Periodic Movie Review

Talk about anything under the sun or stars - but keep it civil. This is where we really get to know each other. Everyone is welcome, and invited!
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Periodic Movie Review

Postby ValentineNicole » Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:41 pm

You all remember how this works, I'm sure...
Basically, just review whatever movies you've seen lately, however you feel like doing so.
Also, if you include spoilers, PLEASE label them as such.
Enjoy!

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Postby ValentineNicole » Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:42 pm

BABEL
**** out of 5


**POSSIBLE SPOILERS INCLUDED**

Babel opens, telling the story of two young boys in Morocco. Their
father designates them the job watching over the family's sheep; to
aid in accomplishing this, he purchases the boys a rifle to shoot at
any jackals that may come near the herd. The boys take turns shooting
the gun, and the youngest son is quickly found out to be the more
capable of the two. The eldest son, irritated at the fact that his
younger brother has more skill at shooting, begins to get defensive.
He claims the gun is defective and cannot possibly shoot the predicted
300 kilometers. The younger insists the gun is fine; and in order to
prove his point, he demonstrates this by shooting at a bus driving
along the road below them.
The bus turns out to be a tour bus filled with Americans, and on board
this bus is an American couple, Richard and Susan (Brad Pitt and Cate
Blanchett). Susan is seriously wounded in the shoulder from the
bullet. The bus driver is then forced to take the group into a small
town along the way in order to get her the medical attention she
needs. Richard calls the embassy, and soon enough, the shooting
becomes a publicized event in America. American citizens are quick to
blame terrorism, perhaps shedding some light on the start of our lack
of communication.
Back in America, the couple's nanny is caring for their children. The
delay in the couple's return, caused by Susan's injury, has made it
impossible for her to return to Mexico to see her son's wedding - or
so it seems. Missing her son's wedding is, of course, out of the
question to Amelia (Adriana Barraza). She and her nephew (Gael Garc'a
Bernal) take the couple's two children along with them, across the
border into Mexico for the wedding.
From the moment they arrive, we realize the culture shock that the
children must be going through. Raised in posh, suburban San Diego,
the children are brought into poverty stricken slums of Mexico.
Despite this, the children never appear to have difficulty adapting.
Perhaps, that is part the message that is trying to be conveyed - we
are all born without biases. It is society that puts our prejudices
and barriers upon us.
Crossing the border to come back into America, the group is faced with
a fair bit of difficulty. Bernal's character is slightly drunk and
begins to fight with the security guard at the gate. Though Amelia's
character is of no fault in this and is simply returning the children
to their home; during the disturbance, it is discovered she has been
living and working in American illegally for over 16 years. Despite
the fact that she has made herself a home in America and is perhaps
even more loyal to the country than many of our own citizens, she is
forced into being deported.
Perhaps the most disturbing and engrossing storyline, however, is that
of a deaf, mute Japanese girl named Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi). Chieko is
sexually repressed and unable to express herself in words. She takes
comfort in her friends whom have similar issues to her. Her mother has
commited suicide, and she lives with her father, whom she appears to
at least have partially becomes estranged to since her mother's death.
The pure vulnerability of Cheiko is unfathomable and intensely
striking; you can practically feel it radiating off of the screen. Her
character is deeply misunderstood, and she is unable to help anyone
understand her, except the select few who choose to listen closely.
Her limitations and naivety leave her frightfully susceptable and
unguarded, and it is hard to shake the disoriented feeling long after
her final scene.
All in all, Babel will make you think. It truly displays the way the
world actually is; three seperate countries are portrayed, and though
all are linked together somehow, the discord and lack of communication
leaves you with three totally seperate stories. These stories,
however, intertwine beautifully and almost leave you with a sense of
harmony despite all of the incongruity.
Alejandro González Iñárritu is a very unique and powerful director, in
that he aims to affect his audience and convey a deeper message rather
than solely entertain them. The visual aspects of the film are
breath-taking and inspiring. The vibrant performances portrayed by the
entire cast, both the unknowns and the mainstream actors, are
astonishing. The film itself is both unconventional and highly
captivating. Most important, however, is the extremely
thought-provoking message it portrays.
The message is simple. In the world, there are hundreds of countries
that could possibly be working in unison; in theory, many people would
like you to believe that they are. The harsh reality is, however, that
the majority of people are misunderstood - and no one wants to attempt
to acknowledge this. Like a harsh world that doesn't care enough to
listen closely to hear the vulnerable pleas of a deaf, mute girl doing
her best to be understood; we too have a tendancy to ignore the issues
the world faces and not let others communicate with us fully if we do
not feel like hearing them out. Babel will entertain you, undoubtedly;
but more importantly, it will leave you in contemplation of its
powerful message.

