Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: I loved this film. It is probably the least true to the book of all the Harry Potter films to date, but I felt very little was tossed that really needed to be in there. I really didn’t miss the Dursleys or the house elves, and the way this movie was structured the bad guy doesn’t seem to come out of left field quite as much as he does in the book. And I liked the changes: I like Neville’s dancing and the study hall scene with Snape and the flashy entrances from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. My main complaint is that because they had to squeeze so much story into 150 minutes, many of the scenes, particularly in the beginning, are kind of choppy and feel very rushed. Many of the characters don’t get the screen time they deserve. However, the overall feel of the movie is excellent. There is quite a bit of silliness, which some have said is almost “too funny,” but I felt the humor provided a good balance with the much darker parts of the film, thus avoiding depressing the audience too much. I’m glad they kept the same set from Prisoner of Azkaban; the Hogwarts of the first two films always felt more like a Disney park than a real place. I’m also glad they finally made good use of the Weasley twins, who really are quite funny in the books but had been largely ignored in the films until now. Again, I loved this film. However, I would only recommend it to people who already like Harry Potter, as this is not a standalone movie at all. You really need the backstory of the prior three films to appreciate it.
Tag Archives: movies
Zathura
Zathura: I was one of the eight or so adults who actually liked Jumanji, so of course Zathura interested me. And it did indeed share a lot of the same qualities: children stumble upon old board game, start playing, and everything comes to life with lots of pleasantly predictable action. There were also parts that were a bit too much like Jumanji, including some notable “surprises.” Near the end was a nonsensical plot twist involving the astronaut. We were so baffled we went to the local Barne to look up the book it was based on, which turned out to be a picture book that had no astronaut in it at all. Now, I’m all for altering the book’s storyline – even drastically – to make a better movie, but if you’re going to introduce a whole new character they should at least fit in there logically. That was my only complaint, which is admittedly a rather major one; otherwise it was a perfectly enjoyable children’s adventure movie. There’s a shortage of these. Too many children’s movies trip over themselves with sly winks or sappy memorabilia for the adults watching. Believe it or not, it is possible to make a good movie without any parts that children won’t understand. Zathura, despite its logical flaws, shows this. Here’s hoping Hollywood keeps trying.
Dead Poets Society
I watched Dead Poets Society the other night for the first time. I know – I’m a little behind the times. And surprisingly I have very little to say about it except that if you haven’t seen it, do. It’s a powerful and uplifting film, and for once I’m not using those terms ironically. It really is worth watching.
I close my eyes
His image floats beside me
A sweaty-toothed madman
With a stare that pounds my brain
His hands reach out and choke me
Truth is like a blanket
That always leaves your feet cold
Stretch it
Pull it
It will never cover any of us
Kick at it
Beat at it
It will never be enough
From the moment we enter crying
To the moment we leave dying
It will cover just your head
As you wail
And cry
And scream
Doom
Doom: Light on plot but heavy on zombies leaping out from behind corners. In other words, pretty much what you’d expect. For those of you unfamiliar with the video game, a bunch of Marines get sent to Mars where genetic experiments have gone horribly wrong (shocking, I know – that never happens in movies). Much shooting ensues. Honestly, I was a little bored. There wasn’t quite enough suspense to be scary, and not nearly enough action to be exciting. On the bright side, there was a brief segment filmed in the first-person shooter style of the game that made me laugh pretty hard, so it wasn’t a complete wash. I didn’t really need to see this one in the theater, but it’s a worthy flick to watch in your livingroom over beer and pizza.
A History of Violence
A History of Violence: Viggo Mortensen (of Lord of the Rings fame) plays Tom Stall, a family man and owner of a small diner in rural Indiana. He is visited by mobsters from Philidelphia who claim he is actually Joey Cusack, a powerful and ruthless killer with whom they have a beef. The story itself is a fascinating study of identity and instinct, trust and truth. Viggo does a fantastic job with only the most subtle of voice inflections and facial expressions. It’s all very real. However, I think I might have preferred this story in novel form. The violence was extremely gory and the sex extremely graphic. I can appreciate the horror of a murder without a close-up shot of a man whose face just got blown off. Likewise, I can understand that Viggo has a happy marriage without watching him and his wife do a 69. I’m not usually that much of a prude; my main complaint is that they didn’t seem to do anything for the story. Anyway, overall I liked it – the acting and story were very good. There were a lot of uncomfortable silences, but that was quite appropriate, given the subject matter. If explicit sex and violence don’t bug you, go see it.
