Film

Film Reviews:

Big Fish °°°°°°°° °°

A Mighty Wind °°°°°° °°°°

The Passion of the Christ °°° °°°°°°°

The Triplets of Belleville °°°°°°°° °°

Big Fish °°°°°°°° °°

I just wrote a big long thorough review of Big Fish and then accidentally saved over it. AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not really in the mood to review it again.

It was good.

I enjoyed it quite a bit.

The Ending was good.

People say it is not as Gothic as a Tim Burton film should be, but I think that is just talking for the sake of talking. The fact is it is only a slight, (and I mean very slight) departure from any Tim Burton film I have seen. It is a Tim Burton Fairy tale, filled with memorable characters, and blah blah blah.

it's definitely worth seeing.

check it out for yourself.

I give it 8/10

Venus IV

Back to top

A Mighty Wind °°°°°° °°

A Mighty Wind was another spoof documentary, from the team that brought us Spinal Tap (at least in part), and Best in Show. Infact the cast from Best in Show were nearly all present, as if they wrapped up Best in Show a little early and decided to just go ahead and shoot another film while they were there.

This one was based on a Folk Scene that was being reunited for a memorial concert for one of their peers from the 60's who had recently died.

I think If Micheal Mckean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer contribute towards any project together, I will find some form of amusement from it. All in all, I would have to say this was my least favorite from the group so far. It had plenty of moments, and their ability to capture the nuances of anyone or any scene they impersonate, will always provide some sort of entertainment for me, this one just seemed a little thinner than the rest.

I particularly was not fond of Eugene Levy's spaced out character 'Mitch Cohen'. It was just goofy, and lacking any of the finer details I hope to find in a movie of this type. However there were some high points as well, (I loved Harry Shearer 'Mark Shubb') and I thought it was cool they all played in the same band (Guest, McKean, Shearer), and on the same instruments as in Spinal Tap.

All in all I rate the film as better than the average, but not quite on the level of Best in Show, and certainly not Spinal Tap.

I give it 6/10

Venus IV

Back to top

The Passion of the Christ °°° °°°°°°°

I went and saw The Passion of the Christ the other day out of morbid curiosity I suppose, so what better place to review it than here.

So Here it is.

2 hours of watching a man get tortured in ultra gory fashion is not my idea of a good film. I liked the book better.

Seriously, why is it that people are so obsessed with violence that they need it in their religion? I thought Jesus did much more interesting and important things in his life than be dragged around town as a shred of meat (or being the son of God for that matter). Somehow I missed the point, however, that we need to see how badly he suffered for two grueling hours so that we can say how great he really was. Lots of people have died horrible gruesome deaths, some of them even for their principles, but if this movie were about any of them, it would be rated NC-17 and would be nothing more than a cult gore-fest film. I think if you want to love and respect Jesus, it should be because you believe in what he was teaching, not because he can take a beating.

Aside from that, the focus on the physicality of what was happening left little room for other things I find help make a film good, like plot, character development, etc... Just keep the suffering coming, O.K. now splice in one of those profound sayings that he said...good, now more beating and blood and, O.K. quick shot of the suffering Marys, keep the brutality going show how bloodthirsty and horrible everyone is, especially those bloodthirsty jew heathens, now splice in a shot of Satan walking around, this is a bible story we can't forget Satan, O.K. good enough lets get back to the torture.

I guess if you are christian you feel a duty to like this film, but since I have no particular allegiance to any specific religion I am just judging the film for the quality of the film.

I give this movie 3 out of 10, it had a few moments (flashback to Jesus falling as a child) but all in all I would have preferred a different aproach than the Texas Jesus Massacre one Mel Gibson opted for.

Venus IV

Back to top

The Triplets of Belleville °°°°°°°° °°

After seeing the 'Texas Jesus Massacre' (see The Passion of the Christ) I was in the mood for something a little more subtle. The Triplets of Belleville was the perfect perscription.

About 2 minutes into it, I knew I loved this film. The animation was superb in an oddworthy way, the story was unorthodox, and the characters were, ...well, ...'characters'. (My personal favorite was the Maitre 'D).

The first thing that struck me, was that there were no subtitles. Soon I realized this would not be a big deal as there were about a dozen lines of dialogue in the entire film. If it were done poorly, I could imagine that things could get pretty confusing, or just boring. However, the story moved along perfectly, and with so much happening visually, speaking would have just cluttered it up. It was refreshing to have that space, and at the same time have so much going on.

The overall feel of the movie was a little darker than I had anticipated. Though it had it's share of Humor, it was all wrapped up in a bleakness that hung in the air and was creased into the faces of nearly all the characters. Fortunately it was not the kind of movie that offered any explanations, things just were as they were. The flavorful animation, surreal depression, satirical comedy, quirky story, and the simplistic unpretentious style in which it was told all blended together in a way that was not only entertaining, but truly a work of art.

I give this one 8½ out of 10, with a high recommendation for anyone who really enjoys seeing something new and different.

Venus IV

Back to top