One Movie A Day Remix

Day 184: October 31st, 2010

Paranormal Activity 2



The last bit of this film made up for the first half.

Paranormal Activity 2 is the story of one family who decide to get some security cameras installed in their home after they suspected they were robbed. What the cameras find is something more paranormal.

The first film was made for next to nothing in one guys house with some friends. It had good special effects that seemed more realistic because of the simplicity of everything. It was a huge success based on word of mouth. Ca-ching. Now we have a sequel. In sequels usually the filmmakers will go bigger and better. Paranormal Activity 2 still has the same low key feel to it but at the same time it does feel grander.

I was bored to death with the first half of this film. The building of the tension was a bit slower for me than I would have liked. Paranormal Activity, if I remember correctly, did not take as long to get to where it wanted to go. The building of suspense here is too mundane. Luckily for this film, the second half woke me up and it was some pretty exciting stuff. Let me get this out of the way though, it does not have the same affect as the first one. The atmosphere that was in the air with the theatre from the original was gone with this one. We knew what to expect. We knew what the scares were going to be. "Okay, this is where the door closes. This is where she gets dragged on the floor. This is where we hear noises."

With that being sad, this film did do a few things differently than the first. The original film relied on visuals to scare the audience. Shadows, hooves imprints, flaming Ouija board, blankets, possession, etc. The sequel however relies more on sound. The sudden loud moments are what make you jump, not the visuals. The jump scares are in this one where the uneasy tension of fear was in the first.

The sequel also tries to up the ante by introducing a baby in danger. Babies are defenseless after all. Let's not forget animal endangerment as well. All aspects that overall did nothing for me, but it was a nice addition to change it up a little bit. The film also has some sort of story that goes with it. It gives a little bit of information on why these things are happening and I was surprised that they decided to go this route.

I give them credit for making it connect to the first one more than I thought it would. It doesn't come off as a sequel with no purpose (even though it actually is). The story it dives into gives more background to the first events and connects the dots. I must say that the last 5 or so minutes were the best part of this film.

Paranormal Activity 2 gets a thumbs up from me, even if it does lack the charm, fear and respect of the first one.

__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Day 185: November 1st, 2010

SAW 3D



The Saw series ends on a high note.

Hoffman continues the game that Jigsaw started and must cover up all his tracks. After surviving a trap himself, he sets out to kill the person who put him in it. Jigsaw's wife, Jill.

I went into Saw 3d with mixed excitement. The last few Saw films have gotten more outrageous than the last and even more complicated. Even though Saw VI was a step up, I didn't expect them to keep it up. Much to my surprise, Saw 3D is one of the best entries in the series. So what can you expect from this one? Well, elaborate traps, blood and gore and of course twists. Exactly what the series has always been, but this time it was fun. The 3D aspect didn't add much, it was used to throw things at the screen in whichever trap.

Dr. Gordon from the original returns here, we finally get to see what happened to him after he sawed off his own foot. Why bring him back now? His screen time is significantly short, yet adds more layers to the already convoluted series. For me, I separate the first film from the others. I still think it stands alone in terms of story. It was never meant to be a series that has gone on this long, but I am interested and intrigued at how they continued it and branched it off into what we see every Halloween.

I still say that the most shocking ending was the first, with the second one right behind it. The rest became routine and this one is no exception. The kills however are the highlight. They are gory as hell, probably the goriest in the whole series. I was laughing and cheering with each death. Finally we have people working together in a trap and finally we get to see the original bear trap around the face work. It's been 7 or so years, but it finally worked.

The film follows two story lines. In one Hoffman is trying to get revenge on Jill. In the other Sean Patrick Flanery must go through a bunch of traps to save his friends and loved ones. This structure follows Saw III and Saw VI. I'm not complaining because both of those entries were decent. Each trap he comes to he sees someone that has helped him earn money from his lie. Each attempt at saving them either will end in success or failure. Since this is Saw and as I mentioned, one of the bloodiest ones yet, you can imagine what his success rate is.

I would also love to thank the editor, for once this film decides to ditch the hyper kinetic editing style. We can actually see what's going on now. There is one small scene where it is still employed, but the trap is very minimal that you don't care. It might have taken 7 films to finally realize that it was useless and distracting, but they did it.

