DVD Rental Day (2004 - 2010)

[ja002h]

Definitely a movie that can be described as awesomely bad. I'm loving it.

 

Speaking of which, happened to catch most of "Paycheck" (Ben Affleck) the other day on TV. What a trainwreck.

[xisxisxis]

Speaking of which, happened to catch most of "Paycheck" (Ben Affleck) the other day on TV. What a trainwreck.

 

Speaking of Ben Affleck, I saw Surviving Christmas over the weekend and I'm amazed Affleck still gets a paycheck to "act". It's hard to believe someone so young generating a list so long of truely horrible films and yet he still keeps on getting parts.

[rluzinski]

This is old, but finally saw Kinsey. Good stuff.

[RobertR]

It's been awhile.

 

Hotel Rwanda

Yes, it basically plays like an African Schindler's List. That's not a bad thing. Don Cheadle is excellent in the movie and the incidents depicted in the movie are horrifying and have the ring of truth. Nick Nolte's performance didn't work for me at all though and was one of the hindrances to the movie.

 

There is obviously some political commentary in the film with some mixed results. There are a couple of speeches and lines that don't work as anything but political commentary, even if they are accurate. The UN peacekeepers were ineffective. The "west" did ignore modern day genocide, although France and Belgium come off much worse than the US, IMO. Those points are accurate, although a defter touch would have worked better.

 

Still, overall a very good, if somewhat heavyhanded film.

 

Before Sunrise

This is a movie I've been intending to see for awhile. While it's not the greatest movie that I've ever seen, it very neatly achieves all of the goals it sets for itself. It's basically a film of conversations, but the conversations are interesting, they're filmed in Vienna which anyone who has seen The Third Man will tell you is a great setting, the takes are long and relaxed, and Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have great chemistry together. It's an out and out romantic movie that you won't be embarrassed to see.

 

Before Sunset

The sequel to Before Sunrise finding the characters meeting again, this time in Paris. Things, other than the romantic spark between the two characters, have changed for the characters as they've had successes and disappointments and that adds a level of complexity that the younger characters didn't have. IMO, while it probably isn't as "perfect" as the original film, it's overall a better

film. Again you have the long takes and conversations set against great looking backdrops, but there's a sense of urgency and drama to the conversations, and of things unspoken, that is missing from the first movie. It all leads up to the last two lines of dialogue, which is a perfect capper to the film. More movies should have great ending lines.

 

These are Richard Linklater's two best films. And time has only made Julie Delpy more attractive.

 

Constantine

Flying my geek flag, I was reading Swamp Thing when John Constantine made his debut about 20 years ago. And I read about the first 100 issues of John Constantine, Hellblazer, so I'm very familiar with the character. The movie, frankly, is a terrible adaptation. Changing Constantine from a blonde Englishman to a dark haired American is the least of the changes. Other than a couple of plot points, the lung cancer plotline comes directly from "Dangerous Habits", and visual touches, if you changed the names of the characters you wouldn't be able to recognize the source material.

 

That said, aside from the question of faithfulness, is it a good movie? I think, taken on its own merits, that it's average. It's definitely a good looking movie and the cast, even Keanu Reeves, are all acceptable or better, although the supporting actors are better and more interesting than the two leads. Tilda Swinton in particular is an inspired casting choice. And, although it's directed by a music video director, it's edited in a very straightforward and well thought out manner. The problem is that the story just isn't very interesting and stripping Constantine of just about everything that makes him difficult and interesting turns the character arc into a cookie cutter redemption story.

 

Interestingly, to me, is that I don't think I've seen a big budget movie this much into Catholic dogma and symbolism in quite a while. That's probably the most unique thing about the production.

 

Robert

[homer]

A few I've rented recently:

 

Lone Star Currently running on HBO I believe. Story of small town Texas sheriff (Chris Cooper) who probes the demise of one of his brutal predecessors. I figured out the ending about mid way through, but there was a slight twist at the very end I didn't see coming. There were some odd plot moments that I didn't think had much to do with the movie but all in all it was worth the two hours invested.

