William Shakespeare's Romeo+Juliet

Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo

20th Century Fox 1997



Did this pre-date the Ethan Hawke adaptation of Hamlet? Regardless, it's in the same vein, by holding the original text of the play, and simply adapting the setting to a slightly fantastical version of modern times - while this one looks like California (Venice Beach?), Hawke's Hamlet made Denmark a giant corporation.

While comparisons are, of course, useless in describing the movie itself, they are essential in showing effectiveness of the purpose. I'll just say that I thought Hawke's Hamlet was brilliant, but this movie was OK.

It's not that I didn't like it - it's just . . . it seemed as though the only good actors, the only ones who really brought forth the meaning behind the words, were the adult actors. Honestly, ALL of the actors under the age of 30 were wooden, stilted, and delivered the lines as though they were reading the ingredients off a cardboard box. Shakespeare, regardless of what setting or special effects you use, has to be FELT. None of the young'uns felt it. The Priest, and Mr's and Mrs's Montagues/Capulets, well, I got the sense that each of them cut their chops on the plays of the Bard, while the Danes and the DiCaprios might have done one play in high school and that was it.

Overall, the cinemetography was good, and many colours to delight the visual senses. The words are beautiful, because the dialogue was written by one of those rare true geniuses that Almighty God in His wisdom occasionally gives to us humans - but the delivery by half the staff was frankly, less than thrilling.

Maybe they'll do a better job on a remake when they're in their fifties.



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Scary Movie 4

spoofs War of the Worlds, Saw, and The Village (among others)

not as completely obnoxious as some of the other Scary Movies, but still has enough scatological humour to satisfy those tastes.



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La Bolsa de Piedra (The Stone Raft)

Spain breaks off from the Europe and goes floating out to sea. This idea is the only good aspect of the movie, which completely does absolutely and utterly nothing with the premise, and basically follows five people aroudn the Spanish countryside for two hours with absolutely no point whatsoever.




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Stardust

Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeifer, Robert DeNiro

2007


Very well done film, with lots of high adventure, and one of those which the entire family can enjoy - filled with swashbuckling adventure, evil witches, plotting princes, and a star that was knocked out of the sky by a necklace that will unite the kingdom.

Actually, it's all about love.


Just watch it - it's wonderful.




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Dead Presidents

Hollywood Pictures


Don't remember much about this movie, other than it was a bank robbery flick with the usual inter-thief tension. Lots of action, a few explosions.



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High Tension

Lions Gate (which is probably just the USA distributor) of a

Europacorp and Alexandre Films

Set in France – two college chicks go to an abandoned farmhouse (which one’s father has just bought) in order to get some peace and quiet to study. Fat Chance! Some psycho-killer rings the doorbell at about midnight and the blood and gore-fest begins.

He even kills the family dog!

There is a lot of uncomfortable gore here, which should sate the appetite for those of you heathen who simply HAVE to see people’s heads getting chopped off by armoires and copious amounts of blood spurting over the floor. Personally, I feel that kind of stuff is a little gratuitous, BUT

AND HERE IS A SPOILER ALERT!!!!! DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT IT SPOILED

OK I WARNED YOU!!

The movie had a great “European” twist – the killer wasn’t some random serial murderer – it was the French chick! It was all in her mind – she thought she was saving the friend from the killer but SHE was the killer the entire time! A split personality, brought out by her lust for her friend and inability to reconcile it.

Which, for all the weirdness, is a true redeeming factor for this film. Now I have to live with the discomfort of liking it.

and you will TOO!

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RECON 2020: THE CAPRINI MASSACRE

The Maverick Entertainment Group 2006

written directed shot and chopped by Christian Viel

If this movie had had a budget it would have been terrible. The fact that it looks like they made it with about $500 makes this movie wonderful. What I remember while watching it is that while the actors are definitely not professionals, they just seemed to have fun making this film. That was neat to watch. A bunch of people just having fun making a movie.

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The Highwaymen

sort of a cross between the Hitcher and Duel. Leaning more toward the Hitcher side.


It's one of those movies. Not too bad, but nothing terribly original.



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Pursued

sorry, don't remember this one either. I'd probably google it to jog my memory - must remember to do that later - gotta go for now.



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May

Intense.

Simply intense.


and disturbing.



extremely disturbing.


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Herbie: Fully Loaded

Lindsay Lohan. Walt Disney. 2005. Angela Robinson, dir.

This is a great family film - the wife, kids, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was very endearing.



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El Salvador

Film Ideas Inc IVC Entertainment. 2005

Terribly sorry, but I don't remember watching this at all - which is really embarassing, since I rather pride myself on studying this beloved country. All I can say is that I had these notes written down, so I must have watched something with that title, and from that production company and year. I just tried to google it right now with the information that I had, but nothing came to the fore.

I suppose I will never remember.

So, I'll just put it out there, if anybody can find me a link to this DVD, please let me know.


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Expecting Mercy

Carrie Hitchcock Brian Mani Heather Prete

2004

Cinemavault

This one surprised me. I put it on as something to play in the background last summer while I was putting crown moulding around the house (and utterly hating every minute of it) and while I expected filler I was actually greeted with a psychological thriller that had several twists and turns in it, and was simply an enjoyable film to watch. Don't quite recall many specific details at the moment, but as I recall it's all about desire, and what it can lead to.

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Man of the Year

Robin Williams

2006

Universal

This movie could have been done much better, and it didn't showcase all of Robin Williams' talents (but then, lately, most movies don't seem to be pulling everything out of him that he can give!) - seriously, as an actor (and a comedian) the man has charisma to beat out 200 Obamas, and yet this movie drowns in the Laura Linney aspects of the plot, and never truly develops what it was meant to develop - that of the comedian who runs for president as a joke and turns out to be a viable candidate.

Actually, not to draw further comparisons (well . . . that's a lie, because that's exactly what I'm doing) a similar device was used in Bulworth, the Warren Beatty film about a senator running for President who has nothing left to lose, so he starts telling the bald bold truth - This movie could have accomplished something similar as far as true political satire that had an actual point.

But the movie never makes it. Mr. Williams is utterly wasted in it, and it's sadder than movies that never have a chance to be any better, because this is one that, with several further re-writes, could have been fantastic.

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I HEART Huckabees

Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin Jason Schwartzman Jude Law

2004 dir & co-written by David Russell

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Hilarious! Fantastic movie and sort of has the same "feel" as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Driven by half-mad characters, convoluted plot, darkly humourous. Definitely my favourite kind of movie.




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disclaimer/apologia

For the next few posts, I will be highlighting movies that I have seen over the past few months but have not blogged. For those of you who read my blog often (that is - all my imaginary friends) you will probably be disappointed in me for not blogging regularly so that you know what DVDs you must rent for the weekend.

I assure you as well that you will be doubly disappointed, in that when I was busy not blogging what I had watched, I simply wrote down the title and some pertinent info about the movie - in my next few posts I will try to say a few words about what I remember the movies to be, but I don't guarantee any accuracy or even coherency.

Enjoy . . . or not!


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