Depending on my mood, either this or Dr. Strangelove is my favorite movie of all time. Having just picked up the new, expanded Criterion version,(and all it's attending extras) I'm listing 'Seven Samurai' as my favorite. (for now...)
There are no emotionally complex characters-odd for Kurosawa. There's no deep moral theme running through it. On the surface, we've all seen this type of 'Guys-on-a-mission' type movie before, right? But this is the one that created that whole sub-genre. If I were a pretentious twerp, I'd be inclined to tie this movie in to Kurosawa's Dostoevsky influence. You know, fate and redemption. Trouble is, only Mifune's 'outsider' samurai is the only one that even remotely fits the bill here. No, what we got here, theme-wise, is that Japanese proverb, "The nail that stands out get hammered down." The samurai fight for the peasants because it's what their class is supposed to do. (The lead samurai's speech about 'testing ourselves in battle' rings a little hollow.) Note how at the end, the romance between the youngest samurai and the peasant girl is abruptly cut off once the village is saved.
In classic Kurosawa form, every detail is fully realized, and every blast of wind and drop of rain is there for a reason. Notice how the wind always comes up at moments of tension. The final climactic battle is set in a thunderstorm, churning up the ground into a muddy soup. The more I watch this movie, the more little details accumulate. I particularly love the scene where Toshiro Mifune tries to convince the others that he's from an actual samurai family, bringing in a tattered family scroll to bolster his claim. The leader points out both Mufune's lie and his illiteracy by bringing up the fact that the name Mufune claims as his belongs to a 13-year old. In the back we see one of the other samurai counting out the years on the scroll on his fingers, then laughing as he gets the joke at the same time the leader informs Mufune of his error.
And his editing, my God, has never been better. The first we see of the lead Samurai, played by Takashi Shimura, he is shaving his head to disguise himself as a monk. (If you wonder at the overly startled reactions of the surrounding villagers to this, bear in mind that a samurai's topknot was his badge of status. Losing it was equal to pooing one's pants in public...) He's disguising himself to draw out a thief that's kidnapped a little boy. Throwing in some food to the thief's hideout to distract him, he rushes in, there's an offscreen struggle, and then, in slow motion, the thief staggers out, the gathered crowd reacts,(in normal speed) then the thief drops dead, a cloud of dust emerging from the corpse. This technique shows up again in the fatal duel between the master swordsman(Seiji Miyaguchi) and a hot-headed samurai. I suspect it's the first time this slowed-down camera at the time of death gag's been used in cinema, and here, it's so effective. I should also point out that this is the first action movie to give us the 'reluctant hero' plot point. There's probably a bunch of other 'firsts' for this movie, but I'll find 'em later.
In closing, if this DVD isn't in your library, you suck.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
A Brief Interlude...
...Let me just quickly interrupt my top ten film list here...
Over the Hedge- Dreamworks' CG animation offerings are formulaic to the point of tedium. They seem to have one story template that they use over and over again. Here's the template: Disparate group of anthromorphic beings go to a unique environment where their unity as a group is tested. During this ordeal, there will be a montage of the creatures either A) wandering sadly through the environment while a current MOR top 40 band plays a subdued melody, or B) working together to achieve a common goal while a current MOR Top 40 band plays an upbeat melody. The group will always have a 'sassy', urban-type female, and a hyper-ADD afflicted 'Nerdy' character. Two-thirds into the movie, the lead character will monologue about how his doubt or his hubris has let the other members of the group down. His confidence will be restored by another monologue by his love interest or best friend. The final message is always, "Friends and Family are the most important thing, ever." At least half the voices of the main characters will be by A-level movie stars, which simultaneously proves that Dreamworks hasn't got much confidence in these movies in the first place, and that Bruce Willis, Woody Allen, Cameron Diaz and Will Smith's voice-over work tend to flatten out their performances.
Over the Hedge continues that bland tradition. A group of disparate woodland creatures awake from hibernation to find their sylvan home is now smack dab in the middle of suburbia. A cocky raccoon, voiced by Bruce Willis, sells them on the easy pickin's in suburban garbage cans, thus assuaging their fears over a steady food supply. Turns out the raccoon is using the other creatures to gather food for him so he can pay back a mean bear (voiced by Nick Nolte) whose food supply the raccoon demolished. When the animals are captured by a psychotic exterminator and a monomanical home owner, the raccoon has a change of heart and rescues them, thus learning that "Friends and Family are yadda yadda."
