Benicio Del

Che (Criterion Collection)
$49.95
before watching CHE-1)forget the words liberal and conservative,left and right,2)try to forget Castro's repressive regime that that proved communism does not work,no matter how many beret-ed martyrs you try to pan off on the world in a effort to soothe the loss of a gangland island paradise.3)Forget that Che was just as political as Castro ever was.4)Forget the fact that Castro's regime,began as a typical communist take over,with executions,torture,and death to any enemy of the state real or framed,guilty or innocent.5)Forget Castro and Che as about as materialistic a pair as you will ever see,those green,guerrilla,jungle fighter,power to the people,24-7 uniforms oozed vanity rather than the political consience of revolution...forget all that stuff,put it out of your mind..watch the movie.
1)Soderbergh's vision of Che as seen through the lense of a camera plays like a documentary,shakey camera etc...the scenes are mostly shot,standing back,which is thoughtful,even frame friendly.Each frame is lush and crammed full with that which Soderbergh envisioned to be the character of the film Che,making the jungle,the sky,the weapons,the asthma attacks,the heat,the sounds..necessary if not passive cast members.That says a lot about Sodersbergh's John Ford'ish abilities when it comes to, presentation relative to the suspense,of the story to be told,relative to landscape,distance,fatigue,combat..,relative to his choice of the image to be packed into a frame of film.
2)Che is long,almost 5 hours,some say it is too slow(not enough explosions,flying saucers,droids etc.)Some say it does not look right(not David Lean'ish enough)....Che has to be long in order for Soderbergh to unfold,lay-out and give us a feel for Che's dirty,sweaty,dangerous,neurotic life.Yes,it is about revolution,and all that shallow political phrasing that could be sold in the 60's,but Che the film also showes us the slow,tedious aspects of camp life,where food and water are precious commodities,and death is the snap of a finger away,making paranoid,anxious revolutionaries encamped in the heat,humidity and misery indicitive of the garden that grows paranoia,the jungle.Che is not too long,it is just long enough.
3)Che is one of the most ambitious films ever made,it's kind of hard to fathom a 5 hr flick produced in today's cut-budget climate,and if that isn't enough,it's artistic,serious,and stresses the craft and infinite possibilities of filmaking.It is Soderbergh's and Del Toro's brave,artistic gamble that probably won't pay-off.It is the type of important film that drives wanna-be filmmakers to work harder,out of jealousy as much as anything else.
4)Benicio Del Toro is great as you've heard
5)Part 2,the Bolivian episode,will wear at you,Castro's stalking presence can be felt as Che fails miserably to organize a Bolivian working- folks revolution.Che's asthma attack is suffocating as the stark Bolivian Countryside.It's weary-some to watch,a not-much-of-a-good-guy,failing,with doom all around,getting what he deserves,at the cost of becoming some post Beatle,post JFK,LSD,60's,you must be cool cause you look good in a berat,misunderstood,fictionalized, martyr,which is of course what he became.
6)Part 1 is about the Cuban revolution,Che,Castro,their buddies,i found part 1 facinating to watch,and has a great ending as Che makes some of his guys return a car they stole as they head for Havana to cash in on Castro's infamous regimes's birth.

Basquiat [VHS]
$9.99
Basquiat's life and demise are lessons in too-sudden fame and the exploitation of African Americans, street people, and the poor. Julian Schnabel has made a subtle and artistically structured tribute to Basquiat, the kind of tribute that only a fellow artist could make. The film exposes the New York art world for some of its artificiality, power plays, maneuvers and corruption in the lime-lighting of potential money-making genius. The film, however, feeds the myth that great artists are marginally sane and creative to the extent of that marginality. An excellent choice for viewing.

The Fan
$27.95
Having watched most of Robert De Niro's famed films since his beginnings ("Greetings" and "Mean streets"), along his countless artistic collaborations with his preferred director, Martin Scorsesse, I would not dare myself to qualify this film as notable. De Niro's most remarkable performances were focused through the seventies (Godfather II, Taxi driver, Deer hunter), eighties ( Ragging bull, Once upon a time in America, Angel heart, The mission, Untouchables and his genial cameo on Brazil) until the early nineties (Goodfellas and his most emblematic achievement until this date -at least to me- Awakenings). But since 1993, (when he makes his debut as director) De Niro (like Gene Hackman) seemed to have been abandoned by the supreme Dionysian muse and he has been repeated himself over and over again. Since "Cape fear", to be exact De Niro doesn't surprise me with his "inner fire" a similar bitter taste in this case, where his role as best actor of his generation is absolutely absent in this case.

A good start with a very dramatic premise, that deserved a major treatment, was obscured by a languorous script with serious dramatic fissures.

On the other hand, Tony Scott is miles away from his three best achievemnts of the past "Top Gun", "The hunger" and "True romance."

Benicio Chalkboard
$189.99
Uttermost Company Benico chalkboard. This chalkboard features a hand forged, metal frame with a brown undercoat and heavy beige wash.A playful bunny and leaves are made of wrought iron. Black chalkboard with chalk tray attached for added convenience.Ships fully assembled.