Alright fellas, well we've had some fun guessing and I've had some fun writing stories for each of you. Unfortunately, the time had come for this league to end. It was supposed to end July 30th and so it shall. With that in mind, here is the most recent up to date standings. Also, know that I will soon be sending invites today probably for a new season to start next week, so be vigilant and quick so that I might further your hallows of glory!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 179.68 5 13 8.5
2 $PAPRIKA 0.73 4 0 7.9
3 $NO RESERVATIONS 11.75 0 1 6.5
4 $SIMPSONS 71.85 5 5 8.6
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.43 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.8
7 $ONCE 6 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.2 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 284.5 4 11 7.9
2 $EVENING 12.4 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 114.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.7 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.82 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 7.5
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.3 0 0 7.3
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 145.1 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 57.3 0 3 7.2
3 $FF4 128.8 5 9 6.3
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.06 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 3 7 0 8.6
6 $I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 71.6 5 9 6.4
7 $SICKO 21.5 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 96.2 3 9 5.9
2 $HP5 241.7 6 12 7.8
3 $HAIRSPRAY 59.3 2 5 8.1
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 125.1 3 9 7.9
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 2.57 0 0 4.8
8 $*MR. BROOKS 28.2 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 570.81 4
GOS 437.282 3
WANNABE 427.66 2
CASTLE 277.64 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 33 4
CASTLE 26 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 37 4
WANNABE 32 3
GOS 22 2
CASTLE 21 1
IMDB
CASTLE 7.65 4
WANNABE 7.4 3
GOS 7.025 2
WILLO 6.825 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 1 4 9 3
GOS 3 1.5 2 2 8.5 4
WANNABE 2 4 3 3 12 1
WILLO 4 1.5 4 1 10.5 2
Well, as you can see from the rankings, I win! And GOS barely loses to Castle by .5 points since GOS and WILLO tied in PTA. I credit my ability to stay alive to I now pronounce you chuck and larry since it gave me excellent PTA, TOP 5, and BO right toward the end before the IMDB score could drop too low. Castle's simpsons is doing and will do well...but it was a little late and No Reservations is a flop. Harry Potter keeps on going as well as Hairpsray! So there you are gents, Send me the top 20 list for the next season and I shall set it up to start on next monday after the draft on Sunday! Peace!
Wannabe
Monday, July 30, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Ghost Rider
'Ghost Story Rides Away With Itself'
When Ghost Rider first came out, I wasn't sure what to do. The comic books were never the most outstanding things ever, but the concept of Ghost Rider is the friggin coolest and most badass concept ever. The bounty hunter of Satan who turns against him to save the innocent and tick off Satan. He rides a bike and uses a chain and has a flaming skull. This opens up all sorts of AWESOME ideas for storylines and what all. plus creates a badass looking character. Then again, no one has been able to get his origin story down well. So with this lense I will destroy this movie.
Mark Steven Johnson was the first tip off. The guy directed Daredevil which I wasn't too afraid of, but then he wrote Elektra which made me choke on my phlegm and bile a little. I hear he's currently working on the Preacher series for HBO...which I hope is completely false or his best work to date. Ghost Rider, however, was written by him as well and there are some good things to say about it. Like the fact that the Ghost Rider gets a pretty good origin tale in it that should function as his tale. Unfortunately, the dialogue is terrifyingly stilted and the situations in which the actors are supposed to draw a line for continuity are badly set and the characters actions make no sense. Yes, I'm looking at Eva Mendes and her character who comes to Cage's apartment after having been stood up twice by the love of her life and then telling him he has one last chance. WHAT? Seriously, I have respect for women and I would like to think that even the dumbest woman would have enough dignity to not go a-begging like that. I did like the touch of the four elements, horsemen of the apocalypse that work with Blackheart the main bad guy as it forced the Rider to get creative and it brought a certain literary aspect to the picture that was quietly amusing. For the rest though, its about as good as roasted poo on a stick. Sure it might look cooler and cling more, but damn its stench reeks.
The CG for the film is AWFUL. I understand that fire and flaming skulls are hard to do convincingly, but man it looked like an 80's character. Thankfuly the motorbike is awesome and I want it. The elementals were very eh, and felt incredibly jobberish. The main two villains of Blackheart and Satan are played well but the choice to have Blackheart look human I'm still out on. And that whole bit with Mark Slade was completely foreseeable. Sure some of the cinematic choices were dynamic in a very Michael Bay fashion, but even that can't save a crappy film. Neither could Cage's honest attempt at portraying Johnny Blaze help. Cage does really well for his part though. Eva Mendes, not so much. In the end, the film stinks but its great for some laughs if you want to recapture some of the cheesy 80's feel with some 60's dialogue. Trust me, its a funny combination.
1.8 out of 5
Wannabe
When Ghost Rider first came out, I wasn't sure what to do. The comic books were never the most outstanding things ever, but the concept of Ghost Rider is the friggin coolest and most badass concept ever. The bounty hunter of Satan who turns against him to save the innocent and tick off Satan. He rides a bike and uses a chain and has a flaming skull. This opens up all sorts of AWESOME ideas for storylines and what all. plus creates a badass looking character. Then again, no one has been able to get his origin story down well. So with this lense I will destroy this movie.
Mark Steven Johnson was the first tip off. The guy directed Daredevil which I wasn't too afraid of, but then he wrote Elektra which made me choke on my phlegm and bile a little. I hear he's currently working on the Preacher series for HBO...which I hope is completely false or his best work to date. Ghost Rider, however, was written by him as well and there are some good things to say about it. Like the fact that the Ghost Rider gets a pretty good origin tale in it that should function as his tale. Unfortunately, the dialogue is terrifyingly stilted and the situations in which the actors are supposed to draw a line for continuity are badly set and the characters actions make no sense. Yes, I'm looking at Eva Mendes and her character who comes to Cage's apartment after having been stood up twice by the love of her life and then telling him he has one last chance. WHAT? Seriously, I have respect for women and I would like to think that even the dumbest woman would have enough dignity to not go a-begging like that. I did like the touch of the four elements, horsemen of the apocalypse that work with Blackheart the main bad guy as it forced the Rider to get creative and it brought a certain literary aspect to the picture that was quietly amusing. For the rest though, its about as good as roasted poo on a stick. Sure it might look cooler and cling more, but damn its stench reeks.
The CG for the film is AWFUL. I understand that fire and flaming skulls are hard to do convincingly, but man it looked like an 80's character. Thankfuly the motorbike is awesome and I want it. The elementals were very eh, and felt incredibly jobberish. The main two villains of Blackheart and Satan are played well but the choice to have Blackheart look human I'm still out on. And that whole bit with Mark Slade was completely foreseeable. Sure some of the cinematic choices were dynamic in a very Michael Bay fashion, but even that can't save a crappy film. Neither could Cage's honest attempt at portraying Johnny Blaze help. Cage does really well for his part though. Eva Mendes, not so much. In the end, the film stinks but its great for some laughs if you want to recapture some of the cheesy 80's feel with some 60's dialogue. Trust me, its a funny combination.
1.8 out of 5
Wannabe
Fanatix Indie League Update
Coming close to the finish line!!!! Don't forget, the competition ends on the 30th of this month. I will be sending out invites for a new league draft/round soonish. I hope you have enjoyed the small anecdotal stories and I look forward to hopefully continuing them into the next part of the Fanatix season. Here's how everything is looking so far!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 165.6 5 13 8.6
2 $PAPRIKA 0.7 4 0 7.9
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.8
7 $ONCE 5.5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.17 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 263 4 11 8
2 $EVENING 12 0 0 7
3 $OCEAN'S 13 114.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.4 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.74 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 7.7
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.25 0 0 7.4
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 142.7 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 57.1 0 3 7.2
3 $FF4 128.8 5 9 6.3
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.06 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 1.1 7 0 8.6
6 $I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 34.7 4 5 6.7
7 $SICKO 19.1 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 93.5 3 9 6
2 $HP5 207.5 6 9 7.8
3 $HAIRSPRAY 27.8 2 3 8
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 116.5 3 9 8
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.5
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 2.4 0 0 4.9
8 $*MR. BROOKS 28.1 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 493.54 4
GOS 414.952 3
WANNABE 383.86 2
CASTLE 317.32 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 32 4
CASTLE 25 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 32 4
WANNABE 28 3
CASTLE 25 2
GOS 22 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.4375 4
CASTLE 7.3875 3
GOS 7.0625 2
WILLO 6.8375 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 3
GOS 3 2 1 2 8 4
WANNABE 2 4 3 4 13 1
WILLO 4 1 4 1 10 2
So, I am still in the lead and barely hanging on. I doubt I'll be able to recoup my losses in the BO rank before the end of the season. Castle surely won't be able to since he has two new movies coming out just days before the end of the season. My IMDB score might suffer some due to Chuck and Larry which might give some points to Castle from my spot. However, with the popularity of Sandler, I can probably expect to hang on to more top 5 points next week and maybe some PTA. Ian's Introducing the Dwights is a pretty big flop, however he is making up for everything with Transformers which might or might not be around for more top 5 and PTA next week. I'm betting Castle's Simpsons movie grabs some top 5 and maybe some PTA. Unfortunately for Willo, the outlook of his recent release Hairspray isn't looking too good and it might be safe to say that he is probably done earning PTA and Top 5 points on everything except Potter. As this season comes to a close, the flexibility in the ranking becomes more rigid, however, the scores have also become much more closer. Cheers gentlemen and I will talk to you soon next week!
