Movies

The School of Rock

Went to see “The School of Rock” in the movies. This is above good film. Actually, I cannot remember any other film about rock or rock-and-roll that was this good. Even for a general comedy this film was too good. The main character is played by Jack Black, who is one of the vocalists in the band called “Tencious D”. I’d say he knows about rock from the first hands.

On one side the movie is pretty muh regular and naive. The fraud teacher comes to the high class school to earn some money, but ends up playing some rock music together with students. On the other side, the movie is full of energy, rock spirit, and very excellent music. Soundtrack has all time favourites such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, The Doors, Jimmy Hendrix, The Who, and whoever you can remember making impact on rock music.

This movie also while being lots of fun touches on some serious issues, like MTV screwing up the rock music, drugs and rock-and-roll, authoritive certification, children’s psychology, etc. It reminds the viewer in the nice way that rock-and-roll is not about getting wasted/loaded/high and it is not about making lots of money, but about something deeper.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who is, was, or is about to be interested in rock music, it’s history, and it’s atmosphere. It is very entertaining and funny at the very least. :)

Forrest Gump

I’ve just watched an all-time classic “Forrest Gump” on the DVD. I think I’ve seen this movie half a million times by now, but I still find new bits and pieces every time I watch it.

This movie is perfect in every and any sense. The story is interesting and original. Acting is perfect. Tom Hanks shines in this film for he has the main role, but everyone else is excellent aswell. Soundtrack is exceptional. There are moments when 2-3-4 songs/compositions change each other within one minute, but there are times when there is a lot of silence. Very moody. Special effects are also well done – all the presidents’ meetings, John Lennon, China, etc. Very neat.

Actually, I cannot point to one thing that is wrong with this film. I didn’t remember it being that good. And what makes me happier is knowing that I’ve got this DVD permanently for my collection. :)

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Just watched “The Gods Must Be Crazy” (Part 1 and Part 2) on DVD. Both are very good films. Actually, it’s not often that I watch the movie and the sequel in one go, but this I couldn’t stay away. Both films are very light and easy. You can watch them for hours. There is plenty of nice humor and although the films are rather old (1980 and 1989 respectively), humor is very refreshing.

Both stories happen in Africa with bushmen being the main characters. Producer of the film went far and actually used real bushmen to play bushmen. Most of the humor arises from the difference in cultures of different people. There are few interesting thoughts on the subjects of technology, modern world, social relationships, wars, and the like.

IMDB does not provide any age ratings for these movies, so I’ll mention it. In my opinion, both films are suitable for children. There is some nudity, but not sexual. The African bushmen way. There is no swearing at all in the first part (except for one guy while fixing a car, but that was didn’t have any known English words). There is minor offense in the second part that has to do with soldiers, but it slips throuth very well and is not even noticable until you pay attention to these things, like I do. :)

I’d say that these movies are somewhat similar to “Cool Runnings“, but they are more educational and funny. Recommended.

Something’s Gotta Give

I ‘ve just watched “Something’s Gotta Give” in the movies. Was it good? I can not say that. Was it bad? Well, not entirely. There were some really good moments, but overall it lacked a lot. There was no point in the movie at all. And it was going in such waves that you could actually stop it anywhere after the first 30 minutes without loosing anything. With the same success you could chop of the real ending and put it anywhere in the movie after the same first 30 minutes and it would look natural. Yuck!

There was some great acting done to save the film. If I would to break 4 pounds that I paid for the ticket, I would give all 4 just to actors. 2 pounds would go Jack Nicholson, 1 pound to Amanda Peet, and 1 pound to Frances McDormand. Both Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves were terrible. Keanu was an emotionless brick wall as always. Diane was simply horrible. Especially her crying after breaking up. Production was also below average. There were virtually no scenery in the movie. It seemed like all the actors are straight in front of the camera and that nothing else exists. There were so many opportunities though – the house on the sea beach, Hawaii, hospitals. None of it is important to the filmmaker. Not even for 3 seconds. But all that crap that goes on for two hours without going anywhere is. That’s sad. There is a very strong feeling that there is a woman in charge behind all these. And in fact it is so – Nancy Meyers (writer of the screenplay for “What Women Want“). She is both the director and the writer of the screenplay for this movie. I don’t think that I will see any more of her movies anytime soon. In fact, I’ll try to avoid them as much as possible.

After I’ve almost finished this post, I thought that I am getting too negative about the movie. So I went around and tried to find opinions of some other people. Just to compare, you know. And what was my surprise when I came across the revision by Alex Exler, who wrote almost exactly what I did, but in Russian, longer, and better. If you can read Russian, read his revision here.

The Third Wheel

Feeling the need for entertainment, I’ve watched “The Third Wheel” on DVD. Apparetenly, I’ve already seen this film, but totally forgot about it. And I was right. There is nothing so special to remember about it. This is the typical attempt of a comedy about the guy who has problems with his social skills, but who wants to have a date with the most pretty woman in the office. The whole thing is rather regular. Collegues make bets, there is another third guy (wheel) who helps with the date, and a totally happy ending in the, well, end. This is one of the thousands similar movies. Get something else.

There are few celebrities in this movie though, so if you a collector, then you should check it out. Main characters are played by Luke Wilson, Ben Affleck, and Denise Richards. There is also a small part played by Matt Damon, who is by the way the executive producer of this “masterpiece”. There are few more familiar faces, but I don’t bother to remember or to look them up. :)