A list of my recently viewed movies

I've been splurging on my movie watching lately, and I don't quite have the time to write up full reviews for all of them. In lieu of that, I'm just going to give some brief thoughts on each.

* * *

Fascination (2004)

A terrible movie. Think something from Hallmark or Lifetime but with more sex. It's got everything you would never want from a film: poor acting, gaudy wardrobe, over-the-top soundtrack and a plot involving the rich and the bored killing, fucking and swimming. Oh, it's also got several counts of incest. Highly recommended in medium-sized groups of drinking friends with senses of humor.

* * *

The Hole (2001)

Here's a little English film starring Thora Birch with--to my ear--an impecible English accent and a pre-Bend It Like Beckham Keira Knightley. It's got a great cast of fine young actors. The Hole shows us what the beautiful upper crust would be like if they were stuck in a locked bomb shelter for eighteen days. The results--as one might expect--are a bit shocking. Told in a fractured viewpoint narrative similar to Rashomon or Hero, the trick with this little number is that the fracturing occurs within a single character. Disturbing and shot with a beautiful decay, here's another film to watch in a drinking group of friends...with the lights off.

* * *

The People Under the Stairs (1991)

A Wes Craven ghetto fairy tale. People... felt like Craven's Big Trouble in Little China but without the magnetic Kurt Russell to keep the dialogue crack-a-lackin'. The plot involves a poor family on the verge of eviction, a haunted house, a crazy in-bred family (with a shotgun replacing a chainsaw) and a pure heroine in need of rescue. People...'s biggest problem remained throughout the film that our hero was untouchable. The viewer never doubts that the young boy will make it out safely, that he'll save the heroine and that the bad guys will get their comeuppance. Perhaps we could blame this blandness on the fairy tales upon which the film was based. Perhaps we could blame the poor dialogue and dull scenery (most of the film takes place behind the walls of a mansion). Whatever it was, the plot dragged, and the film is only worth watching for those interested in modern updates of children's fairy tales.

* * *

Sideways (2004)

Despite an underwhelming trailer, Sideways certainly delivers the laughs and the tears. Much like Alexander Payne's earlier works, the lead character is a sad, boorish man who will not allow himself to happy with his surroundings. On the other hand, pairing Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church together was a masterstroke for the director. The two have great chemistry together as do all of the actors in the film. As dull as a (another) film about a groom and his friend going out before the wedding--as well as a film about wine-tasting and golf--the actors make the dialogue funny and interesting while the film transcends its constituent parts (hence the Oscar nominations). Definitely worth a gander.

* * *

D