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James (James)
Production Assistant
Username: James
Post Number: 287
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 - 09:13 pm: | 
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Count me in also about Marie Antionette, although I just felt it was more of Lux (Kirsten Dunst's character in Virgin Suicides) going to Versailles. I felt this movie was more directed by Moon Zappa, that said it was great to look at but about most of the story was about as thin as Kate Moss after another coke binge. |
Guynoir (Guynoir)
Cinematographer
Username: Guynoir
Post Number: 1489
Registered: 02-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 12:57 am: |
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If you're interested in plot/story, it's not Ms. Coppola's strong suit. This never bothered many people before, since she wasn't dealing with historical events. Her films are all about mood/atmosphere/isolation--she's essentially made the same movie 3 times, but each one is better than the one before. I was very swept up by Marie Antoinette--strong performances (Dunst, Rip Torn, Judy Davis, Asia Argento, etc.), great art direction and costumes, and excellent pacing. Other than the too-obvious "I Want Candy," the music was used so judiciously that it seemed (oddly enough) a perfect fit for this project. I'll cop to being a New Wave fan, but in my book it's more daring of Coppola to use Gang of Four or New Order than traditional music of the period (or a new score along those lines)--and I don't think classical would have fit the tone of this picture, anyway. One of last year's underrated movies. |
Tim (Tim)
Cinematographer
Username: Tim
Post Number: 1095
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 11:01 am: |
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A huge fan of both Ghost World and Bad Santa, I found myself really disappointed with Art School Confidential. Ultimately it lacked the biting humor of Bad Santa, or the surprising poignancy of Ghost World.
Pointing out the clichés of art school is like shooting fish in a barrel, and really that’s all Zwigoff does with it. The fact a character is aware of such obvious stereotypes establishes that the writer is doing this intentionally.
So was Zwigoff engaging in the type of self-aware irony that Scream did with horror movies? He knows he is utilizing obvious clichés, and lets us know he knows by having a character point this out.
The biggest misstep in my opinion was not making a stronger statement about art and artistic style, while allowing the story to get sidetracked by an utterly pointless serial killer subplot. C Because of John Malkovich, maybe C+ |
Oh yeah? (Thezookieman)
Movie Star
Username: Thezookieman
Post Number: 4718
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 03:13 pm: |
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I just watched the trailer for Grindhouse, the double-feature of Death Proof (Quentin Tarantino) and Planet Terror (Robert Rodriguez). Wow. That should be an interesting filmic experience.
Standing in the shadow of the One True City...
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Nicola_D (Nicola_d)
Key Grip
Username: Nicola_d
Post Number: 675
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 12:01 pm: |
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The Lives of Others: A very good movie; well acted and takes an unexpected twist. A cautionary tale for the West, perhaps, as much as a fascinating history lesson in totalitarianism. Not the best of the foreign film nominees, but certainly worthy of a nod. About three to three and one-half stars.
Breach: Interesting, but it never quite lives up to it's promise, and it doesn't offer any real insight as to why he did what he did. Cooper is very good, as usual, although he's playing a few too many government agent types lately. About two and one-half to three stars. |
Chris Marti (Cmarti)
Movie Star
Username: Cmarti
Post Number: 5808
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 12:52 pm: |
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Rashomon
Wow. |
AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2035
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 03:01 pm: |
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My thoughts exactly Chris. Wow. How on earth is that rated as highly as it is?
...oh you mean you liked it?! |
Chris Marti (Cmarti)
Movie Star
Username: Cmarti
Post Number: 5810
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 07:00 pm: |
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Yes. Very much liked it. |
AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7011
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 07:36 pm: |
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Hot Fuzz... Took advantage of a weekend in London to see the sights... and by that I mean the followup by the makers of Shaun of the Dead...
The verdict: Hilarious. The UK's answer to Reno 911 except for 1) it's actually funny, and 2) the cop is not super-incompetent, but super-competent.
What's really clever about the script is not just its silliness, but how there are no throwaways. Every single detail in the film, no matter how insignificant it might appear, ends up getting used later. Of course, no story could possibly be that well mapped out, and that's part of the joke.