I had a really fun time watching this entry and I hope it is the last, as they say it is. They said that about VI, but it was left open for another entry. This one seems to tie everything up, but there is always that chance, they could possibly continue the series, but with how things turned out I would simply beg the question why? I did that 4 films ago, but they were still intriguing at some level. Look to any other horror series that has more than 4 films and the quality dips drastically. Saw doesn't. Sure, they had some weak points V was pretty lame, but in the end, they all had some redeeming qualities about them. They all were connected on some form and it feels like one long story because they always pick up exactly where the previous one left off. My main interest in this series, aside from the gory deaths, would be to see how well they connect all the films.

I would have liked to have seen more characters make it through more films. It seems with each new one there is a new detective. At the same time there are so many characters from the previous films that I don't know which film they appeared in. They all seem to blend together and none of them stand out. The series should have ended with VI, it was the one that closed the series well. Change the ending to it and everything could have been great. Saw 3D ties up whatever loose ends Saw VI had. The Saw series was never made for critics, it is clearly a genre and fan tailored series. This entry will please those fans.

<-Self loathing fan rating

November is when I hit a lot of recommended movies from last time. So keep checking in to see which ones.

As for the movies I've seen so far (up to the review date) here is a list:

MAY

A Nightmare On Elm Street
Revolutionary Road
Extract
How To Train Your Dragon
The Amateurs
Dead Snow
In The Loop
Barb Wire
State of Play
Six Shooter
Smokin Aces 2
17 Again
The Lovely Bones
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
The Taking of Pelham 123
Alien Resurrection
Angels & Demons
Dead Girl
The Collector
Blood Simple
The Thing
Three Kings
Story of Ricky
Kung fu Hustle
Martyrs
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
From Paris with Love
The black Dahlia
Igor
Speed
Spongebob Squarepants

June

The Game
I Love You Philip Morris
Get Low
Shark Tale
The Breakfast Club
Forrest Gump
The Rundown
Funny Games
Hot Tub Time Machine
Carriers
P2
Hot Fuzz
The A-Team
Crank High Voltage
Chopping Mall (get yelled at by mark f for watching this crap and not good film)
Funny People
Shadow of a Doubt
Saboteur
Toy Story 3
Men of Honor
X-Men
X-2
X-Men: The Last Stand
The House of the Devil
Near Dark
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince
Fright Night
Rocky
Rocky II
Rocky III

July

Rocky IV
Rocky V
Rocky Balboa
After Hours
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Groundhog Day
Panic Room
From Beyond
Year One
Natural Born Killers
The Fifth Element
Election
Mystery Team
Big Trouble in Little China
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Taxi Driver
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Unrivaled
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Inception
The Aviator
Rear Window
2012
The Score
Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park III
Apocalypse Now Redux
Insomnia
Antitrust
Deep Rising

August

XII
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The Glass House
She's Out of My League
The Professional
Gangs of New York
Eight Legged Freaks
John Q
Identity
Precious
Rope (short)
The Other Guys
Captivity
Vamp
Sherlock Holmes
Sideways
A.I.
The Human Centipede
Piranha 3D
Stranger Than Fiction
A Serbian Film
The Devil's Rejects
Seven Samurai
Couples Retreat
Kick Ass
Dagon
Ghosts of Mars
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Sublime

September

Awake
On The Waterfront
Cry Freedom
Julie & Julia
Machete
Papillon
Rudy
Wizard of Oz
Dreamcatcher
Last Action Hero
Run Fatboy run
The Phantom
Heavy Metal
After-Life
Blade
Blade II
Blade Trinity
The Town
Do The Right Thing
Dark Country
The Slammin' Salmon
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Friday the 13th
The Experiment
The Passion of the Christ
Repo Man
Suicide Kings
Assassination of a High School President
Grown Ups
Predators

October

Centurion
The Social Network
Crazy on the Outside
The Expendables
Knight & Day
Jonah Hex
Kill Bill Vol 1
Frozen
AntiChrist
Secondhand Lions
Get Him To The Greek
Altitude
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
30 Days of Night: Dark Days
The Room
Whiteout
Red
Rubber
Spartan
Eden Lake
Gacy
Hereafter
Iron Man II
Hostel Part II
The Wolfman
In Hell
Finding Bliss
Unknown
Day Watch
Thinner
Night of the Demons
Paranormal Activity 2

That's some list, TUS. It's a magnificent effort thus far.

Great work

__________________
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Just FYI, I've tagged a bunch of these for the User Reviews area, but I've still got a ton more to go! I'll go to most of them before long, though. Just can't keep up!

