stu9003 Reviews

Sunshine (2007)

An excellent science fiction film

[8/10 · 16 February 2011]

It's the year 2057 and our Sun is dying. Sunshine follows the mission of the spaceship Icarus II, whose goal is to reignite our dying Sun by detonating a large bomb within the Sun's core.

Sunshine is pretty much as close to a "pure" science fiction film as you can get. I say "pure" sci-fi in that the emphasis is more on science than fantasy with an attempt at a futuristic story that contains some degree of scientific validity. One of the principal themes (I thought) was the ascension of the power of science to a similar status level as that of nature.

Overall, I found the story to be engaging, the characters interesting, and the film's themes thought-provoking. Sunshine is also very beautiful at times, featuring a fantastic musical score and outstanding visuals.

Another theme of Sunshine is that of the Sun representing the power of nature, a sort of natural God if you will. Some of the imagery involving the Sun was stunning. There's a particularly beautiful scene that involves the Sun and Mercury. You'll know it when you see it.

However, Sunshine isn't perfect. I won't spoil it, but the film takes a bit of a turn close to the end and I found a few of the later scenes to be somewhat jarring in contrast to the rest of the movie. I can understand where the director was coming from, but I thought these later scenes could have been executed a little better..

Regardless, still a great film. 8/10

The Langoliers (1995)

Successful adaptation

[7/10 · 5 February 2011]

A passenger plane takes off from Los Angeles and flies into disaster as a group of sleeping passengers awaken to discover that the other passengers have mysteriously vanished.

This made-for-TV movie was based on a Stephen King novella and was originally shown as a two-part miniseries on network television back in the mid 90s. The acting is about what you'd expect from a TV movie, the dialogue is slightly corny at times, and the special effects aren't great, to say the least.

However, I thought the Langoliers succeeded in doing something that you rarely see in horror films in that it successfully took that slow-building feeling of fear and dread that you get when you read a scary novel and transferred it to the screen. Generally speaking, horror movies these days tend to rely on shocks and scares, but the Langoliers is a slow-paced mystery thriller, kind of like a really creepy Twilight Zone episode, where our heroes spend much of their time trying to piece together the clues in order to solve the mystery of their predicament, all while an ominous feeling of oncoming danger just grows and grows. Overall, I thought it was pretty good. 7/10

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

An enjoyable sequel, but average on its own

[6/10 · 22 August 2010]

This one plays more like a conventional thriller than the first film. Pretty early on, Lisbeth ends up in big trouble with both the cops and the bad guys and the film is basically about her using her smarts and toughness to fight her way out of trouble. Blomkvist is more of a supporting player in this one as his part in the story takes part completely separately from Lisbeth's. As a result, we don't get the neat interactions between Lisbeth and Blomkvist that helped to make the first film so interesting. There's also a lot more action in this one. That's certainly not a bad thing, but in some cases the action is very sensationalized and far-fetched.

Overall, as a sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the movie's fine as it expands on the characters, especially Lisbeth. On its own, however, it's really only an average thriller and is not up to the same standard as the first film. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who hasn't seen the first film.

Up in the Air (I) (2009)

An excellent film with very true to life characters

[9/10 · 6 February 2010]

Up in the Air has been one of the most acclaimed movies of the past year and I'm going to go with the critics and say that this is a terrific movie. George Clooney is outstanding as Ryan Bingham, a man whose job is to fire people. Because his job involves a lot of travel he has almost no personal attachments and that's just the way he likes it. Unfortunately for him, his world is about to be shaken up by changes in his working life as well as the arrival into his life of two very different women: a love interest named Alex (played by Vera Farminigia) as well as a younger colleague/protégé named Natalie (played by Anna Kendrick). Eventually, Ryan is forced to question his priorities and what he truly wants out of life.

