Curt’s
Corner is a periodic movie review written by Curt Burbach of Mesa, Arizona.
Take the Lead
I sometimes jokingly refer to this film as the Antonio Banderas dancing movie. But, you may be surprised to know that he only dances in one scene throughout the entire film. I thought that was in very good taste, because the film makers showed off the talents of the kids instead. Overall, this was a typical feel-good movie that is based on a true story. And, that alone, makes it worthy of spending two hours in front of the big screen. I give it two bones out of four for being average.
United 93
This film is a tribute to the passengers of United Flight 93, on that fateful day in September, 2001. More interestingly, the story covers the events from an “airline industry” point of view, as it serves somewhat as a documentary – only with actors. One thing that I really appreciated was that except for maybe two individuals, I didn’t recognize many of the actors – which gave it a sense of realness. I found the film to be somewhat moving – and I give 2 ½ bones for being above average.
Mission: Impossible III
If you like action, then
you will like this one. They did away with much of the acting and dialog and
created a script that is solid non-stop action. Plus, as we have seen in so many
movies these past 10 years, they incorporated a love story into it. This was yet
another example of incorporating romance and action into the same film – just
for the sake of selling tickets to couples. Action for the guys; romance for the
girls….. LAME !!!!!!!!.... I give the film two
bones for being average, and that is just for the cool, never-before-seen,
technology that they displayed.
The Da Vinci Code
This
film stars Tom Hanks, and was directed by Ron Howard – two academy award
winners who normally do very good work. They were together once before in Apollo 13. While not revealing my true position concerning
Christianity and the bible, I will avoid all discussion about the authenticity
of the best-selling book from which this screenplay was adapted. I never read
the book, but as in most cases like this, the script had to fly through many
parts in order to fit the story onto the movie screen. As far as the movie goes
– I thought it was well filmed and very well acted. The level of intrigue and
mystery was adequate – but the bottom line was that I didn’t find the film
to be all that compelling. I thought it was above average, and will therefore
rate it as 2 ½ bones.
X-Men: The Last Stand
This
is the third in a line of X-Men movies which are derived from comic book
characters. I must admit, I never saw the second episode, but I don’t think
that stood in the way of forming my opinion. Plenty of special effects and
computer graphics; plenty of action; plenty of attractive people; the good guys
win – the bad guys lose. Sounds like a typical recipe for a summer action
film. Two bones for being average.
Cars
Finally,
a good film for the summer of 2006! I enjoyed this one so well that I went back
and saw it again. Either that or I was starved for a good film. This is a
computer animated film that is perfect for just about everyone. Baby-boomers
will like it because it plays on the nostalgia of the old route-66. Kids will
like it because it’s animated. Women will like it because of the cuteness and
love story. Guys will like because of the car racing. I liked it because of the
very fine attention to detail. As you watch it, try to pay close attention to
all the foregrounds and backgrounds. Computer animated movies have been around
since Toy Story – and the makers of such films have started to run out of
characters. They’ve gone from toys (Toy
Story), to land animals (Ice Age,
Chicken Little), to make believe creatures (Shrek, Monsters, Inc., Robots),
to fish and other sea creatures (Nemo,
Sharks Tale), to insects (Antz, Bugs
Life, Ant Bully), to super heroes (Incredibles),
and now to cars! - just before
finally giving in and drawing kids and adults (Polar
Express, Monster House). So, Cars
has found its own little niche in the world of computer animation. The story is
fun, and the music enjoyable. I fully expect this one to be nominated for best
animated film for 2006. I give it four
bones for being outstanding.
A Prairie Home Companion
This film sported an all-star ensemble cast as it portrays the trials and tribulations of a real life radio show that is still broadcasted live, in the traditional style – on an old stage, in front of a small town audience. The writer of the script, Garrison Keillor not only plays the M.C. in the film, but is also the actual M.C. of the real radio show – set in Moorhead, Minnesota. This film is a wonderful display of good acting. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin present some of the best on screen chemistry I have ever seen. I’d swear – half of their dialog must have been impromptu. The story is extremely quaint, and fairly interesting. But, it is the acting that sets this film apart from the rest. When the movie ended I was sad, because I wanted to see more. I really fell in love with all the characters. I highly recommend this good film as I award it 3 ½ bones.
The Lake House
This is a chick flick love story that, as with most love stories, endeavors to be just a little different; to create its own niche, with its own twist on things. And, I must admit, the story was somewhat interesting, with regards to the unique concept that the writers employed. What also helped this film was the fact that it sported two very fine actors, Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. Neither of which gave an overly-dramatic performance that we are accustomed to seeing in a typical cheesy love-story. Bottom line; two bones for being average.
Nacho Libre
I
knew this was a corn-ball comedy going into it. So, I wasn’t surprised at all.
It made me laugh a few times, and that’s about all it’s good for. It was an
average film that had quite a bit of silliness. End-of-story; two bones.
Click
I
wasn’t impressed with this one at all. The film-makers tried to make use of
today’s technology in hopes of luring an audience, but I’m here to tell you,
that they’re going to have to do more than come up with a cheesy gimmick, and
then add a typical morale at the end – which is, by the way, yet another trend
that we are seeing in movies this decade; come up with any cheesy plot and
it’s Okay, as long as there is a feel-good morale at the end. This is getting
really boring. I give this film 1 ½
bones for being below average.
