Full Frontal (Released in 2002) - Disappointing movie - Starring Catherine Keener, David Duchovny, Julia Roberts, Mary McCormack, Brad Pitt

Released in 2002, Full Frontal is a blurry and confusing depiction of Hollywood. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the movie is far from what the audience expects. Trying to explain the lives of various Hollywood characters, the movie blurs the line between what is real and what is fiction, by having shot a movie in a movie! And if that didn’t get you confused enough the narration in the movie is nothing but ambiguous.
To muddle a complicated storyline further, the movie was shot in a record time of a month, that too on digital video with a Canon XL-1s. Starring Julia Roberts, Catherine Keener, Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Mary McCormack and David Hyde Pierce, the film feels extremely amateurish. To the extent, that the actors’ professionalism seems to be it’s only saving grace.
A skilled director, known for his talents as a cinematographer, Steven Soderbergh has created a movie which resembles a piece of work submitted by a film school student. The digital camerawork, and utilization of only naturally available light sources, has given the movie a dull, dark and blotchy quality. The plot is a film inside another film, and added to this is a documentary about the “people” in the outside film.




The movie is about a journalist (played by Julia Roberts) who interviews the famous Blaire Underwood. Then there are Lee and Carl (played by Catherine Keener and David Hyde Pierce), who play a happily married couple. In some scenes Lee seems to be deranged and unstable, while in the next scene she seems to be having serious conversations with her sister - a masseuse, over lunch. Her sister Linda (played by McCormack) goes on to meet Gus (played by David Duchovny), a producer, who hires Linda for a massage, and is willing to pay her extra to help him relieve tension!
Linda seems to be in need of money, as she has to meet a guy who she met on the Internet. Meanwhile Carl gets fired from work and heads home to find that his dog has overdosed on hash brownies. The plot could not get more bizarre even if Soderbergh tried. It’s not only impossible but also impractical to try and sort out the scenes. Where some scenes are voice over narrations in a documentary, other scenes are dramatic works of fiction.
Most of the scenes look like improvisations done by the actors, with no sense of continuation. The scenes that are slightly enjoyable, like those of McCormack, are so because of the actor’s skills and not the director’s talents. The movie in a movie scenes are shot on glossy 35mm film. This only brings out the stark contrast between the scenes, and leaves the viewer yearning for more of the lush and glossy scenes in place of the digital ones.
It a huge lesson in humility, that a man with many a success to his name and immense directorial skills, has shot and directed such a huge let down. You leave the movie feeling not only confused, but glad that it is over.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (Released in 2002) - Starring Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Sam Rockwell, Rutger Hauer

The movie Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a biographical depiction of the book with the same name, which traces the life of famous game show host Chuck Barris. The movie is actor George Clooney’s directorial debut, proving without a doubt that Clooney is not just a good actor, but also a smart and curious guy. His interest in the life of Chuck Barris is understandable, especially because his own father was a game show host and he has seen that life from back stage.
Sam Rockwell plays the part of Chuck Barris and fits the role perfectly. The story, as based on the novel, begins with Chuck moving to Manhattan to become an NBC page, with hopeful dreams of making it big in television sooner than later. However, after being fired he moves to Philadelphia where he meets the cute Penny Pacino, played by Drew Barrymore, and eventually falls in love with her. He is approached by ABC productions to pitch a show called “The Dating Game”. However, when “Hootenanny” is chosen instead of his pilot, he is crushed.
Unhappy and drunken nights ensue. And after a skirmish at a bar, he is approached by CIA agent Jim Byrd, played by Clooney himself. He hires Chuck to work as an assassin for the CIA, and sends him to Mexico for a mission. He returns to find that his project – The Dating Game has been given a green light, and his girlfriend Penny has become somewhat of a hippie. The movie then traces Bariss’s life through different assignments throughout the globe, where he meets the lovely operative Patricia Watson, played by Julia Roberts, and later a German American agent named Keeler, played by Rutger Hauer. Keeler is shown to be captured by the KGB and released later during the West East spies’ exchange. But soon, a mole is discovered inside the CIA, and Keeler gets killed.
The movie simultaneously traces the success Chuck receives when he gets back home and is in production with new TV shows like “The Newlywed Game” and later “The Gong Show”, because of which he was a household name overnight, but also received immense criticism for having lowered the quality of American Television. Penny and Chuck move in together. Despite Penny’s attempts, Chuck has reservations at getting married.




