Archive for July, 2004

The Village

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted July 30, 2004 at 5:13 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Rating:Rated PG-13 for a scene of violence and frightening situations.
Starring:Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Howard, Sigourney Weaver, Adrian Brody
Directed By:M. Night Shyamalan

Final Grade:

To me summer is all about big blockbuster films and fun in the sun. And nothing spells out fun in the sun more than a family grill out. After years of family get-togethers and lots of hot dogs, I have learned something. When it all boils down, there are two types of people, Ketchup people and mustard people. There may be many who will say that they can coexist on a hot dog, but with a little more prying they will admit that they truly do really like one far more than they like the other. There are also pickle relish people, but we aren’t talking about them yet. Why am I talking about Hot dogs, mustard and ketchup anyway? Does It really have any relation to the Newest M. Night Shyamalan film, The Village? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t, who really knows.

Set in the “1800’s” the story revolves around a group of people who built town years ago surrounded by woodlands. They were careful to create a “truce” with the creatures that lived in the woods, vowing never to go into the woods and they would never creep into their town. The superstitious villagers believed that they must never speak of them and never show any of the forbidden colors (red) on their clothes, or in their town. Obeying these rules kept the villagers in and the creatures out. All was going well for years and years, until the truce was broken and the creatures start to creep into the village for reason’s unknown. Bryce Howard, Newcomer actress and daughter of famed director Ron Howard does a great job as the film’s main character, Ivy Walker. She has the potential to be a great actress someday if given the proper amount of screen time. Once again M. Night Shyamalan gives his Signs Co-star Joaquin Phoenix a role in his film as the silent villager named, Lucious who falls in love with Ivy. Also joining the cast is Sigourney Weaver and a very interesting performance by Academy Award Winner Adrien Brody who plays the village idiot, Noah Percy, a mentally handicapped member of the village.

Writer, director and producer M. Night Shyamalan one again proves that he is the master of suspense with his new flick, as he has done time and time before with Signs, Unbreakable and his greatest work, The 6th Sense. The story is suspenseful and has the typical M. Night Shyamalan twist but this time it just doesn’t feel quite right. The 6th Sense twist was new and unexpected. By now we are all waiting for a twist in his films, and it just doesn’t turn out to be anything on the same level of the 6th Sense. Whether it is because the audiences are getting smarter, or M. Night Shyamalan stories are getting weaker is up for debate (I side with the latter). The story is weak in spots, and has its overall moments of cheese that keep it from being great.

The film’s flaws are easy to pick out, the most notable being the predictable ending. Also I had to question the character of Ivy a bit. We are told that Ivy is mostly blind, but by her actions I can’t figure out how blind she really is. Half of the film she is wandering around just fine able to see everything, and in the next scene she is waving a stick around blind as a bat without sonar. Her character would have worked a lot better is she had been written to be somewhat in a happy medium when it came to the degree of her blindness. M. Night Shyamalan also gives us the chance to see “the creatures” and just as they do in Signs, the creatures almost ruin the movie. Without giving away any endings or alluding to anything, you only hope that the creatures are fake, otherwise they are quite possibly the stupidest looking things on the face of the earth.

M. Night Shyamalan also fails to really explain the symbolism in his film. He shows us that “red” is the forbidden color and the creatures use it and yellow is the village safe color, but they never really say why it is used by each? Why was it determined that Yellow is the safe color? Why is red bad? Is it because the villagers like Mustard more and the creatures like ketchup? Is M. Night Shyamalan trying to show us the epic battle between two types of hot dog condiments? And the even more intriguing question to village has to be, how they got through the woods and past the creatures to build their settlement in the first place, and why in the world would they build it there if they were surrounded by “creatures?”

