Enchanted
The sweet silliness of the Disney animated fairy tale landscape meets the rough reality of New York City? Why didn’t someone think of this sooner and pull it off as perfectly as Enchanted does? Don’t expect any grand philosophies on life beyond "ain’t true love grand?" and "there's no reason to be so damn bitter about everything," but as a way to pass a couple hours in movie bliss, you can’t go wrong. Plus, Enchanted is an example of an even rarer cinematic creature: the movie completely suitable for both kids and grownups. Everyone’s happy, and it doesn’t even suffer from that terrible tinge of being "good for you" in any way. It’s like junk food you won’t get a tummy ache from eating too much of.
Banished from her animated kingdom by a wicked queen (Sarandon), chirpy young princess Giselle (Adams) is thrust into the real world where she awaits rescue by her charming Prince Edward (Marsden). But an encounter with a single father (Dempsey) and his young daughter (Covey) brings her down to earth.
Beginning as a so-over-the-top-it’s-genius parody of Disney’s own back movies, the cartoon section introduces Giselle as a parody of every animated heroine in the studio’s history. In our world she’s less fish out of water than nut out of rehab, the adorable conceit being that the rules of her realm still apply in ours, so that a whistle-while-you-work style song with real vermin instead of cute forest animals is a genuinely funny highlight.
Some out of nowhere casting choices enliven the movie. Clearly bolstered by his Grey’s Anatomy resurgence, Dempsey is in his romantic leading man status and the hilarious Amy Adams, who owns this film, makes for a winning and extremely likeable heroine. Sarandon doesn’t get much to do, but who knew James Marsden was so damn funny? Call me crazy, but I think Adams should be nominated for something for this.
Only a somewhat overcooked dragon finale that threatens to tip us into King Kong territory disappoints, but there’s always room for that happily ever after, leaving Enchanted as a hugely enjoyable slice of fun, cute without being annoying and clever without being overly sarcastic.
A-
Beowulf
Like Angelina Jolie in permanent gold CGI high heels, the computer animated epic of Beowulf will get your blood pumping. While not a flawless film, Beowulf has accomplished something great. Not only has Zemekis proved that animation can transcend audiences, assaulting viewers with its adult content, but with Beowulf he proves that computer animated films can be very adult, and actually quite scary.
Adapted from some story or poem long ago, or whatever, Beowulf (Ray Winstone) tells the story of a legendary Viking hero who arrives on some shore somewhere to purge the kingdom of a horrid monster, Grendel (Crispin Glover). However Grendel is far from the darkest creature plaguing the countryside, and Beowulf soon encounters a being far more manipulative, promising through its treacherous evil hedonistic pleasures of lust, riches, strength and power. Like King Hagarth before him, Beowulf’s greed plunges the kingdom into misery and darkness, forcing the unrelenting warrior to atone for his sins in order to protect what he holds true in his heart.
Translating the dense, highly symbolic tale into mainstream, popcorn entertainment will most likely cause 7th grade English teachers to cringe, but with their tight adaptation and Zemeckis’ awesome vision, Beowulf comes to life in a way that not only anyone can enjoy, but will leave audiences having fun.
Structurally the film doesn’t flow as smoothly as other modern epics, like Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy; in fact the film’s opening is rather jerky. It isn’t until the first appearance of the title character that the narrative begins to settle, after which point the picture come into itself.While the performances are solid, especially Ray Winstone’s captivating presence as Beowulf, one can’t help but feel there was something lost in translation after the layer of computer animation was applied to the actors. While Zemeckis has honed his technology, correcting many of the mistakes found in Polar Express, there is one thing the motion capture process has still not been able to capture, and that is the emotive presence of horses, or rather humans moving on horses. If you've seen this film, you know what I'm talking about. They still havent perfected people looking normal or realistic riding on animals.
This is not your parent’s 3D computer animation; this is something wholly new, and seeing a seasoned filmmaker take advantage of the extra dimension is a joy for anyone who has ever found pleasure in going to the movies.
A visual masterpiece, Beowulf makes up for its narrative flaws by creating an experience the moviegoer has never seen before.
