Movie Reviews

‘The Cat’s Meow’ (Lion’s Gate, 2002)

Directed by Peter Bogdonavich

 If you’ve ever read Kenneth Anger’s ‘Hollywood Babylon’ you’re probably familiar with this story.  While on a cruise aboard William Randolph Hearst’s yacht, film producer Tom Ince died under mysterious circumstances.  The official story was that it had to do with his ulcers.  Since his body was cremated before any real investigation could be made, the truth remains a mystery.   However, popular legend has it that Hearst shot Ince, thinking he was fellow passenger Charlie Chaplin, in a fit of jealous rage over Chaplin’s affair with Hearst’s mistress Marion Davies.

 This is basically an actors film, and the ensemble cast including Eddie Izzard as Chaplin and Kisten Dunst as Davies are all excellent.  If, like me, you find the sordid tales of Tinseltown’s golden age fascinating this film should make for a pleasant diversion.   Unfortunately, although it does a good job of recounting (and embellishing) its tale, ‘The Cat’s Meow’ doesn’t really seem to have much to say.  Oh, sure, it makes the point that celebrities are shallow people and that if you have enough money you can get away with murder, but most of us already know that. 

 Ultimately what we’re left with are some good performances and a well filmed bit of mostly forgotten history.  Director Bogdonavich does a good job putting his actors through their paces, but the film lacks the depth of his best work like ‘Targets’ or ‘The Last Picture Show’.  I enjoyed it, but I wish it would have gone deeper into its characters, especially Hearst. (BI)

‘Children of the Living Dead’ (Artisan, 2001)

Directed by Tor Ramsey

 Don’t know who Tor Ramsey is, or even if that’s a real name (sounds dubious to me), but the guy I’m blaming for this waste of time is Producer John Russo.  Russo was the screenwriter and producer of the original ‘Night of the Living Dead’, and in recent years he seems bound and determined to tarnish that film’s legacy.  First, he brought us the “30^th Anniversary Edition” of NOTLD, in which he added unnecessary new footage and an awful new soundtrack.  Now he brings us this anemic follow up.  Although nothing on the box makes the claim that this is an official sequel, it’s pretty obvious that’s the intent. 

  The plot is pretty convoluted.  The story begins in 1986 as a second zombie outbreak is coming to a close.  Tom Savini is a macho survivalist and Martin Schiff a cowardly sheriff involved in zombie cleanup duty while searching for a group of missing children.  They assume the kids are ok because of a stupid new zombie “rule” that the living dead don’t attack children.  Really?  Then how did the little girl in the original get bit?    Anyway, it turns out the kids are prisoners of a character added to the aforementioned anniversary edition of ‘Night’, a psycho turned zombie named Reverend Hicks.  The kids are rescued, although at a cost, and the film then flashes forward a number of years.

 The children, now teenagers with no memory of their prior ordeal, are on their way to a rock concert when next we see them.  In case you are still planning on watching this turkey, I’ll refrain from revealing too much.  Suffice it to say the kids don’t get to rock and roll all night.  After another flash forward, we finally get to the main story.  A car dealership is being built on the site of an old cemetery near the Reverend’s home.  After way too much screen time is eaten up with boring plot, we finally get some zombie carnage but it’s filmed in such a lackluster way by Cinematographer Bill Hinzman (the “graveyard zombie” in ‘Night’) that it does little to relieve the tedium. Even the worst Italian ‘Dead’ rip-offs (think ‘Burial Ground’) are more fun to watch than this. (BI)

‘CQ’ (MGM, 2002)

Directed by Roman Copolla

 It’s a real pleasure to see a good filmmaker doing a film he obviously has a passion for with every single element (actors, set design, music) perfectly in sync with his vision.  That’s why ‘CQ’ will likely wind up on my best of 2002 list.  Who said nepotism was a bad thing?  Let Francis bankroll his son’s movies all he wants; director Roman Copolla seems to have inherited more than enough of his famous father’s talent.  Equally inspired by late sixties/early seventies pop art confections like ‘Barbarella’ and ‘Danger: Diabolik’ and the French new wave films of Jean Luc Goddard, ‘CQ’ is a joy to watch. 

 In 1969, Paul (Jeremy Davies) is editor and second unit director on a European sci-fi/espionage film set in the distant future of 2001.  In his spare time, he is trying to make a film that is “honest and real” with borrowed equipment and film stock, but when it comes down to it he can’t even admit to himself his own self absorbtion and desires to cheat on his girlfriend Marianne (Elodie Bouchez).  When Andrejez (Gerard Depardieu), the director of the spy film, gets fired for making an action film with no action and no ending, and initial replacement Felix Demarco (Jason Schwartzman) gets injured in a car accident, Paul winds up taking over the shoot.  Unfortunately, he has no idea how to end the film either.  All he can do is obsess over the films starlet Valentine (Angela Lindval).

 If you’re a fan of the type of film this movie is paying homage to, you’ll love the scenes from ‘Codename: Dragonfly’ as well as Paul’s pretentious personal art film.  Beyond the dead on pastiche, however, ‘CQ’ does a good job of showing how the best films come form mixing one’s personal experiences with the knowledge that a film is made for an audience.  While Paul goes through the process of learning this, we are treated to dead on set design, a great cheesy pop psychedelia soundtrack courtesy of Mellow, and small but memorable supporting performances from John Phillip Law (star of both ‘Barbarella’ and ‘Diabolik’), Dean Stockwell, and Giancarlo Gianni doing an obvious take on Dino DeLaurentis. (BI)

‘Dahmer’ (Two Left Shoes, 2002)

Directed by David Jacobson

 I’ve learned to keep my expectations pretty low when watching direct to video releases, but this film really surprised me with how good it was.  Writer/Director David Jacobson has crafted the best serial killer movie since John McNaughton’s ‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’ with this disturbing and even sometimes moving depiction of the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer.  As brilliantly portrayed by Jeremy Renner, Dahmer is a lonely, self-loathing soul.  Because we feel empathy for him, his horrific actions hit us with an impact cartoon characters like Freddy or Jason could never even come close to achieving. 

 There are a few brief moments of gore and implied homosexual activity, but for the most part the film wisely avoids the exploitative.  Instead, it focuses on Dahmer’s psyche and his inability to connect with other human beings.  He can’t accept himself or his sexuality, and the only thing that gives him even temporary solace is the company of the dead.  That’s not to say the movie tries to excuse his actions, but it does make it clear that Dahmer was a human being and not some one dimensional monster.

 Although ‘Dahmer’ sticks to the facts for the most part, perhaps the best section of the film involves a young black man (Artel Kayaru, also turning in an excellent performance) Jeffrey takes back to his apartment.  While pure speculation, their encounter allows the filmmaker to delve into Dahmer’s mind while at the same time driving home the point that simply attributing Jeff’s actions to his sexuality just won’t do.  Ultimately, the scariest thing about ‘Dahmer’ is that we may never know why. (BI)