Ananas

Exactly correct, sir. This was one (of the MILLIONS) of things that annoyed me about "Godsend". ←

Kinsey - *** (6/10) From writer/director Bill Condon, "Kinsey" is the adventurous biopic of Alfred Kinsey, a scientist who broke ground on researching sexual behavior. It stars Liam Neeson, the actor who announced his retirement in 1999 after "The Phantom Menace" and has seemingly had trouble letting go. The film traces Kinsey's life, with creative narration in the same format that he would go on to use in quizzing people about their sexuality. In it, they trace his childhood, marriage, sexuality and relationships with vivid detail and candor. Rounding out the cast are Laura Linney, Peter Sarsgaard, Chris O'Donnell, John Lithgow and Oliver Platt. While much has been said about the film's performances, the only one I thought to have stood out was Linney's, as she is the only person who really gave any light to what those left at home had to go through on these road trips. John Lithgow is good in his few scenes, but the idea of him playing the father of a Neeson character is not only laughable, it's idiotic. Still, the movie is very daring, and is willing to go to great lengths to make its point. In the end, the message is an important one: people ought to get the facts on issues before they let "morality" effect their opinions. Thumbs up.

The Merchant of Venice - **1/2 (5/10) Only one week after Joel Schumacher brought Andrew Loyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" to the screen, Michael Radford has debuted "The Merchant of Venice", the first English language big screen version of the classic and contraversial play by William Shakespeare. While Shakespeare presented the events in a rye, humourous fashion, Radford's version is much darker, choosing to concentrate the most on the theme of religious discrimination. His Shylock (played by Al Pacino) is seen as more of a hero than a villain (which, all things considered, isn't really a fair presentation) because of this discrimination, despite his blood lust. I'm not sure if this is unintentional or not, but all of the leading "good guy" (in the play) characters come off as being really villainous. If this is a sign of Radford wanting to present the play with more of a modern interpretation (which completely rips it out of Shakesperean context), he ought to have adapted the characters to fit. Jeremy Irons' portrayal of Antonio is bleak and boring, and the same goes for Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio. This is really just Shakespeare minus the all of the charm, and the drama is inconsistent, one sided and dull. Thumbs down.

You should take Kou Kou Kou to the movies >_> ←

Well I'm 42 behind. 41 tonight after Merchant of Venice, but I'm still disappointed with my pointless devotion to school over cinema. Looking forward to it.

This echoes my thoughts exactly. If America wasn't the big country, would (some of) you be still ignorant? Just because America pretty much runs the world (and it is true, coming from a Canadian here), every eleven year old kid is taught that Canada is nothing. Pretty pathetic the USA is in pretty much every category. ←

Hotel Rwanda - ***1/2 (7/10) Terry George ("Some Mother's Son") brought his latest film "Hotel Rwanda" to Toronto for it's premiere in September, mainly because when the Hutu army began massacring Tutsis in Rwanda, it was Canadians like Romeo Dallaire who stood up along with people like Paul Rusesabagina to save thousands of lives. This film tells that story. Don Cheadle stars as Rusesabagina, a man who by all accounts lives a upper middle class life, free of on the level persecution. His life changes, however, when civil war breaks out in his country and a group known as the Hutu's begin to slaughter every member of a group his wife belongs to, the Tutsis. Instead of fleeing or siding with the Hutu's, he turns the hotel he manages into a shelter for fleeing refugees. Of course, as war broke out, nearly everyone who could have put a stop to the situation fled, leaving United Nations officials alone to protect these people. Hotel Rwanda is not merely a war movie, nor is it a tale of murder and genocide, it is a film that speaks volumes about racial discrimination and the shortcomings of a governing body that falls subject to such discriminatory thought. Don Cheadle does well to create a sympathetic hero, although I suppose the context of the story is in itself enough to do that. Nick Nolte is fantastic as the roughly-based-on-Dallaire Colonel Oliver, a commander who stays at Rusesabagina's side at the worst of times. Some scenes felt stretched to me; in fact even at 110 minutes the film runs about 10-15 minutes too long. However, the message of the movie is important, and the film itself is very entertaining. "Hotel Rwanda" is a competently made film from the heart that will shock those who chose to ignore this situation when it first surfaced. Thumbs up.