Fame does unpleasant things to people, and Chuck Barris is shown to be yet another victim. When Byrd tells him about his parentage and the reason why he was hired by the CIA, Chuck begins to spiral out of control. Meanwhile, Byrd dies mysteriously. Chuck almost has a nervous breakdown on his show, after which he holes himself in his hotel room, from where Penny attempts unsuccessfully to convince him to return to California and get married.
Barris then tries to get his life back together. He confronts Patricia who is the mole and kills her. He moves back to California and marries Penny. During the wedding he confesses to her that he was a spy for the CIA. She only laughs, assuming incorrectly that he is joking. Finally, after many years, he is shown to be preparing for an interview for the film adaptation of his autobiography.
When asked whether he really was an assassin for the CIA, Barris refused to comment. But, eventually it doesn’t matter whether the story is true or not, as any autobiography becomes a piece of fiction, with the author subconsciously rewriting parts to appear heroic or blameless. Barris seems to blame himself for a lot, and thus he has an even greater need to appear heroic through his writings.
George Clooney has created a movie which does not only have an interesting script, but also is wonderful to look at, with two startling contrasts shown through the pop world of the 1960’s and 70’s and a cold spy world. Sam Rockwell has done an amazing job. All in all, it is a wonderful adaptation and depiction of the life of Chuck Barris. In spite of not having done superbly in the box office, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind still received respectful reviews.

Avenging Angelo (released in 2002) - Starring Sylvester Stallone, Madeleine Stowe, Anthony Quinn, Raoul Bova, Harry Van Gorkum

The charming Angelo Allieghieri (Anthony Quinn) and dapper aide Frankie Delano (Sylvester Stallone) are like father and son, associates in ‘watching’- Delano watches over Angelo’s daughter Jennifer Barrett (Madeleine Stowe), who is trapped in a no good marriage, her young son sent away to military school. In his warm, raspy voice Angelo explains to Frankie that he has only Jennifer in his life - this upsets Delano, who is somewhat fed up of being the invisible presence in the lives of both Angelo and Jennifer. The patriarch films his memoirs for his daughter, all the while Delano feels a little neglected in this scenario. Meanwhile, Jennifer is quite hysterical without her son, fraught with the worst thoughts as she feels lost without her only child.
One day, as Allieghieri and Delano chat over a meal, unbeknownst to the two, parked in a car few meters from where they sat - are hired assassins, waiting for them to finish their meal, and then kill the old man - as Delano steps out to sort out a parking ticket issue, in walks hit man Bruno (Billy Gardell) with a loaded gun, emptying the barrel in the old man - Frankie is also hurt in the exchange of fire, he watches helplessly as the man he loved like a father - dies like an unknown, no good derelict, in the corner of a small restaurant.




Meanwhile, Jennifer’s husband Kip (Harry Von Gorkum) is having an affair - Jennifer walks in on him and his lover, shooting randomly, under the influence of mood enhancing drugs. She throws her husband out, rearranging things to kill time. A knock at the door and there’s Frankie Delano - bleeding, asking her if he can come in. She recalls that he used to deliver groceries to Angelo, when she stayed with her parents (she was raised by adoptive parents, unaware that her real father was Angelo). She always thought that Angelo was just a nice old man. After he gets drunk to numb the pain and stitches himself up, he asks her to play a CD - which Angelo filmed for her. On screen, Angelo is telling her she isn’t who she thinks she is; that there were many big names in the mob who wanted to get him - Sammy Carboni, Lucio Malatesta - they disliked each other as well!
So Lucio gifts Sammy a golf set - one which is unique, so that the hit man can recognize who he is; incidentally, the hit man is a traitor from Angelo’s camp. Voila - Carboni hit, Angelo blamed. Two birds with one stone. This is why the blameless old guy was bumped off by Sammy’s son.  Not able to deal with the changes in her life, Jennifer isn’t going to readily accept that her father was a mafia man. Frankie still watches over her from the sidelines, even as she has a fling with an Italian writer; he has vowed to protect her at all costs. Delano’s suspicions about the man she’s having an affair with, the attempt on her life by the mafia - all draw the two closer together as they take on the crime world to salvage the world they have left.
Avenging Angelo was Anthony Quinn’s last film , he died shortly after. The critics weren’t kind to Stallone this time around either, and lashed out at the film’s jaded theme; but like always Sly was having the last laugh as audiences appreciated his cool Italian avatar - very Stallone!

