Wednesday, December 17, 2003
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Thursday, June 12, 2003
ITALIAN JOB (2003) I want a suped-up mini-Cooper to drive through the subways of LA. This heist flick certainly is no Oceans 11. There are a couple of ingredients every heist needs by definition: 1) Sharp dialogue, 2) a cool-as-crystal anti-hero, 3) a smooth, slick villain, 4) an elaborate heist, 5) a colorful crew. So I'll give it a grade on each ingrediant.
Dialogue - C-, maybe D. It's just a bland, unmemorable script, save one one about how one should never mess with "mother-freakin' Ukranians." And really, that was the place for the obligatory, PG-13 f-bomb.
Hero/Villian/Girl - straight across the board D- The biggest whole of the film is how incredibly bland Wahlberg, Norton and Theron are. It's a shame really.
Heist - B- If you've seen the tralier, well, then unfortunately there will be no surprises. The best part is the mini-Coopers that go just about everywhere they told you not to drive in driver's ed.
Crew - A The best part of the movie, that makes it all worth it in the end, are the crew of driver extraordinaire Handsome Rob (Jason Statham of those Guy Ritchie flicks), explosives expert Left Ear (Mos Def) and techie Lyle (Seth Green) who insists everyone call him "Napster" since he's the one who really invented it but his college roommate stole the idea. Green steals every scene he's in.
Oceans 11 is the standard by which all heist movies will now be measured and this one doesn't even come close. If you watch it expecting that, it's really going to suck. But if you're just looking for some quickie entertainment, hollow in the middle, to fill a Saturday evening, it's worth watching.
Saturday, May 24, 2003
You've got to read this Ethan Coen bit I found.
TRAILER OF THE WEEK
Whale Rider limited release June 6
This was last year's winner at the Toronto festival. Past winners? Amelie, Crouching Tiger, American Beauty. Keep your eyes peeled.
In my Matrix note below, there's something I neglected. Another thing I felt lacking in comparison to the original was visual style. There's all the night scenes in the rain in the first one. Every single shot is carefully framed. The one shot from Reloaded that wowed me was Smith's entrance with the crows, an obvious reinterpretation of John Woo's signature dove symbolim with the hero just before the face-off. If you haven't seen The Killer, Jason, buy it the first chance you find.
The Muppet Movie (1979)
In the league of kid's movies, this one has to be near the top. It's got one-liners you'll find yourself quoting for weeks: "They don't look like Presbyterians to me."
Statler: I like this film fine so far!
Waldorf: It hasn't started yet!
Statler: That's what I like about it!
and on their critique of the movie at the end, "I've seen detergent that leaves a better film!"
Nobody writes sophisticated humor like this anymore. What a shame.
Thursday, May 22, 2003
... but what sequel is?
How about The Empire Strikes Back, my brother?
My top five sequels (as in film #2)
1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Godfather, pt. II
3. Two Towers
4. Terminator 2
5. Toy Story 2
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
As Neo says when he faces the Agents, "Hmm.. upgrades." That's basically my reaction. Because of my screwy work schedule, I didn't see it until Sunday evening. I was surprised how underwhelming the reviews were. But I have to agree. And with you, Jason, I agree that the first one just blew our socks off, like nothing we've never seen before. Reloaded is bigger and more of the same. Some good, some not so good. The Burly Brawl scene was fantastic, a little drawn out and a little bit video-gamish at times. Likewise, the freeway chase was outstanding, though there were a couple parts, especially in Morpheus' fight on the semi, that screamed out to me "Blue screen!" I loved the Twins and though they got precious little screen time. I see they'll be back for Revolutions. The four philosophical conversations, I thought, stopped the pace dead in its tracks. They went right over my head. I kept thinking, "Yeah, get on with it, let's have another fight scene." Particularly, the conversation with the Architect. He was using really big words for an action movie. That scene alone warrants about 10 viewings. I thought the first half hour, the scenes in Zion, and especially the character scenes for Link (recognize him from Romeo + Juliet?) could have been cut altogether. Yes, we need to see and have some emotional investment in Zion, but, like Jason said, that just didn't do it for me.
I was emotionally ready for the film to end after the freeway scene, or to end at straight up midnight where the film started with the vision of Trinity. That whole last 10 minutes set up like a heist film (you know, break into the building, go through this surveilance, blow up the power reactor, you have five minutes) and then they skipped over it with choppy nonlinear editing. That could have been a film in and of itself. I thought that could have been expanded. I get this nagging feeling that they're trying to tell too big of a story for even 2 movies. But no critique is fair or just until all three can be seen together. 167 more days.
One parting thought... I haven't taking much time in mulling this over, it's just another nagging critique. The action in the first seemed to tell the story and advance the story. It's the #1 cardinal rule that doesn't exist in pretty much any other action movie. I left the theater feeling like the action and FX were all for FX's sake. After seeing it three times what do you think?
Saturday, May 10, 2003
TRAILER OF THE WEEK
Together limited release May 30. I remember reading about this way back as one of the highlights of the Toronto festival. I'd forgotten about it. Anyway, it's a about a young Chinese violinist. Look's right up Dad's alley.
Two Weeks Notice (2002) Alright Sarah, here you go. You'll love it. But only because it's no different from the dozens of other recent bland Hollywood romantic comedies. There's absolutely nothing unique or memorable about this, nothing that sets it apart. The idea seems to be get an A-list male star, get an A-list female star, insert trendy top 40 soundtrack and that equals bags of money at the box office. Sarah, I beg you, STOP FALLING FOR IT!
A cross country roadtrip, staying in motels can mean only one thing--HBO and movies I wouldn't normally watch, much less pay money for. The first night was Murder by Numbers, Sandra Bullock goes crime-drama. Bad acting, bad script, bad FX. I want those precious minutes of my life back. Roadtrip Night 2 brought us Scooby Doo. More like Scooby Dumb. Absolutely nothing even close to resembling the cartoon of my childhood. And what they did to Scrappy Doo was just sacreligious. It's almost as if this movie was made by nostalgic twentysomethings for a bit younger teeny boppers to prove how clever they are. Turns out they're not clever at all. I really want those precious moments of my life back.
And before I left, from the library there was George Lucas in Love, a parody short of the Gwenyth Paltrow Oscar winner that reveals where young film student George Lucas really got his inspiration. To say it's a must see for every Star Wars fan is an insignificant understatement. From the bun-haired student government female inspiration to the asthmatic, raspy voiced script-writing nemesis, to the diminutive professor who speaks in backwards sentences, the joy is in the details. If there's any justice in the world, it should be packaged with the eventual DVD release of Star Wars. Also on the disc were Swing Blade a parody trailer of Swingers and Sling Blade, showing Karl trying to pick up chicks. Pretty funny, but probably better had I seen either of those movies. Evil Hill crosses Dr. Evil with Notting Hill in a rather uninspired hybrid. Film Club parodies Fight Club as a group of frustrated independent filmmakers. It copies the Fight Club trailer, shot for shot, with some additional scenes, with some hilarious lines: "His name was Silent Bob. His name was Silent Bob." and "If you could shout any nude scene.... I'd shoot Shatner. William Shatner."
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
I just found info on Wes Anderson's latest project, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Monday, May 05, 2003
TRAILER OF THE WEEK
28 Days Later, June 27. From the writer/director of Trainspotting, it got loads of buzz at Sundance. And that was before the SARS mess.