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Postby Craig » Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:23 pm

Nicole, I really want to see Babel so I didn't read your review of it, but it's good to see you gave it a decent star rating.

I should be watching Walk the Line for the first time tonight, or tomorrow, so I should have a review of that up soon.

Salaam

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Postby ValentineNicole » Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:02 pm

All actual reviews will be coming later (especially for the movies I loved), but for anyone who is curious, here are my ratings on recent movies I have seen in the past couple weeks. I'll be seeing Casino Royale tonight.

Stranger than Fiction - ****/5
The Departed - *****/5
Little Children - *****/5
Borat - ****/5
The Prestige - ***/5
Flags of Our Fathers - ****/5
Saw III - **/5

Next on my list to see (excluding Casino Royale): The Queen, Last King of Scotland, and Running With Scissors
If anyone's seen any of those, I'd love opinions!

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Postby fawkes » Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:20 pm

I've seen 2 movies this weekend, Borat and Stranger Than Fiction.

Borat was a mistake. I'm the type of person who enjoys dry humor, intelligent stuff, really (OK, I'm a huge fan of Monty Python, but then I wouldn't be a very good geek if I didn't, would I?) so I thought Borat was horrible. I heard on the radio earlier that Borat appealed more to the Jackass fan base, and I should have listened. I cannot stand Jackass or anything vaguely like it, with people acting like idiots and making general asses of themselves. So, a mistake on my part. */5

Stranger Than Fiction rawked. Awesomely. I usually tend towards the horror/sci-fi/fantasy end of the movie spectrum, but it's always nice to see a movie that just makes you feel good inside. And this was one of those movies. Normally I don't care for that guy (I can't remember the actor's name, I'm terrible, SNL guy...) but he was outstanding in this film. Of course, since I'm all booky, it was fun to see a movie about a literary character. ****/5

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Postby ValentineNicole » Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

What I loved about Borat was the fact that it totally goes out of its way to really show the bad side of everyone. It goes beyond the typical critique of society and shows every possible type of prejudice. It's insulting, shocking, disturbing, and outright hilarious. It will offend you. It will offend every single person in the theatre, no matter where they live or who they are. It is also brilliantly witty, and I guarantee you will laugh. It's not for those people who consider themselves conservative. You must go into the theatre with an open mind, to say the least, and you must be willing to laugh at yourself - but it was great.

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Postby locke » Tue Nov 21, 2006 3:14 pm

This year's movies I've seen since July or so. really want to see a bunch of movies that are in theatres right now... just need the time and money...

Monster House 9/10
Brick - 8/10
Last King of Scotland - 7/10
Departed - 8/10
The Queen 9/10
Little Miss Sunshine 6.5/10
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance 7/10
12 and Holding 7.5/10
Over the Hedge 3/10
Little Children 6/10
Borat 10/10
Thank You for Smoking 4/10
Pan's Labyrinth 7/10
A Prairie home Companion 5/10
The Good German 6/10
The History Boys 6/10
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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Postby fawkes » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:36 pm

Brick? I don't think I've heard of that one.

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Postby Young Val » Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:27 pm

Brick is AMAZING.
you snooze, you lose
well I have snozzed and lost
I'm pushing through
I'll disregard the cost
I hear the bells
so fascinating and
I'll slug it out
I'm sick of waiting
and I can
hear the bells are
ringing joyful and triumphant

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Postby fawkes » Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:27 pm

Is it still playing?
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Postby Seiryu » Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:48 pm

The ones I've seen recently.

Saw III--7/10 (I liked Saw II the best)
Stranger Than Fiction--9/10
Lucky Number Slevin--9/10
Talladega Nights--7.6/10
Anchorman--7/10
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Postby Craig » Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:23 pm

Brick was pretty solid overall, but I absolutely could not stand the first 15 minutes or so. I mean seriously, do you have to fade or dissolve to every scene? The first act tried way too hard, but once they started to "shake things up" it became a very interesting movie. I loved the dialog, and even most of the tongue-in-cheekyness...

I've seen recently...

