This extensive film covers essentially the rise and fall of Alexander the Great in a style that intercuts elements of a documentary with standard drama of dueling storylines. One storyline begins in Alexander's youth and follows him until he becomes king. The other starts at his first battle as king and follows him to his death.
With only a couple of minor hiccups at the beginning of the film, mostly due to the tri-fold skippage of the style from documentary told by one of Alexander's generals to the two other storylines, the film flows pretty well after the first half hour is over. I watched the director's cut which boasts a run time of nearly three hours. It comes top about 2 hours and 38 minutes without the credits.
Though it ran long, the film occasionally tried to do too much. It had multiple relationships for Alexander to go through including those with his mother, father, wife, male lover, generals, his army, and his people along with an ongoing inner conflict with himself. Tackling all of these relationships along with delivering a solid war movie caused the relationships to founder here and there as the movie progressed, which some taking off very well and then falling away as the movie went on.
What happened over and over again when a new relationship was introduced is a quick rundown of how the relationship works and some conflict inherent between that relationship and the rest of Alexander's life. Beyond this, the matter is dropped until needed and then there is relatively little development, just a little plot that uses what was established. In fact, a lot of the development is attempted through the documentary portions rather than viewing the character interaction. In my opinion, this hurts much of the character progression, but it does keep the film moving.
Overall, if you are into Greek history or historical or war dramas, it works well from the angle, but as a straight drama, I think it falls a little flat.
Showing posts with label 2004. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2004. Show all posts
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Forgotten -- 2004 -- PG-13
This thriller started out really well. It was bizarre and had a lot of question thrown out here with an even bigger question mark on how to find them. Then it got weird. It crossed over into soap opera land where characters refuse to ask the simplest and most logical of questions. A world where someone calls and gets interrupted with a whole other story, and then the person who interrupted never learns the reason the other person called, and it was probably important or they wouldn't have called. The characters did stupid things. Who in their right (or wrong) mind would sleep in someone's abandoned house? Especially if they're being followed? The characters' stupidity and lack of asking questions forced the movie to keep going since it left those loose ends untied. The problem I had was they could have been tied very easily, and it shouldn't be that easy.
This might be considered a spoiler so consider yourself warned.
About 45 minutes in, one of the characters made a vague suggestions about "someone other than the government" and "abducted." The word alien was never used, but I thought "Oh, this better not be an alien movie." Yeah, instead of a clever way for the government or even her husband to cover this up, it was alien involvement. Talk about a freakin' cop-out. It completely ruined all the wonderful things they started with. Grumble...
Had a happy ending and the extended original ending was better than the theatrical which was supposed to be frightening. I just can't get over that stupid alien bit.
This might be considered a spoiler so consider yourself warned.
About 45 minutes in, one of the characters made a vague suggestions about "someone other than the government" and "abducted." The word alien was never used, but I thought "Oh, this better not be an alien movie." Yeah, instead of a clever way for the government or even her husband to cover this up, it was alien involvement. Talk about a freakin' cop-out. It completely ruined all the wonderful things they started with. Grumble...
Had a happy ending and the extended original ending was better than the theatrical which was supposed to be frightening. I just can't get over that stupid alien bit.
Christmas With The Kranks -- 2004 -- PG
Based on the book entitled SKipping Christmas by John grisham (of all people), this is a film that deals with one extreme after another, and not always in a totally believable fashion.
The basic premise follows a couple whose daughter is gone, and so in order to save money, they opt to skip out of Christmas and take a cruise instead (saving them $3000 overall for the Christmas season). While the premise is clever enough, it is taken to such an extreme that believability falters in the presentation.
I can understand, perhaps, not doing a lot of the expensive things that makes Christmas such a great expendature, but they refuse to do the inexpensive and even free stuff just to be good neighbors or friends. They completely shut out the world in order to boycott Christmas, which did not strike me as the intention. Additionally, the wife is both ok and not ok with this throughout the film at times praising his genious and at other times condemning his stupidity but all the while playing along with his idea.
Many of the situations are funny and decent conceptions, but too many times, the jokes are not played out to their fullest potential. It's there and then gone.
It's difficult to say whether Tim Allen's character is supposed to be likable or not. He spends a fair amount of time being a Grinch, and one wonders whether he really enjoys Christmas as an annual occasion. Near the end, his personality begins flowing in one direction only to take a complete turn to complete an almost forgotten subplot and deliver the message of the film and get him his grand character development moment. It would have been more beautiful if he remained as he had been throughout the film instead of going more with the flow.
