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Reviews
Running with Scissors (2006)
Keep an open mind.
I saw this movie last night and absolutely loved it. Being someone who has, in the past, somewhat struggled with depression, I must have found much more humor in it than others. I saw so much of myself and my worries in Augusten, but seeing them projected unto others made it unbearably funny; there were segments when I couldn't stop laughing, and I knew that Augusten would have been laughing along. Its this whole thing of being able to laugh at yourself in hindsight, and realize how silly it was all along, but how serious and dark it seemed at the time. I don't see many people, especially people with happy-go-lucky following them about, being able to understand that.
That being said, the complaint that most people had was that this movie was not as quirky and bizarre as the trailers touted it, that it was dark and gruesome and a disjointed, prolonged look at a dark and gruesome life. Well, thats what it was supposed to be. You cant flaw anyone involved for creating it that way. Perhaps the trailers did skew it, but anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted movie about strange families should go see something fun and lighthearted, like The Family Stone. This is something different. This gets to the core of what it means to be dysfunctional, what it means to live in this idea of "bizarre" and "quirky" which so many people seem to think would be "fun and lighthearted" to live through. It's not. This movie is, to a painful degree, brutally honest. Some may argue with me and say that it must have been exaggerated, and I will give you that. Its a movie; it has lots of comedy and satire strewn in. Yet it does not attempt to hide the most difficult things: insanity, suicide, homicide, egoism, greed, blindness, hatred.
All of that aside, there are a lot of good things to be said about this movie in terms of film-making. The editing was well done, and the set, particularly the Finch's house, was appropriately eerie. I loved it.
I've heard some complain about the score, and certain songs not fitting with the tone of the scene. I disagree; I think it was entirely intentional. Not every sad scene is supposed to have a little violin, not every happy scene needs a big brass band. Sometimes, as often occurs in this movie, the contrast of the music heightens the emotion of the scene by satirizing it and thus making it stand out more and have more impact. If you let it distract you, then it will distract you. If not, well then, it works. It certainly worked for me.
The cast is unbelievably talented, and gave stellar performances. I actually heard someone criticize the "inconsistency" of Annette Benning's character, and I almost choked I laughed so hard. Pardon me, but isn't insanity a rather inconsistent thing? Anyone who does not see this as intentional and the work of a superb actress who manages to capture what few of us could ever even fathom should really limit themselves to Disney movies c. 1990. Even Gwenyth Paltrow, whose hilarious character was, if anything, sadly underused, was brilliant as the psychotic daughter who believes she can communicate with her cat, Freud, through his purrs in REM sleep. Alec Baldwin is another performer who I wish I could have seen more of, but for the few scenes he was in, he seems to embody this other sort of life, other sort of happiness and sanity, despite the fact that his character was a struggling alcoholic. Stand out performances, however, were certainly Annette Benning, Evan Rachael Wood, Joseph Cross, and Jill Claybourgh. The only character who I believe was lacking in development was Brian Coxs character, Doctor Finch.
I guess it doesn't surprise me that a lot of people didn't like this movie...but I really wish more people could appreciate it or try to sympathize, even if they couldn't empathize. The fact that so few people do is testament to how difficult it is to live in our world and not be what everyone calls "normal."
All in all, this movie certainly will not appeal to everyone. It is a difficult pill to swallow. It's not pretty, it's not happy, it's not even "quirky." It's bitter, dark, pessimistic, and satirical. But if you can move past that, and appreciate each of these things which the movie IS, then you will find it so much easier to find what the movie SAYS about coming into your own.
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Incredibly Poorly Done...on the Advertising
As a huge fan of the book by Katherine Paterson, I put off watching this movie as long as possible. I was APPALLED by the trailers--trolls and CGI running amok--and swore it off as a terrible box office-aimed manipulation of a beloved book. I could not be more wrong. I don't write reviews for the IMDb very often, but I couldn't resist on this one.