Wannabe
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 165.6 5 13 8.6
2 $PAPRIKA 0.7 4 0 7.9
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.8
7 $ONCE 5.5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.17 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 263 4 11 8
2 $EVENING 12 0 0 7
3 $OCEAN'S 13 114.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.4 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.74 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 7.7
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.25 0 0 7.4
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 142.7 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 57.1 0 3 7.2
3 $FF4 128.8 5 9 6.3
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.06 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 1.1 7 0 8.6
6 $I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 34.7 4 5 6.7
7 $SICKO 19.1 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 93.5 3 9 6
2 $HP5 207.5 6 9 7.8
3 $HAIRSPRAY 27.8 2 3 8
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 116.5 3 9 8
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.5
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 2.4 0 0 4.9
8 $*MR. BROOKS 28.1 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 493.54 4
GOS 414.952 3
WANNABE 383.86 2
CASTLE 317.32 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 32 4
CASTLE 25 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 32 4
WANNABE 28 3
CASTLE 25 2
GOS 22 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.4375 4
CASTLE 7.3875 3
GOS 7.0625 2
WILLO 6.8375 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 3
GOS 3 2 1 2 8 4
WANNABE 2 4 3 4 13 1
WILLO 4 1 4 1 10 2
So, I am still in the lead and barely hanging on. I doubt I'll be able to recoup my losses in the BO rank before the end of the season. Castle surely won't be able to since he has two new movies coming out just days before the end of the season. My IMDB score might suffer some due to Chuck and Larry which might give some points to Castle from my spot. However, with the popularity of Sandler, I can probably expect to hang on to more top 5 points next week and maybe some PTA. Ian's Introducing the Dwights is a pretty big flop, however he is making up for everything with Transformers which might or might not be around for more top 5 and PTA next week. I'm betting Castle's Simpsons movie grabs some top 5 and maybe some PTA. Unfortunately for Willo, the outlook of his recent release Hairspray isn't looking too good and it might be safe to say that he is probably done earning PTA and Top 5 points on everything except Potter. As this season comes to a close, the flexibility in the ranking becomes more rigid, however, the scores have also become much more closer. Cheers gentlemen and I will talk to you soon next week!
Wannabe
Monday, July 16, 2007
Fanatix Indie League Update
Here you go fellas. With all the competition I'm currently on top but with the last few weeks coming to a close, I can guarantee I will fall mightily once my last predicted film has to become a reality. Sad. Here we are!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 142.9 5 12 8.6
2 $PAPRIKA 0.68 4 0 7.9
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.9
7 $ONCE 5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.16 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 224 4 9 8
2 $EVENING 10.8 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 112.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.1 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.7 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 8
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.14 0 0 7.4
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 138.2 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 56.8 0 3 7.3
3 $FF4 127.2 5 9 6.4
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.05 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 0.6 7 0 8.7
6 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 125 6 9 6.9
7 $SICKO 15.8 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 87.7 3 9 6
2 $HP5 139.7 5 5 8.1
3 HAIRSPRAY 60 2 4 5.9
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 103.3 3 9 8
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 1.4 0 0 5.1
8 $MR. BROOKS 28.1 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WANNABE 463.95 4
WILLO 437.94 3
GOS 372.302 2
CASTLE 294.09 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 34 4
CASTLE 25 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 13 1
TOP 5
WANNABE 32 4
WILLO 29 3
CASTLE 24 2
GOS 20 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.5 4
CASTLE 7.4 3
GOS 7.1125 2
WILLO 6.65 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 2
GOS 2 2 1 2 7 4
WANNABE 4 4 4 4 16 1
WILLO 3 1 3 1 8 3
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 142.9 5 12 8.6
2 $PAPRIKA 0.68 4 0 7.9
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.9
7 $ONCE 5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.16 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 224 4 9 8
2 $EVENING 10.8 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 112.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.1 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.7 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 8
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.14 0 0 7.4
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 138.2 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 56.8 0 3 7.3
3 $FF4 127.2 5 9 6.4
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.05 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 0.6 7 0 8.7
6 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 125 6 9 6.9
7 $SICKO 15.8 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 87.7 3 9 6
2 $HP5 139.7 5 5 8.1
3 HAIRSPRAY 60 2 4 5.9
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 103.3 3 9 8
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 1.4 0 0 5.1
8 $MR. BROOKS 28.1 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WANNABE 463.95 4
WILLO 437.94 3
GOS 372.302 2
CASTLE 294.09 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 34 4
CASTLE 25 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 13 1
TOP 5
WANNABE 32 4
WILLO 29 3
CASTLE 24 2
GOS 20 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.5 4
CASTLE 7.4 3
GOS 7.1125 2
WILLO 6.65 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 2
GOS 2 2 1 2 7 4
WANNABE 4 4 4 4 16 1
WILLO 3 1 3 1 8 3
Friday, July 13, 2007
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix
'Harry Potter and the Order of Emoting'
Before I rant and rave a bit, know that one the way back I was completely rebuked by the people who I saw this with who thought this movie was excellent...however, they also strongly disliked Harry Potter 3 and 4 for reasons that sounded bizarre and completely contrary to my views on the films. So, let me delve in.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in my opinion, is the worst of all the films so far. The visual style is lacking for the most part in originality. The dialogue is stilted and delivered a bit too obviously. Oh, and the whole Harry angst whiney thing that he ALWAYS does, which was heavily prevalent in the book, comes out well enough for me to despise it. I liked the book for being darker than the last one but honestly, all the crap with Harry Potter as a maturing teen going through angst ticks me off since he can never do much more than whine and feel mistrusted. I understand that each novel is a different lesson in growing up and I have actually come to appreciate the structure and intelligence of the novels, although it did take me a while. However, I was informed that not enough of Harry's angst was in the film, which I completely disagree with since I could barely stand to watch the screen whenever he felt "alone". Harry is the weakest protagonist I have ever seen. Each book he requires others to insure that he learns a lesson which he is unable to learn quickly and easily on his own. Just not my taste.
Anyhow, the film. The film starts off promising with some great visuals and editing, somewhat disorienting, but really promising and well done. But soon after Harry leaves the normal world and comes to Hogwarts, the story becomes a bit too...angsty for my taste. The style soon becomes a very obvious continuance of the style employed in the fourth film to make everything seem darker. Thankfully, Yates seems to understand how to make some great beautiful moments, however they are so far apart and the main three actors have such a hard time holding their own without overdoing everything. Radcliffe has come far, but still struggles and the editing is lazy at best. Rupert Grint has a lesser role and as such can't let his natural charm come across as much and when it does, the laughing moments aren't usually funny seeing as how they seem like a complete rehash of previous Ronald Weasley "moments" from other films. Hermione is simply overdone. Most of the beautiful moments in this film come from practically everyone else but the three main characters and the beginning, the ending, and the bit with the destruction of the O.W.L.s comes to mind of particular great visualization. Also, the Black estate is well done if scantily used. I must say, that although I had a very different vision of the death in the novel, I must applaud Yates subtle and great handling of it. The best part of the movie though belongs to Dolores Umbridge played with panache by Dolores Umbridge and Sirius Black who is otherwise known as Gary Oldman. Oldman makes the scenes work that he is in and a better choice for Sirius Black could never have been found. Also well done is Michael Gambon's Albert Dumbeldore who really steps up his game in this film and convinces me that Dumbeldore should be in control of Hogwarts. Alan Rickman as Snape is always a pleasure. Even the Weasley brothers and Luna Lovegoode are excellently handled.
Conclusion:
To be fair, the story is told with some flashes of brilliance occassionally and the rest at a low hum. A lot of the effects, settings, and plot works well enough. Most of the actors are great to watch with some standing out more than others due to the script from newcomer Michael Goldenberg. However, I think maybe I just didn't like the story as much in this one. I honestly am terribly uncomfortable and dislike teen angst stories usually. The main actors didn't impress me and could be seen as taking a step back in some cases in acting styles. However, I highly doubt that my tale of discouragement and dislike of this film will stop the Potterites and influence any of them. No one will ever agree with me on this point, which is fine. Unfortunately, now I am stuck with at least one more film of Potter and Yates. Hopefully Yates will surprise me and the dialogue won't be so bloody obvious about EVERYTHING thanks to the return of Steve Kloves as scripter. One last chance Yates, one last one.
3.3 out of 5
Wannabe
Before I rant and rave a bit, know that one the way back I was completely rebuked by the people who I saw this with who thought this movie was excellent...however, they also strongly disliked Harry Potter 3 and 4 for reasons that sounded bizarre and completely contrary to my views on the films. So, let me delve in.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in my opinion, is the worst of all the films so far. The visual style is lacking for the most part in originality. The dialogue is stilted and delivered a bit too obviously. Oh, and the whole Harry angst whiney thing that he ALWAYS does, which was heavily prevalent in the book, comes out well enough for me to despise it. I liked the book for being darker than the last one but honestly, all the crap with Harry Potter as a maturing teen going through angst ticks me off since he can never do much more than whine and feel mistrusted. I understand that each novel is a different lesson in growing up and I have actually come to appreciate the structure and intelligence of the novels, although it did take me a while. However, I was informed that not enough of Harry's angst was in the film, which I completely disagree with since I could barely stand to watch the screen whenever he felt "alone". Harry is the weakest protagonist I have ever seen. Each book he requires others to insure that he learns a lesson which he is unable to learn quickly and easily on his own. Just not my taste.
