I hope I don’t make this a habit, but I am going quickly recap the movies I’ve seen since January 2nd.
Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick
Vin Disel is not only tough, but he is a fun actor to watch. Pitch Black makes a very interesting use of color, which I think gets overlooked because most people see it as a strictly sci-fi action movie, but the color affects the mood of the movie and the performances are underrated. The series continues to get overlooked in Chronicles, but it is such a wonderfully crafted movie- great characters, cool effects, imaginative settings- wrapped with an interesting story.
A classic 80s movie. Classic.
The Mummy and The Mummy Returns
Chunky, hilarious, fun. And perhaps a commentary on violence?
Hero
This movie is simply gorgeous. Clearly, a lot of time went into crafting a movie that was not only visually appealing, but that visually reflected the complexity and subtlety of the story it tells. A few events serve as plot anchors around which different angles of the story rotate- with each angle having a different color associated with it. It ends up being quite difficult to get to the truth of any single part of the story, but you struggle along with Nameless and the King of Qin as the story unfolds. At the end of it all, you are not quite sure of what really happens, which may serve as commentary on historic events in general.
Or maybe the movie just looks pretty.
There is a lot to be said about the original Die Hard, but this one remains my favorite out of the trilogy (though, I almost like Live Free or Die Hard the most just on principle). The cast is better, the acting is better, the plot is better, the execution is better, and it breaks out of the “locked-in” scope of 1 and 2 while keeping the same Die Hard feel.
Here’s the thing, though. This is an interesting movie to watch post-9/11. After the first two bombs go off and the heist actually begins, I am thinking to myself, “there is no way they would let anyone off the island,” but the day continues on as if hardly anything was happening. In fact, there is a scene where people are eating popcorn while overlooking the rubble of the second explosion. We really were that ignorant, weren’t we?
After reading nothing but good reviews about this movie, I had a suspicion that I might end up being slightly disappointed- even The New Yorker had good things to say about it. I was prepared to see a visually stunning movie with a suspect plot carried by Clive Owen. What I got was an upsetting look at how off-base humanity has become made all the more upsetting by a believable set of actors and shot in a style that subtly and inexorably locks you in to watching.
I need to see it again to speak more about it.
What is there to say about an eighty-minute movie that doesn’t give a damn about feasibility and simply wants to rock your socks from start to finish? Aside from it succeeding in those ways and looking good while doing it, not much.
There are so many reasons why I enjoy this movie. First of all, it is a lot of fun to watch. Alex Proyas‘ work is really interesting and this is no exception. He mixes CG with live action very well and it allowed him to free up the camera quite a bit to make the movie visually interesting. He also uses color in a subtle way to control the mood of the film. Second, I can’t really say enough about Will Smith as an actor. He delivers varied and professional performances, brings with him an emotional depth that a lot of actors just can’t pull off, and can kick some ass without seeming out of place. That’s a trifecta (think about Chris Tucker). Third, the geek factor. The Geek is Strong with this one, but it isn’t over-bearing, which would make it inaccessible. Rather, Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics are presented in a way that people can grasp and immediately process and put into context. Fantastic.
I also watched Brick a couple of times since last reviewing it… such a cool movie.
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