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Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
I saw seven movies in October... my review of Capitalism: A Love Story is very long, so I put it last.
Where the Wild Things Are – Where the Wild Things Are looks great… but is so incredibly slow and boring that I found it extremely painful to watch. I was looking at my watch, hoping it would end long before it did. I remember the book from my youth, but as is usually the case, translating a twenty-page children’s book to a ninety-minute movies is usually disastrous. It’s actually quite amazing how much personality the "wild things" are infused with, and how different they are from each other. But perhaps even more amazing is how little all this character development does to make the film any better. As for the kid (played by Max Records), from the opening off the film it’s clear that he has serious mental problems… and I don’t think helps the film. He wasn’t just a kid who didn’t fit in; he was defiantly a special needs case. D+
Law Abiding Citizen – I didn’t know what to expect from Law Abiding Citizen, I was hoping for a smart film with an ending I wouldn’t see coming from the start…. And that’s actually exactly what I got. Gerald Butler plays Clyde Shelton, a man who takes the law into his own hands after his family is murdered, and he plays it well. In the past year, he’s played a couple very different roles and really proven that he has range. Jaime Foxx plays the district attorney who has to deal with him, and he does an adequate job. I was pleased to see Colm Meaney in a supporting role, as the lead detective on the investigation; I like Colm Meaney. As for the ending, I did not see it coming…. Though I think it was a little much. I don’t want to go into any detail as I don’t want to spoil it, but I think you will understand my reservations about the plausibility when you see it. B
Whip It – There were parts of Whip It that I quite liked, and parts I didn’t like so much. I liked all the parts with the girls and the roller skating, but I though the material with the boyfriend, Oliver (played by Landon Pigg), were weak. I didn’t see the chemistry between them, even if it was just a crush, there should have been some chemistry. Ellen Page stars as Bliss Cavendar, and she’s good, but this wasn’t even close to her best performance. The parents, played Marcia Gay Harden and Daniel Stern, were quite funny; I haven’t seen Daniel Stern in awhile… he’s getting old! I thoroughly enjoyed all the wacky named the skaters used. It's a good little story about empowerment and not living your life in a certain way just because you are expected to, but I can’t quite recommend it. C
Surrogates– Surrogates was a very interesting film; it has an interesting premise, and a surprisingly complex plot. It’s one of those movies that defiantly has a social commentary in on based on what it’s about, but doesn’t try to send any sort of message to the audience. Bruce Willis stars as Tom Greer, the detective that finds himself in the middle of a complicated murder investigation that could lead to the decimation of life on earth. Willis gets to play both Greer, and Greer’s surrogate, which was a really nice touch. I think the preview gives away a little too much about the plot, but I still really liked this film. There have been many movies made about the future of society, Surrogates had a new and unique take on it. I should also mention that it’s quite short, only ninety minutes. B+
Zombieland - Zombieland is a fun zombie movie that’s often played for laughs. Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg star as "Tallahassee" and "Columbus" two of the last people on earth who are not zombies, they form a very odd partnership and, along with fellow survivors Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, go on a cross-country zombie killing odyssey ending in an amusement park. There are virtually no other speaking characters in the film. It’s a fun quirky movie that is not a masterpiece by any means, but it is entertaining. I liked how Columbus’ zombie killing rules keep turning up again and again throughout the film. There are some very far-fetched moments, like the fact that the entire amusement park comes on with the flip of a switch. There is also a very funny cameo by a well-known actor; it was unexpected at the time I saw it, but I think most people have heard about it now. B-
9 - Because I fell asleep during my first viewing of 9 back in September, I saw it again. I essentially stand by everything I said before, but I liked is a little better. I was not particularly impressed. The story is defiantly original, but it seemed to be more about the visuals then anything else. There were lengthy sequences with the little characters fighting abstract machines, and these became a bit tedious. Several of the characters die, but I didn't really feel anything for them... perhaps because they were so weird, or maybe because they just weren't that developed. C
Capitalism: A Love Story - I think Capitalism: A Love Story is probably Michael’s Moore’s weakest effort to date. Michael Moore essentially tries to argue that capitalism is the cause of all the greed in the United States, but he fails to realize/address that greed is not restricted to capitalism, and that it would exist in any form of government or economic system (as histyory has shown). The big problems start when the government (and those in the government) becomes greedy… I would call this corruption more then capitalism because governments all over the world act this way all the time! People with very little money con, cheat and steel everyday. The only difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich have the means to fool more people into handing over their money. Moore does make a good case for government regulations to essentially stop people from taking advantage of those who are not smart enough to see when they are being taken advantage of, and to stop businesses from monopolizing a market and fleecing the public. Early ion the movie, a family is shown being evicted from their house that they have lived in for many years. The specifics are not given, but we are told that they refinanced their home, and then couldn’t pay the fees. While the bank might well have been deceptions in their business practices, I think the family needs to take some responsibility for their problem. So many people take no responsibility for themselves in today’s society (perhaps I am wrong about this, but sense Moore does not give all the details, I am forced to comment on this). Then there is a lengthy segment about "peasant" insurance policies, which are insurance policies companies take out on their workers so they essentially make money on their deaths. Creepy, yes, but I was not as appealed as Moore wanted me to be. It’s like all insurance policies, you are paying a small amount of money now to possibly get more later… essentially it’s a gamble. A morbid one. I want to know who is issuing these policies as, according to Moore, all companies that have them are making lots of money off them. An insurance company that pays more then it take in will go out of business, so there has to be more to this story. Then there is a part in which Moore shows the audience a co-op business in which all the employees have a say in how things are done. He asks the audience something like, "Wouldn’t it be great if you and your co-workers had some say in how your workplace is run." HELL NO! Many of the people I work with are not only stupid, but are out to get every penny they can. I think it’s good for a company management to get input from all the workers, but not everyone should have a say. The co-op example they show seems to be operating well, but that doesn’t mean their business model will work everywhere. These are probably people that got together and created the business, not just a bunch or random unskilled employees. In another segment, Moore seems to advocate taxing the rich ninety percent... having the rich pay more is fine, but ninety percent on anyone is simply unfair and quite ridiculace. Overall, I liked parts of the film, but it really didn’t make its point. The best line in the film is said by actor/playwright Wallace Shawn, he says something like, "The people making all the money aren’t even the ones making products that everyone likes." C-
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