The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Jan.24, 2010, under 3.5 stars, By Rating, Drama, He says...
Last night we went down to the theater to check out the last and final film by the late and more importantly great Heath Ledger. That film is known as the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – and wow that’s a mouth full of title. This film follows the story of a Buddhist monk that wagers bets with the devil on who can lure in more souls. The monk through the allure of the imagination and everything good it has to offer. The devil uses his most common trick of luring through a human’s most desired vice. Basically its a battle for your soul with the good (Dr. Parnassus) and evil (Mr. Nick, or better known as the devil). I am going to say right up front, the movie can seem a little confusing and at times run long but I absolutely enjoyed it. I seem to have a soft spot when a film tries to capture imagination running free. I like the idea of saying, “With imagination, you can do anything.” Now that’s not what this film’s exact message is, but it spotlights it. It shows how good imagination can be. Perhaps its the art student in me – I dunno.
Heath Ledger in the film plays Tony, a man that the Doctor’s traveling circus finds hanging from a bridge that joins their misfit band to help save souls. And his rapport on life and death throughout the film is quite eerie considering the real-life circumstances. Christopher Plummer plays the great Doctor Parnassus and I enjoyed him in the role. Actually everyone played their roles quite well including Tom Waits as Mr. Nick and Lily Cole as the beautiful Valentina. But the most interesting part of this movie has to be what happened behind the scenes in the movie. With Heath’s premature death, the film itself was only partially completed. So, three well-known actors (Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law) stepped in to try and fill the shoes of Heath and finish the role. And in pretty much seamless fashion, they were able to complete the film. As Ledger’s character enter the imagination world, he is transformed to a person that a person would want him to be. To me its amazing and fortunate that they were able to piece what they had together and make what resulted. And the really cool thing is those three actors took what they were paid to do the film and passed it on to Heath’s daughter so that her future would be financially secure. To me, it seems like a very noble and great way to honor a fellow actor in their last part.
Like I said before, the movie is a bit strange and on the artsy side. Do not go if you are looking to remember Heath as the nicest man in the world. He does have a dark side in this film. But I say go, watch it, let your imagination explore the worlds they have created.
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The Princess and the Frog
Jan.16, 2010, under 4 stars, By Rating, Family, He says...
It’s been a while seen I have seen a true Disney animated feature. Granted Princess and the Frog is their first 2D animated film since Home on the Range and that was 5 years ago. But I know I haven’t seen that movie and the last one i watched before that was probably Lilo and Stitch. So it was nice to hit the theaters and catch some good ole Disney magic. It seemed like the 2D animated feature was dead, gone without any of us fans ever saying goodbyes. Pixar has made an explosion with Toy Story and ever since then its been a landslide of 3D animation. Everyone these days has been caught up by the 3D bandwagon with Shrek, Ice Age, and the slew of Pixar movies out there. And while Pixar does amazing work, I still think Disney has a place in the animated feature world. There is really nothing like the Disney classics. I remember watching Snow White, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lady and the Tramp, and Peter Pan millions of times growing up and being excited each and every time. There truly is magic and imagination in those old films and I think Princess and the Frog brings a bit of that magic back while carrying on the tradition of 2D animation. The strongest aspect of the film is truly the way they hearken to the old films and really try to fit this one in. There are some modern advancements that can be seen with computer effects and digital drawing that bring the film into the 21st century. But the way the characters are drawn and the story are definitely stamped with the Disney brand – which I for one am completely fine with. While I don’t think this is the strongest movie in Disney’s line-up, I think it is defintely worth a watch. There are some fun characters and the story gives a more truthful feeling to the ‘wishing upon a star.’ The idea that it is great to wish upon a star but you need to back it up with hard work and determination is fresh and truthful. This gives the main character Tiana a fresh look for a ‘Disney princess.’ She is an independent business woman looking to make her mark in the world. She cares not for any Prince Charming or love for that matter. Of course when you’re not looking, love tends to find you.
It’s funny, maybe being a dude, and older then probably the average targeted audience, I was actually more drawn to the bad guy of the film. With his slick moves and voodoo magic he is, well, awesome. Unfortunately he’s bad and mean. In fact, with this evil minions, there are some parts of the film that I thought were kind of scary for children. But those moments are quickly pushed from your mind when you meet Ray, a local firefly in the bayou of Louisiana played by Jim Cummings. This little dude packs a punch of laughter and is definitely the highlight of the film.
All in all, it’s good to see that Disney is back in the 2D game, and let’s hope that they stay there. This has always been their area, their expertise. If you enjoy watching a classic Disney film with the story, animation, dancing, and singing, then you should definitely check this one out. Welcome back Disney.
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Leap Year
Jan.10, 2010, under 2 stars, By Rating, Comedy Movies, He says...