D-Tox (Also known as Eye See You) - Released in 2002 - Starring Sylvester Stallone, Tom Berenger, Charles S. Dutton, Robert Patrick

Born to win. Born to lose. Born to die. The supposed order in which all things happen in life, no interference is needed, but it does occur. A bizarre 911 call. An electronically engineered voice tells the operator she must not interrupt to ask questions, if she does - he will be obliged to be bad. The voice is that of a serial police & prostitute killer, who has been on the rampage… On the trail of the killer is FBI Agent Jake Malloy. Sadly, his partner is on the killer’s list and succumbs to the psychopath’s evil ways. As Jake goes to his dead partner’s home and reminisces, the phone rings. It is the same serial killer, who gleefully tells Malloy that now it’s his girlfriend Mary’s turn to pay for all discomfort Jake has called the killer. The voice adds that he is aware that Malloy has been on his tail for four years, when there was an alarming spate of murders of prostitutes.
Jake is spurred into action as he rushes to save Mary - but sadly, it is too late, for the woman is dead when he arrives at her house. The Seattle Police and the FBI cordon off the area where they suspect the killer is - he is discovered - dead. Malloy is sorely disappointed to learn that the man may have committed suicide - he’d have loved to get his hands on him. A few months later, Malloy slips into depression - sick to death of the losses he has suffered. He takes to drinking, and attempts to kill himself, albeit unsuccessfully. His friend Agent Chuck Hendricks (Charles S. Dutton) takes it upon himself to help Jake, and enrolls the Agent in rehab, specially set up for law enforcement personnel. It was founded by Dr. John Mitchell (Kris Kristofferson), who was also a cop and a recovering alcoholic. The centre is in Wyoming, and Hendricks stays on to see that Malloy will be okay on his own at rehab.




At the facility, Jake is introduced to many recovering cops and officers.  The staff include assistant to Jon Mitchell - Hank and kind hearted resident psychiatrist Jenny Munroe - with whom Malloy forms a bond. One day, the centre is cut off from the rest of civilization as a terrible blizzard shuts it down. There is a sudden, unexplained spate of unnatural deaths being made up to be suicides - patients Connor and Brandon are found dead by Jenny and Malloy. Both of them believe that trouble is afoot, as the dead men would’ve confided about being troubled, to either of the two.
Mitchell is equally flummoxed, and decides to lock up the other patients, as he reviews their cases. Just then he is informed that Jack Bennett (Stephen Lang) a mentally unstable employee, is missing - and so is a snowmobile. Bennett was once admitted to the centre for rehab. Malloy warns Jenny and counsels her to remain locked in her room; although all the inmates believe Jack could be the killer, yet Jake and Munroe think otherwise.
Jake thinks it would be wise to arm the men with weapons - just then, Hendricks finds a cop’s body in a lake. Who is the killer, and can Malloy stop him / her ? D-Tox was an out and out bore, the latter part of the twentieth century wasn’t kind to slasher thrillers and violence ridden tripe; the movie is tiresome and gruesome. Stallone shoudn’t have just let himself go in a desperate bid to prove his range to the world. The movie was an incredible flop.

Adaptation - Released in 2002 - Starring Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper

In 1998, Susan Orlean, an American journalist investigated a case of orchid poaching in a south Florida state preserve. Her book is a glimpse into the peculiarities of the lives of the people in the plant business and the struggles they face on a day-to-day basis. The result was the book “The Orchid Thief”.
In 2002, the book was the inspiration for the movie ‘Adaptation’, in which Meryl Streep plays Susan Orlean, Chris Cooper plays John Laroche , the poacher, and Nicholas Cage brings to life the twin characters of Charlie and Donald Kaufman; in real life, Charlie Kaufman has written the screenplay. The meta character of the film talks about Charlie’s challenges whilst trying to adapt the book for the silver screen, in that it is almost a semi autobiographical memoir of sorts.
The character of Laroche has many interesting shades; here is a man obsessive about creating a clone of the extraordinary Ghost Orchid, to reap rich benefits; the catch is that they grow in an elusive swampland which is Seminole (a Native American Tribe) Territory, the Natives use an extract from the flower for illegal drug use. John takes advantage of the Seminoles’ legal right to use their own ancestral property as they will - and ropes in members of the community to help him out.
His passion is evident when he asks Susan whether she knows why he likes plants:
“You know why I like plants?  Because they're so mutable. Adaptation is a profound process. Means you figure out how to thrive in the world.”
Perhaps that sets the cadence for the film - the means of finding out how to succeed in the world. ‘Adaptation’ quibbles over the Darwinian principle of how to adapt, as opposed to how to evolve; it is extrapolated to the excruciating course taken to adapting The Orchid Thief into screenplay.