The Phantom of the Opera - ***1/2 (7.5/10) The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Joel Schumacher, is the first Webber adaptation that the famous composer has had a hand in the creative process of. Because of this, it is very much a musical, and over nearly 2 and a half hours, there is likely little more than 30 minutes of spoken dialogue. Schumacher also takes on the monumental task of transforming one of the greatest musicals of all time into a motion picture, despite the fact that, in my honest opinion, it's nearly impossible to improve upon the stage. However, all things considered, Andrew Lloyd Webber's crowning achievement has also proved to be the same for Joel Schumacher, as this film successfully recreates the mood and passions of "Phantom" while making it seem even more grandiose. Leading the cast are Emmy Rossum, who is absolutely haunting as Christine, and Gerard Butler, who thrills although doesn't overwhelm as The Phantom. Rounding the ensemble out are Minnie Driver as Carlotta, Patrick Wilson as Raoul, Miranda Richardson as Madame Giry and Jennifer Ellison as Meg Giry. While this is not a perfect adaptation (to make a good film it shouldn't be) there is enough dedication to Webber's original masterpiece musical to make it a great success. Rossum is a powerhouse, but perhaps the greatest acting chops belong to Gerard Butler, who, while no Colm Wilkinson in the singing department, is so captivating as the tragic hero that he sells the movie on his own merits. Tour de force performances and accute grandiose directing make this perhaps my personal favorite movie of the year, even if it isn't nearly the best. Thumbs up.

It got GREAT reviews from Christian organizations. And, I guess, Christians trust each other when it comes to watching movies... ←

Bridget Jones Diary: The Edge of Reason - *** (6/10) The sequel to 2001's "The Bridget Jones Diary" is a charm driven film made successful by the sweet performance by Renee Zellweger. With this film, the producers replaced one nobody filmmaker with another, and surprise surprise, it looks no different from the first. It picks up four weeks after the first film, as Bridget is back home at her parent's house for Christmas, only this time she has the joy of a boyfriend in her life. Of course this is not to last too long as she and Mark (Colin Firth) go back and forth before they finally "break-up". Enter Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), her former boyfriend who seemingly misses her, even though he can't seem to get passed his womanizing ways. The film is once again a triangle with these two men on either side, and Bridget in the middle, only this time it relies a bit too much on gags and sideplots rather than Zellweger's Jones. It's hard to not be disappointed by this film, but I still enjoyed it. This is really Renee Zellwegger's most comfortable character, and she plays it well. Once again the Brits are 1-0 on North American released romantic comedies (unless Shaun of the Dead's romantic element is enough to make it 2-0) this year, although unlike 2003's "Love Actually", this isn't an out of the park smash. Thumbs up.

Flight of the Phoenix - ** (4.5/10) John Moore directs and Randy Quaid stars in "Flight of the Phoenix", the retelling of a classic 1965 film starring Jimmy Stewart. It tells the story of a group of people who are stranded in the Gobi desert when the plane that is supposed to carry them home crashes. Instead of waiting for a rescue plane that may or may not come, when a man (Giovanni Ribisi) claims he can rebuild the plane, they set out to put his plan into action. It's hard to say too much negative about Flight Of the Phoenix, yet it's impossible to recommend. While it does charm in its performance (most noteably the delightully twisted performance from Ribisi), and the visuals are stunning, there is not a shred of originality in its plot. This may have something to do with the fact that it's pretty much a verbatim retelling of the original, and if the 1998 Gus Van Sant retelling of Psycho tells us anything, it's that remaking classic 1960's films requires a level of retooling for modern success. This film is unable to do so, and reads as an outdated film that fails to build any drama at all, ending on a ridiculously cheesy visual and failing to surprise the audience once. Thumbs down.

I watched the first episode of Father of the Pride and haven't watched since. I'm hoping it got better if it's getting this much love, because if it hasn't, my faith in humanity is dwindling. Anyway, someone already said Scrubs, and I believe Lost is coming to the UK soon, probably under a different name since if my memory serves me correctly, there already has been a British show called Lost. I doubt Boston Legal has reached the UK yet, but if it has, Spader makes it gold. Oh, and if Coupling can be such a huge hit over there, The O.C. is great fun.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - ***1/2 (7/10) Wes Anderson is the type of director who likes to do more with less. He made The Royal Tenenbaums on $21 million dollars, and judging by the cast, much of that must have gone to salary. Much of the same with "The Life Aquatic", made on $25 million, and with a cast that includes Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum and Cate Blanchett the same can be said for this one. Bill Murray stars as Steve Zissou, a famed oceanographer and documentarist who after losing his friend to a shark, vows to track the creature down and kill it. Before he gets a chance to do this a man who may or may not be his son comes into his life (Luke Wilson). He, Ned Plimpton, and Steve set out with his famed crew and a journalist named Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) in tow. On the line is more than just revenge, this is Steve's last chance to prove himself to the world that he still has "it" as a filmmaker, and to try to build a relationship with Ned. Wes Anderson has unsurpassed creativity, and shows it in everyone of his films. This is his first work without the writing assistance of Owen Wilson (who is currently occupied as he becomes one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood), and Noah Baumbach seems to keep the screenplay as sharp as ever. As I've said, the film was made for a pittance, so how good this film looks is insane. Now I'm not saying this is a perfect movie. As the movie went on the jokes seemed to get strained, but another fantastic performance from Bill Murray brought it back from the edge of mediocrity. In the end, The Life with Steve Zissou is a very good movie, worthy of recommendation, even in the midst of a competitive award season. Thumbs up.

