The Goonies
Friday, August 31, 2007
CLASSIC GOOMBA
First released in 1985, The Goonies centers around 7 teenage misfit kids who find themselves in the middle of a treasure hunt that will save their family homes from building developers. Along the way they encounter the Fratellis, a family of thugs who hitch a ride on the coattails of the underage treasure hunters, a friendly giant, and pirate captain, One-Eyed Willie.
Shot in Portland, Oregon, The Goonies holds a certain kind of magic. It's like Halloween. On that night, the only thing that matters is the friends you're with, the adventure you share, and the bootie that you acquire. On that one night, kids rule the world, and adult rules do not apply. The Goonies has mystery and charm, and it manifests every kid's treasure hunt fantasy onto the silver screen without reminding us once that its only a movie . . . well maybe during the Chunk-Sloth scenes . . . and maybe during the parent-kid reunion scene . . . but other than that this movie is good to go. It's got the rough fun of Indiana Jones, but tame enough for kids.
This movie may seem hokey to those who don't embrace the 80's teen/family film culture, though it is arguably the best period in family and teen cinema. However, nothing can beat a great story, and its no surprise that Steven Spielberg, the master story-teller wrote and produced this film.
The Goonies never say die, so a sequel may be inevitable. Please God, just don't let it be animated. But no matter what happens, don't let whatever crap the sequel brings affect your judgment on the timeless tale of Mikey, Brand, Stef, Andy, Data, Mouth, and, of course, Chunk.
Notes On A Scandal
Sunday, August 26, 2007
3 GOOMBAS
In today's world of Jerry Springer, wardrobe malfunctions, and publicized sex tapes, scandal isn't something new, but that doesn't make it comfortable to take. Especially when it comes to school teachers having relations with their underage students, and I always wonder what kind of grown up woman can "fall" for a pre-pubescent boy. Notes On A Scandal gives us a peak into the inner lives and thoughts of just that.
Expressed in a creative manner, Notes On A Scandal is narrated by Barbara Covette (Judi Dench), a comprehensive school history teacher in London. A strange, snobby, and lonely old soul, Barbara has only one intimate relationship. It's with her journal, which she compulsively writes in, and when Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchette) starts as the new, beautiful art teacher, Covette's observations of the new teacher are thoroughly documented. When a playground brawl gets out of hand, Covette comes to Hart's aid, and a friendship ensues. Hart simultaneously begins an affair with her 15 year old student, and when Covette catches wind of it, Covette sees this as her chance to blackmail her way into companionship.
The characters in this film are rich and complex, disturbing and empathic, and though the story is relatively straightforward, each personality complicates the plot in an extraordinary way. Not only is Barbara malicious and manipulative, but she's practically poisonous. She wheedles her way into Sheba's life, reminiscent of that creepy movie, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, and uses Sheba's affair as leverage. Sheba isn't a pedophile, and she's not even disillusioned. She's a regular school teacher whose life had lost itself to child-rearing and domestic activities. When a young, strapping boy pursues her irrepressibly, she gives in to the attention, and finds herself addicted to the world he represents; youth, freedom, and irresponsibility.
Artistically, the acting in this film is distinguished and the soundtrack alone is stunning. The whole time the music told me that the wheels were in motion for something huge to happen, and it wasn't Sheba's affair. Without the great acting and great music, this movie would be nothing. Movie-wise, this isn't your weekend kind of rent. This film is geared toward the more refined palate, but the class of this movie gets lost somewhere between what is entertainment and what is art. It's not good enough to be a great art piece, and it's not good enough to be entertainment; not quite the scandal it hoped it could be.
Fracture
Thursday, August 23, 2007
2 GOOMBAS
I can't help but compare this movie to Breach. The plot was the same, but slightly different (lawyers rather than CIA agents), it was old guy verses cute new guy, and the tone and look was exactly the same. Too bad I never reviewed Breach. I meant to, but that was one of two movies I never got around to reviewing since I started this blog. It was a good movie. Fracture, not so much.
Fresh from his successful portrayal as a strung-out, drug addicted jr. high school teacher, Ryan Gosling, plays a hard-working, cocky lawyer, Willie Beachum on the brink of an ultimate career high, but he takes one last "open and shut case" before moving on to bigger and brighter things. Anthony Hopkin's plays the a defendant, Ted Crawford, who murder's his wife, yet he dares the prosecution to prove it.
