Brokeback Mountain. Please don’ skim over this purely because of the title. This movie is a terrible movie and it Is for several reasons, and not just because of its subject matter.
The films major problems are with its lead actors. I did not enjoy the performance of Heath Ledger or Jake Gyllenhaal at all in this movie. Again, not because of them being gay, but because of either over or under acting. Nothing quite was unique about either of these two guys. Jake overacted too much, making smaller, powerful scenes be too much and exaggerated everything, and Heath just underplayed everything. Yes, Ennis de Mar is a soft-spoken man, but there could have been a lot more that Heath could have done.
Where the movie really falters are the endless montages. The movie adds to the short story in one way and that is by relentlessly showing us a series of quick glimpses and shots of these two actors and their wives, or of them out in the landscape. There isn’t much build onto this. Plus, it overemphasizes the terribly written music. With all of this silence in between scenes, we are forces to hear this music that is just not worthy of either a western or romance film. How this film won all of its awards and got its nominations, I will never know.
The only things that I could say were great were the actresses Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway. My belief of Hathaway is that she is good only when she doesn’t surround herself with tremendous British talent such as Alice in Wonderland or Becoming Jane. When other American actors are acting with her, it seems like she is always the great spark that out shines them all (because she has an American accent, not a British one). In Brokeback Mountain, she does a great job. It’s a shame that we see so little of her in the film considering this is one of her better performances. Then there is Michelle Williams who plays tragic very well. I can’t wait to see her as Marilyn Monroe this year. But just like Hathaway, I really do think we needed to see more of her.
In a nutshell, not worth seeing, not just because of the gay romance, but because I really do think this was badly filmed.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Donnie Darko; 4 stars
Donnie Darko can be explained in one line… But I won’t say it. It is weird, but in a good weird. It has good child actors like the lead, Jake Gyllenhaal. But where this film falters are the adult actors.
Jake does messed-up, creepy, psychotic boy very well. A psychologically disturbed boy, Donnie Darko sees an evil-looking bunny telling him to destroy certain properties. Explaining any more than that might cause even bigger spoilers than some might want to know. It is kind of a sick, evil, dark version of Harvey in a very generic sense. Almost like Harvey on drugs.
But this movie really is fun and it has some great moments in it. The kids, however, are what move this film along, not the script or the adult actors. The back of the DVD case said “An All Star Cast”, but what that means is “A Cast Of Well Known Names, But They Are All Crappy.” These actors are the likes of Drew Barrymore (please don’t swear, you make my ears bleed when you do that) and Patrick Swayze (dude, you are not that great, you do not do charming well, and your brainwashing tactics wouldn’t work on a ten year old girl). Jake Gyllenhaal’s real life sister, Maggie (The Dark Knight) is also really good, as is Jena Malone (Into the Wild and Contact) who plays Donnie’s girlfriend.
There is one other factor that I must state: the dialogue in the film is very weak. It is short, choppy, silly at times, and in all honesty, it sounds sometime like a junior higher wrote it. The concept is great and the director and writer Richard Kelley came up with a great concept for the film, but he should have gotten someone else to write the film. It was just plain sloppy.
Anyway, I would defiantly recommend this film.
Jake does messed-up, creepy, psychotic boy very well. A psychologically disturbed boy, Donnie Darko sees an evil-looking bunny telling him to destroy certain properties. Explaining any more than that might cause even bigger spoilers than some might want to know. It is kind of a sick, evil, dark version of Harvey in a very generic sense. Almost like Harvey on drugs.
But this movie really is fun and it has some great moments in it. The kids, however, are what move this film along, not the script or the adult actors. The back of the DVD case said “An All Star Cast”, but what that means is “A Cast Of Well Known Names, But They Are All Crappy.” These actors are the likes of Drew Barrymore (please don’t swear, you make my ears bleed when you do that) and Patrick Swayze (dude, you are not that great, you do not do charming well, and your brainwashing tactics wouldn’t work on a ten year old girl). Jake Gyllenhaal’s real life sister, Maggie (The Dark Knight) is also really good, as is Jena Malone (Into the Wild and Contact) who plays Donnie’s girlfriend.
There is one other factor that I must state: the dialogue in the film is very weak. It is short, choppy, silly at times, and in all honesty, it sounds sometime like a junior higher wrote it. The concept is great and the director and writer Richard Kelley came up with a great concept for the film, but he should have gotten someone else to write the film. It was just plain sloppy.
Anyway, I would defiantly recommend this film.
