“Wall-E” dares to be anything but predictable. It’s quiet, it’s subtle, it’s intelligent, it features barely any dialogue at all, and it asks us to think of a world where garbage has become so cumbersome we’ve been shoved off our planet by our own waste. “Wall-E” is simply a masterpiece. Continue reading
I can imagine that if there were a commentary for the “Birds of Prey” DVD set, it would begin with “Well… it seemed like a good idea at the time.” And in theory, it does seem like a great concept. After the success of “Smallville” the (then) WB Network tapped the well by digging in to the Batman universe. What with the new franchise being developed how do you work around DC’s ridiculously strict guidelines of not including the same character in more than two property? You make stuff up, and work with what you have. “Birds of Prey” is based on the successful comic book series where Gotham’s girls team up to take on crime. The problem was that audiences just didn’t care for these characters, and what was worse was that well… it sucked. I saw the entire series on the WB Network when it first premiered and I couldn’t stand how awful it was.
See kids, this here’s what we call a thinking piece. It’s verbose, intelligent, evenly paced, and all kinds of brilliant, which is why I’m glad it never got in to the hands of a commercial director, because with tweaking it could have been a very cheesy rip off of “Alfie” in the vein of “Hitch.” “Roger Dodger” is a character study about a womanizer whose principles are always of use to the aspiring lover of all women, while the individual is so sleazy and manipulative that he may soon find himself alone and without a person to love be they a wife or any other family near him. Though Dylan Kidd does demonize the man who approaches women with such disrespect, he also explores that the character Roger isn’t truly a lost cause to society.
This is a different kind of James Bond. This is the James Bond who is not really needed at his agency very much anymore. After his last battle, he’s now taken a forced sabbatical after being driven to clerical duties and then forced in to relaxation and wealth. There’s a brand new agent working for Universal that’s taken over his duties, and Bond is having a considerably hard time facing that.
It may seem like an eye roll and a groan to the average reader, but Bond is basically stir crazy when we first meet him at the beginning of “Devil Maycare.” He smokes foreign cigarettes, already has a routine that screams monotony, and a seemingly random murder of a young Middle Eastern man has suddenly become so important that it’s pulled Bond out of his sabbatical of woeful relaxation and considerable obsoletion in to the duties of 007 once again.
Tonally, “Quench” tends to be scattered and while normally that’d be cause to give this a negative marking Zack Parker’s film balances the mixture of genres, and direction so well that I really enjoyed that the film jumps from mood to mood with pure ease. “Quench” could be described as a horror movie in a way, but it’s very unlike a horror movie when it wants to be. Parker takes the underground sexually unlimited world of “Eyes Wide Shut” and mixes it with a bit of “Martin” along with a coming of age drama and really never stops there.
Part of me wants to acknowledge that perhaps Sandler is woefully oblivious of the talent he possesses and is just a guy who doesn’t appreciate the potential to deliver great dramatic tales. But watching “Reign Over Me” confirms that he’s likely very aware of the talent he possesses and instead just chooses to have fun with a horrible comedy every once and a while. And I can respect that. Even if I’ll take “Reign Over Me” over “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” any day of the week. Only one in the growing number of dramas specifically geared toward men, “Reign Over Me” is that middle of the roads melodrama that explores how grief and loss can often control the way we live.
It’s always been said that an animal always knows when it’s about to die. And sometimes even humans can. So… are these apocalypse movies merely our perpetual fear of impending doom brought on by forces of nature? Or do we know something that we’re not yet willing to admit? Frankly, it’s nearly impossible for me to not enjoy a movie about the end of humanity (or civilization for that matter), so “The Happening” was an instant win. Pair that with the great cast, the brilliant story, and the taut ecological commentary brushed under the senseless sudden self-extermination of man kind and you have what I consider one of the finest movies of 2008.