Act III begins with a great twist to it that jump starts the momentum of the film and carries us to the end, but Act II almost gets dull with the continuous motion of "here's another Christmas tradition", "No", "here's another Christmas tradition", "No." And let's take a moment to prepare for the cruise, and back to the tradition-no routine.
So, bottom line. Is this the greatest film the world has ever known? No. Does it make for an amusing film to watch with the family so laughs are shared and a good is had by all. Sure. The comedy is easy and funny. The story is easy to follow. It has a feel-good, sappy, Christmas-movie ending. So, if you want a film to just watch to escape another round of Rudolph. Here you go. If you're looking for an award-winning Christmas movie, time to put It's a Wonderful Life back in.
The basic premise follows a couple whose daughter is gone, and so in order to save money, they opt to skip out of Christmas and take a cruise instead (saving them $3000 overall for the Christmas season). While the premise is clever enough, it is taken to such an extreme that believability falters in the presentation.
I can understand, perhaps, not doing a lot of the expensive things that makes Christmas such a great expendature, but they refuse to do the inexpensive and even free stuff just to be good neighbors or friends. They completely shut out the world in order to boycott Christmas, which did not strike me as the intention. Additionally, the wife is both ok and not ok with this throughout the film at times praising his genious and at other times condemning his stupidity but all the while playing along with his idea.
Many of the situations are funny and decent conceptions, but too many times, the jokes are not played out to their fullest potential. It's there and then gone.
It's difficult to say whether Tim Allen's character is supposed to be likable or not. He spends a fair amount of time being a Grinch, and one wonders whether he really enjoys Christmas as an annual occasion. Near the end, his personality begins flowing in one direction only to take a complete turn to complete an almost forgotten subplot and deliver the message of the film and get him his grand character development moment. It would have been more beautiful if he remained as he had been throughout the film instead of going more with the flow.
Act III begins with a great twist to it that jump starts the momentum of the film and carries us to the end, but Act II almost gets dull with the continuous motion of "here's another Christmas tradition", "No", "here's another Christmas tradition", "No." And let's take a moment to prepare for the cruise, and back to the tradition-no routine.
So, bottom line. Is this the greatest film the world has ever known? No. Does it make for an amusing film to watch with the family so laughs are shared and a good is had by all. Sure. The comedy is easy and funny. The story is easy to follow. It has a feel-good, sappy, Christmas-movie ending. So, if you want a film to just watch to escape another round of Rudolph. Here you go. If you're looking for an award-winning Christmas movie, time to put It's a Wonderful Life back in.
The Day After Tomorrow -- 2004 -- PG-13
Wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but I was happy to find it had a satisfying action plot and a complete ending, which is hard to get out of some disaster movies.
The premise is a little hard to swallow. Apparently, global warming has progressed to the point that the earth's own climate steps in to fix it. In order to cure the melting polar ice caps and the warming atmosphere, there is an enormous ice storm that will fix it all and once all is normal, the storm will end. If you can suspend your disbelief and go with the flow on this one, it works well within the story's confines.
There were some odd bits within the plot. The love interest gets herself injured forcing those huddling and waiting to be rescued to do something dangerous on the verge of getting frozen to death while fighting hungry wolves. Yup, it's that out of place. There also seemed to be a few scenes completely missing where characters completely disappear; their fates get implied or mentioned later. It's weird to not see the fate of some of these characters.
All in all, if you can go with the main premise of the movie, it's a good film. The action is constant, and the suspense is well placed. This and a bucket of popcorn makes for a good movie night.
The premise is a little hard to swallow. Apparently, global warming has progressed to the point that the earth's own climate steps in to fix it. In order to cure the melting polar ice caps and the warming atmosphere, there is an enormous ice storm that will fix it all and once all is normal, the storm will end. If you can suspend your disbelief and go with the flow on this one, it works well within the story's confines.
There were some odd bits within the plot. The love interest gets herself injured forcing those huddling and waiting to be rescued to do something dangerous on the verge of getting frozen to death while fighting hungry wolves. Yup, it's that out of place. There also seemed to be a few scenes completely missing where characters completely disappear; their fates get implied or mentioned later. It's weird to not see the fate of some of these characters.
All in all, if you can go with the main premise of the movie, it's a good film. The action is constant, and the suspense is well placed. This and a bucket of popcorn makes for a good movie night.
Alien Vs. Predator -- 2004 -- PG-13
This is based on the extended version DVD.
