Christina Ricci

I just watched a really powerful movie – “Black Snake Moan“. High quality, and I’m not talking about the DVD copy.

I liked this film from the first seconds. Before it even started, it positioned itself as a blues movie. And I love blues. Gladly, the blues vibe, the atmosphere, and the soundtrack lasted through the whole film. Some great stuff there, with the “Black Snake Moan” song scene being one of the best music scenes I’ve seen in the movies.

I liked the story and the way it was told. It was very worked through. Sometimes predictable, sometimes unexpected, but really followed through. Probably the fact that the director Craig Brewer was also the one who wrote the script has something to do with it.

Also, there was really good acting. Samuel Jackson played a character who was (or at least looked) much older than he is. He did a really good job at that. Christina Ricci, that little girl from the “Adams Family” … well, she’s not little anymore. And she’s steaming hot. But not only that, she is a good actress too. Her character in this movie was rather complicated, but she managed it just fine. Justin Timberlake pleasantly surprised too. I just recently watched a film with him, and he is so different here that I didn’t even recognize him until the closing titles. This guy too can act. And he seems to be picking up quite a lot of practice recently. Also, there were quite a few good supporting actors in the film, so that the whole thing felt like real, like they are indeed inhabitants of a small rural town.

This film, although entertaining, is not purely entertainment. It feels like it was done, because the filmmaker had something to say, something to show. There are a few things to think about during and after the movie…

Overall, a really nice film. Strongly recommended for any fans of good acting, drama, and or blues music. 8 out of 10.

Watched “The Man Who Cried” on DVD. It is amazing how little this movie missed to be on my favourite list. It has to stay with the average ones now. Pity.

Good things about this movie are: story, pace, casting, acting, photography, and music. I liked how one small girl from the first part of the movie was used to bring in three more main characters. That was an interesting move. I liked the acting of all four main actors – Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, and Johnny Depp. All of them did really good jobs, but they weren’t pushed to the limit or anywhere closed. I’ve seen all four of them doing much better.

What I think this movie needs is more dramatism and depth. It almost touched me. But when it almost happend the closing credits started rolling. First half of the movie with the little girl had a lot more sadness and sympathy to it.

I’ll rate it as 6 out of 10. Good, but could have been so much better!