CriticalBlogs

The film directed by Matt Reeves was shot in a home video camcorder style. One would probably not expect for the entire film to be shot in the manner. It was alluring at first, as the filming style is unique which makes the trailer stand out & show the film as one that must be watched! The entire film being shot in the manner is somewhat of a let down. Viewers are forced to watch an interesting plot made from a shaky, amateur like home video production. However, the filming style does provide a realistic perspective to the movie, relevant to the plot. Some aspects of the film can be handled without the home video style to give a more cinematic appeal to viewers. The plot is spiced up with an incident where an unknown monster attacks New York City.

The monster attack, contrary to what one would have thought, is not the focus of the Cloverfield movie. The plot is rather a much more investigative interpretation of the monster attack towards the fabric of New York society. In the case of Cloverfield, the plot is about normal people having a party, coming out into the streets, trying to run away from the monster & the battle ground. The film successfully brings the viewer into the level of the crowd, much thanks to its home video filming style. However, its success is its downfall. The problem is that the film just stays at crowd level too. A slight variety would be more interesting like about interlacing scenes leading to the General pushing the nuke the monster in Manhattan button for example.

The climax of the film is brought upon by Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who decides to save his lover, Beth (Odette Yustman) in her apartment building & successfully evacuates the battle zone but only to an extent. The US military probably decided to nuke Manhattan in the movie as everything else the military threw at the monster; the monster just through it back. Somehow, the SDcard from the Rob’s favorite video camera managed to be recovered & Rob’s & his lover’s fate is unknown. One can simply deduce that the Cloverfield movie is how the film director cleverly uses the entire home video production & some clippings into a. One would feel like military personnel whose duty is to watch the video, probably edit out the unnecessary scenes, make a report about it, & present it to some higher ranked officers.

Directed by Mikael Hafstrom; written by Stuart Beattie; photographed by Peter Biziou; edited by Peter Boyle; production designed by Andrew Laws; produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Rated R for strong disturbing violence, language and some sexuality.

Charles Schine - Clive Owen

Lucinda Harris - Jennifer Aniston

Charles Schine (played by Clive Owen) is a Chicago ad man in this new version of “Fatal Attraction” for the year 2005. He is a guy who neglects his wife and daughter. But more troubles wait for him at the office. That’s the setup.

Then Plot Point 1: here comes the gorgeous Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) who lends him the money he needs for train ticket. Then the train ride. Followed by an intimate lunch and we have a love affair running on all cylinders.

But as it happens in the movies, Charles is threatened by the blackmailer Philippe Laroche (played by Vincent Cassel). It’s pay up 100-Gs or else. That’s Plot Point 2.

After so many plots twists and turns, at the end everybody with a gun directs it at everybody else in a true pulp-fiction way.

The somewhat implausible flick leaves us with one message – if you play, baby you’re gonna pay!

Go see it if you enjoy cheap thrillers and Jen Aniston.

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The mangy dog in Pirates of The Caribbean 2 got the biggest laugh today, during the movie’s opening afternoon, and deservedly so.

I tried to stay awake, and believe me, I don’t sleep at the movies.

People next to me, obviously Johnny Depp fans, laughed at the scenery, providing he was in the frame. Nothing in the dialogue helped him a bit.

His mugging, and bizarre sideways strutting were still fun, but he, and Keira Knightely were on camera far too little, and Orlando Bloom, or should I say, Or-Blando Bloom, that improbable love interest, was homely and un-swashbuckling beyond belief.

This is the middle part of a trilogy, apparently, and according to a New York Times reviewer, the movie doesn’t really have a beginning or end: it’s “all middle.”

I have to agree.

My advice is to take your $11 or $12 and purchase the first installment of Pirates on video.

You’ll find it fresher, more fun, and by far less tedious seeing it for the fortieth time than you will fighting off yawns during your maiden viewing of the second venture.

If you’ve read my articles before, you might have detected I’m a Johnny Depp fan, but he’s wasted in this episode.

Watch him in “Dead Man” or “Edward Scissorhands” or even “Ed Wood,” and you won’t be disappointed.

I suppose they offered him so many Disney dollars that he couldn’t refuse being in this stinker.

I forgive him, but I don’t forgive myself for wasting my $12 and the better part of an afternoon trying to stay conscious.

In Ancient Greece, where males were trained to fight from the age of seven and bravery was considered more important than goodness, warriors were the most admired among men. Scarred and maimed from a lifetime of fighting, they looked forward to a “beautiful death in battle” as long as one condition was met: They must be remembered. Back then, memories were kept alive through the oral tradition of storytelling; today we have blockbuster, big-budget movies enhanced with computer-generated images to tell our stories.

And you will remember “300.”

Using thousands of astonishing special effects and surprising visual perspectives, “300″ recreates the historic battle of Thermopylae between 300 doomed Spartans led by King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and the massive invading armies of Persia’s King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). At Leonidas’s side is his fiercely loyal Captain (Vincent Regan), who risks the life of his favorite son in an effort to preserve Spartan life.

Unlike the Arcadians, a ragtag group of craftsmen who temporarily aid the 300, Spartan warriors appear to have unique qualifications: They are proud to die for their country; believe in the credo “No retreat. No surrender;” and look fabulous in their tiny black briefs – the required uniform of (this version of) the Spartan army. Persia seems to have its own qualifications: Warriors must eagerly bow at the feet of their king; agree to use magic when muscle fails; and be willing to polish Xerxes’s thousands of gold body piercings.

While her husband fights a hopeless battle, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) has her own struggle to endure back in Sparta. She deals with the treachery and lechery of Theron (Dominic West) and the chauvinistic senate with whom she pleads for reinforcements to help the army of 300. Headey’s subtle strength as the lovely queen nicely parallels the subtle gentleness of Butler’s warrior king. Likewise, her purity makes West’s portrayal of the villainous Theron seem that much filthier.

Based on Frank Miller’s series for Dark Horse Comics that was later turned into a graphic novel, “300″ provides state-of-the-art depictions of war-time atrocities through freeze frames, quick cuts, slow motion, blue-screen technology, and other cinematic sorcery. Although the sparse dialogue often derives its humor from understatement, the pounding instrumentals, clanging swords, beautiful bodies, hideous monsters, beastly behemoths, and startling visual effects sometimes stimulate to the point of sensory overload.

You will remember the muscled flesh of the bare-chested warriors. You will remember the droplets of blood splashing across the screen, the gruesome decapitations, the piles of slaughtered corpses, and the pale blue sky darkened with thousands of deadly Persian arrows. You will remember the burning passion between the king and his queen. But mostly you’ll remember the story of how 300 Spartans bravely endured their beautiful deaths in battle.

300

Director: Zack Snyder

Movie Run time: 122 minutes

DVD Features: Audio commentary with director Zack Snyder, writer Kurt Johnstad, and director of photography Larry Fong. Deleted scenes. Featurette: The 300 - Fact or Fiction? (Run time: 24:31). Who Were The Spartans: The Warriors of 300 (Run time: 4:24). Frank Miller Tapes (Run time: 13:00). Webisodes: Behind the scenes on the set of 300 (Run time 20:00). Photo gallery with production stills.

Copyright 2007 Leslie Halpern