The Rebound is a half decent idea for a classic romantic comedy. As proven by a lot of the other movies I've rated within that genre, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to enjoy it.
Unfortunately it's not well enough scripted, it's not balanced in its cutting/frame time for different parts of the story and it's really never either dramatic, romantic or funny enough. Zeta-Jones and Bartha does quite well, the children are well casted and all of them would have deserved a slightly more balanced screenplay or a better editing at least.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Underworld: Evolution (2006)
Underworld: Evolution continues the story about the battle between Lycans and vampires, Selene's role in it all and more about the reasons behind the centuries long war.
As with most other sequels, it's not as good a story as in the original. I find it better balanced than Underworld, but it's still not as good story there to begin with. Still it tells me more than enough I'm really not very interested in the story behind it all, so I doubt I'll watch Rise of the Lycans. At least not until the fourth chapter arrives, and I feel obligated to watch the third before again following Beckinsale as Selene.
And just to have mentioned it. I really really hate it when a sequel flashback cliffnotes about the original movie to the extend they do here. Jeezes. If you make a sequel depending on watching the first movie to really get into the story, at least make sure you trust your audience enough to believe they'll actually bother watching the first movie ahead of the sequel.
As with most other sequels, it's not as good a story as in the original. I find it better balanced than Underworld, but it's still not as good story there to begin with. Still it tells me more than enough I'm really not very interested in the story behind it all, so I doubt I'll watch Rise of the Lycans. At least not until the fourth chapter arrives, and I feel obligated to watch the third before again following Beckinsale as Selene.
And just to have mentioned it. I really really hate it when a sequel flashback cliffnotes about the original movie to the extend they do here. Jeezes. If you make a sequel depending on watching the first movie to really get into the story, at least make sure you trust your audience enough to believe they'll actually bother watching the first movie ahead of the sequel.
Underworld (2003)
Underworld takes on the story of the long lasting fight between the immortal vampires and the werewolfs clan called Lycans. I'm no stranger to be entertained by fantasy stories, vampires or long lasting wars, as long as it's told well.
Underworld isn't half bad when it comes to its way of telling the story, but I still never really get that into it. To tell the truth it's kind of hard to care much about the Michael character as flat as he comes around, and that's probably much of the reason Underworld isn't as good as it easily could have been. He takes to much screentime, and I really don't give a shit about him.
Beckinsale is quite marvellous as Selene, several of the supporting cast gives great life to their roles whether they're Lycans or vampires and the story of dark battle dark behind the scenes (from a human perspective) is a good idea. I wish they either managed to get the human character better written into the story or left out all together, but thats just me. If you buy better into that part of the movie, you might enjoy it a lot.
Underworld isn't half bad when it comes to its way of telling the story, but I still never really get that into it. To tell the truth it's kind of hard to care much about the Michael character as flat as he comes around, and that's probably much of the reason Underworld isn't as good as it easily could have been. He takes to much screentime, and I really don't give a shit about him.
Beckinsale is quite marvellous as Selene, several of the supporting cast gives great life to their roles whether they're Lycans or vampires and the story of dark battle dark behind the scenes (from a human perspective) is a good idea. I wish they either managed to get the human character better written into the story or left out all together, but thats just me. If you buy better into that part of the movie, you might enjoy it a lot.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Shoot 'Em Up (2007)
Shoot 'Em Up is a good old fashioned video game genre. As a movie it doesn't manage to entertain as much as it needs to for the purpose of making us forget about the weak script and acting. I don't mind blasting action movies without any other purpose than to entertain its audience. This movie just doesn't manage to be entertaining enough to enjoy the ride.
For future reference I did for once manage to find Monica Bellucci somewhat credible. I think she nails the whore part of her role, but how many good roles are there to be found as such?
For future reference I did for once manage to find Monica Bellucci somewhat credible. I think she nails the whore part of her role, but how many good roles are there to be found as such?
Friday, February 19, 2010
Stand by Me (1986)
Writer: Novel: Stephen King Screenplay: Raynold Gideon, Bruce A Evans
Cast: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, Gary Riley, Bradley Gregg, John Cusack
Genre: Pre-Teen, Adventure, Drama
Many from this young cast have since gone on to become familiar names, and their roles here isn't anything to be ashamed of.
