Year In Movies (2005)
Aeon Flux- This hasn’t been a very good year
for movies and this one is a representative explanation about why that is the
case. This movie is based on the MTV
cartoon of the same name, something that many people fondly remember from the
heyday of MTV (back in the 80’s and early 90’s) and had high expectations
for. It has a good cast, a big budget
and interesting premise. The problem was
all in the execution. The script didn’t
do much except recycle ideas from Logan’s Run, the action scenes were dull, the
dialogue was clichéd and banal, and everything was entirely predictable. This movie’s only success was the
marketing. The preview trailer gave
everything an undeserved sense of anticipation and its’ December opening date
was an implied promise of quality. Too
many movies this year had a lot of flash but minimal substance and once enough
word of mouth got around, they tanked at the box office. The movies that did work were things with an
original idea, interesting characters and realistic dialogue. I know that sounds like a “duh” statement but
Hollywood has been churning out increasingly greater quantities of special
effects and “blow ‘em up” movies for the last few years with a marked decline
in quality. I think some of it has been
because there are only a few directors who have the talent to overcome a weak
script with stylistic flourishes and creative photography. The rest of the spectacle movies are done by
hacks that have no vision or lack the skill to put it onscreen. What needs to happen is stop making so many
“big” movies, since it is clear that people will no longer come see a movie
just because of the special effects.
Make the types of movies we will see.
That said, let’s take a look at what worked this year and what
didn’t.
Assault On Precinct 13- And now for something
completely contradictory. Everything I
said about movies above should by rights have applied to this one. See, this movie is a remake of something
(John Carpenter’s movie of the same name) lots of people liked originally, it
was done as shoot ‘em up and had a decent budget. What made this enjoyable however, was the
deft execution and a script that toyed with your expectations. There were predictable things but not when or
what you thought. The plot is simple-
bad guy is brought into a police precinct, which gets attacked by more bad guys
trying to get to out the first guy. The
cops try to stop all this and not get killed.
It’s been done a thousand times before, even if you don’t count that this
is a remake, yet it worked. The director
was effective and had a better than average script to start from, and it felt
true. When guns were fired, you heard
the noise they made.
Bad News Bears- Just one word for this. Why?
It’s not a bad remake but why not just watch the original. This version isn’t more outrageous even
though the casting of Billy Bob Thornton was an implied nod to his movie Bad
Santa. Nor is it sweeter, funnier or
more updated. In fact, it is downright
lethargic, a throwback to the character studies of the 70’s, which again brings
up the question- why not just watch the original from the 70’s? The only thing I really hated about this
movie was the fact that it was by Richard Linklater, a guy I’ve admired for
awhile. Why did he waste his time on
this and the earlier School Of Rock? He
could have done something else worthwhile, like Before Sunset which he squeezed
in between those two. After watching a
movie, if I ask “Why?” then something was done wrong.
Batman Begins- A return to form for the Batman
franchise. If you are a comic book geek
and I said this is the movie version of Batman: Year One, you’d be
excited. If you aren’t a geek, let me
just say that this one has a new Batman (Christian Bale), a new attitude (pulp
noir), and a new storyline (Batman’s origin).
Now get excited. This movie
returns the danger to the character.
Batman is a scary person and this shows how and why he became the
slightly demented avenger. It’s no
parade of clownish supervillains this time.
It’s mostly normal criminals trying to kill people for financial gain
and Batman doing his best to exact justice, while agonizing over the morality
of what he’s doing. Christian Bale is a
really good choice- he has the dissolute charm necessary for Bruce Wayne and
the psychotic edge essential to Batman.
In one interrogation scene, the menace radiating from Bale made me want
to confess from my seat in the audience.
If you liked the first Batman, you’ll like this one.
Be Cool- Five reviews on this list so far, and
they are all sequels/remakes. Remember
what I said about needing originality?
Sequels and remakes aren’t really the way to do that. This one is no exception but at least it has
an answer for the question “Why” and that answer is for the pleasure of
watching John Travolta’s Chili character ooze cool. In Get Shorty, Chili got into the movie
business by using Mafia tactics. Now
he’s going into the music business. He
plays the various sleazy characters against each other to his benefit. It’s a pleasure to watch the way he moves the
people around like chess pieces. It is
also fun to watch Vince Vaughn as a spastic gangsta wannabe and The Rock as a
sensitive bodyguard.
Bewitched- Another remake. Do you sense a trend here, a dearth of originality? The plot is Hollywood clever- a movie about a
movie remake of the television show.
Will Ferrell plays the washed-up actor who will play Darren in an
attempt to revive his career and Nicole Kidman plays the real witch who plays
the TV witch Samantha. The plot is the
best thing about the movie. It’s not
funny, not ironic, not moving and not deep.
Kidman needs to stay away from remakes because she brings a depressing
sense of gravity to a genre that only really thrives from grafting a snarky,
detached irony on what was originally straightforward earnestness.
Brothers Grimm- An interesting mess. If the Grimms of Grimm’s Fairy Tales were
really hucksters out for a buck and utilized European folk tales to perpetuate
their various scams, this is what it would look like. Terry Gilliam provides some interesting
visuals but the film never lives up to its promise. The fairy tales feel tacked on and not really
integrated into the story, which is disorganized and confusing as well. Heath Ledger and Matt Damon do a good job
with their roles, as does everyone else actually, but for what purpose?
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory- A major
“Why” needs to be asked here. I think
the Gene Wilder original “Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory” is a classic
of subversive fantasy and this does nothing to improve on that. All it does is give Johnny Depp the
opportunity to re-imagine Willy Wonka as a fey, foppish flake and Tim Burton a
chance to use a bigger budget to portray the Chocolate Factory. This was a needless movie that did nothing
for me.
Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The
Wardrobe- I never read the books as a kid but apparently the Christian
overtones were fairly overt, which I got from the movie, and kid’s were
reluctant heroes, which I found to be a flaw in the movie. They were reluctant, yes, but I never bought
that they were heroic. The lead kid
seemed inept at the start and then magically becomes a commanding warrior kid
by the end, with no training what so ever, not even a training montage. There were a few interesting flourishes, like
the whole Mr. Tomnas subplot and Edmund’s betrayal, and I admit that Tilda
Swinton as the White Witch really creeped me out but overall, I felt like I was
watching a G-rated version of Lord Of The Rings.
Cinderella Man- Russell Crowe plays Depression
era boxer Jim Braddock who fights in order to keep food on his family’s table,
Renee Zellweggar is the long suffering wife, and Paul Giamatti is the manager with a heart of gold. Even if you don’t know the actual events this
is based on (which I didn’t), you won’t have any problem guessing what
happens. As a press kit for the movie
mentioned, this 75-year old story was the basis for a lot of the clichés that now appear in movies so you can’t fault
this movie for presenting it’s Cinderella story. It was well directed though and does a nice
job of conveying the squalor and hopelessness of the Depression and how there
were still some selfish “Haves” in an era of “Have Nots”.
Coach Carter- Basketball coach turns some
screwup kids into a team who learn lessons about life through playing
basketball. Samuel Jackson is the
coach. This is based on a true story. If you are in the mood for this type of
movie, this one is worth watching.
Constantine- If you are looking for a good
“Heaven Versus Hell” story with a touch of The Matrix thrown in, here’s your
movie. Based on the comic book series of
the same name, this is about how John Constantine fights demons in an attempt
to redeem his soul and get into heaven.
The visuals are pretty cool and if I can watch a Keanu Reeves movie and
not hate it, then it must be worthwhile.
