Movie Reviews: Flightplan, Corpse Bride, Into The Blue and Serenity (sort of)
Flightplan
Jodi Foster is a good actor. I have no doubt about that. Sean Bean can act, certainly, and so can Peter Sarsgaard. They’ve proved it in other movies so it is no shock here that they can easily convey what needs to be conveyed. The idea of a woman missing her daughter is always good for fun drama! Throw in the idea that she loses her daughter on a plane and you can add in all that claustrophobic stuff that worked well in Panic Room (Hey! Another Foster flick!) and other airplane movies and the strong possibility that the woman just MIGHT be nuts after the tragic loss of her husband and you can milk this sucker for hours! Or 90 minutes as is the case with this one. It moves well. The 90 minutes doesn’t feel longer or shorter… it feels like 90 minutes. Not a lot of wasted time or shots. If a shot takes a while it’s cause it has to! If it is sharply cut and disorienting, it’s supposed to be. So what’s WRONG with the movie? Nothing. It’s just not great. My mom liked it. My sisters liked it. I thought it was well-made and showcased competent actors and crew… but so what? Heart of Darkness was a well-written book… considered a classic… but it’s still boring as shit! This isn’t boring, it just ain’t exciting enough. I prefer Red Eye… but only just barely.
Corpse Bride
Let me start by saying I was not a big fan of Nightmare Before Christmas. It was well done and had some interesting concepts and is fun to look at… but so is most of Burton’s stuff. CB is no exception. It improves on some of the techniques used in NBC but he story still suffers from being dull. It seemed to me to be TOO harsh for kids (while parents disagree) and too soft for adults. Some fun jokes, a nice song or two and fun animation but that’s it. It’s short. REAL short. 80 minutes short. I was bored around minute 25. Some have liked it, sure, and I know a lot who didn’t. The most common review? "Glad I saw it but I don’t want to see it again." WOW. Should be a blockbuster, huh? Charlie and the Choc Factory was better. It's all fine and pretty to look at but at least Charlie had a good story.
Into the Blue
Three movies in one! The first hour is all about pretty people swimming. Great cinematography! Shots of Alba’s ass in a bikini! Great underwater images captured on film! More shots of her ass! Breathtaking shots of the actors seemingly around REAL fish not CGI! Oh, look, there’s her ass again! Does she act? Sure. So does Paul Walker, who wears a shirt for all of about 20 minutes of the movie. So does Caan’s kid, who is looking and acting a LOT like his pop. So does Ashley Scott… no wait, she doesn’t. She’s just pretty. And her ass is shown quite a bit, too. No nudity beyond the back of Scott’s breast and some "not hiding much" bikini bottom action. Just people swimming and looking around for treasure.
The next half hour is all about a drug deal subplot. So we meet nasty folks and watch our pretty people get involved in shit they SHOULD know better than get involved with but the movie would be wicked dull if they didn’t. They swim some more. Not many shots of Alba’s ass in this part (nor for the rest of the movie). Nice shark attack though.
The final half hour is the action part. Some good fighting and nice stunt work with Paul doing some nice underwater fighting (or his stunt man) while Alba gets to kick ass on land. She just doesn’t SHOW any ass. So is the movie worth seeing? Sure. Don’t RENT it, see it on the big screen just to enjoy the visuals. But if that’s the case, go see March of the Penguins, instead.
The only real stand out in all this is Josh Brolin. God, that guy is good. And even better when he’s a bad guy!
You know, on second thought… instead of seeing ANY of this movies… go see
SERENITY!!
I’ll review that later in the week after people have a chance to see it. I can’t think of how to review it WITHOUT giving stuff away and that would be a crime. All I WILL say is it’s two hours long, has great action and some nice comedic moments and if you’re a fan of the show like I am, take tissues.
Oh, and my friend, Julie, who has never seen an episode of the show saw it and LOVED IT! Said it was "like seeing the first Star Wars". Not Phantom Menace but the FIRST Star Wars. Yes, it IS that good.
