FEATURE COLUMN

Movie Talk with Greg Malmborg

An Entertainment Column

Welcome to Movie Talk, my new bi-weekly column. I want to thank all of you again who took the time to e-mail me your thoughts, comments, and ideas. It was very insightful. I also want to encourage more of you to e-mail me any comments on the topics I discuss or any ideas for the column. And as I said before, I will post some reader comments when I feel it is appropriate and I will run contests from time to time (no prizes, just recognition).

Film Quickies at the Movie Theater

The Matrix Reloaded

OK, so I’m sure most of you have seen The Matrix Reloaded by now. I want your opinions. I have been hearing a somewhat negative buzz from the critics; most reviews are saying it was good but a let down from the original The Matrix. On so many occasions I disagree with the vast majority of critics and this is no different. Most of the reviews are saying it doesn’t hold up to the original. Well, I think it was not only a great film on its own, but also a far superior film than the original. The original Matrix got the story going and introduced us all to these characters and this new reality, but the second one took it all to a whole new level. The effects were better, the action was better, the story became more involved and interesting, the set pieces were more spectacular, and the concept took on new, deeper meaning. I’ve asked around and I’ve received only positive feedback so far, but now I want to ask my readers what they think. Give me a quick review and I’ll post them in the next column.

My rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5

Bruce Almighty

Was I the only one who was surprised by how funny this turned out to be? I’m a Jim Carrey fan, but the previews for this looked terrible. I didn’t laugh once at the previews and even cringed in some parts. I thought this was going to be a huge bomb. I saw Jim Carrey doing some publicity interviews on TV for it and he just seemed to be begging for laughs. It seemed like all of his ambitions to be a dramatic actor had maybe taken his comedic gift away. I thought he lost it. Well, I was hugely mistaken. Bruce Almighty (take away the last fifteen cheesy minutes) was hysterical.  I haven’t laughed that much in a long time at the movies. And it was all Jim Carrey; he just kept me laughing through the whole film. I’ve enjoyed some of his dramatic work but if it takes him away from what he does best, making us laugh, I say dump them.

My rating: 3 stars out of 5    

X2: X-Men United

Sequels are dangerous to make. They are usually either one of two things: retreads of the original or complete trash. It is an extremely rare circumstance when a sequel is good. It is even rarer when the sequel is better than the original. Well, X2 is a very rare movie. It blows the original X-Men (which was a very good film itself) away. X2 has stronger, more exciting action sequences, new and interesting characters, more suspense, clever dialogue, and stronger performances all around. Hugh Jackman was perfectly cast as Wolverine in the first film and in here he has gotten even better. He is Wolverine, he can convincingly be funny and charming one moment, intense and withdrawn the next, and, of course, angry as all hell at the drop of a hat and destroy everything in sight. The rest of the cast is excellent again (well except for James Marsden’s horrid “emotional” scene) and the strongest new addition would definitely be Alan Cummings as Nightcrawler. The opening scene of the movie with Nightcrawler is amazing. I’m definitely looking forward to X3 (and then X4, X5…).

My rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5

Identity

Now here was a film that had broad critical praise that I thought was fairly average. It was interesting, created a distinct mood, and had very strong performances. But I felt the story was a bit weak and the big “twist” was so obvious most of the suspense was gone for me at the halfway point (except just to see if I was right). I’ve never disliked anything John Cusack has done and this film didn’t change that. He was tremendous, as was Ray Liotta. These are probably two of my favorite actors so that’s why I still enjoyed it, but it was also the reason it felt like a disappointment. The critics lauded the story and the big twist, but I felt that was the weakest part. It was the performances and the realistic dialogue that kept this film interesting and entertaining. It was a good film, just not great.

My rating: 2 ½ stars out of 5

Critics

I quite often find myself at the other end of the spectrum than most of the film critics out there. I agree with them on some occasions and I can see their points of view on many others, but far too often I just cannot for the life of me understand their opinions. I say “they” as though they always say the same things and agree with each other constantly, which is of course not true. But I have noticed that the majority of critics actually do agree with each other and almost sound verbatim on their opinions. This means that most critics have the same tastes in film.

