- Jeff Bassin
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Tuesday August 2, 2011
Bridge to Terabithia- This was a great family film, one that practices what it preaches, and ultimately leaves the audience (adult and child) pretty emotionally involved. Josh Hutcherson (Jess) and AnnaSophia Robb (Leslie) give out great childish performances and have good chemistry, and it's fairly well directed by Gabor Csupo to a level that really respects the novel. It's a movie about opening your imagination and carrying the ideas of possibility into the youth. While some elements of the film are too childish, such as the bullies and how they transition into the magical realm of Terabithia, its all in good fun and doesn't take away from the emotionally impacting moments such as the forming adolescent love between the two protagonists, the death of the Leslie, the sequence where the Jess finally receives the love from his father he always wanted, and when Jess finally brings his sister to share in the world of Terabithia. So go ahead and give it a shot if you are looking for something to view on the PG family friendly line of things.
- Jeff Bassin
- Jeff Bassin
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday July 31, 2011
A Serious Man- Coen brothers at their finest. But not really. Still great though. Just underwhelming. It's a movie that builds up so much electricity, but refuses to shock the audience with it. Don't blame the bros. for doing a movie their way. After all, "True Grit" ends with the chick losing her leg and feeling "sad" about stuff, and "The Big Lebowski" ends with his friend dying, him having a possible kid on the way, and bowling. The whole film interests you with the misfortune of its protagonist, but it ends with something that amounts to nothing so it really is just a religious metaphor. It presents us with the question, but leaves us completely answerless. It's a movie that ends right before its climax, so the audience wishes they could have saw more, or that the brothers are just to lazy to work their movie another 20 minutes more. It poses the same example that it points out in the beginning. The protagonist professor tells his failing asian student, that although he understands the pictures and fables that he presents to describe physics, without understanding the mathematics, the picture is meaningless. So too is the religious questions posed. 'A Serious Man' is a fable, one with only the picture, but no mathematics behind it. I enjoyed the questions it poses, because as religion is as a concept, each individual must decide on their own.
Crazy, Stupid, Love- An ensemble film piece with great chemistry between Steve Carell (the normal suburban divorcing father/husband) and Ryan Gosling (GQ styled and womanizer extraordinaire). Everybody else does their part and they do it fine, but it is these two men, that truly shiny. Yes, a corny rhyme. So too, does this film present a background of reality, but is cushioned by a foreground of cliche and happiness. The true love/ soul mate schlock is fine… but the real problem is the ending that chooses to give everybody their soul mates, which ruins the illusion of reality. At least one couple shouldn't have survived this film's cycle. But no, even the 13 year old boy gets with the 17 year old girl, at least eventually he will. But if you look at it from a different angle, one ignoring the ending, this film is very enjoyable and lasting, and vastly different in comedic style from 'Friends with Benefits', which will pay off in years to come for viewing. Because, after all, love, is the most powerful story of them all. So, for a funny, but more dramatic version of the latter described, this one is the way to go.
- Jeff Bassin
Crazy, Stupid, Love- An ensemble film piece with great chemistry between Steve Carell (the normal suburban divorcing father/husband) and Ryan Gosling (GQ styled and womanizer extraordinaire). Everybody else does their part and they do it fine, but it is these two men, that truly shiny. Yes, a corny rhyme. So too, does this film present a background of reality, but is cushioned by a foreground of cliche and happiness. The true love/ soul mate schlock is fine… but the real problem is the ending that chooses to give everybody their soul mates, which ruins the illusion of reality. At least one couple shouldn't have survived this film's cycle. But no, even the 13 year old boy gets with the 17 year old girl, at least eventually he will. But if you look at it from a different angle, one ignoring the ending, this film is very enjoyable and lasting, and vastly different in comedic style from 'Friends with Benefits', which will pay off in years to come for viewing. Because, after all, love, is the most powerful story of them all. So, for a funny, but more dramatic version of the latter described, this one is the way to go.
