“Troy” is ultimately the prime example of how such an immense concept ripe with possibilities and potential can be so botched in the wrong hands. While an achievement in visuals, “Troy” fails in every other aspect including its writing and storytelling. Peterson excels at creating a half hour too long epic with just no point in sight. The film has so much going for it, but quickly blows it as we drudge on and on for three hours without any real substance nor do we take anything away from this demanding experience. As they say, if a film is great, three hours can fly by, but with a poor film, three hours can drag on, and this did indeed drag on with melodrama, romantic sub-plots and everything that drags this down. I love the legend of Helen of Troy and the face that launched a thousand ships, but this is not what I was hoping for, and it doesn’t pay homage to its true storyteller.
Tag Archives: Fantasy
Catwoman (2004)
Funny thing about bad movies. They can reflect either the utter refusal to be resourceful from a filmmaker, or they can mirror the utter vanity of its makers. Such is the case of “Catwoman” a film touted as a bonafide hit before we saw the true horror. Bad movies with large budgets, and big stars ensuring a hit regardless of pre-conceived notions and even ensuring a good film after the general reservations from looking at the monstrosity that is the Catwoman costume. Films like these, from the standpoint of a movie-goer, and a comic book fan make me blood thirsty, and I revel in bringing out the claws (Pun not intended) and knocking it down a notch. There is NOTHING redeeming about this film, there’s nothing here that I can point out was a mild positive aspect. This is a film that screams sheer vanity from its star and filmmaker, and is truly thirty minutes longer than it has the right to be.
Vlad (2003)
Imagine “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” mixed with “The Davinci Code”, imagine “Interview with the Vampire” sans the homosexual overtones, imagine “Dracula”, mixed with two Benadryl, a shot of whiskey, and a knock on the head, and you can perfectly sum up what “Vlad” is. This poor man’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” that becomes more of a quasi-“The Vlad Code” is a snoozer and a half, as a bunch of people try to dissect the legend of Vlad Tepes, but what sounds like a taut analyses of the legend of a war monger inevitably becomes a murky, utterly mindless, superficial quasi-thriller with people talking a lot and not saying much, characters interacting without chemistry, a lot of discovering Romanian villages without ever involving the audience, and a lot of characters walking around the forest without getting anywhere… and Billy Zane shows up at one point.
Unbreakable (2000)
This is, to put it plainly, my current favorite film of all time.
Let me count the ways:
Cinematography. It’s experimental without being art kitschy. If there’s one thing that M. Night seems to get, it’s a good director of photography. The man knows how to frame a scene. A lot of that, I assume, is just like writing a book. Practice. And M. Night, judging from the early age at which he started making films, has a lot of practice. There are a number of angles in this film that just stick with you. The scene in the train from the perspective of the child. The scene from above the weights, giving the audience weight on the main character. The scene in the rapist’s home where you see the rapist suddenly appear. Willis in frame in his Security Outfit, as superhero as a superhero movie gets.
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
After Stephen Chow’s hilarious “Shaolin Soccer”, he comes back with yet another very funny action-comedy that is part Chuck Jones, part Bruce Lee. The marriage of tense, engrossing martial arts action, and off the wall screwball antics that would make Tex Avery gleam with pride, is a task that wouldn’t be an easy one by any means, but director Stephen Chow balances the two accordingly, and as the climax becomes more action than comedy, there is still a sense of the goofy to it, a goofiness that some will love for its sheer originality, and some won’t for that same fact. Chow manages to create some of the most screwy comedy I’ve seen in a long time, while he manages to spoof much of his influences such as “The Shining” and “Thriller” as do all the directors whom have been impacted by pop culture.
Ong Bak: Thai Fighter (2003)
I’m not sure why I took as long as I did watching “Ong Bak”. Perhaps it was because I’ve seen so many really bad martial arts films since I was a child, but when I was done with “Ong Bak”, I was just utterly blown away. “Ong Bak” knocked my socks off, and I was cursing myself for not seeing it sooner. “Ong Bak” marks the American premiere of Tony Jaa, a man whose physical talents are just astounding. But be warned “Ong Bak” is not a film based heavily on story, it’s mainly just there for the utterly amazing fight scenes. Fight scenes that are not only some of the most amazing action sequences I’ve ever seen in an action film, but also have some great choreography.
Whale Rider (2002)
This is what a children’s film should be, uplifting, encouraging, and a beautiful film about family and empowerment. This is what children’s films should be like. True realistic portraits with engaging characters and an uplifting message. The film has themes children will connect with such as seeking approval from parents, attempting to prove yourself as an adult, being raised and pressured to carry on their traditions, living up to your sibling, and basically journeying to come of age, while we can relate to the characters here. The characters are human, not broadly sketched, and each are so utterly esoteric and revealing beneath their layers and personalities that we anxiously watch to see what will become of Director Caro’s vision that, even adults may find themselves engrossed.