Atlantis: The Lost Empire Review

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

More Than Second Viewing, 10 October 2010

Rating: 8 Very Good

Atlantis: The Lost Empire, despite being less then a decade old, is already quickly becoming one of Disney’s lesser-known animated pictures. When it came out in the summer of 2001, it received mediocre reviews and a lukewarm reception by viewers. Its box office, while not a catastrophe like Treasure Planet the next year, was more than a little disappointing to Disney’s executives. So the Great Mouse in the Sky decided to bury Atlantis with Disney’s other disappointments. No merchandise, no TV show, no theme park rides, no strange “Disney Vault” advertising. Atlantis, like The Black Cauldron before it and Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, and Home on the Range after it, is already fading from pop cultural consciousness.

Ninja Assasin Review

This was also written in a McDonalds in Matamata. I had some time to kill, clearly

Ninja Assassin

First Viewing 31 August, 2010

Rating: 5.5 Bad/Acceptable

A film that makes no pretensions of quality, Ninja Assassins uses an entirely parenthetical plot to showcase some slickly produced (if occasionally muddled) action sequences that make full use of a budget that clearly wasn’t high. While no one who watches this movie expects a Chinatown-level screenplay, the writing isn’t actually as bad as I expected going in. In all, Ninja Assassin is a passable motion picture that entertains even as it is forgotten.

Aladdin (1992) Review

This is the first review (of three, so far) that I wrote using a longer and somewhat more standardized format, modeled after James Berardinelli's reviews at reelviews.net. The basic structure goes something like this: title, information about the circumstances and date of the review, rating, some information about the film coupled with a very brief summary of my thoughts, a short plot summary, then a more expansive exploration of what I thought about the movie, followed by a brief conclusion. These are also longer, between 700 and 1100 words depending on how much I have to say.

Incidentally, this was written in a McDonalds in Matamata, New Zealand.

Aladdin

First Viewing, 29 August, 2010

Rating: 7.5 Good/Very Good

Aladdin was one of the core releases during the peak of the “Disney Rennaisance” (a period generally considered to consist of The Little Mermaid in 1989 until the Atlantis/Treasure Planet flops at the turn of the century, and to have peaked with Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King in the early 1990s), and for good reason. The movie is a classic family film—short and simple enough for young children, with enough material thrown in for their parents (or siblings) to enjoy.

Aladdin is the story of a destitute street rat who gets in over his head. The story begins (after a brief and mostly musical intro) with the villain Jaffar using a dupe to get a magic lamp for him from the Cave of Wonders. The cave, however, is none too pleased, and states (yes, it can talk) that only the “diamond in the rough” may enter. Turns out this “diamond” (a plot point that is subsequently mostly ignored) is none other than our titular hero, whom we meet as he is on the run from the law for stealing a loaf of bread. After meeting disaffected princess-on-the-lamb Jasmine, Aladdin in abducted by Jaffar and tricked/persuaded into entering the Cave after the lamp. Things go awry, however, and Aladdin is trapped within. There he meets the bombastic Genie (voiced with aplomb by Robin Williams), who promises to grant three wishes.

The Lives of Others Review

Here is the last of the three reviews I wrote last year. I suppose I should mention that, although I try to avoid spoilers for these reviews (which I won't do if I write any sort of other essay), I'm more successful with some movies than others. It's the nature of the medium. That said, if I mention any major plot point that takes place more than halfway through the movie, I'll put a warning up.

Das Lieben Der Anderen (The Lives of Others)

27 November, 2009

Rating: 7.5 Good/Very Good

The Lives of Others, the German entry and eventual winner of the 2006 Best Foreign Picture Oscar, is a film that reaches for but does not quite achieve greatness. It has some pacing problems and can begin to feel contrived at times, but the impeccable acting and insightful, thought-provoking take on the “voyeurism” sub-genre of film raises it well above the threshold of mediocrity

Serenity

Serenity

Reviewed May 12, 2009

Rating: 8.0 Very Good

Joss Whedon’s Serenity is an unusual film. It is a movie continuation of a cancelled television show (Firefly), and fits snuggly into a genre that I’m fairly certain it is the only member of: the Western Space Opera. It certainly is a new take on the classic space adventure, and a refreshing one. The film is ambitious, and mostly succeeds. This is one of the better Sci-Fi movies in recent years, and you need not be familiar with the source material to enjoy it (the first time I saw it I wasn’t, and I did).

Serenity has a lot going for it. For an epic sci-fi with a relatively small budget, the effects are top notch. It is not at all difficult to accept this as a possible, if not entirely desirable, future. The cinematography is impressive, managing to convey both a past (Western) and future (Space Opera) feeling within the same movie, and sometimes within the same scene. The story, a combination of escape-the-authority and mystery, is interesting and, for the most part, cleverly written. It manages to be more thought provoking than some of its peers and, while arguably heavy-handed at times, its message is effective. Some of the dialogue, especially the captain’s, is masterful. Of course, as a Joss Whedon picture anything less would be a surprise.

