2005 Screening Log

[Prince Eric]

July 27, 2005

Gosford Park
Brilliant, brilliant piece of screenwriting! Brave to Julian Fellowes and a belated congratulations to his Oscar win in the category of Best Original Screenplay. Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren stomped Jennifer Connely (Especially the latter), but they lost out! After seeing all five Best Picture nominees, I can safely say the Academy once again played the role of the dunce giving it to A Beautiful Mind. I so adore Emily Watson and Clive Owen in their respective roles. A good look at the English caste system and family dynamics. Bravo! Grade: A

[castleinthesky]

July 27, 2005

Gosford Park
Brilliant, brilliant piece of screenwriting! Brave to Julian Fellowes and a belated congratulations to his Oscar win in the category of Best Original Screenplay. Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren stomped Jennifer Connely (Especially the latter), but they lost out! After seeing all five Best Picture nominees, I can safely say the Academy once again played the role of the dunce giving it to A Beautiful Mind. I so adore Emily Watson and Clive Owen in their respective roles. A good look at the English caste system and family dynamics. Bravo! Grade: A

I also thouroughly enjoyed Gosford Park. I found it intelligent and witty, not including having a great plot.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous: Errr, it was watchable. I personally never saw the original one(*gasp*) but I just saw this one since my Mom was watching it, and thankfully I picked up with the story really fast. It was kinda bad. Some amusing moments, it wasn't anything extrodanary but not quite as bad as the critics made it out to be. But overall I could've skiped it! 5/10

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: I liked it! While I really like Road Dahl's book, I really didn't like that 1970's movie. But I really enjoyed this movie. Johnny Depp was pretty funny. I don't think Road Dahl would like it, but I had a good time with it! The special effects were terrific, and I loved all the great things they added into the story. Plus the rest of the acting was good too. I loved how well they casted the kids and Lord-Of-The Sith will be happy to know Christopher Lee is in it! Defintaly a good time! 8/10

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: I hated this movie. I didn't like it that much the first time(mainly because it ruined the book) but I thought I would like it better this time. WRONG!!! I hated it even more. I thought J.K. Rolling would be very disappointed how all the characters acted differently then they did in the books. I also thought the direction of the film was terrible with alot of cheap laughs and how they tried to show the audience all the twists to the film in just 1 minute. Overall this is an overrated movie which is a giant insult to J.K. Rolling and even Chris Columbus! 0/10

[Prince Eric]

July 29, 2005

Me And You And Everyone We Know
Definately a disturbing picture and not for the weak-minded. Yes, these are every day people we are talking about, but what they do behind closed doors is repulsive. Yet, Miranda July makes everything seem sane, normal, human. It's not about a bunch of losers, like Sideways and Lost in Translation. It's more about a group of fellows disconnected from the world and trying to reconnect to something, anything. The script is so daring and pushes the limits of the medium. There's not really a plot; it's all about the characters, and boy are they alive! It has dethroned Howl's Moving Castle as the best picture of the year (so far). Both will definately survive to make my year-end countdown. Grade: A

[Prince Eric]

FYI: I'm playing catch-up of the 2000's. I've seen pretty much all the movies I wanted to for 2005, with the exception of The Ballad of Jack and Rose, The Upside of Anger, Mysterious Skin, Off The Map, and 2046.