Corpse Bride- Did you ever watch Tim Burton’s
Nightmare Before Christmas and wish that it was creepier? If so, then this movie is for you. A schlub, played by a stop-lotion puppet,
escapes an arranged marriage by marrying a corpse and living in the
underworld. Don’t ask me to elaborate. It’s pretty good though.
Crash- An indie movie look at the issue of
race and racism, featuring big name Hollywood players, like Sandra Bullock and
Don Cheadle. I like how the multiple
plotlines examine different issues of race but I didn’t like the simplistic
lessons of some of them. That said,
there were a few standout plotlines, like Matt Dillon’s racist cop who sexually
assaults timid Terrance Howard’s wife, Sandra Bullock’s bitter, neglected wife
who is robbed by Busta Rhymes, who later interacts with Terrence Howard and I
must mention Don Cheadle. His sensitive,
out-upon detective is the heart of the movie.
At the end, all of these plotlines crash together following an actual
car crash and there is redemption and damnation in equal measures.
Derailed- This movie fooled me once. I thought it would be a domestic drama about
infidelity which I looked forward to because of how well Clive Owen had done in
Closer. Instead, it turned out to be a
con movie where Owen gets suckered out of the money he’d set aside for his sick
kid’s operation. Owen’s character makes
a bunch of mis-steps but you still root for him because the villain is
completely evil without an ounce of sympathy.
Jennifer Aniston is woman who leads Owen into his infidelity. She plays effectively against type but no one
saw this movie except me and my friends John and Vicky who hated it because of
all the mistakes Clive Owen’s character makes.
I claim that most people would not be able to think clearly in such a
situation but they still despised the movie.
I ended up liking it though, because it sprung a couple twists on me
that I hadn’t expected. Plus, I’m a
sucker for con movies. I like them all,
even if this was a weaker example of the genre.
Or maybe it was a innovative example because it plays against the
conventions by not being a matching of wits but rather a triumph of ignorance.
Domino- Keira Knightley plays bounty hunter
Domino Harvey. There is nothing about
that sentence that leads me to believe I would dislike this movie. Throw in the fact that it’s directed by Tony
Scott (Top Gun) and I certainly wouldn’t have expected to get an experimental,
artsy drama. Such a waste.
Doom- Based on a videogame I liked, it some
how ended up being the worst movie of the year.
Imagine every cliché found in horror movies, videogame movies, action
movies and movies with The Rock and you’ll understand why this movie
sucks. Let’s put it this way. Here is a typical scene- mutant creatures are
killing people on an isolated space station and the soldiers sent to stop them
set up a perimeter to contain them. One
soldier leaves his post to go to the bathroom unaccompanied. In the bathroom he thinks he hears a noise
but after not seeing anything proceeds to go into a stall and set his gun down
on the floor. Yes, he knows there are
mutants out there, he didn’t tell anyone he was abandoning his post and he sets
his weapon on the floor. Guess what
happens? Guess who cares? I walked out of this movie before it was
over. I had better ways to spend my
time, like sleeping.
Dukes Of Hazzard- A serviceable remake of an
average television show. I admit I
watched the show all the time as a kid but at this moment I can’t think of what
it was that kept me coming back. Daisy’s
Dukes? Car chases? The pleasure of saying “Roscoe P.
Coltrane”? Who knows. This movie is no better or worse than what I
expected.
Elizabethtown- Boy did I have high hopes for
this movie. Cameron Crowe (Say Anything,
Jerry Maguire) directing, Kirsten Dunst as the love interest in an offbeat
romantic comedy. I didn’t even mind that
pretty boy Orlando Bloom was in it. The
actuality of things was much different though.
It turned out to be a typical cross-roads of life type story with all
the inherent clichés. While watching it,
I kept thinking that it was too soon to be remaking last year’s “Garden
State”. Luckily, Crowe is gifted enough
to find resonance in such typical material.
I found some humor in Bloom’s suicide attempts in the beginning after
his career falls apart spectacularly and I got misty at the end when he makes the
necessary journey of discovery. And of
course, I lusted after Kirsten Dunst.
She played the damaged dream girl in the beginning after his career
falls apart spectacularly and I got misty at the end when he makes the
necessary journey of discovery. And of
course, I lusted after Kirsten Dunst.
She played the damaged dream girl perfectly, a character type I can’t
help but to fall for every time. This
was an entertaining failure.
Family Stone- I watched this movie for one
reason- Rachel McAdams. Her character in
the previews, the lovely but caustic daughter of the Stone family, captivated
me. When I actually saw the movie, my
initial impression held up. She was
captivating and the rest of the movie was kind of fun. It was good to see Sarah Jessica Parker play
uptight, a change from her carefree Sex And The City character, and there was
enough warmth and humor to keep things entertaining.
Fantastic Four- Not being a huge fan of the
comic book (it was maybe my 15th favorite comic), I had no
expectations except a faithful and enjoyable adaptation, similar to the success
of The X-Men and avoiding the lameness of The Hulk. Oh, and lots of Jessica Alba in skimpy
costumes. I got all of that and more. The movie did properly capture the comic’s
feeling of a dysfunctional family who happen to be superheroes. Since this comic was an early innovator and
inspiration for dozens of comics to come, some of the interactions feel stale
but I don’t blame them for that. All the
actors played their parts wonderfully and the action showpieces were appropriately
razzle-dazzle. I liked last year’s “The
Incredibles”, deft and better clone of the Fantastic Four but I still enjoyed
this one immensely. I’m actually looking
forward to the inevitable sequel (since this made $150 million).
Fever Pitch- A stinker. A perfectly fine book was gutted and changed
to this supposed feel-good movie. All
the edge of Nick Hornby’s novel was replaced by fuzzy rom-com moments and the
pacing was so slow and laggard that I felt like I was watching an entire season
of baseball (replacing the soccer theme of the book and original movie). Also, Jimmy Fallon was so inert, I felt no
sympathy when Drew Barrymore dumped him.
I would have too. The ending felt
tacked on too, and not just because no one expected the Boston Red Sox to
actually win the championship last year.
As a metaphor for growing up and becoming a responsible adult, giving up
one’s devotion to a sports team (and the attendant season tickets) seemed too
absolute. Life is never that
simplistic. There are practical ways to
balance fanciful dreams and day-to-day reality that don’t require abandoning
one or the other completely. In other
words, I didn’t buy into the movie’s premise, the character’s motivations or
the movie’s supposed charms.
Finding Neverland- A kind of biography about
the life of J.M. Barrie, the writer of Peter Pan. Johnny Depp plays this role with a very
sweet, subtle touch and mines the pathos and sorrow of the human story, not the
imagery of the author’s fantasy world.
Apparently, very difficult things happened to the author and his stories
were as much an escape for him as they were for the readers. Depp gets us to feel sympathy for Barrie
without begging us to do so. His Oscar
nomination was richly deserved, although I’m not sure the same can be said for
the movie. Still, it was very moving and
quite touching.
Four Brothers- This was fantastic. John Singleton delivers a powerhouse
film. It sounds like a B-movie plot,
with four multi-cultural screwed-up kids who were adopted and return as
grownups to look into the recent murder of their adoptive mother. In a sense, it is a B-movie but it is made
with A-list skill. The actors are
excellent, the plot is engrossing, and the action scenes are incredible. The neighborhood shootout rivals anything in
Heat, Die Hard or The Matrix. Nothing
here feels contrived. It is like picking
up the Sunday paper and reading about what happened on a troublesome Saturday
in the city. This was one of the best
movies of the year because it felt real.