- Jeff Bassin
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday July 29, 2011
Ready- This is the first Bollywood film I have ever actually seen, if you don't count 'Slumdog Millionaire' (which I don't), so I'm gonna get real deep into this one. From one angle, I loved how stylized and fast paced some sequences are filmed with fast cuts and odd sound effects. Another thing I enjoyed was the romantic aspects, since famed actor Salman Khan and chickita, Asin have great interactions with one another. It tells a simple story of a man who doesn't want to get tied down, but then gets forced in the middle of a mob-like situation to save the girl he comes to love. The first half of the film tells of how the two (Prem and Sanjana) come to fall for one another, and the second half is about Khan being a badass and using his family to trick the mob feuding families into being better "peoples" and allowing him to marry Sanjana. I loved that it had two acts to it because it was like getting two films in one. Granted, both were comedies with over the top humor, but the first one is a love film, and the second was an action-con film. One problem with it was its jokes, which mostly relied on a fart joke, a crab on my butt joke, and people getting hit in places joke. Although there were some clever bits like the accountant who is tricked into thinking he has the ability of creating people by inventing them in his mind. Another problem I had was the fact that it built Salman Khan's character as the coolest man on earth at just about every moment in the film. There are no real feeling stakes in this movie. The entire movie is built around how great Salman Khan is. He can hold onto a tree branch over a cliff with one hand and carry the chick with his other, he can knock men around 20 feet away, and he can manipulate just about anyone into trusting him. This guy can do it all, and because of that, it kind of seems weird that all of a sudden in the first act, between a song, the guy falls for the chick while he used to be the not settle down type 3 minutes before. There really are no three dimensional characters in the film, so there is no real heart to the film. But it's all in good fun, so I enjoyed it. Especially the musical numbers, specifically one titled "Dhinka Chika". Overall, good, certainly not bad, but I hope for better next time I watch a Bollywood film.
- Jeff Bassin
- Jeff Bassin
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thursday July 28, 2011
Atlantis: The Lost Empire- This is the first time I've seen it full way through. It is not amazing, but the characters (awesome explosions expert character voiced by Father Sarducci) are interesting enough to assist in the holes in the story. The designs and drawings are very creative and neat. The overall problem I had was with the predictability of the story and the poor third act. Honestly, I didn't even really have any stake in Atlantis by the time soldiers were taking it apart, and the fact that the guy who funded this "Exploration" was a good guy and not the one who hired the mercenaries kind of pissed me off. First, I was like oh, the boss man only brought on the protagonist for personal gain, but at the end, when it shows him again, he is told of the adventure and he's just plain old proud. Lame. It's a disney film, so I give it some credit for keeping a childish charm and adventure to it that anyone can watch, but to truly enjoy it, the film might be pushing it below its depths (clever?).
A Clockwork Orange- I think this might be the 2nd time I have watched it full from start to finish and might I say, there is a lot to love. Kubrick has a knack for not only framing portrait-esque shots that I could only aspire to create one day, but also follow long fluid tracking shots and takes that are kind of awe-spiring. I will definitely come back to this when I review shots before making my first real feature. Or at least I should. If I remember to. You know how it is, future me. Anyways, the plot is also interesting, with it's themes of government exploitation, violence, sexuality, the media, etc. and cyclical structured window bits (enters a window and ends up killing a woman, ends up going to physical jail, jumps out a window at end to provide himself with death, releasing himself from a metaphorical prison), although a large amount of the plot is derived from the Burgess novel. But here's the problems: It's overt weirdness, i.e. weird hair color for most woman, phallic symbols abound, big strong Hipster looking dude carrying a wheelchair down steps instead of having a handicapped walkway in the disabled man's house, etc. throw this movie partially in the so- called "cult" bag, where I feel unfairly judged for liking it, and shunned for disliking it. Just because something is abnormal doesn't mean it is artful. Maybe this would be a question for the sadly deceased director to have been asked about. Also, the ending seems to negate the principles developed in the movie, which is kind of dumbfounding for first time viewers, and only a little bit less dumbfounding for second time viewers. The guy is evil, rapes a man's wife (leading to her death in the future) and cripples the man, goes to jail, is rehabilitated (skipping 12 years of his 14 year sentence), gets prayed upon by his past errors and misdeeds, then is reversed, becomes evil again, and is rewarded for the whole thing by getting a good job, sending the crippled man to jail for trying to get revenge, and comes out of it a happy and unchanged man. What's the thesis? The novel ends quite differently. With a point to make. I'm just not sure what one should get out of the movie outside of the fact that the man goes from step A to… well… step A again… so it really only adds up to 2 wasted years of a horrible man's life. Happy trails, and avoid singing in the rain.
