Kimputer's Weblog

It rarely happens a series continues to be good, especially in the horror genre. But Saw had something small and cruel on a personal drama level, and it continued pretty well in Saw II, expanding the mystery. Saw III, however, is the most gruesome of the series, but doesn’t get stuck repeating the same tricks. Well, maybe it does, but at least the story around it blows up in your face, now with flashbacks to keep your mind busy, trying to remember the previous chapters.
With the trilogy complete, the probably upcoming 3-DVD set is a must-have for every horror fan (create some shelf space by removing those sucky Friday the 13th and Hallowoon sequels). Or is it really over ? 8-.

Good business at the box office, as most movies held retention considerably during the holiday weekend, topped off by last week’s number one, Night at the Museum, with $37.8 million, rushing the total past the $100 million mark in its second week ($116.8 million).
Sticking at number 2 is The Pursuit of Happyness, with $19.3 million, which will also cross the $100 million line in a day or so.
Third place is for Dreamgirls, with Oscar buzzing in its ear, almost doubling its take in its first week of wide release. With $15.5 million this week, the musical adaptation totals $34.8 million.
Rounding out the top 5 is Charlotte’s Web, also rising with $12 million, and Rocky Balbao’s second round with $11.4 million.

The only old-fashioned romantic comedy showing this coming weeks, so I had nowhere else to turn to. Like most rom-coms these days, stories tend to feel contrived, but since we have a double story going on, it doubles that feeling. But Nancy Meyers, while being a relative new-comer when it comes to directing, has been a writer far longer, and knows the trade. Hence, even with all the predictabilities, she lifts it just high enough not to disappoint. You’ll get all the charms that can fly off the screen, and it’s sweet all the way along. Good acting (mostly Kate Winslet) and an interesting score (Hans Zimmer) round out the rest. So, luckily, there’s no harm that this is the only romantic comedy choice this holiday season.7.

Strangers with Candy: Just like the TV series, funny in its own strange way.7+.
Freedomland: Utterly crappy most horrible “thriller” ever.2.
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story: Typical Disney feel good movie (‘cept it’s a Dreamworks production) starring the always lovely Dakota Fanning.7.
The Matador: Best comedic performance yet by Pierce Brosnan as an assassin in this overall amusing flick.7½.

Will Smith reigns the box office once again, this time a drama based on true facts. The Pursuit of Happyness (no, no type there) is good for a $27 million opening.
At two is the weak Lord of the Rings knock-off Eragon, with $23.5 million. Another premiere at 3, Charlotte’s Web, starring Dakota Fanning and talking animals, with $12 million.
At 4, Happy Feet sing togethere another $8.5 million, with a total almost passing the $150 million mark. Rounding out the top 5 is The Holiday, dropping two places with $8.2 million.

And here we have the third Tony Scott/Denzel Washington collaboration, and history tells us, those are good. And while the main story outline is nothing really new (and done many times on sci-fi shows), it’s the whole package that counts. People afraid of the sci-fi factor shouldn’t be, as it’s main function is just a backdrop, and it’s nicely integrated in the story (still, nitpicks will be able to poke some holes here and there).
As always, Tony Scott directs most of his movies with a certain sense of thrillery drama, and so the acting has to be up to par. Of course, it’s all focused on Denzel, and it looks like a walk in the park for him. Not delving into the characters as deep as Man on Fire from two years ago, it’s that little bit of edge that’s lost. But all in all, still a Jerry Bruckheimer worthy production.7½.

THE December tentpole, but like most poles, it doesn’t deliver. Again, we have a full Brit cast, probably to save costs here and there. But that wouldn’t be so bad, if only it had a story, or any other kind of content that sticks. It’s not a character piece, it’s not a solid drama. It’s just setting up simple characters, and go through all the necessary stations, the into, journey and end fight. No humor is injected, and it’s cliche-ridden. Without any real imagination, the story is also extremely predictable, even predicting dialogue word for word is possible.
So are we served with spectacular battle scenes and inventive special effects ? That’s also a no-no, as the 98% feels small scale (with the director thinking doing a lots of wide shot of mountain scenery fly-by’s will make up for it). Then again, it’s not that childish rubbish we had last year (Narnia), but it’s pretty close.4+.

Despite the drunken racial slurs from writer/director Mel Gibson, Apocalypto still managed to outrun extinction, and ended up at the top spot. Getting in $14.2 million though, is in stark contrast to The Passion of the Christ, which managed to open with $84 million. Though, maybe good word of mouth might do the trick the coming weeks, just as it did with The Passion.
At two, something less bloody and without subtitles, is Nancy Meyers written/directed comedy The Holiday, with $13.5 million.
The following two spots are for the left-overs, Happy Feet with $12.7 million, and Casino Royale with $8.8 million.
Rounding out the top 5, is also a new entry, thriller Blood Diamond, starring Lonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, with $8.5 million. This might be considered a financial bomb, with a hefty $100 million budget. Even with the slow box office slide and family friendly flicks opening next week (Charlotte’s Web and Eragon), Apocalypto with a $40 million budget is a safer bet to break even.

