Despite my expectations, this actually ended up being a pretty good summer for cinema.
The Good
Public Enemies: What I expected. Could have used some more focus on a unified story, but easily one that holds up. Not a long term success, but easily entertaining. I actually think that Steven Cronenberg would have been awesome on this project.
Funny People: Less than expected
The Bad
Terminator: Salvation: I liked this one more than most of the critics. Not perfect, but it wasn't bad, plus, it easily opens the doors for more in this series.
The Ugly
GI Joe: Terrible. Nevertheless, it was terrible enough that most people enjoyed themselves while attending.
Inglourious Basterds: What can I say? I expected a lot, but not this. Really a strong piece of work.
Aside from those, the blockbusters were a remarkable letdown. Transformers II and Wolverine were the two worst abominations of a summer that included the usual suspects of lackluster romantic comedies and weak horror franchises.
The summer of 2009 was a good one for film because the intrigue that District 9 brought, the show that Star Trek put on, and the art the Inglourious Basterds rudely put on display.
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Showing posts with label Revisited. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Revisited. Show all posts
05 September 2009
06 August 2009
Funny People-Revisited
URBAN:
You might have noticed that for a couple of months there hasn't been as much back and forth on this site. Here's an attempt to fix that.
Chase Francl has given his Five Favorite Films on this site, and here is a chance to see what he thinks about a recent film. If you want to compare it to my thoughts on the film click here.
FRANCL:
I really didn’t know what to make of this movie. It felt like it couldn’t decide whether to be a comedy, romance, drama, or buddy movie, so it ultimately succeeded at being none of these things. It had no identity.
I caught myself looking at my watch with about 20 minutes to go, not so much out of boredom, but because I just couldn’t figure out where it was headed. It was actually building up to be a good movie about friendship, but then there was the one-hour romantic interlude that was relevant, but somehow didn’t quite fit. To me, this movie fell somewhere between a biography (where you expect some stuff that doesn’t adhere to a true story-telling mold) and a buddy movie.
The movie also wasn’t as funny as I’d expected. It struck me that throughout the film, there wasn’t a single moment that the entire audience burst out with laughter. I certainly enjoyed parts of it, but it wasn’t memorable stuff, and it didn’t have those lines that are going to carry it into posterity. The swearing also became so tiresome that it lost the comedic effect that a well-placed curse can sometimes bring.
I actually liked the cameos, even that of Eminem. Maybe if they had let him direct the movie, they would’ve taken his suggestion and found an ending that really worked.
The movie did have plenty of upside, though. Going in, I honestly thought there was no way Sandler could effectively play the terminal illness card, and instead he played it to perfection. He and Rogen also played off each other well, and Rogen’s character was one of the more endearing I’ve seen this year. It was truly enjoyable watching him evolve from beginning to end.
It’s always interesting to see how characters handle an impending death. Sandler certainly makes you feel the emotion of it, but we were cheated out of the breadth of what it really brings. Sure there’s going to be a long list of “what if’s” and some fear when you know you’re probably going to die, but I don’t think they mined this as deeply as they could have. I wanted to see more of the intrapsychic material.
The supporting characters were marginal at best. Jonah Hill steals the show when he’s on screen, and Eric Bana’s fleeting character is wildly entertaining, albeit a little unbelievable.
In the end, I thought seeing Sandler and Rogen on screen together was enough to barely salvage the movie. It becomes apparent early on that this isn’t going to be your typical comedy, so once you shift your mindset to that, there are some really enjoyable parts. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to the casual moviegoer, but it fills a niche.
FRANCL: Not recommended.
Read on...
You might have noticed that for a couple of months there hasn't been as much back and forth on this site. Here's an attempt to fix that.
Chase Francl has given his Five Favorite Films on this site, and here is a chance to see what he thinks about a recent film. If you want to compare it to my thoughts on the film click here.
FRANCL:
I really didn’t know what to make of this movie. It felt like it couldn’t decide whether to be a comedy, romance, drama, or buddy movie, so it ultimately succeeded at being none of these things. It had no identity.
I caught myself looking at my watch with about 20 minutes to go, not so much out of boredom, but because I just couldn’t figure out where it was headed. It was actually building up to be a good movie about friendship, but then there was the one-hour romantic interlude that was relevant, but somehow didn’t quite fit. To me, this movie fell somewhere between a biography (where you expect some stuff that doesn’t adhere to a true story-telling mold) and a buddy movie.
The movie also wasn’t as funny as I’d expected. It struck me that throughout the film, there wasn’t a single moment that the entire audience burst out with laughter. I certainly enjoyed parts of it, but it wasn’t memorable stuff, and it didn’t have those lines that are going to carry it into posterity. The swearing also became so tiresome that it lost the comedic effect that a well-placed curse can sometimes bring.
I actually liked the cameos, even that of Eminem. Maybe if they had let him direct the movie, they would’ve taken his suggestion and found an ending that really worked.
The movie did have plenty of upside, though. Going in, I honestly thought there was no way Sandler could effectively play the terminal illness card, and instead he played it to perfection. He and Rogen also played off each other well, and Rogen’s character was one of the more endearing I’ve seen this year. It was truly enjoyable watching him evolve from beginning to end.
It’s always interesting to see how characters handle an impending death. Sandler certainly makes you feel the emotion of it, but we were cheated out of the breadth of what it really brings. Sure there’s going to be a long list of “what if’s” and some fear when you know you’re probably going to die, but I don’t think they mined this as deeply as they could have. I wanted to see more of the intrapsychic material.
The supporting characters were marginal at best. Jonah Hill steals the show when he’s on screen, and Eric Bana’s fleeting character is wildly entertaining, albeit a little unbelievable.
In the end, I thought seeing Sandler and Rogen on screen together was enough to barely salvage the movie. It becomes apparent early on that this isn’t going to be your typical comedy, so once you shift your mindset to that, there are some really enjoyable parts. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to the casual moviegoer, but it fills a niche.
FRANCL: Not recommended.
Read on...
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