Babel, Little Children, Night At The Museum, Stranger Than Fiction

Some new stuff. Finally. A little late, but here I go...

BABEL. I was hesitant to go see this because I got the impression that this would be one of those very long and emotionally-draining flicks. Sure, it was lengthy, but I'm just glad that I didn't leave the theater totally depressed. I made sure though to start my movie marathon with this one (I would see 3 more movies afterwards on just the one day), just in case. It was "the shot heard 'round the world", as two Moroccan children play with a rifle and accidentally shoot an American Tourist (Cate Blanchett). And just like Crash, Babel is a film that shows how everything and everyone is connected. Well, at least the father of a deaf-mute girl (Rinko Kikuchi) in Japan who used to own the aforementioned gun, the American tourist couple (Brad Pitt and Blanchett), their nanny living illegally in the 'States, and, of course, the Moroccan children who deliver the fateful shot. A chunk of self-righteousness is sprayed onto this movie, and it might leave you with a bitter aftertaste. The film has gotten plenty of poor reviews, but it's not really that bad. But then, it's not that impressive either. So-so.

LITTLE CHILDREN. I've always somehow gotten the impression that suburban life (in America anyway) is strange; sometimes quirky; boring; bored housewives who talk about house husbands, and puts down anyone that is different from their click. Little Children is a favorite with the critics, but it's not exactly something I'm going to rave about because, frankly, I was a bit bored. Kate Winslet, as an unhappy wife and mother who starts an affair with stay-at-home dad Patrick Wilson, is superb though. Then again, is she ever not good? ...the narration is another thing that put me off about this movie. Not my cup of tea. Although the ending was quite satisfying.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), a down-and-out dreamer whose imaginative ideas never paid off (he invented the clicker, as opposed to the clapper), finds himself in desperate need of a job. That job turns out to be night watchman at the Natural Museum of History where, at night, the exhibits come to life. Night... is one of those family-friendly movies, so there are moments that will make adults cringe. But, nevertheless, it still manages to be something that they'll be able to sit through. And it's never a simple thing to make a wholesome movie that both the young ones and young once can enjoy. It's fun and funny enough.

STRANGER THAN FICTION. I love the typical or usual popcorn movies like the next fella, but I also love and find it refreshing to see very original movies (e.g. Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind was one of the best and most original movies that I've seen). And this is one of those said original films. The concept is pretty high brow, as an IRS agent -Will Ferrell- (eventually) discovers that the (female) voice in his head is an eccentric novelist (a terrific Emma Thompson) who is writing the rest of his life and plans to kill him in her latest novel. The movie isn't perfect, as it does falter. For one thing, the film makers don't have us convinced that Ferrell's character might die, so we don't get the raw energy of a man trying to save his life. But still, this is a breath of fresh air so to speak, something different to go see in cinemas.

'Nuff said.

Arthur & The Invisibles, Deja Vu

ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES. First of all, I thought that director Luc Besson was retiring from film making? I read about his supposed retirement via E Online last year- and now he's got a movie? Either he made this film before he "retired", or he changed his mind. Anyway... Arthur (Finding Neverland's Freddie Highmore) , a ten-year old boy (in a bid to save his grandfather's house from being demolished), goes looking for a much-fabled treasure in the land of the Minimoys (a tiny people living in harmony with nature). It's part live-action and part cg-animated. Like Luc Besson's other films (the ones that I've seen anyway), his "frenetic pace" is alive and well in this one. For both the live-action and cgi scenes. And it's actually that trademark that has put me off with Besson's work. Somehow it becomes (too) "campy" for my taste, it doesn't fit with certain scenes of or the entire movie. It may work in some scenes, but you kind of get the feeling (with the frenetic pace) that Besson is in a hurry to get the movie done (that also works for the audience if the movie does suck). The animation was slick, but the voice-acting was lacking. It was mostly missing with emotion, and it was (so) obvious that the (voice) actors - including Robert DeNiro - were only reading their lines, instead of giving (more) life to their characters. For me, the only one that stood out was David Bowie, who voiced the main baddie. Plus, I also think that it would have been better if I never knew (while watching the movie) that it was Madonna who had voiced the (young) Minimoy princess, whose love interest was the fifteen-year old Highmore. Do you see where I'm going with this? It was just... weird. Maybe they should have gotten someone else (younger) to voice said sassy princess, or that they should have just left her name out of the credits.
Bottom line : pretty good cgi, stellar cast wasted though. Highmore's charms is not enough to save the movie.