Anyhow, the film. The film starts off promising with some great visuals and editing, somewhat disorienting, but really promising and well done. But soon after Harry leaves the normal world and comes to Hogwarts, the story becomes a bit too...angsty for my taste. The style soon becomes a very obvious continuance of the style employed in the fourth film to make everything seem darker. Thankfully, Yates seems to understand how to make some great beautiful moments, however they are so far apart and the main three actors have such a hard time holding their own without overdoing everything. Radcliffe has come far, but still struggles and the editing is lazy at best. Rupert Grint has a lesser role and as such can't let his natural charm come across as much and when it does, the laughing moments aren't usually funny seeing as how they seem like a complete rehash of previous Ronald Weasley "moments" from other films. Hermione is simply overdone. Most of the beautiful moments in this film come from practically everyone else but the three main characters and the beginning, the ending, and the bit with the destruction of the O.W.L.s comes to mind of particular great visualization. Also, the Black estate is well done if scantily used. I must say, that although I had a very different vision of the death in the novel, I must applaud Yates subtle and great handling of it. The best part of the movie though belongs to Dolores Umbridge played with panache by Dolores Umbridge and Sirius Black who is otherwise known as Gary Oldman. Oldman makes the scenes work that he is in and a better choice for Sirius Black could never have been found. Also well done is Michael Gambon's Albert Dumbeldore who really steps up his game in this film and convinces me that Dumbeldore should be in control of Hogwarts. Alan Rickman as Snape is always a pleasure. Even the Weasley brothers and Luna Lovegoode are excellently handled.
Conclusion:
To be fair, the story is told with some flashes of brilliance occassionally and the rest at a low hum. A lot of the effects, settings, and plot works well enough. Most of the actors are great to watch with some standing out more than others due to the script from newcomer Michael Goldenberg. However, I think maybe I just didn't like the story as much in this one. I honestly am terribly uncomfortable and dislike teen angst stories usually. The main actors didn't impress me and could be seen as taking a step back in some cases in acting styles. However, I highly doubt that my tale of discouragement and dislike of this film will stop the Potterites and influence any of them. No one will ever agree with me on this point, which is fine. Unfortunately, now I am stuck with at least one more film of Potter and Yates. Hopefully Yates will surprise me and the dialogue won't be so bloody obvious about EVERYTHING thanks to the return of Steve Kloves as scripter. One last chance Yates, one last one.
3.3 out of 5
Wannabe
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Ratatouille
'Bird flies again with Ratatouille'
Brad Bird is the little animation genius that could. Seriously. Some people started doubting Pixar back when Cars came out and they weren't as impressed as they had been. Not sure why really, but they were. Well, they are no longer allowed to gripe. Pixar houses many monumental talents including Brad Bird and John Lasseter. Considering Bird made this film after Jan Pinkava quit and he had to start from scratch for the project makes it all the more stunning when I say that this is by far the BEST Pixar film yet.
Ratatouille, unless you have been living in a windowless cave with no television (WHAT?) you should know, is about a rat that wants to be more and desires to cook who teams up with an awkward and highly unskilled boy to try and cook in a famous restaurant in Paris. The story is pretty simple on the outside, but it is not the mindblowing concept that wows us, or even the great animation, its how Bird weaves everything together to create fleshed out characters and story arcs for EVERYONE. Sure the main characters get the good stuff, but even the periphery characters have great arcs and are excellently voiced. My one gripe is the cliched cooking romance, but at least this film doesn't go off the deep end with it. Plus, its a Disney film, of course it is going to be full of cliches. I especially love the well thought out details such as Remy working as the poison detector for all of the rats at first. The film also does several references to the film's title which helps to solidify in my mind what I think the movie is actually about. Let's see, the motto is that anyone can cook, a rat is the main character who ends the movie by cooking a kickass peasant dish called ratatouille. Essentially emphasizing the fact that the poorest and/or dirtiest creatures in the world still have something to offer of worth. Also, sometimes its better to stick to your roots. Thinking back now, this film reminds me a lot of other films at times like Oliver! and Secrets of the Rats of N.I.M.H. If nothing else, the character of Anton Ego, the food critic in the film is entirely ripped off from the pervasively spooky style of Tim Burton. Seriously, my favorite little bit was that his room was in the shape of a coffin.
As for voice acting, no one does a bad job ever. Patton Oswalt, an unknown to me, does a great job as the rat Remy and needs to prepare for a career in animation at least. Loe Romano as Linguini is hilarious and perfectly captures Linguini's awkwardness without making him sound pubescent. Peter O'Toole is excellent as the villainous Ego. Although I approve of it in the end, I would have never suspected Collette to have been played by Janeane Garofalo since there weren't any terrible flat obtrusive jokes on her part. In the end there isn't one bad performance. The animation is top notch as always and the imagination is cranked high for this Disney film. I'm sure I'll be analyzing this film for screenplay reasons later. Til then, I recommend watching The Incredibles which is Bird's other Pixar movie, or The Iron Giant which was pre-Pixar. If that doesn't work for you, then just go watch the first few seasons of The Simpsons where he worked as an executive consultant. Yea, isn't that cool?
4.6 out of 5
Wannabe
Brad Bird is the little animation genius that could. Seriously. Some people started doubting Pixar back when Cars came out and they weren't as impressed as they had been. Not sure why really, but they were. Well, they are no longer allowed to gripe. Pixar houses many monumental talents including Brad Bird and John Lasseter. Considering Bird made this film after Jan Pinkava quit and he had to start from scratch for the project makes it all the more stunning when I say that this is by far the BEST Pixar film yet.
Ratatouille, unless you have been living in a windowless cave with no television (WHAT?) you should know, is about a rat that wants to be more and desires to cook who teams up with an awkward and highly unskilled boy to try and cook in a famous restaurant in Paris. The story is pretty simple on the outside, but it is not the mindblowing concept that wows us, or even the great animation, its how Bird weaves everything together to create fleshed out characters and story arcs for EVERYONE. Sure the main characters get the good stuff, but even the periphery characters have great arcs and are excellently voiced. My one gripe is the cliched cooking romance, but at least this film doesn't go off the deep end with it. Plus, its a Disney film, of course it is going to be full of cliches. I especially love the well thought out details such as Remy working as the poison detector for all of the rats at first. The film also does several references to the film's title which helps to solidify in my mind what I think the movie is actually about. Let's see, the motto is that anyone can cook, a rat is the main character who ends the movie by cooking a kickass peasant dish called ratatouille. Essentially emphasizing the fact that the poorest and/or dirtiest creatures in the world still have something to offer of worth. Also, sometimes its better to stick to your roots. Thinking back now, this film reminds me a lot of other films at times like Oliver! and Secrets of the Rats of N.I.M.H. If nothing else, the character of Anton Ego, the food critic in the film is entirely ripped off from the pervasively spooky style of Tim Burton. Seriously, my favorite little bit was that his room was in the shape of a coffin.
As for voice acting, no one does a bad job ever. Patton Oswalt, an unknown to me, does a great job as the rat Remy and needs to prepare for a career in animation at least. Loe Romano as Linguini is hilarious and perfectly captures Linguini's awkwardness without making him sound pubescent. Peter O'Toole is excellent as the villainous Ego. Although I approve of it in the end, I would have never suspected Collette to have been played by Janeane Garofalo since there weren't any terrible flat obtrusive jokes on her part. In the end there isn't one bad performance. The animation is top notch as always and the imagination is cranked high for this Disney film. I'm sure I'll be analyzing this film for screenplay reasons later. Til then, I recommend watching The Incredibles which is Bird's other Pixar movie, or The Iron Giant which was pre-Pixar. If that doesn't work for you, then just go watch the first few seasons of The Simpsons where he worked as an executive consultant. Yea, isn't that cool?