This movie was WAY too slow. I kept looking at the DVD timer wondering when Beachum would figure out how Crawford did it. I suppose he just isn't as quick as me. I got the "twist," if you could even call it that, real fast, making the rest of the movie drag and drag. No edge of your seat suspense, no nail-bitting scene of realization, just a sad piece of work. Plus, I have this thing about movies that use pretty girls as props a la Bourne Supremacy.
I was really disappointed with Fracture. It wasn't interesting, the performances were okay, and the plot was boring. I'd recommend Breach over Fracture any day, and that is a sad day for the movieGOOMBA; picking another bad guy over Anthony Hoppkins. I bow my head in shame, but I have to report the truth, and this movie is not worth a fraction of a second.
Hot Fuzz
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
3.5 GOOMBAS
It's been ages since this film came out, and it's also been ages since I watched it; at least three weeks, but I'm blogging about it anyway. I've really had no motivation to write these past few days. I need to take a dose of creative juice . . . they probably sell it at Target. Target has everything . . . see what I mean? That joke wasn't even funny! I'm losing it, and now this is turning into some kind of ramble. You're saying "Why the hell doesn't she just stop and think for a while before typing it out on the blog and wasting our time?" Because I'm doing that elementary school thing where you just write about what you're thinking without having your pen leave the paper; just a steady stream of thought. I forget what that's called . . . "Ever fired your gun in the air and yelled, 'Aaaaaaah?' " That wasn't me, that was from the movie Hot Fuzz.
Now, to people in the States, "Fuzz" may not make any sense, let alone "Hot Fuzz." Fuzz is just a snazzy British equivalent for cop. Those Brits sure come up with a grip of dope slang; fo shizzle mai nizzle. From the makers of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as members of the British law enforcement. Nicholas Angel, played by Pegg, is a goodie-goodie, over-achiever of London's finest. He makes everyone look like a schmuck because of his unceasing accomplishments, so his superiors send him to the small, remote town of Sandford, where he can't make them look bad. Yet while there, Angel begins to notice strange things happening in the village city, and he won't stop until he tickets every elderly jay-walker, arrests all under-age vandals, and uncovers a giant murder mystery/cover-up.
Hot Fuzz has the the same clever, camp tone of Shaun of the Dead, and is immensely funny without being at all corny. There are some really great sequences that spoof on some American action flicks, and the plot and story line were well defined and playfully thought out. Achieving a sinister, yet comical tone is very difficult to accomplish, but Hot Fuzz managed to do it with ease. My favorite part was the final, bad-boys shooting scenes where ridiculousness was rampant but peculiarly bad-ass. The movie was a bit slow at first and a bit longer than I wished it would have been (2 hour running time), but it was smart and silly, as dark comedies should be.
Viewers should be warned that there are some gory blood and guts scenes. A lot of the murders aren't neat and tidy. It actually seems worse because of the type of film it is; you don't expect some one's head to smush that way. Maybe in Saw 3, but not here.
I really appreciate Hot Fuzz as a film. It's a great movie to watch when you just need to laugh at something ridiculous. Although I still don't understand why the Fuzz is "hot" per-say (must be a British thing), its British humor is delightful especially since the actors say their punch lines with such sincere seriousness. Who could not like a movie that has the line, "Ever fired your gun in the air and yelled, 'Aaaaaaah?' " in it?
Becoming Jane
Monday, August 20, 2007
4 GOOMBAS
Jane Austen wrote six novels during her lifetime, and all six of them have been made into numerous movies and television mini-series', each director and screenwriter adding their own twist to the story. Two hundred years later, people still know Jane Austen, and I find it comforting to know that in this great big world, it is possible to be remembered, as minute a possibility it may be. The one story that hasn't been told over and over again is her own, the story she lived herself.
Anne Hathaway stars as this acclaimed author in Becoming Jane, a questionable biographical story on Jane Austen's first love. Jane is of marrying age, but insists on marrying for love, even if that risks become an old maid. Her parents push her toward an engagement with well-to-do, but plain bachelor Mr. Wisely. Meanwhile, she meets Tom Lefroy, a cocky, city gentlemen who depends on his uncle for income, and she immediately despises him. However, through her frustration and annoyance with Mr. Lefroy, an underlying chemistry and passion is apparent, and both end up falling in love despite their initial loathness toward each other.
Like Austen's penned tales, Becoming Jane is a simple story, yet full of characters and details, and it was one of the most romantic movies I've seen in really long time. Anne Hathaway and Last King of Scotland's James McAvoy blew me away with their amazing portrayal of a couple's complicated love and the sacrifices they must make for the other's best interest. I left the theater feeling like I got run over by the emotion train. Man, did these two have a great love story. Even when they hated each other, there was some passionate love going on. ::sigh:: And like Austen's heroines, Jane was witty, independent, and intelligent, all parts that make up a bad-ass woman.