 

Frailty After a dozen years or more a serial killer reappears to kill again. Matthew McConaughey shows up at an FBI office claiming he his related to the killer. This movie is not overly scary, but it rates high on my creep meter. Some twists at the end I certainly didn't see coming (one I did). All in all an entertaining rental.

[parkside21]

Robert,

 

I also highly recommend Before Sunrise and Before Sunset...great films..and, they breeze by quicker than you might think a "conversation" movie might. I do have to admit, I think Hawke is a little bit of a an annoyance sometimes, but, he's tolerable. Delpy is attractive, but not gorgeous. I think that is sort of why these movies make sense also...they are not drop dead gorgeous people, they are not models. They are average looking people, although extremely different, which makes them work. They're very different people from very different backgrounds, but, you still think they have so much in common.

 

I'll have to think hard on what the last two lines were though...off to IMDB I go...

[RobertR]

It's been awhile, for various reasons, since I posted here so some catching up is in order.

 

Sin City

Or perhaps, Frank Miller's Sin City is the more accurate title. This is the most faithful and literal adaptation of a comic book to date, and I think it's mostly successful. I had read all of the stories adapted long before the movie and was a big fan of Frank Miller's over the top, hyper stylized storytelling featuring more black ink than you can imagine, even if the stories were fun but derivative of Mickey Spillane.

 

The strongest part of Sin City has always been Frank Miller's images and I think that's where the movie is most successful also. It's an amazing looking movie, primarily black and white with splashes of color, with shots taken directly from Frank Miller's pages. However, the literalness of the adaptation sometimes holds the movie back from really soaring. Comic books and movies are different mediums and what works on the page doesn't necessarily work on the screen. The acting is also inconsistent, Mickey Rourke's segment, being the best in terms of acting, while The Big Fat Kill is wildly inconsistent among the largest cast of characters. Also some of Robert Rodriguez's choices bothered me, particularly in the portrayal of violence. Sin City has always been over the top in terms of violence and the amount of punishment the protagonist can take, but things like Mickey Rourke doing backflips after being hit by a car struck me as being in videogame land.

 

Still, when it's good it's very good and when it's bad, it's still interesting to look at. And Carla Gugino and Jaimie King are a real treat for the eyes. The extras are a real disappointment though and if you want to buy it, it's probably worth waiting for the deluxe edition that's promised around Christmas.

 

The Terminal

While not being outright bad, this is probably the most disappointing film I've seen in a while. It's obvious that Spielberg wanted to tell an immigrant's tale and found a potentially intriguing premise, but never got much beyond the premise and landing Tom Hanks. Creating a fictional country is the first key mistake of the film as it raises more questions than it answers. Followed by the silly notion that a translator wouldn't be brought in as soon as possible, instead we have "comic" scenes of people trying to communicate with Hanks' character for no real purpose. Toss in a villain who behaves badly for no real reason, a strained "America as mall" metaphor, and Catherine Zeta Jones being given one of the most ill conceived characters I've seen in a long time and the movie just doesn't hold up to any critical eye.

 

That said, there are parts that work. Hanks does a good job. The film is well shot. Hanks' character playing Cupid works better than you would expect. And the revelation of why Hanks came to America is reasonably effective. They don't save the film, but they make it watchable and not a complete burn.

 

The Hound of the Baskervilles

BBC production from about 1984 starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson. Brett's Holmes stories were noted for their faithfulness and this is no exception. Hound... is the best longer Holmes' story and this adaptation captures the strength of the novel and particularly the atmospheric setting of the Moors. The only faults I'd give this adaptation is that a little too much attention is given to goings on at the post office, which robs the story of one of it's chief surprises, and the hound itself is a bit underwhelming.

