| Snakes on a Plane!!! |
[Aug. 18th, 2006|02:04 am] |
just got back from the most awesome film, and i speak of SNAKES ON A PLANE! everyone should go see this! be sure to catch my review, that should be up first thing friday morning on Pop Syndicate.
enjoy. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 6th, 2006|12:20 pm] |
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just wanted to say ... HAPPY ANTICHRIST DAY!!! |
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| my UNITED 93 review - a definite read! |
[Apr. 21st, 2006|10:17 pm] |
Everyone knows the story of the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. There was non-stop news coverage for days and weeks, documentaries and even a made for TV movie on the subject. It was only a matter of time before the events made their way to the big screens across the country. Oliver Stone has been hard at work on his version of the story, but before theatres are hit with another one of his “epics,” a film makes its way out into the world focusing on one aspect of that tragic day – UNITED 93.
The picture begins early in the morning on that fateful day with the terrorists preparing themselves to cripple the United States forever. They are followed to the airport where they board flight 93 on United Airlines, and keep to themselves as the rest of the passengers, flight attendants and pilots carry out business as usual. We are taken into flight control rooms in different cities as they discover the hijacking of the other flights and everyone is stunned by the events of planes crashing into the World Trade Center as well as into the Pentagon. All the while, those on United 93 are oblivious to the terror in the skies around them and that awaits them on their own flight. The story unfolds all the way through the events of the terrorists taking control of the plane and the passengers realizing their fate, finally taking everything into their own hands to stop at nothing to fight for their lives and freedom.
Writer and director Paul Greengrass (THE BOURNE SUPREMECY), has hit the nail on the head with this film. UNITED 93 is truly an amazing piece of cinematic and American history that will pull you into that Boeing 747 on that morning, in the seat next to the unraveling tragedy and give us all a slight glimpse at what it was like for these unfortunate people. Even though the plot is known and the outcome is undeniable it never gets boring. The anticipation of knowing what is going to happen to the country as air traffic controllers look on with terrified amazement when two commercial airliners crash into towering skyscrapers is key to the chill inducing effect of the film. All of the passengers onboard laugh and plan their vacations while four quiet men sit in first class waiting for the right time to do what they blindly believe is God’s work, and ultimately torture them for the brief time they have left on the earth
Having such an unrecognizable cast really helped this movie convey the feelings that it needed to. Putting an “A-list” celebrity in one of the roles would ruin a large part of the impact. Seeing Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt in any of the roles would have really put the audience in Hollywood’s version of these horrific events, but having an extremely talented cast of unknowns makes everything seem more real. Character development is something that is not really even needed here, though there is plenty of it (just in a totally uncommon way). Little snippets of every person’s conversation or physical expression is all that is needed to connect you with someone that you know just like that, someone that could have very easily been on that flight when this all took place.
Plenty of people are spouting off that this movie is being made too soon to such a catastrophic event that shook this country to its very core. The families of those directly affected by this flight were consulted and gave blessing for Greengrass to go forward with production, and it is a wonderful thing that they did. This is an extremely important film that EVERY American should see. If it were not for the R rating (due to violence and language) this would be something that history classes, and schools in general, should take their students to, as it paints such an eye opening picture of what New Yorkers and those on the East Coast went through on that day. While everyone was saddened by malicious attacks and stayed glued to the news, those of us that live elsewhere in the country never experienced the realism and “next door to home” feeling that these people did. I am thankful that Paul Greengrass decided to make this film and treat it with the utmost respect that he did. It will have chills running down your spine and the hair on the back of your neck standing on end from the opening shot, through the heartbreaking (and tear jerking) phone calls goodbye to loved ones all the way up to the cataclysmic end. This will be the kind of film that will live on forever and keep the memory of those affected alive for generations to come.
5/5
Pop Syndicate.com |
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| bruce willis + mustache = child molester |
[Feb. 28th, 2006|04:28 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  annoyed | ] |
it's been a while since updates and even longer since i've posted one of my reviews ... so i'll kill two brids with one stone.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Willis as a burnt out cop with a bad attitude towards life and everyone in it. How many times have we seen this character from Willis? One would think that it would be beginning to get old by now, but he is typecast in films that just keep on coming. The new Richard Donner film, 16 BLOCKS, has the same thing that we have seen a bunch of times before, with nothing new to transcend to that next level of action flick.
