all righty, here we go...


Troy

well, what can i say, it's always a pleasure to look at brad pitt. the movie is of course, based on the story of helen of troy. brad plays achilles, a warrior for the king of troy. the king really only looks at his wife helen as a possession.

she meets and falls in love the the orlando bloom character, he then spirits her away to his homeland(sorry, can't remember where).

the king is angered and using achilles best friend, convinces him to fight.

it's not a bad movie, and i'm kind of partial to epic types of tales, but it's no gladiator.

i give this two paws up.


elephant

i saw this movie highlighted on the ifc channel and thought it sounded intriquing. it's a colombine type of story where two guys go into their school loaded with weapons, and randomly shoot whoever they come across.

the first hour of the movie is a laborous attempt at showing the main players by following them around, slowly, as they walked through the school and interact with other students, teachers and such. when i say laborous, that's what i mean. it drags on and on, sometimes repeating the same scene but from a different student's perspective.

we've the stereo-typical players: the cool kid who's friendly and liked by everyone, and working on gathering a photographic portfolio for college, the kid who's a bit sensitive because he has to deal with a troubled homelife, mainly his alcoholic father, the jock and his picture perfect girlfriend, who might be pregnant, the spazzy, goofy girl, who's awkward and dealing with negative body issues, and the three "oh my god" girls, who care only about shopping and having fun.

of course, there's also the two shooters, although only one of them is characterized with any depth. he's an artistic soul who draws and spends his spare time playing the piano beautifully.

the film makers hint at stereo-typical, over simplified motives: bullying, admiration of hitler, and even self hatred of homosexual urges(the two "make love" in the shower before heading off to do the deed).

however, this movie is BORING. too many characters were blaise about the event. and the one black guy obviously hasn't ever heard d.l. hugley's bit on "white folks, if you don't know what to do, watch the black people. they'll be the ones running"

it took an hour and fifteen minutes to show something that could have been accomplished in fifteen minutes.

this one gets one paw up only. and that's being generous.


the dancer upstairs

a not so foreign foreign film. meaning, even though it takes place somewhere in south america, was filmed mostly in different areas of south america and spain, it is in english.

directed by john malchovich, this is an intriquing film.

the main character is a police detective, who used to be a lawyer. he worked on a case in which the president(before he became president) had been charged with raping a school girl. dissatisfied with the system, because the president gets away with his crime, he leaves practicing law behind and he becomes a police man, at first charged with working a post on the desolate border. unbeknowst to him, he meets a man who'll he later have to track down.

he soon is promoted and moves to the city as a full detective.

dead animals begin showing up hanging from street signs and lights with revolutionary messages and signed "viva el ezequiel" soon, the messages are punctuated with suicide bombings perpetrated by small children. the detective is put in charge of the case.

killings of prominant public officials begin to happen(in very creative ways) and when the president is assassinated by four school girls in catholic school girl garb, the government steps in and begins to shadow his investigation.

at the same time, he begins to fall in love with his daughter's ballet teacher, and the two spend time together. when he traces ezequiel to the apartment above hers, he tries to save her, only to find she is one of ezequiel's loyal followers.

the photography and scenery are wonderful, and it's an interesting journey to watch the seeds of a silent revolution grow to fruition.

definitely worth a watch, i give this one four paws up.


sky captain and the world of tomorrow

ok, i have to admit, this is another one i didn't think i was going to like. i'm not much into comic books and this is based on one.

however, i loved the melding of the 1940's with the future. although i generally hate anything gweneth paltrow touches, i do love me some jude law and the comic, quick barbing interaction(ala moonlighting) between the two was a hoot. this aspect to me made the movie worth watching.

it's the typical comic book plot, evil guy wants so annihilate/take over the world, and only sky captain can stop him.

the action is fairly non-stop and the special effects and digital scenery are pretty cool. but to me, and sorry to repeat myself, the relationship between sky captain and the nosey reporter ex-girlfriend was the icing on the cake.

i give this three paws up.


the red lantern

this is a foreign film from china. set back in the day of fuedal type lords, an educated girl(unusual for the times) finds herself given to marriage to a stranger. she is one of four wives.

she struggles with the pecking order within the house.

living in separate rooms, but in the same wing of the house, she finds out that when the red lantern is hanging outside a particular woman's room, that is the wife he's favoring at the moment. the favored wife also gets to pick the menu for herself and all the others.

jealous over the favorite wife, she fakes being pregnant. this of course puts her in special favor with her husband, and not only do the red lanterns hang continuously outside her door, and she gets to choose for all the other wives, she is also allowed to beg out of his attention because of her condition.

eventually, when her lie is discovered, she finds herself out of favor permanently with her husband(and the other wives).

i'm fascinated with other cultures and history. this was an in depth look at chinese culture and it's mores, where women were helpless over their own lives and forced into competition with each other and the whims of men. and again, it shows that when women share one man, it can be more trouble than it's worth.

this is a beautifully told story and i give it four paws up and a tail wag.


okie dokie, that's it for today, but i'll be back again.