether she is at a sleep study or someone else's house or at school, the nightmare never ends - it intensifies.

Another factor that was lost during the progression of "Elm Street" sequels (though none are as scary, they are all ultimately disturbing) was the depiction of Robert Englund's iconic monster Freddy Krueger. Unlike other installments, Freddy is hardly visible on screen -- he is shrouded in darkness and has mostly an extended cameo. He is a despicable creature who could care less about himself, especially when slicing his body open or cutting off his own fingers. "This...is God," as Freddy holds his talon glove over his face. It is this depiction that helps make the teen characters empathetic to the audience -- we are in their shoes and want them to stay caffeinated and alert, or else. You get killed in the dream, you die in reality. When Nancy wishes Freddy away by sucking all his energy, we want to believe her strength in allowing herself to literally turn her back on this monster. By the end of the film, we believe the real nightmare has begun - waking up to reality.

Nothing up its virtual reality sleeve

THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (2003)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia 

After seeing the dreary "The Matrix Revolutions," I have nothing but sour feelings for this series. The original "The Matrix" is possibly better than my initial pan of the film, though I am not sure it works as a kung-fu actioner with sci-fi effects and occasional existential quotes. "Reloaded" is a far better film, stronger in every department though it, too, gets mired in over-the-top action scenes like an interminable 14-minute freeway chase. Still, "Reloaded" had moments where the reality factor of sense and smell in a virtual reality were put forth, as well as questions about machines versus man. "Revolutions" could have put the cap on the trilogy by taking such ideas further, as promised by "Reloaded." Instead this movie is overlong and exhaustingly repetitive, coasting on a never-ending mirage of shootouts and shoot-them-ups that border on noisy overkill. Call it revolutions of an under-imagined script.


Neo (Keanu Reeves), also known as Mr. Anderson, the hero and savior of "The Matrix," was last seen in a coma. He is finally brought out of his coma and is trying to figure out how to save the city of Zion. You see, Zion will be demolished by the expedient spider-like robots with tentacles, known as the Sentinels, and thus destroy the world the humans live in. The evil Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), last seen battling Neo with multiple clones of himself, is hellbent on destroying Zion as well, though his nefarious plans include nothing more than living amongst all his clones in a rain-drenched, anonymous city (what a visionary)! Smith is from the virtual reality world and must get rid of Neo, and Neo must save Zion. No X-Box games will be awarded to anyone who can guess that these two will battle to the death yet again.

Meanwhile, Jada Pinkett Smith, returning from "Reloaded" as Niobe, is shown to commandeer a ship with such class, sweat and authority that she is easily the best thing in the entire movie. There are also diminishing returns by Carrie Anne-Moss as Trinity, Neo's leather-clad girlfriend, the Obi-Wan-like Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne, looking quite bored), and many other characters who bark orders and not much else - unless you have seen "Reloaded," you'll have no idea who they are. The Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), the Frenchman, returns all too briefly along with Monica Belluci as his wife - nice but fleeting. Most of "Matrix Revolutions" consists of battle scenes galore, guns ablazing in slow-motion, ships moving at near-hyperspace speeds and hundreds of Sentinels moving with whiplash ferocity across the screen, but what in blazes is all this about? What is at stake and whom should we root for? Neo is practically left out of the movie until the last third - either it is a blessing or a disappointment to see Keanu Reeves in a supporting role. The Oracle (Mary Alice, replacing Gloria Foster who died during production of "Reloaded") is nothing more than a philosophical mirage, though philosophy takes a backseat more than ever for endless, pointless, cumbersome action scenes. The ideas of reality and virtual reality that were starting to develop in "Reloaded" are practically nonexistent in this sequel. The only reality is that this trilogy really had nothing up its sleeve after all.