This is not a movie filled with heavy duty action scenes or incredibly dramatic events. Rather, it's a movie based on very realistic characters, the choices they make, how they deal with setbacks and how they decide what's important to them. The final answers for these questions aren't cut and dry, which, to me, makes it very true to life. I haven't seen all of the Best Picture nominated movies yet, but of the ones I've seen, this would get my pick.

District 9 (2009)

Mindless action

[5/10 · 6 February 2010]

I've heard District 9 hailed as intelligent sci-fi. To me, this was the exact opposite. It was a movie that took a fascinating premise and then basically ignored every single aspect of that premise to present us with what amounted to a video game movie.

The movie actually gets off to a solid start. It opens in a mockumentary style whereby they introduce the whole scenario of the alien ship coming to a halt over the city of Johannesburg. We learn about how there were about one million alien refugees who were offloaded and eventually segregated from the human populace by placing them into District 9, where they live in squalid conditions. We then follow Wikus, our main character, as he runs a team whose purpose is to relocate the aliens to District 10. This section of the film is really interesting. We see firsthand how cultural misunderstandings can have tragic consequences. All sorts of interesting questions and possibilities about the aliens are raised.

Unfortunately, the film basically decides to ignore every single one of these interesting questions and possibilities in order to present us with a closing 45 minutes of some of the most dumbed-down, over the top, and mindless action sequences that you will ever see. Forget about the story, the aliens or any of the characters. Basically, what you've got is a video game movie - imagine Half-Life if George Freeman was wearing alien armour - complete with body parts flying everywhere and featuring one-dimensional characters who just seem to get stupider and stupider with each scene.

To be fair, the whole concept for the movie is so different that I have a feeling if they hadn't gone this route, this movie probably never would have gotten released. Still can't believe it got nominated for best picture though.

An Education (2009)

Surprisingly good

[8/10 · 14 January 2010]

Jenny is a 16 year old top-of-her-class student in 1960's England whose world consists of her parents, friends, school and dreams of attending Oxford. Those dreams are put into question after she meets David, a charming 30-something older man who sweeps her off her feet and introduces her to a an exciting world of culture and fun. Jenny finds herself accompanying Peter and his friends on visits to operas, fancy restaurants and weekends in Paris and eventually finds herself forced to make a decision between her two worlds.

I really only watched this movie because it was nominated for best picture. Despite the nomination, I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. What I really liked is the attention given to the characters. The film goes out of its way to provide some character depth to everyone. This is a movie whose focus is on the choices that people make, why they make them, and what their repercussions are. We come to see that Jenny isn't the only one being forced to make big decisions, but these decisions all have big consequences for her. I thought the director completely nailed it with the overall focus and tone of the movie. It presents some morally questionable activities without being preachy or condemning.

The acting performances were very strong. Carey Mulgrew deserves serious accolades for her outstanding performance as Jenny. Another actor who really stood out was Alfred Molina, who played Jenny's father. Each of the remaining characters were also solid in their roles. Overall, I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes character-centred movies with full characters.

Moon (2009)

Surprisingly effective low-budget sci-fi

[7/10 · 10 August 2009]

Moon was a surprisingly effective low-budget science fiction film. It's the story of Sam Bell, a lone astronaut assigned to duty on the moon where he mines the helium that will supply the Earth's energy needs. Sam's sole companion is Gerty, a computer that invokes memories of Hal from 2001. Sam has almost completed his tour and is looking forward to returning to his home on Earth when he starts to have strange visions of other people.

Upon hearing the above scenario, I expected a sort of sci-fi psychological thriller where things weren't what they appeared and the purpose of the movie would be to uncover the truth. Well, all I'll say to that notion is that Moon took a path that I wasn't expecting, but one which I found to be unique and refreshing. And that uniqueness is really the film's biggest strength.

Moon is a bit different from your typical sci-fi flick. It's light on special effects and space isn't quite the last frontier or intergalactic playground presented in other sci-fi films. Here, it's more like a empty void that separates us from the ones we love.

