movie review – Page 4 – Lefthandedlayup

Hairspray

If there’s any type of movie I’d say that best reflects my idea of Hollywood, it’s the big grand musical. Now I’m fairly aware that saying that sounds very gay, which I’m sure makes my homophobic girlfriend cringe. But hey, I’m not gonna lie. Big grand musicals are the epitome, to me, of what a ‘spectacular performance’ is. There’s great music, terrific melodies, and basically actors interpreting what they feel through feats of song and dance. Any story of great romance, deep despair, hate, fear, or anything for that matter, is made more meaningful and dramatic via moving performances filled with music and dancing.

Thus, I still remember happily the few magical musicals I chanced upon at a young age, such as Oklahoma, South Pacific, the King and I and other Rogers and Hammerstein classics. Then there’s Oliver Twist (which had me saying ‘Please Sir, may I have some more?‘ over and over again), Annie and My Fair Lady. Until today, when I type on a keyboard to test it, I usually write ‘The Rain In Spain stays mainly in the plain‘, rather than the standard ‘The quick red fox…‘.

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Ratatouille

Writing this, I realized that there are many ways you can approach Ratatouille, which is probably it’s main weakness. First and foremost, you can write about the lead character Remy, which is a rat, and approach how inappropriate this is for a movie about food.

Second, you can talk about the food, and the fact that this is probably the best food movie I’ve ever watched in a long long time, and how the scene where the lead bad person Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole) is brought back to his youth after he eats some of Remy’s Ratatouille (which apparently is a peasant dish. I wouldn’t know since I wouldn’t even know where to find some), is somewhat similar to how I feel whenever I have some Sinigang sa Miso – a simple sour fish broth which is probably equally humble yet I’d elect to have as my very last dish on Earth if I were to be a prisoner on death row.

Third is, as I’ve mentioned above, Disney – Pixar’s absolutely superb movie making magic, and the fact that they have in the last few years produced some of the most fantastic movies in the likes of Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Toy Story and A Bug’s Life – all understated, fully animated features that to me, represent hope for great movie making in the classic style. Here is a movie company that understands the use of full animation as a tool rather than an end in itself, a Hollywood movie company apparently staffed by artists who know that just making something colorful and loud and hiring big stars to voice them does not necessarily a great movie make – no matter how much money it ends up making anyway.

And those are just some of the things I think about when thinking about Ratatouille. All interesting for sure, but unfortunately, a sign that I do not really know what to make of it.

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Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Movie Review

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, is the kind of movie that reminds me why I’ve decided at some point, to establish standards in my choice of movies. Not that it’s earth – shattering mind you. Far from it. Rather, Fantastic Four II is the kind of movie that’ll make you answer, when someone asks if you like it, that ‘it’s ok..‘, or ‘it’s entertaining..‘, with your voice trailing off, or some response to that effect.

And since you can’t really pinpoint why you don’t like it, but find it a stretch to call it a bad movie either, you just smile, shake your head or shrug your shoulders, and forget about it. Proof of it? The day after you’ve forgotten you’ve watched it, and by next week any memory of it is completely erased altogether.

Which is, you see, the exact opposite of two of the best most entertaining movies I’ve ever watched, which happen to both be based on superheroes. And that is Superman, the first one with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, and Batman Returns, with Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer.

And here’s the part where you sit back for a moment, if you’ve happened to be around at the time they were released (1978 and 1992 respectively), where, you will likely nod your head in agreement, and appreciate along with me, the sheer entertainment these two provided.

And then you realize as well, how Fantastic Four II completely pales in comparison to those two. So much so, one might argue, that it shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same movie review as the other two.

And I am getting closer to the point I am trying to make.

Read the rest at Movie Exchange.

Sunshine

Sunshine is a story about a group of scientists and astronauts sent out to space 50 years from now to fix the sun via exploding a bomb into it. First they have to get there of course, and no they don’t resort to doing it at night, so let’s get that old, old joke over with before you even start thinking it, and to those who wouldn’t have thought of it, my apologies, but consider my getting it over with as a favor to you just the same.

At any rate, the drama here is the actual getting there and ‘delivering the payload’, which we hear very often throughout the film. Cillian Murphy, the guy I suspect who’s gonna play the Joker in the next Batman series, plays a Physicist who has to decide if they should check out whatever happened to the first attempt 8 years before them, a similar ship named Icarus (theirs is Icarus II), whom they happen to discover mysteriously floating around in space – completely functional – along the way. These being the practical scientists that they are, they decide that two chances at exploding a bomb into the sun are better than one, and proceed to variate their mission into fetching it. But of course it turns out, as it often does, the mystery ship isn’t as innocent as they think, and it proceeds thereon to make their path that much harder as they go along their way.