Van Helsing - *1/2 (3.5/10) Stephen Sommers' "Van Helsing" is one of those movies that makes you look back at the end and wonder why? Why, for instance, did they make a film over two hours in length if they had barely more than 60 of decent material? Why did they write the vampires to look and sound like the French stereotype? Why, and this one is perhaps the most important, does a movie that cost $160 million to make and included location shots in the Czech Republic look like it was made entirely on a low budget enclosed set? It's questions like these that beg the biggest "why" question, why take a chance on a movie that seemingly turned out so awful? Well apparently the film, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, turned out to be a chance well taken; the film has grossed $300 million worldwide, but that still doesn't redeem it. Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) reminded me of the comedic version of the character portrayed by Leslie Nielsen in Mel Brooks' "Dracula: Dead and Loving It", and the Frankenstein character is oddly similar to the type of things seen in the "Scooby Doo" sequel. In fact, a lot of this movie is like that particular film. Just a terrible movie. Thumbs down.

Troy *1/2 (3/10) Wolfgang Petersen, director of Das Boot, The Perfect Storm and Air Force One, tackles Homer's "Odyssey" with Troy, the three hour blood soaked historical epic starring Legolas, The Hulk, and Sinbad the Sailor. Yes, in Wolfgang Petersen's ancient Troy, Brad Pitt is Achilles, Orlando Bloom is Paris and Eric Bana is Hector. Of course there are female stars involved too, such as Diane Kruger and Rose Byrne, but in Petersen's ancient Troy, women are meaningless. Oh, and apparently people talked in a mix of mid-nineties basketball trash talk, comic book speak and Shakespeare. Oh, and Achilles talks like he's from Manhattan. Yes, setting aside pretty much everything but the crucial elements, Wolfgang Petersen makes a pleasureless action movie that seems to go on and on forever, along the way telling us nothing and creating nothing but 1 dimensional characters, especially the women. On one side, we have Achilles, the glory obsessed asshole who would sacrifice his own men in order to preserve his legacy. On the other we have Paris, who shares an intelligence with our own Paris, Paris Hilton, by stealing the King of a massive empire's wife, signing away the lives of thousands of his own troops in the process. So who exactly are we to cheer for? Hulk Smash? I think not. I'll give you three tips on Troy, AVOID, AVOID, and AVOID. Thumbs down.

The Royal Tenenbaums - **** (8/10 From director Wes Anderson, The Royal Tenenbaums is a story about redemption, love and dysfunction in a gifted family. It stars a host of A-list celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Danny Glover, Bill Murray and the Wilson brothers. More importantly, it employs a format of storytelling and direction so unique and creative that it hides the film's long runtime. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), upon hearing that his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston) is considering an offer of marriage, he attempts to get back in with his family in order to win her back after 23 years of seperation. However, the family he comes back to, including a overcautious businessman (Stiller), a complacent playwright (Paltrow) and a washed up tennis player in love with his adopted sister (Luke Wilson), is apparently not much like the one he left. The family has gone to pieces in his absence, and as the film goes on, he begins to take more accountability on for repairing it. Now as I've already said, what I really like about this film is its creativity. Creativity out of Wes Anderson and his writing partner Luke Wilson won't come at all as a surprise to anyone who has seen his first movie, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou looks to be much the same. Fantastic performances and a strong creative team make this a very good movie. Thumbs up.

I had almost finished typing this up with comments and everything and FireFox froze. Ah well: 1. Frank Sinatra 2. Jack Kerouac 3. Vince Vaughn 4. Dean Martin 5. Jimmy Stewart 6. Bill Evans 7. Sammy Davis 8. Johnny Depp 9. Michael Caine 10. Jon Favreau Honorable Mention: Albert Camus, Socrates

I have a hard time deciding which movie I wanna see more, this or this. I'm gonna go with "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" for Doug Liman's direction, but this film looks fantastic. Who would have ever thought so many terrible actresses would look so good in a movie?

A PG rating. ←

1. Bjork - Medulla 2. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free 3. Tom Waits - Real Gone 4. Brian Wilson - Smile 5. K-Os - Joyful Rebellion 6. Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle 7. The Winks - Slippers and Parasol 8. The Killers - Hot Fuss 9. Nas - Streets Disciple 10. Morrissey - You Are the Quarry