American History X; 5 stars
American History X is one of the golden gems that I have just discovered. It has been around for a long time and I had just now finally seen it and I have to say that this continues to prove my theory that Edward Norton is the single greatest American actor at work today.
The movie is filled with tears and a heart-wrenching back story that adds more to the heart break. It begs the question that many teachers have been struggling to answer: How far can a kid go before he is lost? And the answer is never.
Edward Norton plays a skin-head, neo-Nazi man who is determined to outcast all non-White people out of his town. He ends up in prison and reforms himself due to reasons I will not mention. When he gets out, he sees that his younger brother is going down the same exact path that he does which ultimately winds up in one the most tragic endings I have ever seen and one of the most unexpected.
Edward Furlong, who plays the younger brother, also gives a great performance, but it is the acting of Norton that this whole film rests on. Quite honestly, no one else could have played Derek Vinyard and have done half as well as he did. In fact, I can’t quite say anything else about this movie except for the acting for these two actors. Not to say that there isn’t anything else good in the film, but they both embody this movie that there really isn’t much else to say.
I’d say see it, that is if you don’t mind the language. There are a few scenes where some may want to look away such as two quick jail shower scenes and a sex scene that is brief at the beginning of the film. But if you do see it, prepare yourself for an emotional finale.
The movie is filled with tears and a heart-wrenching back story that adds more to the heart break. It begs the question that many teachers have been struggling to answer: How far can a kid go before he is lost? And the answer is never.
Edward Norton plays a skin-head, neo-Nazi man who is determined to outcast all non-White people out of his town. He ends up in prison and reforms himself due to reasons I will not mention. When he gets out, he sees that his younger brother is going down the same exact path that he does which ultimately winds up in one the most tragic endings I have ever seen and one of the most unexpected.
Edward Furlong, who plays the younger brother, also gives a great performance, but it is the acting of Norton that this whole film rests on. Quite honestly, no one else could have played Derek Vinyard and have done half as well as he did. In fact, I can’t quite say anything else about this movie except for the acting for these two actors. Not to say that there isn’t anything else good in the film, but they both embody this movie that there really isn’t much else to say.
I’d say see it, that is if you don’t mind the language. There are a few scenes where some may want to look away such as two quick jail shower scenes and a sex scene that is brief at the beginning of the film. But if you do see it, prepare yourself for an emotional finale.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Way Back 4.5 stars
Peter Weir is one of the greats. His films are all at the top of their game and only one film in his career really disappoints (Green Card). The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society, Witness, Master and Commander all were fantastically made films. And so here is a new film to add on that small list of Peter Weir directed film.
The Way Back is great in many ways: the actors, the locations and cinematography, and the screenplay are the main plusses in this film.
The four main actors are Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, and Saoirse Ronan, all of them having their character’s proper accents. They are not Americans or Irish playing Russians sounding like Americans or Irish. Each actor is perfectly cast in their respective roles; however I do wish that Mark Strong should have been given a bigger role.
The filming locations were also amazing. The cinematography was so grand and gorgeous without being too overbearing (watch Catherine Hardwicke films if you want over the top filming). It reminded me of Avatar; the overall scope alone is worth watching the film (but unlike Avatar, it is not the only reason).
Finally, the screenplay added even more to the film. Humor, drama, and story mixed together perfectly. Humorous lines and scenes are thrown in only when they need to add a little lightness when it gets too dramatic, but not giving away the mood (if that makes sense). And vice-versa.
So I highly recommend The Way Back if you can find it in theatres. It is a very well thought out film with great actors and an amazing screenplay.
Next week: I don’t know
The Way Back is great in many ways: the actors, the locations and cinematography, and the screenplay are the main plusses in this film.
The four main actors are Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, and Saoirse Ronan, all of them having their character’s proper accents. They are not Americans or Irish playing Russians sounding like Americans or Irish. Each actor is perfectly cast in their respective roles; however I do wish that Mark Strong should have been given a bigger role.
The filming locations were also amazing. The cinematography was so grand and gorgeous without being too overbearing (watch Catherine Hardwicke films if you want over the top filming). It reminded me of Avatar; the overall scope alone is worth watching the film (but unlike Avatar, it is not the only reason).
Finally, the screenplay added even more to the film. Humor, drama, and story mixed together perfectly. Humorous lines and scenes are thrown in only when they need to add a little lightness when it gets too dramatic, but not giving away the mood (if that makes sense). And vice-versa.
