« May 2008 | Main | July 2008 »
Monday, June 30, 2008 - 10:07:07
Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon weighs in on "The Dark Knight" and notes,"Heath Ledger presents himself as The Joker in a role that defines a career. It is unimaginable it would come to the point that a film based on a comic book character could actually have such an impact on one person. On a generation. Ledger's decent into what is, and has become, The Joker makes Jack Nicholson's interpretation look like nothing more than a simple clown. "Wait until they get a load of me," says Jack... Wait until you get a load of Heath says I."
He continues,
"In terms of comic book film adaptations this is the pinnacle. The argument saying this is the Godfather Part II of comic book movies would insinuate that Batman Begins is on equal terms with the original Godfather, which is far from true. However, if we could call this The Godfather of comic book movies I wait anxiously for what may/will become the film that caps off the trilogy."
Sunday, June 29, 2008 - 09:21:00
MOVIEGOER REVIEW: "WALL-E"Scientists, for the past three decades, have been warning about ozone emissions, carbon dioxide levels, the rising temperature of the earth and humans overwhelming ability to consume at alarming rates thereby creating a state of global warming, pollution and environmental chaos unexpected at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
It may appear upon a first reading that I would be summarizing “An Inconvenient Truth,” the Academy Award-winning documentary featuring former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore. And you’d be correct except that I’m not.
The ramifications of what I’ve written about above set the stage for the year’s most delightful film to date, “Wall-E” from Pixar Animated Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. Set some 800-plus years in the future, the earth has been overrun by trash. Human beings abandoned it by flocking to space aboard a giant ship where they’re chauffeured around in robotic chairs, fat and lazy and ignorant to the world around them.
Back on earth, however, a small robot known as a Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth Class (thus, Wall-E) spends his days gobbling up trashing, smashing into a block and stacking them so high that they appear as buildings from far away. He’s also a curious little fellow, and he collects things in a small red and white cooler and takes them back to his home, an abandoned vehicle of some sort that also serves as a haven from re-occurring sand storms.
Wall-E’s accompanied by his friend, a small cockroach, who spends his days scurrying around the trash-infested wasteland he and Wall-E call home. Until one day, a visitor comes to town. An Extra-Terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator or, EVE, comes in search of plant life that might bring the humans aboard her vessel back home. EVE is a sleek and sexy robot with cold blue eyes whereas Wall-E is rusty and dirty; a figment of the past. Think Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in “The African Queen.”
For the first third of the movie there is no dialogue. A risk in any other film, it’s what makes this film so incredible. We hang of Wall-E’s every move and pay careful attention to the landscape majestically constructed by the thoughtful director Andrew Stanton. He’s created a world that his filthy; an overt nod to the consequences of our current actions. But it is not without hope, thanks to Wall-E, whose curiosity uncovers the vegetation EVE came in search of.
In a year mired by Technicolor burnouts (“Speed Racer”) and environmental mishaps (“The Happening”), “Wall-E” strikes the perfect tone between fear and hope; love and loss. Thus, when I saw the two little robots in love floating through space, Wall-E’s momentum ignited by a fire extinguisher, I was reminded of the beauty of animation and the ability to tell a wonderful story using hardly any words.
Bravo, Mr. Stanton. Bravo.
Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 10:50:03
Lots of new photos from "The Dark Knight" have been released.
Ever been to the movie theater at 3:00 a.m.? According to Wired, fans all across the country are gobbling up tickets to announced midnight showings of "The Dark Knight" (there will be one at the IMAX in Little Rock) that the studio is scheduling additional shows beginning at 3:00 a.m. to meet the demand.
Could "Spider-Man's" $151 million opening-weekend record be in jeopardy? Critics criticizing critics. See this from Jeff Wells at Hollywood-Elsewhere who calls out several of his colleagues for lavishing praise on "Wanted" a film he hated.
Out of bounds? Sasha Stone of Awards Daily on "The Dark Knight,"
"just returned from a screening and I wanted to commit this to a public forum as quickly as possible. Heath Ledger gives a blockbuster performance in the new Batman movie. His work, as The Joker, will absolutely be nominated for an Oscar, and at this point in the year, Ledger is also a hands-down favorite to win it posthumously. Ledger offers perfect pitch, perfect tone, his Joker hits all the right notes. ‘The Dark Knight’ is among the better super-hero movies of all time, and Ledger is THE BEST villain in a super hero movie of all time. Really. It will only add to the conversation of all that Ledger could have accomplished had he lived. Amazing work."
Friday, June 27, 2008 - 16:41:07
For those of you coming directly here, I suggest you check out the conversation/ e-mail battle taking place over "The Love Guru" at the Arkansas Blog. David Koon of the Times has jumped into the mix in response to Philip Martin's column this morning in the Dem-Gaz. Martin responds, and then Millar fires back with a t-shirt. Yes, a t-shirt, on sale through the Rock Candy blog. Talk about rapid response.Movie discussion in Arkansas hasn't been this exciting in . . . I don't know when.
I still haven't seen "The Love Guru" and, because I'd like to laugh again, I'm taking the advice of A.O. Scott of the New York Times and passing on it. Maybe there's an argument to giving everything a shot, but when the Metacritic rankings attached to reviews from Scott, Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal and Dana Stevens of Slate (all well-respected in their craft) equal ZERO, it's hard for me to justify paying to see it. Sorry folks, gas prices are forcing me to make choices (but I'll check out a screener if someone wants to pass it along).
But I did take my money (and a little extra for a Diet Coke) to see "Wanted" which is a roller coaster of a film with curving bullets, dazzling car chases, and Angelina Jolie killing everything in sightl. It's fun, mindless and bloody as hell, if you like that sort of thing, and it's certain get your heart rate up. A thorough search on imdb.com revealed that no one born or residing in Arkansas has any identifiable connection to it.
-
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
RSS Feed |
  |
| © 2004 - 07 Arkansas Times. All Rights Reserved. |  |