It's an all-star cast, too, which I didn't really expect.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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kiwiboy (Lighthouse_boy)
Movie Star
Username: Lighthouse_boy
Post Number: 3169
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 08:39 pm: |
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carlo, I am hoping to see it at the end of March in the UK (assuming it's not in the US at that time)
Next "Spring": New Zealand
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AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2038
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 08:12 am: |
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What did you think of Timothy Dalton? Thought he was excellent. I loved the songs playing on his radio in the car as he drove by the crime scenes. Little touches like that were genius. I should probably watch Shaun of the Dead now, but I fear I'll be disappointed. Probably the best comedy I've seen since either Bowfinger or Galaxy Quest. |
AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7015
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 07:05 pm: |
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The attention to detail in Hot Fuzz is amazing. They were determined to milk every pixel of the canvas for comedy, if I may mix metaphors appallingly. Shaun of the Dead was very good, but felt more like an inspired accident. Timothy Dalton was great, yes. It's interesting how some of the actors who have played Bond seem to come to life when they're NOT playing Bond.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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kiwiboy (Lighthouse_boy)
Movie Star
Username: Lighthouse_boy
Post Number: 3171
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 09:58 pm: |
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Starter for 10 - cute mindless and has a kick ass 1980's British soundtrack (The Cure to Motorhead)
Next "Spring": New Zealand
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Guynoir (Guynoir)
Cinematographer
Username: Guynoir
Post Number: 1493
Registered: 02-2002
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 10:47 pm: |
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"Ace of Spades," I hope.  |
kiwiboy (Lighthouse_boy)
Movie Star
Username: Lighthouse_boy
Post Number: 3172
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 12:10 am: |
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actually, it was 
Next "Spring": New Zealand
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Jeff Vorndam (Jeff)
Key Grip
Username: Jeff
Post Number: 1031
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 01, 2007 - 11:33 am: |
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Last ten new (to me) movies:
I Was a Male War Bride (1949) - Bureaucracy prevents Cary Grant from having sex with Ann Sheridan, even after a series of marriages, in this laid-back Howard Hawks comedy. It would work better if Sheridan were the type of woman that would make a man's (much less Grant's) pulse race. And some of the comedy bits toward the end are quite labored. C+
Zatoichi monogatari (1962) - The first installment in the long-running feature-film franchise (I think there's 26 films in all --is that more than James Bond?) doesn't really seem like the kind of movie to inspire so many futher adventures. Zatoichi himself is relatively colorless, and the film pales next to Kurosawa's Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Maybe it picks up later on. I know Kenji Misumi did better work with Lone Wolf and Cub. B-
The Long Voyage Home (1940) - Highly praised at the time of its release, but a bit underrated today, The Long Voyage Home is stunningly shot by Gregg Toland, deftly working in foreground/background details that make you realize how conventionally shot most other films of the time were. It's unfortunate that's there no real engine to the story. It kind of functions as a mood piece --the loneliness and camraderie of a group of merchant sailors-- but everything that's said in the movie is said through the expressive visual style. B
Inland Empire (2006) - I'm not going to even pretend I know what's going on here, and 10% of me still feels it's a load of hooey (Carlo, be advised), but I also can't deny this was the most memorable, disturbing, mind-altering cinematic experience of 2006's releases. Despite the low-grade video quality, it's a must-see on the big screen. The different shades of crud would get lost on DVD methinks, and some scenes are so powerful precisely because you're straining forward in your seat, trying to make out what's onscreen, when... wammo! A-
Father of the Bride (1950) - Thoroughly charming comedy directed with grace by Vincente Minnelli and starring the gruff but lovable Spencer Tracy. I was surprised how faithful the remake was to the original, but Minnelli's version has a lighter touch that serves it well. B
Annie Get Your Gun (1950) - Mostly painful to watch, and it seems aimed at not particularly bright third-graders. Times Square never had this much mugging, and the songs are either unmemorable or actively irritating. D
La Moustache (2005) - I feel like I've seen a variation of this story on The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and the first half of this film seems like an extended riff on an old theme. But as the film heads down the homestretch, still refusing to divulge exactly what's going on, it actually becomes more interesting. No explanations are proffered, no simple ironies. It's more like a man's state of being comes into question. It's very French. B
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) - Nothing to write home about, though Streep wisely underplays a showy role and Emily Blunt wins the Isla Fischer award for being better and funnier than her role required. Not my type of movie, but pretty good for what it was. B-
Jude (1996) - Michael Winterbottom's adaption of Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure never quite ignites --it should be devastating, but instead comes across only mildly deflating. It's not really Christopher Eccleston or Kate Winslet's fault, as both aquit themselves well, but their motivations and passions aren't supported well enough by the script and visual realization. C+
The Sacrifice (1986) - Another laff riot from Andrei Tarkovsky. This one takes place in the same remote island that was a favorite of Ingmar Bergman's, and the cast & crew have some Bergman regulars too, but the style is distinctly Tarkovskian --long takes from healthy distances, painterly compositions, etc. Though still rewarding, the film had a greater impact coming from a dying Russian master in 1986, back when 'nuclear holocaust' was still a phrase on everyone's mind. B+
You want to be fooled.
