Sione, Tremell and V
Sione's Wedding
Wow - I was one of the few people I know who wasn't all that impressed by what I considered immature and unimaginitive trailer content, but in the context of the film it all works REALLY well. Seriously. See this movie. It's fuckin' hilarious.
B, or 3.5 out fo 5
Basic Instinct 2
Wrote a review here, and the writing of said review is the only reason why I attended the screening. I didn't expect something good. But... it's the entertaining kind of bad. Honestly. And it wasn't boring crap like Underworld: Evolution, it was actually compelling in parts and I didn't feel like walking out at all, which was a surprise.
A generous C- or 2 out of 5 because the more it sucked, the better it was.
*If you haven't seen V For Vendetta yet, don't read the rest of this post until you do.*
V For Vendetta
I didn't give the above warning because this passage is filled with spoilers. There are some VERY MINOR things mentioned that spoil LITTLE BITS, but that's not the point. I said it because I don't like telling people that a highly-buzzed movie is really great before they see it on the basis that raising already-high expectations can turn even a "very good" movie into somewhat of a disappointment. Sin City was one such example for me; a film which after repeat viewings grew on me immensely, but which I was unhappy with after first seeing it when it failed to live up to my expectation that it would be a "classic" as per its IMDB rating and pre-release buzz.
The negative:
V is a flawed film. There's sloppy writing in terms of coincidences (V meeting Evey, then her working at the right place to help him escape the next day; a scientist from Larkhill happening to speak to Steven Rea's character in her role as a coroner JUST BEFORE they learn who she really is through unrelated means, and just before she's "taken care of" by our masked hero).
Then there's the letter Evey reads from Valerie, a former captive at Larkhill, in which her life before the rise of the evil government is described in a way which reminded me of Team America's satirical description of a pre-American-invasion of Iraq as a place where the rivers were made of chocolate and everyone was happy and free. Seriously: I know they're trying to put a human face on what happened at Larkhill and the effects on people's lives of the government's control in general, but unrealistically romanticised elements in this backstory didn't exactly add to the film's genuinity. And the flashback where we see her parents' overly-stereotypical reactions to her coming-out seemed amateruish as well in its attempts to make us "feel for her" and believe more strongly in the idea of being true to oneself regardless of what might happen (a recurring concept in the film). The sequence wasn't up to the skill seen in crafting the rest of the film.
The positive:
Everything else. It gains more and more momentum as it goes and the finale is spectacular. The balance between the story of V as an idea and V as a person is, for the *most* part well-balanced. It's cool. Mr. Rea and Mr. Fry are awesome. The vision of the future isn't that far-fetched (just add where the EU is justifiably-feared to be headed by many, the anarchy in New Orleans last year and our tendency to not learn from past mistakes in human history - and BANG, you're there) making things all the more interesting. And while this film isn't quite up to the brilliance of another fight-against-a-future-vision movie Brazil (which I have no hesitation in declaring a masterpiece because movies that good can't not live up to expectations, no matter how high), it's pretty fucking awesome.
A strong B+ or 4 out of 5.
w00t! So glad it was all I hoped for. Seems like a lot of high-profile movies recently (Batman Begins, Revenge Of The Sith etc.) are actually meeting or beating expectations which makes a change from years of constant disappointments. For George Lucas AND The Wachowski Brothers to go from Jar-Jar and the Matrix sequels to their most recent efforts is indeed a good sign. Maybe even a miracle if you believe in that sort of shit.
Google
Wow - I was one of the few people I know who wasn't all that impressed by what I considered immature and unimaginitive trailer content, but in the context of the film it all works REALLY well. Seriously. See this movie. It's fuckin' hilarious.
B, or 3.5 out fo 5
Basic Instinct 2
Wrote a review here, and the writing of said review is the only reason why I attended the screening. I didn't expect something good. But... it's the entertaining kind of bad. Honestly. And it wasn't boring crap like Underworld: Evolution, it was actually compelling in parts and I didn't feel like walking out at all, which was a surprise.
A generous C- or 2 out of 5 because the more it sucked, the better it was.
*If you haven't seen V For Vendetta yet, don't read the rest of this post until you do.*
V For Vendetta
I didn't give the above warning because this passage is filled with spoilers. There are some VERY MINOR things mentioned that spoil LITTLE BITS, but that's not the point. I said it because I don't like telling people that a highly-buzzed movie is really great before they see it on the basis that raising already-high expectations can turn even a "very good" movie into somewhat of a disappointment. Sin City was one such example for me; a film which after repeat viewings grew on me immensely, but which I was unhappy with after first seeing it when it failed to live up to my expectation that it would be a "classic" as per its IMDB rating and pre-release buzz.
The negative:
V is a flawed film. There's sloppy writing in terms of coincidences (V meeting Evey, then her working at the right place to help him escape the next day; a scientist from Larkhill happening to speak to Steven Rea's character in her role as a coroner JUST BEFORE they learn who she really is through unrelated means, and just before she's "taken care of" by our masked hero).
Then there's the letter Evey reads from Valerie, a former captive at Larkhill, in which her life before the rise of the evil government is described in a way which reminded me of Team America's satirical description of a pre-American-invasion of Iraq as a place where the rivers were made of chocolate and everyone was happy and free. Seriously: I know they're trying to put a human face on what happened at Larkhill and the effects on people's lives of the government's control in general, but unrealistically romanticised elements in this backstory didn't exactly add to the film's genuinity. And the flashback where we see her parents' overly-stereotypical reactions to her coming-out seemed amateruish as well in its attempts to make us "feel for her" and believe more strongly in the idea of being true to oneself regardless of what might happen (a recurring concept in the film). The sequence wasn't up to the skill seen in crafting the rest of the film.
The positive:
Everything else. It gains more and more momentum as it goes and the finale is spectacular. The balance between the story of V as an idea and V as a person is, for the *most* part well-balanced. It's cool. Mr. Rea and Mr. Fry are awesome. The vision of the future isn't that far-fetched (just add where the EU is justifiably-feared to be headed by many, the anarchy in New Orleans last year and our tendency to not learn from past mistakes in human history - and BANG, you're there) making things all the more interesting. And while this film isn't quite up to the brilliance of another fight-against-a-future-vision movie Brazil (which I have no hesitation in declaring a masterpiece because movies that good can't not live up to expectations, no matter how high), it's pretty fucking awesome.
A strong B+ or 4 out of 5.
w00t! So glad it was all I hoped for. Seems like a lot of high-profile movies recently (Batman Begins, Revenge Of The Sith etc.) are actually meeting or beating expectations which makes a change from years of constant disappointments. For George Lucas AND The Wachowski Brothers to go from Jar-Jar and the Matrix sequels to their most recent efforts is indeed a good sign. Maybe even a miracle if you believe in that sort of shit.
posted by Steve @ 5:26 PM
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