Tarna85 Reviews

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

visually captivating...........but

[8/10 · 29 November 2006]

I can't help but love this film. Maybe because i'm a huge luhrmann fan, i love hes red curtain movies and the distinctive and lavish cinematography of them.

The only negative aspect to me in this adaption of the worlds most famous love story was the casting of claire danes and leo DiCaprio. They were good but not brilliant. Shakespeare is about the language and there's no point in portraying a Shakespeare play if you do not deliver the dialoge properly. Claire tended to rush the lines and not let her mouth open up to get it around the words. It sometimes felt like she fully didn't understand the text of what she was saying. I can really see that should would have needed strong direction as some of her gestures, they way she moved and spoke seemed forced. Physically she looked every inch like a juliet with her curious eyes and young features.

Leo i think did a better job than danes in the fact that he had a lot of passion but with his characterization, his actions spoke louder than words. The scene where we are introduced to romeo with his voice over made me cringe and because this was the first time in the film we were hearing him speak Shakespeare, it left me in a lot of doubt having to hear him in the rest of the film, not a good start. However the scene where he watches juliet dance with Paris made up for it. In some scenes he over acted in other's not enough. I personally think the love scenes should have been A lot more intense, it was to tender. Romeo and juliet is not suppose to be all prettied-up but brutal and powerful both in violence and romance.

I can now sit back and look past those glitches and take in the film because i don't think baz would have been able to find 2 other actors to portray those roles any better than leo and claire. If anything other young actors would have probably given the same performance.Leo and claire do NOT make me dislike the film in the slightest though. I was driven to near tears during the beautiful fish tank scene it was like a fantasy, the whole Capulet ball sequence was like a fantasy. The way they suddenly jumped up and began searching each other with there eyes made you really believe that it was love at first site. That has got to be one of the most stunning pieces on film. Of course the death scene. I liked they they twisted it a bit so that instead of juliet waking to find romeo dead she watches him and looks into his eyes alive for the last time before reuniting in death. For those teenagers that were saying 'why didn't she say something to stop him from killing himself' it's this simple..............you can't re-write history. We all know how it ends but it still manages to keep you on the edge of your seat while watching it unfold.

I could go on and on about the film in a lot of ways but at the end of the day, it's entertaining and beautiful and tragic, and thats what romeo and juliet, the story is about. Baz has not let anyone down, he has not killed the play, he ha re-invented it for today's generation.

Coyote Ugly (2000)

coyote ugly........

[2/10 · 23 November 2006]

Coyote ugly tells the story we've all seen a million times, yet i think a plot like girl-next-door moves to big bad city could still work if the script could be spiced up a bit.

A good actor can do wonders with a bad script (if the director lets them) and a great script AND great direction can bring out an outstanding performance but in this film Piper whatever her last name is couldn't even do that and after wondering why, i came to the conclusion that she just simply can't act and her 'performance' is what let the film down.

I couldn't emote with her cause her acting had no depth. In the scenes where i was suppose to feel sorry for her, i didn't. She doesn't have any screen presence, and she reacted to lines BEFORE the other had said it. I can't believe out of all the takes they did that these takes were the best.

Adam Garcia had not done much screen acting at the time but his performance was okay.....he didn't need to characterize at all so all he had to do was stand there and say the lines and hoped it sound convincing. I was entertained by his little jiggy on the bar for about half a second but the film could have done well without it.

The bar scenes were just stupid, i didn't enjoy them and from where i come from you don't have to be wild and crazy to get up on a bar and shake your ass. There was nothing seedy or shocking about it in fact i was worried about the patrons safety when they started spraying water everywhere and going by piper's reaction to people dancing on a bar, obviously she had never been out of the house and to a party.....

This film will only be enjoyed by teenies. So if your 18 and over save yourself the time and avoid coyote ugly.

Bootmen (2000)

Bootmen

[8/10 · 21 April 2006]

Yeah, OK, Adam Garcia isn't the greatest actor, the story was predictable, but you can't help but sit threw this movie and not be shuffling your feet and tapping on things here and there.

The performances from the cast vary. As i just mentioned Adam is not the most brilliant actor but there were times when i found myself feeling sorry for him. His character goes threw many emotional climaxes, i'd have to say the scene where he confronts his brother about sleeping with his girl was strong but then he let himself down in the kiss-and-make-up-scene. Sophie lee also could have done better than the performance she gave in this film but with a script that lacks any character depth, she had to work with what was given to her. Sam Worthington, i say the same thing as i said about lee, you can't work to your full potential when the script is what lets you down.

One thing you have to remember about this film though is that it's a dance film and in the dance department, it definitely doesn't let you down. the scenes where Sean is dancing around the steel works, works so effectively and was a creative idea for how he comes up with the idea of using the steel works in his put-on show. H aving the tap dances dancing to a band was amazing. It added way more ompphhh and sent shivers down my spine.

Adam Garcia is one great dancer. it's the final live show that he could show off his tap dancing abilities ( and i've developed a major crush on him after that:)) but then if you know about Adams dancing background (saturday night fever, hot shoe shuffle anyone?) then you would expect to see him burning up the floor and for you ladies, mind boggling eye candy.

Overall, this film doesn't have action but it does have it's funny moments (aussie humor) definitely it's sad monument, and it really is just a coming-of-age-with-tap-shoes-on film.

Underneath Acoustic Live (2004 Video)

underneath acoustic live

[10/10 · 21 April 2006]

One word that describes these 3 musical brother's, Unbelievable!!!!!! From the moment i sat down and watched this DVD, till the very end, my jaw had dropped to the ground in amazement at how far these boys (or men shall we say....) have come. There is a difference between performing 'out there' and to an audience, indeed Hanson performs to there audience and has you totally sucked in by there brilliant harmony's and there stage presence.

Musically speaking, a VERY good idea to play in an intimate setting rather than the big concert halls and stadiums they played in there earlier tours. Being so close to the artists (yes, i call these brother's artists) gives you the opportunity to see and hear the amount of passion they put into there songs and performance, if only all those anti-Hanson fans would pull there heads out of there butts and listen!!! I really don't want to give to much away so all i can say is this...... Isaac, Taylor and Zac are true to there art and all those who think Hanson are washed up and have been since the mmmbop days should really sit down and take a look at this DVD, not only will you be surprised but you will most probably find yourself humming 'if only' or basically ANY Hanson songs they performed in this show (even the covers) Well done Hanson!!!!