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Reviews
Lady in the Water (2006)
Great Film!
Once while studying theater I was told that in order for theater to work the audience had to give away their ideas of how the world works in order to buy into the reality of the show, this was called a...
A Willing suspension of disbelief
This translates into film as well. I mean audiences today are so used to checking reality at the door. Movies today, especially summer movies need to have big unbelievable things happen in order to get the audiences into the theaters. However, M Night Shymalan's films do something different. They challenge the audience to except the story being told in front of them as reality. Sure his films have dealt with Ghost, Superheroes, and Aliens but they all are grounded in reality, specifically our reality. I think this is actually why audiences have such a hard time with his films.
In Lady in the Water he asks even more of his audience when he presents a fairy tale as something that could happen in our reality. The amazing part of it is, it works. This movie entertained me more than any other summer film so far. If I'm telling the truth it moved me emotionally more than Superman Returns. If I'm being even more honest I will admit that I actually had a few tears in the old eyes.
Every single character in this film is rich in detail no matter how much time they have on screen. I felt like I knew them all. This is no surprise, as Shymalan always seems to care very much about every character.
I could write more about this film but I will sum it up and just simply say...see it.
Movies to see this summer as of July 23rd 2006
Superman Returns, Lady and the Water
After that whatever is playing at a second run theater.
Layer Cake (2004)
READ after watch LAYER CAKE
This movie is a great film. It is the best gangster film about Prohibition since the Cagney gangster films. Of course bootlegging is replaced with drugs but the ideas and elements are still there.
A man wants to get out of the game when he reaches the height of his success. He finds forces that he can not control pulling him towards the life is trying to leave. He solves his problem and feels like he has won when suddenly there is one last surprise.The girl is a symbol of the redemption that he is striving to reach. Even the ending resembles the ending of Roaring Twenties.
Tell people about this movie
Elizabethtown (2005)
I really love this movie
I feel like this movie will be a secret that only a few of us ever get to discover. I think that Cameron Crowe is completely under appreciated. Vanilla Sky was a great film and just because it didn't fit into a neat little box of understanding people didn't like it. This particular movie was amazing because it is just so beautiful.
The whole phone sequence between Drew and Claire is so great because how many times have you found yourself having an multi-hour conversation with an amazing person. Cameron Crowe is able to capture moments like this, and that is why this movie is amazing. Besides who else knows hot to truly utilize music.
This film feels more like a novel and I felt like I was reading the film as I was watching it.
Feast (2005)
Great late night film
I saw this movie last night at the Chicago Film Festival. This movie is not one that will change lives or addresses pressing social issues. Though it would be easy for somebody to say that it is a metaphor for our day and time with terrorist threats and all, but somebody even could do that with Cheaper by the Dozen. So anyway about Feast, it's a great film to watch.
The premise is very simple a bunch of strangers are locked in a bar for the night as monsters try and get in. There really isn't much more to it and that is where the beauty of this film lies. I have heard that Marcus, one of the writers described this as a movie that you start watching on TBS at 2 am and you don't finish, which is a great description for it.
The performances are pretty strong because the actors seem so relaxed in them. The best performances come from Balthazar Getty, Duane Whitaker, Clu Gulgar, Krista Allen, and Josh Zuckerman. The work of the Thomas L Callaway the cinematographer is great, especially in the final showdown scene, some may complain about not being able to see but the red color that covers the scene is great. The final shot of Krista Allen behind the rising sun is just beautiful, even if it is only a simple horror movie.
The main credit goes to John Gulager, whom despite all the "drama" shown on Project Greenlight, has crafted a really enjoyable film. He took all the raw elements of the production and crafted just an amazing final product. This is a movie that I will suggest to people who just want to enjoy themselves in a theater.
Empire Records (1995)
Music and Teen Angst
While this movie is one definatley worth watching, there are still certain aspects of it that make me cringe. First of all the casting of Johnny Whitworth as AJ was a terrible decision. This character was supposed to be intresting and deep. However by casting a pretty boy I found my self hating this character. If this movie was made ten years ealrier John Cusak would have played AJ, of course because of the music it would have been a entriely different film.
As much as I hated Johnny Whitmore I did think that Anthony Lapalglia was great as Joe. Joe was supposed to be like that groovy guidance counselor in high school who was always there to look out for you. Lapaglia plays this character just right. There is no doubt that this material is below him but he handles it very well.
Some of the other memembers of this cast are also entertaining to watch. Another good performance comes from Rory Cochrane as Lucas, the philospher and smart ass of the group. Also this film features a pre-Jerry Maquire Rene Zellwegaras the slutty Gina.
The story it's self is nothing really revoluntionary. A group of mistfits work in a record store that is going to be made into a Sam Goody type outlet store very soon and all the freedom their cool, hip boss, Joe has provided them will be gone. Oh and there is the girl dealing with suicide, heart ache, and ultimatley love growing from heart ache. At certain points in this film it seems like it is trying to be a 90's take of Dazed and Confused. Dealing with teen issue while packing the movie full of period music and colorful characters. However, rest assure it is no Dazed and Confused
The rest of the movie is just alright. It is a good movie to catch on VH1 every once and awhile or even rent when you can't think of anything else. For me the film's soundtrack brought me back to the good ole' days of 1995. Coming home from the 7th grade turing on the radio while doing homework and listening to the Gin Blossoms
Catch the movie if it is on or rent it when you got nothing else to see, it's good for that.