clevelandrocks's Reviews

The Constant Gardener (2005)

9/10

22 February 2006

Rachel Weisz has gone from pretty face (Mummy) to an Oscar-worthy performance in this adaption from the le Carre novel. In a series of jumps and flashbacks, The Constant Gardener is a love story/redemption story in the context of international conspiracy and intrigue. Justin Quayle (Fiennes) is a soft-spoken diplomat, content on tending to himself, his garden, and keeping those around him happy and at a distance. Confrontation is one thing Justin avoids at all costs, until he meets hot-headed young Tessa who challenges him at a lecture, and their accidental meeting turns into a more intimate affair. Falling for each other, Justin must move to Africa and Tessa asks, no demands, that he take her. They're off, married, and pregnant. Soon, we discover (in the first few minutes), that Tessa's been murdered, and the list of friends and foes are intertwined. Justin must confront his own suspicions and demons, both professional and personal, in order to finally understand his wife, her love, and his own soul.

The cinematography is amazing, the colors lush, the music seductive. Weisz is mesmerizing. Solid performances by Danny Huston and Bill Nighy (quite a turn from his character in Love Actually).

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Hostel (2005)

5/10

A Good "Almost"

7 January 2006

Warning: Spoilers

HOSTEL is the story of two young Americans traveling through Europe (Josh and Paxton), joined by Icelander Oli, who tire of the crowd of Americans in Amsterdam.

Act I: Desperate to find easy and beautiful women, they meet a friendly European (Alex) who tells them an unbelievable story about a small city in Eastern Europe that has no men. They've all been killed by civil war. What's left? Beautiful women, of course. Alex shows pictures of him with naked women and the three men are convinced. Off they go! Until this point, Roth has written/directed a fairly standard and expected teen flick, with Josh as the shy and reluctant tall boy and Paxton as the gruff, obnoxious, and egotistical leader. Roth plays with the theme of American greed, capitalism, and imperialism, but only at a surface level.

Act II: Josh, Paxton, and Oli arrive at a hostel that is beyond their wildest dreams. Filled with beautiful women, a spa, in a charming little town, this will be their heaven until they can seduce every woman available. The women they meet are modern-day sirens, luring the men in order to sell them for the "exhibit". Oli disappears first, then Josh. Paxton, at first full of bravado, is now forced into action, and once he discovers Josh, his innards exposed after a gruesome torture scene, he's forced into the role of prey. It's only a chance moment, the torturer slipping, that Paxton survives.

Act III: Paxton escapes and enacts vengeance on several of those responsible for Josh and Oli.

Roth starts slow and gets stronger in Act II, but he can't carry the weight of either the anti-American theme nor the gruesome terror. The shock value wears off rather fast, though Jay Hernandez does a commendable job. However his is the only character that has any arc. Unfortunately Roth manages to tie everything in a nice bow rather than leaving story and ending up to the imagination.

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The Brothers Grimm (2005)

8/10

Enhcanting

29 August 2005

Warning: Spoilers

True Gilliam fans will be pleased that Terry hasn't lost his magic, while those looking for a scary thriller (it's PG-13 by the way) will be somewhat disappointed and the boys simply looking for a shot of beautiful Monica Belluci will be sadly disappointed. The movie follows the Brothers Grimm (Damon & Ledger) as they are young adults struggling to make ends meet by feeding on simple peasants' fears of old superstitions, ghosts, fairy tales. The backstory behind the elder Wil (Damon) and Jacob (Ledger) is that Jacob had caused their younger sister's death (not a spoiler, just the background given in the first 5 minutes) by giving away money that should have been used for a doctor in exchange for "magic" beans. Everything to Wil is simply "magic beans"; there are no fairy tales, just ones they create. Eventually, the Brothers Grimm's escapades are exposed, and in order to save themselves, the French commander (the French are occupying Germany) demands that they solve another case of fake witchery in a nearby town. Little do the Brothers Grimm realize but the town is cursed by a queen who was granted everlasting life but not everlasting beauty. She curses the town to restore her youth. The beautiful Monica Belluci plays this Succubus-type demon. The Brothers Grimm are aided by a woman (Prochazkova), very much in spirit like Milla Jovovich from Resident Evil, who has been cursed. The weaknesses are the occasional poor CGI (a girl's flying cape), the character Cavaldi who is asked by the French to watch over the Brothers Grimm, and the score. However this is a solid film for the PG-13 crowd but probably wait for the video.

