Steve Buscemi

Fargo

A few days ago I watched “Fargo” once again. I saw it before, but couldn’t help falling asleep somewhere in the middle. Thanks to many pints of beer beforehand. This time though I was hooked and watch it through. And I really enjoyed it.

Like most other Coen brothers’ films, this movie is funny and sad, easy to watch, but with something to think about. It is an atmospheric masterpiece with splendid visuals. The soundtrack is great as well. Lots of good acting. And somehow, while having very simplistic appearances an slow pace, this film feels rich and enriching.

5 out of 5, highly recommended.

The Island

“The Island” is one of those new movies that everyone has seen except for Olga and me. I rented and watched it, so Olga now is pretty much the only person in the world to miss it.

Directed by: Michael Bay
Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ethan Phillips, Brian Stepanek, Noa Tishby, Siobhan Flynn, Troy Blendell, Jamie McBride, Kevin McCorkle, Gary Nickens, Kathleen Rose Perkins
IMDB raintg: 6.8
My rating: 5.0

But she is not missing a lot. The film is surely overhyped.

This film is very shallow considering the topic it deals with – human cloning. I think that this topic is one of the most philosophical issues of the recent times. There is a lot to discuss. And there are a lot of viewpoints. Also, depending on the point of view, it can be very dramatic. And a very dramatic point of view was chosen for the film – cloning as seen by clones. Those who realise that they are clones that is. But there was no drama. What-so-ever. Ever.

Somehow, the movie managed to be a pure action. There was nothing else – no drama, no romance, no comedy. Nothing. Only action. And while there were some excellent action sequences and special effects in the second part of the film, the first hour or so sucked pretty bad. It was very slow and boring. And I almost fell asleep watching it. Twice.

What made it even worse were all the inconsitences in the film. It looked like those who made this film didn’t believe in what they were showing themselves. Skills and knowledge were appearing and disappearing from people’s and clone’s behaviors. They were swallowing new concepts like they were peanuts. “- You are not humans. You are clones. – Oh, Ok, then. Thanks for telling us.” And stuff like that.

Overall I think that this film is a waste of time and I am glad I didn’t spend my money in the cinema.

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over

Watched “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” with Olga on DVD. Both she and I really enjoyed the first two movies, and both she and I didn’t like this one. Let me explain a bit…

First of all, the expectations. Both the first and the second parts were entertaining, active and in general fantastic. So our expectations were a bit boosted up. Especially mine. And it is always a pity when a movie doesn’t live up to expectations.

Misuse of the resources. This film is full of stars. First and totally undoubtful is the directory himself –
Robert Rodriguez. He proved many times that he knows a lot about how movies should be done, and that he can do movies the right way. Here something went wrong. It felt very empty, lifeless, boring and commercial. Cast for this film has such a long list of well known names that I cannot even remember another movie like this. Among the ones who don’t need no introduction: Antonio Banderas, Sylvester Stallone, Mike Judge, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, and others. I mean there are probably more people you can name without IMDB than in any other movie. And they all have nothing to do there.

The story sucked. It was so pure and transparent that it was very boring. I bet that even kids were falling asleep while watching it. All coolness was gone. Noone was cool anymore. Superheros running towards their grandpa in case of any minor danger. No gadgets. No spy talk. Nothing.

There were plenty of annimation. Actually the whole film is one huge animation with real people in it (supposedly inside a video game). But even this was boring. It wasn’t anything like a computer game. Take for example a scene where they are racing some strange vehicles at magnificent speeds – no thrill and no turns. They drive in a straight line. In which video game was that? :)

Anyway, I have a bunch of complains about this film. I expected it to be in line with the previous two, but it was way off. I will write it off as something Rodriguez wanted to do for his own reasons and I will forget about this film. I’ll rate as 4 out of 10. Save you money and spend them on something else. Watch this on TV when it’ll come… it will help you fall asleep. With your kids.