I watched some movies
Dec. 30th, 2009 05:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariBurn After Reading
This was not the best of the Coen brothers' work, but it wasn't terrible, either. None of the characters were truly likable, but they were all fun to watch. At times, I wondered if the movie was riffing not just on the modern espionage genre, but also on stereotypes and cliches about the cast as well. John Malkovich's character is intelligent and urbane, yet keeps erupting into tirades that are still somehow elegant. Tilda Swinton plays a cold, competent, and calculating woman. George Clooney is a charming womanizer with an over developed sense of self-importance. Brad Pitt is a wacky, quirky guy who stumbles into a more aggressive and adventursesome role.
The Rutles
This is Eric Idle's mockumentary spoof of The Beatles. Unfortunately, it is not up to the standard set by This Is Spinal Tap. There were some funny moments, particularly in the beginning, but certain of the jokes missed the mark. The song parodies were also uneven.
Invictus
Invictus is a fine and successful film, with a lot to say about the way something that seems trivial or very far outside of politics and great events can come to have enormous symbolic and metaphoric power. Eastwood has a great eye for composition and lighting. I also liked his sense of subtlety when it came to portraying Mandela's work on reconciliation. Morgan Freeman was very good as Mandela, too. I think Eastwood is also aiming for a global rather than mainly American audience, which I found refreshing.
Sherlock Holmes
This was a lot of fun, and in many ways better than I thought it would be. Guy Ritchie clearly wants to reimagine Holmes and Watson as an action hero team, but, although I am far from an expert, he didn't seem to trample all over the characters and their milieu as much as I was fearing. The script also happily and cleverly makes use of the semblance of the supernatural as a device for the villain, a traditional mystery plot element. I also liked the way that some of the action scenes were intelligent in their setup and execution, using the mechanics of the environment and situation rather than relying on a lot of simple violence and property damage. I was also pleasantly surprised by the script's treatment of the female characters: there are two attractive women in the movie, yet, while they each have a relationship with one of the male leads, neither of them have a nude scene or a sex scene; both of them have independent and interesting back stories; Irene is very involved in the plot and action and has her own agenda. Also, the ending has clever and satisfying twist to it.
This was not the best of the Coen brothers' work, but it wasn't terrible, either. None of the characters were truly likable, but they were all fun to watch. At times, I wondered if the movie was riffing not just on the modern espionage genre, but also on stereotypes and cliches about the cast as well. John Malkovich's character is intelligent and urbane, yet keeps erupting into tirades that are still somehow elegant. Tilda Swinton plays a cold, competent, and calculating woman. George Clooney is a charming womanizer with an over developed sense of self-importance. Brad Pitt is a wacky, quirky guy who stumbles into a more aggressive and adventursesome role.
The Rutles
This is Eric Idle's mockumentary spoof of The Beatles. Unfortunately, it is not up to the standard set by This Is Spinal Tap. There were some funny moments, particularly in the beginning, but certain of the jokes missed the mark. The song parodies were also uneven.
Invictus
Invictus is a fine and successful film, with a lot to say about the way something that seems trivial or very far outside of politics and great events can come to have enormous symbolic and metaphoric power. Eastwood has a great eye for composition and lighting. I also liked his sense of subtlety when it came to portraying Mandela's work on reconciliation. Morgan Freeman was very good as Mandela, too. I think Eastwood is also aiming for a global rather than mainly American audience, which I found refreshing.
Sherlock Holmes
This was a lot of fun, and in many ways better than I thought it would be. Guy Ritchie clearly wants to reimagine Holmes and Watson as an action hero team, but, although I am far from an expert, he didn't seem to trample all over the characters and their milieu as much as I was fearing. The script also happily and cleverly makes use of the semblance of the supernatural as a device for the villain, a traditional mystery plot element. I also liked the way that some of the action scenes were intelligent in their setup and execution, using the mechanics of the environment and situation rather than relying on a lot of simple violence and property damage. I was also pleasantly surprised by the script's treatment of the female characters: there are two attractive women in the movie, yet, while they each have a relationship with one of the male leads, neither of them have a nude scene or a sex scene; both of them have independent and interesting back stories; Irene is very involved in the plot and action and has her own agenda. Also, the ending has clever and satisfying twist to it.
