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Nine (2009)
Eye candy served on an ear grater
Yawn. It really didn't go anywhere or do anything. You're left wondering gee, what the hell was the point of this?
Great casting I'll admit. However even these actors could not salvage this stilted self-indulgent storyline. Characters either utterly lacked dimension or it was so forced as to render them caricatures. Really, what could any actor do with that?
The soundtrack is very predictable. It does its job to recall a bygone era, which at times may make one wistful. To be sure there were standout performances, yet there were no actual standout numbers. All were typical of the most mediocre songs in the American musical genre. Overall not a great sound.
Thank goodness it looks great -- sets, cinematography, choreography & stellar costumes -- because the story and music sure can't hold interest.
Crude Impact (2006)
Powerful message, albeit a bit slowly paced
To compel the audience the film relies more heavily on pathos / ethos, and less on mere presentation of empirical data supporting their perspective. Personally I would have liked more fact & figure focus. Still, it worked for me.
I found the editing a bit dragging and distracting. It seemed as if someone struggled to find a few visuals to go with each narrative quote by the film's speakers. Sometimes the visuals are just dead wrong choices, such as stats that do not support what the speaker is simultaneously saying. Ouch. Mainly though the visuals linger just a little too long, leaving uncomfortable pauses in the narrative. Perhaps this is done deliberately to increase the impact of, say, this satirical comic or that horrifying photograph. But I felt these lengthy sobering pauses on visuals were done far too often, and as such they lose their efficacy. I think without too much effort this could be re-cut to be absolutely brilliant.
The film succeeded in demonstrating how humanity's careless overconsumption of resources like oil is causing catastrophic levels of despair, poverty, extinction and environmental damage. It challenges us to draw moral conclusions rather than blindly follow the bombardment of misinformation masquerading as fact -- e.g. if war has always historically been about power in some form (wealth, resources, labour) then it logically follows that war in the Middle East is about power over oil reserves, NOT any damn noble desire to free people or spread democracy. It is an important piece of work that everyone should see.
Tag .. you're it. ;)
The Spirit (2008)
Stilted acting, some bad casting
ACTING 4/10: Some stellar performances, but some downright poor. It takes a very special, talented and well-cast actor to pull off Miller's over-the-top stylized films. This one suffers from poor actor choices and performances, particularly for the title character. Even Eva doesn't have her heart in it at times.
DIALOGUE 5/10: Film noir dialogue is a tough sell on me. Not brilliant, not bad. Meh. Perhaps I'm being hard on it as so much of it was poorly delivered.
FLOW: 4/10: Just got so cheesy and boring due to the distraction of lackluster performances.
VISUALS 7/10: Otherwise it is a beautiful looking film. At times minimalist, at others rich, it is a beautiful comic-style treatment.
Tom yum goong (2005)
Hands down, BEST martial arts stuntman today is Tony Jaa
I have never commented on a film until today because I HAVE to tell people to watch this guy. Tony Jaa is THE martial arts stunt actor of our time. Period. And if you don't agree .. well, let's see YOU fight him, tough guy. ;)
I look at a martial arts film for the martial arts. So while acting and editing are quite poor, this touching if somewhat trite story is more than made up for by unparalleled one-to-one combat/stunt sequences. Some group fight scenes suffer from "let's all attack this one guy by taking turns" syndrome. But hey, what martial arts actor hasn't suffered this cliché? It is a pure joy to watch Jaa take on people of varying fighting styles (and sadly, talent). He conquers it all -- people, weapons, glass, walls, vehicles even -- in real time speed without aid of wire work or other such special effects. You would swear the guy defies gravity. The power, skill and dexterity with which Jaa simultaneously executes complex stunt and Muay Thai choreography is breathtaking.
Whether you grew up devoted to Bruce Lee, Meng Lo, Sho Kosugi, Jackie Chan or even Chuck "fist-in-his-beard" Norris, you will find none better today than Tony Jaa. Keep an eye on this guy.