Haven’t written anything of consequence within the last few weeks, definitely not going to start now lol.
Blindness- I really can’t tell you how much I loved this film. I read the book last summer and the first thought everyone who watches a movie based on a book is going to say “it’s not going to be as good as the book” but I think this movie almost reaches it. It’s a very faithful transfer to the big screen by the director of one unbelievable piece of cinema (City of God) and another great film (The Constant Gardener). The mixed reviews for this film made me a little worried but all in all I thought it was great. Nice casting, good acting, beautifully framed, and the final frames of this movie are so transcendent and moving. Plus the fact that he used the camera style I thought would’ve been great in this film (which I won’t spoil) was a nice plus. If I can fault this movie, it would probably be (ironically) following the book TOO closely. The movie doesn’t feel like it makes it’s own stamp, just riding the rails of the book with no originality as far as showing us something affecting on screen.
9/10
Edge of Darkness- Mel Gibson’s comeback vehicle has Mel in top form as he tries to uncover the circumstances of his daughter’s death. I came in expecting “Taken 2” but what I got was a more polished movie with an actual plot and themes to be taken (no pun intended) away from the film. Mel isn’t just kicking ass the entire movie, he’s uncovering a mystery and coming to grips with the loss of his daughter. I loved the character moments for Gibson and reliving his past memories with his daughter. My main problem with the movie is the pacing, scenes of no consequence drag on too long and fail to hold the viewer’s attention. The movie clocks in at 116 minutes but feels longer. Also, some scenes just don’t make sense in context, two or three come to mind for me but I don’t want to spoil the movie. Still, it’s a great comeback picture for Mel Gibson and I think everyone should go see it.
8/10
Sex Drive- Went in expecting a typical teen sex comedy, left laughing my ass off. This is a damn funny movie. I had a fun time watching the characters get into zany situations but was also surprised to see a pretty decent dramatic story arc involved as well. Brilliant comedic turns by James Marsden as the douchebag brother and Seth Green as the Amish mechanic. However, for a movie that’s grounded in reality when it came to the characters, it felt out of place whenever they got into these crazy situations and even though they were crazy, I felt like they didn’t go over the top the way I thought they intended to. Add that to the fact that you could see the ending pretty much by just reading the synopsis and it kind of dragged the movie down a bit for me. Despite the cliche ending, I always say it’s more about the journey to get there and I think that for a teen sex comedy, Sex Drive is worlds above other movie affairs of the same kind.
7/10
Frozen River- A drama about a woman pushed to the brink and desperate to make ends meet. I felt like credit should be given to this movie because it could have easily gone over to melodrama quicker than you can say “I’M SCREAMING BECAUSE I’M MAD!” They don’t play up the emotions, they let you witness them in their rawest form. People aren’t having screaming matches left and right and sobbing their eyes out every 15 minutes. However, aside from Melissa Leo, none of the cast are too appealing or stand out. The movie is smart in the way that it doesn’t spell out what is happening in each scene or telling you how to feel, but overall the drama isn’t that compelling. When I listened to the /Filmcast talk about this movie being “misery porn”, I have to say I didn’t see it. You can sense the desperation but the drama of the movie isn’t that compelling and I’m not sure it would hold the attention of most casual movie goers. If this seems like the kind of movie you would go for, give it a shot, but I have to say, I don’t think most regular people would like this movie.
7/10
