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kenjariOther Kenjari and I are watching about one movie a week, courtesy of the Netflix membership given to Other Kenjari for Christmas. The last two were very different, but both good. I've put my thoughts behind cuts for spoilery-ness.
This was very much a popcorn action super-hero movie, but the great cast really brought something extra to what could have been a very superficial special-effects extravaganza. The more I see of Robert Downey Jr., the more I like him. I'm so glad he got sober so that he could do some fine acting. He made Stark's transformation from a selfish, rich, playboy jerk into an altruistic, rich playboy jerk both convincing and sympathetic. Even when the character was unlikeable, he was interesting and I still cared about what happened to him. Gwyneth Paltrow made Pepper a good foil for him, too. I also thought Jeff Bridges was quite good. Although when Obadiah Stane got his own mecha suit and went on the offensive, I couldn't help but turn to Other Kenjari and say, "This aggression will not stand!".
This is one of Guillermo del Toro's earlier movies, oddly devoid of most of his visual trademarks (insects, clockwork, etc.). Nonetheless, it has a lot of similarities to Pan's Labyrinth. It's set during the Spanish Civil War, at an isolated rural orphanage for boys. Carlos, the newest arrival, starts having eerie encounters with "the one who sighs", the ghost of Santi, a boy who died a few months before Carlos came. Santi's ghost is genuinely unnerving, a pale specter with black, hollow eyes. Parallel to the boys' encounters with the ghost are a series of intrigues and complex relationships among the adult staff at the orphanage. Looming over all of this is the specter of an unexploded and defused bomb embedded in the orphanage courtyard. Del Toro deftly weaves together the world of the children and that of the adults into an ominous and chilling ghost story.
This was very much a popcorn action super-hero movie, but the great cast really brought something extra to what could have been a very superficial special-effects extravaganza. The more I see of Robert Downey Jr., the more I like him. I'm so glad he got sober so that he could do some fine acting. He made Stark's transformation from a selfish, rich, playboy jerk into an altruistic, rich playboy jerk both convincing and sympathetic. Even when the character was unlikeable, he was interesting and I still cared about what happened to him. Gwyneth Paltrow made Pepper a good foil for him, too. I also thought Jeff Bridges was quite good. Although when Obadiah Stane got his own mecha suit and went on the offensive, I couldn't help but turn to Other Kenjari and say, "This aggression will not stand!".
This is one of Guillermo del Toro's earlier movies, oddly devoid of most of his visual trademarks (insects, clockwork, etc.). Nonetheless, it has a lot of similarities to Pan's Labyrinth. It's set during the Spanish Civil War, at an isolated rural orphanage for boys. Carlos, the newest arrival, starts having eerie encounters with "the one who sighs", the ghost of Santi, a boy who died a few months before Carlos came. Santi's ghost is genuinely unnerving, a pale specter with black, hollow eyes. Parallel to the boys' encounters with the ghost are a series of intrigues and complex relationships among the adult staff at the orphanage. Looming over all of this is the specter of an unexploded and defused bomb embedded in the orphanage courtyard. Del Toro deftly weaves together the world of the children and that of the adults into an ominous and chilling ghost story.
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Date: 2009-02-16 02:45 am (UTC)I'll have to check out the second movie sometime - "Pan's Labyrinth" is a favorite, and I enjoyed very much the movie he produced, "The Orphanage".