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Reviews
Flushed Away (2006)
Triumph of Quantity over Quality
Essentially I would recommend this movie. However I wish I'd looked here on IMDb for the credits before I'd gone. I would have known not to expect the trademark subtlety or charm associated either to Aardman or Pixar films.
This movie basically comes across as a 2nd-rate script which has had some kind of cosmetic overhaul at the hands of Aardman and Pixar.
It works as something designed for a younger set that the average Pixar or Aardman film - both of which generally succeed at pleasing a wide range of tastes and ages.
Both Aardman and Pixar pacing has always been quick - but not too quick. The characters from both of these pedigrees have been vividly drawn and very individual.
The pacing here is breakneck, and all characters (central and peripheral) are drawn incredibly broadly in a way which truly mars the audience's emotional involvement. The film is a series of rapid-fire sight-gags. Everything happens very improbably conveniently.
One character given a guitar happens to play well. Other characters which happen to be around pick up the harmonies of his improvised song. The logic of the world being painted is like that in a TV variety skit show such as Sonny & Cher. If these surreal moments are sprinkled judiciously (think the musical number around the campfire in "Three Amigos"), they can be funny and endearing. A full two hours of this leaves you a bit numb, however. When every character is a bullet-proof Bugs Bunny, there isn't even the low level of suspense required for this kind of film. When every character happens to arrive where the dizzying plot flow requires him to be for a cheap gag to unfold, there isn't even the light platform of fictional reality to focus on.
Monster House (2006)
OMG: Telekenetic Claymation
One gets tired of seeing CGI animation these days. This movie didn't look like CGI. It looked like reclamation. Claymation done by people who can bend matter with their minds. The effect was quite arresting - like seeing small dolls actually talking and moving around. The use of focus, such as nearby blades of grass being out of focus, heightened the reclamation effect. I was on my seat just from the visual impact.
Then there was the characterization and script - which contributed charm and giggles, and would have made a quite effective live-action film.
The tone of the film was somewhere between "Stand By Me" and "The Goonies". Some of the humor was a bit dark or adult for younger kids. The one black character was a bit stereotyped - dopey, simple-minded, impulsive. And the "monster" of the film was also a stereotype right out of "South Park" - a voracious sub-verbal obese woman. When her spirit is finally liberated from earthly existence (first as a sub-verbal obese woman and after that as a monster house), the man who loved her before he became her captive is visibly relieved. Somewhat iffy and unwholesome. Both of these characterizations were not necessary and detracted from the quality somewhat. Ahh. I see that the writers Dan Harmon & Rob Schrab have recently worked on a project for Sarah Silverman. Sigh. Well then it's to be expected that you're going to get a combination of laugh-out-loud and messed-up stereotyping.
But man, those visuals were so arresting. I'm still considering the 2+ hour journey next weekend out to the nearest theater which is showing it in 3d. "Chicken Little" was a huge waste of 3d which this show definitely won't be.
PS. Just saw the 3d version. Quite amazing. Nice 3d preview as well.
Superman Returns (2006)
A Giant Dog
This movie was a giant dog. Such a giant dog, in fact, that I left the theater feeling like a scuffed-up slobbered-on chew-toy. It's hard to believe that this was created by the same crew who made X-2, one of my favorite films in the past few years. I'm very forgiving of superhero films. I liked The Fantastic Four, for heaven's sake.
I was acutely aware in this film that a cinematic undertaking amounts to a series of choices. Almost every choice here is a little off - many of them are way way off. Let's start with the casting. Routh has a general look which is appropriate, but he's not really an actor. I mean, his claim to fame was starring in the soft-porn program "MTV undressed". The film might best be thought of as "Superman Undressed" - but without even the illicit thrill of late-night bedroom hi-jinks. I would say that the entire cast was profoundly dull, miscast, or both. I can't think of another film with villains which featured such boring, nondescript henchmen. This was a bad career turn for everyone involved. It is as if we are being forcibly reminded why we don't see Bosworth or Marsden too often. Let me beat this dead horse: this is a cast which showcases its mediocrity, aided by a script which is designed to really make that mediocrity shine.
The pacing was so lifeless it felt at times like watching a group of people waiting for a bus. If I had been working for the studio, and someone showed me this, I'd have emphatically said "back to the drawing board".
Even the jazzy Titanic-inspired effects-heavy scenes somehow managed to be only mildly of interest. Why? How? I don't fully grasp how this was accomplished. Certainly the palette (washed-out blues and greens) was a bit snore-inducing.
The plot circled upon itself, repeating similar types of events in the time lines of Lex & Superman. Was this an attempt to create a kind of special bond between them? Well, it failed completely. You see much much more intriguing dynamics on "Smallville" between Clark & Lex.
Clark embraces a mother-figure. Lex with a mother-figure.
Lex's model blows up. Buildings shatter where Clark is.
Clark's plane swoops down into the mist, only to rise back into view. Lex's copter drops down into the chasm, only to right itself and gain altitude.
