The Iron Giant

Release Year: 1999

Director: Brad Bird

Review:  A boy and his pet.  Essentially this is what the film boils down to.  That pet, however, is a giant alien robot capable of taking on the US army.  Reminiscent of E.T., the story captures the kinship of the boy and his friend perfectly.  Hogarth, an oddball kid who has a big heart, discovers an enormous metallic robot in the woods in Maine during the 1950's.  Unfortunately, during the middle of the cold war, paranoia is running high and the government isn't as receptive to the misunderstood giant.

 

There are many layers to the film.  In one sense the film is a farce on cold war paranoia akin to 'Dr. Strangelove'.  The government has a one track mind.  Anything foreign, or unknown, must be dangerous or destroyed without thinking everything through.  On another level it's an anti-war movie with a strong line against guns.  But where the film definitely shines is in the simple relationship between the boy and the giant.  The development of their friendship is touching.  Somehow they managed to make what essentially is a walking weapon seem like it has a heart.  One of the strong themes is that we choose our own destiny.  The giant is who he chooses to be.  It is a poignant message that resonates loudly in this wonderful film.
Rating: 4/5

Audition (Ôdishon)

Release Year: 1999

Director: Takashi Miike

Review: A brilliantly conceived and fearlessly executed horror film.  The set-up isn't anything too radical.  A middle aged man, Shigeharu Aoyama, has lost his wife to an illness and sometime later is urged by his teenage son to get remarried.  Aoyama's friend has a plan.  They hold an audition for a fake movie casting, where each candidate is actually auditioning to be Aoyama's wife.  The woman he picks seems perfect, only things start to go wrong.

Director Takashi Miike is renowned for his graphic, unflinching approach to filmmaking, and 'Audition' in particular has a reputation as being extremely difficult to watch.  To his credit Miike doesn't revel in gore.  There is much more here than gratuitous violence, and the parts that are difficult to watch do not make up a major part of the film.  It is a beautifully shot film, and every scene is there for a reason. 

Miike carefully sets up a complete story, full of emotional depth.  It starts off slow, taking its time to set up the premise and its characters.  There is no villain straight off.  This isn't your customary slasher film.  It goes at its own pace, and actually tells a compelling story.  Asami, the girl which Aoyama has picked, isn't merely a shallow murderer, but a complex individual.  Miike goes to great lengths to paint her in a sympathetic light, and as the audience you want her to be good.  It's this connection which makes the infamous torture scene work so well. It is a dark, twisted movie to be sure, but its earned and that is what ultimately makes it a great film.

Rating: 4.5/5

Dogma

 

Release Year: 1999

Director: Kevin Smith

Review: This is not a film that can be taken too seriously.  Perhaps Smith stepped in over his head delving into religious territory, but at it's core its an enjoyable, funny and extremely off color take on a religious story.  Most of the content is absolutely absurd, and put in context with the subject matter it feels a little out of place.  And yet, taken strictly as a comedy, it works out in the end.  There are definitely a lot of moments that are groan worthy, but in the end the laughs far out weigh the eye rolls, making this a fine addition to Smith's catalog, but far from his best.
Rating: 3/5

Toy Story 2

Release Year: 1999

Director: John Lasseter, Ash Brannon, Lee Unkrich

Review: Pixar shows that even when going back to the well, they don't sacrifice quality.  'Toy Story 2' continues where the first one left off.  It's the same sweet, warmhearted, story telling but bigger.  They expand the toy universe, opening the family of toys to more friends.  The family aspect is every bit what Toy Story is about.  When you watch, you can feel the connection between the toys, that they care about each other.  Pixar makes it so that you don't even see them as toys made of plastic, but characters with as much emotion as any human.  They never shy away from pulling on the emotional strings, and its just as effective as in any other medium or genre.  Where I think that Toy Story 2 falters a bit is that its much more of an adventure then the first, almost going to broad.  I liked the closeness and intimacy of the first and I feel this one tries to take on a story that was too big to really make me feel as close as I did with the characters in the first.  Another draw back was the new female doll Jessie, who I found irritating beyond belief.  These are minor critiques of a great film though.  It might not quite reach the level of the first, but its still one of the best family movies ever made.  It never sacrifices intelligence just to  pander to a younger audience, and manages to be a fun, enjoyable, film for all ages.
Rating: 4/5

Charisma (Karisuma)

Release Year: 1999

Director:  Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Review: A film about a tree.  Not one of the most exciting premises but there is obviously much more under the surface in 'Charisma', a bizarre existential film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.  Straight away the reoccurring motif of survival and the question of who deserves to live is brought up when Yabuike(Koji Yakusho), a police officer, fails to shoot a suspect who is holding a member of parliament hostage, hoping that both can live.  When the suspect shoots the hostage and later dies himself, Yabuike is blamed for his inaction.  He is forced to take a vacation, and seeks solitude in a remote forrest, only to find himself in the middle of a conflict between the local inhabitants over a rare tree.  The tree is cared for like a child by Kiriyama(Hiroyuki Ikechi), who befriends Yabuike.  Also interested in the tree are a group of men who roam the forrest looking for valuable trees, and want to acquire the tree to sell to a collector.  Another interested party is a botanist professor who insists that the tree is a secreting a poison and killing the forrest, and she wants to destroy the tree to save the forrest.  Yabuike at first stays neutral, not wanting to takes sides, but soon realizes that he must choose and decide the fate of the forrest he just happened to wander into.