 

The Last Vampyre

Another BBC Holmes adaptation starring Brett and Hardwicke, this one is circa 1994. Holmes investigates the goings on of an apparent vampire in Sussex with the production playing up atmosphere and a suggestion of the supernatural. The solution is a little obvious and the acting by the supporting characters a bit underwhelming, but it's effective enough if not anywhere near the best this group has produced. Jeremy Brett is obviously ill during this production which derives the character of his trademark nervous energy and kind of casts a pall over the proceedings.

 

Madadayo

Akira Kurosawa's last film. Translated the title means "Not Yet". This movie tells the story of a revered professor and his retirement years starting during WWII. The professor is bombed out of his home, takes up residence in a shack, has a new home built for him after the war, becomes heartbroken over the loss of a cat, and eventually recovers to live out a full life with the help of his former students. And every year a birthday party is held to honor the professor in which he is asked the question "Not yet?" and answers Madadayo (Not Yet!). It walks a borderline between comic and sentimental and certainly is one of Kurosawa's lesser movies. That's not to say that it isn't without interest, only that it's primarily of interest to fans of Kurosawa and certainly isn't a movie I'd recommend to a first time viewer of Kurosawa.

 

Sanshiro Sugata

From omega to alpha, Kurosawa's first film. Also known as Judo Saga. The movie tells the story of the title character involved in a rivalry between the established teaching of jujitsu and the new offshoot judo and how he grows and learns respect for life and others. Not an amazingly original story but one that still holds up pretty well.

 

While no classic, the film does contain hints of the director that was to come. It opens on an effective tracking shot, has a nicely shot martial arts showdown in Act 1 on the edge of the water, and ends with a duel on a blustery mountain top which seems to be a precursor to nature let loose at the climax of The Seven Samurai. And, for a film shot in 1943 during the height of WWII, it's remarkably free of propaganda and basically just tells the historical story that it aimed for.

 

Robert

[RobertR]

Dersu Uzala

 

This was Akira Kurosawa's comeback film in the 70s paving the way for Kagemusha and Ran. Filmed in the Siberian wilderness, it's a marvelous looking film, not that you would expect anything less from Kurosawa. The movie tells the story of an officer leading a surveying expedition in Siberia and the elderly hunter he forms a friendship with as they brave the elements. There's a sequence where the officer and hunter are caught alone and isolated from camp with a winter storm and night rapidly moving in that might have been the basis for a similar scene in The Empire Strikes Back. Turning Kurosawa loose with the raw elements is just unfair to average filmmakers as he knew how to capture the power of nature on film (even when he created it artificially) like few others. This is definitely a good film, although certainly Kurosawa had done better and isn't in the class of his classics.

 

Hitch

 

The cinematic equivalent of a quarter pounder. You pretty much get what you expect and it's competently delivered. Eva Mendes does look fine though.

 

Kung Fu Hustle

 

This was pretty much a complete success at what it was trying to accomplish, a wacky, cartoonish, funny wire-fu movie with elements of silent film and road runner cartoons mixed in. I've often thought that modern kung fu movies are the modern equivalent of the musical and the placement of a movie poster for an Astaire/Rogers movie ("Top Hat" iirc) prominently in the background kind of confirms that the director feels the same way. This basically is a movie where you don't really worry about things like "plot" and "dialogue" and just come to enjoy the characters and spectacle.

 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

 

Mostly harmless.

 

O.k., I'll say a little more. I read the first book about 20 years ago and found it clever and fun if almost completely plotless. The movie version tries to graft on a plot and character arcs to intermittent success. The opening number with singing dolphins is probably the most successful moment of the film as it just kind of meanders the rest of the way. It's like the book in that respect, but the book fired off jokes at a more rapid pace. The movie is competent, but it just doesn't have the energy level that I think it needs to really work.

 

Batman and Batman Returns (commentaries and selected extras)

 

I enjoy both of these movies and picked up the new special editions. I know some people don't care for Batman Returns but it is my favorite of the modern Batman movies. What can I say, I'm a sucker for Expressionism. Still, I don't wish to talk about the movies, I figure just about everyone has their opinion on them already, but the extras.