These two titans of the plot are kept apart until the climactic scene wherein Lex violently penetrates Clark - er, with a roughly six-inch pointed piece of Kryptonite. So much budget. Such much effort. And even this scene didn't work as action, drama, chemistry, nothing.
Near the end, it is the Hulk whose footsteps Superman perfectly follows, copying with near exactness Hulk's recent cinematic unconscious fall to earth from the stratosphere.
Eerily, our superman is always following in others' footsteps, just as Routh is walking in Reeve's.
La science des rêves (2006)
Gondry's 'El Mariachi' ?
Roberto Rodriguez' earnest amateurish 'El Mariachi' garnered him the praise and attention to essentially remake that film as 'Desperado', which featured big stars and a big budget.
Here, with 'Science of Sleep', we see something which would have made perfect sense if introduced as "Gondry's lost earlier work, the inspiration for 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' ". The characters, tone, and themes are quite reminiscent of 'Spotless Mind'. The approach is rawer, about half of the dialog is in French and half in English. There are no big stars which would be recognized to mainstream movie-goers. The effects which we do see call to mind his music video work (which I greatly suggest, available on DVD) more than the next-level cgi-effects of 'Spotless Mind'.
The film certainly stands on its own, and is quite memorable. I'll be eager to see it again when it is released the USA in September.
Moartea domnului Lazarescu (2005)
Eerily Realistic - Even for U.S. Hospitals
This film was shown to a packed house at the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival. Taking place in near real-time, this documentary-style drama has no musical accompaniment. Anyone who has ever taken a ride in an aid car to a Hospital will find much of this film chillingly familiar. It resembles an episode of House M.D. if written and directed by David Mamet. At first lacking suspense and energy, the film introduces us to Mr Lazarescu as he putters around his dingy flat, talking to his cats and drinking. As the film progresses, new symptoms appear. First neighbors, then emergency transport personnel, various nurses and doctors become involved, each with a spot-on part to play in the unfolding drama - be they listless, helpful, bored, arrogant, flippant, fatigued, or overwhelmed.
L'orizzonte degli eventi (2005)
Enjoyable, Elements of Lost Highway. Arty.
*** SOME SPOILERS *** Shown at the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival. Believe it or not, this film borrowed a bit from David Lynch's "Lost Highway". Our hero, looks a bit like George Clooney. Or maybe more like Mad TV's Michael McDonald. He's a bit of a schlub. A bit of a cad. He juggles his lady-friends, and he cheats at his job, which involves measuring neutron events at a prominent physics laboratory inside a mountain. About halfway through the film, after being caught falsifying the results, he goes driving. Here's where the "Lost Highway" bit comes in. The montage here is very much out of LH, involving fast backward pans, silently screaming loved ones, superimposed on images of driving at night, and eventually a road accident where his car overturns. Even after this highly stylized montage, we're still very much in LH territory, as our hero has gone through a traumatic "black hole" and emerged anonymously in a different world, hiding and living a simpler life with the desperate guest-worker from Albania who herds sheep on the same mountain who nurses him back to health. I enjoyed many arty moments in this slow film, which resembled at times a music video by the French band "Air". I found the ending a bit of a let-down, but not in a surprising way, really.
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Splendor surrounds "Black Hole"
Basically everything and everyone in the film met or exceeded my expectations, making the overall experience much more entertaining, involving and interesting than I expected going in. I enjoyed this film very much. I was drawn in to the period feel and the social milieu except for one thing. For me, there was a black hole in the center of this film - and its name is Keira Knightley. (And I have never had a problem with her before - playing modern characters in modern settings.) Whenever the camera was focused on her, all I could think was that here was a kind of supermodel with a wry seen-it-all smile on her face - someone who lives between limousine and club and must have filmed this movie between parties. She looked drunk, drugged or both. Near the end there was a scene with a long look into her eyes close up as time passed in the room she was in. I had a very distinct feeling of "are you OK miss? can I call anyone for you?" Even her spiteful scenes of rebellion against D'Arcy (remarkably well acted by MacFayden, whom I don't recall seeing before, except he is somewhat reminiscent of the lead singer of Blur) or Lady Catherine (fully absorbingly played by Judi Densch) come across as red-faced spoiled teen-age celebrity misbehavior. There were no inner struggles evident, nothing other than impulses as far as I could see.
Æon Flux (2005)
Zardoz-licious. Logans-riffic
I was scared by the previews. I was further scared by the Rotten Tomatoes reviews. Edelstein liked it though so I calmed down a bit and entered the theater with some hope. I loved it. I hope it makes a zillion dollars. It may have helped that I'd seen the animated material. I had not been the hugest fan of it, but the overall tone was there as a base for the experience of seeing this film. To the extent that the film was not evocative of the animated source, it did really remind me of such 70's classics as Zardoz & Logan's Run. The parallels to the recent "The Island" are there as well I suppose. It seemed the things from "The Island" that I liked were enhanced and expanded here, and the things I didn't were mostly absent. Three cheers for the whole cast - and they certainly were all *well* cast.
Bewitched (2005)
Lazy Mess. Some nice moments.
