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Reviews
Young Triffie's Been Made Away With (2006)
Too disturbing for a comedy
Young Triffie was neither good nor bad. I'll list the bad. First, the subject matter is quite disturbing. Mutilations and child molestation are not the stuff fun is made of. Second, the film was poorly edited: scenes tangential to the story lasted far too long such as Hepditch (Fred Ewanuick) trying to get himself un-stuck from the mud. Third, the poorly lit black and white sequences: they seem over-exposed. Fourth, the very existence of the black and white sequences: I though it was a technical glitch 'cause it made no story sense. Were the b & w sequences supposed to be flashbacks or a glimpse at the fears of Hepditch? Fifth, the animation and narration sequences were pointless and distracting: do we need to see little animated trains and have voice overs that don't push the story. Sixth, blocking that is suitable for the stage but not a film: the parlour scene at the end looked too stagy. Seventh, a cast of cartoon characters but no reason to care about any of them: snooping post mistress, drunken doctor, child molesting pastor, drug addicted doctor's wife, dopey cop, abusive orphanage attendant, abused orphans, etc. Eight, a story whose point escaped me: was the story some sort of murder mystery? It seemed to me that the girl died of negligence and the suggestion of murder was a cover up. At least, that is how I read the ending. And what the child molesting sub-plot had to do with it was obscure: a red herring. Nine, character development of Hepditch made no sense: if he is the incompetent cop (a Barney Fife) who attempts to do right then the ending seems disconnected to the story.
So what are the good points: some funny dialogue and some funny scenes.
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
What's with that ending?
Spoiler Alert! Why the happy ending? Clearly, Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) was on a one-way ticket to a nasty ending. And just at the point where he seems to be doomed to a horrific death ... he is cleaned up and hustled onto the departing plane! Why didn't the script writers have him rescued by the Israeli commandos? Only "48 hours more", and the movie could have had a good shoot 'em up ending. A commando rescue would not have been any more odd than the strange escape by Dr. Garrigan. Besides, Dr. Garrigan is not a pleasant character.
I very much liked the character Nigel Stone (Simon McBurney). The portrayal of the pragmatic and cynical British diplomat was great contrast to Dr. Garrigan's egoism and ignorance. I very much liked the pool-side meeting of the two. Stone might have appeared to be socially geeky but he clearly had Dr. Garrigan figured out.
Good movie spoiled by a happy ending!
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006)
Very much a fun adventure film.
I loved the trailers for Stormbreaker. My favourite quotes were "Alex Rider...teenager...spy", "He's no child ...he's a lethal weapon", "Never send a man ... to do a boy's job" and "Alex isn't a spy... he's a 14 year old kid"
OK, I went into the theatre expecting silly and left the theatre happy I had gone. Stormbreaker is really a fun movie. It is no more silly than any James Bond film and the action sequences are thrilling. Of course, it riffs on the Bond films. Alex Rider is recruited as an MI6 agent and needs the appropriate gadgets. This leads to my favourite character played by Stephen Fry. In the Bond films he would have been "Q". In Stormbreaker, Fry's character is stationed in Hamley's toy store where he turns kids' things into super useful spy gadgets. Things like zit cream that burns through thick carbonized steel. Or, a Nintendo game that is part listening device, pda, smoke bomb and more. Or, the yo-yo self-powered winch. Really useful and neat gadgets. Actually, I enjoyed all the characters. Alex Pettyfer as Alex Rider does a decent job as the teen spy. Missi Pyle and Mickey Rourke were over the top as the bad guys. Yea, definitely a fun adventure film.
You, Me and Dupree (2006)
Surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.
"You, me and Dupree" surprised me. Dupree (Owen Wilson) was not the house-breaking bum that the trailer implied. The humour wasn't even as crude as I'd expected. Dupree is a gentle, all around good-guy. The problem for the movie is that both Carl (Matt Dillon) and Molly (Kate Hudson) are nice people too. So to bring a bit of drama and conflict into the story, Molly's father - Mr. Thompson (Michael Douglas) - is the heavy-handed baddie. I mean how much more of a father-in-law from hell can he be? Mr. Thompson hints to Carl that a vasectomy might be preferable to grand-children or at least any grand-children that might be related to Carl!
