His Movie Reviews

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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If you’ve seen the trailer for this film, you have seen the entire film boiled down in a minute. That being said, I still enjoyed it. Even the parts I’d seen in the trailer (the car rolling into the water, her shoe flying off and hitting the bride in the face) were still funny. So keeping in mind you’ve already seen all of this, I don’t think I’ll be giving anything away. Unless you haven’t seen the trailer, or even heard of it, and in that case, stop reading and let me say this: take your girlfriend and go see it, she’ll love it!

This is the epitome of all chick flicks. It follows the simple romantic comedy formula to a tee, and in my opinion does a wonderful job. You can’t really screw this up. Yes, actually, you can, but that’s a whole different review.

I am an easy target for this film for two reasons: I am a sucker for attractive men with accents and my favorite place in the whole wide world is Ireland.  Amy Adams and Matthew Goode have decent chemistry, and they have good comedic timing as well. She played neurotic well, and he nailed even-tempered and mildly amused. There are a few inconsistencies, such as the warm and sunny weather everyday in Ireland, or the incessant and obvious use of green screens, but really, does that matter in a romantic comedy? And like I said, you’ve seen the preview, and you know the boyfriend proposes, but you probably still know what happens, and who really gets the girl. Nonetheless, the story was heartwarming and completely predictable, but it left me smiling as I walked out into the winter weather, so in my book that gives it two thumbs up!

So all in all, if you have a special lady friend, take her to see it. If you’re a female, get a group of girlfriends and swoon and giggle your way through this. It’s geared toward us lady folk, so gentlemen, consider yourselves warned.

And just for my own personal enjoyment, the word “ejit” four times! It’s my favorite word of all times. (What? I’m quarky!)

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I think this might be the musical that breaks my winning streak. I had yet to find a musical I didn’t love. I didn’t think it was possible for me to not love any film that had elaborate musical dance numbers. Until now…

The movie is based on the Broadway production of the same title, and I would put good money on the fact that the play is better than the movie (I haven’t seen it on the stage, so I’m just guessing).  It’s about this guy and he’s a director and the influence women (seven of them, to be precise) have in his life, and essentially, on the films he makes. Sounds really intriguing, right? Well, it’s not. The guy, Guido (played by Daniel Day Lewis) is a cad. There isn’t anything likeable about him, he’s just a big jerk. And not once throughout the entire film does he redeem himself. He mistreats all of these women, and then I think the film expects you to feel sympathy for him when they abandon him.

The women, on the other hand, are amazing. I have zero complaints about the female roles, as they are all so incredibly talented. Obviously with the likes of Sophia Loren (his mother), Judi Dench (his costumer designer/ confidante), Nicole Kidman (his muse), Penelope Cruz (his mistress), Kate Hudson (a journalist) and Marion Cotillard (his wife), you expect nothing less than stellar performances, but the one who truly stunned me was Fergie (a hooker). Going into this, I was slightly disappointed in her casting, but that girl can flat out sing and she’s got intense screen presence. None of the songs were particularly notable, but the ladies all did a great job with what they were given.  So while the women are the ones who make this movie worth watching, Guido really brings it down. I mean no disrespect to Daniel Day Lewis, I think he’s a truly wonderful actor, but his character is just not worth a musical.

I will warn you, this film made me want to go to Italy in the worst way possible. It is the films other star. And the musical numbers are beautifully done. While the “reality” portions of the film take place in and around Rome, all of the musical numbers, which take place in his head, are on a big sound stage. It really is very cleverly done. Again, having never seen it on stage, I don’t know how it’s done in that production, but it translates well on screen.

All in all, if you want to see it, I recommend waiting for the DVD. It’s a fun flick, but if you’re a devoted thespian and have seen Nine on stage, I’m going to go out on a limb and say this one’s not for you.

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Bear with me here. It’s been a few weeks since watching “the Brother’s Bloom” so my mind is a little fuzzy.

The female characters in this film really stole the show! Rachel Weisz is always incredible in everything she does, so that is really no surprise. The woman who plays Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) was absolutely the highlight of the movie. I’m not even sure she had a single line, but her facial expressions, body language, and costumes made her completely entertaining! And the guys weren’t bad either. Mark Ruffalo and Adrian Brody were really good, and I even had a small crush on Bloom (Brody) throughout the film.

The plot was alright. I don’t want to ruin this for anyone, but if you’re looking for a huge Hitchcock-styled plot twist (like I was) you might be disappointed. It is a story of very imaginative con men. Stephen (Ruffalo) is the brains of the operations. He concocts these elaborate plans to swindle people out of money. Bloom is the younger brother with the heart of gold who is growing tired of the whole charade. Eventually the story becomes about trust, or a lack of trust, between the brothers as Bloom falls in love with Penelope (Weisz), a wealthy young woman who is the intended victim of the brothers most recent scam. Bang Bang is a mysterious character, who just showed up one day and helps the brothers, but they are always aware that one day she will disappear just as quickly as she appeared the first time. The plot keeps you guessing whether or not what you’re seeing is actually part of the con.

I don’t remember enjoying it immediately after watching it, but the more I think about it now, it was actually very good.

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as a child of the 80′s, this book actually had very little effect on me. i couldn’t tell you the names of any of the characters, or what the plot line to the story was. in fact i do not even believe i owned it. I probably skimmed through it a few times throughout elementary school and looked at the pictures, but make something into a film, and i am bound to see it eventually.
the film itself is a work of art. the costumes and the scenery and the effects are spectacular. it is a very visual film, and at times looks like a great music video. i don’t think a child will walk out of that movie and not want to be max for halloween, with his whiskered costume and crown; hell, i want to be max! my favorite “wild thing” was alexander (voiced by paul dano). he is quiet and overlooked and is constantly asking “can anyone hear me?” he is an understated presence in the film. KW (lauren ambrose) is lovable and compassionate. she is the one who shows consistent support and kindness to the lost little boy pretending to be king.
the story is a roller coaster of emotions. i found myself becoming so attached to that cute little boy on his big adventure. max (played by max records) was absolutely perfect. he was mischievous and innocent and completely believable as the king of the wild things. when he is happy, you are happy, and when he cries, you cry. that being said, i have very mixed emotions about this movie. i cannot decide if i liked it or not. i mean, i did like it, but there is something about it that i just didn’t quite love, which i cannot put my finger on. i would definitely recommend it as a date movie. get some popcorn, and have a seat. be entertained, most certainly you will.
on a side note, the soundtrack is great.

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