Stand by Me reminds me of how life was at that age. Before girls and before life lessons of hard work and everyday boredom. A time of most boys life were they can concentrate on growing up, playing around and staying away from the older boys.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Serious Moonlight (2009)
Serious Moonlight is the biggest disappointment I've had in quite a while. Not to say I had hopes, only to really underline how incredible weak this story was.
This is a Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton duologue, were both have serious trouble making us take any of them seriously at all. The plot is incredible bad, the characters the same and the idea of these two actually being persuaded to do this movie is something I'll never understand.
I got to admit I'm not the biggest fan of Hutton to begin with, even if I can stand him in small portions in the TV show Leverage. Ryan have done both good and bad movies, but even if I did like her in In The Land of Women, I think she shouldn't let that get to her head. This wasn't the greatest idea her agent ever had.
I love Kristen Bell, but her part is only a smaller support one and not even an especially good one either. Between her and Ryan I manage to not flunk this movie as a 1, but that's just barely. Even being quite short, this movie felt awfully long. Easily the worst movie I've seen since Sex Drive, but that one was at least funny once or twice.... I think.
This is a Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton duologue, were both have serious trouble making us take any of them seriously at all. The plot is incredible bad, the characters the same and the idea of these two actually being persuaded to do this movie is something I'll never understand.
I got to admit I'm not the biggest fan of Hutton to begin with, even if I can stand him in small portions in the TV show Leverage. Ryan have done both good and bad movies, but even if I did like her in In The Land of Women, I think she shouldn't let that get to her head. This wasn't the greatest idea her agent ever had.
I love Kristen Bell, but her part is only a smaller support one and not even an especially good one either. Between her and Ryan I manage to not flunk this movie as a 1, but that's just barely. Even being quite short, this movie felt awfully long. Easily the worst movie I've seen since Sex Drive, but that one was at least funny once or twice.... I think.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Heathers (1988)
Were Mean Girls didn't manage to get me aboard the hype train, I did come across several referring to Heathers when praising it. Still after knocking down on Mean Girls, I do take its praise serious enough I had to check out the original twenty years or so after its release.
And while satire most definitely isn't my strongest genre, Heathers spoke to me a lot more than Mean Girls ever did. Ryder, Slater, Doherty and Walker does well to give life to an interest part of Westerburg High School.
The script is filled with a lot of witty dialogue, but it's not balanced enough for my taste.While the more boring parts probably are meant to play on adults view of teenagers life and struggles, I tend to yawn. It probably helps to underline the satire and everything, but to me it mostly makes me check for coffee or consider taking up smoking again.
Anyway. If you really liked Mean Girls and thought it was the real deal, Heathers might very well convince you it had been done better 15 years earlier.
And while satire most definitely isn't my strongest genre, Heathers spoke to me a lot more than Mean Girls ever did. Ryder, Slater, Doherty and Walker does well to give life to an interest part of Westerburg High School.
The script is filled with a lot of witty dialogue, but it's not balanced enough for my taste.While the more boring parts probably are meant to play on adults view of teenagers life and struggles, I tend to yawn. It probably helps to underline the satire and everything, but to me it mostly makes me check for coffee or consider taking up smoking again.
Anyway. If you really liked Mean Girls and thought it was the real deal, Heathers might very well convince you it had been done better 15 years earlier.
Finding Nemo (2003)
Finding Nemo is a classic travel story coming across a lot of different adventures and characters.
I really enjoyed the intro and the overprotective result, but as soon as they started their adventure they got a little to interested in presenting as many characters as possible, rather than keep up telling the funny story they started out with.
Most of the adventures is fun enough, but I'm not that much of a fan of the characters and their small parts across the ocean. Some of them would have been a lot more interesting if they got to play a bigger part of Nemo or Marlin's stories. It's a balancing act, and for me they were a little too eager to move forward rather than enjoy the characters created for the moment.
It's still a quite funny and overall good movie, but it had the potential to be even more of an epic animated story.
I really enjoyed the intro and the overprotective result, but as soon as they started their adventure they got a little to interested in presenting as many characters as possible, rather than keep up telling the funny story they started out with.
Most of the adventures is fun enough, but I'm not that much of a fan of the characters and their small parts across the ocean. Some of them would have been a lot more interesting if they got to play a bigger part of Nemo or Marlin's stories. It's a balancing act, and for me they were a little too eager to move forward rather than enjoy the characters created for the moment.