Fun With Dick & Jane- The entire time I
watched this, I kept feeling like I had already seen this movie done better in
Elizabethtown where it was simply one of the subplots. Here the same themes are stretched over a
longer period, done less creatively and Jim Carrey is allowed to ply his
schtick for too long. Plus, Tea Leoni is
wasted in a supporting role. I had no
fun with Dick & Jane.
Guess Who- Ashton Kutcher is engaged to Bernie
Mac’s daughter. Look, the white boy is
marrying the black girl. How mindblowing. Yeah, in 1967 when the original “Guess Who’s
Coming To Dinner” first appeared. Now it
is being played for cheap laughs and unfunny black/white jokes.
Happy Endings- Another of those large ensemble
independent movies where everyone’s lives turn out to be intertwined. It’s a so-so example of the genre and quite
downbeat. Despite the title, there is no
optimism to be found here but I was impressed by the plot featuring Tom Arnold
and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It had a
sweetness lacking in the rest of the movie, although sweetness is a relative
term since she sleeps with Arnold and his son in order to keep living in their
house rent-free while she pursues her dream of being a singer. Maggie also sings two lovely and despondently
aching versions of Billy Joel songs.
Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire- A
decent version of the book but I still recommend the book.
History Of Violence- As one review mentioned,
an intriguing play on words. It alludes
to a repetition of violence throughout the years and also to a person with a
propensity for violence. This is also a
bit of a pun since the story is a slowly paced drama that involves a peaceful
diner owner who is mistaken for a Mafia thug who abruptly disappeared years
ago. Suddenly the small town is over-run
by mob types looking for the absent wiseguy.
They focus on the diner cook and attempt to get him to reveal his true
colors, to show his violent side. When
he is forced to act out in self-defense, there are massive repercussions for
everyone involved. When violence occurs
in a place where previously peace had reigned, nobody wins. History shows that violence rarely is the
answer. An excellent, slow boiling
drama.
Hitch- Will Smith stars as hitch, a date
doctor who helps his more romantically challenged clients find love. An enjoyable piffle. My only problem with the movie was that a
reporter exposes Smith’s involvement with the schlubs he has for clients and
suddenly Smith is personae non grata. I
don’t see how that jibes with the movie’s message- that everyone deserves
love. Why would getting professional
help to be more appealing be a terrible crime?
Why would his services be rejected?
If he can help Kevin James bag a super-model girlfriend, why wouldn’t I
seek him out to help me? I would think
having his success publicized would have greatly helped his business, not
ruined it. I know it was done as a deus
ex machina but it spoiled some of my enjoyment for what was an otherwise
enjoyable, frothy romp of a date movie.
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy- an almost
unfilmable book but this two decades too late effort makes a reasonable stab at
it. Some of the absurd humor translates
well and the characters retain their appeal although I was disappointed with
the understated, almost invisible Mos Def as Ford Prefect. I always envisioned Ford as a more outgoing
sort, kind of like Vince Vaughn’s character in Swingers, a self-absorbed,
detached yet clever and quick thinking dude.
The clever wordplay remains as does the Everyman loser charm of the real
hero, Arthur Dent. I wish this had made
more money because I would have liked to see what happens in the sequel.
Hostage- Bruce Willis as a cop out to rescue
his family who are being held hostage.
Everything goes by the numbers until the ending, where I sat there
thinking “Huh? That’s the ending? That can’t be the ending- that’s what happens
in real life, not in the movies. Where
is the big resolution?” That’s actually
what salvaged the movie for me because the rest was juts so-so.
Hustle & Flow- This movie still sticks in
my mind. It’s an engrossing look at the
creative process and also a captivating slice of life, assuming you are a pimp
trying to cross-over to being a rap star.
I was mesmerized watching the cast try to create a hit song in the
middle of their dumpy living room using a second hand equipment. There was also the powerhouse performance of
Terrence Howard as the pimp Djay. He is
alternately fierce, terrifying and gentle.
He has been pushed around his whole life and seems a bit surprised to
find himself where he is in life. Once
he finds a way out, a possible redemption, he fights to succeed at what he
rightly sees as his last chance. There
is one scene where you watch him force himself to go from his natural charming,
friendly self into the dangerous, towering figure he needs to be in his line of
work and you just are amazed at the transformation. He inhabits the role so fully you are
breathless. After his similarly
effective turns in Four Brothers and Crash, I was thrilled to see him get an
Oscar nomination and I hope he wins, even though I doubt he will get it for
playing a pimp, even with such a masterful performance as this one.
Ice Harvest- This is actually a drama, or even
a heist movie, but it is not a comedy.
Maybe a very dark comedy, but not the light-hearted romp promised by the
previews. It’s along the lines of
“Feeling Minnesota”, except with John Cusack instead of Keanu Reeves, almost
always a good thing, and more intelligence in the characters, also a good thing. The same thing John & Vicky hated about
“Derailed”, I hated about this movie.
None of the characters used good sense.
They did everything wrong and bad things happened to them.
In Good Company- Topher Grace (or is it Gopher
Trace?) takes a new job that makes him the boss of Dennis Quaid, a much older
employee who happens to be the father of Scarlett Johansson, whom he is now
secretly dating. Of course things go
badly, but in a realistic way and with actual consequences. It is kind of sweet, a throwback of a
movie. You could imagine this in a movie
from the 1950’s.
The Interpreter- Did this actually come out
this year? It feels so old and so
dated. Nicole Kidman has lost almost all
of her luster by now, and the remaining bit would shortly get dusted off by her
performance in Bewitched. Sean Penn and
Kidman try to stop some assassination plot at the U.N. Is she out to stop the killing or is she the
cause of it? Who cares.
Into The Blue- This movie is about Jessica
Alba in a bikini. Yeah, there is also
some nonsense about a crashed drug-running plane, lost treasure ships, and lots
of sharks but really the reason to see this is Alba in the bikini. If you care about anything other than that,
then I’ll add that the movie looks great and the water scenes are stunning.
Just Friends- I was surprised that I liked
this as much as I did. It was really
sweet. Ryan Reynolds returns to his
boyhood town as a success, different from the fat loser he was when he left yet
he still can’t win the heart of the hot girl in high school even with his built
in advantage of having been her best friend in school. He remains just friends with her. There are several subplots, like Anna Faris
hysterically playing a Britney Spears type singer and Reynolds fighting with
his younger brother, and they all add to the fun in the movie. This one is a little different and has a nice
edge to it.
Just Like Heaven- Reese Witherspoon plays a
over-worked, under-romanced doctor who dies in a car crash. She comes back to
haunt (to woo?) Mark Ruffalo who now lives in her apartment. Wanna bet that it somehow works out? I know- she’s a ghost, but still it’s a Reese
Witherspoon mainstream romantic movie.
Of course it works out in the end.
Kicking & Screaming- Will Ferrell plays a
soccer coach out to win the championship to show his dad, a competing coach,
that he is worthwhile after all. It
should have gone a bit more zany than it did.
King Kong- If you haven’t seen this by now,
you don’t have to rush to do so. It is
the epitome of a big screen movie.
Everything in here looks great on a big screen, especially the dinosaur
fights with Kong and the attack by the bugs.
Nothing changes from the original story except the special effects
budget which is showcased in this 3 hour spectacle. I’m sure it is less impressive on video.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang- Where to begin with this
movie, one of the most original of the year?
