Before I get into my review, I had no idea what this movie was about. The only thing I knew about it was that it was up for a few Golden Globes. I hadn’t read any synopsis or anything on the film. I’m not familiar with the works of Mike Leigh or Sally Hawkins. After seeing this film, I would like to say that I will go back and watch all the movies they have done.
Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is an extremely optimistic primary school teacher. She is a 30-year-old single woman who lives life to the fullest with her best friend Zoe, who she also lives with. Poppy loves to get drunk with friends, teach at her school and share her optimism and happiness with even the most pessimistic people.
When her bike gets stolen, she looks around for it to see if it is nearby. After realizing it’s gone, she says “Oh I never got the chance to say goodbye.” This shows how cheerful she is. If my bike was stolen, I would be very upset.
Poppy still needs to obtain her driver’s license. Her instructor Scott has a serious attitude problem and takes out all his anger on Poppy. She doesn’t really flinch and she tries to make Scott happy but he doesn’t seem to respond to her cheeriness.
Is there a plot to this film? Not exactly. But that doesn’t stop us from enjoying what Sally is going to do next.
Poppy does grow up just a little bit though. When she sees one of the kids she teaches bully people around for no reason, she realizes she has to do something in order for him to stop. She calls the assistance for a social worker.
While she works the child problem out, she falls for her social worker and decides to date him. They both become the happiest couple I have ever seen on screen.
I have never felt so happy after watching a film. After countless years of watching movies, I won’t say this is the best movie ever made but it is one to even get the most cynical person happy about.
Hawkins is just downright cute and fits the role perfectly. Her ability to hold that smile and giggle for two hours may make people wonder if she is really that cheerful or just a very good actress. I’ll say she’s both.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)
And while I’m at it some very late reviews
Appaloosa 3.5/4 A good Western. Viggo plays second in command but comes out on top over Ed Harris.
Changeling 4/4 Clint Eastwood directs a powerful and devastating film. It needs to be seen more than once
Role Models 3/4 Formulaic but funny.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
David Fincher has directed many gruesome and violently bizarre films in his career. His director credits include “Seven,” “Fight Club,” and 2007’s “Zodiac.” He reunites with Brad Pitt for a third time to direct a loose adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story. While the previews make “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” seem like a film Tim Burton would direct, Fincher shows that he has a much different style than Burton.
The story opens in 2005. Hurricane Katrina is about to hit New Orleans. Caroline (Julia Ormond) is visiting her mother Daisy (Cate Blanchett). Daisy asks her daughter to read the diary of Benjamin Button,
Benjamin Button was born an unusual way. He was born in 1918 on the day America claimed victory of the First World War. Instead of being born like normal children are, Benjamin was born with health problems that are normally found in people who are aged 70 and older.
His mother dies while giving birth to him and his father becomes scared when he sees what his child is like. He snatches Benjamin from his house and drops him off in front of a porch of a retirement home. Queenie (Taraji P Henson), the caregiver of the home, takes Benjamin in and raises him.
People fear that Benjamin doesn’t have long to live. However, he is able to outlive the health problems and his health starts to improve the younger he gets.
He meets a young lady named Daisy. While they are both technically the same age, he doesn’t look like it so Daisy thinks he is much older than he actually is.
He knows from the moment he meets her, he’s in love.
They lose contact and meet again in the middle when they are both about the same age.
Benjamin is like the rest of us. He can’t reverse his age. He has to make a decision to be with Daisy the rest of his life as he grows younger and she grows older or to move on and realize what love he had is not possible under his condition.
David Fincher directs an amazing film, filled with incredible visuals from cinematographer Claudio Miranda. Eric Roth wrote the screenplay and has written a story so mesmerizing and heartbreaking that some may feel uncertain what to think after it’s over. I mean this in a very good way. It’s a lovely story and very captivating. Alexandre Despalt provided the score, which is both haunting and enchanting.
