Atonement: Saw this movie last night. I had no sympathy for the young girl whatsoever, and thought her simply to be a precocious bitch who thought she knew more than the rest of them. Without any sympathy (and frankly I didn’t like her at all, and would rather give her a spanking than anything else) this movie falls apart in the end. Yes, you can understand where it goes, but you’re not really satisfied with the result. This movie jumps around a lot as well. I really had no idea what buddy was doing in WWII, where he was (yes he was in France, but what was this pull out?) I might have my dates wrong and he was there at the beginning of the war when the Germans took over without firing a shot, as opposed to DDay and the return. Even so, how did he get injured? Was there NO medical attention? To me, there was no atoning for what was done, in the least, and simply writing about it isn’t nearly enough. I would like it if movie directors would get back to telling stories in a linear fashion rather than bouncing around between times and places. This movie with all the other nominated films again showed me that this was indeed a weak year. A movie like Saving Private Ryan or Chinatown that lost out on an Oscar for Best Picture would have won this year in a landslide.
April 15th, 2008
As for movies, I saw Enchanted on the plane on the way back home and it was okay. A fun story that my 10yo daughter would enjoy. I liked Stardust better, but maybe that was because I like Claire Danes a little better than Amy Adams. I am not really a Dempsey fan. I also finished watching Gone Baby Gone on the flight over. When I got back home I watched Knocked Up, which was not really very funny. There were a couple of decent laughs but nothing that made me roll on the floor. The scene were she tells him that she is pregnant – now THAT was funny with his reaction! However, NOT in this lifetime would Seth EVER get to be in bed with Heigl here. It just doesn’t happen except in movies and TV. Ugly fat dudes who are unshaven and act like children get to date Roseann Barr and not supermodels.
March 25th, 2008
So I had a chance to catch a couple flicks over the long weekend. I saw Rendition which to me was only average. Not much of a stretch performance for Reese Witherspoon, and it seemed everyone involved had little ‘skin in the game’ to help out the poor sap who was taken away and imprisoned for questioning. I find it interesting that they hint that there is always a US observer for the interrogation sessions involving nasty torture. These are (sometimes) their own people getting tortured like this. This has a good cast (Meryl Streep too) but it does not show you the end result and whether this practice has stopped. I suspect somehow that it continues. Where’s the due process? Where is the trial amongst peers and being able to face your accuser? The “home of the free” takes another beating in the guise of national security. I hardly think of the Jake character as a hero, who simply has his job on the line that he really can’t seem to stomach anyway.
Last night it was No Country for Old Men. A disappointment to put a word on it. There was a build up here for a really good battle between the headstrong dude (Brolin) looking to keep his ill-gotten booty, and the mindless automaton (terminator-like killer) looking to exact some revenge, but then it all fizzles out. Harrelson dies limply. Brolin who looked to be ready and preparing himself for a kick ass battle just ends up dead, and you have a closing speech by Jones as the retired cop, and Spanish buddy (Javier Bardem) walking away with a broken arm from a senseless crash in his car. I had expected more. Is this really the Best Picture of the year?! Sad to say that if it is, then it was indeed a lean year. Funnily, no sooner had Tommy Lee Jones’ faces gone black off the screen did my ex-Wife jump out of her chair and say “Is that it?!” It pissed her off to no end, and she claimed this is why she doesn’t like the Oscars. Because of the above, I tend to agree with her on this one. And Spanish buddy (Bardem) wins a Best Supporting role here. For what?! How many lines did he actually deliver? Is the little discussion with the Texas native in the gas station enough to make that happen? I don’t know but it is disappointing. So I cannot agree on this being a great film. I will accept all arguments to the contrary.
March 19th, 2008
Watched Disturbia last night which was terrible. Basically it’s Rear Window, with some other elements attached like Silence of the Lambs with David Morse playing the bad guy (do bad guys always have mullets?) Carrie Ann Moss was not looking her best. Every suspense cliché going was used here….
