WCBE 90.5 FM: "Inland Empire," "Perfect Stranger"

WCBE 90.5 FM: "Inland Empire," "Perfect Stranger”
It's Movie Time: Written, directed, and produced by John DeSando & Clay Lowe
Air Time: Friday, 3:01 pm and 8:01 pm, April 13, 2007
Streaming live on the web and always on-demand at http://www.wcbe.org

John

"Inland Empire" is David Lynching Hollywood again with velvet gloves . .

Clay

"Perfect Stranger” may or may not help Halle Berry and Bruce Willis pay the bills . . .

HIT MUSIC ("STAR WARS THEME"), THEN UP THEN UNDER FOR:

Richelle:

"It's Movie Time" in Columbus with John DeSando and Clay Lowe . . .

MUSIC UP THEN SLOWLY DOWN AND OUT

John

I'm John DeSando . . .

Clay

And I'm Clay Lowe.

John ("Inland Empire")

Clay, returning to themes mined in Mulholland Drive, David Lynch’s Inland Empire explores the disjointed world of memory, sex, and celebrity only on Lynch’s fragmented terms where Laura Dern’s film actress and her role converge.

Images clash and merge like memory itself—imperfect and random, dwelling on the ends of experience, either ecstasy or defeat and seldom the softer center.

Clay

I love soft centers.

John

Inland Empire might best be approached like a poorly organized photo album: Although the images evoke the joys of familiarity, even warmth, they cover a world of greed and lust at war with love and happiness.

Clay

Mmmmm, I like that.

John

Empire is a tough three hours but ultimately worthwhile if it only jogs the memory to face the effects of the past and dread of the future.

Clay ("Inland Empire")

Folks, "Inland Empire" IS another journey into dread on a David Lynch's lost highway. Featuring Lynch behind the camera, and Laura Dern out front, Lynch takes full advantage of the new digital technology by gathering in images on the fly, and worrying about how they go together later.

Luckily he has a disciplined eye, a strong sense of mood, and a cast of
actors who know how to exude their on-screen personas.

Laura Dern's troubled expressions from Blue Velvet bleed through her
garishly lit close-ups. And movie-within-a movie director Jeremy Irons' presence reminds us of his similar presence as an actor in love in "The French Lt's Woman."

Troubled dreams? Primal screams? Not to worry folks, it's only a movie.

John ("Perfect Stranger”)

Returning from visiting my Hollywood talent agency son, I remember the corporate L. A. operating principles are networking and sex, the sum of which is power.

Clay

That's it, the women supply the sex and the men supply the power.

John

Even on the East coast.

Clay

Yep.

John

The formulaic Perfect Stranger summarizes in various amounts of sleaze the similar New York corporate engine.

Rowena (Halle Berry), an investigative reporter, goes after Ad agency tycoon Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis) because she believes he murdered her childhood friend in an act of preservation mostly coming from his affair with her and legions of other vulnerable females, many working for his firm. I’ll bet even you could figure out who wins this battle.

Clay

I'll bet you'll not even care.

John

Well, I did enjoy trying to figure out plot twists (the last one is a challenge) and watching a beautiful star. Nothing is perfect about Perfect Stranger but Halle Berry’s face.

Clay ("Perfect Stranger")

Folks, this is a three ending weekend. David Lynch, reputedly, shot three different endings with three different killers for his Inland Empire. And Lawdy, Lawdy, rumor has it, that James Foley did the same for Perfect Stranger.

Unfortunately, Foley's outclassed by Lynch this time around. You'd never guess from this film that Foley's the one who brought us the noirish thriller "After Dark My Sweet."


For in "Perfect Stranger" the blistering action scenes turn out to be scenes of an investigative reporter (Halle Berry) text-typing messages to a would-be killer (as played by a smarmy Bruce Willis).

So, if you enjoy watching fingers on a keyboard, and if you love Halle Berry, you might find you've been charmed by a "Perfect Stranger."

John

I was.

Clay

If not, try the novel.

John

O.K.

Clay

But enough of dark images and dully plotted non- thrillers, John, because it's grading time.

HIT DRUMS, THEN UNDER FOR

John

Holy Halle, Hooray!

John

"Inland Empire" earns a “B” for BANISHING logic from the kingdom . . .

Clay

"Inland Empire" gets an "A" because no one more ADEPTLY manufactures cinematic ALLUSIONS than David Lynch . . .

John

"Perfect Stranger" earns a “C” for CAVING to power and sex rather than solid filmmaking . . .

Clay

"Perfect Stranger" gets a "D" for DULLING the excitement of texting for sex . . .

HIT TODAY'S CLOSING THEME (CD: TRUE ROMANCE), THEN UNDER FOR:

John

Clay, our heroes today struggle with sex and memory in failed attempts to control both. You, similarly, are constantly brokering for power at our station, and as for sex, that remains for you a perfect stranger.

I'm outta here.

Clay

Hey, John, without power our station wouldn't be on the air; and even perfect lovers can end up being perfect strangers. Been there, done that.

I'm outta here too.

See you at the movies, folks.

MUSIC UP, THEN UNDER AGAIN FOR:

Richelle

It's Movie Time is written, directed, and produced by John DeSando and Clay Lowe and is now streaming live on the web and on demand at WCBE.org.

MUSIC UP, THEN DOWN AND OUT

MUSIC UP, THEN DOWN AND OUT

Copyright 2007 by John DeSando & Clay Lowe