August 3, 2005

Casa De Los Babys
Like pretty much all the Best Supporting Actress winners from the 40's, 50's, and 60's, Rita Moreno never got a chance to lead a picture...or, more accurately, not allowed to. The studios never cared much for smart character actors and there was no such thing as "the independent feature." So sadly, Rita Moreno, the talented actress-singer-dancer who is one of only seven people in history to have possession of the Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and Emmy, has had to be successful without ever being a star. She's in the ensemble here, but if you blink, you just might miss her. Her part is entirely in Spanish, but she's so deft to body language, you just KNOW what she's saying. Enough about Miss Moreno. She was great. Duh. The movie itself is very quite in mood and because of that, it doesn't make much of an impact, despite the somber subject matter. A group of Anglo women are couped up in a Latin American hotel awaiting adoption. They're arrogant, presumptuous, ethnocentric, and ultlimately, a sad and pitiful lot of people. There tales are interwoven skillfully by John Sayles script, but his direction could have used a little more spice. The cast is too uneven: Susan Lynch gets best of show honors as the frazzled, wannabbe Irish mother and Darryl Hannah is a close second with her emotionally restrained offering of a fitness freak with biological horror stories of the female kind. Marcia Gay Harden does respectable, if over-the-top work, Maggie Gyllenhaal tries her best to be a grown-up actress with many "Look-I'm-Oscar-worthy" scenes (but fails), and Lili Taylor starts off brilliant, but ends her performance forced and condescending. While Rita Moreno and Mary Steenburgen are both actresses I like, they really have nothing to do. A solid movie. Grade: B

August 12, 2005

thirteen
Brutal. Just brutal. The sad fact of the matter is, this stuff happens. Good teens allow peer pressure to get them involved in a life of drugs, sex, and violence. This is not a movie cliche, this is life that needs to shown more onscreen. The electric Holly Hunter does stellar supporting work (even though she's first billed), and Evan Rachel Wood proves that the Academy honored the wrong child actor in 2003 with their nomination of the adequate Keisha Castle-Huges. Great movie. Grade: A-[b][/b]

[Prince Eric]

August 16, 2005

Sense and Sensibility
Jane Austen adaptations are pretty much a hit-or-miss affair. You have your camp classics (the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice), witty interpretations (this year's wonderful Bride and Prejudice), and straight-up disasters (1999's Mansfield Park). I'm banking on this year's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice to be a flop. Anyway, once in a blue moon, you have GREAT movies, like Sense and Sensibility. Under the direction of auteaur Ang Lee and the deft screenplay by star Emma Thompson, Austen's lightest novel becomes a weighty piece of meat to chew on. Women-Man dynamics are covered of course, but their manners in relation to each other are also brought to life rather than caricaturized. Oh, and Kate Winslet shines. Enough said. Grade: Classic.

[Princess Jasmine]

Phantom of the Opera A+++
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory A
Fantastic Four B-
Raise Your Voice F-

Note: I may be biased do to the fact that I find men with capes and/or masks who can sing extreamly attractive, and people who try to sing and act extreamly irritating.

[Prince Eric]

August 26, 2005

2046
This was my introduction to the much lauded director Wong Kar Wai. It was a most tragic event in my movie viewing life. I've heard so much about him, but I unfortunately chose to first screen one of his subpar pictures, the newest one that is. OK, it wasn't bad. It was very good...or at least I think it is. I just didn't get it most of the time, which is probably because this is a sequel and I didn't see the first one, In THe Mood For Love, however, as stupid as that sounds, I though smart indie sequels stood by themselves, obviously not. Anyway, the production values were gorgeous. The score was beautiful, but it won't get an Oscar nomination. The composer has been snubbed repeatedly in the past and his name isn't John Williams or Howard SHore. He's not ubiquitous enough. The movie is basically a meandering look at the life of a man who's lost his love, and who tries to find it four other women. Zhang Ziyi has the meatiest supporting role, and she's superb. Duh. Gong Li, Faye Wong, Maggie Chung and this other actress who's not really famous and who's name I'm forgetting (but was very good considering her screen time) really are just there to draw in a larger crowd. They are irrelevant and could have been played by no-names. That might have been better considering I was expecting all of them to flex their mighty acting chops, and yes they do have them! I'm lost at the use of the sci-fi allegory. Weird movie, but a very good experience. Grade: B

August 25, 2005

The Cave
I got a free screening to my city's premiere. It was pretty horrible. Trite, unbelievable, and ultimately, forgettable, it wasn't worth the free ticket! Ha! Grade: D

[Prince Eric]

September 4, 2005

The Constant Gardner
Wow, great-looking movie! The camera work was impecable as was Fernando Merielles' keen eye for human observation. I have yet to see an action film this year that kept me involved throughout. Ralp Fiennes is great, of course, as is Rachel Wiez. I hope America really gets behind this film because it exposes how modern-day Africa is treated by the world. Most eye-opening. A-

September 2, 2005

Thirteen
I saw it again because my mom didn't see it the first time. Nothing new or relevant to add besides that this is really disturbing the second time around.

