(2002) dir. David Fincher
viewed: 10/15/02
Panic Room is perhaps one of the slickest, best samplings of contemporary Hollywood, the latest from one of the most consistantly interesting big studio directors, David Fincher, whose previous work has included Se7en (1995) and Fight Club (1999).
Finsher utilizes digital technology in manners unlike anyone else that I can think of. [...]
Archive of entries posted on October 2002
Panic Room
Spirited Away
(2001) dir. Hayao Miyazaki
viewed: 10/25/02 at Kabuki Theater, SF
Having barely seen a theatrical film a month this year (while trying to stay on top of things for my few Film Diary readers), it may seem quite surprising that I chose to see Spirited Away for a second time on the big screen, while forsaking so [...]
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
(2001) dir. Kevin Smith
viewed: 10/18/02
It wasn’t but a few minutes into this film when I thought to myself, what was I thinking? Why did I rent this?
I also pondered the same questions about the whole film’s production. What were the producers thinking? Why did they make this? It’s a vanity project [...]
Brotherhood of the Wolf
(2002) dir. Christophe Gans
viewed: 10/17/02
The French kick-boxing/martial arts historical period werewolf movie. A truly freakish yet unique mixture of genres that have very probably never before merged in a single film. It’s so bizarre that I was compelled to see it (on DVD, of course).
Sometimes bringing together disparate ideas can create something altogether [...]
Time and Tide
(2000) dir. Tsui Hark
viewed: 10/03/02
This film was strongly recommended to me by several people, one even remarked: “Best everything ever.”
I am a big Tsui Hark fan. I have been since the early 90’s, and I have often cited his Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) as one of the films that convinced me [...]
The Straight Story
(1999) dir. David Lynch
viewed: 10/05/02
G-Rated David Lynch. It is an interesting proposition. It’s even a Disney production. The result is an interesting mixture of Disney family-friendly entertainment and a clearly Lynch-ian interpretation of America.
This film presents a longer, more soulful look at the same small town America that Lynch portrayed as the [...]
Croupier
(1998) dir. Mike Hodges
viewed: 10/04/02
Croupier is a pretentious yarn about a writer/croupier who merges his “real” self with his fictional “self” while toiling in the casinos of London and researching his brilliant novel. The film attmepts some noir-ish street cred with its details of the seedy backside of the casinos.
It’s low-budget English film-making, for [...]
The Transporter
(2002) dir. Corey Yuen
viewed: 10/12/02 at Selma Theater, Selma, CA
The Transporter is a slick, relatively lean action flick with car chases, explosions, and Hong Kong-influenced fight sequences.
The film seems a sort of a re-envisioning of the fight-heavy action films of the 80’s (e.g. Chuck Norris, early Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc.), with a more suave (read: English/European) [...]
