Back Swan

Lurid, disgusting, disturbing and shallow. The film is never certain of whether it is a horror movie or condemnation of the ballet culture. It attempts to be both but never succeeds as either.

It seeks to draw parallels to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, in which the protagonist loses her lover to the evil "Black Swan"...except that Portman isn't even in a relationship with her supposed love interest (the choreographer, who is a manipulative lecher she can't stand).

It's also very derivative (of things like Fight Club, Psycho and Jacob's Ladder). Told entirely from the perspective of Natalie Portman's character, one is never sure what is real or not. This is also yet another movie that is totally devoid of humor (intentional humor anyway; Portman's meltdown became funny after a while -- particularly when she sprouted bird legs ). Mila Kunis is adorable however (though her strikingly attractive features tend to upstage Portman's less comely looks).


District 9

Interesting scfi thriller, though the script could have used another re-write (they never explained what that black fluid was, or why it was both a spaceship fuel AND a substance that turns humans in "prawns"). Toward the end I got sick of all the f-bombs and "shakeycam" but the story was overall good and held my interest. I also appreciated the depiction of bigotry towards aliens by people who were themselves victims of bigotry within living memory (which is a sadly accurate portrayl of human nature).


Clash of the Titans

I found this remake entertaining but not perfect, and while it arguably had more verisimilitude, it lacked much of the original's charm (and humor). I found it interesting that this film was more "ensemble"-driven than the original (and indeed Greek myths in general, which always focused on a single hero). All the characters were well-written, even the supporting ones (Lawrence Kasdan's influence no doubt).

Sam Worthington was very good, though he came across more like an army "grunt" than a Greek hero (and he certainly lacked Harry Hamlin's elegance). Gemma Arterton and Alexa Davalos gave superb performances, in addition to being breathtakingly beautiful women (and nothing enhances a woman's beauty like Greek attire). Ralph Fiennes was effectively chilling as Hades, but Liam Neeson doesn't really embody a "god-like" persona for me. I just can't accept Zeus with a Northen Irish accent (sorry). I'd have preferred an actor with a more refined style, along the lines of Olivier's original Zeus.

Beautiful art direction though, the buildings and denizens of Argos looking like a Lawrence Alma-Tadema painting come to life. Unfortunately, post production CGI overkill gave the film a decidedly 300 / LOTR look at times (and those are among the most visually repellent films ever made if you ask me).

Some of the action scenes got too frenetic, to the point that they were confusing (the scorpion sequence was halfway over before I realized there was more than one of them -- I couldn't imagine sitting through this movie in 3-D).

I did get tired of the effects after a while, which (while impressively rendered) started to seem ostentatious, and didn't offer anything not already seen in other movies. And while they may be slightly more "convincing", the effects in this remake don't have the same beauty as Harryhaussen's originals (which in some ways were more convincing, as they were were real, 3-dimensional objects, not computer animations).

The score was disappointingly to say the least -- especially when compared to Laurence Rosenthal's magnificent original.


Tron Legacy

A slick, worthy successor to the original. I did find the story a little confusing and ambiguous at times, but it moved well and the characters were believable. I also liked the slams at the modern software industry in the boardroom scene. The effects were near-unssailable, though the attempt to "youthen" Jeff Bridges via CGI didn't look that real (certainly compared to the same effect used on Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in X-Men 3). Daft Punk's score was very good in the orchestral passages, though too much like something from an Ecstasy club in the synth portions. But Olivia Wilde's portrayal of Cora was a particular highlight (but I'm a sucker for Emo girls!).

Great reviews Paul -- have you seen THOR yet?? You should!!

I wonder how much of an involvement Kasdan had with the CLASH that ended up onscreen, seeing as he removed his name from the credits...it's a wonder the film was a success given how much trouble it was in (the ending was changed, which you can see on the Blu-Ray; Craig Armstrong's music was thrown out; etc.).

BTW there's a sequel coming as well, with Rosamund Pike in the role of Andromeda, a role that was severely reduced in importance from the first film but is supposed to be more integral this time around.

THOR - That was an absolute blast....great acting (especially from the actors who played Thor and Loki), great visuals (yes, they did tend towards graphic novel stuff like 300 as someone mentioned but I didn't mind), and decent story with good humor. It was just a really fun movie, and the epilogue after the credits rolled makes me REALLY excited for THE AVENGERS. This is shaping up to be a really cool summer with all the super-hero films coming out. I honestly couldn't be happier with how THOR turned out, and I regret not being into comic books when I was a kid. This is really worth seeing; it brought back memories of summer movies I liked as a kid: fun, epic, escapist entertainment that made you feel like your money was well spent (well, my parents' money back then). Bravo!

