Vicky Christina Barcelona
Vicky Christina Barcelona
"Vicky Christina Barcelona"
Directed by Woody Allen
September, 2008
Woody Allen has done it again! Another incredible character-driven story, which cannot be done justice in any article or synopsis. This is a really great story about people.
The characters in this film are so rich and real and dysfunctional, I feel like I could be best friends with any one of them. I was amazed at the fact that over an hour into the film, new characters were still being introduced!
Javier Bardem was absolutely dreamy! I've always found him sexy, but this was by far his sexiest role. He and Penelope Cruz were both magnificent, and Scarlett Johansen did an portrayal of a very real and complex character.
If you are one of those people who thinks you can predict what a character will do in any movie, give this one a try. It's amazing, the places this story travels in just a couple hours. Every time I thought I knew what the movie was "about", I was proven wrong.
The one thing I didn't like was the narration. The narrator is speaking over half the film, saying extremely redundant and uninteresting details about what's happening. The opening scene is of the two main characters sitting in the back seat of a car, with about ten minutes of narration over it. Don't be discouraged! It gets better.
Overall, aside from the pointless narration, I loved the movie. Great characters, great story, definitely worth seeing. Acting was also very good. I wouldn't have expected anything less from Woody Allen.
Burn After Reading
Burn After Reading
"Burn After Reading"
Directed by The Coen Brothers
September, 2008
I honestly did not know what to expect, walking into this movie. The previews don't serve as much of a reference, and I definitely wasn't expecting this!
Excellent movie, far more hilarious than I had anticipated. Very interesting character study, and there are many complex paralleling storylines to follow. Brad Pitt's character was quite hilarious, and John Malkovich was a genius as usual. I'm not usually a big fan of George Clooney, but I liked him in this role a lot.
I thought that it was quite funny, how bluntly the Coen Brothers decided to portray the government in this film. They are usually much more subtle in their messages, but in this case, they got straight to the point. The way that the CIA chooses to handle certain situations in this movie are both scary and hilarious.
This movie definitely takes a lot of unexpected turns, and I guarantee it to be very unpredictable. The characters are each so obscure and real at the same time, and there are definitely a few good laughs to be had.
Batman: The Dark Knight
Batman: The Dark Knight
"The Dark Knight"Directed by Christopher Nolan
July 22, 2008
I just saw this movie tonight, for the second time. I still think it's fantastic! Batman has always been my favorite super hero, and the Batman movies are easily the best super hero movies.
In the last couple years, there has been a super hero trend when it comes to movies. Spiderman, Fantastic Four, The Hulk... Not bad movies for the most part, but not too impressive either. Way over the top with the computer graphics, too much time spent on expensive action scenes and not enough on character development.
However, this film, though action-packed, is a great balance of action, great story build-up, and character development. The computer graphics are not over-done, but used tastefully to make the really intense scenes even more real.
Heath Ledger was INCREDIBLE as The Joker. I nearly cried when the film was over, just out of sadness that the world of cinema has lost him. He was naturally hilarious and scary, and didn't resemble his true self at all. Far from the young heartthrob from "10 Things I Hate About You", he's transformed into one of the best villains I've seen in a long time. Full of great one-liners, there's no question, this is the best Joker we've ever had.
Christian Bale, once again, kicked ass as Batman. I would have liked to have seen more weakness from him, though. He rarely shows his human sign, and I was waiting for the character to break down at some point.
Two Face was a very short-lived character, and slightly disappointing, though I preferred to see more of the Joker anyway.
The story is very good, though one might have to watch the film two or three times to fully get everything. There's a lot to follow, and the plot is more political than we'd expect a super hero movie to be. However, the characters were all very well thought-out, and there were some plot twists that were pure genius. I think it helps that the director, Christopher Nolan, was also the writer. I usually prefer it when the writer and director are the same person, because the writer knows exactly how the story should be told, and is able to pull it off properly as the director.
RSS
