Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
***** Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Mystery, action/adventure.
Directed by: Shane Black.
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen
We got this from Netflix, and Carl and I started watching this Sunday night while Camden went to bed early (because he was sick--usually I'm the first one to crash), reasoning that since it was rated R, he wouldn't be watching it with us anyway. We only had time to watch half of it before I started drifting off, and I enjoyed it so much I knew I wanted to be awake to watch it. I also realized that there was nothing that I felt inappropriate for my 15-year-old. So Camden watched the first half while recuperating on the couch on Monday, and we watched the rest together that evening.
As you can tell from the five stars, I absolutely loved this movie. Robert Downey, Jr. is Harry Lockhart, our narrator. He's a thief, and not a very good one. While running from the cops, he stumbles into an audition for a crime movie and ends up in Hollywood teamed up with private detective "Gay Perry" (Val Kilmer) who's supposed to teach him how a real detective acts. He also ends up renewing his acquaintance with his childhood sweetheart, Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan).
A simple surveillance leads Harry and Perry to a dead body and puts them in all kinds of danger. There are twists and turns and chase scenes and fight scenes all leavened with understated humor.
The relationship between Harry and Harmony has about as many twists and pitfalls as the mystery story.
Probably my favorite part of the movie is that Harry tells us he's the narrator, and there are several references throughout the movie to it being a movie, which I'm a huge sucker for (and why Season 1 of She Spies is one of my favorite TV shows ever). It's not as distancing as you might think, and it really adds to the noir feel of the film.
I also loved an early scene where Harmony is passed out at a party, and when Harry sees actor Harlan Dexter (Corbin Bernsen) groping her, challenges him to a fight... a fight which he loses spectacularly. I was so expecting the street-wise thief to kick butt, but that wasn't Harry.
These are just such great characters. Harmony is a wannabe-actress, but all she has to show for her decade-plus in Hollywood is one commercial. Harry, of course, thinks that's wonderful. Their personalities show through so well in all their opinions and actions.
Anyway. We all loved it, and intend to buy the DVD--I'm going to want to watch this one again.
As for the rating... Netflix's parental guidelines are usually pretty good, but I have to strongly disagree with them here. Any nudity or sexual situations were more implied than shown. The "dismemberment"... Harry's finger gets slammed in a door and cut off. And not remotely graphically. Okay, yes, there was a lot of cursing. Harry apologizes for that at the end of the movie. But what really, really has steam coming out my ears is the notion that simply because "Gay Perry" is gay makes the movie inappropriate for teenagers. WHY? It's not like there's gay porn in the movie. Perry doesn't even have a love interest. Argh. Bottom line: I'm happy with my decision to let Camden watch this with us.
Categories: Movies, 5stars, ActionAdventure, Mystery
Labels: 5 stars, action, Movies, mystery
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
*** Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Science fiction, action/adventure.
Directed by: Michael Bay.
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Ramon Rodriguez
We watched this at the theater on post last night.
Briefly, it could have used a good editing.
Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is off to college... by which I mean Hollywood's version of college, which has 30-year-old college freshmen, bullying that seems more like a junior high boarding school, non-stop wild parties, and a plethora of incredibly gorgeous young women fighting to throw themselves at the young innocent nerd-boy.
And the parent's are also a Hollywood cliche--mom (Julie White) is sobbing and carrying around Sam's baby shoes (which she's calling "booties" for some reason), while his father (Kevin Dunn) acts like he doesn't care, but we see that deep down he really does.
Sam's girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) doubts a long-distance relationship will work, but it's kind of hard for her to get any acting in what with all the posing she has to do. Any scene with Mikaela in it has to pause periodically for her to pose, back arched, lips pouting--presumably so they can use the movie stills for a poster... I was going to say for teenage boys, but my teenage boys would be offended.
A shard from the cube (from the last movie--it brings Transformers to life, I think) falls out of Sam's... heck, I don't know what it fell out of or why it hadn't been discovered until now. Anyway, it falls through his floor into the kitchen and turns all the kitchen appliances into Transformers. This would be a really cute sequence, but it goes on way too long, to the point where it became boring. This is a theme throughout the movie, by the way.
Sam's new roommate Leo (Ramon Rodriguez) has a conspiracy website (like The Lone Gunmen, but not as cool), but his enthusiasm for the transforming aliens dims considerably when he gets caught up in a real-life battle.
Hmmm. The Decepticons are back, and they want this key that's hidden in Egypt to revive "The Fallen," so the Autobots, with help from Sam, Leo, Mikaela, and Agent Simmons (John Turturro) have to find it first. And somewhere in there, the Decepticons want to destroy the sun for the energy. Uh, okay.
In the meantime, there's a Smarmy Government Official™ who wants all the Autobots off Earth, and is generally a pain in Major Lennox's (Josh Duhamel) ass.
The directions to find the key are cryptic, as if this is trying to be National Treasure or Angels and Demons. And we go to the Smithsonian, but only one thing comes to life, darn it.
In between all this are interminable battles. And hundreds of explosions. Well, it's Michael Bay, we expected that. The battles went on so long even Carl and Camden got bored with them, and they, being male, have much greater tolerance for such things than I. As Camden said afterward, it'll be a good movie to watch on DVD, with a remote so you can fast-forward.
