Tag: 1997
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The sexual revolution freezes over in Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm
Ang Lee and James Schamus’ wise adaption of Rick Moody’s novel is also a triumph of art direction, casting, costuming, and sound design.
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Michael Haneke’s Funny Games confronts audiences with the violence they paid for
Director Michael Haneke has made Funny Games twice, a decade apart. They are essentially the same movie: nearly shot-for-shot, with the same title, similar music and location, and at least one of the actors physically resembling one of the original cast. The few adjustments include the spoken language, updated telephone technology, and added Americanisms. So […]
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Scream 2 is a self-fulfilling prophecy
There’s nowhere else the Scream franchise could have gone other than here: an ironic, self-aware sequel to an ironic, self-aware horror film. When one the characters states “Sequels suck! Oh please, please! By definition alone, sequels are inferior films!”, it’s something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There’s a fine line between winking at your audience and […]
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Demi Moore goes chrome dome in Ridley Scott’s G.I. Jane
Ridley Scott has made his share of testosterone-laden Hollywood flicks, ranging from his very first feature The Duellists, through Black Rain, and finally blowing the top off the scale with Gladiator. But unlike many of his contemporaries (Michael Mann and Michael Bay come to mind), a surprising number of feminist-themed films with strong female characters […]
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The House of Yes feels stagebound
Theater and film, as media, differ in as many ways as they overlap. Just as with adapting a novel to a movie, there is no simple translation from one media to another — a play takes place from a fixed vantage point, there is no editing, and no digital/optical photographic effects. Perhaps the most extreme […]