Day 186: November 2nd, 2010

Hatchet



Old School American Horror

Still riding the horror train here, I decided to check this one out because I've heard good things about it. I read on the cover, "It's not a sequel, a remake, or based on a Japanese one. I immediately smiled and grabbed it. Beneath the axe that was plastered on the poster it read Old School American Horror. I believe Adam Green achieved what he wanted to, give us a more modern day horror film that was also a throw back to the likes of Jason Vorheese or Freddy Krueger. I do think the film thinks a little too highly of itself in that regard, but I can't deny that I had a bloody good time watching this piece.

We have our character at a spring break party in New Orleans, one of them ain't feeling the good vibes and decides to go on this haunted swamp tour to cheer up, he's morose like that. One of his friends decides to go with him so he is not alone. They meet a bunch of other people that are going on this haunted swamp tour as well, but things don't go according to plan when the boat hits a rock and begins to sink. Of course things go from bad to worse when the old tale of Victor Crowley that was apart of the tour, is actually true. The tourists find themselves trying to survive the superhuman, deformed and blood thirsty Victor Crowley.

I give Green some props for giving us an actual horror film that feel like it belongs in the same grouping as Friday the 13th, a film that heavily inspired this one. The menace, known as Victor Crowley is indeed, in the words of Arnold, "One Ugly Mother Fuc...you know. The story goes like this, he was born deformed and his father decided to keep him out of public, alone out in the swamp, just the two of them. One Halloween night, a bunch of kids decide to terrorize Crowley by throwing firecrackers at his cabin, bad idea since the cabin catches on fire. His father comes home to a burning house and he grabs an axe to break down the door. Another bad move, since Victor is pushing up against the door from the inside. Axe to the face. The legend goes on to say that Victor Crowley is stuck in that night, his spirit in human form, going on a killing rampage.

The film is graphic, lots of blood and limbs being ripped apart. There are quick cuts of buckets of blood just hitting the walls. If you love that type of stuff, this is the film for you. It's full of cheesy dialogue, stupid characters and cliched horror elements. You have your drugs, sex and deaths all rolled into one neat little package. Horror fans will also get a nice giggle here and there when they see some horror legends lending their talents to this film. Tony "Candyman" Todd, Kane "Jason" Hodder and Robert "Freddy" Englund. Green knows where he is grabbing his inspirations from and it's nice to see him acknowledge it. Even the last scene seems straight out of the original Friday the 13th.

The film is not scary, it seems more like a comedy. The dialogue is very sitcom like and Victor Crowley never matches the vibes of Jason or Michael. The guy doesn't have that iconic feel to him and I predict that years from now we won't even remember who he is, but we will still remember Jason. The backstory to him is just too thin and while he does a great job at killing people, it's not enough to make it memorable. Hatchet is definitely a horror comedy, poking fun at the genre itself here and there.

I look forward to the sequel, which will probably suck. This is a film for fans of the genre, hence the generous rating.

Day 187: November 3rd, 2010

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief



One of my problems with the film is the title, granted it's also the title of the book, it's just too wordy and one of the problems why I think the film wasn't as successful as it could have been. People are put off by long, wordy titles that take two breaths to say, unless you're someone like Harry Potter and you can get away with a long title, I would suggest sticking to something shorter.

Funny I mention Harry Potter since the director of Percy Jackson is Christopher Columbus, who also directed the first two Harry Potter films. I think he did a better job of adapting the Potter films to screen than this one because this my friend, is one big mess of a film. Percy Jackson lacks heart, charm and adventure, instead it gives you a lackluster cast, bizarre plot lines to follow and a cast that doesn't work.

Percy Jackon discovers he is the son of a Greek God, Poseidon to be exact. The God of the sea and brother to Zeus. So Zeus has misplaced his lightning bolt, a source of great power, for some reason that I still do not know, he has blamed Percy Jackson. He tells Poseidon that is Percy Jackson does not give him the lightning bolt in so many days, there will be this great big war. Percy discovers this and is now on a quest to clear his name, find the bolt and stop the war. Oh yeah, his human mother is kidnapped and brought to the underworld, run by Hades, the third brother of the Gods. He now has to find three magic pearls, so he and his two friends can go to the underworld, get his mother and use the pearls to get an easy escape going.

