Tag Archives: movies

Twilight

Posted by melydia on August 17, 2009 6 comments

Twilight: Whenever I read a book that has been made into a movie, regardless of how I felt about it, I immediately add the DVD to my Netflix queue. I like seeing other people’s takes on familiar characters, like seeing the same play with different casts. It’s a thing. However, it is rare that I see a movie so soon after finishing the book: in this case, about 24 hours.

This is not a good movie. It’s a decent adaptation, but definitely not something to watch cold. My only major adaptation complaint was the development of Bella and Edward’s relationship, which is more or less the core of the plot. In the book, it is very clear that they can’t stay away from each other. In the movie, Bella is minding her own business when Edward comes out of nowhere to say things like “I think it’d be better if we weren’t friends” or “You should stay away from me.” When suddenly she’s saying “don’t leave me” every third sentence, it feels kind of random.

My main complaint about the movie itself is the make-up. And as one who doesn’t even wear make-up herself, you know it’s got to be bad if I even notice it. In far too many scenes it is painfully obvious that the make-up artist forgot to apply anything to the ears and necks of the vampires. Even amateurs like me know it’s bad to have a distinct border along the jawline. Edward’s excessive amount of lipstick didn’t help matters either. (And I couldn’t help thinking of the Fug Girls’ comments on the poster, which were spot on.)

The acting wasn’t stellar either: Bella almost always looked pissed or bored, and Edward alternated between awkward and bland. (Having re-watched some of his Cedric Diggory scenes, I see the awkwardness is not new, though the blandness is. He could use lessons from Tatsuya Fujiwara on effective smoldering techniques.) But, to be fair, they didn’t exactly have the best source material to work from.

I did, however, appreciate the earlier introductions of Jacob Black and the evil vampires (sounds like a band name, now that I read it), and the inclusion of bits not in the book such as Bella’s comment to Edward that his mood swings are giving her whiplash, and Mike’s weird dance outside the diner. I spent a lot of time laughing at this film, at both the intentional and unintentional humor.

Since I plan on reading the rest of the books, I’ll most likely see the other movies as well. The trailers for the second one look promising; perhaps the change in directors will help. All in all, I agree with the critics: unless you’re a big fan of the Twilight universe, there is nothing worth watching here. But if you like Twilight, you’ll probably get a kick out of it.

(I don’t know why my Twilight reviews are so long. It kind of disturbs me.)

Good old whitewashed Hollywood

Posted by melydia on February 20, 2009 None comments

I’m currently reading The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. As with most books I read that have been translated to the big screen, I put the movie on my Netflix queue. However, having seen the trailer, I’m a little worried that the film will be unintentionally amusing. After all, the main characters, all of whom are Chinese, are played by a Ukrainian, a German, an Austrian, and a couple of guys from Ohio. Yes, yes, I know that the main characters were always played by white people no matter what, but looking at it from a modern standpoint is…well, just look at the makeup!

Anyway. I’m enjoying the book now that it’s starting to pick up (the first half dozen chapters or so were pretty slow); as the movie claims to “be” the book, perhaps it’ll be good enough that I’ll forget the painfully non-Asian actors in cast of all-Asian characters. We’ll see.

Lady Audley’s Secret

Posted by melydia on January 22, 2009 None comments

Lady Audley’s Secret: I often seek out film versions of books I’ve read, so when I discovered this TV movie was available on Netflix I immediately added it to our queue. First off, I’d like to say that this movie was gorgeous. The sets, props, and costumes were simply breathtaking. Unfortunately, it looks like the budget all went towards the visuals instead of hiring a good screenwriter and decent director. The acting is wooden, the dialogue silly, the blocking stilted. The changes from the book were unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the story whatsoever. In fact, I’m not entirely sure I would have been able to follow much of what was going on had I not read the book first. In short, don’t bother with this film. If you’d like a good costume drama, try Shakespeare in Love.

The Devil Wears Prada

Posted by melydia on October 7, 2007 None comments

The Devil Wears Prada: I read the book a little while ago but wasn’t all that impressed with it. The movie, however, was great. They changed a lot of the story, including the climax, but all for the better. Anne Hathaway was lovely and believable as girl-next-door-turned-couture-obsessed-model Andy Sachs, and of course Meryl Streep was deliciously cold as Miranda Priestly. This isn’t the sort of movie I’d want to watch over and over again, but it’s a funny flick for a Saturday night at home. Even my husband liked it, and he usually dismisses anything that smells even a vaguely like a chick flick. (Which this isn’t, even with a female main character and all its talk about fashion.) I know this is sacrilege in some circles, but I would definitely recommend the movie over the book.

The Tin Drum

Posted by melydia on July 5, 2007 None comments

The Tin Drum: Having recently read the book, I was curious to see the movie, especially since it was similarly heaped with critical acclaim. I was expecting it to be just as strange as the book, and was certainly not disappointed. However, it ended only about two thirds of the way through the story, and included a large number of scenes and characters without any explanation. In short, had I not read the book I would have been completely and utterly lost. I liked it, but I simply cannot recommend it to anyone else. Save yourself the headache of confusion (and perhaps shock) and skip this one.