 

The Batman disc is pretty much how you should do a special edition. I'd like some deleted scenes (beyond some glimpses in the documentaries), the original teaser trailer (beyond some glimpses) and a new interview with Keaton. Other than that, it's packed with features, the documentaries are well done, and there are some unexpected surprises including a storyboard sequence voiced by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. Overall, it's a very well done package. And I liked Tim Burton's commentaries for both films. They're not repetitive and they are informative, even if they are mostly on a conceptual level. You definitely will understand why they made the choices they did after listening to the commentaries. Tim Burton still stammers and loses his thoughts every now and then, but he also passes along a lot of information and sounds pretty candid.

 

The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler

 

Halloween night pickups. The best thing about these two made for tv movies is still Darren McGavin. The conventions of tv and time have probably taken most of the sting out of what may have been scary at the time, but the premises of both stories are still strong. Investigative reporter discovers that recent string of murders may be from a real life vampire / strangler repeating his crimes every 21 years. The Night Strangler might be the better of the two, even though the plot beats are definitely repetitive, using the Seattle underground as atmosphere helps it a lot. OTOH, The Night Strangler has more of a sense of humor, the first thing the vampire does when he returns to his lair is go to the refrigerator where he has bottles of blood stored, and it was the first to use the premise.

 

Night of the Living Dead

 

The original from an el cheapo dvd. Frankly, I think the black and white and graininess is part of the charm. It lends it an authenticity that a slicker production wouldn't have allowed. I don't know if I have anything to add but to say that it is a classic for a reason. The premise is strong, the makeup is good, the acting is adequate and the ending works. I don't know if there's a coherent social commentary in the film or not, but I like the part where they sit around watching tv and use what they hear on tv as justification for their plans, whether they make sense or not.

 

A Very Long Engagement

 

From the director and star of Amelie. The story follows a young woman who tries to determine what happened to her fiance during WWI and is he alive or dead. You have elements of a light romantic drama, a mystery, and a war movie all wrapped up in one good looking, sepia tinted package. There's nothing wrong with a romantic movie that features an exploding zeppelin if you have to compromise with the significant other.

 

If you liked Amelie, you should like this movie as well. It's good looking and has a sense of humor. My one complaint is that it's very derivative of Amelie in some of its storytelling devices and asides and there aren't that many new wrinkles. The best one, is the inconclusive nature of the omens that the protaganist tries to create for herself.

 

Robert

[rluzinski]

Recent Movies I've Seen:

 

Batman Begins: Very disappointed. They took the time to actually develop the characters for once but the whole third act devolved into typical Holywood action movie crap. Driving on roofs? Great.

 

I thought Christopher Nolan would be able to fight off the movie execs... I was wrong.

 

Crash: Got around to seeing this and was definetely worth watching. It's about racism and how good people aren't always good and bad people aren't always one-dimensionally bad.

 

Shawn of The Dead: FINALLY saw it and loved it.

 

Garden State: Nice, cute and light.

 

Sin City: Loved it. Great visuals.

 

Closer: Heavy but intriguing.

 

Fever Pitch:[/b Wife made me watch it and I was peasently suprised. Cute little film that doesn't take itself too seriously. Be warned, if you don't like Fallon, you are NOT going to like this movi[/b]

[strawbossisevil]

Kingdom of Heaven

If you are a history buff like me, you'll probably love this movie as it follows the time in history between the second and third crusades. Had some pretty sweet fight scenes. If you hate history, I would recommend that you stay away.

 

The Interpretor

Solid movie, with a whole bunch of plot twists. Plus I just plain like Nicole Kidman.

 

The Life Aquatic

Ugh. Second biggest waste of time in my entire life. There were one or two times it had me smirking, but the humor is just so dry and pointless. I had more fun watching the Royal Tanenbaums (mostly because of the priest falling down the stairs).

