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NEW MOVIE OUT THIS WEEK
Thursday, June 30, 2005
War of the Worlds
Starring:Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin
Directed by:Steven Spielberg
***1/2 Stars
War of the Worlds: A Movie Review
By: Casey LaMarca
This is why they invented movies.
Steven Spielberg knows how to scare us so much that he scares himself. War of the Worlds is scary, funny, heartbreaking, and with extraordinary special effects. It is more terrifying than any other blockbluster in years. The movie is about choice. There is not one moment in the film where you feel like this couldn’t happen to us.
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is not what you would call a "good" father. He knows basically nothing about his kids and really doesn't care for them as much as a parent should. His kids, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin) are being dropped of at his house in New York for the weekend. Tension rises between Robbie and Ray as they play catch. When staring at each other, one sees Red Sox and the other sees Yankees. The hats represent the antagonism. Both walk away with anger and disclosure.
Directed by:Steven Spielberg
***1/2 Stars
War of the Worlds: A Movie Review
By: Casey LaMarca
This is why they invented movies.
Steven Spielberg knows how to scare us so much that he scares himself. War of the Worlds is scary, funny, heartbreaking, and with extraordinary special effects. It is more terrifying than any other blockbluster in years. The movie is about choice. There is not one moment in the film where you feel like this couldn’t happen to us.
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is not what you would call a "good" father. He knows basically nothing about his kids and really doesn't care for them as much as a parent should. His kids, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin) are being dropped of at his house in New York for the weekend. Tension rises between Robbie and Ray as they play catch. When staring at each other, one sees Red Sox and the other sees Yankees. The hats represent the antagonism. Both walk away with anger and disclosure.
Right after a short and brief introduction, Spielberg wastes no time with the invasion. Twelve minutes into the film, the attack begins. Lightening is struck twenty-six times in one spot. When this happens, an EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) is set off making all electricity die in a certain radius.
Ray goes to check it out. Everyone is anxious to see what it is. No one is really scared yet. Everyone is fascinated with this crazy storm. Then, the ground begins to shake and the invasion has begun. Aliens begin to zap people. And this zapping is no kid stuff either. This movie has the most graphic “zapping” in recent memory and Spielberg sure does a great job giving the audience goose bumps down to the bones.
After Ray has found the only usable car in the area, he takes his two kids and drives out of the city. While driving, they run into a crowd. People are jumping all over their car. They want the car for themselves and no one else. This shows that the aliens are not just the enemies. You will not see humans working together to survive. Individualism takes over and destroys just as much of humans as the aliens do and I think that is what scares us the most.
The movie is obviously science fiction and it is extremely unlikely that aliens will come to destroy our planet. But there is a realistic side of the film. Rachel asked her father if what is happening is terrorists. Ray must make a choice between saving Robbie or Rachel. He must kill someone to save his daughter. The movie is not about Tom Cruise being the big hero. He is only a hero for his kids, protecting them from whatever comes their way. He will not try to save others just for the sake of saving them. The movie is about choice and what you would do in a situation like this.
When it comes to the ending, Steven Spielberg does not show the aftermath or the rebuilding of the world. He shows the invasion. The aliens do not what to study us, meet us, or use us as slaves. All they want is to wipe us out. In one scene, Ray and Rachel find themselves hiding in an unusual man’s house. This man, known as Harlan Ogilvy's (Tim Robbins) was kind enough to let Ray and Rachel into his house. But he's a little crazy. He discusses about how they will destroy us unless we take a stand. "We’ve been in there to long. This is not a war any more than there's a war between men and maggots. It's an extermination." Sure, it’s political mumbo-jumbo. Sure, I want to stand up to Tim Robbins and ask him why he must write in his own lines and all they consist of is bashing the government we have today. He sure does find ways to make the country even madder. But trying not to let my political views get in the way, Steven Spielberg scares the hell out of us and he knows it.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Batman Begins
Starring: Christian Bale Michael Caine Liam Neeson Katie Holmes Gary Oldman Cillian Murphy
Tom Wilkinson Ken Watanabe Morgan Freeman
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Tom Wilkinson Ken Watanabe Morgan Freeman
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
**1/2 Stars
Batman Begins is a decent movie but it is no where near its expectations.
