Doomsday

This is going down as my favorite movie of 2008, and one of the most fun films I’ve seen in a while. I know it’s still early in the year, but I think Doomsday could hold it’s spot in my heart for a long time.

Doomsday is a post apocalyptic action film set in England. A virus has broken out and all of Scotland is under quarantine, walled off, and assumed to be dead. In the year 2035, the virus breaks out again in Britain and survivors are discovered beyond the wall. A special ops team is sent over the wall to find a cure. 

The movie is violent, with lots of corpse shots and plenty of blood splattering.  This gets a little overdone in parts, but not quite as much as a typical horror/slasher film. There are also a few gaps in believability that don’t quite make sense if you stop to think about it.

The key to enjoying this movie is to not think too deeply, just enjoy the action and cinematography. I mean it, if you’re going to get caught up in the logistics of one or two scenes, it will spoil the film for you. If you can sit back and relax and enjoy the excitement, you’ll love it.

Rhona Mitra looks amazing and has solidified her spot alongside other rough and tumble beauties like Resident Evil’s Mila Jovovich or Underworld’s Kate Beckinsale.

The film pays homage and borrows quite a few themes from The Road Warrior, especially during the exciting car chase scene at the end. I loved Road Warrior and if you liked that, you’ll probably enjoy this one as well.

I’ve read a few negative reviews of the movie and quite frankly don’t get it. One or two small points stretch believability a little. That’s about the only criticism I can agree with, although it didn’t bother me. I think the rest were mainly due to false expectations, not knowing what genre it was. This isn’t a horror movie, nor is it a suspense drama. It’s an action flick plain and simple, borrowing themes from Escape From New York, The Road Warrior, Resident Evil, and 28 Days Later.

I give it two thumbs way up.

We Own the Night

I finally had a chance to watch We Own the Night on DVD and I enjoyed it. There were plenty of big names who all delivered solid performances including Robert Duvall, Eva Mendes, Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg.

One of the first scenes was a little and could have been toned down a bit to make the movie slightly more family friendly. The violence and harsh language wasn’t out of control. I don’t particularly object to sexuality or violence in movies, but in this instance it struck me that there was one scene that didn’t jibe with the tone of the rest of the movie.

Joaquin Phoenix’s character was the only one I became attached too, as the others all had certain characteristics that made them hard to empathize with.

The plot moved along at a good pace and worked for me. I didn’t care for the scene at the end in the smoking field. Without giving away any spoilers, the entire sequence had some sizeable logical holes that turned me off a bit.

All in all, a very good film. If you haven’t seen it yet, go out and rent it.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

I had a chance to watch this film on DVD over the weekend. I give it a thumbs up. It was not without it’s faults, but a worthwhile film nonetheless.

This film is a drama through and through, and not an action movie or spaghetti western. The focus of the movie is the character development of Robert Ford and to a lesser extent Jesse James. Both Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt gave fine performances.

The movie seemed to drag on in parts and felt too long as a whole. There was one camera trick used repeatedly throughout the film where the outer edges of the picture were blurred. This was completely unnecessary. Cheap gimmicks like this to try and create an effect are amateurish attempts to make something look edgy or artsy and point to a director’s lack of ability to make the most of traditional filming.

Director Andrew Dominik definitely captured some shining moments in the film, but his attempts at being overly creative with the camera and his inability to trim time off of a few overly lengthy scenes keeps this good movie from becoming a great film.

Definitely worth a rent if you haven’t seen it, but make sure you’ve got a comfortable seat, you’re going to be there for a while.

Review: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Before deciding to go and see Sweeney Todd, I read a few online reviews and caught the Ebert and Roeper analysis as well. Despite being forewarned, I wasn’t completely prepared for what was to come.

The movie is an adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical. There is a bit less singing and more dialog than most movie musicals but this will ultimately probably help the movie appeal to a larger audience. While Sondheim is a gifted writer, I wasn’t particularly swept away with any particular piece from this film. None of the tunes stuck in my head as I was walking out of the theater, and there certainly weren’t any I would find myself singing along to if I heard them again.

Casting for the film was spot on. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter fit their roles perfectly. Both appear sufficiently freaky in typical Tim Burton Fashion, yet retain a high degree of likability and cuteness. Both of the leads sang quite adequately and while not ready for Broadway just yet, did fine for a big screen adaptation. The best singing performances came from the younger players, Jayne Wisener playing the daughter Joahnna and Ed Sanders who plays the young assistant Toby. Wisener has only a very minor role but Sanders gets more of a chance to shine and gives the film a definite boost.

The overall plot is a bit predictable (even if you haven’t seen any of the previous renditions) and most of the surprises aren’t really surprises. It is darkly comedic with a very grim sense of humor that you can’t help chuckling at. Like any good Tim Burton production, the film is powerfully dark and gothic with good use of color and lighting in certain places to alter the mood and tone as appropriate.

The most shocking aspect of the movie is the bloody violence. It is presented in an over-the-top fashion that would out-gore many Hollywood slasher flicks. The brutal violence is so strong there were several instances where my friends and I were squirming in our chairs, yet you still somehow retained an urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of the film. This is not a family film by any stretch of the imagination. Anyone who dislikes bloody and violent films should definitely avoid this.

In the end, I enjoyed the actors’ performances, but found the music a bit lacking. The story was satisfactorily entertaining but the brutal violence was taken too far despite it’s odd humor. I certainly wouldn’t take the family to see this film, but it does provide a unique brand of entertainment if you are looking for something a little different.

Movie Review: Charlie Wilson’s War

This has to be one of my favorite films of 2007. I’m surprised it didn’t get better treatment from the critics. Most reviews I’ve read of the movie have been favorable, but not to the degree I would have expected after seeing the film myself.

The movie is based on a book and the true story of Congressman Wilson, who played a major role in getting the United States involved in Afghanistan in order to prevent Soviet incursion and expansion. I’m not sure of the exact level of historical accuracy, but I get the feeling most of the film was pretty much on target.

It’s tough to categorize the film or put a genre label on it. I found the movie’s strengths to be in its comedy and satire, although there is plenty of drama and history to round it out nicely.

The best performance of the movie without a doubt comes from Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the role of Gust Avrakotos. Hoffman was perfect in his delivery of the carefully scripted and witty dialog. I’ll pick this one up on DVD just to watch Hoffman deliver the goods.

Tom Hanks does a believable job as Congressman Wilson, and although I’m not a Tom Hanks fan, I enjoyed his performance. He does a wonderful job of balancing the seriousness and levity of his role, and has a fantastic dynamic with Hoffman’s character. I’ve read some criticism of the movie that Hanks didn’t do enough leading in his lead role, but personally found it to be just the right amount. He helps drive the story forward, but doesn’t demand the spotlight constantly, allowing his co-stars to appropriately be the center of attention from time to time.

Amy Adams is turning into a Hollywood darling and serves up an excellent platter of delicate humor, sweetness and eye candy. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of her in future films.

Charlie Wilson’s War is one of the most clever and enjoyable films of the year and I would strongly recommend it just about anyone!