05.18.08
Posted in Movie Reviews at 12:06 am by Greg
I’m a Little Teapot, Short and Snout
*** out of *****
According to Wikipedia, the first real fairy tale appeared in Egypt around 3,300 years ago, when stories were propagated verbally rather than written down. It’s no wonder that these fables captured people’s imaginations; they were scary and dark, funny and cute, and most involved some good lessons on how to live like a champ. It’s no surprise that they survive today, in much the same form as when they were whispered to rapt crowds around that Egyptian campfire all those centuries ago. Penelope is one such tale - a quirky, old fashioned story of honor, truth and dignity and of loving someone for who they really are. Read the rest of this entry »
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05.11.08
Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:16 am by Greg
Askew North
***out of *****
Well, this is the movie that finally made me decide. After decades of asking myself whether it’s better to watch the movie or read the book first, it’s definitely better to read the book after you’ve seen the movie. As a film on its own, The Golden Compass is beautiful to look at and fleetingly fun, but when you compare it to Phillip Pullman’s tome on which it’s based, it’s surprisingly shallow and cold, rushing forward without a lot of coherence and lacking the stark sense of imagination, detailed character development and sense of wonder that made the book an instant classic. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:14 am by Greg
No luck for the Irish… or anyone for that matter
**** out of *****
When someone makes a film that’s described by disparate critics as ‘new, invigorating, fresh, exciting’ etc, it’s usually not because they made a good film about an old concept - it’s usually because they made an old concept new again. Strangely enough, my High School English teacher was right - there really are only three conflicts: man vs. man, man vs. nature and man vs. himself. Everything is just a variation on that concept and most of it’s been done. The genius of Cloverfield, produced by Hollywood’s new ‘it’ boy J.J Abrams, is at its core a monster movie, plain and simple. But he twists the presentation, making it a much more personal story than we’re used to, and throws in some state-of-the-art special effects, genuinely creepy set pieces and some amazing sound effects work (although you might have to amp up the geek quotient to really appreciate the last one). Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:11 am by Greg
An Iron Hurtin’
**** out of *****
When I first heard that they were going to make an Iron Man movie, I was a bit skeptical. Let’s be honest - the character is no Batman or Superman, and I (unfairly) clumped the movie in with the purportedly upcoming Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Aquaman movies - nice idea, but their characters have relatively small fan bases and seem a bit old fashioned for today’s movie-going audiences. But as time went on, I kept seeing and hearing things that kept me interested - could this possibly be a rare instance of a comic book movie taken seriously and treated with respect? Luckily, that’s a big 10-4, good buddy - Iron Man is true to its source material, perfectly cast, action-packed and great fun from start to finish. Read the rest of this entry »
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03.24.08
Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:20 am by Greg
Mmm… ChocolSMACK!
*** out of *****
It’ll be hard in the future for any Thai martial arts movie not to be compared to Ong Bak, the badass punch-a-thon that put Thai fight films on the map. If you’ve seen that one, or its lame sequel Tom Yum Koong you pretty much know what to expect here. Prachya Pinkaew, the director of both of the aforementioned movies, returns to deliver more of the same, although instead of a rock-hard Isaan boy, he uses a lithe but quick young woman to mete out justice. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:12 am by Greg
Mist Opportunity
* out of *****
Man, I really wanted to like this movie. In my humble opinion, “The Mist” is one of Stephen King’s greatest short stories, equaled in creepiness only by another of his short stories called “The Jaunt”. I first read it about 18 years ago and have waited for a movie version ever since, but am pretty pissed that this is what I got. During the movie’s good parts I was barely impressed; during the bad parts I actually thought about leaving. I might come off a bit harsh here, but a movie with this pedigree of talent behind it should have been much better. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 4:12 am by Greg
Between the Rock and a Hard Case
**1/2 out of *****
I guess it’s a standard move these days for ‘tough guy’ actors to broaden their horizons (and fan base) by appearing in cute comedies out of their element or with kids and/or animals. Arnie cleaned up in Kindergarten Cop; Vin Diesel failed miserably in The Pacifier and let’s not mention Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. It’s a delicate balancing act - act too cute and you’ll look like a limp vegetable; too tough and you won’t be stretching your image. In The Game Plan, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson uses his formidable on-screen likeability to mostly pull it off, although the script offers zero surprises and every cliche in the book. Despite this, it’s a great family film to bring the kids to. Read the rest of this entry »
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02.28.08
Posted in Movie Reviews at 10:17 am by Greg
Swing High, Swing Low
**1/2 out of *****
Pity poor director Sam Raimi. In much the same way Peter Jackson went from schlock king (zobie gore-fest Dead Alive) to film god (Lord of the Rings), Raimi has gone from cheese king (demon gore-fest Evil Dead) to one of the most respected and trusted directors in Hollywood (he’s even suggested he might like to take over the reigns from Jackson on a Hobbit movie). No one was sure what he’d do with the Spiderman property, but when the first one turned out to be gold, and the second turned out to be gold with a side of diamonds, the heat was on - number three had better be good. For Spiderman 3, Raimi and team succeeded - mostly. What they made was an Armani suit worn by a sumo wrestler; it’s about as good as it could possibly be as it is, but would have been much better if it was a little leaner. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 10:16 am by Greg
A Force to be Reckoned With
****1/2 out of *****
George Lucas isn’t a very good director. That’s right, I said it. But what he can do better than nearly everyone else is tell stories that involve you and create characters that are real and interesting. I can’t imagine how he must feel this week; the story that he started telling 28 years ago is finally finished and his characters that are only slightly less well-known than Ronald MacDonald the world over will never be heard from again. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is easily the best of the three prequels and certainly good enough to convince more than a few people that it’s the best film in the series, period. Let the arguments begin. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Movie Reviews at 10:15 am by Greg
All Fluxed Up and No Place to Go
** out of *****
Begun as a series of anime-inspired shorts that aired on MTV in 1991 (and a subsequent regular series and graphic novel), Aeon Flux was a violent, sexual, kinetically charged series that pushed all kinds of boundaries and gained quite a large cult following. Unfortunately, the film adaptation is a busy, schizophrenic film that suffers from a messy script, bad directing and little resemblance to the source material. In a trend that’s all-too common of late, they went and pulled the Hollywood magic trick of turning an R into a PG. Butt-in-seat numbers go up, quality goes down and I’m left sitting in my chair wondering when they’re going to ignore the stupid kids and get back to making bad-ass sci-fi/action movies for adults. Read the rest of this entry »
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