B
The Mist
In The Mist, writer-director Frank Darabont’s third adaptation of a Stephen King work, the awfulness of acting that is-Thomas Jane, plays illustrator David Drayton who we meet on the night of a horrible storm in the small Maine town where he lives with his family (in the film's most clever nod to King fans, Drayton is seen finishing a drawing for a Dark Tower book in the opening scene). After the storm, Drayton and his son head with their neighbor (Andre Braugher) to a local store to buy supplies and prepare for the clean-up. While they're shopping for necessities with nearly half the town’s population (including Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, and William Sadler) who all apparently had the same idea, a bizarre mist rolls in from out of nowhere.
When a man emerges from the freaky fog screaming and bloody, the shoppers start to get nervous. When the giant bugs and tentacles show up quickly thereafter, it’s a blue-light-special on fear, Alien-style. And then things get interesting in the store itself, which, is really the last thing that Drayton and his embattled neighbors need at that point.
The Mist is, essentially, King and Darabont’s attempt to blend elements of Lord of the Flies with classic horror clichés and B-movie scares. They want us to ask ourselves: What happens to humans under life-or-death pressure? Is there ugliness inside humanity that’s even scarier than the monsters in the mist?
One man's "old-fashioned horror" is another man's "redundant cliché," and, regrettably, The Mist straddles that line more than any other film in recent memory. One could easily argue that Frank Darabont's take on this classic Stephen King short story is a clear descendant of 1950s horror matinees or classic episodes of The Twilight Zone, and that alone is going to be enough for many genre fans to adore this movie and recommend it to their friends. And they're not wrong. But you could just as easily argue that the old-fashioned elements of The Mist make for a film that feels surprisingly unambitious, and ultimately stupid.
The Mist is far from a disaster, but there are so many moments throughout that feel like wasted opportunities, scenes that could have taken something old (the story was written almost a quarter-century ago) and made it fresh for the new millennium. When a film is constantly reminding you of better Stephen King stories, Twilight Zone episodes, or even goofy fun B-movies, at what point does that become a bad thing? At what point do all of the homages get in the way? The Mist doesn't do anything that wrong - Darabont is too talented a filmmaker and King too good a storyteller - but "not doing anything wrong" doesn't make a good movie.
Darabont breaks The Mist down to its most basic elements, even shooting most of the film without a musical score. With its one setting, The Mist almost feels like a stage play, as actors huddle in store aisles and start to divide into angry, frightened subsections of humanity. Some want to escape. Some want to stay and wait it out. Some even think a human sacrifice might be in order. The human interactions in the store and the way Darabont shoots them are the stand-out strengths of The Mist, especially thanks to strong performance by the always-great Marcia Gay Harden. The sense of human intimacy, of watching life during wartime, is what gives The Mist it’s best moments, and Darabont tries to keep the tone as believable as possible which, unfortunately get fucked up by some awkward effects work in the second act.
Pointing out one main problem - one fatal flaw - with The Mist is about as hard to put your finger on as the subject matter itself. There a million things these people do that have you yelling at the screen. They are stupid people.
It starts with a bagboy being dragged underneath a door by a tentacle, answer: close the fucking door.
The large bugs attack the store because the lights are on, answer: turn the fucking lights off.
A group of fucktwads travel next door to get drugs or something and are attacked by large spiders, answer: leave..duh.
The main character gets in his car towards the end of the film and sits there, answer: fucking turn the key and put a move on it..christ.
What it boils down to is - everyone kind of feels like they're on cruise-control. The Mist was a good King story, but it plays with themes that King has used so many times before, from The Stand to Cell. The scenario itself has such an intense sense of "been there, done that," and the material has been paired down to such a level that The Mist simply never justifies its existence. Darabont, King, Jane, Harden - they're all doing variations on things that have worked for them in the past.
Fans will notice that The Mist clearly reminds you of old horror movies or The Twilight Zone, but it will also remind you of the numerous Stephen King mini-series that get pulled from the ABC vaults every other sweeps season. The Mist might have been a great TV movie, but I dont give a shit because I was at a movie theater, not my living room couch. Like the sad, doomed shoppers in The Mist, if movie-goers are going to be trapped in a dark room for several hours, surrounded by a who’s-who of humanity, the experience should count for something more.See, there's always more to say about bad/mediocre films.
