The Fall

This is an intriguing film. It is somewhat difficult in spots, and maybe slightly flawed in others, but overall I really liked it. Tarsem Singh actually manages to get into Terry Gilliam territory, with switching between realities and visual metaphors, yet he does it in his own way. I love the visuals! And yet much of the heart of this movie rests with the two primary actors, especially Catinca Untaru as Alexandria, a young girl recuperating in a 1920s hospital who meets a Hollywood stunt man (Lee Pace) who unfolds an "epic story" for her. Their dialog and relationship feels more fresh than scripted, and they pull you in.

Fear X

I love -- okay, maybe "love" is the wrong word; I am intrigued by Nicholas Winding Refn's films -- powerful, bizarre, raw, sublime, challenging, etc... So I had high hopes for this one...

Unfortunately Fear X is somewhat disappointing. It starts well, with an excellent performance by Turturro and a bit of a Kubrick vibe going on, and it builds to an intriguing climax, but that is where it comes up short, and then it peters out without much resolution or feeling. I certainly don't mind ambiguity, and I think I "get" what some of the possible interpretations are, but they just aren't very satisfying. I felt kinda left by the side of the road. Given how well it all started and built, that's quite a letdown...

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Forget the cheesy black-and-white classic Frankensteins with the flat head and bolts in the neck; this is a powerful, dramatic, raw, bizarre, and human story closer to the novel Mary Shelley wrote in 1818.

Kenneth Branagh is a bit (okay, maybe a lot) over-the-top as both director and actor, but, well, that's Branagh, and it is somewhat forgivable for this story. Too many good performances to acknowledge here, but I have two favorites. John Cleese shows us he can set the humor aside, and puts in a wonderfully understated Prof Waldman. Robert De Niro is fantastic as the "monster" -- by the end of the film, his creature has shown more depth and soul than his obsessed creator, but also a brutal, powerful dark side. I love complex, even contradictory characters like this; they are too rare in movies.

(I accidently posted this on the wrong blog some weeks ago)

following in Brian's footsteps

Predators -- Can't really add anything to Brian's review; a good/proper sequel.
Valhalla Rising -- I'm generally with Brian on this, too. It helps to not focus so much on plot and understanding and literal meaning, and just watch and feel and let the movie carry you along. It also helps to watch more than once. Between this and Bronson, Nicholas Winding Refn is becoming one of my favorite directors.

A Fish Called Wanda

Man, I forgot how funny this movie is!  A friend and I were talking about The King's Speech (which I enjoyed very much) and stuttering in general and I randomly had the urge to watch A Fish Called Wanda.  I hadn't seen it in years and figured I would appreciate it more as an adult.

God, was I right!  I watched it last night and enjoyed it so much more than I ever have before.  Everything about it works almost flawlessly.  The story isn't complex, but it's very layered, so it never runs out of steam.  The acting, though, is where the movie really shines.  Everyone on the screen gives great performances, which really breathes life into the script, and the comedy is brilliant because it stems chiefly from the performances and feels natural.  Michael Palin and Kevin Kline are especially hilarious, and Jamie Lee Curtis--who generally isn't (or wasn't, I suppose would be more accurate) heralded as a sex symbol--is beyond sexy.

The only complaint I have with Wanda is the score.  It's too generically 80's for my taste, which I loathe.  I realize it's a matter of taste, though, so I don't really hold it against the filmmakers.  It's a product of it's time.

Overall, I'm more than satisfied with A Fish Called Wanda.

TRON: Legacy

This was better than I expected. The graphics had about the right mix of showing-off ("See how much BETTER computer graphics are now!"), homage to the original, and just plain cool. The digitally un-aged Jeff Bridges was pretty good, although you could sort of tell it wasn't natural. The 3D was pretty good, too, although I had to hold the glasses off the bridge of my nose to keep from getting a headache.

But the best surprise was that there was a halfway decent story. I had expected a minimally-plausible plot, just enough to serve as an excuse to make a graphics showcase. Well, it wasn't Shakespeare, but it was better than average. And at least few of the characters managed to make me care. Jeff Bridges' aged guru-ish Flynn was an interesting mix of hippy, conservative, funny, and regretful. In the end, the movie didn't make the common mistake of a lot of CG flicks -- neglecting the story.