Robert Downey Jr. is the thief who is mistaken for an actor, Val Kilmer
is the gay detective who coaches him for his role in a cop movie, and
eventually they team up to find out who is trying to kill them. The banter is hilarious, wicked, and clever
and the plot is intricate, obvious yet unexpected. This tweaked both my funny bone and my
brain. It is the directorial debut
of the writer of Lethal Weapon, The Last
Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight and he retains the noir-ish, nihilistic
edge of those movies.
Kung Fu Hustle- A silly kung fu farce, along
the lines of Shaolin Soccer.
The Last Days- Gus Van Sant makes a dreamy,
thinly veiled account of the last days of Kurt Cobain’s life. It has the hazy, disconnected, druggy feel
that you imagine characterized his final days.
It is also meandering, dull, obtuse and frustrating so you get a bit of
mixed bag with this.
Layer Cake- A crime caper in the vein of
Snatch and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. It’s not as cleverly plotted as those others
but it does boast one of the same producers in the director’s seat. The biggest draw of this movie is that it
features Daniel Criag in the lead role, the man who was later cast as the new
James Bond. Here he is a bit charming
but also a little subdued and bland, overshadowed by some of the other more
charismatic actors in the film.
Legend Of Zorro- I was quite disappointed by
this movie. I liked the first Zorro and
this was directed by the same guy, Martin Campbell, who made the best James
Bond movies of the last 10 years (Golden Eye).
I think the problem was that Zorro was made as a PG movie. Plus, you had a cute little kid, his son, as
an unnecessary sidekick. They captured
the romantic tension between Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and set
up the action scenes properly but didn’t invest them with enough gravity to
work. It was too slapstick. You had a movie about a swordfighting outlaw,
yet almost no one dies here and certainly none die by his sword. All the elements were there but they were
rendered lifeless by the decision to make this a family movie. Even more scary to me is the fact that the
director’s next movie is the new Bond movie.
I hope he is allowed to hit harder in that movie otherwise it will end
up as the worst Bond movie ever (Yes, even worse than A View To A Kill).
Longest Yard-
Another remake. I don’t mind remakes but
I think you need to bring something new to them otherwise why bother. In this movie, there was no answer for the
audience’s why. It was a fairly
straight-forward remake. The only why
answered was on Adam Sandler’s part- to be seen as a more traditional leading
man, and to make money after the failure of Little Nicky and Spanglish.
Lord Of War- A few years back, Johnny Depp did
a movie called “Blow” that was an in-depth examination of the drug trade. It was quite compelling and successful. Lord Of War attempts to do the same thing
with the gun trade. The problem is that
this doesn’t go as in-depth, throws in un-needed subplots, and isn’t as
convincingly acted.
Melinda & Melinda- Woody Allen’s latest
movie. I had honestly forgotten about it
until I saw the name here. It was not
bad nor good. I actually liked the
actor’s performances, like Radha Mitchell and Will Ferrell’s but the movie
itself was a tad dull.
Million Dollar Baby- I admit I’m moving
quickly through some of these reviews because I’m way behind but the only
reason I’m not writing a lot about this film is because, first of all, it is an
Academy Award winner and got tons of press which I’m sure you heard about. Second, there are certainly plot points I
shouldn’t reveal because I don’t want to take away the surprise when you see
them happen. In fact, surprise may be
too mild a word. Gut-punch would be
better. This “girl-Rocky” story is very
engrossing and I would recommend it although it is trying at times. If you don’t like movies to be anything other
than mindless entertainment, then this isn’t for you. This movie makes you think and challenges
some of your pre-conceptions about life.
For once, I appreciated that in a movie even if it took me by surprise.
Mindhunters- You know how movies like Final
Destination and Nightmare On Elm Street have their characters die clever,
elaborately unlikely deaths? Well, this
movie does the same thing for thrillers.
The deaths are the stars, not Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, LL Cool J
and Kathryn Morris. Which is a shame,
because just imagine what that cast could do with a real script. A fun but disposable movie.
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous- I’m
not sure what to say about this. I don’t
generally badmouth Sandra bullock movies but had she not been in this one, I
would call it one of the worst movies this millennium. Her personality manages to salvage some
enjoyment from this dreary, unimaginative film.
Mr & Mrs Smith- Where to begin with this
movie? I shouldn’t have had any
expectations for this movie because it was by the director of Swingers- a cool
comedy but not an action movie- and The Bourne Identity- a lackluster
adaptation of a fantastic spy story by Robert Ludlum. Plus, throw in the fact that Brad Pitt has
never done a straight action movie that didn’t involve sandals and loincloths
and that co-star Angelina Jolie has been on a major losing streak lately and
you can see why I shouldn’t have anticipated this movie. But……the preview trailer looked so cool! So, I was there in line the weekend it opened
and man was I blown away. The action
scenes were stellar, with plenty of flair and visual style and, most
unexpectedly, it was really funny with an undercurrent of social commentary. The action scenes are used as a high-concept
proxy for normal domestic discord.
Instead of spouses arguing with each other by screaming and yelling,
they pull and guns and try to kill each other or shoot their way out of a dodgy
situation. I loved the scene where the
pair realized they had been lying to each other and instead of “needing to
talk”, they demolish the house in the course of trying to settle the matter
physically. This was one of the most
interesting action movies of the last few years because it was about more than
just action.
Munich- When Spielberg gets serious and has an
overt message, it sometimes works and sometimes flops badly. This is one of the latter, I felt. Notice that I didn’t say he did bad work, just
unsuccessful work. This was an
acceptable movie, but it likely lost money and despite the Oscar nominations it
didn’t really make an impact. The story
follows several Israeli hired assassins out to get revenge for the murder of
the Israeli Olympic athletes in 1972.
They track down the terrorists responsible for the killings and take
them out. The idea of the movie seems to
be about violence begetting violence and about the moral and mental
righteousness of revenge versus turning the other cheek. I did enjoy watching the progression of their
abilities as they got more comfortable with their roles and then their
discomfort at their success and how it turned them into targets
themselves. This is one of those movies
that is sporadically very interesting but doesn’t work only because it is only
interesting, not gripping.
Must Love Dogs- For someone who is not a
chick, I don’t know why I get sucked into watching most of the chick flick
romantic comedies that come out. Maybe
I’m using them as a vicarious form of romance or maybe I just like the promise
they hold. Comedies that are well-done
are rare but one that can find their comic elements in a romantic situation as
well is like the holy grail- it doesn’t happen very often. The number of original rom-coms that are good
can usually be counted on one hand. The
number that are near-misses requires a couple hands, and the ones that are wide
of the mark or aren’t even pointing in
the right direction seem to turn up every weekend. (Except around Valentine’s Day this year- for
some reason the new releases seemed to all be horror movies. Some kind of statement?) This one had some moments of sincerity, such
as John Cusack’s ill-timed but amusing honesty like the scene in the kitchen
and his confession in the park about his dog, the utter loveliness of Diane
Lane- like she would be single for very long, and the moment of doubt about the
outcome of the movie- Dermot Mulroney seems like a great catch until you
realize it’s Dermot Mulroney and he never gets the main girl, only the
consolation prize girl. When this comes
on cable, I’ll watch parts of it again even though it is no bulls-eye.
Pride & Predjudice- Yes, my hopeless
fascination with chick flicks carries over to one of the most “chick-est” of
flicks, a Jane Austen adaptation. The
attraction here is Keira Knightley (yummy!) and the chance to see a version of
the story that doesn’t include the over-rated Colin Firth. I loved the intelligence of the script and
Keira’s delivery and I was quite moved in several parts. I’ve heard some people say that they disliked
how Donald Sutherland played his part, but since I haven’t
read/adored/memorized the book, I was quite taken with how he assayed the
character. It was quite sweet, a
touching indulgence that masked a slight regret and palpable distaste for
conflict. A very well-done movie that
rooted the rom-com elements in a serious statement about the role of woman and
their place in society.