Best Picture
The Constant Gardner
Crash
Howl's Moving Castle
Me And You And Everyone We Know
Nobody Knows

Best Director

Wong Kar-Wai, 2046
Fernando Meirelles , The Constant Gardner
Hayao Miyazaki, Howl's Moving Castle
Miranda July, Me And You And Everyone We Know
Hirokazu Koreeda, Nobody Knows

Best Actor
Johnny Depp, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Ralph Fiennes, The Constant Gardner
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Tony Leung-Chow, 2046
Yuya Yagira, Nobody Knows

Best Actress
Kimberly Elise, Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Miranda July, Me And You And Everyone We Know
Nicole Kidman, The Interpreter
Aisha Rai, Bride & Brejudice
Rachel Wiez, The Constant Gardner

Best Supporting Actor
Kevin Bacon, Beauty Shop
Christian Bale, Howl's Moving Castle
Matt Dillon, Crash
Terrence Howard, Crash
Brandon Ratcliff, Me And You And Everyone We Know

Best Supporting Actress
Sandra Bullock, Crash
Taryn Manning, Hustle & Flow
Thandie Newton, Crash
Faye Wong, 2046
Ziyi Zhang, 2046

Best Original Screenplay
2046
Crash
Hustle & Flow
Me And You And Everyone We Know
Nobody Knows

Best Adapted Screenplay
Batman Begins
Bride & Prejudice
The Constant Gardner
Fever Pitch
Howl's Moving Castle

Best Costume Design
2046
Beauty Shop
Bride and Prejudice
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Constant Gardner

Best Art Direction
2046
Bride and Prejudice
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Constant Gardner
Howl's Moving Castle

Best Cinematography
2046
Bride and Prejudice
The Constant Gardner
Me And You And Everyone We Know
Nobody Knows

Movie I still need to see that have been released thus far:
Brothers
Junebug
Broken Flowers
Mysterious Skin
The Upside of Anger
A Map of the World
The Ballad of Jack and Rose

[Prince Eric]

September 23, 2005

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Even better the second time around. All the loose ends were cleared up for me. The romantic tension between Joel and Clementine was even more intense the second time, because you just knew they were meant for each other. I love twisted love stories.

The Making of Bambi
Great documentary on the 2-Disc DVD! A lot of personal insight. I'm so glad they had actual talent to comment instead of disposable stars of the era and talking heads.

[castleinthesky]

Eric, I like all of the Howl's Moving Castle nominations!!

[Prince Eric]

Eric, I like all of the Howl's Moving Castle nominations!!

So do I! Add one more for Original Score, which it truly deserves! Is there an Original Song that was released on the end credits? I had to mosey on out because I was with friends. I'm curious, because the music itself was so good. It's the type of score that will last through the ages.

[Prince Eric]

September 26, 2005

Flightplane
Dear Jodie Foster,
You are a very talented actress, but I want my money back. The whole hook for this movie is that any project that draws you away from your family is good because you hate leaving your precious children. After watching this very confusing post-9/11 trainwreck, I've conclude that maybe you aren't working as much because you're no longer a hot commodity. No offense. It's just a thought. It seems that your acting prowess is diminishing. I don't much care for your hysterics as a grieving mother. You just came off as annoying and I felt like cheering when that Arab guy threw your character to the ground and knocked you unconscious. I really want to know why you would chose a very poorly written script that attempts to be thrilling when it really is not. Why did you chose to work for a director-for-hire that has no decent flicks to his credit? If this is all you got, then answer this question: Why are you still working period? Grade: C-

