The Hills Have Eyes II
Directed by Martin Weisz
Written by Wes Craven and Jonathan Craven
Starring: Michael McMillian, Jessica Stroup, Jacob Vargas, Flex Alexander, Daniella Alonso, Eric Edelstein, Lee Thompson Young, Ben Crowley
Two and a half stars (out of four)
Summary: After the events of the first film, the army has sent a team of scientists to the New Mexico desert to study the mutants, but by the time a group of National Guard trainees arrive to deliver supplies, the scientists are missing. When the trainees go off into the hills to search for signs of life, the mutants arrive and start picking them off one at a time.
Short take: The first film (a remake of a Wes Craven movie from the 70s) was unusual in that it didn't completely suck. This sequel isn't quite so lucky. There isn't anything inovative or creative here, but even within its generic tendencies, there's still something here that works. The attacks are quick, startling and pretty brutal, which makes the film work as a genre picture, but there's nothing more substantial here.
8.14.2007
8.07.2007
Screening Log: August 7
Once
Directed by John Carney
Written by John Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
Four stars (out of four)
Summary: A vacuum cleaner repair man (Hansard) and a Czech immigrant (Irglová) meet on the street one day and quickly bond over their mutual love of music. She is so charmed by his original songs, that she seemingly invents reasons to spend time with him, which includes a trip to a music store so he can listen to her play the piano. The pair start a close friendship that quickly shows the potential to be so much more, with the only problem being that he's still in love with his ex and she's got a daughter and an estranged husband back in Czechoslovakia. They continue their relationship, however, eventually leading to her pushing him into laying down a few of his songs on a professional demo tape which he can take to London and get not only a record deal, but his ex back.
Short take: I'm pretty sure I said this exact same phrase a few months ago when I saw Away from Her, but I really mean it this time: Once is easily the greatest film I've seen in the past two years. Although technically a musical, Once is more akin to Dancer in the Dark than Chicago. The singing tends to be more organic, with the characters actually stopping for a few moments to really play a song, and in one instance, annoying/amusing an old woman on the bus with a song full of saucy language. In perhaps the best scene, the guy actually teaches the girl the notes in the three separate segments to the song "Falling Slowly," followed by a hauntingly beautiful performance of the song. I seriously could rave about this movie for hours, but I'll conclude this short review here with just one more sentence: Once is complete, total and absolute perfection.
Directed by John Carney
Written by John Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
Four stars (out of four)
Summary: A vacuum cleaner repair man (Hansard) and a Czech immigrant (Irglová) meet on the street one day and quickly bond over their mutual love of music. She is so charmed by his original songs, that she seemingly invents reasons to spend time with him, which includes a trip to a music store so he can listen to her play the piano. The pair start a close friendship that quickly shows the potential to be so much more, with the only problem being that he's still in love with his ex and she's got a daughter and an estranged husband back in Czechoslovakia. They continue their relationship, however, eventually leading to her pushing him into laying down a few of his songs on a professional demo tape which he can take to London and get not only a record deal, but his ex back.
Short take: I'm pretty sure I said this exact same phrase a few months ago when I saw Away from Her, but I really mean it this time: Once is easily the greatest film I've seen in the past two years. Although technically a musical, Once is more akin to Dancer in the Dark than Chicago. The singing tends to be more organic, with the characters actually stopping for a few moments to really play a song, and in one instance, annoying/amusing an old woman on the bus with a song full of saucy language. In perhaps the best scene, the guy actually teaches the girl the notes in the three separate segments to the song "Falling Slowly," followed by a hauntingly beautiful performance of the song. I seriously could rave about this movie for hours, but I'll conclude this short review here with just one more sentence: Once is complete, total and absolute perfection.
Screening Log: August 5
The Bourne Ultimatum
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Written by Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns and George Nofli
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, Brian Cox, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez
Three stars (out of four)
Summary: With Treadstone neutralized, a new government agency starts trying to track down Jason Bourne (Damon) when the name Blackbriar is leaked to the press. Assuming Bourne is the source, Noah Vosen (Strathairn) starts hunting Bourne with an order to kill on sight. Meanwhile, having been brought back into the fold with the articles and the latest manhunt, Bourne starts searching his past for answers to his identity, especially when he starts getting flashbacks of his somewhat unorthodox start as a government assassin.
