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Tuesday, August 10, 2004

The Village - movie, 5 stars

Wow.

Some people aren't going to like this film.  They'll find the premise to be stupid and the plot twist to be laughable.  But they don't see this picture for what it really is.  The social commentary given in this movie is just beautiful.  Yes, that's right, beautiful.  What do I mean?  Well, I can't tell you without giving the main plot twist away.  Some of you will see it coming.  However, in the end you get the same result.

A powerful and engrossing film that any fan of M. Night Shyamalan's movies should go and see-- yes, right now!

The movie is set in (wink, wink) the late 1800s in a small reclusive village surrounded by a mysterious wooded area.  The woods here contain "those we do not speak of" or, more or less, some weird looking monsters.  These monsters and the people of this village have a sacred oath to not enter each other's territory.  Its a truce of sorts, an agreement to co-exist.  But when Joaquin Phoenix's character breaks this truce by entering the woods, things get out of hand.

The result is a climax that will be stunning to some, anticipated but well received by others, and even laughed at by a few more.  Its a film that is pretty much in the same vein as Shyamalan's other films, though this one takes place in a very unique and captivating setting.

The acting is very well done, as the core cast of Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Adrian Brody give excellent performances.  The latter two could even win awards for their roles.

Bryce Dallas Howard, the daughter of Director Ron Howard, was particularly good in her role as a blind girl.  Brody was just as convincing in his role as a ..well, "village idiot."  And, as before, Joaquin Phoenix continues to show that he is one of the most diverse actors of our new generation.

Towards the beginning, I found the premise to be a bit stupid.  Honestly, a group of people living alone and being scared of monsters in the woods was not really what I expected.  But, as the film went on, I was swept into its plot and came out truly impressed.  Trust me, it won't be what you expected either.  Don't go in thinking you are going to see a horror movie.  Its much more than that.

All in all, this is the best movie of the summer and definitely one to remember.  I give it 5 stars.

Go see it.

Thursday, July 22, 2004

Fahrenheit 9/11 - movie, 4 stars

This movie is hard to grade, mostly because it is a documentary.  You can't really say it has bad acting or bad direction or bad sets.  Its all real.  Its all very real.

Sure, its one sided.  But, as far as I can tell, save a few comments taken out of context Michael Moore's film is a factual take on the Presidency of George W. Bush.  To call this movie impactful is an understatement.  Sure, its controversial.  But, in a recent poll done by CNN, 2/3rds of independent voters planned to go see it.  This movie could snatch swing voters across the board.  However, most hardcore Bush fans will dismiss it as leftist propoganda.  In fact, I even witnessed some of these fans at the theater. 

They were the ones walking out.

I've tried to grade this movie as fairly and as bipartisan as possible.  Most of you probably know that I am not a Bush fan.  I am not a conservative.  I am not a moderate. 

I am a liberal.  Or, as many conservatives would say, a socialist hippie communist who should be dragged out in the road and shot.  I would say different, however.  I do think that I give a fair and balanced view of the right, but many others will likely think otherwise. 

But this review isn't about my political standing.  Its about the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.  I wouldn't say it made a huge impact on my views. 

Why?

Because I've already believed these things for some time.  Most of it, from what I can tell, is pretty accurate.  You can search the sources for yourself at:  http://www.michaelmoore.com/warroom/f911notes/

Overall, I would say that this movie is tremendously powerful and I invite all of the open-minded to go see it.  It paints a corrupt and somewhat terrifying picture of the real President Bush starting with the controversial election that put him in the White House and ending with the War in Iraq.   There have been some key points in the film that have been contested, such as the flight records that show the bin-Laden family being allowed to leave the United States for Saudi Arabia on September 19th without questioning. 

Well, its hard to say this isn't true when the document was being held up on the Senate floor on C-SPAN when I woke up yesterday morning.  It is very real and, also, very disturbing.  I've always thought the Saudi government was corrupt but I was never aware of the abundancy of connections had with the Bush and bin-Laden family. 

I won't give this film five stars, mostly because I don't like the fact that Michael Moore took some comments (specifically one made by Condoleeza Rice) out of context to increase the impact of his film.  He may have did that in other places as well. 

However, I will not deny that this movie was one of the most powerful I've seen in quite some time.  Whether you support President Bush or not, this movie raises some questions.  For those of you bashing the film, go see it and see for yourself what its all about.

