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Reviews
Superman Returns (2006)
"Superman Returns" Review
Superman flys, not high enough for me though. The film promises so much and delivers for the most part, however it gets weighed down by its own plot. If only superman could jettison some of the dead weight then he could truly touch the sky.
I'm new to the Superman franchise; however, I am well aware that the character has clocked up a few air miles over the years. This reboot/remake/sequel whatever you want to call it could have been amazing, all the ingredients are there; a brilliant cast, spectacular special effects and spot-on director. Even the script shows real potential, but it trips itself up by making the film too complex. The film should have stuck to being good old fashion action/adventure escapism, which seemed to be its aim. However, the plot strands only serve to complicate a film which should be simple. I would have much preferred the classic struggle between good and evil, no strings attached.
The Rules of Attraction (2002)
"The Rules of Attraction" Review
Firstly, a confession. I watched the film, read the book and watched the film again. In this review I am going to try and act impartially towards at as an adaptation.
The first fifteen minutes are determined to hook you in; flashy camera work, chronological restructuring and in your face character introductions. We have Lauren, Paul and Sean; where do we go from there, (well backwards in fact), but not very far at all. The rest of the film lacks structure and therefore plays out like a sketch show with scenes lifted from the source material.
The film lacks plot, character arcs or goals. The film is counter-cinema masquerading as mainstream. What the film does have is characters, and the film is its own characters; good looking, clever, subverting and ultimately selfish, it is more concerned with pleasing itself than pleasing the audience.
I enjoyed the film but had a strange suspicion there was something deeper lurking beneath.
Wedding Crashers (2005)
"Wedding Crashers" review
My first intention when about to write this review was to deride the film completely; I felt it was overlong, the laughs were sporadic at best and the romance wasn't believable. Then I read the other reviewers comments and realised I needed to get over myself. The film is light fare, so when held up to intense scrutiny it will naturally appear weak. The film is perfectly enjoyable, and as many others have commented is carried by the two leads charm. When compared to its contemporaries in the same field I would say it is worth a watch.
Now, back to my boring and intense elaboration of the critical points I made at the beginning. Firstly, the length, I watched the uncorked version which came in at 128 minutes. I prefer my films, especially the lighters ones, to be short and sweet; I wouldn't mind the running time if there were more jokes and/or deeper characterisation. Which leads me on to the central romance; I just wasn't buying it. Even the ridiculousness of Jermey (Vince Vaughn) and Gloria's (Isla Fisher) relationship seemed more realistic than John (Owen Wilson) and Clare's (Rachel McAdams') boy meets girl, girl already has a boy cliché. Clare is painted as a strong modern woman; beautiful, intelligent, funny and career minded; however you never believe in her because she's with a man (Bradley Cooper) who is as evil and mean as a cartoon super villain. The supporting cast suffer similarly in the sense they are all weird but not all wonderful.
Overall, the film is OK, I just feel it could've benefited from a tighter script and better supporting characters.
The Women (2008)
"The Women" review
Imagine a film the complete opposite of Lawrence of Arabia, instead of having an all male cast, it has an all female cast. Instead of being set in the barren deserts of Arabia, it is set in the bulging metropolis of New York City. And instead of it being one of the greatest films ever made, it is one of the most pointless, boring and forgettable.
The film concerns Mary Haines (Meg Ryan) a perfect wife and mother, the envy of all others in her high society Manhatten social circle. She is painted as a women bearing the weight of the world on her shoulders, despite the fact she needs a live in nanny and housekeeper to cope with her one child. But I don't want to be too hard on her, Mary does all this whilst taking a liassez-faire attitude towards the fashion designing job her father has given her. This idyllic lifestyle cannot last forever though and things start to crash in a very real way.
Mary's husband is cheating on her and her father fires her for not working hard enough. She is quite naturally upset and breaks down a little.
Mary needs to bounce back though, for the sake of her impressionable young daughter and for herself. She does this through rehab, hair straightening and designing her own line of clothes; though amazingly for this kind of film, not a montage. Mary succeeds; her daughter loves her, her mother loves her, her friends love her and her husband decides he loves her now. She decides to take her cheating husband back after realising it was her fault he cheated, as she didn't dote on him enough.
The films one saving grace is that it doesn't go down the "all men are evil" route.