Who is the better director, Spielberg or Lucas?
Steven Spielberg 77%
George Lucas 22%
Thanks for voting!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Feature - Top 15 Movie Robots
1.) Maria from Metropolis
.) Terminator from Terminator franchise
3.) R2-D2 from Star Wars franchise
4.) Sid 6.7 from Virtuosity
5. C-3PO from Star Wars franchise
6. Claire Wellington from The Stepford Wives
7. Sonny from I, Robot
8. HAL9000 from 2001, A Space Odyssey
9. Iron Giant from The Iron Giant
10. ED 209 from Robocop
11. Fembots from Austin Powers franchise
12. Lt Cmdr. Data from Star Trek franchise
13. Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet
14. Transformers from Transformers
15. Andrew Martin from Bicentennial Man
.) Terminator from Terminator franchise
3.) R2-D2 from Star Wars franchise
4.) Sid 6.7 from Virtuosity
5. C-3PO from Star Wars franchise
6. Claire Wellington from The Stepford Wives
7. Sonny from I, Robot
8. HAL9000 from 2001, A Space Odyssey
9. Iron Giant from The Iron Giant
10. ED 209 from Robocop
11. Fembots from Austin Powers franchise
12. Lt Cmdr. Data from Star Trek franchise
13. Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet
14. Transformers from Transformers
15. Andrew Martin from Bicentennial Man
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Review - Penelope
Mark Palansky tries too hard to capture the whimsy of Tim Burton in Penelope and ultimately ends up making a film that has little charm and even less consistency.
Palansky has crafted a story about a girl cursed with a pig's nose thanks to a philandering ancestor. The only sure for the curse is to find "one of their own" who will love her. Of course, there is the obligatory overbearing mother who tries to set up Penelope with every blueblood suitor possible and keeps Penelope from figuring out that all she needs to break the curse is to love herself.
The real problem is that Penelope is no Rapunzel or Snow White; as a character she is actually completely uninteresting. Putting a pig-nose on a girl doesn't make her a fairy-tale heroine. It just makes her look stupid. The rest of the cast looks just as stupid by comparison including James McAvoy who has proven that he is better than this and shouldn't be slumming it in movies like this.
Reese Witherspoon is the only cast member who rises above the mess that is Penelope to turn in a solid performance as a biker-chick, excuse me Vespa-chick, with crazy hair and an awesome personality. Unfortunately, her role is little more than a cameo which leaves the reins in Christina Ricci's hands--always a terrible choice. Ricci's doe-eyed, little girl stare gets old quickly as does her whimpering and whining about what is actually a relatively mild deformity.
The film has some incredibly interesting stages, reminiscent of City of Lost Children, however it never commits fully to being a fairytale and thus fails as a story. It could have been successful had it any self-awareness, but Penelope suffers an identity crisis that cripples it and allows it to barely limp through the predictable finish line.
Palansky has crafted a story about a girl cursed with a pig's nose thanks to a philandering ancestor. The only sure for the curse is to find "one of their own" who will love her. Of course, there is the obligatory overbearing mother who tries to set up Penelope with every blueblood suitor possible and keeps Penelope from figuring out that all she needs to break the curse is to love herself.
The real problem is that Penelope is no Rapunzel or Snow White; as a character she is actually completely uninteresting. Putting a pig-nose on a girl doesn't make her a fairy-tale heroine. It just makes her look stupid. The rest of the cast looks just as stupid by comparison including James McAvoy who has proven that he is better than this and shouldn't be slumming it in movies like this.
Reese Witherspoon is the only cast member who rises above the mess that is Penelope to turn in a solid performance as a biker-chick, excuse me Vespa-chick, with crazy hair and an awesome personality. Unfortunately, her role is little more than a cameo which leaves the reins in Christina Ricci's hands--always a terrible choice. Ricci's doe-eyed, little girl stare gets old quickly as does her whimpering and whining about what is actually a relatively mild deformity.
The film has some incredibly interesting stages, reminiscent of City of Lost Children, however it never commits fully to being a fairytale and thus fails as a story. It could have been successful had it any self-awareness, but Penelope suffers an identity crisis that cripples it and allows it to barely limp through the predictable finish line.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Poll Results - James Bond
Which actor was the best James Bond?
Pierce Brosnan 56%
Sean Connery 18%
Daniel Craig 12%
Roger Moore 12%
Thanks for voting!!
Pierce Brosnan 56%
Sean Connery 18%
Daniel Craig 12%
Roger Moore 12%
Thanks for voting!!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Review - Smart People
Noam Murro's Smart People doesn't bring much to the table at which sits the other great emotionally-stunted, dysfunctional family comedies like The Squid and the Whale and Little Miss Sunshine. It does, however, provide 95 minutes of semi-entertainment.
The film is clearly trying to poke fun at the pretentiousness of "smart people" but it leaves its audiences wondering what has happened to all of the smart directors. Murro does a textbook job of splicing the endless scenes of awkward family interactions but he fails to create any coherent storyline. His film seems to have been made by a first year film student with loud, disconnected musical transitions from scene to scene.
The script is even further complicated by the haphazard placement of scenes which make the storyline itself almost incomprehensible and makes the love story, which should lead to the redemption of everyone involved, so completely ridiculous and farcical that it discredits the entire movie. Murro's biggest mistake is that he doesn't give his audience any credit. He assumes that if he doesn't beat us over the head with something, then we won't understand it-- a sentiment which results in endless scenes where Lawrence (Dennis Quaid) doesn't recognize his students. In one scene, Murro even frames Page's character, a Young Republican, in front of a picture of Ronald Reagan.
