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Reviews
Avatar (2009)
We Came, We Saw, We Conquered, Felt Bad and Made a Movie about it
Some of the conservatives seem to think that Avatar is some kind of "extreme liberal, Anti American propaganda movie". It's not. Avatar is simply too stupid. For an Anti American propaganda movie it's incredibly tame. I could think of 100 different ways to turn this into a real Anti American propaganda movie. But what would be the point? Avatar tries to criticize Western Imperialism, but it's critique is incredibly dull and childish. It's like Disney trying to criticize consumer culture with Donald Duck.
But more than that, Avatar is not a movie. It is a mass consumer event. Spectacle. You don't watch avatar, because there is nothing to watch. There is nothing to think or discover here. Everything is easily accessible and require nothing from the audience. Once again people have to turn their brains off (maybe sometimes the masses should turn their brains on) to consume this mindless spectacle. Movies like Avatar are consumed. For the mass consumers Avatar is a special event to be consumed and then discarded like Michael Jacksons death.
The plot is mindbogglingly boring and clichéd. Everything in this movie is a derivative or lifted from thousand other movies. You have seen this movie before a hundred times. Except in Avatar everything is completely overblown. From the digital forests to the cgi characters, everything is too much. There is no room to breathe, to take in the scenery or to get properly orientated. Then again practically everything is CGI. It's ironic that the supposedly environmentalist movie has only digital forests and digital animals.
The final hour of the movie goes from silly and clichéd to downright insulting. The slap in the face happens when, once again the natives have to be rescued by a white man. Avatar becomes yet another childish fantasy. In movies we always correct our mistakes, side with the natives and exorcise the evil in us. It's completely self defeating and any message Avatar may have had implodes in the end. It's just another silly fantasy, just like the idea that we can save the environment by buying new "environmentally friendly" cars. We need to stop buying and driving cars. We can't consume our way out of this.
And of course Avatar itself took hundreds of millions to make. Lot's of energy has been consumed in producing this movie. Much of that energy comes from coal that adds to environmental problems. Everything in our culture turns into a mass consumer event. Avatar is simply another expression of this. What ever message it has is simply consumed.
In my mind they should have ended the movie with the Na-vi defeat. Na-vis should have been tortured, humiliated and forced to live in small reservations, depraved of their culture and land. The small number of survivors should have then been forced to accept and adapt to the invaders culture. -The End.
But of course Hollywood can't show us the true face of Imperialism, instead they give us silly fantasies.
Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek Sabotaged
Early in the movie kid Kirk demolishes a classic American muscle car, while listening to Beastie Boys "Sabotage". He does it for symbolic reasons; He tells the audience that the Star Trek as we knew it, is gone. It is replaced with hip, energetic and ultimately empty version of Star Trek.
Having said that, the characters do work quite well. They just don't resemble their original counterparts at all. Kirk for example is brash, arrogant and headstrong. Chris Pine is a charismatic actor and this new Kirk is a fun character. But he is not the Kirk as we knew him. Same goes for the rest of the cast as well; These are all fine characters, but revised versions of the old ones. That's my biggest grudge with the movie: Why the need to make revisions? Why is Hollywood constantly looking at the past? This constant grave robbing of the past is wearing thin. Why not use this great cast and create whole new characters for them to play? Why not move the Star Treck franchise in to a New Frontier? Why waste millions to recreate something that needs not to be recreated?
Cinematography is "updated" as well. Shaky cameras, cgi ships and creatures, signal a new era for Star Trek. It looks more like Battlestar Galactica than Star Trek. Yet despite the efforts, many physical sets are mindbogglingly boring. Ships engine rooms look like contemporary factories. Villains ship interior is just a collection of walkways and ropes. Incredibly dull. I didn't think I saw one impressive shot of Enterprise either. Clumsy directing.
Weakest part of the movie is the script itself. It is constantly turning and twisting, bombarding us with action and snappy dialog, to hide the fact that it is falling apart.On close examination The script does not hold together. The villains motivations are not enough to make us care. The numerous lucky coincidences just don't make any sense at all. Spocks behavior is difficult to explain at times.
