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A DryWall look at QUILLS, and THE SKULLS
Johnny DryWall filed two reviews with Father Geek today...
I caught a screening of Philip Kaufman's new picture "Quills" last
night. In "Quills" Kaufman tries to impart the story of the Marquee de
Sade and the asylum in which he was interred.
The Marquis de Sade is most renowned for writing tales of erotic
violence that stirred the already turbulent, post-revolution French
public into an even more hedonistic celebration of their new-found
freedoms. In an attempt to relegate the Marquis to obscurity instead of
raising him to martyrdom, Napolean has the Marquis commited to an insane
asylum instead of having him executed.
Joaquin Phoenix plays the Abbe de Coulmier, a peacful priest that runs
the asylum with a gentle and nurturing hand who befriends the Marquis
(Geoffrey Rush). Madeleine Le Clerc, Kate Winslett's robust and lusty
chamber maid complete's the love/lust triangle. Madeleine is helping the
Marquis to smuggle his writing to his publisher while the Abbe is trying
to get the Marquis to stop publishing his writing (as Napolean will shut
down the asylum if the Marquis cannot be controlled). The Abbe is having
no luck silencing the Marquis so Dr. Royer-Collard (Michael Caine)
famous for getting results via severe treatments, is sent in to "assist"
the Abbe.
Philip Kaufman likes to make long movies (Henry & June, The Unbearable
Lightness of Being, The Right Stuff) and "Quills" is no exception,
clocking in at just over two hours without any titles or credits.
"Quills" is a very ambitious offering and I think that's the problem.
With such a concentrated and complex subject the director must have felt
an obligation to cover it all for fear of losing the story's relevance
or impact. Consequently, we are treated to a series of short,
dramatically explosive conflicts between characters whose development
mostly comes from similar, prior conflicts. These outbursts are
separated by long periods of padding in which the otherwise ruthless and
ambitious Dr. Royer-Collard gives the Abbe chance after chance to quiet
the Marquis before stepping in and taking over.
I don't understand why Joaquin Phoenix was allowed to mangle a British
accent through the whole movie, even Costner had the good sense not to
open himself up to that ridicule. For that matter, why did ALL of the
characters have British accents? Isn't this a French story about French
men and women in France?! (by the way...Yes, it is...) The acting is
disappointing and the direction is inconsistant. We are never really
given any reason to care about the characters and so we never really
have any interest in what happens to them. There are times when I could
almost hear the crew and the extras applauding Geoffrey Rush's "acting"
at the end of a few scenes.
On the upside though, Michael Caine is phoenominal! Dr. Royer-Collard is
cold hearted, conniving and patient. An absolutely ruthless adversary
that does what is nessecary to get what he wants or to exact retribution
from any who stood in his way all the while keeping his cool. Pauline
McLynn who plays Dr. Royer-Collard's wife, Pauline (I think) is also
very good and her character may be the most compelling of all.
There are a few high points, though. The scene in which the Marquis
produces a play that the lunatics perform is very funny and another
scene were Madeleine trades kisses with the Marquis for pages to his new
manuscript gets raunchier and raunchier. We also get to see an entire
scene with a very topless Kate Winslett (which may be worth the price of
admission) as well as Geoffrey Rush run around through several scenes
completely nude.
Hopefully the powers that be will recognize that by re-cutting "Quills"
down to only two or three story lines and looping Joaquin's regular
voice back into the dialogue this could be a cool, dark and sexy
tragedy. But they probably won't and we will simply be subjected to a
shorter version of the mess it is now.
Father Geek here again... Here's Johnny's view of THE SKULLS...
I saw "The Skulls" last Tuesday night and it really wasn't too
bad...though it certainly wasn't good. Review with no spoilers
follows...
"The Skulls" is a movie about, Luke (Lucas) McNamara (Joshua Jackson), a
poor kid with a slightly shady background that is also somewhat of a
wunderkind. He's the captain of the champion crew team, an academic
leader, scholarship winner, target of others admiration and affection
all the while maintaining an "aw shucks" demeanor. In "The Skulls" there
exist several secret society organizations, all but the Skulls have
approached Lucas to join them but he has turned them all down as he
hopes to be recruited by the Skulls. The Skulls are the most secret and
powerful of all the secret societies. Lucas has heard that the Skulls
pays for members to go to graduate school. Since Lucas needs tuition
money for law school, joining the Skulls seems like an ideal solution to
Lucas's dilemma and Lucas seems like an ideal candidate for the Skulls.
To no one's surprise Lucas becomes a Skull but conflicts immediately
arise. Lucas's best friend Will Beckford (Hill Harper) feels alienated
and left out. And as things appear to get better for Lucas so do things
get worse for Will.
The conflicts become larger and the consequences escalate. Lucas is
forced to choose between loyalties and risks losing everything.
This is the same old good hearted poor boy must fight against bad rich
people using his ragamuffin/thieving friends from his old neighborhood
story. The plot had holes I could drive "The Thomas Crown Affair"
through and the dialogue has all the insight of a depressed 12 year old
suburban poet ("If it's elite and secret then it must be bad").
