Twitchy Says...

Film Critic, Indie Filmmaker, General Film/Art/Life Discussion

Movie of the Week for 8/1/08-8/7/08

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Monday, August 11, 2008
Sorry about the tardiness...

Caught a few movies this week, some good. P.S. I Love You and The Count of Monte Cristo both came on Netflix and were both amazingly good.

I bought Stargate: Continuum, the Stargate movie thats supposed to end the series. It was kind of a let down... no big battles, no real big twists... they just kind of re-hashed several television episodes.

Saw The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Hated it. It looked like it was rushed through post-production, as the digital effects were not good. Thumbs down.

And for the movie of the week:
Cashback. Neat little British film. Warning: do not watch if you're put off by female nudity. It was all relatively artistic, but still abundant. The main character is in love with the female body, and sketches nude women often. The interesting thing is he learns, through insomnia, how to stop time. So he stops time and wanders around people. Its a neat idea, and all of this are just aspects wrapping around a central traditional love story. Definitely a movie worth checking out.

Until next week! (or hopefully Thursday)

Movie of the Week for 7/25/08-7/31/08

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Greetings all!

So this week, in fact, I have seen very few movies, as I've picked up the 'Sword of Truth' series of books which has absorbed my time and my life.

In television, the highly anticipated season finale of Dr. Who is this Friday on Sci-Fi, and any who love the series should definitely check it out. Its the 2nd half of a 2 part episode, so be sure to watch the first somewhere. http://watchdoctorwho.com is a site with occasional problems, but overall seems to work the best. It also displays shows ahead of time, so I can personally tell you that this season finale is outstanding.

Also, Sam Raimi has signed on as the director for a mini-series/ possible TV series of the Sword of Truth series, currently slated to air sometime this November/December.

In movies, many trailers have come forth in the past two weeks that I feel are of particular interest. The first being for the new Terminator movie staring Christian Bale, not starring Arnold. (YAY! Maybe he can focus on taking care of his state now.) Another is for Watchmen, based on a critically acclaimed graphic novel by the same name. Those I know who have read Watchmen seem extremely exited. Finally, the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine aired at the Comic-con recently, and has been met with great excitement. Personally, I don't know how I feel about it, with X-Men Origins: Magneto already slated into pre-production, and following the atrocious failure of X-Men III. Also, with the huge line-up of movies in preparation for the Avengers film slated to premier summer of '11, I simply wonder how many super-heroes the audiences will be able to stand in the coming years. Speaking of the Avengers, John Sena? Captain America? Really? I guess they could do worse.

One extra movie I did catch this week and thoroughly did not enjoy was Babel. I'm ok with long, slow movies that easily get you personally involved, such as Contact, but this was a long, slow movie that I just couldn't seem to care about. It never really maintained my interest and left me wishing I had gone to bed earlier. Which leads me to my pick of the week:

*drumroll please*

The first Movie of the Week is...

of course, The Dark Knight. Many have said this is one of the greatest movies ever. I firmly disagree. With a run-on storyline and A.D.D. (or is everything now supposed to be declared A.D.H.D? I don't remember) scene lengths, you walk out of the theatre with a re-aligned attention span of an 8 year-old. Christian Bale's performance was a let-down compared to Batman Begins, and would have been greatly saved had he stopped gasping for breathe so often and not constantly spoken through his teeth. So you may ask then, why is the the pick of the week? Perfect performances by Aaron Eckhartand of course, Heath Ledger. Its in true Batman fashion of old that the saving grace for this movie was, in fact, the villains. Eckhart's portrayal of Harvey Dent left you understanding what could make a person be pushed to such lengths as to turn into the villain. And Ledger came through in the greatest performance of his career, making your blood crawl as the Joker. I'm a firm believer that he should be awarded and Oscar Posthumously, just as he certainly should have won it were he still alive.