4.6 out of 5
Wannabe
Monday, July 9, 2007
Fanatix Indie League Update
Once again, here we go with the weekly update and soon I will have a review out for Ratatouille. Here ya go!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 109.5 5 9 8.7
2 $PAPRIKA 0.64 4 0 8
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.9
7 $ONCE 4.5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.14 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 155.4 4 5 8.1
2 $EVENING 8.3 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 109.1 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 23.2 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.6 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 8.4
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.04 0 0 7.6
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 132 7 11 8.2
2 $SURF'S UP 56 0 3 7.3
3 $FF4 123.8 5 9 6.4
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.04 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 0.1 5 0 8.8
6 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 125 6 9 6.9
7 $SICKO 11.4 9 0 8.5
8 $FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 78.7 3 9 6.1
2 HP5 230 9 13 7.6
3 HAIRSPRAY 60 2 4 5.9
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 84.4 3 7 8.1
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 CAPTIVITY 12.9 0 0 4.9
8 $MR. BROOKS 28 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 511.74 4
WANNABE 448.64 3
GOS 296.702 2
CASTLE 260.13 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 32 4
CASTLE 25 3
WILLO 17 2
GOS 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 35 4
WANNABE 32 3
CASTLE 21 2
GOS 16 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.525 4
CASTLE 7.425 3
GOS 7.2 2
WILLO 6.5875 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 4
GOS 2 1 1 2 6 2
WANNABE 3 4 3 4 14 1
WILLO 4 2 4 1 11 2
Alright gents, you know the drill. I'm afraid that the God of Shadows slate is no longer changeable, let's hope then that he chose well as Transformers would indicate since he earned 155 million dollars in a week. He should easily be able to get it over 200 million. Causing all sorts of havoc. I guess that his current predicament is just because his movie was released and he can no longer stand on predicted ratings. Hopefully, his real ones won't be quite as good. Besides that gents, I hope this finds you well. Peace!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 109.5 5 9 8.7
2 $PAPRIKA 0.64 4 0 8
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.9
7 $ONCE 4.5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.14 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 155.4 4 5 8.1
2 $EVENING 8.3 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 109.1 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 23.2 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.6 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 8.4
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.04 0 0 7.6
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 132 7 11 8.2
2 $SURF'S UP 56 0 3 7.3
3 $FF4 123.8 5 9 6.4
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.04 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 0.1 5 0 8.8
6 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 125 6 9 6.9
7 $SICKO 11.4 9 0 8.5
8 $FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 78.7 3 9 6.1
2 HP5 230 9 13 7.6
3 HAIRSPRAY 60 2 4 5.9
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 84.4 3 7 8.1
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 CAPTIVITY 12.9 0 0 4.9
8 $MR. BROOKS 28 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 511.74 4
WANNABE 448.64 3
GOS 296.702 2
CASTLE 260.13 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 32 4
CASTLE 25 3
WILLO 17 2
GOS 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 35 4
WANNABE 32 3
CASTLE 21 2
GOS 16 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.525 4
CASTLE 7.425 3
GOS 7.2 2
WILLO 6.5875 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 4
GOS 2 1 1 2 6 2
WANNABE 3 4 3 4 14 1
WILLO 4 2 4 1 11 2
Alright gents, you know the drill. I'm afraid that the God of Shadows slate is no longer changeable, let's hope then that he chose well as Transformers would indicate since he earned 155 million dollars in a week. He should easily be able to get it over 200 million. Causing all sorts of havoc. I guess that his current predicament is just because his movie was released and he can no longer stand on predicted ratings. Hopefully, his real ones won't be quite as good. Besides that gents, I hope this finds you well. Peace!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
SiCKO
'America is certainly sicko'
Everyone knows Michael Moore. For better or worse, the self-aggrandizing master is the face of practically all liberal views and can possibly be attributed to the rise and resurgence in the recent popularity of good documentaries. Like Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame, Moore makes a habit of inserting himself into his documentaries in an effort to add a humorous human element and to create a personal attachment between audience and material. Sure, hearing about people being shot in Vietnam was terrible, but it was nothing to seeing a soldier blow out the mind of a local villager on national television. By creating characters that are empathetic and the common American everyman, Moore thrives off of this empathy for these characters and their individual stories to emphasize his agenda and political views. Because his films do not even bother to take an impersonalized stance and feel sometimes a bit too muhc like propaganda, I have never forced myself to watch them. But after hearing that this film was not as bad as his previous films in terms of trying to make him look good and it touched upon the healthcare system which is one I have become increasingly worried about unlike many of peers, I decided I had to see it. So I did, with my in-laws, one whom is Democrat and the other Republican. And here's how it goes...
Sicko, the most recent film by Michael Moore focuses specifically on the power and clout of insurance companies and how corrupt the American system is for healthcare. The people chosen as examples are honestly very sad and angering examples of common people being destroyed by money-grubbing healthcare "professionals." I have no love for insurance companies as the job simply doesn't make sense. I pay someone a certain amount each year until something bad happens to me and then they will pay me back...what if I am unlucky? What if I suffer from some disease that makes me chronically ill or there is certain medication I constantly need? At what point does my medical health become dire enough to warrant pay back? What if the insurance goes broke and out of business? Obviously these are very simplified concerns, but it is possible to see that there are too many "ifs" involved and the next logical step as a businessman is to strip down and control the ifs into a manageable handfull and I'm sure to do it in a way that brings in more financial profitability for the company. One of these attempts to control the pay back of money is the commonly heard phrase in the movie of "the procedure is too experimental." I personally found great favor in seeing the one man who was told his daughter couldn't have the second cochlear implant write a letter to the CEO of his insurance asking them how they would like to be in Michael Moore's new movie and then having the CEO call him personally to let him know that the decision for not allowing the surgery had been reversed. That was humorous. Unfortunately, most of the personal experiences shared in this film are not of the happily ever after variety and proved one thing to me and my wife. Those who are insured are not much better off than those who aren't except that they at least have the right to apply for the money needed. I'm sure not all people get dicked around as much as Moore points out and that insurance does pay for most of its people, but the fact that certain people who worked in the industry have a certain quota of people to deny and there are jobs for those who will try everything to take the money back from people after it has been given to them is a shame. I only write this because most of the people checking Moore's facts in this film have had to say that most of the facts are correct.
However, they don't have to say that other countries are as great as he paints them. Although it was a great thing to see all of the people getting the help they needed in Cuba, I found it amusing that in terms of healthcare, Cuba was listed 39th on the list that Moore showed, just two behind U.S.A. Although I have heard great things about the French and the English healthcare, and this film does avidly attack the perception that under a socialized healthcare system doctors wouldn't get paid enough and people wouldn't get the same level of care by showing that people now don't get anywhere near the same level of care and only the super rich get better care than anyone else, I do think that his inability to find fault at all is slightly annoying. He never asked why the English have terrible teeth for instance. I hear its because there simply aren't enough dentists but is that because the social healthcare system doesn't pay as much for dentists because they consider it a superficial need? These are not addressed of course. However, after watching the film, there is no denying that America is paying way too much for medicine. I was disheartened by the amount it would cost for me to get the same drugs for my cholesterol in the other countries than it takes here. Also, Moore insinuates that doctors are really just trying to get as much out of their money as they can in America and are to blame for the jacked prices. He ignores the fact that doctor offices have to pay so much for all of their assistants. Big offices require more money for equipment, workers, nurses, receptionists, property taxes, clearinghouse fees, billing software, etc. Moore also doesn't mention that in a lot of the poorer neighborhoods, the doctors tend to have trouble collecting. Hell, in nice neighborhoods people have trouble collecting from their patients to pay for these things. Doctors figure in the amount of the loss they will receive for that year and incorporate that into their pricing because they don't have time to go and forcefully collect on their fees. Tons of doctor are going out of business and the most profitable positions these days are shrinks. Moore discusses NONE of these issues and concerns that help to provoke and sustain the current predicament.
Also, and this is where most people jump in, many wish Moore had not inserted himself after the first half. He takes the viewer on a journey as if he were Michael Palin exploring a far off distant country. It's great because everything seems to be so linearly explained and makes sense because we are seeing everything from Moore's point of view, which then means we tend to lose perspective. What's great though is that in the first part of the film without Moore to guide us, we were comparing the stories of the scarred to ourselves and creating our own point of view. Also, with Moore came his grandstanding and "look at me! look at me!" tactics. While slightly humorous, i felt bad watching the people on the boat when they went to Gitmo. Moore knew they would have no intention of letting them in, a boat full of supposed NY heroes off the coast of Florida outside one of the most well-known terrorist detainee camps since forever. Why does Moore put the N.Y. people through this? If he wanted to portray himself in a truly great light, he would simply take them to the hospital and never have wasted his time at Gitmo. Also, he had no reason, none at all, to show what he did for the poor guy whose wife almost died and ran the biggest Michael Moore hate blog. It was amusing but also childish. Now he will know who the anonymous man is and you have rubbed his ego in his face and flaunted it for the world to see. No good can come of this.
Conclusion:
While I have decided I don't like Michael Moore as a person, I do think he makes a fairly well artuculated case against the Healthcare system. I agree that the medicine is overpriced, and hell I have always liked the idea of a socialized system and this answered a few concerns and questions I had about it. It also opened my eyes more to the blatant cruelty and systematic profiteering of the insurance companies. I was glad to have seen the film. It is a great starting place, and nothing more, for a good discussion followed by a huge movement to change our healthcare. Something is wrong with it and instead of jumping to conclusions, something needs to be done about it and it should be decided by a good debate, a very public debate, so that hopefully no matter of bribing and stupidity can keep the Hill from ignoring it. Hillary lost my vote for sure after this, so God help the Democrats if they choose her as their candidate. For more points of view, the Democrat in-law said he was glad to see it because it only confirmed what he knew already but that he disliked Moore and thought it had some flaws and needed perspective. The Republican in-law found in interesting and thought it was well done and brought up several good points, but also hated Moore and thought it was a good starting point for the public discussion. In the end, no one I know enjoys Moore and here is his greatest weakness. Yes, he is amusing and can add a human element, but by putting himself into all of his films he defeats them with his arrogant and snobbish behavior and grandstanding. I'm afraid that by putting his face on all his ideas and thoughts which are fairly liberal, he is creating more conservatives simply because people do not like him as a person. He's a good filmmaker and rabble rouser and will probably be known in the history of film and possibly America for the controversy he has aroused, but he will lose everytime if he keeps making films that inextricably tie him to the source material.
