"Michael Caine Had A Shot"
Last year there was a large group of people who thought Michael Caine should have won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film "The Quiet American." Perhaps if more people had seen the movie he would have had a better shot, but then how many people saw "The
Pianist"?
Now that "The Quiet American" is out on video everyone will have a chance to see just how great Caine was in the role of the American diplomat. And he was pretty great. But so was Brendan Fraser, who played the mysterious American who was working in Vietnam in the early 50's.
Another good performance came from Do Thi Hai Yen, who played Caine's mistress and the Vietnam woman both men loved. Her character actually became symbolic for the whole of Vietnam.
The movie is a remake of an earlier film and both are based on Graham Greene's novel of the same name. It is a powerful movie with powerful performances. You owe it to yourself to see it.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from "The Quiet American" is "The 4th Tenor." This is a comedy starring Rodney Dangerfield. In this movie he is a restaurateur who gets no respect. He has a girlfriend that he admires greatly but she doesn't want anything to do with him because he doesn't sing opera.
Rodney has to go through a great deal of pain and humor to get to the point where he can win the girl, if he still wants her. It is all silly but fun and Dangerfield is as good as he has ever been. Robert Davi, Richard Libertini and opera star Anita DeSimone co-star.
Back to the dramatic and we have "Spider." This film is a dark one and deals with mental illness and its horrendous effect on one man's life. Spider (Ralph
Fiennes) has been in a mental institution but is released to a halfway house. While there he begins to have problems with his mind again as he starts to relive some of his earlier memories concerning his mother and father (Miranda Richardson and Gabriel Byrne).
This is a brilliantly acted film but the subject mater and presentation are depressing. Still for those who like their movies with some meat on its bones this is one of the year's most impressive.
"Better Than Sex" is a British film about love and romance. David Wenham and Susie Porter star as two people who have a casual affair and then discover it might be love. They don't want to fall in love and they fight it at every turn, but still their hearts tell them they are right for each other.
This is an unexpectedly tender little movie and one you should enjoy. The two lead actors are very good in their roles and make the romance believable.
Another love story is "Till Human Voices Wake Us." This one is also a ghost story of sorts, or may be, depending on Helena Bonham Carter's character. She is the woman Guy Pearce's character meets when he goes home to Australia for his father's funeral.
This is an eerie little movie that is also fascinating. It is not ordinary in any way and Pearce and Carter are perfectly watchable in the film. With this one you get a few jolts and a lot of enjoyment.
Finally there is "Piglet's Big Movie." If you are a Pooh fan then you are aware that Piglet is the smallest of his friends. And this is the problem. Piglet feels unappreciated. Now it is up to Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Roo to learn how great his smallness is.
Carly Simon provided some new songs for this film, and that combined with the charm of the characters makes this one a real winner for the younger crowd. |
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