STARRING: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint (Harry Potter 1-5); Michael Gambon (Sleepy Hollow); Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge)
DIRECTOR: David Yates (Harry Potter 5)WRITER: Steve Kloves (Harry Potter 1-4)PLOT: Harry Potter learns about Voldemort’s past while trying to figure out the identity of the half-blood prince and dealing with multiple love triangles.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS 4 I have to admit that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was one of the weakest installments of the series. The Half-Blood Prince made up for it and more. This was a really fun movie. Some of the credit should go to Steve Kloves. He’s written all the screenplays except the last one, so it was nice to return to the lighter side of Hogwarts, amidst the dark tones throughout.
4 Half-Blood Prince is beautifully shot with Bruno Delbonnel (Amelie, Across the Universe) behind the camera. Interesting camera angles, perfectly framed shots and smoothly flowing visual effects make this film captivating. 4 It’s nice to see the kids grow up. The multiple love triangles allow the actors to express their full range of emotions. Working in a school, I see these kinds of interactions all the time; the actors in this film nail it. Fun stuff.
4 There’s a great sequence in the film where Harry Potter is high on luck. Radcliffe is quite funny during this bit. It takes a little pressure off of Rupert Grint who gets the lionshare of the comic relief.
4 My one disappointment is that I was hoping for a more intense climax. I didn’t like the fighting free-for-all in the last movie, but I was hoping for something a little bigger for the climatic death scene. It was sad but not big enough for my liking. I am, however, looking forward to the last two-part chapter. RECOMMENDATION See it in the theatre(Definitely worthy of the big screen)COMING SOON 500 Days of Summer, Funny People
STARRING: Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Sweeny Todd, Talledaga Nights)
DIRECTOR: Larry Charles (Borat)WRITERS: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer (Borat, Da Ali G Show); Jeff Schaffer (Eurotrip)PLOT: Ultra-gay Austrian fashionista Bruno wants to become a star in America. Uncomfortable interactions ensue.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 It’s hard to do a review of Bruno without mentioning Borat. They are kindred spirits but I found myself rooting less for Sacha Baron Cohen latest character. Borat had more of an innocent demeanor being a simple foreigner; Bruno should know better so he doesn’t come off quite as well. Of course, you have to applaud the risks that Baron Cohen when it comes to his characters.
4 I did find the content of this movie more pointed and relevant. The plot seemed to make sense as Bruno tries to make it big. His challenging of middle America’s responses to homosexuality is humourous and relevant given the gay marriage debate in California. Borat was more random as he tries to meet Pamela Anderson.
4 Unfortunately most of the funny bits can also be found in the commercials. There are some lines here and there but it did not contain the same awkward humour as Borat. Maybe it’s another ‘been there, done that’ sort of thing.
4 Of course, most of the time, I found myself wondering what is real and what is staged. People say the dumbest things when they are being videotaped. I felt a little bad for Ron Paul who is taken advantage of and led under false pretenses. I did like Harrison Ford’s response however. Watching the climactic ending at UFC, it seems obvious that Baron Cohen must have some pretty tight security in order to keep himself from being killed.
4 I understand that when looking at the modeling world and homosexuality, there might be some nudity, but Bruno was over the top. It was pornographic. It should get an X-rating for some of the shots. The swingers party crosses so many lines I can’t count them. It was mostly these times where I was embarrassed to be watching this film. Luckily, this is the last of the Da Ali G Show characters, so Baron Cohen doesn’t have to top himself. Thank goodness.
RECOMMENDATION
Wait for TBS
(You might appreciate
the censored version)
COMING SOON
Harry Potter 6
STARRING: Denzel Washington (Inside Man); John Travolta (Swordfish); John Turturro (Transformers)
DIRECTOR: Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Domino, Spy Game)WRITER: Brian Helgeland (LA Confidential, Man on Fire, Payback)PLOT: A New York subway dispatcher has to negotiate with a terrorist who has taken over one of the subway cars.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 Pelham is an okay flick but was reminiscent of Speed but without all the action from the good guy. The two leads are great on the phone together but things veer way off course when they get off the subway. Same problem Speed had.
4 Tony Scott has a style all his own. Lots of epileptic camera movement and titles appearing on the screen periodically. Sometimes it works; sometimes it gives me a headache. Man on Fire it worked. Domino = headache. This film is pretty much 50/50.
4 I hate it when characters are stupid for the sake of the plot. There is a point where just one passenger needs to contact the dispatcher to stop a train but instead they all just panic. Lazy storytelling. I expect a bit more from Brian Helgeland.
4 I liked the casting of James Gandolfini as the mayor. It suited him. Some nice Giuliani jokes too. Also glad to see John Turturro restrain himself as the negotiator. After his awful Transformers performance, it’s nice to see him being normal.
