DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: The Soloist, In Bruges, Sleepers, My Blueberry Nights, American Buffalo, Bad Lieutenant, The Spanish Prisoner, Garden State, The Work of Michel Gondry, House of Games
The Bad: Red Cliff Part II, Made in USA, The Winter Guest, The Good Thief, Coraline, The Verdict, The Sunshine Boys
The Ugly: Fast & Furious
Trips to the Theater: Funny People Actors of the Week: Dennis Franz, Harvey Keitel, Alan Rickman, Seth Rogen Directors of the Week: David Yates(HP6), David Mamet
4 stars I know the Half-Blood Prince is the one to see right now. It's in the theaters, it's great, you should go see it. But my favorite is still the fourth in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
It is also my favorite of the books. The first three books are pretty similar in style, and the fourth blew things right open. It's twice as long as Prisoner of Azkaban and it introduced a lot of new great elements.
The movie is the first not to spend anytime with the Dursley's and that's welcome. Baby Voldemort kills an innocent Muggle and bam, we cut to Harry already staying at Ron's. Within a minute we're following Harry and the Weasleys walking up a hill at sunrise, and I remember how taken aback I was the first time I saw it. The shot establishes just how great the film looks. Filtered and back-lit, it looks fantastic. Then another big jaw drop was the Quidditch World Cup. The stadium is huge! It's sad that we don't get to see the game, but the movie has to move. 5 minutes later we're at Hogwarts and the two other wizarding schools arrive. I remember loving how fast this thing was going.
The film centers around the Triwizard Tournament where three wizarding schools (Hogwarts, the French girls school Beauxbatons, the Bulgarian school Durmstrang) pick a representative to compete in three very dangerous tasks. Any student over 17 can put their names into the Goblet of Fire and in a ceremony, the Goblet then spits out the names of the chosen champions. Despite being underage and not even putting his name in the Goblet, Harry Potter is chosen as the fourth Triwizard champion.
Man, the whole movie is great. Mike Newell(Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco) directed the hell out of it. Gone are the boring, proper British school kids. Everyone is jumping around with energy and good humor. Mike Newell was the first British director of the series and he obviously brought a lot of his boarding school background. The scene where Snape keeps smacking Ron and Harry on the head with a test book is not in the book, but it's a hilarious addition. All of the actors don't feel like stiff students. They're hormonal teenagers and it's all a whole lot of fun. It makes you want to be at Hogwarts even more.
The tournament and its three tasks don't disappoint. The dragon scene is well done, but the best part of it is the scene prior when Hermione is so worried for Harry that she almost tackle hugs him. And her scream of relief when he flies back to the stadium is a happy bookend. The scene underwater in the Black Lake is phenomenal. It's scary and the CGI is tremendous. The maze is alright, it's just that in the book there was so much more to it.
That being said, the highlight of the film is anything and everything surrounding the Yule Ball. Ron and Harry trying to find dates ("why do they have to travel in packs?"), Neville practicing the waltz by himself in the boys dorm, Harry asking and Cho Chang(with her seriously sweet Scottish accent) feeling sorry she's already going with someone else, Hermione's big entrance down the staircase, Hagrid's hand going down too south when he's dancing with Madam Maxine, Ginny slow dancing with Neville, Ron's awesome Dumb and Dumber tuxedo, the mosh pit in the great hall, and Hermione and Ron's big row when he realizes that she's going out with Durmstrang champion Viktor Krum. She tearily screams at him, "Next time there's a ball, pluck up the courage and ask me first before someone else does. And not as a last resort!" It's prom at Hogwarts and it's hysterical and funny and warm.
The big thing to this story of course is the return of the big V, Lord Voldemort. I don't know about anyone else, but he was a lot scarier than I imagined they would portray him in this "family" film. The no nose, the translucent skin, it's all so freaking creepy. Ralph Fiennes, along with being a master actor, is kind of naturally creepy so that helps a lot too. His big duel with Harry is a stunner.
Cedric Diggory(Robert Pattinson from Twilight) does get killed by You-Know-Who as he does in the book and it is sad, sad, sad. A friend of mine said that the scene was so effective because the actor playing Cedric's father is so real. He screams out in grief and it is painful.
