S Movies
Sparticus – TV (2004)
Who’s in it
Goran Visnjic, Rhona Mitra
What was good
I liked the idea of a remake, I loved the original and that says something since I hate most old movies. I liked that Sparticus in this movie acted more like a people’s ruler than a ruler among slaves, it seemed more realistic. I like most of the characters too, then seemed more believable in some ways then the main characters in the first movie. I think the battles were done better, more believable in a realistic setting, and you get a scope for how much of a threat these slaves are as they keep waging smaller battles and winning. I also liked the fact that they left out the Curtis line “I love you Sparticus.”
What sucked
Now, having said that I liked Goran as the people’s guy, I did liked Kirk Douglas more as Sparticus, he was more believable as this gritty warrior. I also liked some of the scenery better in the original, and I did like the end battle in the original better, more grandiose then this and Sparticus doesn’t die in battle, he is nailed to a cross. Not this one, I think it has less weight to nail one of Sparticus’ lackeys at the end. Marcus Crassus was a terrible actor and didn’t have the posture of fear that the original had. Most of the movie was spent bickering between politicians that all seemed insignificant.
Who should watch this
Maybe those who liked the original to have seen both, but you’ll probably feel like me, the ER guy can’t swing a sword. I would say in general pass, this is long at 3 hours, short for a TV movie, and really doesn’t hold a stick to the 60’s version with the dimpled Douglas Chin. But, Varinia (Mitra) was a lot classic of a wife for Sparticus in this movie, that just about makes it worth it? Ha.
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Who’s in it
Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, and a bunch of other unknowns
What was good
The whole thing was good, suspense and drama, great acting, and just enough of a haunting event to keep you watching, morbidly curious to know what happens.
What sucked
It was a little slow at times. But it is a great story. There is just a lot of script and acting and not that much action.
Who should go see this
Everyone. It isn’t violent, there is very little language, and if you ever read the book, you may or may not like the movie. But this is a rare instance where I have done both, and think it was a great translation. Oh, and curious what this is about? It’s a small town where a bus full of children die in a horrible accident.
Stay (2005)
The general feeling I left this movie with was, something was missing. This was a short movie by today’s standards, only 99 minutes. I thought about The Sixth Sense while I watching it, there was a similar feel. Death always lingering around the corner but never manifested, a psychiatrist in bad clothing and a patient that is barely coherent, with a huge reveal at the end. However, there is such a lack of storytelling that in the end, as much as one may guess to understand, there are so many things that still don’t make sense and you leave feeling unfulfilled.
My initial reaction was to give this a much lower rating. The whole movie literally comes about in the last five minutes of the show. Starring a good cast of Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts, and Ewan MacGregor, the movie revolves around a young man (Gosling) who comes for help from a pyschiatrist named Sam Foster (MacGregor). Gosling declares he is going to kill himself on Saturday at 12 pm, and the drama begins. MacGregor becomes obsessed with this patient, and their lives become inseperable in this dreamscape of an environment.
My conclusion, that in the end, we see that as (Spoiler) Gosling is dying we realize the whole first part of the movie is the mind’s logical explanation for what is happening as he is dying, trying to grasp what is happening and making a more worthy cause of death then the present one. The effects in the movie are cool, they probably don’t add much to it, but for a visual person I enjoyed them a lot. But again, you leave without any true traditional storytelling, more with a gimic of trying to confuse you and nothing more, and you want some more truths.
If you want to be challenged, you may enjoy this. I would have given this a higher rating if I thought I would ever watch it again. I like it for being different, I just wish it would have been just a touch more traditional.
The Shipping News (2001)
Starring Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, and briefly Kate Blanchette, this is another doozie Sarah rented from the library. I must admit, I am starting to get this sick curiosity about the strange movies she digs up, and with such a cast so recently that I had never heard of.
I was into this movie at parts. It starts off pretty bad, Kevin Spacey gets it on with this woman (Blanchett) who obviously knows how to work a man to meet her needs. They have a child, and then she runs off and drowns when her boyfriend drives them off a bridge into the water.
Spacey is kind of a loser, a cross here between is role in Usual Suspects and American Beauty, less confidence, more limp. Spacey then has an unexpected visitor right at that time, an aunt he never knew who is coming to grieve his dad, her brother. Or so it seems.
They move to escape their past, and all sorts of weird things happen in the little podunk town they end up in. A family history of piracy, incest, and a house that is held down by steel rope. Right in the middle it starts to get good, Spacey seems more like someone who has finally found his way, he is interested in Moore, and he gets a job that gives him confidence. But then the movie takes an artistic turn, and ends with a blown over house, and some cheesey parrallel between a local newspaper and their lives.
Pass on this one. It isn’t even worth it if you really like Spacey. It is especially hard to watch the old aunt, (from the James Bond movies) as this bitter old confused woman.
Stealth (2005)
Starring Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx and Sam Shepherd, I was expecting this one to be a “Bruckheimer-esqu” summer blockbuster, and it started off that with the intention to please.
As the movie progressed to the point where the AI flying fighter jet went wacko, things got really interesting. The whole movie kicked it up a notch, from average acting and buddy buddy scenes. Quick enough there is suspense, then Foxx dies, and the perfect pilots are in harm’s way and you are on the edge of your seat not knowing how they could possible win.
