Rick's filmBlog

Precise, Complex, Beautiful

Rick — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:37:37 GMT

Absolutely loved this film. What could have been a techno-thriller morality tale is instead an intensely human and complex story. Can't recommend it enough.

Can't Wait

Rick — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:48:56 GMT

My goodness this looks so bad, it's one of those "can't wait to see what a trainwreck this is!" type of things. Burt Reynolds as the king? A puffy Ray Liota as an over the top bad guy named Gallian? Leelee Sobieski? That dude from Snatch? Cheesy looking special effects and action sequences? Simultaneously trying to cash in by basing it on a video game that I for one have never heard of, and ripping off Lord of the Rings, complete with the helicopter fly-by "heros walking on a mountain ridge" shot? Sweet.

Hilarious

Rick — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:38:39 GMT

First of all, I've never seen this piece of teensploitation. But come on, how hilarious is it that Sisqo is in this? Wow, there were a lot of bad movies coming out when I was in high school. And there's still a lot of bad movies coming out now, featuring pop stars that have no business acting. But The Thong Song? Super hilarious.

You know what? I liked it.

Rick — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:35:16 GMT

I'll admit it. I rented and watched this when I was in high school. And I liked it. Compared to that several-year stretch of teensploitation trash, this was among the most intelligent. And who can forget Julia Stiles jumping up on the table and dancing to California Love? Classic.

Wonderful

Rick — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:58:25 GMT

Most of the discussion I followed around TAL's transition to TV dealt with how it would translate into the visual medium. I guess I wasn't that worried, having what I guess I would call blind faith in the TAL crew as incredible storytellers. I wasn't disappointed, and can't wait for the rest of the season.

Fantastic

Rick — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 22:32:51 GMT

A really great peek at the odd world of sneakers and sneaker culture. Caught this one at the RES Fest in Chicago last year and enjoyed it very much. I just ordered it and will give another writeup after watching it again.

Disappointing

Rick — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:47:12 GMT

I really loved the first 1/3 of this movie, but it eventually fails. The performances are great but I thought it was eventually crushed under the weight of the "seriousness" it was trying to achieve. It simply goes on for too long, and feels extremely out of its own depth. The obsession with food (preparing, sharing, eating), violence, and sex just comes off as...sophomore year of film school.

All that said, I will admit that I loved the (tiny bit cheesy) 70's international locations, the overall historical intrigue, and the "Papa" character.

Somewhat Overrated

Rick — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:55:00 GMT

First of all, Iñárritu's film certainly doesn't lack in scope. While I do think that altogether a bit it's overrated, I very, very much enjoyed the globe-spanning reach of Babel. The whole "everything is connected!" theme has been (in my opinion) beat to death, but Babel does manage to pull it off somehow. This is counterbalanced in my opinion by a continuous frustration that I felt with the characters because of the continuous stupid decisions they made, seemingly only to create more dramatic tension. But despite these plot driven character decisions , I thought that Babel was still somehow grounded in a reality that you seldom see in film. There's an attention paid to locations and cultures that's far superior to most Hollywood films. So in all good but not great, mainly due to my frustrations with plot.

A Resurrection

Rick — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:53:00 GMT

So after being called out in comments on my "huh?" post about this film *ahem* : ) I will report that I loved this movie. The trailer had me worried, but that fear clearly misplaced. It's funny how much power a trailer can have in setting expectations. Anyways, I loved the pace of this, the touch of realism that only enhanced its sexy sheen, and Daniel Craig as Bond. He just works on screen, and as much worry and mocking there was before this came out he pulled it off. As somewhat of a connosieur of Bond movies, I was left satisfied. I'm a guy that embraces the kitschy camp of The Spy Who Loved Me while simultaneously reviling the cheesy action camp of Die Another Day. To be sure, Casino Royale certainly has cheese. It's a Bond movie, it's inevitable. But by making Bond just a touch more human, I think they've saved the franchise. If this had been another Die Another Day, I'm not sure I could have gone back for another heaping spoonful. Now hopefully the producers and everyone involved in this take the right lessons to heart and don't return to those days.

Overrated

Rick — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:43:00 GMT

There, I said it. After hearing a bunch of buzz about this at Sundance last year we went to check it out at one of the later screenings that they hold open for popular films. I was underwhelmed. I think that part of the issue for me was that it smelled very, very much like a Napoleon Dynamite knock off, poorly done, with more meanness. I won't deny that it has funny moments and characters or that it has some heart to it. When it's all put together though it (still) seems to me too much of a "let's cash in on the 'write a story about losers and laugh at them' genre" film.