For the month of March...

Best Film of the Month: A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Worst Film of the Month: The Number 23 (2007)

March 31, 2007

Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Director: Stephen J. Anderson
Writers: Michelle Bochner, Stephen J. Anderson, Robert L. Baird, Jon Bernstein, Daniel Gerson, Nathan Greno, Don Hall, William Joyce, Shirley Pierce, and Aurian Redson
Starring: Angela Bassett, Daniel Hansen, Jordan Fry, and Matthew Josten
Co-Starring: John H. H. Ford, Dara McGarry, Tom Kenny, and Laurie Metcalf
Description: Lewis an orphan wants to see what his mother looked like. So he invents a machine that looks through your brain so you can see your memories. But this weird kid says he's from the future and warns him about a guy in a bowler hat. The bowler hat guy messes with his invention and it fails. He decides that he's a failure and no one wants him. But the kid that warned him about the guy is here on a mission to find the bowler hat guy that wants to destroy Lewis. To prove he's from the future he takes lewis to the future. But the time machine breaks and he's stuck in the future until he fixes it. In the meantime he spends quality time with the family. But the bowler hat guy is about to alter time and it's up to Lewis to save the future.
Rating: B
In a word... suprising.

March 27, 2007

What About Bob? (1991)
Director: Frank Oz
Writers: Alvin Sargent, Laura Ziskin, and Tom Schulman
Starring: Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss
Co-Starring: Julie Hagerty, Charlie Korsmo, and Kathryn Erbe
Description: Bob Wiley is a neurotic and manipulative man who has a habit of clinging onto his therapists. His last one, not being able to deal with him, sends him to Leo Marvin. After having just one session, Bob thinks the world of Dr. Marvin. However, the doctor's leaving to spend the rest of the summer with his family, which throws Bob into utter despair. He calls the doctor constantly demanding to see him, but the doctor says he is on vacation and cuts Bob off. He manages to find out where he is and goes there. The doctor's family takes a liking to him but the doctor feels that he is just intrusive. And no matter what he does, Bob just won't go away, and everybody thinks that Leo is being mean.
Rating: B+
In a word... hilarious.

March 25, 2007

A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Anthony Burgess and Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, and Warren Clarke
Co-Starring:Adrienne Corri, Carl Duering, and Aubrey Morris
Description: In a futuristic Britain, a gang of teenagers go on the rampage every night, beating and raping helpless victims. After one of the boys quells an uprising in the gang, they knock him out and leave him for the police to find. He agrees to try "aversion therapy" to shorten his jail sentence. When he is eventually let out, he hates violence, but the rest of his gang members are still after him.
Rating: A
In a word... disturbing.

March 22, 2007

Walk the Line (2005)
Director: James Mangold
Writer: Johnny Cash, Patrick Carr, Gill Dennis, and James Mangold
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon
Co-Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, and Dallas Roberts
Description: Johnny Cash grew up in Arkansas, and served in the Air Force in Germany, where he bought a guitar. He returned from the war and married. Singing and playing with two other men, he cut a record in Memphis. His reputation growing from airplay and live performances, Cash became a star, touring with the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and others. On tour, he suffered the effects of drug addiction. He also met June Carter, who would later become his wife. Responding in part to the fan mail he received from prisoners, Cash played a legendary concert for the inmates at Folsom Prison in California.
Rating: A
In a word... essential.

March 17, 2007

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Director: Michael Gondry
Writer: Charlie Kaufman, Michael Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, and Tom Wilkinson
Co-Starring: Gerry Robert Byrne, Jane Adams, David Cross, and Thomas Jay Ryan
Description: A man awakes disheveled; impulsively, he skips work, heading instead to the shore. On this chilly February day, a woman in orange, hair dyed blue, chats him up: she's Clementine, he's Joel, shy and sad; by day's end, he likes her. The next night she takes him to the frozen Charles River. After, as he drops her off, she asks to sleep at his place, and she runs up to get her toothbrush. Strange things occur: their meeting was not entirely chance, they have a history neither remembers. Our seeing how the lacunae came to be and their discovery of the memory loss take the rest of the film.
Rating: A
In a word... speechless.