The funny thing about having a movie review blog is that a lot of people get you movie related gifts for Christmas. When in doubt, get a theater gift card I suppose. So with gift card in hand, we went to see the newest incarnation of the romantic comedy, Leap Year. Amy Adams and Matthew Goode star in this film about a woman that hashes out this plan to propose to her boyfriend on February 29th in Ireland. Of course nothing goes as planned and seeing that the other main star of the film is not her boyfriend, you can pretty much figure out the rest. Leap Year produces no clever advances or accomplishments to the romantic comedy genre, instead it is a straight by the book. In fact, just by watching the preview you get the whole movie in a nutshell. And with that being said, it makes this movie almost feel like a straight to DVD release. Amy Adams is cute, but seems a bit weak in parts as conflict arises. For example, when someone steals her bag, she rushes in then quickly turns timid and awkward. Matthew Goode does an alright job but don’t expect an award winning performance. Overall it is a simple love story that has been seen a million times before, and if you like romantic comedies, you’ll probably enjoy this. The biggest flaw in this movie however is the horrible green screen. Throughout the film, it is easily seen that they have been pasted into the beautiful landscape of Ireland and makes me wonder if they were ever there in the first place. I mean seriously, I just paid $18 dollars for us to see this movie, at least make it look like they are actually there. There are parts in the film where the green screen is about as good as what I can achieve with the fake iChat backgrounds on my Mac. This one problem does a huge disservice to the film and especially Ireland. I would say skip this movie, or just watch the trailer below – it’ll save you time and money.
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Is Nine really what Italy is all about?
Jan.06, 2010, under 2 stars, Musical
Having never traveled to Rome, or Italy, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, we take to the movies to escape into the cinematic Italy with the movie Nine. And if all the women dressed like those in Nine, I would be on the first plane to Italy. But alas, they do not, and apparently people don’t randomly break out into song as well in Italy. But me being American, I might have better luck in Paris for that sort of thing…. Anyways, filled with big stars and musical numbers, the story of Nine follows the erratic life of the most celebrated Italian movie director, Guido Contini. Played by Daniel Day Lewis, Guido is a lost soul striving to create his next masterpiece all while his life falls apart around him. Each piece of his crumbling life is shown through the relation and interaction of seven different women. That is the basis I was able to glean from the film, after that I have no idea what is actually happening. I wanted to really like this film and performances in the film stand out as wonderful. Fergie, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, and Daniel Day Lewis all have outstanding performances. But the film itself never really melds to one complete story. It just seems like you as an audience are sort of passed on to the next woman so they can sing their bit. And throughout, you hope for resolution and redemption yet it seems to never come. The growth of Daniel Day Lewis’s character is minor and makes the first two hours of the film seem pointless.
But the main point of a musical is it’s songs, and again I have to say they aren’t that great. I mean how many times can you put the name Guido in a song? I think there is one where that’s the only words. I should write a song with just my name, grab a bunch of big named actresses to run around in lingerie and sing it…Hello Broadway! I do say however, The actual voices (those big named actresses) are amazing and the choreography is good. Fergie’s ‘Be Italian’ is one of the main highlights of the film and is probably the big reasons to watch. But again, the story and words just don’t live up to expectations. If you are a fan of musicals (or perhaps a bit of scantily clad women), I would say rent this and don’t expect too much.
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Paper Heart
Dec.06, 2009, under 1 star, By Rating, Comedy Movies, He says...
So another Blockbuster run results in another small indie movie. This time we ended up with, Paper Heart, a documentary / romantic comedy starring Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi. Actually, I am not even sure what this movie really is, a documentary, a romantic comedy, a drama? It is definitely filmed documentary style, yet with half of the movie being a fictional story, for me it loses its documentary cred. Basically the story of the film revolves around Charlyne Yi and her inability to fall in love. So from this, they decide to film her life and go on adventures to figure out what love is and if she is in fact capable of it. Interspersed throughout the film are small stories from people around the United States of how they fell in love or what they thought love was. They are small anecdotes to how they first met or their favorite memories. And for me, this is the real charm of the film, the real-life wonders that love creates for us – our memories and adventures through life. This should have been the film’s focus. But, they overshadow these bits with an awkward and fictional love story between Charlyne and Michael Cera. I mean, come on, can’t they find an actual person Charlyne might be interested in, not some fake romance? They play it off as this bit of trying to capture the protagonists first discovery of love, yet with no real chemistry between the two of them, it comes off cheap and stupid. Granted, I know before going into the film that this ‘love story’ was fake and created only for the film…I would hate to find out out later and learn you were duped. This whole fake documentary part made me feel like this was the Blair Witch Project of romantic comedies. They really want you to believe it’s real, yet it’s all a lie. The only good part of the fictional story and an important aspect of love that I think the film should have focused on is the love of friends and how this film crew really worked together as a family to accomplish this film. There are some wonderful heartfelt moments between the director and Charlyne that made me believe they were truly good friends. They cared about each other, and that in itself, is a great type of love. However, they stayed true to their story and follwed their fictional story to the end. Overall, this movie was kind of a disappoint for me. The goal of the movie was huge, and trying to get a grasp on what love really is seems insurmountable to me – doomed to fail from the beginning.
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