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3345
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 02, 2007 - 10:06 am: |
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Howdy, everyone. Computer woes kept me off-line for the last two weeks and change, so I've got some catching up to do. Ergo, here's a Jeff-style rundown of what I've seen lately...
-The Fugitive (1993): Rousing adaptation of the old TV series features Harrison Ford (in his last iconic, fully awake performance) as Dr. Richard Kimball, the famous Chicago surgeon accused of murdering his wife (sexy Sela Ward), and Tommy Lee Jones (in a blustery, Oscar-winning turn) as Samuel Gerard, United States Marshal assigned to track down Kimball even as Kimball is relentlessly searing for the one-armed man who really killed his wife. Terse, witty, beautifully paced by director Andrew Davis (in his career high), this is just a smashing piece of pop entertainment. A-
-U.S. Marshals: (1998) Solid "spin-off" of earlier film has Jones returning as Gerard, now on the trail of another wrongly-accused man (Wesley Snipes) who's an apparent government agent turned rogue, with the higher-ups assigning one of their own (a smarmy Robert Downey, Jr.) to tag along with Gerard and his gaggle of "kids". Like most sequels (uh, spin-offs), this one, while entertaining, often hews too closely to the first film, replicating all of the most popular setpieces (the spectacular train crash that frees Ford becomes a slightly less-spectacular plane crash, Ford's suicidal leap from the top of a dam becomes a slightly less-suicidal leap from the top of a building, ect.), and Snipes, while fine, can't match Ford's wily charisma. Jones is predictably enjoyable, and there are many exciting scenes adeptly helmed by ace film editor Stuart Baird (Superman, Casino Royale), but this is the inferior film. B
-Thank You For Smoking (2006): Glib, stylish, amusing satire features an engagingly smarmy turn by Aaron Eckhart as a tobacco lobbyist. Director Jason Reitman (son of Ivan) has some promise, but this film is ultimately a tad weightless. Still fun, though. B
-The Protector (2006): New martial arts flick with star Jony Jaa breaking many a limb after his village has it's sacred elephants(!) stolen. There's spectacular mayhem aplenty (and thankfully less "instant replay" of the more impressive stunts, which marred Jaa's previous vehicle Ong Bak) in this disposable yet energetic actioner. B
-The Philadelphia Story (1940): Sparkling romantic comedy featuring Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart (in his Oscar-winning role) at the top of their games in this funny, well-written charmer. A-
-Serpico (1973): Gritty crime drama from director Sidney Lumet features Al Pacino as Frank Serpico, New York cop who refuses to wallow in the moral muck with his fellow officers and refuses bribes, earning the enmity of his precinct. Great movie. A-
-Breach: (2007): Nicely acted espionage thriller, atmospherically shot by the great Tak Fujimoto, full of quietly tense sequences. Not a bad way to start off the new movie year. B+
-The Painted Veil (2006): Stuffy Masterpiece Theater period piece with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts as an unhappily-married couple who journey to Shanghai to help fight a cholera epidemic in the nearby villages. Reasonably well-acted, handsomely-produced, beautifully scored by Golden Globe winner Alexandre Desplat...and emotionally distant. Eh. B-
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Oh yeah? (Thezookieman)
Movie Star
Username: Thezookieman
Post Number: 4754
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 02, 2007 - 03:30 pm: |
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quote:Jeff: The first installment in the long-running feature-film franchise (I think there's 26 films in all --is that more than James Bond?)
Yep. The James Bond franchise has only 21 official films in its canon. Zaitochi has more entries and all of them have starred the same actor.