Plus the whole time travel plot pretty much destroyed the entire Trek continuity. They are going to have to do some pretty intense time traveling in the next episodes, if they wish to make this mesh with the old Star Trek.
But I suppose they don't want to make this mesh with the originals. If that is the case, why not simply move the story into the future? There's plenty to explore in the universe. There's no need to revamp the past, when you can boldly go where no man has gone before.
District 9 (2009)
Racism and Corporatism
District 9, like many good Sci-fi movies before it, isn't afraid to deal with difficult subject matter. Clearly D9 explores the many ugly realities and attitudes behind racism and corporatism. D9 is the most interesting when it examines these uncomfortable and ugly sides of humanity. But when D9 plunges into action, it becomes slightly tedious.
District 9 turns many Sci-fi clichés upside down. It isn't the aliens that hijack us in our sleep and probe us in private places. It is the humans that do humiliating examinations on relatively helpless aliens. D9 shows that it is actually our own idea, to turn conscious beings into guinea pigs. We ourselves are the horrific monsters that we have feared. We treat other life forms as we please. Looking at the way we treat animals and nature, it is not such a radical notion, that we would exploit alien life forms as well. We humans do as we please, when it comes to prestige and profits. If there's money in it, we'll gut open an alien. If It's good for the markets, it's good for you.
The performances are solid and Sharlto Copley is quite good.
What I personally dislike is that damned "mockumentary" style combined with shaky camera. That gimmick is really wearing out it's welcome. It often feels like a cheap trick to add some realism into a movie, that's basically just make believe anyway. Why do have a need to pretend other wise?
After about halfway mark the movie starts to disintegrate a bit. It becomes more of an action movie and it doesn't do action all that well. In the end of the movie the hero even dons a mechasuit on. It comes out of nowhere and it isn't particularly memorable. But the first half of D9 is very powerful, so the action at the end doesn't ruin it entirely.
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Pointless
OOoh! Mindless action sequences, explosions and car chases followed by; more mindless action sequences, explosions and Batman! In the near future, where machines have not quite taken over and the resistance is not quite as desperate yet, a Manbot is facing existential crisis. Lucky for us, he teams up with plucky side kicks and then decides to travel north, instead of wallowing in his existential problema. Lot's of destruction and mayhem will follow. Then there is the mandatory hot chick ,doing the damsel in distress routine, while trying to look as sexy as possible.
Then there is John Batman Connor, who is not quite the mysterious resistance leader we were lead to believe, but rather a boring fellow with raspy (Batman!) voice. He trying to make use of this soundwave device, but as a plot point, it's incredibly dull. He also has a cute wife who looks incredibly fresh in a post apocalyptic world.
Terminator 4 isn't really a terminator movie. It's a collection of average action sci-fi flicks of the recent past. It is a collection of worn out ideas and clichés. Gone are themes of paranoia and possible futures and destinies. Even the world around the characters is something taken out of recent video games and the latest Resident evil movie.
Terminator 4 doesn't add anything into the broader story line. Did we really need to know what Kyle Reese was like as a teenager? The whole movie seems pointless.
An Unreasonable Man (2006)
an Unreasonable Man in an Absurd World
I'm going to keep this very short.
The first time I heard of Ralph Nader was through a friend, eight years a go. Eight years a go when Gore was running against Bush. My friend told me to find information on Ralph Nader, he told me that Nader was something different and something special.
I am not an American, so I had very little interest in American politics those days. Regardless I decided to check out this "Nader creature". Well my friend was right. Nader was something different. I felt there was something odd, weird about him. Nader had this monotonous voice and he didn't give these easy to digest political speeches. He didn't promise "change" or talk about "no child left behind" acts. In fact Nader talked about facts.
It was then that it dawned me. The reason why I found Naders message to be so weird, was because he was telling the truth! In a messed up, corporate controlled world, what are the odds that the consumer activist actually knows what is going on? Nader is a consumer activist and people all around the world owe Ralph Nader a great deal. Look at what you wear, what you eat, what you drive, where you work, the computer you own and tell me that corporations don't have power over you. Don't tell me that corporations aren't interested in politics. Corporations invest in political personalities.