In the end, I have to say I did enjoy the Village. It has some great cheap pops and is suspenseful but doesn’t live up to my expectations that I had. This is quite easily the weakest of M. Night Shyamalan films and I only hope that he doesn’t continue to go down hill with his next film. Shyamalan is a great director and one of the most talented men in Hollywood. I only hope he gets back on track soon and wows audiences once again. As for if you should go and see the film, I leave you with the following: No matter what type of moviegoer you are, a Mustard lovers or ketchup lover this film is not for only one group. It’s just relish. This film might make your summer a little better, but all in all it’s not going to be the perfect hotdog off the grill this summer.

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Filed under: Movies, Suspense

The Bourne Supremacy

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted July 23, 2004 at 11:46 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Rating:Rated PG-13 for violence and intense action, and for brief language 
Starring:Matt Damon, Brian Cox, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles 
Directed By:Paul Greengrass 

Final Grade: 

I forget everything. Birthdays, anniversaries, where I am supposed to be at any given time; sometimes I even forget deadlines. I concluded that if I were to ever get amnesia, my life wouldn’t be too much different than it is right now. I’d still be a clueless guy hanging out in Movie Theater. I guess that that is where Jason King, differs from Robert Ludlum’s super spy Jason Bourne.

Matt Damon returns to the big screen once again as Jason Bourne, the amnesiac super spy who we were first introduced to in 2002 in The Bourne Identity. This summer Bourne bursts back onto the big screen once again to entertain audiences. Now living in what he thinks is an escape from his past, Bourne suddenly finds himself drawn back into the government agency he tried so hard to leave behind. Recently identified as a murder suspect in an elaborate set up, Jason Bourne sets out to try and clear his name once and for all. But when everyone in the world is looking for you, and not the truth, Bourne finds out it’s a lot harder to clear your name than he had thought.

The Bourne Supremacy does a nice job of picking up where Identity left off. The story easily flows from the first film right into the second, but is also clear enough that a newcomer to the Bourne films will have no major troubles trying to decipher the film’s plot. While there is plenty of room for deeper plot, plot hole fillers and all around areas that could use some explanation, the film does a nice job of moving from point to point, quickly and concisely without bogging itself down with details.

The acting is once again a great all around, with another great performance by Brian Cox (Troy, Manhunter, X-men2). Cox is a great actor whom most forget about when “who’s who” in acting conversations come about, but there is no doubt in my mind, the aging actor does an exceptional job in every scene he is in. Also joining the cast of the latest Bourne flick is Joan Allen (The Contender, The Notebook) as Pamela Landy, a Government operative who is trying to unravel the truth behind the murders and their connection to Bourne. Allen plays the role well, and in fact her performance might be the best thing about the film. Also returning cast member, Julia Stiles makes an appearance for a few scenes. While she does nothing great during her screen time, he performance is note worthy because she truly is one of Hollywood’s most beautiful actresses who can both look absolutely stunning and put on a great performance at the same time. (It should be noted that the reviewer of this film absolutely in no way shape or form has a “crush” on Miss Stiles….)

I understand the reason they cast Matt Damon to play Bourne. He is an A list actor who wasn’t tied into any franchise films and is a great actor. But I still can’t warm up to Damon as a super spy. Damon has a certain boyish charm about him (even though he is already passed the age of 30). You don’t expect to see Damon in a film as the lead super spy, instead you see him as more of a “pretty boy” playing the role of a young professor, or a librarian who stumbles upon a shocking secret that will change the government or something. The point is I don’t see him as a spy. Damon does a great job, but for me he doesn’t quite fit the persona. When he tries to act serious and deliver some of his most serious lines, he looks more constipated than he does angry. I guess I just expected a little more out of Damon.

The films major flaw however is directing and cinematography. Bourne Identity Director Doug Liman (Go, Swingers) turned over the reins to newcomer director Paul Greengrass and remained on the project only as the film’s producer. Greengrass took the much more action packed film and tried his best to give us a stylistic view of the action, but failed far more than he succeeded. He hired a cinematographer that has a shakier hand than Michael J. Fox ((or a nervous brain surgeon on his first patient) I’ll let you decide which analogy is more politically correct.) and the film bounces all over the place. The picture is bouncing around the screen, and you rarely see a steady shot in the film. Some of that can be attributed to the editing department, who made sure that we saw every possible angle through a variety of cuts. You could literally watch cut after cut flash before your eyes quicker than you could count them, as if you were watching a film made by a drunken Baz Lurhman. The film is a visual mess at times, which causes you to just lose overall interest in some of the film’s big action sequences.