The film is nearly three hours long. Audiences these days have trouble sitting through a film that long. Some may complain that they liked the movie but it was too long. Roger Ebert once said, “A good movie is never too long and a bad movie is never too short.” I live by this quote whenever I see any film. This is not just a good film, but a miraculous one.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)
The story opens in 2005. Hurricane Katrina is about to hit New Orleans. Caroline (Julia Ormond) is visiting her mother Daisy (Cate Blanchett). Daisy asks her daughter to read the diary of Benjamin Button,
Benjamin Button was born an unusual way. He was born in 1918 on the day America claimed victory of the First World War. Instead of being born like normal children are, Benjamin was born with health problems that are normally found in people who are aged 70 and older.
His mother dies while giving birth to him and his father becomes scared when he sees what his child is like. He snatches Benjamin from his house and drops him off in front of a porch of a retirement home. Queenie (Taraji P Henson), the caregiver of the home, takes Benjamin in and raises him.
People fear that Benjamin doesn’t have long to live. However, he is able to outlive the health problems and his health starts to improve the younger he gets.
He meets a young lady named Daisy. While they are both technically the same age, he doesn’t look like it so Daisy thinks he is much older than he actually is.
He knows from the moment he meets her, he’s in love.
They lose contact and meet again in the middle when they are both about the same age.
Benjamin is like the rest of us. He can’t reverse his age. He has to make a decision to be with Daisy the rest of his life as he grows younger and she grows older or to move on and realize what love he had is not possible under his condition.
David Fincher directs an amazing film, filled with incredible visuals from cinematographer Claudio Miranda. Eric Roth wrote the screenplay and has written a story so mesmerizing and heartbreaking that some may feel uncertain what to think after it’s over. I mean this in a very good way. It’s a lovely story and very captivating. Alexandre Despalt provided the score, which is both haunting and enchanting.
The film is nearly three hours long. Audiences these days have trouble sitting through a film that long. Some may complain that they liked the movie but it was too long. Roger Ebert once said, “A good movie is never too long and a bad movie is never too short.” I live by this quote whenever I see any film. This is not just a good film, but a miraculous one.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)
Monday, December 29, 2008
One of the year's best. No doubt about it.
“Doubt”
I’ve never attended a Catholic school or church so I’m not sure how close to reality “Doubt” is. I did follow the huge sex scandal many years back and it did disgust me that this was going on. Before sitting down and watching the film, I was curious how this subject could be turned into a PG-13 film. What director John Patrick Shanley shows is not brutal or graphic visually, but rather mentally.
The film is set in the Bronx in 1964. It revolves around the private Catholic school St. Nicholas. Meryl Streep plays Sister Aloysius Beauvier, a nun who you would never want to meet or work with. She is tough, strict and downright cold. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays Father Brendan Flynn, a priest who loves his job and everyone around him.
When Sister James (Amy Adams) has a strange suspicion that Father Flynn is having an inappropriate relationship with Donald Miller, the only African American student at the school, she reports it to Sister Beauvier.
Sister Beauvier suspected something was up and was hoping Sister James would never have to report it. Now with the suspicion arising, Sister Beauvier is determined to get to the bottom of things.
Father Flynn finds out that Sister Beauvier suspects something. However, he says nothing inappropriate has occurred between him and Donald.
Is he telling the truth or is he hiding something?
Meryl Streep ignites the screen as Sister Beauvier. She doesn’t take no for an answer from anybody. She is a hard ass, by the book, tough as nails nun who one may never want to encounter.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman is compelling as Father Flynn. He fills his character with so much power and emotion that the viewer feels sorry for him yet no one is sure what is real and what is not until the film’s final moments.
One actress who has a small role stands out as possibly the best performance of the entire film. Viola Davis plays Donald Miller’s mother. Her role as a mother who is worried, confused and on the brink of devastation and possibly depression is remarkable. Her segment only lasts for about ten minutes but will stick for an eternity in the viewer’s heart. If William Hurt can snag an Oscar nomination for his ten-minute segment is “A History of Violence,” I don’t see how Viola Davis won’t be able to snag a nomination for her role in this movie.
If someone else did this adaptation of the famous play, it might have gone in a different direction that might not be as remarkable. It’s a good thing Shanley, who also did the play, signed on for the film adaptation. He knows what he wants the actors to do and he knows how he wants the story to go.