Alcoholic, out of shape NYPD officer Jack Mosley (Willis) comes off of his night shift and is on his way out the door when he is given the task of transporting a witness from the lock up down to the court house in the next two hours. After much grumbling he picks “the kid”, Eddie Bunker (Mos Def), up and is on the way. Mosley stops to go into a liquor store and comes out just in time as an assassination attempt is made on his cargo. They run and hide out in a bar where he learns that Eddie is a witness in a case against a crooked cop that would bring down a lot of Jack’s dirty co-workers, including his old partner. Choosing to do the right thing for once, he goes against all of his “brothers” and tries his damnedest to get Eddie to his court appointment with the majority of the NYPD on his heels.
A new action movie coming from the man that brought the LEATHAL WEAPON series out gives a lot of hope for a good time. While there is plenty to keep you occupied during film, it is not enough to put it at the level that the LEATHAL WEAPON movies, or Willis’ DIE HARD films had. An interesting thing about this movie was the fact that it is released with a PG-13. There is some bad language and violence but it is not really on par with most other films like it. That really did not hurt the film at all, and will make the editing quicker when it gets played on TBS someday.
The story could have been a little more interesting if the sequence of events all happened in real time. At the beginning Mosley is told, more than once, that he has 118 minutes to get Bunker the 16 blocks to the courthouse, and quite regularly the time is made aware to the audience. Not that this movie should have been dragged out another 20-30 minutes, but they could have given him 90 minutes to get the job done and everything could have gone by minute for minute. Maybe even give Kiefer Sutherland a small cameo.
On the acting front everyone seems to do a descent job, no matter how annoying their voices might be. Even though Mos Def’s character had this nasal whiny quality in his voice he still manages to surprise me with every film. This is nothing as good as his work in THE WOODSMAN but definitely keeps the movie going at times as a bit of the comic relief. Willis is his usual self, except he’s got a bit of a beer gut that should tone down his sex appeal for this flick and looks pretty child molester-like with that mustache. His trademark gun shooting, tight lipped smirk did not even make an appearance in the film, which was kind of disappointing, but I guess everyone has to branch out at some point (or maybe it was just hiding behind the ‘stache).
Overall an alright film that is well shot and acted, backed up by a reasonable script that will not bore you into an hour and a half nap. Not necessarily something to rush out to, but it will not hurt you to see it.
3.5/5
herorealm.com
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| me |
[Jan. 18th, 2006|01:11 am] |
this fits how i would react with my puppy to a "T".
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| lol |
[Jan. 9th, 2006|05:43 pm] |
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| hmmmmm |
[Jan. 9th, 2006|03:55 pm] |
i know i'm just asking for trouble, but ... fill this out and leave it as a comment.
YOU
1. Name:
2. Date of birth:
3. Where you live:
4. What makes you happy:
5. Currently listening/the last thing you listened to:
6. Do you read my journal?:
7. If yes, what makes it especially good or bad?:
8. An interesting fact about you:
9. Are you in love/do you have a crush at the moment?:
10. Favourite place to spend time:
11. Favourite lyric:
12. The best time of the year:
RECOMMEND
1. A film:
2. A book:
3. A band, a song, or album:
PLUS
1. One thing you like about me:
2. Two things you like about yourself:
3. Look at my friends-list and tell what you like about one of our mutual friends:
4. Put this in your journal so that I can tell you what I like about you. |
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| a sad start to a day |
[Dec. 12th, 2005|09:27 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  disappointed | ] |
so my day started off with calling into work to come in 2 hours late so i could go take care of my automobile problems. it seems that my car has an oil leak, which would make sense seeing as how it will be paid off in a few months. fucking cars.
so as i go outside i hear a lot of yelling, but i live near an elementary school and sometimes they're out at recess and i can hear them so i thought nothing of it. as i walked down the stairs i heard it get louder and louder, and noticed that a lot of it was swearing. i see my downstairs neighbor at the bottom of the stairs and he asks if i have my cell cause we may need to call the cops.
great.
as i walk around the corner there is a bright blue truck with a bunch of funiture and stuff in the back and one of the people by the truck i recognized as someone i saw out the window taking stuff to a nearby apartment.
great now they're moving in.
the neighbor and i cautiously walk down the sidewalk to try and see what exactly was happening. the best i could make of it was a boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, baby daddy/momma altercation. due to the distored volume to her voice and slang that i couldn't understand for the life of me i'm not too sure as to what it was really about, but lets just say that it was not happy. he kept walking away and then coming back yelling more and more. as i opened my cell and began the call to 911, he said something to the effect of having enough of her talking shit on him, then he ran towards her and the argument became phsyical. the older woman that was with her broke it up before my neighbor got over there and he walked away as i reported this domestic disturbance to the 911 operator.
