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bobparker
Reviews
Envy (2004)
Fun cast + silly premise + 1/2 a script = light light entertainment
Jack Black is a lot of fun, his energy is always infectious. Ben Stiller as the whiner is consistent. Christopher Walken with his dry humor and off-beat style always cracks me up. So this should be an easy movie to make. The problem was the premise was only a 30 minute idea that had to be stretched to 99 minutes (and you feel all of them - always bad for a comedy). The idea of exploring envy sounds like a good idea, but this was not the best vehicle for it. There just was not enough good stuff. I went through all the extras on the DVD and was still left hungry for a payoff. It was meant to be light, and almost got to it. Best for a late Saturday night with some alcohol involved to properly numb the senses.
The Life of David Gale (2003)
A great way to explore a tough subject - with a plot
The movie obviously explores the death penalty in the state that kills the most people - Texas. It really does communicate the feel of the Huntsville area from my 3 years in the Houston area experience.
But the movie is more than a political club you over your head statement. It explores how fragile life can be as we try to build meaning, love, family into one great life. These core values of life can be so easily broken with just a few twists of fate. Spaecey is great as usual playing his low key persona where you always feel such sincerity and truth without really knowing what is going on inside him. It is an interesting dichotomy that is mesmerizing to watch, explore and think about long after the performance.
And the plot has as many twists and turns as the country roads they always seem to be driving on.
The Return (2002)
Short story leaving you warm inside.
This short 14 minute movie is a different theme than the other 'The Returns' I saw listed here. This movie like many shorts can be more thought provoking than the 3 hour epics it fights against economically.
There is not much to say without spoiling, so my comments will be brief. The story is about a stranger who shows up at the house in fall, he is drawn to the house mysteriously. Quickly we learn he is not a stranger to the house. The story unfolds from there.
The soundtrack is effective in communicating the themes without overpowering the story.
The photography sets the mood and comfort of the film.
For a filler between movies a great way to fill some time. But be careful, the ideas may come back to later.
The Incredibles (2004)
Fun for children and adults
Well done animation that seems fun. The animation offers a great way to perform 'special effects' magically. The challenge is the 'car chase' scenes seem to drag on, since they are so much easier to do with animation. It seems like there is a lot of 'we can do it so let us do it'
This cartoon seems to drag, but has a great theme and fun focus on family superheros. There is a great amount of adult fun, to go with the child level of entertainment. This seems to have the standard trend of getting more morals and value oriented with each film coming out of Hollywood.
The voices and players of this animation are wonderful and definitely bring the story to life.
A fun way to enjoy some popcorn, and remember even superhero's grow away from their passions and dreams if we don't stay on track.
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Seems like a good short story gone wrong on the way to production.
I enjoy any movie that is set in Chicagoland-being from here. And Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen are always fun to watch in comedic roles. But this movie felt like a short story with more morals that had to be thinly stretched to a full length movie. I would skip this altogether.
The Chicago scenes are only missing the palm trees of LA to be a complete farce of the location. The humor sometimes hits like a 'Home Alone', but more often is so forced as to almost be funny as to how bad it is. There is a nice underlying theme in the movie, but it is downplayed for jokes and guffaw's.
A great example of Hollywood looking for commercial success over a good film.
Kinsey (2004)
Thank goodness we live in today. Thank goodness for Al Kinsey
As you would expect from a cast of this caliber, and a topic with as much potential as human sexuality-this is a great movie. I left wanting to read more biographical information on Alfred Kinsey and learn how much artistic license the film took. That does not happen very often for me, where I usually walk out of a film having had more than enough of a topic.
It seems hard to imagine how restricted we humans were just a few decades ago in our sense of sexuality. Looking at where we are now against the norms portrayed in this movie helps to explain a lot of why people have such diverging reactions to sexuality in the present. But the film is also very much about a man and the people around him, and societies reluctance to truly explore different points of understanding from what we feel is true.
