Movie reviews: recently seen

We don't get out much. Actually going to the theatre is expensive, what with parking and the popcorn and then the horrid price of admission. I also got offended a couple of years back when, despite having paid between $10 - $14 to get in I was subjected to 20 min or so of non-movie related ads. I already paid to get in, why the ads? The last movie I saw in the theatre was Fido (Lassie with zombies, a creepy 1950's utopia as a platform to a discussion about the evils of a corporation run world and the virtues of life truly experienced: having a pulse does not mean you're living) and before that it was Transamerica (brilliantly performed deeply uncomfortable subject matter, a pre-op transexual embarks on a journey to resolve the one unexpected and previously unknown of part of her male history, a son. She doesn't tell him the truth and makes some assumptions about what kind of life he needs, all with nearly tragic consequences but ultimately resolving the truth and life they both need).

But we watch DVDs. So here:

Who Killed The Electric Car: Passionate but slightly incoherent documentary about the manufacturing, bolloxed advertising and destruction of the EV1 and it's contemporaries. Peppered with celebrities (including a more insane looking than usual Mel Gibson) and industry insiders it's an interesting look at a car that few people outside of California new about, an entirely electric and emission free vehicle. The performance is evaluated, the environmental impact diagnosict includes the implications of the power plants that supplied the electricity and the horrifically art house marketing direction is dissected, until it becomes evident that the car was never meant to succeed but rather prove the unreasonable emissions targets demanded by Californian govt. Problem: the car worked and people liked it. They hold funerals for it and try to buy the cars, extend the leases. Other problem: the movie goes from having a low budget grass roots look to something like the Corporation in feel, ending with not quite enough information about current options. It did succeed in educating me a little and making me curious about electric cars. Researched resulted and I'm in love - the Tesla Roadster is fucking hot. No, I cannot afford one. I don't even have a bloody license. I want one though. They are sooooooo pretty.

Sicko: no, it's not on DVD yet. Officially. Never you mind. I like watching Michael Moores documentaries because they're informative, entertaining, and at least once per project he does something so powerfully strange that I can't believe what I'm looking at. Yes, I know he massages the material. However, this is a vitally important movie everyone should see. The strange moment: taking 9/11 rescue workers by boat from Florida to Cuba...to seek medical attention at Gitmo. Sweet.

Breach: solid performances, Chris Cooper can do no wrong. Not as interesting as I thought it was going to be.

The Good Sheppard: every bit as interesting as I thought it was going to be. Didn't believe Angelina Jolie for a moment, but Matt Damon? Can carry any film, especially those demanding a complex yet muted performance.

Smoking Aces: Horrified when Fabulous Husband brought this one home. However - hilarious, high energy and very entertaining. A good popcorn muncher.

Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Not a good popcorn muncher. Not liking suspense, I waited until 3 was nearly in the theatres before watching 2. No desire to see 3. Too long, too angst ridden and complicated, too stupid with the unnecessary special effects and if you have an Obi woman in a movie...she should look more like the girl from "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" than a girl from a jeans commercial. No, I wasn't expecting Lawrence of Arabia but I do need more from a sequel than an incoherent non-linear rehashing of gags from the previous film put in for the sole purpose of giving an audience something to recognize. It's ok to think your audience is stupid...but don't tell them. Don't point a finger and say "you dumb, we are the smart, ar ar ar". It's just tacky.

Happy Feet: This was cited by many right wing Christian groups to the south oas an example of liberal media promoting the homosexual agenda. I've never read the homosexual agenda and don't imagine I'd actually have any problem with it, and sort of dismissed the ranting as a backlash, that the film contained some sort of reference to sexual tolerance and they were overreacting again. Well, they were also high on crack. I'd love to see a kids movie with healthy gay characters promoted - happy feet wasn't it. It's two parts "an inconvenient truth" and one (very close to plagiarism) dose of "close encounters". The repeated use of popular music was annoying, Moulin Rouge did it better, but the film is an important and heart breaking movie that speaks volumes of the environmental catastrophe we're living with. Did I cry like a little baby girl? Yes I did. The Mexican rockhoppers and ruling religious right of the Emperor Penguin world, a bizarre mix of Calvinists and Orthodox Jews, were weird but a little thrilling. Please go to the Monteray Bay Aquarium site and down load their seafood watch brochures - take it with you to grocery stores and restaurants and demand safe seafood. When in doubt? Don't eat it. We have a choice.
Seafood Watch
The killer whale scene is scary as fuck and we got into a debate about the film being suitable for children, FH arguing that the scary bits would be too traumatic and me arguing that trauma is what makes us interesting. Jury still out.

Children of Men: Loved everything shy of the last few frames. Thought it copped out in the last 2 min, but possibly only because the rest of it was so tight, so plausible in a fantastic sort of way, so human and horrific. Solid performances, great character archs and the attention to detail in the background of most scenes made me angry with other films. There was (until the last two minutes) no wasted moments.

Fast Food Nation: Sons of bitches. Turning a perfectly viable documentary into fiction may have seemed like a good way to broaden the market, but it led to a series of contrived and diluted scenes that needed to be more powerful and immediate than fiction can be. It's not fictional, it's happening right now and people need to know about it. For a fictional film to actually have the audience that was possibly predicted it would need more of a coherent story line. There were moments that shone through but overall this was an abject failure of vitally important subject matter and the people involved in it's construction should feel shame. I am also somewhat disappointed in the cast of high profile actors for their involvement. Screw the movie, read the book.

Supersize Me: Yeah, saw it ages ago but watched it again after FFN. Awesome. Entertaining, enlightening and done on the cheap, a very worthwhile watch. I

The Illusionist: If you like a gotcha that you can see coming a ways off and just want to shut your brain off, it's a very pretty and well acted film. Mushy, predictable and well shot.

The Prestige: Gotcha is not so evident as it is horrifically inevitable, acting is tight, script is awesome and David Bowie as Tesla? A slice of fried gold. Intelligent and well crafted, Steampunk genre fiction translated into a highly enjoyable movie.

Hot Fuzz: Hilarious, funny as hell. Absolutely perfect popcorn muncher, brilliant editing. Actually believe it's editing should be held up as an example in film schools. Have since purchased a Japanese Peace Lily; watch the movie and you'll want one too.

An Inconvenient Truth: If you haven't seen it, please do so. Ignore the nay saying media being paid off by big oil. We have a big problem, one with viable solutions.