the most disheartening part of the whole ordeal wasn't the yelling, or even her getting slapped a couple of times. it was that there were her three kids in the truck and/or standing outside of it watching everything. two of them were of school age so i wonder why the fuck they were not in school, i guess this fantastic mother understands the value of an education so that her kids will grow up and be better than her. no, she'll just drag them down the same path that she has followed. then the last was not old enough to walk, and was just staring the whole time. i'm not 100 percent sure, because i couldn't understand all that she was saying, but there was a comment that she shouted out about not even wanting him and she was going to get rid of him.
i had to leave and get to the auto shop before going to work so i could not stay but i hope that she and/or he got arrested. that would serve them both fucking right. while the children being sent to CPS if that were to happen would be a sad thing, it could not be any worse than being with their "real mom." |
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| my weekend ... |
[Dec. 5th, 2005|01:45 pm] |
i had a pretty good weekend, i took saturday off from work so there was actually two days off in a row! damn that was nice. i kicked off the weekend with a nice little cheesy 80's slasher called THE INITIATION at this guy Kit's house. good times ... and julie i have this pic of you sleeping on my phone, muahaha! then after that was over and we chatted about other horror flicks i went and saw MEXICAN WEREWOLF IN TEXAS at the inwood. great little chupacabra film that will no doubt end up on sci-fi channel someday. i'll be doing a review, so stay tuned for that.
then i woke up saturday morning to catch a screening of NARNIA and i must say ... damn! it was really close to verbatim with the book, along with some added scenes. the pacing was sort of slow in parts, but nothing that made me look at my watch - not that i was wearing one anyways.
the acting was great, the sets and scenery was great, the FX were fan-fucking-tastic and Aslan looked amazing. i am not a big fan of CGI in any respect, but he looked so damn real. a couple of times during the film i had to remind myself that it was not a real lion.
all of the creature designs, costumes and animated members of the white witch's army were crazy. some of them looked like the undead and others were animal human hybrids, evil dwarves and such.
the christian allegories are pretty thick, but that's excpected as it was the same in the source material.
then my night got bloody when i went to check out the 20th anniversary tour of the greatest live band EVER ... GWAR! it was fun as always, they killed the nazi-pope, bush, chaney, michael jackson, sharon osbourne and of course gor-gor. here's a pic of me after i got home, it's linked due to it's huge size.
sunday all i really did was rest up, good times regardless. |
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| Stupid Myspace-type Music Questionare... |
[Dec. 2nd, 2005|06:54 pm] |
1. Of all the bands/artists in your cd/record collection, which one do you own the most albums by?:
the ramones
2. What was the last song you listened to?:
uh ... i belive it was GWAR - "gor-gor"
3. What's in your record/CD player right now? WHY?:
a GWAR mix that i made
4. What song pretty much sums you up?:
ramones - i just wanna have something to do
5. What's your favourite local band?:
local to texas would be flametrick subs, dallas would be ghoultown or big d three
6. What was the last show you attended?:
fade-a-ways farwell show at the old crow
7. What was the greatest show you've ever been to?:
probably the cramps last year
8. What's the worst band you've ever seen in concert?:
eek, i have no clue, there have been a few
9. What band do you like musically but dislike the members of?:
big d three ;)
10. What is the most musically involved you have ever been?:
i play drums
11. What shows are you looking forward to?:
going to GWAR tomorrow night!
12. What is your favorite band shirt?:
i love my leftover crack shirt, though i don't wear it enough
13. What musicians would you like to hang out with for a day?:
lux interior or if he was still alive ... joey ramone
14. What musician would you like to be in love with for a day?:
hmmm, not too sure
15. Pat Benatar or Cyndi Lauper?:
cyndi lauper
16. Sabbath or solo Ozzy?:
sabbath
17. Commodores or solo Lionel Ritchie?:
commodores
18. Punk rock, hip hop or heavy metal?:
punk
19. Doesn't Primus suck?:
i don't they they do
20. Did you know that filling out this survey makes you a music geek?:
meh
21. What was the greatest decade for music?:
the 80's :)
22. How many music-related videos/dvds do you own?:
3-5
23. Do you like Journey?:
not really
24. Don't try to pretend you don't!!:
what. ever.
25. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?:
rock-n-roll high school
26. What was your last musical phase?:
i recently went through yet another movie score only phase, so i guess that was it
28. What's the crappiest CD/record/etc. you own?:
hmmm, a cd for a group called young black teenagers that was bought as a joke
29. Do you prefer vinyl or CDs?:
depends on what i'm listening to, i love both
30. All totalled, how much do you spend on music in a month?:
not much ... god bless you internet |
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| show off |
[Dec. 1st, 2005|01:56 pm] |
just had to post to show off the new 1337 avatar i made.
IT'S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!!! |
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| HOSTEL review |
[Nov. 29th, 2005|10:56 am] |
ok, here's the HOSTEL review, i thought i'd just link to it this time and the second link is for one of the other guys on the site's interview with Eli.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Review
Interview |
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| awesome new movie!!! |
[Nov. 22nd, 2005|08:22 pm] |
jonesy, you missed out!
just thought i'd make a quick update about what i did last night. i went to a screening they had of Eli Roth's (CABIN FEVER) new film HOSTEL, that comes out january 13th. incase you were wondering, it is fucking awesome! i was a tad worried because LGF was making it look very SAW-ish, with the poster and trailers, but it bitch slaps SAW in the face! it's WAAAAAY more brutal than either SAW film, with more gore and, in my opinion, a better plot. not to say i'm not a fan of SAW, but i'm now a much bigger fan of HOSTEL. i'll be sure to post my finished review soon.
Roth was also there, with one of the actresses who is from prague and REALLY hot, and he did a little Q&A and was really cool. i got a picture with him that i'll post as soon as it's e-mailed to me. since my friend had to take it cause i forgot my camera.
in closing go see HOSTEL in january!
edit/ fixt date, no ninja |
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| mainly for GWEN |
[Nov. 21st, 2005|10:36 am] |
just thought i'd annouce that the official report is CHARLES IN CHARGE SEASON 1 on DVD Feb 14th! How appropriate that it comes out on valentine's day, just for gwen.
that is all for now . . . |
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| RENT review |
[Nov. 18th, 2005|07:13 pm] |
In 1996 a man named Jonathan Larson brought his “baby” that he had spent years of his life working on to a small Off-Broadway theatre. It was an updated re-imagining of Puccini’s opera LA BOHEME entitled RENT, though in this version the main characters are not sick with tuberculosis, but AIDS, and it is more of a rock opera than a normal opera or musical. Due to a heart defect misread by a local hospital, Larson died a few days before opening night never getting to see the fruition of all his labor. The musical quickly caught on as a smash hit, moved to Broadway, won numerous awards and created a mass following of fans, dubbed RENTHEADS, from all around the world. After all of the success in live theatre, director Chris Columbus brings out his wonderful, captivating and heart pounding rendition of RENT to the big screen.
In the span of a year a lot happens to a tight knit group of friends that forever changes their lives. On Christmas Eve of 1989 struggling filmmaker Mark Cohen (Anthony Rapp) and his depressed musician roommate Roger Davis (Adam Pascal) are fed up with the evictions notices that they, along with everyone else in their building, have been given. This coming from a former friend that married into wealth named Benny (Taye Diggs) who is worried about the protest against his company by another member of the group, performance artist and Mark’s ex turned lesbian Maureen (Idina Menzel), so he tries to persuade the two to get her to cancel in exchange for free rent. Of course they decline and Mark has to cope with helping his ex’s new love, Joanne (Tracie Thomas), get ready for the show, while Roger sits at home trying to ward off advances made by sexy downstairs neighbor Mimi (Rosario Dawson). Yet another close member of the group, Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin), is back in town and after being mugged is rescued by a bubbling cross dresser named Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia). She … he … comes into the group spreading her newfound wealth while trying to cheer up the depressed group of Roger, Mimi, Collins and herself who all are inflicted with AIDS.
It is a little odd seeing RENT on the big screen instead of a stage, but the story definitely translates well into its new medium. Some things flow better and it is quite easier to have more extras for crowd scenes than in a stage production. A few of the selected songs like the fight between Maureen and Joanne in “Take Me or Leave Me” taking place in Joanne’s parent’s upscale country club, or “Santa Fe” in the subway car are great to see in the different settings, not to mention the ensemble choreography in “Tango Maureen.” The way that the a few of the songs are shortened and their contents transferred to dialogue works a lot better than expected, and even though there is a different order (and in some cases time frame) to things RENT fans will quickly get lost in the wonderful production and forget all about it.