Nader is a man who has fought for the consumer all his life, and that's what we are in the west. We are consumers. So when Ralph Nader speaks, we should listen instead of throwing cakes at him.
Starship Troopers (1997)
Ignorance is Strength
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
-Joseph Goebbels
Hermann Goering said that if you want to start a war, you only need to tell the people that they are under attack. The masses will join in the cause and pacifists and dissidents are deemed to be "unpatriotic".
It is of course helpful if an important building burns down ,or better yet explodes, to get the masses mobilized. When you have a mighty army and a militaristic culture, then all you need is a flash-point to start a war.
Early on in Starship Troopers such a flash-point happens. A giant meteor hits civilian population and the media decides that "bugs" have started a war. Constant media coverage,imbedded journalists and largely compliant public thirsts for war. Continuous war mongering and fear mongering will keep the people in check. Talking heads and intellectuals are outraged that the government hasn't attacked the bugs already. Attack Klendethu now! Starship Troopers is The Fascists wet dream: Scores of dumb masses willing to die for their abusive masters. For homeland!
Then you have these youngsters who are bunch of backstabbing, selfish morons. The State teaches them, feeds them with propaganda and guides the to admire militarism.
These young people are willing to fight for freedom and kill for vengeance. They never question the state. State is always right.And they all look sexy. You practically want them to have sex and produce many wonderful children for the State. Mengele couldn't do it better. Even when the war starts and limbs get blown apart, bones broken and when death becomes a reality, these soldiers of the homeland never ask questions. Billions of miles away from home, turned into bug-food and these people don't ask questions. "If only we had planned this war better"
I am amazed that Verhoven got this movie made.I am amazed how he sold this movie as a sci-fi , coming of age adventure to the masses and Hollywood. Beneath the very shiny surface, lies a sharp critique of modern militarism.
Der Untergang (2004)
Death Of an Empire
World War 2 is to a large extent a myth. It is a video game. It is the never ending virtual battle of Normandy. It is a teenager called "killer-x" online fragging n00bs. World War 2 is when the glorious, noble west defeated the Great Satan. World War 2 lasted six years and yet it never ended. We in the west keep finding new Hitlers to kill, new evils to fight. Yet, the World War II is filled with uncomfortable facts. I should know. For my country was allied with the Nazi Germany fighting Soviet Union. And It was the cold Russian winters that broke the Nazi war machine.
That's why I don't watch WW2 movies. Only Das Boot has managed to capture the madness and the futility of war properly. It is only when you have lost everything, that you are forced to come to terms with what you have done.
Der Untergang is the finest war movie I have ever seen in my entire life.
Bruno Ganz is simply mesmerizing as Adolf Hitler. Hitler is the Roman Emperor watching his once mighty Empire come to a bitter end, refusing to accept it. Sanity has been abandoned long time a go. Hitler is moving imaginary armies on a map. Coming up with plans to outflank the Soviet beast that is fast approaching the new Rome, Berlin. Sometimes the devil is overcome with fartherly love towards his flawed little children, who can't perform even the simplest of tasks in his powerful presence. He understands their shortcomings and shows patience. He charms the people and minutes later curses his Generals for betraying him. "The best Germans died long a go! I am surrounded with weaklings!" He yells.
Eva Brauns refusal to come to terms with what is happening (The Empire is ending), is a true testament to human madness. Bombs go off just meters away but she'll be damned before that stops her from dancing and throwing a party. "Why are people so depressing? Let's have some fun!" For a few minutes we see the young ladies go outside the bunker to have a cigarette. We learn that life actually does go on. Bombs go off again and we descend back into the madhouse. Back into the bunker. Mass suicides, decadence of the human soul continue inside Hitlers house of insanity. At least Eva has the love of her life beside her now. Now at the end Hitler is hers.
The reasons why the Nazi regime fought till the bitter end, was because of the allied policy of Unconditional surrender, Morgenthau Plan and World War 1. Not because of some insane loyalty towards a brutal dictator. People rarely like dictators. Der Untergang shows no love towards the dictator either, but for the first time the Dictator is human. And that is the big lesson. The Great Devils are in fact human. They represent the ultimate failure of the human spirit.
