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I wish everyone out there a belated happy new year.
If you must know, I would have to think that the website will not return to its normal state until late March when “The Gallon Challenge” finishes shooting.
I will try to come out with some kind of a retrospective for the year, in reaction to the Oscar nominations.
For your reading pleasure, I have assembled brief summaries of the last seven films I have seen since December 16th.
I’ve noticed that while most of these movies are pretty good, they don’t measure up to the work of their predecessors.
1-“Flight of the Phoenix”
This is truly a B movie. Dennis Quaid looks badass for being 50 years old and is rounding out a nice career comeback on the heels of “The Alamo” and “The Day after Tomorrow.” But that’s really one of the only bright spots.
It really feels like a 8th grader wrote the film. You throw a bunch of people together who don’t like each other, they fight, then they start working together, by the end they have bonded and etc etc. We’ve seen it all before.
What’s weird is that Ed Burns is credited with co-writing the screenplay. I’m not going to make excuses for anyone on this piece of crap.
2-“Meet the Fockers”
I really felt like this film was one step away from falling apart the entire time I was watching it. Of course it doesn’t and it holds together fairly well for a sequel.
The team of Dustin Hoffman with DeNiro and Barbara Streisand, guaranteed a virtual money making machine and, as promised, the movie has busted the heads of the competition.
But there is no way the sequel can measure up to the original with its many great lines, “I have nipples Greg, can you milk me?” “Are you a pothead Focker?” The volley ball scene, Owen Wilson etc. etc.
Somehow DeNiro was more funny the first time around. It was one of his first stabs at comedy, since then he has kind of fucked things up with “Analyze That” and “Showtime.” I saw him on SNL and he just looked incredibly uncomfortable. He actually looked like a bad actor, it was weird. I wanted to turn to someone and say, “that guy used to be Robert De Niro.”
Hoffman is great in this movie. He’s just incredibly loose and good natured. I completely bought into his character.
Ben Stiller is on auto pilot here. He could make this movie in his sleep. It’s like John Wayne or Bruce Willis, he’s just playing the stereotypical Ben Stiller character now. Who would have thought ten years ago that Ben Stiller would be the top grossing comedian?
Did anyone else notice how Blythe Danner is much less attractive in this sequel?
I will say that I didn’t think that much of the original film the first time I saw it. The genius came out upon repeated viewings.
I think this film is comparable to the relationship between Austin Powers I and II. Not that the Fockers are as funny as Mini Me and Fat Bastard, but its the same kind of relationship.
3-“Ocean’s 12”
The original Ocean’s Eleven is near legendary. It’s hands down a great film. You have to admit, the pace, the balance of characters, the look of the film, its first class all the way.
The sequel was obviously made just to make money.
Now you might say that this is a dumb thing to say, all sequels are made for money. Will I would argue that some stories have more to be told.
The characters have more adventures, more things to do like “Indiana Jones” or “Dirty Harry” or the first four “Rocky” movies.
Has anyone ever noticed that the James Bond franchise has a free pass with sequels. If they ever made a sixth “Rocky” people would go berserk, but James Bond will continue for years....
The Ocean’s Eleven story was finished. You never walked out of the theatre thinking that they might make another movie. But the film was getting decent reviews so it had to be seen.
To make a long story short, the sequel has much of the original’s charm. I think the biggest difference is that in the original they made the heist seem plausible. Although it was complicated, I understood what was going on.
The sequel give up on that totally. The entire heist is just basically a facade. I found the explanation to be unsatisfying in many respects.
You can’t waste an hour of our time and then tell us that they took the real article from some kid’s backpack and expect us to sit back and smile.
And Julia Roberts playing someone pretending to be Julia Roberts... did they actually do that? Reality and fiction were colliding in ways that I’m not sure were healthy.
But again, not a bad movie.
4-“The Aquatic Life with Steve Zissou”
Although it’s going to hurt my street credibility, I’m just not sure I really understood “Bottle Rocket” and “Rushmore.” I thought they were allright. I really wanted to like them, so I could be cool..