A Clockwork Orange- I think this might be the 2nd time I have watched it full from start to finish and might I say, there is a lot to love. Kubrick has a knack for not only framing portrait-esque shots that I could only aspire to create one day, but also follow long fluid tracking shots and takes that are kind of awe-spiring. I will definitely come back to this when I review shots before making my first real feature. Or at least I should. If I remember to. You know how it is, future me. Anyways, the plot is also interesting, with it's themes of government exploitation, violence, sexuality, the media, etc. and cyclical structured window bits (enters a window and ends up killing a woman, ends up going to physical jail, jumps out a window at end to provide himself with death, releasing himself from a metaphorical prison), although a large amount of the plot is derived from the Burgess novel. But here's the problems: It's overt weirdness, i.e. weird hair color for most woman, phallic symbols abound, big strong Hipster looking dude carrying a wheelchair down steps instead of having a handicapped walkway in the disabled man's house, etc. throw this movie partially in the so- called "cult" bag, where I feel unfairly judged for liking it, and shunned for disliking it. Just because something is abnormal doesn't mean it is artful. Maybe this would be a question for the sadly deceased director to have been asked about. Also, the ending seems to negate the principles developed in the movie, which is kind of dumbfounding for first time viewers, and only a little bit less dumbfounding for second time viewers. The guy is evil, rapes a man's wife (leading to her death in the future) and cripples the man, goes to jail, is rehabilitated (skipping 12 years of his 14 year sentence), gets prayed upon by his past errors and misdeeds, then is reversed, becomes evil again, and is rewarded for the whole thing by getting a good job, sending the crippled man to jail for trying to get revenge, and comes out of it a happy and unchanged man. What's the thesis? The novel ends quite differently. With a point to make. I'm just not sure what one should get out of the movie outside of the fact that the man goes from step A to… well… step A again… so it really only adds up to 2 wasted years of a horrible man's life. Happy trails, and avoid singing in the rain.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Wednesday July 27, 2011
Delirious- A light drama (technically what one would call a comedy with no laughs) but because of the performances of it's leads, Steve Buscemi and Michael Pitt, the movie is a little better than average. In other words, it's the movie I felt like seeing at the moment, but it won't leave any impact on me in any way. Through all the noise of the "comedy", you get a slight glimpse into the disappointing world of paparazzi, but at it's core, the movie is really only about two things: The friendship between Buscemi and Pitt, and the romance between Pitt and a musician character played by Alison Lohman. Even though you have no idea how the romantic interest works (it honestly doesn't seem like one of those soul mate things as it claims it is, just a dude who thinks a girl is beautiful and a girl who thinks the dude will be the first guy to treat her right), I still find myself rooting for them, though thats probably just the charm of Pitt and the cuteness of Lohman, so I'm not sure if it counts.
Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch- Some disney straight-to-dvd films are enjoyable. This is not really one of them. The movie's plot surrounds around a) a hula competition b) the attempt of one character to win the other character's affections through the use of jealousy by dating an alien (although the one who should be jealous knows from the beginning it is a ploy so it's useless), and c) Stitch having a Glitch. Outside of the characters, it hardly connects to the first one, and the plot lines aren't interesting enough to keep me involved in the characters. In fact, it was kind of boring. Like an episode of Dora the Explorer, the film follows through like a procedural with "let's go to the mountains" and "we have to create a machine to help Stitch" and even an emotionally wild "Stitch is dead!". We all know he'll come back to life with the power of love, duh, so this movie is pretty much useless. Lilo & Stich 2: Make a Quick Buck.
- Jeff Bassin
Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch- Some disney straight-to-dvd films are enjoyable. This is not really one of them. The movie's plot surrounds around a) a hula competition b) the attempt of one character to win the other character's affections through the use of jealousy by dating an alien (although the one who should be jealous knows from the beginning it is a ploy so it's useless), and c) Stitch having a Glitch. Outside of the characters, it hardly connects to the first one, and the plot lines aren't interesting enough to keep me involved in the characters. In fact, it was kind of boring. Like an episode of Dora the Explorer, the film follows through like a procedural with "let's go to the mountains" and "we have to create a machine to help Stitch" and even an emotionally wild "Stitch is dead!". We all know he'll come back to life with the power of love, duh, so this movie is pretty much useless. Lilo & Stich 2: Make a Quick Buck.