DEJA VU. Finally, my first "good movie" for '07. It's no Oscar contender , or anything like that, but it was certainly the first one I'd seen this year that I didn't feel restless in my seat. The plot is a bit over-the-top, as an ATF agent (Denzel Washington) travels back in time to save a woman (Paula Patton) from being murdered, falling in love with her in the process. Like I said, a bit over-the-top, but Washington somehow brings (more) credibility to his role and the movie. Even if the ending kind of got a bit sappy for me, Deja Vu was pretty much enjoyable all throughout.

'Nuff said.

Eragon, Blood Diamond, Griffin & Phoenix

I just copy-pasted this from my other blog.

Besides tv, watching movies is also one of the things I’m into as a means of relaxation, and every year, at the start of the New Year, I usually try to get my movie-watching for the year started on a high or good note, so to speak. Unfortunately, this year, it would seem that I haven’t had much luck. When ’07 clocked in, when foreign movies finally opened, there really wasn’t anything interesting to see, so I waited for a little over a week before I finally went out to go watch a movie. Actually, I wanted to wait a little longer, but it had been a week, and I wanted to go see something. Anything. It was slim pickings.

ERAGON. It was my first movie for 2007. And I wish I’d seen something else. But then again, it was the best pick in the litter. I already knew that this wasn’t going to be good the moment I saw the trailer last year. Even the title for the movie -- blech. I mean, sure, it was the name of the lead character, but still…! Speaking of the title character, the actor who plays him, and, incidentally, makes his film debut -Edward Speelers- was so squeaky clean! While everyone around him were either so dirty or had SOME dirt on their face or clothing, he looked as if he was a member of some boy band. It also doesn’t help that he can't exactly act. I especially found this certain look (or reaction) he had at some scenes when he would react to something or someone (saying something), irritating. Actually, the movie wasn’t all THAT bad (it probably helped that the trailers already conditioned me into thinking that this was going to suck), but one helping of it was enough for me. The ending would suggest a sequel. But, considering how much money this movie made – NOT – I don’t think we’re going to see one. Then again, Underworld (starring my hot mama Kate Beckinsale) underperformed at the box-office, but it had been touted as a trilogy, and a second movie was still made (as I’m sure a third one will).

BLOOD DIAMOND. A bit long and tiring. Tiring because of the subject matter. I’m an idiot when it comes to a lot of things, so I didn’t realize just HOW serious the problem was with conflict diamonds, or what was going on at Sierra Leon, etc – and the message of just HOW serious things were was ingrained into the minds of the audience, as almost every scene was quite painfully portrayed. And it’s in that aspect that makes it pretty tiring to sit through this movie (the length also doesn’t help).

GRIFFIN AND PHOENIX. Another title that was hokey for me. But, after Blood Diamond, I wanted to see something more uplifting. Well, it was either this or some Jackie Chan movie called “Rob B Hood”. Duh. (Okay, so maybe I’ll still go see that movie just the same, if it was still showing in theaters and I have nothing else to watch) I’ve never seen the trailer to this one, so I checked out the poster and the movie apparently starred Dermot Mulroney and one of my favorite pretty gals, Amanda Peet. I assumed that this was a romantic comedy. If not a comedy, then it was a love story for sure. Well, I found out, a comedy it definitely was not. Neither was it uplifting. The premise? It was about two people who face a seemingly insurmountable obstacle that stand between them and a last chance at love. From the get-go, you already know how this is going to end, and so it makes it difficult to root for the leads, inspite of their otherwise very positive outlook on things. It does have its moments, but I honestly feel that the movie probably could have been much better at the hands of a more able director (it was helmed by first-time director Ed Stone). Maybe. At least the songs that appeared in the flick were pretty nice.

Like I said, still no luck. Fortunately, there are new movies out this week, including Déjà vu (starring Denzel Washington) and, I think, Night At The Museum (with Ben Stiller). Hopefully, I'll get to see my first good movie for the year this week.

‘Nuff said.

I Couldn't Do Anything else...

I was still awake, feeling restless. I was and am (still) watching tv, and I suddenly started thinking of trying to create a blog where I could solely post entries about movies that I've seen and will go see. I had done one such entry in my other blog, but I thought that I shouldn't fill it up mostly with my (attempt at doing) "movie reviews". Reviewing movies isn't exactly something that I dream of doing, but it's kind of a frustration I guess on my part, maybe a little wishful thinking.
The reviews here (not that anyone will ever read it) is nothing professional (it won't be filled with high-faluting terms or anything like that), but rather opinions of the, uhm, man on the street so to speak. Simple, perhaps nonsensical or idiotic at times, but I just wanted to have a space (if you will) for me to rant and/or rave about films. Because, besides tv, I absotively love watching movies.
And I'll probably change the name of this blog. It was the first thing that came to my so-called mind and I was just too darn lazy to think of any more...

'Nuff said.