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All reviews by user Date  Helpful Rating 0 out of 0 users found this helpful  The Real StoryPosted: 11/25/2006A review of The Fountain by SlippingAbyss Dont be fooled by the advertisements. The Fountain is not a sci-fi film, it is not a time travel film, and Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz do not play the same characters reborn or who have lived for centuries. It is about a present-day scientist attempting to quickly develop a cure for his dying wife, a novelist. She dies before completing the novel (which is about a 15th-century Spanish explorer searching for a fountain, or in this case a tree, of everlasting youth). Before dying she asks her husband to complete the final chapter, which he does, setting it in the far future. Both writers incorporate events from their real lives in their fiction. In short, the historical and futuristic elements are fiction within the reality of a story set in the present day. But Aronofsky confuses the viewer (deliberately, I think) by telling the story in a non-linear fashion and by using the same actors, Jackman and his real-life wife Weisz, to represent both the fictional and the real characters, and because there is no clearly-delineated denouement. This is a pretty simple story told in a deliberately complex manner. The Fountain is neither profound nor insightful nor does not pose any philosophical questions. Worst, it loses much of its audience by the confusing manner in which it unfolds. The true irony is that the only people who seem to approve of The Fountain are faux-intellectuals who obviously do not possess the intellect to percieve the underlying simplicity of this rather juvenile (albeit beautifully filmed) story, and who reveal their intellectual vanity and lack of understanding by praising a profundity that is absent. Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Harsh Only to ThemselvesPosted: 11/20/2006A review of Harsh Times by SlippingAbyss Although the promotion for this film portrays it as an action movie, Harsh Times is really more like a slice-of-low-life art film. The plot follows the relationship between two unemployed friends from the barrio as they teeter between self-destructive urges, drug use, committing to the women who love them, and the desire for a better life. It is almost Dickensonian, except instead of being about society verses the individual, it is about the individual addressing self destructive urges that threaten to destroy opportunity for a better life and social standing. Christian Bale is mezmerrising as the sociopath who desires to beome a cop, but yet who threatens the achievement of his goals by deficiencies of his own character Freddy Rodriquez is the charming but unmotivated buddy who allows Blaes influence to threaten his relationship with a beautiful and loving woman. It is very gritty and the conflict arises not out of an external struggle, but out of whether or not these characters will ruin themselves. Not for everybody, but if want a serious drama with a pyschological twist, this may be your cup of tea. Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 0 users found this helpful  Only Fan Boys Will Be DisappointedPosted: 11/20/2006A review of Casino Royale by SlippingAbyss For years Bond has been virtually a caricature of itself a tired and tedious formula, the focus more on special effects with no real suspense or drama, and cartoon characters that only juvenille fan boys could enjoy. I almost laughed out loud when I read where one of the fan boys predicted that Casino Royale will be the end of the Bond franchise. Talk about having your head in the sand! Casino Royale is in fact the return of the franchise a return to the original dirty deeds done dirt cheap exemplified by the early Connery movies. The fan boys who bewail the loss of the feminine version of Bond, as typified by Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore, are telling us more about themselves than they are about James Bond (particularly when their rants contain confessions that they have not actually seen the movie...talk about idolatry! And why is it only a few males rather than females who seem to object to the role being recast...curious indeed? Dare I say it...get a life, and stop pretending to be heterosexual while you are at it). Read Ian Flemings books...none of the actors who have played Bond actually look like Ian Fleming described him however, for those fan boys that complained about Bond falling in love, Bond does fall in love in Flemings novel as he does in the movie...isnt ignorance wonderful? A reviewer once wrote that Sean Connery was the only actor who played Bond whom he believed could really murder another person, and I kind of agreed with him, but no longer. Daniel Craig plays Bond