The Tim Allen Oeuvre
Jul. 23rd, 2005 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
peterbirksMany of you will be aware of my love of quality cinema, particularly Tarkovsky, Kieslowski and Herzog. I can think of no happier Sunday than watching, for the umpteenth time, Mirror, or Three Colours Blue. But in addition to my enjoyment of "art" cinema, I have a second love — great kids' movies. Ever since film producers realized that you had to keep the parents as well as the kids entertained, good kids' movies have been as multi-layered as Tarkovsky at his most opaque. Not many would disagree with the argument that Toy Story and Toy Story II are two of the best movies to have hit the screen in the past decade. I have another favourite, in Small Soldiers, not least because it features Phil Hartmann at his best (except for when he was Lionel Hutz, of course).
To this should be added a movie perhaps in the second division, but still up there with the "well watchable", in Galaxy Quest which I saw for the first time today. It's hard to go wrong with Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman, but Tim Allen is an actor who is rather looked down upon, perhaps because he came via stand-up and TV. But I always enjoyed the earlier series of Home Improvement (although I accept that part of the reason for this was that I found Patricia Richardson sexy).
Galaxy Quest is typical of the genre, being both an enjoyable space opera adventure that also contains a fair degree of wink-wink nudge-nudge "we know better" bits for the adults. But it is great fun, with Alan Rickman on top form ("I was in Richard III, you know") and Enrico Colantoni (better known as Eliot in the TV series Just Shoot Me) quite brilliant as the alien Malthesar. Another interesting character is Missi Pyle, an actress with a quite amazing name and an even more amazing face. Clearly she has been slightly typecast, since she also appears as the mad Russian woman in Dodgeball. But in real life she is, well, a stunner.
In a fit of movie watching, I also sat through the first half of Spike Lee's Summer of Sam before other things intervened. This could be a who's who of acting on the east coast. Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace), Ben Gazzara (millions of films), Mira Sorvino (Paul's daughter), Michael Imperioli (later Chris in The Sopranos), John Turturro (as the voice of Harvey the Dog!) and, apparently Evander Holyfield as "man in riot". Oh, and Adrien Brody as a punk. Awesome and full of almost Scorsesian power.
To this should be added a movie perhaps in the second division, but still up there with the "well watchable", in Galaxy Quest which I saw for the first time today. It's hard to go wrong with Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman, but Tim Allen is an actor who is rather looked down upon, perhaps because he came via stand-up and TV. But I always enjoyed the earlier series of Home Improvement (although I accept that part of the reason for this was that I found Patricia Richardson sexy).
Galaxy Quest is typical of the genre, being both an enjoyable space opera adventure that also contains a fair degree of wink-wink nudge-nudge "we know better" bits for the adults. But it is great fun, with Alan Rickman on top form ("I was in Richard III, you know") and Enrico Colantoni (better known as Eliot in the TV series Just Shoot Me) quite brilliant as the alien Malthesar. Another interesting character is Missi Pyle, an actress with a quite amazing name and an even more amazing face. Clearly she has been slightly typecast, since she also appears as the mad Russian woman in Dodgeball. But in real life she is, well, a stunner.
In a fit of movie watching, I also sat through the first half of Spike Lee's Summer of Sam before other things intervened. This could be a who's who of acting on the east coast. Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace), Ben Gazzara (millions of films), Mira Sorvino (Paul's daughter), Michael Imperioli (later Chris in The Sopranos), John Turturro (as the voice of Harvey the Dog!) and, apparently Evander Holyfield as "man in riot". Oh, and Adrien Brody as a punk. Awesome and full of almost Scorsesian power.
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Galaxy Quest
Date: 2005-07-24 04:16 pm (UTC)Rickman is great.
Summer of Sam
Date: 2005-07-24 06:45 pm (UTC)J Davey
Re: Summer of Sam
Date: 2005-07-24 07:20 pm (UTC)Curiously the film that it most reminded me of is another forgotten masterpiece — The Day of The Locust, directed by John Schlesinger and based on the novella (equally good) of Nathanael West.
I as trying to work out why this should be (apart from the obvious fact that both have riots in them). One is based in 1930s Hollywood, the other in 1970s New York. But both touch on a society which the director believes is rotten at its heart. Oh, and both are rather long!
Hmm
Date: 2005-07-27 04:11 pm (UTC)Galaxy Quest is also a favourite of David Mamet - great minds etc...
Re: Hmm
Date: 2005-07-27 08:50 pm (UTC)I picked up the little known Homicide, an early Mamet, on DVD for £4.99 (either from Amazon UK or Amazon USA) featuring Joe Mantegna as the deceived cop, (he was later the great baddie in Mamet's House of Games) and Ricky Jay (uncredited) as an orthodox jew.
Pet subject alert!
Date: 2005-07-28 09:42 am (UTC)House Of Games came first as it happens four years earlier in 1987, and is probably my favourite 'Mamet'. Of his studio screenplays I think 'The Verdict' is the real masterpiece, but I think you can see his hand in all the films he's been heavily involved in, even the misfires like We're No Angels and The Edge - truly a screenwriting auteur, for what it's worth.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000519/