War, Inc. (2008)
Capitalism on Crack
A true capitalist will shoot himself in the leg just to sell himself some band aids.
Hauser (Cusack) is a hit-man. He does not care who he kills or if it is legal, he barely even cares about the money. He kills to forget that he used to care. He lives in a world were Wars mean big business. Big corporations and private armies kill and bomb for profit. Ex Vice presidents own big corporations and start wars just so they can gain access to new markets. And oil. Sound familiar? Well it should. All in the name of democracy of course. Let's privatize wars and make a big buck in the mean time.
In the beginning of the movie Hauser is sent on a mission to a make believe country called Turaqistan. He is supposed to kill the Oil Minister, Omar Sheriff because he hampers Corporations plans with his pipe line. Is the assassination legal? Nobody cares as long as money is being made. Hauser certainly couldn't care less. That is until he meets the attractive journalist Hegalhuzen (Marisa Tomei). In a corrupted and messed up world, she seems to be the only one with integrity. A journalist that actually asks tough questions. We could use more of those. She has a meeting with Hauser in his private office. She doesn't even get the chance to grill him. Bombs go off outside constantly and Hauser just tries to ignore it. "Oh it's nothing." Democracy will prevail and some other tired nonsense. All Hauser wants, is to have sex with her.
Enter Yonica Babyyeah played marvelously by Hillary Duff. A young woman who is being pimped by just about everyone. She is forced into a symbolic marriage ,that is supposed to represent the alliance between western democracy and Central Asias powers that be. Her marriage will be A huge media event. She is the Brittney Spears of the Central Asia and has all the problems that come with it. Everything about her is overtly sexual. Only way for her to express herself and to understand herself, is through twisted western view of sexuality. To the point that she disgusts Hauser in a way he can't even understand. Well to be fair, media pimping these teenagers in various music videos, as sex objects is pretty darn disgusting. Yonica's lyrics and music videos are incredibly funny. Constant references to war on terror and sex is hysterical. She even gives a blow-job to a gasoline nozzle.
The first hour of War, Inc. is incredibly witty and funny. It shows how absurd the situation in Iraq and around the world probably is. As a critique of modern capitalism, it works really well. The characters are great and the performances are solid. The movie reminded me of Southland Tales in many ways. Except War Inc. is more coherent. It shows a situation were the occupying force is trying to impose a western culture on the people of Turaqistan, while still being at war with them. It's the absurd humor that pulls no punches that makes the first hour such a delightful experience. To watch western culture make fun of itself like this, is refreshing. In many ways it fills me with hope. Perhaps one day the war in Iraq will be over.
The mainstream media gets it's share critique too. In closed rooms special members of the media, are getting special treats by the army and they get to experience a virtual war. Clean and Humane war. Who cares who is winning? As long as money and oil flows everything is OK. Accidents sometimes happen but luckily Tamerlane sells prosthetics as well as Bombs.
Second hour becomes a bit too conventional: Austin Powers like Supervillain and his long monologues are boring. He explains his master plan and reveals that Yonica is Hausers long lost daughter. I can see the potential for great parody of Hollywood there, but somehow it's all too conventional. Things like that bring down the otherwise well made and important satire. Watch it for the first hour.
Wanted (2008)
Existential Angst and Gun Porn
Wesley Gibson lives a boring, pointless life, until one day he meets Fox (angelina Jolie), who tells the nerdy geek, that he has magical powers like Neo (who actually is cooler) and there's this secret organization of superpowered assassins who..... Oh GOD! I can't go on. If there ever was a movie that asks you to "turn off your brain", then this is it.
Bending bullets? Slow motion mayhem? Pornographic shots of cars and bullets flying? Angelina Jolie moaning on top of a high speeding car and shooting guns? Hang on! This is an xbox game! Not a movie. How else could you explain how Jolie looks like a crack whore? She is a cgi double (they did it before but with better results). Morgan Freeman is the mentor figure (good that he gets to play such a different character after the Dork Knight), that gives the nerdy geek his missions. i.e. "Go kill a person in a visually stimulating way." Yup a video game.
