THE DA VINCI CODE (2006) - May 19, 2006
A decent, though not particularly great, adaptation of the mega-popular book. Tom Hanks was good, because Tom Hanks is incapable of giving a bad performance, but he has definitely been better. Meh. **1/2
Short reviews of all the movies I see, rated out of four. Reviews containing spoilers are marked with an (S).
Friday, May 19, 2006
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
United 93
UNITED 93 (2006) - May 17, 2006
A sometimes harrowing, sometimes slightly dull recounting of flight 93, the one plane on 9/11 that didn't hit its target. Directed by Paul "one note" Greengrass, so it's obviously directed with a gritty, documentary-like style (though it works a lot better here than it did in the Bourne Supremacy). The movie cuts between stuff on the ground, with the people controlling the planes trying to figure out what's going on, and the stuff on the plane itself. My biggest complaint with this movie was that after a while, the stuff on the ground started to feel a bit redundant -- once the idea that there was a lot of confusion on the ground is hammered home, watching random workers exclaim "is it a hijacking?" "it can't be a hijacking!" "the plane disappeared!" etc., starts to get a bit monotonous, especially since there aren't any characters. The stuff on the plane was really good though, particularly towards the end. I wish there had been more of that and less of the other stuff. ***
A sometimes harrowing, sometimes slightly dull recounting of flight 93, the one plane on 9/11 that didn't hit its target. Directed by Paul "one note" Greengrass, so it's obviously directed with a gritty, documentary-like style (though it works a lot better here than it did in the Bourne Supremacy). The movie cuts between stuff on the ground, with the people controlling the planes trying to figure out what's going on, and the stuff on the plane itself. My biggest complaint with this movie was that after a while, the stuff on the ground started to feel a bit redundant -- once the idea that there was a lot of confusion on the ground is hammered home, watching random workers exclaim "is it a hijacking?" "it can't be a hijacking!" "the plane disappeared!" etc., starts to get a bit monotonous, especially since there aren't any characters. The stuff on the plane was really good though, particularly towards the end. I wish there had been more of that and less of the other stuff. ***
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Last Holiday
LAST HOLIDAY (2006) - May 16, 2006 (Second Viewing)
A really entertaning, funny and enjoyable film, centred by a very likeable performance from Queen Latifah. Say what you will about this movie -- it may by cheesy and manipulative and (insert jaded film-buff criticism here) but it's really well done and very enjoyable. ***1/2
A really entertaning, funny and enjoyable film, centred by a very likeable performance from Queen Latifah. Say what you will about this movie -- it may by cheesy and manipulative and (insert jaded film-buff criticism here) but it's really well done and very enjoyable. ***1/2
Friday, May 12, 2006
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) - May 12, 2006 (Umpteenth Viewing)
What can I say about this movie? It's a classic, certainly. There are too many really funny scenes to mention, and though I've seen it so many times at this point that I've practically memorized it, I'm still really entertained and amused by it. ****
What can I say about this movie? It's a classic, certainly. There are too many really funny scenes to mention, and though I've seen it so many times at this point that I've practically memorized it, I'm still really entertained and amused by it. ****
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Poseidon
POSEIDON (2006) - May 10, 2006
It's strange for a movie like this to be as short as it is -- around 90 minutes. But watching it, it becomes clear why: it feels like double that. It probably doesn't help that the wave hits at around the ten minute mark, which leaves the characters slightly underdeveloped (to put it mildly). It also doesn't help that as soon as the boat flips, the characters spring right into action, going from one "exciting" set-piece to the next, with almost no down-time between them. And, although it's not a fair comparison, it's hard to watch a movie set on a sinking ship without thinking of Titanic, which is obviously the superior film in every conceivable way. It was nice seeing Richard Dreyfuss back on the big screen, and of course people like Josh Lucas and Kurt Russell are always good, but, well... The movie wasn't completely boring, it just got sort of tedious towards the end. **
It's strange for a movie like this to be as short as it is -- around 90 minutes. But watching it, it becomes clear why: it feels like double that. It probably doesn't help that the wave hits at around the ten minute mark, which leaves the characters slightly underdeveloped (to put it mildly). It also doesn't help that as soon as the boat flips, the characters spring right into action, going from one "exciting" set-piece to the next, with almost no down-time between them. And, although it's not a fair comparison, it's hard to watch a movie set on a sinking ship without thinking of Titanic, which is obviously the superior film in every conceivable way. It was nice seeing Richard Dreyfuss back on the big screen, and of course people like Josh Lucas and Kurt Russell are always good, but, well... The movie wasn't completely boring, it just got sort of tedious towards the end. **
Art School Confidential
ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (2006) - May 10, 2006
This actually started out really well, but then sort of lost steam and petered out towards the end. About a idealistic young kid who goes to art school, only to find out it isn't quite what he thought it would be. The movie has a quirky charm, and for the first 40 minutes or so it really works. But there's a lot of superfluous stuff here; the comic it's based on was apparently too short for a movie, so it was expanded for the screenplay. You can tell. It feels padded. The performances were all good, as was Terry Zwigoff's direction. But it definitely would have benefited from a shorter running time. ***