Making it even more frustrating, I could only understand perhaps one word in three of anything any of the Transformers said. All of their dialogue was accompanied by machinery-noise--so you could tell they were machines, maybe--but it made it like listening to someone with a really thick accent. You have to listen very carefully to understand it.
I didn't like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as well as Transformers. The plot was weaker, and there was less story and more explosions. The special effects were by far the best part of the movie, even better than the first, I think. And there were some genuinely funny parts--how Major Lennox dealt with the SGO, for example, hence the three stars instead of one or two.
But for storytellers of any sort, there's a good lesson here: no matter how exciting a scene may seem, if you draw it out long enough, it's going to get boring.
Categories: Movies, 3stars, ScienceFiction, ActionAdventure
Labels: 3 stars, action, Movies, ScienceFiction
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
K - PAX
****½ K-PAX. Science fiction, drama.
Directed by: Iain Softley.
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack, Alfre Woodard
We saw K-PAX on TV years ago, but The Martian Child and Carl's disappointment in its ending reminded me of it, so I put it in our Netflix queue.
Turns out, we'd missed the first half hour or so when we saw it on TV, because neither Carl nor I remembered the beginning, which shows how Prot (Kevin Spacey) ended up in the mental hospital. In fact, I thought that was the weakest part of the movie. I can believe in aliens, but I couldn't believe that the police would have carted him off. He'd rescued a woman from an attempted mugging; eyewitnesses, including the victim, told the police he wasn't the culprit; he wasn't violent or argumentative, and while he was odd, he didn't seemed drugged or confused. So he didn't want to remove his sunglasses. This was NYC. There are no odd people who wear sunglasses in NYC? *sigh*
Other than that, it was a fabulous movie. Kevin Spacey is Prot, who looks pretty darn human, but he says he's from K-PAX. Jeff Bridges is Dr. Powell, the psychiatrist in the mental hospital where Prot ends up. Prot has a date and time when he'll be going back to K-PAX, giving hope to his fellow patients when he tells them he can take one of them with him back to K-PAX when he returns, and he helps them in a low-key kind of way with folksy advice.
The deadline for his return puts the pressure on Dr. Powell to find out who Prot really is and why the date is significant. The more he studies Prot, however, the more questions he has. It's nicely ironic that even as being around Prot is convincing the workaholic doctor that he needs to spend more time with his family, the mystery of Prot is making him work harder than ever.
The performances were all wonderful. Kevin Spacey is nicely vague, in the way that someone would be whose mind is on something more important. Jeff Bridges is very convincing as the harried but dedicated doctor. Alfre Woodard was underutilized as the head psychiatrist (? I'm not sure what her actual position was, but she seemed to be Dr. Powell's boss) who cautions Dr. Powell against getting too close to Prot, and advocates standard treatments.
Possibly the best thing about K-PAX is the open-ended ending. We discussed it for a couple of days afterward.
Categories: Movies, 4.5stars, Drama, ScienceFiction
Labels: 4.5 stars, drama, Movies, ScienceFiction
Monday, June 01, 2009
Terminator Salvation
**½ Terminator Salvation. Science fiction action/adventure.
Directed by: McG
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Anton Yelchin
I'll say up front that we were equally divided in our opinions of Terminator Salvation. Carl and Camden loved it. Curran and I thought it was too much action, too little plot. I liked the original movies--though we're planning on re-watching them to see if they're as good as I remember.
I read an article that said the original script was changed to make it a star vehicle for Christian Bale, and that seems to fit. Well, if you assume there was a script, and not just a string of explosions.
Terminator Salvation takes place in 2018--a date I'm guessing comes from the original movies, but it really threw me. Yeah, right. All this technology will be around in just 9 years. There was really no reason to give the date like that, particularly when it was patently impossible. If they wanted to set the time frame as the future where John Connor was leading the fight against the machines, that's really all they had to say--maybe something like "year X in the fight against the machines." I've been informed that it's a minor detail, but it was right at the beginning of the movie, so it stuck in my head. Plus, the guy behind us loudly warned his companions "all this will happen in just 7 years!" The movie was long, but I thought it was more like 2 hours than 2 years.
Like Star Trek, it started with mostly incomprehensible action scenes. Unlike Star Trek, however, it didn't have much of anything else. What plot there was was predictable and cliched, and took maybe fifteen minutes. The rest was explosions.
According to the original movies, John Connor was the key to defeating Skynet and the Terminators. In this movie, however, he was just a middle-level grunt who didn't do much of anything. After the initial action scene, he mostly sat in a generic-looking room (I've seen that set in a lot of similar movies), made a couple of radio broadcasts, and told the commander not to blow up the civilians, whereupon he (of course) got fired.
And the dialogue... straight from any number of B movies. They got "I'll be back" in there--but it was John Connor who said it, and not in the right context. There's a repeated line of "don't point a gun at someone if you're not prepared to pull the trigger" (or words to that effect--the exact quote isn't on the IMDB yet), which appears to pass for witticism.
