Movie Reviews
Knife in the Water
The Criterion edition should clue you in that it’s worth your time, but still, it is fairly obscure. I first saw it in about 1967, at the Michigan State Film Society, and was blown away. I’d never seen anything like it … and I wasn’t quite sure what it was that was so different.
All these years later I’m a lot more sophisticated about film, and I can ... Read more »
Incendies
In an unnamed Middle Eastern country—based on Lebanon—a woman dies and in her will tells her son and daughter that they must find their father and brother. Which is a surprise to them, since they didn’t know they had a brother. They don’t know much about their childhood, in fact, and little about their mother’s life. The brother isn’t interested, but the daughter sets out on the path of ... Read more »
The Kite Runner
I haven’t read the book, but I knew this was not about the All-Afghan Kite Tournament. Which is a little odd, because apparently the two young Afghans who are featured in the first part of the movie were under the impression that it was something very like that. And why not? Many of their scenes involve kite flying. Trouble is, in addition to having no sense of humor and no tolerance for ... Read more »
Inception
I’ve complained before about simple-minded and scientifically awful and just plain stupid science fiction films, which just happens to be about 95% of them, but sometimes a movie can be just too clever for its own good. This one concerns a sort of “Mission Impossible” team that is using a technology whereby one’s dreams can be invaded and manipulated such that someone can be tricked into ... Read more »
Kitchen Stories
In the early 1950s the Swedish government conducted studies of housewives to find ways of making their work more efficient. They liked the results so much that, for some reason known only to the bureaucratic mind, they decided to study the kitchens and work habits of Norwegian bachelor farmers. You know, the guys who grow the wheat that’s used in Powdermilk Biscuits, which give shy people ... Read more »
Kiss Me Deadly
I once tried to read a Mickey Spillane novel. I think it was I, the Jury. I got about three chapters in and not only did I put it down, I dropped it in the garbage can and covered it with slop. Nothing in the book appealed to me, and much really put me off. But it was interesting to watch this movie. Mike Hammer is an incredibly sleazy, unappealing character, but ... Read more »
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
If you try to take this seriously for even a moment, it will all fall apart. And that is probably the movie’s greatest weakness, in that from time to time it does seem to be taking itself seriously. But try to get past those moments. This movie exists mostly for fun, and when it’s on target, it’s a great deal of fun indeed. It is sardonically ... Read more »
Kinsey
I had an unusual perspective on this film. I recently read The Inner Circle, by TC Boyle, which covers almost the same ground. It was fun to compare, and what was immediately obvious was that Boyle and Bill Condon, the writer/director, used the same source material. Some scenes might almost have been lifted from Boyle’s book, but I assume they came from other ... Read more »
In This World
How would you go from an Afghanistan refugee camp to London to begin a new life … with nothing but a few forged papers and a little bit of money your family has scrimped together? With great difficulty, that’s how. This is the story of a 16-year-old and his uncle who set out to do just that, and it is mostly real, though some scenes had to have been staged. Engrossing and ... Read more »
In the Valley of Elah
I can be a very easy audience for a movie. If the acting is good, the script is interesting, and the situation provocative, I tend not to ask a lot of questions as I’m going along. The acting here is very good, especially Tommy Lee Jones, who was Oscar-nominated, and Charlize Theron, who I didn’t even recognize until I looked at the sleeve and saw her name. (We all know she can go ugly, as ... Read more »