This is a movie that works as a decent action flick with bad dialogue the first time through. Once you understand the rules and storyline the movie is laying down, you quickly realize that many of the earlier scenes don't work in the storyline given. The Predators, for instance, watch the humans as they walk through the temple, and they take off as soon as the humans take their weapons. That's when the fun begins, but you learn later what these weapons are for, completely derailing that sequence. The Predators come in and attack the humans at the base camp. Then you learn what the Predators did with the humans of old, derailing that sequence and indicating that they should not have killed them.
The first time through, it's a fun enough movie to watch, but the more you learn, the more you realize the movie makes no sense.
This is a movie that works as a decent action flick with bad dialogue the first time through. Once you understand the rules and storyline the movie is laying down, you quickly realize that many of the earlier scenes don't work in the storyline given. The Predators, for instance, watch the humans as they walk through the temple, and they take off as soon as the humans take their weapons. That's when the fun begins, but you learn later what these weapons are for, completely derailing that sequence. The Predators come in and attack the humans at the base camp. Then you learn what the Predators did with the humans of old, derailing that sequence and indicating that they should not have killed them.
The first time through, it's a fun enough movie to watch, but the more you learn, the more you realize the movie makes no sense.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind -- 2004 -- R
Wow. This film exceeded my expectations. We started with a girl meets boy find of story and flow into this shocker of our hero getting hooked up to electrodes and a computer system. He is working to erase the memory of his girlfriend (who met in the first minutes of the film) because she erased the memory of him first. As if that wasn't weird enough, the story of their first meeting doesn't match what we just watched.
Since most of the story happens in the mind of the boy, it is often strange to watch as people disappear or change or on other occasions, he walks from one location into another completely different one without even batting an eye. Normal here is turned upside down, but it makes the most wonderful sense.
The theme of this film is that no matter how much you try to forget, history will always repeat itself. Jim Carrey plays Joel Banis, and he continues to prove that he can act beyond the zaniness he is known for. This is a serious role, and he carries the film admirably with Kate Winslet as his whimsical, spontaneous girlfriend.
If you like romantic comedies, this is for you. If you like cerebral psychological dramas, this is for you. If you want to see a film that is not just a waste of 2 hours, then this is for you.
Since most of the story happens in the mind of the boy, it is often strange to watch as people disappear or change or on other occasions, he walks from one location into another completely different one without even batting an eye. Normal here is turned upside down, but it makes the most wonderful sense.
The theme of this film is that no matter how much you try to forget, history will always repeat itself. Jim Carrey plays Joel Banis, and he continues to prove that he can act beyond the zaniness he is known for. This is a serious role, and he carries the film admirably with Kate Winslet as his whimsical, spontaneous girlfriend.
If you like romantic comedies, this is for you. If you like cerebral psychological dramas, this is for you. If you want to see a film that is not just a waste of 2 hours, then this is for you.
Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper -- 2004 - NR
Figured I've been subjected to this video about a hundred times, I might as well post something on it.
This is a musical film starring (yeah, you might have guessed already) Barbie blonde and Barbie brunette as Anneliese and Erika, the twins born to different sets of parents and who end up switching places. And that's where the similarities to the Mark Twain story end. Where the prince and the pauper switched places by choice, the princess and the pauper switched by circumstance and drama -- a better way, in my opinion.
The music was actually quite good, and I do find myself humming the tunes. The composer is obviously quite talented. The lyrics, on the other hand, are lacking a bit in the talent arena. The most glaring example or poor lyrics is the reference of "calico" to a male cat. The lyrics occasionally served to move the story, but on the whole, just were there to give the actors something to sing. One of the more popular songs (I say so, because I've been subjected to it through matching dolls -- girls are fun), "A Girl Like You," made little sense in the context of the plot, although parts of it worked to establish a little character.
As for the film, the plot, itself, was solid enough, but jam packed with contrivances. It is painfully clear that this movie was made for children since even the premise of the whole thing is contrived -- a kingdom is bankrupt because the mine ran out of gold. Let's think about this. This kingdom is positioned in the mountains and isolated. This means it should be economically self-sufficient, for the most part. Even if we consider that it trades with other kingdoms, trade is a two way street. If they are bankrupt, that means either poor management of assets or that the kingdom has nothing to offer for trade except gold. If that is all the kingdom has, though, it wouldn't be a kingdom. What we are supposed to accept from the very beginning to accept any portion of the story is that this kingdom's sole provider has been their gold mine as opposed to ANY exports, and rather than practicing good economics among their own people of this isolated kingdom in the mountains, the monarchy just bought stuff from other kingdoms and gave away all the kingdom's assets. Since the kingdom has clearly been in place long enough to build an ostentatious castle, this seem unlikely, but if the movie is to make any sense, we need to accept it.