Michael is on board the THOR train. LOVE IT.

I agree with you totally Michael. The more I think about it, I really do believe it's one of the best super hero movies!

The Hurt Locker

It had its moments, and wasn't without suspense, and Anthony Mackie's performance was excellent, but at the end of the day it just wasn't much of a story, and not very believable either.

It's sad because this is an important subject. I know someone who was in Iraq for a couple of years (separated from his wife and two infant children), and is now recuperating in San Diego (closer to home, but still a long way away). War is a horrible thing...but I couldn't help but feel the people who made this film were motivated by the desire to make a cool movie that "proves a point", rather than sympathy for the people who fight (and die) for their country.

And I just couldn't swallow most of what I saw in this film...

Of course there are nutjobs in the military, but this film perpetually holds up the negative exceptions as the norm, resulting in a skewed impression of reality.

Anybody that ignored protocol and risked himself and his team as much as Sergeant James did would be relieved immediately.

Army psychiatrists don't tell soldiers that war is the experience of a lifetime and they should try to enjoy it.

And why would an army psychiatrist -- who is not a combat soldier -- get out of a Hummvee, wander away and START TALKING to the locals?

And gee, it wasn't AT ALL obvious the psychiatrist was going to die in an explosion was it?

The US military hasn't flown Hueys in decades. They fly Black Hawks now. (There was even a Ridley Scott movie named after them, remember?)

Why cast well-known actors like Guy Pierce and Ralph Fiennes and then kill them off after two minutes? Perhaps Bigelow was going for the Psycho/Marion red herring ("Oh, a famous actor, they must be an important character!") but it only came-off like Ted Danson's awkward cameo in Saving Private Ryan.

Why were there explosives planted inside that kid's body?

Why would anyone be flying a kite in close proximity to a man with explosives strapped to him?

I'm sure Iraqi children have pelted American Humvees with rocks, but for the most part the US military personnel have been welcomed in Iraq, because they were the ones who rid the nation of a much-hated psychopathic despot named Saddam Hussein.

I didn't like the way it was shot either. I understand they wanted it to look like "real war footage", but the problem is every war or action subject has been shot this way for over ten years -- Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, Battlestar Galactica, heck even the recent Harry Potter movies!

I'm also tired of paying to see movies that look like they were shot on a $500 camcorder. More directors ought to take the time to watch Apocalypse Now -- which is actually an effective film in spite of being well-photographed.

Oh, and the score was little more than noise.

I'm also amazed that no one criticized this film for its utterly insulting depiction of the Iraqi people, who were portrayed as a bunch of clueless morons who do nothing but peer silently around corners and keep wandering into unexploded bomb zones (or driving taxis into them -- that scene was ludicrous too!).

I didn't think HURT LOCKER was believable or authentic at all. I wrote in my review that it felt like a movie of self-contained "suspense" sequences, which kept the viewer unnerved, but its cumulative effect was weak from a dramatic standpoint.

The direction was solid because of those moments, but as a movie I felt it was wholly overrated.

Centurion

Southern Comfort in the style of Gladiator.

Only much less entertaining.

ZELIG (1983) - 6.5/10. This film has grown on me over th eyears. I like that it went back to a documentary style a la TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN, and the first half of the film was really good but I thought it slowed down and couldn't sustain itself very well. Still, quite a technical achievement.

BROADWAY DANNY ROSE (1984) - 9/10. I liked this film a lot the first time I saw it and it holds up really well. I think Woody Allen's Rose is one of his most sympathetic characters, and I loved how Allen brought life to the character through physical quirks, like teh way he gestured and used his hands and arms while talking, and his walking style. I think it's a sweet story and was the beginning of a series of films where he was firing on all cylinders.

Fate Is The Hunter (1964) 7.5 of 10. I got my Twilight Time DVD a few days ago and sat down to watch it today. Looked fine and I of course love that Goldsmith theme for what is a sparse score overall. If there's one quibble with the script I have it's that the whole theme of Fate that's at the heart of Glenn Ford's big speech needed to be emphasized again to Suzanne Pleshette at the climax because ultimately that whole element ties the matter of her as the only survivor because only she could have remembered the key detail needed to figure out the cause of the crash, which of course would not have been picked up on a surviving flight recorder.

