Fantastic Mr. Fox 3 stars Something happened when I saw The Darjeeling Limited. I got mad. I love Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums may be in my top 10 of the decade, and I laughed so much during The Life Aquatic. Bottle Rocket may be flawed but it's still good. But I don't know what happened during The Darjeeling Limited. I think it was the fifth time around with the dress up costumes and the plastic props and the tiresome theme of fathers and sons. Wes Anderson must have had some terrible relationship with his dad since that's what all of his movies are about. I had had enough. He seemed unwilling or unable to change or grow as a filmmaker. Enough of these fables, give me something real.
However, I was still interested by Fantastic Mr. Fox. All of the stylistic choices would be okay since it's an animated film. It has a great cast and the trailers were funny. "You cussing at me!" So I went.
I'm glad I did. At least for the first half. The stop motion is just off enough that it all seems funny. The low tech nature of it is so refreshing compared to the bombardment CGI animation going on these days. It adds to the humor of it all. George Clooney's voice is perfect for the Fox, Bill Murray is hilarious as his lawyer, and so much of the production design is stunning. I want to live in that tree. Unfortunately, the energy kind of dissipates during the latter half of the film when the mission kicks in. The jokes come less and less and once again the father/son theme is pummeled into my face. They might be foxes but apparently no one in Wes Anderson's world ever had a functional family relationship. The novelty of the thing wore off and I was checking my watch a little too often. Definitely rent it when it comes out on DVD. There's just too much good stuff to see. But I wouldn't rush to the theater.
Paper Heart 2 1/2 stars Charlyne Yi is special. Maybe special ed? It's some awesomely strange persona she's consciously put together. For those who don't know her, she had a cameo in Knocked Up as the Asian girl who comments on how babies steal their mother's food in the womb. The movie is this documentary/fiction hybrid where Charlyne goes around America asking people about their thoughts on love and romance. She herself claims that she doesn't think she will ever fall in love. A lot of the documentary footage is pretty fascinating. Then the fiction part starts with a fictional relationship that begins between Charlyne and actor Michael Cera. It's not necessarily a bad movie relationship but it is completely undermined by the documentary half. I couldn't invest in it since it obviously is entirely made up when the first half of the film is supposed to be real. Is all of it made up? They begin to try avoiding the documentary cameras but it all feels so staged. It's a kind of failure of concept, yet Charlyne Yi is so good in it that I think it's worth seeing just for her. Her timing and speech pattern is too often hilarious. It's worth a rental.
Angels & Demons 1 starMy goodness this movie is boring. I'm kind of glad it was made since this is obviously a complete fantasy of a plot that will indicate to Da Vinci Code fans that the books are fantasies as well. Take that Dan Brown! The whole thing feels terribly amateurish. Even Tom Hanks is dull. Ron Howard wtf happened?
Shorts 1 1/2 stars Robert Rodriguez makes great genre movies (Grindhouse, Desperado, Sin City). His family films stink. The Spy Kids movies, The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl. They all feel so low budget lame. The same goes here. It feels like something you'd see on a kids cable channel. Wasn't short enough.
Terminator Salvation 3 1/2 stars I like so much how this is a throwback. It's a post-apocalyptic film (which feels very 80s-90s) and it's much more about character and drama than it is about special effects. Don't get me wrong, the movie has tons of action and tons of Terminators trying to kill humans, but the focus remains on the Resistance and John Connor. The design of the movie is also fantastic. It really feels like civilization has been blown away by nuclear war. And Sam Worthington(Avatar) is a great lead. It isn't perfect, but it is consistently compelling and 10x better than Terminator 3. I think it's a worthy follow up to T2(which cannot possibly be matched since that movie is a classic). Check out my original review. http://rolandchang.blogspot.com/2009/07/terminator-salvation.html
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 4 starsStill love it. The best movie of the series is The Goblet of Fire(Movie 4) but this one actually feels closest to how the books feel. There is the doom of the impending plot, but there's still a whole school year at Hogwarts and more than anything there is the friendship of Harry, Hermione, and Ron, which this movie is particularly about. Emma Watson is very good (subtle and funny) but Brit actress Jessie Cave is hysterical as Ron's overwhelming girlfriend Lavender Brown. It's a slower paced Harry Potter movie, but very satisfying. In my top 5 of the year. Check out my original review. http://rolandchang.blogspot.com/2009/07/harry-potter-6.html
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: District 9, Paper Heart, Funny People, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Kobe Doin' Work, Happy Gilmore, Mind Meld, Phenomenon, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: The Next Generation Seasons 3 and 7 The Bad: Angels & Demons, Boondock Saints, Staten Island, Savages, Terms of Endearment, Shorts The Ugly: Four Christmases
Trips to the Theater:Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Actors of the Week: Seth Rogen, Christian Bale, Nicolas Cage, Charlyne Yi Directors of the Week: Werner Herzog Where'd They Go?:Willem Dafoe?