Kinsey the movie starts with an exploration of Kinsey's (Liam Nelson) obsessive scientific exploration of the gull wasps. It explores how his family life relates to his world. There is exploration into how a 'great' person is human with the challenges of humanity. This is where the film really gets thoughtful. Where is the edge of the science of humanity and where is the edge of the humanity of science. When we are exploring something about us humans, the lines get fuzzy.
As a period piece it plays well, probably because so many of the issues are timeless. Themes range from love, passion, challenge of the establishment, understanding, family, church, knowledge, and the fallibility of hero's.
The photography works well and does not stand out as distracting from the passion of the life and story of Kinsey. It has some definite challenges in trying to show sexuality without stepping into the 'x rated' trap, and still telling the power of the story. It does it well of communicating the power of the photography Kinsey and his researcher used at the time.
By the way the Terry Gross from National Public Radio (www.NPR.org) interview with the director Bill Condon ( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4192388 )is great and very helpful in getting a sense of what he took artistic license with and how historically accurate the film is. My conclusion is it portrays the reality pretty well.
So where do you rate on a scale from 1-6?
Vera Drake (2004)
Fulfilling and depressing portrayal of a polarizing topic done well
This fine arts type film worthy of watching and discussing. This is a very good movie set in 1951 England about a woman who helps ladies 'in trouble' induce miscarriages. OK, it is a heavy topic set in a heavy environment (post war in England did not look like a good time-I was not there, and glad of it). But, like most of life-you make the best of it, as the characters in this movie do. They grow on you as real people, not as exceptional people. Doing what seems right day after day, because ... well what else would you do - the right thing.
That is the charm of the movie, these people are extraordinary, because they just do what is right. And like so many times what happens, the more you do what is right, the more you get handed. You start helping and the path keeps leading towards helping more. There are a lot of themes running throughout the film to not let you get stuck on one emotional cord and they are well explored - love, family, greed, responsibility, aging.
The photography is great. It portrays color in the subtle ways felt in a smog filled city recovering from war. The beauty that is always around in the simple life is shown through great framing and appropriate contrast - the almost black and white cold settings to communicate the cold environment, the sepia toned warmth of a small apartment, the under lit darkness of a depressed home. These feelings and key parts of the story are well conveyed more through the photography then the words and action of the film.
The music I felt was over the top. It tried to hard to communicate the story to distraction. It matches well, and would be wonderful as a standalone piece trying to tell the story. But as a soundtrack, it seems to almost apologize for the sparse dialog. The problem is, there is not a need for more dialog. The film and characters work well with sparse dialog.
This is not a happy movie, but it has happy moments. It communicates a very important time and issue. I recommend it for stirring your soul. A few weeks later it still resonates within me. Thinking about it, I might want to see it again in a few months - after I see the rest of the stack of films I have.
Vampire's Kiss (1988)
Over the top, but fun to revisit the 80's
Maybe it is the passage of time, maybe it is the growth of Nicholis Gage as an actor, maybe Nick just can not do a believable English accent, but I found this movie more distracting then entertaining. Throughout the predictable plot (the biggest surprise was it turned out just like it seemed it would), I kept waiting for a turn. But no it just danced down the road of insanity. But Gage with an accent is really distracting and annoying. It makes it very easy to study what his potential was, and having seen his later work (yes, I watch blockbusters and enjoy them) - glad to see how the process develops.
The photography is incredible - so much so it almost seems like was from another movie and dropped in. There are great sunrises and sunsets. They stand out because they are so well done for a movie that seems so plain.
Seeing the big hair and clothing styles of the 80's is fun, especially on Jennifer Beals. But certainly not enough to save this movie.
Certainly as a psychological study it has some interest, but this is where the over the top part most stands out. The passive secretaries including Alva don't seem realistic for late 80's, when there were so many options for the hard working.
Best viewed late on a drunken night, or on a hangover Saturday when nothing else is available.
All the Real Girls (2003)
Fall around the junkyard never looked so good.