I'm setting all this up because Over the Hedge has one gag which has to be the funniest thing that I've seen this year in a movie. The aforementioned ADD-Nerd character in this case is a squirrel named Hammy voiced by Steve Catrell in a standout performance. (Spoiler alert) During the movie, a minor running gag is that given his twitchy, nervous personality, caffeine-laden drinks would be the last thing Hammy should partake in from the bounty of food the animals are stealing. When the raccoon rescues the other animals from their capture by the exterminator, they are stuck in the hedge between their forest home and the aforementioned homeowners' lawn. On one side is the now-angered bear, and on the other side stands the exterminator and the homeowner, both parties intent on destroying the woodland creatures. The raccoon and the leader of the animals, a turtle voiced by Gerry Shandling, bemoan their fate and wish for more time to resolve their dilemma. (At that point, fireflies light up over their heads.) They give Hammy a full dose of hyper-caffeinated soda, and he saves the day.
What sends this gag over the moon is it's reversal of expectations. We expect to see a hyper-cut montage of the squirrel frantically running about, subduing the bear, the exterminator, and the homeowner in the space of a few seconds. What the movie gives us is a slow, leisurely display of Hammy's altered perceptions in his hyper-caffeinated state. Time stops while he casually trots to the semi-lethal animal trap on the owners' lawn, sets it off, non-chalantly sets up a cage trap next to the bad guys, and makes a detour to grab a cookie on top of the homeowners' house. ("Hm-mm...I gots a cookie") While Hammy is doing all this, the lasers on the lawn move at a snail's pace. (End spoilers)
I was laughing so hard, I almost passed out. (My diaphram still hurts.) The comic saint Michael O'Donoghue pointed out that great comedy jumps a step, and that's exactly what happens here. It's unfortunate the rest of the movie doesn't match up to that scene, but having my lowered expectations surpassed is part of why I was laughing so heavily.
Over the Hedge- Dreamworks' CG animation offerings are formulaic to the point of tedium. They seem to have one story template that they use over and over again. Here's the template: Disparate group of anthromorphic beings go to a unique environment where their unity as a group is tested. During this ordeal, there will be a montage of the creatures either A) wandering sadly through the environment while a current MOR top 40 band plays a subdued melody, or B) working together to achieve a common goal while a current MOR Top 40 band plays an upbeat melody. The group will always have a 'sassy', urban-type female, and a hyper-ADD afflicted 'Nerdy' character. Two-thirds into the movie, the lead character will monologue about how his doubt or his hubris has let the other members of the group down. His confidence will be restored by another monologue by his love interest or best friend. The final message is always, "Friends and Family are the most important thing, ever." At least half the voices of the main characters will be by A-level movie stars, which simultaneously proves that Dreamworks hasn't got much confidence in these movies in the first place, and that Bruce Willis, Woody Allen, Cameron Diaz and Will Smith's voice-over work tend to flatten out their performances.
Over the Hedge continues that bland tradition. A group of disparate woodland creatures awake from hibernation to find their sylvan home is now smack dab in the middle of suburbia. A cocky raccoon, voiced by Bruce Willis, sells them on the easy pickin's in suburban garbage cans, thus assuaging their fears over a steady food supply. Turns out the raccoon is using the other creatures to gather food for him so he can pay back a mean bear (voiced by Nick Nolte) whose food supply the raccoon demolished. When the animals are captured by a psychotic exterminator and a monomanical home owner, the raccoon has a change of heart and rescues them, thus learning that "Friends and Family are yadda yadda."
I'm setting all this up because Over the Hedge has one gag which has to be the funniest thing that I've seen this year in a movie. The aforementioned ADD-Nerd character in this case is a squirrel named Hammy voiced by Steve Catrell in a standout performance. (Spoiler alert) During the movie, a minor running gag is that given his twitchy, nervous personality, caffeine-laden drinks would be the last thing Hammy should partake in from the bounty of food the animals are stealing. When the raccoon rescues the other animals from their capture by the exterminator, they are stuck in the hedge between their forest home and the aforementioned homeowners' lawn. On one side is the now-angered bear, and on the other side stands the exterminator and the homeowner, both parties intent on destroying the woodland creatures. The raccoon and the leader of the animals, a turtle voiced by Gerry Shandling, bemoan their fate and wish for more time to resolve their dilemma. (At that point, fireflies light up over their heads.) They give Hammy a full dose of hyper-caffeinated soda, and he saves the day.