Thats all for this week, stay tuned for the next installment of 'Movie of the Week'

Home of the Brave

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Thursday, May 22, 2008
Story - 2.0
Beautiful, brutal, heartfelt. It pushed you to personally understand post-traumatic stress disorder and gain appreciation for our soldiers in the Middle-East.
Cinematography - 1.6
Only superb cinematography is found in the honest realism of battle and the memories of the soldiers. The realism of battle isn't strictly found in 'shaky-cam' style so much as just the quality and speed of action as well as the following of specific characters. Long, slow, 40% opacity shots while soldiers recount their experiences are insightful and impacting.
Acting - 1.8
All actors seemed to really grasp the gravity of what was going on. The main talent, including Samuel Jackson, Jessica Biel, and 50 Cent, all had me worried in the beginning. They all pulled through and gave what I perceived as some of the most meaningful performances of their life
Overall Effect - 3.5
Probably one of the most deeply moving movies I've seen in a long time. Truly leaves you wanting to reach out to all of our soldiers more than ever.

Total Score:
8.9 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Military, War on Terror, Post-traumatic stress.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Sunday, May 18, 2008
Story - 1.9
Complex, multi-leveled. Just like a good fantasy book.
Cinematography - 1.9
Simply Beautiful. Stunning CGI works, especially for a smaller-budget film. Great shots, great coloring. Final army battle is akin to Helm's Deep from LoTR:TT.
Acting - 1.8
HUGE list of actors, mostly 'B' actors, a few 'A' list. Throughout the talent, the weak point is played by Matthew Lillard, who still maintains a mediocre quality of acting.
Overall Effect - 3.9
Great movie. Fun, exciting. If you love fantasy or LoTR, its on that scale without being a knock-off. Story follows Jason Stathom, but he is far from the only lead character.

Total Score:
9.5 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Fantasy, Action, Epic Battles, LoTR-style movies.

Juno

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Saturday, May 17, 2008
Story - 1.8
Enjoyable coming of age story. Hard to tell where it was going at times, which furthered the enjoyment.
Cinematography - 1.8
Nothing out of the ordinary. Static wide shots that are traditionally overused in indy films found a good home here and added well to the overall effect.
Acting - 1.7
A lack of depth in the baby's father was the only acting flaw in the entire piece that bothered me.
Overall Effect - 3.8
Very enjoyable. Highly non-traditional feel-good movie.

Total Score:
9.1 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Coming of age, pregnancy, independant film

I Am Omega

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Saturday, May 17, 2008
I will rarely say this, but do not see this movie. The poor quality of writing, cinematography, acting, and overall effect make it unbearable to sit through in its entirety. Sci-Fi's weekend movies are heads and tails above this. (unless maybe this started as a sci-fi movie?!?!)

Recommendations: Do not see.

Equilibrium

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Saturday, May 17, 2008
Story - 1.8
Normal post-apocalyptic telling of mood calming drugs and the rebels who don't take them. Some interesting twists towards the end which are very exciting and entertaining.
Cinematography - 1.8
Very interesting and stylized throughout. Very exciting.
Acting - 1.8
Some of Christian Bale's best work. Sean Bean and Taye Diggs offer great support in their roles.
Overall Effect - 3.7
Very enjoyable movie. Story twists offer some degree of replay ability.

Total Score:
9.1 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Action, Post-apocalyptic, sylized sci-fi.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Saturday, May 17, 2008
Story - 2.0
Story was brilliant. Lots of twists throughout. Never ever lost any interest.
Cinematography - 2.0
Whole movie is beautiful. Every shot composition and coloring felt inspiring to the heart of the story.
Acting - 1.8
Lots of unknowns (other than from the first movie). Did very well. My least favorite talent was actually Caspian's uncle, the main bad guy in the movie. He did fine, his role just didn't thrill me.
Overall Effect - 3.7
Loved it. Something I could see again and again. Better than the first, although I've heard people having issues with it being overly violent, but I felt it a great part of the whole of the film.

Total Score:
9.5 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Fantasy, Epic Stories

THX 1138

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Saturday, May 17, 2008
Story - 1.6
Normal post-apocalyptic telling of mood calming drugs and the rebels who don't take them. No real twists throughout.
Cinematography - 1.8
Reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Real slow pacing. Shots were interesting but tended to linger too long.
Acting - 1.6
Characters didn't really feel very strong in definition. Robert Duvall does well, but it feels like many others could have done the part as well.
Overall Effect - 3.2
Felt overly long. Special effects are simply amazing, especially considering when it was made. Overall entertaining and definitely worth seeing at least once.

