Monday, January 09, 2006
Movies
We got to watch a few films over the holidays, a couple of which I had really wanted to see -- or see again.
King Kong -- Cheers to friends who offer to take your kids and let you go to a movie! Jeers to 3-hours-plus-long movies that would have been better with an hour lopped off! No, really, I loved this film, and I am forever indebted to Peter Jackson, so as far as I'm concerned he can spend as long as he wants on the BOAT, GETTING TO THE FREAKIN' ACTION. What I loved about his version of this strange and beautiful story was the focus on the island, and the existence of the giant gorilla as a lonely warrior. As in the original film, the NYC episode, while climactic, was not the whole purpose of the thing. I liked the character development, I liked Naomi Watts, I liked Jack Black, I liked Adrian Brody (especially in the split-second with his shirt off. Woot!). Unfortunately, the last line of the film "'Twas beauty killed the beast", was wrong to me. Kindness, not beauty, proved to be both his making and his undoing.
But so many scenes could have been cut out, or at least shortened. I'm not even talking about the boat. I'm talking about the dinosaur stampede, the buggy crevasse, the t-rex fight, etc. Many, many scenes.
The Island -- A frustrating film to watch, because the potential for a great, thoughtful sci-fi film is there, and the actors are giving it all they've got, and they're good actors. The big mistake in this film was letting Michael Bay direct it. He turned a good sci-fi idea into an opportunity for non-stop action and chase sequences. It didn't have to be that way. I have a feeling that even the 12-year-old boys for whom he makes his films could have enjoyed 20% fewer action scenes and a little more plot development. I mean, cloning is a serious issue, and it was barely explored in this good-looking but ultimately tiresome film.
The Two Towers & Return of the King
My appreciation of the Two Towers film continues to grow with each viewing. What had seemed to me an interim film is made up of so many incredible and beautiful scenes and set-pieces, and Theoden is, for me, up there with Gandalf as the most fully-realized character in the whole trilogy. The fact that Theoden is a very human king grounds this chapter of the story and makes the potential for tragedy and the victory at Helm's Deep more real and satisfying. I still don't like Eowyn and think she was mis-cast, and I still find the Elf soldiers more comical than anything else. But that opening scene (for my money the best opening scene in any movie) is worth any amount of teary-eyed, pining looks and gay-looking warriors.
The Return of the King makes me happy. It's fun to watch and the sense of dread returns to me with each viewing. Frodo's courage and Smeagol's treachery are still real to me, and the sense of a world that might end sets me up every time for the wonderful feeling of a new era beginning.
We got to watch a few films over the holidays, a couple of which I had really wanted to see -- or see again.
King Kong -- Cheers to friends who offer to take your kids and let you go to a movie! Jeers to 3-hours-plus-long movies that would have been better with an hour lopped off! No, really, I loved this film, and I am forever indebted to Peter Jackson, so as far as I'm concerned he can spend as long as he wants on the BOAT, GETTING TO THE FREAKIN' ACTION. What I loved about his version of this strange and beautiful story was the focus on the island, and the existence of the giant gorilla as a lonely warrior. As in the original film, the NYC episode, while climactic, was not the whole purpose of the thing. I liked the character development, I liked Naomi Watts, I liked Jack Black, I liked Adrian Brody (especially in the split-second with his shirt off. Woot!). Unfortunately, the last line of the film "'Twas beauty killed the beast", was wrong to me. Kindness, not beauty, proved to be both his making and his undoing.
But so many scenes could have been cut out, or at least shortened. I'm not even talking about the boat. I'm talking about the dinosaur stampede, the buggy crevasse, the t-rex fight, etc. Many, many scenes.
The Island -- A frustrating film to watch, because the potential for a great, thoughtful sci-fi film is there, and the actors are giving it all they've got, and they're good actors. The big mistake in this film was letting Michael Bay direct it. He turned a good sci-fi idea into an opportunity for non-stop action and chase sequences. It didn't have to be that way. I have a feeling that even the 12-year-old boys for whom he makes his films could have enjoyed 20% fewer action scenes and a little more plot development. I mean, cloning is a serious issue, and it was barely explored in this good-looking but ultimately tiresome film.
The Two Towers & Return of the King
My appreciation of the Two Towers film continues to grow with each viewing. What had seemed to me an interim film is made up of so many incredible and beautiful scenes and set-pieces, and Theoden is, for me, up there with Gandalf as the most fully-realized character in the whole trilogy. The fact that Theoden is a very human king grounds this chapter of the story and makes the potential for tragedy and the victory at Helm's Deep more real and satisfying. I still don't like Eowyn and think she was mis-cast, and I still find the Elf soldiers more comical than anything else. But that opening scene (for my money the best opening scene in any movie) is worth any amount of teary-eyed, pining looks and gay-looking warriors.
The Return of the King makes me happy. It's fun to watch and the sense of dread returns to me with each viewing. Frodo's courage and Smeagol's treachery are still real to me, and the sense of a world that might end sets me up every time for the wonderful feeling of a new era beginning.
# posted by becca : 7:53 AM
