CINEMA Journal          [home] [books] [women] [movies]

Martin Paule's Micro Movie Reviews: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z-

Keep the River on Your Right

In the 1950s a gay New York artist, Tobias Schneebaum, received a grant to paint and study in Peru. Driven by a fierce determination to understand aboriginal culture he ventured into uncharted jungle and was adopted by a rainforest tribe completely unfamiliar to the west. In later years he lived a similar life in a New Guinea village. This film, though not as engaging as its subject’s books, offers a look at Schneebaum in his 70s as he revisits Peru and New Guinea and connects with men he hasn’t seen in a half century.

The Kid Stays in the Picture

Co-directed by Nanette Burstein who co-directed the fine On the Ropes, this documentary about the career of Hollywood mega-producer Robert Evans is as different as two portraits can be. After a brief gig as a pretty-boy actor, Evans gravitated towards production and was largely responsible for the resuscitation of Paramount Pictures in the 1970s. Evans delivers an often-hilarious voice-over narration of his life's story dishing fascinating insights into the inner workings of Hollywood and its power structure and behind-the-scenes gossip about the making of seminal films such as Chinatown. Superbly chosen archival footage coupled with Evan's irreverent take on the pictures makes this a must for film lovers.

Kill Me Again

Before filming his excellent The Last Seduction and Red Rock West, director John Dahl created this highly derivative yet still enjoyable bit of neo noir. You’ve seen all the elements before: the washed-up private eye; the treacherous vixen; the double and triple crosses. It’s all here this time set in Reno, Vegas and the rugged Western landscapes that Dahl has returned to time and again. Val Kilmer as the dick ain’t no Humphrey Bogart and the plot points are awfully tired, but great photography, a brooding score and a menacing heavy played by Michael Madsen delivers a reasonable dose of the stuff noire-holics lust after.

Key Largo

John Houston’s 1948 film is set on a remote Florida key where a former soldier (Humphrey Bogart) has arrived to visit the widow (Lauren Bacall) of one of the men he commanded. He discovers that the hotel she operates with her father-in-law has been taken over by gangsters and a hurricane is looming. Though this was shot on the Warner’s lot in Hollywood for the most part, the film is highly atmospheric, the chemistry between the stars is hot, and Edward G. Robinson as the chief mobster does his usual schtick well. Houston does an especially fine job of filming Bacall; she is luminous.   

The Killing

This story of a race track heist was Stanley Kubrick's first significant film and follows the pattern of big-ripoff procedurals with a cast of interesting and distinct characters.
 

Kitchen Stories  

This highly off-kilter comedy is not for all tastes. The humor is dry and subtle and I suspect some of the laughs are lost on non-Scandinavians as they are often based on stereotypes and Swedish/Norwegian emnities with which we are unfamiliar. Set in the 1950s, the story involves a team of Swedish behavioral scientists who are dispatched to Norway to observe single men in their kitchens, with view to designing kitchens with maximum efficiency. The observers are obliged to sit in tall chairs that resemble lifeguard stands and document every movement made by the subjects while strictly avoiding any interaction. The theory is that the subjects will become unconscious of their being observed. The story centers around one such pairing, both of them loners. In time, inevitably, a friendship of sort develops. This is not laugh-out-loud material and is a far cry from typical male-bonding comedies. Recommended to viewers with a penchant for the quirky. 

Kill Bill (Volumes 1 and 2)

Here is a case study in wretched excess. Quentin Tarantino has created a film that delves lengthily into all his fetishes: the pay-back tale, quirky dialogue, Hong Kong martial arts, Asian pop culture and out-of-sequence narrative in telling his story of revenge. While Volume 1 is little more than a series of martial-arts set pieces pretending to be a movie, in Volume 2 Tarantino settles down to do some real storytelling and character development. Volume 1 feels incomplete, even as a first segment, while Volume 2 stands alone nicely. With some judicious editing this is a movie that would have been infinitely more compelling and successful. No, it doesn’t and couldn’t begin to compare with either Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction, even with tightening, but with some self-discipline or an iron-fisted film editor, Bill could be at least as entertaining as Jackie Brown.  Still, if you are willing to forgive QT for thinking he’s a lot funnier than he really is, there are moments of great imagination and entertainment. And don’t miss the video included with the extras on Volume 1 that includes the Japanese girl band, the 5,6,7,8s who are seen peripherally in the film. They’re worth the price of admission. 

The Kingdom

Originally created for Danish TV by director Lars von Trier, the four hour-long segments were shot in that country's national state hospital in Copenhagen. It is rife with black humor, spooky events and highly eccentric characters. By turns comedic, horrific and surreal.
 

