When - 31 October 2008
Where - Home (SD)
How - Aired on TNT in HD
This was about my third time seeing this film, having seen it before in theatres back in 2006, and then on Encore just a few months back. Each time, it just confirms why I kind of dislike it: it's a bloated attempt to remain TOO faithful to its source material. This same disease affected the first Harry Potter film, and while it makes fans stand up and cheer, it can also make passive film-goer completely disinterested. So many moments feel like the could have been excised, without sacrificing any of the cool historical facts or thrilling action set pieces. Also, it's a tad bit too long; the film's climax happens a good 20 minutes or so before the actual end of the film. Granted, there's a huge revelation that awaits in those final moments, however, the ending still feels a tad bit tacked on, serving more as an epilogue. Having read the book (in a fever, mind you, reading almost the entire thing in one night), I much prefer the book. I look forward to Angels and Demons, this film and book's prequel; it's a much better story, and it's much more suited for film than this one. A great history lesson with some nice speculative Christian doctrine, but overall, it's kinda a mess, trying to tell TOO much story for a two hour film.
Side Note: A good friend of mine and director of one of my short screenplays was Ron Howard's assistant on Angels and Demons.
Buy - No
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Prime (2005)
When - 29 October 2008
Where - Home (SD)
How - DVD from the Library
Boring. This movie was simply boring. It had some moments where I chuckled, but half the time I was more interested in my laptop than the film. Not a good sign. The story attempts rather genuinely to be "realistic" in it's approach to an older-ish (mid to late 30s) woman dating a 23 year old, and boy does it try. Back and forth, back and forth. I love you, I hate you, I love you, I hate you... It was about as painful as Ross and Rachel (but without genuine characters, clever dialogue, and really funny situations). The end did not feel earned, as the final realization just felt tacked on, like we're supposed to have believed this character had this philosophy the whole time. Lame. Meryl Streep's also in it, in a decidedly more supporting capacity. She's basically the film's "hook", as Syd Field would say, playing the shrink to Uma and the mother to her (Uma's) boy toy. Quite the quandary, but with very little genuine laughs actually milked out of it. This is a shame, especially coming from Ben Younger, who wrote and directed the awesome Boiler Room with BAffleck and Giovanni Ribisi. Oh well. At least I got some eBay shopping done...
Side Note: I used the word "genuine" a lot in this entry. Weird.
Buy - Never.
Where - Home (SD)
How - DVD from the Library
Boring. This movie was simply boring. It had some moments where I chuckled, but half the time I was more interested in my laptop than the film. Not a good sign. The story attempts rather genuinely to be "realistic" in it's approach to an older-ish (mid to late 30s) woman dating a 23 year old, and boy does it try. Back and forth, back and forth. I love you, I hate you, I love you, I hate you... It was about as painful as Ross and Rachel (but without genuine characters, clever dialogue, and really funny situations). The end did not feel earned, as the final realization just felt tacked on, like we're supposed to have believed this character had this philosophy the whole time. Lame. Meryl Streep's also in it, in a decidedly more supporting capacity. She's basically the film's "hook", as Syd Field would say, playing the shrink to Uma and the mother to her (Uma's) boy toy. Quite the quandary, but with very little genuine laughs actually milked out of it. This is a shame, especially coming from Ben Younger, who wrote and directed the awesome Boiler Room with BAffleck and Giovanni Ribisi. Oh well. At least I got some eBay shopping done...
Side Note: I used the word "genuine" a lot in this entry. Weird.
Buy - Never.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
When - 28 October 2008
Where - Home (SD)
How - Download to TiVo
Train wreck. Pure and simple. This is one messed up film. Fantastic performances, namely Natalie Portman, but overall, it's a sad piece of historical fiction. Sick, sad people doing awful things to each other, and expecting to find great happiness. Ha! Beautiful to look at, but overall, it wasn't easy to watch. The jumping about in time became confusing, as it seemed less time had passed than had really passed. It felt like a pastiche of events, threaded together rather thinly, and without much care. Not a great film at all, but certainly some shining performances and wonderful production values.
Side Note: Found out while watching that Peter Morgan, the screenwriter, and I share a birthday... Cool. He wrote The Queen and Frost/Nixon.
Buy - Not a chance.
Where - Home (SD)
How - Download to TiVo
Train wreck. Pure and simple. This is one messed up film. Fantastic performances, namely Natalie Portman, but overall, it's a sad piece of historical fiction. Sick, sad people doing awful things to each other, and expecting to find great happiness. Ha! Beautiful to look at, but overall, it wasn't easy to watch. The jumping about in time became confusing, as it seemed less time had passed than had really passed. It felt like a pastiche of events, threaded together rather thinly, and without much care. Not a great film at all, but certainly some shining performances and wonderful production values.
Side Note: Found out while watching that Peter Morgan, the screenwriter, and I share a birthday... Cool. He wrote The Queen and Frost/Nixon.
Buy - Not a chance.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
When - 27 October 2008
Where - Home (SD)
How - DVD from the Library
Nice film. Beautifully shot. The performances were all around excellent, especially Leo DiCaprio, who was so utterly convincing, you'd think he weren't acting (I wonder if, given his relative obscurity at the time, if people did think he was mentally handicapped... Who knows...). Still, one minor issue: the music at times felt made-for-TV-ish, which got old, especially during the moments of genuine emotion. Great script from the remarkably consistent Peter Hedges (About A Boy, Dan in Real Life, Pieces of April). Overall, it was a good film. It lived up to the expectations many people had put on it, and that's good and all. Life changing? Not really. It's not quite my style, but still, it's a great film.
Buy? - No
Where - Home (SD)
How - DVD from the Library
Nice film. Beautifully shot. The performances were all around excellent, especially Leo DiCaprio, who was so utterly convincing, you'd think he weren't acting (I wonder if, given his relative obscurity at the time, if people did think he was mentally handicapped... Who knows...). Still, one minor issue: the music at times felt made-for-TV-ish, which got old, especially during the moments of genuine emotion. Great script from the remarkably consistent Peter Hedges (About A Boy, Dan in Real Life, Pieces of April). Overall, it was a good film. It lived up to the expectations many people had put on it, and that's good and all. Life changing? Not really. It's not quite my style, but still, it's a great film.
Buy? - No
Monday, October 27, 2008
The French Connection (1971)
Where? - Home (SD)
When? - October 27th, 2008
How? - DVD from the Library
Clean, effective police thriller. None of the convoluted plot elements that seem to be the standard these days. Character-based, following mostly Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle on his quest for justice. No lame backstories to explain his rogue actions - instead, we just seem him be rogue (character is action, action is character). It's very John McClane. Overall it's a very crisp film. It gets the job done, and doesn't try to inject any ridiculous twists and turns (mostly the over-used "there's a mole in the division" plot point that if I see one more time, I'm going to rip my eyes out). It does help that it's based on a true story.
Buy? - Yes, on Blu-ray.
When? - October 27th, 2008
How? - DVD from the Library
Clean, effective police thriller. None of the convoluted plot elements that seem to be the standard these days. Character-based, following mostly Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle on his quest for justice. No lame backstories to explain his rogue actions - instead, we just seem him be rogue (character is action, action is character). It's very John McClane. Overall it's a very crisp film. It gets the job done, and doesn't try to inject any ridiculous twists and turns (mostly the over-used "there's a mole in the division" plot point that if I see one more time, I'm going to rip my eyes out). It does help that it's based on a true story.
Buy? - Yes, on Blu-ray.
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