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Reviews
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
really disappointed.
so, i caught this on TV tonight and thought i'd give it a go. i remembered it made a splash during the awards season. i went in with an open mind, but left with a good portion of anger.
it's an intriguing plot: kids wanting to meet their biological father (sperm donor) and what effect that has on them and the parents.
many things go right with this movie. the actors are perfectly cast, they give their roles everything they've got. the directing is good, and as mentioned, the idea of the story works.
as a result, it's really disappointing when it falls through. the story turns from likable to incredibly aggressive, surprisingly forgiving of some characters while being incredibly harsh of others. there are a lot of fights, many of which don't bring any resolution in one way or another, and by the time one get's to the end, one wonders what the whole point was.
it is perhaps the only movie i've come across where i was turned off ALL the main characters by the time the credits started rolling.
Eat Pray Love (2010)
the booklover's guide to the movie
having read the book almost a couple of years ago, i was looking forward to the big screen interpretation of the book that changed my life. a simple yet powerful story about a woman who loses herself after a crippling divorce and a bad relationship (among other things). she travels to italy, India and indonesia and along the way recovers makes some powerful realisations about herself and grows from the whole experience.
the movie was rather good. it condenses a whirlwind year into a single movie, full of but not overrun with explanatory flashbacks to present a decently told story of liz gilbert and the events surrounding the book.
the comedic elements of the book translated decently into the movie, providing a relieving lightness to the heaviness the content sometimes took, (i won't soon forget the hand gesture translations in italy.) the acting was great, every performance captured its setting (a big thing in this movie considering it's locations), the cinematography was beautiful, hte locations, exquisite, and the movie as a whole, worked. so it might come across as a surprise when i say i was left disappointed.
the script and the directing pared the story down to a woman who is broken, recovers and finds love. to anyone who read the book, it really come across as EAT, (pray), LOVE.
the element that made the movie work was how candid liz was in describing her emotions, faults and A-HA moments as they came along. in some way or another you couldn't help but grow as you read parts like her diary scribbles and recollections of elevator mirrors. it was that journey to commune with the (excuse the phrase if it offends) God within her that made the book a best seller.
it was also because you got to see the frailty in liz. when she was crying on the bathroom floor (double pumping it) you understood why. in the movie, i'm still not quite sure why it happened. her pain wasn't fully explained, her recovery muted and therefore her journey, not as fulfilling...
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
in between what is and could have been...
so , i just watched wolverine and i really don't have a hundred percent sure what i make of it.
first, the plot: the movie spans from his childhood mutant manifestation to the moment he loses his memory. and while this actually answers a lot of questions about the enigmatic character, the delivery was painfully lackluster (the painful part being that i really wanted to like this film despite not being the biggest fan of the title character).
i don't however feel it is entirely the director's fault. the script could have been better. i know nothing about film making, i freely admit that, but in some parts, some scenes that could have been more powerful sort of fizzled, and i think it was the script. to an extent, i was not won over by some of the camera work. again, i don't know much about making movies, and i can't quite put it into words after only one screening, but it seemed a little choppy, reminiscent of Brett Ratner's very fast paced short scene technique in X men 3. i understand that there was a lot of material to get through but, it just felt off.
while taking into account that this was a movie about wolverine, some characters were really undeveloped despite being well acted (all of them). while i was thrilled to have gambit in the movie world (finally), i cannot for the life of me tell you what his motivations are in this movie, or who he is.
the movie overall wasn't that bad. at best i say it suffered form overhype. i for one was expecting something killer and sublime from perhaps the most popular of the x men ( and 20th century fox's cash cow). in truth, minus a few questionable moments like Scott's magically heat bearing rays, and Emma's apparent lack of telepathy. it tells a rather good story. questions are answered, and there is a look into the man before he became "the animal". it's just not done to the best of it's potential.
what the movie gets right is effects. i won't even go into them because you will remember them and others will wax lyrical about them. nutshell; they were good. what was missing was soul; i left the cinema thinking, "it's official, no one does an x-men film like Bryan Singer.
yes, x men and X2 weren't without fault. and i was bitter about storm being shafted in the first two movies. but for an initial non fan, he gets the characters and a relatable way to tell their stories.
overall, after putting these not too random thought together, i think it's an okay, solid movie. just don't expect a masterpiece.
Kiss the Bride (2007)
rather well done
so i watched this last night at a film festival and i wasn't quite sure what to expect. i've never been wowed by anything Here! network so i had my reservations. and the plot early off sounds like a "my best friends wedding" remake, and while the similarities are striking, there is such a twist to the story.
the actors work well with each other, especially amber benson and jane cho who both have small but memorable characters.
what most impressed me was how the plot would so often veer towards a predictable movie moment, and either a twist was put in, or a re-interpretation of the situation that kept it fresh. (like when alex finally finds out...). while a few critics have written it off as too light and unbelievable, i really think this is one of the better gay movies i have seen recently.
The Family Stone (2005)
pretty deep for a comedy
So, there have been a lot of meet-the-parents movies over the years but the family stone is a gem, all sparkly and perfect. The focus of the movie is on Meredith who is about to meet her boyfriend's family. The film follows the antics that Meredith suffers whilst trying to survive the visit. pretty much like any other m-t-p movie.
But it offers more, the characters of the family members are well defined as a whole. The relations of the family are so well expressed that the movie is as much about 'the family stone' as it is a meet-the-parents movie for Meredith.
The discussions are real topics and the actions and reactions, while not always applaud-able, are just as real.
The situations border outrageous but still believable all up to the end which ends in a typical Hollywood fashion that's why i gave it an eight (but other than that, this film is perfect.)
Yesterday (2004)
powerful and truthful
i do not really go wild for local works but 'Yesterday' is simply stunning. It gives an honest, non judgmental look at rural South African life. it follows the somewhat tragic story of Yesterday (Leleti Khumalo), a woman in rural South Africa who finds she has AIDS. Leleti's (Yesterday) character and all the others are all real in a South African point of view and having Zulu as the Film's main language makes it all the more authentic. the storyline is gripping without being dramatic and a lot of the film's beauty is in the words. there is no quick-fix at the end of this film like most commercial Hollywood movies but, with it's honest and believable storyline and rather good performances by the cast, the ending is sad yet perfect... honest. i recommend everyone to watch it.