 

Be Cool

The biggest waste of time in my life. I actually counted the minutes until it ended. Only line of any hilarity that I caught was about only being able to use the F' word once in a movie before it becomes and R rated film. He uses it once and everytime from there on out, they don't use it.

 

Spanglish

Great movie. Maybe because I have a major in Spanish communications, or just maybe because it gives us all a view of how difficult some in our country have it. The ending is so sad. Overall the movie is well acted, and Paz Vega is incredibly hot.

 

Batman Begins

Pure unadulterated fun. Probably the best of the Batman films to date. Yeah, you can't take it too seriously and the plot is a bit of a stretch and many of the lines are a bit corny, but I was still captivated.

 

Fever Pitch

I loved this movie. Pretty hilarious. Pretty much describes my life (except for having Drew Berrymore as my girlfriend). Good date flick, because it has its "girl" parts and its "guy" parts. *Warning* Its hard to hate the Red Sox after watching this movie.

[brewers19]

Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

There are two types of people with respect to Wes Anderson; people who absolutely can't stand his movies, and people who think the man is a cinematic genius. I fall heavily into the latter category, so needless to say I absolutely loved this movie.

The thing that I really liked about this one was how it took place in a bright and lively atmosphere; with his other movies such as Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums, they always seem to take place sometime in autumn and the weather is perpetually overcast. Not only was it sort of a pleasant change, but the contrasting dark-comedy genre and tropical setting was pleasingly quirky.

All in all, I enjoyed it immensely, but then again, I don't think he'll ever make a movie that I don't love.

 

Garden State

This is an old one, but it definitely ranks in the top five of my favorite movies. Acting is great, the story is great, the soundtrack is great, and the cinematography is amazing.

 

Napolean Dynamite

I take a lot of crap for my opinion of this movie, but whatever. Definitely a huge waste of my time. The comedies that I prefer must be witty and slightly intellecutual, this movie was neither. Also, it seemed to be lacking something very essential to a movie; a plot. I could go on for days about its failings as a movie, but I won't.

 

House of Flying Daggers

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we only get the chance to see the better movies that they make over there, but I have thoroughly enjoyed movies of this type; although, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon still blows Hero and House of Flying Daggers out of the water. Once again, I'm a sucker for good cinematography, but the use of color was absolutely stunning. The ending didn't sit great with me ?then again, neither of the other two really ended on a high note? but something just didn't feel right. Anyways, I'll let it slide.

 

The Station Agent

Don't really have anything specific for this, except for the fact that it's an exceptional film and I definitely recommend it. A nice little dark drama.

 

Batman Begins

To sum it up in one word; disappointing. Now, I don't know which one is right, but the fact that a lot of the story clashed with the Batman cartoon that I used to watch religiously just didn't sit well with me.

The "fight scenes" were the worst part. You couldn't tell what the heck was going on. It was a bunch of people dressed in dark clothing, fighting in a darkly lit area, and half of the footage was someone's fist flying across the screen or something equally ambiguous.

But, to end on a high note, it was much better than the other Batman movies.

 

I thought about listing a bunch of my favorite foreign films here, but I may just save that for a later time.

[rluzinski]

I loved Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums (I haven't seen Bottle Rocket and can't find it) but really didn't care for Life Auquatic that much. It was almost too recycled from Royal Tenenbaums. I didn't HATE it or anything... just kinda indifferent.

 

Napolean Dynomite

Didn't do it for me. Some parts were funny but overall it just didn't work for me.

[brewers19]

Yeah, Bottle Rocket isn't easy to get. I had to go to three different video rental places before I found it, and even then it was an old, scratchy VHS. I have since then broke down and got it from Amzon on DVD.

[ja002h]

People not liking Batman Begins and loving Fever Pitch? Is it opposite day?

 

I saw FP a couple weeks ago and thought it was pretty horrific, personally.

 

Robots

Speaking of horrific, wow. What a terrible movie. I think it can be described by one scene: A robot doing the robot dance. Get it? It's funny cuz he's a *robot*!!! If you though Shrek 2 was a bunch of sight gags and movie spoofs (and I did), you really don't want to watch this. Ugh.