The point, I think, was supposed to be to save Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, who was also in Star Trek), who'll be John Connor's father if/when he survives for John Connor to send him time-traveling back to the past (we'll have time travel in just 9 years, too? Cool!). Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) is trying to do that--he's a death-row inmate turned cyborg at the behest of Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter). Now this could have made a good movie. There was some nice conflict, and even what could have been a touching moment at the end... if it hadn't been so incredibly rushed. And pitifully predictable.
And maybe if they'd spent some time on the plot, Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) might have made sense. As it is, she's just the eye candy, I guess. She and Marcus save each other, but there's not a lot of point to her. Or to the kid Star (Jadagrace), who's there solely for the cute factor. What I'm objecting to isn't their presence in the movie--it's to their being cardboard characters.
They also never really explained why Skynet was collecting humans instead of just killing them. I got the impression that there needed to be a reason to rescue Kyle Reese, and that was it. And what was the point of the pregnant woman? If I'm reading the IMDB right, she's John Connor's wife? Could they not have spared ten seconds from the interminable explosions to tell us that? And why was she in the attack force that went to rescue Kyle Reese from Skynet? Heck, why make her pregnant if it doesn't play a part in the story? It just didn't seem that a lot of thought went into anything but the special effects.
Okay, the special effects were good. I'm sure they were amazing. But special effects should be there to support the story, not the other way around. I'm a little surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reviews for this movie, but I suspect they were blinded by all those explosions. I did think it was cool that they got a CG Arnie in there.
Bottom line: if you like special effects, particularly of the pyrotechnic and big giant robot variety, you'll be happy. Just don't expect an interesting plot or scintillating dialogue.
Categories: Movies, 2.5stars, ScienceFiction, ActionAdventure
Labels: 2.5 stars, action, Movies, ScienceFiction
Friday, May 29, 2009
Angels and Demons
**** Angels and Demons. Mystery, action/adventure.
Directed by: Ron Howard.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Armin Mueller-Stahl
I read the book years ago, but I remembered absolutely nothing, so it was like coming to the movie cold. I love convoluted plots like this, though--centuries-old clues, conspiracies, secret societies, and plenty of twists.
Briefly, despite the events in The DaVinci Code, the Vatican turns to scholar Robert Langdon when it appears the Illuminati have resurfaced and are bent on retribution. They've stolen a canister of antimatter and are threatening to use it to destroy Vatican City--after they execute the four cardinals most likely to be chosen as the next pope (the previous pope has just died).
Tom Hanks was, once again, just right for the character of Robert Langdon, and Ewan McGregor was perfect as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna. Stellan Skarsgard as Commander Richter of the Swiss Guard was convincing yet frustrating, since he quite obviously doesn't trust Langdon. And it's always good to see Armin Mueller-Stahl, here portraying Cardinal Strauss, a senior cardinal, but not one of the favorites.
It's a good thing I didn't remember the book, because the twists had me going. I had whodunit pegged fairly early on, but I kept changing my mind, as certain characters started looking more or less likely.
It wasn't perfect--I thought the Vatican turning to Langdon was insufficiently explained, though it may have been clearer in the book. Likewise with the scientist Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), whose purpose in the movie was.... to replace the batteries on the antimatter canister? She worked on the project that produced the antimatter, and discovered the theft and the murder of her colleague. But there was no reason at all for her to be tagging along on Langdon's researching. She wasn't a historian, and didn't have any expertise to offer in the archives. Again, maybe it was better explained in the book, but I got the distinct impression that she was solely there for a female presence--eye candy. And maybe for a slight red herring, though I'm annoyed enough that I'm tempted to put down her guilty looks as bad acting. The young Swiss guard (Thure Lindhart) made a much better sidekick. Oh, well. At least they didn't try to turn her into a romantic interest.
All in all, a fun and exciting way to spend a couple of hours, and a good excuse to eat popcorn.
Categories: Movies, 4stars, ActionAdventure
Labels: 4 stars, action, Movies
Friday, May 22, 2009
Star Trek
****½ Star Trek. Science fiction, action/adventure.
Directed by: J. J. Abrams
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin
I was initially disappointed--the movie starts out with a mostly inexplicable fight scene, and combines that with something that's supposed to be all sad and touching, except we haven't spent enough time with the characters to really care. My overwhelming impression of the first 10 minutes or so of the film was: "we've spent a crapload of money on these special effects. Aren't they cool?" Thankfully, it could only improve from there--and as you can tell from the 4.5 stars, it did.
The overwhelming strength of Star Trek is its faithfulness to the original series. Even that initial scene made sense in retrospect, showing, as it did, the birth of James T. Kirk (and explaining the "Tiberius") and the heroic death of his father (watch the movie--it makes sense). Pike (Bruce Greenwood) was the captain from the original pilot, and all the characters are there in their younger days, before the time of the original series. It shows how they all met and became the crew of the Enterprise.
There was even some expansion of the original characterization, particularly for Spock (Zachary Quinto)--showing how as a child and young adult he struggled with being half-human and occasionally let his emotions get the better of him. And the original animosity between him and Kirk was a perfectly logical (heh) precursor to the later sometimes exasperated friendship we're all familiar with. I particularly loved that Spock originally outranked Kirk.
The casting was spot on. Even in appearance, most of the actors resembled their counterparts from--good grief!--43 years ago. Most importantly, though, was that they resembled them in their behavior. Well, except that Chris Pine didn't use Shatner's speech mannerisms as Kirk. I don't think anyone's going to complain about that.
