30th Anniversary!
Laura Palmer, completely broken inside, while hot as hell on the out, slowly enters a bar as Julie Cruise sings the beautifully ethereal melancholic QUESTIONS IN A WORLD OF BLUE. Laura is in visible pain (not the physical) as she cries alone at a table. The song muffles the sounds of her sobbing. Laura realizes she must get back her tough exterior. She lights a cigarette, puffing away until the tears stop. Her innocent best friend Donna enters…
The sensational Frank Rowgwski plays Hans, a German man who has been beaten down and imprisoned for loving and having sex with men. The physicality of his performance and what he says with his eyes say so much. We follow his journey from just after World War II up until 1969, when Paragraph 175 (the law against homosexuality) was abolished. It’s a harrowing journey and of course heartbreaking. Though unlike many films set in prison there’s a surprising tenderness that’s…
Katie Holmes claims Keanu Reeves is the best FUK in town. I don’t doubt it.
But him beating on Cate Blanchett and Hilary Swank ruins the fantasy.
Overall this is an enjoyable southern gothic from Sam Rami. Cate Blanchett has a wonderful vibe/aura as the town psychic. JK Simmons really pissed me off but he was meant to. Giovanni Ribisi is scary as hell while also being a sweetheart.
A stacked cast star in five inter-connected stories about the effects the dead body of a murdered woman has on those who knew her when she was alive and those who didn't but were in contact with her brutalized corpse. The unfortunate victim, Krista, is played by Brittany Murphy. The fact that the actress died so young, makes her playing the dead girl all the more tragic. Of the five stories, the one with Marcia Gay Harden as Krista's mother…
The Good:
As always LaKeith Stanfield. He's one of my favorite actors and looks great in cowboy getup. His line deliveries during an excellent train sequence made me smile and pay attention. Overall the cast is stellar. I wish the film matched their presence.
The Bad:
The story doesn't warrant a two hour plus running time. After being on board for the first 45 minutes or so I started to lose interest. There are scenes that might have hit more…
Very distasteful but not in a good or even offensive way rather an eye-rolling one.
There’s an apparently “meet-cute” at a grocery store that I found cringy. Then there’s the tired Black best friend trope (make her Lesbian for bonus points). While chatting with her needy white friend, who tells her she got laid, she yells “get that D” while at work. Oh how hilarious. I’m just not on this film’s wavelength. I found the humor, shall I say, hate…
