Change Your Image
gailhyer
Reviews
Avatar (2009)
Why didn't they just ask the Na'vi for the unobtainium?
Yes, the film is gorgeous. Yes, the F/X were stunning. OK, the love story was predictable but necessary. But I don't understand: did the humans ever ask the natives for the unobtainium? Also, it doesn't make sense that the humans would set up this years-long scientific process of infiltrating the Na'vi, give Jake three months to do his job, but then at three months and one hour decide they have to drop the whole friendly approach and attack. Wouldn't it have made more sense to infiltrate, find something that the Na'vi wanted, and then trade for the unobtainium? Or explain to the Na'vi that unobtainium was to all intents and purposes the Sky Peoples' god and persuade them to allow some mining? It wouldn't have taken much at all, since a small amount of the mineral was worth a king's ransom. This movie, among other things, makes the case that life unfolds in a purely black and white fashion even on other planets, just like it does here -- you're either Na'vi or the jarhead militarist, Democrat or Republican, with no middle ground, no compromise, no negotiation, no common sense. The appearance of Cameron's world may be breathtakingly advanced, but the politics/social aspects are depressingly neanderthal. To James Cameron: If you're going to spend a $500 million on something, why not make a movie that teaches the difficulty of and necessity for compromise and understanding?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Bo-rrinnnggg!
I'll never get this 2-3/4 hour of my life back and that makes me angry. Actually, it was more than that because I kept falling asleep, so I had to keep going back and starting sections over again, trying to stay awake the second time around. The only stars of this movie were the make-up and special effects, and while the F/X were OK, the makeup was awful and distracting. To my thinking, the aging (Cate forward and Brad backward) wasn't consistent with the time frame of the story. And it makes no sense that Brad's body ages backward but, apparently, his mind ages the normal way, so that he suffers dementia during his "childhood." Cate's various scenes as a dying old lady are badly written and the dialogue is nearly impossible to hear or understand. In the end, does she become one of the elderly who died in hospitals during Katrina? Is the message that all of those poor people had great stories like this one and so their deaths were truly tragic? What an absolute crock! If there were a lower rating than 1 star, that's what I'd give this complete waste of time and talent.
Sorry, Haters (2005)
See it for Robin Wright Penn
If you read the reviews, you'll see that the ending is the polarizing element of this movie. Reactions range from apoplexy to confusion to adoration. Some will argue that this is a movie about American/Muslim tensions. Some might say it's about the after-effects of 9/11. Still others might view it as study of madness. But ultimately it's an intelligent, complex film that will inevitably illicit heated debate. And more importantly, if you appreciate world-class acting, Abdel Kechiche's and Robin Wright Penn's performances are worth your time. As stated in the DVD's round-table discussion special feature, you feel like a voyeur watching Wright Penn's character interact with the people in her life. Her every on-screen moment, no matter how shocking, is utterly believable. This movie really stays with you.
Firewall (2006)
What a waste of time
What studio exec(s) greenlighted this POS? When the boy wants to take the dog's collar off and the mom says, no, he needs it -- my BS meter went off the chart! The dog has a GPS collar? How is this relevant? Then the merciless terrorists take the friggin' dog WITH them on their escape and, instead of shooting the dog when it's barking, RELEASE it 1000 yards from their hideaway, within sight of where they are staying!!!! So Harrison Ford can track his family and rescue them?!?!? Give me a flippin' break! And then the climactic fight scene -- men throwing each other out of windows, not unlike bad John Wayne movies of the 30s? With the same bogus sound effects?? It's laughable! And in the end, HF's family are miraculously no longer manacled and they all walk away free and clear? I hate to be the bearer of sad tidings, but HF is going to prison after what he's done! By the way: sorry, but HF is WAY past being a big, macho hero. He's shrinking and his neck is collapsing into his torso, which is natural part of aging, but it precludes his participation in macho hero roles. He needs to age gracefully and begin accepting Granddad roles! I mean it! Or at least character roles that don't involve having kids under 10 years of age! I wouldn't be so cranky about HF's physical liablities if it weren't for this fact: I only watched this movie because I believed HF still had some credibility -- well, it's shot now! This was a total waste of and hour and three quarters.
War of the Worlds (2005)
Without logic, what's the point?
As teens, when my friends and I were laughing at a badly plotted movie, we'd say, "Script says ..." as in, script says Ollie's father just happens to be entering the hospital as Ollie exits upon Jennifer's death in Love Story so that Ollie can utter the immortal words, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." In War of the Worlds, script says: 1) After every electrical and battery powered device stops working, Tom Cruise & family get hold of the only operational vehicle in a tri-state area in order to survive and move the narrative along; 2) Even after ALL other cars have suddenly stopped in traffic, there's a perfectly clear path thru which Tom can drive, heading toward the next plot point; 3) At his ex's house, there's suddenly a TV crew whose truck and equipment are functional, so that they can clumsily convey the next plot point to Tom; 4) In the basement with Tim Robbins, the aliens don't see or hear the humans when the plot calls for suspense, then DO hear or see them when the narrative needs to move along; 5) For the plot's sake, the aliens were able to survive on earth to bury their ships millions of years ago, but when they arrive in the present to reclaim the buried vehicles and destroy earth, they're suddenly NOT able to survive here anymore?!?!? And on and on and on. The acting was good -- which is why I've given the movie 2 stars. I think all the actors were wasted in this dreadful mess of a movie.
Flightplan (2005)
Absolutely preposterous!
There are holes in this movie's logic you could fly a jumbo jet thru! Kyle & her daughter stand at the gate looking at the jet and not one of 400+ passengers sees the daughter? Kyle and her daughter move to the back of the jet to sleep and no one sees Julia? Kyle, a jet propulsion engineer, is thoroughly knowledgeable about the electronics of the jet? And after Kyle's search for the girl, the air marshal convinces the pilot that the search was a ruse and that Kyle is actually a terrorist and extortionist? In what universe is such a thing logical? Jody Foster is a very smart person -- can't figure out why she attached herself to this garbage! And if anyone can explain to me why the main character wasn't arrested and thrown in prison at the end of the movie, I'd be interested to hear it!