In “Money Train” (1995), a heist gets derailed before it reaches its destination. So does the plot. It was actually a decent buddy/action flick until the director decided to just destroy a bunch of shit instead of having an actual ending. The movie catches several careers in transition. Wesley Snipes was beginning to cool down. Woody Harrelson was moving from TV to movie star. So was Jennifer Lopez, long before her recording career. Chris Cooper was still a character actor, eight years before his Oscar. And last but not least, Robert Blake was shifting from famous actor to famous psychopath.
Archives for posts with tag: Chris Cooper
With his fair hair, pale skin and faint voice, Truman Capote cast somewhat of a ghostly appearance. So does the stark winter countryside portrayed in “Capote,” the 2005 film that examines the creation of the novel “In Cold Blood.” The spectral nature makes sense, since the novel, and the film, deals with a quadruple homicide. As Capote becomes infatuated with the murderers, the rural Kansas setting, painted in long-distance shots and moments of ambient sound, harbors the ghosts of the murdered, so that we don’t become too infatuated ourselves. It’s a brilliant device, moments of art within a creepy story.
A movie about a guy writing a movie about a book. About orchids. Seriously? Yet “Adaptation” (2002) works. It doesn’t hurt that there’s a Maggie Gyllenhaal sighting. And a Catherine Keener sighting. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper as stars don’t hurt, either. But mainly it’s the intricately interwoven plot that’s part book, part writing a movie about the book, and part crazy, made-up shit. I’m loathe to make the comparison, but it’s like an orchid. Delicate, high maintenance, occasionally satisfying. (I love gardening and houseplants. I’ve had a couple orchids. What pains in the ass. But… oh, hello, Nicholas Cage.)
100wordreviews 