Change Your Image
Tivor X-09137
Reviews
Major Crimes: Return to Sender: Part 2 (2014)
Wonderful season finale, and a rebuttal to the other reviewer
I don't know what the other reviewer (sondorbdorb) was watching. The show has been dropping hints that Rusty was gay for a very long time. Remember when Kris was around? This was not a sudden revelation by any means. And the episode 2.4 "I, Witness" shows that Raydor was aware of this fact, and subsequent episodes show that Rusty was in denial about it. All the end sequence did in this episode was for Rusty to fully accept who he is. Maybe the teary confession was a tad over-dramatic, but it fit very well with all the character arcs that the show has been establishing throughout the season.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the episode. I particularly loved the mental chess match that Rusty waged and won against Jeri Ryan's character. And Provenza, he's da man. An excellent episode to wrap up a stellar season.
L: Change the World (2008)
If you are a fan of L's eccentricities, you'll love it. Otherwise....
First off, a note to the Death Note fans who have only enjoyed the anime/manga series: This movie is a sequel to the two live-action Death Note movies. The two movies follow an alternate ending to the Death Note anime/manga storyline, and this movie follows up to that. Therefore, if you don't know the movie ending, then you'll be left scratching your head where this movie fits in the timeline.
Another note to the people who are expecting another epic battle of wits between L and a new Kira and/or a new Shinigami (Death God): This movie does not have it. At all.
Light, Misa, and Ryuk only make a brief appearance, pretty much to recap and wrap up a small loose end from the previous movies, and that's it. This movie is about a whole new case, unrelated to Death Notes and Shinigamis. There is a reason why the words "Death Note" are not in the title of this movie. This is likely going to be a major sticking point to most fans of the Death Note franchise.
Not helping is the fact that the new case and the storyline (and the way it's told) isn't really much to write home about. The villain is supposed to be a super-genius of L's ilk, but we never get the kind of duel of the minds we've come to expect from Death Note. And for all the threat that the villain poses, the movie simply doesn't feel that suspenseful. In fact, one "horrific" death scene just ends up being unintentionally comical. As a crime thriller goes, this is a mundanely written and directed work. If such aspects are what you will be watching this movie for, you are going to be seriously disappointed.
So what should you be watching this movie for? L being L (and the actor Ken'ichi Matsuyama's top-notch portrayal of him), and L making human connections with children.
Does that description make you roll your eyes? If so, then this movie is definitely not for you.
But if you are the kind of person who enjoys L's eccentricities -- and maybe even finds him flat-out adorable for those qualities -- then you are absolutely going to love this movie. The director Hideo Nakata has said that he wanted to show L's previously unseen "human side" with this film, and in this respect, he delivers in spades.
I watched this movie at Los Angeles Anime Expo 2008 in an auditorium with 1000+ people, and I got a huge kick out of this movie. Fans were giddily screaming when L did one of his signature eccentric moves, oooh-ing and awww-ing when L showed his tender side, and hollering "YEAH!!!" when L made a triumphant heroic entrance. Grand joyous time was had by all.
To me, this movie was the perfect homage to L and his fans. And as such, I'm giving this movie an unabashedly inflated score of 8/10. If I were to rate it as a straightforward crime thriller movie, I might go as low as 4/10.
This movie is strictly for the fans of L's eccentricities only. Everybody else can safely skip this movie.
WALL·E (2008)
Absolutely magical
This is by far the BEST movie that Pixar has ever made, hands-down. If WALL-E is a 5-star movie, then all other Pixar movies are 4-star movies in comparison. It is that magical.
A big part of the magic comes from the fact that the two main characters, robots Wall-E and Eve, barely speak more than one word at a time. Just about all their lines can be written with just one of these three words: "Wall-E," "Eve," and "Directive." Despite that, through excellent animation and wondrous voice direction, the audience is always aware of exactly what those two robots are thinking and feeling every second.
Now, I love movies with good dialogue, and we all love witty banters between characters. But by their very nature, language -- especially the witty sort -- requires intellectual interpretation before it can appeal to the audience's emotions. By minimizing the role of language in portraying the relationship between the two robots, Pixar has gone straight to our emotions, and they have succeeded magnificently.
Of course, that's not to say that the movie is only about sappy emotions. The movie also makes a lot of satirical fun at everything from global corporation (everything is Buy n Large, and there is no sign of US government, or any government for that matter), environmentally irresponsible consumerism, cellphone- and television-addicted culture, lethargic and obese general public (and commercial billboards that portray fit models), internet generation who don't know what a book is (and think that pizza grows on trees), so on and so forth. Plus, there is also a pretty refreshing gender role/stereotype reversal between Wall-E and Eve, especially near the end.
Visually, the movie is breathtaking. Particularly of note are the smoke and particle effects, like the scene early in the movie where Wall-E finds a fire extinguisher. Jawdroppingly beautiful and realistic. It makes you want to pull out all other movies with CG smoke effects and yell "FAKE!!" at them. It's amazing how Pixar keeps on finding ways to push the 3D CG envelope.