Sympathy for Lady Vengence - 8/10
Thank You for Smoking - 7/10 (hilarious though!)
Casino Royale - 7/10
Citizen Kane - 7/10 (probably a 10/10 had I saw it when it came out)
Walk the Line - 8/10 (I was VERY suprised with this)
Cars - 7/10
The Departed - 9/10 (easily one of the best films of the year)
The Prestige - 8/10 (I loved the 3-act set up based off magic tricks)
Over the Hedge - 3/10 (the animation is the only redeeming thing)
Little Miss Sunshine - 6/10 (I found it pretentious and over rated)
Lucky Number Sleven - 6/10 (again a horrible beginning)

Now my FAVORITE movie of the year...

The Fountain - 10/10

Salaam

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Postby Seiryu » Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:11 am

Lucky Number Sleven - 6/10 (again a horrible beginning)
Salaam
I agree, but I disagree at the same time.

I agree because...it's randomly thrown in there.

But my disagree is stronger: The beginning not only pertains to the whole story itself, but it also pertains to how the movie is set up. There are many sections of the movie where characters stop and tell a story. The story at the beginning is not (as we find out later) random, but has something to do with at least one of the characters in the movie. (Don't want to give away too much.) So...not only does it leave you with something to think about during the entire movie, but it sets up key plot points and key story telling devices.
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Postby zeroguy » Fri Nov 24, 2006 9:26 pm

Lucky Number Sleven - 6/10 (again a horrible beginning)
I agree, but I disagree at the same time.

The beginning was horrible, but so was the rest of the movie. I don't see how more than one person here gave this a (moderately) good review.
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Postby Craig » Fri Nov 24, 2006 11:24 pm

I'm generous with my overall numbers. I've made a couple short films and the amount of work that goes into a five minute short is incredible, so I have a ton of respect for a person who can finish a movie. Period. As Jim Jarmusch says, it's hard to make a good movie, but it's just as hard to make a bad movie.

I didn't really like Lucky Number Slevin, hence the reason it would have got a "D" had I graded it, but I didn't think it was a failure... I thought they tried to highten the suspense by giving you a "fake" beginning, which was a mistake, but I didn't find it to be a failure.

To me, the difference between a movie that gets a 6/10 and a movie that gets a 7/10 is a HUGE difference... Think of the rictor (so?) scale that's used to measure earthquakes... The difference between a 6.0 earthquake and a 7.0 is almost indescribable... :)

Salaam

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Postby Craig » Fri Nov 24, 2006 11:26 pm

Review of "The Fountain" from my movie blog... No spoilers...

Just a forwarning... I generally think these things out before I write them, I know what I want to say and I try to say it. But this is a different review, as I just got back from the theater. I'm writing this on a whim, it's entirely a first impression, so take everything I say with a grain of salt...

The Fountain is pure cinematic gold. It is no question that Darren Aronofsky's latest project, The Fountain, is my favorite movie of the year; but it may become my favorite film period. The story is too big and too complex to even begin to describe in any kind of detail, but what I can say is that it is a love story spanning three different time periods: the 1600's, 2006, and the distant future. It is also a story telling the one man's quest to find the fountain of youth (this time it's of tree form).

The Fountain is about love, it's about obsession, it's about life, it's about death, and it's about rebirth. It's about the beginning, it's about the end, but it's also about today; now. The complexities of the story is further complicated by the nontraditional storytelling. Aronofsky blends time periods with one another, so something that effects todays world effects yesterdays events, and things that happened in the past haunt the future. Everything is interconnected, everything is related from similar colors to similar geometric shapes. Some things are even present in all three time periods, like the wedding ring.

Visually, The Fountain is the most beautiful film I have ever seen and I am thankful to have seen it on the big screen. But I'll be honest, this is most definitly not a film for everyone, it's probably not a film for many people. But I do hope that people give it a chance because those who are patient, those who have an open mind may witness one of the crowning achievements in film. I have been to movies where the crowd cheers when the credits roll, I have been to movies where the crowd boos when the credits roll, but tonight when the words "directed by Darren Aronofsky" appeared in the bottom right corner the crowd didn't do anything. It was silent. A character in The Fountain says that only in death can we achieve awe, but when the credits began to roll we were in awe.

Like I said before, The Fountain is pure cinematic gold, and in my opinion is the best film of 2006. It is more than a movie, it is an experience and in a world where the audience goes to the movies to escape reality, here is a movie that will drown you in it's beauty and it will haunt you as you leave the theater.

See it, try and enjoy it, and let me know what you think.