Another contrivance was Preminger ordering that the princess be seized once he learned the truth. Let's be honest: can anyone other than the queen order that her daughter be seized. I mean, Preminger can suggest it, but if I were a guard and he said to seize the princess, I'd have some serious reservations.
The movie also implied that Preminger's gold was iron pyrite, but while this was interesting, it was never pursued.
So, overall we have good music, shaky lyrics, good plot, but bad believability. I've been subjected to a few of these Barbie videos, and this was the start of a downhill slope for the films.
This is a musical film starring (yeah, you might have guessed already) Barbie blonde and Barbie brunette as Anneliese and Erika, the twins born to different sets of parents and who end up switching places. And that's where the similarities to the Mark Twain story end. Where the prince and the pauper switched places by choice, the princess and the pauper switched by circumstance and drama -- a better way, in my opinion.
The music was actually quite good, and I do find myself humming the tunes. The composer is obviously quite talented. The lyrics, on the other hand, are lacking a bit in the talent arena. The most glaring example or poor lyrics is the reference of "calico" to a male cat. The lyrics occasionally served to move the story, but on the whole, just were there to give the actors something to sing. One of the more popular songs (I say so, because I've been subjected to it through matching dolls -- girls are fun), "A Girl Like You," made little sense in the context of the plot, although parts of it worked to establish a little character.
As for the film, the plot, itself, was solid enough, but jam packed with contrivances. It is painfully clear that this movie was made for children since even the premise of the whole thing is contrived -- a kingdom is bankrupt because the mine ran out of gold. Let's think about this. This kingdom is positioned in the mountains and isolated. This means it should be economically self-sufficient, for the most part. Even if we consider that it trades with other kingdoms, trade is a two way street. If they are bankrupt, that means either poor management of assets or that the kingdom has nothing to offer for trade except gold. If that is all the kingdom has, though, it wouldn't be a kingdom. What we are supposed to accept from the very beginning to accept any portion of the story is that this kingdom's sole provider has been their gold mine as opposed to ANY exports, and rather than practicing good economics among their own people of this isolated kingdom in the mountains, the monarchy just bought stuff from other kingdoms and gave away all the kingdom's assets. Since the kingdom has clearly been in place long enough to build an ostentatious castle, this seem unlikely, but if the movie is to make any sense, we need to accept it.
Another contrivance was Preminger ordering that the princess be seized once he learned the truth. Let's be honest: can anyone other than the queen order that her daughter be seized. I mean, Preminger can suggest it, but if I were a guard and he said to seize the princess, I'd have some serious reservations.
The movie also implied that Preminger's gold was iron pyrite, but while this was interesting, it was never pursued.
So, overall we have good music, shaky lyrics, good plot, but bad believability. I've been subjected to a few of these Barbie videos, and this was the start of a downhill slope for the films.
The Butterfly Effect -- 2004 -- R
I read the screenplay for this film quite some time ago, and I had high hopes for this one. It did not disappoint. This is a serious thrill ride with some solid characters ad a killer plot that is very clever as long as you don't think about the implications too much.
There are actually two versions of this film, each one with a different ending. The theatrical cut has a happy ending, while for the director's cut, they decided to go a bit on the edge, and give it a nasty, ugly ending. While I can say I've been a bit of a sap and like the happy endings, I seriously hate this director's cut ending. I love the film, but the ending really stinks.
So, I've decided I need the director's cut with the theatrical ending. This just means I need the mix-n-match edition, right?
Anyway, this was a great psychological thriller that ran really well with some solid characters and tackles some of the big what-if questions in life.
There are actually two versions of this film, each one with a different ending. The theatrical cut has a happy ending, while for the director's cut, they decided to go a bit on the edge, and give it a nasty, ugly ending. While I can say I've been a bit of a sap and like the happy endings, I seriously hate this director's cut ending. I love the film, but the ending really stinks.
So, I've decided I need the director's cut with the theatrical ending. This just means I need the mix-n-match edition, right?
Anyway, this was a great psychological thriller that ran really well with some solid characters and tackles some of the big what-if questions in life.
