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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Postby neo-dragon » Tue Jul 03, 2007 2:44 am

Some spoiler free thoughts on Transformers that I posted over on hatrack:

Well, if my experience tonight was any indication it's having a very successful opening. It was totally sold out for all showings at the first two theatres I tried. We eventually managed to get into a midnight show that also sold out by 11:30. Let me tell you, we were part of a rowdy audience that REALLY got excited over every little thing. I think every single person in that theatre grew up with the cartoon.

All things considered, it pretty much delivered what I anticipated; amazing action sequences and adequate plot. Actually, there was more humour than I expected, and some of it was a bit mature. I'm glad that Bay was conscious of the fact that a large portion of the audience for the film would be people in their 20s and 30s, and didn't go out of his way to aim the movie at 10 year olds. Without spoiling anything, the ending was just about perfect, managing to set things up for inevitable sequels without having too much of a cheesy "to be continued..." feel. And I think that Transformers 2 will be a better movie, as this one got the set-up of the basic premise and introduction of characters out of the way, so the next one can flesh them out a bit more. I was a little disappointed that only a few transformers really did anything or said more than a couple of token lines. Actually, it's just one in particular who I was hoping would be more involved, but it's safe to say that he'll be in the sequel.

If you grew up with Transformers you need to see this movie. If not, it probably won't be much more to you than a demo of some of the best CGI seen too date, and a couple of humourous gags.

I'd give it 3/5.

P.S.
Megan Fox is HOT! :shock: :D

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Postby ValentineNicole » Tue Jul 03, 2007 6:56 pm

Transformers was f****** awesome.
Not in a movie buff, "You must see this," sort of way, but moreso in a "Holy s***, that was fun" way.
The action is brilliant; the special effects are astonishing. The plot is mediocre and predictable. The last fight is kind of lame. Shia Lebeuf (excuse my spelling) proves himself to have talent, once again. I'm really starting to look out for him.
All in all, it's a blast, regardless of it's bad points.
5/5 for fun
4/5 for the movie itself (Because despite the simple plot, the effects WERE astonishing.)

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Postby mr_thebrain » Tue Jul 03, 2007 9:01 pm

i agree, see it. love it. buy it when it comes out. Transformers 5/5!

i got home an hour ago and i'm still psyched that i saw it.
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Postby Kaira » Thu Jul 05, 2007 11:38 am

I saw it last night and oh my freekin A, i loved it sooo much. instant favorite movie right there. 5/5 baby! i wanna go see it again right now! *is still so excited that i cant articulate properly how great it was so gives up trying*
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Postby mr_thebrain » Thu Jul 05, 2007 5:26 pm

exactly.
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Postby zeroguy » Thu Jul 05, 2007 7:49 pm

So... am I the only one kinda annoyed by how many (bad) jokes they tried to put in it, then? Don't get me wrong, it was very enjoyable, and the effects were freakin' awesome (explosions + robots + OMGTRANSFORMING). But some parts were a little... ridiculous. I'd go into more detail given time, but I'll just say some of the humour just seemed kinda... well, stupid. Well done otherwise, though, I think.

***SPOILERS if you understand what I'm referring to*** Oh, and for some reason, seeing the 80's movie made me think a certain someone was going to die before the movie's end. That particular someone not dieing just seemed... confusing.
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Postby Mahatma » Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:37 pm

Just in case you were thinking about it, don't see Fantastic Four. Ever.
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Postby mr_thebrain » Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:07 pm

i didn't think fantastic 4: rise of the silver surfer was too bad, actually. i think the direction they took it was a lot better than with the first outing. still not a masterpiece or anything, lacking in a bunch of ways, but in general not all that bad. 3.5/5
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Postby Young Val » Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:18 am

Harry Potter: OotP


best so far.
you snooze, you lose
well I have snozzed and lost
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I hear the bells
so fascinating and
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hear the bells are
ringing joyful and triumphant

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Postby Mahatma » Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:02 am

I never saw any other Fantastic Four movie... so I can't judge based on that criteria I guess. The acting was bad, the writing was pretty bad (the only thing that wasn't too bad was the premise of the villain), and there was SO much cheese. I know superhero movies need a little cheese, but this was ridiculous. And the whole 'I just wanna settle down and have a normal life and babies like a normal girl *pout*' thing was not just silly but annoying and borderline offensive. Not sure I'd even give it a 2.