And speaking of James Bond, welcome back, monty! I was pleasantly surprised by how good US Marshals was ("never as good as the first time", as Sade Adu famously sang) but it cannot touch The Fugitive (which was one of the very few totally satisfying TV-to-movie adaptations in existence).
Standing in the shadow of the One True City...
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AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7025
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 02, 2007 - 05:44 pm: |
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quote:and emotionally distant. Eh.
That was sort of the point.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3347
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 02, 2007 - 10:12 pm: |
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Zook:
quote:And speaking of James Bond, welcome back, monty!
Thanks. Going without my daily AboutFilm fix for 2+ weeks was tortuous. I'm very glad to finally be back with all you fine people.
quote:I was pleasantly surprised by how good US Marshals was ("never as good as the first time", as Sade Adu famously sang) but it cannot touch The Fugitive (which was one of the very few totally satisfying TV-to-movie adaptations in existence).
Dont forget De Palma's big screen versions of The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible.
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Oh yeah? (Thezookieman)
Movie Star
Username: Thezookieman
Post Number: 4762
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 03, 2007 - 03:28 pm: |
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Like I said, one of the few!
Standing in the shadow of the One True City...
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Tim (Tim)
Cinematographer
Username: Tim
Post Number: 1112
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 11:58 am: |
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Odd weekend double feature….
I thought the awkward and confusing editing in Flags of Our Fathers was almost enough to sink the film, but there was enough good stuff in there to keep it interesting. Fine, you got it and I’m just dense, but I found the last third of the film distracting, specifically in the treatment of the American Indian character and his fate. At one point the Ryan Philippe character says something to the effect of; “we never saw him again”. But then he has continued presence in the film, and weirder, it’s suggested they do see him again. We also have the film book-ended by yet another time reference with one of the characters as an old man with his son – giving the film three different periods. Why am I hung up on this - Unreasonable? I’d give it a C+
Warning: stupid critique-y type cliché coming up. I expected Stranger than Fiction to be….you know, STRANGER than fiction. I was hoping for some mind-bending fun similar to Adaptation., but this was utterly conventional. If Charlie Kaufman hadn’t already established this type of story it may have been slightly original, but other than that this was completely by-the-book (ha-ha). C
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James (James)
Production Assistant
Username: James
Post Number: 290
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 01:22 pm: |
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For me one thing that weighed Flags of Our Fathers down and this is just me was Adam Beach's terrible performance. He was like this black hole every time he appeared on-screen. |
Cornuto Content (Coachk)
Production Assistant
Username: Coachk
Post Number: 409
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 03:36 pm: |
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I liked Beach's performance. Yeah, it was a bit over-the-top, but you felt the weight of guilt along with him.
That said, I had real problems with the end of the film as well. It's like the real film ended and the writer (who was the son of Phillippe's character, right?) narrated a really long epilogue that was in both his voice and his father's voice and involved numerous details that seemed unimportant. The framing device wasn't really employed as well as it could have been (say what you will about the cheating of Flags's cinematic older brother Saving Private Ryan, but at least it employed the framing a bit more effectively). |
AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7029
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 03:51 pm: |
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Airplane viewing:
Deja Vu... was the experience I had sitting through another big-studio thriller. C+
Happy Feet... soporifically boring. Penguin mating songs as modern R&B? Sorry, ya lost me. D+
Crank... Describes me viewing it, despite very occasional moments of fun. D+
Extras Season 2 (4 and a half episodes before entertainment was cut off)... Not quite as good as Season One, mostly because Ricky Gervais took himself off the movie sets, and the sitcom subplot becomes plot. He's gotten sidetracked. B
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2053
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 05:05 pm: |
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B is a bit harsh. Was still very good, though I agree wasn't as strong as season one. Highlights included him trying to direct Keith Chegwin (crap British TV presenter), Ian McKellen explaining acting and Bowie's song. |
Guynoir (Guynoir)
Cinematographer
Username: Guynoir
Post Number: 1496
Registered: 02-2002
| | Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 09:34 pm: |
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Welcome back, buzzkill...er, Carlo. I preferred season 2 of Extras--the Bowie and Daniel Radcliffe episodes were priceless. Season 1 had too many overexposed American stars (Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson). I'd never seen "Barry from East Enders" before but I'd much rather watch him.
