ROVIN' AND RAVIN' WITH MIKE
Copyright © 2000 by Michael Segers, All rights reserved
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The Golden Goobers: The First Annual Peanut Awards
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Gee,
can’t you just feel the excitement crackling over our little cyber-peanut
patch? I wish you could see all the diamond rings glittering on fingers poised
above the most elegant keyboards in Hollywood, as everyone gathers in Gucci to
learn the winners of the first annual Golden Goobers. The e-mail, please!
Now,
this presentation, brought to you by your friends at Peanut.org, is decidedly
different from many such productions. Whoopi Crystal is not hosting, and you
don’t have to sit through any tearful expressions of gratitude to Aunt
Matilda’s poodle-groomer. So, kick back, sit back, and relive the most
memorable films of the first year of Rovin’ and Ravin’. Regular readers of
this column (hello, again, Mother) may be surprised by these awards, since I
have repeatedly voiced my distaste for such things—putting The Sixth Sense
up against The End of the Affair, somewhat like racing a greyhound
against a homing pigeon.
There
are no categories, no also-rans, and the films are listed in alphabetical order.
The First Annual Peanut Awards are simply an excuse to think about the ten films
that we have roved and raved about so far that made the strongest impression
upon me as a viewer and reviewer. If you want to know more about any of these
films, you can, of course, browse through the Rovin’ and Ravin’ index pages
to find the original reviews. Titles followed by (V) are currently available on
video. So, let the winning begin!
~~~
Very
few films of the past year have moved me quite as much as Martin Scorcese’s Bringing
Out the Dead. And that film hangs on a make-or-break performance by Nicholas
Cage, who may be on his way to being the most talented screen actor of his
generation. The life of emergency medical technician Frank Pierce, the character
he plays in this film, is threatened twice; I was so captivated by Cage’s
performance that I grabbed the arm of the seat I was in and gasped audibly…
both times. Pierce says that when something good happens, everything glows.
Well, look for the shine, because something very good has happened: this film! A
special treat for this sometime New Yorker is the startling vision of that
often-visioned city.
I
have already identified Cookie’s Fortune (V) as the first Unofficial
Official Peanut.org Movie. Magnificent performances, wonderful music, a
scintillating script, the touch of a master director—this is what movies are
all about. Let everyone say a-men… and a-women, too, for the amazing
performances by a group of amazing women. A special treat for us Peanut-folk is
the richly textured portrayal of a little southern town that just might remind
you of a place you know.
Eight
Millimeter (V) was thoroughly trounced by most critics, but both times
I have seen it, it has held my attention without flagging. Once again, bravo to
Nicholas Cage, who has an almost telepathic ability to communicate with an
audience. It is a disturbing film, a troubling look at the dark underbelly of
extreme sadomasochistic pornography. But, in the final moments of the film, with
Tom once again raking leaves, safely ensconced in the moral center of the film,
the final words are about caring, and caring is what all great films are about.
The
last of these ten films that I reviewed gets my nod as the best film of the
year, a film that is truly for mature audiences only—not for audiences for
whom a glimpse of skin is worth the price of admission or for whom any
references to the functions and fluids of the body are funny. In The End of
the Affair, we have a film that takes seriously the functions of the
body—and of the heart and of the soul as well. Neil Jordan’s haunting,
exquisite, miraculous, in so many ways, simply wonderful little film of Graham
Greene’s novel The End of the Affair pushes the envelope. In a year of
falling frogs and cheerleaders wrapped in rose petals, it tackles a truly taboo
subject—religious faith... and, in equally mysterious ways, human faith in
human relationships. Set in rain-drenched post-war England, Affair has
almost everything we want to love in movies—a glamorous woman (Julianne
Moore), an elegant man (Ralph Fiennes), almost stereophonic visual texture,
music that fits so perfectly that it seems not to be heard… and love, love,
love. Physical love, emotional love, and, yes, spiritual love! That’s truly,
nowadays, the love that dare not speak its name.
For
Love of the Game, another film left bleeding by most critics, has no
filmy pretensions. Director Sam Raimi put together a top-notch formula for a
date movie, with some heart-stopping baseball sequences to keep the women glued
to their seats as well as some heart-throbbing love scenes to get the men
reaching for their hankies. It’s soap opera meets World Series. But, doggone
it, it works—and I don’t like sports movies… or soap operas.
