Change Your Image
BadBoy117007
Reviews
The Spirit (2008)
Visual Masterpiece.... Aural Disaster
Frank Miller should stick to comic books. I always thought that it would be great to see a film have the EXACT same feel as a comic book... I was wrong. Miller's camera-work was phenomenal and very much had a comic book feel to it. I enjoyed the visuals and cinematography a LOT.
If this movie were shown on mute, it would be a fantastic film. Miller brings perfect graphic novelist technique to the visuals of the film giving every color and every effect a reason, but I can't stress enough how bad his screenplay is. The 'film noir' voice over (that Sin City was partially known for) lasts for a good 2 minutes before Miller moves to Gabriel Macht just staring into the screen and talking to the audience... and himself. It's pretty darn cheesy.
The acting is horrendous, but probably because of Miller's direction of the actors. Miller obviously knows nothing about acting and only about visuals and effects he learned while on the set of Sin City. The only good actor (as usual) was Samuel L. Jackson. It was almost as if he didn't listen to Miller's approach to Miller's own cheesy dialogue, but Samuel L. Jackson defied Miller's wishes and went his own way (as he should have). Eva Mendes gets props as well, but Scarlett Johansson was just awful. I'm very disappointed in Johansson, it almost shows that her good acting in previous films just comes from the director and not from her 'craft.' Frank Miller's dialogue would have seemed powerful if read in the panels of a comic book, but did NOT transfer well to the screen at all. Do NOT expect Sin City when seeing this movie because it's nowhere near it.
Little Children (2006)
The movie is better than the novel? No way!
A rare situation where the film is better than the novel, but this is probably because of the actors in the film. They really make their community believable and relatable to the audience. Jackie Earle Haley and Phyllis Summerville make the McGorvey's come to life and definitely take the spotlight away from Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson for most of the film.
Jennifer Connelly is great as Patrick Wilson's wife Kathy (who isn't in the spotlight too much in Tom Perrotta's novel). She brings an actual character to Kathy and does great with the awkwardness of her and Brad's relationship as well as her relationship with her son Aaron.
Kate Winslet's performance as Sarah shows every emotion possible for Tome Perrotta's unhappy housewife. Her relationship with Brad in the film is portrayed as one for the Academy (which is why she was nominated in 2007).
This film, along with "Children of Men," was very over-looked for both the Oscars and the Golden Globes in 2007 and it's very disappointing. If you have the chance, you should definitely see this beautiful film by Todd Field.
Milk (2008)
Van Sant and Sean Penn create a 'fabulous' look at the life of Harvey Milk
Wow... I still have tears. "Milk" is very heart-breaking, yet even more inspiring to see the life of Harvey Milk portrayed (more like 'embodied') by Sean Penn and director Gus Van Sant in such an uplifting and (yet again) inspiring manner. I would have loved to have just shaken Harvey Milk's hand.
The movie contains one of the best ensemble casts I've ever seen, and Sean Penn IS Harvey Milk. All of the supporting actors are FANtastic, but great ones to watch are Emile Hirsch as Cleve Jones, James Franco as Scott Smith, Josh Brolin as Dan White and Diego Luna as Jack. Sadly I think Franco and the VERY over-looked Diego Luna will be missed come next year's Oscar nods, however Oscar vet Josh Brolin and Oscar rookie Emile Hirsch are most-likely to receive a nod for their performances.
Gus Van Sant's directing of this incredible cast makes a perfect blend of great film-making with great acting to make this film a perfect candidate for Best Picture and more. The cinematography by Harris Savides adds to the power of the film as well as the power of the words from Dustin Lance Black's top-notch screenplay.
A MUST SEE!!!!!
White Christmas (1954)
"I'm (partly) dreaming of a White Christmas..."
Every year at Christmas time we see that there's always one channel playing Irving Berlin's "White Christmas." Bing Crosby's follow-up film to "Holiday Inn" is cheesy good fun from near the end of the golden days of Hollywood. The songs are catchy (a little TOO catchy) and the script is memorable (and predictable). But it seemed like the studio was trying very hard to throw a script together after they realized the actual song White Christmas (sung by Crosby in "Holiday Inn") was a huge success.