It's still a quite funny and overall good movie, but it had the potential to be even more of an epic animated story.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Nothing But the Truth (2008)
Nothing But the Truth is the kind of story deserving to be told. It screams for attention, and Kate Beckinsale demands it as well as the lead. Beckinsale is excellent in this movie. I wish they casted her husband as well, because I got to say it's not very funny watching David Schwimmer ruining a ensemble cast performance like he does here. Beckinsale, Alda, Dillon, Farmiga, Bassett and Abrams all does so well, but Scwimmer is the weak link itching the acting.
Anyways. He's not the only problem this movie has. Ten years ago it was a different story. Back then 9/11 hadn't yet changed the world. Journalist could be heroes also in the public eye back then. Now it's not as easy to get the empathy from the public in life and also the audience for a movie. It doesn't mean this isn't a story worth telling. It just means it's not as easy to get the right feeling during the movie. I'm not saying it's right or wrong. I'm just saying that's the way it is.
This is the kind of story I wish to reward with a better rating, but I just can't. To tell the story correct, it's got to be built quite slowly and detailed, but that also give us a movie without the tension and nerve to engage us. I like that it doesn't add a lot of side stories trying to defend the time spent on telling the main story, because that's the mistake most would have done. It gives this movie a more credible story and I give them a lot of credit for it, but it also means the movie feels a little too slow and almost boring a while.
Adding to most of the acting, the story and their effort to not sidestep it too much, this movie also manages to create small moments of interactions adding depth to it in a way many movies never manages. The journalist and the spy, the husband and the lawyer, the spy and her bosses and so on and so forth. It adds layers much needed, and is the same layers that makes this movie come so close to an even better rating.
It's a well told and an interesting must tell story, from the wrong side of public opinion and heart. That might also be the reason it still engages, as it's not such an original story to begin with. Sometimes that's okey. In the end all we really want is a well told story, whether or not we've heard something very similar before.
Anyways. He's not the only problem this movie has. Ten years ago it was a different story. Back then 9/11 hadn't yet changed the world. Journalist could be heroes also in the public eye back then. Now it's not as easy to get the empathy from the public in life and also the audience for a movie. It doesn't mean this isn't a story worth telling. It just means it's not as easy to get the right feeling during the movie. I'm not saying it's right or wrong. I'm just saying that's the way it is.
This is the kind of story I wish to reward with a better rating, but I just can't. To tell the story correct, it's got to be built quite slowly and detailed, but that also give us a movie without the tension and nerve to engage us. I like that it doesn't add a lot of side stories trying to defend the time spent on telling the main story, because that's the mistake most would have done. It gives this movie a more credible story and I give them a lot of credit for it, but it also means the movie feels a little too slow and almost boring a while.
Adding to most of the acting, the story and their effort to not sidestep it too much, this movie also manages to create small moments of interactions adding depth to it in a way many movies never manages. The journalist and the spy, the husband and the lawyer, the spy and her bosses and so on and so forth. It adds layers much needed, and is the same layers that makes this movie come so close to an even better rating.
It's a well told and an interesting must tell story, from the wrong side of public opinion and heart. That might also be the reason it still engages, as it's not such an original story to begin with. Sometimes that's okey. In the end all we really want is a well told story, whether or not we've heard something very similar before.
Mean Girls (2004)
I hadn't watched Mean Girls since probably when it arrived in 04, and now I've recently found it mentioned on two quite different top100 lists for the past decade. I had to arrange a revisit, and now I actually had some expectations. Words like satire, funny, rewatchable and smartly written have been used describing it.
To me it actually got relegated on my second viewing. Originally rated at 6, this time it couldn't even hold up that. It's way too uneven. Were it manages to be funny a little while, it always splashes seconds later. The story isn't strongly enough edited, the caricatures is stretched outside funny and way too far into embarrassing and it doesn't manage to nail either the high school experience or the satire of the high school experience.
Rachel McAdams and Lacey Chabert is good as two thirds of the original plastics, but there's not enough of a script to go around. Top 100 of the decade? Give me a break. This isn't even close to what it's hyped to be.
To me it actually got relegated on my second viewing. Originally rated at 6, this time it couldn't even hold up that. It's way too uneven. Were it manages to be funny a little while, it always splashes seconds later. The story isn't strongly enough edited, the caricatures is stretched outside funny and way too far into embarrassing and it doesn't manage to nail either the high school experience or the satire of the high school experience.
Rachel McAdams and Lacey Chabert is good as two thirds of the original plastics, but there's not enough of a script to go around. Top 100 of the decade? Give me a break. This isn't even close to what it's hyped to be.
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