A fantastic cast has been assembled for the heist movie, and the plot is very good. It is somewhat let down by the fact that the tension never builds properly, so there i no real pay off or climax. Maybe thats good, but with sort of movie, it is about who knows what and who's ahead of the game, so it really should be shorter and more tightly focused. For instance, Jodie Fosters character is kind of in no mans land (good performance from her though). She is supposed to be playing some important role (we think) but never does anything. Use it or lose it! The movie has all the elements of a great heist movie, but the uneven pacing lets it down compared to a film like Oceans 11.
Reviews
8 Reviews
Probably the 2nd best $180 million ever spent on a movie (SPOILERS!!!)
4 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!
Despite being a Potter fan, I felt quite happy with Mike Newell as director. Special effects would never be the challenge in bringing HP to the big screen. Rather portraying the humour and magic of the characters in the books would be problem. And Newell has done that very well in this film. The book is huge, both in length and density, as almost every character seems to get their own subplot! All of these have been cut, but the characters have been been woven into the main story effectively.
The result of this weight loss is the story races along and there is not a dull moment to be had. The great thing is that despite this we do get some nice comedy scenes (the pre-yule ball dance lesson, the Hagrid-Maxime romance, the bath scene). There has been much talk about adolescence, which was pretty much all talk in Azkaban. Here it is all much better handled. The Weasly twins shine again. Hogwarts also feels much more like a school, and less like a setting for a Famous Five adventure. Some of the adult actors are given a bit more screen time, which is wonderful because every moment is a delight. The Gleeson as Mad ex-Dark Arts investigator is particularly good.
The visual effects are incredible not only in themselves, but because they are used to tell the story. It is hard to say pick a favourite because the story never lingers on the amazing visuals to say to the audience, "Look at these pretty pictures I made". The story it just told and the audience is awed.
The movie isn't perfect. The pacing might be described as rushed, and I wondered during the first 40 minutes if a first time viewer might wonder why certain things were happening. The book's subplots give everything a a coherence that is there in the movie, but might be hard to catch first time. Not such a problem tough because it's worth 2 viewings for the visuals! Also though the "child", or rather young adult/teen actors, are generally good (Grint as Ron has a much better role in this movie, and does well), the intense ending did expose possible problems for later movies.
That said, the Voldemort rebirth scene, which is what I have been looking forward to since I first read the books, is quite spectacular, and the casting of Fiennes is perfect! Which leads me to conclude that all looks well set for Movie 5, The Order of the Phoenix, which should be easier to cut down to size. I am so pleased that instead of just milking the HP brand, Hollywood is actually trying the best possible movies it can with the material. Well done.
Despite being a Potter fan, I felt quite happy with Mike Newell as director. Special effects would never be the challenge in bringing HP to the big screen. Rather portraying the humour and magic of the characters in the books would be problem. And Newell has done that very well in this film. The book is huge, both in length and density, as almost every character seems to get their own subplot! All of these have been cut, but the characters have been been woven into the main story effectively.
The result of this weight loss is the story races along and there is not a dull moment to be had. The great thing is that despite this we do get some nice comedy scenes (the pre-yule ball dance lesson, the Hagrid-Maxime romance, the bath scene). There has been much talk about adolescence, which was pretty much all talk in Azkaban. Here it is all much better handled. The Weasly twins shine again. Hogwarts also feels much more like a school, and less like a setting for a Famous Five adventure. Some of the adult actors are given a bit more screen time, which is wonderful because every moment is a delight. The Gleeson as Mad ex-Dark Arts investigator is particularly good.
The visual effects are incredible not only in themselves, but because they are used to tell the story. It is hard to say pick a favourite because the story never lingers on the amazing visuals to say to the audience, "Look at these pretty pictures I made". The story it just told and the audience is awed.
