Movieline Online

THE FLICK: Werner Herzog is a man whose personality is as overtly dramatic as his films. Stubborn, inspired, prone to flourishes of verbose exaggeration and outrageous generalities, the director cut quite a swath through the ‘70s with films like Aquirre, The Wrath of God and Nosferatu. But Fitzcarraldo remains the seminal expression of Herzog’s cinematic tenacity and also serves as an infamous legacy of on-set arguments, production overruns, political tension and disasters both natural and man-made – all of it captured in Les Blank’s Burden of Dreams. A documentary filmmaker in the truest sense, Blank is by no means the progenitor of the current rash of marketing department fluff. In fact, as Herzog points out in a new interview, many of the most interesting aspects of Burden of Dreams have nothing to do with the making of Fitzcarraldo. But it was under those auspices that Blank traveled to Peru to document the challenges faced by Herzog’s crew, not the least of which involved dragging...

THE FLICK: Although it could be interpreted as feminist propaganda, this adaptation of Miles Franklin’s semi-autobiographical novel set in turn of the century Australia is above all else a romance...only its central character, Sybylla Melvyn, is in love with life rather than any one man in particular. An early prototype for the Merchant-Ivory films that would clog arthouses a few years later with the adventures of upper-crust Brits abroad, director Gillian Armstrong gives her story more room to breathe, using the wide open landscape as a counterpoint to her central character’s social and creative oppression. A plain-faced teen with grand artistic ambitions, Sybylla (Judy Davis) is stifled on her parent’s dirt farm until her wealthy grandmother whisks her off to a life of upward mobility by way of marriage. After turning down one proposal, Sybylla finds herself torn between her unexpected feelings for childhood chum Harry (Sam Neill) and her dreams of experiencing the world on her own t...

THE FLICK: can almost guarantee that every review for Wes Anderson’s latest film will include a description such as “quirky,” “off-beat” or even “not for all tastes.” And with good reason, because despite starring Bill Murray – whose work prior to his flirtation with Oscar gold in Lost in Translation was mostly predictable goofball comedies – The Life Aquatic is lost in a world of its own invention. And, frankly, Wes Anderson could care less if you hang around or not. At least that’s the vibe the movie puts out, cast with a eclectic array of acting talent, (Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe and Jeff Goldblum) who ride the tides of black comedy, heartfelt fantasy and general silliness. Steve Zissou (Murray) is a has-been underwater adventurer who vows revenge against a rare shark that ate his mentor and best friend. Joining his usual crew of misfits is Ned (Wilson) – who may be Zissou’s son from a previous relationship – and a pregnant journalist (Blanchett) who creates a romant...