With Closer and Inside Man and now with Children of Men, I am loving the work of Clive Owen. This guy can play broken, sardonic, and romantic all at the same time without breaking a sweat. The rest of the cast is peppered with equally brilliant actors: Michael Caine, Julianne Moore and Serenity’s Chiwetel Ejiofor (try pronouncing that name). The plot of Children of Men is both moving and action-packed under the careful direction of Alfonso Cuaron (Y tu mama tambien, Harry Potter 3). I found the contrast between the respect and the disdain for human life compelling. This was a wonderful start to the new year, and I highly recommend this film to all. I think it’ll also get you talking long after the credits roll.
Okay, so Brick came out over a year ago, got lost in the theatre, and is now on dvd. I am glad someone reminded me to watch it. This film did an amazing job of capturing film noir in a present-day school setting. The filming was fun and quirky, the dialogue was over-the-top but fitting and the acting coming from Joseph Gordon-Levitt was pitch-perfect. Who would of thought this Third Rock from the Sun boy could actually act? Watching the film I was reminded of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant with all its walking and waiting filled with teen angst. I think this film is perfect for those interested in studying film, the budget is very modest and it tells a compelling story while paying homage to a specific film genre. My only recommendation is to watch the film with the English subtitles turned on so that you can catch the playful banter the first time around.
I wasn’t going to go see The Queen at first. Not a big fan of the royal family, British parliament or even Princess Di for that matter. I heard the raves about Helen Mirren (how could you not?) but didn’t feel like seeing a boring film with a great performance. I was wrong. I found myself intrigued with the story behind the dealing with Princess Diana’s death. And while I was captivated by Helen Mirren’s amazing performance, I was equally mesmerized by Michael Sheen’s portrayal of Tony Blair. It actually made me annoyed that Sheen wasn’t nominated for an Oscar, as he clearly holds his own in scenes with Mirren. Despite the slow pacing, the story itself is well told and surprisingly fair and balanced. It was a good film, not a great film, not worthy of a Best Picture nomination but definitely worth the performances.
Oscars are coming up, so I’ll have my predictions next week. Then I’ll write some stuff about the television season including the return of Lost, the addictiveness of House, the brilliance of Heroes, the danger of Studio 60 and the lure of an amazing show called Dexter.
3 comments:
I disagree about children of men, it had potentail but did not live up these expectations. The movie did not say how the world got o that point and how it occured so quickly. I feel it could have been a stronger film if that had been divulged and would have made for more discussion.
Off-topic, but of course, what is? Is it true? Is Studio 60 done and over? Are they removing a good television show from the air for not a good reason, yet again? Say it ain't so!
In repsonse to Jessie, I think not knowing why women were infertile made things more interesting.
In response to Jen, Studio 60 has six finished episodes and a committment for a full year. So they'll be on break for a few weeks with The Black Donnelly's taking its spot. Studio 60 should be back in April to finish its season, but it may be in a different time slot. Now season 2, that's a whole different story. I hope NBC looks at what happened to The West Wing, it had an awesome second year as compared to its pretty good first. Keep praying.
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