On another note, I'll be seeing Order of the Phonenix in t-minus 8 hours and 10 minutes! :D
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Postby neo-dragon » Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:33 pm

I wasn't terribly impressed by HP5. Here are just a few random thoughts and impressions:


MOVIE and BOOK SPOILERS:

The film did stay rather faithful to the book without being bogged down by subplots. However, I think that some things were glossed over too quickly that shouldn't have been. For example, Mr. Weasley's attack and injury. I guess the only reason why it was included at all was to emphasize the link between Harry and Voldemort, but it was addressed so quickly and vaguely that if I hadn't read the book I don't think I would understand why he was attacked. Also, none of the Weasleys seemed very concerned. Similarly, Snape's worst memory was shown, but the implications of it weren't addressed at all. Also, the aftermath of the battle at the Ministry was rather brief as well. Sirius's death didn't seem to have much of an effect on Harry after the confrontation with Voldemort. Where was the whole coming to terms with loss and death? He seemed more upset when Cedric died. Then there's Harry's relationship with Cho, which consists of a few looks, one kiss, and an abrupt ending. I know that there wasn't much to it in the book either, but the film didn't really make it seem like Harry felt anything for Cho besides pity. I know that when adapting a book to film running time is always an issue, but this was in fact the shortest film in the series even though it was the longest book. A little bit of time could have been spent to flesh out these plot points or else cut out the less important ones all together.

In general, I found things to be somewhat slow and dull until the showdown at the Ministry. That being said, the battle itself was excellent. My one complain being that I would have liked to see more from other members of the Order besides Sirius and Lupin. How about showing Tonks doing a bit more? I like her, but she was barely more than an extra. Another thing that I liked was the casting. Luna Lovegood was just plain perfect (what an adorable girl!) , and so was Umbridge.


END SPOILERS


Overall, good but not great. 3/5.

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Postby ValentineNicole » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:43 am

Perfume Story of a Murderer - darn near one of the most perfect and surprising movies of the year. Just a superb and wonderous bit of storytelling. Don't miss it!
I had been looking forward to the release of this on DVD for quite some while. I had been busy when it showed at our limited release theatre in Orlando, and I heard wonderful things about it.
Unfortuntely, I didn't love it.
I really expected to, too. Don't get me wrong - I LOVED the feel of the movie. I loved the avant garde feeling; the dark, psychological undertones; the risks that were taken to achieve it all. It was a lot more like cinemagraphic art than most of Hollywood's so-called achievements.
It was just...monotone throughout bits. Though there were definitely engrossing moments where I could not look away, parts were severely difficult to get through, for me. The entire movie had the air of something that had been adapted, that was missing large portions. It felt condenced. The ending felt too easy, as though a great piece of art came to close without much real depth at all.
Definitely an interesting watch, though.

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Postby zeroguy » Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:18 pm

I don't write many reviews, so my apologies if this isn't all that structured or even coherent. I'm just writing my thoughts down as they come.

The Simpsons Movie

Being a Simpsons fan for a while, I really expected this to be bad (considering the trend of recent seasons). Like, most-episodes-after-season-13-bad. But I went to see it anyway, and I'm glad I did. I was pleasantly surprised with a quality I haven't seen in the show for quite some time.

Not to say it's all good, though; this is not exactly the first 10 seasons we're talking about here. Many jokes styles are reminiscent of recent seasons, but I felt less beat-over-the-head with them than in shows (probably because there was much more time to spread them out over; storyline transitions felt a bit less rushed and hobbled together and inconsistent). Random celebrity namedropping and broad (read: stupid) political jokes/caricatures were less abundant than I expected, but still present. (The latter being a bit dumber than I expected, though, frankly... I mean: "the government finally found someone they were looking for"? wow, how witty.) Or maybe they were more present than I realized, but I just didn't notice them because I'm not familiar with whatever they were referring to (very possible, but that is a good thing; they should be unintrusive).