Batman starts off literally from the start. It shows Bruce Wayne as a child when his parents are killed. Years and years go by and Bruce still hasn't recovered from his tragic loss. He is in a prison when he meets Henri Ducard (Nielson). Ducard can apparently get him out of prison and master the art of patience, swordplay, and Kung Fu. That's right folks, Batman knows Kung Fu. What does Kung Fu have to do with Batman? Who knows and who cares.
In order to enter this very prestigious League of Shadows. Bruce must kill a man. He refuses, and decides to escape. He is attacked but soon free.
After escaping and pointlessly saving Ducard's life, Bruce enters Gotham City again and decides to bring justice to the City. This is where Batman comes in.
Many people wonder what Bruce Wayne does in his spare time. To cover his identity, he creates himself as a playboy and gets drunk every night. This upsets old child friend Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) who is now an assistant D.A.
Michael Caine is his Butler, Morgan Freeman is his low level technician working in the basement of Wayne Enterprises (every scene with Freeman and Bale feels like a knockoff of James Bond and Q) and Tom Wilkinson is the city's crime boss. The cast (minus an extremely unsatisfying Katie Holmes) is great. They have a lot of fun with this movie. Nolan uses his same style as Memento here, flashing back and forth from past to present. The movie has style and it's fun but it's not as much as I had wished for. The camera is to close in every fight scene. That worked in movies like The Bourne Supremacy. Here, Batman takes them down so fast, we just stop caring about he does.
Batman Begins is just another revenge film. Although Batman does not like to kill, it still felt like a pissed off man because someone killed his parents.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Starring:
Amber Tamblyn Alexis Bledel America Ferrera Blake Lively
Directed by:
Ken Kwapis
*** Stars
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is surprisingly entertaining but also warm hearted. It is also sweet and always lovable.
One summer, four friends (best friends since childbirth) are all traveling to different places. To keep their friendship and rekindle old memories, the girls decide to share these magical pair of jeans that surprisingly all of them all perfectly. Each girl is different in size.
Tibby (Ferrera), with a Puerto Rican background, decides to visit her father, who is an American. When she arrives to his house, she surprisingly discovers that he is getting married with a woman that has two kids.
Lena (Bledel), is heading off to Greece to visit her grandparents. She meets a young man named Kostas. First, she is unsure of herself and does not realize how beautiful she really is and what Kostas sees in her. But after spending time with him, she falls for him. After telling this to her grandparents, they do not approve. Apparently, their families have past hatred. She still, secretly, visits him.
Carme (Tamblyn), is the only one staying behind at their town for the summer. Bored out of her mind, she begins to videotape random shots of pointless material around town. Throughout this process, she meets a young girl named Bailey (an adorable Jenna Boyd). She aggravates Carme by interrupting her throughout her video. But she soon realizes that she is suffering from Leukemia and it is terminal. She doesn't know if she’s just feeling bad for her or because she's growing fond of her. But deep down, she feels for her greatly.
The last one is named Bridget (gorgeous new comer Blake Lively) and she is off to Spain for soccer camp. She ends up flirting with one of the coaches. He soon rejects her because he is a coach and she is player. Still, she tries to impress him on the field.
The movie is very entertaining and all the young actresses each have their moments. Even a critic like myself can still appreciate a film like this.
Amber Tamblyn Alexis Bledel America Ferrera Blake Lively
Directed by:
Ken Kwapis
*** Stars
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is surprisingly entertaining but also warm hearted. It is also sweet and always lovable.
One summer, four friends (best friends since childbirth) are all traveling to different places. To keep their friendship and rekindle old memories, the girls decide to share these magical pair of jeans that surprisingly all of them all perfectly. Each girl is different in size.
Tibby (Ferrera), with a Puerto Rican background, decides to visit her father, who is an American. When she arrives to his house, she surprisingly discovers that he is getting married with a woman that has two kids.
Lena (Bledel), is heading off to Greece to visit her grandparents. She meets a young man named Kostas. First, she is unsure of herself and does not realize how beautiful she really is and what Kostas sees in her. But after spending time with him, she falls for him. After telling this to her grandparents, they do not approve. Apparently, their families have past hatred. She still, secretly, visits him.
