OF LOVE AND WAR
MOVING MOVIE FULL OF PLEASANT PEAKS
Cold Mountain (2003) - "Cold Mountain" is Anthony Minghella's ("The English Patient") latest film about a confederate soldier who abandons his platoon to return home to the woman he loves. Jude Law and Nicole Kidman star, but the film is literally littered with stars in its cast. Renee Zwelleger, Jack White, Natalie Portman, Ethan Suplee, Donald Sutherland and Phillip Seymour-Hoffman all make appearances.
"Cold Mountain" received seven Oscar nominations and is worthy of most of them. The usually deplorable Renee Zwelleger is absolutely terrific. The music is excellent, the cinematography is gorgeous and Jude Law, for once in his life, lives up to his hype. There are few flaws in this film.
The movie doesn't really address the Civil War and all the issues associated, rather, it uses the war-between-the-states as a backdrop for its well-crafted love story. This kind of film isn't usually my fair, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't moved. It's an all-around excellent movie.
LIFE MAY SUCK, BUT THIS MOVIE DOESN'T
OH... THAT GUY
American Splendor (2003) - In "American Splendor," Paul Giamatti gives a career performance as Harvey Pekar, the controversial and revolutionary real-life creator of the "American Splendor" comics. Narrated by the actual Pekar, the film details the ups, downs and downer-downs of his life.
The movie's tone is bitter, sarcastic and self-depreciating, but it manages to be as such without bearing down on the viewer. Giamatti is so likeable as the loveable grump Pekar that you can't help but empathize with his terrible misfortunes and unfortunate world-view.
More than anything, "American Splendor" is one of those movies that just feels like a labor of love. Watching it, I got the impression that everybody involved, from the writers to the actors to the directors, wanted to use this story to get their message out: Life sucks, but it doesn't mean you have to be unhappy. It would be a real shame if Spiderman and his horse won the "Best Film" Oscar while "American Splendor" is left without even a nomination.
HE WAS BETTER ON SNL
EIGHT CRAZY WAYS TO DIE
Eight Crazy Nights (2002) - "Eight Crazy Nights" is written, produced and principally voiced by Adam Sandler. If a thousand monkeys typed on a thousand typewriters for a thousand years, there is a good chance a lot of them would throw their fecal matter. This musical, animated feature is the product of such an endeavor.
In the "movie," Adam Sandler-voiced Davey is a drunken 30-something sentenced to coaching a community basketball team. Along the way, he encounters perverted elderly citizens, racial stereotypes and animated poo. How God created Adam Sandler as such a paradox, I don't know. How Sandler can go from starring in "Punch-Drunk Love" to creating this piece of drek is an even greater mystery.
I wanted to like this movie. The comedic musical stylings of Adam Sandler plus an animation studio should have produced a film that would rival the South Park movie. But it didn't. You'd be better off shaving your eyeballs.
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