In the movie, Charlie assays the character of Laroche at great length, but is unable to find more ‘meat’ to adapt this character for the screen; he is also unable to represent the breathtaking beauty of the orchid visually. Since the book is more of reportage, it lacks the inherent drama required for a movie, and therein lies the challenge for Charlie, who suffers from a case of prolonged writer’s block.
Dealing with his own personal demons - depression, social phobia, self loathing - Charlie struggles to create an impact on Amelia Kavan (played by Cara Seymour; Hotel Rwanda, Gangs of New York), his own diffidence and insecurities act as a barrier, keeping him from her, although she is undoubtedly interested in him.
The opening voice over waxes eloquent about Charlie’s copious foibles - bald pate, lack of talent, least enviable body etc. His monozygotic twin Donald, also an aspiring writer, with far less talent yet tons more confidence, chooses to make Charlie the subject of his writing, fascinated with the sibling’s  ‘chalk’ to his ‘cheese’ existence. The bi polar character he writes about has shades of the twins, except that it is a madman and woman, wrapped in one - to Charlie’s utter bewilderment, he wonders how Donald would get them together in the same scene - ‘when one has the other locked in the basement’. However, Donald’s “clichéd psycho-thriller” sells for a million bucks, as the ink starts to flow from Charlie’s end – unconsciously referring to his own life and times  throughout the screenplay.
Charlie’s much thumbed copy of The Orchid Thief, resplendent with yellow post-its and neon highlights, gives him sleepless nights, not only because the gauntlet jeers at him, but also because he fancies himself besotted with Susan, whom he calls to mind in a state of euphoric self gratification.
These three characters are primary to the story line, the shades to their person, their anxieties, their joys and trials are what pepper the script-not the usual sex, action and car chases. However one may try and avoid the pitfall of ‘formula’- it is almost impossible. And when Donald, posing as Charlie meets Susan (the latter gets cold feet, and returns), he feels something is amiss. The two follow Susan to Florida, only to discover Laroche and her in the throes of Ghost Orchid-drug-induced passion.
A violent car chase ensues, with Donald getting killed and Susan being arrested, in case you’re wondering about Laroche - an alligator got to him before the police did. With Donald gone, Charlie picks up the pieces of his life, and writes the screenplay, with Gérard Depardieu in mind.
The film won nominations for Streep, Cage and Cooper at the 56th British Academy Film Awards; while at the 75th Academy Awards, Cooper was awarded in the Best Supporting Actor category. Interestingly, Donald Kaufman is the only fictitious character to have been nominated for an Oscar!

K-19 Widow-maker (released in 2002) - A movie starring Harrison Ford

This movie is directed by Katheryn Bigelow takes a leaf out of the the real life incidents concerning the Russian Nuclear submarine K-19. It stars Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson in the pivotal roles.
K-19 is a Soviet ballistic Nuclear Submarine which is commandeered by Captain Alexei Vostrikov. Vostrikov commands no respect with his crew because he is said to have landed this plum job because of his wife's political connections. The second in command executive officer Mikhail Polenin is an experienced and well liked officer. He and his crew go a long way and have difficulty in accepting the rookie Vostrikov. Vostrikov tries to meddle with the daily workings of the submarine and accuses the officer and crew of being soft and lazy. He organize difficult maneuvers and actions which is not compatible with the submarine of this class. Due to the mounting injuries the crew began to grumble and a mutiny is quelled because of Polenin's intervention.