We live pointless lives but luckily there's xbox. I hate my job but once I get home my real life starts. With hot babes, fast cars and guns. Killing is cool and violence is sexy. "Wohooo!" , Gibson yells after killing a person. Celebrating some poor chumps death. But it's OK because it's all make believe. It's just computer graphics. At least in a video game you get to participate in the killing. At least you get to do something. Here you have to watch as the nerdy dweeb kills "bad" people.It's boring. It's inhuman.
Remember the time when action heroes resembled human beings? Had human emotions? Aliens? the first Rambo? Terminator?
Every human emotion is alien to this director. Everything is pornographic and slick. What's next? Superheroes having intercourse while killing a terrorist? Of course they can't actually show people having sex on the screen but killing is OK for some reason. As long as it looks cool, of course. I mean heaven forbid if we actually saw what violence really does to people.
This is arguably the worst movie of 2008.
Southland Tales (2006)
Bring on the Dancing girls, it's the Apocalypse.
"Disjointed, messy, too long, pretentious..." etc. - Just some of the critique thrown at this movie. I agree with most of it. But I still personally think Southland Tales is a good ,well... I hesitate to call it a movie in a traditional sense of the word, let's just say Southland Tales is a very interesting experience.
When you put Sarah Michelle Gellar, the Rock and a drugged up cop in the same room talking about a bizarre movie script passionately, it certainly feels like the whole world is coming to an end. When Krysta Now (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) is obsessing over every minute detail in the script and the Rock passionately tells the drugged up cop why the world is about to end, you feel as if the world has already reached a point where every action or conversation is just too much. Please let it all end. Often people in this movie have these bizarre conversations that seem pointless to the viewer and yet the characters in the film seem to understand each other perfectly. It feels all so apocalyptic. We have reached a point where we can't even have normal conversations. People have become too weird. They can't analyze their feelings in a rational way. Bizarre dreams have power over them.
In the beginning of the movie there is a terrorist act that happens in Texas. A Flash point. Republicans see that as a reason to super enhance the Patriot Act. Say good bye to your privacy because the terrorist need to be caught. This in turn angers the left who become a group called "Neo Marxists". Bit far fetched, but then again if we can suspend our disbelief with the recent onslaught of Supermen dominating the silver screen, then Southland Tales isn't asking much. Both the right and the left are portrayed as disgusting options. The republicans are corrupted crooks who only care about winning the elections. The leftists are bunch of hyper angry individuals who basically just picker among them selves and plot to change the outcome of the upcoming election.
Throw Boxer Santaros in to the mix. He is an action movie star played by the Rock. He has ties with the republican party and he is the central character in the movie. In a volatile political situation Boxer could change the outcome of the election. Also he knows how the world will end. Sadly the Rock simply cannot act. He is horrible. His nervous finger tapping is gimmicky and shows that the man should have never quit his day job. Wrestling.
Justin Timberlake plays the role of a scarred Iraqi veteran. We see a drug induced dream sequence where he sings a song, its a cry of help. Even the dancing Girls in his dreams cannot any longer hold his attention. He wont bother to dance, just a few steps. It's terrific and horrific. He is empty and wishes for it all to end.
Then there is the Baron and his entourage. He is the Antichrist and everything in the movie involving him lacks subtlety. It would be more interesting for the audience to discover on their own, that Baron is indeed the Antichrist, rather than have the movie explicitly tell it for you. Also I do believe that the saying :"Give the devil you finger and he will take the whole hand"- to be just that, an expression. A metaphor. To take it literally is just clumsy and dumb.
Regardless of these problems, Southland Tales is a powerful experience. It's just not a remake of Donnie Darko II.
Redacted (2007)
It's a lie that tells you the truth.
De Palma always wants to make the audience know that his films are all make believe. Sometimes it's even painfully obvious (Femme Fatale). Same is true for redacted. De Palma stresses this point over and over again.
Right in the beginning we see soldiers leaning towards the wall. They appear bored and disillusioned. But once the cameraman tells them to smile for the picture, they look heroic and self assured. So it's all lies.