A large part of what really makes this mesh so well, and such a joy to see, is the bulk of the main cast are the same people that played these parts in the original Broadway production. All of those returned except for the roles of Joanne and Mimi, but they pulled it off fantastically and fit right in like they were always meant to be there. Dawson in the role of Mimi is one that was an “iffy” thought, but she really brings it to the table. For those that may have thought she was extra hot in SIN CITY should take a look at her dancing around, scantily clad, for her number “Out Tonight” in the Cat Scratch Club. In some of the added sequences some new characters are thrown in, the best by far is sleazy news show host Alexi Darling who is played by comedienne Sarah Silverman, and the couple of minutes that she is onscreen are great. The shining star of the film is without a doubt the same as in any stage production, and that is Heredia as Angel. This is such and integral role in the storyline that always requires someone with mucho personality and that is him through and though.
A few things do work better in the stage production but that is to be expected by anyone who has seen a previous work before seeing the film. Same thing when you have read a book that finds its way to the silver screen; you can never be pleased 100 percent of the time. A shame that a couple of songs were cut but with an running time of 2 hours and 15 minutes, I guess we can wait for DVD to see them, as some were shot according to the director. Luckily RENT does deliver the goods that will be an enjoyable time for old fans and new fans alike.
4.25/5
herorealm.com |
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| RENT movie |
[Nov. 17th, 2005|10:39 pm] |
for all those out there that i have gone to see RENT with, or are just fans i would like to let you know something. i just got back from a screening of the film, that opens wednesday, and it's great! quite a bit different from the play, in some ways good and some bad, but all in all it was sweet. the first act is in a different order, some of the contents in the songs are spoken and a couple of songs are left out. i had my doubts about rosario dawson as mimi, but she was awesome and "out tonight" starts in the catscratch club and that was a tasty scene. the only thing i was disappointed in was maureen's performance. it was still good, but the way it's done in the live show is better. i'll have my full review up for those interested probably later tomorrow.
make sure you go see it next week! |
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| 8MM 2 review |
[Nov. 15th, 2005|12:34 pm] |
Ah, the direct-to-video sequel. A movie that, from the get go, is something that the studio barley even has faith in, but yet just enough to throw it out in the video stores. Usually full of no name actors playing the same roles as in the first, packaged with a ridiculous tagline and cover art that looks like “My First Photoshop.” Then there those bastard DTV sequels, like AMERICAN PSYCHO 2, that have little to nothing in common with the source from whence it came. These are some of the most anger inducing films available, and now thanks to J.S. Cardone we have another, 8MM 2.
David Huxley (Johnathon Schaech) works diligently for the U.S. Ambassador’s office in Budapest, Hungary vying for the chance to get an open seat in Congress. His fiancée is one of the ambassador’s daughters, Trish Harrington (Lori Heuring), with whom he goes to spend a weekend at a small hotel/resort that turns into a nightmare for his political career. While there they meet a lovely young lady, Risa (Zita Görög) , who propositions them to participate in a ménage à trios, which of course they do, and all is wonderful like kittens romping through a meadow until David receives an envelope in the mail containing photographic proof of the carnal act. This turns into a game of blackmail, while David and his betrothed hunt for the mysterious girl that set them up and attempt to get all the evidence back.
Alright, now what in the hell does this have to do with 8MM?! I am one of the few, so it seems, that absolutely loves that film and it is sad to see what they have done with its good name. When the first (and only!) film came out in 1999 it had such a shock on the audience. A provocative thriller hyped by the delve into the seedy world of underground pornography, sick fetishes, life changing glimpses of depravity and the possible existence of the ultimate urban legend, an actual snuff film. Basically you had to take your hat off to Lion’s Gate they created an exploitation film in America and released it in theatres all across this great nation. This film had people disgusted and walking out of movie houses, even bringing the tape back to me (at the mom-n-pop video shop I worked at then) talking about how sick it was. This was a movie that really grabbed the attention of the viewer and stirred up extreme emotions that most films released (especially theatrically) in the states do not have the “metal” to do.
The prime time to “cash in” on a sequel would have been about 4 or 5 years ago when the title still rang a bell to anyone on the street. But no, they decided to wait 6 years to release a “follow up” as yet another direct-to-video piece of film fluff. The only resemblance (and the word is used very lightly) that this film has to its predecessor would be the title and the presence of the porn world. A more appropriate title for this would have been DV (digital video, if you don’t know) since there is nothing to do with an actual 8mm film as in the first flick. This is like the HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH of today, just using a good film’s name to try and turn a quick profit on the rental shelves everywhere.
