WeatherGrrrl's Station

Sorting through my ‘to finish’ posts I discovered this review that for some reason I never posted. So it’s a year late but, what the heck, here it is any way.

Best of the prequels. I’m sad though, because it (as well as the other prequels) had so much potential and it wasn’t realised. Mr Lucas really should have given his outline to a scriptwriter with a list of ‘this has to happen’ and then hung out with the ILM guys while someone else wrote and directed this puppy. The script once again sucks. It’s so bad I’ll say that again, the script sucks. Much of the positive response to this movie, I suspect is the fans ‘filling in’ from their own imaginations.

I did enjoy seeing Anakin become Darth Vader. Ian McDiamond just rocked as the Chancellor. Liked the Anakin/Obi Wan dynamic, ObiWan’s disappointment was palpable. And yes the visual effects just rocked.

After watching RotS I went back and watched Attack of the Clones and part 2 definitely improved with part 3 being around. There was a lot more resonance in part 2, without part 3 it just hung there incomplete. I also checked out the deleted scenes section on AotC and discovered that the producers and GL clearly have no clue about what you need to tell a great story. There were a number of scenes they had cut ‘because they didn’t move the story along’. BOLLOCKS. They were getting rid of anything that might help the audience believe in the Anakin/Padme relationship and anything that established Padme as a strong independent character. Watching them talk about deleting these particular scenes made me want to slap them upside the head. I don’t get these guys, having a strong female character alongside the strong male character does not castrate the male character. Sheesh.

Enough ranting, I suspect the fanfiction writers will fix it all up and give us the fully fleshed out and well written story of Anakin’s descent to the darkside.

Current temperature 70F/21C

Tasty. I don’t know how this will play on rewatching but for a first viewing it was great. There are lots of twists and turns so you have to pay attention and if you engage your brain you will be well rewarded. The film has a great visual style and a wonderful cast. There was one off-note in how things resolved but given how much I had enjoyed the ride to that point I was willing to forgive the misstep.

Current temperature 70F/21C

? The boys really enjoyed this movie and laughed all the way through. Me, I didn’t get into it until the last third. The voices didn’t work for me. Just because you’ve got big name actors doesn’t mean they can do great voice work. Voice acting is a skill in its own right and I didn’t find this cast to be very interesting vocally. YMMV.

Current temperature 68F/20C

Disappointing. After parts one and two I was really looking forward to this film but then disaster struck, Bryan Singer abandoned ship for Superman and Brett Ratner took over. It shows, the directing is abysmal. This is the weakest of all the movies, plot holes abound and way to many new X-Men are introduced in a perfunctory manner.

Check out what Pharyngula had to say about the whole debacle.

Current temperature 75F/24C

Disappointing. Given all the talent involved in this movie it really should have been a whole lot better. I hate the reliance on ‘character impersonation‘, it seems to be used because the writer is lazy and can’t be bothered to create a sophisticated plot that rewards the audience’s attention. Also the trend to cutting movies for the video game generation really pisses me off. Film is a wonderful media, it does not have to impersonate another media to bring audiences in. I actually like to see what is going on. All the quick cutting just frustrates and iritates me.

I’m quite happy to suspend my disbelief for a movie like this but I need a payoff from the movie makers. I’m not an adolescent boy and I’ve been a movie fan since I was 14 years old. How about taking me more seriously as a potential customer who’s prepared to go back and watch a movie multiple times if it’s satisfying enough? Sadly my money doesn’t seem to appeal as much as the next boy’s!

Current temperature 84F/29C

Enjoyable tosh. Although this movie plays it mostly by the numbers I must say I had a great time. Good to see Keifer Sutherland on the big screen once again. Usually this sort of movie relies upon characters not passing along information when they should. Here, though, the First Lady goes to the chief investigator and tells him the truth about what is going on, exactly as someone in that role would. Big cheer for the writer on this point.

Current temperature 84F/29C

A Spike Lee movie I liked!!!!!!! Don’t all faint with surprise. Taut thriller that twists and turns this way and that, and includes cultural commentary without being too heavy handed. Strong performances from the leads. I especially liked seeing Jody Foster play a rather despicable character. Enjoyed the visual style too.

Current temperature 63F/17C

Sentimental … but not too sickly sweet. I rather enjoyed this even though it was quite predictable. Kurt Russell plays these ‘dad’ parts really well.

Current temperature 63F/17C

Slick. A comic book movie that’s full of ideas and challenges you to think about what’s going on. Just what is the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter and are we obliged to act when it involves using means that might be dubious at best? There’s some disturbing material here to challenge us.

Hated Natalie Portman’s English accent. Quite frankly, I’d rather have a great performance with an American accent than a half arsed attempt at a British accent. A line of dialogue could have explained the whole thing away.

Current temperature 66F/19C