The movie follows bunch of American soldiers as they go about their daily routines in Iraq. Questioning the whole point of it all. It's done in a fake mockumentary style. It's a movie that tells a number of lies to tell a truth.
One of the soldiers wishes to make a documentary with his hand held camera of his experiences in Iraq. It's all pretty amateurish and voyeuristic on purpose. We see the soldiers guarding a roadblock for hours on end. They stop cars and since they don't speak Arabic or even know their customs, misunderstandings happen on a regular basis. One of these misunderstandings ends in blood. They kill a pregnant woman by accident. Media will never know of this.
De Palma shows you how chaotic war is. Something that people seemed to forget prior to Iraq war. Horrible things happen in war. That's why one should avoid going into a war at any cost. That's what De Palma ultimately is saying with this film. Wars are horrible. They dehumanize you and your enemy. The soldiers are under immense pressure. They can't tell the enemy from the people they are supposed to protect. Finally you reach a point where you are calling other people "sand- ni**ers" and consider raping their young women. Those soldiers who get corrupted and do horrible things because of the war, never face justice because that would be bad publicity for the army. The good soldier is unable to stop the madness. He is alone and powerless in the midst of this disaster. And when the good hearted soldier does finally return home, he is torn and traumatized. There was no glory or honor in it. Just death and horrible things.
Personally I consider Redacted to be just an important film as Platoon was. It's different in style but the point remains the same. War is horrible. That's something we should never ever forget.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
The Dark Masterpiece
No, I'm not talking about the crazy neighborhood Bat , but Hellboy 2. I was finally able to see it and it was fantastic. Guillermo Del Toro is one of the most exciting directors in Hollywood these days and Mike Mignola is arguably the most talented artist/writer working in the comic book industry. So it's no surprise they delivered a very nuanced story that was dark, humorous and had rich deep mythology. In Mignolas world elves are disturbing dark creatures, not the Arwens or Legola's that we are used to seeing. Tooth fairies, trolls and elves have grown up. And they've become twisted dark, angry creatures.
I have never seen such a beautiful movie before (save for Pan's Labyrinth). The creatures and the special effects alone are worth seeing but when you have a rich story as well...I mean it's amazing. When was the last time you saw a comic book movie where your protagonist loses a fight because he is too drunk? Or sings love songs, badly? Hellboy is more human than all the other superheroes dressed in silly latex suits combined. He is narcissistic, short tempered and oh yes pretty strong. Oh and his destiny is to destroy the entire world.
But it's not all good. Danny Elfmans score sucks big time. The guy needs to learn some subtlety. You don't need to hammer away when ever a dramatic moment happens in a movie. Also you just know that the movie will end up in a climatic battle between the protagonist and the antagonist. Every superhero movie ends like that. Even the good ones.
Still, it's amazing how well Del Toro is able to juggle between the humorous moments and the dark themes. The Nature vs Nurture thing that is so essential to Hellboy mythos is explored even further than in the last movie.
Hellboy 2 is one of the best comic book movies I have seen. If not the best.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Fun little adventure for the Younglings
I was looking for some simple escapism and that's what I got. Clone Wars is a nice little adventure that's not as epic as the live action movies but it's still fun. It doesn't take itself too seriously so you can enjoy it as long as you know what to expect. This is not Empire Strikes Back, but a sneak preview for the upcoming cartoon. Why they released this in theater, I don't know. Taken for what it is, Clone Wars is fun.
The style of animation is different from Pixar and and the rest and I liked it. The characters look like puppets or dolls and are animated like dolls as well. That works well on most sequences and it makes Clone Wars look stylish and different, but sometimes the animation looks a bit clunky. It's obviously an artistic choice but it has some drawbacks never the less. Action sequences are brilliant and will keep the younglings entertained.
The story itself is rather simple but it has a few twists and turns. Most of the screen time is given to Anakin and his new apprentice Ahsoka. Their banter is fun and that's something the Prequels lacked. Fun dialogue. The Jedi here aren't boring and stoic but "human".
Voice acting is brilliant. Especially James Arnold Taylor was great as Obi Wan. Christopher Lee's voice is as powerful and commanding as ever. Yes Dooku is back. Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka was wonderful too. It was great to have Samuel L Jackson's Windu do a cameo. Nika Futterman was scary as the Sith would-be-apprentice Assaj Ventress.