I just suffered through 'Bewitched'. It was just lazy absurdity from beginning to end - peppered with a few laughs and a few cute moments. The major plot points centered around coincidences. This was done in such a way as to scream 'LAZY' rather than absurd or surreal or even cute. The fact that Isabel just happens to be in the bookstore wiggling her nose when Jack is there was a bit annoying, but I thought, "let's just see where this goes". Later we have Aunt Clara coming down the chimney - why? Never is there any explanation given as to why Isabel has an Aunt Clara who is the copy of the original in Betwitched. Although the characters joked about it being a coincidence, I was certainly not amused. Nor is there an explanation given for the (admittedly entertaining) appearance of Steve Carel as Uncle Arthur. Stuff like this might have seemed more appropriate in some kind of SCTV skit, where the whole purpose was to parody TV reality in a fully surreal manner and showcase the ability of the cast to do impressions. Here, however it failed miserably. I kept thinking how lucky the writers were to get paid for this. Like winning the lottery! How many hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars did these people get for something the comes off like it was written in one shot during a night of drinking?!
(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 (2004)
Charming German Space Balls. Some Offensive Stereotypes.
Take German version of "Space Balls" Star Wars parody. Add silly gay Star Trek jokes every 2 minutes. Add a negative stereotypical dopey black American-or-Jamaican janitor-spy who exists to 1) ostentatiously polish the other characters chairs and 2) ostentatiously forget what he's supposed to report, and is never seen again. I guess that's still OK to do in Germany. Throw in some references to Back to the Future films, 2001, Spamalot, ... The plain old Star Wars type effects made me remember how much I prefer the effects in Star Wars to the more recent Star Wars films. I was wincing during the first 15 minutes or so but my resistance wore down a little - particularly due to the polish, and the likability of the characters / actors. There were definitely some laughs. Of course I was in the middle of a packed theater of people who were eating it up.
4 (2004)
Involving, Varied
Was this Andy Warhol's "Pets or Meat" ? or Henry Jaglom's "Motel Hell"? Possibly Mike Leigh's "Night of the Living Dead"? Anyway, this film has my nomination for best ever use of clones with crones, and also for best use of crones overall. Did you know that if you play this film it matches up very well with Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain"? No? Well maybe it doesn't but it should! Try it!
I found this film consistently involving even though it became increasingly unpleasant and difficult to categorize or interpret. It appeared to have two distinct halves, each with different pacing and tone. The lively and stimulating first half took place in the city (Moscow?) and showed the stories of several characters unfolding. The 2nd half focused on one character and a separate set of people she knew in the country (until the very ending bits). This 2nd half was more claustrophobic, squalid, and disturbing.
After the Seattle 2005 screening during the Q/A session with the director, one Russian woman ranted at him for an act of "treason" in this disturbing portrayal of Russian life, and said it and he were "dirty!", asking him where he lived *now*, he must have been well paid for this, etc. He responded that unlike her he still lived in Russia, that in fact life was *harder* than he portrayed and that Russians drank *more* than he portrayed, etc. After she walked out, he explained that her reaction was typical of the culturally *soviet* people in Russia, who were brought up to always present the best face of Russia at all times.
Másnap (2004)
*SPOILERS* suspenseful, surreal
I saw this @ SIFF - right after his film 'The Long Twilight' which honestly I preferred. The main actor here reminded me quite a bit of John Lithgow. The disturbing climactic scene was equal parts murder scene from the end of 'Twin Peaks:Fire Walk With Me' and ape-murder-with-bone scene from 2001. I had just seen 'November' a few days before. I was struck with similarities to this film - several short segments each preceded by a still card with a short name. In November we had 'Denial', 'Acceptance' ... here we had 'The Sky', 'The Dirt' ... In both November and this film we have an ambiguous mixture of events preceding along a general time line and the same events be relived but slightly differently. Both November & this film were created in 2004, with November "being written in 2 weeks" - perhaps enough time for this film to be the basis for November (which of course has a much thicker veneer of Lynchian visual & sound effects).
November (2004)
*SPOILERS* nice performances, jarring plot gimmicks
I saw this at the Seattle International Film Festival. This film was essentially well made. I was sufficiently drawn in by the performances - except - I couldn't stop thinking about all of the themes and effects which were copied/homage to Lynch films, especially 'Lost Highway' and 'Mulholland Drive'. This became more and more pronounced toward the ending. The nonlinear narrative further served to remove me from the flow of events and put me in a cerebral mode. Interestingly a few days later I saw the 2004 Hungarian film Másnap (After the Day Before). In many ways, plot-wise, this was even closer to November than the Lynch Films (and Masnap had references to Lynch as well). Both were divided into a small number sections which were preceded by title cards with short names. In each case, the time line was non-linear with ambiguity regarding whether we were seeing new events, or flashbacks, or changed versions of past events. Evidently November was written in 2 weeks in 2004. Had the makers seen Masnap? Anyhow this 73-minute movie is visually and auditory impressive, even if the nonlinear plot is a bit gimmicky and one might guess the ending (particularly if one has seen Mulholland Drive of Masnap).