So this got me thinking about what my tastes are. My tastes are somewhere on the darker side. I value originality and creativity. I like to be entertained but not treated like a high school drop out with a 3rd grade education. I love independent movies, but not the ones that try so hard to be different and “independent” that they are an absolute chore to sit through. I think most comedies and horror movies today are horrible. Comedies are usually catered to teenagers and horror movies have all the horror taken out. If a comedy makes me laugh throughout it, then I’ll give it a good rating regardless if it’s stupid comedy. Comedy should make you laugh; it’s as simple as that. I believe dramas have gotten better through the years (the past twenty years being the best) and that action movies are just reaching the potential. It seems like most of these critics will give perfect ratings to only independent foreign films that are an absolute chore to sit through. As long as a film has subtitles, odd sexual topics, and horrible lighting and camera work,, than it’s perfect!

A good example is Talk to Her. I’m sorry, but the film was awful! OK, maybe awful is a bit harsh but it was very dull, uninteresting, and was generally a perverted film. Yet it got perfect ratings throughout the critical circle. I just don’t get it. I’m starting to think that most of these critics just watch the first ten minutes of these movies and just go “Oh, a masterpiece!!” and then walk out and go home. The thing is, this is all opinion. That’s all. My point is that there needs to be some new voices in the critical world. We need some new blood.

The Last 30

Well, I got some great responses from my top ten from the last thirty years list.  Most of the readers agreed with me on the Godfather films and actually agreed with most of my other picks.  OK, not all of my picks but some of them.  But they also had a lot of their own additions.  Here are some of the most common additions:

Titanic – Ugh, come on people!  It was cheesy melodrama with decent effects.

Spiderman – It was good, but not that good.  The last half was fairly boring, and the effects were horrible.

Gone with the Wind – Not my cup of tea, that’s all.

Star Wars – The last two movies have put such a bad taste in my mouth for this franchise.

Indiana Jones – Comes close to my top ten, a great adventure film with an actor in his prime.

Jaws – I don’t know what I was thinking, should have been on my list. This is one of the all time greatest films.

Schindler’s List – The Pianist is similar and better in my mind.

Jurassic Park – Great movie, great effects, but just not in my top ten.

The Matrix – Was number 11 on my list.

When Harry Met Sally – Love this film, overlooked it a bit, but still wouldn’t be top ten.

This is John’s list from St. Louis.  I thought this was pretty funny.

1)     Happy Gilmore

2)     Billy Madison

3)     Anger Management

4)     Mr. Deeds

5)     The Waterboy

6)     Little Nicky

7)     Big Daddy

8)     Punch Drunk Love – weird though

9)     The Hot Chick

10) Terms of Endearment… yeah, right!

Ah, the intellectuals! And, come on, anyway! Mr. Deeds and Little Nicky were freaking awful! You know that! And The Waterboy was the best with Anger Management and Billy Madison close behind. “Gatoraaaade!”

I would love to hear from more of you on what you thought of my picks and what your top ten of the past 30 years would be. E-mail me at gregm99@hotmail.com.

Film Quickies at the Video Store

Spirited Away – I unfortunately missed this amazing, unique, animated masterpiece when it was in U.S. theaters. Well, if you also missed it when it was out, run out to the video store tonight and rent it. There is a good reason why this won the Best Animated Oscar of the year 2002. It is spectacularly inventive, visually stunning, and moving.

My rating: 4 stars out of 5

National Security – Is there really all that much to say about this movie? It was stupid, unfunny, and I felt really bad for Martin Lawrence (OK, not really). What ever happened to this guy? I actually remember when he was funny, now he’s just extremely irritating to watch. Steve Zahn is funny in his thankless role but I don’t know whom he pissed off to get stuck in this mess.

My rating: 1 star out of 5

25th Hour – Spike Lee’s haunting, riveting reflection on a life wasted is very moving and visually rich. The performances are all amazing, the whole cast should have been up for Oscars. Ed Norton is truly magnificent and is etching out a stellar acting career for himself. He will be one of the all time greatest actors in film history.

My rating: 4 stars out of 5

I’ll leave off every column with a movie recommendation (either currently in theaters or on the video shelf).

My recommendation for today: 

Brotherhood of the Wolf – Earlier, I mentioned how much I value creativity and innovation in film. Well, it doesn’t really get any more creative than Brotherhood of the Wolf. It’s intensely entertaining and action-packed horror-dramedy (huh? yeah exactly) with some great martial arts sequences and some nice, spooky thrills. The performances are interesting and memorable. There are monstrous beasts eating people, kung fu fighting Indians, mysterious prostitutes, cults, period costumes, and the whole thing is in French with English subtitles. Trust me, you’ll love the ride!

Talk to you again soon,

Greg Malmborg

gregm99@hotmail.com

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