This is a character-driven movie where the focus is on the characters and how they react to a highly unusual situation. The pacing is slow, even leisurely at times. As the story plays out, thought-provoking questions are raised around the topics of ethics, isolation, home, identity and even the purpose of one's life.

The Prestige (2006)

Story-telling at its finest

[9/10 · 22 September 2007]

Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale star as a pair of young, up-and-coming magicians who start out as friends, but eventually become the bitterest of rivals with each man obsessed with finding out the other's methods.

What amazes me is just how well told the story is. It pulls you in with the opening scene and just doesn't let go. The film doesn't follow a linear path. Instead, it starts off by providing a glimpse of film's final stages and then goes back and fills you in on what happened to arrive at that point. The film frequently jumps between different time periods, in some places juggling three time periods at once, but it's done so well that it's never confusing about where you are in the story.

The subject matter deals with magicians and their methods for tricking audiences. What really makes it interesting is that the film is put together like a giant magic trick. When you reach the end, everything just falls into place and fits perfectly. Repeat viewings don't detract from the movie at all. Rather, they simply add more depth to the overall story. You gain a greater appreciation for the acting and story-telling and are more aware of how the film's props hint at the story's eventual outcome.

The performances are fantastic all around. Hugh Jackman gives a noteworthy performance as Robert Angier, an originally decent man who has allowed himself to become twisted with hate and obsession with learning fellow magician Alfred Borden's tricks. Christian Bale delivers a top notch performance as Borden, the target of Angier's obsession. The excellence of Bale's performance isn't as immediately obvious, but during repeat viewings subtleties and nuances of his performance that are tough to spot the first time become more obvious. Lastly, Michael Caine is excellent in a supporting role.

All told, this is just one fantastically made movie. Highly recommended. 9/10

Children of Men (2006)

A film of extreme highs and lows

[7/10 · 15 September 2007]

Children of Men is a film of extreme highs and lows. In places, the film is mediocre, but in other places it's excellent. In general, I'd say the first hour is mediocre, but the last 30 minutes are outstanding.

The biggest problem for me is that the movie does a poor job of creating the overall setting. We're told that it's the future and that no child has been born in over 18 years, but are provided with no reasons as to why this has happened or why it's about to change. We're also told that the rest of the world has somehow gone to hell and that England is the only country left that's still functioning properly. Unfortunately, the film provides no rationale as to how or why any of this happened and provides only the briefest description of the chaos that's going on in the world at large. As a result, I had a hard time getting into this futuristic world. I couldn't really understand why our heroes were running, what the Fishes wanted, or why the Human Project equaled salvation. Consequently, I also didn't really care too much about the characters. At least, not at first.

However, in the last 30 minutes, the film turned into more of a desperate chase style film and this section of the movie was simply outstanding. There were some very powerful and gripping sequences and the director perfectly captured the desperation and chaos of the situation. In particular, there is one notable shot that many others have cited: an 8 minute-long single-take sequence with our hero, Theo, navigating his way through a battlefield. This scene is one of the most brilliant and gripping sequences that I've ever seen. To me, it was right up there with the best shots in Saving Private Ryan and the movie is worth watching just for this one scene alone. 7/10

Superman Returns (2006)

Mediocre

[6/10 · 13 July 2006]

Superman Returns is OK, but not awesome. I liked the fact they used the original music and i liked how they linked it to the original Superman movies. The special effects are very good and there's some good insights into Superman's character. Brandon Routh makes a decent Superman, but not a great one. Basically, he's imitating the Christopher Reeve Superman, which is fine, I suppose. The only problem is when you spend your time imitating someone else you'll always be second best. If there's another movie, I'd kind of like to see Routh put his own spin on Superman, rather than just trying to be the new Christopher Reeve.

As others have pointed out, there's a lot of Christian symbolism in this movie. They seem to be presenting Superman as a sort of Christ figure. Never thought of that angle before, but strangely enough it was these parts of the movie worked the best.

