Movies

Ransom

Watched “Ransom” on TV. I have seen it before, but since I didn’t have a blog back then, I decided to mention it now.

This is one of those films that you really enjoy watching, but that you don’t want to own or can never remember later. The story is nice, but it’s a one-time flick. There is some good acting from people who usually deliver good acting – Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo.

Overall, I’ll give it a 7 out of 10 and recommend you to see it. But if you think you did, then you should better go for something else.

Legends of the Fall

Sometimes I get the impression that I have seen on the movies of this actor or that director. If something turns up that I missed, I get really surprised. It happened today again. “Legends of the Fall” was showing today on TV. And I thought that I have seen all the films with Brad Pitt.

Not only it was an unseen movie with one of my favourite actors, but it was also a very nice film. Brad Pitt wasn’t the only star – Anthony Hopkins was helping him, as well as few other celebrities. The story behind the film was dramatic enough for all of them to be able to show their talent. Many of them did, so there is plenty of excellent acting in there.

There was another surprise for me. I usually don’t like the films that are about the beginning of the 20th century. Somehow they feel distant enough not to have any comforts of the modern civilization, like the Internet, electricity, cars, and stuff; but, at the same time, they are not distant enough to be interesting like historic films about earlier ages. In this movie though, time was flattened by a more-or-less universal story that could have happened at any time. Neat.

Basically, a good story with a fair amount of drama and loads of good acting are enough for me to give 7 out of 10 to this film.

What’s the worst movie you ever seen?

There is an interesting post at Slashdot asking what was the worst movie you ever seen. Some discussions are really hilarious. Star Wars I and II, Gigli, Highlender 2, and few others are popping up more often, although some people consider Shrek and Starship Troopers to be the worst ones ever… These guys are just lucky – I’ve seen far worse.

I, myself, cannot remember the worst movie ever. I didn’t like Star Wars I and II, but they were far away from the worst movies. Gigli was pretty much OK. Hihglender 2 I cannot remember seeing at all. Matrix sequels were bad. Really. But not the worst. Few Travolta films, like Battlefield Earth and Swordfish were ugly. Not the worst again.

I guess, it is just how my memory works – it throws out the worst experiences immediately after gaining them. I’ll think more about what was the worst film that I have ever seen, but I need some time…

What was the worst movie you have ever seen?

Gangs of New York

I watched “Gangs of New York” just now. Before I start bashing it, I’d like to mention, that I watched it with a terrible translation into Russian and I could hear only parts of original phrases.

Now… The film is very overrated. Maybe, of course, I am missing some important New York history or atmosphere, but for an outsider there is nothing much to see. This film is an attempt to please everyone. There is some drama and romance. Some action. Some history. Some horror. Some erotic. Nothing is exceptional or even merely good.

The worst thing is the music. There is a lot of it, but it is always wrong. It is inappropriate and fails to emphasize the point. It seems totally independent of what is happening in the movie. But it was not only the music. Costumes were terrible too. I understand that members of the gang can supposedely wear some common piece of cloth. But I don’t understand how the poorest people of the lowest area of the city can afford to wear almost identical stuff. If the clothes were any better, they would like uniforms. Bad move. Makes it very surrealistic.

Few other details were bright enough to show that it was actually a movie, and that it was a movie made recently. The way the naked women are shown. It’s like they were taken from the Internet or something. Sexual culture and the way people see naked body changes. 1800s of the movie should have been totally different from th 21 century, shouldn’t they?

Acting was not bad. Leonardo DiCaprio was pretty good. Cameron Diaz was charming, as always. Daniel Day-Lewis, although unknown to me, was very nice. He also had the best make-up of all the characters. Nice work.

The last complain is that the film is very long for the points it delivers and scenes it boasts – almost 3 hours is way too much. Making it shorter would have made it better. As it is, I’ll give it a 6 out of 10 and not a fruction more.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

I thought that once in a while I should watch a movie from my wishlist, so I got a copy of “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” and watched it.

During the whole film I had this feeling of dejavu and only when the closing titles started rolling, I remembered that had already seen this movie once. It is a very nice film, but for some reason it just doesn’t stick. Maybe I am too young.

Anyway, George Clooney climbs in my book as both an actor and a director. I hope he continues his work, because the man is talented. It is not so easy to create a good mix out of action, romance, phylosophy, and crime covered with drama. Clooney did it. Of course he was helped by a bunch of people who are really good at helping people like Clooney – namely, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts and Sam Rockwel. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon were used as backup for sure, because they couldn’t have possibly be credited for sitting silently on a chair for about half a second that the camera scrolls by. Strategic move, eh.

Overall, 7 out of 10 for being a little slower than I like. I also hope that next time I’ll find this post before watching it for the third time…