But back to Happy Feet...a D+? A grade like that gives me the impression that you thought the animation was as shoddy as the film's central idea/execution. Plus, I didn't know Queen and k.d. lang qualified as R & B--the mix of music was one of the strenths of Miller's movie. I have a tough time believing you disliked it as much as Crank but, whatever. |
James (James)
Production Assistant
Username: James
Post Number: 291
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 11:28 pm: |
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Coachk
I am all for feeling the guilt and over-the-top antics but I felt he was just trying extremely too hard in convey that guilt. I just don't think Beach is a good actor after seeing a good amount of his work I remain unimpressed by him.  |
AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7031
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 - 01:55 am: |
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quote:A grade like that gives me the impression that you thought the animation was as shoddy as the film's central idea/execution.
If the animation mattered, then we all would have liked Final Fantasy, no? The story in Happy Feet could not have been more stupifyingly formulaic and the concept was irrelevant to penguins. The choice of penguins was solely due to the success of March of... The + on my D is in fact due to animation and positive kid messages, but those things do not a movie make.
Crank sucked. But at least it sucked gleefully. When the glee took over, it was occasionally fun. Thus the + on that D.
Yeah, okay, Extras Season Two is a B+. The Sam Jackson appearance in the first season was rather poorly used, but all the others were great. Season One, for the record, is an A.
quote:Highlights included him trying to direct Keith Chegwin (crap British TV presenter)
Indeed, a definite highlight.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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Son Of... (Docscribe)
Studio Mogul
Username: Docscribe
Post Number: 8148
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 - 06:37 pm: |
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Dreamgirls
Hah! Why didn't anyone tell me this was the straight black version of the Village People's Can't Stop the Music? Perversely watchable on that nincompoop level, but not very good.
And Hudson was surprisingly quite awful in it - with a performance ranging from irritatingly pouty and sassy to obnoxiously poutier and sassier, plus singing that rarely integrated with the whole. But she wasn't alone in that Me-Myself-and-I tack - everyone connected with this thing seemed to be elaborately doodling on their own page. Lot's of "Look at ME!" bits, but no cohesive whole.
"You can't stop the music...no one can stop the music...!"
"Never thought I'd get around to changing my siggy, did ya?"
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AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7032
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 - 08:32 pm: |
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Doc, you've nailed the problems with that movie. I would only add that it had a chance to be a gritty drama about how Motown (or the film's stand in) lost itself when it relocated to LA. Not only does the film content itself with a less challenging musical road, but the irony is that the film embodies the reasons why Motown lost itself: a celebration of me-myself-and I.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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Son Of... (Docscribe)
Studio Mogul
Username: Docscribe
Post Number: 8149
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 - 10:56 pm: |
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Yepper. And that meta irony was not lost.
However, it was just the way this thing seemed to sashay about so brassily - as if it was actually doing something other than just shuckin' and jivin' for an easy nostalgic buck.
In many respects Dreamgirls encapsulated everything that typically went so wrong with Broadway musicals from the 80s/90s era: pencil sketch characters, petty conflicts tepidly staged, plus a lot of "Well duhhh" themes used as mere excuse to create a spectacular high concept theatrical event. Basically, using the story as a costume rack - content-wise a 'no reality' zone. To a degree, musicals have always done this, but in the modern idiom, rarely less innocently and with more cynicism than this. Every element just seemed so cooly calculated, which was driven home by how little I felt about anyone or anything on screen.
All of that could be forgiven, I guess, if Dreamgirls hadn't been so clumsily, unconvincingly, and inconsistently translated to the screen. By design, it wasn't much to start with, and just wasn't very well done.
"Never thought I'd get around to changing my siggy, did ya?"