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Spiderman III

Three words: Too many plots.

Let me explain why I think that’s what did this movie in. See, movies, or all story telling for hat matter, has to have a main plot. The chief character struggling to maintain his relationship. Or having to face a formidable enemy. Or needing to keep his job and sanity together whilst hurdle on top of hurdle are forced his way.

In retrospect, that’s what Spiderman I and II were pretty good at. Classic, simple and effective story – telling. A simple, ordinary guy with not a care in the world is thrown into a situation where he needs to deal – and in the process, develop maturity and strength of character in a hurry. THAT is what the drama is about Spiderman (as opposed to out – for – revenge Batman or born – to – be – a – hero Superman). EVERYTHING ELSE, as I’ve said so many times before in other reviews, is secondary to the chief protagonist’s struggles. The subplots, the pretty girl, the effects (MOST ESPECIALLY the effects), and all others are all secondary to the main story.

But the problem is, which plot was the main one? To be honest, until now, many days after I caught the first showing not only can I not discern which is the main story, but neither can I recall the details as well, obviously because there was far too much it wants you to remember.

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Review of Wild Hogs

As far as I know, people either hate or love John Travolta. And I don’t blame them. This is the direct result of producing a classic like Staying Alive, then dropping off the planet and getting listed in the celebrity ‘whatever happened to..?‘ list for a decade or two. Then you come back with Pulp Fiction, and then produce nonsense like Swordfish or that ghastly Face Off. It’s either – or with this guy. A producer of terrific, culture shaping hits or toilet blockage material, with a deep chasm separating the two.

So when I watched Wild Hogs, and saw him looking like he’s actually having some fun, I realized I was having fun too. Not because it’s got a terrific plot or that it’s amazingly funny or that it changes the world of comedy or any of that. Rather, the movie shows a guy that I can’t figure out having fun. In the process, I am watching a movie of his where I don’t have to figure him out, so I just end up having fun. Does that make sense?

Oooh what do we have here? A hyperlink, leading to the rest of the article! Golly! Click Click Click!

Wild Hogs

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Review of Pan’s Labyrinth

What’s obvious to me during the watching of ‘Laberinto del fauno, El’ (Pan’s Labyrinth), is that the performance of it’s chief villain, Capitan Vidal, played magnificently by Sergi Lopez, effectively brings to life the best rendition of a movie villain I’ve ever seen.

To me, the bad guy is always the juiciest part in every film. If I were an actor wishing to prove my mettle, the surest path to this, granted I’d have the talent of course, is to avoid the hero part, which by being so automatically limits one to stereotype. Rather, one should go for the villain part, where you are allowed far more freedom and depth as you portray, explain, and define why this person has become such as he goes about his bad guy ways.

Whilst you may argue that this can be done for the hero as well, the villain, as we all know in real life villains, frequently does not come from the same cookie cutter like heroes are. There are many and varied ways to screw up a person and make him bad. All colorful, usually deeply tragic, all making excellent fodder for a qualified actor to chew on.

You know what to do!

Pan’s Labyrinth

Whilst you may argue that this can be done for the hero as well, the villain, as we all know in real life villains, frequently does not come from cookie cutters like heroes do. There are many and varied ways to screw up a person and make him rotten. All colorful, usually deeply tragic, all providing excellent fodder for a qualified actor to chew on.

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Ms. Potter Movie Review

Beatrix Potter in this movie, is an artist and a 32 year old woman forced to bear with the whims of a social climbing mother and a society that has yet to recognize the value of women in, well, any role other than that of the traditional, which in the 1800s was fairly limited. You were expected to remain loyal to your parent’s every whim, you are not allowed to be alone with a man without an escort, higher education was optional and basically you just hung around waiting for someone suitable (in your parent’s eyes) to court you, marry him, have his children and mold your daughters to do same.

That’s pretty much it. A boring, staid and predictable life.

Which can also be said for for how this movie could have turned out. First of all all those first scenes where she starts talking to her drawings could have been interpreted as her going cuckoo. I’m not sure if the director meant that, but there it is. I thought, at the start of the movie, that we were going to deal with a woman who was slightly nuts, and I was worried I’d have to sit through an hour and a half of that.

I’m glad it didn’t.

That’s right. I reviewed Ms. Potter. Now I know most of you didn’t watch it, so read my review. Come on come on click click.