Note to anyone who’s seen the movie: when the first two dudes show up at the diner at the beginning, I swear they call Viggo “Billy.” This is not addressed anywhere else in the film. Did I mishear them?
Mr. Suave
Mr. Suave: This is a silly movie. From the inspiration (Gerardo’s song “Rico Suave”) to the premise (Rico Suave is sort of a Latino Austin Powers who can attract the ladies but then sends them screaming in terror as soon as things get intimate) to the ending (you’ll just have to watch the movie, but look out for midgets), this film is bursting with ludicrous amounts of sheer absurdity. There were times when I was laughing out loud. Definitely recommended if you can get your hands on a copy.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: What a strange movie. I can’t decide how to feel about it. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention for the last few decades: Willy Wonka is the reclusive owner of a famous candy company who invites five children from around the world to tour his factory. With the exception of sweet Charlie Bucket, the children are little monsters who ultimately get what’s coming to them (this is a Roald Dahl story, after all). Each time a child leaves the group, the Oompa Loompas do a little song and dance. These performances were clever and quite entertaining but I had trouble understanding a lot of the lyrics.
Wonka is portrayed as an insecure, socially inept child in a man’s body (as opposed to a grown man reliving his childhood). The awkward moments are abundant as Wonka interacts with the first people since closing his factory years before, which causes him to have flashbacks to his unhappy childhood. Frankly, I got a little tired of feeling embarrassed for him all the time. Pity isn’t funny to me.
The children were all wonderful with one bizarre exception: Augustus Gloop often looked computer-generated, most notably in his interview with the reporters. Perhaps he was just wearing too much makeup. The sets and costumes were amazing, but that’s to be expected. Overall, it was a pretty good movie, I guess. Just not one I really want to watch again.
War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds: If you’re familiar with the book, you know the storyline is ultimately pretty pointless, but the fun is in all the carnage along the way. I laughed inappropriately (but pretty hard nonetheless) at the beginning as the alien rays turned people into Kleenex, but there was plenty of serious tension later, even to the point of having to remind myself that Spielberg doesn’t kill children.
If you like your violence with a message, I would advise against this one. But if you can enjoy a bunch of stuff blowing up for the sake of stuff blowing up, go for it. I enjoyed it, even though every time I watch one of these disaster-type flicks I am reminded that if it happened in real life I would be one of the first to go. A building would fall on me during the first wave of tremors/attacks/storms, or maybe a car would land on my head. Either way, I’m a goner.
Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite: I finally understand the polarized response to this movie. Either you get it or you don’t. There are no jokes, and very little plot – the humor comes in the ridiculous behavior of the characters, in my case because they were all just so gosh darned familiar. From the clothes to the hobbies to the speech patterns, Napoleon and his cohorts are the embodiment of all the obliviously awkward traits of all the weirdos I’ve ever known. And yet I found myself rooting for them. Laughing at them, but rooting for them all the same.
A bit of trivia for y’all: when I was 16, I wore the exact same dress as Trisha wears to the dance, except mine was navy blue. About made me fall out of my chair. I’ve been told adamantly that this story is supposed to take place in modern day but with the exception of a 1999 Backstreet Boys song, this movie has early 90s written all over it.
Give this movie a shot. You’ll either love it or wonder what all the fuss is about. I personally thought it was awesome. Either way, this movie is the birthplace of several catchphrases which show up on t-shirts and elsewhere, so if nothing else you’ll be in on the joke.
Batman Begins
Batman Begins: Believe it or not, I wish I’d watched this one on a smaller screen. I understand the shaky-cam and quick cutaways were meant to portray the confusion and urgency of the scene, but I quickly tire of the subsequent vertigo. I’m sure it would have been fine on, say, a television screen. Either way, that’s my biggest complaint. No, really. Though this would not be a good first Batman movie for someone totally unfamiliar with the Caped Crusader, it remains an excellent film for anybody else. I liked how the line between hero and villain sort of blurred in tactics and motivations. I liked how the bad guys had more realistic weapons (hallucinogenic drugs, the effects of which were mind-blowing) and motives (complex fanaticism rather than merely being “insane” or “evil”) than a lot of other comic book adaptations. I liked the relationship between Bruce Wayne and the DA. I liked the updated equipment, the scientific explanations, and the real-world environment of the non-NYC Gotham City. I liked all the actors, especially the prettyboy Scarecrow and Gary Oldman’s spot-on Detective Gordon. The ending left me wondering if it was meant as a nod to Tim Burton or if they are planning on making a rather repetitive sequel, but I have my bets on the former. Too bad they couldn’t get Danny Elfman’s theme for this one – it would have been perfect. In short, I definitely recommend this film.