Short thoughts, rambles, and reviews
101 Rejaykavik. frivolous. it was also quite fun, and I enjoyed it. The main character, Hlynur, spends a lot of the film musing about his life and philosophy, dying and becoming anew, about sex (and, of course, that particular musing takes place in front of two people in the middle of the act. Also, the constant instrumental refrains of the song "Lola" were a great motif. This was the first Icelandic film ever to be entered in the Bogota International Film Festival. I just read a great line about the film in an online review "nothing much happens in the film, but it's an interesting nothing." This is exactly the case.
Run Lola Run. is one of the most amazing, important films of recent times. I cannot stress this enough. It is breathtaking.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Plotless, though there was fun to be had. I think most of the fun was at the beginning, as each character in the league was introduced. Being the literature geek that I am, I was thrilled to be able to identify the characters. (And I was so, so pleased when they first announced the character Dorian Grey!) It's something I don't think I'd ever have thought to do...combining such characters...I mean, Allan Quartermain from King Solomon's Mines and Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the same storyline? Not to mention Tom Sawyer, Moriarty, Dr Jekyll...all of the others...ah, I was in geek heaven for a large part of that film. Of course, now I'm in the process of digging out my copies of these stories to read again when I get the chance.
Legally Blonde 2. was sickeningly saccharine and overly...pink. It was watchable,butthe "you can achieve anything" theme seemed so insincere and tacked-on...it was simply plastic. However, it certainly was an easy plot to follow, and suitable for two in the morning.
Agent Cody Banks. follows in a similar vein. This film is obviously aimed at a younger audience than myself, so I have to take that into account. The stars of this one are Frankie Muniz and Hilary Duff, two popular teen actors. It actually wasn't all that bad. It did get some laughs from me, surprisingly...(though that could be that one scene involved Muniz crouched on a ceiling wearing suction shoes, which led Celeste and I to quote The Simpsons to each other under our breath: "Mmm...sixty four slices of American cheese. Sixty four! Sixty three!...two....one...") Anyshoe, it was a fairly typical formula....child spy, budding young romance...la la la...nifty gadgets, explosions, a pretty girl...yep, we all know how it goes.
Small Town Girl. I'll admit, I was charmed. It's a really sweet story with some amaing song-and-dance numbers. It features some of my favourite classic actors like Billie Burke (She played Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in The Wizard of Oz among countless other roles), Bobby Van (a breathtaking dancer also in Kiss Me Kate as Gremio, for one), and one of my idols, Ann Miller (who sadly passed away a week ago.) Of course, props go to Farley Granger and Jane Powell, the strong leading pair. There are some fabulous scenes in this film. There's an amazingly long pogo-jump-type-dance throughout the streets of Duck Creek by Ludwig (Bobby Van), and these disembodied instrument playing hands through Lisa (Ann Miller's) show on the Broadway stage. Visually and aurally - very pleasing. I think I have a new musical to adore.
Bridget Jones's Diary. It wasn't too bad. Although I have to admit that what kept me awake and watching the screen was Colin Firth. He's a somewhat favourite actor of mine. And of course, I loved the fact that his character was named Darcy. And now I want to see the BBC's Pride and Prejudice again.
Panic Room. This viewing came around in the best way. I walked into my film lecture on Thursday. My professor was standing there and he told us he felt too sick to conduct a two-hour lecture, so "let's all watch another Fincher film instead" (the lecture was supposed to be about Fight Club). So I spent two hours in a lecture theatre setting, watching a film I'd been hoping to see for awhile now. Any complaints from me? Not at all. I enjoyed it, though it was a slight disappointment to me. I don't know, perhaps I expected more from it. I do feel it wasn't quite deserving of all the hype it received. That being said, I did think it was quite a good film. The building of tension was successful - most of the time, says the inner critic - and I did like the use of special effects and the cinematography. I think I'd like to watch it again, though, before I pass judgement on it.
Brother Bear. I enjoy the music of Phil Collins. Really, I do. But I have a real aversion to all the music he made for this film. It was terrible! As for the film itself, well - classic Disney formula. You know - personal journey, companions that change your view of the world, an unwanted sidekick, animals as comic relief, and everything working out allright in the end with a glaring moral. However it was good for what it was. Anything that explores culural beliefs and spirituality is a winner for me, and this film touches on Native American beliefs quite a bit, not to mention a great portrayal of shamanism. It was a nice piece, and one I found I could enjoy, depsite not being in the age demographic.
Peter Pan. I love this story, and have since I was a child. However, the story as depicted in Barrie's books are the ones I hold close, and not as is seen in, say, the Disney film.I was lucky enough to be able to study the books for English at university last semester. I love the sinister overtones, the aching sadness when you realise that Peter forgets Wendy, Hook, and cannot even bring himself to love. This film stays quite true to this notion. The dialogue is delightfully antiquated, and the costuming and setting were really effective. The young actress playing Wendy was quite talented, and the boy who played Peter was the superb mix of cheeky and dark. (And he's Australian, so that's a "yay" for local talent.) I heartily recommend this film, if only for entertainment.
L
ord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2000: This movie I can practically *recite*. A wonderful epic, with breath taking cinematography - and it's based on a favourite book! I could critically analyse this movie until the Orcs turn on each other! *cough*.
"Moulin Rouge" . Fairly disappointed with the film. Now, I'm a fan of Baz Luhrmann, and one would assume that this film - the conclusion of his Red Curtain Trilogy - would be explosive. The other two (Simply Ballroom and Romeo + Juliet), I enjoy, and I'm waiting in anticipation for when Luhrmann's "La Boheme" arrives to Newcastle. "Moulin Rouge", however, is a disappointment for me. Especially since I'm a big fan of the musical genre.
"Shadow of a Doubt". Coming out of it, I gave it an "average"rating. But now, after my film lecture, and after thinking of it - it was a really really clever film! its a Hitchcock film, circa 1940. It's actually Hitchcock's personal favourite, out of all his 53 films. At first, I didn't see why - but now I do. Its a really intelligent, ironic film...rife with implication and suggestion.
Can you tell I became really impressed with it after discussing it with my lecturer of the lecture yesterday? Heehee. It even has a vampire motif! (and, as most of you know, I'm pretty intrigued with vampire myth and lore).