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Reviews
Dragonfly (2002)
Good story
The flow and the dialog was awkward at times but I thought the story was really interesting. I recently caught the movie playing late one night on the SciFi channel and I'm glad I watched it. I remember wanting to see it when it came out, but it got such poor reviews that I quickly forgot about it. However, I think this movie is decent and I thought the ending was really unexpected and satisfying.
I thought the Kathy Bates character was particularly awkward because it wasn't really explained why this woman would do so much for the Kevin Costner character. The Bates character was definitely needed so that the Costner character would have someone to talk to but her motivations needed to be explained more.
However, I did enjoy the movie (even jumped out of my skin a few times) and I wouldn't mind seeing Dragonfly again.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Brilliantly Written, Directed and Acted
What a wonderful movie. It was so refreshing to sit in the theater and watch a gripping, emotional story come to life. It's nice when Hollywood puts out a rich, mature film with lots of dialog. Sometimes I fear that Hollywood studio execs have forgotten about the adult audience what with all the teeny-bopper and half-witted horror films that are released about every other weekend.
Heath Ledger was outstanding and deserved the Oscar. Jake Gyllenhall and Michelle Williams were also very good. The actor who played Anne Hathaway's character's father stole all the scenes he was in--he was a riot.
I highly recommend this movie--it is totally absorbing, unexpected and gut-wrenching.
Crash (2004)
Over-Obvious Race Relations Film that Tries Too Hard
I was extremely disappointed in this movie. I just rented it over the weekend and was really looking forward to watching it. I only made it about halfway through and then caught the last five minutes or so.
Most of the actors did a great job, except that I wondered what the casting department was thinking when they hired Brendan Fraser for his part. I have nothing against Fraser, but he was completely un-believable in his part.
So, the majority of the actors were great, but the direction and a good portion of the script was just terrible. The film as a concept is brilliant and different, but the execution was way, way off. The movie needed a different director and a much tighter script.
The sound was also terrible. When there was dialog and score together, the music was louder than the voices and it was difficult to hear what the actors were saying. It was very distracting and annoying.
The whole film was a big, disappointing thumbs-down.
King Kong (2005)
A Big Disappointment
I was very much looking forward to this movie and I really wanted to like it. However, while I think the actors' performances were good, I believe the movie as a whole is pretty weak.
The running time is way too long. There is too much time spent on the back-story. Many of the takes are too long and lingering.
I also think that many of the special effects were extremely fake-looking. It is obvious that a lot of effort was spent on the special effects, but they really did not turn out well at all. In fact, the 1976 Kong looked more real to me than Jackson's Kong.
I really hate to say negative things about a Peter Jackson movie, but he really, really missed the boat on this one. As I said before, the actors all pulled off good performances in spite of Jackson and they are the only reason to see the film. In fact, Jack Black does an extremely good job and he was born to play this role.
A History of Violence (2005)
A brilliant, smart film
This film is excellent and is a refreshing break from the drivel that Hollywood has been offering lately. A History of Violence reminded me of a Quentin Tarantino film, only smarter. (I don't mean to slam Tarantino films; I think they're great but History of Violence was just a little more intellectually stimulating).
At any rate, Viggo Mortensen is absolutely amazing-his performance is definitely Oscar-worthy. William Hurt is very good too--he plays his character with just the right amount of brutality and humor. Ed Harris was pretty good, but his character doesn't shine like some of the others.
I only have one tiny negative thing to say about the film. I won't spoil anything but there is one scene between Mortensen and his character's wife that seemed just gratuitous--it wasn't believable and didn't add anything to the movie.
Other than that, this movie is a must-see. Anyone who loves going to the movies should definitely see History of Violence.
Closer (2004)
The story of two couples who get involved with each other's partners.
The movie was honest and a nice change from the usual Hollywood junk, but I was very turned off by the excessive amount of explicit language. I know that the storyline and the characters' nature demanded a certain amount of explicit language. However, there was so much of the explicit language that I began to find it gratuitous. At some points in the film it seemed like the dialog was coming straight out of a sixth-grade boy's juvenile imagination. I thought Clive Owen, Julie Roberts, Natalie Portman and Jude Law all gave outstanding performances--especially Natalie. Overall, though, I was disappointed--the movie could have been so much greater. I was really looking forward to a meaty film made for a thinking adult and the dialog really let me down.