C
The sweet silliness of the Disney animated fairy tale landscape meets the rough reality of New York City? Why didn’t someone think of this sooner and pull it off as perfectly as Enchanted does? Don’t expect any grand philosophies on life beyond "ain’t true love grand?" and "there's no reason to be so damn bitter about everything," but as a way to pass a couple hours in movie bliss, you can’t go wrong. Plus, Enchanted is an example of an even rarer cinematic creature: the movie completely suitable for both kids and grownups. Everyone’s happy, and it doesn’t even suffer from that terrible tinge of being "good for you" in any way. It’s like junk food you won’t get a tummy ache from eating too much of.
Banished from her animated kingdom by a wicked queen (Sarandon), chirpy young princess Giselle (Adams) is thrust into the real world where she awaits rescue by her charming Prince Edward (Marsden). But an encounter with a single father (Dempsey) and his young daughter (Covey) brings her down to earth.
Beginning as a so-over-the-top-it’s-genius parody of Disney’s own back movies, the cartoon section introduces Giselle as a parody of every animated heroine in the studio’s history. In our world she’s less fish out of water than nut out of rehab, the adorable conceit being that the rules of her realm still apply in ours, so that a whistle-while-you-work style song with real vermin instead of cute forest animals is a genuinely funny highlight.
Some out of nowhere casting choices enliven the movie. Clearly bolstered by his Grey’s Anatomy resurgence, Dempsey is in his romantic leading man status and the hilarious Amy Adams, who owns this film, makes for a winning and extremely likeable heroine. Sarandon doesn’t get much to do, but who knew James Marsden was so damn funny? Call me crazy, but I think Adams should be nominated for something for this.
Only a somewhat overcooked dragon finale that threatens to tip us into King Kong territory disappoints, but there’s always room for that happily ever after, leaving Enchanted as a hugely enjoyable slice of fun, cute without being annoying and clever without being overly sarcastic.
A-
Beowulf
Like Angelina Jolie in permanent gold CGI high heels, the computer animated epic of Beowulf will get your blood pumping. While not a flawless film, Beowulf has accomplished something great. Not only has Zemekis proved that animation can transcend audiences, assaulting viewers with its adult content, but with Beowulf he proves that computer animated films can be very adult, and actually quite scary.Adapted from some story or poem long ago, or whatever, Beowulf (Ray Winstone) tells the story of a legendary Viking hero who arrives on some shore somewhere to purge the kingdom of a horrid monster, Grendel (Crispin Glover). However Grendel is far from the darkest creature plaguing the countryside, and Beowulf soon encounters a being far more manipulative, promising through its treacherous evil hedonistic pleasures of lust, riches, strength and power. Like King Hagarth before him, Beowulf’s greed plunges the kingdom into misery and darkness, forcing the unrelenting warrior to atone for his sins in order to protect what he holds true in his heart.
Translating the dense, highly symbolic tale into mainstream, popcorn entertainment will most likely cause 7th grade English teachers to cringe, but with their tight adaptation and Zemeckis’ awesome vision, Beowulf comes to life in a way that not only anyone can enjoy, but will leave audiences having fun.
Structurally the film doesn’t flow as smoothly as other modern epics, like Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy; in fact the film’s opening is rather jerky. It isn’t until the first appearance of the title character that the narrative begins to settle, after which point the picture come into itself.While the performances are solid, especially Ray Winstone’s captivating presence as Beowulf, one can’t help but feel there was something lost in translation after the layer of computer animation was applied to the actors. While Zemeckis has honed his technology, correcting many of the mistakes found in Polar Express, there is one thing the motion capture process has still not been able to capture, and that is the emotive presence of horses, or rather humans moving on horses. If you've seen this film, you know what I'm talking about. They still havent perfected people looking normal or realistic riding on animals.
This is not your parent’s 3D computer animation; this is something wholly new, and seeing a seasoned filmmaker take advantage of the extra dimension is a joy for anyone who has ever found pleasure in going to the movies.
A visual masterpiece, Beowulf makes up for its narrative flaws by creating an experience the moviegoer has never seen before.
