The Million Dollar Hotel
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Movie Reviews of The Million Dollar Hotel
Movie Review: Davies' performance worth the purchase.
Summary: 4 Stars
All through this I kept trying to remember where I'd seen Jeremy Davies' face before. He's the geeky kid in "Saving Private Ryan." I read one reviewer's thought that most everything that's in this has been done, and specifically points out Brad Pitt's performance in "12 Monkeys"--I guess he hasn't seen any movies made before "12 Monkeys" or he'd know that Brad Pitt's performance was ripped off from Dennis Hopper in "Apocalypse Now." My point being: maybe nothing is original any more but it shouldn't stop you from seeing this movie. Davies' performance is sweet and touching as a retarded kid in love with a hooker?/tramp? (you decide). Milla Jovavich can't act to save her life. In fact hardly any other cast member in this flick is going to be collecting an Oscar any time soon--except for Mr. Gibson, of couse who gives an interesting performance as a *stiff* law enforcement type trying to find a suspect in a murder case. This is not your ordinary hollywood film--thank god--but if you like Wim Wenders' films, you'll love this..Movie Review: A Contemporary Impressionist Film
Summary: 4 Stars
The plot has nothing to do with reality, and that's fine; it's not about plot. The acting is all over the map, from a completely stiff Gibson to Davies' Forrest-Gump-meets-Tigger rendition of Tom-Tom, and that's exactly as it should be; it's about different characters playing off each other. Wenders focuses his sweet, gentle, character-revealing techniques on a cast of deranged, distasteful characters; we get to really like them, and really dislike them. It's a hodge-podge of magical realism, detective story, romance, and farce. It mixes stunning visuals with the filthy underbelly of L.A.It's not typical Gibson, Bono, Jovovich, or Wenders, although it's arguably more Wenders than anything else.
It's a love story about Tom-Tom and Eloise. It's a love story about Wim Wenders, Bono, and Los Angeles. It's a love story about the pain and the joy that are life. It's a love story about light, music and atmosphere. It's a love story about film, and what film can do.
Many movies entertain. A few make you think. This one made me feel.
Movie Review: I like to think iF I was there.
Summary: 4 Stars
I like this movie. Is soft, lil' slow. But I like to imagine iF I was there, with them. To think the situation, trying to know "what's really happened". That's make me stay in the movie without boring. And the music belongs so good, excellent combination between the scenary and the music.Movie Review: Wenders again
Summary: 4 Stars
Beautiful story, like only Wenders do. I miss a good inlet page in the box.Movie Review: Excellent acting, weak story
Summary: 3 Stars
It is tempting to pick up this film, as I did, because it stars Mel Gibson. If that is your motivation, think very carefully. Mel gives one of his less memorable performances and is more of an ensemble cast member than a lead actor in this film. Director Wim Wenders is considered by many to be one of Europe's best directors. This film offers numerous examples of that, but while it is an interesting character study of some very disturbed people, the story is so flimsy that the excellent acting and directing still can't prop it up.The story brings us a slice of the lives of some very mentally challenged people who live in a run down hotel. It is narrated by one of the characters as he plunges toward the ground after having leapt from the roof. FBI Detective Skinner (Mel Gibson) is investigating the death of Izzy Goldkiss, an artist (Tim Roth) who lived in the hotel. Izzy also plummetted to his death from the roof of the hotel. Everyone but Skinner thinks it was a suicide.
Along the way we are subjected to the bizarre behavior of the residents of a loony bin without bars. It is like watching "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" without the storyline. We are treated to flamboyantly odd people, but we lack a reason for watching them and the novelty wears off quickly. The dominant theme is the love story between Eloise (Milla Jovovich) and Tom Tom (Jeremy Davies), who is our plunging narrator. This relationship is heartrending, but it is not enough to save the film. Though all the characters are colorfully portrayed, the uneven presentation does little more than make a case for the institutionalization of the mentally impaired.
The acting by the ensemble cast is terrific. Milla Jovovich took this part fresh from her role as Joan of Arc in "The Messenger". Her portrayal of Joan was controversial because she played her as a borderline lunatic (and did so brilliantly). That experience served her well in this film, and it establishes Jovovich as one of the better depicters of the mentally bereft. Unfortunately, there are not enough such parts to warrant abandoning her modeling career. Jeremy Davies is the brightest spot in the cast with a wonderfully quirky performance. Jimmy Smits takes a delightful plunge into murky waters with an over the top portrayal of Geronimo, an Hispanic "Indian". Smits is terrific at the straight macho roles he usually plays, but this is quite a departure. He does a fabulous job and it is so incongruous to see him in the role that it is fun to watch.
I'm not sure why Mel Gibson took this role. He has played some offbeat characters, but this one is off the chart. It was more of a caricature than a character. After the film opened, in a gesture of actor's remorse he publicly badmouthed the film to anyone who would publish his remarks. That was not a class maneuver. He should have been a professional and refrained from comment.
This is an interesting character study that is about thirty minutes more madness than the average viewer should be required to bear. I rated it a 6/10 despite the weak story because of the strength of the acting. It's worth a look for Wenders fans, but Gibson fans steer clear.