Even though the Skulls are super secret and no one is supposed to know
who they are, all of the members have enormous keys on neck chains that
open the FRONT DOOR of their secret hangout (A giant brick castle in the
middle of campus with a 6 foot metal skull sign on the top). All members
are branded with the Skulls insignia on their wrist and are given a rule
book (#12 Last one in the clubhouse has to go back and ask mom to bring
the cookies out, #7b NO GIRLS!!) with the Skulls insignia and the
members name embossed on the front. Good thing Caleb Mandrake (Paul
Walker) carefully hides his on the front seat of the brand new Boxter he
got from the Skulls when he was accepted, other wise someone might find
out.
One thing I always wonder about when I see movies like this where there
is a secret evil empire that dines on aged venison and smokes expensive
cigars...who clears the table? Are the servants in the society too? Does
the busboy get a new sports car? Does the plumber have to abide by the
rules?
The movie starts out with a cool premise, no matter how you slice secret
societies they come up cool. And to populate the real world with a
couple of them is even more fun and surreal. The direction of Rob Cohen
and the performances of Joshua Jackson and Paul Walker are first rate.
There are some truly exciting scenes, the opening shell race is
exhilarating.
Somewhere, though, the plot just falls apart and the idea gets lost and
we get herded onto the plains of predictability to graze on formulaic
scrub. And we wind up not caring one way or the other what happens to
anyone. Dawson's Creek fans will give this movie more legs then it
deserves, but hey, at least it ain't "The Astronaut's Wife".
Be Vigilant,
Johnny Drywall
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+ Expand All
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good review johnny drywall, there should be more movies like this and other 'secret societies' i.e. the process(son of sam, robert malpethorpe), freemasons(the flinstonse waterbuffaloes?), and the AICN wackpack!
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I won't waste words on
"The Skulls" all i hope is that
Dawson boy doesn't ruin
"Laputa: Castle in the Sky"
Harry- do you know when or if
that is going to be theatrically released?- GE -
I have nothing to say except the Marquis de Sade review helped me understand WHY the movie fails in its attempts. Good job and hope to see more.
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Arrogant, smug face
Looking like a big penis
A future has-been -
You've got a damn long career ahead of you in this. How about one for Van Der Beek?
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Fans, fans. Love them fans. Give us your money fans. Now, get out!
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Anyone remember MARAT/SADE, the filminization of Peter Weiss's play THE PERSECUTION AND ASSASSINATION OF JEAN-PAUL MARAT AS PERFORMED BY THE INMATES AT THE ASYLUM OF CHARENTON UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MARQUIS DE SADE (actual title)? It was about the Marquis de Sade (Patrick Magee, a wonderfully hammy actor) staging a play of the aforesaid in an institution. It was pretty wild stuff. It was also the debut of Glenda Jackson.
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A Haiku has five syllables on the first line, seven on the second, and five again on the third. Yours is inconsistant.
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this movie is going to disappoint me.
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...that Hollywood once again cannot take an uber-cool topic (in this case "secret societies") and create a decent film. It all started back in 1927 with "The Million Dollar Mystery" and then to "The Star Chamber" and the very lame of them all, "Lords of Discipline" - My take on this - studios are too afraid to delve into this some how "forbidden" subject. Its out there and all over the web. (look at the websites www.parascope.com/articles/0997/skullbones.htm and www.secretsocieties.org and/or www.ctrl.org/boodleboys/index.html). Maybe we can sneak Roman Polanski back into the states to do the film right...
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for me to poop on
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Mar 08, 2000 6:24:31 PM CST
Thanks, Stephen, I know. That's why its a POEM as I said in the
by uncapie
No dessert for you!
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Sorry, Uncapie/ I made a bad presumption/ I was very wrong. ***BTW, for great haiku, read the works of Basho (especially his collection titled OF LOVE AND BARLEY).
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Great! Now try watching Pasolini's SALO, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM. It is quite possibly the most depraved movie ever made (believe me, THAT'S A WARNING!!!), and even the toughest of film goers have deemed it unwatchable. Proceed at your own risk.
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Sounds good!
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Big, long, droopy face
Muttering, mumbling lines
Soon to make French Fries -
the antagonist's name in this move? CALEB MANDRAKE? Here I thought screenwriters in Hollywood were over the age of 14. Guess I'm too old.
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just cause I love starlet nudity. And hell, Kate's are huge anyway, we all saw how she was bursting out of her dress in Titanic. . .
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Joshua Jackson could eat no FAT,
James Van der Beak could eat no LEAN, So Joshua put any HIS twinky winky dick, AND licked Van der Beak's asshole CLEAN. -
Joshua Jackson could eat no FAT, James Van der Beak could eat no
LEAN, So Joshua put AWAY his twinky winky dick, AND licked Van der Beak's asshole CLEAN. -
sick much?
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Both these movies look like hackneyed teen horror flicks. Supernova anyone?
I must admit, I was slightly intrigued by Final Destination, until I saw the new trailer.
What's next? Dawsons Creek II: The Revenge? -
and I find it hard to believe that joaquin phoenix would have such a hard time with an with an english accent after he just spent a whole movie doing one perfectly.
I suppose one would prefer all the versions of Les Miserable' to be in french as well?
And maybe they're all using British accents because Kate Winslet, Geoffrey Rush, and Michael Cane ARE BRITISH?
Just a guess,
Raph.
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