I never read the books, but know enough about them to know that there were some big changes made for the film. I also went into the film knowing quite a bit about Greek Mythology, I studied it. Now, I'm not saying that they have a lot of information wrong, even though the satyrs depicted here are from Roman Mythology and not Greek, I'm just saying they took some liberties. I can accept some of this, as they are indeed adapting this for a film and a family film at that. I do take some points off though because the bulk of the movie revolves around a topic that the writers seemed to have glanced over on a wikipedia page. Moving on though....

The adult actors feel underused, this journey is indeed about Percy, but when you have Steve Coogan playing Hades...put the guy to some good use. The film has some great ideas, but the final product seems hastily executed. For example, Percy finds out he is a demi-god and then all of a sudden he knows how to use all of his powers, with next to no training. We are to assume that one game of capture the flag is enough for him to unlock his powers and all of sudden use them in a heated battle? Where is the struggle here? There is no real obstacle for this character to overcome. The filmmakers seem to think the journey is enough to entertain the audience...wrong.

The film doesn't bother to explain how much we, in our world, see or interact with them, their world. The first scene we see is of Poseidon exiting the water, he is a giant and when he walks on land, he transforms into human size. He passes by a fisherman on the dock while he is gigantic, so we know right from the start that we apparently can see and interact with these Gods. Then the rest of the film seems to ignore this, a battle at the top of the Empire State building, people flying around and giant Hydra monsters turned to stone in the middle of a museum. I was more concerned with people finding these things then the actual events being depicted on the screen.

The film was a disappointment for me and I never even read the books. It lacks depth and seems to be on the Harry Potter bandwagon. I can't compare the film to the book, so I can't tell you if it was the fault of the source material, but I have to think that the filmmakers cut a lot of corners here. Percy Jackson lacks everything that it needed and frankly, should have had. You have a movie about Greek mythology here, why is it that a subject I find so fascinating, turned into a dull movie? Twice this year....

Day 188: November 4th, 2010

Night of the Demons



This remake stinks.


This is a remake of the 80's film that I recently watched. I'm going to get it out of the way fast, the movie sucks. It loses the 80's feel and has that direct to dvd vibe about it. The story tries to add a bit of background information, but comes off as thinner than the original and all the original had was a bunch of people possessed in a house.

You have your hot ladies like Diora Baird and Shannon Elizabeth, then you're use to be famous but now does movies like these actor Edward Furlong and of course the newbies. Oh, I can't forget the homage to the original with the cameo by Linnea Quigley, same outfit and all.

The make-up effects are the only thing worth mentioning. The effects, acting and entertainment level were pretty lackluster. I knew going into the film that it wouldn't be great, or hold a candle to the original, but this is a pretty lame excuse to cash in on the name and the already there fan base.

Skip this one, not that any of you would really want to see it. It's a bad imitation of something good.

Day 189: November 5th, 2010

Splice



Meet Dren.

The third act of Splice turns into what I think most movie goers expected from this movie. A monster flick that picks off people one by one. The rest of it is actually concerned with exploring the morals of what these people did and what do we consider a life.

Two scientist are on the verge of a great discovery that would help cure cancer and diseases. The one problem in their way is the company that employs them. They want to use human DNA, the boss won't let them. They do it anyway. We are then introduced to a hybrid creature known as Dren.

Vincenzo Natali directed one of my favourite films, Cube. Here he is given a bigger budget, known actors and more freedom, some people might dispute the last one. Splice is something that he's been working on for awhile now and he is the type of person that wants you to be invested in the film and the characters, not give us some shock piece. Splice deals with some weird topics and it gets a little strange at points, but it never feels like a gross out horror flick.

Dren, the creature, is played by an actress and her performance is enhanced by the use of CGI. It's rare these days to find a film where the big creature isn't totally a CGI creation. Kudos to Natali for going the more realistic route. Dren comes off as a believable character, a child trapped in a rapidly aging body, trying to learn the ways of human life. Elsa, played by Canadian Sarah Polley acts as her mother. Clive, played by Adrien Brody is her boyfriend and co-worker, he has a strained and unusual relationship with Dren.

The film's third act becomes predictable and a more conventional sci/fi monster flick. Things go awry for our characters and they have to suffer the consequences. There are bits of the film that remind you of other flicks, like The Fly or Species, but by the end of it Splice feels like something new. It doesn't go above and beyond the call of entertainment and I wouldn't call it a favourite of mine, but it accomplishes the task.

