Under the Sand (2001) was covered in depth by Scoopy a few days ago. The short version of my review is "me too." I also think it is very well done, I enjoyed it, but don't think most movie goers will be interested. For this film to work, it was vital that the audience immediately like Charlotte Rampling's character, and care about her. The film was scripted such that it had a maximum amount of ambiguity start to finish, asking the audience to figure it out and make decisions about what is really happening. Rampling was perfect in the role, but was more than likely cast because she was one of the few women her age who would agree to wearing a bathing suit on the beach, and doing the nude love scenes. Of course, she has a body that many much younger women would be happy with.

The film ends with a final ambiguity. She has seen proof that her husband died of accidental drowning in a rip current, but she rejects the evidence. In the final scene, she is staring at the ocean, at the exact spot her husband disappeared. She sees a man way down the beach and runs toward him. Scoop figured that she commits suicide after the film ends. It is a valid possibility, but I think she made the decision to keep her husband with her by not accepting his death, and live the rest of her life with his memory for company. At any rate, if you can get passed the US obsession with youth being synonymous with beauty, Charlotte looked very good, and managed sexy in the loves scenes, especially in the one where she was on top, and somewhat in charge. This is a three star or better film, but the correct grade is C+, as it will only appeal to a few viewers.

a couple of new DVD's

Following. Made for a budget of $6,000, this film makes the low budget El Mariachi look like a Cecil B DeMille extravaganza. Know what? it's not only good for a no-budget movie, it is good for any movie. The script is clever, and told in such a way that the viewer is kept in suspense. The acting isn't bad. The editing is brilliant - there's no better word for it. With correct editing and scoring, this guy made a helluva suspenseful movie. When this movie came out, everyone said the director would become a major talent. For once, they were right. His next (and only other) movie was Memento.

• No nudity.

That brilliant young fella inspires today's IMDb list. Who are the young lions? In order to make this list, directors had to meet these criteria:

1. Starmeter under 1100. The Starmeter is a measurement of how often people look them up on IMDb. The lower the better. If your number is 1, it means your IMDB page gets the most hits of anyone's.

2. Age under 34

3. Their movies must have received an average score of 7 or better out of 10

Nolan is young and promising, but has only one success to speak of. Amenabar, Anderson, and Shyamalan are as young or younger, and all have more than one successful picture. Amenabar is not only the youngest of the group, but is a composer as well! Among directors who specialize in comedy, it's still just Kevin and Trey, and they are really better defined not as directors, but as great comedy writers who direct their own movies.

It should be interesting to take a look at this list again in a couple of years to see which of them are on the top of the world and which have become wayfarers.

Casualties of War is a movie I stumbled on. I noticed it in the DVD releases last week, and I realized that, although it was directed by Brian De Palma in the 80's, I don't remember one damned thing about it. It is a powerful Vietnam movie, although not a very subtle one, and I guess it was just too damned depressing to break through at the box office.

No nudity.

and a couple of bootlegs: 

Love Bites is about the seventh movie with that title in the last decade. This time, it's Eurotrash vampires with no powers. They subdue their victims by slipping them a Mickey, and they kill them with knives. Too silly.

• Asia Argento (1, 2, 3, 4)

I enjoyed Ocean's Eleven, but the critical praise has been fawning and excessive. It's not really a good plot-driven heist movie because the scam has some monstrous gaping holes in it. It's not really a good character-driven comedic caper, because there are too damned many characters to develop any of them except Clooney's. But it is, like the original version, a bunch of cool movie stars hanging around together and letting us hang with them for a while. In the hands of a talent like Soderbergh, that's not a bad way to pass some time. 

• No Nudity.

First up from the movie "Hellgate". A lame "horror" movie from 1989 that you might find under 2 inches of dust at some Mom and Pop Video store in Broken Twig, Montana.

"The Tempest" (1998)

Shakespeare's Tempest is transplanted to the American South before and during the Civil War with Prospero becoming Gideon Prosper (Peter Fonda), a Southern plantation owner, demonstrating an increasing interest in magic. Prosper is betrayed by his brother Anthony and forced to create his home in the Mississippi bayou with daughter Miranda and slave Ariel. Twelve years on, the American Civil War is raging, Miranda has grown into a beautiful young woman (Katherine Heigl no less) and Prosper is increasing his magical know-how. Prosper's hopes of avoiding the Civil War are dashed when Miranda rescues and falls in love with a Union soldier. Anthony having discovered that Prosper is still alive enlists the assistance of Gator Man, who is besotted with Miranda, to finish him off. Prosper faces a test of faith as he attempts to use his magical powers to protect his family, reclaim his land and bring peace.

The story diverts significantly from the Shakespearean original but this adaptation is more accessible and artistic license rather than monotonous adherence to the original works well here. The acting is good with Fonda receiving a Golden Globe nomination. The scenery is spectacular and costumes realistic but the special effects, with the exception of Katherine Heigl's breasts, are amateurish and dilute the impact of the magic.

This scores a C. Watchable and reasonably interesting. A must see if you like someone in the cast or admire Katherine Heigl's beauty. A must avoid for all Shakespearean purists.

No nudity, but Katherine Heigl shows the back and side of her spectacular breasts during a late night swim as well as bountiful cleavage in several scenes.

Cara Michelle

Kylie Bax
(1, 2)

Laetitia Casta

Carmen Kass

Elizabeth Hurley