March 16, 2007

Howard the Duck (1986)
Director: Willard Huyck
Writer: Stever Gerber, Willard Huyck, and Gloria Hatz
Starring: Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins, Ed Gale, and Chip Zein
Co-Starring: Paul Guilfoyle, Liz Sagal, and Dominque Davalos
Description: A scientific experiment unknowingly brings extraterrestrial life forms to the Earth through a laser beam. First is the cigar smoking drake Howard from the duck's planet. A few kids try to keep him from the greedy scientists and help him back to his planet. But then a much less friendly being arrives through the beam...
Rating: D+
In a word... insipid.

March 16, 2007

Absence of Mailce (1981)
Director: Sydney Pollack
Writer: Kurt Luedtke and David Rayfiel
Starring: Paul Newman and Sally Field
Co-Starring: Bob Balaban and Melinda Dillon
Description: Paul Newman plays the son of a long dead Mafia boss who is a simple liquor warehouse owner. Frustrated in his attempt to solve a murder of a union head, a prosecutor leaks a false story that Newman is a target of the investigation, hoping that he will tell them something for protection. As his life begins to unravel, others are hurt by the story. Sally Field, the reporter, is in the clear under the Absence of Malice rule in slander and libel cases. Knowing nothing to trade to the prosecutors, Newman must regain control of his life on different ground.
Rating: B
In a word... interesting.

March 14, 2007

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Director: George Lucas
Writer: George Lucas
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGreggor, Natalie Portman, and Jake Lloyd
Co-Starring: Pernilla August, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Ray Park, and Samuel L. Jackson
Description: When the evil Trade Federation plots to take over the peaceful planet of Naboo, Jedi warrior Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi embark on an amazing adventure to save the planet. With them on their journey is the young queen Amidala, Gungan outcast JarJar Binks, and the powerful Captain Panaka, who will all travel to the faraway planets of Tatooine and Coruscant in a futile attempt to save their world from Darth Sidious, leader of the Trade Federation, and Darth Maul, the strongest Dark Lord of the Sith to ever wield a lightsaber.
Rating: C-
In a word... travesty.

In-Depth Review!
So I had a strange compulsion to watch this tonight.

*sigh*

Where do I start? For one, Jar Jar... yeah, someone should have gagged and bound George Lucas the minute that wretched name came out of his mouth. Every time the horrible CGI comes on screen and starts talking in his high-pitched, broken voice I want to cry. This whole storyline should have been left out.

The Queen... oh God, stereotypical, bland, and, well, crappy dialogue. There's only so much an actor or actress can do with a horrible script with cheesy, lame dialogue such as this. Now, I realize that Star Wars has never been known for its witty dialogue, but lines such as "I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee!" and "It is clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions." almost make it seem as if George Lucas had some kind of personal vendetta (pun not intended) against Natalie Portman and he wanted to make her acting look as terrible as possible. Although, I must admit, even for a queen, most of her lines are strangely deadpan and monotone.

Actually it's not just Queen Amidala that has terrible dialogue. Characters such as Obi-Wan, who should have been one of the most interesting characters to learn the backstory of, come off as incredibly deadpan and, for lack of a better word, almost boring. See "But Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future." and "You were right about one thing, master. The negotiations were short." for examples of this.

Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a. Darth Vader, has some of the WORST dialogue in the film, but the worst example is "Are you an angel?" and the anecdote about the angels that live on the moons of Iago after it. Padme's response, however, is just as bad: "You're a funny little boy." Also, how is Anakin so articulate sometimes? No 9 year-old kid I know would ever use the words "an especially dangerous..." or "are very, very dangerous." Something I would be interested in hearing would be a psychologist's approach to the state of George Lucas' mind when he cast Jake Lloyd. One of the, if not the, worst child actors to ever "grace" the screen. The worst acting in the film I can think of is "It wasn't my fault! Really!" Can he do anything but whine? It's like Panic! At the Disco on helium! D'oh!

Next, the silliness. Why, oh why, did Lucas have to insert increasingly lame potty jokes that sound as if they come out of Dumb and Dumbererer 3: When Harry Met Lloyd... Again. Oh. Wait. That would probably be an epic masterpiece compared with this. The original trilogy was great mostly because it had mindless action, but for those who wanted to look for it, there was a deep philosophy surrounding the Force and the Jedis. Yet in this, about 90% of the dialogue, 70% of the jokes, and 100% of the CGI are all incredibly lame and something my three-year old nephew could come up with. It reminds me of the speech in Billy Madison (an equally stupid movie) that went, "Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul." I think that speaks for itself.