It seems like a coming of age film, but everyone has moved through so much of innocence that all that is left are real feelings. And finding out that feelings can be pleasure and pain.
The photography is beautiful, including the grittiness of the rust belt. There are beautiful scenes of the factories. These are put in contrast to the beauty of the lakes, hills, rivers.
At 1st you feel like screaming to everyone - GET OUT, get out now before you see your life slip away. But as we take the time to learn the characters, two other thoughts come to mind. First, you are too stupid to be in the 'real' world. And then as we continue to explore these characters, we learn that there is a charm and beauty of the area that might make putting up with small town limitations a reasonable trade (for some).
Normal (2003)
Will not look at Normal, IL the same again
It was hard to believe that Roy would not move the few hours to a big city of Chicago at the beginning of this film. But as we continue to explore Roy's desire to follow his dream of being a transsexual after 25 years of marriage, we realize that sense of community outweighing the need to have a 'comfortable' life among more understanding people. My family came from a rural area (having homesteaded a few generation back), so I have been exposed to the mindset. But, my parents left for the economic potential (like most in rural America) of the city, thank goodness. Roy has invested a lifetime - having worked for 'the big tractor company' in middle Illinois. As the story develops, you start to appreciate Roy and Irma's commitment to the community, family and church. The viewpoints and reactions seem abbreviated typical of a movie, but the issue seems covered.
The sound track blended well, even though it rings more of Yo-Yo Ma's Appalachian Suite. But like most cello centered pieces, it does move in most of the right places. The photography shows the beauty of Illinois' flatland (yes it sounds like an oxymoron, but there are many beautiful scenes - in the movie and in reality).
There really is a Normal Il, but it is a college town, and has a car factory. But head 15 minutes in any direction, and you end up in Roy's world - especially if you head toward Peoria. Yes the cliché - it won't play in Peoria.
Polish Wedding (1998)
Seems so strangely familar to the midwest reality.
A slower moving movie portrait of midwest feel of a type of life that sounds very familiar from the people I know. It may not have been entirely accurate, but it seems to make its points well. If feels like the prequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, in that life in strong families is a challenge but has immeasurable value in support at all costs. The church seems to affect in many midwesterner's life in deeply profound ways that builds interesting communities.
44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out (2003)
Another TV Movie.
The 1st review covered the issues of this docudrama well, as I am someone not familar with the actual events. The best part of the 2 hours (seems like a lot of comercials, but I was not watching without a VCR for a change) was the actual video clips at the end of the actual event. Those real clips make the police look a lot less 'stupid' then the movie, where everyone seems to be sitting in the line of obvious fire.
The question that kept running through my head was - how long does it take to realize you need to shoot for the head or parts of the body not covered with armour - feet, hands, arms, legs. Again the effect was the movie seemed to be very 'hollywoodized'.
But like an accident on the side of the road, you still get easily 'sucked' in and feel like watching the movie to see how the crooks get killed.
Bad Company (2002)
As serious as Chris Rock gets - not very, but still fun.
Good cast, weak plot that is overdone many times before. If you enjoy the laughs in a James Bond movie, this has more of the laughs. If you are looking for serious Spy stuff showing the realities of post 9/11 look elsewhere. This would have been a much better movie 10 years ago.
Undercover Brother (2002)
Not bad for channel flipping on a late Saturday night.
Predictable plot centered around the need to get the setup for old jokes. The funniest parts where the writers trying to 'force' the setup for each joke. A great lighthearted followup to a 'Bad Company' double feature when your mind is tired.
Serendipity (2001)
"Did he Have Passion" as a 30Something?
An enjoyable movie about Fate with a great cast (the supporting cast was almost better than John and Kate). The memorable line in the movie was a best friend telling the story of how Greeks ask of the dead - 'Did he have passion' to measure one's life.
The premise is familiar, the conclusion is familiar, the plot is familiar, but it still seems a good movie to remember, this life of our's is not the dress rehearsal, it is the real thing.