Sunday, June 24, 2007

Much overdue movie review...

I recently have seen a few movies that are worth mentioning to those of you who still read my blog. I know I haven't posted in a while, so what better reason to post than to tell YOU what movies I insist you see. I do give away some plot points, but not too many, so read at your own risk.

1) A Night At The Museum - Ben Stiller is in rare "quirky" form in this one. It's one of those cute "kid-intended" movies about a seemingly dead-beat dad (Stiller) who wants to impress his son by getting a conventional job rather than be a struggling inventor. His desperation leads him to this somewhat generic Natural History Museum and he lands a job as a night guard. Quel surprise that all the displays come to life but none the less, this was a fun, entertaining flick. I was weary about this one only because I can't always stand Owen Wilson as he is typecast generally as the unrefined slacker who gets the girl in the end. Here he plays a miniature cowboy in a Wild West display who develops a rivalry with a Roman soldier from the adjacent Roman Empire display. It's just damn cute. Especially scenes where Stiller encounters a huge Easter Island statue (Moai to be exact) that calls him names. Robin Williams plays a Teddy Roosevelt replica that falls for the Sacajawea replica. The movie is essentially carried by Stiller's incompetence in dealing with these real-life museum "people" and then his gradual ability to befriend them. He even is able to tame the huge Tyrannosaurus Rex who just wants to play catch with a giant bone. Stiller's character is finally able to gain the respect of his son once he shows him how the museum is brought to life vis a vis a secret tablet that is housed in the museum's Egyptian "wing". It's a feel good movie, good dialogue and just entertaining.

2) The Queen - It's no surprise that Helen Mirren won the Oscar after I saw this movie. She truly humanizes Queen Elizabeth in the wake of Diana's death. No need to recount the entire plot here, but after interviews with Tony Blair, the director of this film was able to capture how the Royals responded after this tragedy with precision and accuracy, so I have read. It was extremely captivating. Mirren shows how independent and tough the queen apparently is despite her being withdrawn from public view. In one scene it shows her getting stranded in her Range Rover after refusing to be driven out into the country. She's sitting waiting for rescue and encounters a 12-point stag directly in front of her. It suggested her passion for nature and also her care for animals as she "shoos" him off so he can avoid his fate with a hunter. I found myself at several moments wiping my eyes. On the flip side, while the movie painted a pretty good picture of Queen Elizabeth, it made Prince Phillip look like a consummate bore and frankly an asshole. He constantly thought the public was making a huge spectacle out of Diana's death and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. None the less, this one is a must see.

3) The Holiday - Although I really can't stand Cameron Diaz's laugh, luckily in this one, she wasn't laughing that much. Really good dialogue, good story line. Jack Black was even sensitive and lovable to Kate Winlet's lonely, heart broken character, Iris. Jude Law is even lovable playing a seemingly womanizing commitment-phobic widower. But what got me the most was that it was believable. I mean, sure it is a bit far fetched that two lonely ladies that swap houses during Christmas half-way across the world for 2 weeks would find their lives turned up side down for the better after bitter relationships trials. However, even with the usual Hollywood improbability, I found myself teary eyed at certain parts and even wanting to watch it again. I laughed when the lady at Blockbuster exclaimed, "oh, SOOO good, I've watched it 5 times." Ok, you need a life, I thought. But I found my judgment of her premature as I wiped my eyes with tissue and wondered how it would all end. I guess it was hard for me to believe Diaz in a movie with substance and she did have her gratuitous, "let's see how sexy and long my legs can look" outfits and a few dumb blond expressions, but I could take it since Kate Winslet commanded ultimate sympathy and upheld the genuine feel of the movie. Good movie for a Saturday, rent it.

4) Apocalypto - While I did buy into the hype about disliking Mel Gibson for a period of time, Chas insisted we watch this and I was hesitant at first but caved. I didn't want to support him for obvious reasons. However, Apocalypto is now one of my favorite movies that I have seen in a while. I found myself engulfed in this tale of Mayan culture before it's colonization by the Spanish. While sources say that this movie has some historical "flaws", it's storyline, passion and cinematography cannot be unrecognized. It's amazing. Although most of Gibson's movies are profoundly "gross" and graphic, it didn't bother me as much as Braveheart with respect to the gratuitous "gore". I liked that most of the actors were virtually unknown and that made it much more believable than say casting some big name actor to play a Mayan hunter. The story of a man trying to escape his fate was utterly riveting by virtue of intense, edge of my seat anticipation and also the unique camera work. There is much of the movie where the protagonist, Jaguar Paw, is being chased through the forest by raiders where he is trying to get back to his pregnant wife and young son he had lowered into the pit of a cave when their village was plundered at the beginning of the film. I was actually sweating during the chase scene forgetting I was watching a movie but wandering the forest during an actual foot race. Unlike most of Gibson's films, the protagonist actually survives and is reunited with his family. I felt a sense of relief at the end of this movie and the only thing I could say was, "wow, that was amazing". Beautifully done. Put your feelings about Gibson aside and just watch this movie.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hate to burst your bubble, but the scene w/ the Queen and the stag is one of the most fictional parts of the movie. Listen to Terri Gross' interview w/ the director to learn what he wanted that scene to "represent". I heard one review challenge that scene saying it was highly improbable that the Queen would've shooed intead of shot, because being the avid hunter that she is, she wouldn't have passed up a golden opportunity such as that to kill such a "prize". I loved the movie too and was impressed at how accurate the scenes that mimic real events actually were. YouTube has 'em all...check it out.

9:56 PM

 

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