October
Sky (V) is a good pickup movie, and I am not suggesting you
take someone you just met in a bar. It is a movie that, despite its long list of
shortcomings will pick you up. If you could walk out of a theater humming a
rocket blast, you would after seeing October Sky.
Playing
by Heart(V) is funny (very funny), it's sad, it's a pleasure to
watch, and it's even a pleasure to think about, to remember, and to anticipate
seeing again. The film is a web of hearts, sometimes linking, sometimes not, an
anthology of six stories that bump into each other in unexpected ways. It is
also a showcase for some of our best actors. (But, what happened to it?)
The
Sixth Sense was the first horror movie in years that made me look away
from the screen at especially intense moments, and yet, it was one of the very
few films that has ever brought tears to my eyes. The film closes with a jolting
revelation—but, in its richly textured world, it is honest, consistent, and
logical. I walked out of the theater feeling very happy to have seen this film,
emotionally and mentally, one of the most satisfying films I’ve ever seen.
And, oh yes, don’t forget, it is scary. Ultimately, this film works as a
horror film, but it is a beautiful piece of work, depending on development of
character, superb acting and a well-crafted script rather than a lot of
high-priced, high-tech special effects. It scares us, it makes us think, it
makes us feel, and it just may have something to say about truth and illusion,
death and life. Like the best films and greatest works of all the arts, it is a
film finally about love.
Tea
with Mussolini (V) doesn’t depend upon anything high tech either, but do
look for high human interest and a rare showcase for actresses of a certain age.
There are few more delightful ways to spend a couple of hours looking back on
the not so good old days than with this elegant cuppa’.
William
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer-Night’s Dream (V) is the full and awkward title
of the latest in a long series of efforts to bring my favorite of
Shakespeare’s comedies to the screen. We don’t have a masterpiece of
film-making here. But, we do have a pleasant escape with some beautiful scenery,
some beautiful people, and—incongruously—some of the greatest hits of
nineteenth-century Italian opera. By all means, some popcorn, if you want it.
This is Shakespeare to eat popcorn to… and I mean that as a compliment.
Now,
to present the Golden Goobers for the best performers of the year, with no pomp
and ceremony, just with a great deal of appreciation for jobs very well done:
Best
Supporting Actress – Patricia Neal, for staking her claim to the movie Cookie’s
Fortune in just a few minutes.
Best
Supporting Actor - Haley Joel Osment for the most amazing work I have ever seen
by a child actor, in The Sixth Sense.
Best
Actress – Julianne Moore for playing an almost impossible role, an adulterous
saint, in The End of the Affair.
Best
Actor – Denzel Washington for an amazingly intelligent, even spiritual
portrayal of Rubin Carter, transcending the script of The Hurricane.
Of
course, the true winners are any of you who have had the pleasure of reading
Rovin’ and Ravin’… oops, I mean, who have had the pleasure of seeing any
of these films. As I’ve been working on this list, reviewing all of my
reviews, I have found myself asking, why did I leave out…? Why did I
include…? But, these ten films stand up as the films of this year that have
brought me the most pleasure and in various ways have taught me the most about
the most typical art-form of the twentieth-century.
Now,
some awards for movie-related Internet sites. A special Golden Goober goes to
the nicest community of film-lovers I’ve met on the Internet, guide Brad Lang
and the readers, chatters, and insight-sharers of his Classic Movies site
at About.com:
[2004 update: Brad Lang is no longer the guide at About's Classic Film, and I had been seriously missing his blend of erudition, insight, and great links. I'm delighted to report that he is still alive, well, and online at his own site, Classic Movies. Best wishes to the new About guide; Brad left him some enormous shoes to fill, and continued success to Brad.]
For
entertaining, informative links to reviews of current releases, the always
delightful Rotten Tomatoes:
For
a critic who has the guts to stand up for his beliefs, whose reviews challenge
and stimulate me, even when I disagree with him, Christian Critic:
For
an encyclopedic amount of information on films old and new, The Internet
Movie Data Base:
For
schedules of movies on television:
www.tv-now.com/stars/stars.html
As
we rove and rave through another year of movies and other topics together, keep
your feet dry, your heart full of noble thoughts, and your eyes out for all the
gold that the movies, the Internet, and life itself give us.