DVD Review: Y Tu Mama Tambien (A-)

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Starring Maribel Verdu, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna
MPAA: UR
Grade: A-

Review by Scott Standish

The reviews for this movie have been off the chart and with all of the buzz out there, I was concerned that this film might not live up to the hype. Fortunately Y Tu Mama Tambien is everything that everyone has said and more.

Julio Zapata and Tenoch Iturbide are two fun loving guys in their late teens with some time to kill before life (college, marriage, kids) sets in. Their girlfriends have left for Italy for the summer so they spend their time partying and well, just being teenagers. At a party they meet the lovely older woman Luisa and in an attempt to woo her, they boast about a nonexistent beach they go to often.

When Luisa's husband admits that he's cheated on her, she decides to take the young guys up on their offer. The boys are excited to have the smart, hip Luisa with them on the road, and despite the fact that they are driving to a place that doesn't actually exist, they all have a total blast along the way.

Their car breaks down along the way allowing the film to pause and then kick into a much higher dramatic gear. So Y Tu Mama Tambien is really an "on the road" love triangle movie but its also a lot more. It is funny, it has some great dramatic touches and lot of very steamy sex scenes. The three main characters are all going through a transition point in their lives and this road trip becomes both a "last hurrah" before life sets in, as well as a soft cushion through what might have been a rough period.

I have heard that this film was controversial, but I can't see why. There is a lot of sex in the film and its pretty graphic, but its not any worse that what you might see on Cinemax late at night - and frankly the sex scenes in the movie are central to the plot, not just love scenes that some executive wanted to toss into his film for more "sex appeal" at the box office. Y Tu Mama Tambien is a great independent feature film and one that is worth searching out.

DVD Review: Ocean's Eleven (C-)

Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Bernie Mac and Matt Damon
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: C-

Review by Scott Standish

You have to hand it to Steven Soderbergh. Even when he disappoints, he at least makes it entertaining.

As you probably know, Ocean's Eleven was a classic Frank Sinatra rat pack movie with lots of jazzy Hollywood style glitz. This remake casts Clooney, Pitt and Damon in the key roles and keeps the mood upbeat. The stories are similar: one big heist all in the name of fun, cash and revenge.

Clooney plays Daniel Ocean, a man who has just been paroled. He's out to get his girl back, and in the process, knock off three of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. Clooney partners with Pitt, Bernie Mac and eight others to work out the plan. The owner of the Bellagio (the casino where the cash is stored) is seeing Ocean's ex-wife, so there you have your romantic intrigue. Jealousy, revenge, and deception all wrap up into one gooey plot and before long we watching a fairly interesting drama with lots of glamour.

Of course, this robbery could never work in real life (anyone who's seen the security at any of the major Las Vegas casinos knows this), so its not that believable of a story. At times this movie feels like "Mission Impossible meets Scorsese's Casino", but hey these are big stars and your pulling for them, and yes every break goes their way. There is really no new ground being broke here but I doubt that was Soderbergh's intention with this movie anyway. It attempts to be mindless fun, but there is a smugness to this film (maybe because all of these movie stars are smug?) that holds it back from really taking off.

There are some cool casting choices here, Elliot Gould plays an eccentric casino owner in on the plot and Carl Reiner is cast as one of the crooks. So, if you are looking for a rather simple, harmless love story/crime film then I guess you could do a lot worse than Ocean's Eleven. However, if you are looking for something with a bit more depth you will be disappointed by Ocean's Eleven, a stylish yet shallow effort from the usually on target Steven Soderbergh.

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DVD Review: Personal Velocity (A)

Personal Velocity (2002)
Directed by Rebecca Miller
Starring Kyra Sedgewick, Parker Posey and Fairuza Balk
MPAA: R
Grade: A

Review by Scott Standish

Everyone takes different paths at different speeds through this world. The paths of three fiercely independent women, Delia (Kyra Sedgewick), Greta (Parker Posey) and Paula (Fairuza Balk) are examined in Rebecca Miller's award winning low budget feature Personal Velocity.

Delia has always used her body to get what she wants in life. With a great bod and a penchant for having fun she develops a reputation, but she doesn't really care what anyone thinks. She's got attitude and she doesn't take crap from anybody. That is, until she falls in love and marries. Her husband beats her regularly and like most battered women she is scared and confused. Her most striking moment of personal velocity occurs when she decides to take action and leave her former life behind for good.