TRAILERS/CLIPS of the Week: Greenberg.
Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side
District 9 3 stars.I was hoping for an intellectual sci-fi piece about what would actually happen if an alien mothership landed on Earth(specifically Johannesburg). Instead it's more of an indie action movie with a very obvious allegory relating to South Africa's past of apartheid. So we don't know why they came or what really happened on their planet and that's disappointing. The mock documentary style is unnecessary and inconsistent as there is no way a camera crew would have or could have been there during key scenes. And the lead actor reminded me a lot of Michael Scott(Steve Carell) on the Office. His general foolishness and mugging for the camera feel very familiar.
All this being said, when those alien weapons go off, the fun begins. It's more like Predator. The movie doesn't really care about alien origins. It just wants to shoot them. This $30 million dollar movie looks like it cost double that. The special effects are first rate. Though the aliens themselves are hard to care about since they are so animal like and the end left me unsatisfied. Still, the alien firepower that is displayed elicited a lot of whoas. I just wish I cared more.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans 3 stars.Nicolas Cage is perfect for this role of a drug addicted cop suffering from chronic back pain, limping his way through New Orleans, abusing everyone. His performance is the best thing about the movie. The film itself is a slow simmer with many of its scenes feeling somewhat episodic. There is a murder to be solved here but there have been a lot of murders that movie cops have had to solve. As a movie with a plot, it feels unfinished without true focus. And yet, as a whole, there is something powerful and memorable said here about chaos, loneliness, personal corruption and getting to do whatever you want to because you're a cop. I wouldn't rush to see it, but it would be an intriguing rental. And it has the best line of the year. "Shoot him again. His soul's still dancing!"
Four Christmases 1 star. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon have ZERO chemistry in another Christmas dud from Vaughn(Fred Claus was on my worst 10 list last year). Nothing is funny, everyone is acting crazy and broad. Even the concept itself is inherently painful. Four Christmases? Who wants to spend time doing that?
Kobe Doin' Work 2 1/2 stars. Spike Lee directed this documentary that basically points 20 cameras on Kobe during one game back in '08. The cameras stay on him for the entire game and pre and post while Kobe provides a running commentary. The concept was taken from a similar film in Italy that followed soccer player Zidane. It's not fully compelling from start to finish, but the concept itself is interesting. Basketball fans will probably like it more than I did.
Boondock Saints 1 1/2 stars.I don't understand why this is the cult hit that it is. Two Irishmen become vigilantes in Boston and FBI agent Willem Dafoe is after them. The better story is about writer-director Troy Duffy who sold this script to Miramax out of nowhere. Then his personality took over and basically imploded during the development process. Miramax dropped the film, dropped him and it struggled to find financing. Eventually the movie got made, it was a bomb at the box office, but it made $50 million on DVD. As for the movie itself, it's b-movie bad that I regret having seen twice.
Funny People 3 1/2 stars.It's still too long and the sequence where George goes to visit 'the one that got away' is a real bad spot. However, there are huge laughs, a great great performance by Seth Rogen playing a very different character than he usually does, a genuinely cool behind the scenes look at stand up comics and how they work, and Sandler himself is surprisingly moving and effective as the semi a-hole movie star George Simmons. I love where Judd Apatow is coming from, and this one is not as good as Knocked up, but too much of it is too good not to see. Also look out for a small supporting performance from Aubrey Plaza who is also on Parks and Recreation. So many young actresses are just pretty and dull. She's hilarious with a unique low energy persona. The behind the scenes documentary on the 2 disc DVD is stupendous.
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: Funny People, Downhill Racer, Twilight, Curious George, Best of Star Trek the Original Series Vol. 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation Seasons 5-6 The Bad: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Franklyn, The Limits of Control, Thirst, Overnight, Wild Wild West The Ugly: None
Trips to the Theater: Pirate Radio
Actors of the Week: The cast of Pirate Radio, Brent Spiner Directors of the Week: Richard Curtis
TRAILERS/CLIPS of the Week: Pirate Radio. "Misplaced Cherry"
3 ½ stars As stated in another post http://rolandchang.blogspot.com/2009/05/richard-curtis.html Richard Curtis is one of my favorite screenwriters. Notting Hill, Four Weddings, Bridget Jones' Diary (the 1st one not the awful second one), The Girl in the Cafe. He's a rare mixture of ironic + warm and loving.