Day 190: November 6th, 2010

Takers



I should hate this movie...but I don't.

I think the reason I liked this so much more than other people is because I honestly thought it was going to be DREADFUL. After finishing it, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't end up hating it. I was actually entertained and it kept my interest. The film is predictable as hell, rips off every other heist flick it can get its greedy little hands on, but I actually enjoyed myself.

A group of bank robbers decide to pull off an earlier than expected heist that is offered to them from a former friend who just got out of prison. Their plan is spoiled by a relentless detective and their distrust of their prison pal.

As I mentioned earlier, the film seems perfectly fine taking elements from other heist films like Ocean's 11, Heat and more importantly The Italian Job. Despite these efforts to make the film seem a bit more hip and cool, it does come off as a cheap imitator. The opening heist screams Heat and the main one is a direct lift from Italian Job, one character even says "We're going to go Italian Job on this..." So they even acknowledge this, which is fine by me. If they played it off as their own then I would have been a bit more upset.

The cast has Idris Elba of The Wire fame, he plays the leader of this ragtag group of guys. From what I can tell, his second in command is Paul Walker, who gives us viewers a wonderful scene with his buttocks front and centre. Two rappers, Chris Brown and T.I. are also in the cast, which is where a lot of my concern was. They managed to not get on my nerves, surprisingly. Michael Ealy plays the brother of Chris Brown and he proposes to Zoe Saldana, we are suppose to care for these two characters and hope these kids will make it work.

Then, ladies and gentlemen, I come to the film's secret weapon. Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, who plays A.J. This character is suppose to be the brains behind the operation. What brilliant casting director thought of this one? Who knows, but guess what? As cardboard delivered as it is here, he isn't annoying like he is in other films. He has a scene in which he gets to be a bad ass, so good for him. The juicy role is given to Matt Dillon as the cop on their trail. He is the only one that seems to be giving it his all as well. It might be the character, but everyone else seems to be playing it too cool for school.

Despite my efforts to not like the film, I ended up liking it. So sue me. Even the lame parkour style chase scene had my attention. These guys would be last on my list of guys to call regarding a heist, but they do pull it off. Maybe I have a soft spot for heist films, I shouldn't like this movie, but I did. The entire film I knew what the ending would be and how the events would fall into place. I was even able to call the subplot with the Dillon's partner, played by Jay Hernandez. Takers is a film that many people might call their guilty pleasure. This rating will be generous, I'm in a good mood.

Over half way

Day 191: November 7th, 2010

Harpoon



This one is going to be short and sweet.

It sucked.

Day 192: November 8th, 2010

Sexy Beast



Oh, yeah. Bloody hell. I'm sweating in here. Roasting. Boiling. Baking. Sweltering. It's like a sauna. Furnace. You can fry an egg on my stomach. Ohh, who wouldn't lap this up? It's ridiculous. Tremendous. Fantastic. Fan-dabby-dozy-tastic.

I had high hopes for this one, it seems there are some people here who hold it in high regard. I didn't really know what to expect, I figured it was a gangster flick, but then we start the film off with good ol sexy Ray Winstone sunbathing in a skinny speedo, baking in the sun. I thought this was an odd way to open the film, memorable, but odd. I in fact went into this film knowing nothing about it and realized half way through the film that Ben Kingsley was STILL trying to convince Winstone to take the job. I thought to myself, if this the whole movie?

It wasn't, but it was the most interesting because Kingsley owned the role and the film. He is terrifying and funny. He doesn't seem to be the kind of person that would strike fear into your heart, but once he goes on his rants you quickly quiver. Well deserved Oscar nomination. I don't know how good Jim Broadbent was that year, but I think Kingsley should have taken the little guy home with him that night.

The rest of the film is the job that Kingsley wanted Winstone for. Breaking into a bank vault and taking the loot. The guy who put this plan in motion is Ian McShane, another scary mofo. The film has some odd pacing issues and the content itself is far from what I expected, but the overall experience is still a positive one. I wouldn't hold the film in such high regard, I think if Kingsley wasn't in the film then the whole thing might have crumbled. Sexy Beast is a heist film that focuses more on the reluctant character than the heist itself. Hmm, interesting take on the genre. I looked at the back cover to see what they described the film as and sure enough it was about one guy trying to convince the other to take a job.

Day 193: November 9th, 2010

Conviction



Not powerful enough.