The Producers- I didn’t watch the whole movie,
but to be fair I didn’t pay for it. I
just snuck in for a few minutes while I waited for something else to
start. The parts I did see verified what
I thought the movie would be- a broad farce with mediocre songs. Nathan Lane mugged the camera at every
opportunity while Matthew Broderick played coy with it. Will Ferrell did goodness knows what to the
camera although I admit his Hitler worshipper made me smile in parts, almost
enough to make me wish I had seen the rest of his parts in the movie. Everyone else I could care less about.
Red Eye- Wes Craver directed this typical
thriller but since it is Wes Craven is was still worth watching. A cute girl (Rachel McAdams, my movie crush
for this year) bumps into Jack Ripner at the airport and later on the plane
and, as if his name wasn’t enough of a clue, bad things happen. Wes Craven can bring a sense of dread to
using airplane bathrooms and he does so here.
He employees all of his visual style to make this potboiler hum with
menace. Very few people do “cat and
mouse” as well as he does.
The Ringer- Johnny Knoxville pretends to be
mentally challenged so he can win the Special Olympics. He has a good reason to win, one too bizarre
and amusing to ruin by telling you here, especially since it’s a visual gag and
doesn’t translate well to print. Suffice
to say, he needs the money. The only
thing standing in his way are the other retards, who call him out for his fraud
but then help him. Naturally there is a
girl in this thing, causing a moral dilemma about what he’s doing. If this sounds s bit like a recent episode of
South Park, you are thinking the same thing the screenwriter did- they ripped
him off. I don’t know if anyone stole
ideas or not, but basically the South Park episode was much funnier and this
movie was much sweeter. Take your pick
as to which you want.
Rumor Has It- Jennifer Aniston’s other flop
this year, with this one being a romantic comedy to counterpoint the “serious
acting” of Derailed. It is a re-thinking
of The Graduate, imagining what it would be like if there was a real family
that was the basis for the book/movie The Graduate. I wasn’t really knocked out by anything in
this movie with the exception of Kevin Costner’s role. He displayed more of the rough charm that he
had back in earlier movies. He played a
bit of a rogue, a part that displays his talents to their best effect, who
makes a move on Aniston, in addition to her mom and grandmother, but it’s not a
sleazy as it sounds. Aniston has done
this type of movie before, and better.
Sahara- I won’t go into much detail about this
movie, especially since I can’t speak the last name of the lead actor and don’t
feel like looking it up. The main
character, Dirk Pitt, goes looking in the Egyptian desert for a missing
Confederate ironclad ship bearing gold.
Yeah, that’s what I said. Steve
Zahn makes an amusing sidekick, as always, and I actually found Penelope Cruz
quite appealing, finally. It is an odd
amalgam of a movie but is worth a look on cable.
Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic- basically a
Sarah Silverman stand-up comedy act on film, with a few interstitial skits that
elaborate on certain jokes. The standup
was moderately amusing and the skits ranged from bizarre to “No she
didn’t!” My favorite bit of all was the
first skit, which analyzes her motivation for making the movie. One gripe- the movie was too short, at least
for the price I paid.
Serenity- If you haven’t seen the television
show this is based on, Firefly, then go see it now. Okay, you don’t need to have seen the show to
understand the movie but I recommend the show nonetheless. For one thing, you will realize that the
description of the movie- band of space pirates who get mixed up with the
Alliance when they abscond with a psychic prisoner- doesn’t do justice to the
creativity you are about to witness.
Rarely in an action or sci-fi movie do I wind up quoting lines of
dialogue which goes to show how well-written the thing is. Also, for a first time director, Joss Whedon
does some remarkable things with his visuals, things I hadn’t seen done before
and that were really innovative.
Finally, you care about the characters here. They come across as real people and when a
character dies in this movie, you feel sad that you won’t be seeing that
character anymore.
Shopgirl- Steve Martin adapts his novella for
the big screen and co-stars with Claire Danes. I found the novella a bit dry and melancholic
but this adaptation is a significant improvement. It is a sparkling gem, a sapphire actually- a
deep blue, but casting off glints of light that touch the heart. I won’t even try to describe the radiance of
Claire Danes who perfectly embodies the role and makes it everything it needed
to be to succeed. This is not a romantic
comedy. This is a bittersweet ode to
love.
Sin City- What Serenity did for sci-fi and Mr
& Mrs Smith did for action, Sin City does for hard-boiled detective
stories. It re-boots the genre. It is another one of those movies that can’t
be fully understood by describing it- you have to see it to understand. It is shot in black and white, with
occasional splashes of color, and to call it hard-boiled is actually
under-stating its’ rawness. The violence
is over-the-top yet brutality intense.
The actors and actresses all do stellar jobs, with special accolades to
Mickey Rourke for his touching thug Marv.
There are three intersecting stories, which don’t really overlap except
for one moment when they are all in the same bar and you realize that this
movie features Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Carla
Gugina, Elijah Wood and many others, all at the top of their game and director
Robert Rodriquez brings frenetic, gritty, daring edge to it all.
Sky High- An amusing family-oriented superhero
romp. The typical misunderstood
adolescent happens to be the son of superheroes yet he has no powers of his
own. How will he cope when he goes to
superhero high school? This is a fun
picture, so if any of the description interests you, give it a chance and watch
it.
The Squid & The Whale- A divorce drama and
how it affects the kids, from the director of Kicking And Screaming (from the
marvelous 1990’s movie, not the Will Ferrell vehicle from this year). Some great performances but a so-so film.
Star Wars: Revenge Of the Sith- You have seen
tons of publicity about this already so I’ll just say that it is the best of
the three prequels, it is the first one of them to merit the hype, and I liked
it enough to see it a couple of times.
There are several scenes that have enough resonance that they would have
fit in nicely with the original trilogy.
Syriana- I haven’t really responded to any of
the recent expose type movies like Traffic, Lord Of War, or Syriana. The reason is because they are focusing more
on making the point that, gasp!, there is corruption and deceit in the drug,
gun and oil trade than they are on making a compelling movie. This is not news to me and I’m not interested
in watching the machinations used to “uncover” this fact. I want to see a good story. If it informs and educates me at the same
time, that is an incidental bonus- it should not be the primary motive for a
fictional piece of filmmaking. That’s
what documentaries and Steven Spielberg films are for. That’s not to say this is a bad movie though. It is perfectly capable and I was impressed
with how George Clooney pulled off his proletariat spy role. I actually believed he was a schlub in the
spy game rather than a glamorous movie star.
The best parts of this movie though seemed to be cribbed from Clear And
Present Danger.
The 40-Year Old Virgin- This movie is
about…. Oh, why even bother. It’s about exactly what it sounds like, a
forty-year old who has yet to do the deed.
The trials and tribulations of said virgin and his reawakened quest for
satisfaction are played for touching and comic effect. Steven Carrell is perfect as the man-child
who has given up on love and lust until his co-workers take pity on him, after
their initial astonishment, and try to get him a girl. Of course, things don’t work out quite the
way everyone expects. but that just adds to the comedy. It’s a fairly sweet film, nowhere near as
crude as The Wedding Crashers but along the same lines and almost as
enjoyable.
