Thelma & Louise

Thelma & Louise; Every bit as enjoyable and pertinent today as it was 30 years ago. Leads are funny, strong, smart and have such great chemistry together. Supporting cast compliments the storytelling. Pacing is phenomenal, adding to the timelessness of this classic; A+

City of Industry

Directed by:  John Irvin
Starring:  Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff, Timothy Hutton, Wade Dominguez, Famke Janssen
Running Time:  1h 37min

A very slow, unevenly paced movie.  It shows what happens before the action and after the action with absolutely no action.  Relationships aren't fully developed, motives very unclear, and dialogue very simple for complex situations.  There is a multitude of unnecessary shots, mostly of people driving around in cars, or sitting around waiting for something to happen.  Then, when they are given something to do, we are whisked away to yet another character driving around doing nothing.  Keitel is wasted, as is Janssen, whereas Dorff is given an interesting character but can't do anything with it due to lack of screen time, especially for a main protaganist.  This movie was probably made of other movies' cutting room floor!

Grade:  D+

Clockers

Directed by:  Spike Lee
Starring:  Harvey Keitel, Delroy Lindo, John Turturro, Mehki Phiffer
Running Time:  2h 09min

No one has more style to his films than Spike Lee.  Some of it may be borrowed (from his executive producer no doubt) but the way he puts it all together is stunning.  Some of it filmed in documentary style gives the subject matter added life, truly expressing the reality of it all.  He adds old cinematic techniques to release the drama in the dynamite and tense emotional scenes.  Then to make the film truly his own he adds his style.  The mock video game which mimicks reel life (or is it the other way around?), the camera spinning around Strike, the reflection of Keitel in the eyeball, this movie has more impact than any hood film, Hollywood cop story, or mystery murder.  Sure to become a classic in time.

Grade: A

Pulp Fiction (Pan & Scan)

Pulp Fiction; A reviewer's paradise. I would review this movie a thousand times and still find something new to rave about. After seeing it four times at the theatre and countless times on video (I own 3 different copies) I managed to catch his film on Showcase. That is why it has only received an A. The movie loses very little in its Pan & Scan version but that "little" is Tarantino's amazing use of the widescreen. Pulling from influences like Scorcese's long tracking and Kubrick's horizontal shift through walls, Tarantino manages to mix great filming with fresh, natural sounding dialogue to visual appeal is an A+. Everything that is except the Pan & Scan format; A