Carme (Tamblyn), is the only one staying behind at their town for the summer. Bored out of her mind, she begins to videotape random shots of pointless material around town. Throughout this process, she meets a young girl named Bailey (an adorable Jenna Boyd). She aggravates Carme by interrupting her throughout her video. But she soon realizes that she is suffering from Leukemia and it is terminal. She doesn't know if she’s just feeling bad for her or because she's growing fond of her. But deep down, she feels for her greatly.
The last one is named Bridget (gorgeous new comer Blake Lively) and she is off to Spain for soccer camp. She ends up flirting with one of the coaches. He soon rejects her because he is a coach and she is player. Still, she tries to impress him on the field.
The movie is very entertaining and all the young actresses each have their moments. Even a critic like myself can still appreciate a film like this.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Monday, June 13, 2005
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
*** Stars
Starring:
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Adam Brody
Directed by:
Doug Liman
I think that the stories and the scandals that are gossiping around the nation about Pitt and Jolie having an affair make Mr. and Mrs. Smith more sexy, exciting, and funny. It gives Brad and Angelina more spice when they are shooting M-16 assault rifles at each other. If it wasn't for that sexy chemistry they have for each other, the movie would have been a complete and utter mess.
John (Pitt) and Jane Smith (Jolie) have been married for "5 or 6 years" now and the marriage is a complete and total bore. They have neither life nor excitement. Well, at least that what they think of the other. Believe it or not, both are actually highly trained assassins. They go to work, come home, have dinner every night at seven and go to bed and neither one knows about the other. Their lives are phony and their marriage is commercial only.
One day, both are assigned to assassinate the same person. They both get caught up in each other’s assassination attempt and they both fail. They end up firing at one another. Both are identified later in which they soon go after one another in a shooting frenzy.
Pitt and Jolie have a blast making this film. But I was looking for something more. I mean you have the two hottest stars in Hollywood punching each other and making out. Of course it's going to be entertaining. It actually wasn’t that bad of a date movie. It's a mild recommendation for those in the mood for a good time at the theaters.
Starring:
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Adam Brody
Directed by:
Doug Liman
I think that the stories and the scandals that are gossiping around the nation about Pitt and Jolie having an affair make Mr. and Mrs. Smith more sexy, exciting, and funny. It gives Brad and Angelina more spice when they are shooting M-16 assault rifles at each other. If it wasn't for that sexy chemistry they have for each other, the movie would have been a complete and utter mess.
John (Pitt) and Jane Smith (Jolie) have been married for "5 or 6 years" now and the marriage is a complete and total bore. They have neither life nor excitement. Well, at least that what they think of the other. Believe it or not, both are actually highly trained assassins. They go to work, come home, have dinner every night at seven and go to bed and neither one knows about the other. Their lives are phony and their marriage is commercial only.
One day, both are assigned to assassinate the same person. They both get caught up in each other’s assassination attempt and they both fail. They end up firing at one another. Both are identified later in which they soon go after one another in a shooting frenzy.
Pitt and Jolie have a blast making this film. But I was looking for something more. I mean you have the two hottest stars in Hollywood punching each other and making out. Of course it's going to be entertaining. It actually wasn’t that bad of a date movie. It's a mild recommendation for those in the mood for a good time at the theaters.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Cinderella Man
Directed by:Ron Howard
Produced by:Brian Grazer, Ron Howard
I can't remember one movie this year that is more exciting, more anticipating, and more entertaining than Cinderella Man
I can't remember one movie this year that is more exciting, more anticipating, and more entertaining than Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man tells the story of James J. Braddock played by a perfect actor. Perfect, there's a word that doesn't come by often every day. But here I can tell you that Russell Crowe, as Braddock, Zellwegger as his wife Mae, and Giamatti as his trainer Joe Gould are three of the greatest performances that you could ask for. That's right, Cinderella Man is perfect.
Directed by Ron Howard and produced by his right hand man Brian Grazer, Cinderella Man tells the story of the unrecognized name of James J. Braddock. In the 1920's Braddock was a boxer and a true sportsman to the game. Jim has "three healthy trouble making kids and the most beautiful wife a man could ask for."
Life was good for the Braddock's. But then something happened to them. That something was called the Great Depression. After losing everything and living in a small one room basement, Jim is thrown out of the boxing commission for being an embarrassment to the sport. He has nothing left in the world of fighting. So, now, with no money and no job, Jim must do everything in his power to get money.