Now a superhero movie wouldn't be a superhero movie without some type of threat to humanity to deal with and this "threat" is where most of my criticisms are centred. Overall, I didn't care much for Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Lex Luthor, he just didn't seem to have much depth as a character. I never really understood just what Luthor was hoping to accomplish with his scheme. To me, the whole "new land mass" plot kind of, well...sucked.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

A disappointing end to the trilogy

[3/10 · 9 July 2006]

They were always going to have trouble following X2, but I never dreamed just how bad this movie could be. The direction, the editing, the acting and the story all fail miserably. Flat out, it's just a poorly made movie that fails on all levels.

The movie gets off to a bad start with the sloppily handled death of Cyclops, who apparently gets offed by Phoenix 10 minutes in (although we're never actually shown what happens). Unbelievably, none of the X-Men even seem to care that Cyclops is missing! As soon as they see Jean Grey, all concern for Cyclops is gone. This scene is never satisfactorily resolved.

The direction doesn't get any better. Characters appear and then disappear with no mention as to why and what their purpose is in that scene. Angel is a good example. He very briefly shows up at various points in the movie, but they never bother to give him much of a character or a personality or anything like that. As a result, his scenes fail to convey much emotion. Another example is Colossus. He appears in all the fight scenes, but I don't know if he had a single line in the movie. He's just another of the many no-name mutants to appear.

The Phoenix storyline just never worked at all. She basically stands around for most of the movie doing not much of anything. When she finally starts to show some life, she more closely resembles a demon from some schlock B-grade horror flick than an actual X-Men character.

Characters also say and do things that don't make sense. In addition to the X-Men forgetting about Cyclops, there's a scene where Magneto frees a couple of mutants and they just join his cause with no questions asked. There's nothing wrong with them joining him, but you'd think they'd at least want to know who he was.

Overall, the acting was poor. Storm gets a much bigger role this time, but Halle Berry fails to convey any sense of strength, power or conviction in her performance. There's one scene I'm thinking of in particular, right after the Professor dies, where Storm takes charge and declares that the school shall remain open, but she does so with such a lack of conviction that I'm surprised no one said, "no, seriously, what should we do?"

Hugh Jackman also seems pretty disinterested this time. Gone are the snarling one-liners and that sense of being on the edge that characterized Wolverine in the first two films. This time, Wolverine seems like a tamed animal.

The Golden Gate Bridge scene was typical of the movie. They spend no time developing the story or characters, but then spend three or four minutes on some superfluous and unnecessary FX shot just for a "wow" effect (it was unnecessary because Magneto could have easily got everyone across to Alcatraz without using the bridge). Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against special effects, but a well-developed story forms the backbone of any good movie, even a special effects extravaganza, and this movie ignores that fact.

From a production standpoint, the movie gave the impression of being a rush job. There were glaring errors in continuity and editing. Here's a great example: when Magneto drops the bridge on Alcatraz, it's daylight. Seconds later, all the mutants jump off the bridge and it's nighttime. Doesn't anyone "proof-view" this stuff? There's no way an error like that should happen in such a big budget movie. It's just one more example of why this movie sucked. Big time. 3/10

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Powerful at times, lacking at others

[7/10 · 24 September 2005]

Good news. After two duds, Revenge of the Sith is actually a good movie. In some places, it's really good. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as it could have been. This one had the potential to be up there with Empire Strikes Back.

Here's what I liked...

Like the previous SW movies, this one was action-packed with excellent special effects. Where this movie differed is that it actually had an engaging story to go with it. For the first time in the prequel series, the movie succeeds in connecting with the viewer on an emotional level. The climactic duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader is the most gripping SW scene since Vader and Luke fought in Empire. This was an extremely powerful sequence in which you could really feel Obi-Wan's frustration and anguish at Anakin's fate.

Anakin's fall to the dark side was very well done. There's one scene in particular that I really liked where Skywalker is alone in the Jedi temple and he looks out towards Padme's apartment. He pretty much makes his decision at that point.