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3360
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 - 11:14 pm: |
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Zodiac: Engrossing dramatization of the reign of the Zodiac Killer, who's random, violent attacks on the citizenry of San Franciso left the city in a pall of fear during the late 60's and throughout the 70's, and the trio of men (Robert Downey, Jr. as a smug journalist who earns the killer's ire, Jake Gyllenhaal as a political cartoonist who becomes obsessed with his puzzling ciphers published in his paper and two others, Mark Ruffalo as an animal cracker-craving detective) who become embroiled in the investigation as it burns brightly to start (even inspiring the "Scorpio" killer in the original Dirty Harry, depicted within the film) and eventually peters out by the end of the decade. Director David Fincher here mostly eschews the lookit-me camera trickery of Fight Club and Panic Room (aside from an amusing sequence with Gyllenhaal seeing the Zodiac's ciphers everywhere he looks) in lieu of a more mannered, naturalistic style that recalls the films made during the movie's 70's setting (indeed, this may be the best aping of 70's filmmaking tricks since Spielberg's Munich). It's more All The President's Men than Se7en, with the early, shuddery flashes of the Zodiac's initial murders giving way to a labyrinthe police procedural as the film's three leads systematically pore over the handful of clues and suspects available to them. However, the fact that the Zodiac's true identity was never satifactorally determined leaves the film with a certain open-ended ambiguity, not helped by it's sprawling 2-hour and 40-minute running time. While the film's never boring, per se, it's surprisingly discrete and subtle, which will no doubt turn off those expecting more of Fincher's baroque sense of brooding menace. Still, there's much to savor here, from the gorgeous technical credits (Harris Savides' cinematography is an early '07 AFFA favorite) to the pleasant movie-geek surprises (I'm amazed that Fincher actually got 70's paranoia specialist David Shire to compose the film's sparse, gritty score) to the gaggle of fine supporting performances by an eclectic cast of familiar faces (yes, that's Roger Rabbit's Charles Fleischer). I'll need another viewing of this to let it sink in, but nevertheless, Zodiac is a very fine piece of filmmaking, well worth your time. B+
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Nicola_D (Nicola_d)
Key Grip
Username: Nicola_d
Post Number: 678
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 - 11:43 pm: |
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Zodiac: I admire David Fincher's style of filmmaking, which is reminiscent of the work of Alan J. Pakula. And, for the record, I was living in S.F. at the time the Zodiac went on his killing spree, so I have some familiarity with the events depicted herein. Consequently, I must admit that my expectations were quite high entering the theatre.
Unfortunately, Fincher's decision to adhere closely to the facts ultimately served to undermine his film. It's not quite a documentary, but not a fully realized drama, either. It felt a bit too much like a well made television "docudrama". The story simply does not provide enough of an arc to be as compelling as it should have been. Too bad. Three stars. |
Son Of... (Docscribe)
Studio Mogul
Username: Docscribe
Post Number: 8152
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 12:38 am: |
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Catching up here, I just noticed Carlo's bit-ter, bit-ter, bit-ter grade for Happy Feet. Although I can't imagine an airline viewing doing the film any kind of audio/visual justice, even Jeff found a hook into the spirit of the thing...the pop salience of penguins notwithstanding*. I mean, yeeesh man...if you thought something this fundamentally harmless and playful warranted a D+, then you're really going some distance to out-crank me!
Actually, I just saw Happy Feet again on the big screen, and after 5 viewings, it's still a blessed marvel...and pretty much for all the reasons you appeared not to like it. I just thought Miller and Co. gave this classic storyline kickin' new life via their funky mix of unexpected 'what drug you on?' creative elements. "Formulaic" would have been merely using such elements for broadly entertaining and easily forgettable schtick - the trick here was how neatly they integrated all that with penguins still behaving with penguin needs. It's all about POV, and I think there was a special brilliance in how seamlessly they forged that kind of 'other'-reality. I mean if you just saw the outcast turned hero through line, or the nice little eco-message, I think you missed the heart and soul of this work...one of the most exhuberant celebrations of life in all its myriad forms ever put on screen. It was - and still is - one of the sweetest creative treats of 2006, and IMO the reel-deal...a keeper.
* It's factually incorrect to say that March of the Penguins (or Madagascar for that matter) had anything to do with the choice of penguins as characters here. Miller and Co. had been working on this project long before either of those others, spending most of their early years just trying to figure out how to do something as extraordinarily complicated as this, and then perfect the technology necessary to realize it.
"Never thought I'd get around to changing my siggy, did ya?"
