Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by TAFKA Steve (i) on August 28, 2000 at 16:55:59:

A few of my recent DVD rentals:

"Angela's Ashes"--A harsh autobiographic look at a tragic Irish childhood. This is quality work, rather subdued compared to most of Alan Parker's films, but is definitely not the "feel good" movie of the year.

"Man On The Moon"--Once again, Milos Forman presents the life of a flawed idealist (Larry Flynt? Just kidding.): Andy Kaufman. The point-of-view is sympathetic and is good at showing how much Kaufman hated conventional comedy and his sitcom Taxi, but is less good at showing how completely pissed-off people were at him during his wrestling phase. Interesting deleted scenes showing how destructive Kaufman's performances were to his family.

"The Hurricane"--Denzel Washington's dignified presentation of Ruben Carter's tragic wrongful imprisonment is monumental. Hard to imagine any mortal living up to these standards. Clancy Brown shines as a sympathetic guard. The Canadians who finally freed Carter appeared to be flawless do-gooders but are rather flat and two-dimensional, as is Dan Hedaya playing the evil detective. Some of this is addressed in the deleted scenes presented by Director Norman Jewison.

Folks, you could do a lot worse at the local cineplex. Saw "The Art of War" and thought it was like the first "Mission Impossible" film, but made even less sense, if that is possible.