Princess Mononoke

I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan of Japanese anime. I still prefer the full-motion animation of Disney at its best, or the CGI of Pixar. I find the cheap short-cuts of anime irritating. Still, when the story is this good, and when the art is this good, it is a lot more than just watchable. The very best anime artists know how to use stillness as well as motion, aren’t afraid to do small ... Read more »

The Princess Diaries

We had just heard an interview with Anne Hathaway by Terry Gross on “Fresh Air,” and she sounded interesting. Now, of course, she’s a big star with important parts. She’s good at both comedy and drama. But what was she like in her first starring role? The answer is, very good, in very lightweight material. The movie starts off with some promise, but soon bogs down in an off-the-shelf plot. ... Read more »

The Prince and the Showgirl

I wanted to see this one because it’s the basis of another movie, My Week With Marilyn. I thought it would be good to see this one before, rather than after. It seems to be a case of more interesting things happening behind the scenes than in the movie, because it’s not all that great. The performances by both Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe are quite good, ... Read more »

Primer

I loved this little science fiction movie. Not because it’s perfect. It isn’t; by the end I could hardly follow it. But, oddly enough, that was part of its charm. It took a common SF idea and followed it to its logical conclusion, which was chaos.

You need to understand a few things before you’ll understand just why and how much I admired this film.

It was made for $7000. ... Read more »

Prime

He (Brian Greenberg) is 27 years old … okay, 23, really. She (Uma Thurman) is also 27 … no, actually, more like 30. Though if you want to know the truth, she is 37. She is seeing a psychiatrist (Meryl Streep) to get her through a recent divorce. His Jewish mother is a psychiatrist. Oops! Meryl learns her son is dating her shiksa client, and must deal with the ... Read more »

The Pride of the Yankees

When you watch a movie from the ‘30s and ‘40s it’s useful to remind yourself that they were made from a different sensibility. Some are timeless, will probably be watched and understood and cherished in 100 years, like Casablanca. Others, like most of the films of Frank Capra, already look pretty corny in some ways. I still love them, but there are some things ... Read more »

Pride and Prejudice

It’s hard to believe, but not only have I never read the book, I have somehow managed to not see any of the dozen versions of this classical warhorse … except the 2004 Bollywood musical adaptation, Bride and Prejudice. I didn’t even know the plot. So I’m not competent to judge the film’s accuracy, which I’m told was a little ... Read more »

Prick Up Your Ears

I couldn’t figure out what this title meant. Did it symbolize something? Was there deep meaning I was missing? Then it became clear. Somebody was talking it up on the phone and got misunderstood, and the new title stuck. The original title was to be Prick Up your Arse …

Sorry about that, I just couldn’t resist. This is about the darkly ... Read more »

Priceless

From almost the first frames this one reminded me of those frothy, sophisticated comedies set on the French Riviera in the ‘60s. Lots of fancy hotel rooms and restaurants, jewelry, clothes, fast sports cars. And sure enough, the director, Pierre Salvadori, says he used Breakfast at Tiffany’s as a model. Before long I was reminded of other films and stars. There ... Read more »

The Prestige

This is based on a novel of the same name by Christopher Priest. Most unusually, though many changes were made, Priest okayed them and was pleased with the result. It’s about magic … I hate that word, it’s about illusion, which I love. It is very well done. It concerns two rival magicians in 1897 (and before, in flashbacks) who hate each other, ... Read more »