Pirate Radio (titled The Boat that Rocked in the UK) fits in that mold but doesn't. It's more of a guys hanging out comedy, with definite inspiration from Animal House and the film MASH. Lots of likable guys joking around, playing phenomenal 60s rock.
In the 60s, British radio only played about an hour of pop music a day. This is during the era of The Beatles and The Who for goodness sake. So pirate radio stations set sail and broadcast from out on the water. I must mention that I personally love British rock. The Stones might be my favorite band and the movie is wall to wall great music. Whiter Shade of Pale, Cat Stevens, lots of The Beatles. It's the best soundtrack this year.
What's really great is the re-creation of Britain in the 60s. Austin Powers did their own number on that time period, but Richard Curtis obviously has so much love for it and it's infectious. The style oddly seems contemporary (thin suits and thinner ties). It was a great time for film, music, and f----ng rebellion from the tyranny of the conservative 50s. I genuinely wanted to step into the movie and be there. It felt like a great place to be.
Philip Seymour Hoffman headlines the large ensemble and he is always great. Always real, never ever uninteresting. But the real star is Tom Sturridge who plays 19 year old Young Carl who gets sent to live on the boat after getting expelled from Boarding School. He's a very likable lead who has a strangely compelling relationship with Marianne played by Talulah Riley (apparently her parents have a sense of humor) who looks so much like French 60s actress Anna Karina it's alarming.
Most of all there are fantastic music moments. Those moments where a song is matched with images and the movie takes off into the stratosphere. Scorsese is well known for it, probably a big reason his films have such lifespans. Here there is the opening sequence with Hoffman's phenomenal intro into The Kinks' All Day and All of the Night. There's January Jones's wedding scene set to The Turtles' Elenore. And in particular there is an inspired scene with Young Carl after he and Marianne have a fight. It's set to Leonard Cohen's So Long Marianne and it is wonderful.
Sure some may say the film meanders. It's a hangout film without a true direct plot, but I see a lot of movies and most of them do not have half the heart and life that this one has. I hate the term "feel good film" but that's what this is. I love the look of the movie and the happy energy pulsing throughout. And I love the hysterical ship's cook, lesbian Felicity. What a great cast.
"Young men and young women will always dream dreams. And put those dreams into song." Rock n Roll!
Brüno 3 stars.I was ready. I read a lot of warnings going in and I prepared for the worst. The large flopping penis and the scene with the pygmy(who reminded me of my friend's friend named B-Boy) were the only 2 really turn away outrageous things to behold. Don't get me wrong. There is a lot of homophobia brutality in Bruno, which sadly isn't as good as Borat. Maybe this faux movie format has already gotten old (it feels like something that should be on cable TV). And Borat was strangely very likable. Bruno is obnoxious and a little harder to root for. It overall does feel like a series of sketches threaded together with voice-over. Bruno adopts an African child, he's an extra on Medium, he tries to make a sex tape. If you rearranged the scenes it would probably be the same movie. Also remember how quotable Borat was. Maybe poor Eastern European immigrants are funnier than wealthy Austrian fashion reporters.
Still, the prejudice he unearths is astounding. There's a group in Kansas named "God hates fags." There are gay hunters who almost shoot Bruno. A group of Hasidic Jews physically attack him. And even former Presidential candidate Ron Paul runs out of an interview screaming "queer". All of the credit goes to Sacha Baron Cohen who is braver than any man I've met.
Even better than the movie is the commentary with Cohen and director Larry Charles where they go into great detail about how they pull things off. If Cohen had been arrested at any point he may have been deported. It's an amazing commentary that really is better than the movie. All in all, Bruno is more shocking than funny. And I hope to never go to the state of Alabama in my lifetime. My Sister's Keeper 2 stars.First, I have to mention how terrible this film looks. It's Barbara Walters blow out filters. It looks like they smeared the lens with gold sparkles. The movie itself is as corny as the trailer. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Good schmaltz can be made. There are effective scenes, Jason Patric and Alec Baldwin are both very good, but there's too much Lifetime original movie going on. Is having a fatal disease this melodramatic? Cameron Diaz tries her darndest, but she's not convincing as either a mother of three or as a lawyer. Director Nick Cassavetes' last film was Alpha Dog, a movie I liked. His previous was the equally sappy and sentimental John Q, also about a family member suffering with a fatal disease.
Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America. A Final Night with President George W. Bush 3 1/2 stars.I so wish I could've seen this live. As one man shows go, this one is stellar. Sure, tons shots are taken at W., but most of it is just general ridiculousness including a long dance sequence with Condeleeza and a hilarious run about the Bush men getting trapped in an abandoned mine shaft. I don't know what Will does, but he becomes a completely different person when he's playing Bush. It's sad that we won't see it anymore. A great show.
The Ugly Truth 0 stars.It is all ugly. What a P.O.S. Gerard Butler is a charmer, but this movie is a BS over-lit hate each other at first, love each other at the end rom-com. F this movie.
Stranger Than Fiction 3 stars.Third time around and I liked it. It is still Charlie Kaufman-lite, Will Ferrell isn't the strongest lead in this type of movie, and Chicago is poorly shot, but the story got to me on this third viewing. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are very good. And the climactic scene in front of the bus is pretty powerful.
In the Line of Fire 3 1/2 stars.Put this in your rental queue. Malkovich is sick and amazing. His voice is creepy to no end. I wonder if his wife is constantly frightened.
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: Bruno, W., Dead Again, Forrest Gump, Stranger than Fiction, Australia, Slumdog Millionaire, Gladiator, Star Trek, Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America. A Final Night with President George W. Bush The Bad: The Ugly Truth, What Lies Beneath, Kicking and Screaming, Afterwards The Ugly: None
Trips to the Theater: None Actors of the Week: Josh Brolin, Dustin Hoffman Directors of the Week: Baz Luhrmann, Kenneth Branagh
TRAILERS/CLIPS of the Week: A Single Man.
Date Night. Hate the director Shawn Levy(Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther). But love the stars.
"BDs potential to replicate the original theatrical experience is the best I've seen in forty years of [movie] collecting. Blu-ray offers the ability to see the film as it was intended." - Martin Scorsese
Blu-ray has come and it's here to stay. It beat HD-DVD(anyone remember those red cases?) and Flat Screen TVs are becoming the home standard. Black Friday is coming.
I myself have a 32" CRT Sony Wega. It's a tube. But it's probably the best tube TV out there. I've had zero issues with it over the last 5 years, the picture still looks great, and considering the size of my apartment it's perfect. However, there is that constant longing inside to finally do the big upgrade, buy a Flat Screen, get a Blu-ray player, and start trading in my collection. So why haven't I switched?
CONS - I primarily watch DVDs. The only television I watch is The Office and Lost. Seriously, I do not watch anything else on TV. Everything else I watch on the internet like Friday Night Lights, the news. - Most of the DVDs I watch are older movies which are not available on Blu-ray. Even Star Wars isn't available on Blu-ray yet. - I still think standard DVDs don't look 100% right on LCD Flat Screens. Something about the frame rate is off. Maybe most don't notice, but I really hate watching movies on a computer monitor. The motion and movement seem unnatural. I think HD is great for sports, bad for movies. I hear they look better on Plasma screens but Plasma is volatile and not as reliable as LCD. - Also, standard DVDs are just not enough high res for HD. Some people don't care, but I notice. It's as if you were buying a stereo and your radio signal would be phenomenal but your CDs would sound worse. - I consider a TV on the same level as a car or a computer. It is an absolute necessity that I want to last many years. I don't want to have to really think about upgrading software. To me, LCD Flat Screens are still relatively new technology. Refresh rates continue to go up, and they keep improving the picture quality which to me means that the technology is not all there yet. - Those blue cases are ugly. - It's still a lot of money. Blu-ray players are around $200, but Blu-Ray discs are still >$20. It would take about $900 to replace my current collection. (Yes I looked up the price of every single DVD I own)
PROS - Some Blu-ray discs are insane in quality. Blockbuster has Blu-ray discs going all of the time and they were showing Troy. It looked amazing. - Blu-ray disc prices are dropping. - I love love love special features. I rent movies multiple times just to see those features. Behind the scenes, docs, commentaries. And now they are putting only some features on the standard DVDs while the Blu-rays are packed with everything. Soderbergh did a commentary on Ocean's Twelve but I can't hear it because I don't have Blu-ray. I feel like I'm missing out. - I wouldn't have to use my cheap Zenith HD converter any more to watch The Office or Lost. The box honestly feels like owning a Discman when you can have an iPod. - Blockbuster Online rents Blu-ray discs. One of my favorite places to rent Videotheque in South Pas gets a lot of Blu-ray discs. A new edition of North by Northwest was released but I can't watch it because I do not have Blu-ray! - My TV is heavier than most girls.