 

Return

This on the other hand, was brilliant. It's a super-small budget Russian film about 2 boys who go on a wilderness trip with their father, who just returned for the first time in 12 years. Great acting by the kids, and a gorgeous and haunting film overall.

[thebruce44]

Batman Begins

The "fight scenes" were the worst part. You couldn't tell what the heck was going on. It was a bunch of people dressed in dark clothing, fighting in a darkly lit area, and half of the footage was someone's fist flying across the screen or something equally ambiguous.

 

That was one of my favorite parts. I think the idea is that we are watching the fights from the point of view of an observer or another goon. Batman is a ninja who takes out the bad guys quickly and mysteriously. This creates fear among other goons. This isn't Tim Burton's version or Adam West. It is a new Batman who is much, much deeper. And I loved the way they used the idea of fear throughout the movie for developing Batman as well as the villans.

[dadofandrew]

Robert, I felt the same way about The Terminal, big letdown.

 

Napolean Dynamite and Anchorman were OK, but I expected more after hearing so many good things.

[molitor fan]

I take a lot of crap for my opinion of this movie, but whatever. Definitely a huge waste of my time. The comedies that I prefer must be witty and slightly intellecutual, this movie was neither. Also, it seemed to be lacking something very essential to a movie; a plot. I could go on for days about its failings as a movie, but I won't.

 

Frankly, you deserve all the crap you take for it too.....

[UeckerAddict]

12 Angry Men

There's an old version and a new(er) version with Jack Lemon, James Gandolfini, Edward James Olmos, etc. Never saw the old one. The whole movie takes place in a jury room as the 12 men bicker over a case that we never saw. GREAT film.

 

Boondock Saints

Must see. Two Irish brothers get a message from God to kill all the scum in Boston (a la Magnum Force). Willem Dafoe is great, and there is more originality in one scene than most films have in two hours.

 

Storytelling

This one is OUT THERE. If you've seen the movie "Happiness", you know what I mean. It's my style of weird, but probably not most other peoples'.

 

Crash

Great film in the style of "Magnolia" and "Shortcuts". Some criticized it for being too coincidental or an overkill of racial talk. The former, you're going to just have to accept. As for the latter, I lived in L.A. It's not far off.

 

A History of Violence

Almost a complete waste of my time. I say "almost" because William Hurt's character was pretty good. Therefore, I only want $7.50 of my $8.50 back.

 

The Life Aquatic

Give me the Tennenbaums. THAT movie was great. I saw this one twice and it just didn't hit me. It was missing some REAL quality that Wes Andersen's movies normally possess.

 

Ocean's 12

Worst movie I've seen this year. And I LIKED the first one (though not as much as the rat pack). This movie completely nullifies the first one. They have to pay Andy Garcia back?! What??!!

 

The Machinist

Great in the way that movies like "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" were great. Christian Bale really went all out in dropping down to 112lbs.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Sin City

 

Watched the first 2 stories and liked it so far. The Bruce Willis bit was kinda lame, IMO. Marv's story was excellent.

 

Batman Begins

 

I thought it was way better than any of the original four movies. Action scenes were a little lacking, but I didn't get the sense that action was what this movie was all about, so it didn't really bother me . Went way more in depth developing Batman's persona than "Joker killed my parents, I'm a vigilante" from the originals. For some reason, for comic book movies, I really enjoy the "character builder" movies that usually start a series.

 

Kingdom of Heaven

 

Not bad. Not great. Pretty cool fight scenes. If you've seen Return of the King, the final siege of Jerusalem will look pretty familiar. Definately a "message" trying to be told in this movie.

 

The Longest Yard

 

Pretty decent, but not as gut bustingly funny as everyone I've talked to made it out to be.

[ja002h]

March of the Penguins

Forgot to include this one.