The Island- A modern day version of Logan’s
Run. Coming from director Michael Bay, I
thought it was a bit pokey but it was fun in parts, like when Scarlett
Johansson and Ewan McGregor first meet and flirt, when the cloned McGregor
meets his human counterpart, the chase scene in the facility and the cockeyed
optimism of McGregor before he knows the truth although we have been smirking
at his sunny outlook the whole time.
Transporter 2- My review of the first movie
said that it was a two part movie. The
first part was a taut crime caper with style and intelligence while the second
part descended into generic action mode with lots of fighting and killing. The sequel is a whole movie like the second
part. As a movie, it isn’t bad but based
on the fact that the first half potential of first movie is again
unceremoniously ignored.
Upside Of Anger- Husband leaves wife for his
secretary; wife becomes bitter and angry and takes it out on everyone
around. This is not a promising premise
for a movie and it is not pleasant to watch but boy is it mesmerizing. Joan Allen is the wife and her anger is
palpable. The paint almost bubbles off
the walls as she walks past. About the
only comfort she finds is when she lies on the sofa getting drunk with Kevin
Costner, her slacker has-been ball-player neighbor. I could not take my eyes of this pair- they
make dysfunction engrossing. Joan Allen
never hits a false note and Costner exudes seedy charisma. This movie barrels along on strength of some
career-high, seamless acting performances.
Wallace & Gromit: Curse Of The WereRabbit-
Most people who know me have gotten my screed about how Wallace & Gromit
are just the greatest thing ever. That’s
what made it weird that I didn’t adore this movie- I just really liked it. If I had never seen the three perfect Wallace
& Gromit short features first, I think I would have loved this or maybe I
just got tired of waiting the eight years between A Close Shave and this
full-length feature. For the record,
Wallace is the clueless inventor and Gromit is his silent, long suffering and
more intelligent dog. Together, they try
to stop a vegetable thief who is destroying the annual vegetable
competition. The pacing lags a bit here,
but when things do kick in they match the whimsy and frenetic pace of the
shorts. I don’t care which W&G
movies or shorts you see, but you must see at least one of them.
War Of The Worlds- A summer popcorn movie from
Steven Spielberg that adapts the H.G. Wells book as a metaphor for war and
terrorism, something he does more explicitly in Munich, his other movie this
year. Clearly he has something he wants
to say about the subject. This is the
subtler of the two by virtue of it being less overt but it certainly isn’t the
more restrained of the two. Once the
ground remains of the human captives are sprayed over the ground as fertilizer
for the aliens’ food source, I kind of got the hint that using death and destruction
as the basis of a civilization is not a good idea. There are several nice scenes in here but
also a bunch of “Why are they doing something so stupid?” moments. Visually, it is a very grim, dark landscape
that demolishes almost all hope of optimism.
The only sanctuary is found within the context of family, another point
driven home repeatedly. A very creepy
movie but worth a look.
Weather Man- Nicholas Cage goes back to
actually acting with this morose drama about a day in the life of a weatherman. He takes abuse from everyone who feels it is
his fault that the weather is different than he predicted, refusing to
understand that it is unpredictable, just like life itself. Naturally, unexpected things happen to
him. This is very downbeat and it is not
one of those that suddenly springs a happy ending on you. It maintains its’ winter gloom
throughout.
The Wedding Crashers- Raunchy, wild, off-beat
and surprisingly sweet. Vince Vaughn and
Owen Wilson are cads who charm, lie and weasel their way into stranger’s
weddings so that they can meet and seduce women who have let their guard down
because the sentimentality of the wedding ceremony has clouded their
judgment. Everything goes swimmingly for
them until Vince falls for one of his conquests. Considering that the girl is crazy (kudos to
Isla Fisher) makes things a bit complicated, as does the fact that Owen starts
to fall her normal sister (the disarmingly charming Rachel McAdams) who is
already engaged. Throw in a bizarre Will
Ferrell appearance and you have one strange movie. It’s also an incredibly funny one.
Wedding Date- This wedding movie is not
though. Debra Messing hires Dermot
Mulroney as her escort to her sister’s wedding.
Feelings emerge but what will the result be? It’s kind of like Pretty Woman in
reverse. By reverse, I also mean “not
good” but you already knew that when I mentioned Dermot Mulroney. If I was a real reviewer needing a blurb for
the caption, I’d say “Don’t make a date for this wedding”.
Richard’s 10 Worst
Movies Of 2005
10) The Longest Yard
9) The Bad News
Bears
8) Fever Pitch
7) Miss Congeniality
2: Armed & Fabulous
6) Fun With Dick
& Jane
5) Dukes Of Hazzard
4) Bewitched
3) Aeon Flux
2) Wedding Date
1) Doom
Richard’s 25 Best
Movies Of 2005
25) Finding Neverland
24) Upside Of Anger
23) Assault On
Precinct 13
22) Hitchhiker’s
Guide To The Galaxy
21) Family Stone
20) Hitch
19) Crash
18) King Kong
17) Four Brothers
16) Wallace &
Gromit: Curse Of The Wererabbit
15) 40-Year Old
Virgin
14) Shopgirl
13) History Of
Violence
12) Fantastic Four
11) Just Friends
10) Million Dollar
Baby
9) Star Wars:
Revenge Of The Sith
8) Batman Begins
7) Pride &
Prejudice
6) Kiss Kiss Bang
Bang
5) Mr & Mrs
Smith
4) Hustle & Flow
3) Serenity
2) Wedding Crashers
1) Sin City
1 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith $380,270,577
2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire $276,908,000
3 War of the Worlds
$234,280,354
4 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the
Witch and the
Wardrobe $224,839,000
5 The Wedding Crashers
$209,218,368
6 Charlie And the Chocolate Factory $206,459,076
7 Batman Begins $205,343,774
8 Madagascar
$193,202,933
9 Mr. and Mrs. Smith
$186,336,279
10 Hitch $179,495,555
11 King Kong
$174,324,000
12 The Longest Yard
$158,119,460
13 Fantastic Four
$154,696,080
14 Chicken Little
$132,268,000
15 Robots
$128,200,012
16 The Pacifier
$113,086,868
17 The 40-Year-Old Virgin
$109,289,008
18 Walk the Line
$92,495,000
19 Flightplan
$89,036,640
20 Saw II Lions Gate $86,883,372
21 Monster-in-Law
$82,931,301
22 Are We There Yet?
$82,531,160
23 The Dukes of Hazzard $80,270,227
24 March of the Penguins
$77,437,223
25 The Ring Two
$76,231,249
26 Constantine
$75,567,648
27 The Exorcism of Emily Rose /
$75,072,454
28 Four Brothers
$74,494,381
29 Sin City Dimension $74,103,820
30 The Interpreter
$72,554,855
31 Guess Who
$68,777,685
32 Sahara $68,671,925
33 Coach Carter
$67,264,877
34 Herbie: Fully Loaded
$66,023,816
35 The Amityville Horror MGM $65,233,369
36 Fun With Dick and Jane
$64,568,000
37 Sky High
$63,946,815
39 Bewitched
$62,252,415
38 Jarhead
$62,378,160
40 Cinderella Man
$61,649,911
41 Red Eye
$57,891,803
42 White Noise
$56,386,759
43 Be Cool $56,046,979
44 Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit $55,811,560
45 Cheaper by the Dozen 2
$55,127,000
46 Crash Lions Gate $53,404,817
47 Corpse Bride
$53,359,111
48 Kicking & Screaming
$52,664,450
49 Hide and Seek
$51,100,486
50 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy $51,085,416
The Year In Movies (2006)
American Dreamz-
This is a satire that bit off more than it could chew. It went a bit darker than necessary for a
sarcastic look at a) reality television, especially American Idol, b) the
isolating nature of fame, c) presidential incompetence- a barely disguised Bush
clone- and, d) terrorism. Yes, the last
two imply a darker tone but then the script sends the main terrorist to live in
California with a standard-issue dysfunctional
Beverly Hills
BenchWarmers-
I snuck into this after I was done watching American Dreamz. I was not going to pay to see this because of
my Roger Ebert Stance (see the review for Scary Movie 4) but figured I would
try a few minutes of it to check out the quality of the movie. For a Happy Madison Production (i.e. Adam
Sandler’s company) it was about par. Of
course, my idea of par is a bit higher than film critics who don’t like
previous Adam Sandler movies like Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Wedding
Singer or Anger Management to say nothing of the non-Sandler productions like
Joe Dirt, The Hot Chick and Dirty Work.
