War, Inc.

War, Inc.

First Look Studios

June 13, 2008

Satire

DVD
D+

Not nearly as funny or insightful as it thinks it is. John Cusack stars and co-wrote.   Joshua Seftel directed.

America's Sweethearts

America's Sweethearts

Columbia etc.

July 20, 2001

Romcom

DVD
C+

I saw this at the time and thought it was all right.  This time, I was most struck by the following:

• It's so weird to have the Internet a non-factor in publicity
• The "Hector" stuff is pretty racist
• Catherine Zeta-Jones is easily the best part of the movie
• Billy Crystal co-wrote a script where his character is in a lust-hate relationship with a dog, that parallels the title characters'.

Anyway, it's still watchable but yeah, mostly as a period piece.  Joe Roth directed, five years before Freedomland.

This is on a Julia Roberts "Triple" pack, but I've already rejected Mona Lisa Smile.

Stand by Me

Stand by Me

Columbia

August 22, 1986

Historical Drama

DVD
D+

I'd of course heard of this movie since the time but never had much interest in it.  I will say I like the setting, but I didn't care about the story.  This is based on the Stephen King novella The Body, and directed by Rob Reiner.

Runaway Jury

Runaway Jury

Regency etc.

October 17, 2003

Crime Drama

DVD
D

Even if I were interested in the story, the narrative fragmenting is annoying.  This is based on the Grisham novel and directed by Gary Fleder, after Don't Say a Word and before The Express.

One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer

Warner Bros.

August 8, 1986

Comedy
DVD
B-

At times, this really is one crazy movie, with random satirical moments, like the Ron & Nancy lunchbox.  I was expecting a generic '80s teen comedy, not an '80s teen comedy where the hero (Cusack) graduates from Generic High School.  Not everything lands, but there's an amiable and somewhat innocent feel to this, despite the cartoons that look like Ralph Bakshi animating early '30s style,  perhaps epitomized best by Bobcat Goldthwait and Tom Villard playing twins.  Savage Steve Holland wrote and directed.

Must Love Dogs

Must Love Dogs

Warner Bros. etc.

July 29, 2005

Romcom

DVD
D+

Gary David Goldberg wrote and directed, but this doesn't even rise to the level of a sitcom.  I found it predictable and unfunny (OK, one joke worked in fifteen minutes), although the leads are likable as usual.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Warner Bros. etc.

November 21, 1997

Drama

DVD
C-

The first quarter hour just felt like either set-up, or a casual tour of Savannah.  This is based on the novel by John Berendt and directed by Clint Eastwood.

Martian Child

Martian Child

New Line

November 2, 2007

Dramedy
DVD
D+

I found this cliched and heavy-handed, although I bumped it up a D+ because of Joan Cusack, who as usual acts well against her brother John, although she deserves better material.  This is based on the David Gerrold short story and novella (neither of which I've read, but it appears that the protagonist was gay in one version).  Menno Meyjes directed.

Love & Mercy

Love & Mercy

Lionsgate

September 7, 2014

Historical Drama, Musical

DVD
D+

The not so fun life of Brian Wilson.  Bill Pohlad directed.

City Hall

City Hall
Columbia
February 16, 1996
Drama
DVD
D+

Mildly interesting story marred by bad acting, including Cusack's New York accent.   Harold Becker directed.

Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich
Propaganda Films
December 3, 1999
Fantasy, Dramedy, Romance
DVD
B

Let me tell you a little story that has nothing to do with your viewing experience but a lot to do with mine.  It was almost twenty years ago, and less than a year after this movie came out.  I was watching it with my then-boyfriend, possibly on DVD but I think on VHS.  We were attracted to each other without having much in common, which we were fully aware of.  We were still in the giddy early, hormonal stage and we started making out during the scene when Maxine (Catherine Keener) is mounting Malkovich while Lotte (Cameron Diaz) is in his mind.  We kept making out until shocked out of it by the scene where Lotte's husband, Craig (John Cusack), forces her at gunpoint to make a call to Maxine.

Watching the movie now wasn't that much of an emotional whiplash, but it remains a twisted, disturbing and yet somehow fun and funny ride.  It's one of those rare movies where I don't like any of the characters and yet I want to see what happens to them, and of course the situation is fascinating and it's cool to see it play out in all its ramifications.  At one point, Craig wonders what will happen to John M. if he goes into the portal, and Maxine says, "Let's find out," like she's just another viewer.  (Interestingly, she's the one significant character who doesn't try to "be" John Malkovich, although she does control him through sex and love.)

Charlie Kaufman wrote the script and Spike Jonze directed, and I assume the quirkiness comes from both.  I want to particularly single out my two favorite parts, one of which is a play on the title and the concept, and the other of which seems to have little to do with the main part of the movie but is actually a capsule of it.  What the viewers (but maybe not Maxine or Craig) find out is that Malkovich enters an alternate world where everyone is Malkovich and speaks only in Malkovich, e.g. "Malkovich? Malkovich!"

When Craig is first hired to work at LesterCorp, he has to watch a training film, which is unlike any training film you've ever seen.  The visuals suggest it was made about 20 years earlier, but then it goes into a "dramatic recreation" of something allegedly from the late 1800s, except that the two characters we now see are dressed as if it's colonial times, more like 250 years ago than 100.  We get the feeling that LesterCorp is keeping down its overhead in more ways than low ceilings.  And then later in the outer movie, the story turns out to be true!  (Well, they probably got colonial costumes cheap in 1979, but still.)

I didn't love that boyfriend and I don't love this movie, then or now, but some things have to be experienced, no matter how "wrong" they are.

I'm omitting all the people, including Dustin Hoffman, that appear in archive footage, but I am including Sean Penn and Octavia Spencer because they make memorable cameos.