The weaknesses of the film are not entirely the fault of the director. Screenwriter, Mark Poirier has crafted a story that is not so much a story as it is clips from several other stories. He tries and fails to tell a story about high school survival, unexpected love and literary ambitions, even trying to wedge incest into the mess of a plot that he calls a movie. The kiss of death is that the film suffers an identity crisis, unable to decide whether the story is about the romance or the family. In the end, it ends up being about nothing at all except for shoddy film-making.
A lackluster script, predictable performances and uninspired, overwrought directing never add up to a success. Smart People is no exception.
The film is clearly trying to poke fun at the pretentiousness of "smart people" but it leaves its audiences wondering what has happened to all of the smart directors. Murro does a textbook job of splicing the endless scenes of awkward family interactions but he fails to create any coherent storyline. His film seems to have been made by a first year film student with loud, disconnected musical transitions from scene to scene.
The script is even further complicated by the haphazard placement of scenes which make the storyline itself almost incomprehensible and makes the love story, which should lead to the redemption of everyone involved, so completely ridiculous and farcical that it discredits the entire movie. Murro's biggest mistake is that he doesn't give his audience any credit. He assumes that if he doesn't beat us over the head with something, then we won't understand it-- a sentiment which results in endless scenes where Lawrence (Dennis Quaid) doesn't recognize his students. In one scene, Murro even frames Page's character, a Young Republican, in front of a picture of Ronald Reagan.
The weaknesses of the film are not entirely the fault of the director. Screenwriter, Mark Poirier has crafted a story that is not so much a story as it is clips from several other stories. He tries and fails to tell a story about high school survival, unexpected love and literary ambitions, even trying to wedge incest into the mess of a plot that he calls a movie. The kiss of death is that the film suffers an identity crisis, unable to decide whether the story is about the romance or the family. In the end, it ends up being about nothing at all except for shoddy film-making.
A lackluster script, predictable performances and uninspired, overwrought directing never add up to a success. Smart People is no exception.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Review - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a pleasant surprise. Theaters have, for too long, been showing spoofs (and I use the term loosely) such as Meet the Spartans and Date Movie which are not spoofs at all but rather what appear to be collections of rejected MadTV sketches. Walk Hard actually manages to parody the world of musician biopics and be funny while doing so.
John C. Reilly, the most lackluster of the Judd Apatow troupe, steps up to show that he is capable of being the lead as the titular character and is joined by an eclectic group of actors/ actresses comprised of Apatow's regulars and several character actors.
The victims of this spot-on parody are abundant, most obviously Walk the Line, but the audience need not be familiar with these films to enjoy Walk Hard. It is enjoyable in its own right, achieving the perfect meld of penis jokes and parody. In one inspired song, called Let's Duet (amusingly sung as let's do it,]), Cox and his new duet partner (Jenna Fischer) perfectly straddle the barrier between acceptable and not, singing "I'm gonna beat off....all my demons" and "I wanna make out...what you're saying." The song ends with Fischer innocently inviting him to "come in [her] back door." Jokes like this abound in Walk Hard but they are deftly played against more subtle ones such as the repeated joke about Cox having cut his brother in half with a machete, a twist on the story about Johnny Cash's brother, who was almost halved by a chainsaw and died.
The best scene of the film is by far Cox's encounter with the Beatles, played by Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman. After "dropping acid with the Beatles," Cox embarks on a bad trip and ends up in a frightening cartoon version of the real world. The other cameos in the film are also memorable, both from real musicians playing themselves (The Temptations), and those tackling the memorable artists of the time (Jack White as Elvis).
The music is the bright spot of the picture, not only for its comedic value but also because its genuinely entertaining to listen to. Walk Hard succeeds because it actually does what it says and pokes fun at its intended subject matter, rather than relying on random American Idol and Britney Spears references. Some of its jokes are cheap and most of them are predictable but that doesn't make them any less funny. As a matter of fact, Walk Hard manages to be one of Apatow's funniest movies yet.
John C. Reilly, the most lackluster of the Judd Apatow troupe, steps up to show that he is capable of being the lead as the titular character and is joined by an eclectic group of actors/ actresses comprised of Apatow's regulars and several character actors.
The victims of this spot-on parody are abundant, most obviously Walk the Line, but the audience need not be familiar with these films to enjoy Walk Hard. It is enjoyable in its own right, achieving the perfect meld of penis jokes and parody. In one inspired song, called Let's Duet (amusingly sung as let's do it,]), Cox and his new duet partner (Jenna Fischer) perfectly straddle the barrier between acceptable and not, singing "I'm gonna beat off....all my demons" and "I wanna make out...what you're saying." The song ends with Fischer innocently inviting him to "come in [her] back door." Jokes like this abound in Walk Hard but they are deftly played against more subtle ones such as the repeated joke about Cox having cut his brother in half with a machete, a twist on the story about Johnny Cash's brother, who was almost halved by a chainsaw and died.
The best scene of the film is by far Cox's encounter with the Beatles, played by Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman. After "dropping acid with the Beatles," Cox embarks on a bad trip and ends up in a frightening cartoon version of the real world. The other cameos in the film are also memorable, both from real musicians playing themselves (The Temptations), and those tackling the memorable artists of the time (Jack White as Elvis).
The music is the bright spot of the picture, not only for its comedic value but also because its genuinely entertaining to listen to. Walk Hard succeeds because it actually does what it says and pokes fun at its intended subject matter, rather than relying on random American Idol and Britney Spears references. Some of its jokes are cheap and most of them are predictable but that doesn't make them any less funny. As a matter of fact, Walk Hard manages to be one of Apatow's funniest movies yet.