4 The mouth on Travolta’s character was unnecessary. He says motherf*****r way too much to be taken seriously.
RECOMMENDATION
Wait for Movie Central
COMING SOON
Bruno, Harry Potter 6
STARRING: Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Sweeny Todd ); Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, Terminator: Salvation)
DIRECTOR: Michael Mann (Miami Vice, Collateral, Heat)WRITERS: Ronan Bennett (newcomer); Ann Biderman (Primal Fear); Michael Mann (Heat)PLOT: The Feds try to take down John Dillinger and other notorious gangsters during a crime wave in the 1930s.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS 4While watching Public Enemies, I kept thinking back to a couple of other classic films. Enemies blended the criminal crackdowns of The Untouchables with the cocky anti-heroism of Bonnie & Clyde. Granted that’s some good company to be with but it also felt a little ‘been there, done that’. I was hoping for a little more originality.
4 This film hinges on Johnny Depp’s performance. Without him, this movie would truly fail. If nothing else, watching Depp’s slick, charismatic portrayal of John Dillinger is worth the admission. He is one of the greatest actors of our generation. Unfortunately, Christian Bale was only so-so as Elliot Ness-like Melvin Purvis. I was hoping for a more powerhouse performance from Bale. 4 Michael Mann does a great job of filming some of the shoot-em up action sequences; he also plays with some interesting low angles. What started to bother me though were his extreme close-ups when people were talking. When you start spending your time counting the moles on someone’s face or judging their eyebrow grooming, you’re camera is a little too close.
4The shoot-out scenes were entertaining but I was hoping for more bank robberies. Why were these gangsters so good at their jobs? There is one scene near the end where they begin scheming a train robbery but nothing comes from it. That’s something I wanted to see. Along with the shoot-outs, I did enjoy some of the ways the gangsters foiled the feds. Good times.
4I guess when it all comes down to it. I was expecting a little more drama in this film. I didn’t feel connected to Purvis and didn’t know why he was such a stand-up guy. I didn’t feel connected to a lot of the story. With the exception of Depp, it just felt a little flat. I guess I was hoping for more with a double-punch of Depp and Bale. Maybe my expectations were too high. Oh well. RECOMMENDATION Wait for DVD
(Still an enjoyable flick, but not needed in the theatre)COMING SOON Bruno, Harry Potter 6
STARRING: Shia LaBeouf (Indy 4, Disturbia ); Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas); John Turturro (Quiz Show, Mr. Deeds)
DIRECTOR: Micahel Bay (The Island)
WRITERS: Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman (Transformers, Star Trek) Ehren Kruger (Reindeer Games)
PLOT: Sam is the key (of course) to reviving both Optimus Prime and some do-hickey that will destroy the earth. Explosions ensue.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 I have the same complaint I had with the first installment. These Transformers don’t look like the toys I used to play with. They’re too complicated. They have too many parts. And something I noticed more this time around is that I can’t tell what facial expressions they’re making. Are they angry, sad, concerned, happy? I can’t tell because their face is too busy with gears and crap. I knew this going into the film but it still bothers me. I still prefer the cartoon.
4 The human acting is so over-the-top. Everyone seems like an action cliché. It’s very disappointing. One scene I did like is when Shia LaBeouf’s Sam screams like a little girl when he is attacked in his dorm room. Funny. But that was it. I feel sorry for John Turturro who deserves better than this garbage. His character is so poorly conceived, he has nowhere to go but insane.
4 I think Michael Bay has been given too much power since going over to Dreamworks. When he was working with Jerry Bruckheimer, things were fun. Bad Boys and The Rock had a wonderful mix of action and humour. Because Bruckhemier is so hands-on, Bay was kept at bay. Michael’s last three films with Dreamworks have a much colder and darker look and are lacking in the light humour department. Bay knows how to blow things up and shoot complicated sequences but that’s not enough. Which leads me to plot.
4 In the film, Turturro’s character asks one of the old Transformers to just tell him the basic plot. I wish the audience could have got one for this movie. The plot is paper-thin. In one scene, Sam says he has to go two miles from one end of a rundown town to the other. This takes one hour on film because of all the explosions in between. I hoping I can blame Kruger for the flimsy storytelling. Orci and Kurtzman wrote Star Trek. They are in my good books. I’m assuming Kruger took the initial storyline and punched it up until it was unrecognizable. Sad. Also, since the film is called Transformers, I would hope there would be more about the Transformers rather than focussing 90% on the human element. The human angle in important since the movie takes place on earth but still.
4 I know this film is supposed to be aimed at teenagers, but the humour was so juvenile, it made me fear for mankind. But if you like seeing dogs hump each other and you snicker at any mention of the word “balls”, then this is the film for you. It’s also for those who just want to ogle Megan Fox’s body as she runs from place to place and leans over cars in slow motion.
RECOMMENDATION
Avoid at all costs
COMING SOON
Public Enemies
STARRING: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint (Harry Potter 1-5); Michael Gambon (Sleepy Hollow); Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge)