[Prince Eric]

October 1, 2005

Akira
Very, very creepy. I was disturbed and enlightened, frightened and overjoyed, bewildered and grounded at Japan's first major U.S. anime release. I don't quite know what happened. I just know I witnessed something good. Unless it's fantasy, I don't really comprehend the purpose of sci-fi anime. This was a different story, figuratively and literally, and I don't know how to describe it. I don't think it's a masterpiece, but I don't think greatness has to necessarily manifest itself in masterpieces. The last 45 minutes were too erratic and existential to fit in blood-gushing, pulsating vibratto of the first half. Glad I picked this up for $7.50.

October 2, 2005

Erin Brockovich
Very intense scenes make up this well-scripted, directed, and edited film. Julia Roberts give a life-giving performance, electric and alive. She does difficult and challenging work as a lawyer's consort who just wants to help those wronged by an overzealous coporation. Amazing, the human heart is. Good things happen to good people: and that is the stuff of good movies!

[castleinthesky]

Well I have decided to post some reviews of the movies I have seen recently:

Ray
First off, Why did Jamie Fox win Best Actor. He certainly was not best. His performance in this movie, was not shattering what so ever. Lenardo DiCaprio should of been best actor, due to his near flawless acting in the Aviator. Liam Neeson and Johnny Depp were also both better than Jamie Fox. I have yet to see Eternal Sunshine or Hotel Rwanda, so I cannot rate Carry's or Cheadle's performances. Next the movie was not that bad, but no that good. I am usually a fan of "good" biopics. Now, with the movie, it's plot was very silly at first (the way the writers wrote it, not his life). The special effects made me laugh they were so bad. And take it there were only a few special effects. Sometimes I cannot see how the Academy rates some of their movies like Ray and Sideways for Best Picture. Truly they don't deserve it. Final grade 5/10.

Spiderman 2
What can I say. The first was not very good, and felt like some hero movie from the early 90's. However Spiderman 2 comes back with a good feeling. The movie had a much better picture. The special effects were also much better than the first. The movie actually grabbed me. 8/10

Sideways
I went into Sideways thinking it would be good, after all the awards it received. I was wrong. The movie was horrible. First off, Thomas Hayden Church and Paul Giamatti are terrible in their roles, and terrible actors period. Next, the story was rather slow and stale. The picture of the film, was not strong at all. And the love story was rather stupid.
Suprisingly 4/10

Kinsey
Liam Nesson did a great job acting as Dr. Kinsey in this movie. However, I personally was not a huge fan of the movie, probably due to the pornographic content. The movie was beautiful but I give it 6/10

Elektra
I wanted to see this in theatres, but I am now glad I didn't. This is more like the Karate Kid Returns, than an actual superhero movie. The acting was terrible by all the character. Jennifer Garner, please act better in the next movie you do. The little girl was an annoing character to begin with. The special effects were rather sad. Frankly 3/10

The Accused
Well I found this at Wal Mart for 8 dollars. I decided to buy it. It was a great movie. Jodie Foster's best actress winning performance was well deserved. She did a magneficent job as a rap victim. Kelly McGills also acted great. Whatever happened to her? Anyways, the story was great, but it had some minor flaws.
9/10

[Prince Eric]

October 7, 2005

Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbitt
Wow. This claymation feature is pretty much faultless. There's a lot of slapstick humor for the tykes (which is actually pretty funny), but there's even more adult innuendo and subliminal messaging (even funnier). The character of Gromit is probably one of the all time best. So much expression in his eyes and brow. A lot of flesh-and-blood characters can learn a thing or two from this lovable canine critter. I enjoyed the antics of Lady Tottington very much, and Wallace was a hoot. Nick Park has another masterpiece on his hands, and hopefully, another Oscar. Grade: A

[Prince Eric]