for real, not a cartoon character and the plot of Casino Royale is just as realsitic and believable, not to mention dramatically suspenseful, humorous in all the right moments, and a roller-coaster of action combined with three-dimensional and believable characters. Im absolutely gleeful that the schlock has been dispensed with, and hopefully the producers will stay on track with the next film. Id love to see all of Flemings novels re-made with Daniel Craig in the lead. Was this review helpful? Sign In 6 out of 8 users found this helpful One of the Best Films Ive Ever SeenPosted: 2/5/2006A review of A History of Violence by SlippingAbyss First know that a History of Violence is very graphic, both sexually and in its depiction of violence. I happen to like that, but I know some folks expect every film to be made as if a child might happen to see it. The movie will put you on edge, both because of its raw and graphic depictions and because of its suspense. Constant and suprising twists and turns occurr throughout the film, so I wont reveal much about the plot. Suffice to say that it focuses on whether or not a man can alter his character for the better, or does a mans character predetermine his destiny. Was this review helpful? Sign In 0 out of 1 users found this helpful  Ringed My BellPosted: 2/5/2006A review of The Ringer by SlippingAbyss Ringer works because it doesnt laugh at the disabled, but brings them in on the joke too. There are laughs and romance and a cute ending. Not great but still pretty darn good. Was this review helpful? Sign In 2 out of 3 users found this helpful  Stormy Weather For Weather ManPosted: 2/5/2006A review of The Weather Man by SlippingAbyss Its a message movie about maturing and moving on with your life. So if you want to lectured at, while, unfortunately, not being very entertained, then this is the movie for you. It is perhaps Cages worst film to date, a major disappointment, and can only harm the careers of all involved. Or perhaps that is just me being vindictive at having been lureded into seeing this dreary sodden flick. Was this review helpful? Sign In 1 out of 1 users found this helpful Cliche City Instead of VenicePosted: 2/4/2006A review of Casanova by SlippingAbyss Imagine every Hollywood cliche you have ever seen combined in one film, and it is called Casanova. Ledger is wooden but not in a good way. The film lacks any sexual chemistry, or even depiction for that matter. The romantic apex of the movie involves Ledger and Miller going aloft in a hot air ballon over Venice during a festival of fireworks, but it was hard not to laugh out loud because not once does this artillary barrage come close to igniting the ballon. Really unbelievable! Sophmoric and designed for just that crowd. Was this review helpful? Sign In 4 out of 12 users found this helpful A Constant DisappointmentPosted: 2/4/2006A review of The Constant Gardener by SlippingAbyss I was ready to love this film. Really. I like both Fiennes and Weisz, and the critics wrote enthusiastic reviews, and I could hardly wait to see this film. But it was not entertaining. It was slow and labored, told out of order in flashbacks, the cinematography was stark and more suitable to a documentary, and it was unrelentingly tragic. You may feel good about feeling bad when you leave the theatre because the film reflects your personal politics and views of the corporate business world, but irregadless you will leave the theatre feeling bad. Was this review helpful? Sign In 7 out of 10 users found this helpful Emotionnally EnthrallingPosted: 2/4/2006A review of The New World by SlippingAbyss When 2001 A Space Odyessy was first released there were people who actually thought it was simply unconnected visual imagery that told no story, whereas it was actually a very simple story told largely with beautiful imagery. I think some people will have the same problem grasping The New World, for it too is told with sparse dialogue and lush imagery. For those who need to have it explained, the story is ultimately about love, betrayal of that love, the consequences of that betrayal (for an entire society but mostly for an individual), and of overcoming the emotional consequences of that betrayal. But like many great films, it operates on many levels, and it employs truly incredible cinematography to induce an emotional trance in the viewer. Whether or not one is receptive to this films message and method is as unique as the film itself, and I think response to this film is likely to be highly diverse. Was this review helpful? Sign In 4 out of 6 users found this helpful Kong is Special...EffectsPosted: 2/4/2006A review of King Kong by SlippingAbyss I had to be dragged to this movie and I was thoroughly entertained. I did not have any interest in seeing another remake of King Kong, and