What sends this gag over the moon is it's reversal of expectations. We expect to see a hyper-cut montage of the squirrel frantically running about, subduing the bear, the exterminator, and the homeowner in the space of a few seconds. What the movie gives us is a slow, leisurely display of Hammy's altered perceptions in his hyper-caffeinated state. Time stops while he casually trots to the semi-lethal animal trap on the owners' lawn, sets it off, non-chalantly sets up a cage trap next to the bad guys, and makes a detour to grab a cookie on top of the homeowners' house. ("Hm-mm...I gots a cookie") While Hammy is doing all this, the lasers on the lawn move at a snail's pace. (End spoilers)
I was laughing so hard, I almost passed out. (My diaphram still hurts.) The comic saint Michael O'Donoghue pointed out that great comedy jumps a step, and that's exactly what happens here. It's unfortunate the rest of the movie doesn't match up to that scene, but having my lowered expectations surpassed is part of why I was laughing so heavily.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
My Favorite Movies of All Time- Part One
Okay, let's get this done...
Dr. Strangelove- It's been said that there's two types of satire: satire from the outside and satire from the inside. Satire from the outside condemns the priest for teaching a false religion. Satire from the inside condemns the priest for not following the teachings of his religion. Or, to be more succinct, Dr. Strangelove is a movie about how the guardians of democracy are infantile madmen; while the movie, "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying"(released at about the same time) is about how them ad execs really like their coffee breaks.
I'm not one to critique a movie like an olympic judge, but to my mind, Dr. StrangeLove is about the most successful example of black comedy in film that I've ever seen. Other examples of black comedy like Fight Club or Wag the Dog tend to lose their nerve most of the way through the picture. My understanding is that Kubrick was preparing to direct a straight adaptation of the novel, "Fail-Safe". In the course of his usual through research, he found that U.S. foreign policy involving nuclear deterrence was more absurd than an Alfred Jarry play. "Mutually Assured Destruction", anyone? So he then got the help of master comic writer Terry Southern to work with him on the screenplay.
The tone of the movie is of a mouth contorted into a rictus grin, small beads of sweat appearing on the upper lip. Every part is played straight, with no broad comic strokes whatsoever. (Well, George C. Scott plays his role of the overenthusiatic general pretty broad, but, C'mon. It's George C. Scott!) Peter Sellers, the master of sinking into a role, handles three different parts with aplomb. He's ineffectual President of the United States, Merkin Muffey,(note the effeminate name) Group RAF Captain Lionel Mandrake, the voice of reason to the insane General Jack D. Ripper, and what is to me possibly the most absurd character ever to appear in film, the Dr. Strangelove of the title. Reportedly, he was also pegged to play the B-52 group commander, Major Kong.
Notice the character of General Jack D. Ripper(Sterling Hayden), the insane head of the air force base that orders his bombers to attack Russia. He's not your stock madman. He doesn't rant and rave at the top of his voice. His tone throught the whole movie is one of calm, ordered, well-thought out logic. His rationale for beginning the attack makes sense, if you're a right-wing paranoid. It's only when he reveals his abhorrence for floride treatments in water (actually, there's a reasonable rationale for being opposed to floridation, but I'm not going to go into it here...) that we (and Captain Mandrake) realize that Ripper's gone off the deep end a long time ago:
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?
General Jack D. Ripper: Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No.
General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence.
And there's Peter Sellers' President Merkin Muffey (such a great name!) His monologue with the drunken Russian Premier is like a Bob Newhart sketch:
President Merkin Muffley: [to Kissoff] Hello?... Uh... Hello D- uh hello Dmitri? Listen uh uh I can't hear too well. Do you suppose you could turn the music down just a little?... Oh-ho, that's much better... yeah... huh... yes... Fine, I can hear you now, Dmitri... Clear and plain and coming through fine... I'm coming through fine, too, eh?... Good, then... well, then, as you say, we're both coming through fine... Good... Well, it's good that you're fine and... and I'm fine... I agree with you, it's great to be fine... a-ha-ha-ha-ha... Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb... The *Bomb*, Dmitri... The *hydrogen* bomb!... Well now, what happened is... ahm... one of our base commanders, he had a sort of... well, he went a little funny in the head... you know... just a little... funny. And, ah... he went and did a silly thing... Well, I'll tell you what he did. He ordered his planes... to attack your country... Ah... Well, let me finish, Dmitri... Let me finish, Dmitri... Well listen, how do you think I feel about it?... Can you *imagine* how I feel about it, Dmitri?... Why do you think I'm calling you? Just to say hello?... *Of course* I like to speak to you!... *Of course* I like to say hello!... Not now, but anytime, Dmitri. I'm just calling up to tell you something terrible has happened... It's a *friendly* call. Of course it's a friendly call... Listen, if it wasn't friendly... you probably wouldn't have even got it... They will *not* reach their targets for at least another hour... I am... I am positive, Dmitri... Listen, I've been all over this with your ambassador. It is not a trick... Well, I'll tell you. We'd like to give your air staff a complete run-down on the targets, the flight plans, and the defensive systems of the planes... Yes! I mean i-i-i-if we're unable to recall the planes, then... I'd say that, ah... well, ah... we're just gonna have to help you destroy them, Dmitri... I know they're our boys... All right, well listen now. Who should we call?... *Who* should we call, Dmitri? The... wha-whe, the People... you, sorry, you faded away there... The People's Central Air Defense Headquarters... Where is that, Dmitri?... In Omsk... Right... Yes... Oh, you'll call them first, will you?... Uh-huh... Listen, do you happen to have the phone number on you, Dmitri?... Whe-ah, what? I see, just ask for Omsk information... Ah-ah-eh-uhm-hm... I'm sorry, too, Dmitri... I'm very sorry... *All right*, you're sorrier than I am, but I am as sorry as well... I am as sorry as you are, Dmitri! Don't say that you're more sorry than I am, because I'm capable of being just as sorry as you are... So we're both sorry, all right?... All right...