Layer Cake -- 2004 -- R
The primary reason I got this movie was to see Daniel Craig (the next James Bond) play in a film that might fit the Bond chops. Well, this film didn't exactly.
This was more of a wannabe thriller than an action movie, and it was all about cheering for the drug dealers. The literary source material was clear in the writing since there were a wealth of characters, and they were all really well fleshed out. Parts of it ran a little confusing at times, and who Dragon is was never fully explained, though I believe I caught the implication.
But when there are so many characters, some get less screentime than others, which simply feels odd at times. There was a love interest, but she barely got 5 minutes. There was a plot to rescue some runaway, that was only just touched on a few times before we went back to the main plot. I don't think the resolution to that plot was ever given.
While the story's resolution was very clever and appropriate to the feel of the story, thinking back over the whole thing just leaves a lot of question marks. Not really so much that there are plot holes, just weird curiosities left open by the sheer wealth of characters and activity that went on. The movie needed to be longer to get it all in. I actually read the first draft of the screenplay was 408 pages...yeah, not that long, but they could have shot for the two hour mark, at least.
Overall, it was a decent flick with lots of plot and characters, but really too big for its britches, they used the "f" word about 20 times per scene (got annoying), and I disliked the ending to boot.
This was more of a wannabe thriller than an action movie, and it was all about cheering for the drug dealers. The literary source material was clear in the writing since there were a wealth of characters, and they were all really well fleshed out. Parts of it ran a little confusing at times, and who Dragon is was never fully explained, though I believe I caught the implication.
But when there are so many characters, some get less screentime than others, which simply feels odd at times. There was a love interest, but she barely got 5 minutes. There was a plot to rescue some runaway, that was only just touched on a few times before we went back to the main plot. I don't think the resolution to that plot was ever given.
While the story's resolution was very clever and appropriate to the feel of the story, thinking back over the whole thing just leaves a lot of question marks. Not really so much that there are plot holes, just weird curiosities left open by the sheer wealth of characters and activity that went on. The movie needed to be longer to get it all in. I actually read the first draft of the screenplay was 408 pages...yeah, not that long, but they could have shot for the two hour mark, at least.
Overall, it was a decent flick with lots of plot and characters, but really too big for its britches, they used the "f" word about 20 times per scene (got annoying), and I disliked the ending to boot.
I, Robot -- 2004 -- PG-13
This sci-fi outing concerning the ancient plot of robots gone mad has a refreshing character element to it making it practically a high concept movie. Sure, we have lots of action sequences and impressive CG effects, but we also have the story of a man who must overcome his personal prejudices to solve a mystery. The casting of Will Smith as the prejudiced detective strikes an ironic note given his own race and its prejudiced past.
Overall, the movie was well-constructed and stayed right on track to the end with even a few zingers of twisted plot thrown in for good measure.
Overall, the movie was well-constructed and stayed right on track to the end with even a few zingers of twisted plot thrown in for good measure.
The Grudge -- 2004 -- PG-13
Wow. This movie tops my list of creepy movies. It has now been several months since I've seen it and I still refuse to watch the Japanese version: Ju-On. It had a good range of scares, which in this case, were nearly always true scares (not the false ones we get a lot). The explanation of why this is going was good enough to suspend disbelief and roll with wht's going on. The scares are what drives the film constantly. The characters, while not really well rounded, serve their purposes decently.
When it comes to execution, I gauge how well it does by the numbers of times I feel like yelling at the movie based on its stupidity. This film does have two shortcomings in this category. In order to acheive the scares, it makes three rather unbelievable moves by its characters.
First, why can't anyone turn on a dang light? We've got characters going into rooms and halls and never once reaching for a light switch. Only in one room did a character reach for a switch and it not work. The others times when the light switch was flipped, let there be light. Granted this would spoil the whole "what's hiding in the dark" feeling, but it would have been better if the character tried to flip the switch and it not work instead of constantly wanting to go in blind.
The second has to do with people entering other people's houses without being invited. This film has to do with one house that has this grudge thing on it, and yet two characters entered this dwelling and felt free to look around at whatever they wanted to. One even rifled through pictures and read a diary.
The last one has a character entering the house to destroy it. He has gasoline and he's ready to torch the place. Does he do it? No. No, he hears some noise in the house and has to check it out. My thoughts while I was watching? You idiot! You're in what amounts to a haunted house, and you hear a noise and you want to check it out EVEN THOUGH YOU JUST SAID that the house kills everything it touches. How annoying.
