Animated Monster Adventure

Monster House (4/5 stars)

Monster House, an animated film similar in technical style to Polar Express, is one of the most delightfully imaginative and adventerous children's films I've seen in a while. It is the kind of thing I think I would have really gone ballistic over when I was much younger, as it is completely filled with manic action, fright, and excitement.

In a suburban neighborhood, there is a house owned by a creepy old-man named Mr. Nebbercracker, who spends his time chasing children away from his house and confiscating any of their toys which may unfortunately stray into his yard. One day, he keels over dead after an argument with one of the protangonist kids who made the mistake of letting a basketball roll into the old man's yard. This happens on the afternoon before Halloween. Soon after the exit of Mr. Nebbercracker, strange things start happening in the neighborhood as the house becomes alive. However, at first only the children experience this as the house seems to sense the existence of adults and hides itself when they are around. The children, two boys and a girl, begin an investigation into the house and how to stop it from causing havoc upon them. Particularly worrisome is the fact that the house may eat them, as just that happens to one of the children's babysitter's boyfriend as he is leaving the house across the street from the spooky house.

It might be strange to say, but the greatest star of the movie is the actual house itself. It literally comes alive, capturing a dog with its carpet (tongue), going after the children, police officers, and anyone who has the bad sense to come to close to it. After some important plot revelations which explain its origins, it even goes so far as to uproot itself and literally start chasing after people, providing for some fantastic action sequences.

While the animation quality might not be up to snuff with a Pixar film, I simply found this movie to be a lot more fun and exciting than Pixar's entry for this year, Cars. It doesn't attempt to teach a lesson, doesn't pander too much to adults, it is simply wild and crazy fun. I think this is the movie that kids would really enjoy from this summer. However, most of us still have a bit of a child in us anyway, and except for those who are too obsessive about being mature about their tastes, I think almost anyone would find this movie a fun and wild ride.

Light But Absolutely Hilarious Woody

Scoop (4/5 stars)

Scoop, the latest from Woody Allen, is one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. A departure from his latest drama Match Point, this movie makes no attempt to be deep and instead provides a nice farce that proves to be very enjoyable.

The story is that Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson), a journalism student, is visted by the ghost of a recently deceased reporter Joe Strombel (Ian McShane, Deadwood), who tips her off to the potential identity of a multiple murderer called the Tarot Card Killer while she is in the middle of participating in a disappearing-inside-a-box magic trick during a show given by magician Sid Waterman (Woody Allen). He claims that the identity of the killer is rich English socialite Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman). Later on, both Sondra and Sid witness the ghost again, and the investigation is on. They arrange to meet their suspected killer, providing false identies as rich Americans (with Allen pretending to be Johansson's father), in order to gain access to his dwelling to find clues which might help them find their "scoop", the real story. A snag hits in their investigation when Johannson becomes romantically interested in her investigative subject.

The plot isn't so important here though, what is really important is this movie is downright, absolutely hilarious completely throughout. I haven't laughed so consistently during a movie for quite some time (and judging from the audience I was with, I'm not the only one). Allen is his usual overly neurotic self, and provides brilliantly hilarious dialogue. Johansson is is superb as his foil, with her determination to get the story and seriousness undermining his absurd and erratic behavior. McShane is good as a small player in the scenes he is in (I especially like the use of the ship sailing to what must be the River Stix; at one point he actually jumps off the ship as he is so determined to get his information to somebody that is alive). The one weak cast-member might be Jackman; while he is competant mostly for what he is given there are a few parts that don't ring true.

Some might say that this is very similar to some of Allen's other movies, but if it is still really funny, does that matter so much? I don't think it does. It is absolutely great for what it is. The only flaw I really see is that the way the mystery is wrapped up feels very forced and untrue. But that is only one part towards the end, and the mystery portion of the movie isn't really the reason to go in the first place. Thus, if you are interesting in seeing a good mystery movie this probably isn't for you. But if you would like to see a deliciously absurd farce with Woody playing at his comedic best with a great partner in Johansson, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Moody Miami

Miami Vice (4.5/5 stars)

In this adaptation of the old TV series from director Michael Mann, we are given a mood and action-driven recreation of the show that is much different and improved from the original. Gone are the 1980s influenced pastel scenery and characters, and introduced is a bleak, dreary mood crime drama full of gritty action and angry characters.

The story is that one night while investigating a completely unrelated assignment, undercover Miami police officers Sonny Crocket (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) are drawn into a seperate investigation after a couple of FBI agents are killed on a blown investigation due to a leak to the criminals about the agents' real identities. While initially they are set to sniff out the leak, they are drawn into infiltrating and breaking up a much larger international drug operation by actually helping to smuggle drugs into the country themselves to get in good graces with the organization itself.