On one hand, the ending is clumsy and a bit drawn out. Perhaps the ending didn't have to be so over the top. On the other hand, "You, me and Dupree" completely fooled me. It actually is a sweet comedy
with a bit of toilet humour.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Two-thirds into the film and I was bored
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead man's chest is a movie that I was very keen on seeing. I liked the first film. I own the DVD. And, yet about two-thirds through this film I found myself yawning. I was actually bored. In the first film, Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) came across as inept but clever. In this film, Sparrow's destiny seemed pre-ordained. Perhaps I didn't understand the plot. Considering how convoluted the plot was with its many characters and many goals perhaps I was baffled into boredom. I don't know. But I was yawning.
On the plus side, I left the movie still amused by Sparrow. And, the adventure and the special effect both were spectacular.
I also recommend sitting through the entire credits to see one last scene. It's funny and ties up one loose plot thread.
Nacho Libre (2006)
This is one Nacho with too much cheese.
On the positive side.
I'll admit that Nacho's (Jack Black) impromptu baptism of his sidekick Esqueleto (Héctor Jiménez) is one variant of the old-face-in-the-cream-pie slapstick routine that hadn't occurred to me.
Nacho's character is endearing. He is a bit of a goof. But an OK goof.
On the negative side.
Jack Black's fade in and out pseudo Spanish Mexican accent was well bad.
The bathroom humour was well in the bathroom.
The rest of the movie scored a "yeeeeeah" (wiggle of hand side to side). It wasn't truly horrible. But I've seen better comedies.
Keeping Up with the Steins (2006)
A very sweet comedy
You'd think a movie about a boy and his bar mitzvah would a) be a coming of age story and b) be a bit opaque to those not of the faith. OK, I probably didn't get to nod wisely at certain scenes or chuckle knowingly at others. But I did smile and I did laugh. And it wasn't a silly coming of age story. From the trailers I figured I knew this movie: one family the Fiedlers - find themselves in competition with a rival family the Steins. This is how the movie opens and no spoiler here as it is in the trailer with the Steins' son Zach's (Carter Jenkins) flamboyant bar mitzvah on a cruise ship. Adam Fiedler (Jeremy Piven) is a successful Hollywood agent and used to work for Arnie Stein (Larry Miller). They are now fierce competitors and social climbers. Adam wants his son Benjamin's (Daryl Sabara) bar mitzvah to outclass Zach's. We discover though that their families actually get along fine: at least Benjamin and Zach do. The real conflict in this story is between father and son. But it isn't between Benjamin and his Dad. The estrangement is between Benjamin's Dad and his Grandfather Irwin (Garry Marshall). Irwin is an old hippy with a much younger and New Age girlfriend named Sacred Feather (Daryl Hannah). Irwin of course abandoned his family and his son Adam - long ago. Now Irwin is back in Adam's life because Benjamin invited him to the bar mitzvah and - well- sparks fly. Oddly, the story about how outlandish Benjamin's bar mitzvah party could be is secondary but is where the laughs are. Benjamin's manipulation of his Dad and Grandfather towards a reconciliation of sorts is where the smiles are. Of course the ending is very sweet.
Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (2005)
An awfully good film - pun intended
Sophie Scholl-The Last Days is somewhat like the movie United 93. Both movies stick rigidly to the facts. Documents and sources are important for both these movies. It's quite surprising that a drama can actually work so well within these boundaries. But it does.
Things that I noted: First, how much the German resistance - or at least the White Rose knew. Simply put, those in Nazi Germany who had eyes to see and ears to hear could not have claimed ignorance.
Second, laws and legal systems can be evil. And, individuals clinging to the law - the law-abiding citizen - can be evil simply by following the law. Sophie Scholl in her interrogation by the Gestapo was quite right in saying that one's conscious must be the filter between good and evil. And one's conscious is not a passive filter but takes work and risks.
