Question:
Just wanted to let everyone know that Kathryn Bigelow's pre K-19 filmed movie, long shelved/delayed and recently released in theaters in Russia and Asia is out on a R3 DVD available through DDDHouse in Western section at the bottom:
http://www.dddhouse.com/cgi-local/product.cgi?product_id=2011&category_id=19
Stars Sean Penn and Sarah Polley and was well reviewed on various film festivals.
I've heard that this is a great film.
haven't seen it but i thought i'd bump for anyone else who may have missed Lenny's post.
It gets an average of 6/10 on IMDB
My hope was that The Weight of Water would finally bring Kathryn Bigelow the recognition she deserves. Her beautifully directed Near Dark is the best film about contemporary vampirism, and her sci fi drama Strange Days was one of the most underrated movies of 1995. And so it's with a certain dismay to find myself reporting that The Weight of Water is a mess. It's ambitious, yes, but uninvolving and mechanical in its story construction. Catherine McCormack plays a journalist who, along with her husband (Sean Penn) and another couple (Elizabeth Hurley and Josh Lucas), sails to the location of a century old New Hampshire axe murder that's lone witness was a young housewife (Sarah Polley). Interweaving the present investigation with flashbacks of the events surrounding the crime, we're expected to realize the similarities between the two timelines. The problem is that they have much less to do with each other than Bigelow wants us to believe. While both hint at themes of infidelity, and add up to say something vague about the prevailing power of love, the issues are subtle to the point of mere implication. With the modern day events left particularly undeveloped, there's surprisingly little dramatic weight to the final moments of catharsis. It's hard to know what Bigelow was going for here. She's obviously put a lot of care into her direction, which maintains a rhythmic elegance throughout. The sets and costuming, as well as Sarah Polley's performance, are authentic. There's also a memorable scene where Elizabeth Hurley gives head to an ice cube. But these things are only minor distractions during a long journey to nowhere.
I thought this was pretty good. Slow, for sure, but quite atmospheric with some good performances. Well worth picking up on the cheap at DDDHouse or Coolashop, especially as it hasn't made it into many theatres.
Dazza.
it's coming out to rent in the UK soo from momentum, november i think. i watched the preview copy a few weeks back, bored me to tears, and i'd really been looking forward to it as well.
"...I've heard that this is a great film."
...from the <a href="http://www.filmthreat.com/Reviews.asp?File=ReviewsOne.inc&Id=2092">review</a> on the "Film Threat" site:
"...To tell the truth, the only thing that grabbed my undivided attention the entire film was a mostly nude Elizabeth Hurley and her moment spent with an ice cube. Now that's entertainment!"
...and this <a href="http://www.kamera.co.uk/reviews_extra/weightofwater.php">review</a> on the (cutely-named) "kamera.co.uk" site assured me that "...Given all that [Elizabeth Hurley] has to do is play seductive, lounging around topless on a yacht (at one point cooling herself down with an ice cube - the minx!), you'd think Hurley's role would barely stretch her talents. But it's when she is given poetry to recite that things start to go wrong..."... at which point I fell asleep...
...to be fair, this <a href="http://www.revisioncinema.com/ci_acqua.htm">Italian review</a> seems to find a lot more to like about the film...
(Can't please all of the people all of the time...!...)
. . . :| . . .
Loved the book - and really curious to see how they handled the ending - if indeed they kept it. The ending of the book is what made it so good. Pity Shreve followed it up with a turgid and bloated sequel that added very little.
http://www.dddhouse.com/cgi-local/product.cgi?product_id=2011&category_id=19
Stars Sean Penn and Sarah Polley and was well reviewed on various film festivals.
Answers:
I've heard that this is a great film.
haven't seen it but i thought i'd bump for anyone else who may have missed Lenny's post.
Answers:
It gets an average of 6/10 on IMDB
My hope was that The Weight of Water would finally bring Kathryn Bigelow the recognition she deserves. Her beautifully directed Near Dark is the best film about contemporary vampirism, and her sci fi drama Strange Days was one of the most underrated movies of 1995. And so it's with a certain dismay to find myself reporting that The Weight of Water is a mess. It's ambitious, yes, but uninvolving and mechanical in its story construction. Catherine McCormack plays a journalist who, along with her husband (Sean Penn) and another couple (Elizabeth Hurley and Josh Lucas), sails to the location of a century old New Hampshire axe murder that's lone witness was a young housewife (Sarah Polley). Interweaving the present investigation with flashbacks of the events surrounding the crime, we're expected to realize the similarities between the two timelines. The problem is that they have much less to do with each other than Bigelow wants us to believe. While both hint at themes of infidelity, and add up to say something vague about the prevailing power of love, the issues are subtle to the point of mere implication. With the modern day events left particularly undeveloped, there's surprisingly little dramatic weight to the final moments of catharsis. It's hard to know what Bigelow was going for here. She's obviously put a lot of care into her direction, which maintains a rhythmic elegance throughout. The sets and costuming, as well as Sarah Polley's performance, are authentic. There's also a memorable scene where Elizabeth Hurley gives head to an ice cube. But these things are only minor distractions during a long journey to nowhere.
Answers:
I thought this was pretty good. Slow, for sure, but quite atmospheric with some good performances. Well worth picking up on the cheap at DDDHouse or Coolashop, especially as it hasn't made it into many theatres.
Dazza.
Answers:
it's coming out to rent in the UK soo from momentum, november i think. i watched the preview copy a few weeks back, bored me to tears, and i'd really been looking forward to it as well.
Answers:
"...I've heard that this is a great film."
...from the <a href="http://www.filmthreat.com/Reviews.asp?File=ReviewsOne.inc&Id=2092">review</a> on the "Film Threat" site:
"...To tell the truth, the only thing that grabbed my undivided attention the entire film was a mostly nude Elizabeth Hurley and her moment spent with an ice cube. Now that's entertainment!"
...and this <a href="http://www.kamera.co.uk/reviews_extra/weightofwater.php">review</a> on the (cutely-named) "kamera.co.uk" site assured me that "...Given all that [Elizabeth Hurley] has to do is play seductive, lounging around topless on a yacht (at one point cooling herself down with an ice cube - the minx!), you'd think Hurley's role would barely stretch her talents. But it's when she is given poetry to recite that things start to go wrong..."... at which point I fell asleep...
...to be fair, this <a href="http://www.revisioncinema.com/ci_acqua.htm">Italian review</a> seems to find a lot more to like about the film...
(Can't please all of the people all of the time...!...)
. . . :| . . .
Answers:
Loved the book - and really curious to see how they handled the ending - if indeed they kept it. The ending of the book is what made it so good. Pity Shreve followed it up with a turgid and bloated sequel that added very little.
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