There are two scenes in this movie that really capture the horror of the Great Depression. First, Jim's first-born son Jay was caught stealing meat. He didn't do it for the sake of stealing. He was afraid that his parents because of financial reasons would send him away. He took the food for his family so they could eat; so they could live their lives. Jim then promises him that he will never send him away. Howard doesn't use much dialogue here. He uses the eyes of Russell Crowe and you can easily feel what they are going through. The other scene is the most heartbreaking of all scenes. After being thrown out of the boxing commission, Jim goes back to the people he once knew, the people he once understood and looked into their eyes and said that he needed money. Slowly, he went around with tears in his eyes to each person begging like he wasn't a man anymore. It was truly heartbreaking and it touched every part of my little heart.
But then, Jim catches a break after his trainer Joe Gould (A knockout by Giamatti) gets him a fight. Obviously, Jim will take it for the money and for a second chance. He surprisingly wins the fight and moves on to the next challenger. He wins there and now he will face the champion of the world Max Baer. Now many people will wonder. Is this movie predictable? Well a movie cannot be called Cinderella Man if didn't have a happy ending. Of course Braddock wins at the end. Of course the movie ends with everyone in the theater cheering. I know I was. But if you think that ruins the movie well guess again. Howard gives you old fashion on the edge of your seat thrills that aren't from big explosions or special effects. It's about one man struggling for a second chance in life. Every single punch counts in a fight for your life. I had a loss for words after this film. When the movie was over, I sat there and thought about it for a minute. Then after the credits started to come on the screen, I smiled like I have never smiled before at the movies.
Directed by Ron Howard and produced by his right hand man Brian Grazer, Cinderella Man tells the story of the unrecognized name of James J. Braddock. In the 1920's Braddock was a boxer and a true sportsman to the game. Jim has "three healthy trouble making kids and the most beautiful wife a man could ask for."
Life was good for the Braddock's. But then something happened to them. That something was called the Great Depression. After losing everything and living in a small one room basement, Jim is thrown out of the boxing commission for being an embarrassment to the sport. He has nothing left in the world of fighting. So, now, with no money and no job, Jim must do everything in his power to get money.
There are two scenes in this movie that really capture the horror of the Great Depression. First, Jim's first-born son Jay was caught stealing meat. He didn't do it for the sake of stealing. He was afraid that his parents because of financial reasons would send him away. He took the food for his family so they could eat; so they could live their lives. Jim then promises him that he will never send him away. Howard doesn't use much dialogue here. He uses the eyes of Russell Crowe and you can easily feel what they are going through. The other scene is the most heartbreaking of all scenes. After being thrown out of the boxing commission, Jim goes back to the people he once knew, the people he once understood and looked into their eyes and said that he needed money. Slowly, he went around with tears in his eyes to each person begging like he wasn't a man anymore. It was truly heartbreaking and it touched every part of my little heart.
But then, Jim catches a break after his trainer Joe Gould (A knockout by Giamatti) gets him a fight. Obviously, Jim will take it for the money and for a second chance. He surprisingly wins the fight and moves on to the next challenger. He wins there and now he will face the champion of the world Max Baer. Now many people will wonder. Is this movie predictable? Well a movie cannot be called Cinderella Man if didn't have a happy ending. Of course Braddock wins at the end. Of course the movie ends with everyone in the theater cheering. I know I was. But if you think that ruins the movie well guess again. Howard gives you old fashion on the edge of your seat thrills that aren't from big explosions or special effects. It's about one man struggling for a second chance in life. Every single punch counts in a fight for your life. I had a loss for words after this film. When the movie was over, I sat there and thought about it for a minute. Then after the credits started to come on the screen, I smiled like I have never smiled before at the movies.
Crowe and Zellwegger have great chemistry on screen. I knew nothing about the Braddock's life going into the film. But right when Jim and Mae shared their first kiss on screen it felt like I knew all about their love and their lives. Crowe and Zellwegger could not be any better.
This movie has Oscar fever all over it. Crowe, Zellwegger, Giamatti, and Howard all deserve an Oscar plain and simple, no questions asked. Cinderella Man and an exuberant piece of filmmaking filled with laughter, cries, tears, and cheers. For your sake, find some money and invest it into this film. Don't worry; your stock investment in this film will not drop. It will skyrocket into your heart.
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