Final Score:
8.2 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Trippy, Post-apocalyptic society

The Forbidden Kingdom

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Saturday, May 17, 2008
Story - 0.8
Wholly unoriginal. Tradition story elements throughout without any additional thought or imagination.
Cinematography - 1.0
Also unoriginal. Shot after shot, the movie from which its been stolen can be called out. LoTR, Crouching Tiger, even The Patriot. Lack of creativity is saddening.
Acting- 1.6
This is what they built the movie around, and it shows. The sad thing is the main boy and girl were severely lacking, and it felt as if they simply didn't get the actors they wanted.
Overall Effect - 3.2
Still not a half-bad movie to sit through, especially entertaining if you're a fan of martial arts or Jet Li or Jackie Chan

Total Score:
6.6 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Campy Martial Arts.

Iron Man

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Thursday, May 01, 2008
Story - 1.9
Great adaptation of a comic book. Story walked a fine line of superhero fantasy, and actually succeeded in never turning overly cheesy. Key moments played out perfectly, even when done in a non-traditional manner.
Cinematography - 1.9
Worked seamlessly back and forth between traditional camera work during 'story time' and newer action shaky-cam style during the 'action time'. A few shots where extremely freshly styled, types which I haven't seen before. CG is extremely realistic and well-done.
Acting - 1.9
Small cast, worked well together apparently. Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) seriously worried me sometimes of coming off overly cheesy as in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, but she successfully pulled off the part in the end.
Overall Effect - 4.0
From first view, feels like something I'll want to see again and again. Great action, great comedic elements, great CG. Overall very high quality package.

Total Score:
9.7 out of 10

Recommended if you're looking for: Action, Comic Fantasy, Comedy

Contact

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Friday, April 25, 2008
Story - 1.9
Believable characters throughout. Story seems like a feasible science fiction. Story mixed with excellent flashbacks and depth.
Cinematography - 1.9
Beautiful epic views throughout. Great early mix of traditional cinematography and digital effects.
Acting - 1.9
For those of you who come down on Jodi Foster, I feel that this should be your counterpoint example. She shows a brilliant range of emotion throughout. All supporting actors fully understand their distinct parts to the whole of the film, and provide great support for the entire story.
Overall Effect - 3.5
The story is beautiful and a true inspiration to any science fiction fan as to realistic first contact. The greatest downfall of the film is the slow pacing throughout. Certain moments and sequences drag on and can leave the film with a 'tired' feeling.

Total Score:
9.2 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Science Fiction, Plausible Futures, Astronomy, Philosophical Adventures

Stardust

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Sunday, April 20, 2008
Story - 2.0
One of the most creative and original stories I've seen in years. Maybe not 100% original content, but an original way of telling it, and no real obvious rip-offs.
Cinematography - 2.0
Beautiful shots throughout. Special effects shots aren't just thrown in, but are made to have the same camera aesthetic as the rest of the film. 'Shine' shots add a wonderful feeling to all shots of Yvaine (Claire Danes).
Acting - 2.0
Primary actors were relatively unknown, or not easily placeable. Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro both played supporting characters and both played well outside their tradition acting roles. This allowed their appearances to remain refreshing. Each of dozens of supporting characters performed perfect minor roles adding great feeling and depth.
Overall Effect - 3.8
The film is a great combination of small-budget film making with the assistance of some big-budget effects. Still, some corners were cut with effects, and some of the more simple effects weren't as high quality as they could have been.

Total Score:
9.8 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Fantasy, Love story, Action.

Across the Universe

Published by Benjamin 'Twitchy' Strack under on Saturday, April 12, 2008
Story - 1.8
The story is well-thought out, considering its aesthetic need to weave the story around the Beatles music. The end cuts out without even a complete reunion of the love interests, and leaves you wanting more than you should.
Cinematography - 2
Distinct artistic styling throughout. Intense lighting and color setups. Great mixture of independant film tricks and bigger budget effects.
Acting - 1.9
Refreshing to see a quality cast without known actors. Bono tends to be annoying and distracting.
Overall Effect - 3.7
Music is amazingly written, but much of the singing feels cheated by an overuse of auto-tune. Songs and singers interweave beautifully through much of the movie.
Beautiful way of telling the story. Amazing makeup. The 'stoned' sections of the movie distract from the overall product some.

Total Score:
9.4 out of 10

Recommended if looking for: Music, Beatles, Love story.