More Movies

In Theaters:

Spiderman 3: Okay, so I was the last person on the planet to see this at the movies! I know! But I finally did! It was worth the wait. I enjoyed this movie for the same reasons that some people thought the movie was lagging: Peter Parker being human and not Spiderman. I enjoy Tobey McGuire's performance because he really brings something to the part of Peter Parker. I feel that way about all actors that need to play the hero without the mask. Parker, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, David Banner...are not just the alter-ego's of the hero...they ARE the hero. They aren't some split personality (okay, the Hulk is) but are the same exact guy in a hero suit (or CGI'd). The important character IS the human being. When these characters are in a comic book that may not be so, but if you are going to flesh one out...they really need to be fleshed out. That is why Michael Keaton did so well at the part of Bruce Wayne and better than any since. Not because he was the first to revive the character but because of the way he portrayed him. A human with all that entails. Peter Parker is also a person that wears a suit and when the suit becomes corrupted and therefore Peter himself...we see the dark side of, not just of Spidey, but of a person. McGuire plays the dark side of Peter with such glee (as does Topher Grace as a competing photographer later on) that you have to giggle. And I believe that was his intent. That is until you miss the old Peter and want him back. As far as the MJ/romance story line goes...yawn. That has always been a yawn for me. But it's there to motivate our hero. If you haven't seen this yet...go ahead and enjoy.
MMMM (out of 5 Ms)

On Video:

The Good German: Set in Berlin immediately after WWII, this is a strange film that was supposed to be made in the style of movies from the 1940s. It's filmed in black and white with stock footage edited in and has a Max Steiner rip off of a score...but falls flat or more like a bomb...a dud. It isn't totally period. Tobey McGuire (him again!) is completely wasted in this movie as an Army con-artist that is supposed to be George Clooney's character's driver. There are several narrations going on by many of the characters that it gets confusing (like Sin City). There was also a certain amount of sex, violence and profanity that makes it very un-period. I don't know what the filmmakers where trying to make here. Don't bother trying to figure it out.
Zero Ms

Letters from Iwo Jima: If you only want to rent one of Clint Eastwood's movies on this subject...rent this one. This movie follows one Japanese soldier as he prepares for the invasion of the Americans on this tiny island. The Japanese are outnumbered by probably 100 to 1 but they prepare and have the attitude that the number doesn't matter...much. This is sacred Japanese land and will be defended to the last man. Some soldiers feel stronger about this than others but they are all there to do their duty. The story is told by not only the characters but also, as the title implies, the letters they write home. Ken Watanabe (Last Samurai) plays the Japanese Army General (American educated) that is to lead this hopeless defense. He tries to apply his vast amount of strategic knowledge to this but deep down knows that he cannot hold the island. The soldiers fight on while trying to maintain the sense of honor that they came with. The terrain is difficult, hot and there is a lack of proper food, water and sanitation. By the time the Americans arrive...the Japanese have almost defeated themselves. This movie is 95% in Japanese but it won't bother you at all. You will find yourself just listening to the language and watching the acting...even if you don't read the subtitles, you will know what is going on. Must rent.
MMMM

Pan's Labyrinth: This movie is all you have heard it to be and more. Well worthy of the awards and accolades. This sad fantastical tale, set in Spain, follows young Ofelia through a tragic world that is so horrible that it seems that part of her life is the fantasy. Ofelia is taken by her pregnant mother to live with her step-father an Army Captain during the Spanish Revolution. He brings them to his headquarters on the front line so he can be there when his child, presumed to be a boy, is born - with no regard for the health of the mother. He is cruel and sadistic man and we see this through his treatment of his staff, prisoners and even Ofelia. He is basically insane. We sort of know what is going to happen...that at some point Ofelia is going to be left alone with this bastard. In the mean time she wanders into a garden and down through an opening in the ground, lead by a fairy she met along the way, where she meets a faun. The faun tells her that she is really a princess that must return with him to her home. She must first complete 3 tasks exactly as he asks her. She encounters some real terrors along the way and the make-up effects are stunning. At no point in the movie are we told or lead to believe that she is really imagining any of this or that this isn't real. The movie is not for children but the message is simple. One must follow orders, do what they are told and obey or bad things will and always do happen. The movie is sad and dark but in the end the Captain gets his comeuppance and Ofelia is believed to be happy. In Spanish with English subtitles.
MMMM