The epilogue is the best of all of the films. It's the end of the school year. The two foreign schools leave, everyone says goodbye, they all know Voldemort has returned, and Hermione says, "Everything's going to change now isn't it?" The score is beautiful and the three friends walk toward the balcony as the Durmstrang ship submerges and the Beauxbatons flying carriage goes off into the sky. Once I got the DVD, I watched that scene maybe 50 times. It's perfect. It captures everything the film was and it makes you long for the next movie.
HP and The Goblet of Fire is my favorite of the series. I'm making my top ten lists for the first decade of the 2000s and it might be on it. You gotta watch it again.
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: Do the Right Thing, Serpico, Drunks, Driving Lessons. Not much, too busy reading Harry Potter books The Bad: December Boys, The Great Buck Howard, 12 The Ugly: None
Trips to the Theater: None Actors of the Week: Richard Lewis, Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson Directors of the Week: Spike Lee Where'd They Go?: Al Pacino?
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: Hollywood Ending, Moscow on the Hudson, The Salton Sea, Made, Harry Potter 1-4, Curb Your Enthusiasm Seasons 1-5 The Bad: Grey Gardens The Ugly: Horsemen
Trips to the Theater: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2x, Terminator Salvation Actors of the Week: Tom Felton(Draco Malfoy), Larry David Directors of the Week: McG Where'd They Go?: Tea Leoni?
4 starsHarry Potter 6. I can't think of many movie series that went to #6. Star Trek, Rocky, Freddy and Jason. It helps that there are 7 HP books but I doubt the Narnia series will go past 3 or 4. Then again, who cares about that, let's hear about the movie.
Let me preface all of this by saying that I've read all of the books at least twice. I think I've read The Goblet of Fire(Book 4) maybe into the double digits. The Half Blood Prince is actually one of my lesser favorites but that's just because the others are so good.
I also believe that the movies are the movies. Somehow they get away with not having 100% of everything in the books. We don't want them to be 3 hour LOTR movies and starting with in fact The Goblet of Fire (the one with the interschool tournament and also the best one), they've become their own entities. The Hermione in the movies isn't really the Hermione in the books, but that's okay because the movies are good.
Let me also preface by saying that the last one (The Order of the Phoenix) was terrible. I can't think of one memorable thing about it. Even the climactic death at the end is a big fat letdown. Thankfully, all of that is gone. #6 is a good one. Btw, I'm on a ridiculous streak of good movies in the theater. The last bad one I saw was way back in April.
The Half Blood Prince is really about two things. One, it's a lot about dating. Or at least about Hogwarts kids awkwardly glancing at one another. Don't worry, it's all a lot of fun. Harry and Ron talk about girls in their dorm room, girls try to sneak love potions, Ron has the opposite of a secret admirer, and Ginny (Ron's little sis) starts fulfilling her childhood crush. There are a lot of laughs, tons of fun moments, basically a lot of things that were missing from the last movie. One of those things was the trio of Harry, Hermione, and Ron who have a lot of great scenes together where we get to see them as best friends. That's what they are, that's what they are to each other, that's the best part of this whole story to me. And it should be mentioned that having child actors start at 10 and do now 6 films together is pretty staggering. Luckily no one came out odd or hideous. Emma Watson is very good but she is probably way too pretty to be Hermione Granger.
The second thing the film about is setting up what is to come. We learn a lot about Voldemort and we learn a lot about Harry's role in eventually going head to head with him. There's a lot of information to download, but it's all nicely done. This is not an action film. It's more of a light comedy partnered with ominous drama. It seems like an odd combo, but it works really well. It's the warmest and at the same time the scariest of the films. Hogwarts has never seemed so brooding. There's a lot of cheery magic during the day, but there are dark corridors that you probably don't want to go down after lights out. Director David Yates does a fantastic job of setting the tone for what we're in for. No more classrooms and Quidditch. The really bad stuff is coming.
As for the actors/characters. Snape gets a welcome lot of good screentime, Helena Bonham Carter is the female Gary Oldman and she steals every scene she's in, Jim Broadbent (Zigler from Moulin Rouge) is wonderful as Professor Slughorn, Bonnie Wright is fine as Ginny Weasley but the character in the book is a lot feistier, I miss Neville, Dan Radcliffe is Harry Potter as far as I'm concerned, Rupert Grint is charming as always, Emma Watson is the heart of the films, and lastly Tom Felton is a revelation as Draco Malfoy. He's no whiny bully anymore. He's a villain. He's got the hardest acting job in the movie and he pulls it off confidently. Well done.
