HairyLime Blog

Caught this one on our 'On Demand' cable service last night. I'm a big fan of 'submarine movies' with all their cliches and standardized plotlines (the 'silent running sequence', the 'depth charges sequence', the 'battle weary captain' the 'going too deep and the pressure is going to crush us sequence'). I wasn't expecting much at first, the acting by the bit players was wooden and the dialog a little corny, but once the two main characters were introduced and the chase begun, this turned out to be a pretty decent little war film. Mitchum and Jurgens were both great, and it was interesting to see a war film that actually avoids taking sides, and treats the enemy with a bit more respect and intelligence.

 

Some other favorites: Run Silent Run Deep, Tokyo Bay, U-571, Das Boot, Crimson Tide, The Hunt for Red October

I was frequently reminded of my favorite 'Sports Movies' while watching this Canadian Film, and how the best of them can move or excite or thrill despite the viewer's complete ignorance of the particular sport. I'm thinking of 'Breaking Away' (bicycle racing), or 'Hoosiers' (basketball), or 'Eight Men Out', 'The Rookie', 'The Natural' (baseball), 'Slap Shot' (hockey), 'Remember the Titans' (football), 'Rocky', 'Cinderella Man' or 'Body and Soul' (boxing) or even the recent 'Dodgeball'. All manage to engage the viewer in the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat regardless of whether you are a sports fan or not. There are times in this film that the filmmakers got close to the net, and a couple moments where they scored a goal, but they couldn't quite put together a hat trick with this one. The hockey action scenes were well filmed and edited, and gave a sense of excitement. I particularly enjoyed the scene where the notoriously violent New York player tries to 'get' our hero, but gets a surprising comeuppance. But the scenes never quite seemed to flow together enough to get the audience in a 'cheering' mood, but were just pockets of excitement here and there. I frequently found myself confused about what was going on. Perhaps this is one of those movies where you need to be familiar with the sport/sporting legend to fully appreciate it. The lead actor did a fine job, portraying the simple french canadian machinist/hockey star with a calm dignity and stubborn drive, and the 'fight for french canadian dignity' was effective and interesting. Roy Dupuis reminds me of a young Rock Hudson, or possibly Sam Raimi favorite Bruce Campbell. The whole 'family drama' angle kind of left me cold. I really wasn't overly interested in the 'brother in law who can't good tickets to the games' subplot, or the 'poor people fence' or the 'father in law who doesn't approve of the son-in-law' subplot (seems like they tried to squeeze too many subplots into the mix, and couldn't quite decide which one to emphasize or expand on, so all are given short shrift)..and the wife seemed almost an afterthought to the story (There is a scene where our hero goes all gushy over his newborn baby, but then we never see the kid again after that).. The actor who played the Montreal Canadiens coach was particularly good (and looks real familiar to  me, I'll have to IMDB him to see where else I've seen him). Some of the camera work seemed a bit unnecessary, especially the sudden switches to washed out black and white for certain scenes (with no particular rhyme or reason that I could decipher). Could've been a condender, but left me a bit cold. A cut above most of the other 'Spout Mavens' discs I've received.

Hmm. Saw this last night with the family unit at our local 'cheapie movie' theater, which plays a mixture of 2nd run blockbusters on their last legs mixed with a sprinkling of independant features (I think this one is already on DVD if I'm not mistaken). Not really what I was expecting, but that isn't always a bad thing. I admire all the actors, who all did a spectacular job, but the story was a bit uncomfortable to sit through. It is always a bit nerve wracking to watch a movie in which the main character gradually becomes unhinged, because you have a tendency to see things through their eyes, and on the one hand, you can see why their actions make sense based on their own inner logic, but on the other hand, you can't divorce your own personal feelings from that of the character you are watching, and you find yourself fighting the urge to scream at the screen "STOP IT - what the heck are you thinking?" I was reminded of such films as Scorcese's Taxi Driver, or King of Comedy, or Nick Nolte in Affliction, or Gene Hackman in The Conversation. I suppose we can be grateful that this movie didn't choose the conventional route of the the main character finding 'mr. right' and settling down to a happy ever after life. While the ending seemed a bit unrealistic (she's going to get her job back and be forgiven of attacking her neighbor with a hunting knife and embezzling funds with a few phone calls?), I did however like the final 'summing up' where she compares her 'love of animals' with all the other various forms of love and affection and obsession that others cling to, and really, is it any less meaningful - but I suppose what it comes down to, is where YOUR obsessions and interests cross the line and impact others (and THEIR loves, interests and obsessions). I guess I admire this movie, but I can't honestly say I enjoyed it.