Roger Deakins (“There Will Be Blood,” “No Country for Old Men”) is the cinematographer for “Doubt” and shows again that he can capture pure realism with beautiful shots that fit the film’s setting perfectly.
Without a doubt, this is one of the best films of the year.
Rating 4 stars (out of 4)
I’ve never attended a Catholic school or church so I’m not sure how close to reality “Doubt” is. I did follow the huge sex scandal many years back and it did disgust me that this was going on. Before sitting down and watching the film, I was curious how this subject could be turned into a PG-13 film. What director John Patrick Shanley shows is not brutal or graphic visually, but rather mentally.
The film is set in the Bronx in 1964. It revolves around the private Catholic school St. Nicholas. Meryl Streep plays Sister Aloysius Beauvier, a nun who you would never want to meet or work with. She is tough, strict and downright cold. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays Father Brendan Flynn, a priest who loves his job and everyone around him.
When Sister James (Amy Adams) has a strange suspicion that Father Flynn is having an inappropriate relationship with Donald Miller, the only African American student at the school, she reports it to Sister Beauvier.
Sister Beauvier suspected something was up and was hoping Sister James would never have to report it. Now with the suspicion arising, Sister Beauvier is determined to get to the bottom of things.
Father Flynn finds out that Sister Beauvier suspects something. However, he says nothing inappropriate has occurred between him and Donald.
Is he telling the truth or is he hiding something?
Meryl Streep ignites the screen as Sister Beauvier. She doesn’t take no for an answer from anybody. She is a hard ass, by the book, tough as nails nun who one may never want to encounter.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman is compelling as Father Flynn. He fills his character with so much power and emotion that the viewer feels sorry for him yet no one is sure what is real and what is not until the film’s final moments.
One actress who has a small role stands out as possibly the best performance of the entire film. Viola Davis plays Donald Miller’s mother. Her role as a mother who is worried, confused and on the brink of devastation and possibly depression is remarkable. Her segment only lasts for about ten minutes but will stick for an eternity in the viewer’s heart. If William Hurt can snag an Oscar nomination for his ten-minute segment is “A History of Violence,” I don’t see how Viola Davis won’t be able to snag a nomination for her role in this movie.
If someone else did this adaptation of the famous play, it might have gone in a different direction that might not be as remarkable. It’s a good thing Shanley, who also did the play, signed on for the film adaptation. He knows what he wants the actors to do and he knows how he wants the story to go.
Roger Deakins (“There Will Be Blood,” “No Country for Old Men”) is the cinematographer for “Doubt” and shows again that he can capture pure realism with beautiful shots that fit the film’s setting perfectly.
Without a doubt, this is one of the best films of the year.
Rating 4 stars (out of 4)
Thursday, December 25, 2008
“Seven Pounds” a little too heavy
When Will Smith took on “The Pursuit of Happyness,” he was able to give a great performance with a script that may have seemed a little formulaic but it still worked. In “Seven Pounds,” he has to work with a script so scattershot and uneven that his good performance can’t even save it.
The opening scene has Ben Thomas (Smith) calling 911 and reporting his own suicide. From there, the viewer is taken back to what has happened before that scene.
Ben Thomas is an IRS agent who wants to help people pay off their late taxes and get them back on the right track. However, he finds in some of his first cases presented on screen that the people he’s trying to help have something he doesn’t agree with and he shuts them out.
One case is that of a man named Ezra Turner. Ben calls Ezra out because he is a blind telephone operator for a meat ordering company who is also a vegetarian. This baffles Ben and he throws harsh insults at Ezra over the phone. Surprisingly, Ezra is able to keep his cool and finish the conversation without blowing steam.
There are some cases where he tries to help people and they don’t want help from a stranger. One is that of Connie Tepos a mother of two living with her abusive boyfriend. Ben doesn’t know her but he wants to help her. She refuses his help, seeing as how she doesn’t know him and also she doesn’t want her issues to become public.