In the end, The Bourne Supremacy isn’t bad; it’s just not a great film either. If some technical aspects would have been cleaned up and fixed, I think everything would have flowed a lot better. But since they didn’t this film jumps on board with yet another summer blockbuster that really isn’t all it is cracked up to be. If you were a fan of the first Bourne movie, Bourne Identity, go check out Bourne Supremacy, you might enjoy it. But if you are looking for the movie event of the summer, go look elsewhere, this flick sure isn’t it. 

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Filed under: Action, Movies

I Robot

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted July 17, 2004 at 12:45 am

A Film Review By The Mike

Rating:PG-13 for violence and language
Starring: Will Smith, Alan Tudyk, Bridget Moynahan
Directed By: Alex Proyas

Final Grade:

Ever since the movie was announced, I’ve heard little but bickering about I, Robot, which claims in its credits that it is “Suggested by” the works of Isaac Asimov, not based on them. Despite all the angst from fans of Asimov, Alex Proyas’ film has hit theaters, and anyone who’s not caught up in their own anger toward the film’s lack of connection should find it to be an easy film to enjoy.

In this summer full of uninteresting and disappointing action films (excluding Spider-Man 2, of course), I, Robot is the first outstanding blockbuster actioner we’ve seen. This is due to plenty of factors, most notably its script and its stars.

That script, by Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), is an entirely captivating one. It uses Asimov’s rules of robotics to guide us into a web of mystery and mistrust, balancing paranoia, comedy, and character development (at least in its lead – the supporting characters definitely leave something to be desired) with ease.

The downside to this comes in the overly stylized action sequences we get from time to time, which are good, but not always in tone with the story that’s just been laid out for us. We’re often offered up a large bit of calmness with a touch of paranoia, which inexplicably explodes into a fury of effects and camera tricks, and then calms right back to the story. I couldn’t help thinking back to Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi flick, Minority Report, which handled the same problem much better than Proyas does here. My hunch is that the studio wanted to build the plot around these effects laden bits, and that little change was allowed to them. This is the film’s biggest problem, though it’s one that should be easy to discard every time the story kicks back in to gear.

The lead performance by Will Smith is a good one, as he proves once again that he can handle a big-budget “cool” role as well as anyone. His character here is a funnily inept one at times, an almost nerdy hero that it’s easy to like and almost identify with, even if he can inexplicably handle every obstacle thrown his way while still looking good.

His support is given by a bunch of good actors playing a bunch of standard characters. Bridget Moynahan (The Sum of All Fears, The Recruit) channels Sandra Bullock as the strong female scientist, while Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days, Below) is the all-too powerful millionaire, and Chi McBride (Undercover Brother, The Terminal) is the disciplining police chief. The most intriguing performance is that of Alan Tudyk (Dodgeball, A Knight’s Tale) as the voice of Sonny, the robot that’s the film’s real star.

These robots look very good, and the effects are extremely well done, especially in the interactions between them and the real-life actors. Sonny, in particular, is an almost human character even in motions and gestures, which helps out the film immensely. The futuristic settings are also a sight to behold, and Proyas’ command over a landscape that was so evident in his past films is as evident as ever. It’s a beautiful film to behold, and there’s really little to complain about technically.

In fact, there’s little reason for me to not fully recommend I, Robot, especially considering what’s preceded it this summer. While the summers big films of May and June failed in plot or character, it does enough to remain interesting and look good doing it, cementing itself as the popcorn flick of the summer. It’s not perfect as a film, but it’s exactly what people should want to see this time of year.

