At The Movies

THE SOPRANOS: SEASON 1 - Jenny and I have recently gotten into The Sopranos. I know...I know...we're only 8 years too late. But through the beauty of DVD's we can catch up with the rest of the world and discover the greatness of this incredible series. As most of you know The Sopranos follows the lifestyles of a New Jersey mob family and their gang. There's enough mob drama here to rival The Godfather and Goodfellas, but there's also plenty of moments of humor and warmth. These characters are some of the best you'll see on television. I'm so glad Jenny and I are catching up with this series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet done so. It's never too late.


THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM - I won't sugar-coat this one: it's a martial-arts movie starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan. There's a story here, but I won't bore you with it. There's a monkey king, a forbidden kingdom, lots of armies, shadowy spirits, a treasured staff, etc. But the main attraction here is the performances of Li and Chan. Two martial-arts legends on the screen together. In the world of martial-arts cinema this is like Deniro and Pacino performing together...and I fell for it. The movie is okay. There are some nice effects, and some interesting scenes with battles and armies. Best of all Li and Chan are worth checking out here. They're fight scenes are always fascinating to watch. This isn't their best work...but it's worth seeing if you're a fan.


I'M NOT THERE - This is advertised as a movie for the Bob Dylan obsessed. I frankly am not, and therefore didn't see the genius some critics have suggested here. 6 different actors all play a Bob Dylan character, over the course of different times in Dylan's life. Some of the performances here are great, namely Cate Blanchett, and Heath Ledger. The music performances are also pretty good, and a lot of the musical score creates an interesting mood at times. But like I said before, unless you're a Dylan fan you'll probably have a hard time sticking with this one. I'll admit though...I do admire films that challenge you and are interesting, and I thought I"M NOT THERE was something very unique and different.


DAN IN REAL LIFE - I used to think EVAN ALMIGHTY was Steve Carell's worst movie, but no longer. DAN IN REAL LIFE is so much worse. Carell plays Dan, a newspaper columnist who is recently widowed with three young daughters. The story takes place over the course of a long vacation with his family in New Jersey. The family constantly pries into Dan's life with tips on love and life, all three daughters hate him. The story takes a turn as Dan finds a love interest and the crazy antics ensue. Carell is a talent in most movies he's in, but not here. The story is very depressing. The movie begins with Dan getting little respect from his family and daughters, and the movie basically ends that way as well. Such a bad and annoying movie.


THE MACHINIST - Christian Bale is a man who hasn't slept in a year. He is grotesquely thin, and suffers from chronic paranoia. Bale is also haunted by a co-worker who may or may not be trying to kill him. In fact, Bale's character no longer knows what is real in his life and what isn't. The story and mood of the film is right out of an early Hitchcock film...even the music. And of course Bale's performance is incredible, (he lost 60 pounds for the role.) This is one of those mystery-suspense thrillers, and it works very well.


JAZZ: A FILM BY KEN BURNS - Jenny and I have lived in a few different cities over the years, and I always find each location opens new doors for me and exposes me to new experiences and interests that later stay with me. With Colorado it was a passion for hiking and camping and all things outdoors. With Michigan it's been an appreciation for the changing seasons. And with New Orleans it was exposure to the world of jazz and blues that has since stayed with me. For the past six months I've been watching off-and-on this 10 disc documentary on the history of jazz by Ken Burns, and I finally finished it. Each disc in the set tells a different chapter in the history of the genre, from around 1900 to the 1990's.
DISC 1 - Tells the origins of jazz in New Orleans, from the roots of blues and ragtime into it's own genre of music. The first disc also gives you a lot of history on the city of New Orleans...which I obviously found very interesting.
DISC 2 - Focuses on the emergence of Louis Armstrong, the first great jazz artist who changed the genre forever.
DISC 3 - Tells about the "Roaring 20's," and the golden age of jazz. The "Great Gatsby" era.
DISC 4 - Focuses on the emergence of Duke Ellington and the "Big Band" era.
DISC 5 - Focuses on the transition from "Big Band" to "Swing."
DISC 6 - Focuses on the rebellion from "Big Band" and "Swing," and the emergence of "Be-Bop."
DISC 7 - Tells the story of "Be-Bop" legends Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespie.
DISC 8 - Focuses on Miles Davis
DISC 9 - Focuses on John Coltrane
DISC 10 - Talks about the sects and divisions of jazz in the late 60's and early 70's. The formations of "Cool," "Free," "Bop," "Avant Garde," and "Fusion"...and how all these sects almost destroyed jazz. The disc ends with the re-emergence of jazz as it rediscovers its classic roots thanks to Wynton Marsalis and Dexter Gordon.

Like I said, this series is exhausting to get through...which is why it took me about 6 months. But I enjoyed this series a lot more than Burns' series THE CIVIL WAR. I have become a fan of jazz and I admit I really enjoyed this series.


28 DAYS LATER - This is an apocalyptic thriller set in London about a virus that wipes out humanity, and turns survivors into zombies. This was made back in 2002, and I never got around to seeing it until now. A friend of mine kept recommending it to me and I finally caved in. There are some very interesting moments here, namely the opening scenes of a deserted London. Overall, I thought this one was okay. I'm not much of a "zombie-movie" kind of guy, so I'm not sure how this one stacks up to other zombie movies, but it was okay. Good for a rental I'd say.


DARKON - This is a documentary about those people who dress up in medieval costumes and fight each other in the local park. This is not a renaissance festival or anything like that. These are people who are creating their own type of 'Lord Of The Rings.' Everyone becomes a character, alliances are formed, and armies clash...all creating a web of storylines that change from month to month. The documentary makes you laugh at these people, much like THE KING OF KONG: FISTFUL OF QUARTERS. However, the documentary spends way too much time creating a movie version of the Darkon storylines, and doesn't spend near enough time asking these people why they do what they do, and what makes them tick. There are some funny moments here, but overall the people portrayed here are very annoying.


GONE BABY GONE - I certainly hope Ben Affleck's future is behind the camera and not in front of it. We would all be better served I think. In Gone Baby Gone (directed by Ben Affleck) we have the story of a missing child in Boston, and the search for her whereabouts by both police and private investigators (namely Casey Affleck). The first two acts give us plenty of clues and twists to keep our interest. Casey's performance is very engaging, and Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are good in almost anything they do. But in the third act we get one too many brushstrokes, and the final few twists leave you scratching your head. Overall this is a good movie worth watching, but not great. Still though, Ben Affleck definately has a future behind the camera.