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Mulholland Drive Review from FilmKC Fest 10/11/01 By Laura Alber Being the complete Lynch fanatic that I am, I must say, I think David has finally gone over the deep end on this one! I think I was the only one in the packed theater that actually understood where the story was going. The film was wonderfully directed as always, the music was perfect as always, David still has Angelo Badalamenti doing the entire score as he has for almost all of his movies and TV shows. Ok, the quick premise of this film is that a woman loses her memory and another girl whom she meets seemingly by accident helps her to regain her memory. Of course all Lynch fans know that "Things are NOT what they seem". It moves in true Lynch fashion, very eerie, surreal, erotic, and totally mind boggling! Of course, this IS what makes Lynch such a genius. You HAVE to see his movies over and over to figure them out. This is what makes them so much fun to watch. Everything is a clue, and if you turn your head, you'll miss something vital to the story. The two girls go on a mission to help find out who "Rita" the amnesiac is, and how she came to be this way. What you think to be real, completely gets twisted and turned around, and you're sitting there once again, saying "huh"??? It's impossible to quit watching, as he has always had that knack of keeping you guessing, so you wait for the next clue, which again turns you in a completely different direction. By the end of the film, you are so totally confused and everything you thought you had figured out is WRONG. This leads to hours upon hours of conversation after the movie with your companion of trying to figure out, "Ok, so who was that guy and what was he really doing?", and "Ok, so who was who"? Questions, upon questions. Which brings me back to the point of "You HAVE to see these movies again and again"! The story takes place in Los Angeles, and the woman (calls herself Rita after seeing a poster of Rita Hayworth) who loses her memory is in a car accident on Mulholland Drive. The girl (Betty) who helps her is staying in her Aunts apartment and hoping to be an actress. She is a very 'goodie girl' who seems very naive. The two girls find hundreds of thousands of dollars in "Rita's" purse but don't know how it got there or who's it is. They follow the trail to a girl's name that Rita remembers leading to more adventures and confusion for the 2 women. Just as his Lost Highway, Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, and all the others, Lynch still loves to make you think, and make sure you think "wrong"! Lynch's use of colorful characters and "odd" dialogue that's humorous in itself, is just awesome. I know of no other writer or director that could pull off anything like this other than David Lynch. He is a master at his craft, and a genius with his creativity. If you have not seen anything Lynch has done in the past, I definitely would NOT recommend this as your first encounter, but if you too are a fanatic as I am, it's a must. Universal has picked this up for distribution. It was to be a series, but due to "creative differences" it was dropped, so 7 million dollars and two weeks of shooting later, it was a feature film. Watch for this film to show in your local theater's and check it out. Even if it's just to see how much it can blow your mind! It was fun for me actually, after seeing so many movies lately that are so predictable that you don't even have to watch the whole movie to figure out the ending! But, like I said, don't expect to walk out of the theater with ANY answers...you'll have only questions! For writing and directing, a definite 10 for Lynch. The movie itself, I'd have to give a 9.5. It's not Lynch's best movie, but it's "New Lynch" and that in itself is well worth it!
MacArthur Park Review from St.Louis Intl. Film Festival 11/9-11/01 MacArthur Park is a well-scripted piece of reality of the homeless plight in most major cities. Crack addicts, and drunks line the parks streets, and riddle them lifeless, as the homed walk by without a clue. Billy Wirth director, has definitely found his calling, after years of acting, he honed in on some of the skills of past directors. Billy told EZ that he admired directors such as Franc Rodham, & Herb Ross, both these directors had the helm in two of his movies in which Billy acted. The camera moved you to a degree as you felt you were right there in the park. Each character was strong and according to Mr. Wirth he allowed them some leeway to ad-lib lines to make the impact the success of this film. Based on a true story of an incredibly talented writer, Tyrone Atkins, shares his life, his struggles, and his achievements with the world, & I for one am truly grateful. One could learn from watching, that this person has a definite way to making sure he has your attention, sure you want to look away, and not look back but this reporter walked away with the lesson of life. Thomas Jefferson Byrd (Cody) was phenomenal, as the ex- trumpet-playing crack addict who threw it all away for a hopeless addiction and descent into an oblivion most will never recover. His portrayal was so powerful he literally sucks you in, there was no stone left un-turned in his actions as father figure to the park. He left you wishing you could help him over-come the struggles. Brandon Adams (Terry) portrays Cody’s son who wishes to have his father back. He owned his character, his facial expressions so intense, you could easily feel his pain. I wanted to jump out of my seat & scream Dude hug your son, Brandon’s soulful eyes damn near brought tears to mine as he stood there looking for his dad’s love. The ensemble cast was entirely believable, each person portrayed the epitome of destitution, characters like St Louis (Carlton Wilborn), helped aid in the absolute need for a little humor just to take some of the edge of the drama that unfolds you. Ellen Cleghorn (Hoover Blue) leads you into her character as a strong woman in a messed up world, she even becomes a heroine of sorts as she takes the young, Sydney Tamiia Poitier (Linda) soon to be prostitute, addict and sends the child home. The soundtrack was so well thought of it aided in the telling of the story. It almost seemed as though each track was written for the scenes in the movie. Billy had said in a Q&A that he and Terri Breed discussed the music on a daily basis. Only one flaw in our opinion, “Did we really need another rendition of “MacArthur Park” the song?” Macy Gray is wonderful but this song really had nothing to do with this movie. Thank God the song does not appear until the closing credits. I could go on & on and write about every little thing, but the best way to describe this movie is, YOU MUST GO AND SEE. Billy’s MacArthur Park made a very powerful statement, but we’ll let you be the judge. The Zone’s rating is a 9.5! For riveting and intensity.
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