Jessica Biel is just soft enough to be female, without be stereotypically overboard as the fighting female pilot. Ripped and believable, she has a number of scenes where you forget she used to be on the WB and hot beautiful she is, and that she could actually be intelligent enough to be one of these elite fighters. Sam Shepard is the perfectly power war-hungry army stooge and bad guy, and Josh Lucas plays the main good guy with a great amount of zeal as well. Usually he is a baddie, so I was suprised, pleasantly, to see him in the lead role and not Foxx.
With bits of Behind Enemy Lines, and maybe even Saving Private Ryan, this has dazzling effects that fit the movie, but don’t go over the top. You feel the speed and taste the sky in some of the scenes, and the amazing camera work really give you a sense of what it is like up there and just adds to the danger and tension in most of the airborne scenes.
The “My Parents” rating – My Dad would like this, my Mom I think wouldn’t be able to believe that this fighter jet could think on it’s own. So, if you can believe that, and can sit through the first 30 minutes of the movie with a positive attitude, I think that most anyone would enjoy this movie. Not too violent, it was a summer movie with content and intelligence.
Spiderman 3 Casting Rumors. Who are the villains?
Sometimes the anticipation and the secrecy is just as exciting as the actual movie when it comes to casting for Comic Book based movies.
This is no different for Spiderman 3. The rumors are not concrete. There are so many swirling around, from four villians, to maybe an appearance from the Black Cat, to Venom, and on and on.
Thomas Hayden Church = The Sandman?
Thomas Hayden Church, who I keep hearing was”that guy from Wings”, or for me more recently was in Sideways, was cast in March for Spiderman 3. The most popular rumor is that Hayden Church will be playing The Sandman, but it has also been said that he could play Venom, which although bold and has a fine line for failure, could be a huge payoff if done properly because of his popularity.
Venom, and alien symbiote that is almost liquid in form, is worn as a evil costume in the comics by Eddie Brock and eventually starts to take over his mind. Church really has the figure to play this role, but honestly, could they pull that off? That would be a ton of CG, it doesn’t seem like but yesterday that some of Spiderman’s scenes in the first film looked fake, and even one or two shots looked a little off of Alfred Molina as Doc Ock last year.
Hayden Church did say this in an interview(Entertainment Weekly). His statement is probably purposefully weird, and if I felt like researching into Spidey Villains, I might try to make more sense of it. But, it seems like it could fit into the theory of a Sandman character.
EW: After reminding the world he could really act in Sideways, the Oscar nominee will play an undisclosed, top secret villain in 2007’s Spider-Man 3. How about a hint?
THC: “He’s a horse of many colors.”
EW: There are horses in Spider-Man?
THC: “Let’s just say he’s an amorphous collection of protons, electrons, and neutrons, of different colors.”
Topher Grace = ?
Then, in May, Topher Grace of “That 70’s Show” fame was also cast for the upcoming movie. Having an especially hard time picturing Topher as a villian, I assumed he would play something else in the movie, some other role. But who? Honestly, would Mary Jane leave Peter for another love interest now? That wouldn’t make sense.
I have read rumors that he could play The Vulture but I have also read of Topher playing Sandman in the scenario that Church is playing Venom. Either way, the more I read around the internet, Sam Raimi has said that the next movie with have more special effects than the first two and the costumes for the Villians will just be amazing. So my initial idea of him being some regular joe is most likely way off base.
In the end, it’s just speculation. I wish it was more.
Yeah, ok. There is just so much they could do. One could argue that most of the villains mentioned couldn’t probably even carry a movie in motivation by themself, so two would really make sense. Plus, they introduced Curt Conners in the last movie as one of Peter’s professors. But will the one armed scientist be the stronest villian choice as The Lizard? Depending on motivation maybe, you have a story of Peter trying to save him, and some cool action scenes of him jumping and climbing all around. But, he would probably have to be all CG as well, so why not just do Venom then? Venom is a lot more popular.
I don’t know. Principal photography beings in January. I guess I will just have to concentrate on King Kong for now, and try to wait patiently. I will have a preview in the fall of Superman Returns to tide me over too.
Sin City (2005)
An All Star cast ranging from Bruce Willis and Jessica Alba to Clive Owen and Rosario Dawson, this movie isn’t lacking in stars. It also isn’t lacking in originality, with a large part of the movie having been shot on green screens and the backgrounds added in, the black and whites are rich and reflective, and the colors are so vibrant. This movie has a true comic book feel, with the graphic silhoutte shots, and the exaggeration in the fighting and car chases.
Having said that, I didn’t enjoy this movie. I have gone back and forth on why I feel let down. I knew going in that it was going to be close to an exact translation of three of Frank Miller’s bodies of work, Yellow Bastard, The Big Fat Kill, and Sin City (the graphic novel). I knew it was going to be violent, and although it was probably less than the novels, that isn’t saying much. The lack of color helps make it seem a little less gruesome, but the sounds more than make up for it.
Being an artist, I would hate to have my original ideas butchered just to be on the big screen. But at the same time, wouldn’t you want your work to be entertaining? I didn’t think this movie was that at all. I thought it felt long, and like I said, it was cool to see the comic book come to life. This is an extreme case where I don’t know how you could modify it even just a little to make it more entertaining. It just is a very dark, graphic story about the evils of booze, hookers, passion, and death.
If you are a comic book guy, see this, or you enjoy those types of movies. But this is graphic, and I don’t think really appeals to a mass audience. This movie is truly panel for panel from the comic book.