The film does a really good job of bridging the gap between the prequel series and the original three movies. The last 5-10 minutes of the film do a good job of bridging the gap. There's a few points that are rushed a bit, such as the whole jedi immortality idea, but you leave with a good sense that A New Hope is set to begin.

Didn't like...

Grievous. Major missed opportunity here. His character wasn't properly fleshed out. You don't learn anything about him. His apparent cyborg nature could have been used to foreshadow the half-man half-machine that Vader would become, but they don't tell you anything about him. Grievous could have been a powerful character, but instead he was more like a CGI prop.

Palpatine's transformation. Well, I suppose Lucas had to deform him somehow, but it was kind of hokey. Ian MacDiarmid was excellent right up to that point. After that scene, the Emperor seemed kind of cartoonish.

Vader's transformation. This is my #1 complaint. It's the most anticipated scene of the prequel series and they rush through it as if it was a nothing scene. They pick Anakin up and shove him in a black suit and that's it. It would be nice to hear a bit about the extent of his injuries and why, exactly, he needs to be put in THAT suit. It wouldn't take much. You could have a doctor saying to the emperor, "He's alive, but his lungs were badly burned and he won't live unless...blah, blah." You get the idea. There should have been SOMETHING.

Don't get me wrong. Revenge of the Sith is good. At times, it was even great, but it could have been outstanding. When I look back on the prequel series, what really strikes me is that they spent two and a half movies doing very little to advance the plot, and then they all of a sudden tried to cram everything into the last 45 minutes. 7/10

The Island (2005)

Starts off strong then goes downhill once things start to blow up

[5/10 · 24 September 2005]

The Island is almost like two separate movies. It starts off as a very interesting sci-fi flick with a really interesting premise: there's a futuristic society, a global plague, an island paradise, and a sense that something isn't right. The director painstakingly builds the tension and the sense of unease until Ewan MacGregor's character finally discovers the truth.

Shortly after that, all those sci-fi ideas are abandoned and the film degenerates into an all-out action flick where the story is largely irrelevant. There's nothing wrong with action, but this is truly dumbed-down, outlandish stuff. In one scene, our two main characters fall forty stories or so out of a tall building and then get up and walk away. Then there's another completely ludicrous scene in which the man sent to hunt our heroes is faced with two identical Ewan MacGregors and he must decide which one to kill. I'm still not sure what he based his decision on.

This movie could have been a lot better if they hadn't dumbed it down so much in the second half. There were some great possibilities and some really interesting ideas that were abandoned. One example I'm thinking of is the notion that clones will eventually begin to obtain the memories of the people they were cloned from. They throw this idea out there as an important plot point and then never mention it again.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Should have won best picture

[10/10 · 28 March 2005]

Simply outstanding. This movie should have won Best Picture. It's an incredibly moving film that can inspire you, horrify you, bring you to tears and also make you ashamed that you didn't do anything about it. Don Cheadle gives an incredible performance as Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of the story, a man who risked his own life to save the lives of over a thousand refugees. Paul was an incredible negotiator who always seemed to be able to negotiate his way out of any situation. That he risked his own life for so many others is inspirational.

The scene where all the whites left Rwanda was one of the most emotional scenes I've ever watched. 10/10

The Jacket (2005)

Works well as a sort of grown up fantasy film

[7/10 · 6 March 2005]

The Jacket is a weird mix of genres, but it made me think of a more adult take on a children's fantasy story. The basic formula I'm talking about is where an unpopular kid who leads a boring life discovers that stepping into his bedroom closet transports him to a fantastic world where he can live an almost alternate life as a great knight fighting off dragons and wicked witches of the west.

In the Jacket, you've got Jack Starks (Adrien Brody), a troubled ex-soldier who is locked up in a mental institution after being convicted for a crime he didn't commit. His existence in the mental institution is really bleak, but he finds that when he gets put in a straight-jacket and stuffed into a morgue-like drawer, he gets transported into the future where he's able to spend time with a beautiful young woman named Jackie (Keira Knightley). Naturally, there's more to this relationship than we are first led to believe.

