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The Princess Diaries (2001)
Uninspired, clumsy and boring
Usually I don't mind a good modern fairy tale, even if they are by their nature utterly predictable. As long as they have just a little charm, a small point to make - even if it is fortune cookie wisdom - and some likable characters, I'll happily let myself be entertained and block out the real world for a while. But Princess Diaries has none of those redeeming features. It's blunt and heavy handed, choosing slapstick over wit, archetypes over character development, and offering a stuttering, wobbling closure (is it about finding personal courage, which you can argue the film has been about from the first scene, or is it about thinking about others which is nothing the film has given any attention to but that is what the final speech is about?).
Up from one to two stars for the decent cast, who do what they can with what they're given.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Nothing happens!
I have no idea how this uninspired flick can get the rating it has here! A romantic comedy with an IMDb score of 6.8 is rare, so I thought I was in for a treat, but not so. Let's see what we don't get:
- Characterisation. The male lead is an absolute blank, we don't know any more about him when the film ends than we did the moment our heroine first lays eyes on him. The female lead is the thinnest of archetypes with a sprinkling of Greek ethnicity - unhappy with her place in life longing for change (her dream is apparently to substitute her waitress job in the family business for a job as telephone travel agent in another part of the family business), which some curlers and contacts are key ingredients in providing. The respective families are as stereotypical as you could want them.
- A love story. Why the happy couple are attracted to each other remains a mystery, but fair enough - love at first sight I presume. But what keeps them attracted, what do they get from each other, what do they share? Where is the passion? We don't get anything here!
- A plot! Nothing happens in this film - no serious obstacles, no interesting dilemmas, no twists or surprises.
What you do get is ham fisted humor, which is mostly embarrassing but made me chuckle a few times and decent acting (though it can be hard to judge as the range of emotions is really small) - worth one small star each, taking this bore from one to three small stars.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Reasonably entertaining conspiracy flick
I didn't know this was a remake, so I thought I was going to see one of IMDb's top 250 films. I was disappointed.
There's not enough suspenseful buildup - we get a flash back showing what's going on too early which gave me an instant drop out of the suspense of disbelief. Revealing what happened so early both detracts from the detective story ("what can be happening here?") and the thriller ("maybe he's really delusional?").
How the story is finally resolved is a complete mystery, and breaks the fundamental rules the plot is build on.
That said, there's nothing wrong with the performances, one plot twist was unexpected, and a few scenes are creepy in the right way.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
A true work of art - makes you both think and feel
I was blown away by this film. It's so powerful and full of raw emotions that I can't shake it even several days later. I like it better and better.
The story develops slowly and I started out thinking that the characters were pretty unsympathetic, but all of a sudden I was 110% emotionally invested in the story which then seemed so much more powerful exactly because no idealisation had been done.
The film is tricky to read in several places and the ambiguity and the unsaid speak louder than the dialog. The attention you can feel has been paid to minute details forces you to pay attention and think both while and after you've seen the it. There's a lot to admire and notice, even on subsequent viewings.
Outstanding camera work and scenery, jaw dropping performances and a truly complex yet gripping story line.
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Interesting characters, surprising plot, suspense - great scifi
I haven't seen the original series, but all the bitching by old fans surprised me a lot as this is obviously a piece of quality science fiction.
The characters are interesting and layered and I'm looking forward to hearing more about them in the series. The conflicts between them never seem exaggerated or one dimensional. Acting is far better than what we usually get in TV films.
Despite stealing unashamedly from classic settings and conflicts (making it even more endearing), the plot twists nicely, and keeps you guessing right until the end. The effects are fine without being spectacular - but that's not the film's focus (fortunately).
Battlestar Galactica is the most satisfying scifi I've seen since Firefly - I hope it keeps going strong for a long time.
Serenity (2005)
What a roller coaster ride!