Kandahar

Shot in 2001before the Taliban were driven underground by U.S. forces, this is the story of an Afghani-Canadian woman who returns to her homeland in search of a suicidal friend. While the film is full of stunning images and probably is an accurate representation of life for women under that repressive regime, the cast of non-professionals coupled with narrative clumsiness undermine what might have been a far better film.  

Kings Row

Notable for Ronald Reagan's best career performance, this the panoramic story of life in a Midwestern town in the early 20th century. Fine characterizations and involving intersecting storylines make this a real cinematic feast.  

Kiss of the Spider Woman

This talky and brilliantly acted film stars John Hurt as a gay man and Raul Julia as a political activist who share the same prison cell. Hurt is especially fine in his powerful characterization of a man who depends on his memories of Hollywood films to shield and sustain him from his present ordeal. An excellent adaptation of the critically-acclaimed novel by Manuel Puig.

The Kitchen Toto

Set in Kenya during the Mau Mau insurrection, this is an involving story of those tumultuous times when the British reign was being overthrown. The story is told from the perspective of a young Kikuyu who works as a kitchen helper in the British police chief's household and becomes enmeshed in the violence. Director Harry Hooks was raised in Kenya during the period depicted and his film smacks of authenticity.
 

Kundun

Martin Scorcese's story of the 14^th  Dalai Lama is an engrossing biopic that recounts how the god-king was discovered living in the Tibetan hinterlands by a search party sent out to locate the reincarnation his predecessor. The film chronicles his secular and spiritual education, his encounters with the Chinese communists and finally, his flight to and exile in India. This is an atypical Scorcese film lacking the bravura flourishes of his more characteristic work, yet it is a fine character study that makes this deified being an entirely human and humane creature.

DVDs To Your Doorstep!

King of Masks AKA Bian Lian

An exotic and lovely story studded with elements of melodrama and fable set
in a remote part of China during the 1930s, this is the story of an elderly
street performer who needs a male heir to whom he can pass on the secrets
of his amazing act in which he magically changes faces in the twinkling of
an eye. He is offered an abandoned child and buys her, believing she is a
boy. When the ruse is discovered, the old man attempts to banish her, but
the young girl touches his heart. Later, she rescues a kidnapped boy
causing serious problems for the old man; problems that only she can solve.
Both key roles are naturally played against a glittering backdrop of
fireworks, opera and the river on which the magician plies his trade.
Despite being subtitled, this should be a rewarding experience for bright
kids whose sensitivity hasn't been eviscerated by over- exposure to Star
Wars-type dreck.

Kicking and Screaming

Four college buddies nearing graduation are paralyzed with fear at the
prospect of having to join the real world after so many years in academia's
shelter. They're all obsessed with media and yack endlessly about all
manner of trivia, studiously avoiding the Big Questions. Very talky in the
manner of "Seinfeld", your involvement will depend on your tolerance for
such fare.

Kingpin

The Farrelly brothers who later brought us "There's Something About Mary"
(reviewed earlier) were nearly as successful in mounting this raunchy story
about a washed up bowler (Woody Harrelson) who has his bowling hand wacked
off by some rubes that he and his ultra-sleazy mentor (Bill Murray) attempt
to swindle. Years later Harrelson discovers a young Amish man who is a
bowling phenom and takes him under his wing with view to winning a big
tournament in Vegas. There are a lots of terrific set pieces including one
in which Harrelson who isn't exactly the agrarian type unwittingly milks a
bull.
 

The Killing Fields

During the mid 1970s Cambodia was swept by the madness of its Khmer Rouge
rebel government that transformed this idyllic Southeast Asian kingdom into
a wall to wall death camp. Based on the writings of Sydney Schanberg, a New
York Times correspondent who covered this time of insanity, it is both a
chronicle of the United States' misguided foreign policy as well as his
relationship with Dith Pran, his assistant and translator. Following the
pullout of the U.S. from Phnom Phen, Pran has a chance to flee the
advancing Khmer Rouge who will almost certainly murder any Cambodian who
speaks English and has collaborated with the Americans. Instead, he risks
everything by remaining at Schanberg's side. When the reporter makes his
getaway, Pran is unable to join him and Schanberg is riddled with guilt and
grief over the loss of his friend and colleague. The last half of the film
recounts Pran's horrendous experiences at the hands of the rebels while his
former boss, now back in New York, works ceaselessly to discover his fate.
Director Roland Joffé and cameraman Chris Menges have given the film a
visceral, documentary feel and masterfully manage crowd scenes that seem to
be lifted directly from newsreels. Both leads-Sam Waterston and Haing S.
Ngor (a Cambodian doctor whole lost his family in the holocaust)-are
quietly authentic in their roles. Sad and stirring stuff.
 