Plot was just as expected. We started out with just miscellaneous jokes kinda hodgepodge, but eventually tied into a larger plot that, let's be frank, nobody really cares about and would be considered really stupid if it was in most any other movie. It worked well from the standpoint of seeing the family onscreen, but didn't let the rest of the town do anything besides be the butt of quick jokes that were just used occaisionally to take focus off of the family. Proper use of joke/plot juxtaposition, perhaps, but I woulda liked to see the townsfolk do more than just comically flail about trying to puncture the dome. (And for the less-known characters, more than just seeing them for a fraction of a second in a hundred-character camera flyby.)

One thing that did really bother me a few times, however, was reusing older jokes and/or situations from shows. I mean, stealing from themselves is hardly stealing, and after the show has been on for so long, it's hard to do new things, but still. The "Lisa's love interest" mini-storyline has been numerous times, but this one was pretty much the same as the boy from West Springfield Elementary [Edit: on further reflection, almost all (Nelson being an exception) of Lisa's love interests fit this situation this well, or better. I don't know why I picked out this specific one]. Granted, that was only like a minute long in that episode, but why not bring him back, then? You could have kept him exactly the same except adding an environmentalist slant, and all you lose is the Irish accent and that stupid Bono joke. I could go on, but I suppose this is a rather expected thing to happen, and listing them is just going to piss me off and not do much more.

So, onto a more positive note. A BIG plus is that Scorpio's voice is present most of the time! It may be considered a different voice just by the same voice actor, but I sure as hell heard Scorpio the whole time, and was very happy by that. Of course, it would have been immensely cool if they had somehow brought in Scorpio to be responsible for the dome, but I can imagine the difficulties of working that in well, so I'm okay with it.

Continuity errors and canon problems were prevalent, but they were relatively minor (***SPOILER*** Except that maggie has already spoken at least twice in the series before! It's not a big deal! ***END SPOILER***), so I actually kinda liked them. It gave me something to nitpick and they helped refresh my memory of some earlier episodes (by debating with some friends about them).

So, in all, some jokes were good, some were stupid, but came out with a net positive "good joke score" in my opinion. They also seemed to be able to get away with a few things that they wouldn't be able to on TV (or maybe I just haven't been watching enough new TV shows recently), which was cool. A few specific things I liked: the Itchy and Scratchy opening (sans Hildog caricature), brown-haired Wolfcaste as Schwarzenegger in general, SLH's line near the ending. Humour-wrise, my only major single complaint is the overuse of simple shots at the government (I wouldn't really even call them "political" jokes; just jokes aimed vaguely in the direction of government in general), that didn't seem self-satiring enough that I could tell.

So, to Simpsons fans, I would recommend this, with a few reservations. I can't really give scores to movies, so that's all you get. Sorry.
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Postby Xenofreak » Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:56 am

PAN'S LABYRINTH *****

This was an amazing film and like no other I have ever seen. It was stunningly visual and instantly moved the audience to the mystical world it created. It felt very much like a dark and imaginative Grimm's fairy tale (the three trials for the girl is a classic) with a deeper fantasy element. The enchanting music accompanies a rather poetic plot.

However, I have to admit this movie might not be for everyone. The fantasy can be almost too "out there" and be interpreted by some as just wierd. That and all the graphic violence made me hesitate to see the film; the exceptional reviews kept me curious though. In the end, the movie just blew me away. There was not a single moment in the movie that was not tense or suspenseful (which did make the experience a little exhausting in retrospect).

If you are in love with Grimm-like fairy tales and fantasy in general, and dream of being whisked away by faries into another world, this is exactly the movie for you to see.
I must say this goes down as a perfect film in my book.

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Postby locke » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:11 am

Across the Universe - 9 of 10

Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite, this film was the awesome!

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Postby Petra456 » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:51 am

It's driving me absolutely crazy, I can't find a single theater around me showing Across the Universe, and i've been looking forward to seeing it for a good while now.