It's a little ironic that one of the year's best is a documentary. Sure it is a little anthropomorphized at time, but lots of amazing footage, and as someone once said, Morgan Freeman could sit and read a dictionary and it'd still be interesting.

[RobertR]

Roco,

 

You may be surprised a bit as the Bruce Willis bit in Sin City is revisitied. Adds quite a bit to the story.

 

Robert

[colbyjack]

I finally got to see Batman Begins last night, and I agree 100% with RoCo's thoughts. As noted, the character building was great, something completely lacking from Tim Burton's attempts (which I never cared for, too much darkness and neon). They made Gotham a real city, instead of some highly dramaticized one, and all of the characters seemed real. While minor, I also enjoyed how they set up the obvious sequel.

 

That new batmobile was awesome.

 

However, I also agree that the fight scenes were lacking. And I'm not even sure if they were lacking, but they were made up of the quick, moving camera angles that seems to be popular in movies and sports highlights these days. I can't even tell what the heck is going on when they do that. I also thought the movie villain plot was a little lacking. While they did a great job building up Batman's character, it felt like the actual crisis in the movie was thrown in like "...and oh yeah, the bad guys are trying to detroy the city."

 

After reading the most recent posts, I realize I need to see more movies http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

[RobertR]

Been a long time.

 

Open Water

 

An effective low budget horror movie. A couple with a troubled marriage go on vacation and get accidentally left behind in the middle of the ocean after a scuba diving trip. Then the sharks come out.

 

I don't think the characters are interesting enough for the movie to be considered any more than good. And the ending is a bit too intellectually pat for me. That said, it's a good premise and the fact that they get real sharks close in with the actors gives it a reality that's hard to argue with.

 

Millions

 

A terrific if overlooked film from this year. A warm Christmas story by Danny Boyle, the director of Trainspotting and 28 Days later. Really.

 

Two young boys, whose mother has died recently, find a bag full of stolen pounds right before Christmas. With the complications being that Britain is about to turn over to the Euro on New Years and the criminals are looking for it. The older boy just wants to spend it and the younger boy, who sees saints, btw, wants to give it away to the needy and finds it harder to do than he thought.

 

This is a movie that's smart and heartfelt and that features terrific performances, particularly from the two kids. Danny Boyle is one of the more interesting directors working and this is a movie that really shows the range he's capable of.

 

Boudu Saved From Drowning

 

To truly appreciate this film you have to take into account the time period and understand the word "bourgeois". A middle class bookstore owner saves a bum from drowning in the river and takes him in. The bum then upsets his life including his affair with the downstairs made.

 

The premise of the movie has allowed it to be remade as Down and Out in Beverly Hills and as an episode of The Flintstones, iirc. That said, it's primarily a comedy of manners and customs and as customs change over time the original movie has become dated. It's easy to appreciate the movie for it's time, but the Marx Brothers were basically doing the same thing in America with Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera and the still hold up great. Still, that's not to say that it isn't still funny, only that it's dated, unlike Jean Renoir's other movies of the period The Grand Illusion and Rules of the Game. BTW, there's a nice little feature on the DVD that goes over the geography of the area and why it's important to understand for the satire of the movie to really work.

 

Batman Begins

 

I saw it in the theater at a preview screening and saw it again recently. I like the fact that the film had its own sense of identity as far as structure, focus and aesthetic. I've said before that I'm a fan of Burton's movies, which to me evoke the earliest Kane/Finger "weird creature of the night" stories, along with Englehart/Rogers, Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, and, aesthetically, The Killing Joke. Nolan's Batman, otoh, evokes O'Neil/Adams, Loeb and Sale's The Long Halloween, and Miller and Mazzuchelli's Batman: Year One. I find a lot of merit in both approaches.