Greta (played by DVD Confidential fave Parker Posey) had her world shattered when her father dumped her mom for a younger woman. So she chose a husband that she knew would never leave her. Her own personal velocity increases as her career unexpectedly takes off. Her new world is smarter, faster and hipper than the one that she had chosen for herself. The growing pains that Greta goes through are painful and touching, and the acting performance by Posey is one of the best of the year.

Indie queen Fairuza Balk stars in the final segment of this trilogy of short stories. Balk is Paula, a runaway that finds love and acceptance with Vincent (Seth Gilliam). Vincent is a gentle soul that helps her get back on her feet. They are happy.

However, when a horrible accident occurs she finds herself driving to her mother's house in a panic, trying to piece together some form of logic to her world. She picks up a hitchhiker that has been badly beaten and discovers emotions that she never knew she had. All of these painful events push the young girl to the brink and Fairuza Balk does a wonderful job (as usual) of bringing this character to life.

Shot on digital and reportedly brought in under half a million dollars, Personal Velocity is perhaps one of the most confident indie movies I have seen in a long time. Well acted, directed and shot (especially for digital), this film is a rare treat.

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DVD Review: Monster's Ball (B+)

Monster's Ball (2001)
Directed by Marc Forster
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry and Peter Boyle
MPAA: R
Review By Scott Standish
Grade: B+

Confident and methodical, Monster's Ball is one of those slow trains that keeps on moving, with the story picking up steam as it goes along. Before you know it, you are engrossed in the story, and the actors cease to be actors- they are people you care about. Such is Monster's Ball, a good script made even better by the fine acting performances.

Monster's Ball centers around the middle aged racist prison worker Hank Grotowski (Thornton). Hank suffers a tragedy and starts to question his life. His father Buck (Peter Boyle) is an even bigger racist than he is and his negativity seems to taint everything around him. Berry plays Leticia Musgrove, a beautiful young girl that has suffered some serious misfortunes of her own, including having a husband (played by Sean Puffy Combs) sent to the electric chair.

Although best known for the Oscar winning performance by Halle Berry, the rumor is that Berry was not the first choice for the lead role. Reportedly, Vanessa Williams and Angela Bassett both turned down the job, due to the strong sexual content.

As pointed out, Halle Berry is incredible in Monster's Ball, but this movie is filled with top notch acting all around. Billy Bob Thornton and Peter Boyle are fantastic and the chemistry between Berry and Thornton is dynamic. Sean "Puffy" Combs is not great, but at least not terrible here and fellow rapper Mos Def turns in a good very acting performance as Hank Grotowski's neighbor.

The cinematography and overall direction work is solid, and you can tell that they just wanted to get the actors up there on screen and let the story work its slow magic. No special effects or aliens were needed, just a simple love story (well maybe not that simple) that engages the audience.

If you are looking for a great drama that eschews all the fancy trimmings in favor of getting right to the heart of the story, give Monster's Ball a look.

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DVD Review: On_Line (B-)

On_Line (2002)
Directed by Jed Weintrob
Starring Josh Hamilton, Harold Perrineau Jr., Isabel Gillies, John Fleck and Liz Owens
MPAA: R
Grade: B-

Review by Scott Standish

Being in the online biz, I can verify that most sectors (movie reviews for example) aren't huge money makers, especially after the dot com bubble. Online porn is the exception to the rule and one of the hottest areas in that sector are sites that feature live web cams. On_Line, the new film from Jed Weintrob, examines how that business changes the lives of the people behind the scenes.

The plot line is very basic: John (Josh Hamilton) starts an online porn biz with his roommate Moe Curly (!) and their lives are turned upside down by the people they meet through the site. Harold Perrineau Jr. (Matrix Reloaded) plays Moe and he does an excellent job of playing the partner that is in it as much for fun as for money. John is still trying to get over a painful break-up and he's not doing a very good job of it, continuously obsessing over his ex. He seems drawn to the voyeuristic side of the biz more than the money. If there is anything to be learned from this film, it is that if you get into the online porn biz, focus on the money and try to stay detached from the people that you work with.

Well, as you can imagine, On_Line has plenty of steamy scenes, but it wisely never crosses the line of what is truly acceptable for an R rated film. While On_Line is not the deepest of films (philosophically) you might find it a guilty pleasure. On_Line won the Best Film award at 2002 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival.

