Change Your Image
chriss-31
Reviews
When You're Strange (2009)
Well worth seeing for Doors fans old and new
Having been a fan for over 20 years, I'm fairly jaded when it comes to bios on the Doors. The new footage and DiCillo's narrative structure offer a truly fresh look at the subject matter, since it's the first time I've really felt I've had an insider's view on the band. Morrison is treated like a real human being, stripped of all the legend and bombast. Instead of the pretentious rock star, you get to see Jim the person evolving over time, with all the joy and suffering that he experienced. There's a shot of him exiting the courtroom in Miami with a look of vulnerability that I found shocking, as it's at odds with image of the cool, cocky singer. The history of the band is subtly told though a wash of images and sparse narration which touch all the milestones without feeling like another retread. It definitely deserves another viewing, consider me a confirmed buyer of the DVD.
Children of Men (2006)
Beware! Overrated!
Besides some amazing cinematography, and other technical merits, this movie has little to offer. Poor character development, painful exposition. This movie consists of a beginning and a middle, no proper ending anywhere to be found. As it is an adaptation of a novel, it is hard to fault them for staying true to the source material, but this movie has the same problems translating to the screen as The Da Vinci Code. The audience is expected to care about characters who are given less than 5 minutes of screen time before they are thrown into peril. Supporting characters are given annoying catch phrases or quirks in lieu of proper personalities. Look elsewhere for the next big thing in sci-fi. This is clearly out of the Stephen Spielberg school of film-making. If this film wasn't so hyped up I wouldn't feel the need to comment, but there has to be a voice of reason midst all the hysteria.