October 9, 2005

I Heart Huckabees
Funny stuff. This riff on existentialism and clashing philosophical ideologies was extremely well-written and focused and alway kept it prime objective in sight: to make you think AND laugh. Lily Tomlin is aces in her supporting role, not quite big enough or deep enough to give an award to, but I can't believe that Jude Law and Mark Wahlberg were passed over at awards season. Best Supporting Actor was a pretty weak category this passed year, and they forgot the two finest. Shame. Grade: B+

[Prince Eric]

October 21, 2005

Good Night, Good Luck
Contemporary black-and-white films are few and far between, and it's no wonder why. While the concept is certainly intriguing, it takes a master (or at least very gifted) cinematographer and lighting crew to capture the many nuances of this pair of colors. I know the DP for this picture is pretty lowkey, but that will change come awards season when his name is being tossed around his gorgeous work. Ed Furrow is certainly a commendable American voice, and I'm surprised there hasn't been dozens of productions about him. What works so well is that isn't a biopic. Indeed, I think films about real people would work a whole lot better if they borrowed from the literary form of memoir as opposed to biography. A whole life is just too exhuasting to condense in a two hour time span. A period of one's life, even a few months, as was the case here, it much more plausible, and the outcome is much more lucid. David Straithim (sp?) does wonderfully muted work here. He's so naturalistic and dignified that I doubt he will get an Oscar nomination. THey like they're performances showy and sentimental, even if the actor is clearly chewing the scenery, pulling off a caricature, or just plain mediocre. (Perfect examples from last year's ceremony: Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hilary Swank shooting the breeze in Million Dollar Baby, and Johnny Depp being embarassingly awkward and out of place in Finding Neverland.) George Clooney has a fine, solid supporting turn and his gifts as a director clearly show. All in all, a very thought-provoking film on the ethics of journalism, the ridiculousness of the philosophy that every story has two EQUAL sides, and a scary subversive allegory of the ability to strike fear into the hearts of the American people, and how easy it is. Grade: A-

[Prince Eric]

October 23, 2005

Punch-Drunk Love
Snazzy screenplay, but I don't get it. Loved Emily Watson (as usual), hated Adam Sandler (as usual). Her acting prowess made up for his total lack of comedic timing. This film was of the jilted-loves-unconventional-romance genre, one which I usually admire, but didn't here. It was a good effort from all involved, especially the DP. Grade: B+

[Prince Eric]

October 25, 2005

The Hours
I thought the impact would diminish after a second viewing two-and-a-half years later, but it didn't. The pedigree of this film really holds up. When I first saw the movie, I LOVED Nicole Kidman's performance, then I didn't, now I love it again. You really have to look deeply to catch all the technical nuances. Really good stuff. I loved the electricity of Mery Streep in her nuerotic role, and the submissiveness of Julianne Moore's repressed 50's housewife. The production values are wonderful: the art direction is perfect, the cinematography a beauty, and whoever the costume designer was deserved the Oscar for Virginia Woolf's trainstation garb alone. I give extra props to the producer, director, and screenwriter for making an unfilmable book, filmable, and with a credible release to boot. Sure, I don't think the movie is "about" anything (a big cinematic no-no), and at times, you wish the movie would just find a point, but I guess that's part of the picture's intrigue. Not a GREAT film, but a worthy endeavor for any cineaste to undertake. Grade: B+

October 29, 2005
American Splendor
The first time I tried to watch the exploits of the infamous Harvey Pekar, I just simply switched the televison off after the first half-hour. I mean, what is this bizarre blend of fiction, documentary, and comic book? Is a cohesive gelling even possible? The rookie directors/screenwriterse proved that once again, art finds a way, and they pull of this stunt beautifully. It's almost miraculous how the picture sucks you into the character's lives, especially since they're SO unlikeable. Empathy for villain-esque characters is a tough thing to do/achieve. All in all, this is probably the best movie of 2003 outside of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Grade: A