The relationship between Starks and Jackie is the heart of the movie and this aspect of the story worked really well for me. The chemistry between these two troubled characters was excellent. I was really drawn into this aspect of the story and was touched by what Starks did to help Jackie.

There's also a psychological mystery aspect of the movie with the entire movie itself being a kind of giant puzzle. Jack and Jackie are trying to figure it out at the same time as the audience. The mystery of what's real and what's not is left open to interpretation. This aspect of the movie is slightly more muddled. I thought I had it figured out, but the very last line of the movie threw me. I suppose my main complaint is that it leads to an explanation that I'm not sure I'm happy with.

Overall, I'd recommend the Jacket with the warning that it's definitely not for everyone. 7/10

Constantine (2005)

Dude, this one ain't bad

[7/10 · 22 February 2005]

A pleasant surprise. Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine, an ordinary guy who leads a very extraordinary life dealing in exorcisms and the occult. According to the story, both heaven and hell are real, as are demons and angels, both of whom not only exist, but they even walk the earth. Most people can't see them, but for some reason John Constantine was born with the ability to see demons and angels for what they really are. After a suicide attempt briefly sends a young Constantine to hell, John learns more about heaven and hell than your average everyday guy was ever supposed to know. He also knows that, as a suicide, that he's damned to spend the afterlife in hell so he devotes his life to earning his way back into heaven by performing exorcisms and protecting our world from demons.

The movie gets marketed as a sort of action-horror film, but the truth is that it's neither. First of all, it's not scary. There are no real frights involved and hell is presented in too much of a matter-of-fact manner to be considered scary. And the movie is all about ideas, story and dialogue, rather than action. In situations where you'd usually expect a knock 'em out action sequence, you instead find a compelling conversation. Some people may be put off by this, but I liked it.

The biggest surprise to me was Keanu Reeves' performance. I've never been much of a fan of the actor and I walked into the theater expecting to find Keanu lacking as Constantine but I really got into his portrayal of Constantine. I suppose if I were to nitpick I might say that he looked a tad too healthy to be playing a man dying of lung cancer. An actor with a more rugged complexion might have been more believable. It's a minor complaint though.

On the down side, there's a few dangling plot threads that are never really explained. Also, the ending wasn't bad, but Constantine seemed way out of character. I just couldn't see it happening.

Overall, though, a good movie. 7/10

The Incredibles (2004)

Fun is the operative word

[7/10 · 28 January 2005]

Watched the Incredibles yesterday and enjoyed it very much. It's a light-hearted tale of an aging and washed-up superhero who is given the opportunity to be a hero again. Mr Incredible leaps at the opportunity to use his powers again, although he isn't quite brave enough to tell his wife, Elastigirl, what he's doing. Unfortunately, the situation turns dangerous and threatens the lives of Mr Incredibles' family as well as the general public. It's up to the Incredibles to save the day.

This is a funny movie which is loads of fun to watch. The animation is excellent, the characters are likable, the villain is dastardly and the story never gets boring. The movie is written from a middle-aged point of view. There's a big emphasis on family values and most of the jokes are geared towards middle-aged audiences with even a bit of sly sexual humour thrown in. Despite this, kids will still love it, even if they don't get all the jokes. They'll particularly love watching Mr Incredible and Elastigirl's two superpowered kids, Nash and Violet, while they outthwart Syndrome's evil henchmen.

Overall, a very fun and entertaining movie. A great movie to take kids to because the kids will love it, and so will you. 7/10

White Noise (I) (2005)

Keaton's not too convincing and neither is the movie

[4/10 · 23 January 2005]

Very mediocre horror flick. Nothing spectacular, creepy at times, a few quasi-scary moments and some decidedly so-so acting. This movie was my first exposure to EVP theory so I have no idea if it's accurate in its portrayal of EVP, but it didn't do much to make me believe in EVP.