February 27th, 2008
I watched American Gangster last night and it was decent, however it was a bit too long, and borrowed a little too heavily from other movies of the genre (notably the Godfather). The ending is a disappointment, as I can’t imagine Vito Corleone or Tony Soprano for that matter ever turning informant on the people around him, especially cops. It just wouldn’t happen in the Italian community I don’t think. There seemed to be a number of threads left open here (like Cuba Gooding and what happened to him). I liked the idea of the most grandly dressed guy being the most insecure and least powerful. In the pre-Serpico days in 1968, I understood how a cop ‘not on the take’ would be an outcast amongst his peers (ex-wife was confused by that). There were some real moral dilemmas that the Crowe character handled probably a little too easily and quickly. Scary too see that 2/3 of the force in narcotics was dirty. I would have liked to have seen some more details on how Lucas manages to get the 2000 keys into coffins and shipped out by the military. The reality is that the military knowingly (or not) contributed significantly to the drug trade. Amazing too that he received only 15 years for his sentence and is back on the street again. You wonder what he is doing other than getting money from his own story in a movie. He seemed like a good business man with all his talk of branding and infringement of his own brand – he should work for Proctor and Gamble.
February 19th, 2008
Here is the latest after I went out in Barcelona last night and saw Juno.
I guess it’s hard to live up to the hype. I saw the movie in a small, rundown, dank theatre in Barcelona. Hard to have a group laugh when the rest of the audience is reading the subtitles. I ended up being the only one laughing in many parts. The girl in this film (Ellen Page) does a great job at being the eccentric, interesting, and fun chick to hang around with. So much so that Bateman starts re-evaluating his life. I thought that Bateman, Garner and the supporting cast were all good (I liked the Dad (James Jameson from Spiderman and the step-mother). I guess where it failed for me was in the resolution which on the face of it is a very kind gesture (giving up the baby) however I keep thinking that finding the supposed love of your life (and a guy who could not look you in the eye at any time in the movie) is probably not what is realistic. Maybe he is, but let’s not leave us with the impression that this is the end resolution….maybe it’s just the resolution for now.
Beowolf – saw this on the plane coming over. It was okay. The realistic graphics of actors known and unknown was remarkable. That in itself is an achievement. The nearly naked scenes with Angelina Jolie will make any teen blush and are worth the price of admission whether she looks like that or not. Somehow I believe not, given the kids and the tattoos that she’s done. It’s typical fable territory with the old drunken King having to deal with a demon of his own creation. Someone else gets to clean up the mess and get the Kingdom he wants (for a time). It kept my attention although I can’t really recommend it.
The Assassination of Jesse James – talk about a movie with plenty of hype, but that no one has really seen, and now I know why. It’s boring! Nothing happens here, and what happens is very slow to get going. I did not even see the end (the flight descended) but I don’t care. I think by the title I know what happened. Casey Affleck is a weird guy here. It filled time, but that’s really as far as I can go.
The Proposition – given your positive review I was anxious to catch this, which is likely a kiss of death. We have a good cast here. There is an interesting premise, but for me it was too slow. The Emily Watson character was interesting in her blind devotion to her husband but by the end I was predicting where this story was going to go. I had not thought that you could wring out a whip (surely they would have done so in The Passion of the Christ) but here they managed to. Do 100 lashes cause that much damage really? I don’t really need to find out.
January 2nd, 2008
This weekend I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I am halfway through the book, and I found this story to be the least satisfying of the bunch. It could have been summed up in a word and in 15 mins on the screen.
Open with Harry credits, show Harry at his house. Watch as Ministry of Magic dispels the theory of the return of Voldemort, then see how they see the truth. Ending credits.
When we finished, eldest son’s reaction was “Is that it?!” I agree. The characters did not advance much, and there was only a couple tidbits of juicy info. Otherwise it was forgettable.
December 17th, 2007
Perfume: You ask most people what of the 5 senses would they eliminate if they had to lose one, and I think that most people would say the sense of smell. This movie should be shown to those that believe that. I caught the majority of this movie, missing the first 15 mins or so but then could not stop watching it. It revolves around a young apprentice who has a unique gift of smell that allows him to create great perfumes. He works first for aging Dustin Hoffman but then becomes obsessed with being able to capture ALL smells, and essences. This takes him to try and capture beauty (or happiness if you will) and this takes him on a murderous spree. He begins taking the lives of beautiful young women to try and synthesize it and bottle it. What he creates is really quite astounding. Having read the 4-star Ebert review on this movie, I agree. Here you have an obsession (pardon the pun) that takes over this young guy’s life, and it becomes very dark. It is well acted, it is well directed and well written. It tells an interesting story and one that apparently is better in the audio book and the book itself. Ex-wife and I both could not leave this movie despite being tired. Check it out. I hope to see Atonement in the next little while as it is getting great reviews and the new Charlie Wilson’s War looks good too. The Golden whatever is supposed to be good too. If you can, also try to check out Bourne Ultimatum which I thoroughly enjoyed at the theatre.
