21 Grams is a great film. The three actors, Penn, Watts and Del Toro should get strong Academy recognition for their efforts. Ms. Watts is astonishingly great. The direction is superb, and the back and forth in time scenes seem to reflect the way people really think about things and remember. This is how the film's story unfolds, and there is no character who drops out of no where to tell us what is going on with the story. This type of acting and direction takes hard work and intelligent thinking, which is why this is such a good film. Moral and ethical dilemmas unfold too, and there are no easy answers for these characters. This film is very close to real life, and totally believable. Highly recommended for anyone with a conscience.
Reviews
7 Reviews
Exceptional Cinema Experience
5 January 2003
The part two installment of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy provided an exceptional cinema experience. Two Towers shows boundless imagination, exceptional direction, and good old fashioned escape quality. The battle scenes are truly epic, the scenes in the Dead Marshes are chilling and freakish, and the beginning sequence of Frodo's dream and the Balrog battle all together demonstrates sheer genius and rare quality in film making. The CGI creation of Gollum is a marvellous achievement in technology and raises the level and standard of film to new heights. The vast complicated scope of Tolkien's imagination has seen a remarkable transfer to the cinema, and the scope of the filmmaker's imagination is unlimited. Those viewers who didn't see the first film may become lost in the increasingly complicated story, but they won't be disappointed in the cinema basics. Never the less, rarely would a film maker dwell so richly on certain moments such as the King of Rohan's pathos. Indeed a lot of character development takes place in this second part of the trilogy, and this justifies the focus of the first part. We see the characters of Merry and Pippin take on new depth, and Frodo's turmoil allows actor Elijah Wood to turn in a fine performance as the loveable and innocent Hobbit turns into a tortured soul. Thus, anticipation is built to continue the journey with these now even more interesting characters. The pursuit of this project has greatly enriched film making. All kudos is due to the director, technicians and actors. This film earns a rare 10/10 from me; for this to me is what film making and what going to the cinema are all about.
Road to Perdition
(2002)
There are none righteous
12 July 2002
This is the coming of age film your mother warned you about. Director Sam Mendes and a great acting team of Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law explore the depths of human moral depravity. Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a hit man for John Rooney,(Newman) his crime boss who took him in as a child and raised him like his own son. Rooney's real son Connor (played by Daniel Craig) doesn't excel in the family business and is deeply jealous of John Rooney's affection for his adopted son who is one brilliant hit man. The twelve year old son of Sullivan is ever curious about his father's work, and one night witnesses his father's "business" in action after stowing away in the family car during one of his father's "jobs". The rest of the film is about the six weeks Sullivan spends on the road trying to protect his son, and the moral dilemma that erupts as a result of his chosen profession. The two are hunted by Maguire (Jude Law) who is a hit man who doubles as a "photographer of the dead". Sullivan tries out a plan to make the mob bosses pay and to back off. Sullivan's boy (played by Tyler Hoechlin), has some decisions of his own to make, after all it is his future that everyone is trying to determine. In the end we see that no one is righteous here, as Newman reminds everyone that there are only murderers in this room, and ultimately God will be the final judge.
This story is beautifully filmed and is exquisitely directed. The sound track (by Thomas Newman) is striking, chilling and quite superb. Tom Hanks and Paul Newman give thoughtful, intricate and subtle performances, including concise glances and throaty delivery of lines that tell a story in themselves. Jude Law is positively creepy as a calculating necrophile that works as a hit man to "pay the rent". The boy, Tyler Hoechlin, gives out some excellent moments as a young actor, and keeps us convinced that his future is at stake. This is a true symphony of acting and direction among all. It will be found among the classics of the genre. Highly recommended.
This story is beautifully filmed and is exquisitely directed. The sound track (by Thomas Newman) is striking, chilling and quite superb. Tom Hanks and Paul Newman give thoughtful, intricate and subtle performances, including concise glances and throaty delivery of lines that tell a story in themselves. Jude Law is positively creepy as a calculating necrophile that works as a hit man to "pay the rent". The boy, Tyler Hoechlin, gives out some excellent moments as a young actor, and keeps us convinced that his future is at stake. This is a true symphony of acting and direction among all. It will be found among the classics of the genre. Highly recommended.
L.I.E.
(2001)
A Film About Consequences
23 June 2002
This is a great little film about consequences. Howie is a typically confused but bright middle class kid with a one dimensional father and lug-nuts for friends. This film explores the soft underbelly of middle class Long Island, as well as the consequences that are borne as a result. Howie's explorations for attention lead him dangerously close to a pedophile who is more than willing to play "dad" to the affection starved teen. The low-budget aspects of this movie are not distracting, and though the subject matter is raw, the scenes are handled with taste. The film is kept honest through some thoughtful provocation, and the audience is kept honest as well. This film should be seen by parents of teens, and especially seen by anyone who is a father.
