planetdan.net movies

Sunday, May 22, 2005 :::

Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

Rating:

Why I saw it: It's Star Wars.

What I think about it: This movie ain't nowhere near as good as the fan boys or even the critics want to believe it is, but it's colorful and pretty and moves along at a fairly decent clip. It also thankfully avoids a lot (but not all) of the horrible character development of the last two movies, so I guess it's not a major disappointment. The opening action sequence doesn't make a lot of sense if you think about the actual laws of physics, but it's terribly exciting and creative and introduces a couple interesting new characters to boot. It's exactly how Star Wars is supposed to be, and it's the single best thing to come out of the last three movies. But sadly, it's all downhill from there. The rest of the movie wastes way too much time getting to the redundant point, and it lacks the charm of the original trilogy. Plus the motivation for Anakin going to the dark side is flimsy and slipshod at best, which dulls the impact significantly (the slaughter of the "younglings" is a HUGE leap and a complete miscalculation, for instance). On the plus side, there are a lot of nice small touches and some pretty dramatic moments to keep your attention for the duration of the film. I can see how some people will see the familiar settings and faces and get excited and think that this movie is harking back to the golden age of Star Wars. And I can also see how just tying up all the loose ends can provide an audience with a sense of completion that could conceivably make some people feel satisfied. But the truth is that bringing out the old Vader helmet ain't ever going to be enough to disguise the fact that all three of the prequels could've been a better. A lot better. It would also be nice if even a single non-computer animated actor in the movie had even an ounce of charisma. In fact, it would help if Hayden "Stone-Face" Christensen wasn't in it at all, and it would be particularly beneficial if they didn't make him don his Vader outfit and shake his fists in the air while James Earl Jones shrieked "Noooooooooo!". Wussiest. Vader moment. Ever.

Oh, and they wasted the wookies.

Learn more about it, if you live in a cave.

::: posted by dan at 11:05 PM :: #

Saturday, May 07, 2005 :::

The Interpreter

Rating:

Why I saw it: I dunno. It got some good reviews.

What I think about it: Here is why I didn't like it:

I don't believe Sean Penn as a Secret Service agent. Not for a second.

Despite the fact that Sydney Pollack is a well-liked director with a history of making hit movies, I think he is a hack who consistently makes bad choices and always gets heavy-handed with the foreshadowing. If you aren't always three steps ahead of this movie, then you aren't paying attention.

The one single suspenseful scene of the movie (involving a bus), that also happens to be the only cleverly written scene of the whole movie, was ruined because it was played nearly in its entirety during the early trailers.

It was rediculously contrived that they would let this lady run around town without extensive questioning, especially toward the end of the movie, when she clearly was connected in some way or another to a pretty credible terrorist threat.

Likewise, after a gunman is found in the UN, it is contrived that the Secret Service and the personal bodyguards of an important dignitary would leave him alone, even for a second. The movie is filled with idiocy like this that they hope no one will ever notice.

The movie thinks it has more to say than it actually does. It is a second rate thriller with only the shallowest relevance to current day politics and the futility of vengeance. Regardless of how important and meaningful it thinks it is, it's not.

The music in this movie is terrible. It's the kind of soundtrack that will make the movie seem dated even before it debuts on cable.

I did like Catherine Keener a lot (as always), and even Nicole Kidman was okay. Everything else was poorly done and most of it I've forgotten already. Honestly, it was subpar on almost all levels.

Learn more about it.

::: posted by dan at 10:48 PM :: #