This movie is pretty straight forward. It moves along quickly and effortlessly, and the story progresses well, for the most part. I am however having a rough time digesting it.........I'm not sure if I like it or not so I'm just gonna start with a rundown and see where that leads.
It's a fantasy movie set in England and it carries an 80's British sitcom vibe with it. The dream sequences were very fun to watch with beautiful scenery. But I found myself lost and not caring when they were in the real world. So we'll stick to the basics.....
Christopher Plummer plays Doctor Parnassus, an immortal monk that decades ago sold his sole to the devil (Tom Waits) in order to have the love of his life. They have been locked in a game of soul capturing ever since with the good doctors only daughter as the ultimate prize to the winner of this game. I'm not entirely sure if anyone ever really did win, and that includes the audience. But that's pretty much the plot, there's distracting love triangle that I'm not entirely sure did anything to advance the story. But be it as it may I might not have entirely gotten the directors vision.
There was some goodness to it however. Verne Troyer played the doctor's confidant and sidekick (Percy) and had roll on the ground funny moments. Also Lily Cole played the good doctor's daughter, Valentina, who is the ultimate prize the immortal monk and the devil are fighting over. She was very good in the role, highly believable and a pure joy to watch. I wasn't sold, however, on the other main character, Anton, played by Andrew Garfield. He didn't seem to have much chemistry with the rest of the cast and just didn't fit.
I think the part that I enjoyed the most was that Heath Ledger, Collin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp were all brilliant in their portrayal of the same character. Due to the unfortunate death of Heath Ledger during filming the dream sequences had to be filmed with the other three portraying variations of the main character Tony. All four of them were great in there parts and I was very happy with how seamlessly and believable the four were. They all did such a good job that I never got pulled out of the character no matter who's face it was.
All in all I believe it's worth it to see if for nothing other than the performances delivered in the portrayal of Tony. But don't get your hopes up that you're going to see much else enjoyable in it.
I'll give it 2 out of 5 stars
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Reviewing Shameless
I was a little leery at first when getting ready to watch this because I haven't had much luck with American versions of great British shows. In the states we try to hard to Americanize already good television because it has to fit a format. The Office is a prime example, to replace a comedic genius in Ricky Gervais with the least funny, funny man I believe I've ever seen (Steve Carrell), just to make the character somewhat likeable, was a travesty. Granted the emergence of Dwight (Rainn Wilson) made the show somewhat watchable in my eyes, but it still lacked the uncomfortable greatness of the original. Don't even get me started on the American version of Life on Mars, Ugh!!! that may make me break down and cry.
This, however, was a very pleasant surprise. I laughed more in the first 2 minutes of the pilot episode than I have at a network comedy since Seinfeld. But that's not where the greatness of the show was. The emotion that I felt in every episode, the sympathy that I had towards each character, and the attachment that I developed with them was unexpected. Every character was complex enough that you hated them one minute and wanted them to succeed in everything they ever wanted the next. Some episodes were tear jerking and depressing while others were roll on the ground funny. The swing in emotions that I felt in just a 12 episodes made this instantly one of my all time favorites.
William H. Macy played Frank Gallagher, a father of 6 children but do to his drunken lifestyle was anything but. The responsibility of raising the children fell on the shoulders of his oldest daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum) who selflessly sacrificed herself time and time again for the betterment of the family. The rest of the children all had intricate parts in this poverty level family and did what ever they could to survive. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) had moments where they made you laugh and others where they made you cry but the children that I enjoyed the most were Lip and Debbie.
Lip (Jeremy Allen White) was literally a genius. He would sell his brain for cash on the side, by doing book reports, tutoring, and taking SAT's. However his love for his family kept him grounded in south Chicago. The dynamic between he and his father always made for great television as did his relationship with his girlfriend Karen (Laura Wiggins). Karen is a whole nother story that I would love to get into but I feel you need to discover her for yourself. Her story is hilarious at times but is also tragic and heartbreaking.
