Zenzou Reviews

Death of a President (2006)

Fascinating but not as exciting as if it really happened...

[6/10 · 10 September 2006]

I was lucky enough to receive a ticket while waiting in the front of the rush line to view the world premiere of one of the TIFF's most controversial and talked-about films this year. With bag checks and guys with night vision scanning the audience for the entire screening looking for pirates (argh!), it felt like I was seeing the Prez himself.

Gabriel Range's mockumentary that is set 3 years after the assassination of President George Bush. This television-style mockumentary delves into interviews with suspects and those whom were responsible with protecting and then those who were in charge of finding the assassin and anyone else who was responsible. The way the film was laid out was that the identity of the assassin is unknown until everything else suspect was eliminated. All in all, a "who dunnit?" tale told by those involved in it.

Controversy and hype aside, as a mockumentary from the future it was very well done and convincing with great use of archival footage and staged scenes. However, if this were an actual documentary, my interest in the topic would've been different and more interested because I would've had a good 3 years of non-stop media coverage and countless discussions and opinions about the event, not to mention how such a thing not only affects everyone around the globe, but personally as well. For example, if I were to watch a fictional film about 9/11 before that horrid and devastating event, I wouldn't have the same reaction or emotional responses as if it were a documentary after that event.

Range's approach to fictional storytelling is fascinating indeed but lacks that personal touch to myself as a viewer. All in all, if released world-wide this film will probably garner much hype but it'll end up having no real bite to it.

Rescue Dawn (2006)

Rather see it in documentary form... oh wait

[6/10 · 10 September 2006]

While watching this film, I couldn't shake the feeling of it being a documentary's re-enactment... oh yeah it is a re-enactment but Herzog's also made it into a "thriller". Although there's many beautiful establishing shots of the jungle and various other plant life, there's just too much of it. I felt like I was taking a rather fun tour with Christian Bale through a jungle, through a local village, through a nice little P.O.W. encampment, resting a bit there, (now I don't know if this is considered a spoiler, even though it's documented history...) escaping then going on a nice hobbit-like romp through the under-bush this time with Steve Zahn arm-in-arm.

No disrespect to Dieter or his family, but either Herzog should have stuck with just a doc or a thriller (with lots more dramatization) if he wanted a box-office success. I'd rather watch this film on television late at night on the History channel to be honest.

Great shots though. But if you want to watch a fun survival movie try "Behind Enemy Lines" or if you want a thriller I might suggest "The Deer Hunter". If you want a nice documentary of Dieter's story I suggest Herzog's earlier project, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly" (1997)

War of the Worlds (2005)

I thought it was great!

[10/10 · 1 July 2005]

I just watched War of the Worlds today and throughout the film I was in complete awe. I don't know what the previous commenter was going on about because I don't think H.G. Wells would be disappointed at all mainly because the first film's ending was similar to this one. Spielberg did an amazing job at giving me an edge of the seat thriller ride. Just like Jaws, he knows that there's only one real scare and the rest of the movie is about "almost" scaring you which keeps your attention focused on the film. I'm one of those people who really don't care about the personal lives of the actors and if people don't like Tom Cruise because of some publicity stunt or w/e, I don't think it should matter. Leave the guy alone and let him live his own life, as long as he does good acting and continues to entertain us I think he's doing his job. Actors are just like police in a way, people may hate them but those people that hate them are the criminals or people who want to do things THEIR way. So anyways, back to the movie review. The story was well structured by giving us a restricted narrative view of Cruise's character, Ray Ferrier. I think the alien invasion is just a secondary theme of this film while the primary theme or story is how Ray starts from a hard working dock worker and a failed father, to a hero and he finally learns that parenthood and his children are more important than anything in the entire world and he is willing to do anything to ensure their survival. Although I heard from a certain newspaper source that this film had underlying influences of 9/11, I would rather say that Spielberg has put in more Holocaust undertones into the film than 9/11. The many images are horrifying and grim and many images or scenes could probably be related to his other film, Schindler's List. As for a typical Spielberg film, it's is just that, just another Spielberg film, but that doesn't mean it sucks. As usual, Spielberg has put children in mortal danger once again in this story. For example, Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin's (hey Justin don't forget your Canuk roots! :P) character are put into mortal danger by aliens and panic humans alike.

Furthermore, I could possible see myself in the shoes of any number of panicked persons in that film running for their lives because the mob and crowd psychology are practically true in the scenes where there's a massive crowd panic. As I always keep in mind, "A single person can be very rational and extremely cunning, but a crowd is dangerous and stupid." Just like Jaws, this film makes you think twice about your everyday life. What I mean is that after seeing this film, you start to notice the things you take for granted and how easily they could be taken away from you. Whether it be a plane crash or natural disaster or alien invasion, it shows how precious life can be. When my father saw Jaws when it first came out, he said that no one was at the beach because of that film. This shows how effective a film can be the the human psyche.

As for the cinematography, I just absolutely loved it. Janusz Kaminski did an awesome job with Saving Private Ryan, AI and Minority Report and I was glad to see his familiar techniques with using different types of lenses or grease to add that burnt-out or bloom effect look to the picture. Kaminski's work is one of my most favorite in the industry and I'm very happy he's doing the cinematography for Indiana Jones 4 also.

Moving on, the editing in this film was also superb, I found that each cut and transition were all made perfectly. I tried to force myself to think that it was all just a movie, but because of the smooth cuts I was always finding myself completely immersed in the film. As for the acting in the film, I found that the actors were all comfortable around each other and they all looked genuine. I especially enjoyed Tim Robbins' performance and found it as a bit of a tension breaker at first then a sudden twist.

Furthermore, the two scriptwriters did a superb job at fitting the character's to the actor's. I must say that all the characters seemed to fit in their roles like a glove and were comfortable throughout. Not once did I think any of the actors were forcing lines or actions, congrats.

Well I don't know what else to say other than see this film because it's one of the best films I've seen this year (I see a lot of films, not to mention I'm a film theory major :). See Batman Begins, but if you had to pick between the two I suggest seeing the Spielberg film instead.

Spider-Man (2002)

Sam Raimi keeps up his image

[10/10 · 20 May 2002]

First thing I have to say is that Sam Raimi is one of my all-time favorite directors! In Spider-man, I loved how he kept a lot of the comic book facts and changed some to better suit real-life and the character Peter Parker (i.e. has genetically built-in web shooters instead of built ones he makes). Furthermore, all of the cast does a great job of portraying the enemies and friends of Spidey, Toby Maguire was perfect for his part. The storyline hints towards a sequel and supplies a great ending. All in all, Sam Raimi's Spider-man is another movie that will be added onto my list of favorite movies alongside Army of Darkness!