He meets Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) who changes his life around after he finds out she has a congenital heart problem. However, she’s not too sick to be put on the donor’s list for a new heart. He realizes her situation and decides to put what she owes on hold until she can find a donor.
The story’s main focus is on the relationship between Emily and Ben. He wants to help these other people you meet but the main person he cares for the most is Emily.
They fall for each other and Ben tries to keep the relationship steady without it ruining what he wants to do.
The film overly dramatizes many scenes and spends way too much time reminding us of how Ben has become an emotional wreck and why he is doing this. It’s first hinted at the viewer in the beginning of the film through many flashbacks and nightmares. It continues to hint more scenes as the movie progresses but it becomes clear and simple what happens after the third flashback.
The sound guys worked way too hard to make this movie as dramatic as possible. There were many scenes where the phone rings in echoes because Ben feels disconnected and delusional with reality. I think one time may have been enough. I didn’t keep track of how many times it happens in this movie but I know it happens more than once.
This film has a lot of religious undertones. Ben seeks for forgiveness and redemption as he helps these people. The rest of the themes are hard to explain in this review without giving away the film. It’s pretty easy to figure out.
The concept is interesting and Smith and Dawson are able to keep good chemistry between each other. If it wasn’t for the preachiness and illogical moments (especially the end), this film may have worked. What we have is a film that looks and sounds good on paper but disappointingly fails in front of a camera.
Rating: 2 stars (out of 4)
There are some reviews I am missing. Mini reviews of those coming soon.
The opening scene has Ben Thomas (Smith) calling 911 and reporting his own suicide. From there, the viewer is taken back to what has happened before that scene.
Ben Thomas is an IRS agent who wants to help people pay off their late taxes and get them back on the right track. However, he finds in some of his first cases presented on screen that the people he’s trying to help have something he doesn’t agree with and he shuts them out.
One case is that of a man named Ezra Turner. Ben calls Ezra out because he is a blind telephone operator for a meat ordering company who is also a vegetarian. This baffles Ben and he throws harsh insults at Ezra over the phone. Surprisingly, Ezra is able to keep his cool and finish the conversation without blowing steam.
There are some cases where he tries to help people and they don’t want help from a stranger. One is that of Connie Tepos a mother of two living with her abusive boyfriend. Ben doesn’t know her but he wants to help her. She refuses his help, seeing as how she doesn’t know him and also she doesn’t want her issues to become public.
He meets Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) who changes his life around after he finds out she has a congenital heart problem. However, she’s not too sick to be put on the donor’s list for a new heart. He realizes her situation and decides to put what she owes on hold until she can find a donor.
The story’s main focus is on the relationship between Emily and Ben. He wants to help these other people you meet but the main person he cares for the most is Emily.
They fall for each other and Ben tries to keep the relationship steady without it ruining what he wants to do.
The film overly dramatizes many scenes and spends way too much time reminding us of how Ben has become an emotional wreck and why he is doing this. It’s first hinted at the viewer in the beginning of the film through many flashbacks and nightmares. It continues to hint more scenes as the movie progresses but it becomes clear and simple what happens after the third flashback.
The sound guys worked way too hard to make this movie as dramatic as possible. There were many scenes where the phone rings in echoes because Ben feels disconnected and delusional with reality. I think one time may have been enough. I didn’t keep track of how many times it happens in this movie but I know it happens more than once.
This film has a lot of religious undertones. Ben seeks for forgiveness and redemption as he helps these people. The rest of the themes are hard to explain in this review without giving away the film. It’s pretty easy to figure out.
The concept is interesting and Smith and Dawson are able to keep good chemistry between each other. If it wasn’t for the preachiness and illogical moments (especially the end), this film may have worked. What we have is a film that looks and sounds good on paper but disappointingly fails in front of a camera.
Rating: 2 stars (out of 4)
There are some reviews I am missing. Mini reviews of those coming soon.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Kevin Smith's new film is as dirty and filthy as it could possibly be. It pushes the envelope and comes very close to NC-17. Smith did have to cut a lot of material out in order to attain a R rating. While it is very dirty, it is also very funny.