I'd really like to believe that Jane Austen's love life was as charming as the one portrayed in this film, but many Austen scholars tend to disagree. Either way, a love like that exists somewhere, even if it only exists in someone's heart and imagination.
Disturbia
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
3.5 GOOMBAS
Shia LaBeouf can be my next door neighbor any day, even if he is a peeping tom. Spielberg's man of the moment has been cast in at least three of Spielberg's executive produced films, Disturbia included (uncredited). So why does Spielberg love this kid? Because he's adorable, that's why! Okay, sorry, I was trying really hard not to gush. In all seriousness, LaBeouf is a budding talent who has the potential to be huge, if he isn't already.
A tragic accident has left teenage boy, Kale, with anger and guilt. One day his emotions are pushed too far, and he winds up on house arrest for assault. Unable to leave his home in perfect suburbia, Kale begins to snoop on the neighbors, but what started as just an interesting way to pass the time turns into a dangerous fight for his life when he thinks he witnessed a murder through his binoculars.
Disturbia calls on the popular notion that not everything is perfect in the safe and "normal" suburbs, but rather sinister. Movies like this always gives me more heebie jeebies than a typical slasher film, which I tend to laugh through. Disturbia was a great mix of psychology and thrill, not a slasher film at all, and Kale with his token Asian guy friend, Ronnie, provided the right amount of comic relief to the suspense. "Operation Stupid is officially over." Plus great lighting provided the right look, making some scenes feel scary and others, friendly.
I don't like how they kept comparing Rear Window to this flick because it makes Disturbia seem like a much worse movie than it really is. Obviously, the two are not comparable, and Rear Window had this inner voyeuristic, psychological aspect that Disburbia had no chance of re-creating. Disturbia was always about the killer, it was never about what was in Kale's head. Granted, they did try to make it seem that way, but the action took over the movie in a way that Rear Window did not. Plus, just adding that whole teenage love angst thing puts it in a whole lower tier. Did I mention that Trinity is in this movie? She plays his mom, but bad ass she was not, which was kind of disappointing.
Shia LaBeouf just proved to me that he is a fantastic actor. Just watch the accident scene and you'll know what I mean. I loved him in Transformers, and even more in Holes, but you never know until actors like him do something so different that really pulls them outside the box. Shia is definitely up there with my love for John Cusack and Edward Norton, even if he is too young for me. It's okay, Joe. I still love you most!
Sidenote: I watched the commentary on the DVD, and I guess the director in D.J. Caruso, wanted this movie to be like a John Cusack thriller. It sort of was, but then he kept bringing up how much he loved Say Anything, which happens to be my favorite movie of all time, and saying how the love scene was paying homage to that film. All I have to say is, what the heck is he talking about?! That scene is like nothing out of Say Anything. Maybe Jerry Maguire, but not Say Anything. Either way, I was glad that a real life movie director loved that 80's movie as much as me.
The Astronaut Farmer
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
1 GOOMBAS
No Reservations
Monday, August 13, 2007
3 GOOMBAS
No Reservations stars a little too gorgeous Catharine Zeta Jones, adorable Abigail Breslin, and formerly hairy Aaron Eckhart from Erin Brockavich. Kate is one of the best chefs in New York and also has the worst temper, especially when it comes to criticism. She has relationship issues and never lets anyone through her rough exterior. When Kate's sister dies, her niece is sent to live with her, and both have to find a way to cope with their loss and bring down their reservations.
No Reservations was okay for its genre. Breslin brought a breath of fresh air whose talent is sure to bring her a great future . . . as long as she doesn't become friends with Paris Hilton. There is this one scene where she's watching old movies of her mom and you see the tears well up in her eyes, but no tears fall. Amazing for an eleven year old actress. The heavier themes were handled appropriatly and very well, and it created a nice balance between tragedy and comedy. Kate and Nick's developing relationship was cute, but not necessarily relatable. I just couldn't understand why he liked her; she was so cold sometimes.
Overall, this movie is something feel-good to watch on a weekend. It'll be on TBS in no time. It isn't as good as some of the others but it is better than its twin, Raising Helen, so its up to you to go see it, but don't expect the next Pretty Woman.