Grade: A

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Postby puppets » Sat Nov 25, 2006 11:31 am

So after looking at this thread I've decided to go see Babel.

Santa Clause Conquers the Martians (1964) *Spoilers*
1 out of 5

The most ridiculous movie ever. Hilarious due to the fact that the movie was so poorly written on such a horrible budget. The plot- Santa Clause is kidnapped by martians from Mars who want to bring happiness to children in Mars. That is the plot. First off this is a 3 hour movie. You can only go so far with a story like this, and 3 hours is too far. Secondly they need a sober actor to play Santa. Third, this movie was made before satelites, this did not stop the director from attempting to make one. Imagine a circular peice of cardboard (the kind that has pizza sitting on it from the market) with 6 toilet paper rolls glued on and spray-painted gray. This movie was hilarious... for the first half an hour, after that you realize they are trying to be serious about this movie. I would recommend watching it if you get it for free. My friend and myself found it at Wal-Mart for 2 cents, it came with 49 other movies, all for 1 dollar.
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Postby ValentineNicole » Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:35 pm

Bobby - No spoilers
*** out of 5 stars

While watching the movie Bobby, I felt as though the movie fell somewhat short. The performances are all solid and well portrayed, with a few minor exceptions. A few of the actors stood out, but none really captivated me throughout the movie until the end. The film tells the story of various individuals working or residing in a hotel on the night that Robert Kennedy was asassinated there. Their individual stories are then interwoven at the conclusion of the movie. Unfortunately, throughout the movie you feel as though there is not really enough connection between the audience and any of the characters. Details are left out, and there is not enough focus on any of the plotlines to become fully engrossed within it. Luckily, the movie is more than salvaged with an ending that is so intensely powerful that it makes the movie worth going to see.
A few of the characters are terribly wasted. Ashton Kuther's role left me wishing that he had never been included in the movie - though he provided some comic relief, he did not add to the movie in any real way. Helen Hunt's role struck me as fake, though this was partially what was being attempted to portray. Luckily, the majority of the actors involved gave strong, solid performances that were worth watching. None of the characters were given the role of their lifetimes, but the acting was well-done. Lindsay Lohan's role, shockingly, was one of the two best in the film. Her performance at the start seemed weak, and I instantly pegged her as just another cookie-cutter teenage actress. As the plot develops, however, the conviction she had while portraying her role really amazed me. The ending of this movie is one of the most powerful I have seen in a long while; at least partially, this is due to Lohan's role. Anthony Hopkins is the other part that stood out in my mind; his wistful demeanor is almost heartbreaking when you come to terms with it all.
This movie will most likely not be the best you will see all year, as it just falls short of anything superb. It is, however, extremely powerful; and seeing actors that you may not typically think of as the strongest holding their own up against Anthony Hopkins, William H. Macy, and Laurence Fishburne is quite remarkable.

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Postby zeroguy » Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:51 pm

Santa Clause Conquers the Martians (1964) *Spoilers*
1 out of 5
One of my favorite scenes was the one where Santa and the kids escape from that room with no exit, and when asked on how they escaped, no explanation is given. (And the martians are fantastic! person + antennae + helmet = martian)
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Postby puppets » Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:23 pm

Hahahahaha, wow someone else saw that movie. Did you notice how the martians space ship said radar everything.... there was a box labeled... "RADAR BOX". Either way it was such a horrible film, but I laughed so hard because of that fact. *shakes head*
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Postby Craig » Sat Nov 25, 2006 8:54 pm


I really have nothing to add since you did a much better job than I could have, but I quoted that because I couldn't agree more about how beautiful it was to see, especially on the big screen. Also, the audience here reacted the same way. The credits started and no one moved. We all just sat there, silently staring.
That's really cool. What did you think of it? Did you enjoy it too?

Salaam

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Postby Craig » Sun Nov 26, 2006 1:04 am

I'm right there with you. Luckily I had a couple people to really talk about it after we saw it, and actually we almost walked right back to the box office and bought tickets for the next showing. Instead, we're seeing it tomorrow, we wanted to think about it for a little bit more before seeing it again. I can't wait.

I've already got the graphic novel and the screenplay/compilation guide coming from amazon... :) I know, I'm a nerd.

Salaam

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Postby locke » Sun Nov 26, 2006 10:49 pm

Deck the Halls - 2 out of 10

Don't see Deck the Halls. unlike even a moderately funny holiday film like Christmas with the Kranks, the story and characters in Deck the Halls never work. The movie is pathetic from beginning to end. hamfisted attempts at characterization. Non-sensical plot progression, even the christmas goofiness that leads to the competitions and big set pieces are poorly done.

