Quick Movie Reviews: Vol 12

Fun. Sure I like to watch a movie to feel other emotions, but the main one for me is I watch moves for a sense of fun. This month the Fright Night remake really did a lot to remind me of the fun I can have when I watch movies. However this month also gave me some movies that were trying to be funny, trying really hard and yet just missed that mark. I think movies that are made my people who are too self aware of the fun clichés, can use them thinking that people will think their movie is cool, and not contributing any heart to the proceedings. Anyway that’s a minor gripe and I might come back to this topic at a later date, should get onto looking at another handful of movies.

The Warriors Way (2010)

Ninjas vs Cowboys with Geoffrey Rush as one of the cowboys. Was this movie made for me? Time to watch it. *fast forward two hours* Well that was a little shit then. Okay to be fair this movie is far from the worst one I’ve watched this year, however this movie seems to be begging the audience to acknowledge it’s cool. Some of the special effects are pretty, but most are obvious green screen and do break the illusion of the world. There is an idea here that is decent, but it actually seems rushed, and more time given to characters would have been appreciated. This was a disappointment. Oh and the line from the trailer that got me wanting to watch the movie wasn’t even in the movie.

Skyline (2010)

Skyline is a special effects reel to show off to people what skills they have. The story is pretty basic, and the characters are of the cookie cutter variety. The special effects are good and the creature design is unique. However as the movie progressed I couldn’t help but feel that there was a better story happening with other characters away from the hotel. When the ending hits I almost wish the movie started from the end and went on its merry way. But thanks to budget concerns the movie is seriously hamstrung right from the get go. Simply this was a movie that didn’t need to be made. It was a completely hollow experience; it was made even worse as some good ideas hid around some of the corners. I should have listened to all the negative reviews that I heard at the time.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

I heard the hype and this movie deserves every bit of it. This is a good old fashioned crime mystery that grabbed me from the get go, and didn’t let go till the end. It’s actually a pretty simple movie, just executed well and no delusions of grandeur. Where it really gets interesting is in the performances of both Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace which are magnificent. Not only well acted but the characters do give the story a refreshing quality to it, and the movie is a character study as much as it is a mystery, but it doesn’t push it too far as to destroy the story. The story is allowed to flow and great things come from that.

Barney’s Version (2010)

Paul Giamatti plays television producer Barney Panofsky as he looks back on the wives he had during his life. What starts off as a comedy with hints of tragedy, makes a subtle turn half way through and turned into a tragedy with hints of comedy. The turn is so well done, and it doesn’t come from nowhere. The movie is subtle in how it sets itself up for the ultimate punch and in that regards it’s one of the best crafted movies I’ve seen in a while. Paul Giamatti plays the loveable shlub that he’s mastered in many of his movies, but doesn’t rest on his laurels and gives a fine performance every bit as subtle and masterful as the movie. By the end I felt drained from the emotional ride I had been through but thankfully the comedy does dull the blow so I can look back on this movie, and now that I want to watch it again sometime soon.