The true story of Betty Anne Waters, a working mother who puts herself through law school to represent her brother Ken Water, who has been wrongfully convicted of murder.

At one point in the film, her two sons ask each other if they would do the same for each other what their mother is doing for her brother. The one kid says something along the lines of "You'd throw your whole life away for me?" That's a pretty fair question, since Betty Anne's journey was 18 years. From 1983 to 2001 her main goal was to free her brother, this took a toll on her marriage and her kids. The question I walked away from this film was, could I do that? I have trouble sticking to a health routine, could I really spend 18 years with one clear goal in my mind, something that isn't going to be 100 percent certain?

At points during the film I was moved, mainly the performances from Swank, the always reliable Rockwell and surprisingly Juliette Lewis who steals the scene she is in. The performance from Rockwell further proves to me how underrated and under-appreciated he is in the industry. Swank gives her usual dedication to the role, both throw on accents that apparently aren't really true to form, so I hear. The whole movie feels like an award winning piece, but there are some issues with it that actually make it feel like a wannabe award winning piece.

The film weaves in and out of different time periods for the most part in the first half. It's distracting and doesn't fully give the audience the full weight of Betty Anne's journey. We start off with them as adults, Kenny already convicted, then we shoot back to when they are kids, then we go to before he is convicted, then back to kids, then to convicted, then back to kids, so on. I felt that the film seemed a bit rushed with the journey she takes and I did not fully feel the emotional weight of her undertaking. This was the key part of the film that they needed to hit and I think they missed it.

The film loses points from me due to the fact that the filmmakers chose to ignore some bits of facts regarding the ending because the test audiences found it too depressing. Yes, we know she gets him out because that's part of the story. DNA evidence was was used to exonerate him. The film ends with him out of prison and then some title cards appear to let us know where the actual people are now and what happened afterwards. They choose to ignore the fact that Kenny, 6 months after getting released, died. To me, that puts a whole new perspective on the matter and was a piece of information I think the film needed to give the audience.

Day 194: November 10th, 2010

Edge of Darkness



I for one welcome Mel Back.

Mel Gibsons first stab at a lead role since...wait for it....2002's Signs. He went behind the camera for the graphic Passion of the Christ and the beautiful Apocalypto. With Edge of Darkness he's back with the gun in his hand and on a quest to find answers. His daughter was shot dead right in front of him on their porch. The gunman yelled her last name and fled. Craven, being a cop, thought it was for him, not his daughter. He quickly discovers that there was more to his little girl than he originally thought and is determined to find out who killed her and why.

Everyone loves a good mystery film right? A detective is solving clues to find the truth behind some kind of cover up? Edge of Darkness thinks it's one of those films. Gibson goes to people, looking for answers. He gets little in return. People are scared, there is something big going down and only MEL GIBSON can stop it. For Craven, he has nothing left to loose. His only daughter died in his arms, he's not afraid to die. A bit of a revenge tale like Death Wish, but the Chinatown aspect of it sets it apart enough to make it enjoyable.

Gibson throws on a Boston accent, nothing too irritating. There are a few scenes that you'll have to suspend reality for, like when someone gets hit by a car at the right place at the right time. A little far fetched just for the sake of shock value. Edge of Darkness is good enough to keep your attention for the running time, but not great enough to have you keep talking about it days later. It's a well made time waster for those looking for something that will entertain.

Day 195: November 11th, 2010

Score: A Hockey Musical



An embarrassment.

Farley Gordon, whom I kept confusing with Charlie Gordon from Flower for Algernon, is one of the most skilled hockey player ever to grace the rink. The trouble is that his parents are against team sports and it takes some convincing for him to get on a team. He dazzles everyone with his stick work and constant scoring technique.

Blah...I'm bored typing out the plot to the film already. Score: A Hockey Musical is a poor mix of bad writing and misguided talent. It's a sad attempt at being patriotic and cute. Blending the nation's favourite sport with song and dance numbers is walking a thin ice, to make matters worse the songs and lyrics are terrible. None of the songs are memorable and every single one sounds exactly the same. This is a feature production and it was outdone by a television show about vampires and demons ten years earlier.

Canadian actor Stephen McHattie shows up at the beginning and recruits the young kid. The character is made to seem like he is important and will be involved somewhat later on in the film. Nope, the character almost disappears other than some random appearance here and there for show. Maybe McHattie figured out what kind of film he was in and quickly tried to get out. The inclusion of Nelly Furtado is a joke and was just a way to help get more Canadian funds in the mix. Look everyone, we got a big Canadian singer in our musical, that means Telefilm can feed us more money.