4.2 out of 5
Wannabe
Everyone knows Michael Moore. For better or worse, the self-aggrandizing master is the face of practically all liberal views and can possibly be attributed to the rise and resurgence in the recent popularity of good documentaries. Like Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame, Moore makes a habit of inserting himself into his documentaries in an effort to add a humorous human element and to create a personal attachment between audience and material. Sure, hearing about people being shot in Vietnam was terrible, but it was nothing to seeing a soldier blow out the mind of a local villager on national television. By creating characters that are empathetic and the common American everyman, Moore thrives off of this empathy for these characters and their individual stories to emphasize his agenda and political views. Because his films do not even bother to take an impersonalized stance and feel sometimes a bit too muhc like propaganda, I have never forced myself to watch them. But after hearing that this film was not as bad as his previous films in terms of trying to make him look good and it touched upon the healthcare system which is one I have become increasingly worried about unlike many of peers, I decided I had to see it. So I did, with my in-laws, one whom is Democrat and the other Republican. And here's how it goes...
Sicko, the most recent film by Michael Moore focuses specifically on the power and clout of insurance companies and how corrupt the American system is for healthcare. The people chosen as examples are honestly very sad and angering examples of common people being destroyed by money-grubbing healthcare "professionals." I have no love for insurance companies as the job simply doesn't make sense. I pay someone a certain amount each year until something bad happens to me and then they will pay me back...what if I am unlucky? What if I suffer from some disease that makes me chronically ill or there is certain medication I constantly need? At what point does my medical health become dire enough to warrant pay back? What if the insurance goes broke and out of business? Obviously these are very simplified concerns, but it is possible to see that there are too many "ifs" involved and the next logical step as a businessman is to strip down and control the ifs into a manageable handfull and I'm sure to do it in a way that brings in more financial profitability for the company. One of these attempts to control the pay back of money is the commonly heard phrase in the movie of "the procedure is too experimental." I personally found great favor in seeing the one man who was told his daughter couldn't have the second cochlear implant write a letter to the CEO of his insurance asking them how they would like to be in Michael Moore's new movie and then having the CEO call him personally to let him know that the decision for not allowing the surgery had been reversed. That was humorous. Unfortunately, most of the personal experiences shared in this film are not of the happily ever after variety and proved one thing to me and my wife. Those who are insured are not much better off than those who aren't except that they at least have the right to apply for the money needed. I'm sure not all people get dicked around as much as Moore points out and that insurance does pay for most of its people, but the fact that certain people who worked in the industry have a certain quota of people to deny and there are jobs for those who will try everything to take the money back from people after it has been given to them is a shame. I only write this because most of the people checking Moore's facts in this film have had to say that most of the facts are correct.
However, they don't have to say that other countries are as great as he paints them. Although it was a great thing to see all of the people getting the help they needed in Cuba, I found it amusing that in terms of healthcare, Cuba was listed 39th on the list that Moore showed, just two behind U.S.A. Although I have heard great things about the French and the English healthcare, and this film does avidly attack the perception that under a socialized healthcare system doctors wouldn't get paid enough and people wouldn't get the same level of care by showing that people now don't get anywhere near the same level of care and only the super rich get better care than anyone else, I do think that his inability to find fault at all is slightly annoying. He never asked why the English have terrible teeth for instance. I hear its because there simply aren't enough dentists but is that because the social healthcare system doesn't pay as much for dentists because they consider it a superficial need? These are not addressed of course. However, after watching the film, there is no denying that America is paying way too much for medicine. I was disheartened by the amount it would cost for me to get the same drugs for my cholesterol in the other countries than it takes here. Also, Moore insinuates that doctors are really just trying to get as much out of their money as they can in America and are to blame for the jacked prices. He ignores the fact that doctor offices have to pay so much for all of their assistants. Big offices require more money for equipment, workers, nurses, receptionists, property taxes, clearinghouse fees, billing software, etc. Moore also doesn't mention that in a lot of the poorer neighborhoods, the doctors tend to have trouble collecting. Hell, in nice neighborhoods people have trouble collecting from their patients to pay for these things. Doctors figure in the amount of the loss they will receive for that year and incorporate that into their pricing because they don't have time to go and forcefully collect on their fees. Tons of doctor are going out of business and the most profitable positions these days are shrinks. Moore discusses NONE of these issues and concerns that help to provoke and sustain the current predicament.
Also, and this is where most people jump in, many wish Moore had not inserted himself after the first half. He takes the viewer on a journey as if he were Michael Palin exploring a far off distant country. It's great because everything seems to be so linearly explained and makes sense because we are seeing everything from Moore's point of view, which then means we tend to lose perspective. What's great though is that in the first part of the film without Moore to guide us, we were comparing the stories of the scarred to ourselves and creating our own point of view. Also, with Moore came his grandstanding and "look at me! look at me!" tactics. While slightly humorous, i felt bad watching the people on the boat when they went to Gitmo. Moore knew they would have no intention of letting them in, a boat full of supposed NY heroes off the coast of Florida outside one of the most well-known terrorist detainee camps since forever. Why does Moore put the N.Y. people through this? If he wanted to portray himself in a truly great light, he would simply take them to the hospital and never have wasted his time at Gitmo. Also, he had no reason, none at all, to show what he did for the poor guy whose wife almost died and ran the biggest Michael Moore hate blog. It was amusing but also childish. Now he will know who the anonymous man is and you have rubbed his ego in his face and flaunted it for the world to see. No good can come of this.
Conclusion:
While I have decided I don't like Michael Moore as a person, I do think he makes a fairly well artuculated case against the Healthcare system. I agree that the medicine is overpriced, and hell I have always liked the idea of a socialized system and this answered a few concerns and questions I had about it. It also opened my eyes more to the blatant cruelty and systematic profiteering of the insurance companies. I was glad to have seen the film. It is a great starting place, and nothing more, for a good discussion followed by a huge movement to change our healthcare. Something is wrong with it and instead of jumping to conclusions, something needs to be done about it and it should be decided by a good debate, a very public debate, so that hopefully no matter of bribing and stupidity can keep the Hill from ignoring it. Hillary lost my vote for sure after this, so God help the Democrats if they choose her as their candidate. For more points of view, the Democrat in-law said he was glad to see it because it only confirmed what he knew already but that he disliked Moore and thought it had some flaws and needed perspective. The Republican in-law found in interesting and thought it was well done and brought up several good points, but also hated Moore and thought it was a good starting point for the public discussion. In the end, no one I know enjoys Moore and here is his greatest weakness. Yes, he is amusing and can add a human element, but by putting himself into all of his films he defeats them with his arrogant and snobbish behavior and grandstanding. I'm afraid that by putting his face on all his ideas and thoughts which are fairly liberal, he is creating more conservatives simply because people do not like him as a person. He's a good filmmaker and rabble rouser and will probably be known in the history of film and possibly America for the controversy he has aroused, but he will lose everytime if he keeps making films that inextricably tie him to the source material.
4.2 out of 5
Wannabe
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Transformers
'Transformers + explosions = good'
Steven Spielberg bought the rights to Transformers not too long ago for filming purposes through his Dreamworks company. Of course, he gets the first look and I remember desperately hoping that he would return to his old form and take on a more family/kid oriented film has he had before with E.T. and the like and make a Transformers film that brought back the magica awe of the films. Instead when I found out he had passed but had wanted Michael Bay to direct it as a live-action film, unlike everyone else, I was only dismayed that Spielberg had passed on it, not that Bay had accepted to do it. Many people cried out hack and whined about Bay whom they perceived as an action film guy who was big on spectacle and small on plot. While this may be somewhat true generally, I have always loved the performances given by his actors and whether you appreciate it or not, he does have one of the best cinematic eyes right now in Hollywood. So what, he likes to use crane shots and fun angled track shots, the point is that no matter how he incorporates his signature old shots into a new film, it always feel revitalizing and fresh unlike the shot in the last two Matrix films when time slows down. So yes, I knew that when the film was going to be made that it would probably have a bit too commercial of a touch and that some sort of human element crap would be a part of it. I also knew though that it WOULD have giant robots beating the crap out each other in the best cinematic way possible and that the story would really just be a vehicle for that. I felt even better for the film after hearing that they had decided on casting Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime even though he had already been the voice for years in the television series. It showed that thatnkfully, no matter how berating and annoying the vocal internet community was being, that Bay and Spielberg were willing to listen to them and swap ideas. Well, after several eh trailers I saw the film opening night with some friends, and it doesn't disappoint.
Bay delivers his usual verve and cinematic prowess with extremely smart setups. Granted a couple of shots could have had a little bit more planning put in, but almost all of them are incredibly impressive given that I don't think Bay has had a ton of work with CG and considering its a live action Transformers, its obvious there has to be lots of CG. Once again Bay brings "it" with his trademark shots and intense and sweeping action. As much as I found Bay to be smug in his appearance of On the Lot and laughed at every suggestion had to do with work on your camera skills, I have to say that he probably doesn't ever need to work on that again. He's great cinematically. The film is fast, furious, and damn fun. I have to say that the best thing I can say about the film is that I didn't mind the use of the human element as much. This might be partially due to the script but I also attribute a lot of it to Bay and the two main actors Shia Lebouf and Megan Fox, who definately just became the pinup dream model of the year. Okay, yes in real life she's a bit too scary skinny for my taste, but man she looks good in this film. Oh, and Castle, sorry buddy but Shia really helps to hold this film together. Bay might be a bit arrogant and as usual his sfilms are light on stories, but he knows how to do buddy films better than anybody since the Beverly Hills Cop days. Oh, and Bay I loved the addition of the sign in the teacher's room, that took a lot of thought and comedic thinking and it worked perfectly.
