On Click, A Scanner Darkly, The Science of Sleep

In forward-looking, decidedly random tidbits, the dirty little secret of Adam Sandler’s Click is that — despite a protracted sequence in which he passes gas in David
“Big in Germany” Hasselhoff’s face — it’s actually a much more
willfully poignant film than Sony’s marketing is letting on
. Again,
filmgoer satisfaction surveys and second week numbers will be of great
interest here… Fans of Richard Linklater and independent-minded cinema in general, meanwhile, have a lot to look forward to with A Scanner Darkly, opening in early to mid-July. It’s a film that certainly could have
been made in normal narrative fashion, but the rotoscoping animation
first on wide display in Waking Life lends the picture a
slurry, seductive charm
, particularly in its “scramble suit”
application… I was less wowed, however, by Michel Gondry’s The Science of Sleep,
which has a great general conceit and handcrafted production design,
but a mortally wounded sense of storytelling
, even within its own dream
logic… Today, I’m enjoying fresh pineapple, courtesy of a corer and
noggin-sized Del Monte pineapple that arrived with a review copy of the
new straight-to-video Lilo & Stitch sequel, Leroy & Stitch. Unlike most things in life, said slicer actually works… I’ll also be
catching some films at the forthcoming Los Angeles Film Festival —
which kicks off in Westwood this week with a screening of The Devil Wears Prada — and hopefully filing a few morsels and opinions from there. ’Til next time…