fisherd Reviews

Eragon (2006)

A poor product from a rookie director

[2/10 · 21 December 2006]

Formula for disaster ..... take a rookie director whose reputation is as a CGI/FX whiz kid, an unknown screen writer, a cast that looks fantastic on paper, but embodies nothing of the original characters and has to deliver the schlock that before mentioned screenwriter has written, and then attempt to set to film once of the most anticipated book adaptations in recent history. It fails on so many levels.

I DID read the book, but have the sense to know that film doesn't have to completely follow the book word-for-word/chapter-for-chapter. I am not one of the fanatics raving that the movie sucks because Arya is blonde or doesn't have "elf ears". I am saying the movie sucks for all the reasons already mentioned ad nauseum .... because the pacing is deplorable, the dialog is beyond bad, and the directing is cliché. I thought that the effects were actually quite good -- Duza's makeup, aside. One questionable costume design was Arya's "Indian Princess" costume in the last scene. She looks like an extra from some 40's western.

To sum, the director and screen writer should be tarred and feathered, but only after the studio execs who green-lighted this turd are drawn and quartered. Too many fans had too many expectations for something FAR better than this.

Dogma (1999)

Kevin should stick to writing

[31 May 2000]

I looked forward to seeing Dogma with great anticipation. Unfortunately, about 20 minutes into the film, I remembered why I didn't enjoy Chasing Amy quite as much as I thought I would. Kevin tries to walk that fine line between being a sensitive 90's ... sorry 00's ... sort of male and submitting to his baser instincts. At times, I find his films to be border-line mysogonistic. The entire "finger-cuff" line in Chasing Amy and to some extent the characterizations of women in Dogma (Salma Hayek as stripper) are examples of what I am speaking.

Additionally, I generally think Kevin is a good writer, but to allow him to write, direct, and star in his own productions is TOO MUCH! There are no checks and balances that normally exist in film making. As a result, we see the poo monster, we see horribly over-directed acting, we see the ego-stroking Silent Bob (is anyone else tired of Bob and Jay?), and a general absence of direction.

Finally, what's the deal with Kev and directors like Quentin Tarantino who feel compelled to drench the audience in vulgarity. I didn't feel that the use of the "f" word contributed greatly to this film.