It doesn't achieve the same amount of quality as Smith's previous films, such as Clerks, Dogma and Mallrats. However, Smith does have a great idea for a "soft core porn" comedy, I guess you could say.
Zack and Miri are best friends and roommates. They have never had sex together since they have known each other since the first grade and Miri thinks that if she has sex with Zack, it's like having sex with her brother. It's just wrong.
They are both knee deep in debt and the bills keep on piling up one after the other. Their power gets shut off and instead of taking a second job, Zack comes up with the idea to make a porno. Miri objects to the idea at first but then realizes that there may be no other option.
There are some actors Smith has used in the past such as Jason Mewes (Jay from many of Smith's other films) and Jeff Anderson (Clerks I & II) that keep the humor going. The typical Smith characters are here. Vulgar teenagers who decide to film Miri while she's changing and post it on YouTube which makes them famous. The punk duo sort of reminded me of the kids who tried to get drugs from Jay in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."
There is a time when the film dives into romantic comedy territory after Zack and Miri are forced to have sex on camera (that's no spoiler; you can see it coming). It's still funny and crude but another good film that only Smith could do. If you think it's almost the same as a Judd Apatow movie, just remember, Smith came first and will always be better.
Rating: 3 (out of 4)
It doesn't achieve the same amount of quality as Smith's previous films, such as Clerks, Dogma and Mallrats. However, Smith does have a great idea for a "soft core porn" comedy, I guess you could say.
Zack and Miri are best friends and roommates. They have never had sex together since they have known each other since the first grade and Miri thinks that if she has sex with Zack, it's like having sex with her brother. It's just wrong.
They are both knee deep in debt and the bills keep on piling up one after the other. Their power gets shut off and instead of taking a second job, Zack comes up with the idea to make a porno. Miri objects to the idea at first but then realizes that there may be no other option.
There are some actors Smith has used in the past such as Jason Mewes (Jay from many of Smith's other films) and Jeff Anderson (Clerks I & II) that keep the humor going. The typical Smith characters are here. Vulgar teenagers who decide to film Miri while she's changing and post it on YouTube which makes them famous. The punk duo sort of reminded me of the kids who tried to get drugs from Jay in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."
There is a time when the film dives into romantic comedy territory after Zack and Miri are forced to have sex on camera (that's no spoiler; you can see it coming). It's still funny and crude but another good film that only Smith could do. If you think it's almost the same as a Judd Apatow movie, just remember, Smith came first and will always be better.
Rating: 3 (out of 4)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Latest film reviews
These are a bit late but I figured I put them up.
Religulous-
Bill Maher takes his crew around the world as they get people's views on the different religions. The film is offensive and funny but not quite intelligent. Maher never really gets to a point as to why he's making this documentary. He just goes around and talks to people.
Rating: 2 (out of 4)
Body of Lies:
This should have been a great movie. It has two great actors and a great director. Unfortunately, great talent doesn't always make a great film.
Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA operative on a mission to capture a terrorist leader in Jordan. His leader Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) watches his every move from a spy camera. Hoffman and Ferris don't get along well and Ferris' mission doesn't go the way he wants it to.
He decides to team up with the Chief of Jordan Intelligence Hani Salaam (Mark Strong) to see if he can uncover any more clues. While Hani may seem like someone to trust, Ferris isn't so sure he can trust him. This increases the danger of Roger's mission.
Both actors pull off great performances and there are good action scenes. The thing that keeps the film from being great is the story. There is no certain direction the film takes. It jumps over many different locations and introduces many different characters to follow.
It's still a good movie due to the acting and action, but it's not great.
Rating: 3 (out of 4)
Religulous-
Bill Maher takes his crew around the world as they get people's views on the different religions. The film is offensive and funny but not quite intelligent. Maher never really gets to a point as to why he's making this documentary. He just goes around and talks to people.
Rating: 2 (out of 4)
Body of Lies:
This should have been a great movie. It has two great actors and a great director. Unfortunately, great talent doesn't always make a great film.
Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA operative on a mission to capture a terrorist leader in Jordan. His leader Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) watches his every move from a spy camera. Hoffman and Ferris don't get along well and Ferris' mission doesn't go the way he wants it to.
He decides to team up with the Chief of Jordan Intelligence Hani Salaam (Mark Strong) to see if he can uncover any more clues. While Hani may seem like someone to trust, Ferris isn't so sure he can trust him. This increases the danger of Roger's mission.
Both actors pull off great performances and there are good action scenes. The thing that keeps the film from being great is the story. There is no certain direction the film takes. It jumps over many different locations and introduces many different characters to follow.
It's still a good movie due to the acting and action, but it's not great.
Rating: 3 (out of 4)
Friday, September 26, 2008
Nights in Rodanthe
I've never read a Nicholas Sparks novel. I actually don't have a problem watching Romance films just as long as there's something fresh in them. This one doesn't have anything fresh, original, interesting or anything else.
Richard Gere plays Dr. Paul Flanner. After an operation goes wrong, he and his son become distant. Paul decides to go visit him to see if he can organize things out and they can have a good relationship again.
Diane Lane plays Adrienne Willis. She is a recently divorced mother raising two kids. She wants nothing to do with her cheating husband Jack. Jack still thinks there's something between them and wants to get back together but she keeps turning him down.
Adrienne hands over the kids to Jack so she can watch an inn in Rodanthe for a friend. Surprisingly (actually not), Paul is checking in at the same place. This means they have the inn all to themselves. As they become close, they
Oh the cliches that follow. Neither of the characters are interesting before or after they meet. The story and characters have been done so many times before and much better. The viewer doesn't feel any emotion from either actors and whenever there is emotion, the actors half-ass their roles.
Now I will admit, I did like "The Notebook". You can quote me on that. I just couldn't get involved with the characters in this movie like I did with "The Notebook". Lane and Gere don't seem to care for the roles and it shows on screen.
Don't waste your money.
Rating: 1 star
And I didn't get to do a full review for "Ghost Town" because I've been really busy so here's a short one.
Anti-social dentist Bertram Pincus dies for 7 minutes on the operating table. Unaware of his brief death at first, he begins to see ghosts and all have favors to ask. He meets Frank, whose favor is to stop his widow from marrying a sleazeball guy. After realizing Frank won't leave him alone, he takes on the job. While trying to stop the marriage, he begins to find his inner romantic while talking to Frank's widow.
This is actually a good romance comedy. It's not very original but it's got great humor that helps it succeed.
Rating: 3 stars
Richard Gere plays Dr. Paul Flanner. After an operation goes wrong, he and his son become distant. Paul decides to go visit him to see if he can organize things out and they can have a good relationship again.
Diane Lane plays Adrienne Willis. She is a recently divorced mother raising two kids. She wants nothing to do with her cheating husband Jack. Jack still thinks there's something between them and wants to get back together but she keeps turning him down.
Adrienne hands over the kids to Jack so she can watch an inn in Rodanthe for a friend. Surprisingly (actually not), Paul is checking in at the same place. This means they have the inn all to themselves. As they become close, they
Oh the cliches that follow. Neither of the characters are interesting before or after they meet. The story and characters have been done so many times before and much better. The viewer doesn't feel any emotion from either actors and whenever there is emotion, the actors half-ass their roles.
Now I will admit, I did like "The Notebook". You can quote me on that. I just couldn't get involved with the characters in this movie like I did with "The Notebook". Lane and Gere don't seem to care for the roles and it shows on screen.
Don't waste your money.
Rating: 1 star
And I didn't get to do a full review for "Ghost Town" because I've been really busy so here's a short one.
Anti-social dentist Bertram Pincus dies for 7 minutes on the operating table. Unaware of his brief death at first, he begins to see ghosts and all have favors to ask. He meets Frank, whose favor is to stop his widow from marrying a sleazeball guy. After realizing Frank won't leave him alone, he takes on the job. While trying to stop the marriage, he begins to find his inner romantic while talking to Frank's widow.
This is actually a good romance comedy. It's not very original but it's got great humor that helps it succeed.
Rating: 3 stars
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