Debbie (Emma Kenney) just wanted her fathers love. She would do anything for him and even tho she had a few episodes where she came of as a stark raving lunatic, she had such a big heart. She was a lot more aware of the surroundings than most of the characters who seemed to be blinded by whatever their goals where. Her interaction with Frank, Fiona and Steve (Fiona's boyfriend) were some great television moments.
Other notable characters were Fiona's boyfriend Steve (Justin Chatwin), the neighbors Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton), virgin cop Tony (Tyler Jacob Moore) and neighbor hood bully Mickey (Noel Fisher) and his sister Mandy (Jane Levy) all had shinning moments. However, Sheila (Joan Cusak) stole entire episodes with just one scene much like Alyson Hannigan did at the end of American Pie.
All in all I would give this a 5+ out of 5 stars. The season finale was very weak and lacked a cliff hanger but a couple of episodes during the season really picked up the slack. Most notably the episode Daddyz Girl that literally ran the gamut of emotion. That episode was so good I've watched it alone 6 times, it had moments where I had to rewind and watch again because even at the sixth time watching it I laughed so hard I needed to see it again. It also had feelings of overwhelming sadness towards a couple of characters and joy for others that made it one of the single best hours of television I've personally ever seen.
This, however, was a very pleasant surprise. I laughed more in the first 2 minutes of the pilot episode than I have at a network comedy since Seinfeld. But that's not where the greatness of the show was. The emotion that I felt in every episode, the sympathy that I had towards each character, and the attachment that I developed with them was unexpected. Every character was complex enough that you hated them one minute and wanted them to succeed in everything they ever wanted the next. Some episodes were tear jerking and depressing while others were roll on the ground funny. The swing in emotions that I felt in just a 12 episodes made this instantly one of my all time favorites.
William H. Macy played Frank Gallagher, a father of 6 children but do to his drunken lifestyle was anything but. The responsibility of raising the children fell on the shoulders of his oldest daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum) who selflessly sacrificed herself time and time again for the betterment of the family. The rest of the children all had intricate parts in this poverty level family and did what ever they could to survive. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) had moments where they made you laugh and others where they made you cry but the children that I enjoyed the most were Lip and Debbie.
Lip (Jeremy Allen White) was literally a genius. He would sell his brain for cash on the side, by doing book reports, tutoring, and taking SAT's. However his love for his family kept him grounded in south Chicago. The dynamic between he and his father always made for great television as did his relationship with his girlfriend Karen (Laura Wiggins). Karen is a whole nother story that I would love to get into but I feel you need to discover her for yourself. Her story is hilarious at times but is also tragic and heartbreaking.
Debbie (Emma Kenney) just wanted her fathers love. She would do anything for him and even tho she had a few episodes where she came of as a stark raving lunatic, she had such a big heart. She was a lot more aware of the surroundings than most of the characters who seemed to be blinded by whatever their goals where. Her interaction with Frank, Fiona and Steve (Fiona's boyfriend) were some great television moments.
Other notable characters were Fiona's boyfriend Steve (Justin Chatwin), the neighbors Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton), virgin cop Tony (Tyler Jacob Moore) and neighbor hood bully Mickey (Noel Fisher) and his sister Mandy (Jane Levy) all had shinning moments. However, Sheila (Joan Cusak) stole entire episodes with just one scene much like Alyson Hannigan did at the end of American Pie.
All in all I would give this a 5+ out of 5 stars. The season finale was very weak and lacked a cliff hanger but a couple of episodes during the season really picked up the slack. Most notably the episode Daddyz Girl that literally ran the gamut of emotion. That episode was so good I've watched it alone 6 times, it had moments where I had to rewind and watch again because even at the sixth time watching it I laughed so hard I needed to see it again. It also had feelings of overwhelming sadness towards a couple of characters and joy for others that made it one of the single best hours of television I've personally ever seen.
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