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Filed under: Action, Movies, Science Fiction

A Cinderella Story

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted July 16, 2004 at 12:12 am

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Rating:Rated PG for mild language and innuendo.
Starring:Hillary Duff, Chad Michael Murray
Directed By:Mark Roseman

Final Grade:
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Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a magical princess in the state of California. Through a series of cliched adventures, and an adaptation of a classic fairy tale, she was able to discover her true self, and find the man of her dreams and live happily ever after. Does a story like this sound good? Well keep reading if you think this plot is a gauranteed winner.

Hillary Duff returns to the big screen in A Cinderella Story, a modern adaptation of the classic fairy tale. Now set in modern times, Sam (Duff) falls in love online with a boy, Austin Ames, who doesn’t even know who she is. But with the help of her co-workers, she heads off to the Halloween ball to find her prince charming. I have to be honest with you I hated this movie. I wish I could sugar coat it, but plain and simple I could not find anything about this movie that I truly enjoyed. Hillary Duff decided to take the classic Cinderella tale and try to adapt it to modern times, with a colorful cast of over the top characters and every possible high school cliché that is in the book. From start to finish it a teenage drama queen cliché that makes you want to gag from it’s own self-conscious cheese.

I know, I know I am not the target audience for this film. To be the target audience I would have to be a 10-16 year old girl who still believes that the popular boy really isn’t a jerk, and wants to be her magical prince charming. The problem I found was trying to ask myself, would I enjoy this film if I were a 10-year-old girl? After watching audience reaction (which was a lot of moms and their 10 year old daughters) and having never known the pleasure of being a 10 year old girl, I decided that I may think it was ok, if I was in the target audience. But there isn’t anything that makes this film stand out and be great.

Hillary Duff needs to realize that she isn’t an actress. Time and time again we see her play out the same role, Lizzie McGuire. A beautiful young girl who thinks she has life “oh so hard” but has an attitude and an air about her that you don’t really feel sorry for. She is the popular girl’s icon, the girl who has it all, but thinks she is down to earth and lovable. I for one am getting really sick of it, and I am assuming that with in a few years, if not already, everyone else is too. Duff is one of those kid actresses who are reaching the end of the line, but haven’t learned how to make the leap into other films. She needs to take a tip from her rival teen star Lindsay Lohan and try to save her career while she still can.

Her co-star is the Warner Brothers “whore,” Chad Michael Murray, whom apparently every girl in the world is attracted to. Starring in WB TV shows such as Gilmore Girls, Dawson’s Creek, and now having his own show, One Tree Hill he has made a name for himself as the WB’s heart throb. Murray also starred alongside Lindsay Lohan in the WB’s movie Freaky Friday, and now stars in Hilary Duff’s WB movie, a Cinderella Story. Murray is just a pretty face in this film, and is there to deliver cheesy lines, and be prince charming who really has a heart of gold. His other role is to be the stupidest boy on the face of the planet suffering from a bad case of Lois Lane disease. Just because Duff wore a mask over her eyes during a Halloween ball, he is too stupid to realize that she his dream girl in every day interactions. It’s unbearable how stupid he is, but that is really beside the point, you can blame that on terrible writing. Murray has the potential to be a decent actor some day, unless he finds himself type cast as a WB whore like James Vanderbeek (a.k.a. Dawson).

The whole point of this film was for Hillary Duff to flaunt that she still exists and wants to impress those girls who still think she deserves the spotlight. Her reign as Teen Princess is nearing it’s close and this is one of her last big chances to step up and show us she is as good of an actress as Lohan (which she isn’t) and to showcase more of her wonderful singing career. Anyone who is familiar with her music would be waiting for he lovely song, “Come Clean” as the rain is pouring down in the last scene of her movie. (It should be noted, if you are familiar with/ know the words to this song, you have worked at a theater way too long or you own her cd (Metamorphosis (what teen girl can spell that let alone name their cd that?) and in that case should be drug out into the street and shot.) Anyway the point of that rant, is even that’s not there. Instead she tries to showcase her musical career with her sister, Haley Duff. (Yes folks, there is a Haley Duff, aren’t we all lucky.)