Short Take: While I'm still a little upset about the death of Marie (Franka Potente) in the second installment, I've decided to give Greengrass the benefit of the doubt, especially when he said that if he had known his flick would turn out to be such a success, he would never have killed her so early in the franchise. Even without Franka, the movie still turns out to be a taut spy thriller, complete with plenty of exciting chase scenes and fight sequences. These scenes, however, do present the film's biggest fault in that Greengrass relies too heavily on the now overused shaky cam segments, which turn out to be, in this case, the entire film. I'm pretty sure that I felt nauseated after about 15 minutes and the flashbacks scenes, with their bright lighting and quick edits, might have given me a seizure somewhere around the hour mark. The challenge of the movie is to actually be able to sit through it, because between the camera work and every theater's need to damage our hearing with such a loud soundtrack, it's easy to want to throw in the towel. Don't. While not quite as much original fun as "The Bourne Supremacy," this third installment is well worth the price of admission, officially killing this summer's threequel curse, just in time for us to officially retire the stupidity of the phrase "threequel."
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Written by Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns and George Nofli
Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, Brian Cox, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez
Three stars (out of four)
Summary: With Treadstone neutralized, a new government agency starts trying to track down Jason Bourne (Damon) when the name Blackbriar is leaked to the press. Assuming Bourne is the source, Noah Vosen (Strathairn) starts hunting Bourne with an order to kill on sight. Meanwhile, having been brought back into the fold with the articles and the latest manhunt, Bourne starts searching his past for answers to his identity, especially when he starts getting flashbacks of his somewhat unorthodox start as a government assassin.
Short Take: While I'm still a little upset about the death of Marie (Franka Potente) in the second installment, I've decided to give Greengrass the benefit of the doubt, especially when he said that if he had known his flick would turn out to be such a success, he would never have killed her so early in the franchise. Even without Franka, the movie still turns out to be a taut spy thriller, complete with plenty of exciting chase scenes and fight sequences. These scenes, however, do present the film's biggest fault in that Greengrass relies too heavily on the now overused shaky cam segments, which turn out to be, in this case, the entire film. I'm pretty sure that I felt nauseated after about 15 minutes and the flashbacks scenes, with their bright lighting and quick edits, might have given me a seizure somewhere around the hour mark. The challenge of the movie is to actually be able to sit through it, because between the camera work and every theater's need to damage our hearing with such a loud soundtrack, it's easy to want to throw in the towel. Don't. While not quite as much original fun as "The Bourne Supremacy," this third installment is well worth the price of admission, officially killing this summer's threequel curse, just in time for us to officially retire the stupidity of the phrase "threequel."
8.06.2007
Screening Log: Canadian Vacation
What did I ever do before portable DVD players? There's nothing like watching movies while sitting around a lake in the middle of Ontario, especially when everyone else is talking about traffic patterns around Toronto and/or the current state of Cleveland Browns football. So without further ado, here's how I spent my summer vacation:
Howl's Moving Castle (2004) ***
Anatomy (2000) **/
This Film is Not Yet Rated (2006) ***
The Queen (2006) ****
His Girl Friday (1940) ****
The Descent (2005) ***/
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) **
Geekin' (2006) **/
Adaptation (2002) ***
This is Spinal Tap (1984) ***
Run Lola Run (1998) ****
If that seems a little light (with two 10 hour car trips and five days and my extreme love of movies), then let me add this in too. I also watched the entire second season of Veronica Mars. Yep, I've got a problem.
Howl's Moving Castle (2004) ***
Anatomy (2000) **/
This Film is Not Yet Rated (2006) ***
The Queen (2006) ****
His Girl Friday (1940) ****
The Descent (2005) ***/
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) **
Geekin' (2006) **/
Adaptation (2002) ***
This is Spinal Tap (1984) ***
Run Lola Run (1998) ****
If that seems a little light (with two 10 hour car trips and five days and my extreme love of movies), then let me add this in too. I also watched the entire second season of Veronica Mars. Yep, I've got a problem.
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