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Postby BonitoDeMadrid » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:10 am

Disturbia

I can't really write long reviews (I can't write long posts either- what I consider long, is really short in comparison to the other posts here- look at The Simpsons Movie review) so I'll do it in one paragraph:

It has its times where it's thrilling, it has it's shrieks of horror, it has it's funny moments, but it looks like Disturbia doesn't know what it wants to be- a teenage movie, Slasher film (at some point it turns into something that highly resembles the Friday the 13th series), or a thriller. You will probably enjoy this film; I did. But it isn't as enjoyable as it could've been- needs either more thriller less teenage movie, or more teenage movie less thriller.
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Postby Dr. Mobius » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:24 pm

It's driving me absolutely crazy, I can't find a single theater around me showing Across the Universe, and i've been looking forward to seeing it for a good while now.

: (
The closest I can find for you is downtown Seattle.

http://www.fandango.com/acrosstheuniver ... ttle,%20WA
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Postby Petra456 » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:33 pm

Thanks! I just really wish I had the time to head to Seattle and see it : (
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Postby Jebus » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:16 am

Transformers: s***/10

Firstly we have two dimensional, throw-away characters who's presence in the storyline barely has an explanation and if you're expecting any of proper resolutions to their stories you'll be dissapointed more often than not. But blah blah, what did I expect? Luckily we have all this amazing action everyone keeps going on about. I mean, it's why I went to see the film.

Secondly, the action sequences in Transformera were boring and confusing. I would have like to sit some people down who shat on about the amazing action sequences, pause it during one of the jerky camera movement, smoke-filled and/or extremely dark, "action" parts and ask them what is currently going on and which blurred piece of metal we are currently looking at. My bets is the majority response would be "dunno, man, maybe it's Optimus? Or could be a bridge, I suppose. But it's s*** cool, whatever it is". I know the whole jerky camera movement is supposed to make you feel like you're IN THE ACTION!!! but saying this movie overdid that particular technique would be being generous.

So essentially, the movie has nothing going for it. But at least it got it's nostalgia soaked money out of me, I guess.

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Postby Gravity Defier » Mon Dec 17, 2007 10:59 pm

I Am Legend.

Freaking awesome movie. 'Nuff said.
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Postby Luet » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:23 pm

Has anyone seen the movie Sicko? Man, did it make me want to move to Canada. If only it was that easy.
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Postby Jayelle » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:40 pm

Moore has seriously rose-tinted glasses when it comes to Canada. I do love the free health care, but it's not the paradise he makes it out to be.
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Postby Luet » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:11 pm

I know it's not paradise, really I do. But when it comes to the travesties that occur in the US regarding health care, it's hard to justify living here if you could choose to live in Canada.

Would you rather live in the US? Do you think it has benefits over Canada? (Don't mean to derail this thread.)
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Postby Jayelle » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:19 pm

No. I'd rather live here. Less crime, more healthcare, less crazy politics. [/derailment]
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Postby VelvetElvis » Fri Dec 21, 2007 7:38 pm

Image

This thread really was begging for it.


The Last Legion---- *****/*****

I watched this movie movie a few months ago after a very comedically ill-fated trip to the nearest movie theater (about an hour and a half drive). Never seen an advertisement for it, picked it solely by the poster. Turned out to be comepletely awesome and ridiculously enjoyable. Definately will buy when it comes out.
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Postby v-girl » Fri Dec 21, 2007 8:42 pm

I haven't seen Sicko but I've wanted to. I am really not looking forward to the bureaucracy I'll have to deal with in a few years. Every other conversation we have in one of my small groups at school is about health insurance, and I am too unknowledgeable (and unfortunately, apathetic) about it to add much.

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Postby BonitoDeMadrid » Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:05 am

Would you rather live in the US? Do you think it has benefits over Canada? (Don't mean to derail this thread.)
I'd rather live in either of them- just away from here..
Who controls the British crown? Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do!
Who leaves Atlantis off the maps? Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do! We do!
Who holds back the electric car? Who makes Steve Gutenberg a star?
We do! We do!
Who robs cavefish of their sight? Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do, we do!