 

That said, I found the latest movie to be slightly underwritten, Cillian Murphy does wonders with the Scarecrow who's lacking in purpose other than to be a villain, and the third act falls heavily into action formula. And I think the action climax contradicts the themes it was trying to get across. That and I think you can get quite a drinking game out of variations of the words "fear", "terror", "justice" and "corruption". That said, the first two acts are terrific and Christian Bale was a terrific choice to be Batman. In fact, with the exception of Katie Holmes, it is a superior cast.

 

Spirited Away

 

I see that this is on TCM tonight.

 

I saw it on DVD a few weeks ago, part of my program to get through IMDB's Top 100 list with Downfall, American History X, Crash, and The Great Dictator to go.

 

This is a fantasy movie and a coming of age story focusing on a teenage girl Chihiro who is moving with her parents from the city to the country. And she's a bit of a spoiled brat. But they wander off the right road and right into a fantasy world of spirits.

 

There's more to the plot, but what really makes the movie work is the amazing visuals of the movie. The movie creates it's own world and is every bit as amazing as anything created by Disney or Pixar.

 

The story is also find if a little bit formula. It might help my appreciation if I was more familiar with Japanese folklore as well. Still, not much to complain about, although I dislike the english dubbing of the main character. A lot of lines came across as whiney and shouted to me. Good movie, but way overrated as a Top 100 film.

 

House of Flying Daggers

 

We probably only get the best of the best of these wire aided martial arts epics and this is another good one. Gorgeous to look at with a love story that mostly works.

 

That said, the ending doesn't work at all with story logic being sacrified in favor of visuals. An apparently dead character gets covered with about 8 inches of snow and then gets up again when it's convenient to the plot. They simply had no way to resolve the ending satisfactorly, imo.

 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is still the best of this wave of movies. And I'd place Kung Fu Hustle above it too. I did like it better than Hero since I think there was an emotional core to the film and I didn't have to deal with nationalistic messages but more universal love vs. duty messages.

 

Jeeves and Wooster - Season 1

 

Got this for Christmas. I've seen a few episodes and my wife hadn't even heard of it. So we popped it in and have been watching them regularly.

 

Hugh Laurie is quite a ways away from House in this serious portraying Bertie Wooster, an upper class total twit, to very amusing results. And Stephen Fry is Jeeves is his unflappable and always correct valet Jeeves (and the source for title of AskJeeves.com). Based on P.G. Wodehouse's stories, these are witty short stories brought to life where the foolishness of the upper class in the early 20th century is brought to life.

 

Fantastic Four

 

Thoroughly mediocre, if that. Michael Chicklis was good as The Thing and the Human Torch was frequently fun, although one note, but there's not much else there for character or acting. Not much to the plot either. And the special effects weren't that special. Still, there were some nice character moments, mostly involving Chicklis, it wasn't too long, and it didn't take itself too seriously. O.k. time waster, but you can do much better.

 

Robert

[homer]

I agree on Open Water. It was a decent rental. I liked the ending simply for the fact that it wasn't 'normal'.

 

I may get ripped for this, but I found Skeleton Key a good rental too. Maybe it's that I just enjoy movies too much or maybe I just enjoy Kate Hudson. In either case, this has one of those twists at the end that made it worthwhile. I felt stupid for not seeing it coming, but it made me review the whole movie in my head afterwards. Any movie that I need to think about after I'm done watching is usually a good one to me.

[ja002h]

I was just going to resurrect this thread myself.

 

You're not alone homer, I've heard several people comment on Skeleton Key, which I utterly dismissed when it came out, but I'm not much for horror movies either, and that's what it looked like.

 

 

My Date with Drew

A documentary made by a guy with a lifelong crush on Drew Barrymore. He wins 1100 on a game show whose winning answer is.. yep, Drew Barrymore. He then buys Circuit City's most expensive video camera, planning to return it after 30 days, and sets out to try and get one date with Drew Barrymore. It's touching, funny, and fantastic.

I actually visited the website when they were trying to do this back in '03, and it's great to see the result.

Highly recommend.

 

 

Merchant of Venice

It didn't blow me away, but it was ok. Fun to see Al Pacino chewing up Shakespeare.