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Guynoir (Guynoir)
Cinematographer
Username: Guynoir
Post Number: 1498
Registered: 02-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 12:55 am: |
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Thanks for pointing that out, Doc. The whole "this movie is piggybacking or ripping off a movie released last year" complaint is a pet peeve of mine. These elaborate projects take years to conceptualize and execute and get into theatres--not months. Filmmakers (the good ones, anyway) are magicians, not gods. Of all people, I'm surprised Carlo wouldn't realize that. |
i am marshall. (Kermie)
Cinematographer
Username: Kermie
Post Number: 2132
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 06:35 am: |
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And my understanding is that animated features, whether CGI or not, take a lot longer than regular films, anyway, so this film most likely would have begun production before the release of "March of the Penguins," even if Doc didn't happen to know they'd been at work on it even longer than that.
http://wearemarshall-themovie.warnerbros.com/
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Son Of... (Docscribe)
Studio Mogul
Username: Docscribe
Post Number: 8153
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 09:26 am: |
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I heard that Happy Feet was in development all or most of this millennium...approximately seven years. Miller bagan working on the script after Babe: Pig in the City in 1998 - I mean, according to the IMDB this was his next film as both director and producer, so I buy that timeline.
Whatever other criticisms someone might have of this film, a shoddy, quick buck knock-off it most certainly was not. More like a $100 million dollar labour of love.
"Never thought I'd get around to changing my siggy, did ya?"
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3362
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 11:33 am: |
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Meanwhile, going back to when animated movies were hand-drawn...
-The Little Mermaid (1989): Irresitable adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a spunky, sexy teenage mermaid, Ariel (Jodi Benson), who commits the ultimate sin and falls in love with a handsome human, Prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes). Unable to make her disapproving father, King Triton (Kenneth Mars) understand her longing to be "where the people are", Ariel strikes a Faustian bargain with the corpulent sea witch Ursula (Pat Carroll, character design inspired by John Waters regular Divine!): In exchange for her beautiful voice, she'll be given a pair of human legs and three days in order to get Eric to fall in love with her. Of course, this being a Disney film, Ariel has a gaggle of supporting players to help her, like Flounder, the, uh, flounder (Jason Marin), Scuttle the seagull (a befuddled Buddy Hackett), and Sebastian the crab (Samuel E. Wright), all of whom provide the neccesary emotional support and comedy relief. The last Disney film with animation cels entirely painted by hand (except for one brief test sequence), The Little Mermaid is a definite bridge between the "classic" Disney films of the past and the more frenetic, pop-culture addled product of the 90's and beyond, and it's surprisingly poignant how the sight of lovingly hand-rendered animation has now attained the pang of nostalgia. Mermaid also features the first in a string of brilliant Alan Menken musical scores for the studio, earning a pair of Oscars for the underscore and the infectious showstopper "Under The Sea". But there isn't a bad number in the whole show. Mermaid, unlike much of the joyless, disposable, celeb-crammed CGI product of today (Shark Tale, Robots, ect.), truly can be called "timeless". Wonderful. A
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Jeff Vorndam (Jeff)
Cinematographer
Username: Jeff
Post Number: 1037
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 11:46 am: |
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I thought Zodiac was pretty great. This is a good review that gets its significance.
You want to be fooled.
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AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2056
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 12:21 pm: |
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re: Dreamgirls
quote:plus singing that rarely integrated with the whole
But I think that was the whole point of the Hudson character was it not? That point however is a brilliant criticism of her god-awful wailing on Oscar night. Just atrocious. |
Kathy (Kk1024)
Cinematographer
Username: Kk1024
Post Number: 1818
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 01:18 pm: |
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It was the point. Non-musical fans reviewing musicals!?! |
Cornuto Content (Coachk)
Production Assistant
Username: Coachk
Post Number: 413
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 01:31 pm: |
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The Little Mermaid has been my favorite Disney film for a long time (with the possible exception of the Toy Story films). It's hard to believe as I read Monty's description how many no-names were in the cast. Can you believe there was actually a time when animated films did not regularly feature big stars and characters written/drawn to be similar to their real-life personas? I blame it all on Robin Williams in Aladdin. |
i am marshall. (Kermie)
Cinematographer
Username: Kermie
Post Number: 2134
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 01:37 pm: |
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"The Lion King" (my all-time Disney fave) had quite a few big-name stars, but without being a distraction to the film.
