REVIEWS IN A HURRY

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Insomnia (1997, 97 min, R) ***1/2 – Directed by Erikk Skjoldbjaerg, Starring Stellan Skarsgaard and Sverre Anker Ousdal.  A withdrawn Scandinavian detective (Skarsgaard) under a cloud of suspicion is sent to investigate a murder in the Arctic Circle.  Things go wrong in the fog, and the result is an engrossing, haunting, and brightly-lit film noir as the detective finds himself in a web of guilt, frame-ups, and sleepless nights.

Insomnia (2002, 118 min, R) *** - Directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams.  Pacino and Williams are in top form in director Nolan’s (“Memento”) remake of a Scandinavian thriller about a murder investigation in the Arctic Circle.  Pacino is the embodiment of weary but resilient justice, Williams is a poet gone wrong, and the white-blue photography of Alaska is perfect.

The Italian Job (1969, 99 min, G) *** - Directed by Peter Collinson, starring Michael Caine, Noel Coward, and Benny Hill.  The mischief of London in the swinging ‘60s is whimsically embodied by this heist caper.  Caine stars as an unrepentant crook leading a band of lovable lowlifes out to rob the Italians of $4 million in gold during a soccer game.  The movie’s look is spot-on, the score by Quincy Jones brings go-go dancers to mind, and the climactic car chase in matching mini-Coopers is splendid.

The Italian Job (2002, 111 min, PG13) **1/2 – Directed by F. Gary Gray, starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, and Edward Norton.  Competent if unnecessary modern action movie about a gang of thieves out to avenge themselves against a former partner by stealing the gold he stole from them.  The movie’s highpoint is the car chase finale, in which the cast itself, without the aid of digital effects, tears through downtown LA in matching mini-Coopers.  This remake lacks the rebellious and fiercely pro-British spark of the original; like many big-budget American films, it strives to be as universal and nonspecific as possible.
I, Claudius (1976, 669 min, TV, NR) **** - Starring Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, Brian Blessed, Patrick Stewart, and John Hurt.  Awesome, minimalist, and sometimes tongue-in-cheek miniseries adaptation of the novels by Robert Graves about the early emperors of Rome, seen through the eyes of the limping, stuttering, and seemingly foolish Claudius (Jacobi, in a career-defining performance).  It’s all here:  decadence, infidelity, politics, murder, incest, insanity, soap operas, signs from the gods, and the off-hand discussion of the execution of some rabble-rouser named Joshua Ben-Joseph.  A triumph of writing and acting; not a single shot in 11 hours takes place outside and the sets and costumes often look more like a museum exhibit on Rome than ancient Rome itself.

Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo (1966, 183 min, R) **** - There are two kinds of people in this world my friend—those who know what “Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo” means, and those who suck.

The Importance of Being Earnest (2002, 94 min, PG13) ***1/2 – Directed by Oliver Parker, starring Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon, and Frances O’Connor.  Parker’s adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play is all quips and flirtation.  Two English gentlemen (Firth and Everett) invent a sick relative and a wastrel brother in order to get out of boring social occasions, but trouble ensues when the women of their dreams (O’Connor and Witherspoon) catch onto their little ruse.  The regal Judi Dench and the worn-but-reliable Tom Wilkinson also star.

The Insider (1999, 157 min, R) **** - Directed & co-written by Michael Mann, starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, and Christopher Plummer.  Loosely-factual telling of a cranky mule of an industry whistleblower (Crowe) and the determined “60 Minutes” producer (Pacino) who took on Big Tobacco for lying to congress and America.  A long, patient, and meticulous film whose scope includes both the minutae of the men’s personal lives, the complexities of the law, and the torturous fickleness of mass media.  The relative insignificance of the “truth” these men are struggling to make public only makes the movie more poignant.  Moral contests in Michael Mann films are always harsh because his characters appear adrift in giant, indifferent urban landscapes.  7 Oscar nominations, including Picture, Director, and Actor Crowe, no wins.