Hackers

Posted by melydia on October 19, 2006 None comments

Hackers: It’s like 1995 sneezed and they made a movie out of it. The plot, such as it is, is about a band of teenage computer hackers who trip over catchy buzzwords and outdated (or neverdated) slang while fighting the big evil hacker as the fates of millions hang in the balance. Or something. It doesn’t really matter. There’s plenty wrong with this movie, not least of which being the bizarre graphical representation of hacking that comes closer to a rave party screensaver than anything remotely resembling an actual operating system, but there’s also so much right. Angelina Jolie as the butch-sexy chick hacker. Matthew Lillard as the hippy weirdo hacker. Penn Jillette as the geeky computer security officer. Marc Anthony as the wannabe hipster cop. Rollerblades and swap meets and 28.8 modems and grunge. It’s silly and often unintentionally humorous, but if you want the mid-90s to the nth degree, this is the movie for you.

Freaks

Posted by melydia on June 14, 2006 None comments

Freaks: This brief 1932 film is about the backstage lives of a group of sideshow performers. The story mostly revolves around the romance between the “normal” Cleopatra and Hans the little person, which reveals the somewhat scary prejudices and alliances among the various performers. It’s definitely a film you won’t soon forget. The acting, however, isn’t all that great and the dialogue is often downright horrible. I think what makes this movie so memorable (and so controversial) is that all the “freaks” are 100% bonafide sideshow performers. There are pinheads and human worms and bird girls and lots more besides. No make-up or special effects here. Perhaps more telling than the movie itself is the hour-long documentary included on the DVD, which talks about the performers’ real lives and careers both before and after this movie was made. Most of all, this DVD raises an uncomfortable question: how exploitative is it really when these people have consciously made the choice to make money by being stared at?

Grave of the Fireflies

Posted by melydia on May 30, 2006 None comments

Grave of the Fireflies: Most depressing movie ever. End of review.

White Oleander

Posted by melydia on May 11, 2006 None comments

White Oleander: I read the book and loved it. That was my first warning sign. The whole tone of the movie was different from the book, especially the end. Most of the people were miscast or had their personalities left on the cutting room floor. They tried to cram too much of the book into less than two hours and ended up just glossing over everything, including the most important part: the relationship between Astrid and her mother. I am not the slightest bit surprised that this film got such mediocre reviews. However, I do have one piece of high praise for this film: they got Paul exactly right.

Assorted Movie Reviews

Posted by melydia on May 10, 2006 None comments

I know I’ve been really slacking on my movie reviews lately. Here’s a bunch to make up for it.

Trekkies: This is a documentary about Star Trek fanatics, interspersed with commentary from several cast members. It’s very funny and occasionally disturbing without ever blatantly making fun of anybody. The interesting part is how many people I know who are just like these people – not Star Trek, but another television show, series of books, sports team, historical reenactment…there are fanatics everywhere. And while I would consider myself a fan of Star Trek, I realized that what most separates me from the Trekkies shown here is merchandise. I don’t have any desire for memorabilia or replicas or costumes or models. It’s the financial commitment that, to me, sets them apart more than anything else. And maybe the wearing of uniforms outside conventions. That’s a pretty big difference too.

Mission: Impossible III: There is a fine line between suspense and get-on-with-it, and there was nothing suspenseful about this movie. In between explosions and chase scenes, there are some kinda-terrorists and some kinda-righteous rogue government agents and a lot of random twists that never get resolved. Lame.

Poltergeist: I’m glad I didn’t see this as a kid, but it’s certainly not scary to an adult. I am afraid of what I can’t see; I am on the edge of my seat when I’m not sure when, how, or even if a character is going to die. Spielberg does not kill children in his movies, and the threat in Poltergeist is shown early on, almost humorously. Without suspense, there isn’t a whole lot to this movie. I’m glad I saw it and finally experienced this piece of pop culture, but I probably wouldn’t bother had it been made today.

Citizen Kane: “Classics are classics for a reason.” This is what I tend to believe about old movies, that if they weren’t any good they would have been forgotten by now. This is of course not true, especially with today’s rampant DVDing of every scrap of film that ever went to print, but I like to think the more famous movies still follow the rule. I say all this to explain my disappointment in Citizen Kane. It starts with a newsreel documentary of newspaper tycoon Kane’s life and death, then spends the rest of the movie rehashing it all in only slightly more detail. The whole Rosebud thing was kind of telling, but by the time it was revealed I was so tired of seeing everything twice that I didn’t care anymore. One thing I will say for this movie, though – it’s crossed my mind several times since I saw it. Kane was a man who wanted nothing more than for people to love him, and would pay any price for it – save giving his love to anyone else. It’s a subtle yet powerful character flaw, and Wells played it masterfully. Too bad the rest of the movie didn’t live up to its lead actor.

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