Zero Hour (1957) 4 of 10. This is a fascinating curio only because it became "Airplane" and it's hilarious to recognize all the dialogue/staging that was lifted VERBATIM for that comedy classic. And there are moments that should have been parodied in Airplane but amazingly weren't!

I'm working my way through THE HORSE SOLDIERS right now...and I'm enjoying it for what is supposed to be a "minor Ford."

Must be westerns month as THE COMANCHEROS and OUTLAW JOSEY WALES also just came in today.

The Charge At Feather River (1953): 6.5/10

Watchable if cliche-ridden Western best-known for giving a particular stock sound effect its name...

Airport (1970) 8 of 10
-I hadn't revisited this one in years and it's interesting to see how this film now represents a snapshot of an age of air travel that has vanished forever. There was still, just prior to the dawn of the jumbo jet age (when packing people inside like sardines became the norm) an air of glamor and excitement to a flight that it's safe to say no one feels any longer. And my gosh, in this post-9/11 period you look at how security procedures were in those days and you come away thinking it's incredible no one tried a 9/11 stunt in that earlier age when slipping onboard unnoticed was possible.

-Lancaster is good and so is the entire cast except for Dean Martin who is only turning things up one notch from his lazy Matt Helm performances, and while it's better work than usual, I would have still preferred a better actor in the part.

-If the changes in security procedures would make this film impossible to remake today, modern Hollywood would also nix the very pro-life message on abortion as well. That said, I'm still amazed this film got a "G" rating when the "GP" option was available at that time (this was also the same year that they also slapped a "G" on "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes" with its shootings galore and depressing ending)

Some quick thoughts on a few things I've watched this week:

BRIDESMAIDS 7/10
A movie at war with itself, this agreeable comedy (now a box-office hit) from SNL's Kristen Wiig and company has some mild laughs and a few nice scenes. They also, unfortunately, alternate with brief bursts of producer Judd Apatow's R-rated "raunch" -- like a ridiculous, unfunny gross-out scene where the ladies get food poisoning and end up relieving themselves in a dress shop. It made me wonder -- when did comedy take the sudden right turn to bodily fluid jokes of embarrassment? I'm guessing THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and AMERICAN PIE are the films to blame for the "modern trend" in R rated comedy, and with this film it's unfortunate since the tone of the film is a bit more mature than the norm and Wiig is good. So is Melissa McCarthy from "Mike & Molly" who steals most of her scenes. Overall, not great, just okay, in spite of its "89% fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST 9.5/10
Man this is one great western. Leone's masterwork manages to be leisurely paced yet compelling to the degree where you simply can't take your eyes off it. Paramount's Blu-Ray looks superb given the restored elements it was derived from, and wow was Claudia Cardinale smokin' hot back in '69. Classic.

FATE IS THE HUNTER 7/10
As Eric mentioned above Glenn Ford is terrific in this well-acted chronicle of a plane crash and the fallout stemming from it. Twilight Time's transfer is great, and Goldsmith's score is incredibly sparse (effective when it is utilized), though I did find the film fairly dated. Good for a quick watch and that's about it.

THE HORSE SOLDIERS 7.5/10
"Minor John Ford" is still better than most anyone else. Terrific transfer though not as good as THE COMANCHEROS, which looks spectacular in HD.

Marooned (1969) 6 of 10.

-Despite the presence of a great cast, this film sadly misses the mark because it just flat-out drags too much. ESPECIALLY the ending which goes on and on in silence for too long and then a much too abrupt tag. Someone noted that there still should have been a suspenseful re-entry sequence in light of the risk factor of what Janssen was doing with an experimental craft.

Cloverfield (2008) 7 of 10

-I think this is the only modern disaster film that doesn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth simply because the format means I don't have to be served up with some preachy bit of sermonizing like in every Devlin-Emmerich film. It's certainly a hell of a lot more entertaining than 98 Godzilla because even though the main characters aren't exactly the most likable of people at least they're not the ones we're supposed to believe are entrusted to save the world like many similar movies would do!

Westworld (1973) 8 of 10

-Very effective low-budget take on the basic theme Crichton would revisit with "Jurassic Park" in terms of giving us a great environment of make-believe where something does go wrong. The one thing I have a hard time buying is the pat way all the techs are disposed of, but it is alas a necessary plot device.