The plot in this movie is barley somewhat decent, but it really fails with the highly predictable ending that was figured out about 20 minutes into the movie. Most of the acting was fine yet confusing, wondering why some of these really good actors would be doing this film. I guess their careers are just in that much trouble. Schaech, who played the lead, must have taken a liking to being in unwarranted sequels since IMDb has him listed in production as Dalton in ROAD HOUSE 2: LAST CALL. At least they are putting the “same character” in that film and not just using the name for an all new idea, so that is a little better … I guess.
One thing that 8MM 2 does have going for it is A LOT of nudity, which definitely gives it some points. There are scenes with dozens of hot-bodied women walking around stark naked, and everywhere you look there are strippers, provocative photo shoots, porn stars and even the lead female letting it all hang out. In the making-of (and only) feature that accompanied the film, director Cardone (who also wrote SINGLE WHITE FEMALE 2: THE PSYCHO, I wish I knew what was wrong with him) said that he wanted to push the envelope with the sex and nudity in the film and was happy with the end result. You have to give him credit for doing that and making it a step up from the Skin-a-max flicks that plague late night premium cable, though instead of taking on 8MM’s moniker he should have just released this as RED SHOE DIARIES 99: RUSSIAN ROULETTE. Now I’m going to go watch the original film to remind myself of its greatness, and how sad it is that people will rent this with the expectations of something similar.
2/5
herorealm.com |
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| MELINDA AND MELINDA review |
[Nov. 14th, 2005|03:09 pm] |
With a catalogue of over 40 films to his credit, Woody Allen has had quite a following over the years. He is known for his great maladjusted romantic comedies, most often staring himself as a writer/director, or something of the like. Recently there has been a noticeable decline in the quality of his films and this is largely represented in one of his newest, MELINDA AND MELINDA.
It all begins with a dinner between four friends discussing which is the more popular genre of theatre, comedy or drama. One member of the group tells a story that could be perceived as either and leaves it up to the remaining crew to decide. After hearing it the two theatre directors explain the story of Melinda popping into the lives of people at a dinner party in their own interpretation of each beloved genre. The dramatic approach has her as an old friend showing up unannounced after having a horrible divorce in which she loses her children and being dumped by the hunk she had an affair with; while the comedic has her as an unknown neighbor arriving at the party after taking an obscene amount of sleeping pills.
The similarities in the two versions of the story have Melinda being a total train wreck and there being a folly of relationship woes, but those are pretty much the only parts that were played out the same. Most of the other attributes are changed around just a bit, like the husband being an out of work actor, but in the comedy he is portrayed as the “lonely housewife” character while the wife is out working. The relationship troubles have similarities but the characters that they happen to change in the different versions due to the roles that are taken on in each.
The film as a whole can be taken as an allegory for itself due to it being partly the same and partly different than most all Woody Allen films. Yes this is a romantic comedy, there are writer/directors as the main character and plenty of witty banter but something just does not gel as some of his movies do. The largest deviation from his normal flicks is that Woody is not the lead character. Hell, he is not even really in the film. There is a cameo that he makes as a non-speaking patron in the restaurant where the film begins, but that is a far cry from his normal neurotic charm that graces the screen. Taking over for the “Allen role” would be Will Ferrell’s portrayal of the emasculated husband Hobie, and he is good it’s just not the same.
The acting is decent, and it is really nice that there are two whole different casts for each telling of the tale. Everyone gives a nice performance but nothing that really stood out. Personally, I enjoy the comedic telling and cast more so maybe that says something about my character, but it just works better. The husband and wife team of Ferrell and Amanda Peet is a great combination, especially the ways that she patronizes and berates him for every little thing that he does. One major complaint is that Steve Carell’s role in the movie is extremely underused. He is always funny and has a great stone faced dryness that would work well with Woody’s wit, but instead he plays a friend of Ferrell’s that has not one joke and a grand total of only about 5 minutes of screen time.
The disc is lavishly stocked with a helping of no features, unless of course you count the fact that it has both widscreen and fullscreen presentations (one on each side). So with a mediocre film (a bad film for Woody Allen) and no features it is not really worth the time. Such a shame, because the premise has potential to be so much better than this.
2.5/5
herorealm.com |
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zombifreak's journal