The Wolfman

I saw this in the theaters and hated it.  I had great expectations for it, very few of which were met.  The writing was pretty bland, the dialogue was cheap, and the character development was uneven.  Watching it months later, though, I have a new appreciation for it.  It's certainly not a new classic, but it's fun nonetheless.  The dark, gothic imagery is effective without being overbearing.  The melodrama is poured on a little thick at times, but the actors make it good enough to enjoy as a guilty pleasure.  This movie, like The Core, is further evidence to my belief that a good cast can make a bad movie enjoyable.

The Bucket List

Seems like there was a lot of hype around this one, which tends to make me skeptical. But waiting until a few years after it came out allowed me to watch it without much expectation. Also, having just turned 50, I was in the right frame of mind for a film about stuff to do before you die...

But hey, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, now that raises my expectations, and they did not disappoint me. And the story avoided a lot of potentially silly and trite stuff, while still being a touching drama, mixed with enough comedy and, well, just hanging around cool places around the world to keep it interesting and fun. In the end I really liked it, and will surely watch it again...

Public Enemies

I like Michael Mann's films.  Heat, Collateral and The Last of the Mohicans are some of my all-time favorites.  While I can't say Public Enemies is, I can definitely say I liked it.

I do have a couple of gripes with it, though.  The first is Christian Bale, which is tough for me to admit since I like him.  While it's nice to see him step out of the Bruce Wayne/John Conner action hero role, I feel like his talents were ultimately wasted on his portrayal of Melvin Purvis.  He plays him as a passionless, rather bland man.  If Purvis really was as dull as Bale played him, then I feel like any other actor could have taken his place.  This ties in with my other complaint with the movie, which is that none of the characters have much personality.  Johnny Depp has enough charisma to make up for it with Dillinger, but everyone else feels like cardboard cutouts of old gangster movie characters.

Criticism aside, Public Enemies is an enjoyable movie.  The acting is sufficient, the story is solid, and it holds your attention.  It has a bit more soul than the average popcorn flick, but it falls short of being a favorite.  Worth a watch every now and then.

Horror Movies

A recent email from my dad got me thinking about horror movies and how disappointing many of them turn out to be. So many of them seem to sacrifice plot and characterization for horrific deaths and cheap scares that I am automatically skeptical when approaching horror movies. I thought I'd list a few modern horror movies that I liked.

House of Wax: Not bad for what it is. The characters are nothing but collateral damage, but their fates are pretty horrifying and entertaining. Worth a watch.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Pretty damn good for what it is. The characters have some depth, and the tension is thick. Truly horrifying.

Saw: The Saw franchise has become pretty stagnant, but the one that started it all is still good in my opinion. It's far from perfect, but the premise is fascinating and the twist at the end is great.

The Ring: This is a good movie all around. Good acting, good cinematography, good direction, good story. It's also not afraid to leave some questions unanswered, which I like. It's what you don't know that scares you the most.

The Collector: This one is just fun and bizarre. The writers make no effort to make the story make more sense than it does, which actually serves it well. Just sit back and watch the people get butchered.

Silent Hill: Impressive effort. The dark world the protagonist slips into has the right mixture of realism and surrealism to keep the audience guessing. The bad dialogue bugs me, but I can suffer through it to enjoy the picture.

Hostel: This one only exists to horrify audiences. The story is as thin as the paper the script was printed on, but the violence fills in the gaps. It's worth watching just to say you saw it, whether you hate it or love it.

The Devil's Rejects: The main characters are completely unredeemable and downright unlikable, but the film is fairly well-made and the story is as interesting as it is disturbing.

Trick r' Treat: This one is different. It's broken up into several stories that all connect at one point or another. It also successfully walks a very fine line between being humorous and horrifying. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but it still sets out to scare you.

Seven Pounds

For better or worse, I tend to sort actors according to how much they rely on character acting skills versus just being themselves. At one end of this spectrum are actors like Gary Oldman, who are so good at morphing into someone else that I sometimes don't even recognize them.

At the other end are actors who just sort of fall back on attitude and charisma, and I would have to put Will Smith as a prime example. Now I like Will Smith, but in every movie I've seen him in he's just doing his cool/jokey thing, so I had written him off as not having much range. Until now...

I found Seven Pounds to be just a so-so movie overall -- story, acting, directing, etc. have some good points, but sort of get tedious and sentimental by the end. But what I noticed right from the start was that Will Smith has finally evolved some new acting range. In particular I saw in his face some depth, especially when he was showing pain.