Go see what President Bush has been hiding.

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

The Chronicles Of Riddick - movie, 4 stars

This is probably the biggest surprise, thus far, of the summer. Who would've thought that this movie would actually be decent? Excuse me, let me re-phrase that. Who would've thought that, after the first viewing, it would be worth seeing again or even worth buying on DVD?

I'm sure everyone won't like this movie. It's a pure popcorn action movie with just enough story to keep your interest (unlike Van Helsing). Just sit down and don't over-analyze too much. Hey, imagine if you'd have done that with Star Wars.

The Chronicles of Riddick introduces a whole new unique universe that, I dare say, could produce several more movies before everything is said and done. It does, of course, star the below-average actor Vin Diesel. The other actors in this movie are relatively unknown. There is Karl Urban, who played as the Rohan warrior Eomer in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. That's the only one I really recognize.

Basically, the movie's plot goes like this: Riddick, yes the character from Pitch Black, just wants to be left alone. Unfortunately, there is always a large bounty on his head. Eventually, he ends up in the hands of the Lord Marshall who is the leader of a race known as the Necromongers. This race scours the universe in a convert or kill type fury. As a boy, the Marshall was told he would be killed by a Furion (a small rebel race). When the Marshall learns that Riddick belongs to the mostly extinct race, he does his best to try and destroy him. Riddick escapes, however, and both of them eventually call a truce. But then, the Marshall makes the mistake of taking Riddick's friend Kira prisoner (Jack from Pitch Black). Of course, this attracts Riddick back to the Lord Marshall's base and they engage in a climactic battle.

Vin Diesel is a bad actor, I admit, but he makes a good action star and he does well with this character. This movie doesn't start out so well and looks like its heading for a below average grade at first but stick with it. You won't be dissapointed (unless you hate action flicks).

Go see it.

The Stepford Wives - movie, 2.5 stars

Okay, so this is a feminist movie. I got over that. What I couldn't get over was the fact that this was a movie that could've been very good but turned out to be very average because of a rushed presentation.

Basically, this movie is about a woman (Nicole Kidman) who gets fired from her high profile job and moves to a place called Stepford to start over again with her husband (Matthew Broderick) and her children (who don't really matter). Stepford, at first, appears to be a relatively old fashioned high class neighborhood. Perhaps too quickly, viewers will soon realize that this is a place where all of the women are robots-- literally.

Frank Oz (the director) did a nice job with the sets, acting, and pretty much everything else except for the pace of the film. It simply goes too fast. The movie is only an hour and a half but probably should've been about 30 minutes longer to allow for more plot and character development. Sure, Nicole Kidman gives a decent performance and the rest of the cast is also top notch (Glen Close, Matthew Broderick, Christopher Walken, Bette Midler). Like I said before, everything was in place. The presentation just didn't pull through.

Yes, this is a girl's movie but even Stephanie didn't like it. And, hey, I liked Mean Girls so you've got nothing on me. Maybe its worth a rental but there are better movies to see this summer.

Thursday, June 17, 2004

The Day After Tomorrow - movie, 4 stars

I had low expectations for this one. It wasn't even something I really wanted to see. But I would be pleasantly surprised.

I went into this movie thinking "special effects..no plot..special effects..no plot" but I left thinking "special effects..hey it had a plot!"

The movie stars Dennis Quaid as Professor Jack Hall who has concocted a theory that predicts a new ice age. Of course, no one believes him. But *gasp* guess what?? He is right. Right about everything, that is, except for the time in which it will occur. Quaid's theory had the ice age occuring hundreds of years into the future. However, this ice age was less than a month away.

I should've atleast expected an average movie since, afterall, we've got a pretty decent director for this one. Roland Emmerich was the mind behind past hits like Independence Day and The Patriot (Mel Gibson). This movie had excellent special effects, yes, but it also had some decent character development and even some political commentary that will be amusing to some. After the initial special effects frenzy of hurricanes, twisters, and the big freeze the movie tells a story of a people who would reject death for survival. Another noteworthy acting performance was Jake Gyllenhaall who played Quaid's son.

This movie was everything a summer movie should be: nice special effects, good acting, and a decent plot line. Of course, an ice age in a month's time is hardly believable. But the movie's theory isn't really meant to be taken seriously. It is, afterall, a movie. And a good one at that. Go see it.

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