It is not often that a movie exceeds my highest of expectations, and WALL-E did with ease. You can be sure that before the theatrical run is over, I'll be watching this movie at least one more time. And then I'll get it when it's released on Bluray. I do not say this often, but this movie is, without a shred of doubt, a true classic.
Assenburu insâto (1989)
Drinking party material
Well, a parody of anime and Japanese culture it is. A brilliant one it is not. (I make that note because I've seen marketing write-ups which claims that it is a "brilliant parody.") Nothing really stands out at all in this lackluster low-budget production (even for a 1989 release) of a forgettable too-cliche-even-for-a-parody storyline. Some jokes worked, but most failed to even draw a chuckle out of me. I'd give this one a one-and-a-half-star rating if I could. This one is probably best left for a rental when you and your buddies are having a drinking party with "Mystery Science Theater 3000"-type chatter.
8 Mile (2002)
Surprisingly good. Much Kudos to the director Curtis Hanson.
I am one of those people who dismissed "8 Mile" simply because it was an Eminem movie. I really don't care for Eminem, and I really don't much care for the current hip hop in general either. But what can I say? All my friends wanted to watch it, so I ended up watching it with them. And guess what? I liked it.
All the cast, including Eminem, are uniformly excellent, and I really have to give lots of kudos to the director Curtis Hanson (who has also directed much-acclaimed "L.A. Confidential"). He managed to capture the ever-so-subtle glint of defeat from Eminem's eyes in the beginning sequence of the movie, as well as the just-as-subtle glint of triumph near the end. I'm sure Eminem possesses the natural instinct and screen presence to be a good actor (especially in a role that should be familiar to him), but I doubt that he would have been as impressive as he was in "8 Mile" without Curtis Hanson guiding him. And Kim Basinger (who won an Oscar for her performance in Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential") shows us once again that she is as compelling an actress as she is beautiful.
Plot-wise, there really isn't anything new here. It's a "boy faces the obstacles in his life, finds his own path, and becomes a man" story. It's almost formulaic in a sense. In fact, I think this movie could have been extremely predictable and boring, if it weren't for Curtis Hanson's wonderful direction and the subsequently excellent performances of the cast.
To sum it up, if you're an Eminem fan, then by all means watch "8 Mile." (Like I need to tell them) Although one of my friend said that he wished there were even more rhymin', I doubt fans would be disappointed. And if you're not a fan (of Eminem or hip hop in general), I still suggest that you consider watching this movie. It's a very decent drama, at the very least. Definitely not some movie to be dismissed simply because a rapper is in it. Good stuff.
The Truth About Charlie (2002)
Truth about a Remake that didn't know what it wanted to be.
What was the director Jonathan Demme thinking? The original "Charade" (with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn) was ten-times more entertaining than this boring thriller wanna-be.
"Charade" itself was far from being a flawless movie, but at least it got several things right. The dialogue was funny with a good dose of wit, and, more importantly, it didn't give away plot twists before they occurred. The dialogue in "The Truth About Charlie" ("Truth" hereafter, for the brevity's sake) wasn't nearly as half as funny -- which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, if what the director wanted was something of a darker thriller. Unfortunately, "Truth" hardly has any surprising plot twists to qualify as a thriller either. Well, there ARE plot twists, but most are presented in such a predictable manner that no one is really caught off-guard. (My cousin, who had not watched "Charade" before, thought "Truth" was very predictable) It's a big shame that "Truth" horribly fails where "Charade" splendidly succeeded. Even the wonderful comedic twist at the end of "Charade" has completely disappeared in "Truth."
My guess is that the director Jonathan Demme wanted to transform the comedic "Charade" into a darker thriller where the line between good and evil is not as clear-cut. Noble intention, I'd say. Unfortunately, I think Demme was working with a wrong material for what he wanted. At times, it even appeared that Demme himself was confused about whether he wanted a straight-forward light comedy or a more convoluted dark humor for the laughs. And the end result is a movie that doesn't really succeed at anything it sets out to do.
My recommendation? Watch "Charade" to know all the fun and the plot twists. Then watch "Truth" to see how NOT to make a remake.
(A note to Korean fans: Park Joong-Hoon gets a good deal of screen time, which is good. However, he is at his best with a more sly comedic stuff, and I feel that Demme's direction didn't really allow Park to shine in his mainstream American debut. If the movie was lighter in tone, like "Charade," I bet Park would have been captivating. What a shame.)
The Ring (2002)
Great Americanized remake of the Japanese horror
I watched the original Japanese "Ring" (aka "Ringu," as per the Japanese phonetic) two years ago. It was a very freaky film, to say the least. So when I learned that a remake of the film was being released here in the States, I had to see it. I was curious to know if the American filmmakers were going to improve upon the original, or totally screw it up by "Americanizing" it.
