Movie Log: January

January 3rd: Jurassic Park

Myself, Alisha, and Tom watched this for all of ours umpteenth time while on vacation at Tom's River House. I still think it is a great movie and has some of the best special effects I've ever seen, even by today's standards which is saying something since it is 14 years old.

January 11th: National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets (NC)

The first Nick Cage film of the new year. It boasted a noticeably similar plot to the first film, but was still vastly entertaining. I preferred the first film, but Charles and Thom favor the second. The other nice thing is that it has almost nothing to do with the first film other than character relationships so you can watch them out of order.

January 14th: Wedding Crashers

I was bored and felt like watching this again. Funny. Hot babes. Boobs.

January 17th: Leaving Las Vegas (NC)

I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Though it is a romance movie, which I despise, it of course is separated from the pack because of Nick Cage being the most intense alcoholic I've ever seen on screen and Elisabeth Shue being a prostitute, and one of the hottest ones I've ever seen. It had a great soundtrack, mostly composed by the director, who also adapted the screenplay from the book. I really enjoyed the storyline and the cinematography. It also serves as one of those handful of Cage performances where he doesn't play the usual self-assured, witty leading man. He's extremely damaged and vulnerable throughout the film. I'd highly recommend it assholes.

January 18th: Cloverfiled

Though I've been anticipating this film for a long time, I still did not expect it to be as good as it was. The special effects are flashy, the 9/11 allusions are obvious, and the actors are sub par, but what is so effective, is the utter realism of this film. In the context of "What if a monster attacked New York?", it is extremely effective in illustrating the panic of it all. The fact that you don't see much of the monster and it focuses on the destruction and the fear of the people we follow, makes it all the more compelling. The cinematography, the suspense, and the fact that you have one fixed perspective the entire time, makes this one of the best action and/or monster film I've ever seen. Plus, Thom got so sick that he had to leave. Granted, it was motion sickness, but any movie that makes you nauseous is good in my book.

January 19th: The Rock (NC)

As a kid, I had always wanted to see this film but never got around to it. Though it was entertaining to a degree, I was overall disappointed by this movie. I like Sean Connery more than I usual do, but I felt Ed Harris was weak and Nicolas Cage's character was one of the worst I've seen. He had his cocky, funny moments, but they were really breaking character as he was more often a nervous, unsure personality who doesn't find his strength till the end. The best part of the film is the end which blew me away how similar it was to National Treasure. I propose a sequel to The Rock that is a prequel to National Treasure.

January 20th: Pleasantville

The WB was showing this last night and my curiosity of how it held up led me to watch the whole film (commercial breaks and all). At first, I scoffed at how corny it was (not the 1950s setting, but the film's depiction of high school students in the 90s which topped Clueless in cheesiness). The deeper I got into the film, the better it got. I forgot how absolutely stunning it looked when they add color to certain things in the black and white world. On top of that, where several great shots of J.T. Walsh as Big Bob, the mayor of Pleasantville. One sets him in front of a giant lit bowling scoreboard where he gives an impassioned speech on the tragedy of wives not making dinner and burning shirts with irons that came off as a mix between Patton in front of the American flag and Hitler in front of the Nazi one. This is repeated when he gives a court room speech with an askew shot straight from Triumph of the Will. The fascists elements and the comparisons to 1950s and 60s America where the "coloreds" aren't allowed in certain stores and sit in separate seats in the court, added story elements I had either forgotten or completely missed as a kid. If you haven't seen this film in awhile, I suggest you do. And though I've already written more about Pleasantville than any other movie, I have to add one of my favorite nerd moments: At the beginning, Tobey Maguire's character is shown talking to a girl he likes. It shows repeated cuts to her as if she is listening and responding, but we soon find that she is across the way talking to her boyfriend (who is wearing a flannel button-down shirt that is wide open and has the sleeves cut off). This is almost exactly what happens 4 years later in Spider-Man between Peter and Mary Jane. On top of that, Maguire's 1950s character is named Bud Parker.

January 21: The Tiger and The Snow (UF)

Though I'd wanted to see this film for awhile, after 30 minutes I just couldn't take it. It's not a bad movie, but there was just something utterly boring about it. Perhaps it was my mood, but more likely it was the fact that the whole atmosphere of the film is that of a happy dream. Roberto Benigni's character is hilarious and cameos by Jean Reno and Tom Waits seem like the perfect formula, but the plot weaved in and out of so many situations and relationships and every time there should have been conflict, there was some happy circumstance. I'd love to finish it, but for now I need something a little less whimsical.

January 22: Resident Evil: Extinction

It could be that it's the film version of a video game; not in the sense of Tomb Raider or Super Mario Bros. being adapted into awful films, more like Crank and Shoot 'Em Up being the equivalent of a video game on the big screen. It could just be a gorgeous woman in combat boots and a red dress with no bra running around destroying zombies. Whatever it is, I like the Resident Evil films. Well, the first two. The third film started with the promise of the same action/horror of the first two but eventually fell victim to psychic powers and tentacle fingers that, along with the ever weakening plot and the poor characters and actors (including Ali Larter who's already reeked havoc on Heroes), drove the film quickly down hill in the second act. Upside: Milla Jovavich in sexy post-apocalyptic/Western garb wielding twin machetes. Downside: Everything else.