I was also very happy that it didn't turn into a star vehicle. We saw the trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen before the movie, which made me think of Transformers, which, while fun, was basically special effects, plus ooh, isn't Shia LaBeouf awesome? Heh. This was definitely an ensemble cast. Even though there was more focus on Kirk and Spock, it was about the characters, not about the actors playing them. If that makes sense. I think it was a result of not using big name Movie Stars.
Now that we've established that I loved the movie, here are my quibbles. First, the Romulan ship. Okay, all 3 of my men thought it looked cool. But honestly, there's no point at all for it to look like that. And all those spiky projections on the Romulan's drill cable and inside their ship? Likewise pointless. And dangerous--at least the inside the ship bits. Come on--why make the railings and cables inside your spaceship look like thorny vines?
And then there was the little alien friend of Scotty's. Also pointless. His only purpose in the movie, as far as I could tell, was to sell toys later on. He had no place at all in the plot.
I already complained about the beginning of the movie. I know conventional wisdom says to start with something exciting to grab the audience, but.... Okay, in a movie theater, people are going to give a movie more than a 10-minute chance, ticket prices being what they are, but I still don't think it's a good idea to lose your audience. Of course, a good portion of the audience was probably like Carl, who becomes riveted to action scenes--any action scenes. He can be flipping channels on TV and come across a random action scene from a movie he's never seen before, and he'll be captivated. Must have something to do with a Y chromosome. Anyway, I need to care about the characters before I care about whether or not they win a fight.
Speaking of fights--the fight scenes in Star Trek were curiously bland. I found myself wondering if that was an intentional reflection of the original series. Even when Kirk and Spock were fighting Romulans on a hovering drill, there was very little tension.
But my biggest complaint was the music. I remember when Star Trek: The Motion Picture came out--30 years ago (this is getting seriously painful--though it shouldn't be such a surprise, as today is Carl's 50th birthday)--the music wasn't the music from the original series, but it blew me away. Here. Listen: . I even went out and bought the record (yes, vinyl), and had visions of playing the theme at my wedding (give me a break--I was 18). Versions of this music have been on all the subsequent movies, until this one.
I wouldn't have minded if they'd replaced it with something equally awe-inspiring, but instead, the music in the movie was just generic. How horribly disappointing. I do give them props, though, for playing the theme of the original series over the credits.
Categories: Movies, 4.5stars, ActionAdventure, ScienceFiction
Labels: 4.5 stars, action, Movies, ScienceFiction
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Martian Child
****½ Martian Child. Drama.
Directed by: Menno Meyjes
Starring: John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Amanda Peet, Bobby Coleman, Oliver Platt
We watched this weekend before last, courtesy of Netflix. Kind of interesting that last week we watched Identity, which also starred John Cusack and Amanda Peet; and then this week we're watching season one of Heroes, and Clea Duvall, who was the newlywed wife in Identity, is in the episodes we've seen this week. And none of this was planned.
Martian Child could so easily have been one of those sappy, overly sentimental melodramas... but it's not. But because I hate sappy, overly sentimental melodramas so much, I'd have skipped this one if it hadn't starred John and Joan Cusack, two of my absolute favorite actors.
David Gordon (John Cusack) is a bestselling science fiction author (reason #2 guaranteeing I'll like this movie--I'm so predictable!), a wealthy widower. He and his wife had planned on adopting a child: "I don't want to bring another kid into this world. But how do you argue against loving one that's already here?"
Then he meets 6-year-old orphan Dennis (Bobby Coleman) who thinks he's from Mars. Dennis spends his days in a box, is afraid of the sun, wears a weight belt to keep from floating away, only eats Lucky Charms, and says his purpose is "To join a family and to learn human beingness. "
Joan Cusack plays David's sister (go figure), the voice of reason and as a mom, a source of support and advice. Amanda Peet is Harlee, a free-spirited friend who takes all of Dennis's oddities in stride.
It is, yes, heartwarming to watch as David and Dennis become a family--but not in that sickly sweet way. The acting from all the major character is impressive. They seem genuine. And Bobby Coleman is just amazing.
While there are a lot of funny moments in the film, they're not ridiculous. I can't resist adding another video here: . It demonstrates the various sides of the movie very well--and has a nice song, too.
There are also a lot of conversation-starters in Martian Child--like what's wrong with being different? I admit one of the reasons I enjoyed this is that it espouses my own parenting philosophy to allow kids to be themselves. I suspect that someone with a more authoritarian style would enjoy it less than I did. And it's also possible to play with the little details in the film--such as parallels between David and Dennis, and reasons for Dennis's quirks--because they do actually mean something, and aren't just added for silly effect.
Carl shares my parenting style, but he still enjoyed it less than I did because **** mild spoiler **** Dennis turned out not to be from Mars. **** Another one of those cases where what you expect influences how you view something.
Categories: Movies, 4.5stars, Drama
Labels: 4.5 stars, drama, Movies
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Fast & Furious
**** Fast & Furious. Action/adventure.
Directed by: Justin Lin.