I had a lot of problems with the motivations of the main characters as well as the overall acting. Maybe it's because I'm skeptical of EVP, but I never understood Michael Keaton's character going off the rails like he did. I don't know why he basically dropped his regular life and took up EVP. Keaton failed to project the kind of pain and obsession that his character was supposedly experiencing. It almost seemed as if he wasn't really going through any pain at all. If you compare Keaton's performance to that of Richard Gere's character in Mothman Prophecies, another character with a dead wife, it's no comparison. Gere made you believe his character was going through an emotional roller-coaster while Keaton just made you wonder how his character was handling things so well.

And then there's the ending. I won't ruin it, except to say that I found it unsatisfying. Kind of like the whole movie. This movie is very mediocre. Good if you want to watch a slightly creepy movie, but those are getting to be a dime a dozen these days. 4/10

Hellboy (2004)

Perlman's great, but the movie's not

[6/10 · 10 January 2005]

Superhero flicks are all the rage right now and Hellboy is yet another one to ponder. Unlike X-Men or Spiderman, I've never actually read a Hellboy comic so I went in knowing next to nothing about the character.

The movie gets a major boost with the casting of Ron Perlman in the lead role. Perlman is great as Hellboy and he breathes considerable life into the character. The best scenes were the ones where Hellboy was just being Hellboy. I liked watching his various girl problems and really enjoyed his conversations with the other characters in the film.

It's too bad the actual superhero aspect of the movie doesn't match up to Perlman's performance. I just never got interested in any of the action scenes. The villains didn't interest me and I actually got bored watching Hellboy fighting the same monsters over and over again. I can't give this movie more than a 6/10.

The Aviator (2004)

Interesting movie that just suddenly ends...

[7/10 · 1 January 2005]

Interesting biographical film portraying the early, highly successful years of Howard Hughes before his problems with obsessive compulsive disorder destroyed his mind. The film does a great job of portraying Hughes passion for aviation. You get a very strong impression of his energy and ambition and how it made him so successful. One great scene is where Hughes has dinner with Katherine Hepburn's family. All parties at the table are rich with no need to work again but the contrast could not be greater between Hughes' unrelenting ambition to work and and further aviation in general and the Hepburn family's lifestyle of perpetual relaxation.

The problem is that the film doesn't seem to go anywhere and the ending is very unsatisfying. The film shows Hughes' rise to power, how he flouted all popular conventions of common sense and won, how he built up his business and how he positioned TWA airlines to become a world class airline. But then, just when he appears to have won in his quest to build an international airline, his personal OCD problems take hold, leaving his future in doubt. The film all of a sudden ends at this point and there's no explanation for what followed.

From the way the movie ends, it seems to imply that if OCD hadn't taken hold of him, Hughes would have become one of the most powerful men in the airline industry worldwide as the owner of an international class airline and as a builder and supplier of military aircraft. It almost seems to imply that his OCD is the reason the "Spruce Goose" never became a success. Unfortunately, it's only an implication and no real explanation is provided.

The acting was pretty good throughout. I thought Leonardo DiCaprio was excellent as Hughes and Cate Blanchett does a great Katherine Hepburn. Overall, pretty good but not quite best picture quality. 7/10

Collateral (2004)

A stylish thriller with a great script

[8/10 · 15 September 2004]

Collateral features a great script, fine direction and top notch acting. Collateral has a very similar feel to some of Michael Mann's previous films, most notably Heat. Like Heat, Collateral is a crime thriller set in Los Angeles and, like Heat, the movie is stylish, both in terms of how the characters dress and also in terms of the hip musical selections.

Collateral is about an LA cab driver named Max (Jamie Foxx) who picks up a fare named Vincent (Tom Cruise). Vincent recruits Max to drive him around to 5 different locations in order to close some real estate deals, but as Max soon finds out, Vincent is really a professional assassin and the men Max is driving Vincent around to see, are actually people Vincent has been hired to kill.