The movie isn't perfect. The pacing might be described as rushed, and I wondered during the first 40 minutes if a first time viewer might wonder why certain things were happening. The book's subplots give everything a a coherence that is there in the movie, but might be hard to catch first time. Not such a problem tough because it's worth 2 viewings for the visuals! Also though the "child", or rather young adult/teen actors, are generally good (Grint as Ron has a much better role in this movie, and does well), the intense ending did expose possible problems for later movies.
That said, the Voldemort rebirth scene, which is what I have been looking forward to since I first read the books, is quite spectacular, and the casting of Fiennes is perfect! Which leads me to conclude that all looks well set for Movie 5, The Order of the Phoenix, which should be easier to cut down to size. I am so pleased that instead of just milking the HP brand, Hollywood is actually trying the best possible movies it can with the material. Well done.
Boy Called Twist
(2004)
An engaging look at another side of life in Cape Town
10 November 2005
Being a Capetonian (resident of Cape Town, South Africa), this movie was particularly interesting. One knows about hoe bipolar the city can be (squatters a few blocks from million dollar mansions), but this really shows just how close to the surface the poverty really is (and makes me feel a little less safe!). So many street children are really faced with such an existence. What is good about the movie is that despite the poverty and bleakness, there is sense of hope. One gets the sense that one day, something might go right for them and they might be rescued from the plight.It's not difficult to make a dreary depressing film, but an achievement to infuse it with a sense of hope and possibility.
Batman Begins
(2005)
A fantastic movie with bonus feature: its Batman
30 June 2005
Batman is originally a comic book character, so people frequently think that one shouldn't make it too real, or give him emotions or anything. But this movie has no such bias, and we get an excellent movie about a man who is both seeking revenge and to make the world a better place. This internal conflict is explored, and makes a great movie.
Plus, there's great action and gadgets (as any good Batmovie should have). I particularly like the way Batman doesn't ever seem to hit be at the fights, the criminal are defeated by a ghost or shadow. But he not a superhero, hes just a man. And he doesn't quite have things perfectly worked out just yet, which is always been the best part about Batman.
Good acting all around. From Nolan, not quite as weird of non-linear as Memento or Insomnia, but its a different movie, and he gives it the right feel. I hope he makes another one!
Plus, there's great action and gadgets (as any good Batmovie should have). I particularly like the way Batman doesn't ever seem to hit be at the fights, the criminal are defeated by a ghost or shadow. But he not a superhero, hes just a man. And he doesn't quite have things perfectly worked out just yet, which is always been the best part about Batman.
Good acting all around. From Nolan, not quite as weird of non-linear as Memento or Insomnia, but its a different movie, and he gives it the right feel. I hope he makes another one!
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
(2005)
Exciting, sometimes even witty, entertainment
22 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
MINOR SPOILER WARNING!!! Some people have said the movie was quite bland. I think is overly harsh criticism. The movie is a perfect popcorn movie. Pitt and Jolie are perfectly cast, and their performances are the movie. That was expected though. The action was superb, but that was also expected. What was unexpected was how restrained the first half of the movie was, which I enjoyed, as it really built up tension very well, as was quite funny.
MINOR SPOILER WARNING!!! The only thing the movie was lacking was a decent resolution. I mean, they have blown up some Generic-Mart and thats it, they go on living their lives. The script reportedly went through dozens of rewrites, you think they could have come up with a decent escape plan for the smiths to go live in Columbia or something! Thats why I give the movie a 7. Anyway, still an excellent movie. Perhaps I wanted a better ending so it could setup a sequel!
MINOR SPOILER WARNING!!! The only thing the movie was lacking was a decent resolution. I mean, they have blown up some Generic-Mart and thats it, they go on living their lives. The script reportedly went through dozens of rewrites, you think they could have come up with a decent escape plan for the smiths to go live in Columbia or something! Thats why I give the movie a 7. Anyway, still an excellent movie. Perhaps I wanted a better ending so it could setup a sequel!
An Excellent Star Wars Movie, but..