Mulholland Drive
(2001)
Just awful
23 June 2002
This movie was just awful. The film plays as a self indulgent exploration by a director who appears to be going through a mid-life crisis. The humor is canned, and the droning bass in the background is used to supply the suspense. Is this good directing? Mr. Lynch does make a couple of good points- Hollywood can kill you and so will age. This film is a good example of what is wrong in the Hollywood Film industry.
Oh My, Woody
22 June 2002
Oh my, is this movie ever bad. Great cast, but everyone seemed bored and restless. The chemistry between Dan Akroyd and Helen Hunt appears very very uncomfortable. This movie wasn't even good camp or kitsch...
Woody, what were you thinking? Take a sabbatical and clear your head.
Woody, what were you thinking? Take a sabbatical and clear your head.
A film worthy of Tolkien's imagination
28 December 2001
As a fan of Lord of the Rings, I am pleasantly surprised at the very positive critical response to this movie. I think it is a compliment to Tolkien's material, and a credit to Mr. Jackson's direction. Even hardened critics begrudgingly enjoy at least some sets, some of the acting, and most of the CGI. I liked the graceful scenes, the eloquent language, the unfolding of the sets, and the wholly artistic approach in Mr. Jackson's directing. In the scene where the Fellowship quits the Mines of Moria, and the Ranger says that by nightfall "this place will be crawling with Orcs!" I felt that lesser films would have been subjected to laughter, but it is a testament to the actors and the director that the audience believed the Ranger's words, and feared the worst. I was not scared by Mr. Jackson's Black Riders, the overworked Orcs, or a few other monsters I seem to have seen in other horror films.
The only let down for me was the Alien/Hellraiser/Nightmare on Elm Street similarity of the LOTR monsters. The only exception being the Orc's pet Troll in the Mines of Moria, and Gollum, whose eyes were absolutely superb! The entire sequence of fighting the Troll in the mines is simply the best thing I have ever seen on a cinema screen! At times I heard the audience sobbing out loud, and cheering at the triumph of a hero, ...something I rarely hear in a movie and never both together ...until now! Add laughter, and you know people are having a great time! For the first time, I felt like I got more than $8 worth of entertainment from a film!
I was too busy working and going to school to see any "hype" about this film. So, I was surprised to hear of any. It surpassed my expectations, and wins a 10 from me. I know the fans of other movies may be disappointed that their's is not number one right now in i.m.d.b.. And, yes, my mother once told me that Marloon Brando, who said "STELLA!" really cool, and pretended to have a heart attack in one of the godfathers pictures, (and who was too good for another Oscar apparently) was the best actor ever, but I haven't seen much of Brando lately, so I have to make up my own mind, and Ian McKellan as Gandalf is the best acting I've seen in my lifetime! Oscar, where are you? The Lord of the Rings is a movie for the post baby boomer generations, and those without an imagination won't "get it." ...You see, there is this whole other world within Earth's past with different languages and different people than you've ever seen, all with their own civilizations...
The only let down for me was the Alien/Hellraiser/Nightmare on Elm Street similarity of the LOTR monsters. The only exception being the Orc's pet Troll in the Mines of Moria, and Gollum, whose eyes were absolutely superb! The entire sequence of fighting the Troll in the mines is simply the best thing I have ever seen on a cinema screen! At times I heard the audience sobbing out loud, and cheering at the triumph of a hero, ...something I rarely hear in a movie and never both together ...until now! Add laughter, and you know people are having a great time! For the first time, I felt like I got more than $8 worth of entertainment from a film!
I was too busy working and going to school to see any "hype" about this film. So, I was surprised to hear of any. It surpassed my expectations, and wins a 10 from me. I know the fans of other movies may be disappointed that their's is not number one right now in i.m.d.b.. And, yes, my mother once told me that Marloon Brando, who said "STELLA!" really cool, and pretended to have a heart attack in one of the godfathers pictures, (and who was too good for another Oscar apparently) was the best actor ever, but I haven't seen much of Brando lately, so I have to make up my own mind, and Ian McKellan as Gandalf is the best acting I've seen in my lifetime! Oscar, where are you? The Lord of the Rings is a movie for the post baby boomer generations, and those without an imagination won't "get it." ...You see, there is this whole other world within Earth's past with different languages and different people than you've ever seen, all with their own civilizations...
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