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9 Movie

September 11th, 2009
9 Movie

9

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Movie: 9 (2009)

Studio : Relativity Media

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 81 min

Website : Official 9 Site

Trailer :http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ty3i



Review:

I’ve seen burnt-out radioactive wastelands, cities crumpled to ashes from the lasers of flying saucers, jungle-clad skyscrapers of dead cities, and giant biblical meteors/volcanoes/global warming ready to take out 95% of the human population. Out of all the end-of-the-world scenarios I have seen, I did not expect to find a film that would center on a dead 30’s-era fascist empire, let alone one that was animated and has no steampunk elements in it.

Shane Acker’s vision is quite intricate right down to the very aperture blades of his protagonists’ eyes. Character designs for the film are fantastic and I spent a fair amount of time fascinated looking at the character models and the way they interacted with a lightly stylized but palpable end of the world. 9, as well as his eight aptly named automaton brothers and sisters, are the last known forms of sentient “life” in the world. When an arcane device reawakens what destroyed the world (no spoilers!), it is up to them to decide the fate of the world.

As you may tell, the plot is where you will probably find yourself underwhelmed. The acting is not great; that’s not to say it’s not bad either, it just feels very samey: like you’ve seen these character templates before in the same sort of film, complete with a few rehashed one-liners. I do admit to thinking that some characters were more memorable than others, like Martin Landau’s wise but inquisitive #2, but there was nothing really there to keep me interested in their roles.

Perhaps I’m jaded from these sort of movies, or I followed the hype more than I should have. This movie does fulfill a sweet tooth for the person with a taste for eye candy, but I could not really tell you much else that drew me to the film. In short: it’s this year’s Hellboy 2.

-Donald Lee

Adventure, Animation, Fantasy, In Theaters, Sci-Fi , , , ,

Taking Woodstock

September 11th, 2009
Taking Woodstock

Taking Woodstock

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Movie: Taking Woodstock (2009)

Studio : Film in Focus

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 110 min

Website : Taking Woodstock

Trailer :http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa3i5g



Review:

As a lifelong fan of Woodstock-era artists like The Who and Jimi Hendrix, I looked forward to this movie, an uncharacteristically lighthearted affair from director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain). It’s inspired by the true story of Elliot Tiber (renamed Jake Teichberg in the film), a New York City interior designer who organized the iconic festival in order to save his parents’ failing motel.

One of the things I enjoyed about this movie was its focus on the work that went into putting on the festival. Amazingly, we don’t see any concert footage or meet any actors called on to play Hendrix or Joplin. It has a documentary-like feel in such scenes as when we see Teichberg (played by Demetri Martin) riding on the back of a cop’s motorcycle in order to get into the actual concert or when we see Max Yasgur (well-played by Eugene Levy) agreeing to let the promoters hold the concert on his land while offering them some of his farm-made chocolate milk. The film is at its best when we’re among the fans and we’re seeing the show put together. We meet some colorful characters during the journey, including Liev Schreiber as a transvestite security guard and Dan Fogler as the leader of a postmodern thespian troupe that lives in Teichberg’s parents’ barn and manages to cause a ruckus among Bethel’s more conservative types, who feared the hippies would destroy the town.

The film also includes some interludes involving Teichberg’s tumultuous relationship with his mother (Imelda Staunton), who kavetches throughout the film, while his father is more accepting and drinks beer with the hippies. While Staunton has some good one-liners, this part of the story feels underdeveloped, and the final scene doesn’t have the emotional impact for which it seems to be reaching. It feels secondary to the festival. Still, I enjoyed the film on the basis of the realistic crowd shots, the likable Teichberg, the vibrant supporting cast, and that groovy soundtrack.

-Craig Wynne

Comedy, In Theaters, Music , ,