Matrix Repetitions

THE MATRIX RELOADED (2003)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Viewed on June 13th, 2003

When the original "Matrix" was released in theatres, I had no idea it was going to become a pop phenomenon. I had intensely disliked the first time out, and received floods of angry emails saying I had no idea what I was missing. It seemed firmly established that "The Matrix" was becoming something of a national treasure. But I still did not see what all the hoopla was about. Yes, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss all looked great in black leather and sunglasses as they shot their way from one room to the next. There were the kung-fu fights where a leap or a kick in the air would be momentarily frozen as the camera panned around it only to be brought back to normal speed. Yes, cool effects, but not much more. I still feel the original film lacks a real story with real, identifiable characters who have some purpose. This "Reloaded" sequel is certainly better but still lacks a focus...it just offers more bang for your buck.

"Matrix Reloaded" wastes no time in reintroducing its characters or story. As the film opens, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) is seen jumping out of a high-rise building as she fires two guns in typical slow-motion speed at the Agents, the bad guys who wear business suits and sunglasses. An explosion, lots of bullets whizzing by in almost molecular form, and more pointless nonsense until we
realize it is only a dream. It is Neo's dream, once again played by the most blank-faced actor in Hollywood, Keanu Reeves. Lest we forget, Neo is really Thomas Anderson, a software nerd who was told in the original film that his reality was actually an illusion. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), the Obi-Wan Kenobi of this world, is aware of such illusions and is convinced that Anderson
is Neo (also known as the One), the one who will save them from the machines who
may destroy the Matrix (a program that is the very illusion they live in). There is no doubt as we see how quickly Thomas learns kung-fu and how to adapt in a cyber-created universe where bullets can be dodged in slow-motion. And he's got a beautiful girlfriend, Trinity, who cares for him deeply. Now on to this sequel where we learn that the machines (a group of spider-like robots with piercing
tentacles) are about to destroy the city of Zion, the place where all existing humans live. Neo plugs back into the Matrix to meet with the Oracle (the late Gloria Foster) and discuss something about predestined choices, although does one already choose when they are inside a program or can one feasibly choose differently? Hmmm. Nevertheless, the Oracle tells Neo to find the Source to the
Matrix, and the one that can help is known as the Architect. Before we are allowed the opportunity to delve into such existential questions of choices and other matters, hundreds of Agent Smiths (most of them played by Hugo Weaving) fight Neo. Neo eventually gets away and beats most of them single-handedly.

Back to the philosophy of the "Matrix," I found that the speeches about reality, machines and the inner reality and choices we make would render this film definitely a cut above the original. Consider an early, terrific scene where Neo talks with Councillor Harmann (Anthony Zerbe) about machines - do we control them or do they control us? We can turn off all the machines that generate power
for a city like Zion, so in effect, we need them as much as they need us. Interesting. Also noteworthy is a later sequence where Neo talks with the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), a stubborn French wit who loves to curse in French. He can lead Neo to the Key Maker (Randall Duk Kim) but that is another story. Consider the initial meeting between Neo and the Frenchman, especially
when he describes how he programmed a blonde woman in a restaurant to feel ecstatic from eating a piece of chocolate cake. It is clever scenes like this that indicate the Wachowski brothers, the writer-director team of the "Matrix" movies, have something else in their minds besides mind-blowing action. They might have taken a cue from David Cronenberg's far more existential, playful
"eXistenZ," a mind-bending reality vs. fiction story that has more up its intellectual sleeve than either of these popcorn movies. But before you can say, how clever, we are bombarded with more kung-fu fights, a 14-minute car-truck-motorcycle chase that runs on too long, more whizzing bullets, more
Agent Smiths, and more of everything. Call it "Matrix Repetitions."

There are more fascinating elements in this sequel, but it all goes to waste. Keanu Reeves still looks like a stoner and a half. Laurence Fishburne is practically in sleep mode throughout, and none of his scenes are half as interesting as Anthony Zerbe's. Monica Belluci as Merovingian's wife brings a
touch of class to the proceedings before she is abruptly shelved for possibly more screen time in "Revolutions." Gloria Foster's abrupt scene as the Oracle lends some degree of intelligence, if only she had more to say. In fact, the dialogue is tighter and wordier than the original, not to mention as abbreviated to make rooms for tons of special-effects. Abrupt is the name of the game of
this sequel as the film ends before it really begins. We are then treated to a preview of "Revolutions" after the end credits. Perhaps in that film, we will begin to see some semblance of a story.