http://wearemarshall-themovie.warnerbros.com/
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3365
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 11:24 pm: |
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Indeed, the proliferation of "name" celebrities in current animated films has often been to the detriment of the neccesary suspension of disbelief needed for entering the film's fantasy universe. Watching Shark Tale, I never could settle into the film's story (lame and old-hat as it was), because subconsciously I kept thinking, "Hey, there's a fish with Will Smith's jug-handle ears! Hey, there's a shark with Robert De Niro's mole! Hey, there's a fish with Martin Scorsese's eyebrows!", ect. It's not like it's impossible to have a well-known name providing a voice and still being able to accept the character (Pixar is king at this. Barely minutes into Toy Story I just accepted that Woody was Woody, despite Tom Hanks' familar vocal cadence emiting from him), but so many of these current CGI 'toon features are so determined to be "hip" and "current" that they'll date terribly. Even the Shrek movies (which really kicked the celeb voice casting into overdrive), which I loved, are full of jokes and references that will become completely meaningless to future generations. Could you imagine how distracting The Incredibles would have been if early choices like Harrison Ford or George Clooney had been cast as Mr. Incredible? With Craig T. Nelson in the role, you had a vaguely familiar voice that carried the neccesary gravitas and humor the role required without constantly reminding you that you were watching an obviously fabricated entertainment. The biggest "name" in the film's cast, Samuel L. Jackson, was a mere supporting player, and the biggest laughs were frequently provided by the nasal voice of director Brad Bird as Edna Mode (Bird originally did her voice as a temp track, and asked Lilly Tomlin to provide the final voice, but when she heard his voice, she observed "Hey, you've got it already, so why waste money on me?"). I loved the fact that mopey daughter Violet wasn't voiced by a well-known teen actress like Lindsay Lohan or whoever, but by radio collumnist Sarah Vowell, who met all of the character's needs without having the audience constantly asking each other "who is that?" (which happened frequently when I saw Robots). It's odd how Little Mermaid isn't even 20 years old yet, yet how calm, distinguished, even quaint it feels now. Imagine it produced now, with Julia Roberts as Ariel, Brad Pitt as Prince Eric, Michelle Pfeiffer as Ursula, Sam Jackson as Sebastian, ect. It'd just strangle any sense of charm or spontenaity out of everything.
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AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7033
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 12:34 am: |
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quote:Of all people, I'm surprised Carlo wouldn't realize that.
Maybe, but the film's final cut was certainly influenced by March of the Penguins. The extraordinary facts about how this particular breed of penguin lives were almost taken for granted, as though they were expecting the audience to already know what happens if, say, an egg is left uncovered for more than a few seconds in the cold. And cold is how the film left me. It could not have been more formulaic.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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god save the pens. (Kermie)
Cinematographer
Username: Kermie
Post Number: 2137
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 09, 2007 - 08:44 am: |
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On the subject of Disney movies ... Disney's next film to have first black princess.
quote:The film, scheduled for release in 2009 by Disney Feature Animation, also is the first hand-drawn film the company has committed to since pledging last month to return to the traditional animation form that made it a worldwide brand.
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3375
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 09, 2007 - 11:22 am: |
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'Bout time we had a sistah in the Disney princess lineup.
-Alice In Wonderland (1951): Delightfully imaginative Disney feature (adapted from the Lewis Carroll books) features the daydreaming heroine Alice (Kathryn Beaumont) catching sight of a flustered, time-obsessed White Rabbit (Bill Thompson) in the field one day and following him into his hole, entering into a fabulously nonsensical fantasy world full of bizarre characters like the grinning Cheshire Cat (Disney vet Sterling Holloway), the Mad Hatter (Ed Wynn) having a tea party for his "unbirthday", and the Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), who's temper tantrums always lead to the dread cry of "OFF WITH HER HEAD!". While nowhere near as emotional as many of the other Disney classics of the era, Alice still bubbles over with gorgeous animation and wild, off-kilter concepts that animation buffs will savor. A-
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Oh yeah? (Thezookieman)
Movie Star
Username: Thezookieman
Post Number: 4799
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 09, 2007 - 03:14 pm: |
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quote:'Bout time we had a sistah in the Disney princess lineup.
That's if you don't count Princess Nala in The Lion King (well, she's an African lioness, at any rate  )...or if you don't count the live-action Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella which had Whoopi Goldberg as the queen, married to Victor "Sydney Bristow's father in Alias" Garber (so you got the whole multi-racial, multi-ethnic thing going on there).
Standing in the shadow of the One True City...
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god save the pens. (Kermie)
Cinematographer
Username: Kermie
Post Number: 2138
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 09, 2007 - 03:33 pm: |
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And Brandy was the Cinderella in that one.
Victor "Sydney Bristow's father in Alias" Garber
Also known as: Victor "I'm sorry I didn't build you a stronger ship" Garber. |
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