One of the new characters I actually really do like is Watto, even though he's a total jerk and a computer generated character. He really adds a new dimension to the film for me. I guess I tend to sympathize more with villains then heroes with terrible dialogue.

Also I love the character of Shmi Skywalker, and I like aspect that she is, in essence, the Virgin Mary (interestingly, Pernilla August, who plays Shmi, actually did play Mary of Nazareth). For me, she's the best character in the film, aside from Darth Maul. In her scene where Anakin leaves, you can tell she's experiencing probably the biggest pain of her life, yet she lets him go, because she wants him to follow his dreams. Even though I wanted to kill Jake Lloyd for ruining the moment, I'll readily admit that it's probably the most (only?) emotional moment in the film, just seeing the pained look in Shmi's eyes. In addition, it's extremely interesting from a psychological point of view that Anakin's biggest idol in his life is his mother, yet it's also really one of the incidents that ends up pushing him over to the dark side. It's very telling, that really Anakin is just like anyone else, tempted, obviously, but also quite tender. Although I'm still not sure if I like the idea that the creature who would one day become Darth Vader is so damn wimpy, haha.

Darth Maul was one of the most fascinating and malicious characters in the entire series for me, and the highlight of the film. In fact, I'd say he's my second favorite character in the series, second only to Vader. It's a shame that they had to kill him off the first chance they got. So much more could have been done with this intriguing character, more backstory given, maybe some motives? Of course, much like Hannibal Lecter, that may have diluted the mystery and vagueness surrounding the character.

Another favorite character of mine, and favorite actor, is Qui-Gon Jinn, a.k.a. Liam Neeson. His role as the rebellious character is probably the best performance in the film, given what he had to work with--not that that's saying much, though. I just love the fact that he contrasts so much with both the typical Jedi ideals and the Siths such as Darth Maul. He's really a unique individual, at the time in the series, anyway. Later we will have personas such as Luke and Mace Windu, and obviously Anakin himself, who will also push the Jedi Council's "buttons", so to speak.

Darth Sidious is another character that could have been much more interesting if Lucas hadn't thought it was clever to have Sidious and Chancellor Palpatine be Emperor Palpatine at the outset of A New Hope. I'm pretty sure the only way you wouldn't catch on to that would be if you had had a brick dropped on your head after watching any of the originals.

The podraces are quite exciting, and even though it seems like something Lucas decided to tack on at the end, since we have never seen this particular idea before in the original trilogy, it's still an awesome spectacle of painstakingly created special effects.

One of the best aspects of the film is the music. While it's not terribly original in terms of John Williams' music, or Star Wars music for that matter, there's no denying it completely fits the film--nay, it transcends the film. In fact, in all honesty, the film doesn't deserve music as great as this. The music in the fight scene between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul is fitting in the way that it amplifies the already suspenseful mood. I would honestly say that the end three-way fight scene is one of the best fight sequences ever put on film. The fight between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon is almost as good, but it's pretty "meh" compared to the other one. The storming of Theed Palace is quite cool, indeed, with the music and all. The parade, however, was the one place the music completely and totally did not work. It sounded like something out of Lilo and Stitch.

See... my biggest gripe with this film, is that it takes itself too seriously. A sci-fi film is hard to do, possibly harder than comedy, because you have to balance the effects level and the story, to make it believable--and in this film, story not only takes a backseat to effects sometimes, it goes in the trunk of the car behind it! Great examples of sci-fi films that were able to pull this delicate balance off would be 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Planet of the Apes, and to a bit of a lesser extent, Serenity. The biggest case in point: midi-chlorians. What is this schlock? It's pretty obvious Lucas was trying to attach some kind of scientific mumbo jumbo to the movie, but it totally takes away from the mystic philosophy that the Force and the Council had in the original trilogy. He shouldn't be combining a religion with science, it really takes away from the film.

Finally, and I know this is getting to be a long review filled with a lot of negativity, but I have one final gripe. How is it that Anakin accidentally destroys the entire Trade Federation ship, while pilots with probably twice his experience can't do it on purpose? I mean, I know that he's an extremely gifted pilot, but there's only so many plot holes I can take!