I like it when actors (and most other artists, e.g. musicians) step outside their comfort zone and push into new territory, and grow. Welcome to a new level, Will.

Carriers

Virus-related apocalypse movies are a dime a dozen nowadays, so I was skeptical going into this one. My only real interest in it was Chris Pine, who I am a dedicated fan of thanks to Star Trek. I was pleasantly surprised, though. In addition to its fairly talented cast, Carriers managed to stand out amongst other films of its ilk by focusing on the characters instead of the virus. And although the movie is about how the survival instinct separates us from our humanity, it avoids becoming a morality tale by maintaining a delicate balance between tugging at the audience's heartstrings and shocking them. The concluding voice over monologue felt a bit forced and there's some 28 Days Later crossover here and there, but otherwise I'm pretty satisfied.

three flicks with Kevin Spacey

One of my favorite actors is Kevin Spacey. I especially like him in American Beauty, K-PAX, The Big Kahuna, and The Usual Suspects. Lately I've been on a mini-run of movies with Spacey that I hadn't seen before...

The Negotiator - The story has an interesting premise: a police hostage negotiator himself takes hostages and has to deal with another negotiator. But much of the rest of the story is filled with stereotypical elements. Fortunately most of the focus is on the two main characters, excellently played by Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. The non-police supporting actors did a good job, too.

Moon - I generally agree with Brian's review, but I found the story sort of weak and predictable -- after the initial revelation, I saw where it was going from miles away. But the excellent main character(s) focus sort of makes up for this -- Sam Rockwell really pulls off a tricky set of roles. I also like how "Gerty" (computer/robot) mostly avoids several computer stereotypes; Spacey's voice gives it just the right balance of logic and "heart"...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - Eh. This certainly had some interesting elements, but ultimately it didn't quite gel and pull me into caring much about any of its characters (especially the main John Cusack one), and it slid into a stereotypical courtroom drama in the last third. Kevin Spacey does well enough, although his character doesn't have a lot of depth, so he doesn't have a lot to work with.

Predators

I was excited but skeptical about this one. I love the character of the alien hunter as much as the next guy, but the twelve-plus years since the original have only offered one lackluster sequel and two poorly executed crossovers with the Alien movies. There was a lot riding on this new movie for science fiction fans.

Luckily, the film delivers...and then some! Predators is, in my mind, the only proper sequel to the original. The tension from the first film is back, which is impressive, seeing as how the audience is almost fully aware of what's happening by this time. What's especially nice, though, is how fresh this movie feels. It's obvious the filmmakers went to great lengths to avoid stepping in the footsteps of the original. They assume the audience knows about the predator's various tricks and trades, so the characters don't spend more than one or two lines on them. And though they tie this one in with the original, it has more than enough clout to stand on its own with.

Part of what makes this movie so enjoyable is the characters. We don't get much in the way of characterization, but each of them are intense enough to stand out on their own. Even the ones that die off early are memorable.

The action is great, too! It's evocative of the original movie, but more intense and suspenseful. All of the great, old Predator tricks are here, along with some new ones.

Predators is a great, new addition to the franchise! It's respectful to the source material without being a long, drawn-out homage. Definitely a must-see!

How To Train Your Dragon

I'm always skeptical of animated movies geared toward both children and adults. I don't know why, though. Nine times out of ten I enjoy them when I actually watch them. How To Train Your Dragon is no exception.

What a delightful film! While it makes no effort to surprise audiences with a complex story and plot twists, it's still very solid. The pacing is just right, and even though predicting the inevitable outcome is fairly simple, you can't help but wonder how it will come to fruition.

The mood of the picture is another perfect balancing act, in my opinion. It would have been easy to get too dark with big, fire-breathing reptiles, but it's all pretty lighthearted.

The only potential problem I foresee with this movie is its scope. Vikings and dragons... There aren't too many young girls I know that are as interested in those things as boys. That being said, I saw it with three girls between the ages of 18 to 24, and they all enjoyed it.

five flicks

Sherlock Holmes -- Excellent! If someone had told me a few years ago that I'd be excited about yet another version of Sherlock, I'd have laughed in their face. But this is fresh, energetic, smart and witty, and just fun and well done. Robert Downey Jr's Holmes is great, and Jude Law is just right as his Watson... I also like Guy Ritchie's use of slow motion and flashbacks...