Technical stuff. It's a gorgeous movie. Camera work and particularly the lighting is all top rate. It doesn't feel like you're watching a kiddie film and that's a huge relief. The special effects are very good although I do wish the pace was kicked up a notch. Like I said, it isn't an action movie. Lastly, I forgot how emotional this whole series is. At first it was just fun to see everyone again. By the end, I found myself all invested. There is a scene toward the end concerning wands that may be the best scene in the entire 6 films. I didn't cry, but it is moving.
Credit a lot of this quality to the return of screenwriter Steve Kloves. He wrote the scripts for 1-4, not for #5, and guess which one was the bad one. He's written a fine script here and the upcoming two movie finale. If you haven't heard, the last book is thankfully being split into two since there is just too much material. I did miss one major sequence that was in the Half-Blood Prince but was not in the film. Maybe they were running out of time, but it's a big one.
What more can I say. I love Harry Potter. I love the world Rowling created. I love how British the whole thing is. It's snogging, not kissing. Nothing will beat the reading of the books, but the movies have done pretty good by them. I most of all love those three characters and would watch or read anything involving Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I'd watch a laugh track sitcom with them. It's been two years since the last time a Harry Potter movie was in the theaters. Don't miss this one.
3 1/2 stars.I went in with low expectations. Reviews were mixed, hadn't heard much about the movie, but in the end, I got my money's worth. Terminator Salvation came out about 2 months ago, but I found a theater in Burbank that was playing it last night. I chose that theater over the $3 Academy 6 in Pasadena since I wanted good sound and people hopefully not talking and therefore avoiding murder.
What is first and foremost is that the money is on the screen. The vision of the future is pretty stunning and they really spared no expense. The wastelands are cool, but the size of the thing is staggering. It all feels plausible. The resistance bases, the giant terminators, Skynet, it all seems real. It's an impressive accomplishment.
The action is great. Credit McG for putting together some great action sequences that are exciting and completely understandable. He shoots and cuts so that we understand what is going on and who it is happening to. No jiggle cams, no confusion. And there is a whole lot of action. It doesn't seem too much like it did in Quantum of Solace. I guess it is the summer. I just wanted to see humans and terminators go at each other.
The performances do their job. The characters aren't very deep, but they are compelling as the movie is going. Christian Bale is a good choice for John Connor although I wish there was something more to the character other than his one singular goal. Sam Worthington is Marcus Wright who has some depth and is a perfect character for this sort of film. He's strong, he's direct, he's a guy's guy. Moon Bloodgood(seriously is that your real name) registers a bit as someone Marcus saves but her actions are somewhat maddening. Everyone else doesn't have much to do. Bryce Dallas Howard is pregnant and she's a doctor. That's about it. Though Anton Yelchin is good as a teenage Kyle Reese (future/past father of John Connor).
The script is fine but not great. It's 10x better than the embarrassing T3, but not as strong as T2. Maybe that's unfair since T2 is a classic. Yet, the movie is never boring. The emotional parts are emotional and I can't recall any really bad scenes or bad actors. Even the little mute girl plays fine. Also, I forgot how scary the terminators can be. They are and they are coming for you.
I think the direction is great(McG your 3 letter name is ridiculous but you got some talent), it's just the script isn't quite there to make the film truly great. One thing you have to remember is that James Cameron wrote those first two Terminator films. He definitely cared about the action and the special effects, but the ideas of it and the drama of it were just as important. Here there is a little more emphasis on big guns and killing machines that snatch you out of the sky. But that's a lot of fun too.
Altogether, a good summer movie. I feel like I got more than my money's worth.