Alright friends. I need your comments. Any particular brands or models would be great to know. I'm a Sony TV man through and through so I'm leaning toward Bravia. Then again, I'm completely willing to wait. If only I could have both. My tube could be my record player since I only have Citizen Kane on vinyl.
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Analyze This, Talladega Nights, Falling in Love, Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America, In the Line of Fire, Contact, Cast Away The Bad: Analyze That, The Manchurian Candidate, My Sister's Keeper The Ugly: None
Trips to the Theater: None Actors of the Week: Will Ferrell, John Malkovich Directors of the Week: Stephen Sommers, Wolfgang Petersen Where'd They Go?: Billy Crystal?
TRAILERS/CLIPS of the Week: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
3 stars.Lord forgive me, I liked G.I. Joe. Lets do some disclaimers. First, the dialogue is atrocious. It is downright awful. This was one of the big Writers Strike movies that was made in '07. The Writers Strike was happening, and they rushed this one into production, unable to rewrite the script before filming. So I maybe forgive them a little bit. Still, I don't need to hear someone actually say, "Knowing is half the battle." Twice no less!
Also, I could not pass a test on what the movie is actually about. Destro builds nano-weapons then steals the nano-weapons then launches the nano-weapons and I don't know why. Why did they have to take out the Eiffel Tower. No clue.
Lots of other things are silly including Brendan Fraser's cameo, Dennis Quaid's bad performance, and a room where the Joes workout and apparently watch TV and play cards at the same time. It's a dorm lounge. This is where they train?
All that being said, it is a heck of a lot of fun. I'd say a full 80% of the movie is action. Good action. Impressive action that is all understandable. It's been said a lot, but action movies are becoming more and more confusing. I mean, what the heck is going on sometimes? Quantum of WTF. There are 2 great action sequences in G.I. Joe. The first is the attack on the army convoy. I get off on good military combat orders screamed loudly and the scene is full of it. The second is the insane chase through Paris. The trailers have done a bad job selling those accelerator suits. They are awesome. These guys really look like they are running at 60mph. I can't believe the idea has never been done in a movie before.
The money is on the screen. $200 million. More than Transformers, I felt like they went full tilt with the special effects. Tons of explosions and well designed gadgets. Those pulse guns are brutal and man do they cause a lot of damage. Even the Ejection Seat on that Night Raven is very cool.
What about the characters/actors? They're overall fine. I give them more credit since they were given such horrible things to say. Channing Tatum is a solid lead, playing it nice and straight. Sienna Miller is a fine actress(Factory Girl, The Edge of Love) and she does what she can with some terrible lines. Her American accent is impeccable. Shockingly, I actually cared about the Duke/Baroness relationship despite those cheese Kodak moment flashbacks. Marlon Wayans is very likable as Ripcord, Rachel Nichols is very pretty as Scarlett despite getting saddled with most of the long rounds of exposition, and Arnold Vosloo(The Mummy) is smart and slimy as Zartan.
Thankfully no one wears any goofy costumes, although Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow could fall in that category. I did not like the look they chose for Cobra Commander and Joseph Gordon-Levitt(Brick, 500 Days of Summer) is disappointing in the role. I miss that silver face plate and the hiss voice. Most of the character flashbacks are terrible(especially Storm Shadow's), but Duke's mission to North Africa rocks. You'll have to forgive a lot of flaws to enjoy it. I did, and I enjoyed. I think if I were a kid, I would've loved it. I would've bought some toys. As an adult, I'm forgivingly positive. Cobra Retreat! Retreat!
Fantastic Mr. Fox 3 stars Something happened when I saw The Darjeeling Limited. I got mad. I love Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums may be in my top 10 of the decade, and I laughed so much during The Life Aquatic. Bottle Rocket may be flawed but it's still good. But I don't know what happened during The Darjeeling Limited. I think it was the fifth time around with the dress up costumes and the plastic props and the tiresome theme of fathers and sons. Wes Anderson must have had some terrible relationship with his dad since that's what all of his movies are about. I had had enough. He seemed unwilling or unable to change or grow as a filmmaker. Enough of these fables, give me something real.