Storywise, it's a very easy basic premise. I am not sure how close to the Transformers mythology it is but it sounds like the kind of thing I would expect from a bunch of toys that spawned a cartoon series and an anime movie and then years later an actual movie. I'm also very impressed and happy with the choice of Bay and the writing team to let certain Transformers die. That's right, I hope you aren't too attached to certain characters from the cartoon because they might easily bite the bullet sucker. However, despite the good handling of the human element by the actors and director, there is just some stuff that is dialogue that blows and I doubt anyone could have made work. That whole thing about getting into the car, it was ridiculous and needed something more. Sure its sweet, but...wait, hold on, just gotta wipe some of this Easy Cheeze out from under my eyelids. Ahh thats better. The story is relatively simple and although I appreciated the fun stuff with the Marines and Sector 7 people, I found it kind of hokey that the same people from the Middle East are the ones that have to be around til the end. Honestly, they could have been destroyed and I would have been A-okay with that as it would have pointed out how powerful the Decepticons were. Oh yea, and writers, I realize it is in the tradition of the good bot Optimus Prime to be essentially Captain America as a giant transforming robot, but for the love of Cybertron! could you please give him less preachy dialogue and stilted manners. Fanboys pipe down, this is for your own good! Ah whatever, it wasn't too terrible I suppose. The best part of the human element is that it didn't get in the way of what everyone wanted which is giant robots beating the hell out of each other. It was also handled nicely by sticking to Shia's character and keeping everything mostly in the realm of light-hearted comedy. It definately came together for the best summer blockbuster so far.
As for the actors, there are the immediate two that come to mind of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Shia does a good job of handling the comedy portions as the freaked out young horny teenager type. It's a very humanizing and fun lovable role. Megan Fox serves as nothing more than eye candy and to have a slight rapport with Shia's character which she is very good at and I see her future as being very similar to that of Lohan's if she ever decides to capitalize on her good looks at a young age. As for the supporting players, the film sports Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as marines and although I could never figure out who was Tyrese, Josh does his best job yet and doesn't manage to become annoying. He makes himself a welcome addition to the large encore cast of the film and fits in well. I believed he could have been marine or a leader in a military unit. Bravo! Then there is Jon Voight as the Secretary of Defense which works. I mean the guy can play any distinguished dignitary you want, but honestly he is best at playing something out of a western or a tobacco-spitting coach in a high school. Although I'm dying to see the film where he plays Pope John Paul II. Then there is Bernie Mac whose one bit part is highly amusing. Also John Turturro as the Sector 7 weirdo which is not believable except at one point but is a welcome light-hearted comedic addition. I especially love the thought of how vicious my Nokia might be. Then there is some side story involving Anthony Anderson and Rachael Taylor, the only believable part of it being that there are people who live like Anderson's character and seem to be complete losers who could easily wipe out your bank accounts and leave you looking like an illegal immigrant if it crossed their minds. Also, Bay, the whole thing with the donuts was what you call in Hollywood, a groaner. The robots all look amazing and they are great to listen to. Megatron is a bit much but so is Optimus. Bumblebee is of course the best robot as more time and detail is invested in him although the whole thing at the end where Bumblebee speaks literally makes no sense and contradicts the plot of the film itself.
Conclusion:
The robots look great and Bay has done an excellent job of acquiring a cast and creating the best Transformers film you coudl ask for. I'm not saying that it doesn't have some lame moments or some contradicting storyline and plot points, but on the whole its a great blockbuster stuck somewhere in between those awesome years of puberty where it is not appropriate for young family oriented groups, but it is the perfect anecdote for families with teenagers. Its fun, fast, and contains all the elements one expects of a great action film, then throw in the huge robots, great destinations, big explosions, and some sort of mythology/story and you have Transformers. I will praise the film for its ability to mix and match the government, although I'm sure it will anger many right-wingers at the obvious and unnecessary potshots at the government. The marines and Voight seem intelligent and smart as does Rachael Taylor. But then you get John Turturro and the immortal line paraphrased to "Hey, why don't you wrangle me up some of those Ding-dongs?" said by what we assume to be the voice of the President. Ahh, well. As for future installments, some people have claimed they were so impressed that they wanted the same team to stay and do a second one. I disagree. I like Bay's take on Transformers but he has made it pretty obvious in interviews and other things that he took the film on as a challenge and is not a fan of the original Transformers since he considers them a bunch of cool toys essentially. He's actually pretty hostile about the whole thing from what I can understand and I think even if he did come back the second film would be much darker and mocking of the franchise. I think the writing team, despite my gripes, had a decent script that coudl have used some dialogue fine-tuning mostly so I hope they return. Spielberg's imprint of commercial appeal is all over this film and I am happy to consider this work as a more grown-up blockbuster film. I'm sure he'd produce again, just find a new and also greatly talented director to take the reigns. I hear that the guy who directed 28 Weeks Later is really good and he might be a great choice for such an action packed, CG movie. He just might have to work a bit on his comedy.
3.7 out of 5
Wannabe
Steven Spielberg bought the rights to Transformers not too long ago for filming purposes through his Dreamworks company. Of course, he gets the first look and I remember desperately hoping that he would return to his old form and take on a more family/kid oriented film has he had before with E.T. and the like and make a Transformers film that brought back the magica awe of the films. Instead when I found out he had passed but had wanted Michael Bay to direct it as a live-action film, unlike everyone else, I was only dismayed that Spielberg had passed on it, not that Bay had accepted to do it. Many people cried out hack and whined about Bay whom they perceived as an action film guy who was big on spectacle and small on plot. While this may be somewhat true generally, I have always loved the performances given by his actors and whether you appreciate it or not, he does have one of the best cinematic eyes right now in Hollywood. So what, he likes to use crane shots and fun angled track shots, the point is that no matter how he incorporates his signature old shots into a new film, it always feel revitalizing and fresh unlike the shot in the last two Matrix films when time slows down. So yes, I knew that when the film was going to be made that it would probably have a bit too commercial of a touch and that some sort of human element crap would be a part of it. I also knew though that it WOULD have giant robots beating the crap out each other in the best cinematic way possible and that the story would really just be a vehicle for that. I felt even better for the film after hearing that they had decided on casting Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime even though he had already been the voice for years in the television series. It showed that thatnkfully, no matter how berating and annoying the vocal internet community was being, that Bay and Spielberg were willing to listen to them and swap ideas. Well, after several eh trailers I saw the film opening night with some friends, and it doesn't disappoint.
Bay delivers his usual verve and cinematic prowess with extremely smart setups. Granted a couple of shots could have had a little bit more planning put in, but almost all of them are incredibly impressive given that I don't think Bay has had a ton of work with CG and considering its a live action Transformers, its obvious there has to be lots of CG. Once again Bay brings "it" with his trademark shots and intense and sweeping action. As much as I found Bay to be smug in his appearance of On the Lot and laughed at every suggestion had to do with work on your camera skills, I have to say that he probably doesn't ever need to work on that again. He's great cinematically. The film is fast, furious, and damn fun. I have to say that the best thing I can say about the film is that I didn't mind the use of the human element as much. This might be partially due to the script but I also attribute a lot of it to Bay and the two main actors Shia Lebouf and Megan Fox, who definately just became the pinup dream model of the year. Okay, yes in real life she's a bit too scary skinny for my taste, but man she looks good in this film. Oh, and Castle, sorry buddy but Shia really helps to hold this film together. Bay might be a bit arrogant and as usual his sfilms are light on stories, but he knows how to do buddy films better than anybody since the Beverly Hills Cop days. Oh, and Bay I loved the addition of the sign in the teacher's room, that took a lot of thought and comedic thinking and it worked perfectly.
Storywise, it's a very easy basic premise. I am not sure how close to the Transformers mythology it is but it sounds like the kind of thing I would expect from a bunch of toys that spawned a cartoon series and an anime movie and then years later an actual movie. I'm also very impressed and happy with the choice of Bay and the writing team to let certain Transformers die. That's right, I hope you aren't too attached to certain characters from the cartoon because they might easily bite the bullet sucker. However, despite the good handling of the human element by the actors and director, there is just some stuff that is dialogue that blows and I doubt anyone could have made work. That whole thing about getting into the car, it was ridiculous and needed something more. Sure its sweet, but...wait, hold on, just gotta wipe some of this Easy Cheeze out from under my eyelids. Ahh thats better. The story is relatively simple and although I appreciated the fun stuff with the Marines and Sector 7 people, I found it kind of hokey that the same people from the Middle East are the ones that have to be around til the end. Honestly, they could have been destroyed and I would have been A-okay with that as it would have pointed out how powerful the Decepticons were. Oh yea, and writers, I realize it is in the tradition of the good bot Optimus Prime to be essentially Captain America as a giant transforming robot, but for the love of Cybertron! could you please give him less preachy dialogue and stilted manners. Fanboys pipe down, this is for your own good! Ah whatever, it wasn't too terrible I suppose. The best part of the human element is that it didn't get in the way of what everyone wanted which is giant robots beating the hell out of each other. It was also handled nicely by sticking to Shia's character and keeping everything mostly in the realm of light-hearted comedy. It definately came together for the best summer blockbuster so far.