In the end folks, save your buck on this film. If you are a parent you will gag, if you are a teenager this film is way too cheesy for words, and if you are a ten-year-old even you will be able to see flaws in this re-hashed mediocrity. A Bad adaptation of a great story kills this film. The fairy tale, dream come true teen story has been done time and time again in such better ways, go rent a few of them and save A Cinderella Story for a rainy day rental for your little princess.

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Filed under: Family, Movies, Romance

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted July 9, 2004 at 11:27 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Rating:Rated PG-13 for sexual humor, language and comic violence. 
Starring:Will Farrell 
Directed By:Adam McKay 

Final Grade: 

It doesn’t matter who you are in America, names like Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Barbara Walters all have their name synonymous with bringing you the news. Over the years television has been the way to bring viewers across America news about the world they are living in. Anchormen such as Rather and Jennings have become icons in the news business, bring you what’s going on in your neck of the woods every single night. Former SNL star Will Farrell realized that there is something about a news anchor that every lady in America loves. Whether it’s their charming good looks, their soothing voice, or that they just might be the only dependable “man” in the world that will be in your home and carrying on an intelligent conversation with you at the same time every single night, ladies love the news anchors.

In Farrell’s new flick, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Farrell plays Ron Burgundy, an evening news anchor that is loved by all of his home town of San Diego. Ron has San Diego wrapped around his finger, and rival news anchors can’t compete with Ron’s sex appeal and reporting skills. But when his boss tries to be more diverse by hiring a female anchor to join his news team, Burgundy’s life is flipped upside down. Burgundy has to learn how to share the spotlight with his new co-anchor and still remain on top of his game; Bringing you what is going on in your world tonight.

Will Farrell has finally found his chance to shine. Every great SNL star goes through stages like this where their movies attract a lot of bank. Other SNL stars like Julia Sweeney star in horrible SNL movies like “It’s Pat the Movie” and have their careers doomed for life. Farrell let his co-stars take the low road and he exited onto the high with other SNL greats like Bill Murray, Chris Farley, Mike Myers and more. To show that I didn’t forget about them, SNL greats like Norm McDonald, David Spade and Tim Meadows exist in the world as well, but have strayed off the path and reside somewhere in the forest between the two “roads.” Never mind them though. The point is Farrell has found his niche and it working well for him.

Anchorman has the potential to be one of the funniest comedies this year. I haven’t laughed this hard since Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, which was only a few weeks back. Anchorman is much more family friendly than the raunchy Dodgeball flick, and is filled full of great laughs that probably become even funnier upon a second viewing. Farrell is great as always, but Anchorman shines because of great cameos and a fun supporting cast, Such as Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd and the hilarious Steve Carell. Carell steals the screen when he is on as the mentally challenged weather announcer, especially in a scene where he declares his love for “carpet” and a “lamp.”

The problem with Anchorman is that when the laughter died down, the film crashed hard. Lots of laughs are packed in lots of scenes through out the film, but unlike some other films, I felt for each peak of almost uncontrollable laughter the movie had, it also had it’s share of valleys of stale moments as well. It was almost as thought they were trying to be too witty at times, and it didn’t always work.

I guess in the end, Anchorman is a great film to check out. It’s a great comedy that will supply you with plenty of great laughs. Is Anchorman the best film of the year? Of course not, but it is a great movie none the less. Personally I would say Dodgeball is a much funnier film, but Anchorman may end up on an equal pedestal before the year is over. Go head out to the theaters and check out Farrell before his career fades away like Bill Murray and other lost members of the SNL cast. It’s Farrell’s time to shine, and why shouldn’t you contribute your buck for the sake of being entertained by one of America’s top funnymen? 

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Filed under: Comedy, Movies
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