The film itself is Kubrick at the height of his powers. His bone-dry wit, his sly little gags, (note how General Turgidson's 'secretary' is the Playboy Centerfold that one of the B-52 crew ogles on duty. 'Peace is our Profession' on a sign in the besiged air force base, looking over several dead soldiers, "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, THIS is the WAR ROOM"...) his deadpan camera shots. It's unfortunate how Kubrick's later work ossified these skills of his into empty technique, but for this movie and the earlier 'Lolita', they served the subject matter well.
Dr. Strangelove- It's been said that there's two types of satire: satire from the outside and satire from the inside. Satire from the outside condemns the priest for teaching a false religion. Satire from the inside condemns the priest for not following the teachings of his religion. Or, to be more succinct, Dr. Strangelove is a movie about how the guardians of democracy are infantile madmen; while the movie, "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying"(released at about the same time) is about how them ad execs really like their coffee breaks.
I'm not one to critique a movie like an olympic judge, but to my mind, Dr. StrangeLove is about the most successful example of black comedy in film that I've ever seen. Other examples of black comedy like Fight Club or Wag the Dog tend to lose their nerve most of the way through the picture. My understanding is that Kubrick was preparing to direct a straight adaptation of the novel, "Fail-Safe". In the course of his usual through research, he found that U.S. foreign policy involving nuclear deterrence was more absurd than an Alfred Jarry play. "Mutually Assured Destruction", anyone? So he then got the help of master comic writer Terry Southern to work with him on the screenplay.
The tone of the movie is of a mouth contorted into a rictus grin, small beads of sweat appearing on the upper lip. Every part is played straight, with no broad comic strokes whatsoever. (Well, George C. Scott plays his role of the overenthusiatic general pretty broad, but, C'mon. It's George C. Scott!) Peter Sellers, the master of sinking into a role, handles three different parts with aplomb. He's ineffectual President of the United States, Merkin Muffey,(note the effeminate name) Group RAF Captain Lionel Mandrake, the voice of reason to the insane General Jack D. Ripper, and what is to me possibly the most absurd character ever to appear in film, the Dr. Strangelove of the title. Reportedly, he was also pegged to play the B-52 group commander, Major Kong.
Notice the character of General Jack D. Ripper(Sterling Hayden), the insane head of the air force base that orders his bombers to attack Russia. He's not your stock madman. He doesn't rant and rave at the top of his voice. His tone throught the whole movie is one of calm, ordered, well-thought out logic. His rationale for beginning the attack makes sense, if you're a right-wing paranoid. It's only when he reveals his abhorrence for floride treatments in water (actually, there's a reasonable rationale for being opposed to floridation, but I'm not going to go into it here...) that we (and Captain Mandrake) realize that Ripper's gone off the deep end a long time ago:
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?
General Jack D. Ripper: Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No.
General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence.
