THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942) - Dec. 26, 2005
An entertaining film noir about a hitman who is double crossed by his latest client and who sets out to get revenge. Alan Ladd is quite good as the stone-faced hitman, a mean, cold-blooded killer, who has a soft spot for cats and little else. The movie is fast-paced, and at 80 minutes is over well before it has a chance to over-stay its welcome. ***
Short reviews of all the movies I see, rated out of four. Reviews containing spoilers are marked with an (S).
Monday, December 26, 2005
March of the Penguins
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (2005) - Dec. 26, 2005
A good, if a bit overrated documentary about penguins and the insane amount of trouble they have to go through to procreate. Director Luc Jacquet keeps things interesting visually, but after a while the movie starts to feel a bit repetitive (I guess the penguins can be blamed for that, as they basically just go back and forth from the breeding grounds to the ocean). Even at a short 85 minutes the film feels long, though it was definitely never all-out boring. It's definitely interesting just watching all the different things the penguins have to do to protect their children, and Morgan Freeman's soothing voice proves to be the perfect accompaniment to the visuals. And certainly, the scene where the mother penguin tries to nudge awake her frozen-to-death child was one of the more heartbreaking things I've seen in a while. ***
A good, if a bit overrated documentary about penguins and the insane amount of trouble they have to go through to procreate. Director Luc Jacquet keeps things interesting visually, but after a while the movie starts to feel a bit repetitive (I guess the penguins can be blamed for that, as they basically just go back and forth from the breeding grounds to the ocean). Even at a short 85 minutes the film feels long, though it was definitely never all-out boring. It's definitely interesting just watching all the different things the penguins have to do to protect their children, and Morgan Freeman's soothing voice proves to be the perfect accompaniment to the visuals. And certainly, the scene where the mother penguin tries to nudge awake her frozen-to-death child was one of the more heartbreaking things I've seen in a while. ***
Friday, December 23, 2005
The Ringer
THE RINGER (2005) - Dec. 23, 2005
A cheesy but mostly entertaining film about a guy who decides to fix the Special Olympics. Johnny Knoxville is good in the main role, and Brian Cox steals pretty much every scene he's in as Knoxville's sleazy uncle. The film was cheesy and predictable, and not exactly laugh-out-loud hilarious (though certainly, hearing Cox referring to Michael Clarke Duncan as "that enormous 'tard from the Green Mile" was pretty good) but it was essentially enjoyable all the way through. **1/2
A cheesy but mostly entertaining film about a guy who decides to fix the Special Olympics. Johnny Knoxville is good in the main role, and Brian Cox steals pretty much every scene he's in as Knoxville's sleazy uncle. The film was cheesy and predictable, and not exactly laugh-out-loud hilarious (though certainly, hearing Cox referring to Michael Clarke Duncan as "that enormous 'tard from the Green Mile" was pretty good) but it was essentially enjoyable all the way through. **1/2
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Die Hard
DIE HARD (1988) - Dec. 21, 2005 (Umpteenth Viewing)
A classic. As far as action movies go, it's really hard to get much better than this. Bruce Willis is pretty much perfect as John McClane, a New York cop who finds himself going up against a building full of hardened terrorists. Alan Rickman is equally good as Hans Gruber, who is certainly one of the all-time great movie bad guys. Really, what is there to say about this movie? It's violent, funny, exciting; it's pretty much the perfect action movie, and a sad reminder of how impotent nearly all contemporary action films are. ****
A classic. As far as action movies go, it's really hard to get much better than this. Bruce Willis is pretty much perfect as John McClane, a New York cop who finds himself going up against a building full of hardened terrorists. Alan Rickman is equally good as Hans Gruber, who is certainly one of the all-time great movie bad guys. Really, what is there to say about this movie? It's violent, funny, exciting; it's pretty much the perfect action movie, and a sad reminder of how impotent nearly all contemporary action films are. ****
Capote
CAPOTE (2005) - Dec. 21, 2005
Philip Seymour Hoffman gives an unsurprisingly excellent performance in this film about Truman Capote and the writing his non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood. Aside from Hoffman the movie is good but not great; the exceptionally slow pace makes it hard to ever get really into it. It was certainly never boring though, and it was well made. But even if it had sucked, it would have been worthwhile if only for Philip Seymour Hoffman. ***
Philip Seymour Hoffman gives an unsurprisingly excellent performance in this film about Truman Capote and the writing his non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood. Aside from Hoffman the movie is good but not great; the exceptionally slow pace makes it hard to ever get really into it. It was certainly never boring though, and it was well made. But even if it had sucked, it would have been worthwhile if only for Philip Seymour Hoffman. ***
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Jingle all the Way
JINGLE ALL THE WAY (1996) - Dec. 18, 2005 (Third Viewing? Fourth?)