Sidenote: I didn't know that there existed a food that was worth $2,200 a pound! Shows you how refined my pallet is. I love food, but not that much.
Rocky Balboa
Saturday, August 11, 2007
3 GOOMBAS
Did you guys know that Sylvester Stallone started out as a porn star? He kinda looks sleazy like that, huh? ::shudders:: And I think that he got a really bad eye lift sometime between Rocky V and Rocky Balboa, furthering the gnarly, Sly look. Though, he's still a talented guy, regardless of his past or his looks, which is why Rocky Balboa was a great final installment to the Rocky series.
Following the same formula of its predecessors, Rocky Balboa begins with an internal conflict, Rocky verse Rocky. Balboa has lost his beloved wife Adrian to cancer, and is estranged from his only son, Robert, played by former Gilmore Girl cutie Milo Ventimiglia. Retired and alone, Rocky owns a local restaurant where he devotes most of his time re-telling tales of "the good old days" to enthusiastic customers. In a modern world where life depends on technology for entertainment, a favorite national sports show computer generates boxing athletes from both modern and previous times based on known stats. The show then has the athlete's pixilated counterparts fight one another. The outcome of the Mason "The Line" Dixon vs. the Italian Stallion computer match-up caused a stir in the sports world, and people got an itch to see a real live one-on-one.
Though we correctly expected the general progression of the plot, Rocky Balboa is surprisingly interesting and sincere. It was way better than I thought it would be, that's for sure. The lighting is exceptional, and the characters had depth and humility. The pathos in this film was overwhelming, making the victory bounteous. Of course there was the signature "Rocky is in training" montage, and other typical scenes, but the fight scene was artistic and well thought out. The use of slow motion and shots in black and white film aids in the scene's appeal. It made me cringe with pain just watching the two champs go at it.
Hairspray
Friday, August 10, 2007
4 GOOMBAS
High school student, Tracey Turnblad is just an everyday teenage girl. Perky, out-going, and optimistic, she loves to dance, and has her heart devoted to teen heartthrob, Link Larkin, who also just happens to be her classmate and a dancer on "The Corny Collins Show." When a dancing spot opens up, Tracey is gung-ho for the audition, but is turned away because of her pleasantly plump features. Hairspray focuses its attention on the largest issue that faced the 1960's, black integration, and Tracey Turnblad is a refreshingly heroic presence amidst all the clamour of a serious problem.
300
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
3.5 GOOMBAS
Intense CG, stunning style, mediocre plot, and really buff men are the basic elements that comprise the budding cult classic, 300, and all you really need to know is that it's an ancient war movie with lots and lots of gory fighting scenes. It's entertaining, pretty to look at (blood splatters excluded), but vastly prejudice. Drag Queens verses Hercules descendants. Gee, I wonder who the good guys are suppose to be?
Though I appreciate this movie for the distinct creativity and edgy use of technology that it brought to the silver screen, the story wasn't anything remarkable, and like I always say, a good movie needs to have a good story. Watch it to see something different. Don't watch it and expect the next Saving Private Ryan.
The Bourne Ultimatum
Monday, August 06, 2007
4 GOOMBAS
1408
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
3 GOOMBAS
A typically themed horror movie that brings out a man's own inner haunts, 1408 stars Cusack as Mike Enslin, a non-believing ghost hunter who investigates and reviews paranormal activity in hotel rooms. Someone or something mysteriously sends him a hotel postcard that reads "Don't go into room 1408." Of course, Enslin is intrigued, and visits and stays in the hotel room against all recommendations and bribes from The Dolphin Hotel manager.
True to his reputation (thank goodness!), this movie was thoughtfully acted and skillfully performed by Cusack, who basically carried the entire movie on his back. It isn't nearly as cheap as you'd think a movie like this would be. The film had a kind of The Shining feel to it, but rather than turning an average guy into a killer, the venue brought this average man to his humblest and most heroic state of grace. It wasn't all that scary, but that didn't stop me from covering my ears (<---pictures don't scare me, sounds do).
What I didn't like about this film was the ending. It was kind of weird and abrupt. I wasn't sure if the room still had him hostage. Everything looked "real" . . . and what does the ending mean for his wife/ex wife? I hate it when I'm left with question that should have been answered, or at least do something to tell me that they're not suppose to be answered.
Anyway, the bottom line is I love John Cusack. Go see it if you're a fan. Go see it if you're into the Psychological Thriller genre. Don't see it if you're a casual movie watcher. You won't like it. Did I mention that I love John?
"Let's Encyclopedia Brown this bitch."