Some movie reviews
Batman Begins
This is the best imagining of how Batman should be on screen. Director Chris Nolan managed to do something that previous Batman directors failed to grasp, even Tim Burton, and that is actually telling a story about Bruce Wayne and Batman rather than focusing on the villains.
Largely relying on the story of Batman: Year One from the comic books and even adapting the nuance of the movie from the animated series, Nolan presents a conflicted Bruce Wayne, one who is driven by revenge as well as a sense of justice. A Bruce Wayne who is a popular public figure yet has little in the way of companion. He is determined even when he is unsure of how to achieve his goals.
The only negative about this movie is the device used as a plot key which ignores physics but it can be forgiven for the fact that it's a comic book movie and it's a relatively minor detail and rather inconsequential in the portrayal of the dark knight.
The only constant among Batman movies seem to be the characterization of Alfred Pennyworth. Michael Caine in this movie did enough to bring the trustworthy and quick quipped butler forward without stealing the limelight and perfectly delivers his one liners without going overboard like Chris O'Donnell's Robin in the previous two movies.
It's surprising to know that this movie was penned by David Goyer, the same person who wrote the Blade movies. While the first Blade set the tone on how comic book adaptations should be handled, the sequels did little follow up on that success, choosing only to stitch one action sequence after another.
This sequel not only revives interest in Batman movies and returns faith in Warner Brothers' ability to adapt its comic book characters on screen, it kick starts a new era and a new beginning for Batman movies.
Madagascar
A typical movie from Dreamworks animation that offers nothing but simple slapstick silliness peppered with big name stars.
After the disappointment that is Shark Tale, Madagascar turns out to be an even worse project by the company that somehow managed to bring us the quality movie that is Shrek and Shrek 2. There are moments where this movie shines (mostly involving the penguins) but the majority of this movie seems to be interested in doing one thing, and that is to provide light humor. It certainly succeeds at that but having pampered by other animation features such as Monster's Inc, Shrek, and The Incredibles, one can't help but think Madagascar should have sailed straight to DVD or TV.
Dreamworks animation holds no candle to the animation genius and behemoth that is Pixar whose movies not only provide humor, they also have values, depth, and most importantly, strong storyline.
War of the Worlds
This movie generates one thing: DISAPPOINTMENT.
It stems from the fact that Spielberg took a widely popular story and chose to take a pedestrian's view of it.
The unexpected and unrealistic reappearance of a character at the end, the equally unrealistic portrayal of the extended family in the same scene, and the stupidity of running to a boat when it's clearly the most vulnerable target, all add up to a major let down from an otherwise exciting, engaging, and edge-of-the-seat material.
After taking us through the complexity of Minority Report, this latest project from Spielberg is a major turn off. Signs had a much better vision, twist, and viewpoint with similar premise.
All you see in this movie is an average person with an average family running away from disaster. That's all, nothing more, and I want my 2 hours back.
This is the best imagining of how Batman should be on screen. Director Chris Nolan managed to do something that previous Batman directors failed to grasp, even Tim Burton, and that is actually telling a story about Bruce Wayne and Batman rather than focusing on the villains.
Largely relying on the story of Batman: Year One from the comic books and even adapting the nuance of the movie from the animated series, Nolan presents a conflicted Bruce Wayne, one who is driven by revenge as well as a sense of justice. A Bruce Wayne who is a popular public figure yet has little in the way of companion. He is determined even when he is unsure of how to achieve his goals.
The only negative about this movie is the device used as a plot key which ignores physics but it can be forgiven for the fact that it's a comic book movie and it's a relatively minor detail and rather inconsequential in the portrayal of the dark knight.
The only constant among Batman movies seem to be the characterization of Alfred Pennyworth. Michael Caine in this movie did enough to bring the trustworthy and quick quipped butler forward without stealing the limelight and perfectly delivers his one liners without going overboard like Chris O'Donnell's Robin in the previous two movies.
It's surprising to know that this movie was penned by David Goyer, the same person who wrote the Blade movies. While the first Blade set the tone on how comic book adaptations should be handled, the sequels did little follow up on that success, choosing only to stitch one action sequence after another.
This sequel not only revives interest in Batman movies and returns faith in Warner Brothers' ability to adapt its comic book characters on screen, it kick starts a new era and a new beginning for Batman movies.
Madagascar
A typical movie from Dreamworks animation that offers nothing but simple slapstick silliness peppered with big name stars.
After the disappointment that is Shark Tale, Madagascar turns out to be an even worse project by the company that somehow managed to bring us the quality movie that is Shrek and Shrek 2. There are moments where this movie shines (mostly involving the penguins) but the majority of this movie seems to be interested in doing one thing, and that is to provide light humor. It certainly succeeds at that but having pampered by other animation features such as Monster's Inc, Shrek, and The Incredibles, one can't help but think Madagascar should have sailed straight to DVD or TV.
Dreamworks animation holds no candle to the animation genius and behemoth that is Pixar whose movies not only provide humor, they also have values, depth, and most importantly, strong storyline.
War of the Worlds
This movie generates one thing: DISAPPOINTMENT.
It stems from the fact that Spielberg took a widely popular story and chose to take a pedestrian's view of it.
The unexpected and unrealistic reappearance of a character at the end, the equally unrealistic portrayal of the extended family in the same scene, and the stupidity of running to a boat when it's clearly the most vulnerable target, all add up to a major let down from an otherwise exciting, engaging, and edge-of-the-seat material.
After taking us through the complexity of Minority Report, this latest project from Spielberg is a major turn off. Signs had a much better vision, twist, and viewpoint with similar premise.
All you see in this movie is an average person with an average family running away from disaster. That's all, nothing more, and I want my 2 hours back.
This entry was posted
on Monday, July 04, 2005 at 10:27 PM.
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On Tuesday, July 05, 2005 9:51:00 AM,To tell the truth, I actually liked Madagascar better than Shrek 2.
The second Shrek movie was just hundreds of movie parodies stitched together back to back, the story was weak and lame and apart from the laughs that you got from certain new characters, it was basically Shrek 1 except with different parodies.
At least Madagascar had a charming little buddy story behind it, oh and....
I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT! I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT!!!
On Tuesday, July 05, 2005 11:56:00 AM,
You Lemur!
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