The only thing funny in the movie are the pratfalls and half of that is because they're so poorly done and unexpected that you're laughing at the movie for being so unbelievably bad.

Oh and the cellphone light thing at the end... f*** off!

Everything about the movie is just blah and bland from beginning to end. Completely uninteresting and incompetently written. The most appalling and corporate movie I've seen in many, many years.

avoid at all costs (and I'm a big time sucker for christmas movies and christmas comedies)
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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Postby fawkes » Tue Dec 05, 2006 1:55 pm

Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny - HILARIOUS. I'm a big fan of Tenacious D (Tribute is one of my favorite songs), so I really liked this movie. I'll admit, there's more swearing than I'd like, and there's a lot of sexual language, but without it, it just wouldn't be Tenacious D. I'd call this almost a rock opera, there's a lot of musical storytelling going on. All the music (save a few samples of The Who) is written and performed by Tenacious D, with a few guest singers, like Meatloaf, and I can't remember who else...

*spoilers*

The whole movie is about J.B. meeting K.G., forming a band, then going on a quest for the Pick of Destiny so they can win an open mike contest and pay their rent. I think it's also the story of the goings-on in that song "Tribute". There's a reference to it at the end, but the actual song is not in the movie, which I found pretty disappointing.

Anyway, my rating is ****1/2 out of 5
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Postby ValentineNicole » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:50 pm

I saw the Fountain. Unfortunately, though I thought it was terribly beautiful and unbelievably well-acted, I could not help but feel as though something was missing at the end. All in all, I'd probably give it three stars, out of five. It's a strong three though - just falling short.

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Postby Locke_ » Tue Dec 05, 2006 3:54 pm

16 Years of Alcohol:
You'll get mixed reviews if you look em up, but I thought this movie was great. The review on the cover draws comparisons to Trainspotting and Clockwork Orange. I don't think it's quite as effed up as those two, but it has it's moments. The narration by the main character is glorious, giving universal thoughts on life from the perspective of a violent alcoholic. The soundtrack is great too. I think I just didn't know what to expect (maybe why i liked it so much) so I really don't wanna say much about it. It's great though, see it pls. :-)

Rules of Attraction:
This and the above were my two faves of about 12 movies I watched during Thanksgiving break. Maybe it's because I'm the polar opposite, but I really enjoyed this stylized film based on another book by the guy who wrote American Psycho about self-destructive, hedonistic college kids in love triangles. It's got its good moments, but most of it was me trying to imagine living in their mindset. Not one of the characters is particularly wholesome, all of them taking drugs, drinking heavily, sleeping around, etc. But you can't help but like them cause they tend to share the exact same emotions as normal nonselfdestructive, nondrugtaking, etc students. It's a satire with soem meaning I don't understand prolly, like American Psycho, but definitely entertaining at least. And when I said stylish back there, I mean STY ILL ISH.[/b]
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Postby zeroguy » Tue Dec 05, 2006 7:35 pm

The review on the cover draws comparisons to Trainspotting and Clockwork Orange. I don't think it's quite as effed up as those two, but it has it's moments.
I don't know what Trainspotting is, but what's wrong with Clockwork Orange? That's one of my hallmates' favorite movies.
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Postby Young Val » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:08 pm

i don't think he's saying there's anything wrong with it, exactly, but if you've seen it (or read the book, which is far more horrifying in my opinion) it covers some pretty distasteful topics.
you snooze, you lose
well I have snozzed and lost
I'm pushing through
I'll disregard the cost
I hear the bells
so fascinating and
I'll slug it out
I'm sick of waiting
and I can
hear the bells are
ringing joyful and triumphant

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Postby zeroguy » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:18 pm

Err, oops, I didn't read "on the cover". For some reason, I thought he was saying the reviews he referred to before (i.e. the mixed ones... and I assumed the more negative ones) were the ones making the references to Clockwork Orange. But the one on the cover, yeah, that would probably be positive.
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Postby Ithilien » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:14 pm

Pride and Prejudice (recent version) ***

Ugh, I pretty much hated the movie. As a huge fan of the book and previous production, I couldn't warm up to Keira Knightley's portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet. She seemed arguementative and overly serious rather than light and witty. Matthew MacFadyen was pretty dull in that movie too. Still, the bottom third was really quite romantic. Pretty scenery too!

