RSS 2.0Monster-in-Law (2005)
Monster-in-Law is a film that tastes sweet and is easy to swallow. With plenty of rom in this com, its easy to be taken in by the simple characters and the simple plot. Of course, its simplicity and its desire to be nothing but a mediocre and unimaginative film are Monster-in-Law’s failings, although the return of Jane Fonda to the screen (as the monster Viola) after a fifteen year absence and her chemistry with Wanda Sykes as her long-suffering maid Ruby puts the icing on a mostly flavourless yet fulfilling cake.
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Mr And Mrs Smith (2005)
A classy, sexy, action-filled and believe it or not, clever film from Doug Liman.
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Dr. Moreau’s House of Pain (2004)
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to be afraid. Be very afraid.
Not because of the scariness of the content you’re about to see if you’re dumb enough to rent you a copy of “Dr. Moreau’s House of Pain,” but because of how magnificently puerile and lousy the content is.
The only thing scary about “Dr. Moreau’s House of Pain” is that it got made in the first place.
Madagascar (2005)
If you would look at the last two movies of DreamWorks – this one and Shark Tale – you’d get the growing impression that they are slowly losing the battle against Pixar. Pixar’s latest feature The Incredibles was truly breathtaking and Finding Nemo also was a great success. Even though DreamWorks’ last animal movie wasn’t that good, it didn’t prevent them from trying again with Madagascar; this time with a bunch of zoo animals. This latest effort surely is a whole lot better than their uninspired fish movie, but still cannot hold a candle to Pixar’s overall genius.
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The Pacifier (2005)
The real enjoyment to be gained from this unoriginal and flaccid family comedy is through insulting the film’s star Vin Diesel, who decided this was a better project for him than xXx 2: The Next Level. What The Pacifier lacks in entertainment value it more than makes up for in mock value, the ninety minutes flying by as you unpick the many flaws in Adam Shankman’s film.
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Tarnation (2003)
When suicidal manic depressive drug users make films they turn out like this. Tarnation exists in two halves: the first a psychedelic acid trip in which images of director/producer/editor Jonathan Caouette and his brain-damaged mother Renee spin across the screen, the camera shooting in and out of blurry Photoshop-molested photographs and film stills; the second half an attempted study into what perversions occurred in his mother’s life to make her the woman she had become in the late nineties. It takes Caouette a full seventy minutes to begin interviewing his subjects, and even after doing so, nothing is uncovered. Whilst Capturing The Friedmans gave the audience all sides of the sordid affair it documents, Tarnation gives none. The idea that a know-nothing has picked up a camera and started shooting is challenged only by the exciting and trippy montages that shows Caouette taking full advantage of the iMovie software he used to edit this tour-de-farce.
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Sin City (2005)
To call this film a comic book adaptation would not do justice to either the movie or the Frank Miller stories it is based upon. Director Robert Rodriguez (aided by Frank Miller who shares the directors credit and Quentin Tarantino who directed one scene) presents us with a visual feast that, in my not so humble opinion, will change the way people see movies, much in the same way the first Matrix-movie altered people’s perceptions and influenced so many of the films that came in its wake. Sin City is a must-see for anybody who deems themselves a film enthusiast. In fact, it’s a must-see, period.
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RENT goes to Hollywood
They are making a movie version of RENT and now that it’s out there I’m wondering what took them so long. The Broadway smash hit was so successful with young audiences because it truly captured the vibrancy of the East Village in the 90’s. Inspired by La Boheme, RENT’s characters are all young, dealing with love in a time of AIDS and the facing the conflict of being drawn to life in New York but struggling just to make the rent. In a way, RENT captured a sense of community so appealingly that everyone wanted to live there. Now the neighborhood has undergone so much gentrification it is all but impossible to find residents who aren’t fairly wealthy or else who have lived there for such a long that they can hardly be considered the young and vibrant anymore.
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Dead End (2004)
Somedays, I really have to question my place in things, and swallow my pride.
This is one of those days. Behold in shock and wonder as I swallow my pride right down and say that Lions Gate is in the midst of a turnaround.
Decoys (2004)
Time to go back to those crazy days of college with Decoys! Parties with heavy drinking, occasional lesbianism, and aliens that eat human DNA!