On the negative side, Happy Madison Productions is responsible for
Little Nicky, The Animal and Deuce Bigelow: European Gigolo. If you look between the two extremes, you get
a feel for this movie. The Benchwarmers
is slightly offbeat and crude but with an inate sweetness that hooks you
in. Here, the lovable dweebs play
typical underdogs- a staple of a Happy Madison movie- that find a way to
persevere in the end, with laughs and groans along the way.
Friends With Money-
This was the first of four movies I saw today and it was a decent way to
start. This is an indie film starring
Jennifer Aniston. She’s a teacher who
got tired of working with spoiled rich kids so now she works as a maid cleaning
houses. Her going rate for appears to be
about $65 per house for a typical starter home (unless she lets a customer talk
her down to $50.) Needless to say, she
isn’t getting rich doing this, unlike her other female friends who are either
well-off or very, very well-off. Some of
them married rich and others have successful businesses of their own but all
are doing better than Aniston, who hits up the local mall stores for free
cosmetic samples. Of course, those
friends aren’t all happy-go-lucky. They
have money problems too, like what charity to donate to or how the addition to
the house is bothering the other neighbors, as well as personal issues. That’s the movie in a nutshell. There are no grand revelations, no intricate
plots, and almost no resolutions. It’s a
snapshot of a life in progress, with a little extra humor added in (but not
enough to leaven all the drama.) This is
neither a good nor bad movie- it just is.
“The Good Girl” was a better dramedy by Aniston and the director here
has done better in “Lovely & Amazing.”
After this movie, I went to Scary Movie 4. Talk about a decline in quality.
Scary Movie 4-
It has been quite a while since I’ve had a “4 movies in one day” session,
however I had a three weekend in front of me, no specific plans for it and a
heap of boredom weighing on me. Yes, it
was a nice Spring day so I went for a walk, and then puttered around the house
a bit but I was still bored. That is the
only explanation I can come up with for going to see Scary Movie 4. The movie hadn’t been screened for critics to
review which normally means that it is awful and the studio doesn’t want the
word to getting out earlier than it has to, which could hurt their box office
revenue. After enduring several of these
“Not screened in time for review” movies, most recently with the beyond
atrocious Ultraviolet, I decided that I would not see any more of them. I decided to take a Roger Ebert stance. If a movie isn’t submitted in time for
review, he doesn’t review it all. I
decided that if a movie doesn’t get offered to critics in time to get reviewed,
it is awful and doesn’t deserve to be watched.
If Aeon Flux didn’t convince me of that, Ultraviolet certainly did. So you might be wondering why I ended up
watching Scary Movie 4? Because of the
Uptown Theatre. They are a theatre in DC
with one huge screen and it is devoted to the biggest spectacle or most
cinematic movie currently in release.
For the last two weeks, they had Scary Movie 4 showing.
That made me think that a) It might be good
after all, and b) It was worth seeing in a theatre instead of DVD. Plus, half the reviews online at places like
rottentomatos.com were positive. I
should have known better than to trust other people since people are morons but
I was surprised by the Uptown’s choice because this movie was horrible. Considering it was only 83 minutes long, it
dragged on interminably. Worst of all,
it wasn’t funny since you could see the punchlines coming a mile away, assuming
you’ve ever seen a spoof movie before such as
the classic Airplane, Naked Gun or Hot Shots series. Even recent material like Date Movie or Scary
Movie 2 is vastly superior. Maybe I
should institute a further addendum to the Ebert Stance- don’t see unreviewed
movies, especially ones that have a Shaquille O’Neal “can’t make a free throw”
scene. After this movie, I went home to
have some food then came back to see American Dreamz. Skip back to the top to see that review then
go to Benchwarmers for the fourth movie I saw, also an unreviewed movie but one
that was good enough to revise my Ebert Stance.
It is now officially this- I will not pay for a movie that has not been
submitted to film critics for review but I will go see it if it is free (i.e. I
sneak in after the movie I paid to see) since I can always walk out if it is
bad.
The Sentinel-
A friend of mine went to see this right after reading the book it is based
on. He was quite disappointed with it in
comparison, which doesn’t surprise me.
Even good adaptations rarely hold up to the book if you read it right
before the movie. I purposefully avoided
re-reading The Lord Of The Rings prior to seeing the trilogy. I re-read The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The
Galaxy but only after seeing the movie.
I read Thank You For Smoking after seeing the movie because I hoped it
did a better job of what I was expecting from the movie- mixing acerbic comedy
with serious-issue drama. For me who
didn’t even know it was a book, I liked The Sentinel. It was a standard issue espionage thriller
that was somewhat predictable, especially if you’ve seen similar movies like
the Shadow Conspiracy or Murder At 1600 but it was capably done and reasonably
exciting. Sometimes that is all that is
necessary to entertain me- a well-crafted movie that delivers what it
promises. Romantic comedies rarely break
new ground but people adore them because they like experiencing the feelings a
well-made one can evoke. Thrillers, like
this, can do the same thing with the same lack of originality.
Stick It-
This is a lovable mutt of a movie, sort of Rocky meets Mean Girls, from the
writer of Bring It On (who now directs as well). If you take the rebellious character played
by Eliza Dushku in Bring It On and put her in the world of elite gymnastics,
that would be this movie. There are some
of the typical teen clichés but they are used so that they can be
subverted. In fact, the characters even discuss
the clichés- the very attractive bad girl (who looks like a gymnast, although
she’s apparently a soccer player) tells her coach not to give her the “you can
do it” speech and then goes into a litany of the typical phrases used in such a
speech. The coach is much more laconic
than usual for this genre, at one point telling her that if she doesn’t want to
do this, then it’s fine because if you don’t care, no one else does
either. It sounds corny as I write those
words but in the movie it has a much more nihilist feel. Also, in the end she doesn’t really win the
big championship and redeem her failures from the past. Instead, the movie gives you a moral, albeit
disguised enough that some airhead teens won’t even notice it. The moral is to do things for yourself
instead of pleasing others and not let others judge your worth and
ability. Like the coach says, if you
don’t care, no one else will either. In
real life, there isn’t a group of supporting characters trying to motivate you
to succeed. That’s the deeper message
lying beneath the glossy, spunky and clever surface of this movie.
Descent, The-
At last, a thriller/horror movie for people who don’t like lots of gore. Six women go spelunking and run across
something bad. What this movie does very
effectively is convey the claustrophobia and isolation of being deep in a
cave. It also superbly depicts the pure
spike of adrenalin that occurs in extreme situations. There is no clever plot nor surprise twists
(well, one but it makes no sense), just a sheer desperate urge for
survival. It’s not great but is worth a
watch- on cable.