After very satisfying trials Vostrikov orders a very tricky maneuver to test the surface ballistic missile. It involves rapid surfacing of the sub from great depths to break the thick Arctic Ice. Polenin has his reservations, but Vostrikov conducts this trial with no difficulties. After its success he wins the grudging respect from his crew members for his fearlessness. But Polenin considers him to be very lucky not prudent.
But the damage has been done with the coolant pipes of the reactor totally damaged. As the submarine cruises through the Atlantic perilously close to the US and NATO army base the crew realizes that the reactor temperatures are abnormally high which would result in an nuclear explosion. Vostrikov ruefully admits that his drastic trials in the Arctic have wrecked the submarine. Soon a plan is made to drain their drinking water supplies and direct it to cool the reactor. It requires lion hearted men to weld those pipes with standing high amount of radiation. This is the high point of the movie where these brave hearts work with out any protective suits for 10 minute shifts to salvage the reactor.
In the mean time Vostrikov repeals all American help and waits with the silent ship whose radio's are also damaged. Soon a mutiny occurs and is quelled by the resourceful Polenin. Vostrikov again tries to order the welding which is resisted by the crew. Thats the time when Polenin utters those amazing words “don't order them, ask them”. Vostrikov then tells them that a nuclear explosion would wipe out the US Army base nearby signaling retaliatory strikes against Russia resulting in a nuclear holocaust. The crew goes back to work suffering heavy causalities and saves the submarine, reaching a Russian ship.
In the end Vostrikov and his men, old and infirm can only drink to their fallen comrades as they are denied even their medals since it was not a war situation. An amazing movie and I consider it on par with Saving Private Ryan. It was nominated for the Political Film Society Award and was a critical and box office success. A gripping drama for all peace-lovers.

Gangs of New York (2002) - A movie by Martin Scorsese, and a big commercial success

With Gangs of New York (released in 2002), Martin Scorsese was back to where he makes his mark, the gritty streets of New York, with lots of hard violence, mafia and gangs, rock music based soundtrack, and people with an inclination for violence. However, with the movie, Scorsese starred a different set of characters, with the starring roles being taken up by Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. The movie was set at the time of the American Civil War of the 1960's, and was based on a pretty old book by Herbert Asbury, with the same name "The Gangs of New York".
This was another movie that Scorsese had been wanting to make for a long time, but kept on getting put off for various reasons (over a period of greater than 2 decades); even when the movie was finally made in 2001, the release was delayed for a period of around an year while Scorsese and the producer Harvey Weinstein negotiated on the final cuts in the movie, and the actual length of the movie. The movie was finally released to a majority of critical acclaim, although many critics found the movie not as good as some of his better movies. The movie, made at a budget just under $100 million, went on to make approximately $200 million worldwide.



The movie is about a conflict between 2 warring gangs, led by their leaders. William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a White Protestant Anglo-Saxon and leads the gangs called 'The Natives', since they are already residing there; further, Bill has a hatred of immigrants and their attempts to muscle into the territory where he is the primary gang leader. He comes into conflict with a gang comprised of recent immigrants, with the gang called "Dead Rabbits," led by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson). He has a young son called Amsterdam (who will later become Leonardo DiCaprio when he grows up). These 2 gangs have a bloody fight in which Bill kills Vallon, witnessed by Amsterdam. Amsterdam finds the knife with which his father is killed and buries it, and then is taken to an orphanage. This entire situation is set in the year 1946.
Change to 16 years later, when Amsterdam is now an adult, the Civil War between the North and the South is in full swing, and the draft is in commission. Amsterdam finds that his father's old gang members are mostly now part of Bill's gang. Amsterdam is introduced to Bill by an old friend, Johnny (without telling Bill who Amsterdam actually is). Amsterdam also meets a pickpocket called Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), and is attracted to her (although his friend Johnny is also attracted to her); Bill starts trusting Amsterdam more and Amsterdam keeps on gaining some amount of influence, and also saves Bill once in an assassination attempt.
Bill trusts Amsterdam enough to talk about Priest Vallon with him, including the fact that he respected Vallon, and it was that incident that gave him strength and character to fight all his enemies. The rest of the movie is about the final fight between Bill and Amsterdam, once Bill has learnt who Amsterdam actually is, while the Union Soldiers are quelling riots that have broken out in the city over the draft laws.