So many dubious words have been written about this Disney lark, sequel to the TV specials, that I decided to respond with my own review.
Now a big-screen item, the movie benefits from having mainly the same cast as the debut “HSM” and “HSM2,” the former of which I have seen (and enjoyed), the latter of which I haven’t. I’m not a good judge of choreography but that which Kenny Ortega, the film’s director, and two others have provided seems impressive to me.
Christopher Nolan’s Batman movie is certainly not a comedy. It has the elements of tragedy, but whereas something like “Macbeth” offers plot simplicity, “Knight” is a complex mediocrity which I found hard to follow.
What I was able to follow–time and again–made no sense.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
The film’s gravity packs a punch, but with action sequences which fail to satisfy. Christian Bale is no big deal as Batman/Bruce Wayne, while Maggie Gyllenhaal, nifty as usual, has an easy part to play. Aaron Eckhart is sophisticatedly true as a district attorney,
Heath Ledger terrifying and magisterial as the Joker–one of the best acting jobs of the year.
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The brooding, ailing hero of “Synecdoche, New York,” written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, admires the pretty legs of his fetching psychotherapist (Hope Davis), which nevertheless extend to at least one foot that is blistered and bruised. Even THIS he has to put up with! It’s a nice touch in an otherwise spurious film–Spurious because it is excessively dark, wholeheartedly pessimistic.
Cover via Amazon
Sergei Bodrov of Russia has a penchant for making pictures concerning distinctly important, as well as interesting, matters. His “Prisoner of the Mountains” (1996), for example, deals with friendship and survival in the war between Russia and Chechnya. “Mongol” (with English subtitles) deals with Genghis Khan’s ascent to power in the thirteenth century, i.e. an arduous climb. Khan’s name is Temudgin; the words “Genghis Khan” mean “universal ruler.”
My bro Dean D. Gives his hip review of 2 movies. “Revolutionary Road” and “Taken” Que em up at Netflix and see if ya agree 🙂
Did you know American suburbanites of the 1950s were often
Image by onkel_wart via Flickr
desperately unhappy? It’s true.
Know what else?
People today are often desperately unhappy as well, and many, many of them are secular liberals. What’s to become of them?
The frustrating Sam Mendes directed this movie. It’s even worse than his “American Beauty“ and “Road to Perdition.” Not only is it dated and banal and leaden, it is also written in such a way that it’s impossible to care about the characters. Pity those poor American suburbanites.
For a suspenseful action flick, Taken, which pits Liam Neeson against sex-slave traders who have kidnapped his daughter, is inferior to the TV series, “24.” This doesn’t mean it isn’t exciting or well-made, though.
It’s both. However . . .
Most of the violence the criminals receive at Neeson’s hand they absolutely deserve. On the other hand, the film glorifies a murderer.
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