As for the actors, there are the immediate two that come to mind of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Shia does a good job of handling the comedy portions as the freaked out young horny teenager type. It's a very humanizing and fun lovable role. Megan Fox serves as nothing more than eye candy and to have a slight rapport with Shia's character which she is very good at and I see her future as being very similar to that of Lohan's if she ever decides to capitalize on her good looks at a young age. As for the supporting players, the film sports Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as marines and although I could never figure out who was Tyrese, Josh does his best job yet and doesn't manage to become annoying. He makes himself a welcome addition to the large encore cast of the film and fits in well. I believed he could have been marine or a leader in a military unit. Bravo! Then there is Jon Voight as the Secretary of Defense which works. I mean the guy can play any distinguished dignitary you want, but honestly he is best at playing something out of a western or a tobacco-spitting coach in a high school. Although I'm dying to see the film where he plays Pope John Paul II. Then there is Bernie Mac whose one bit part is highly amusing. Also John Turturro as the Sector 7 weirdo which is not believable except at one point but is a welcome light-hearted comedic addition. I especially love the thought of how vicious my Nokia might be. Then there is some side story involving Anthony Anderson and Rachael Taylor, the only believable part of it being that there are people who live like Anderson's character and seem to be complete losers who could easily wipe out your bank accounts and leave you looking like an illegal immigrant if it crossed their minds. Also, Bay, the whole thing with the donuts was what you call in Hollywood, a groaner. The robots all look amazing and they are great to listen to. Megatron is a bit much but so is Optimus. Bumblebee is of course the best robot as more time and detail is invested in him although the whole thing at the end where Bumblebee speaks literally makes no sense and contradicts the plot of the film itself.
Conclusion:
The robots look great and Bay has done an excellent job of acquiring a cast and creating the best Transformers film you coudl ask for. I'm not saying that it doesn't have some lame moments or some contradicting storyline and plot points, but on the whole its a great blockbuster stuck somewhere in between those awesome years of puberty where it is not appropriate for young family oriented groups, but it is the perfect anecdote for families with teenagers. Its fun, fast, and contains all the elements one expects of a great action film, then throw in the huge robots, great destinations, big explosions, and some sort of mythology/story and you have Transformers. I will praise the film for its ability to mix and match the government, although I'm sure it will anger many right-wingers at the obvious and unnecessary potshots at the government. The marines and Voight seem intelligent and smart as does Rachael Taylor. But then you get John Turturro and the immortal line paraphrased to "Hey, why don't you wrangle me up some of those Ding-dongs?" said by what we assume to be the voice of the President. Ahh, well. As for future installments, some people have claimed they were so impressed that they wanted the same team to stay and do a second one. I disagree. I like Bay's take on Transformers but he has made it pretty obvious in interviews and other things that he took the film on as a challenge and is not a fan of the original Transformers since he considers them a bunch of cool toys essentially. He's actually pretty hostile about the whole thing from what I can understand and I think even if he did come back the second film would be much darker and mocking of the franchise. I think the writing team, despite my gripes, had a decent script that coudl have used some dialogue fine-tuning mostly so I hope they return. Spielberg's imprint of commercial appeal is all over this film and I am happy to consider this work as a more grown-up blockbuster film. I'm sure he'd produce again, just find a new and also greatly talented director to take the reigns. I hear that the guy who directed 28 Weeks Later is really good and he might be a great choice for such an action packed, CG movie. He just might have to work a bit on his comedy.
3.7 out of 5
Wannabe
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
A Canadian Obit
Professional wrestling over the years has had its ups and downs. It swings back and forth between great characters and fun new ideas and great storylines, to rehashes of the same stuff peddled several nights before or even several years before. There have only been a few wrestlers who have ever become anything or stood for anything. Hulk Hogan, The Warrior, Sting, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, etc. I used to be a big WWF watched back in the day and I returned during the WCW vs. WWF war that eventually resulted in WWE. I also enjoyed the occassional ECW before being acquired by WWE. However, for the most part, I have been outside of the wrestling community and world for many years. I was shocked later to find out about the extremely sad crippling of one of my favorite wrestlers Perry Saturn who was shot several times in the neck when trying to save a woman from being raped. The, not too long ago I was hit by the news of Eddie Guerrero's death at such an early age. Eddie was always ripped and it never made sense to me. However, I have never been so disappointed by an icon until now. Chris Benoit, also known as the Canadian Crippler and The Wolverine, was recently found dead in his home in an apparent suicide by hanging himself at his weight machine after having strangled his son and wife. One speculation is that it was a steroid induced rage.
Normally, I never write these kinds of things, not even about the greats in the media world who pass on each year. But I felt that since Benoit will probably be villified and remembered for his violent ending of life that someone should come out and discuss the great things he did and represented. Benoit was one of a few, and probably the first to come out and not waste time jabbering. Sure, he founght like a mad man and brawled his way to the top where he won a ridiculous number of belts, but no matter what he did, he made sure he stood for his homeland, Canada. Back in middle school, he was the only wrestler I saw that constantly was referred to as Canadian and stood by it. Whether the storyline was heel or face, he was Canadian and he gave a damn good fight and a good show each time he entered the ring. The Crippler Crossface and his slaps became well known to any who watched. And considering growing up in a place and time when Canadians were prominently displayed in South Park as weak, badly-accented English people whose biggest fault in life was everything, I'm sure Benoit must have served as an icon for the better side of Canada. Sure they had hockey, but sadly many people thought their hockey team was fiercer than their military. The joking and derogatory remarks about Canada and its ways gave me a vague idea and concept about the wussies and the "aboots." Thankfully, everytime I watched wrestling I was forced to do battle with Benoit and his boy wonder attitude. He was short, muscled, scruffy, and always seemed overpowered by his opponent who could have been Razor Ramon or Kevin Nash or some other ridiculously tall supposedly American wrestler, and he gave it all. When Benoit lost, you knew it wasn't because he didn't give it his all. I always expected him to expire in battle. Benoit seemed a bit unpredictable, like Wolverine of the X-Men, but he mostly espoused good values and ideas in an age when he was the perpetual underdog. He was Canada's Superman in human form. I don't know what happened to him over the years or what might have put him so far over the edge to have caused this terrible tragedy and incident, but its a damn shame to have sullied such a great career and life. Hopefully, Canadians and others who looked up to him like my good friend from High School, will remember him in better days when his fight was just and forget his last treasonous act upon earth. I salute Benoit for his continuos uphill fight against the terrible conception of Canadians and for successfully helping to keep a young teenager open-minded throughout high school and college until he could make his own decisions. R.I.P.
Wannabe
Normally, I never write these kinds of things, not even about the greats in the media world who pass on each year. But I felt that since Benoit will probably be villified and remembered for his violent ending of life that someone should come out and discuss the great things he did and represented. Benoit was one of a few, and probably the first to come out and not waste time jabbering. Sure, he founght like a mad man and brawled his way to the top where he won a ridiculous number of belts, but no matter what he did, he made sure he stood for his homeland, Canada. Back in middle school, he was the only wrestler I saw that constantly was referred to as Canadian and stood by it. Whether the storyline was heel or face, he was Canadian and he gave a damn good fight and a good show each time he entered the ring. The Crippler Crossface and his slaps became well known to any who watched. And considering growing up in a place and time when Canadians were prominently displayed in South Park as weak, badly-accented English people whose biggest fault in life was everything, I'm sure Benoit must have served as an icon for the better side of Canada. Sure they had hockey, but sadly many people thought their hockey team was fiercer than their military. The joking and derogatory remarks about Canada and its ways gave me a vague idea and concept about the wussies and the "aboots." Thankfully, everytime I watched wrestling I was forced to do battle with Benoit and his boy wonder attitude. He was short, muscled, scruffy, and always seemed overpowered by his opponent who could have been Razor Ramon or Kevin Nash or some other ridiculously tall supposedly American wrestler, and he gave it all. When Benoit lost, you knew it wasn't because he didn't give it his all. I always expected him to expire in battle. Benoit seemed a bit unpredictable, like Wolverine of the X-Men, but he mostly espoused good values and ideas in an age when he was the perpetual underdog. He was Canada's Superman in human form. I don't know what happened to him over the years or what might have put him so far over the edge to have caused this terrible tragedy and incident, but its a damn shame to have sullied such a great career and life. Hopefully, Canadians and others who looked up to him like my good friend from High School, will remember him in better days when his fight was just and forget his last treasonous act upon earth. I salute Benoit for his continuos uphill fight against the terrible conception of Canadians and for successfully helping to keep a young teenager open-minded throughout high school and college until he could make his own decisions. R.I.P.
Wannabe
Monday, July 2, 2007
The Matador
'The Matador slays me!'
I saw this film a while back in theaters and I liked it then but I never got around to reviewing it. But since I watched it again recently, with a pack of seminarians which is really amusing, I decided to do it justice and help spread the good word.
