Change Your Image
keneda76
Reviews
The Tree of Life (2011)
Good, not Great.
Saw Malick's "Tree of Life" yesterday. Malick's 2001. Not my favorite Malick film and not 2001. If you're a Malick fan like me, chances are you enjoy his masterful weaving of images with dialog to produce what amounts to visual poetry. The natural world becomes a central character in all his films. Unfortunately, he forgoes the natural world in segments of this movie by using computer generated effects to recreate the the earth's beginning--including dinosaurs and very unrealistic looking primordial goo. Computer generated organisms never look completely organic no matter how well done, and in a Terrence Malick movie they stick out like a sore thumb. There are many other impressions I have of this movie, but can't go on. Overall it was worth seeing--I did enjoy it, but not one I'm going to likely feel a need to watch again.
Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (2003)
Movie for Those Who Love Imagery
I thoroughly enjoyed Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring. The team of cinematographer, Dong-hyeon Baek, and director, Ki-duk Kim, use stunning imagery to tell their version of the circle of life. It's much better than the Lion King.
The strength of the movie lies in its ability to tell a tale with imagery instead of dialog. If you're one to get antsy in a Kubrick film due to his long drawn out shots, you likely will hate this movie. However, if you have patience and appreciate a director who doesn't seem to think the movie masses suffer from ADD, you'll appreciate the time the director gives you to reflect on the beauty of the story's natural settings.
The actors perform well. The characters are a bit typical of the Asian movies many of us Americans had access to growing up: the wise old man, who sees everything and has a bit of a twisted sense of justice; the goofy, horny young boy (through spring and summer, anyway) who often spazzes out and does things that make no sense (like spin in circles in a row boat when horny); and the young girl who's only purpose is as a lust object.
Kim takes the characters in a more mature direction than many of the other tales, and does it with a better eye than most. The hut in which the central characters reside is located in the middle of a woody mountain lake. The lake and the surrounding woods play as important characters as the actors. The changes in the lake and the land through the seasons reflect the changes within the boy monk.
If you have the patience to meditate on the wondrous imagery of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, check it out. If you like foreign films but can't stand reading the subtitles, check it out (not a lot of dialog in this one). If you want the images in a movie to change every second, go check out the latest Vin Diesel flick.
Slam (1998)
Slam: One of few movies that can change your world view
This movie is amazing! If you haven't seen it yet, run to the video store and snag it. If they don't have it, demand that they carry the movie (call them ignorant and say things like, "don't you know this is one of the most important and poignant movies of our time, you uncultured @sswhole?). The movie, about a young, Washington DC native, black poet who sells marijuana to finance his writing, combines politically charged slam poetry, hip-hop, and slick cinematography to paint a compelling portrait of the struggles of poor black males and the United State's prison system. It does the best job of any movie I've seen at highlighting the racism and injustice of our country's prison system. Some may be discouraged from seeing this movie because they may find the double meaning of 'Slam' cheesy (slam poetry and the sound the prison doors). Don't be one of those people! If you're like me, "Slam" will move you, turn you into an instant fan of Slam poetry, and, most importantly, force you to think about issues bigger than yourself. It is one of the few movies that can change the way the viewer sees the world.