21 May 2005
This is an excellent conclusion to our experience of the Star Wars saga. It excels at everything that is expected of Star Wars, but unfortunately, the weaknesses remain. I'll go through my likes and dislikes The special effects are excellent (need we say), my only criticism is that at times they tend to be static, i.e. the effects are the background, rather than something the characters are a part of. Something that I think is not done enough is thinking how the effects can be made to feel a apart of the action, rather than background. The story itself is excellent, I have never had a problem with the plots, and I think this one really gives us a feeling for what went wrong with AS/DV. The Action is also really exciting, and an improvement on the last 2 where the powers displayed by the jedi left me feeling underwhelmed (that droid army on geonosis should have been turned into scrap metal by such a large collection of jedi in Ep2).
The 2 eternal problems are of course acting/directing and writing. George Lucas could be a director and a writer, but he is a visionary and he paints in broad brush strokes. Acting and writing of 'character' scenes are best done by people with an eye/ear for detail. He should have realised these shortcomings a long time ago, and needn't go to a galaxy far away to find some one take over dialogue writing and direction.
Individual performances are mixed. Christensen is almost good as Anakin, but falters at times. McDiarmid is again excellent as palpatine, and Mcgregor has gotten the role just right. In my opinion, Yoda, as always, is the best!
So as I said, an excellent star wars movie, but less excellent as a movie. The great pity is that what Lucas does best, is done well, and what doesn't, he could easily bring in some one to help him out and the movie would be much better. But when you are in Theater, and 'A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away ..." flashes across the screen one is carried away with the excitement and action, and for sheer enjoyment, this is one of the best.
The 2 eternal problems are of course acting/directing and writing. George Lucas could be a director and a writer, but he is a visionary and he paints in broad brush strokes. Acting and writing of 'character' scenes are best done by people with an eye/ear for detail. He should have realised these shortcomings a long time ago, and needn't go to a galaxy far away to find some one take over dialogue writing and direction.
Individual performances are mixed. Christensen is almost good as Anakin, but falters at times. McDiarmid is again excellent as palpatine, and Mcgregor has gotten the role just right. In my opinion, Yoda, as always, is the best!
So as I said, an excellent star wars movie, but less excellent as a movie. The great pity is that what Lucas does best, is done well, and what doesn't, he could easily bring in some one to help him out and the movie would be much better. But when you are in Theater, and 'A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away ..." flashes across the screen one is carried away with the excitement and action, and for sheer enjoyment, this is one of the best.
Yesterday
(I) (2004)
An excellent film about living with HIV/AIDS in SA
21 February 2005
Well, really just about living in Rural South Africa. Living in south Africa the HIV/AIDS pandemic (and governments response to it), can make one feel very depressed about the where South Africa is going. But this movie is quite uplifting. Yesterday faces a number of hardships already (she lives in relative poverty, separated from husband for most of year, no education), but she when she comes across another, HIV/AIDS, she faces it head on. She is determined to that her daughter will get an education. Because she has this to fight for, she stays positive. When the doctor comments on how well she is doing, she comments it is her mind that is strong, not her body. Mental strength is something needed all round SA in fighting the Pandemic. From patients, but also their communities, so that HIV positive people will find support rather than stigmatization.
A fun,well made pop corn movie
2 February 2005
So many action movies today are quite topical (the war on terror or something like that feature strongly) so its quite fun to have a film which completely fictitious and requires no deep thought. This film is excitement and action the whole way, and unencumbered by any overly complex plot. Its all style, not substance! When I heard how this movie was made, I was intrigued, but thought it likely that the acting would suffer as a result (like in SWII Attack o/t Clones), but it doesn't and throughout the film, the right slightly over the top tone of action and mystery is struck.
This film has been very underrated, as I think many viewers are perhaps disappointed by because it is not what one expects of a modern action movie, and perhaps this is its greatest strength. And of course any film enthusiast will love the endless references!
This film has been very underrated, as I think many viewers are perhaps disappointed by because it is not what one expects of a modern action movie, and perhaps this is its greatest strength. And of course any film enthusiast will love the endless references!
Tell Your Friends