This movie is intense. The action, the emotions, the plot development, the effects, the acting - this movie is full to the brim and is guaranteed to sweep you off your feet. You'll laugh out loud, you'll cry, you'll hold your breath, you'll sit quietly in astonishment. The audience in the cinema where I watched Serenity (totally packed) were by turns completely still and in uproar. What a great experience!
Contrary to most science fiction drivel, it actually has real people you quickly relate to going through actual character development, a story worth telling and the use of special effects and action in the service of the plot - not vice versa. Don't miss this - guaranteed a place among science fiction classics!
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Sleek, but predictable romantic action comedy
This is a concept designed to get couples to agree on which movie to watch: action and Angelina Jolie for the guy, romantic comedy and Brad Pitt for the girl.
The action sequences are good - well executed, funny and often beautiful. The chemistry between the leads is great.
However, the movie's also entirely forgettable as the story is too predictable for words, there's next to no characterization and the thinnest of plots.
All in all, while it's not something you need to see in the theater, it still provides some laughs and entertaining action scenes. Recommended for a hang-over video session.
Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Beautiful, hilarious and moving - how much more can you want?
This is one of my all time favorites. The comedy, drama and romance elements are expertly balanced to create a unique blend, and the visually lush sets and costumes make the movie an unforgettable experience.
The basic plot is the old story of love spiced with some growing up independence issues, but the character development, fantastic dance scenes, quirky humour, gaudy outfits and screwball characters give this movie its very own timeless atmosphere.
Don't miss this gem from the creator of Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge - you'll easily recognise his lush style, but this movie is very much its own.
Blue Juice (1995)
Yawn
Be warned: Neither Zeta-Jones nor McGregor plays the main part as the poster would have you believe. Their roles are in fact minor.
The film stumbles badly between exaggerated comedy and realistic drama, with neither being really engaging. Especially I find it impossible to muster much sympathy for the main protagonist, not to mention his screwball friends and sex obsessed fiancé. The plot drags terribly, and I turned this one off after about 2/3 - unusual for me, as I like to finish what I start. The good acting and beautiful setting takes it from 1 to 2 stars.
2/10
Firefly (2002)
Drama, action and wit - a show can't get better than this
10/10 stars
I had my doubts about the wisdom of blending western (a genre I don't particularly fancy) with sci-fi, but as this show had Joss Whedon (of Toy Story, Angel and Buffy fame) at the helm I had to check it out when it became available on dvd - and I'm almost sorry I did. You get drawn into this series incredibly fast, it's over far too soon and you're left with an insatiable hunger for more. And not just me - this is one show (the only, I think) my husband and I are equally fascinated by. There are too many aspects I love about this show to list them all, but let me highlight a few:
The Setting
Firefly is a small space ship, smuggling and doing odd jobs under the radar of the Alliance, the rulers of this future world. That's how the Firefly crew get to meet high and low in the different worlds. But most of the time, the ship is just traveling in the empty space between worlds, just a tiny fleck in the void. This solitude yet beauty of space is conveyed better here than in any other sci-fi series where the usual impression is that you can't turn your ship in a new direction without bumping into other space crafts or inhabited planets. It also puts the focus solidly on the interaction between the characters, which brings me to the next point.
The Characterisation
The people aboard Firefly are real people, with their strong and weak points, hopes and fears, world view and difficult decisions. The way they're disclosed to the viewer through their reactions to the different worlds Firefly visits, the problems they face and even more to each other is the show's strongest attraction, punctuated by the sparkling dialogue. This is really what makes you weep for Fox's foolish decision to kill this beauty before it was fully matured. I miss the people!
The Look
Firefly's world spans from the high tech you expect from a science fiction to the grit you know from a western and both are equally engaging and real to the watcher. The judicious use of hand held camera draws you into the world, but doesn't distract. Colours are used to great effect to signal the different worlds the crew move in - the yellow of the high noon prairie, the blue of high tech facilities and the deep empty blackness of space.