Both of the leads do a good job at their parts here; Colin Farrell is good as the brooding Crocket, Foxx as the angry Tubbs. While the movie doesn't really explain why these men are how they are, that isn't really the point; right away we know them and it is interesting to see how they react to the pressures and stresses of their investigation and the pitfalls that befall them. Additionally, Gong Li is great as a member of the international drug cartel and Crocket's dual love-interest and in-road into the crime organization. I think the criticism given to her accent by some other reviewers is flawed, she isn't supposed to be playing a first-language English character, what does everyone expect? Luis Tosar as the primary villain is also a treat and deliciously mean.

The plot, while sometimes confusing (the organization isn't really completely explained, and the level of deep cover involved is passed over to an extent in order to save time), is not that hard to understand once you boil it down. What the movie is really about is the atmosphere and the mood of the characters interacting with each other, even though their motivations are never completely explained. There are bits here and there of punchy dialogue, and excellent action sequences, especially one towards the end which I would go out on a limb and say is one of the best shoot-out scenes I've seen in a movie since Mann's previous work, Heat. What really makes this movie stand out in my opinion is Mann's brilliant direction and camera work. The movie is simply a joy to look at, sink in and take in the atmosphere.

While not nearly as good as Heat, this movie is definitely in my opinion better than Mann's previous effort Collateral (and as a side note, I am pleased to note that it doesn't have to rely on a cellphone out of batteries as a plot device). Unlike the first those two movies I've mentioned, this movie doesn't focus on characters facing up against each other (like Pacino vs. De Niro in Heat or Cruise vs. Foxx in Collateral); it takes a simple story and adds a different dimension in texture. I would recommend it if you are a fan of Mann and can appreciate an excellent procedural crime saga without needing to see characters have psychological battles with each other or to have their motivations explained.

Interesting Trailers

I don't normally post about trailers... but one is for my most anticipated movie of the year and the other looks mindblowingly awesome so, here goes.

Trailer For Babel

Hopefully this is as good, or even better, than Amorres Perros and 21 Grams.

Trailer for The Fountain

Maybe this won't be good? But the futuristic scenes are going to look amazing.

DVD: Drifting Aimlessly

Somersault (3.5/5 stars)

This is the story of an Australian teenage girl, who after getting caught attempting to seduce her mother's boyfriend, runs away to a remote ski resort town and attempts to meet up with a boy she used to know. After he refuses to see her, she decides to stay in the area and see what she can make of it, as she has nowhere else to go.

She goes to a bar, gets picked up by a young man who casts her aside the very next day, and ends up meeting another one who she advances upon but isn't receptive at first. He gets her a hotel room, and eventually she ends staying in a flat formerly inhabited by the hotel owner's son, gets a job at a local gas station, all the while pursuing this man. Eventually they get together, but they have different ideas about what their relationship really is; she thinks it is something like love, he is very flippant and doesn't see it as that much of a big deal. Eventually she starts looking for what she wants in other places.

With maybe one exception, there isn't any heightened drama to the story, it meanders along as this lonely girl has a string of relationships trying to find love but instead gets used. She is a confused teenager attempting to live an adult life and gets emotionally punished for it, basically failing for the short time that we see her to achieve a level of emotional maturity.

While the movie could have used more plot, the acting and direction (there are some really beautifully done gimmick shots throughout the movie that I really liked) make up for it to a large degree. So while this movie is very slow and moody, aimless, just like the main character, if you can get into something just to enjoy the characters and scenery you may enjoy it.

DVD: The Writer and the Girl in the Cafe

Ask the Dust (2/5 stars)

This film, starring Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek, and written and directed by Robert Towne (the writer of the classic Chinatown), seemed like it might be some interesting exploration into the struggles of a writer and immigrants. However, it gets off track and instead turns into something very dull.

The story is about Arturo Bandini (Farrell), an Italian immigrant who moves to Los Angeles to attempt to become a successful writer. Obviously he stays in a burnt out hotel room; also has a few cooky neighbors (one played by Donald Sutherland) which provide slight bits of amusement for the film. He eventually meets two different women; one who is enamored with the little bit of writing he has already published but has some serious issues that I won't reveal, and another, a Mexican immigrant (Hayek) who works in a cafe that he visits to spend his last nickel. Of course, his last nickel. The story attempts to be about the problems he faces as a writer, their relationship struggles, and the intolerance both of them (especially Hayek's character) face as immigrants but it fails miserably by continuously going off track.

Much of the movie is plagued by the most irritating narration from Farrell's character, from what I can assume is from the novel he is working on throughout the book. Must every movie about writing include massive amounts of narration? In some cases (like Adaptation, because it is really funny) it works, here it just fails as it is miserably boring. The characters and the issues they face just aren't that interesting; it seems like the movie is plagued by trying to attempt to conbine too many themes (intolerance, love, and writing) without expanding any of them enough to be interesting. Pulp drama, I suppose.