The cast, played exclusively by B-list and below stars, is great. Three characters in particular stand out, and it is a credit to the enjoyability of this movie that they are probably the three most important roles. Captain Malcolm Reynolds, played lovingly by Nathan Fillion, exudes bundles of attitude, and perhaps something deeper. River Tam (Summer Glau), is enigmatic and pulls off a feeling of both vulnerability and intense danger. Finally special commendation goes out to Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose Operative is one of the more complex and interesting science fiction villains we’ve seen in a long time.

One problem that arises on occasion is screenplay contrivance. A few times I wondered why exactly characters were behaving as they were, and there is a deus ex machina during the climax that, while not movie-breaking, is annoying. There are also a time or two where the acting stumbles, and it is clear that some of these actors belong on the small screen. Jewel Staite (Kaylee) in particular seems to be a little self-conscious with her character at times.

Firefly is a highly enjoyable science fiction adventure that, while not perfect, is more than solid. No matter how new to the source material you are, this one is worth your time.

A Little Content

I figure I'd actually add something here now. Crazy, I know. Over the last year or so I've written a small handful of movie reviews, just trying my hand. I might as well post them, so I'll go in chronological order of when they were written. Warning: none of these, but especially the first three, are well written or edited. At all. They were written quite quickly, and I'm still refining what exactly I want my technique and voice to be. After a few, I decided to start inexpertly modeling the format of my reviews after those of James Berardinelli (of Reelviews.net), who is fantastic and I highly recommend. So here goes:

Step Brothers

First Viewing 5 May, 2009

Rating: 6.5/10 Acceptable/Good.

Step Brothers, another Will Ferrell misadventure, is pretty much what one would expect. As Ferrell comedies go, it’s about average, better than a few (Semi-Pro, Kicking and Screaming), and worse than others (Elf, Talladega Nights, Anchorman).

This is the second film that pairs Farrell with Nights buddy John C. Reilly, and as they demonstrated in the previous movie, the two work well together. Some of the scenes that the two shares are genuinely hilarious, and as long as both are on screen the movie works well. Adam Scott has a nice comedic turn as Ferrell’s douchebag of a brother Derek, and Seth Rogen has a short but memorable cameo. As in all movies like this some of the jokes work better than other, but on the whole a high enough percentage hit their mark that you’ll be laughing more than enough to justify a viewing. Some of the better bits involve a character being buried alive and the epic bungling of bunking a bed. Importantly, Reilly and Farrell sell us on the prospect of two forty-year olds acting like five-year olds. This movie could be (more) ridiculous with lesser actors.

The movie is a bit uneven though, especially when one of Reilly or Ferrell is not on screen. In particular, a fling between Derek’s demented wife Alice and Reilly’s Dale does not work well, and some of the jokes are more uncomfortable than funny. The parents, Nancy and Robert, seem a bit out of place at times.

Ultimately, this is a Will Ferrell Movie™, no more or less. If you like his comedy, you’ll quite enjoy Step Brothers. If not, you won’t as much, although Reilly is good enough that it may be worth a watch anyway.

That was a failed little experiment, wasn't it?

So it's been about thirty months since my first and last post. I know you all have been waiting with absolutely baited breath. Well, here I am again, two years older and none the wiser.

Why am I back? Well, I suppose to revisit the concept of the online journal, or more accurately a bully pulpit. I want somewhere to write at a bit more length than twitter if and when I have the urge, and here is the perfect opportunity. Or at least an opportunity. I don't want to just throw around the word 'perfect' willy-nilly. It's reckless.

So what will I write here? Judging by past precedent, probably nothing. But if I do indeed keep updating, here's what I imagine it looking like. First, there will be a lot of content related to media. Movies, television, books, videogames, and maybe even music every once in a while. It's what I'm interested in, and I like to write about it. I'll be posting some movie reviews (of dubious quality), as well as some discussion of television, books, and videogames on occasion. We'll see exactly how that works out

I'd also imagine that some sports-related posts will pop up. I'm a basketball fan, both professional and college, as well as an erstwhile football and tennis fan. So that will happen. I'll try to avoid angsty posts about my beloved and recently deceased Supersonics, but I don't know how successful I'll be. I consider myself a sports widower, and the fact the corpse of my dearly-departed lover has been reanimated by dark magic and is currently whoring around in Oklahoma is something of a sore subject. To put it mildly.

There also may well be a few cultural, religion, and/or politics posts. I'm a non-confrontational sort of fellow so these probably won't be common, but it may happen. I'm a fairly radical social libertarian and an economic moderate, and I usually identify with the Democratic Party in the United States. I also happen to be a Deist. Which I might or might not talk about.

Other than that, really anything is potentially fair game. I don't generally lead a very interesting life, so I probably won't talk about it much. But I'm okay with that.

Au revoir, and see you in early 2013. Or sooner. And by you, I mean me.

(Is writing to myself better than talking to myself?)