Third, the administrative recording by the Nazis - in their evil eyes it was all legal - recorded the statements of Sophie Scholl in the courtroom and at the guillotine. So strange that organized murder was dutifully recorded.
All in all a powerful movie and a reminder that evil does not hide in some monstrous guise but can seem quite civilized.
A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Strange story but enough laughs and OK music
"A Prairie Home Companion" as a radio show is something I know of but have never heard. Ditto for Garrison Keillor. So the movie has to stand on its own for me. And it did stand. I laughed here and there. Kevin Kline's slap-stick is funny. There is one short scene between Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) and Molly (Maya Rudolph) and a telephone that was so silly that I laughed out loud.
The story line was strange. I guess you'd call it episodic. The individual scenes seemed to stand out more than the movie as a whole. The scenes with the Johnson sisters - Yolanda Johnson (Meryl Streep) and Rhonda Johnson (Lily Tomlin) - were the best. Meryl Streep sings quite well. And Lindsay Lohan as Lola Johnson - Yolanda's daughter - is good as the angst ridden kid, strange to say.
I noticed that many in the audience were laughing at scenes that I clearly didn't get. So I suspect there are many in-jokes for those in the know.
The music was old-time but OK.
The Break-Up (2006)
Surprisingly disappointing.
The Break-Up was surprisingly disappointing. From the trailers I thought it was going to be a dumb romantic comedy where I'd laugh at a few dumb scenes and a few dumb jokes. And I'd be happy.
No. It was more drama than comedy. And two scenes were too creepy for me. The character played by Vince Vaughn in one scene is playing an Xbox-type game on-line with a 12 year old. A strange 12 year old. Note that Vince Vaughn is - what? - 35. Then in the next scene: the Vince Vaughn character is arranging a strip poker session with a bunch of hookers. The juxtaposition of the two scenes is not cool. Thumbs down!!!!
Just My Luck (2006)
Fun movie. But dumb.
"Just My Luck" is a bit silly. OK, a lot silly.
Lindsay Lohan's character is so lucky that she doesn't even realize most people lose playing scratch'n'win lottery tickets. On the other hand, Chris Pine's character is the exact opposite. He's so unlucky that he
well, amusing things happen. "Just My Luck" plays off with the idea that luck is something quite tangible and can be passed between partners by
say
kissing: like mono or cooties.
There are, actually, a lot of funny scenes in the movie and I did spend most of the movie either laughing or at least smiling.
"Just My Luck" is a kids' movie. The odd thing, though, for a kids' movie the soundtrack was awfully old sounding. And, music is a huge part of the plot. I'd of thought the demographic musically-speaking- would not be so keen on early Beatle's sound-a-like bands. But who knows? The humour though is right up to date. One scene revolves around dog poo. Another scene features a well used kitty litter box. Oh, and the up-chucking. I mustn't forget the scene with the characters up-chucking.
Personally, I'd rather have early Beatle's humour (i.e. A Hard Day's Night) and up to date music. Oh well.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
The adventure I liked not the talking
The Da Vinci Code was a fun movie. It was as entertaining as a James Bond movie. Nonetheless, as The Da Vinci Code progressed my understanding of the plot grew confused. By the two-thirds point I wasn't quite certain if Opus Dei was bad or was it the Priory of Sion. And, exactly where was the movie headed too? Would I recognize the end when I saw it? Apparently not, because I thought the movie had reached its end at least four times. And that finally ending
well, yah sooooooooooo
.
I didn't get it.
But as long as I'm not going to be tested for comprehension and understanding, then I don't really care
except for the talking parts. Perhaps because the talking parts 'caused me to zone out into ADD land that I missed those crucial plot points. The James Bond parts though I liked. Silas (Paul Bettany) the albino psychopath monk was definitely a James Bond character. Funny there was no romantic interest between the characters of Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou).
Tom Hanks was OK. Imagine if they'd cast Leonardo DiCaprio? Leonardo in the Da Vinci Code. Bad joke maybe but DiCaprio would have carried the adventure part of the movie better than Tom Hanks did. And, in the end it was the physical adventure that kept the movie going and kept it fun.