The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition)

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Written by: J.R.R. Tolkien (book); Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair (screenplay)









Being the second part of "The Lord of the Rings"...

When we left off, Frodo and Sam were headed off towards the dark land of Mordor while the rest of the fellowship had been battling orcs and heading to Gondor.  This film picks up almost exactly where the first part left off.

This nature of the story requires that the film follow two distinct stories: that of Frodo and Sam, and that of the rest of the group.  Although the balance is not perfect, the two stories alternate often enough to keep either story from slowing down the pace.

"The Two Towers" does not take great advantage of its sequel status to take on new ground.  Instead, it feels as if it begins and ends rather arbitrarily.  (Compared to, say, "The Empire Strikes Back," which takes advantage of previously established characters to trampoline into a more complex story.)

What does stand out about "The Two Towers" is the epic scene encompassing the battle of Helms Deep, which makes the entire movie worth watching from beginning to end.  The battles of the first movie were rather small in scale.  The Helms Deep sequence is large and loud and chaotic, as all great fantasy battles should be.

The only character who really grows or develops in this segment is Aragorn (Mortensen), and his arc is clear.  Most of the other folks are pretty static to the point of their development being nearly irrelevant.  This lack of development may be a part of why this movie does not stand out from the rest of the series.

You can't watch "The Two Towers" without seeing "The Fellowship of the Ring" first, or following it up with "The Return of the King."  It is more of an episode than a separate film.

I can't remember anything specific standing out in the "Extended Edition" which was not part of the original theatrical cut, so I'll refrain from commenting on anything like that.

Punch-Drunk Love

Written and Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson












It's pretty clear that Adam Sandler's career has taken a long public nose-dive.  (Albeit, a dive into a pile of money - a la Scrooge McDuck.  Or so I imagine.)  But "Punch-Drunk Love" reveals what might have been if Sandler had shunned the easy money and challenged himself with different roles.

The character of Barry Egan is, by far, Sandler's most complex role, even though the character's volatile  background is not much of a stretch from some of his earlier characters.  Egan is basically on the razor's edge of sanity, reading to break at any given moment despite his attempts to control his temper.  This trait is exacerbated by his sisters who refuse to let him forget some of his previous violent outbursts, even as they try to set him up with a romantic entanglement.  He obsesses over small details, and is secretly trying to take advantage of a loophole in a frequent-flyer program.  All of which leads to a breaking point when, in a moment of weakness, he calls the wrong phone-companionship line.  (Billy Madison - eat your heart out!)

The question becomes whether Sandler himself always has the potential he shows in this film, or whether it's Paul Thomas Anderson's masterful direction which forces Sandler to transcend his usual abilities.

Let's face it - Anderson does a great job with everything he does.  He has a magic touch.  The story of "Punch-Drunk Love" is incredibly simple - boy falls in love, makes mistake, tries to earn his love back. These elements often spell trouble - sailing waters littered with cliche and kitsch often appealing mainly to lovelorn teenagers.  But Anderson doesn't let his film stoop to that level.  In fact, the early introduction of the phone-sex storyline makes it very clear that this movie is meant for a more mature audience.  He raises this style of film to an art.  (And how do you know it's art?  Well, it features an appearance by Philip Seymour Hoffman, for one.)

One of the standout elements of the film is the constant tension.  I found my jaw clenching at numerous points and needed to pace around the room.  This is intensified by the pounding score (apparently written, at least in part, by Anderson himself) which relentlessly increases the pulse of every scene.  Every awkward moment is magnified to a potentially life-changing event.

I hadn't seen this movie in several years (and that was long before I took my movie-watching somewhat seriously or even knew what a P.T. Anderson was), but I remembered enjoying it.  Revisiting the film, it was actually better than I remembered it.

It's not a lightweight film.  But it's well worth the heavy-lifting.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Directed by: George Clooney

Written by: Charlie Kaufman (screenplay), Chuck Barris (book)

There are movies that are true. There are movies that are fiction. And then there are movies like "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" in which the truth and fiction bleed together.

The movie is an "unauthorized biography" of TV producer Chuck Barris (Rockwell) known for creating and developing shows such as "The Dating Game," "The Newlywed Game," and "The Gong Show." As he rises to the top - or, to some, bottom - of television celebrity, he is simultaneously dragged into working for the CIA as an international assassin. All the while, he strings along long-time girlfriend Penny (Barrymore). The question is, how long can he keep up the juggling act? And which will destroy him first - his secret agent work, his television career, or his hollow love life?

(Side note: In this post, any reference to "Chuck Barris" will be a reference to the character in the film, not necessarily the real person. Although I realize that Barris is a real person and that the film purports to tell his life story, it is obvious that much embellishment and dramatization occurred. So, to prevent confusion, and to make the text clearer, Barris will simply be described as a fictional character.)

George Clooney's rookie effort as a director was strong, but ultimately evident as a rookie effort. The film's strengths lie in its actors and its stories.

All of the actors, from Rockwell and Barrymore on down - including Clooney himself, Rutger Hauer, and a brief appearance by Maggie Gyllenhaal - are absolutely fantastic. The characters are rich and consuming, and at no point does the audience slip into thinking of the actors as actors. Each performance is compelling and believable, although the plot of the film pushes the extent of belief.

The film follows three different story threads out of Barris's life: his TV production work, his romantic affair with Penny, and his involvement with the CIA. Each of these angles could have been a separate movie, but are combined and balanced in this film. In this way, we see Barris as a much more complex and deep character than if we'd only been exposed to one side of his life. The three different stories are juggled around well, always leaving you wanting more of one before moving on to the next.

One problem with the film was that it could have been edited down a bit. A few scenes run longer than necessary, and a couple scenes were harder to place within the larger narrative arcs. (Admittedly, these parts had significant symbolic value - but a symbol is most effective when grounded within the story itself and not used tangentially.)

The visual style was artistic and jarring. Unfortunately, it felt like some of the shots and design was used simply to use those specific shots and design. Again, like the symbolic scenes, these features could have been more effective if they'd been used as an element to advance the story. Instead, by the end, they'd lost their value.

The movie was impressive and is well worth watching, if only to see Sam Rockwell dominate his role in a way few actors could have accomplished. Don't be discouraged by the challenges presented in the first few scenes - it pays off later. Although Barris's life may have collapsed like a house of cards, this movie does not.

Mark Twain

Documentary Director Ken Burns does it again. This time he sets his sights on the quintessential American author Samuel Clemens, more famously known as Mark Twain.

This three-and-a-half hour biographical documentary covers every imaginable detail that was significant to his life and writing, from his rambunctious youth and young adulthood to his rise to the top of American literature with the Mark Twain persona to his tragic later years when he was left with no family and resting merely on his own celebrity.

Of course, Ken Burns does an amazing job of tracing the storylines of Twain's life, showing the roots and growth of his strong moral positions that pulled at his consciousness and influenced his literature. But, as usual with Ken Burns's films, the biographical and historical narrative is broken up with enlightening commentary by a nice mix of celebrities and historians - such as Hal Holbrook who performed as Mark Twain.

At times the film is dragged down in some of the details of his lesser works while perhaps a few more minutes could have been used to discuss the significance of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." This would not have stayed true to the form, though, as it focused Clemens's life and work and not on the works themselves - regardless of whether one of those works ("Finn") is possibly the single greatest piece of American literature ever written.

Ultimately, we grow to understand the writer as a human being apart from the books he wrote. It helps to have at least a general knowledge of the Twain books, but isn't necessary. What is necessary is a nice long chunk of time to truly absorb the life of quintessential American writer as documented by the quintessential American documentarian.