Movie reviews, shonkily done.

Beloved readers, please excuse my hiatus. I was busy wrapped up with family shindigs and business and unable to tap away at my keyboard for you lovely lot. But absence makes the heart grow fonder, no? And gives more things to discuss.

Over the last couple of days my partner and I have ventured into watching a lot of movies. Endless movie nights consist of at least 2 movies, tim-tam's and some assortment of lollies and beverages. But most importantly, it's about the movies. I am a self proclaimed movie fiend, watching as many as I can and working out what it is about the film that draws you in, or spits you out. It's amazing how many films can be shockingly bad, but how many can be wonderful gems. So this week I have watched....:

The Prestige (2006, Dir:Christopher Nolan, Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johanssen, Michael Caine, David Bowie)
Originally I didn't care for seeing this film as I thought it would just be another big budget action film based on magic. But then I found out Christian Bale was in it, and I thought bugger that I'll give it a go. And I'm glad I did cos The Prestige is a wonderful film. Directed but Christopher Nolan, more famous for directing Memento and Batman Begins, the film is beautifully shot amongst a setting of the late 1800's. With constant twists, the story grabs you and pulls you in for the journey. Jackman and Bale are wonderful, but they generally are in everything they do. The costumes are beautiful and the magic is, well... magic :) The story in a nutshell = two rival magicians who were once friends but grew apart, one gets blamed for the other's "murder"... but is he really dead? :) I give this puppy 4.5 stars out of 5.

The Illusionist (2006, Dir: Neil Burger, Starring: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewell)
Another film about magic and magicians, funnily enough being released around the same time as The Prestige. Yet they are different. Whereas The Prestige is an adventure of twists and turns, The Illusionist is a mesmerising story of wonder and love. Set also within the latter part of the 1800's, the films revolves around two childhood lovers, one of higher social status than the other, who are torn apart during adolescence. The boy is banned from seeing the girl, and leaves forever, travelling the world for many years. When he returns as an adult he is the world famous magician Eisenheim . He learns that his childhood sweetheart is to marry the crown prince, who is a macho, chauvinistic brute, and tries to woe his ex-lover back. The prince learns of this , and the next thing we know is the girl is dead. But is she? Similar to The Prestige, the film is about magic and illusions, and tricking the tricker. The illusions played within this film are stunning, never showing how it is done and leaving you, as part of the audience, mesmerised. Also recommended highly, and I give it 4 stars out of 5.

War of the Worlds (2005, Dir: Steven Spielberg, Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins)
I originally did not want to see this film, since I'm not a fan of either Tom Cruise or Steven Spielberg. I actually thought this would have a religious tint to it, being either Scientology or Judaism. But neither reared its ugly head, thankfully. However Spielberg, like all his films, gives a "happy" ending where humanity triumphs. My partner wanted something action-based to watch, so I gave in and we got this. As far as the story goes, it's famous - aliens attack earth, aliens kill many people, yet somehow humans triumph. Patriotic, no? Cruise was his average acting persona, complete with his intense stare thing he does. Fanning plays a very good neurotic kid. The aliens looked kinda scary, and they use humans as fertilizer. Yet Morgan Freeman does the "voice of god" narration, explaining that because we were immune to our bacteria, and the aliens were not, they were doomed to begin with. Bah, humbug - I want more alien exploding in my film than just simple dying because they were sick. The special effects were good, the story was... well very Spielberg, and there was some good suspense. But nothing I would write home about. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

Marie Antoinette (2006, Dir: Sofia Coppola, Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Swartzman, Marianne Faithful, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan...)
I'm biased to start with as I adore Sofia Coppola's films, with The Virgin Suicides being one of my all time favourites. So I wasn't entirely sure what to expect as I'd heard mixed reviews about this film, some saying it was beautifully stunning and others saying they expected more. But really, what more can you expect? We all know what happened to Marie Antionette, the famous French queen who was beheaded at the height of the French revolution. What Coppola does in this film is wonderful - she shows a new light on Marie Antoinette, portraying this young queen has naive, addicted to the lavish lifestyle and just stunning really. The costume, cinematography, sets - mesmerising. The colours of whites, blues, pinks, all merge together to highlight the extravagance of that world and subtly show why the French hated them so much. I feel for poor Marie Antoinette too, as she did not know any better than the life she had. Sold into marriage at 15, she became accustomed early to the over to top lavish party lifestyle of the French royalty, without any interest in the outside world. And then doomed to death. I loved this film. The story was more a biopic than a story, but so tastefully done. I never knew the 1700's could be so divine to look at. Highly recommended, 5 out of 5 stars.

Ghost Rider (2007, Dir: Mark Steven Johnson, Starring: Nicholas Cage, Eva Mendes)
Two things I dislike in a film - lame comic-book-to-film superheros and Nicholas Cage. Once again, at the request of my partner, we watched this... or actually, half of this. Probably one of the cheesiest, lamest films I've seen so far, and it's only the beginning of the year! Cage plays a cheesy damned soul, who's made a contract with the devil, or some demon - it was never entirely clear - to reap souls for the term of his contract. He's a daredevil motorcyclist, performing impossible tricks like jumping over 6 helicopters, all in hover. I can't say much for this film cos I walked out just after he changed into Ghostrider - a flaming skull-headed, bike riding fiend - and decided to kill a bunch of supposed bad demons. I got turned off by the fact there were Australian actors ( bad actors) in it, like the fat chick from The Wedge, since it was filmed in my city of Melbourne. Look, this film is cheesy. Unless you dig bad Marvel comic adaptions, don't waste your money - 0.5 stars out of 5

King Kong (2005, Dir: Peter Jackson, Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody)
I tried to avoid this film because the idea of a supermonkey never really interested me much. Sure, the original is a classic piece of cinema but remakes of originals can always be dicey ground, as sometime the remake can do a worse job at telling the story than its predecessor. Peter Jackson loves special effects, that's his niche market. The LOTR's movies show how extravagant they can be, and how much he'll put into a film. However, why remake King Kong? Why a remake when he has done so many wonderful original films (Meet The Feebles, Heavenly Creatures...). In my opinion - because he can really. This film is no exception with the budget being used for special effects. And honestly, this film went for about an hour too long. There was too much lead up to catching the giant ape, extended fight scenes between giant ape and three Dinosaurs, extended scenes between the love relationships between Watts and the giant ape. The film was pretty to watch, some stunning cinematography but ultimately, just too drawn out and a bit cheesy. Maybe it was intentional, maybe it wasn't. Either way, I feel a but let down by Mr Jackson, as I'd come accustomed to his wonderful work before King Kong. 3 stars out of 5.

For Your Consideration (2006, Dir: Christopher Guest, Starring: Harry Shearer, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Michael McKean, Ricky Gervais)
Once again, I'm biased - I adore Christopher Guest films. Unlike his other films, For Your Consideration is not a mockumentary but an actual story. Though once again I'm sure most of it is ad-libbed. The film is about the making of a film, Home for Purim which gets changed to Home for Thanksgiving as 'Purim' sounds too Jewish, and how a rumour that 2 cast members will be nominated for Oscar's. Yet there is nothing set in stone, it is all the hype. And what funny hype it is. The film shows how Oscar buzz goes to peoples heads and starts to influence their lives egotistically. Two nominations becomes three, and the jealousy begins. A bit different from Guest's gems like Best in Show or A Mighty Wind, it still is very funny with small subtle humour that may or may not be picked up on. I recommend seeing this for a clever laugh. 4 Stars out of 5.


And that was the movies for the last few nights of this week. Next on my list to see - Shortbus, Pan's Labyrinth, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, and more....