First off, this film is such a black comedy that you might look into it and find yourself pondering Nietzsche and suicide at the same time. Don't get me wrong, it will make you laugh through puberty but it is dark comedy as any comedy about a hitman going though a midlife crisis should be. But with that said, it's nowhere near as dark as say, The Royal Tenenbaums which I found so dark that it was more of a tragedy than a comedy to me. The Matador is about a hitman named Julian who hits a midlife crisis and finds his work much harder to accomplish. He reaches out to try and make a friend. Some things happen. He botches a few jobs and suddenly he's next in line to be killed. The movie is a great exploration of what friendship means and how those around you who care for you will help you no matter how unsavory you are or the deed to be done. It's also a great exploration of the ideas of luck and how it is affected by mindset. These two big themes are explored in the travails of the two main characters as portrayed by Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.
Kinnear plays a down on his luck businessman whose son was killed not long ago and to whom bad luck has followed ever since. He meets Julian, played by the most potty-mouthed Pierce Brosnan I've ever seen who is constantly wiggin out in ways you would never guess. (I love the line "I look like a Bangkok hooker on a Sunday morning, after the navy's left town." hehe.)The interaction between these two is priceless as Julian not only strives to make a connection to someone for once but seeks help to deal with his issues and problems. What is also nice is how the director, Richard Shepard fits in great shots revealing things about the characters. The shark in the swimming pool, the picture of Brosnan in the cross-hairs, even the Brosnan cheerleader are excellent surreal qualities of the film that help to accent the at times surreal and symbolic dialogue which reveal the more about the characters and true message of the film. I mean, yes, at times its a little too free and obvious in its allusions and symbolism, but the fact that it tries so hard can be nice as it helps others not as well versed in movie-dom to follow. Pierce does his best to forget Bond in this film and its obvious. He is fantastic and it is definately one of his better roles. Kinnear isn't annoying and actually is pretty amusing in this churn out of his aww shucks character. Plus his wife played by Hope Davis is hilarious! Especially when tipsy. This movie is a lot of fun and very funny. It has a similar vein to the DeVito dark comedies like Throw Mama from the Train except it is even darker but doesn't forget to use a light touch. Pierce's unsavory character is still somehow likable despite his constant lies and terrible treatment of others. Shepard hits a homerun dark comedy the likes of which has not been seen recently except in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, which was also an indie film that pretty much no one saw. I look forward to whatever Shepard does next and I might even drag myself out to rent Seraphim Falls after this redeeming Brosnan piece.
4.3 out of 5
Wannabe
I saw this film a while back in theaters and I liked it then but I never got around to reviewing it. But since I watched it again recently, with a pack of seminarians which is really amusing, I decided to do it justice and help spread the good word.
First off, this film is such a black comedy that you might look into it and find yourself pondering Nietzsche and suicide at the same time. Don't get me wrong, it will make you laugh through puberty but it is dark comedy as any comedy about a hitman going though a midlife crisis should be. But with that said, it's nowhere near as dark as say, The Royal Tenenbaums which I found so dark that it was more of a tragedy than a comedy to me. The Matador is about a hitman named Julian who hits a midlife crisis and finds his work much harder to accomplish. He reaches out to try and make a friend. Some things happen. He botches a few jobs and suddenly he's next in line to be killed. The movie is a great exploration of what friendship means and how those around you who care for you will help you no matter how unsavory you are or the deed to be done. It's also a great exploration of the ideas of luck and how it is affected by mindset. These two big themes are explored in the travails of the two main characters as portrayed by Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.
Kinnear plays a down on his luck businessman whose son was killed not long ago and to whom bad luck has followed ever since. He meets Julian, played by the most potty-mouthed Pierce Brosnan I've ever seen who is constantly wiggin out in ways you would never guess. (I love the line "I look like a Bangkok hooker on a Sunday morning, after the navy's left town." hehe.)The interaction between these two is priceless as Julian not only strives to make a connection to someone for once but seeks help to deal with his issues and problems. What is also nice is how the director, Richard Shepard fits in great shots revealing things about the characters. The shark in the swimming pool, the picture of Brosnan in the cross-hairs, even the Brosnan cheerleader are excellent surreal qualities of the film that help to accent the at times surreal and symbolic dialogue which reveal the more about the characters and true message of the film. I mean, yes, at times its a little too free and obvious in its allusions and symbolism, but the fact that it tries so hard can be nice as it helps others not as well versed in movie-dom to follow. Pierce does his best to forget Bond in this film and its obvious. He is fantastic and it is definately one of his better roles. Kinnear isn't annoying and actually is pretty amusing in this churn out of his aww shucks character. Plus his wife played by Hope Davis is hilarious! Especially when tipsy. This movie is a lot of fun and very funny. It has a similar vein to the DeVito dark comedies like Throw Mama from the Train except it is even darker but doesn't forget to use a light touch. Pierce's unsavory character is still somehow likable despite his constant lies and terrible treatment of others. Shepard hits a homerun dark comedy the likes of which has not been seen recently except in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, which was also an indie film that pretty much no one saw. I look forward to whatever Shepard does next and I might even drag myself out to rent Seraphim Falls after this redeeming Brosnan piece.
4.3 out of 5
Wannabe
Fanatix Indie League Update
Alright gents, just to let you know, my good friend Junders just called me up to notify that I had to drop Death at a Funeral otherwise I wouldn't make enough money to cover my losses on my latest drugs, cough, investments. As such, I will be replacing the film with the suggested Werner Herzog flick Rescue Dawn starring Christian Bale. As for Junders, well, don't worry. He'll be fine if his suggestion works.
Now for the statistics!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 47.2 5 5 9
2 $PAPRIKA 0.57 4 0 8
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.9
7 $ONCE 3.8 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.1 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 TRANSFORMERS 240 10 16 7.1
2 $EVENING 3.5 0 0 7.8
3 $OCEAN'S 13 102.1 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 21.2 0 0 5.9
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.48 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 8.4
7 INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 11.5 6 0 7.3
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 122.4 7 11 8.2
2 $SURF'S UP 53.8 0 3 7.3
3 $FF4 114.8 5 9 6.5
4 $*BLACK SHEEP 0.01 0 0 6.6
5 RESCUE DAWN 17.7 4 0 8
6 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 125 6 9 6.9
7 $SICKO 4.6 9 0 8.4
8 $FIDO 0.28 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 60.6 3 8 6.2
2 HP5 230 9 13 7.6
3 HAIRSPRAY 60 2 4 5.9
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 48.1 3 4 8.3
5 $HOSTEL II 17.5 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 CAPTIVITY 12.9 0 0 4.9
8 $*MR. BROOKS 27.3 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 456.54 4
WANNABE 438.59 3
GOS 378.842 2
CASTLE 197.02 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 31 4
GOS 26 3
CASTLE 25 2
WILLO 17 1
TOP 5
WANNABE 32 4
WILLO 31 3
GOS 27 2
CASTLE 17 1
IMDB
CASTLE 7.4625 4
WANNABE 7.425 3
GOS 7.1125 2
WILLO 6.625 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 2 1 4 8 4
GOS 2 3 2 2 9 2
WANNABE 3 4 4 3 14 1
WILLO 4 1 3 1 9 2
As you can see, I am so far pleased with Junders and his purchasing prowess. However, previous frontrunners such as the venerable Castle might want to start figuring out how to improve their chances. Toodles!
Wannabe
Now for the statistics!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 47.2 5 5 9
2 $PAPRIKA 0.57 4 0 8
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.9
7 $ONCE 3.8 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.1 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 TRANSFORMERS 240 10 16 7.1
2 $EVENING 3.5 0 0 7.8
3 $OCEAN'S 13 102.1 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 21.2 0 0 5.9
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.48 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 8.4
7 INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 11.5 6 0 7.3
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 122.4 7 11 8.2
2 $SURF'S UP 53.8 0 3 7.3
3 $FF4 114.8 5 9 6.5
4 $*BLACK SHEEP 0.01 0 0 6.6
5 RESCUE DAWN 17.7 4 0 8
6 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 125 6 9 6.9
7 $SICKO 4.6 9 0 8.4
8 $FIDO 0.28 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 60.6 3 8 6.2
2 HP5 230 9 13 7.6
3 HAIRSPRAY 60 2 4 5.9
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 48.1 3 4 8.3
5 $HOSTEL II 17.5 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 CAPTIVITY 12.9 0 0 4.9
8 $*MR. BROOKS 27.3 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 456.54 4
WANNABE 438.59 3
GOS 378.842 2
CASTLE 197.02 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 31 4
GOS 26 3
CASTLE 25 2
WILLO 17 1
TOP 5
WANNABE 32 4
WILLO 31 3
GOS 27 2
CASTLE 17 1
IMDB
CASTLE 7.4625 4
WANNABE 7.425 3
GOS 7.1125 2
WILLO 6.625 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 2 1 4 8 4
GOS 2 3 2 2 9 2
WANNABE 3 4 4 3 14 1
WILLO 4 1 3 1 9 2
As you can see, I am so far pleased with Junders and his purchasing prowess. However, previous frontrunners such as the venerable Castle might want to start figuring out how to improve their chances. Toodles!
Wannabe
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