These things aside, the creep factor was through the roof, and I jumped more than once at the scares it provided. It gave even some psychological creepiness and its form of telling the story was very good jumping from one person's story to another in order to tell the story in the best manner possible. It has enough positives to outweigh the irriations, so if you want to be completely freaked out, give it a viewing and leave some time afterward for a comedy.
When it comes to execution, I gauge how well it does by the numbers of times I feel like yelling at the movie based on its stupidity. This film does have two shortcomings in this category. In order to acheive the scares, it makes three rather unbelievable moves by its characters.
First, why can't anyone turn on a dang light? We've got characters going into rooms and halls and never once reaching for a light switch. Only in one room did a character reach for a switch and it not work. The others times when the light switch was flipped, let there be light. Granted this would spoil the whole "what's hiding in the dark" feeling, but it would have been better if the character tried to flip the switch and it not work instead of constantly wanting to go in blind.
The second has to do with people entering other people's houses without being invited. This film has to do with one house that has this grudge thing on it, and yet two characters entered this dwelling and felt free to look around at whatever they wanted to. One even rifled through pictures and read a diary.
The last one has a character entering the house to destroy it. He has gasoline and he's ready to torch the place. Does he do it? No. No, he hears some noise in the house and has to check it out. My thoughts while I was watching? You idiot! You're in what amounts to a haunted house, and you hear a noise and you want to check it out EVEN THOUGH YOU JUST SAID that the house kills everything it touches. How annoying.
These things aside, the creep factor was through the roof, and I jumped more than once at the scares it provided. It gave even some psychological creepiness and its form of telling the story was very good jumping from one person's story to another in order to tell the story in the best manner possible. It has enough positives to outweigh the irriations, so if you want to be completely freaked out, give it a viewing and leave some time afterward for a comedy.
The Incredibles -- 2004 -- PG
A family of superheroes tries to keep a low profile when another opportunity to save the world comes up forcing the parents back into action, and the children to use their powers productively for the first time.
This is an amusing tale of what happens when you try to be someone you're not. The father figure here tries to be "normal" but continually tries to find something that will allow him to be the hero he once was. This causes his wife to suspect any number of things especially when his contact is quite the sexy voice. One thing leads to another and while she finds no affair, she does find him mixed up in something bigger than both of them.
Pixar has become quite known for their solid Disney distributed films, and this one measures right up there with the others that have come before. Excellent plotting and character development along with a good amount of action for the short attention spanners give this movie something everyone can get into. Add to it the subplots and backstory, and this film comes highly recommended. This is not typical "cute" Disney fare. This is Pixar, and they have yet to not deliver a fine picture.
This is an amusing tale of what happens when you try to be someone you're not. The father figure here tries to be "normal" but continually tries to find something that will allow him to be the hero he once was. This causes his wife to suspect any number of things especially when his contact is quite the sexy voice. One thing leads to another and while she finds no affair, she does find him mixed up in something bigger than both of them.
Pixar has become quite known for their solid Disney distributed films, and this one measures right up there with the others that have come before. Excellent plotting and character development along with a good amount of action for the short attention spanners give this movie something everyone can get into. Add to it the subplots and backstory, and this film comes highly recommended. This is not typical "cute" Disney fare. This is Pixar, and they have yet to not deliver a fine picture.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
National Treasure -- 2004 -- PG-13
This follows a guy who discovers that the Declaration of Independance has a map on the back of it, so he steals it to track down this big treasure hidden in the United States somewhere. They use a series of clues and devices to make their way around a bunch of national monuments to find yet more clues to lead them to their destination and it was way wild and fun to watch. Even found a clue on money.
Bottom line: this movie rocked. It flowed logically from point to point. It was a treasure hunting movie, but it side stepped the boobie traps of using boobie traps (i.e. The Goonies). The leads worked and took the characters from point to point. The pay-off at the end? Wow. I guess it was the thrill of watching them do something exciting with everything that's become so familiar to us. That and the very conception of stealing the Declaration of Independence was wild to watch.
Can I say anything disparaging? Well, yeah, we're talking about me here. The only part that was a little weak was the resolution of the character conflict. The good guys got away too easily. It was cerebral along with the rest of the film, but it was too easy. My opinion. Also, this one had the typical weakness of all treasure hunting films in that competing firms always do everything at exactly the same time to increase the conflict. What are the chances of two groups working to steal the Declaration not only on the same night, but at exactly the same time? What are the chances of these same two groups ending up at Independence Hall at exatly the same time? About the same. If any part was the most disappointing, these sheer coincidences were a bit much.
