Review: "11:14"

(2003)

Synopsis: Life changes drastically for everyone at 11:14...

...sounds simple enough, right? Well, not so fast there, Quick-Judge McGee! This movie is layered like an onion grown in Quentin Tarantino's garden... yeah, it's THAT kind of movie. Every character on the screen is somehow connected to the next, and all of their stories (five in all) get traced back to one girl and a bad decision.

Starring Henry Thomas, Barbara Hershey, Hillary Swank, Shawn Hatosy, Colin Hanks, Ben Foster, Patrick Swayze, Rachel Leigh Cook, and Jason Segel, this movie twists you, turns you, flips you over like a pancake and REALLY makes you HATE Rachel Leigh Cook... in a good way - not in that I-Can't-Believe-She-Made-Josie-And-The-Pussycats way.

I saw this movie for the first time two years ago and wondered why it hadn't gotten the support and push from the film company that it truly deserved. Great script, excellent casting, entertaining from the word "go." If "Herbie: Fully Loaded" can get some help in advertising, then "11:14" should have received the same care.

If you're a Tarantino fan, or you like a good mystery, then I HIGHLY recommend this movie.

All smiles on this one! :)

Review: "300"

I'm a history nut, so it's no surprise that my pic for this week would be "300", a movie based on the Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans held off the Persian invasion. Using the imagery of Frank Miller's comic of the same name, this film is epic in it's execution.

In my last post I mentioned that "300" changed the face of film by saying, "this can be done." This may need some explanation.

Since the beginning of film and television, comic books have often been brought to life on the silver/Technicolor screen. More often than not, they don't translate well, and the intensity of the comic becomes laughable, the colors used seem to be too blatant and fake. Comic books are often seen as children's toys with little to no artistic value, and the films carrying their names seemed to have followed suit. Until recently.

"Sin City," "300," and the newest installments of "Batman" have breathed new life in to the tired tradition of comic book movies. They have given the stories credibility. Of course, it helps when you have one of the most talented men to every pen a comic, Frank Miller, at the helm of the artistic vision.

Without a doubt, this film is a smiley face.

Review: "The 400 Blows"

Netflix's synopsis is as follows:

"After young Antoine (Jean-Pierre Léaud) runs away, life on the streets of Paris leads to nothing but trouble and guilt in this gritty feature film debut from legendary director François Truffaut. Though he turns to petty crime to survive, Antoine's remorse often leads him to try to return things he's stolen -- with disastrous results. The film was nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival."

That description is way more enticing than the film. It was slow to start, and I was wondering when the "gritty" underbelly of France was going to be exposed. When the last frame hung still on the screen with a white "FIN" printed boldly, I thought, "so much for grit!" Of course, this film was made in 1959, and my Tarentino soaked mind may be completely jaded when it comes to my definition of "grit." Watching "Rebel Without a Cause" today doesn't hold a candle to when the film debuted. Stories like this weren't made everyday; the idea that anyone would want to feature a troubled boy and his criminal activity - and be sympathetic to his plight - was as far away from happily-ever-after as you could get. For that, this film is a success.

When I think of "must-see" films, I think about how they changed me, or how they changed the face of film. Movies like "Sin City" and "300" shook traditional film to the core and screamed, "this can be done!" I think that "The 400 Blows" fits this statement in that it spits in the face of the saccharine sweet beach-bunny films of the late 50's and early 60's. Not everybody surfs and giggles.

I am indifferent to this film. I neither hated it, nor felt enlightened by it.

My review: indifferent face.

Review: "12 Angry Men"

It's always hinky when a stage play that takes place within one room is translated to film. It can go HORRIBLY wrong, making the best part of the film the part you missed when you excused yourself to go to the bathroom and refill your nacho trough, or it can be flawless in it's transition, as is the case with "12 Angry Men." Not once do you feel claustrophobic, unless that was the intention of the director, and the intensity translates well from 1957 to today. Watching this film, you do feel like you are the 13th juror, constantly reassessing the facts and credibility of witnesses. It also demands that we address a very serious subject: do we care enough about a human life to take the time to strip away prejudice and stereotype to do what's right, even if that means we miss the baseball game that evening?

My rating: smiley face.