Snap Judgments - a Quick Review of 5 Movies

In the Shadow of the Moon (2007) – B+
The Apollo space program is rightfully celebrated in this documentary where the astronauts who traveled to the moon discuss their experiences. The Apollo 11 mission is the centerpiece, receiving the bulk of the running time. Most of the interviewees agree that the reclusive Neil Armstrong was the right choice for the first man on the moon, an unflappable genius of a man. The narrative structure of the film is simple and appropriate and the editing of the archival footage with the interview material is seamless. After watching dozens of films trashing America, it’s nice to see one that commemorates one of her greatest accomplishments.

Lust, Caution (2007) – C+ (NC-17)
Porn, Asian. Core, Soft. In Shanghai 1942, a woman goes undercover for the resistance to trap a powerful man (Tony Leung). They end up having lots of sex and she falls in love. Directed by Ang Lee (Oscar winner for Brokeback Mountain), the sets and costumes of the period are impeccably recreated. And the cinematography is beautiful. But it’s over 2 ½ hours, and drags with lots of talking from too many characters (mostly in Mandarin). Its theme of men and women’s differing attitudes toward sex and love is universal though. Women fake sex to get to the love. Men fake the love to get to sex.


Slipstream (2007) – C
A vanity project from actor Anthony Hopkins who writes and directs here. A “dream within a dream” movie which makes zero sense for over an hour. Every scene is edited so much, you’ll get a headache. Color changes, subliminal images, and image-flipping add to the cephalgia. The subliminal images of atrocities (Hitler, Vietnam, etc.) are pointless. But the critique of the movie-making business works much better - clearly inspired by Hopkins’s contempt for actors who feel like they’re curing cancer. Great performances by Christian Slater and Jeffrey Tambor help, but the result is too messy and ultimately too obvious (spoiler: he’s a writer and it’s all in his head).

Across the Universe (2007) – C-
Dozens of Beatles songs are wasted on this story of young love torn apart in the late 60s. Directed by the overrated Julie Taymor who prefers showing visuals to telling an actual compelling story, the plot only exists to connect the great songs. The 60s counterculture has been done better countless times before with more interesting actors. And of course there are several cheap shots about the Iraq War and George Bush. The fantasy sequences (especially Mr. Kite) are overly ostentatious and even Bono is embarrassing singing “I am the Walrus.”

Romance and Cigarettes - D+
A disastrous vanity project from actor John Turturro who writes and directs here. James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken, and Kate Winslet burst into bad songs to express their inner emotion. (Winslet overdoes it the worst). There’s too much aimless camera movements and one nasty scene after another with people yelling at each other. In the final act, the movie settles down for some nice dramatic scenes between Gandolfini and Sarandon as they reconcile and rekindle their marriage. I like Turturro’s passion for 1950s music, but the result is painful.