An underrated Christmas gem. I'm really not sure why this film gets such a bad rap. Sure, it's really silly, especially towards the end (okay, I'll admit the last little bit with the parade is pretty stupid), but it's just so enjoyable end entertaining. And then of course there's Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is pretty much perfect as the harried father trying to get a toy at the last minute, and whose performance is a big part of why the film is as enjoyable as it is. He definitely has a knack for comedy, and if he ever gets out of politics and back into acting, hopefully he'll do a few more comedies, since he is getting a bit old for action movies. ***
An underrated Christmas gem. I'm really not sure why this film gets such a bad rap. Sure, it's really silly, especially towards the end (okay, I'll admit the last little bit with the parade is pretty stupid), but it's just so enjoyable end entertaining. And then of course there's Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is pretty much perfect as the harried father trying to get a toy at the last minute, and whose performance is a big part of why the film is as enjoyable as it is. He definitely has a knack for comedy, and if he ever gets out of politics and back into acting, hopefully he'll do a few more comedies, since he is getting a bit old for action movies. ***
Monday, December 12, 2005
King Kong
KING KONG (2005) - Dec. 12, 2005
This was a good movie that could have been a great one; it's three hours long and it feels it, with almost every section of the film feeling overlong to some degree. There were a lot of really good parts -- stuff that was as thrilling as anything I've seen: the dinosaur stampede, King Kong versus the T. Rexes, the bugs attacking, Kong rampaging in New York, etc. The performances were really good, particularly Kyle Chandler, who stole pretty much every scene he was in. And then there was Kong himself, certainly a high achievement in special effects, as he always looked completely convincing. He was also remarkably expressive, and it's weird to say it, but he gave an Oscar-worthy performance. I've never thought all that much of motion-capture, but if this is what it's capable of I guess it's not all bad. The depth of the emotions Kong is able to convey is certainly the absolute antithesis of the stiff, creepily zombie-like facial animation of something like the Polar Express. It's too bad, because at about an hour shorter, this could have been one of the best films of the year. ***
This was a good movie that could have been a great one; it's three hours long and it feels it, with almost every section of the film feeling overlong to some degree. There were a lot of really good parts -- stuff that was as thrilling as anything I've seen: the dinosaur stampede, King Kong versus the T. Rexes, the bugs attacking, Kong rampaging in New York, etc. The performances were really good, particularly Kyle Chandler, who stole pretty much every scene he was in. And then there was Kong himself, certainly a high achievement in special effects, as he always looked completely convincing. He was also remarkably expressive, and it's weird to say it, but he gave an Oscar-worthy performance. I've never thought all that much of motion-capture, but if this is what it's capable of I guess it's not all bad. The depth of the emotions Kong is able to convey is certainly the absolute antithesis of the stiff, creepily zombie-like facial animation of something like the Polar Express. It's too bad, because at about an hour shorter, this could have been one of the best films of the year. ***
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Serenity
SERENITY (2005) - Dec. 10, 2005 (Second Viewing)
As I suspected, this movie works a *lot* better having seen all of the episodes of the show. It doesn't matter that the film doesn't really develop any of the characters, as they've all been fully fleshed out on the show. As well, there's a lot of things which seem insignificant but actually aren't, if you've seen the series. The performances are all really good, and the whole film just seemed a lot more exciting and fast-paced this time around. I still think it would have been just as good without killing off all those characters (Wash's death seemed particularly pointless) but aside from that it was really good. ***1/2
As I suspected, this movie works a *lot* better having seen all of the episodes of the show. It doesn't matter that the film doesn't really develop any of the characters, as they've all been fully fleshed out on the show. As well, there's a lot of things which seem insignificant but actually aren't, if you've seen the series. The performances are all really good, and the whole film just seemed a lot more exciting and fast-paced this time around. I still think it would have been just as good without killing off all those characters (Wash's death seemed particularly pointless) but aside from that it was really good. ***1/2
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Are we there yet?
ARE WE THERE YET? (2005) - Dec. 4, 2005
About a guy who, trying to impress his girlfriend, volunteers to take her two kids from Seattle to Vancouver. He hates kids and they hate him (they think he's trying to replace their dad) so wackiness naturally ensues. Though the humour tends to lean towards the kiddie side, and the movie is really silly at times, it's essentially entertaining all the way through. It helps that Ice Cube gives a good performance as the befuddled boyfriend, plus I don't think I could ever totally hate a movie in the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" genre, no matter how cheesy it is. **1/2
About a guy who, trying to impress his girlfriend, volunteers to take her two kids from Seattle to Vancouver. He hates kids and they hate him (they think he's trying to replace their dad) so wackiness naturally ensues. Though the humour tends to lean towards the kiddie side, and the movie is really silly at times, it's essentially entertaining all the way through. It helps that Ice Cube gives a good performance as the befuddled boyfriend, plus I don't think I could ever totally hate a movie in the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" genre, no matter how cheesy it is. **1/2
Friday, December 02, 2005
Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (2005) - Dec. 2, 2005
About Wallace and Gromit, and their quest to rid their small town of a giant were-rabbit, this was a delight from start to finish. The film is colourful and really well animated, and ensures that it's always entertaining to look at. But then, it's entertaining on pretty much every level, and at a short 80 minutes, the whole thing breezes by. Watching the movie, it's easy enough to see why Wallace and Gromit have become such popular characters over the years. Plus, it's hard to go wrong with a movie that features so many puns. ***1/2
About Wallace and Gromit, and their quest to rid their small town of a giant were-rabbit, this was a delight from start to finish. The film is colourful and really well animated, and ensures that it's always entertaining to look at. But then, it's entertaining on pretty much every level, and at a short 80 minutes, the whole thing breezes by. Watching the movie, it's easy enough to see why Wallace and Gromit have become such popular characters over the years. Plus, it's hard to go wrong with a movie that features so many puns. ***1/2
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Aeon Flux
AEON FLUX (2005) - Dec. 1, 2005
Well, that wasn't very good. It was just mediocre on pretty much every level. The characters were all underdeveloped, the action was dull, it was quite possibly the most visually boring version of the future I've ever seen (it was all drab white concrete buildings and flowers), and the whole thing just wasn't interesting. There was one sequence towards the end that I liked, and the movie did seem to improve a little bit as it reached its conclusion, but at that point it was too little, too late. *1/2
Well, that wasn't very good. It was just mediocre on pretty much every level. The characters were all underdeveloped, the action was dull, it was quite possibly the most visually boring version of the future I've ever seen (it was all drab white concrete buildings and flowers), and the whole thing just wasn't interesting. There was one sequence towards the end that I liked, and the movie did seem to improve a little bit as it reached its conclusion, but at that point it was too little, too late. *1/2
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