And there's Peter Sellers' President Merkin Muffey (such a great name!) His monologue with the drunken Russian Premier is like a Bob Newhart sketch:
President Merkin Muffley: [to Kissoff] Hello?... Uh... Hello D- uh hello Dmitri? Listen uh uh I can't hear too well. Do you suppose you could turn the music down just a little?... Oh-ho, that's much better... yeah... huh... yes... Fine, I can hear you now, Dmitri... Clear and plain and coming through fine... I'm coming through fine, too, eh?... Good, then... well, then, as you say, we're both coming through fine... Good... Well, it's good that you're fine and... and I'm fine... I agree with you, it's great to be fine... a-ha-ha-ha-ha... Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb... The *Bomb*, Dmitri... The *hydrogen* bomb!... Well now, what happened is... ahm... one of our base commanders, he had a sort of... well, he went a little funny in the head... you know... just a little... funny. And, ah... he went and did a silly thing... Well, I'll tell you what he did. He ordered his planes... to attack your country... Ah... Well, let me finish, Dmitri... Let me finish, Dmitri... Well listen, how do you think I feel about it?... Can you *imagine* how I feel about it, Dmitri?... Why do you think I'm calling you? Just to say hello?... *Of course* I like to speak to you!... *Of course* I like to say hello!... Not now, but anytime, Dmitri. I'm just calling up to tell you something terrible has happened... It's a *friendly* call. Of course it's a friendly call... Listen, if it wasn't friendly... you probably wouldn't have even got it... They will *not* reach their targets for at least another hour... I am... I am positive, Dmitri... Listen, I've been all over this with your ambassador. It is not a trick... Well, I'll tell you. We'd like to give your air staff a complete run-down on the targets, the flight plans, and the defensive systems of the planes... Yes! I mean i-i-i-if we're unable to recall the planes, then... I'd say that, ah... well, ah... we're just gonna have to help you destroy them, Dmitri... I know they're our boys... All right, well listen now. Who should we call?... *Who* should we call, Dmitri? The... wha-whe, the People... you, sorry, you faded away there... The People's Central Air Defense Headquarters... Where is that, Dmitri?... In Omsk... Right... Yes... Oh, you'll call them first, will you?... Uh-huh... Listen, do you happen to have the phone number on you, Dmitri?... Whe-ah, what? I see, just ask for Omsk information... Ah-ah-eh-uhm-hm... I'm sorry, too, Dmitri... I'm very sorry... *All right*, you're sorrier than I am, but I am as sorry as well... I am as sorry as you are, Dmitri! Don't say that you're more sorry than I am, because I'm capable of being just as sorry as you are... So we're both sorry, all right?... All right...
The film itself is Kubrick at the height of his powers. His bone-dry wit, his sly little gags, (note how General Turgidson's 'secretary' is the Playboy Centerfold that one of the B-52 crew ogles on duty. 'Peace is our Profession' on a sign in the besiged air force base, looking over several dead soldiers, "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, THIS is the WAR ROOM"...) his deadpan camera shots. It's unfortunate how Kubrick's later work ossified these skills of his into empty technique, but for this movie and the earlier 'Lolita', they served the subject matter well.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
A Couple of Misfires...
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift- Nnnggh... It's amazing how much Tokyo resembles Southern Los Angeles, isn't it? I'm comparing this franchise to the porn movie franchise, since they both drop in the story as an afterthought to why people are REALLY watching these type of movies. However, the race scenes in this case disappoint since the way they're set up don't build any tension or release in the audience. As a travelogue to an exotic land, it falls apart as well, since it was pretty much filmed in L.A., and you don't get any sense of dislocation. (The only idea we get the lead is in a foreign country is a brief bit where he doesn't understand Japanese for 'slippers'.) My Japanese-Canadian roommate also informs me that: 1) Japanese classrooms don't have cafeterias, 2) Non-native speakers don't take school classes with everyone else, 3) Not every Japanese native speaks fluent English, 4) The lead character's Navy officer dad couldn't possibly afford to live in Tokyo on what he makes, 5) and so on...
Lucky Number Sleven- For this type of 'Thriller-with-a-twist' to be successful, you can't see the twist coming in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Also, Josh Harnett seems incredibly miscast. He's one of the most inexpressive actors this side of Steven Segall. We need to feel the character's mounting tension to draw us in, and he doesn't do it. Also, if you're going to cast powerhouses like Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman, give 'em something to do besides monologue behind a desk. And finally, is it just me, or is Bruce Willis starting to turn into Christopher Walken?
Coming up... An exceedingly anal list of my top ten (well, thirteen) movies of all time, and why... (list subject to change)
Lucky Number Sleven- For this type of 'Thriller-with-a-twist' to be successful, you can't see the twist coming in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Also, Josh Harnett seems incredibly miscast. He's one of the most inexpressive actors this side of Steven Segall. We need to feel the character's mounting tension to draw us in, and he doesn't do it. Also, if you're going to cast powerhouses like Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman, give 'em something to do besides monologue behind a desk. And finally, is it just me, or is Bruce Willis starting to turn into Christopher Walken?
Coming up... An exceedingly anal list of my top ten (well, thirteen) movies of all time, and why... (list subject to change)
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