B
The Mist
In The Mist, writer-director Frank Darabont’s third adaptation of a Stephen King work, the awfulness of acting that is-Thomas Jane, plays illustrator David Drayton who we meet on the night of a horrible storm in the small Maine town where he lives with his family (in the film's most clever nod to King fans, Drayton is seen finishing a drawing for a Dark Tower book in the opening scene). After the storm, Drayton and his son head with their neighbor (Andre Braugher) to a local store to buy supplies and prepare for the clean-up. While they're shopping for necessities with nearly half the town’s population (including Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, and William Sadler) who all apparently had the same idea, a bizarre mist rolls in from out of nowhere.
When a man emerges from the freaky fog screaming and bloody, the shoppers start to get nervous. When the giant bugs and tentacles show up quickly thereafter, it’s a blue-light-special on fear, Alien-style. And then things get interesting in the store itself, which, is really the last thing that Drayton and his embattled neighbors need at that point.
The Mist is, essentially, King and Darabont’s attempt to blend elements of Lord of the Flies with classic horror clichés and B-movie scares. They want us to ask ourselves: What happens to humans under life-or-death pressure? Is there ugliness inside humanity that’s even scarier than the monsters in the mist?
One man's "old-fashioned horror" is another man's "redundant cliché," and, regrettably, The Mist straddles that line more than any other film in recent memory. One could easily argue that Frank Darabont's take on this classic Stephen King short story is a clear descendant of 1950s horror matinees or classic episodes of The Twilight Zone, and that alone is going to be enough for many genre fans to adore this movie and recommend it to their friends. And they're not wrong. But you could just as easily argue that the old-fashioned elements of The Mist make for a film that feels surprisingly unambitious, and ultimately stupid.
The Mist is far from a disaster, but there are so many moments throughout that feel like wasted opportunities, scenes that could have taken something old (the story was written almost a quarter-century ago) and made it fresh for the new millennium. When a film is constantly reminding you of better Stephen King stories, Twilight Zone episodes, or even goofy fun B-movies, at what point does that become a bad thing? At what point do all of the homages get in the way? The Mist doesn't do anything that wrong - Darabont is too talented a filmmaker and King too good a storyteller - but "not doing anything wrong" doesn't make a good movie.
Darabont breaks The Mist down to its most basic elements, even shooting most of the film without a musical score. With its one setting, The Mist almost feels like a stage play, as actors huddle in store aisles and start to divide into angry, frightened subsections of humanity. Some want to escape. Some want to stay and wait it out. Some even think a human sacrifice might be in order. The human interactions in the store and the way Darabont shoots them are the stand-out strengths of The Mist, especially thanks to strong performance by the always-great Marcia Gay Harden. The sense of human intimacy, of watching life during wartime, is what gives The Mist it’s best moments, and Darabont tries to keep the tone as believable as possible which, unfortunately get fucked up by some awkward effects work in the second act.
Pointing out one main problem - one fatal flaw - with The Mist is about as hard to put your finger on as the subject matter itself. There a million things these people do that have you yelling at the screen. They are stupid people.
It starts with a bagboy being dragged underneath a door by a tentacle, answer: close the fucking door.
The large bugs attack the store because the lights are on, answer: turn the fucking lights off.
A group of fucktwads travel next door to get drugs or something and are attacked by large spiders, answer: leave..duh.
The main character gets in his car towards the end of the film and sits there, answer: fucking turn the key and put a move on it..christ.
What it boils down to is - everyone kind of feels like they're on cruise-control. The Mist was a good King story, but it plays with themes that King has used so many times before, from The Stand to Cell. The scenario itself has such an intense sense of "been there, done that," and the material has been paired down to such a level that The Mist simply never justifies its existence. Darabont, King, Jane, Harden - they're all doing variations on things that have worked for them in the past.
Fans will notice that The Mist clearly reminds you of old horror movies or The Twilight Zone, but it will also remind you of the numerous Stephen King mini-series that get pulled from the ABC vaults every other sweeps season. The Mist might have been a great TV movie, but I dont give a shit because I was at a movie theater, not my living room couch. Like the sad, doomed shoppers in The Mist, if movie-goers are going to be trapped in a dark room for several hours, surrounded by a who’s-who of humanity, the experience should count for something more.See, there's always more to say about bad/mediocre films.
C
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