So I highly recommend The Way Back if you can find it in theatres. It is a very well thought out film with great actors and an amazing screenplay.
Next week: I don’t know
Actor Who I Have Not Liked Until Recently
There are a few actors out there that my mind has changed from disliking to having respect for their acting ability. These few have only happened recently and most is because of recent films and their improvement. In the case of Leonardo DiCaprio, he was a bad actor in his early career, but these past five or six years have changed that.
Brad Pitt: An Interview With A Vampire, Meet Joe Black, Legends of the Fall, Troy, Sleepers, and Seven Years in Tibet are just a few of Mr. Pitt’s bad films. As I grew up, the only films that I liked of his were the Ocean’s Trilogy. However, I just started watching more of his other films and I have to say with confidence that I enjoy Brad Pitt now. After watching Snatch, Fight Club, Seven, A River Runs Through It, Burn After Reading, The Assassination of Jesse James, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Inglourious Basterds, I really have a new found love for this man. I look forward to seeing him this year in the film Tree of Life.
Angelina Jolie: This isn’t so much as a new found love like her domestic partner, but I can say that Ms. Jolie is a good actress when she wants to be. And if you don’t believe me, I highly recommend that you watch Clint Eastwood’s film Changeling. She is just magnificent and if she ever deserved any awards for any of her works, it is for this one. And then I watched Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and that was the first time that I actually thought of her as HOT! I never knew what people thought of her until I saw her in that film. And lastly there are a few good roles that she has done too. She was good The Tourist, I have to say. The movie was bad, but she was pretty good. And then there is of course Wanted that made me think of her as hot again. Curses, filmmakers need to keep her away from guns so I can stop thinking this of her.
Leonardo DiCaprio: Like I stated before, Mr. DiCaprio was never been one that I liked until very recently. I mean, look at every film before Catch Me If You Can and I dare you to find one performance of his that I liked. After Catch Me If You Can, there are films like The Aviator, Blood Diamond, Body of Lies, and most recently Shutter Island and Inception (though there is one exception, The Departed). But now this man know how to act and I can’t wait to see what he does in the future (J. Edgar Hoover anyone?).
Jessica Biel: This woman has gone back and forth in my mind on the quality of her work. I have never really enjoyed any of her films until this past year. And only there can I name three movies in which she does a good job. She was really good in The A-Team and The Illusionist. But the only reason she was good in Next was because everything going on around her was doing such a bad job. She stuck out as the least painful thing in that film.
Brad Pitt: An Interview With A Vampire, Meet Joe Black, Legends of the Fall, Troy, Sleepers, and Seven Years in Tibet are just a few of Mr. Pitt’s bad films. As I grew up, the only films that I liked of his were the Ocean’s Trilogy. However, I just started watching more of his other films and I have to say with confidence that I enjoy Brad Pitt now. After watching Snatch, Fight Club, Seven, A River Runs Through It, Burn After Reading, The Assassination of Jesse James, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Inglourious Basterds, I really have a new found love for this man. I look forward to seeing him this year in the film Tree of Life.
Angelina Jolie: This isn’t so much as a new found love like her domestic partner, but I can say that Ms. Jolie is a good actress when she wants to be. And if you don’t believe me, I highly recommend that you watch Clint Eastwood’s film Changeling. She is just magnificent and if she ever deserved any awards for any of her works, it is for this one. And then I watched Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and that was the first time that I actually thought of her as HOT! I never knew what people thought of her until I saw her in that film. And lastly there are a few good roles that she has done too. She was good The Tourist, I have to say. The movie was bad, but she was pretty good. And then there is of course Wanted that made me think of her as hot again. Curses, filmmakers need to keep her away from guns so I can stop thinking this of her.
Leonardo DiCaprio: Like I stated before, Mr. DiCaprio was never been one that I liked until very recently. I mean, look at every film before Catch Me If You Can and I dare you to find one performance of his that I liked. After Catch Me If You Can, there are films like The Aviator, Blood Diamond, Body of Lies, and most recently Shutter Island and Inception (though there is one exception, The Departed). But now this man know how to act and I can’t wait to see what he does in the future (J. Edgar Hoover anyone?).
Jessica Biel: This woman has gone back and forth in my mind on the quality of her work. I have never really enjoyed any of her films until this past year. And only there can I name three movies in which she does a good job. She was really good in The A-Team and The Illusionist. But the only reason she was good in Next was because everything going on around her was doing such a bad job. She stuck out as the least painful thing in that film.
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