Safe The story in this movie revolves around the choice between safety and richness. Because it assumes we are stupid, it has two story lines to hammer the point home, the point that safety is the wrong choice. And then in the highest of ironies, the picture is fabricated and presented in a way that… Continue reading Along Came Polly (2004)
Tag: f2004
Films released in 2004
King Arthur (2004)
Blue Woman With these simple constructions, its easy to see where they decided the hook would be. I imagine the pitch was that this would be “Braveheart” meets “Gladiator” but with a fighten’ gal. I’m sure they took a model and put her in blue tattoos and unlikely leather seminude battlegear and took photos to… Continue reading King Arthur (2004)
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Used Record Store There are movies that are well done; there are movies that satisfy; there are those that work, those that stick, those that transcend time to become classics and those that change lives. None of these measures necessarily has anything to do with each other and any can produce a movie worth watching.… Continue reading Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Kinsey (2004)
The Wrong Interview Here’s a major problem in drama: you want to deal with big issues, great disembodied, cosmic sweeps of things. Things that people love or make them suffer. This is why people come. But the tools we have to display these things are humans, usually. So the dramatist has to invent or find… Continue reading Kinsey (2004)
Alien Versus Predator (2004)
Pyramidal I’ve made a study of what differentiates the main Alien films, constituting a concise film school. Now this here is a different beast. It is a simple essay, not an ordinary long form film. You might like it because of the very idea, or the plot device of switching the ordinarily hunted into a… Continue reading Alien Versus Predator (2004)
A Very Long Engagement (2004)
Gluttony One of the hardest things in the world is to stop when you know you should, but the attraction, the romance of your obsession pulls you deeper and deeper into the thing. It happens with big things like love and little things like this film. It is so lovely and rich I want to… Continue reading A Very Long Engagement (2004)
A Separate Peace (2004)
Parallel Branches Some books seem natural for high school study. They need to be simple to read, but contain enough ambiguity and analogy to show students that real literature is more than a plot. If the book is set in high school, so much the better. I think the existence of this market niche is… Continue reading A Separate Peace (2004)
A Cinderella Story (2004)
Variations Yes, this is a simple syrupy tale, childish and cliched with actors of ordinary skill and charm. But I liked it. The oddest thing is that though Disney cannot make decent cartoons any more, they sure have the old fashioned sentimental tale down, stuff from the era of “Flubber”. One that particularly impressed me… Continue reading A Cinderella Story (2004)
50 First Dates (2004)
Drew Draws I’ve come to appreciate this actress. Women can do things in that space between the film and us that male actors just cannot. Blame it on the feminine nature or cultural imperatives, depending on your views. But there is no denying that the art is quite different for women. Drew is not a… Continue reading 50 First Dates (2004)
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Why Are Formulas Endearing? I just cannot understand why I find this endearing and repellent at the same time. I find it endearing because it sticks to tried and true formulas, and being easily hypnotised cinematically these formulas work on me. I am disturbed at the same time because I recognise those same movie-story formulas:… Continue reading 13 Going on 30 (2004)