The score by Kevin Kiner is quite enjoyable and sometimes a bit surprising. Electric guitars? You wouldn't believe it but it sounded just great.
Clone Wars has a few problems as well: Not enough tension for one. The otherwise nice action sequences needed some proper buildup too. I know this is for kids but there are scary things in fairy tales too.
All in all, Clone Wars is a fun Animation with some nice new characters.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
Devilishly Clever.
I have to admit, when I first saw this movie a few years a go I didn't get it. (I'm not sure I still get it.) But I was still captivated by it. The atmosphere and the slow pacing just kept me interested. Cinematography is great and every scene and shot is a joy to look at. The acting is brilliant, Lena Olin especially gives a very good performance. The ominous score and the eerie atmosphere will glue you in.
I don't wish to spoil the plot too much, but let's just say that Corso's mission is to authenticate a book that was supposedly written by the Devil himself. This simple mission starts a journey or rather a descent, into a corrupted and bizarre world. Corso himself is not a very noble man either. It's interesting to see just how far he is willing to go, as his journey gets more and more dangerous. His employer promises more money as the journey gets ever more dangerous and bizarre. People are reluctant to help Corso and he has to resort to dubious means to obtain information. Corso is a very intriguing character. Depp plays him well of course and it's quite fascinating to watch Corso's descent. Emmanuelle Seigner is very creepy and sexy. Fine performance from her too.
The only negative thing is that dumb "Shell" product placement. It really took me out of the movie. Maybe this movie is a bit too clever as well for it's own good. It took me quite a while to understand the ending. Other than that Ninth Gate is a masterpiece.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Batman's War on Terror.
Ledger gives a powerful performance as the joker, but the rest of the movie was a bit out of focus. Surprisingly the movie revolves around Harvey Dent. "The White Knight" Unfortunately Eckhart was bland as Harvey Dent and his fall to the dark side was almost corny. Shame really as this was Harvey Dent's story rather than Batman's.
Speaking of which, I have never seen Christian Bale act this poorly. The man is one of the greatest actors of his generation and now his performance was totally uninspired. The Batman voice is incredibly distracting and as Bruce Wayne he just sleepwalks through his scenes. I also noticed that he wasn't as buff as he was in Begins. In all honesty there wasn't much for him to do here though. The script simply doesn't give Batman much to do, other than fight and beat up people. Bruce Wayne is the billionaire Playboy and that's about it.
Freeman and Cain virtually play the same character. They do it well but the cast is too bloated already so they don't get much screen time.
Maggie Gyllenhaal was great. She was able to bring warmth to her portrayal of Rachel Dawes. But unfortunately we don't get to see much of her either.
The philosophical themes in this movie are barely explored. Every hero turns into a villain? Or some such nonsense. Every firefighter will turn evil unless they die? Very shallow and laughable. Only Jokers nihilistic speeches were convincing. Every good hearted person either dies or gets horribly mutilated. And then turns to evil. Batman beats prisoners and brakes peoples legs. Why so violent?
Then you have your boring action sequences, the mandatory car chases and numerous explosions. The Dark Knight is actually an action movie much like Die Hard. Only the nihilistic philosophy sets it apart and gives it a unique flavor. If you are a big action movie fan you'll probably enjoy this movie.
The Dark Knight isn't as good as Batman Begins. Batman Begins was a character study. How a traumatized young boy became a hero and how he turned his anger and fear into something positive. Here we see the hero corrupted by Joker. He is violent and angry. No longer a hero. He is willing to lie to the people of Gotham because they couldn't handle the truth. This sends a dubious message.
In fact this movie has way more propaganda than your average summer blockbuster. Invading privacy, torturing prisoners and lying to the public.... But It's cool cause it's Batman. Kids wanna be like Batman and therefore Batman is cool even while torturing prisoners. Dark Knight could be viewed as legitimizing Dick Cheney's War on terror. It's pretty disgusting. "We have to work the Dark side..."- Mr Cheney said after 911. Batman agrees.