Kalifornia

This on-the-lam/road movie has a relentlessly menacing feel that keeps you
on the edge of your seat. Two yuppies, a photographer and writer planning
to research a book on serial killers, foolishly agree to share the trip
with another couple who clearly have some problems. That's when the fun
starts... Try to see the unrated version of this scary flick.
 

Kids

An interesting companion piece to the above film, "Kids" looks at a group
of amoral, hedonistic teenagers living in 90s New York. The story focuses
on Telly, an aimless lout whose abiding passion is deflowering virgins, and
Jenny who is one of his victims. Astonishingly frank and non-judgmental in
its depiction of emotional and physical brutality, "Kids" was extremely
controversial upon release and was especially castigated for it's candid
depictions of sex and drug use involving, in some cases, prepubescents.
 

Kind Hearts and Coronets

A fabulous showcase for the talents of Alec Guinness who plays eight
different victims in this noirish comedy about a British aristocrat who's
on the outs with his family and plots to murder them all.
 

The King of Comedy

One of Scorcese's commercial failures-far too black for mass appeal, it
recounts the kidnapping of a Johnny Carson-like TV talk show host (Jerry
Lewis) by a loser would-be standup comic played perfectly by Robert
DeNiro. His cohort in the kidnapping is Sara Bernhardt who uses her bitchy
attitude to Great effect - you want to strangle her by the second reel.
 
 

King of the Hill

A young boy struggles to survive in Depression-era St Louis while his flaky
dad goes out on the road to seek his fortune as a salesman and his mother
quietly disintegrates in a mental hospital. Not as grim as it sounds, the
central role is terrifically played and the attention to period detail is
stunning.
 

The King of Marvin Gardens

The "Five Easy Pieces" team of director Bob Rafelson, cinematographer Lazlo
Kovaks and actor Jack Nicholson came together again in 1972 to create this
less heralded film that while a bit artificial, still offers many rewards
including terrific performances by Nicholson and his costars Bruce Dern and
Ellen Burstyn. Nicholson and Dern are brothers locked in an eternal battle
over the latter's harebrained financial schemes. Definitely worth a look if
you enjoy incisive character studies.
 
 

King Rat

A James Clavell novel about POWs in a Japanese prison camp is effectively
brought to the screen with a good cast including George Segal as a scamming
GI and Tom Courtenay playing a British soldier with a conscience. A careful
examination of how imprisonment undermines the psyches of the men avoids
the platitudes of this genre.
 
 

Kissed

Sandra Larson isn't wired like other girl-she's drawn to corpses. Soon she
has graduated from dissecting and burying small animals to human bodies
when she takes a job at the local mortuary. Though necrophilia is the
subject, this isn't a horror yarn. Over the course of the film you may
learn a lot more about the embalmer's art than you ever wanted to know.
There are oodles of offbeat laughs along the way but surprisingly, it is
never lurid.
 
 

Klute

A detective thriller with a difference: it is also a probing character
study of its two leads. Jane Fonda is a high class hooker, Donald
Sutherland a sad-sack detective from the Midwest who are thrust together in
New York during the course of his search for a missing man. Outstanding
performances raise this above the ordinary.
 
 

Knife in the Water

Roman Polanski's first feature film, made in Poland, recounts the story of
a couple on a weekend sailing cruise who pick up a young hitchhiker leading
to tensions that mostly simmer just below the surface. Impressive B&W
photography of sullen, thunderstorm-threatening skies parallels the drama
below. An essential movie for those who like their stories in the subtle
mode.
 
 

Kolya

Though the story of the reluctant bachelor being forced by circumstances to
assume the role of a father is one that has been done time and again, it
has rarely been accomplished as charmingly as in this European import.
After agreeing to a mercenary marriage with a Russian woman who is seeking
residency, a professional musician finds himself saddled with her young son
when she dies. Ultimately the boy breaks through the reluctant foster
parent's gruffness, but it's touch and go for a time.
 
 

The Krays

The rise and ultimate fall of two tough gangster brothers who come to power
in 60s London. One's straight, the other is gay and they're played
convincingly by two brothers from the Brit pop group Spandau Ballet. Brutal
but fascinating for its evocation of the time and place.

[home][books][women[movies]

Shakespeare Umbrella-Easy Toys-Natalie Dessay--Lakmé--Rene Fleming--Bonney--von Stade--Kasarova--Rasa:--Love SpecialsWomen's fashion--Bartoli--erotic art--Charlotte Church--100 Hot Books--Gift Ideas--DVDs--Children's books