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Reviews
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Nicely crafted, but ultimately superficial and disappointing
The problem with this movie is its gimmick. It relies on the concept of Benjamin Button's reversed aging to stand out, but yet, throughout the nearly three-hour runtime, this very concept is never explored in any depth. When Benjamin is asked what it's like to grow younger, he gives a bland response about only being inside himself looking out. Likewise, all the people Benjamin encounters seem to immediately adapt a natural acceptance of his condition, calling him "unusual" and leaving it at that, which does little to add to the immersion of the movie. "Oh, so you can fly, breathe underwater and lift locomotives, oh my.. what an unusual boy you are".
In fact, so little effect does this reversed-aging process have, which has undoubtedly become the main attention-gatherer for this film; that you could essentially do away with the entire idea, and it would come out just about the same: a story about a man who is shunned as newborn, grow up under somewhat poor conditions, go out on a see-the-world adventure and returns home and eventually develops dementia and dies.
It's not exactly a poor story, but neither is it very remarkable. An "ordinary extraordinary" life-story, if you will. Forrest Gump did this in a better way already as several reviewers have pointed out. The one thing to make this movie different was the reversed aging, but as said, that issue never really gets any screen time. No one questions its causes, no one contemplates its implications, and even Benjamin himself doesn't really have anything to say about it.
So in the end, the one thing that could have made this movie interesting ends up as a sideshow. It's like going to see a movie about aliens and outer space, and realize it's actually a standard love story that's been done 100 times before, only in an outer space setting that's never really touched upon, with an alien cameo somewhere in the middle.
I guess this was always the intention of the people behind the film, but it just doesn't appeal to me. Have the courage to focus on the parts of your idea that are unique, instead of desperately clinging to the warm, common ground of relationships and love so that everyone can relate to it.
Rambo (2008)
Madly overrated
After watching this movie, the first word that comes to mind is "pointless". After a brief exposition, the main 80% of Rambo IV has no plot, hardly any dialogue, no suspense, and.. well, very little of everything else, really.
The only thing this movie has going for it is the "action", if by action you mean extreme acts of hate-inducing cruelty by the main antagonists (who are for the most part completely faceless), and Rambo and his allies disposing of said antagonists in very messy and graphical ways.
And that's it, Rambo IV has no more content to offer. Actually, if this movie had been made with identical story but with another name and without Stallone in it, it would have ended up a typical directionless B-action flick that no one would have thought twice about. The only things keeping it from that are the Rambo and Stallone brand names and packaging.
That's not to say action is bad by default. Movies like for example T2 and Aliens shine by delivering action while still building up suspense and plot - and through having antagonists that are often as interesting as the good guys. Even the start of this franchise, Rambo I, had a lot more to offer: Rambo actually has some sort of character there, beyond the Stallone tough guy gimmick.
In short, there are plenty of crappy action movies out there featuring a brooding hero killing hordes of one-dimensional enemies - this is just one more.
Straight Plan for the Gay Man (2004)
Much needed
Gay and straight aside, sometimes it's good to be reminded that buying a lot of expensive clothes and a mother of pearl spoon to serve your caviar, not leaving the house without a *product* in your hair, and removing all the cool stuff from your living space to make it look hotel-fashion sterile; doesn't make you a better person.
Straight Plan for the Gay Man spoofs an extremely superficial show, mainly through putting the straight macho man stereotype in the spotlight. It has comedic value, but the big takeaway is not the fun poked at males, be they gay squealers or straight slobs; but rather the down-to-earth idea that sometimes jeans and t-shirt is just better than a suit, and a burger and coke just better than oysters and white wine - and that if someone will think less of you because you don't wax your back, maybe they're just not worth impressing.
Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
Utter crap
If you consider yourself a thinking individual, all you're likely to get out of this movie is a headache. The entire film is basically just a setting for Chris Farley to show off and "be funny" - supposedly because he's Caucasian, overweight and incapable, and thus not very suitable as a ninja. While this idea might be fit for a single gag in a 90-minute comedy feature, it gets to serve as this movie's backbone and entire foundation. Needless to say, it grows boring in about 20 seconds, after which the rest of the film is rather akin to torture.
Perhaps not surprisingly, another would-be funny person in the shape of Chris Rock also shows up. Normally this would only add more fuel to the fire and make a bad film even worse, but in this case, it's not really possible to sink much lower, Rock or no Rock.
In short, avoid this movie at all costs. Kill relatives, burn down houses and start wars if it enables you to escape watching it. Give me an old school cliché-packed ninja movie that takes itself seriously any day.
Heat (1995)
A definite keeper, except for one thing. (*Warning: contains spoilers*)
Warning #2: This review contains a certain amount of spoilers. You may not want to read it if you have not already seen the movie.
In my opinion, this movie handles a good deal of the things I'm hoping to see when I lean back into the chair - it has action, but is not driven by it, and I would not call it an action movie. It illustrates in a good way the interpersonal relationships of people torn by their calls in life, and how two men on different sides of the law can come to respect each other. I didn't expect this to come out good, but the meeting, and the respect growing between Vincent (Pacino) and Neil (De Niro) is skillfully done.
A very big part of this credit is due to the people behind it allowing the story to take its time to unfold, resulting in a movie 170 minutes long - this is a good thing. It gives you time to get to know the characters, and the plot and story rarely seem hastened, as is the case with a lot of movies nowadays.
The length also, of course, allows for the buildup in suspense, another one of the Heat's strong sides - from Vincent and Neil not knowing about each other, via being brought to each other's attention and meeting over a coffee, to the inevitable showdown in the end.
And this brings me to the big downside of Heat - the ending. Suddenly a lid is put on all the suspense, and you realize that like with 99 out of 100 Hollywood movies, it has to end with the good guys winning the day and the bad guys getting what's coming to them.
In one way, this could be argued for: Neil ends up breaking his own rule about not letting anything or anyone get in the way of his escape when he can, as he puts it, "spot the heat around the corner." But mayhap his newfound love and his final decision to go for revenge rather than safety brings about his end.
His partner Chris (Val Kilmer) on the other hand, makes the decision to leave his wife and child behind and flee (or at least lay low), when he finds out it isn't safe to meet up with them - and as far as we know, he gets away.
Still though, this does little to diminish the over-all predictable element of the movie. It may not be a particularly happy ending for anyone, as all who survive have had to give something up to achieve their goals, but as so often, the hunter gets his prey, and case closed. In my opinion, this is what limits Heat and keeps it on the "definitely a good one"-level, while falling short of - to borrow a line from "Swordfish" - pushing the envelope.