Clint Eastwood takes on a WWII movie, based on true facts. (Actually, he takes on two, shot back to back, with the other side’s perspective shown next year.)
Most of the time, as a director, he doesn’t disappoint. This movie is doesn’t either, but it’s not as impressive as the awards whispering makes it out to be (both this movie, and the follow-up Letters from Iwo Jima, were shortlisted for the National Board of Review top 10). Maybe it’s the war movie overload currently happening, as blown off limbs hardly scares anyone these days anymore. On the personal drama, it only gets effective more towards the end. Before that, you’ll get confused by the many characters and all the time jumping (flashbacks).
As a whole, there’s decent acting involved, and visually, it’s commendable (for its budget).7+.

As the title suggest, it’s the story leading up to the supposed birth of Jesus. As such, it won’t provide any new insights or interesting points of view. As it’s almost a 1:1 rehash of the Bible, and the only difference I can tell, is that the Three Wise Kings are used for comic relief. Then again, I was never much of a reader, so correct me if I’m wrong.
Cinematically, it’s decent, choosing visceral wide shots now and then, to keep your mind off the slow pace. Acting is not spectacular, but up to par.
As an entertaining, enlightning or inspiring movie, I don’t think it has much to offer, Christmas time or not (just grab a The Passion of the Christ DVD).5.

The top 5 stays largely the same as last week, with the top 3 exactly the same, with Happy Feet ($17 million), Casino Royale ($15.1 million) and Deja Vu ($11 million). New entry at number 4 is The Nativity Story, a Christmas movie targeting the christian demo, with $8 million. Rounding out the top 5 is Deck the Halls, dropping one spot, with $6.7 million.

Dreamworks Animation teams up with clay wizards Aardman Animation, which results in clay-nimation in CGI (runs a lot smoother). On the Aardman side, not lost is their adherence to Brit voice talents (thumbs up for Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen). But what really got me thinking is, which side introduced the simplistic story telling, the cheap jokes, the lame “let’s make a “funny” sound” repetition, or just the overall failure to make an enjoyable movie. I doubt anyone other than kids will find this quality matching up to -still at Dreamworks Animation’s throne- Shrek.5½.

The same top 2 goes toe to toe this week, with Happy Feet slightly increasing the lead (this week $37.9 million and racing passed the $100 million mark) over the James Bond adventure Casino Royale (with $31 million and a $94.2 million total).
Newcomer Deja Vu, the third Tony Scott/Denzel Washington, does the title justice. With $20.8 million it’s on par with the two earlier movies (Crimson Tide and Man on Fire) to reach a $80-100 million cume when the movie ends its run.
Another new release at 4, Deck the Halls, a seasonal comedy starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito, seems it had its thunder stolen already last month by The Santa Clause 3, reaching only $12 million. Rounding out the top 5 is Borat with $10.4 million.

While this series has been as adaptive to time as possible (going through 5 actors, and technology/gagdets parallel to our own timeline), it doesn’t escape the current reboot/reimagining hype (and mostly successful, see Batman Begins and Superman Returns) to launch or refresh a franchise. So we go back to the start, and see what makes Bond Bond. This means, gone is the static womanizing care-free spy, and in comes a fresh character ready for a bit of development (although it also means, gone is the smooth photo-model like stud, and in comes what many furious Brosnan fans describe as potato face after the casting announcement was made). And it works great. More meaningful dialogue, more dramatic depth. The darker and psychological aspects of the script are pretty well done. But not all is well. Somehow, it didn’t have the adventurous or thrillery feeling that usually comes with Bond movies. Also, it runs a bit long, with noticable gaps of “downtime”. Maybe I just expected too much, after most critics hyped it up. Then again, as a movie on its own, it’s still good.7½.

As with most indie pictures, the danger of being too off-beat boring always looms. But with this ultra-low budget movie, there’s a high pace set at the start, and it doesn’t stop. The intrigue here isn’t really the story (which by all it’s lightheartedness, doesn’t have high impact), it’s how the dialogue develops. There’s a certain level of smartiness, that works in an enlightning way. As a subtle underlining, irony pours in now and then, enough to keep you smiling mostly throughout the movie. And while it’s a work of fiction, it somehow feels like a history lesson. And the biggest irony of it all is, it doesn’t matter if you’re pro- or anti-smoking, this is just a movie you’ll have to see for it’s artistic content.7½.