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DVD Review: Heaven (B)

Heaven (1987)
Director: Diane Keaton
Starring: Michael, Mary Hall, Agbabian, Victoria Sellars and others
MPAA: PG 13
Grade: B

Review by Ellyn Elm

Diane Keaton directs this funny, off-beat and just plain charming documentary about peoples' views on the sweet hereafter. Utilizing interviews and vintage movie clips, Heaven presents us with a strange and wonderful array of what might be waiting for us in the afterlife.

Employing a standard question and answer technique, participants are asked a variety of questions such as: "What does heaven look like?" "How do you get to heaven" "Are you going to heaven"and most importantly, "Is there sex in heaven"? Responses vary from straightforward to bizarre and everything in between.

Keaton utilizes abstract sets in which to interview her subjects and juxtaposes these sessions with old film footage representing alternative ideas of what heaven might be like. The effect is very stylized and sort of strange but I think it does a good job of conveying the idea that heaven is not a static concept: it shifts and changes with the times.

Don't get me wrong, this movie is not terribly deep or penetrating. But, rather Heaven is a lighthearted and sometimes silly look at a subject that means many different things to many different people.

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DVD Review: Mystery of Picasso, The (B+)

Mystery of Picasso (1956)
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Starring Pablo Picasso
MPAA: UR
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

The stunning Mystery of Picasso is without a doubt a treasure to watch, as it accurately captures the process of art creation. Director Henri-Georges Clouzot set up a camera that records Pablo Picasso's paintings as he makes them. Some are quick and to the point, where others meander around and around until Picasso paints over large portions- unveiling them to be completely different than originally intended.

Art (especially modern art of Picasso's bent) is certainly in the eye of the beholder and your feelings about the artwork here will dictate your reaction to Mystery of Picasso. The jazz music that accompanies the film seems a little dated and at times out of sync with the visuals.

The interactions with Picasso between paintings are too few (I think he's a pretty fascinating guy when he talks) and far between. I know the idea was to let Picasso paint and show the process he went through, but hey, a little more framing (no pun intended) would have made the pictures more meaningful to me. That aside, Mystery of Picasso is a very interesting look into the mind of a creative genius.

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DVD Review: Me Without You (B+)

Me Without You (2001)
Directed by Sandra Goldbacher
Starring Michelle Williams, Anna Friel, Oliver Milburn, Kyle MacLachlan and Trudie Styler
MPAA: R
Grade: B+

Review by Bobby Nashville

In Me Without You, two gals outside of London try to keep their friendship alive, even though they have grown apart. I don't normally fall for "chick flicks" but somehow this film got to me. Maybe it was the retro clothes, hair and music. Maybe it was the fact that both lead actresses seem to be obsessed with sex. Who cares? This was a soap opera style drama that held my attention.

Holly and Marina are best friends. They make a pact to stay friends forever. This pact is tested over the years as they quarrel over lovers, their parents, and increasingly, Marina's domineering penchant to try and control Holly's life.

Michelle Williams (Dawson's Creek) acting work in stellar in Me Without You. Kyle MacLachlan is well cast as the girl chasing professor that is interested in both of them. Me Without You works as a classic "girls trying to stay friends forever" story and as a fairly enjoyable period piece of growing up in London in the 70's and 80's. Give this one a shot.

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DVD Review: Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and the Media (B+)

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
Directed by Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick
Starring Noam Chomsky, William F. Buckley, Peter Jenning, Bill Moyers and Tom Wolfe
MPAA: UR
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

Winner of the Chicago International Film Festival for Best Best Social/Political Documentary, Manufacturing Consent is one of those totally biased documentaries that you will either love or hate, depending on what your take is on the subject matter going in. Being a liberal with a strong antiwar bias, I found the movie fascinating.

Noam Chomsky has been heralded as the most important intellectual alive, and it's clear to see why. He's smart, well spoken and has thorough research to back up his arguments. He decries the propaganda machine behind the US government and the media outlets in America, and takes them to task over the suppression of news relating to the US supported Indonesian invasion of East Timor. As conglomerates continue to merge and acquire one another, the power of the media continues to fall into fewer hands and increasingly, these parties use the editing of news content to further their own means.

Chomsky is not without his faults by any means. Critics deride him in the film for allowing an article that he wrote about free speech to be included as a prologue for a book insisting that the holocaust did not happen. Chomsky insists that he does not side with the author but was merely hoping to defend the author's right to freedom of speech. Of course, he is right, but sometimes it's just common sense to avoid confusion on these types of issues.

A great documentary about a brilliant political activist, Manufacturing Consent is highly recommended.

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