caitiedid

Member since 1/20/2007, last signed in awhile ago.

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Marie Antoinette

Let them watch a better movie
By caitiedid in popcorn and milkduds
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"Film is often described as a visual medium, especially when in comparison to other art forms, such as books or theater. In film, the aim is to show rather than tell, an idea that Sofia Coppola took to the extreme in Marie Antoinette. In this film, everything - from the sets to the music to the costuming - is extravagent, candy-coated and decadent. It's a wonder to look at, but a real chore to watch, as seemingly all her directorial effort went into those sets, music and costuming, and none to actually crafting an enjoyable movie. There is no real story here; Marie Antoinette follows the titular queen of France (Kirsten Dunst), from her betrothal to Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman), to her reign as queen, to the fall of Versailles at the beginning of the French Revolution, and that's all. Along the way are a number of barely-connected vignettes, disjointed scenes showing a peek into Antoinette's lavish lifestyle, but do nothing to encourage emotional attachment to her, or a ... " [More]

Closer

Lying is the most fun a girl ca ...
By caitiedid in popcorn and milkduds
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"I had heard a lot about this movie before I finally managed to watch it - oh, it's filthy. There's so much filthy dialogue in it, it's just nasty. I heard endlessly of the scene in which Julia Roberts describes the taste of...well, anyway, I was prepared for a veritable "Hustler" magazine of a movie. But after all I had heard, I felt that the movie was actually a bit tame. Sex and the heartbreak that it can cause are dealt with frankly and often, yes, but there are no actual sex scenes (if you discount an extended scene that takes place in a strip club). In the world of Closer, sex is not something to be enjoyed - it is done for revenge, out of guilt, or obligation. But never, it seems, out of love. There are four characters in Closer. There are extras, yes, but only four characters, and they are all very, very bad people. Dan (Jude Law), is an unsuccessful writer who enters a relationship with Alice (Natalie Portman), but soon falls for Anna (Julia Roberts), who eventually gets w ... " [More]

Little Miss Sunshine

All things go, all things grow
By caitiedid in popcorn and milkduds
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"Little Miss Sunshine is equal parts tragedy and comedy, examining a family that is the very definition of dysfunction (at the film's beginning, it's hard to tell if anyone loves anyone else in the family) and an impromptu road trip that changes each of them in a significant way, leading up to a finale that is nothing short of triumphant. No character is two-dimensional; all six members of the Hoover family are fully-developed people with their own personal demons that are faced head-on and conquered - or not. As in real life, there isn't always a happy ending, but there is always growth. A true ensemble piece, Little Miss Sunshine is blessed with six fantastic actors who fully embody their characters. Especially notable are Steve Carell, famous for overt but still subtle comedy, here playing a broken man at the end of his rope, but who eventually finds new reason to live; and Paul Dano, the mute older brother who hates his family, but always has his sister's best interest in mind ... " [More]

Superman Returns

You wrote that the world doesn' ...
By caitiedid in popcorn and milkduds
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"Superman Returns begins with retro opening credits harkening back to the early Superman movies, with John Williams' bombastic "Superman Theme" trumpeting in glorious surround-sound audio. It's in these opening credits that you realize exactly where Singer is going with this movie - it's not a reimagining of a classic character to make him relevant to the 21st century, as Christopher Nolan did (brilliantly) in Batman Begins, and he doesn't go with the "superheroes are just like us!" angle Sam Raimi brought to the Spider-mans; it's a throwback to the good old days, and the first two Supermans in particular. By not compromising the character, placing him in a pseudo-modern day environment and presenting him to an audience who's never heard of Christopher Reeve, Singer is showing that Superman, as he is, is always relevant. He stands for what he has always stood for - truth, justice, and the American Way, things that we need now just as much as we needed them in the 1930s, when Superma ... " [More]

Eragon

Star Wars by way of Middle-Earth
By caitiedid in popcorn and milkduds
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"I went into this film not really expecting to enjoy it. I mean, yeah, I loved the Lord of the Rings films, but everything I had heard about the Eragon books didn't sound interesting to me, and the trailers for this movie completely turned me off. But my friends wanted to see it, and I hadn't seen a movie in a while, so I went. And I was not sorry. I had one of the most entertaining film-going experiences I've had in a long, long time - but not for the reasons that the filmmakers intended. As far as plot goes, there's this guy (John Malkovich) who did bad things and he's king now? I don't know. But whatever, this kid Eragon (Ed Speelers) finds a strange blue stone in the woods, and when it's revealed to be a dragon egg, I think we're all supposed to be surprised. But COME ON, it's obviously a dragon egg. So now that he's got a dragon, this grizzled old dude (Jeremy Irons, who, between this and Dungeons & Dragons - another cheesy laughfest - is not earning a lot of goodwill in t ... " [More]