Jarhead- So I'm glad I watched this, but I'm glad it wasn't in the theaters. Obviously, this isn't a war movie, altho marketing it as one was a bad idea. I like the idea of making a movie about the military in a war where no fighting took place. But I felt something was missing. The performances were really good in this movie (esp. Sarsgaard and Foxx) and Mendes never fails with his amazing use of the camera. And I didn't care that there was no war in this war film. That was the point. But that didn't mean it was at all interesting. I think they needed to dig deeper into the psyche of the troops. The dream sequence using "Something in the Way" was a good portrayal of this and so was the scene where Gyllenhaal shoves the M16 in the guys face and then makes him point it at him, but after that, they gave up on the insanity that the military drives troops to with their brutalization in training (done better in Full Metal Jacket.. and yes, iuts fair to draw parallells because they sort of went the same route... start in training camp and glorify killing and war then show what war is really like accept in this case war was non-existent and made the troops feel meaningless.) Overall it was enjoyable and a good viewing, but one time is enough. It doesn't show proise of replay value (which I love in movies because you can pick up new stuff if its worth more than one time deals.) Lastly, you think Sarsgaard has a Desert Storm card of himself in that collection? Let's hope it's not bent like Wolf Blitzer.
Wallace and Gromit:Curse of the Were-Rabbit- I love Wallace and Gromit. Nick Park (creator and director of all those Brit claymations) is a comic genius and an amazing animator. The story is funny and accesible to anyone really. The vocal work of Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bohnham Carter are great additions. Gromit, as always, rocks out and is the best part. The antics that they cause are great and it definitely deserved to take best animated feature Oscar (see next review for reasons why.) Beyond the Academy loving the two characters (as Nick Park has one several times for things like The Wrong Trousers [which is the best W&G ever] and several other short animated things) and the story being really good for a full length version of the usual half-hour W&G's, it really went for it and did a good job all around.
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride- So dissapointing. A cross breed between Beetlejuice and Nightmare Before Christmas, it just didn't work. The story was boring, the songs were not memorable like Nightmare (come on, Elfman! You know you can do better than that!) and it was just all around lame. Even with Christopher Effing Lee and Johnny Depp it was a complete crap fest. The songs were the most dissapointing thing however. The one was just like "Making Christmas" near the end when they are getting ready for the wedding (work song) and the other song was just like the one from Nightmare when the chick whose limbs fall off all the time is singing about Jack! The only thing going for it was the awesome claymation job. Two hot chicks (one dead voiced by HBC [better in W&G] and one voiced by the super cute Emily Watson) an awesome villain chin and great useage of bones and such in the underworld. But that doesn't cut it for me, Burton! I didn't see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but from what I saw and such, Burton has a lot of ground to cover to get back on track (what happened to great stuff like Big Fish!) I think he's lost his touch for greatness, but I'll put him on hold. Don't eff up your next proj, Tim! That's all I'm saying.Next reviews will be Thumbsucker and The Weather Man. I also re-watched History of Violence and still love it. Cronenberg might take Burton's spot on my all-time list if Tim's not careful...
Until next time.
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