Well, I'm glad to say that they mostly succeeded. After the opening sequence which was a virtual carbon copy of the Japanese original, the movie improved upon the original in many ways. There were some plot changes, but most had to do with Americanizing the characters, their relations, and their background. The writers did a great job of only Americanizing the setting while keeping the core plot elements and themes intact. (Personally, I really enjoyed the Seattle apartment complex which Naomi Watt's character lives in because the buildings looked decidedly more Japanese than American. :D ) Furthermore, there were some additional scenes and freaky stuff that I don't remember seeing in the Japanese original. Those new stuff and the Hollywood production value did a good job of improving the movie. The acting was pretty good too. Definitely more compelling than the Japanese version, IMHO.
Unfortunately, I was let down by the climactic ending of the movie. Naturally, I will not spoil the movie for you by going into details. But let me just say that I found the Japanese ending to be ten times more freaky (and memorable!) than the American one. In terms of the plot, the endings are practically the same, but how the scene was executed was different. I feel that the Japanese ending was more tightly directed and more freaky as a result, compared to the slightly self-indulgent "ooh, isn't this scary" American rendition of the same scene.
But apparently, I felt that way only because I had watched the original. There were plenty of girls screaming and guys yelling "Holy $#!+" in the theater, and my cousin (who had not watched the Japanese original) was very freaked out too. I was definitely among the minority.
All in all, I think "The Ring" is a great remake of the Japanese original. Even though I personally feel that they somewhat botched the ending (probably only because I'm comparing it to the Japanese original, which most people probably haven't even heard of anyways), the American version successfully brings the feel of the Japanese occult and horror to the American moviegoers. It definitely ain't your usual hack-and-slash cheese-and-sleaze gore-horror flick. It's a great, great movie for the Halloween season, and I expect it to enjoy a long, happy life at the box office.
Oh, as a side note, while watching David Letterman the other night, I learned that Naomi Watts (the leading actress) went to the same high school with Nicole Kidman in Australia. Maybe that's why Naomi has same facial expression things going on as Nicole. I thought it was very interesting. I wonder if I'm the only one who saw that. :)
Space Cowboys (2000)
Great actors, funny lines, but too much of a cliche ending
"Space Cowboys" is a very cool (and perfectly titled) movie if only for the fact that you get to see four very cool actors in a single screen, having fun. Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones, and James Garner all deliver top-notch performances as four former Air Force test pilots who get to go up in space to fix a dying satellite. (The satellite is SO old with obsolete technology that they are the only ones who know how to fix it. A bit far-fetched, but hey, if it brings the four actors together, I'm all for it.) And they are funny, funny, funny!!! I've never seen Donald Sutherland being such a riot!! These veteran actors surely know how to do an ensemble performance. The first hour-and-a-half of the movie -- during which the four space cowboys team up again after forty-some years, train to go up in space, and do some womanizing on the side -- is reason enough to watch this movie. Quite unique, and very fun. Unfortunately, the movie takes a turn for a cliche once the space shuttle leaves earth to rendez-vous with the satellite. All of a sudden, the four characters' unique charm and chemistry take a backseat to intrigue (which is only semi-intriguing), action (obligatory for a summer space movie, I guess), and special effects (which wasn't all that great, given today's high standards). In short, the last thirty minutes or so of the movie just felt like an "Armageddon" plus "Apollo 13" wanna-be movie with all the obvious cliche elements thrown in. I could pretty much tell just about everything that was going to happen in advance, and that really killed all the joy of the movie. Very disappointing. Thus overall, I can only rate this movie 6 stars out of 10. If I had seen the movie only up to the point the space shuttle crew gets to the satellite, I would have easily given 8 or even 9 stars out of 10. But the final thirty minutes of the movie was just so anti-climatic and cliche for me that it left me sorely disappointed. Still, go watch the movie because it is truly hilarious when the four actors take the center stage. Just don't expect a big-bang ending.
The Rock (1996)
Great cast makes this cool action-flick exceptional.
This is easily one of the most satisfying action flick of all time. The plot was decent, action was intense (it's got one of the most memorable car chase scene), and the music is one of the coolest ever. But the real reason why I give this movie a perfect score of 10 is its wonderful cast.
The rather far-fetched motive of General Hummel was so well rendered with conviction by Ed Harris that the audience won't care that it's the lamest excuse anyone has ever come up with to hold a whole city hostage to a deadly chemical weapon. I mean, the cause itself is noble, but threatening to kill millions with the VX gas?? Even for a bluff, it was pretty lame. But did I care? Ed Harris is so overflowing with authority and charisma that I might follow his orders even without the promise of million bucks pay.
And the chemistry between Nick Cage and Sean Connery is magical; you just gotta love the dialogue between the two. All the one-liners and witty comebacks that could sound extremely cheesy by lesser actors are delivered to perfection. And that little remark about John Mason (Sean Connery) being trained by the best -- the British Intelligence -- brought back the memories of James Bond. Gotta love it.
Even the supporting cast was wonderful at their roles. The mercenary marines were especially cool in their crazed bloodlust. And Commander Anderson, played by Michael Biehn, was simply amazing. I mean, there wasn't a single lame actor who took me out of my suspended disbelief.
It ain't a movie that'll make you cry or think or whatever. This is a pure entertainment movie. A great action movie cooked to perfection. Action flicks don't get much better than this.