Tarrador's "Netflix Movies 2009"

I haven’t read the Narnia books, so I don’t know what to expect. I didn’t expect this. Most sequels suck, but since this was based on an existing work, I had higher hopes. They were all dashed. This movie had none of the innocence, wonder, sense of justice or wickedness. It was hard to decide who too root for, or even care. If Prince Caspian was ever anything more than a spoiled brat, he didn’t show it. But that goes for the whole cast. Even the returning human characters couldn’t generate sympathy. They moved through the whole flick like they were already tired of all this nonsense. Pointless CGI battles and hyped up machismo fueled this misguided and uninspiring film. Not even noble Aslan, whose absence and then appearance “only after you found the courage to call me” was annoyingly Yoda like, could bring charm to the movie. There is a reason they don’t make the sequels first, and this movie is the main reason.

Nothing more than a simple, silly comedy that was never the less fun and entertaining. Predictability abounded in every scene, but Murphy was still funny, showing a real polished sense of comedy and slapstick. And Gabrielle Union was HOT!

Maybe this would have been a good movie had it been released and enjoyed by teen girls when these songs were popular. Otherwise it was pretty painful. All the great ABBA songs were shoehorned into highly contrived scenes, the plot was simplistic at best, the conflict so tame as to be completely harmless. Pierce Brosnan looked and sounded pained to sing, Meryl Steep went from one frantic almost manic scene to another. This chic had problems, mostly in her head. I never really got the point of the film, except as a fuzzy warm way to cajole down memory lane and remember the days when music was light, fun and inoffensive.

Vintage Cohen Brothers filled with quirky characters and unplausible situations. This one is set in the “intelligence” community of D.C. The plot takes a while to get going, Malkovich and Pitt are not as good as they think, many scenes fall flat and go nowhere, Tilda Swinton is as scary as ever. But Clooney does a very good job. He really is good when he’s doing comedies and not trying to be the most handsome and cool guy in Hollywood. His twitchy paranoid character was fun to watch and easy to sympathize with. Brad Pitt simply wasn’t beliveable as a brainless oaf, surprising as that sounds. His performance was just too over the top, I guess. Francis McDormand was consistantly humorous as the single minded fitness instructor.

This movie was generally stupid, but a good natured stupid that only began to really get on your nerves at the very end. Some comedies take themselves too seriously, and some don’t take themselves seriously enough. Tropic Thunder falls in the latter catagory. A farce of a satire of a lampoon of a spoof that threatens to become a tragedy, but gives the crowd the formulaic plot that doesn’t engender too much ire. Certainly not as smart as Full Metal Jacket or Hot Shots, nor as groan-inducing as Epic Movie, but burdened with enough slapstick cliches to make the 3 Stooges wince. I enjoyed the banal wittisisms, up to a point. Tom Cruise’s and Robert Downey’s over the top portrayals were good sport… but award-worthy? This one I’ll run across on Showtime late on a Wednesday night and flip between it and something like Resident Evil: Extinction. It’s not forgettable, but not a keeper, either.

We saw this in the theater, and visually it was quite impressive. Can’t give Nicholas Cage any props for a performance, this one could have been done by just about anyone, but he did okay. The movie starts off with a nice touch of mystery and suspense, then becomes a bit embroiled in its own sense of impending panic. Then it takes a departure so bumpy its like switching channels and watching another movie that is kinda about the same thing. This is not a film that spends its precious 120 minutes on sorting things out and providing answers, not when there are cool CGIs to display. Its not a bad movie and is quite suspenseful at times, but seems to take an easy out at the end.

This movie wasn’t that much different in style or substance from Guy Richies other films. Gerard Butler was standing in for Jason Stratham, the rest of the cast was the typical mix of loveable, repellent gansters always in trouble more deeply than they know. Visually the film is fun, Gerard running to get away from the Russians is a blast. But that is about the highest point in the movie. The “RockNRolla” turns out to be a self-destructive, self-indulgent crackhead who waxed philosophical as he chain smokes and gets high, and is a wholly reprehensible character. The Wild Bunch comes across as hopeless stumble-bums who tumble into trouble by being unaware. The kingpin (played very well by Tom Wilkinson) and his cadret of loyal henchmen are cardboard cutouts of past characters, but not played with as much grit, authenticity or menace (Alan Ford’s “Brick Top” being the best incarnation so far). Thandie Newton is wasted in this film. She just drags on cigarette after cigarette, looking by turns bored and irritable. And those pesky Russians! If they thought bouncing the mob would solve their permitting problems, they’ve never dealt with contractors, labor unions, delivery services, security, garbage or all the other hands that will be out. Not very well thought out from that angle.

I tried listening to this book on Audible, but the juvenile themes and teenage angst kept me from taking it too seriously. In fact I didn’t listen to the whole thing and figured I could watch the movie and be out only two hours. A little over an hour and an half, actually. And while it wasn’t a particulary bad movie, everything that I didn’t like about the book transfered to the film intact. Teenage girl themes, adolecent coming of age drama, all took a front seat to what could have been an interesting vampire tale. The movie could not be called scary, or even suspenseful. What little action there was seemed hurried so we could get back to the prom scene where everyone wore pretty dresses. While movies like the Harry Potter series start off as being for kids, then grow and mature with the characters, I don’t know if this series has that kind of backbone. I guess time and sequels will tell.

A kind, tragic movie about a lonely man who finds personal redemption through tribal music. It also lays bare the treadmill-like process of immigration, dentention, and deportation. Unfair and overlooked, the system is depicted as woeful inadequate to meet the needs of our society, with the inevitable results that good people fall through the cracks. The movie doesn’t break any new ground in style or performance, but it is a decent film with an honorable aim.

A clean, mezmerizing, thought-provoking film about how our food is handled from the sources, and the people who do the handling. The film is done without narration of anykind, no sub-titles, no commentary. It allows the viewers to provide our own comments and judgements. From people dressing in biohazard suits to spray peppers, to men dispassionately dispatching cows then butchering the carcasses, it provided a somber view of how far so many of us are removed from the food we eat, a process that I think has also lessened our respect for the plants and animals that provide it, and the hands of those who prepare it.