The one good thing about the movie is that it looks nice, but it doesn't make up for the plodding plot and boring characters. Coming from the writer of Chinatown, I expected a lot better than this. I recommend not bothering with this one.

Sorry for the Inconvenience

As I've gotten comment spammed 3 times in the last few days, I noticed that there is a word verification option in order to post a comment. I've enabled it, and all this means is that when posting a comment you are presented with a word that you have to type in as verification to prevent automated commenting, like when you sign up for a web email account, etc.

You can still do this even if you're commenting anonymously (or typing in a name with the 'other' option), I am just sick and tired of having to dig through every post and delete a comment that says "Great Site! Here's my link to some random gambling site!"

A Box Office First For the Year

For the first time, at least half of the top ten box office earning movies have "good" reviews as based on their RT scores.

2 - Monster House 69%
6 - Clerks II 66%
8 - Superman Returns 76%
9 - The Devil Wears Prada 77%
10 - Cars 76%

Way to go, consumers! Although, I did not see any movies this weekend so I did not contribute. I may see Monster House or Clerks II later, or even Lady in the Water (horrible reviews), because I'm morbidly fascinated by how bad it might actually be.

DVD: Another Oscar Mistake / Thug Kidnapper Redemption

Tsotsi (2.5/5 stars)

I seem to be on some kind of roll with formulaic movies. This is the story of a brutal thug (this doesn't give anything away as it is in the first few scenes, but we almost immediately see him watch idly by as his friend stabs someone to death, he shoots a woman in front of her house when he was going to to rob it, and he robs and taunts a man in a wheelchair) who by chance ends up in possession of a baby and it changes his life. The baby comes from the woman shot in front of her house, as he steals her car only to find out that there is a crying child inside. He freaks out, leaves the car, and brings the baby back to his place. Thus begins the movie, can you guess the entire plot yet?

What is really mystifying about this film is just how quickly his personality changes. One minute the protagonist is the vilest person imaginable, then when the baby appears he suddenly becomes a nice, caring person. Does this baby have telepathic power over him to change his personality instantaneously? It sort of reminds me (not quite as bad) of the moment in Revenge of the Sith where Anakin Skywalker is screaming "I hate you!" at the Empereror, then is saying "yes, master" and running off to kill Jedi children 90 seconds later, except in reverse.

Besides this the movie is complete formula; down on his luck, poverty stricken person with a terrible childhood overcomes their misfortune to do something good (what that ends up being, I'll let you guess: it isn't very hard). The writing is very calculating and not really the slightest bit original. Also there are moments in the film where the most horrendous songs are played, providing me with a little nausea. In addition to this add the nicer sounding, but very typical African style score for some very bland sound. The one thing I'll give it is that the cinematography is good, something along the lines of City of God or The Constant Gardener without the hand-held camera.

This film won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the Academy Awards last year. Why? Because it is well made enough, and it is exactly the same kind of recycled, overly-endearing muck that appeals to the voters on a regular basis (it doesn't matter that there is really no character development, the character changes, Oscar!). I've only seen one other nominee (Paradise Now) so far, and already I know that it completely did not deserve the award it got. Since it was released in the United States this year though, I consider it to be a 2006 film, but nevertheless it is not nearly good enough to make any of my charts.

DVD: Inspiration Out Of Focus

On A Clear Day (2.5/5 stars)

This movie tells the story of a man who, after losing his job and being too old to do anything else, gets really angry at the world and decides to swim the English Channel. It is a pretty typical, slightly-comedic slightly-dramatic against-all-odds inspiration story. I saw this movie because it was a Focus Features release (why am I still relying on them I don't know), so first after over ten movies in a row that I really liked this is the third out of four that I did like much at all.

What have you seen in this movie that you've seen before? Well you've got the unlikely character trying to accomplish a vaguely impossible feat to start. Insert a few personal demons and dysfunctional relationships and you've got yourself a character. Add a dash of random obstacles thrown at the character, and few moments where the character thinks they are going to give up, and you've got the struggle. Throw in a cast of supporting characters who are either discouraging towards the main character or supportive and spired by them (some of whom, usually, first one then the other) and you've got your relationships. Add some manipulative touching moments and the "oh will he succeed!" climax and you've got your writing and directing down.

While it isn't quite so outrageously cliched and emotionally manipulative as say, Akeelah and the Bee from earlier in the year, and a little bit more quirky and interesting, this film isn't anything special at all. What I don't get about these types of movies is why they don't even bother to attempt to add anything new to the formula. You've seen this movie a million times before, and you can definitely choose not to watch it one more time.