Terminator Salvation -- I liked it. Not as good as T2, and a bit off in places, but overall a decent installment that kept me interested and entertained. Christian Bale's John Conner is decent, but I thought Sam Worthington had the more interesting role. Great machine graphics and sound effects!

Gran Torino -- Meh. I had heard good things about this, but I was disappointed. It had some interesting, funny, and cool passing moments, but overall it seemed weak and sad. Lately I've been rewatching some Dirty Harry flicks, and Clint was really much sharper back then... Oh well...

The Men Who Stare At Goats -- This was certainly different; even though I realized it wasn't to be taken very seriously, I still almost bailed at a few points early in the movie. But eventually it hooked me and reeled me in. Nice ensemble acting.

Across The Universe -- I haven't even finished this one yet (waiting for my daughter, we're watching it together), but I already like it. I was somewhat skeptical at first, but the fresh and interesting takes on Beatles songs have really won me over, and the creativity and heart is more than enough to make up for a few dubious moments. I'm with Brian on this one!

Valhalla Rising

This is probably the hardest movie I've ever had to critique. The director of Bronson goes in a wildly different direction with Valhalla Rising, making a movie that makes the surrealism of Bronson look normal. There's very little plot, even less dialogue, and long stretches of time where the only sound is the ambient music. It is maddeningly difficult to follow if you're not paying 100% attention to it, and even then you'll probably still be scratching your head for the majority of the flick. Despite this, however, you can't take your eyes off of it. The cinematography is absolutely amazing, and the acting is very captivating. Mads Mikkelsen, who I thoroughly enjoyed as the quiet but imposing antagonist in Casino Royale, never says a word, and yet you can't help but like his character. His enigma-like quality endears him to the audience when set against the other characters; his silence is his purity. I can't say I love this movie, but I can definitely say I strongly admire it. It's an incredibly bold piece of filmmaking that should be viewed by fans of cinema art.

Cashback

This is a frustrating movie because it has some beautiful moments and ideas, but it is dimmed by some weaknesses: it is uneven in its pacing, there isn't quite enough plot to sustain it, some of the story turns are predictable, some of the humor is a tad forced, and so on. Even the title and cover image are flawed: I passed over this movie at least a dozen times on Netflix Instant Watch because I assumed it was a booby flick aimed at teenage boys. But it actually has some insight and romance and character development, and is mostly well done. It just falls short of what it could have been. Worth a watch/rent.

Across The Universe

Wow! What a movie! I'm very picky with musicals, but I loved Across The Universe! It's so rich with life and originality that I scarcely know where to begin...

The concept is absolutely brilliant: tell a story with Beatles songs. And it works so well! The great thing, though, is that you can know nothing about the Beatles and still love it. The plot isn't Beatles-centric and the songs are re-imagined with enough originality that they feel new and fresh.

The one complaint I have with the movie is its reliance on the music. While the beginning of the movie had enough plot to carry the characters from one song to the next, the songs start to get closer together later in the movie, making less room for the story.

All in all, Across The Universe is a very entertaining experience. Definitely worth watching, if not purchasing.

Avatar

Since this is such a huge film, I'll throw in my two cents, as well.

I saw Avatar twice on the big screen, once regular and once in 3-D, and there wasn't much difference between the experiences. (I've seen two or three movies in 3-D and think it's overrated.) I went in with low expectations. I didn't care that everybody loved it and that it made lots of money. So did the second Transformers movie, and I almost walked out of that. The only real interest I had in Avatar was that it was made by James Cameron, who has made several movies that make it into my Top 10.

After seeing it a couple more times since then and mulling over it a lot, I have to say I'm not real impressed with it. Sure, it's pretty and expands the boundaries of filmmaking capabilities, but that's just not enough for me. The story and characters are as bland and unoriginal as you can get. I spent a lot of the movie with my cheek resting against my hand, thinking, "Been there, done that." The only character I really cared about was Neytiri, and about half of that is because I have a crush on Zoe Saldana.

Now, I'm not saying Avatar is a bad movie. It is certainly worth watching, especially if you're a science fiction fan. And, to give credit where credit is due, this is the Star Wars of the new millennium. It sets the bar pretty high for every science fiction film that follows it. I just don't understand why it's the highest grossing film of all time. All in all, though, it's fun and has some substance.