Jodi Foster is a good actor. I have no doubt about that. Sean Bean can act, certainly, and so can Peter Sarsgaard. They’ve proved it in other movies so it is no shock here that they can easily convey what needs to be conveyed. The idea of a woman missing her daughter is always good for fun drama! Throw in the idea that she loses her daughter on a plane and you can add in all that claustrophobic stuff that worked well in Panic Room (Hey! Another Foster flick!) and other airplane movies and the strong possibility that the woman just MIGHT be nuts after the tragic loss of her husband and you can milk this sucker for hours! Or 90 minutes as is the case with this one. It moves well. The 90 minutes doesn’t feel longer or shorter… it feels like 90 minutes. Not a lot of wasted time or shots. If a shot takes a while it’s cause it has to! If it is sharply cut and disorienting, it’s supposed to be. So what’s WRONG with the movie? Nothing. It’s just not great. My mom liked it. My sisters liked it. I thought it was well-made and showcased competent actors and crew… but so what? Heart of Darkness was a well-written book… considered a classic… but it’s still boring as shit! This isn’t boring, it just ain’t exciting enough. I prefer Red Eye… but only just barely.
Corpse Bride
Let me start by saying I was not a big fan of Nightmare Before Christmas. It was well done and had some interesting concepts and is fun to look at… but so is most of Burton’s stuff. CB is no exception. It improves on some of the techniques used in NBC but he story still suffers from being dull. It seemed to me to be TOO harsh for kids (while parents disagree) and too soft for adults. Some fun jokes, a nice song or two and fun animation but that’s it. It’s short. REAL short. 80 minutes short. I was bored around minute 25. Some have liked it, sure, and I know a lot who didn’t. The most common review? "Glad I saw it but I don’t want to see it again." WOW. Should be a blockbuster, huh? Charlie and the Choc Factory was better. It's all fine and pretty to look at but at least Charlie had a good story.
Into the Blue
Three movies in one! The first hour is all about pretty people swimming. Great cinematography! Shots of Alba’s ass in a bikini! Great underwater images captured on film! More shots of her ass! Breathtaking shots of the actors seemingly around REAL fish not CGI! Oh, look, there’s her ass again! Does she act? Sure. So does Paul Walker, who wears a shirt for all of about 20 minutes of the movie. So does Caan’s kid, who is looking and acting a LOT like his pop. So does Ashley Scott… no wait, she doesn’t. She’s just pretty. And her ass is shown quite a bit, too. No nudity beyond the back of Scott’s breast and some "not hiding much" bikini bottom action. Just people swimming and looking around for treasure.
The next half hour is all about a drug deal subplot. So we meet nasty folks and watch our pretty people get involved in shit they SHOULD know better than get involved with but the movie would be wicked dull if they didn’t. They swim some more. Not many shots of Alba’s ass in this part (nor for the rest of the movie). Nice shark attack though.
The final half hour is the action part. Some good fighting and nice stunt work with Paul doing some nice underwater fighting (or his stunt man) while Alba gets to kick ass on land. She just doesn’t SHOW any ass. So is the movie worth seeing? Sure. Don’t RENT it, see it on the big screen just to enjoy the visuals. But if that’s the case, go see March of the Penguins, instead.
The only real stand out in all this is Josh Brolin. God, that guy is good. And even better when he’s a bad guy!
You know, on second thought… instead of seeing ANY of this movies… go see
SERENITY!!
I’ll review that later in the week after people have a chance to see it. I can’t think of how to review it WITHOUT giving stuff away and that would be a crime. All I WILL say is it’s two hours long, has great action and some nice comedic moments and if you’re a fan of the show like I am, take tissues.
Oh, and my friend, Julie, who has never seen an episode of the show saw it and LOVED IT! Said it was "like seeing the first Star Wars". Not Phantom Menace but the FIRST Star Wars. Yes, it IS that good.
posted by wmjwatson at 1:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home