This is a very smart and stylish action thriller. I features great action scenes and some very tense moments. It also features great dialogue as an unlikely relationship starts to form between Max and Vincent. Their ongoing dialogue is smart, funny and fascinating. You almost get the impression they could almost become friends in another time as The movie does have its weaknesses. You have to suspend disbelief somewhat as one of the biggest coincidences you can possibly imagine turns into a major plot point and this leads into the last 20 minutes which are more conventional and formulaic (i.e. not as good) than the rest of the movie.

Overall, Collateral is an excellent movie. With a better ending, it could have been a classic but, as it is, it's still pretty damn good. 8/10

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Well-made but can be tough to watch

[7/10 · 14 September 2004]

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a really well-made movie with an interesting script and some strong performances, but personally I found it really difficult to watch. The reason is that I sympathized very strongly with the main character. The whole manner in which Tom longed to live a life and fit in with a group of people with whom he really didn't belong, struck a chord with me because I've had those feelings before while growing up. When Tom's life spiralled into a mess of lies and murder, I had a tough time watching it. It was kind of like seeing an accident happen in slow motion. So I can't really say that I totally enjoyed it, but I can definitely appreciate the care that was put into it.

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

More of the same stuff but nowhere near as good as the first time

[5/10 · 14 August 2004]

The Bourne Supremacy features more of the same espionage-style action as in Bourne Identity. Once again, the CIA is trying to kill Jason Bourne and, once again, he expertly turns the tables on them. There's more cat and mouse spy stuff, more exotic locations, and another car chase. In some ways, it's like watching the first movie all over again, except that its nowhere near as good.

One big problem for me is that there's a real lack of a human element to this movie, something that Marie's death contributes to (not much of a spoiler, she dies 10 mins into the movie). In the first film, Bourne's personality and character was really fleshed out through his various interactions with Marie. It's how the audience got to know and care about him. But in this movie, Marie's gone, leaving Bourne with no companions, which means he never has any real conversations with other people. As a result, he seems more like a machine than a person.

The action scenes were OK, but they were pretty much the same sort of thing that was done in the first movie. The car chase is a prime example. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't even close to being as good as the car chase in Bourne Identity.

Overall, to me, Bourne Supremacy just seemed repetitive, mediocre and even kind of pointless. 5/10

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

Definitely worth watching

[7/10 · 1 September 2003]

I'm a huge fan of the first two Terminator movies. The first film is one of my all-time favourites and the second was a near-perfect sequel so I approached this film with a bit of trepidation. Yes, it's true. Terminator 3 isn't as good as either of the first two. The story has some weaknesses and some of the acting (mainly Stahl and Danes) isn't that great. Nevertheless, Arnold is terrific, the action is outstanding (especially the crane scene) and the ending is certainly memorable. I'm glad I took the time to watch it. It isn't a classic, but it was a very enjoyable film nonetheless.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Cool concept ruined with a bad movie

[5/10 · 9 August 2003]

Cool concept. The movie asks the question, if there were a group of superheroes in the 19th century, who would such a group contain? Only a handful of famous characters from 19th century literature, that's who. The forming of the league was by far the best part of the movie with the recruitment of Dr. Jekyll really standing out. Then, the league is finally created, the action starts, and the movie falls flat on its face.

The action scenes ranged in quality from average to poor and the plot didn't make much sense. I'm still not sure why Moriarty wanted Quartermain in the league. Is he looking to create an army of worldly adventurers? Also, I couldn't understand Tom Sawyer's role. He stood out like a sore thumb. You could tell he didn't belong and he stole the focus away from the other characters. Before Sawyer appeared, Quartermain was an interesting character. After Sawyer appeared, Quartermain was basically Tom's mentor, and little else.

The early scenes are great, and the movie is almost worth seeing for the novelty of seeing 19th century superheroes, but if it's good superhero action you want, go see X-Men 2 instead.