This actually started out really well, but then sort of lost steam and petered out towards the end. About a idealistic young kid who goes to art school, only to find out it isn't quite what he thought it would be. The movie has a quirky charm, and for the first 40 minutes or so it really works. But there's a lot of superfluous stuff here; the comic it's based on was apparently too short for a movie, so it was expanded for the screenplay. You can tell. It feels padded. The performances were all good, as was Terry Zwigoff's direction. But it definitely would have benefited from a shorter running time. ***
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Hostage
HOSTAGE (2005) - May 7, 2006
A surprisingly inert thriller. Featuring Bruce Willis, who plays a grizzled veteran of the force who looks like a scared child every time someone points a gun at him, and who spends the majority of the film on the verge of tears. The film was reasonably well made, it just wasn't very interesting or exciting, for whatever reason. **
A surprisingly inert thriller. Featuring Bruce Willis, who plays a grizzled veteran of the force who looks like a scared child every time someone points a gun at him, and who spends the majority of the film on the verge of tears. The film was reasonably well made, it just wasn't very interesting or exciting, for whatever reason. **
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Mission: Impossible III
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III (2006) - May 3, 2006
An essentially entertaining action film, though it did grow a bit tiresome after a while as it was over two hours long and was essentially just a series of loosely strung together action set-pieces. It probably doesn't help that practically every one takes place in a different country, which makes the whole thing feel a bit disjointed. Philip Seymour Hoffman was excellent as a really sinister bad guy, though he didn't have nearly enough to do, and Simon Pegg was definitely a highlight as a wacky computer technician. The action scenes were all well done, but the movie definitely would have benefited from some trimming, and a bit more downtime between the action. **1/2
An essentially entertaining action film, though it did grow a bit tiresome after a while as it was over two hours long and was essentially just a series of loosely strung together action set-pieces. It probably doesn't help that practically every one takes place in a different country, which makes the whole thing feel a bit disjointed. Philip Seymour Hoffman was excellent as a really sinister bad guy, though he didn't have nearly enough to do, and Simon Pegg was definitely a highlight as a wacky computer technician. The action scenes were all well done, but the movie definitely would have benefited from some trimming, and a bit more downtime between the action. **1/2
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Silent Hill
SILENT HILL (2006) - May 2, 2006
Sweet Jesus. Based on the trailers, and the fact that the people behind the camera have talent (supposedly), this seemed like it should have been the first really good video game adaptation. It was one of the worst. It had some promise at the beginning; it had a creepy atmosphere and it seemed generally well made. But then it started to get strange. But not strange in a good way -- strange in a "what's supposed to be happening here?" type of way. Strange in a "why are the characters acting like this?" type of way. It just got more and more confusing, with random oddball stuff happening for no apparent reason. The plot had something to do with a ghost town, and a fire, and some weird little girl... I really actually have no idea what the plot was. Aside from being confusing, the writing was about on the same level as a low budget, straight-to-video movie, with such gems as "They used to say this town was haunted... I think they were right!" (this being after they've seen several bizarre demons, a swarm of giant cockroaches with human-like mouths, among other various bits of weirdness). The performances weren't much better. Even the usually reliable Sean Bean seemed completely uncomfortable with a forced, awkward American accent. The movie generally looked pretty good, but it was such a boring, baffling ordeal, I didn't really care. If I ever see Roger Avery I'm going to punch him in the stomach and demand my ten bucks back. *
Sweet Jesus. Based on the trailers, and the fact that the people behind the camera have talent (supposedly), this seemed like it should have been the first really good video game adaptation. It was one of the worst. It had some promise at the beginning; it had a creepy atmosphere and it seemed generally well made. But then it started to get strange. But not strange in a good way -- strange in a "what's supposed to be happening here?" type of way. Strange in a "why are the characters acting like this?" type of way. It just got more and more confusing, with random oddball stuff happening for no apparent reason. The plot had something to do with a ghost town, and a fire, and some weird little girl... I really actually have no idea what the plot was. Aside from being confusing, the writing was about on the same level as a low budget, straight-to-video movie, with such gems as "They used to say this town was haunted... I think they were right!" (this being after they've seen several bizarre demons, a swarm of giant cockroaches with human-like mouths, among other various bits of weirdness). The performances weren't much better. Even the usually reliable Sean Bean seemed completely uncomfortable with a forced, awkward American accent. The movie generally looked pretty good, but it was such a boring, baffling ordeal, I didn't really care. If I ever see Roger Avery I'm going to punch him in the stomach and demand my ten bucks back. *
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