THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS.  Every time this is on cable, I have to see it through to the end. Really captures that smoky, bluesy nightclub vibe, and the monotony and cruel dealings of the local gig circuit. It's a slow burn ("better hurry, you're a nickel down on your cigarette") with a lot of great music and fantastic performances. The result is that this is how I view the Bridges brothers' real-life relationship. It's left-brain versus right, methodical versus improvisational, love versus sex. Miss Pfeiffer steams up the proceedings nicely.
THE FALL.  This beautifully-shot film weaves a (vaguely Wizard of Oz-ian) tale improvised by a hospitalized 1920's stuntman in return for morphine runs made by a befriended broken-armed five-year-old. This is easily the most natural child performance I've ever seen, and director Tarsem Singh should be applauded for leaving in all her rough edges. His woven crosscut tale is sort of an epic B-movie, full of parallels yet somewhat forgettable, but the film's worth a watch.
FARGO.  Classic in every sense of the word. Right away, the false claim of a true story invests the viewer as we ride along with the Coen's bumbling criminals, simpletons, and unlikely heroes, all filtered through the tongue of "Minnesota nice" – a contrast that pervades the proceedings with even more tension and humor. Bill Macy is especially great as a fuckup of epic proportions who conconcts a simple scheme that snowballs out of his control with each scene.
FEAST. Bad acting, terrible script (hard to believe it won the Project Greenlight contest). Great tension, pretty cool visuals and practical effects, though. There were a number of "student film" angles that got on my nerves, the first half was pretty heavy-handed, and the shutter effect (think Private Ryan) during the action sequences was annoying. Hopefully someone will let this guy make another movie, because all things considered, it was a pretty nice effort for the budget.
FEAST II: SLOPPY SECONDS.  More of the same: more gore, more creature screen time, more bad CGI – what you'd expect from a direct-to-video horror sequel. Once again, the offbeat assemblage of characters (elderly bartenders, byker chicks, fraternal Mexican dwarf wrestlers) is its strength, especially the honesty of their self-preserving actions. Again, some of the camerawork is fairly inventive. They always went for shock, however, whether in ridiculous foul dialogue or the gross-out of bodily fluids. And they violated one particular horror taboo (that I won't spoil) that left me especially disappointed.
FELON. Terrifying. Prison is one of many peoples' worst rational fears, and its realistic portrayal here will do nothing to ease that. Stephen Dorff is excellent (who knew?) as a family man incarcerated for manslaughter while protecting his own, but survival on the inside requires devolution that snowballs into deeper trouble. Val Kilmer proves he's still got it at his philosophizing mass-murdering celly in this gritty, docu-style flick that used real gangsters for many of its roles and was produced on the cheap. Points deducted for a clichéd idea (though well-executed) and easy ending.
FIDO. This one came out of left field. It’s sort of a Pleasantville meets Shaun of the Dead. Not gut-bustingly funny, and not the least bit scary, but it's amusing. How could a movie about the domestication of zombies not be? Lots of semi-subtle Lassie dog/boy allusions, too.
THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS. I have a definite hate/love thing with Lars Von Trier, and this was the perfect microcosm of that: his brilliance equally on display with his ass-hattery. He decides to put his idol/mentor through a form of cinematic therapy whereby he has to remake his classic art film The Perfect Human five times with five different sets of restrictions, many absurd. At times it felt like some of my college assignments. The interplay between the two directors, as well as the actual results, is fascinating. Highly recommended for creative types.
FLAWLESS. The last time I saw Michael Caine and Demi Moore on screen together, they were on a nude beach in Rio in 1985. A pretty decent diamond-heist flick. Respectable twists without beating us over the head with cleverness.
THE FOOT FIST WAY. A literal translation of Tae Kwon Do, this has a documentary, naturalistic feel, though not a mockumentary; they just couldn't afford to light it. An assholic, self-righteous TKD instructor struggles with insecurity over his cheating trophy wife while confronting his Hollywood martial-arts idol. The subtle humor is reminiscent of a filthier Napoleon Dynamite, and its unique charm driven by its star (in a glory-days Ferrari 308 GTB) to a rockin' soundtrack. Favorite line (at dinner-table scene): "Oh shit, we forgot to say grace."
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. Very disappointed, and my expectations weren't that high anyway based on the critical reception. A decent-enough premise that held lots of possibilities (the storyline is similar to Guffman in some ways), but they just didn't really go anywhere with it. In a movie you've got 90 minutes, so let's get to it for chrissakes. Make with the funny. It's like they shot the first draft. I usually enjoy anything that makes fun of actors who take themselves too seriously, and he's got the usual talented repertory, but not so many memorable moments. Loved Willard's fauxhawk, O'Hara's facelift, and the show hosts, but Chris Guest should've developed his own character more. I barely recognized him and it was a great look. Some of the funniest stuff is in the deleted scenes, which I don't get at all for an 86-minute movie.
THE FOUNTAIN. The music alone is worth the price of admission, but this is a great film. It polarized a lot of critics with its obtuse message, but it’s just the circle of life through the metaphor of a fountain, and a man on a quest through five hundred years to be with his love. His success or failure is irrelevant in the big picture. Just enjoy the stunning visuals and emotional waves.
FUCK (the documentary). Possibly known as F*CK should a heavily-edited version ever appear at Blockbuster. A great, exhaustive look at the most versatile word in the English language. Interviews with everyone from Miss Manners to Kevin Smith, Alan Keyes to Ice Motherfucking T. Pat Boone is probably the most revealing, cuz you see a guy who's obviously in need of expression, and resorts to ham-fisted workarounds instead of just coming out with it. Lots of great political references, too. Plenty of conservative viewpoints mixed in with the liberals, but like most hip modern docs, they're belittled through editing.
FUNNY GAMES (U.S.). Not funny. Often brilliant, sometimes maddening, just like Caché was. He chooses the angle opposite of whatever it is you want to see, which creates tension. Really long takes; I swear one crucial wide shot must've been ten minutes long. No music but incidental. A few fourth-wall breaks that were too cute, and the whole film felt like it was indicting my very watching of it. Can't particularly say that I liked it, but certainly worth a look.
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