The central theme which is at the heart of this film is the idea of an individual versus the collective.  Is one special tree worth more than the entire forrest?  Is one person in society more important than anyone else?  Who gets to live while the other dies?  In the city Yabuike was a police officer, an enforcer.  This is his role in the forrest too, and he is forced to answer these impossible questions.  Just as he did in the beginning of the film he wants to save both the tree and the forrest, but he knows that this is not possible.  Just as before, trying to save both will result in the death of both.  He eventually decides that there is no correct answer, and he does not want to be the enforcer, he just wants to be an average man.  He will save some trees, he will let others die.  The larger issue is one that is common in Kurosawa films, concerning the way society shapes the individual.  This is powerfully conveyed in the final scene of the film where Kurosawa, helping one of his injured enemies back towards the city which is ablaze.

While I do think there is a lot of allegorical meaning behind the film, it doesn't necessarily make it a wonderful viewing experience.  I spent a lot of the movie completely confused as to what was happening, which wasn't helped much by poorly lit shots and odd editing.    There was a lot going on in the film for such a basic plot, and not all of it worked.  A good portion of the odder scenes still make no sense to me at all.  This is definitely the kind of film which takes some time after viewing to sink in and is one that is more appreciated after viewing, then during.  It's not a fun film, and often is as dull as the premise sounds, but there is something to be gained by sticking it out and trying to work through it.
Rating: 3/5

Magnolia

Release Year: 1999
Review: Paul Thomas Anderson's complex examination of a day in the lives of ten people, all of whom are loosely connected to each other. There is a lot going on in this film and extracting meaning from the disjointed scenes can be tough at times, yet at the same time it makes it that much more rewarding. There are strong themes of coincidence, fate, regret and personal growth all of which are brilliantly explored throughout the different story arches. The beginning and ending scenes are both beautiful and perfectly executed, and these two scenes alone elevate the rest of the film. The middle portion I have issues with. Mostly that it is too muddled for its own good. There are so many story lines inter-spliced that they tend to get in the way of themselves. The length also starts to become an issue. Not wanting to short change any one story line, it begins to drag out the film too long. Despite its problems it does have a fantastic ensemble cast, with great performances by some of the best actors of the decade. Tom Cruise's manly motivational speaker and John C. Riley's by the books cop stand out among them, each creating memorable characters that deserved more time. There are some lull points, but it is entirely worth it. This is fantastically realized film.
Rating: 4/5

Sweet and Lowdown

Release Year: 1999
Review: A mock documentary about the life of a gifted, yet flawed, jazz musician Emmet Ray. Woody Allen constructs this film in a way to make you believe that the story your seeing unfold is about a real person, where most of what he learn about Emmet is through Jazz lore that is often distorted and contradictory. This is a brilliant way to show that its not all about what happens, but how its remembered. Sean Penn gives a great performance as Emmet and Allen delivers one of his best films of the 90's in this heartfelt, and often very funny, film.
Rating: 4/5

My Best Fiend: Klaus Kinski

Review: One of the my favorite parts of watching Herzog works is actually after the film ends when I go read up on the production of the film which inevitably is as exciting and interesting as the film itself. If Klaus Kinski was part of the cast then the production summary is sure to be that much more entertaining. Herzog cast Kinski, the borderline psychotic, but talented madman of an actor in five of his films. It is a testament to Kinski's talent that despite his behavior on set, which frequently included violence toward the crew, hours of hysteric tantrums, broken contracts and general hatred towards everyone, Herzog continued to cast him. In this bizarre love-hate relationship between the two, the duo completed some truly great films. It was if they fed off one another, each needing the other one no matter how much they didn't want that to be true. This is a fascinating documentary by Herzog and will give you a new appreciation for both Herzog and for Kinski.
Rating: 5/5

House on Haunted Hill

Release Year: 1999
Review: I'm not a huge horror fan in general, and seeing how this was a remake I went in with doubts. Those doubts were founded as there is nothing but cookie cutter plot lines and scares all packaged nicely with terrible acting. The entire movie felt more like a premise to a Disney World ride then an actual movie. I really regret watching this before the original since now I have no desire to see it.
Rating: 2/5