Review – Dawn of the Dead (2004)

The original’s a classic, so there really isn’t any point in comparing the remake to it. However, I did enjoy this production more than I thought I was going to. It owes more to 28 Days Later than to Romero directly; indeed, it has a lot of the 28 Days booga-booga shots without the pretentious artiness. I also enjoyed the nods to the original trilogy (especially little things like the cameos and the store in the mall called Gaylen Ross). Some of the gooey boogers are Dead Alive silly, such as the fat woman and the baby. But for the most part the gore’s good, the chills are chilling, and the story keeps moving. I’m unlikely to watch this one as many times as I’ve seen the original, but it was thoroughly entertaining nonetheless. If nothing else it was interesting to see a movie that keeps the action going all the way through the end credits. Worth seeing

Review – The Passion of the Christ

Yes, I admit I gave in to my curiosity and went to see this while it was still in theaters. I liked the demons tormenting Judas. I liked the attention to detail; yeah, I know it wasn’t 100% historically accurate and shot continuity could probably have been better, but I still appreciated the care that went into the production. I suppose Mel Gibson should have at least considered getting someone else to take the helm, perhaps someone with less affection for the long, meaningful exchange of eye contact. However, beyond the usual goods and bads the movie mostly just made me sad. I don’t know that it’s a fair capsule version of Christianity to say that the religion delights in Christ’s suffering, but that seems to be the only point here. I expect this will help reaffirm pre-existing faith, but someone who doesn’t already understand and appreciate Christian theology will be hard pressed to find much of a reason to convert. Mildly amusing

Review – Lost in Translation

I guess I would have expected this kind of a movie from a middle-aged man, but I’m genuinely puzzled about what might motivate a young, successful woman like Sofia Coppola to film a serious take on such a Humbert-ish relationship. Here we have Bill Murray playing an aging actor stuck in the middle of a mid-life crisis, which might have slipped past me – let’s face it, Murray’s at least a decade or so past a “mid” life crisis – if the script hadn’t literally come out and said so more than once during the course of the movie. Trapped in a hotel in Japan, he befriends an equally befuddled twenty-something neglected by her photographer husband. Some of the camerawork isn’t too bad (visually Sofia’s somewhere between daddy and Paul Schrader), but otherwise the flat characters, go-nowhere plot and unsavory quasi-romance don’t offer much edification or entertainment. See if desperate

Review – The Cat in the Hat

Though I admit that the cat was never exactly my favorite Dr. Seuss character, it still saddened me to see such a pathetic, vulgar mess made out of this reasonably charming childhood classic. The picture starts out with an astounding amount of set-up; I didn’t time it, but I imagine the cat himself doesn’t even make an appearance until at least 20 minutes in. And though the non-cat plot is no more compelling than a Bart-centered episode of the Simpsons, the movie nonetheless takes a turn for the worse when the titular character debuts. Mike Myers’ Bert Lahr impression gets really old really fast, and the nasty little double entendres and other random vulgarity that might have worked with an Austin Powers audience here only serve to strangle what little charm the production might otherwise have been able to muster. Though I’m well outside what I suppose was the target audience, I have trouble imagining even the dumbest, crudest child finding much entertainment value in this flop. Wish I’d skipped it

Review – Gigli

Me don’t see what fuss was about. Me think this very good movie. Acting good. Ben talented. Jennifer talented. Script good. Pacing good. Long sequences where characters drive aimlessly around LA sharing deep thoughts about gender relations philosophical and entertaining. Cameo by Al Pacino very welcome and amusing. Only trouble, me think me way smarter before me start watch this movie. Wish I’d skipped it

Review – In the Cut

For years I’ve wondered what might happen if someone tried to combine Hollywood production values and big-name stars with explicit sex. Somehow I’d imagined something better than this (though in retrospect I can’t imagine why). Once you get over the whole cutesy-little-Meg-Ryan’s-in-a-dirty-movie thing, there just isn’t that much else to this picture. The script is bad, and the acting is average at best. Much of the dialogue is stiff, and the mystery element is left holding far too much of the bag, especially considering it’s not really all that mysterious. I’ll give this an E for effort just in hope that in the future big-budget productions can work this openly with sex only with more honest results. See if desperate

Review – Unzipped

Curious about what makes clothing designer Isaac Mizrahi tick? After watching this you will be curious no longer. I can’t say that I was surprised to see how frivolous the fashion world is, but nonetheless I enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at the creative process and long hours required to develop a new line of clothes and market them via a major show. Mildly amusing