The Proposition (2005)
A gritty Western set in the Australian outback in the 1880's, The Proposition is the story of one man presenting another man with a...um...damn, it's right on the tip of my tongue...with a...uh...erm...let's just say, for lack of a better term, a proposition: "Find your creepy and elusive older brother and fill him full of hot lead, and I won't hang your younger brother in town square on Christmas Day." That seems more than fair if you ask me. Violence ensues.
My grade: A-
On the outback: Someone must have left the outback's screen door open because there are flies everywhere. Sheesh.
Mysterious Skin (2004)
Mysterious Skin is disturbing and icky, but the pitch perfect performances of its two leads (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet) make it necessary viewing. It's basically the story of two young men who choose to deal with being molested by their Little League baseball coach in drastically different ways: Neil (Gordon-Levitt) becomes a hustler of the devil-may-care variety; Brian (Corbet) is convinced that he was abducted by aliens. Mysterious Skin is not for the faint of heart.
My grade: B+
Hey, kids: Beware of mustachioed men who shower you with breakfast cereal and tape record your burps. Better yet, just beware of mustachioed men period. They are not to be trusted.
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
This was my first exposure to James Dean. He's fun to watch, like, Nicholas Cage when he's off the rails. That's not a negative critique, mind you. I like it when Nic Cage goes full-on unhinged. Every inch of Dean's performance in Rebel Without a Cause has that feel to me. He's talented as shit, but he's not afraid to play to the back of the room, and I'm talking the nosebleeds, son!
Unfortunately, Rebel Without a Cause is pretty bad. Well, not bad, but infuriating. Nobody does anything that makes any sense whatsoever. For instance, why do Natalie Wood's friends--known affectionately as "the Kids"--have it out for Dean the moment they lay eyes on him? He hasn't even mooed during the planetarium field trip yet and already tensions are high. And was there ever a time when engaging in an impromptu knife fight was viewed as an acceptable way to welcome a new kid to the neighborhood?
But you wanted a quick plot summary, didn't you? Well, James Dean plays Jim, a troubled "teenager" (Dean was 24) who has a hard time making friends for some reason. I don't know why. He's good looking, he's funny in the sarcastic way teenagers love, he drives a pretty sweet car, and he seems to have access to an almost endless supply of booze and cigarettes. Anyway, Jim befriends Plato, a puppy-shooting loner with mommy AND daddy issues, and Judy, his irritating next door neighbor. Judy's big "teenage" problem: her daddy won't kiss her on the cheek when he gets home from work anymore. What? To be honest, her dad is kind of a weirdo. I got the feeling that he may have molested her when she was younger, hence her weird romantic attachment to him. But Rebel doesn't get that deep. So, the three friends are involved in a deadly car accident and the latter half of the film is concerned with them hiding out from three thugs (one of which is played by Dennis Hopper) who want them to keep quiet about the whole deadly car crash thing.
My grade: C+
Be a man, dad!: Jim comes a little too close to promoting spousal abuse when he demands that his father stand up to his mother for my taste.
Video Time: Apparently all it takes is a little Beastie Boys to make Rebel Without a Cause fun. Who knew?