Superman Returns
This
is one of the better Superman movies that I’ve seen. I had heard for several
weeks before its release about a rumor that Superman would be displaying some
gay characteristics. This was no doubt due to the recent press release
announcing that Superwoman was coming out of the closet (in Marvel comics) and
would be portrayed as openly gay. But, with regards to Superman looking and
acting gay – I didn’t see it. But rather, I thought the story was portrayed
fairly well – let’s not forget- it IS
a comic strip. The Superman story line is becoming more mature each decade to
keep pace with the increasingly educated youth of America. I found it to be
somewhat entertaining and I give 2 ½
bones for being above average.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
This
of course is a sequel to the first Pirates
movie, of which I liked very much. It’s a challenge to make a successful
sequel when the first was such a hit. But, the film-makers cranked it up a notch
by making this one a little bit scarier – using more evil looking creatures,
yet still sporting the PG-13 rating as before. I thought they were cool. The
special effects and computer graphics were so sharp that the creatures actually
looked real. I really enjoy Johnny Depp’s acting, and I’m happy to see him
reap the benefits of a milestone role – although I’m sure he doesn’t wish
to be typecasted as Captain Jack Sparrow for the rest of his career. This movie
wasn’t quite as good as the first, but was still fun. I recommend you see it,
especially since they are currently filming the third Pirates movie right now. I give it three bones for being good.
Lady in the Water
This was written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who has a very good reputation for writing interesting scripts. He wrote and directed The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, and The Village. Although The Sixth Sense was a smash hit, the rest were not as successful. And, I’m afraid this film will have to join them in the average ranks – except for Signs which I thought was good. This script, like the latter two, may have made a very interesting read (on paper). But, when it was put on the big screen, it fell flat. I found it to be somewhat interesting – but that’s all. It was only a little compelling, and a little intriguing. The acting was good, and filming was adequate. But overall, I’ll have to give this average film just two bones.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
This one wasn’t as funny as I had hoped. Granted, there were some very funny scenes. But, most of the really funny scenes were shown in the advertisement trailers – thereby leaving nothing new for the movie. This has been happening a lot these past few years. The concept was new, but it needed to be, as in all chick flick love stories. And that’s what this is – make no mistake about it; just another average romantic comedy. Two bones for being average.
World Trade Center
As in United 93, this was a tribute to 9/11. But, this one gave tribute to the Port Authority Police that were either killed or wounded during the tragedy. We already know how this one concludes, so the challenge lays with showing the struggles and determination of the main characters. I thought it was fairly good at portraying the awful hours that families spent while waiting word about their loved ones that were at ground-zero. The acting was very good, and not overly dramatic. 2 ½ bones for being above average.
Step Up
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
This film wasn’t as funny as I had hoped it would be. Perhaps that is because I saw so many advertisement trailers, and saw that it was number one at the box-office for about three weeks. I’m still waiting for Will Ferrell to find that really good role. I think he’s a great comedic actor, but his movies just keep falling short of what I’m sure he’s capable of – as shown on Saturday Night Live. Perhaps he should try portraying a villain in a drama? Hey, it worked for Robin Williams. Filmmakers in both England and America are discovering that comedians (for some reason) make really good villains on the silver screen. Anyway, I thought the film was fairly silly, as it made me laugh a few times. I thought the star character could have been developed further – in other words, Ricky Bobby left a little flat at times. I rate this as above average. 2 ½ bones.
On a Clear Day
This was an interesting story about a man who found himself without a job, after working for decades as a supervisor in a British (Scottish) ship yard. The chemistry of the characters was a lot of fun, and the writing was interesting. Yes, it’s a feel good story – but you know what? There wasn’t any love stories. And, there wasn’t some cheesy morale plugged into it, just to make it acceptable to the American public. Just good old fashion human spirit. I give the film three bones for being good.
Rumor Has It
This is a chick flick with a twist – there’s actually no morale! But, there is a love story – of course. The best thing about this film is that we get to see Shirley MacLaine again, portraying a surly old grandmother. She is so versatile – and her character is a blast. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is average – the acting, the writing, it’s just not very compelling at all. Two bones for being average.
Touched
This was a story of a nurse and the man she cared for both during and after his two-year coma. I liked very much how this story was presented. As you watch it, you’ll see that the dialog was cut down to a bare minimum, and the pace was toned down. This meant that, the viewer had to rely upon body language (acting), facial expressions (acting) and set design in order to absorb the story. This is perfect for avoiding those overly dramatic acting performances that actors commit, directors ask for, and editors allow onto the final product. Everything else was average and adequate, but I’m going to give it 2 ½ bones for the above average way this story was told.
RV
This wasn’t special at all. Of course it had its fair share of humorous situations that Robin Williams finds himself in – only to survive so he could end back up between a rock and a hard place again later on. It was just an average blend of two-parts silliness, and one-part (you guessed it)……… MORALES…!!!!!! Again, you can place any crappy screenplay on the silver screen these days, as long as it has a feel good morale mixed in somewhere. What a waste of Robin Williams’ talent. I give this movie 1 ½ bones for being below average.
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