I read the book as a young child and was deeply affected by it. For the longest time, Leslie was my hero for her courage, her individuality, and most of all for her amazing imagination. I admired all this in her even at seven years old. Even though I was skeptical at the hip and trendy little blond girl I saw in previews, Anna Sophia Robb does not disappoint. She and Josh Hutcherson give beautiful and convincing portrayals of two children who only wish to escape reality for a while (only to have it catch up to them too soon). There is one particular moment that comes to mind, when Jesse is watching Leslie laugh and walk home in the rain--I almost lost it. It was perfect. You really grow to care about Jesse and Leslie.
As for the CGI you see so much of in those terribly misleading and disgustingly money driven previews...don't go into this expecting a wardrobe and an army of centaurs, as apparently so many people did. This CGI (which I wouldn't call top-notch or realistic, but was respectably well done) appears in brief, scattered scenes probably making up around 25% of the movie or less. It serves not to create a fantasy/adventure thriller, but rather to glean glimpses into the imagination of these two kids. I can only compare it to a certain scene in Finding Neverland, when Neverland as a part of the characters' imaginations comes to life. Take that scene, add more CGI and take out some of the artistic-license-y-ness, and you have this.
I truly wasn't expecting to cry during this movie--I didn't even cry during the book. But seeing Jesse cope with the painful reality he has to face was absolutely beautifully handled. It was so exact and so heart wrenching. This is the part where I have to warn you that very small children may not be able to handle the difficult message this film has about loss. Jesse had to learn at a young age, but many children may be unable to deal with what they seen on the screen. I would advise parents to only bring children ages seven or eight and up. That said, everyone over the age of eight should see this, and DEFINITELY should read the book.
(My one gripe about the book to film adaptation was Leslie's wardrobe. I hope I'm not the only one who found it COMPLETELY out of character. But that's another argument entirely)
Don't come into this film looking for epic CGI battles reminiscent of the Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter. You'll leave with something even greater.
Ella Enchanted (2004)
Maybe if you're five...
Being a huge fan of both well done movies and books, I have never before had the displeasure of watching a movie and wishing to gouge my own eyes out--until today. I know that sounds completely horrid, but it was the single thought running through my mind throughout the entire movie, which happened to be playing on one of my movie channels.
First off, the best part of the entire movie was the narrating--Eric Idle, in no matter what context, will always be a delight to have on screen. That was the one bit of the movie that brightened the 96 painful minutes. I expected a lot of good from Cary Elwes, and am disappointed to say I was let down--but of course, how could I not be let down by his character? His character DOES NOT EXIST in the books, yet he is the main point of the movie. Even then, I at least figured a completely random character could be well acted. But alas, all the random, totally non-canon characters in this movie were awful, including the man-book with apparently no purpose but to give away plot points whenever it happened to be convenient. Creative? Pssh. They weren't kidding when they said "Loosely based on Gail Carson Levine's book." Even the bits that they did take from the book were still completely twisted and mangled.
The one moment of good acting in the entire movie is in the room of mirrors, the climax in which Anne Hathway attempts to stop the "horrendous" deed she's been ordered to do (personally, in that moment, I was actually sort of hoping she'd go through with it, but I digress). The expression on her face, and the emotion in her voice is the best we've seen from her yet, but of course the moment is completely trashed by the next blunt, Captain-Obvious-inspired words out of Prince Char's mouth, delivered so flatly and unemotionally that you wonder if he's already dead.
Visual-wise, unless you enjoy Medieval retro, it's not very pleasing. The special effects are so under par that you can nearly see the computer mouse still designing the CG-snake halfway through the movie. At one point, I couldn't help but look at Prince Char's ballroom suit, and wonder if they'd even picked a time period at all, let alone research it. I don't think it would have been considered formal even in today's society, especially not for a coronation. And I won't say much for the sets, because I was too busy shaking my head to pay much attention.