The romance between the two lead characters is weak and uneven. Not once did I ever buy these two would fall in love, let alone were best friends since infancy. Separate, the actors do well enough, together they drown each other out. Bad chemistry leads to a boring and uninteresting film. The conflict on the ice is mostly about fighting and the hesitation that Gordon has to it. The team doesn't have an enemy team, though we are made to believe the first team they play will make some kind of appearance again. The team never seems to loose either, which makes us wonder where is the real conflict? Do I care if the kid doesn't want to fight? You have a hockey film here with no hockey. Where is the excitement? The drama? The thrills? Everything a hockey movie should have, it's missing here. Hockey takes a major backseat to the musical.

The musical numbers, as I stated before are boring, uninteresting and never catchy. Some of the lyrics are vomit worthy," Hockey without fighting is like Kraft Dinner without cheese/ It's still pasta, but the palate it won't please." Uhh.....what? These songs needed to be reworked over again before they made it past the script stage. The final game, is again, an afterthought to the last song of the film. If the film had concentrated a bit more on hockey and added some dramatic elements to it, it would have been a moderate success, instead of an utter failure.

As a Canadian and an aspiring Canadian filmmaker, films like this are not only an embarrassment, but it makes things harder for us. The film is jam packed with Canadian content to help get the funding needed. I get that, but please, make a good film. It all starts at the script stage and this is where the film should have stayed. I can only dream of the film I could have made with my film school colleagues, if I were given a fraction of the budget this had. The film looks great, but it's because of a film like this that we are more known for documentaries . Name some Canadian filmmakers that didn't go over to the states and make a career. Paul Gross is the most notable one, some small fare people like Don McKellar are nice but he is not a house hold name. Paul Gross is even a stretch. If you want to bring some kind of film industry to Canada from the States (which has sucked away most of our talent) then you have to stop making films like this.

This film claims to be a comedy, but it's not funny. It has comedic, dramatic and musical beats...it misses them all. This is a plea to those who produced this film, contact me. This is an open plea, give me a fraction of this budget and I'll give you a better movie. Sorry, but the truth hurts.

This was also the opening film at TIFF.

Day 196: November 12th, 2010

Raging Bull



I finally saw this one.

Jake La Motta, his violent temper wins him matches in the ring, but destroys his life outside of it. The film chronicles his life from rise to fame, to the destruction of it all.

Martin Scorsese is my favourite director, so some of my friends considered it a sin for me to have not seen this one until now. Some people here would even say the same thing. The film is highly regarded as one of the best films of the 80's, some people will even go further and say one of the best films of all time. I, not so much.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I did not love Raging Bull. In fact, I was completely indifferent to it for the entire first half. The film finally managed to grab my interest for the latter part of his career/life. To me, the most interesting parts were after his boxing career, when he was a fat rude jerk.

I can't fault Scorsese, because the film is expertly crafted from start to finish. The clever choice to shoot it in Black and White was a right one and the dedication that DeNiro put into the character is amazing. What Deniro did with the character and this role actors can only dream of today. Only one person I can think of today goes to the extreme lengths that DeNiro did for this role and that's Christian Bale.

DeNiro really does shine in the film, while Pesci plays his usual self, this time a little less psycho. He's calm cool and collected and it's nice to see these two together in something fresh and new (for me anyway). Cathy Moriarty is beautiful and puts up with all the crap and physical abuse that is given to her by the abusive and womanizing LaMotta.

I wanted to love it, and I think that's where the big trouble lies. The film didn't do much for me, like I said earlier it didn't really grab me until half way through, and by then I was really bored. Maybe the LaMotta story doesn't interest me enough to care. No where near my favourite Scorsese film, or even my Scorsese/DeNiro pairing. It's far from the worst though as well.

Let the hate begin.

Funny to hear you say "fresh and new" regarding De Niro and Pesci since you know it was their first teaming in a movie. I know that usually Pesci plays the paranoid one, but almost nobody's more paranoid and suspicious than Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. Do you think that the fact that you waited so long and it's been praised so much had anything to do with your reaction?

__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Without a doubt. I didn't expect the film to really be as great as Goodfellas, which I hold in high regard, but I did expect to find one of Scorsese's better efforts. Everyone I know talks about the film so highly.