Enlightening Ignorance

I honestly cannot believe the general public thought this movie was some great return to horror by the Raimi’s. Ever since I mistakenly watched this movie I’ve been asking myself, “Is this a great movie and I just didn’t get it? Is there something wrong with me for thinking it was horrible?.” There is so much wrong with this movie I barely know where to start. Oh wait, yes I do… Was this a comedy or horror? This was the quandary I found myself in after the first 25 minutes of this garbage. The over-the-top attempts of action and the laughably tacky gore made it even harder to distinguish what exactly the Raimi’s were trying to do with this one. The Raimi brothers obviously thought what worked in the 80’s with The Evil Dead trilogy, would be golden in 2009, they were dead wrong. Maybe the extreme cornyness (which I know is not a word, but you get my point) has something to do with the PG-13 rating. Or maybe it had more to do with the fact that the plot was simply awful, or maybe even the unpleasantly noisy jumble of sounds that were used to make the audience feel what the character felt. Honestly the most noisy movie I’ve ever seen. There were more than a few unnecessary moments that should have been left out of the final cut, but then again I’m one of the only people alive who didn’t like this movie, so maybe theres just something wrong with me. Or something wrong with everyone else. You be the judge.

I loved “The Quick and the Dead,” thought “A Simple Plan” was great, and enjoyed the first two “Spider Man” films, but “Drage Me To Hell” is a swing -and-a-miss for me.

Released: May 2009
Runtime: 1hr 39mins
Rated: PG-13

As an actor, I never thought to highly of Clint Eastwood. Maybe his characterizations were before my time but I just always saw him playing the exact same roles in all his movies. Either an ornery old man with a grudge against the world, or in his younger days, as an ornery young man with a grudge against the world. However, I give him all the credit in the world, as a director. ”Million Dollar Baby” and ”Mystic River” in my opinion were his two best films, until I saw “Changeling” that is.

The situation that unfolds within the first 25 minutes of this film will have you shaking your head in disbelief, and from there the plot thickens into a tale of corruption, deceit, murder, and extreme sorrow for another 2 hours. This film will break your heart, not so much due to the fact that it is a very well written and performed piece, but probably more so when you consider that the events portrayed actually happened, to real people, in real life. Christine Collins was a real woman desperately searching for her missing son while a vile and corrupt  police department tried to destroy her credibility when she challenged their wrong doings. Gordon Northcutt was a real psychopathic sadist who brutally murdered young children, and most importantly, Walter Collins was a real child.

Angela Jolie’s portrayal of Christine Collins will probably get her Oscar consideration next year and if not for the paramount success of “The Dark Knight,” I would probably predict this film to win the Acadamy Award for Best Picture. It is truly that good. Films like this one, by director’s like Eastwood, usually don’t bring in the hundred million dollar box office totals, but as history tells, they are always the films nominated for Oscars.

Released: October 2008

Runtime: 2hrs 20mins

Rated: R

I saw on CNN yesterday that people are boycotting this film. Apparently the fact that the word “retarded” is used repeatedly is offending a lot of people, which I can completely understand; but the truth is, the context in which the word was used in this film does not compare to what was done in The Ringer. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t even come close to being as offensive to the mentally handicapped as The Ringer.

For those of you who’ve never seen The Ringer, it’s about a guy (Johnny Knoxville); down on his luck; who pretends to be “retarded” so he can rig the special Olympics……enough said. That film did nothing but use the behavior of the mentally disabled as a source of comedy. Shamefull………funny………but shamefull!!!!!

Tropic Thunder is a very entertaining movie, depending on your humor. Robert Downey Jr by far gives the most memorable performance, due to his melodramatic but hilarious portrayal of a black man. Jack Black’s character is not very different than the majority of his other roles. I’ve always enjoyed Ben Stiller movies (with the exception of Zoolander), despite the fact that there’s much similarity in the way he portrays the characters in all of his leading roles. A few characters have dialogue that is over exaggerated to give the illusion of being funny, Tom Cruises’ cameo in particular. Some creative cinematography cloaks a lot of crass action scenes but the film still manages to be the best Ben Stiller has done as a director. Otherwise, I don’t think this film is intended to be taken seriously as anything other than eccentric comedy. So if you enjoy over-the-top and pervasive comedy films, then you will enjoy Tropic Thunder.

Released: Aug 2008

Run time: 1hr 47mins

Rated: R

In this highly underrated film; the classic western tragedy of the American outlaw Jesse James, is resurrected through some of the finest attributes of modern day film making. I was absolutely stunned to see a Brad Pitt film, in this stage of his career, receive so little publicity, and subsequently do so bad in the box office. From what I understand it opened up in less than 10 theaters in the US and grossed less than $4M worldwide. Which is unbelievable because this is one of the best films of 2007; consisting of extremely strong performances and extraordinary cinematography. 

The plot highlights the peculiar and somewhat baffling relationship between Jesse James (Pitt) and Robert Ford ( Casey Affleck). Being one of the most talented actors of this generation, Pitt probes his bag of tricks and delivers  a psychologically dysfunctional, and emotionally unstable portrayal of Jesse James. While Casey Affleck gives a much deserved Oscar nominated performance through his characterization of Robert Ford. I was very surprised to see Casey Affleck flourish in a role that required more than average acting skill. I’ve only see one or two other Jesse James films and this is easily the best Robert Ford portrayal. Due to the set up of the story, I would even go as far as suggesting that Ford is the main character of this film, while Jesse James is a secondary;although Affleck was nominated for Best Actor in A Supporting Role.

This film may not be packed full of the gun fighting and horse chasing of the classic holywood western, but  its emotional appeal allows it to be a very entertaining nevertheless. By emotional appeal, I’m referring to the films ability to invoke a sense of sympathy towards violent and coarse men, who would just be written off as murdering, thieving, violent criminals by the rational human being. If you are a movie buff who can appreciate a good long film, lacking explosions, blood and guts, but rich in content and strong is substance, then you should definitely give this film a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Released: Sept 2007

Runtime: 2hrs 40mins

Rated: R

First of all, I will have to be slightly redundant and agree with every one else that this is the best motion picture representation of a comic book title ever made. Yes, I have seen and considered films such as the Spider Man Series, The X-Men trilogy, The Incredible Hulk (the 2008 version, not that waste of film, money, time, and energy that was made in 2003), Iron Man, and the great Blade II. but this film is the best. Mostly because it was spectacular in one area that most comic book films usually fall short, “an emotionally engaging PLOT!!!!” with just enough action and suspense to keep you engaged through out. Trust Me.

However, to be completely honest, there was only one role in this film that stood out…… as a matter of fact, the phrase “stood out,” does not do justice to what the late Heath Ledger brought to the character of the Joker. Michael Cain, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman did good jobs with the roles they were given. Christian Bale has the look to pull off a successful Bruce Wayne but he’s a less than average Batman (the voice is horrible). I know the Academy does not put much stock in these types of movies for Oscar nominations but Ledger is deserving of a nomination if nothing else. If Johnny Depp could get the nod for Jack Sparrow, Ledger can definitely be nominated for The Joker. When The Joker was not on screen I was in high anticipation of his return. This role will definitely be regarded as one of the fiercest portrayals of a villain in the history of villainism (my created word). The movie is called the Dark Knight, but it is apotheosized by the psychopathic clown.

Released: July 2008

Runtime: 2hrs 32mins

Rated: PG-13