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordanna Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez
We saw this Saturday night at the theater on post. It was threatening to rain, but we walked to the theater anyway, since when Fast & Furious showed there on Friday night, the parking lot was packed. We lucked out--it didn't rain, and it was less crowded than it had been on Friday.
This is the fourth movie in the series, but it's the second with Vin Diesel in it. Once again, criminal Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) pairs up with Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker), who's now an FBI agent. Dom's girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) has been killed, and Dom's quest for revenge coincides with Brian's investigation of a drug lord.
There's some emotional content, with Dom guilty and grieving for Letty, whom he'd sent away because he was afraid it was too dangerous for her to be around him; and with Brian and Dom's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) being reunited after Brian's betrayal of her in The Fast and the Furious.
But the main point of the movie isn't the plot. It's the cars and the driving. Well, and Vin Diesel--which is why I didn't watch the middle two movies of the series. Fast & Furious starts out with a high-speed hijacking of a fuel tank truck in the Dominican Republic and continues on through a street race, and a high-speed drug-smuggling trip across the US/Mexico border. The action doesn't stop, and it's filmed really well. No confusing shots or those quick cuts everyone seems to be doing lately.
It's just as well we walked to the theater--it would have been really tempting to peel out of the parking lot and see just how fast the Mercedes would accelerate.
Categories: Movies, 4stars, ActionAdventure
Labels: 4 stars, action, Movies
Dogma
****½ Dogma. Comedy.
Directed by: Kevin Smith.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, Janeane Garofalo, George Carlin, Alanis Morissette
This was going to be the third movie Camden and I watched while Carl was gone, but Carl got home earlier than he'd expected, when we were about a half hour into the movie, so we started it over again from the beginning and he watched it with us.
As it says in the trailer above, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play two fallen angels who are trying to exploit a loophole in Catholic dogma to get back to heaven. Unfortunately for the rest of us, if they succeed, it would mean the end of all existence. So an angel (Alan Rickman) is sent to enlist a seemingly ordinary woman (Linda Fiorentino) to stop them. She gets help from Jay and Silent Bob; Rufus, the 13th apostle (Chris Rock); and the muse Serendipity (Salma Hayek). George Carlin plays a cardinal, which is hilarious if you've ever heard any of his stand-up bits about religion. And Janeane Garofalo has too small a part as Linda Fiorentino's friend and co-worker.
There's a big disclaimer at the beginning of the movie saying it's fiction and a comedy, but even so, it's definitely not for anyone who doesn't see room for humor in religion. Interestingly, I think this point is made best in an early scene in which Loki (Matt Damon) is convincing a nun that she's wasted her life and there really isn't a God, and then Bartleby (Ben Affleck) calls him on it and points out that Loki knows there is a God. In a similar way, the movie only challenges the faith of those whose faith is shaky to begin with--the movie takes God's existence as more than a matter of faith--it takes it as a matter of fact.
My only complaint was the portrayal of God by Alanis Morissette. And it was probably just me, because I was trying to explain what felt wrong about it to Carl and Camden, and neither of them understood. But I'll see if writing it down clarifies things. I'm perfectly fine with the female portrayal, particularly as they point out in the movie that God isn't male OR female. And I can appreciate the carefree, happy portrayal as well--it would make sense that God would take joy in his/her creation. But... she was just a little off. Just a little more toward the goofy side of carefree and happy, where I'd have preferred and/or expected the portrayal to be more toward the joyous side. Actually, I think it was the clumsiness that most put me off. It just didn't seem to fit with the character as previously depicted in the movie.
Ah. I've got it now. Yes, it was the clumsiness. Clumsy implies fallible. And the entire premise of the movie hinges on the fact that God is infallible (if God isn't infallible, it's the end of existence). *Whew* I feel better now.
Anyway, it's a wonderful movie with an all-star cast, and we all loved it. One of these days we'll have to watch the second disc and the special features.
Categories: Movies, 4.5stars, Comedy
Labels: 4.5 stars, comedy, Movies
Monday, April 20, 2009
Identity
***** Identity. Drama.
Directed by: James Mangold.
Starring: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet
This is the second DVD Camden and I watched while Carl was gone, and it was Camden's favorite. He loves movies and books with psychological suspense and plenty of twists, and Identity definitely fits the bill.
Ten strangers, including a limo driver (John Cusack) and his movie star passenger, a newlywed couple, a prostitute (Amanda Peet), a young boy with his parents, and a cop (Ray Liotta) and a prisoner he's escorting, are stranded at a motel during a rainstorm. Then they begin to be murdered, one by one.
At first, it seems like a murder suspense on the order of And Then There Were None, but it twists and nothing is what it seems.
John Cusack is a brilliant actor, and the rest of the cast plays their roles just as well. It's all so well done that when you know the twists and watch it again, you can see the clues in the action and the acting, nuances that I'd imagine can't be all that easy to portray.
The setting is perfect--a seedy motel--and the rain is practically another character. There are no wasted scenes, nothing that doesn't fit.
And possibly best of all, there's a ton of fodder for conversation about the story, both acknowledging and disregarding the twist. I suspect film classes would love this one as much as I do.