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Postby Amka » Sun Dec 23, 2007 11:33 pm

I Am Legend was disappointing. Too many coincidences, and he acted a bit too stupid for a guy who came up with so much brilliance before the movie actually started.

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Postby Wil » Mon Dec 24, 2007 1:24 am

*SPOILERS*






1000 days, talking to nobody. Have you ever spent more than a day by yourself? I spent a whole week once and I started talking to myself on day three.

Perhaps if you could define the stupidity because I believe he acted exactly how someone who believes they are the last real human alive on the planet would act.

The scene where he went in after his dog? If that was your only companion wouldn't you do the same? The scene where he suicide ran after his dog died/he killed his dog? Remember, your only companion just died. Nobody talks to you. He talks to all the maniquins... remember, again, nobody is alive.

The only scenes I wonder about is when he walked up on Fred the Maniquin. I wonder if he moved him as a trap and forgot, or if the zompires set it up as a trap for him. Also, when he said they were showing "no human behavior" I think I saw the behavior as that of a father/lover fighting for the girl he just took.

The other scene would be the one where he refuses to believe other humans survived because obviously one is standing right in front of him. Also when he refused to believe that there was a colony. But, again, you'd be somewhat crazy if you had been alone for three years with nobody but a dog to talk to.

Also, when he's yelling at the zombies at the end, it was sort of his last plea... hoping there was some humanity left.

All in all, I really liked the movie.

<girl>And Will Smith he has a hot, hot bod.</girl> :o :roll:

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Postby Valentine » Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:10 pm

*bump for Oscar season!!!*
My favorite time of the year for movies..
Has anyone seen Rachel Getting Married? I'm most excited for that movie, when discussing the next couple weeks.
And I'm EXTREMELY excited for Revolutionary Road. LOVE Sam Mendes, LOVE Kate Winslet...in a 1) my favorite director, 2) my favorite young actress, way.
I'm seeing religulous tommorrow, and my bf is dragging me to Zack and Miri this weekend (And I mean dragging. I love Kevin Smith, but a movie about a porno is not my cup of tea.)

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Postby locke » Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:43 pm

Rachel Getting Married is excellent. Anne Hatheway and Rosemarie DeWitt are both outstanding and Debra Winger is great in a small role as their mother. The stand out moment for me, though was their father (Bill Irwin, who is also awesome) engaging in a dishwasher war with Rachel's fiance. That scene is just all sorts of awesome.

There's another fantastic scene where they're coming home from the rehearsal dinner and arguing while they walk through the house setting things down and turning on the lights. That scene is fantastic, as is the rehearsal dinner scene before, and frankly pretty much every scene that develops the characters and the strains and stresses they put on each other despite the love that binds them together.

Other than a bit of an over the top melodramatic tragedy to explain things in the past the movie's pretty much perfect.

My top three for the year so far is probably, WallE, Nick and Norah, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Rachel Getting Married would probably be number 5, that or Charlie Bartlett. Dark Knight is number 4, maybe three, I dunno, I'm somewhat conflicted on the film yet.
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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locke
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Postby locke » Sun Nov 02, 2008 2:45 am

Happy-Go-Lucky is very good. Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan are both superb, and likely to be in the running of oscar nominations. Poppy is a wonderful character, and the performance is quite sophisticated and not nearly as one note as the more surly and cynical critics have complained. From her manky old boots to her adorable bicycle she's just a pleasure to spend time with. She's a marvelous primary school teacher too, and I've always a soft spot for primary school teachers, as they compose a large portion of my family. :P Mike Leigh's direction is gorgeous, the rhythms of the film and the photographic sensibility are assured and smooth, underscoring and enhancing the sometimes rambling onscreen drama. Although the film doesn't have a narrative drive (despite there being a lot of driving going on) it never feels slack or slow, it's a lot like Rachel Getting Married in that respect. Absolutely solid, and a pleasure to watch, at least an 8 of 10, maybe a 9.
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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Postby locke » Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:58 am

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a quite funny, sometimes charming movie that is more uproarious for its faux-juvenile aspirations than anything else. Zack and Miri are lifelong friends who have lived together since escaping highschool, working dead end jobs and never actually getting together. Zack is a shlub (not even a geek) and Miri is just one of those girls that never gets it together, no ambition, sort of caught in the past. their ten year high school reunion is coming up and Zack doesn't want to go but Miri drags him along. There Zack is somewhat horrified by some of the folks that he meets but eventually strikes up a conversation with the date someone brought along who didn't go to their high school. Brandon is in adult films, and he's there with Miri's "one-that-got-away-Superman" who she never really got over and still wants to bone.

