It’s hard to take an old story in a busy genre, and make it fresh. But, Anna Karenina succeeds in this. The film uses a device of a “stage” to move between scenes, and give the story a dreamy mood. So, instead of cutting from scene to scene, the characters often just walk from scene to scene – through a door, or as the set around them changes… At first it was distracting, but after the first couple instances, I really grew to love it – something actually original and fresh!.. and beautiful.
Tag Archives: Jude Law
AI
I thought this was done very cleverly. It tackles an unusual issue – what is it that makes us human? or, what is it that makes humans special? and can something we create ever be as special as we ourselves are? Could we ever create a soul that’s as real as our own? If you’re intrigued by this, go see the movie… if not, I feel sorry for you. I think if it was done by any other director, it would have been cheesy, if nothing else, this movie shows why Spielberg is simply great at what he does. (I think Kubrick would have done a fine job with it too – too bad he died)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Wow… Who are these people who say that Terry Gilliam can’t tell a story? They’re completely clueless. This story has depth, imagination, originality, deep themes, a sweeping span, rhythm, color, mood, lessons about humanity, and more. It’s movies like this that make my dreams seem dull.
Wilde
The story of the rise and fall of Oscar Wilde. The witty playwright and author goes around poking fun at high English society and enjoying sex with young men. As he would argue – not that dirty, lust-filled bathroom sex, but intellectual mentor-protégé discourse… um, just like the ancient Greeks. Well, whatever it was, it was illegal in late 1800’s England. I never really knew much about Oscar Wilde… This movie seems to be a pretty good portrayal of his story. I’m not sure how technically accurate it is, but the acting, writing and directing are all quite good. (Yes, there are depictions of gay sex in it.) Also, I’m always impressed by “period” movies that really take you to a different time and place. Sometimes they try to hard, and make a big deal about how certain things were so different “way back when”. In a good period movie, nothing is too special – it presents a better picture of the reality of the day. Wilde did just that, the setting and characters were all believable. If you somehow missed the story of Oscar Wilde in the course of your life, this movie might be just the thing to make up for that.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Some people sigh when they’re very sad, and others sigh when they’re very satisfied. But as I sit here in my one room apartment, typing by candlelight and hiding from the baseball team that would surely like to see me dead, I’m sighing because I just don’t know what to say. Violet, Klaus and Sonny were exactly as I had pictured them, so were their adventures, and general look and feel of their world. But, the movie was missing a certain coherence, a word which here means, something to tie all the bits together. It was a great movie to watch, but difficult to appreciate as a complete film. The problem is the books are just too short, and too dijointed – it’s difficult to adapt them into one story. What this movie needed was a whole new story, but that would have betrayed the whole point of the books in the first place. So, I sigh, because the movie didn’t have a chance in that regard. But, I did like it purely for the asthetic value.
Gattaca
As time passes, this movie becomes more and more relevant and prescient. Is this really where we’re headed? I liked how the movie focused on the story, and avoided other peripheral items about how the future might work. Not many movies make you think and keep you entertained. This one did.
Existenz
I was expecting more. Everybody looks like they’re on Quaaludes.