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Two
Reviews this week....Pitch Black & In the Bedroom.
Pitch Black: With all the recent
Vin Diesel discussion I thought it would serve well to review a Vin movie.
Plot Summary: So it's the future (again), and this transport is on a
long journey across the solar system. They run into unexpected trouble and
have to come out of hibernation early to crash land their ship on this
strange, dead-looking planet. In tow is an intergalactic cop/bounty
hunter/morphine junky, an antique dealer (what the--?), a mass
murderer/escaped convict on his way to another prison, some new age Muslims
headed for 'New Mecca', a cross dressing girlboy, and a variety of other
cliched space characters.
They land on this planet which has three (count em, three) suns, and is
inhabited by wierd flying dinasuar/hammerhead shark/bat/Alien/koala
fish-bird things that are mean, bleed blue paint, and are physically harmed
by light of any kind.
Lucky for our crew, they find an abandoned ship they may be able to get
running, but unfortunately, they landed one day of every twenty-two years
that there is a perfect solar eclipse of all three suns, sending the planet
into darkness and giving free reign to the terrible beasts they fear.
The Look And Feel: They got kind of heavy on the filter use, it
worked well at first but got a little old. At one point it really did
enhance the tone and emotion of the flick.
In Between The Lines: Nothing. There is absolutely nothing in between
the lines, except for maybe the age old catechism; 'Even bulky mass
murderers with weird eyes can be heroes'. Other than that it's your standard
action/sci-fi flick.
Stand Out Performances:
Vin Diesel: He does pull off what little depth there is to his
character (enough to warrant prequels or sequels involving that character
[the Chronicles of Riddick, coming soon]) and he's pretty creepy at some
points.
Rhiana Griffith: Just watch. The kid does good.
Cole Hauser: Was this guy a cop in a past life? He has the perfect
cocky-asshole attitude down to a T. I feel sorry for his wife...
Stand Out Scenes: The crash scene really stands out, but only because
I found it completely unfeasible that Fry (Radha Mitchell), who was in the
cockpit, could have escaped a head on planetary collision without a scratch
when she wasn't even wearing a seat belt.
When the crew first crashes on the planet, they go out in search of water.
They spy a copse of trees (where ther's trees, there's water) and head in
that direction, only to find the treees are really part of the skeleton of
some really big, really dead animals. It was done well.
Another fine one was watching the cop get his head bitten off. But isn't
that always a nice thing to see?
Overall: It was (slightly) better than I expected, and I am glad I
finally saw it. But I'm REALLY glad I didn't shell out the money to see it
in the theater...
Oh, and that opening shot? It's almost like they stole the filmstock from Star
Wars, that's how ripped-off it felt...
In The Bedroom: SPOILERS
BELOW, so be careful...
Plot Summary: Whisk yourself away to the magical place of mid-summer Maine.
We have a nice little family; Dad (Matt Fowler) a doctor, Mom (Ruth
Fowler)conducts the choir, the only son(Frank Fowler) is headed off for a
prestigious architectural school in the fall. However, the son is in the
process of falling in love with an older woman(Natalie Strout) who has MUCH
baggage: two kids and a psychotic ex husband(richard Strout) with a bad
dye-job. Dad is proud of his kid for knocking Marisa Tomei's boots (who
wouldn't be?) but mom, one controlling Sissy-still-reminds-me-of-Carrie-Spacek
definitely does not approve, and wants to break the happy couple apart. The
Ex, Richard, is definitely unhappy that someone half his age and twice his
intelligence has been shacking up with his wife and being a better father to
his kids than he ever was. So he beats the shit out of him.
Then he kills him.
The rest of the movie is essentially the story of how Mr. and Mrs. Fowler,
Natalie Strout, and a small group of the Fowler's friends deal with the
murder. Richard Strout is out on bail, and since no one actually witnessed
the shooting, the defense can say it was an accident, and most likely the
man will be convicted of manslaughter...and be out of prison in five years.
Obviously, the Fowler's aren't too happy with this. But how will they deal
with it?
The Look And Feel: Nothing really stands out as far as how they shot
the movie...I believe it was in the lower end of budgets, as it was an
independent movie, but it looks real. It looks like life, and by choosing a
normal, un-Hollywood cast, you feel like it could happen to anyone.
In Between The Lines: This is a toughie. There is definitely a lot of
emotion in the film, and most of it is sadness. But what does it mean? It's
better to talk than bottle things up? Sometimes there is no justice like mob
justice? I think it'll vary widely from person to person as far as what
you'll get out of it when you watch it, so you'll have to make up your own
mind.
Stand Out Performances:
Sissy Spacek: In a few scenes, you almost forget she was once covered
in pig blood, and she pulls off a brilliant, heartbreaking performance as a
woman trying to cope with the loss of her only son. In other
scenes...well...
Marisa Tomei: Hands down her best role to date.
I'd like to mention the entire cast did a great job, and it's no
surprise this film got as many awards as it did. There are too many great
performances to list them all without leaving someone out, from the
ex-husband to the little kids. Bravo.
Stand Out Scene: I'd never heard anything at all about the movie, and
I was shocked when the kid got shot. You won't be, since I told you it
happened, but hey...I warned ya.
Overall: One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It sets
it's own pace, which is slow and deliberate, but it doesn't seem boring at
any drug-out at any point. Rent it tonight. |