in fact you all know the story already, nothings changed except the special effects. But what special effects! I understand that the film cost around two hundred million to produce and every cent is on screen. Was this review helpful? Sign In 5 out of 10 users found this helpful Not So Much Fun With Dick JanePosted: 2/4/2006A review of Fun with Dick and Jane by SlippingAbyss I remembered having seen the original with with Jane Fonda and not being too impressed, but I went to this film anyway because Im infatuated with Tea Leoni. Jim Carey can be a very funny person when he is not trying to win an academy award, but the depiction of being unemployed and destitute mitigated against the humor of the film, and it has a Hollywood ending. Its fluff, but I can remember when even Jim Careys comedic fluff had edge. Was this review helpful? Sign In 7 out of 9 users found this helpful Memorable MemoirsPosted: 2/4/2006A review of Memoirs of a Geisha by SlippingAbyss Memoirs of a Geisha is the story of a little girl sold by her father into a life of organized prostitution. She wants to escape this life until she meets and becomes infatuated with an older (and wealthy) man who frequents brothels, and so she determines to become what he desires in order to attract his attention, i.e. a desirable prostitute. Her virginity is sold, but not for the highest bidder as it turns out. Stated that way the story seems harsh and squalid, but the film is actually very engaging and romantic (as well as romaticized, of course), and beautifully filmed as well. Despite the subject matter there is no gratuitous sexual content, and the film succeeds because it focuses on how the heroine adapts and surivives with elegance the visitudes that life throws her way (including a world war). Was this review helpful? Sign In 2 out of 4 users found this helpful King Arthur By Another NamePosted: 2/4/2006A review of Tristan & Isolde by SlippingAbyss Tristan and Isolde is based upon a supposedly truth-based legend which helped form the core of the King Arthur story. It is set before medieival times of course, in a British Isles ruled by various local strongmen who called themselves king. Setting the story in its true time period however, does not necessarily revive a old and too familiar story a king, his faithful but horny knight, and an unfaithful queen. The only suspense is will this adulterous affair destroy the local warlords reign as it did for Arthurs Camelot. I wont spoil the ending. Was this review helpful? Sign In 8 out of 9 users found this helpful Underworld Over AchievesPosted: 2/4/2006A review of Underworld: Evolution by SlippingAbyss So if you saw the first one you know what to expect, and you will not be disappointed. Same director, same stars, but bigger budget, so its like the first movie but on steriods. Lots of steriods. Best of all, instead of just repeating the plot of the first movie, it goes off in a wholly new an unanticipated direction. Was this review helpful? Sign In 7 out of 7 users found this helpful Matador Gores Your Funny BonePosted: 2/4/2006A review of The Matador by SlippingAbyss Youll never think of Brosnan as James Bond again after seeing his role in this surprisingly hilarious albeit twisted comedy. Brosnan plays Julien, a psychopathic corporate hitman who enjoys his work immensely, and whose spare time is consumed by vast quantities of alcohol, cigarettes, and casual sex. But yet he is about to meet his conscious with disasterous results (professionally speaking) when during an alcohol-fueled orgy of self-pity his isolation is shattered by a chance encounter on his lonely birthday when he actually connects with another person. The humor is often jarring, coming at unexpected angles, and is largely derived from the interaction of Brosnans kinky psychopathic Julien and Greg Kinnears straight-laced middle-American businessman. From a chance meeting at a Mexican resort bar, when Kinnear is taken aback after he agreeably toasts that the margaritas taste better in Mexico and Brosnan retorts that the cocks do too (no, this is not Brokeback Assassin, he was just joking...I think, for you never really know when Julien is speaking the truth or just messing with your mind), an unlikely friendship develops. The closest parrallel I can draw by way of example is to the humor of comic book author Garth Ennis (Preacher, 303, etc). The tone and humor of the movie is very similiar to his writing , but absent the graphic violence that earmarks Ennis work. This may not be the film to take your teenage children to, but if you want to experience an evening of original humor, truly surprising plot twists, and lots and lots of spontaneous laughter, this may be your cup of tea. Was this review helpful? Sign In 1-15 of 15 Per Page |
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