But the dance scene at the end--when Anne Hathway rips off her long ballroom wedding gown to reveal a Barbie Princess short dance skirt and begins in a drawn out, choreographed dance that the entire congregation somehow turned up to rehearsal for--was the epitome of bad, and the point where I turned and asked for a spork to gouge my eyes out with.
Usually, even if book adaptations are terrible, I'll at least enjoy them if they stay true the the general feel of the books, even if the canon information is way off, such as in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The feel of Gail Carson Levine's book was a journey, tough-it-out feel, like a musty old castle, with just the right amount of humor mixed with thought-out twists and blunt reality. The feel of this movie was bubblegum, and convenience.
If you have children that play with Barbies and dress up as princesses, take them, they're certain to enjoy it and to have a nice little scenario to play out later. But if you're a respectable movie-goer, opt for something that makes sense.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
No word for it but...Epic.
There are a few words that come to mind with this movie. Amazing, breath-taking, incredible, and supercalifrajilisticexpialidocious are some, but even those don't really get it across. If you have not seen this movie, please do yourself a favor and do so before you die.
I wish I had more space to go on and on about the colossal achievement this movie set forth. The CGI Gollum set a higher standard for computer engineering today along with the trolls and oliphaunts. The score...flies. Not another word for it. And I cannot even count how many times I cried. The most heart-wrenching line? "Don't go where I can't follow." I couldn't find a flaw in anything this movie won its half a million (exageration) Oscars for. When you see it, you can't wonder for even a second that it won so many.
Of course, being the mini-Simon Cowell I am, I do have a few points to pick. First off, I don't really find much to complain about the few things that were left out. The Scouring of the Shire, I knew right off wasn't going to be in the movie. I mean, people have just finished watching this huge epic war, and now it's finally over. A sensible director would not start an entire other battle right at the end...I know I wouldn't. The Houses of Healing was a little disappointing because you really wanted to see Eowyn with Faramir, just to finish off the entire picture, but I haven't seen the extended version yet, so I'm crossing my fingers. However, some of the things that were in the movie were a little iffy. Denethor's pyre was something I've been looking forward to ever since I read the books, it's always been my favorite part. I end up reading that chapter over and over. However, in the movie some of the things that really got at you in the book were left out. The part with his hands forever emblazoned on the palantir gave me shivers. And although watching a fiery body plunge off the wall is a very cool shot, it didn't do much for me. I missed the goosebumps the book had always given me, and I felt like that as something that could have used those few extra minutes of time on, if anything.
Also, the Pippin and the palantir scene was a bit strange. The entire motion blur would have been fine if it was another movie, but compared to the rest of LoTR, it just wasn't up to par. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it, which I'm sure wasn't the point of the scene. However, put those two sort of bad things together (Pippin's and Denethor's scenes) and what do you get? Pippin's "All Shall Fade" scene, which takes the cake for tear-jerkers. So you see, even if there is that one little gripe (like there is in all films) the movie as a whole, as an emotion, makes up for everything.
In conclusion, even if you're a nit-picker like me, this film is one that will go down in movie history. You don't need to be a Tolkein fan or even have read the books to appreciate its majesty.
Spice World (1997)
Nostalgic...
When I was seven and this movie came out, it was the biggest thing around. Everyone wanted to be the Spice Girls. After they split up and weren't cool anymore, everyone forgot about the movie. But ho, ho, what's this? Years later, here I am cleaning out my old Disney and Barney videos and stumble across my old friend that I used to watch everyday. Even at my old age of fifteen, never failed to crack me up.
Obviously, this isn't meant to be a contender for Oscars. Anyone can see that. But I can't find much to hate about a movie that's practically the visual to go along with the song "Girls just wanna have fun." That's all it is, fun. And a lot of good fun at that. It's just a guilty pleasure, and it's so much fun to watch it with old friends singing into hair brushes and wearing feather boas. You just need to keep in mind that it was publicity for their new record and it's not meant to be one of those heavy movies you over-analyze. Recommendation: This movie is much funner when you watch it jumping up and down on a couch like a seven year old.