However, if you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth watching. It was still a lot of fun.
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights -- 2004 -- PG-13
This quasi-sequel to the fifteen year old film (well, 15 then almost 20 now) is not so much a sequel, but more like another episode with completely different characters (though Patrick Swayze did do a cameo and dance for us). This one is a far simpler story than the original revolving around a girl who moves to Cuba with her family in 1958 on the brink of Castro's rule. She meets a local boy and much to the consternation of everyone, pursues a relationship with him. The plot is fairly predictable as are the characters, and it really seems to be primarily a vehicle on which to drive the multiple dancing scenes.
There's really not much to complain about since there wasn't much there. The characters have no real depth to them, and the plot really can't get much of a hole in it. It's not a bad film by any means, and if you want something that's just enjoyable to watch with a bunch of snazzy Latin music, then it works for that.
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Stepford Wives -- 2004 -- PG-13
This is a remake of the 1975 movie which I've also reviewed on here. This version of the story took a far more comedic angle to the cult tale, and it was very, very funny. However, in doing this, the story lost some of its suspense flavor that made the original good. It was paced very well, but with too much revealed too quickly, and a slew of inconsistencies that could only stem from rewrites after scenes had been shot, the film as a whole fell very flat.
While a remake has advantages over a sequel, it suffers from one big problem a sequel doesn't: there was already a movie about this, and the audience of that movie might expect some measure of the original story. Well, the story was there, but it was stripped to a bare minimum. In the original, the wives are robots. In this version, I don't know. They are introduced as robotic, but at the end they aren't really. I will admit to liking the ending on this one more than the original, but with less characterization of the lead characters, and less of the big conflict between the husband and wife that thrust the original forward, this ends up being a good effort that dosn't quite measure up. For comedy, it's an A++, but for the other stuff that makes a good movie, it lacks a little bit.
While a remake has advantages over a sequel, it suffers from one big problem a sequel doesn't: there was already a movie about this, and the audience of that movie might expect some measure of the original story. Well, the story was there, but it was stripped to a bare minimum. In the original, the wives are robots. In this version, I don't know. They are introduced as robotic, but at the end they aren't really. I will admit to liking the ending on this one more than the original, but with less characterization of the lead characters, and less of the big conflict between the husband and wife that thrust the original forward, this ends up being a good effort that dosn't quite measure up. For comedy, it's an A++, but for the other stuff that makes a good movie, it lacks a little bit.
Spartan -- 2004 -- R
Val Kilmer plays a spy of all departments who sets out as a part of an operation to rescue a girl of some importance who has been kidnapped. While there is not a load of character developmet in this story, it is one of those that doesn't need much, and the plot takes precedence over pretty much everything eles that goes on. From the very first frame, we are on the case in trying to figure out what is going on. It unfolds very naturally with just enough characterization to make us care.
The methodology to unlock the secrets is gradual as you move through its plot, and also very believable in how everyone works together and forms a single unit of many people parts. In an initial watching, I found no major issues that stood out although the twist was not too surprising, since that bit of plot is a little overused.
It's not as high adventure as a Bond film, but it does hook you as a thriller, and if you have any interest in spy thrillers, you're bound to enjoy this one.
The methodology to unlock the secrets is gradual as you move through its plot, and also very believable in how everyone works together and forms a single unit of many people parts. In an initial watching, I found no major issues that stood out although the twist was not too surprising, since that bit of plot is a little overused.
It's not as high adventure as a Bond film, but it does hook you as a thriller, and if you have any interest in spy thrillers, you're bound to enjoy this one.
Saw -- 2004 -- R
One of the best psychological thrillers since Se7en.
Two men find themslves chained to pipes in a decrepit old bathroom. With them are micro-cassettes describing their situation, and what they need to do to get out of it: one of them has to kill the other. The doctor in the room has until 6pm to kill the photographer with the gun in the hand of the dead man in the center of the room, or his wife and child will die. Throughout, items are discovered giving them more information, and not all of it less than disturbing.
This is a wonderful psychological thriller that begs the question "What would you do to live?" It is brilliantly executed with clever characters, whacked out almost no-win situations, and some twists that are very intelligently thought out. While the film contains a fair number of disturbing images (it got a 10 for violence/gore for a reason), it is a very intelligent film to watch if you can handle it. It is one of those where the blood an such are needed for the plot and not just thrown for the sake of having it.