December 5th, 2007
So last night I decided to start watching The Nativity Story and ended up watching the entire thing. It’s not that I was engrossed that much, it was that I wanted to finish it. I think that they saw the zillions of dollars that Passion of the Christ made and tried to deal with the happier side of the story. I am no expert when it comes to matters of the bible and religion but I did not know that John the Baptist was a distant relative of Jesus. Mary’s cousin was older and was pregnant with another immaculate conception with John, and he was born months before Jesus was. It was interesting that the made the three wise men more comic relief. I felt for Joseph (Oscar Isaac) throughout the story because here is this poor sap who’s just trying to be a good guy, and he finds that his Wife (who moved away to be with her cousin) comes back knocked up and claims a spirit did it. He is shocked to say the least. In a leap of faith however, he trusts her and her word and then takes her on this long journey back to Bethlehem. What I wondered though about these kings from afar, is what happened to them later on in Jesus’ life?! When buddy is getting crucified, why did they not help him? Why not stand up for him and protect him or even follow in the life of this young King of Kings? Do we ever hear from them again, or do they drop their gifts and forget? I found the story slow, and it took a long time to get moving (even at a snail’s pace). Mary was okay, but I liked her better as the young Whale Rider. She does not show much range here, and there are long periods of silence and staring at each other. I might have the kids watch it so that they understand a little bit more why they get gifts this time of year. Could be a good history lesson for them. What more do we know of Joseph?
This time of year will have me put the A Christmas Story dvd and watch Darren McGavin swear at his furnace yet again….lol
November 20th, 2007
First film was Eragon, the dragon movie that borrows a great deal from LOTR, which for me as you know a recipe for success. In twenty words or less it’s an Arthur fable with a dragon involved. This movie has a very good cast (bad guy Malkovich and good guy Jeremy Irons), which I feel was not used to its capability. There should first be a warning to this film that states “Note that the film you are watching will not be resolved after the picture is over – more installments to come”. It leaves the audience unsatisfied and rolling their eyes at having to fork over more money for a movie that did not do so well as to merit a sequel. But the more disturbing part of this movie for me was the communication between the dragon and her rider. The dragon is voiced by the great Rachel Weisz, who I like a lot. I just don’t picture her voice associated with a dragon. And what’s with the dragon not movie it’s mouth, and only talking through the mind. And cheesey dialogue that it is? Don’t dragons speak dragon? Why would it be English? Anyway, the dragon scenes were okay, the fight scenes were too darkly lit (why in the days of swordsmanship and arrows would you not fight a battle during daylight?). You need to see what you are fighting, do you not? This killed a couple of hours and it was okay, but I cannot recommend it. I would welcome your thoughts on it.
The second movie we watched was Mr Brooks, which I believe that you reviewed a little while back but I may be wrong. I did enjoy this movie. I think that William Hurt needs to work more, even when he looks a little more creepy than you might expect. I do like how they handled the psychological aspects of the persona, and how you are dealing with a recovering ‘addict’ but an addict who does not reveal his claim to fame. In some ways this movie gives the blue print on how to kill someone that you don’t know (and I think gives the internet more credit for divulging personal information based solely upon a license plate than you would normally get). Can you REALLY get someone’s W2/T4 information over the Net to check how much that they are worth? I was not sure halfway through how all of the stories would come back together and I was glad that I didn’t. It made sense what they did and the actors did a good job. Ex-wife pointed it out and I concur on what happened to Demi Moore’s chest? Did she remove her implants or get them reduced? For Charlie’s Angels she was stacked. Perhaps she has the new blow-hole accessory that allows manual inflation as required…? I liked the banter between the Hurt/Costner characters and how effectively he dealt with Mr Smith. There were some evils laughs there, and some genuinely funny moments like when they honked at Mr Smith and anticipated at what might happen next….a good movie that I can recommend and enjoyed thoroughly. It was time well spent Sat night.
Mondays With Robbie 