romance

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.

Around the World in 80 Days

I was waiting to see “Around the World in 80 Days” for some time now. I thought it had a potential to be one of very good movies. It turned out I was right. It is an excellent movie for both kids and adults. There is an interesting and well-known story behind it, which has everything – adventures, action, love, friendship, humor, and whatever else you want. But not only the story is great. The realization of that story in this film is great. It is almost perfect (except for a bit longish ending, but who counts?). And it is way better then I expected.

There are so many stars in this movie that you will not beleive it when you see them coming. Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour”,”Shanghai Noon”), playing Passepartout brings in lots of action. All his regular fighting tricks taken to yet another extreme. Arnold Schwarzenegger (“Terminator”,”The Running Man”) reminds everyone what a “great” actor he is. Rob Schneider (“The Animal”,”The Hot Chick”) is there too with some cheap humour. Luke Wilson (“Charlie’s Angels”, “Old School”) and Owen Wilson (“Behind Enemy Lines”, “Shanghai Noon”), who are actually brothers, appear in a small episode as Wright brothers. Even John Cleese of Monty Python’s fame shows up. These are just a few…

Computer graphics and decorations design deserve a special mention. They bring back the magic of Disney animations from back when those guys did something fascinating. Mutation waves between movie and animation are mostly used to glue days together and they look really nice, causing a “Wow!” from the somewhat younger audience in the cinema.

Overall, I would easily give this movie a 8.5 (closer to 9) out of 10. DVD with this film should be a nice addition to a home collection and nice family time passing.

Troy

I’ve went to the movies today to see “Troy” finally. Despite of all the critiques and comments I haven’t been disappointed. Not at all. It’s a very good movie and deserves to be seen. Maybe even more then once.

“Troy” is for sure a cinema film. It was done for a big screen and good sound. It’s historic, atmospheric, romantic, and … everything else. The story, while not completely following the history and legends (so Hollywoodish) is still interesting and dramatic. No happy end. Although they tried to make one. :) Battles are spectacular and it seems they try to match the scale of those we’ve seen in Lord Of The Ring trilogy. “Troy” battles are not that overwhelming, but pretty good never-the-less.

There is a lot of good acting. Brad Pitt is excellent as usual, but all the others do match him. This happens, but it is rare.

I like pretty much everything else about the film too – soundtrack, costumes and scenery, martial arts. The duel of Achilles and Hector leaves the feeling of satisfaction similar to Neo and Morphius fights in Matrix. Very good.

Maybe I will go see it once more, though 3 hours are tiring even with 2 breaks. We’ll see. :)

Gigli

Having nothing better to do, watched “Gigli” on DVD, which turned out to be a much better movie then IMDB was rating it. Well, it was not something I would defenetely recommend, but it was a rather OK movie. The plot was rather boring with no action what-so-ever, but acting was very well done at times.

Few moments that stand out are:

Jennifer Lopez getting in Ben Affleck’s apartment
Jennifer’s and Ben’s sex talk over yoga
Al Pacino’s monolog (as usual)

These three scenes make this movie worse watching during the boring night, before yet another Friday. :)

Cold Mountain

null Yesterday we went to see “Cold Mountain“. Both Olga and I are very impressed. Still. :)

There are not that many films that make you think how wars really suck. Sure there is usually a lot of shooting and shouting, but the atmosphere is totally wrong. “Cold Mountaint” doesn’t have lots of shooting and shouting. But it makes you hope that you never see a real war. No matter how far people are from the battlefields – they still suffer, they still change.

The film is excellent as a whole. Soundtrack is great. Plot is great. Acting is great. And it doesn’t come as a surprise. Most of the people who worked on the film, are very well known. Producer – Anthony Minghella, the same guy who produced “English Patient” and “Talented Mr. Ripley“. Main roles were played by Jude Law (“Enemy at the Gates“), Nicole Kidman (“Moulin Rouge!“), Renï¿½e Zellweger (“Me, Myself & Irene“).

This film is not something that I want to have on DVD, but it’s a definite must see.