Last year’s big CGI films didn’t quite deliver to their expected levels, but were good enough to be considered as popcorn favorites. Let’s hope this years big blockbusters like Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, X-Men 3, Indiana Jones IV, Die Hardest and X-Files 2 deliver. Great another year of part 2, 3, and even 4’s, don’t get too excited about what 2006 blockbusters have in store for us.
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A list of films from 2005 that most definitely deserves a dark room and a big bag of popcorn.
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Constantine: Imagine we are all chess pieces that the forces of good and evil use to play with. Constantine takes the depths of hell and brings it to our T.V. as if LA was on fire and the freeway is Hell Central. Based on the characters from Vertigo “Hellblazer” a comic book, Constantine takes the audience from the illustrated page directly to a dark, gothic, and somewhat comedic cinematic experience. Some of the scenes could easily be turned into a vivid graphic novel that captivates its readers and puts them into a trance. Unfortunately, fans of Alan Moore, Jamie Delano, and Garth Ennis’s might be a little disappointed with Constantine’s punchy plot, freakish monsters, and stiff main actor Keanu Reeves as the antihero John Constantine.
Sin City: I went into this film as a novice, never read a comic book and barely skim through graphic novels; I was open for anything. Sin City is, from what I have researched, an exact play by play of the comic itself.(check out SIN CITY: From The Comics to the Screen) Don’t go into this thinking your going to get something different and original. A spectacular twist on Frank Miller’s short stories, nope your getting what you already read, but in film noir style. Where Sin City doesn’t deliver on content variations from the original works, it tries to make up in style, way to go Robert Rodriguez(one of the directors). Got to give it props for the black and white with an occasional color look, it helped the film move along.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Even though Hitchhiker’s Guide doesn’t live up to expectations and needs a little more British slap stick, it’s still worth a gander. Full of pleasing sci-fi and cheesy special effects and with the talents of Sam Rockwell and Martin Freeman, it’s a riot and will keep you on your toes.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith: It’s done, the last one! How Sad, it took George Lucas some 20 years to complete his legacy and it only took Peter Jackson less than half the time to accomplish his. Half the time with better quality acting, writing, sets and CGI; but we are not here to talk about LOTR, we are here to critique Revenge of the Sith. In comparison, the last installment is awesome, but still shares the same character flaws as Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
Batman Begins: A new Bruce Wayne, a young Bruce Wayne played by the mysterious and handsome Christian Bale and directed by Christopher Nolan (dark film mentor such as Memento and Insomnia), fitting to the darkness of the beginning of the end for Gotham City. A rough and dark batman in the series, not as lighthearted and joking as some of the past and definitely more villainous and vicious. All characters fit, but one, Katie Holmes, luckily her role is so small that she doesn’t ruin the film. Acting power such as Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman add to the quality and the experience and the significance to how it all began is popcorn watching intrigue.
War of the Worlds: Be prepared to be abducted and flung into an all out, heart stopping, teeth clenching 50’s style sci-fi movie of the year. Be warned, War of the Worlds is scary all day; there is a 10 minute reprieve in the very beginning, but the rest is constant fear. The sounds and look of the tri-pod creatures, mixed with the unbelievable terror on the character’s faces while being wiped off the face of the planet is enough to make you freak out every time a lightening storm comes to town.
Serenity: For true Joss Whedon fans, this film is pure pleasure, sci fi at it’s finest. Sure there are a few hiccups to the storyline and characters, but overall guilty pleasure doesn’t need any explanation.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: It’s time for Harry to start doing things on his own. The Goblet of Fire gives the audience a look to things to come with Harry, Ron & Hermione. The 3 characters are now teenagers and begin their journey into self-acknowledgment and how they fit into the scheme of things. Harry is entered into the Triwizard Tournament completely by surprise and this chore makes him compete on his own, which leaves out the dynamic trio’s group effort to save the day. Ron & Hermione’s relationship starts to evolve through their little arguments. Hermione lets out a little secret to Ron during the Winter Yuletide Ball about her true feelings and how he should have asked her to the ball before somebody else did. The old-timers, Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall, and Snape, usually concern themselves a great deal with Harry and his well being, but in The Goblet they didn’t have much to do with him. There were a few moments between Harry and the professors, but overall they were side notes in the whole scheme of things.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: A few mistakes in the special effects, but overall great story and keeps with the book. Kids loved it and adults where intrigued. It’s a moment to escape in a big dark theater, an escape into another realm with half-animal and human creatures, an evil ice queen and a powerful lion as a king, both death and war comes together to end in happiness and the promise of further stories to come.
King Kong: Just to ruffle a few feathers with my fellow Razorfine critics (and give you a different perspective), I’m going to try to take the high ground and be positive. Which wont be easy given the film is way too long, and there are massive issues with construction, characters, plot, story, and well….hell just about everything. But let’s not forget that this film is make believe, and was created to entertain the masses. And folks, critics are not the masses. We have become overbearing and extremely judgmental in our movie going experiences, and see things for what they really are instead of the fantasy world this type of entertainment is made for.
People will hate the fact that it takes roughly an hour to see Kong, and they have to spend so much time getting to know characters that they don’t give a shit about (nor will they). They want Kong. Jackson, what is wrong with you? People want 10 maybe 20 minutes of character building and then you need to give them the juice. Audiences are going to drool, squirm, eek, scream and jump at every monster that pops out and either crushes, devoirs or decapitates the ship’s crew. The audience won’t notice Kong comes in various sizes, or that his face never quite matches up. They won’t catch on to a New York playwright becoming a master of the jungle and conquers all odds to save the girl only to get back to the ship in 10 minutes. And really, who is going to see the vast difference in the CGI quality Jurassic Park has over Kong in the dinosaur scenes?