But people love these movies.
Then “The Royal Tennenbaums” came out. I loved that movie. Gene Hackman, the music, even Luke “I’ve got zero charisma” Wilson was good. But strangely the “Rushmore” people wouldn’t admit that it was Wes Anderson’s best work. They still wouldn’t let me into their clubhouse.
It was kind of like not understanding David Lynch until “Mulholland Drive.” Maybe not liking Metallica until “The Black Album.” Maybe it makes you a poser. I’m still not sure.
What disappointed me the most about this film was the violence. I was sure that these scenes were dream sequences, but they weren’t.
As a result the movie Wes Anderson gives us is little more than people pretending to fight. There is no suspension of disbelief. I felt like I was watching something that someone made in their back yard. And make no mistake, it wasn’t like the great back alley brawl scene in “Anchorman” that was supposed to be fake.
Do you know that this film cost something like 60 Million dollars? It’s made 14 million in 4 weeks. Anderson is never going to be allowed to play around with other people’s money like this again. His chance to break into the mainstream is over. He will be relegated to cult status unless he can redeem himself.
Don’t get me wrong, the film had its moments, but seemed to lack any kind of structure. I started to get bored in the middle because it felt like nothing was actually happening. Movies are about telling a story...
Making a movie that your die hard fans will like is not hard. It’s the rest of us you have to win over to achieve real success.
5-“Closer”
What's amazing about “Closer” is that there are only six people in the credits and two of them are doorman/ bartenders.
Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, that’s it.
First let me say that Natalie Portman is extremely hot. Scenes when Portman is working as a stripper are quite captivating.
The film itself is captivating, but also very dark. People are just nasty to each other. They never seem to be happy. In all fairness the film skips over months and months where the characters were doing well in order to show us heightened moments of drama and tension.
But this is a film that makes you want to stay single. Definitely not a date movie.
A film that you can admire but not really enjoy.
6-“The Incredibles”
What can you say about Pixar that hasn’t already been said?
But is this film as good as “Finding Nemo?” I don’t think so. It felt like they were showing off the special effects toward the end and film just kept going on and on, which is never a good sign.
But there are great moments in this film. You wonder if Pixar is ever going to actually mess up.
In the middle of the viewing, I was really pleased, but things soured slightly towards the end. Was there anything to think about in the end? No, pure popcorn.
7-“The Aviator”
I’ve said this many times, but it still upsets me. Ben Affleck has an oscar for a screenplay that Matt Damon wrote. Marisa Tomie won an oscar for “My Cousin Vinnie.”
Scorsese has no oscar for “Taxi Driver” “Raging Bull” or “Goodfellas.” Read those two paragraphs again.
I’m hoping he gets one for “The Aviator”
The first time I saw the film, I didn’t like it that much. Like “The Aquatic Life,” the story isn’t that compelling. Because it is a biography there are highlights of Howard Hughes life, but not an overall vision.
When I saw the movie for a second time I was able to appreciate the skill of the directing, the stunning visuals and what amounted to numerous great scenes.
The scene when Hughes crashes an F-12 into a Beverly Hills Neighborhood is amazing. It’s probably the best scene of the year. It ranks up there for the “Terminator III” car chase, in terms of overall captivation and intensity.
The debate against Alan Alda playing a senator is also top-notch. These two scenes alone, stack up well against anything I’ve seen this year.
What can you say about Leonardo DiCaprio. Well he does a great job, but its still Leonardo DiCaprio. Well he ever get a film that does what “Fight Club” and “Seven” did for Brad Pitt? I think he just did, but it didn’t work.
It’s like Will Smith in “Ali,” he did the best job he could have, but in the end it’s still Will Smith.
Who would I have liked to have seen, I’m not sure. Is there a male actor under 30 right now who has achieved greatness? |
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| "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it." |
- Jack Nicholson
A Few Good Men
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Distributed Beers
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| 5 |
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot |
| 4 |
Guinness Draught |
| 3 |
Newcastle Brown Ale |
| 2 |
Bass Pale Ale |
| 1 |
Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
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