Little Miss
Sunshine- An indie-dysfunctional family comedy. Steve Carrell (“40-Year Old Virgin”) does a
great job as straight-man for the rest of the family. There are a lot of interesting bits in this
movie but they are outweighed by the number of clichés in the script.
Click- If
you really like both “It’s A Wonderful Life” and Adam Sandler, you are gonna
love this movie. Sandler’s character is
given a magic remote control that lets him control his life- fast forwarding
through boring stuff, until he’s skipped past a lot of his life in a sort of
“what-if” way. When he realizes what
he’s missed, he has to deal with the consequences. Of course, there are also lots of fart jokes
and crude humor since Sandler isn’t exactly Jimmy Stewart, but it is amazing
how sentimental this is. I actually
misted up a few times and not all those times were because of how woefully the
film under utilizes the sexy Kate Beckinsale.
Nacho Libre-
From the writer of School
Of Rock School Of Rock
Richard’s 10 Worst
Movies Of 2006
10) Cache
9) Night At The
Museum
8) Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World
7) The Pink Panther
6) John Tucker Must
Die
5) Nacho Libre
4) Date Movie
3) Scary Movie 4
2) Night Watch
1) Ultraviolet
Richard’s 25
Favorite Movies Of 2006
25) X-Men 3: The
Final Stand
24) Match Point
23) Brokeback Mountain
22) The Departed
21) Mission
Impossible 3
20) Stick It
19) Apocalypto
18) Infamous
17) Marie Antoinette
16) Tenacious D: The
Pick Of Destiny
15) Matador
14) Blood Diamond
13) Rocky Balboa
12) Inside Man
11) Pursuit Of
Happyness
10) Running Scared
9) Walk The Line
8) Thank You For
Smoking
7) 16 Blocks
6) The Illusionist
5) Wordplay
4) Borat
3) The Devil Wears
Prada
2) Marilyn Hotchkiss’s Ballroom Dancing School
1) Casino Royale
Richard’s 10 Worst
Movies Of 2007
10) Dan In Real Life
9) Lucky You
8) Hitman
7) Transformers
6) Evan Almighty
5) License To Wed
4) Shrek 3
3) 30 Days Of Night
2) Alien Vs.
Predator: Requiem
1) Rush Hour 3
Richard’s 25
Favorite Movies Of 2007
25) Venus
24) Black Book
23) Breach
22) Zodiac
21) Gone Baby Gone
20) Fantastic Four:
Rise Of The Silver Surfer
19) Into The Wild
18) La Vie En Rose
17) Letters From Iwo Jima
16) Superbad
15) Black Snake Moan
14) Before The Devil
Knows You’re Dead
13) The Simpsons
Movie
12) Shooter
11) Lars & the
Real Girl
10) Knocked Up
9) The Kingdom
8) Little Children
7) Waitress
6) Talk To Me
5) Live Free Or Die
Hard
4) Bourne Ultimatum
3) Hot Fuzz
2) Juno
1) No Country For
Old Men
Richard’s 25
Favorite Movies Of 2008
25) The Happening
24) In Bruges
23) Synedoche , New York
22) Definitely, Maybe
21) Swing Vote
20) Hamlet 2
19) Jumper
18) Appaloosa
17) Vantage Point
16) Get Smart
15) Rachel Getting
Married
14) Indiana Jones
& The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
13) Role Models
12) Baby Mama
11) Mama Mia
10) Forgetting Sarah
Marshall
9) Quantum Of Solace
8) Slumdog
Millionaire
7) Tell No One
6) Nick &
Norah’s Infinite Playlist
5) Wall-E
4) Dark Knight
3) Sex & the
City
2) Tropic Thunder
1) Iron Man
Richard’s 10 Worst
Movies Of 2008
10) Wanted
9) The Spirit
8) Bank Job
7) Four Christmases
6) Burn After Reading
5) Transporter 3
4) Made Of Honor
3) Harold & Kumar
Escape Quantanamo
2) You Don’t Mess
With The Zohan
1) Max Payne
Top Grossing Movies Of 2008
Rank
|
Movie Title
|
Total Gross
|
1
|
The Dark Knight
|
$531,027,799
|
2
|
Iron Man
|
$318,412,101
|
3
|
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
|
$317,101,119
|
4
|
Hancock
|
$227,946,274
|
5
|
WALL-E
|
$223,808,164
|
6
|
Kung Fu Panda
|
$215,434,591
|
7
|
Twilight
|
$184,575,000
|
8
|
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
|
$178,267,000
|
9
|
Quantum of Solace
|
$167,535,553
|
10
|
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
|
$154,529,439
|
11
|
Sex and the City
|
$152,647,258
|
12
|
Mamma Mia!
|
$144,130,063
|
13
|
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
|
$141,621,490
|
14
|
The Incredible Hulk
|
$134,806,913
|
15
|
Wanted
|
$134,508,551
|
16
|
Marley and Me
|
$133,859,000
|
17
|
Get Smart
|
$130,319,208
|
18
|
Four Christmases
|
$119,664,000
|
19
|
Bolt
|
$112,091,984
|
20
|
Tropic Thunder
|
$110,515,313
|
21
|
Bedtime Stories
|
$104,989,000
|
22
|
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
|
$103,628,000
|
23
|
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
|
$102,491,776
|
24
|
Journey to the Center of the Earth
|
$101,704,370
|
25
|
Eagle Eye
|
$101,440,743
|
26
|
Step Brothers
|
$100,468,793
|
27
|
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
|
$100,018,837
|
28
|
10,000 B.C.
|
$94,784,201
|
29
|
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
|
$94,112,460
|
30
|
Yes Man
|
$94,035,000
|
31
|
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
|
$90,429,084
|
32
|
Pineapple Express
|
$87,341,380
|
33
|
21
|
$81,159,365
|
34
|
What Happens in Vegas
|
$80,277,646
|
35
|
Jumper
|
$80,172,128
|
36
|
Cloverfield
|
$80,048,433
|
37
|
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
|
$78,392,000
|
38
|
Valkyrie
|
$78,232,000
|
39
|
Gran Torino
|
$77,212,000
|
40
|
27 Dresses
|
$76,808,654
|
41
|
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
|
$75,986,503
|
42
|
Vantage Point
|
$72,266,306
|
43
|
The Spiderwick Chronicles
|
$71,195,053
|
44
|
Fool's Gold
|
$70,231,041
|
45
|
Seven Pounds
|
$69,457,000
|
46
|
Role Models
|
$67,164,000
|
47
|
Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour
|
$65,281,781
|
48
|
The Happening
|
$64,506,874
|
49
|
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
|
$63,172,463
|
50
|
Baby Mama
|
$60,494,212
|
Richard’s 5 Worst
Movies Of 2009
5) I Love You Man
4) Paul Blart: Mall
Cop
3) G.I. Joe
2) Bruno
1) Transformers 2
Richard’s 20
Favorite Movies Of 2009
20) The Proposal
19) The Blind Side
18) Julie & Julia
17) The Hangover
16) The Informant
15) The Reader
14) Inglourious
Basterds
13) Brothers Bloom
12) District 9
11) Gran Torino
10) The Hurt Locker
9) The Men Who Stare
At Goats
8) Zombieland
7) Star Trek
6) Taken
5) Watchmen
4) Terminator:
Salvation
3) It Might Get Loud
2) The Wrestler
1) (500) Days Of
Summer
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