Categories: Movies, 5stars, Drama
Labels: 5 stars, drama, Movies
Speed
**** Speed. Action/adventure.
Directed by: Jan de Bont
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels
Carl was gone last week (to Garmisch for a conference), so Camden and I did our usual movie-watching, trying to find ones I like that he's never seen. The first one we watched was Speed, because it's such a classic. After watching this, he enjoyed this Robot Chicken sketch even more.
Although even Camden, who's 14 and hadn't seen Speed before, knew the basic plot, here it is if you need it:
A bus has been rigged with a bomb that will blow it up if it goes below 50 miles per hour. It's up to police officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and passenger Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock) to keep the bus going and keep everyone safe.
Dennis Hopper is the terrorist demanding money in return for not blowing up the bus. Jeff Daniels plays Jack's partner, who handles the investigation back at headquarters while Jack's on the bus.
It remains a fun and exciting movie, even fifteen years later. The suspense is all physical--we're not trying to find out whodunit, or even why, really--just whether or not they're going to make it without blowing themselves up. It's like riding a rollercoaster. You're not really going anywhere, but boy, is it a lot of fun.
Neither Camden nor I was very impressed with Keanu Reeves, but that was okay--he didn't really have a lot of acting to do here anyway. And I did wonder why the heck there was so much debris on the airport runways. Having driven on Ramstein, where you have to stop, get out of your car, and check your tires for pebbles stuck in the tread before you're allowed to drive across a runway, I was really surprised by the large chunks of debris on a commercial runway.
But again, this isn't a movie that you analyze too much. You just go along for the ride (heh) and enjoy.
Categories: Movies, 4stars, ActionAdventure
Labels: 4 stars, action, Movies
The Collector
**** The Collector. Adult.
Directed by: Brad Armstrong.
Starring: Jessica Drake, Aria, Mike Horner, Randy Spears, Tommy Gunn
No video preview for this one--you'll have to look it up yourself.
This was a gorgeous film, which won four Adult Video News Awards, including best art direction, best non-sex performance (Mike Horner), and best screenplay (Brad Armstrong). The awards were well-deserved.
Jessica Drake plays Cynthia, the assistant to Malcolm, a wealthy collector played by Mike Horner. Malcolm collects anything and everything, until one day Cynthia breaks a hand mirror he'd collected, and that seems to be the catalyst for him to collect something new: sexual experiences. But as a true collector, he only wants to observe his collection, not be part of it himself.
So Cynthia is tasked with providing him with those experiences, finding others to perform for his enjoyment, sometimes joining in, and sometimes simply keeping Malcolm company while he watches.
There's a nice variety of sex scenes and mostly attractive actors. Even a couple of muscular men, which you don't always see in porn movies.
There is a story--though it's fairly thin, it's still quite a lot more than an excuse for sex scenes. There's actually character development and change, as we see Malcolm becoming more jaded, and the effect of her job of Cynthia.
But the best thing about The Collector is the impressive balance between sensual cinematography and hardcore porn. The sex scenes are explicit--nothing's left to the imagination--but the feel of the scenes is erotic rather than dirty. That feel is enhanced by the first-person voiceover narration by Cynthia, who gives her own feelings and opinions as the story unfolds. It's a higher budget film, and it shows in the beautiful sets and the artistic shots. Don't get me wrong--sex is definitely the point of the film. And it's not one of those like The Widow that sticks in unusual camera angles just to be artsy. The Collector uses camera angles and closeups in a way that enhances the story and the mood.
I definitely recommend this one, particularly for couples.
Categories: Movies, 4stars, Adult
Labels: 4 stars, adult, Movies
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest
***½ Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest. Comedy spoof.
Directed by: Dominic Polcino.
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Mike Henry
Since Carl's in Switzerland, Camden and I watched this last night, along with The Blair Thumb. This must be my week for Star Wars spoofs. If it's not clear from the cover or the YouTube preview above, this is Family Guy's version of Star Wars.
It's very cute. Stewie is just right as Darth Vader, and there are some really amusing bits. My favorites were the ones where the orchestra showed up and then at the very end where they were discussing the Robot Chicken version of the Star Wars spoof. Perhaps we'll watch that one tonight just to compare and contrast.
Still, fun as it was, it was more homage than spoof. Other than occasional asides, it stuck closely to the original Star Wars story. The jokes were more added-on than poking fun at the original. I'm not complaining--it's nothing I didn't expect--just explaining why for me it was worth 3.5 stars.
Categories: Movies, 3.5stars, Comedy
Labels: 3.5 stars, comedy, Movies
The Blair Thumb
**½ The Blair Thumb. Comedy spoof.
Directed by: Todd Portugal.
Starring: Megan Cavanagh, Jim Jackman, Paul Greenberg, Steve Oedekerk
Last night, it was Camden's turn to choose the movie, and he picked this, the only one of the Thumb movies we hadn't seen yet. I've seen all the rest, but the only one reviewed here is Thumbtanic, which was hilarious. Since it's so short, we also watched the Family Guy Star Wars spoof.
The Blair Thumb, obviously, spoofs The Blair Witch Project, so I was at a disadvantage since I hadn't seen the original. Neither had Camden, but he liked this a lot better than I did.
The dressed-up thumbs are always cute, but I didn't get several of the references, which made a lot of the jokes less than funny, and though I understand that the main character, "Stressy," addressing the camera directly is an integral part of the spoof, it got really irritating.