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: Push, Deep Impact, The Peacemaker, The Dirty Dozen, Husbands and Wives, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Return to Paradise, Last of the Mohicans, Best in Show, Everyone Says I Love You, Bullets Over Broadway, Love and Death on Long Island, Manhattan, Annie Hall, Manhunter, Heist, Daredevil, Hannah and Her Sisters, Windtalkers, Cassandra's Dream The Bad: Knowing, Tokyo!, Alice, Curse of the Jade Scorpion The Ugly: None
Trips to the Theater: Public Enemies(2nd time) Actors of the Week: Diane Keaton, Dakota Fanning, Barbara Hershey, Woody Allen Directors of the Week: Richard Kwietniowski, Mimi Leder Where'd They Go?: Elizabeth Shue
Push 3 stars. A fun rental. If you saw it in a theater, you’d be a little disappointed, but on DVD, it’s pretty good. I actually read the script a couple of years ago for the production company I was working for and recommended that they make it. If you don’t know, there are basically certain people with powers. Psychic, telekinetic, a group of guys can scream and shatter glass. It’s sort of X-Men on the streets of Hong Kong without the costumes. Man does Hong Kong look great in this film. It really does feel like the other side of the planet. Chris Evans(Fantastic 4) is a good lead, but it was a pleasant shock to see Dakota Fanning almost all grown up. She’s very good as world weary 13 year-old Cassie. She fights, she drinks, she swears. It’s a fun role to see her in, and the whole movie is fun too. Granted, it is sometimes silly. Maybe the whole concept is silly. It’s an independent comic book movie. Just without the comic book.
Knowing 2 1/2 stars. It was all going so well. The numbers, the predictions of disasters, the unbelievable one take plane crash, the never-ending subway scene, it all seemed to be leading toward something great. Then, the last 20 minutes. I won’t give anything away, but ugh. If the movie is going to be about that, then it should be set up properly and not… you know what, I won’t say anymore. I think it’s worth checking out if you’re interested in the debate between determinism vs. randomness. I think the movie thinks it’s about one of those, and then it actually becomes the other despite itself. Exhale. It was all going so well.
Waltz with Bashir 2 1/2 stars. I don’t think the animation works very well. It’s distracting and saps the energy out of the movie. The better animated film covering generally the same themes is Persepolis. And why watch a cartoon when you can watch Munich?
Confessions of a Shopaholic 3 stars. It’s good. Who knew. It’s not perfect, of course. It’s Legally Blonde + Shopping is what it is. Director PJ Hogan(Muriel’s Wedding, My Best Friend’s Wedding) somehow made all of it palatable and I’m someone who hate hate hated Sex and the City. On top of that, three actors make it worth seeing. Isla Fisher is so bubbly likeable despite her character’s superficial craziness, Hugh Dancy is a Brit charmer as her love interest, but the real breakout is Krysten Ritter as the best friend. She was on Veronica Mars for a while I guess. Most of her scenes in the movie involve her telling Isla Fisher not to shop anymore, but she is a warm, unique sweetheart. I kind of wish the movie was about her character. Still, it’s better than most rom-coms. You know who produced it? Of all people? Jerry Bruckheimer.
Two Lovers 3 1/2 stars. James Gray is a fine director. Two years ago he directed a glorious cop movie in We Own the Night. This time around he stays in Brighton Beach and Brooklyn(love the look of his films), but this time it’s not about guys with guns but instead it’s a great little mid-30s love story. It’s three people, but it’s not a soap opera triangle. And even though it’s about the wild exciting girl vs. the sensible one from your neighborhood, it just isn’t that simple. Joaquin is very strong (in possibly his last film if this rap thing is for real) but the standout is Vinessa Shaw. She had a tiny but memorable role in Eyes Wide Shut, she is down to earth gorgeous, and her character would be the fantasy for any Midwest guy. It’s a lovely and spot on performance. Don’t let the title throw you. It’s a good film.
The Code 1 star. Mimi Leder directed The Peacemaker, Deep Impact, and Pay it Forward. Then 8 years go by, she doesn’t direct anything, and now it’s a straight to video heist movie with Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas. Sorry, it’s dead in the water. Dull and boring. No flare, no interest, even Radha Mitchell is dreary as the femme fatale. Do not rent.
Match Point 3 1/2 stars. I added this one since I had such a strong turnaround since the first time I saw it. I think it’s so not a Woody Allen film that it threw me. Watching it again, I said to myself, “What’s wrong with me. This is great.” It’s a serious thriller about how far one would go to maintain a comfortable wealthy lifestyle. More than that, it’s all about Allen’s belief that life has a great deal to do with luck. “There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose.” It’s a fascinating way to look at things. Even if I I don't believe in luck. If you haven’t seen this one, go rent it. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is great, so is Emily Mortimer. I think Scarlett is miscast but she actually gets better as the movie goes along. It’s a kicker.