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Pretty Persuasion (2005)

5/10

Great Performances for a Clichéd Script

22 August 2005

Kimberly and Brittany are 15 year old privileged girls in a rich, private, high school. They share many things: petty words, a boy (Kimberly's ex and Brittany's new squeeze), a love for drama, and a never-ending quest to be pretty. Halim's script attempts to be many things, and in this grasping for meaning, the story never gets above moderate interest. Just when you feel a character is turning, the script cops out a twist that isn't so unexpected. Halim throws in too many clichés and too many twists that the twists become the story and the characters are left one dimensional, which is disappointing, as Siega does a terrific job with the cast. Evan Rachel Wood is not taxed by playing a cold-hearted girl whose motives, ultimately, are fairly uninteresting. It would have been compelling to try and stretch this actor and see how far she could go. Elisabeth Harnois does a good turn as the vulnerable Brittany, and Ron Livingston is fine as a teacher accused of sexual harassment. Jane Krakowski does a fine turn as a greedy lesbian newswoman. James Woods takes honors as a foul mouthed selfish father. Ultimately, though, the performances go to waste on a story that's too broad. It would have been simple to keep this a story of three young women accusing a teacher of harassment, and how even an accusation can tarnish reputations and unhinge lives. However, the story reaches to social commentary and the characters themselves are left out to dry.

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A Lot Like Love (2005)

2/10

Tired

26 April 2005

This is certainly one of the most tired and clichéd romance movies of the past year. As a fan of THAT 70'S SHOW, I was looking forward to Ashton's performance after a surprisingly funny turn in GUESS WHO with the MAC Man himself. However, the chemistry is lacking between Kutcher and Peet, mostly fueled by Peet's annoying character and a plot line that is tired at best. While many many not be surprised at this film, the premise (though used many times before) had potential. The trailer was above average, but the final cut to screen feels awkward, much like TAXI, which seemed to have gone through one too many edits to a resolution neither at the core nor the cream, but simply crumbs off a decent idea.

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It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004)

9/10

Amazing Soundtrack to a Dram-edy ... More Moving Than Funny

18 March 2005

This film screened at the Cleveland Film Festival on Friday, March 18. It was paired up with a very funny short called "Winner Takes All". Everyone busted a serious gut about this short. I can't say anything about it else it'll spoil it for you, but look it up.

It's All Gone Pete Tong is a story about Frankie Wilde, a DJ who hit the decks of Ibiza. For anyone who's a club/trance fan, you'll recognize a lot of familiar faces in the film: Pete Tong (of course), Carl Cox (one of my favorites), Sarah Main, Paul Van Dyk (my #1), Tiesto (he looks a lot different on screen) talking about the life of Frankie Wilde.

One of the people next to me commented that this started out like Requiem for a Dream. While its not that severe, this does have heavy drug and alcohol use. This was too much for some people in the audience and they left.

But the storyline is amazing. Give this film the time and you'll see how the director and the actors create a very simple but uplifting story about redemption and change and romance.

The soundtrack, covering everything from dance to the Beach Boys (with an appropriate track at the end) is simply to die for. The film rep said this may not have a soundtrack in the US. I hope not.

If drugs and alcohol use are not for you, I'd skip this film. But if your looking for dry British humor with a ready heartily story along with terrific music, see this film and enjoy, just have some patience, its worth it.

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