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Reviews
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Headless? Yes. Brainless? No.
I first saw this movie back in my high school days, and watched it for the third time recently. It was every bit as wonderful now as it was then.
I think this movie is escapism in its purest form. For those of us who love the idea of atmospheric, mysterious, dangerous and thrilling places, it's pure joy to look upon Sleepy Hollow - dark, Gothic and very real. So much of this movie is the look and feel of this world and its characters. When you see the headless horseman on his horse, riding in the dark night with the wind blowing wildly, it is visual ecstasy.
The music, composed by Danny Elfman, is fantastical and reinforces the magical quality of Sleepy Hollow. His score is a wonderful, pulsating accompaniment that energizes the action and mystifies character scenes.
I love this movie for what it is, and I am grateful that there are movie makers who love to create what seems outlandish and unrealistic to skeptics.
The Avengers (2012)
super-powered self-indulgence
When I was 10 years old, my brother and I discovered the world of Comic Books - adamantium claws, mutant chromosomes, capes, tights, unique abilities that we imagined what we would do, if only we possessed them. How great it would be if we didn't have to visualize these heroes in our minds, but watch them in a live-action movie?
With this movie, the dreams of geeks and nerds have been fulfilled in some sick and twisted yet wonderful manner, like the wet fantasies of normal people but magnified by the Nth power. It feels almost wrong to see Iron Man argue with Captain America, each capturing the essence of who they are supposed to be, in the flesh. How wonderful it is.
Once you get past the awesome visual reality that is the Avengers, assembled, it's a delightful pleasure that the director or the screenwriters implemented several "laugh out loud" moments that were seamlessly woven into the flow of this movie. The Hulk, in particular, provides at least a couple of comic moments that had everyone in the theater roaring.
It's not that we don't take this stuff seriously - we really do. It's great entertainment, and the box office results prove this. Yet, lest we forget, there is a bit of ridiculousness in this mish mash of a giant green monster, a man in red and blue tights, a modern-day bow and arrow archer, and so forth - and why confine entertainment to being one-dimensional spectacle and visual effects when you can select and choose from a true arsenal of gifts.
We Bought a Zoo (2011)
Positivity
I ended up enjoying this movie much more than I thought I would. When a movie is titled, "We Bought a Zoo", it lowers one's expectations. However, I found this movie watchable and substantive.
Matt Damon really carries this movie. Himself appearing visibly aged, having lost whatever youthful shine that he used to glimmer with for the last decade or so, Damon really personifies a man who struggles with having lost something integral to who he is, as a widower. His character jumps into a self-proclaimed adventure headfirst, and he pays the price. However, Damon does a nice job of wearing that pain on his face, particularly in scenes where he struggles to connect with his unhappy teenage son.
Although this movie was definitely formulaic, it really felt like a journey of substance. The daughter of Damon's character is a scene-stealer, an adorable little sprite. The end of the journey had an epic feel to it, and it was genuinely satisfying to watch.
Sin City (2005)
style over substance
Bang. Boom. Blam.
There you have a fine plot summary of this grossly overrated movie.
If I were a teen, perhaps I wouldn't have minded watching scene after scene of testosterone-driven characters (including, seemingly, the females) spewing out line after line of instantly forgettable dialogue; however, since I much prefer movies that have interesting plots, I feel obligated to warn those expecting a lot from this movie because of it's high IMDb rating (8.4)to keep their eyes open and their ears closed.
As the movie "Sin City" is a comic book adaptation, the director and his team chose to infuse the movie's cinematography with a heavy comic book feel-- the use of black and white color contrast and Gothic lighting is particularly effective, in this respect. And not only does the movie look like a comic book, but it moves like one as well; the tempo is brisk, and the lead characters are constantly on the go. Yet none of it's dynamic imagery and pacing compensates fully for the bland one-dimensionality of the lead characters. In the Spider-man movies, the viewer likes and cares for Peter Parker, who possesses, at the same time, superhuman powers and a nice guy personality. It's easy to empathize with Parker, who is shy and insecure but possesses the potential to accomplish so much more. By contrast, the lead characters in Sin City seem cynical and somewhat stoic, even as they scramble frantically across the city and its outskirts to accomplish various tasks.
Cold Mountain (2003)
not quite great
The book Cold Mountain is a near-perfect example of what people mean when they say that certain books are extremely difficult to effectively transform into a movie. It seems as if certain scenes or plot elements were thrown into the movie purely out of obligation to remain (somewhat)faithful to the book. And even when some scenes were adapted fairly smoothly the literary elements such as irony did not really add anything to the movie [***SPOILER***: i'm referring to the scene in which Natalie Portman's baby is covered up by a soldier who has compassion for the child, and then the same soldier is subsequently shot in the back by Jude Law although Law's character could have allowed him to escape.]
Also I agree with other comments saying that Jude Law and Nicole Kidman had only so-so chemistry. It seemed to me that Mr. Law and Natalie Portman had much more natural energy in their scenes than did the former pair. In general the acting performances well all quite adequate, but not spectacular- except perhaps Renee Zelwegger, whose down-and-dirty character is about as far from her celebrity image as can be, but her character had the effect of being distracting in an almost sideshow-like manner. Overall however the movie did have a number of strong points. The period atmosphere was done fairly well. The musical score was quite good, although I would have preferred if they didn't attempt to replicate the sounds of the locale+time period and stuck to the gentle piano medley backed by occasional orchestral strings (the heart of the movie was the romance, after all). As far as being a true movie experience the film did very well so if you're into period pieces with epic scopes go ahead and rent or buy this movie. In the end, however, although I liked this film I keep thinking about how much better it could have been.
The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003)
the truth
This film was surprisingly very good. Unlike Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" this movie can serve both Christians and non-Christians as a cohesive educational experience. But this isn't a boring, conservative Christian movie. All really good dramas are character-driven and the potrayal/interpretation of Jesus in this movie is so strong that if I were the crying type I very well might have. Jesus is very genuine, compassionate, emotional, yet self-controlled. At first I wasn't quite sold by Henry Ian Cusick's style, but his sincerity was really consistent throughout the movie and I was convinced about 20 minutes into the movie at most. Other users have commented on how they were surprised by Jesus's impatience with the discples or loud tone when speaking to the Pharisees but I have to say, if you've read the Gospels then you should expect Jesus to be demonstrative and uninhibited, as circumstances dictate.
As others have said, this movie is a faithful adaptation of the gospel of John. I thought that having every single word of the book either spoken by characters or narrated was a necessary and intelligent decision to make. To hear the Word allows you to consider the actors & director's interpretation of certain events & verses, and also to simply consider the Word for yourself in a comprehensive manner. After all, how often does one ever read straight through the book of John?
Watching this movie really helps the Christian understand Jesus' incredibly difficult situation. I'm not talking about the crucifiction, but the fact that Jesus as the Son of God is incarnated into a man and has to tell men who he really is. To put it more clearly, imagine if God incarnate stood before you as an average looking human being and said "I am the Son of God." Unless you saw a miracle it you would not be willing to suspend disbelief. I empathized with Jesus when he emphatically said, "I am telling you the truth!" so many times throughout the movie.
In conclusion, this movie is really worth your time to watch. Although it is very long and you may lose focus at times during the middle portion I would still highly recommend it. It isn't perfect but overall it's a fantastic piece of work.