I suspect that I'd have liked this much more if I'd seen The Blair Witch Project, but I also suspect that if I found the style this annoying in a 28-minute spoof, I'd hate it in the full-length movie. Eh. I didn't intend to watch the original anyway. I'm not a fan of horror movies at all.
Categories: Movies, 2.5stars, Comedy
Labels: 2.5 stars, comedy, Movies
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Now You See Him, Now You Don't
**** Now You See Him, Now You Don't. Comedy.
Directed by: Robert Butler.
Starring: Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn, Michael McGreevy, Ed Begley, Jr.
No trailer, or even clips for this one on YouTube, sad to say. You'll just have to take my word for it that this is a fun, fun movie.
Carl's in Geneva for the week, so Camden and I continued our tradition of watching something we normally wouldn't watch. We got this from Netflix.
I'd first seen this back when it first came out, in 1972, and loved it. Of course, I was only 11 then, so what did I know? Quite a bit, apparently. At least in this case.
Now You See Him, Now You Don't is the second movie starring Kurt Russell is Dexter Reilly (the spelling of whose name changes on the IMDB across the three movies in the series), a student at Medford College. The first was The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. (click to read my review)
In this one, he's working on an invisibility project in the science lab, and with the help of a lightning storm, it works. As in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Medford College's mortgage is due--$50,000--and "businessman" A. J. Arno (Cesar Romero) has plans to turn the situation to his own profit, this time by foreclosing and turning the college campus into a gambling mecca. Their only hope is the Forsythe Science Award, which just happens to be $50,000.
Dean Higgins (Joe Flynn) has his hopes set on Druffle's (Ed Begley, Jr.) bee experiments, but Druffle turns out to be allergic to bees and out of commission. Dexter Reilly swears his research is a shoe-in to win, but Dexter's a bit of a trouble maker and Dean Higgins really doesn't trust him.
There are lots of hijinks, though not nearly as many as you might expect, given the possibilities inherent in the subject of invisibility. The golf game when Dean Higgins has to impress Forsythe enough on the course to get Forsythe to allow tiny Medford College to enter the science contest is a definite highlight. And when the crooks get hold of the formula and use it to rob a bank, the resulting car chase--with the crooks and their car invisible--is a riot.
Since this was made in 1972, and furthermore, was originally made for TV, the special effects are not particularly impressive. But that doesn't seem to matter. While Now You See Him, Now You Don't is just as unrealistic as its predecessor, it doesn't suffer from the same degree of ridiculousness. That is, if there could be a liquid that would turn things invisible by spraying them, and that could simply be rinsed off with water, then the rest of the movie makes sense.
Camden was originally very resistant to the idea of watching an oldie. But even he enjoyed it, and I laughed aloud several times. Part of that was due, no doubt, to being really tired, but it was genuinely funny. I've noticed that the humor in movies of that era is less... frantic, maybe, than similar comedies today, and that's true for this movie as well.
It's always risky to revisit something you loved as a child--if it's not as good as you remember, then not only have you had a less-than-entertaining time, but you've spoiled those good memories. That didn't happen this time.
Categories: Movies, 4stars, Comedy
Labels: 4 stars, comedy, Movies
Friday, January 09, 2009
Friday Flashback
From September 2002:
** Signs. Science fiction.
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin
Categories: Flashback, Movies, 2stars, ScienceFiction
** Signs. Science fiction.
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin
They did everything they could to kill any little bit of suspense there might have been. They'd start up to something that might be a little suspenseful, then they'd cut to a flashback.To be fair, my husband loved it, and bought the DVD. Obviously, we looked for different things in this movie.
And I swear every one of the actors was taking tranquilizers, especially the kids. I was bored to tears.
It was pretty much a VERY long sermon about the importance of faith. Personally, if I'd wanted a sermon, I'd have gone to church. Or listened to the George Michael song. Much shorter, gets the same point across, and you can sing along if you like.
Categories: Flashback, Movies, 2stars, ScienceFiction
Labels: 2 stars, flashback, Movies, ScienceFiction
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday Flashback
from March 2003:
**** Date From Hell. Adult.
Directed by: Jonathan Morgan.
Starring: Ron Jeremy, Serenity, Jonathan Morgan, Johnni Black, Leanna Hart, Mandi Frost
Categories: Flashback, Movies, Adult, 4stars
**** Date From Hell. Adult.
Directed by: Jonathan Morgan.
Starring: Ron Jeremy, Serenity, Jonathan Morgan, Johnni Black, Leanna Hart, Mandi Frost
Fun couples flick.Originally posted on Sugar DVD. You can google it if you're really curious.
Date From Hell is a series of short vignettes featuring members of a date from hell support group. each segment shows the fantasy date, followed by a short, humorous scene of what "really" happened. No anal, no threesomes or group action. Lots of facials. The actress in the 2nd segment has some really scary-looking implants. Not the best, but enough humor and interesting positions to make it an entertaining couples flick.
Categories: Flashback, Movies, Adult, 4stars
Labels: 4 stars, adult, flashback, Movies
Friday, December 19, 2008
Vantage Point
**** Vantage Point. Action/adventure.
Directed by: Pete Travis.
