Val Kilmer's own production company was somehow responsible for this film. It is supposedly some kind of drama synthesized with an action film but misses the mark due to the dramatic elements being the most over-used clichés of the 'redeemed con turned family man' genre. Important to note, here in Australia, (where they must take us for idiots), this film has on its cover a picture of Val standing tall against a blood red background and holding two .45 pistols and beside the phrase, 'A Game of Life and Death'. Which bit was of the film was that? Was it the part where the man feeds the ducks? Or was it the fact that the majority of the 'action', (if you can call someone making 28 phone calls 'action') occurring beside a lake which the characters could perilously fall into and perhaps drown? Maybe they might catch something from all the pollution in the water? That might be fatal and constitute elements of 'life and death'. Who knows? The 'action' in this film substantiates to about 15% of the total, if that. I don't mind it being a drama, but it's downright dishonest to palm this off as a gritty edge of your seat 'action' film and then have the majority of the story center around a day in the park, which is what it really is. There were no .45 caliber guns of the type shown on the cover used at any point in this film by the character Val portrays. Perhaps they substituted this imaginatively suggestive cover because they realized pretty quickly after putting it in front of a test audience that if they used a shot of the man feeding the ducks on the cover with Val together with his eight year old on-again-off-again pal smiling in the distance whilst peddle boating across the lake in the sunshine then people might get a whiff and not rent it. Here in Australia that fake cover fully constitutes false advertising as per the 1972 Trade Practises Act section 40 and on Monday I'm going to personally call the Office of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and make a complaint about that as it breaches the law. At one point in the film the blood smudge on Val's cheek switches sides (and during a close up, if you can believe they would miss such a glaring error). (Don't think the blood smear indicates any type of 'action' having occurred either.) They even spelled 'gangster' on the cover with two 'n's! To me this indicates that the production crew and or anyone else involved with this film weren't looking too closely at the final edit. Maybe they couldn't wait to get rid of it. I'm pretty sure no one was looking too closely, and after watching it I will advise anyone, neither should you.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Big Girls Don't Pie
29 January 2008
'Sweeney Todd', could be best described as part slasher flick, part morality play. It has more substance to it than most slasher flicks where the gore is added as a sensationalist attraction for the morbidly curious. The overtly gory component incorporated in Sweeney Todd had me questioning 'why do people kill one another?' and 'why must we have war?' It is a difficult task to remain commercially viable and to include all the various elements that Mr. Burton has presented for us in this film and so he deserves congratulation. Particularly, for the fact that the gore in the film causes the audience to re evaluate their own response to it, because it is not presented as an attractive satisfaction for the ghoulish nature of the human psyche, but instead serves to raise moral questions from its repellent nature. This is its value as an element in the narrative and gives this film a value that most 'slasher' films do not have. I didn't know it was a musical until the singing began and it reminded me of those films of the 60's and 70's that were almost put to death by 'Grease' and 'Xanadu'. 'Sweeney Todd' maintains the tradition of films like 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'My Fair Lady' and 'The Sound of Music', but with bulk darkness and a slight amount of gratuitous gore added. I thought Johnny Depp's singing was good in this movie, in fact I thought he had a voice that could easily rock out if he was put amongst it with some hard rocking band. He's apparently stated that he can't sing very well, (probably just worried that people will decide to hate him out of envy if he adds singer to his repertoire of skills). Obviously, Johnny can make any film a classic since he is easily one of the most popular male actors of his generation, but that's not the only reason 'Sweeney Todd' amuses and terrifies. Helena Bonham-Carter's looks and ethereal, other-worldly quality make her perfect for a tale of this ilk, positioned as it is in Tim Burton's macabre vision of Old London Town. For me, it was obvious that he has made a list of images that he wanted to incorporate in this project and he has done it with artistry and panache and he dramatically uses the big screen like the most skillful painters, (before photography), used the canvas. Well done, though not exactly a film for the young kiddies (or vegetarians).
The Number 23
(2007)
23 Times I Nearly Fell Asleep
19 November 2007
Having seen many examples of well done film-noir classics, I could not help but feel as though there was something sadly missing in this film's attempts to evoke the same type of atmosphere as them, and after it ended I realized that this was because it lacked a logical plot, was filled with a sense of unreality and featured drab and unimaginative characterizations, all of which served to repel me from being able to engage with the film in a way that took me out of my living room in front of a TV and into it's world, something that it was trying to rely upon to successfully tell its story in an entertaining way.
Amongst its major plot elements though, it did have some charming moments but these were few and not enough to warrant a good review. Carey's skill as a dramatic actor is definitely more akin to these types of interactions rather than the serious and hard-boiled character he attempts to portray here. The incredulity of the plot also kept me at length from wanting to believe in the story. The 'significance' of the number 23 as a plot device struck me as trite, confused and downright illogical, as did the reactions of the other characters to its quasi-mystical significance, and the 'surprising plot twist' at the end of the film was a cliché that has been used too many times in these psychological thriller-type films over the last 10 years to have any substantial impact on a well-schooled viewing audience.
Jim Carey is a good comic actor and he has proved himself also capable of believability in the 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', however with this film his acting seems to be reaching to try to do something that perhaps, to me, his cinematic persona won't let him? I think that given the right roles Carey could offer the world some truly inspiring performances, but following the road this film is on won't bring that out of him.
The evocative cover art offered a 50-50 chance that it was going to titillate and excite me, and I hoped it would because Carey would be great to watch in a well-scripted and plotted thriller, but upon viewing this movie, at least 23 times during the ordeal I nearly fell asleep and considered turning it off.
Amongst its major plot elements though, it did have some charming moments but these were few and not enough to warrant a good review. Carey's skill as a dramatic actor is definitely more akin to these types of interactions rather than the serious and hard-boiled character he attempts to portray here. The incredulity of the plot also kept me at length from wanting to believe in the story. The 'significance' of the number 23 as a plot device struck me as trite, confused and downright illogical, as did the reactions of the other characters to its quasi-mystical significance, and the 'surprising plot twist' at the end of the film was a cliché that has been used too many times in these psychological thriller-type films over the last 10 years to have any substantial impact on a well-schooled viewing audience.
Jim Carey is a good comic actor and he has proved himself also capable of believability in the 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', however with this film his acting seems to be reaching to try to do something that perhaps, to me, his cinematic persona won't let him? I think that given the right roles Carey could offer the world some truly inspiring performances, but following the road this film is on won't bring that out of him.
The evocative cover art offered a 50-50 chance that it was going to titillate and excite me, and I hoped it would because Carey would be great to watch in a well-scripted and plotted thriller, but upon viewing this movie, at least 23 times during the ordeal I nearly fell asleep and considered turning it off.
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