In the meantime, bills are past due and the water, power and heat are being turned off on this down and out duo. And an astray comment from Miri leads Zack to the revelation that people from their high school would pay to see people from their highschool in a porno. and hey, they don't have any dignity left anyway, no relatives to embarasa why not make a porno to get themselves out of this mess.

And given the improbable rules of physics that govern romantic comedy universes, once they agree and make this decision things start to fall their way (except when they don't). Recruiting their cast and crew is a classic sequence, as they gear up to make their star wars spoof porn. Jason Mewes has never been better than his role here, Tracy Lords is very funny, and Craig Robinson turns in one of the best and funniest performances in a Smith movie ever.

In a self-reflexive sense the film is Smith's most personal, as it is, in essence, recreating his first movie but with a romantic and naughty twist that he didn't have in real life. Zack and Miri is a somewhat schizophrenic film in that respect, in some ways it's his most gloriously awful and juvenile film since Mallrats, in other ways it reflects his more tender side from Clerks 2 or Jersey Girl. One thing that is interesting though is that the conflicted anger and uncertainty with sex that is simmering underneath Chasing Amy--making it great--is very muted, Smith has matured, and so have his characters, even if they're more cartoony and adolescent than ever there's a stronger, clearer voice driving them now.

Oddly, Smith allowed Rogen to improv, and Smith normally hates improv in his films, he's had none of it in his earlier works, but since Rogen is basically 110% what Kevin Smith would be if Kevin Smith were an actor, it makes sense that Kevin's best analogue apparently is also his best collaborator.
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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Postby Valentine » Sat Nov 08, 2008 10:41 am

Rachel Getting Married
*May contain spoilers, if you don't want to hear specific scenes*

I finally saw it :) I was actually really surprised to see how much of the movie really hit home for me. In a sense it was difficult to watch because of that. Though I have no idea of the magnitude of suffering that Kim would have known, I absolutely know what it's like to be regarded as the black sheep. I know how it feels to have your every breath monitered and analyzed by your family, as they wait for you to mess up. I know the tension that comes from screwing up so badly in front of people that love you. Even when Kim drove the car threw the woods - I knew that feeling. She couldn't do what she wanted, but she had to do *something*...

On to the movie itself :wink:

The directing was phenomenal. Props to Jonathon Demme. The movie was exceedingly tense; however, the pace varied enough that you were able to take everything in. The movie itself almost felt like spying on another family's issues more than it did watching a film. The character build-up is some of the best I've seen lately. You have reasons to feel for every character, and similarly, you have reasons to be irritated by them. No one is perfect, but that's simply reality.

Anne Hathaway (as Kim) is phenomenal. She has a self-centered "help me" nature, but she is more conflicted than most people you will ever meet. She messes up time after time, but it's easy to see why she is how she is. Rosemarie Dewitt (as Rachel) was brilliant as well. You can really feel her conflict - she loves her sister, but it's *her* wedding. She wants the dream wedding that she has imagined, and Kim's issues make this more than difficult. You see her emotions about Kim go from love and closeness to bitter anger, back and forth. Anisa George (as Emma - Rachel's best friend) played controlling and bitchy with the best of them. And the scene between Debra Winger (as Kim and Rachel's mom) and Anne Hathaway was perfectly executed - it showed all of the bitterness each of them had, despite the facades they put up.

All in all, the tone of the movie was perfect. I really enjoyed it. However, I will preface that a friend saw it with me, and he found it excessively hard to watch. He had to go home and watch the office to cheer himself up.


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