- Jeff Bassin
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday July 26, 2011
What Lies Beneath- A modest work from Robert Zemeckis that is entertaining, but also probably too long and disappointing in the hopes of something better. The opening makes it seem like almost a remake of "Rear Window", with Michelle Pfeiffer's character spying upon the relationship of her neighbors and suspecting her neighbor of murder, but "Disturbia" it is not. The worst part is that with at least 40 minutes left of the movie, I was just waiting for Harrison Ford's character to reveal he murdered the ghosty that was haunting Pfeiffer. Okay, overall, but really only worth a watch at a point where I forget the plot of the film… or if I just want to see Ford make weird incestuous and crazy remarks about his daughter toward the end... Cause he totally does.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 3D- This is the second time watching this movie, the first time being at the midnight showing, where I professed my love for the film as the best of the series. It's high time I took back that remark, as I thoroughly enjoyed the first part much more on the second viewing than I did with this one. Originally, I thought it was perfect, but for some reason, this time, I was much more bored. It's still fun, and the scenes where Helena Botham Carter portrays the aneurisms of Hermione, that one bit where Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) gives Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) an awkward hug, and the life and times of Severous Snape (Gonna need a montage) are always affective. But for some reason, the war cutting midway into this movie not only makes the film feel like less went on in it, but also that maybe they could have cut an hour of it and fit it into a three hour version of part 1. I don't know, I might be wrong. It's not like it wasn't still great. Just, like a thrill ride, it's just not as surprising or exciting the second ride through.
Friends with Benefits- An alright script with a great cast makes exactly the formula this movie has. Sure it's funny and isn't the point of romantic comedies supposed to be that it has a predictable formula, but then again, it doesn't have to be that way (here's looking at you "500 Days of Summer"). The movie chooses to insult the cliche and then result in them, almost as an insult to the audience's attention span. Yes, we remember when you just complained about the "Soul Sister" song by Train playing just at the happy ending of the romantic comedy you were watching, and oh, now that song plays when you get together. I just don't get what point about generic romantic comedies the movie was trying to say. Is it for, or against? Either way, it doesn't matter because it is one. All the Woody Harrelson gay jokes, Patricia Clarkson sex jokes, Richard Jenkins alzheimer's disease jokes (played for laughs and sentimentality oddly), and amazing chemistry between Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake doesn't quite make up for that confusion… since that's kind of the entire point of the movie.
- Jeff Bassin
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 3D- This is the second time watching this movie, the first time being at the midnight showing, where I professed my love for the film as the best of the series. It's high time I took back that remark, as I thoroughly enjoyed the first part much more on the second viewing than I did with this one. Originally, I thought it was perfect, but for some reason, this time, I was much more bored. It's still fun, and the scenes where Helena Botham Carter portrays the aneurisms of Hermione, that one bit where Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) gives Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) an awkward hug, and the life and times of Severous Snape (Gonna need a montage) are always affective. But for some reason, the war cutting midway into this movie not only makes the film feel like less went on in it, but also that maybe they could have cut an hour of it and fit it into a three hour version of part 1. I don't know, I might be wrong. It's not like it wasn't still great. Just, like a thrill ride, it's just not as surprising or exciting the second ride through.
Friends with Benefits- An alright script with a great cast makes exactly the formula this movie has. Sure it's funny and isn't the point of romantic comedies supposed to be that it has a predictable formula, but then again, it doesn't have to be that way (here's looking at you "500 Days of Summer"). The movie chooses to insult the cliche and then result in them, almost as an insult to the audience's attention span. Yes, we remember when you just complained about the "Soul Sister" song by Train playing just at the happy ending of the romantic comedy you were watching, and oh, now that song plays when you get together. I just don't get what point about generic romantic comedies the movie was trying to say. Is it for, or against? Either way, it doesn't matter because it is one. All the Woody Harrelson gay jokes, Patricia Clarkson sex jokes, Richard Jenkins alzheimer's disease jokes (played for laughs and sentimentality oddly), and amazing chemistry between Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake doesn't quite make up for that confusion… since that's kind of the entire point of the movie.
- Jeff Bassin
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday July 25, 2011
Swimming with Sharks- Not only a great cautionary tale about the dangers of the film industry within the film, but also one from a meta perspective. Director George Huang has not received many great jobs after this interesting character piece, apparently because most producers were led to believe that Kevin Spacey's amazing selfish boss character was based on them. I guess this is the kind of movie that ought to teach filmmakers like myself not to makes films that bite the hands that feed you. After all, film is a business of pleasure. A business of pleasing everyone around you, from critics on a critical level, to producers on a money making level. Lesson learned, Huang.
- Jeff Bassin
- Jeff Bassin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)