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver
We saw this at the Hercules. Which tells you how far behind I am in writing about the movies I've seen.
One thing about living over here is that we don't get bombarded with movie previews. That can be a good thing, because I tend to have fewer preconceptions about the movies I see. It can also backfire, but in this case, it was a good thing. Particularly since apparently the trailer gives away a spoiler that ends up being misleading. (Not unlike my complaint about The Invisible, which I'd probably have liked more if I hadn't seen the misleading trailer.)
In short, Vantage Point is a whodunit about the shooting of a U.S. President in Spain. It's told from multiple points of view, and the action rewinds to the start for each character.
Apparently this is common for the TV show 24, but since I've never seen that, I found it fascinating. (Which possibly means I'll find the TV show fascinating as well--we'll see: I bought Carl the first season of it for Christmas. shhhh... don't tell!) I suspect I'd have enjoyed it even if I were familiar with the premise--I absolutely love seeing how people view the same thing differently.
And since each new point of view brings us closer to the solution, I thought it was pretty well done. There wasn't much in the way of character development, but as an action puzzle, it was a lot of fun.
I don't plan on buying the DVD, but I did thoroughly enjoy watching it.
Categories: Movies, 4stars, ActionAdventure
Labels: 4 stars, action, Movies
Monday, December 15, 2008
Kindergarten Cop
****½ Kindergarten Cop. Comedy.
Directed by: Ivan Reitman.
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt
I watched this on VHS while exercising.
This is such a fun movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pamela Reed play a pair of cops (John Kimble and Phoebe O'Hara, respectively) on the trail of drug dealer Cullen Crisp. When they get a tip that Crisp is in turn on the trail of his ex-wife who, he says, stole a fortune from him, they look for the ex-wife.
Her whereabouts are narrowed down to a small town, so O'Hara arranges to go undercover as a kindergarten teacher. But when they get there, O'Hara is horribly ill, and Kimble has to take over.
Hijinks abound, of course, but Kimble's unease and ineptness with the children, the source of most of the movie's humor, isn't overdone and is balanced nicely with the suspense and romance subplots just as Kimble is balancing his investigation with learning to handle energetic 5-year-olds and falling in love with the fellow teacher (Penelope Ann Miller) who helps him out.
Even though Schwarzenegger is the star, Linda Hunt as the school's principal and Pamela Reed also shine. My favorite scene is when Principal Schlowski calls Kimble in to the office after he punches a man who's been abusing his wife. And the principal asks how it felt. You could really enjoy the violent vicarious justice along with her.
I've watched this one many, many times, and I'm sure I'll watch it many more.
Categories: Movies, 4.5stars, Comedy
Labels: 4.5 stars, comedy, Movies
Monday, November 17, 2008
Bandits
****½ Bandits. Comedy.
Directed by: Barry Levinson.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett
We rented this from the Shoppette. I'm not sure why we didn't see this when it came out back in 2001. Oh. That's when I first got CFS and it was really bad--some days I could barely make it out of bed. So there were about nine months when we didn't go see a lot of movies. Glad I figured that out.
Anyway, I absolutely love caper movies. And I love Bruce Willis. Even though his hair was horrible in this movie. I always wonder about that--is it the stars themselves who are responsible for it, or is it the director or make-up person or whatever? So many older male movie stars have horrible hair. Though I guess it did fit the character.
Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) and Terry Collins (Billy Bob Thornton) are mismatched bank robbers. Joe's the charming tough guy and Terry is the smart hypochondriac. Because they kidnap the bank managers the night before the robbery, they've become known as the "sleepover bandits," and the subject of an America's Most Wanted-type show. Cate Blanchett is Kate, a frustrated housewife who falls in love with them both. Joining their crew is Harvey (Troy Garrity), an aspiring stuntman who drives the getaway car... when he's not distracted by the girl in pink boots (January Jones), that is.
Willis and Thornton were fabulously funny together. They needled each other, but underneath, their friendship was rock-solid. Even falling in love with the same woman couldn't split them apart. After all, as Kate said, the two of them together make one perfect man.
Bruce Willis was pretty much Bruce Willis. Billy Bob Thornton's Terry was, on the other hand, not your usual character. He's a hypochondriac, but he's also highly intelligent, and he's not a wimp. And unlike a lot of fiction, he's realistically intelligent--he knows he's neurotic, he just accepts that about himself. Granted, a lot of it was over-the-top, particularly when he'd convinced himself he had a brain tumor, but he just made it so much fun, and the humor never degenerated into silliness.
Cate Blanchett was a surprise to me. I don't believe I'd seen her in a comedy before, and she proved to be an excellent comedienne. Comedy takes more--or at least a different kind of--acting ability than drama, so sometimes it doesn't work. But she held her own. I was also surprised that I could find a married woman running off with two men sympathetic, but once we'd seen her husband, it wasn't a big stretch to root for her.
Bandits is full of great lines. Check out the quotes on the IMDB--it's a good way to tell if you'll enjoy the humor in Bandits. The soundtrack was great, too.
We all loved the movie and will probably buy a copy for our library. Camden even put it on his Christmas list (and complained because I only gave it 4.5 stars).
Categories: Movies, 4.5stars, Comedy
Labels: 4.5 stars, comedy, Movies