The Prestige ****1/2

I really love this movie! So suspenseful and one of the most intriguing an clever plots I had come across for a long time. It was pretty dark though, and neither of the main characters can really be considered heros. The magic tricks were fun to watch and Tesla was an enjoyable addition to the plot. Thoroughly entertaining film!

(I really, really want to see Casino Royale. Does anyone have a review for that?)
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Postby Craig » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:05 pm

Casino Royale

From my blog... Very little spoilers.

The 21st James Bond movie, Casino Royale, opened Friday night and after having a difficult time finding a theater that wasn't sold out, I got to see it Saturday evening. The newest Bond movie is something of a treat as it's not a sequel to any other Bond movie; it's actually the first story of Bond. It starts even before James has been promoted to double-0 status.

Since they were able to wipe the slate clean, the filmmakers had the ability to do a Bond movie like no one has ever seen before, but, unfortunately that wasn't the case. What ensues after Bond is promoted is almost your standard run of the mill Bond movie complete with blazing guns, beautiful cars, and even better looking women. But there were some really nice moments. The opening action scene is probably the best action sequence I have ever seen on film. Casino Royale uses the extreme sport Parkour as it's catalyst for it's action sequences (But this was used last year in Luc Besson's latest production, the French movie, District B13). Parkour is a foot race that allows you to use anything within your environment to get to the finish line first. Usually it includes jumping from building to building, running up walls, and jumping down staircases. Parkour is so outrageous that words will not do it justice, it's simply amazing to watch.

Daniel Craig (Layer Cake) plays the new Bond, and it must be mentioned that this isn't your father's James Bond. He's rough around the edges, he's dirty, he's messy, and strikes you more as a beer man than a martini drinker. But that is the greatest thing about the new direction, Bond is a different man. He feels more, he's more of a person, more of a character than in any other Bond movie I have seen. This makes the experience that much more realistic (there are no invisible cars, laser beams, or plots to destroy the entire world in this movie), and ultimately that much more rewarding.

Clocking in at 2hrs and 24mins, Casino Royale is one of the longer, more complex Bond movies but it was nice to see a certain patience exuded in the storytelling. All in all, Casino Royale was very entertaining and was a pretty darn good time. This is the type of movie that BEGS to be seen in the theater, and if you don't see it for anything else, see it for the parkour.

Grade: B

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Postby Craig » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:09 pm

Ithilien, I actually rather liked the most recent Pride and Prejudice movie and I didn't expect to. I really hated Keira Knightley being cast (though I adore her to death), but I thought she did a fantastic job. The acting is top notch. But what really did it for me is that has to be one of the most goreous movies I have seen. It really is. The scenery, the lighting, the camera work, everything about it's production just floored me. I was REALLY pulling for it to win best cinematography during the Academy Awards... Not to mention best adapted screenplay, because lets not forget the fact that this book is basically impossible to adapt...

I agree with you 100% about The Prestige.

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Postby ValentineNicole » Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:29 pm

I have to say, Craig, I don't fully agree on Casino Royale being your typical run-of-the-milll Bond picture. I think Daniel Craig made a much more rugged and real Bond than I have seen in the past, at least since Sean Connery. He made mistakes in the movie, which I liked. He didn't have the full trust Bond tends to have; in fact, he hadn't really even won over anyone at the start. He also didn't play the pretty boy who always gets all of the women. Admittedly, there was some of that at the start; however, he did not win the heart of Vesper (Eva Green), at least at the start (I won't spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen the movie). I think the fact that it went a bit above and beyond your usual Bond movie is what made it so fascinating for me. The fact that the first chase scene was entirely well-done and beyond captivating also helped a fair bit. :wink:
All in all, my only real complaint was that the romance in the movie seemed all together far too cheesy. I greatly disliked some of the supposedly "witty" romantic lines (though the raw, sarcastic, and subtle tone of humor throughout the movie was right up my alley). I felt as though it was far too unrealistic for him to fall so deeply in love so soon, and that that weakened the character in my opinion. The one line about Bond's being stripped of his armour that is quoted in the theatrical trailer was really the line that irritated me the most.
All in all, though, if you're going in simply expecting a Bond film, you will be pleasantly surprised. I think this film will work for both those people that enjoy James Bond movies, and those that are only half sold on the thought. The action is awesome; the dialogue is witty and fresh; and the acting is rather enjoyable.

All in all, I'd give it **** out of 5 stars.


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