This is the first psychological horror in a long time that is actually worth watching. I'll have to catch the sequel as soon as I can.
Two men find themslves chained to pipes in a decrepit old bathroom. With them are micro-cassettes describing their situation, and what they need to do to get out of it: one of them has to kill the other. The doctor in the room has until 6pm to kill the photographer with the gun in the hand of the dead man in the center of the room, or his wife and child will die. Throughout, items are discovered giving them more information, and not all of it less than disturbing.
This is a wonderful psychological thriller that begs the question "What would you do to live?" It is brilliantly executed with clever characters, whacked out almost no-win situations, and some twists that are very intelligently thought out. While the film contains a fair number of disturbing images (it got a 10 for violence/gore for a reason), it is a very intelligent film to watch if you can handle it. It is one of those where the blood an such are needed for the plot and not just thrown for the sake of having it.
This is the first psychological horror in a long time that is actually worth watching. I'll have to catch the sequel as soon as I can.
Secret Window -- 2004 -- PG-13
It was a pretty good movie with a solid zinger of an ending. The only weak point I found was that a solution was revealed very early on in the film. The character all but refused to act on this solution until the end. Some might say that the reveal at the end might have affected this, and one scene might have gone on to end a different way, but during the film, I think this was ignored too easily.
But beyond this, the suspense and intrigue of the thriller is worth the one weak spot . It kept me glued when I wasn't yelling at him to go get the stupid magazine.
But beyond this, the suspense and intrigue of the thriller is worth the one weak spot . It kept me glued when I wasn't yelling at him to go get the stupid magazine.
2008 Edit: I think this was one of my first reviews ever. It was written on a message board that is now defunct before I moved it to MySpace. Perhaps I'll review it again someday, though you can see it might not be worth the effort.
Spiderman 2 -- 2004 -- PG-13
This film was incredible given its genre. Super hero films tend to be rather one dimensional with little hope given to their action over substance ratio, but Spiderman 2 gives us not only the action required, but a solid character tale as well of Peter Parker struggling with his role of Spiderman versus his desire to be with Mary Jane.
The primary characters are well defined and even sympathetic. The relationship lines drawn between Peter and MJ are also very well done. In many ways, you can feel the tension between them.
The villains are well drawn as well and each believes that what they are doing is right. No one is evil for the sake of being evil. Just determined to do what they want to do.
The final scenes between Peter and MJ are downright touching based on the characters and relationships that have been built to this point. Spiderman's character was absolutely humanized and fused with Peter Parker which served to make the whole thing even more endearing and relatable. This was more than a superhero film; this was a character analysis of Spiderman.
It did suffer a bit from one cliche. Peter decides to not be Spiderman anymore and leaves it all behind for awhile. The audience knows he won't stay this course, but it is played out all the same. It works fairly well and entertains a notion that we are wondering about to an extent. It was not a great deal of sufferage from this, but I shook my head for a moment.
In the end, this was an awesome film deserving of a place with the greats. It's a sequel that easily eclipses the original, especially in the way of character, which is the most important aspect of any film. It takes the risk of slowing down long enough to show us a little feeling and leads us through the story admirably.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Whole Ten Yards -- 2004 -- PG-13
Sometimes, I like a film that recognizes its own shortcomings and comments on them. Such was the case very early on in this film when a character said something, performed an action making the comment completely impossible, and then another character said exactly wht I did when I observed it. Trouble is, this film is full of those little moments.
The plot here is the father of the mobster killed in the first film gets out of prison and is looking for a little revenge. He doesn't believe for a second that Jimmy is dead, and so he sets his sights on the only person with any knowledge, Oz. How he learns this is a complete mystery and one that is never fully answered to any level of satisfaction. It's probably the single biggest plot hole in the entire film, and it is the one that sets it all in motion. But once it gets going, it's not too bad, and we have our share of little surprises along the way, most of which leave us hanging until the final tie up, which works fairly well.
As a sequel to a film that worked very well with slapstick humor and humorous plot devices, this one followed up with lots and lots of slapstick and character quirks with only a handful of humorous plot moments (the bit with "hurting himself falling down the stairs" is especially notable here, but overused). The big problem is that you can only watch Matthew Perry get hit in the head or fall down so many times before you start wanting to see something else happen.
It's an amusing film, and one that gives you a decent evening of movie-watching as long as you don't expect anything too deep from it. It doesn't come close to living up to its first part, but that seems to be a trend in sequels.
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