Quick Reviews

The Producers (2005, dir. Stroman) - Okay, so sue me. I don't care. I loved this movie. I really do regard the time I saw the Broadway version (er, obviously with the Australian cast) as one of the top 5 funniest movies/tv shows/plays I have ever seen. And while the movie was as funny, it was still great. Loved most of the musical numbers ("Keep it Gay", "Springtime for Hitler" and "If You've Got It... Flaunt It" being my faves) and the sets and costumes and all of that. Performances were a mixed bag. I liked Nathan Lane but Matthew Broderick was strange. Uma was alright, as was Will. Gary Beach and Roger Bart were hysterical (I don't care about the whole extreme gay stereotype thing cause they're obviously like that for maximum laughs. it's not some bad token gay character in a romantic-comedy). I had a ball with this film, which is something that has been sorely lacking this year. Outright pure fun! B+

Mr & Mrs Smith (2005, dir Liman) - Okay, so sue me. I don't care. I loved this movie. Sound familiar? Ya, this is another one of those movies that seems to be hated by a lot of filmy type people but when I saw it at the cinema I was so surprised how much I enjoyed it. It was just great fun. The other night a bunch of us were at Rosey's place and decided to watch it and i was SO glad that I liked it just as much as last time. Yes, there are plot holes galore, the thing is incredibly silly and you could spend hours questioning the issues of domestic violence (blah), but I (and all my friends) just had so much (here it is again) FUN. Yes, it actually is fun to watch Brad and Angelina blow shit up. It's fun watching then walk around all sexy being sneaky. It's fun watching them trade zingers tit for tat. It's fun watching Angelina strut through her house with a big mother of a rifle blowing holes through the walls. It's one of those movies that I can see why they're disliked by some but I don't gives a rats ass. A-

Land of the Dead (2005, dir. Romero) - Okay, this is sad. George A. Romero (aka one of the legends of the horror genre) decides after 20 odd years to make the long-promised fourth film in his "Dead" trilogy. However, it came roughly after one after the second film in the original trilogy was remade (by Zach Snyder) and became one of the best horror films of the decade thus far. Alas, Romero's film came in with barely a whimper (I was legitimately shocked to remember that this film was indeed released in 2005) and was gone before I knew it. Finally got a chance to see it and said Romero remake from 2004 (Dawn of the Dead incase you can't remember) remains the best Romero film of the decade. Land is so bad. Just... not good at all. It's sad because Night of the Living Dead is one of my all-time faves and it's sad to see Romero's franchise get to this level whilst he is still in control. There is not one scary moment in the movie, all the characters are either wholely unlikable (John Leguizamo, playing the "badass" thing to annoying degrees and failing spectacularly) or extremely uninteresting (Simon Baker is his second baaad horror movie of the year after The Ring Two). The gore is way too over-the-top and the action sequences are about as thrilling as a bowl of pasta. What happened to Dennis Hopper btw? C-

Now some older movies.

The Lodger (1927, dir. Hitchcock) - Nice little early Hitchcock thriller. It's a silent movie and I am pretty unversed in silent films but I liked this one. Story is very strong and... well, i dunno. I don't know how you're meant to critique a movie like this. I enjoyed it and that's all I can say. One of the main problems I have with silent films is the music. Because there's (obviously) no dialogue to break up the sound, the constant music usually drives me crackers. But, whatever, this is now, like, the sixth silent film I've ever seen so yay for me! Plus, it's Hitchcock and it's always good expanding on a director's filmography. B

Saving Private Ryan (1998, dir. Senor Spielbergo) - Finally watched this movie for the first time in it's entirely (seen large portions but never the whole thing). Really good, but still problematic. However, the action scenes are great (if too realistic at times, my eyes were shut for a mere few images), the dialogue scenes were well done and it didn't feel like one of Spielberg's recent movies. Such a funny cast to look at now, too. B+

btw, I still say Shakespeare in Love is the better movie.

(tiny tiny comments)

Bambi (1942, dir. Hand) - Man, such a great beautiful movie. A-

Mean Girls (2004, dir. Waters) - God, this movie is brilliant. The first 45 minutes are absolutely hysterical. Everything about it is hysterical. Shame it gets all serious, but really - small niggles when the movie is wonderful like it is. B+

I really need to see The Thin Red Line. Much like Private Ryan I haven't seen it in it's entirety. However I've seen even less than I had seen of Ryan (in the shower)