Queenbeth - book, movie, music, and restaurant reviews

July 10, 2006

Catching up

I've been interviewing in the last few weeks, so I haven't had much time for updating the site. I had an entire review for The Devil Wears Prada written in my head, and you're going to have to trust me that it was brilliant, because you aren't likely to see it written here. Short take is that I didn't like the way it toned down the pure evil of Miranda Priestley's character from the novel, but I'm happy that it made tons of money so that critics will stop using "chick flick" as an insult.

I also saw Pirates of the Caribbean along with the rest of America this weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised. The movie takes a while to get rolling (no pun, well, maybe some pun intended) but the last hour was completely enjoyable. I liked that so many of the characters from the first were brought back (especially the one who appears at the end), and I'll definitely be in line for the third one.

Posted by bethdeth at 09:25 PM

June 19, 2006

French Action Rules!

After going to see the new Luc Besson-produced movie District B-13, I tried to remember the last American action movie I saw that didn't suck. The first one that popped into my mind was Terminator 2, but that's because I saw it the day after I saw Luc Besson's amazing La Femme Nikita, in what was possibly the best movie-going weekend of my life.

The Matrix, of course, comes to mind, but its reputation is tarnished by the subsequent 2 Matrix films. Spiderman 2 also merits a mention, but it's not a straight up action movie. Die Hard? Predator? Those are even older. What has happened to the American action film?

Now, I don't want to make District B-13 seem better than it is. It's no masterpiece. The plot, about a neutron bomb that has been captured by a group of thugs inside of one of Paris's most dangerous ghettos (The B-13 of the title), is barely adequate to contain the action. But what is more than adequate - in fact, downright awesome - is the action.

To answer my earlier question, one of the problems with the American action film is its over-reliance on CGI. For example, take the scene in The Matrix Reloaded, where Neo fights the hundreds of Agent Smiths. When the actors in the scene look like real people, it's a spectacular fight. But when the CGI takes over towards the end of the scene, it falls apart. Why? Because there's nothing breathtaking about watching pixels fight. The core of a great action sequence is that it looks like it's happening to real people.

District B-13 gets it. Early in the movie, Leito, one of the film's heroes, is running from a group of bad guys, jumping from roof to roof, and flipping across stairwells with breathtaking grace...literally. (In one moment, he slid through a narrow window above a doorway and the entire audience gasped in awe). And it doesn't let up. Director Pierre Morel keeps the right distance from the action, keeping our attention focused on the actors' mad fight skills without distracting editing or cuts (another thing that American directors haven't figured out how to do yet). Later in the film, when Leito and the cop Damien team up to stop the bomb and rescue Leito's kidnapped sister, their perfectly synchronized punches and kicks are exhilarating to watch.

I would never have guessed that the French would be the ones to figure out how to incorporate Hong Kong style into the Western action genre. But maybe I shouldn't be surprised. When I think a little harder about the last action movie I saw that didn't suck, it's not an American one that comes to mind, but another French one - Brotherhood of the Wolf. Maybe American filmmakers should start paying attention.

Posted by bethdeth at 08:34 AM

June 14, 2006

Current Movies

I saw Prairie Home Companion last night. I've never been a big fan of the show. I find it mildly amusing, but not particularly brilliant or witty. I was expecting more from the movie since I am a fan of director Robert Altman. But, the movie experience was about the same as the radio...mildly amusing.

A few things did stand out. Meryl Streep was amazing. Yeah, yeah, she's always amazing, right? But here, I thought she was particularly amazing. Every gesture, move, word, or glance added to her character. I think she is incredibly beautiful, particularly since she hasn't scarred herself with botox, collagen or plastic surgery.

In fact, most of the actors were really fun to watch. Kevin Kline was a perfect "Guy Noir", one of the few characters from the radio show that I enjoy. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly performed a great number called "Bad Jokes", and Tommy Lee Jones was perfect as the "Axeman" from Texas who is responsible for ending the radio show. In fact, Texas was ripped up one side and down the other. I'm sure Keillor enjoyed doing that, and I tried not to hold it too much against him.

But there were long stretches of the movie where I was looking at my watch. If you're not a fan of the radio show, I don't know that I would recommend it.

Last week, I saw The Break-Up. During the long publicity build-up to the movie's opening weekend, I had absolutely no interest in it. I don't particularly like Jennifer Aniston, and I've never watched Friends. (I guess you can put me in Team Jolie). And yet, I decided to go see it a few days after it opened, and I'm glad I did.

The movie wasn't perfect by any means. It's not really a comedy at all, but intersperses comedic scenes throughout the main story of the couple's break-up. The constant shift in tone doesn't quite work. But what does work is the break-up story and Vince Vaughn's performance. The opening scene, where the two characters have a big blow-up leading to the break-up, is painfully realistic. And that was the strength of the movie -- anyone who's ever seen a relationship end can relate to what's happening.

Plus, Vince Vaughn is spot on as the clueless guy who realizes too late that his benign neglect has caused him to lose someone he really values. I was impressed. The other element that I enjoyed was the movie's setting in Chicago. It was fun to see the characters walking along Lake Michigan in the exact spot where I walked last weekend.

Posted by bethdeth at 10:48 AM

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July 10, 2006

Catching up

June 19, 2006

French Action Rules!

June 14, 2006

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