All in all, even though I had many, many gripes with the film, it was simply bad. Not terrible, and there are a few saving graces, in the forms of that last fight scene, Shmi, and Qui-Gon.

March 13, 2007

Dazed and Confused (1993)
Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: Richard Linklater
Starring: Jason London, Rory Cochrane, Wiley Wiggins, Sasha Jenson, and Michelle Burke
Co-Starring: Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, and Matthew McConaughey
Description: In a small Texas enclave, highlights the rites of passage on the last day of school in 1976 for the new, incoming freshmen at the hands of the class of '77 at Robert E. Lee High School. Freshman boys are physically punished, while the girls largely face the brunt of verbal abuse and humiliation. Two main figures emerge. Incoming freshman Mitch Kramer comes to a new realization in his role as a major target of senior hazing. And, among the seniors is Randall "Pink" Floyd, the school's star quarterback, who moves with facile grace among groups of greasers, nerds, stoners, and athletes alike.
Rating: A-
In a word... trippy.

March 10, 2007

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Rumi Hîragi, Miyu Irino, and Mari Natsuki
Co-Starring: Takashi Naitô, Yasuko Sawaguchi, and Tatsuya Gashuin
Description: Chihiro and her family are on their way to their new house in the suburbs when her father decides to take a shortcut along a lonely-looking dirt road. After getting out of the car and walking along a path for a while, they discover an open-air restaurant filled with food but with no workers or customers present. Mom and Dad don't hesitate to sit down and dig in, but Chihiro senses danger and refuses. As night falls, she is terrified to see the area fill with faceless spirits, but when she runs to find her parents, she discovers that they have been turned into pigs. She is found by a mysterious boy named Haku, who promises to help her. He gets her a job working in a nearby building, which turns out to be a bathhouse for the thousands of Japan's gods and spirits. Though the work is hard and the people strange, she does as well as she can. Her parents, however, are still waiting in the hotel's stockyard, and Chihiro must find a way to break the spell on them before they end up as the main course of some guest's dinner.
Rating: A
In a word... indescribable.

March 9, 2007

The Number 23 (2007)
Director: Joel Schumacher
Writer: Fernley Phillips
Starring: Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, and Logan Lerman
Co-Starring: Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, and Rhona Mitra
Description: On his birthday, Walter Sparrow, an amiable dog-catcher, takes a call that leaves him dog bit and late to pick up his wife. She's browsed in a bookstore, finding a blood-red-covered novel, a murder mystery with numerology that loops constantly around the number 23. The story captivates Walter: he dreams it, he notices aspects of his life that can be rendered by "23," he searches for the author, he stays in the hotel (in room 23) where events in the novel took place, and he begins to believe it was no novel. His wife and son try to help him, sometimes in sympathy, sometimes to protect him. Slowly, with danger to himself and to his family, he closes in on the truth.
Rating: C-
In a word... bleaurgh.

March 3, 2007

The Little Mermaid (1989)
Directors: Ron Clements and John Musker
Writers: Roger Allers, Hans Christian Andersen, Howard Ashman, Ron Clements, and John Musker
Starring: Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, and Patty Edwards
Co-Starring: Buddy Hackett, Jason Marin, and Kenneth Mars
Description: This is the story of a little mermaid named Ariel, who dreams of going on land. When her father, King Triton, Forbids her to go on land, Ariel visits Ursula who her father had banished. Even though she helps her get to land, what Ariel dosen't know is that Ursula has plans to destroy her to get revenge on her father.
Rating: A-
In a word... cute.

March 2, 2007

Tonari no Totoro (1988)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Shigesato Itoi
Co-Starring: Sumi Shimamoto, Tanie Kitabayashi, and Hitoshi Takagi
Description: Two young girls, Satsuke and her younger sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuke and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros (pronounced toe-toe-ro). They soon befriend these Totoros, and have several magical adventures.
Rating: A-
In a word... innocence.

March 2, 2007

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Director: Nicholas Roeg
Writer: Paul Mayersberg and Walter Tevis
Starring: David Bowie, Rip Town, and Candy Clark
Co-Starring: Buck Henry and Bernie Casey
Description: Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft, and meets Mary-Lou, a girl who falls in love with him. He does not count on the greed and ruthlessness of business here on Earth, however.
Rating: A-
In a word... weird.