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: Annie Hall, Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, Sexy Beast, Owning Mahowny, Bound, Match Point, Swingers, Made, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Clueless, Jurassic Park, Coal Miner's Daughter, Mighty Aphrodite, Dodgeball, Rudy, There Will Be Blood, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Wimbledon, Manhattan Murder Mystery, American Gangster The Bad: The Human Contract, Elf, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Pieces of April The Ugly: None
Trips to the Theater: Public Enemies Actors of the Week: Jon Favreau/Vince Vaughn, Christian Bale, Stephen Lang Directors of the Week: Woody Allen, Michael Mann Where'd They Go?: Mira Sorvino
(click on the image for the awesome larger version)
3 1/2 stars.It's Michael Mann showing his stuff again. The biggest accomplishment he achieves is the fantastic re-creation of the 30s. Period gangster films made today aren't very good. They're too stuffy, too polished, and it all doesn't mean anything since all of the costumes and decoration make it seem like the actors are just playing dress up. But Michael Mann avoids all of that. The film is brimming with life. It doesn't feel like a movie about the 30s. It feels like we're right there, in that time, with people from that time. The movie was shot on digital and I think there's something immediate captured through the HD. It doesn't feel like some old film about old times.
One thing that must be said is that the story isn't told conventionally. It doesn't start with Dillinger's childhood. We don't get to know much about where he came from or anything much about his past. The movie is about 13 months in his life, that's it. Bank robberies, his crew, his fame, his being hunted by the FBI. It's lean storytelling that may throw some people, but the more I think about it, the more I'm relieved there aren't any weepy scenes where Dillinger reflects on his sad past or revelations about psychological motivations behind being a criminal. The movie is about what he does. He's violent, he's extremely intelligent and so is the man hunting him.
The performances are all around excellent. I'm talking about a lot of minor supporting roles, actors sometimes with only 2 or 3 lines. Standing high among them is Christian Bale who creates a steely FBI G-man whose laser determination is seriously scary. We don't really get to know Agent Melvin Purvis. We don't meet his family or even see where he lives. We just see him in action, and every moment is rich. I think Bale is 10x more interesting here than he is in that rubber bat suit. The next person I think of is Marion Cotillard as Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette who we also don't get to know too well. This movie also isn't about long backstories and deep relationships. It covers 13 months, and she was his girl. Every moment she has is pretty special. Every subtle eye movement, every smile, every time she stands her ground is dead on perfect. She creates this woman completely through behavior and everyone can completely understand why he risked his life to go back and get her in Chicago. Depp of course is great. The role is almost too perfect for him. His pick up line that convinces Billie to leave her life and runaway with him may be one of the best. Also David Wenham(from LOTR), Stephen Dorff, Billy Crudup as J.Edgar Hoover, John Ortiz(from American Gangster), and Stephen Graham as Baby Face Nelson, everyone here is good. One last person who makes a strong mark is Stephen Lang as Texas lawman Charles Winstead. Look out for the older agent with gray hair who plays a significant role toward the end.
Now what about the fun stuff? The action is intense. I don't know how many rounds are fired during the FBI raid at Little Bohemia but it seemed like they never stopped coming. Michael Mann is the best at creating crowd deafening killshots and here he comes up with a couple of doozies. Something feels random and less precise about a Tommy Gun and it makes it all the more frightening. Also of note, everything in and around the famous scene at The Biograph Theatre. For all the legend surrounding that moment in history, the scene exceeded my expectations. And there are tons of fascinating details regarding the birth of the FBI. It was so arcane at the time. I kept thinking if they just had walkie talkies they could've caught Dillinger in a week.
Still, for all its many similarities, it's not Heat. Although there is a small conversation in the middle of the film between Depp and Bale that is very good. It's not as deep or rich and maybe Michael Mann will never make a film as good as that one. I think the script misses on its ambition to have a deep analysis of Dillinger because I don't think he was that deep a person. "We're having too good a time today. We ain't thinking about tomorrow." Still, in this noisy summer of CGI, it's satisfying to see a well crafted dramatic action movie made by one of the finest directors working today. And being from there, it was extra nice to see Chicago shot so well.
*One thing to mention. In this summer of fast, fast, fast pacing be careful that this one isn't necessarily that. It's not slow, not at all, but it isn't an explosion a minute. It's building toward something, so just go with it. You'll get your money's worth.
DVDs Watched this Week: 
