Music & Lyrics, The Fountain

MUSIC AND LYRICS. Hugh Grant plays an 80s pop idol has-been who gets another crack at a comeback when a Shakira-wannabe asks him to write her a song. But he's only given a few days to come up with a hit song and is desperate to come up with the perfect lyrics. Cue Drew Barrymore, who just happens to have the talent for rhyme. Sparks fly and you can probably guess the rest. As predictable as that may sound, this movie is surprisingly very entertaining. Grant has a lot of witty one-liners and Barrymore...well...I've never hated her, but I've never been a huge fan of hers either -- but I gotta say that she's quite lovely in this movie, particularly in a scene where she gets to put on a red dress (Yowza!). Music has a lot of laughs, and you immediately get started at the opening of the movie, where a video of the Wham-esque group that Grant's character used to belong to - Pop - will have you cracking up. In fact, Pop's "80's" ditty will keep ringing in your head over and over, as if you're having one of those last-song-heard syndromes. And even though it seems like it was written by a child, one of Grant's other songs in the movie, "Don't Write Me Off" , is also pretty nice (well, I liked it).

THE FOUNTAIN. Spanning over a thousand years, and three parallel stories in different time periods, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality and the fragility of our existence in the world. Unfortunately, the movie is so muddled that it's a bit difficult to comprehend or keep up with the premise or plot. In the middle of this mess is married couple Tommy (Hugh Jackman) and Izzi (Rachel Weisz). Jackman and Weisz shine in the film, as their scenes together are achingly poignant -- which is good and bad -- good because their performances are what saves this movie for me, and bad because these two deserve a better movie than this. The Fountain is visually amazing that it's hard to believe that what I read about it having only one CGI used for the entire film is true (writer-director Darren Aronofsky chose to do the special effects using micro-photography on chemical reactions on tiny petri dishes -- he said that the CGI would take away the timelessness of the film) . But fantastic visuals can only do so much for a movie if the story doesn't help it.

'Nuff said.

Blood & Chocolate, Hannibal Rising, The Curse of The Golden Flower, The Holiday

BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE. It's a strange title for a movie if you ask me, particularly if it's a horror flick. I can understand the blood part, but chocolate?! And not seeing the trailer, the title was actually what put me off from seeing the movie right away. In fact, I almost didn't go watch it. I thought that it was some cheapo B-movie. I had to check for reviews about Blood, to make sure that it was at least worth my hundred and fifty pesos. Aiden (Hugh Dancy) is an artist doing research on Bucharest's ancient arts and relics for his next graphic novel based on the mythology of the Loup Garoux -- shapeshifters whose ability to effortlessly change into both human and wolf was once considered to be holy among men. He runs into and falls for Vivian (Agnes Bruckner), who, unbeknownst to him, is one of the Loup Garoux. One of the last of her kind in fact, and is under the control and protection of Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), the leader of the last packs of Loup Garoux who is to be her predestined husband. The movie may prove to be a disappointment for hard-core horror flick fans, as Blood doesn't really have a lot of... well, blood. It's actually more of a romantic thriller (well, more romantic than thriller ), minus the blood and gore that would normally accompany these kinds of movies. Heck, even the transformation of the Loup Garoux from human to wolf was done in an elegant or romantic kind of way, as opposed to how most of us have seen it done in other movies (An American Werewolf In London, The Howling, Wolf, etc). But what can I say? I'm a sucker for these kinds of stories, and I actually liked this one. It's not the best of this genre, but it's still pretty good nonetheless.

HANNIBAL RISING. Silence of The Lambs was one of the best movies ever made. With stellar performances from the two leads, Jodie Foster and (especially) Sir Anthony Hopkins. For me, it's one of those films that should be left alone. Meaning, no sequels, and no remakes. That's why I was a bit concerned when Hannibal came out ten years later, and Red Dragon in 2002. Fortunately, both movies weren't as bad as I feared it would be. The most important reason being the fact that Hopkins still played the deliciously frightening Dr.Lecter. So imagine my surprise and dismay when I found out another movie about the infamous doctor was made. Pardon my ignorance, but I'm not very knowledgeable with Thomas Harris' work -- and, apparently, Harris did write a novel about the origin of Lecter, so I guess it was but inevitable that a movie was going to be made based on said book. The thing is, in my opinion, Hopkins is Hannibal Lecter, and it would be difficult to see anyone else play the role other than him. Okay, so it's not like Hopkins could play a very young Hannibal (the movie's about his origin after all), but it's also difficult (for me anyway) not comparing the guy who plays Lecter in this one (Gaspard Ulliel) to Anthony Hopkins. And it's pretty much what ruins Hannibal Rising for me. Ulliel's portrayal of Lecter reminded me more of Crispin Glover's The Thin Man in the Charlie's Angels movie(s). As I said, Hollywood should have left Silence of The Lambs alone and not made any more Hannibal movies. Especially with this latest. Anthony Hopkins saved Hannibal and Red Dragon, but a Hannibal movie without Hopkins is just inconceivable.

Useless knowledge : There was actually another actor that played Hannibal The Cannibal before Sir Anthony Hopkins, and that was Brian Cox (who has appeared in movies like Troy, The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, to name a few) in a Michael Mann-directed film called Manhunter (an excellent movie), starring CSI's William Peterson. Info courtesy of the dvd lent to me by Ld.

CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER. Forget about the story because this will just leave you dazed and confused, especially the ending (which will also irritate the heck out of you). But if you really wanna know, Hero and House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou, gives us his latest offering -- a martial arts "epic" starring Chow Yun-Fat, as an emperor in 10th century Tang Dynasty that's got some family drama going on in his life : he's married to Gong Li, who's having an affair with her husband's eldest son (that sounds icky but, don't worry, she's not related to him) - and the emperor also wants to turn her insane by slowly poisoning her; his middle son is clearly having designs on the throne; and his youngest son spends his time brown-nosing and skulking around the palace. But that's not all... someone's also raising an army to strike at the heart of the empire during the annual chrysanthemum festival, someone else is searching for a long-lost relative, and so on. Curse has beautiful costumes, superb cinematography, but, other than that, this movie is best left alone. Well... unless you can't help yourself and you just want to see a crappy movie. To prove my point, there's a scene where a huge battle happens -- a lot of people get killed -- but the moment the fight is over, palace servants appear out of nowhere and clean and clear out the thousands of dead bodies lying around and voila!, it was as if nothing happened. That scene was just so damn funny! (it wasn't meant to be funny)

THE HOLIDAY. After having problems with the men in their lives, Amanda (Cameron Diaz) - a Hollywood movie trailer producer - meets British writer Iris (Kate Winslet) on-line and decide to do a home-swap in each other's countries (I didn't even know some people do this kind of thing -- I thought to myself wouldn't it be great to swap my home for some huge abode, with complete amenities like a pool, superb sound system, a ginormous tv, etc? - then again, nobody's gonna want my place - haha), only to meet a local guy and fall in love. The trailer would suggest that this is a Cameron Diaz-Kate Winslet vehicle, but I felt that it was more of a Cameron Diaz show, as the movie seemed to focus more on her story and her scenes seemed to be longer than that of Kate's. Writer-director Nancy Meyers did much better with her last outing, Something's Gotta Give, but The Holiday is still a decent romantic comedy, if a bit lengthy. It's a beautiful movie to look at all around, particularly because of and with the leads that Meyers has in the film. Well, maybe except Jack Black who, perhaps, some will find a bit odd as a romantic leading man. He doesn't do bad -- it's just that people who've seen his movies are probably more used to seeing Black as a hyperactive, physical comedian -- and in this flick, he's more low-key. Absolutely wonderful film score by Hans Zimmer.

'Nuff said.

Apocalypto, Hollywoodland, Charlotte's Web

APOCALYPTO. If you're a filmmaker, how do you top something like Passion of The Christ? Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin had Independence Day and followed it up with Godzilla. Peter Jackson made the Lord of The Rings trilogy and King Kong was his next film. Both follow-ups failed at the box office and didn't live up to critics and the movie-going public's expectations. Like the saying goes when you're on top, there's no other way but down. So Mel Gibson probably was under a lot of pressure to come up with the next Passion of The Christ -- that was the main thought racing in my mind as I was watching Apocalypto. I have to applaud Gibson in creating another movie with a subject matter that won't necessarily translate into commercial success : about the Mayan kingdom facing extinction (and its rulers insisting that the only way to continue to prosper is to build more temples and offer human sacrifices). There's actually something more than just a sort of history lesson happening in the film, as a young man named Jaguar Paw, captured for sacrifice, flees and tries to return to his wife and child. There's a sense of awe, mysticism, and disgust while viewing Gibson's latest work. It was kind of like watching the National Geographic or something on a/the big screen. It can be and is pretty violent (some people have criticized Gibson for portraying the Mayan civilization as nothing more than a violent race), so this is something not for the weak at heart or those without strong stomachs. It's no Passion..., that's for certain, but it's still an interesting and somewhat disturbing look at the Mayan culture (even if you don't really learn anything about them from this movie). Apocalypto is what I would call an acquired taste -- it's definitely not for everyone.

HOLLYWOODLAND. I honestly have no idea about the life and death of George Reeves (Ben Affleck), tv's Superman, except that he (supposedly) committed suicide. And I've always never completely trusted movies that are based on true events or people because, being Hollywood, and that it's a movie, facts are often not a hundred percent accurate, and/or changes are made about a certain event or person for cinematic purposes. And I'm guessing that Hollywoodland is no different in that sense. Conspiracy theorists may find it interesting how a detective (Adrien Brody) tries to piece together clues surrounding the death of Reeves and comes up with several possible scenarios as to how it actually happened. But, at the same time, it does prove to be quite frustrating as all one really gets are just more maybes, and you somehow can't help but wish that there would be some kind of finality, or some kind of resolution to what may or (according to the film) may not have been a suicide. It was also a bit frustrating keeping up with certain things, as a lot of names or events would be mentioned, people and other stuff that I knew nothing about. You would have to have been knowledgeable with was going on in Hollywood and in the late Reeves' career back in the 50s to fully appreciate Hollywoodland. Fine acting all around, particularly Diane Lane who plays Toni Mannix, the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins). But I think it's best or better to read some kind of authorized autobiographical book about George Reeves if you want to find out more about the actor, his career, and his mysterious death.

CHARLOTTE'S WEB. I vaguely remember watching the animated Charlotte's Web on the boob tube when I was a wee lad. Now comes the big-screen, live-action treatment of E.B. White's classic children's book, about a runty pig saved from the slaughterhouse by his friendship with a learned spider (voiced by Julia Roberts). Going in, you already know the target market, but it's still pretty enjoyable for adults (just make sure if you're watching it alone to not sit anywhere near a family with a group of kids, as the tendency will be the difficulty to enjoy the movie what with kids being kids, noisily and innocently asking a lot of questions to mom or dad, etc). But, even if you hear Julia Robert's (soothing) voice, there's just no way to make a huge, hairy spider anything but creepy. Ugh. Stellar (voice) cast : Oprah Winfrey, Cedric The Entertainer, Reba McEntire, Steve Buscemi, Kathy Bates, Sam Shepard, and John Cleese. Wonderful film score by Danny Elfman, even if it doesn't exactly have a strong recall.

'Nuff said.

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.