Tempest, Crank, and The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Saw these three recently…no real spoilers.

Tempest

Tempest is a big film… not overblown action sequences or special
effects (yet there are a ton of matte shots)..just big in its tone.
I could feel that something was different in the cinematography…a
strange use of lenses or something…I imdb’d it and I was right..it
was shot on 70mm. And that really sums it all up. Mazursky was full
of himself with this one..it drips with self-importance and a smug
self-awareness. It’s probably because Mazursky was coming from a
string of highly successful films…so I understand. And I’m not
completely ripping this film apart because UNLIKE so many other films
I’ve been watching lately, I actually sat down, watched it from
beginning to end and didn’t scan. It does draw the viewer in..but for
many of the wrong reasons. It’s like watching a train wreck… but a
train with a very experienced conductor who thinks he knows the tracks
so well that he becomes cocky, tries taking an alternate route, flies
off the tracks, crashes and burns.

Vincent Canby couldn’t have stated it better….”Tempest is an
overblown, fancified freak of a film. Experiencing it is like watching
a 10-ton canary as it attempts to become airborne. It lumbers up and
down the runway tirelessly, but never once succeeds in getting both
feet off the ground at the same time. The spectacle is amusing in
isolated moments but, finally, exhausting.”

All the acting is obviously great..Cassavetes, Rowland, and Sarandon,
showing off her hot lil 36 year old ass. But this def should be seen
for Raul Julia. He plays the character of Kalibanos…a lonely
goatherd lusting after 14 year old Molly Ringwald. Best quote
ever..”I want to touch… I want to kiss… I want to balanga you with
my bonny Johnny!”

—————————————————————-

Crank

I heard good things about this film. All together..it’s fine. Fun
stuff. I respect the fact the they pushed the envelope for a
mainstream film. Jason Statham, the protagonist, snorts coke and has
public sex. Pretty fun. However, the dialogue truly sucks.

It is totally ADD cinema… very much along the same lines as
“Secuestro Express” and “Cavite.” And this is party due to the DV
cinematography. Shooting on HDV and Mini-DV allows for multiple
camera shoots and therefore a ton of coverage..leading to rapid fire
cutting. I kinda like this style… totally appropriate for this
script which is basically a retelling of “D.O.A.” Amy Smart is used
for titillation purposes only. Here are some grabs from the public
sex scene… pretty cool.

See it while doing cardio cause you’ll burn
twice as many calories.

———————————————————

The Assassination of Richard Nixon

I wish this film got more attention. I don’t love it but it should be
seen for Penn’s performance. Very similar to DeNiro’s Rupert Pupkin,
with mustache and all. But perhaps even more pathetic because of his
totally lack of a sense of humor. Very nice realist cinematography by
Emmanuel Lubezki (The New World, Children of Men)… worth seeing for
the look along.

Check out who produced this: Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Cuarón, and
Leonardo DiCaprio…weird.

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