The memorable actress in the film shouldn't be Rosemary Clooney, but her 'sister' Vera Ellen. Clooney masks a great performance with awful lip-syncing that's not convincing even for a two year old, as well as a romantic lead role that she doesn't come out with until the very end of the film.
Danny Kaye is a joy as usual, as is Bing Crosby with his mediocre acting but very entertaining singing voice. Kaye (in my book) is a greater Hollywood gem than Crosby who should have been the leads in many films, however he seemed to do better as the 'comic relieving sidekick.'
"White Christmas" is always a holiday delight that's very unbelievable and not a good film. But always good to see just once a year before Christmas just to keep up your Christmas spirits!
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Ron Howard makes a strong comeback... and so does Richard Nixon
Ron Howard is certainly back on top after the disappointing results of the movie adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code." His direction and bringing of Peter Morgan's "Frost/Nixon" to film is just incredible. Salvatore Totino's cinematography and Howard's direction make this film a two hour first-person look into history (although some of the events in the film are not entirely non-fiction) with the help of one of the best adapted screenplays of my time (adapted/written by Morgan himself).
I was not alive to see the original "Frost/Nixon Interviews," but no prior knowledge of the Watergate scandal itself is needed to enjoy and appreciate this two-hour tour de force.
Frank Langella portrays ex-president Richard Nixon and doesn't stretch every acting muscle in his body to play Nixon, but uses every single one of them and more to his fullest potential to embody Nixon himself. Langella's last 30 minutes on film sure are a sight to see, but his performance as a whole is certainly a big part of what makes this film a great one.
It's enthralling but disappointing to see Michael Sheen give such an incredible performance in this film because he will most-definitely be overshadowed by his co-star come Oscar time. Sheen's transformation from "talk-show host" David Frost to confrontational David Frost is just phenomenal. His final interview with Langella in the film is what will drive his chances.
Salvatore Totino's cinematography in "Frost/Nixon" brings his time to shine. Totino's cinematography brings Langella and Sheen's characters to be seen on screen as they would if they were on television. But in such a beautiful and innovative manner that you'd never know that the "Frost/Nixon" interviews were shown on television, but rather made into the very film that you are watching. Bravo.
Tell Me You Love Me (2007)
New 'Adult' Series for HBO???
I was flipping through my Entertainment Weekly this past week and came upon an advertisement for a new HBO series that looked interesting. It looked to me like a new show about relationships (like 'Sex and the City' without the comedy) which sounded pretty good...
It said that it was premiering this Sunday but it was available on HBO On Demand already so I decided to take the night and watch it. It started out OK with good developing of characters and such that is typical of a new series' pilot episode. But then it moved straight from a dramatic scene into the couple starting to have sex. And I'm not talking about soft-core adult cable show sex, I mean visual sex.
On the 5 minute 'about the show' segment (also available on HBO On Demand) the show's creator talked about how this show would have more graphic and intense sex because these people were actually in relationships, it wasn't just going to be meaningless sex that is typical in adult film or television series. But when I'm watching a show (especially the pilot episode) I actually don't want there to be graphic sex. I know they're having sex if they start getting into it and then show them naked doing 'something' for about 15 seconds and then that's it, but when you've got a run-on scene of it for about 5 minutes it seems to be more of a porno than a television show.
The reason I gave this a 6 out of 10 is because of the characters and relationships. They both seem perfect for how the show can go, and how far it will go. My only hope is that they tone down the sex just a little.
During all but the last few minutes of the show I was saddened to see that they showed the oldest couple for only about 5 minutes. It was very heart-warming to see a couple that have been together for many years be so great to each other and then have the comparison for the other characters. But they were only on-screen for about 5 minutes until the end. Which, I don't know about anybody else, but I most certainly don't want to think that 70-year-old married couples do what this couple did during the last 3 minutes of this show's pilot.
I have always watched new shows with an open mind, which is why I'm willing to watch the second episode of this show as well. I also get the point that the creator is trying to make which is that sex is beautiful and part of everybody's life no matter how, when, or what they do when they do it. But when you're trying to actually have an outstanding plot with very great characters in the mix, it's just not very possible.
I hope you enjoy the pilot if you watch it!