Firefly is an awesome show. I can't wait to see the movie, and my dearest hope is that the movie will spawn a series. Firefly is a thoroughly adult show with all the best things from Whedon's other shows - Buffy and Angel: The witty yet poignant dialogue, the way the characters' inner life is brought out in the main plot, the unexpected twists and turns of a great story arc. Get it at your own risk - you'll be sorry when it's over!
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Visually stunning, but ultimately disappointing esp. if you have read the book
Geek alert - this is written by a fan of the original books. If you never read them, my guess is that you won't find this review very illuminating - I just had to get it off my chest :-)
After being completely swept away by the amazing Fellowship of the Ring, this was a disappointment. I completely agree that there must be changes when a book is made into a movie. In the Fellowship of the Ring, most of Jackson's changes to Tolkien's tale were judicious - to diminish the amazing number of subsidiary characters somewhat (substitute Arwen for Glorfindel), even to cut out long sequences made sense to keep the length of the movie reasonable (no Old Forest) since there really wasn't one minute I would want to cut from what was actually in the movie.
Not so with the Two Towers. Many of the most exciting scenes from the book are gone or altered beyond recognition and in their place are long and (I hate to say it) boring sequences which don't further the plot or anything else.
{spoilers, film and book}
* The book's fight over Merry and Pippin between Sauron's and Saruman's orcs, essential to why the book and the movie is called the Two Towers, is completely gone.
* The unexpected beauty and courage Frodo and Sam according to the book found in Ithilien on the threshold of Mordor are in the film changed to depict violence and power abuse. Faramir's role in the movie is instead a quick and superfluous recap of Boromir: He wants to use the Ring, but in the end he comes round.
* In the film Frodo here comes face to face with a Nazgul - but if Sauron thus knew the Ring was just outside Mordor, he probably wouldn't march on Minas Tirith, as he (I presume) will do in Return of the King.
* The added scenes include Aragorn being left for dead and dreaming of Arwen, who is being bullied by Elrond into leaving Middle Earth. This seems completely pointless, and I find the added scenes with Arwen annoying to a degree that makes me root for Eowyn as Queen of Gondor.
* Another added scene is Haldir arriving at Helm's Deep with an elf army out of Lorien - this may seem to be a detail, but it changes the story on a fundamental level, so instead of being about Man rising to the challenge it becomes Elf going out with a bang. Also, it contradicts the opening sequence where the voice-over (quite rightly according to the book) states that the defeat of Sauron by Elendil and Gil-galad was "the *last* alliance of Man and Elf".
* Another change for the worse is to the Ents. First of all, Fangorn brings the hobbits to Gandalf to ask him what to do. Would the leader of the most ancient species do that? Second the Ents' decision of going to war. In the film, the Entmoot is a joke - it goes on forever because entish is a very slow language (as in the book) but they decide not to do anything (unlike in the book). However, when Fangorn sees the trees felled by orcs (how come he didn't know about that already - he is after all tree-herd of the Forest) he can suddenly give a lot of information in a single shout and in the blink of an eye all the composed Ents are suddenly marching to war.
* Then there is the film's crude exorcist scene with Theoden. That would have been a lot more effective if it had been more subtle. And I sorely missed the dialogue between Theoden, Gandalf and Wormtongue which is among the book's finest.
* Lastly, we see nothing of the book's growing, unlikely friendship between Legolas and Gimli. Instead Gimli is only in the movie as comic relief. A movie needs comedy, but maybe it could have been distributed a little more evenly so a whole character didn't have to be eliminated.
{end of spoilers}
Besides these alterations to the story, I just found the movie long and at times boring. Where its predecessor jumped from one amazing scene to the next and almost seemed too compact (I enjoyed the extended version even more), for all its battle scenes this movie is at times almost at a stand-still.
All that aside, Jackson continues the most vivid and captivating visualisation of Middle Earth ever. Gollum is really spot-on. The viking theme chosen for Rohan works out well. This movie gets 6 from me.