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Diva101
Reviews
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Not very good (sorry)
Sorry to depart w/ the crowd here, but this is not a very good adaptation of the musical. It's not even a very good movie on its own. I feel horrible about saying these things b/c I'm a huge fan of the B'way show, but the movie is what it is. To quickly comment on some other things that I've read. Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom is not an opera. It's a musical. The only character who should be singing w/ an operatic voice is Carlotta. The role of Christine was written for Sarah Brightman, who may be considered a "pop opera" singer. Otherwise, the characters should be singing as if in a musical, not an opera. Roger Ebert commented that Phantom isn't a very good musical. I think he pretty much called it vapid. Again, this is a B'way musical, not Wagner. To me, that's kinda like saying Guys and Dolls or Once Upon a Mattress is vapid. I think Phantom has a lot of good things over these shows though. About the movie. IMO, Joel S is not a good director and was not a good choice for this project. Who chose him, especially considering his earlier works included Flatliners (which I liked, but hardly a great movie) and the really bad Batman movie? I hated the flashbacks. I hated that the Phantom's "magic" and hypnotic powers were generally not shown. I hated that much of the singing was changed to spoken dialog. Most of all, I didn't think the direction really evoked any of the feelings one takes away from the B'way show, and that to me is a major failure. The casting was really off. While many may say Emmy Rosum's highly talented, blah, blah...I just didn't see it. While the character requires naivety, the role really needed someone more experienced, especially acting wise. I felt like she was just standing around and singing w/ a fair voice, but I didn't see any real acting from her. The Phantom was too young and too hot. Gerard Butler's Phantom left you feeling like his character was more psychopath and less the tortured, love sick figure that's seen in the B'way show. The man is so good looking that he looks better than Raoul even with the distorted face. Overall, I feel there's too little sympathy for the Phantom in this movie. I felt Minnie Driver was quite good as Carlotta (the non-singing part of her, that is), but she's supposed to be a fairly minor character. What can I say? ALW screwed up w/ this one. Evita was a far better film adaptation IMO. Hopefully, Aspects of Love (currently in production) will be better.
The Doctor (1991)
Okay
While this is not really the kind of movie that someone calls a favorite or one that you want to watch over and over again, it has it's interesting and touching moments. This is even more so if you've ever worked around smug doctors, have gone through a medical crisis or have supported someone through one. William Hurt plays his usual "I need a jolt to get me out of this semi-comatose drawl" guy which actually works well for the part. His stereotyped distant demeanor as a physician who seems to have it all quickly dissipates after being diagnosed and treated for cancer. Unfortunately, he turns a tad too sappy in the end. A scene in which he caressed the head of patient who he just performed a heart transplant on was too sugary for my taste. As happens far too often, women only get "tool" supporting characters here. While I've usually considered Elizabeth Perkins a non-actress, she shows otherwise in this movie and delivers a good performance if only in a supporting role. The movie is well cast all around. Christine L and Mandy P also deliver good performance if in all too small roles. The script and directing could have been better.
Chicago (2002)
Extraordinary talents
Perhaps the most important thing that I came away from this movie with is a new respect for Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger as truly talented actors. The fact that they performed this singing, dancing, AND acting extravaganza so well speaks to their true talents beyond that of the current Hollywood it-girls I previously considered them to be. Despite remarks to the contrary, the dancing by Zeta-Jones is excellent, as expected from her West End days; Zellweger, a little less so, but still very good. The casting is extraordinary except perhaps for Richard Gere who wasn't quite smooth enough to pull off Flynn's role (cute as a button though). All-in-all, a good adaptation of the Broadway show. There are many Oscar worthy things here. Miramax scores again!
Signs (2002)
Wadda cheap alien!
I wanted to love this movie. I really did. First of all, it was made in my backyard. Well, close enough to my backyard. I'm a lifelong resident of Bucks County, PA. Plus, crop circles, aliens, Mel Gibson and the writer/director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable?!? Can you get any better than that? Well, yeah. Given a really bad script, and a story that ultimately becomes totally contrived and cheesy, you could get a lot better. ***Spoilers: Although I'm not really sure that I could spoil this movie anymore than Shamalan did.*** Mel Gibson is a ex-protestant priest who turns his back on his faith - or faith in general - following the accidental death of his wife. He's a farmer, and the movie begins with him and his children finding crop circles in their corn fields - signs that we are not alone? At first, Gibson and his younger brother, played by Phoenix, decide that the strange events occuring around them are the result of pranksters. But things begin to spin out of control, and the film's characters are soon led to believe that the earth is being invaded by ETs. Gibson and Phoenix board the windows and doors of their home. The family hides in the basement and they wait for the aliens. The final showdown occurs when the family exits their basement b/c the invasion is seemingly over and Gibson's son is in desprite need of asthma medication. A really cheap looking alien hovers in their kitchen, and takes Gibson's son hostage w/ mustard gas and a needle that extends from his palm. Words that Gibson's wife spoke shortly before her death take meaning, and the alien is defeated by Phoenix wielding a bat...and WATER?!? Please! It's obvious that Shamalan was trying to craft a tale about losing and finding faith in the context of the supernatural, but the script w/ its corny ending just doesn't work. There were plenty of plot holes! E.g., why would hostile aliens w/ a weakness for water choose to invade a planet that is 2/3 water?!? The movie's only plus is the acting. Gibson does a beautiful, subtle job w/ Graham Hess, and Abigail Breslin is wonderful as his daughter. Where the Sixth Sense was ingenious, and Unbreakable was subtle, Signs is ultimately a joke. (I truly think that the alien in the bad green hulk costume was suppose to be a CGI stand-in...but they ran out of money to do the tech work.) The climax was SO bad! A plot twist in which the invasion was a hoax would have been more satisfing, although predictable. It's so disappointing that all the signs in this movie added up to so little. ** out of 5
The Haunting (1999)
This is Lili Taylor's movie.
This is Lili Taylor's movie, not Catherine Zeta-Jones' or Liam Nieson's. They're guest stars in comparison and are used for name recognition only. A truly mediocre film. Not scary at all, but not completely boring either. Special effects and "Theo's" clothes are the best parts of this movie (superficial, but true).
At First Sight (1999)
Fiction, fiction, fiction
A very poor depiction of a true case study by Oliver Sacks. Val Kilmer's character learns very quickly about the sighted world -- too quickly. In truth, learning to deal with the sighted world for a person once blind is a process 100x's harder and slower than depicted in this film. A fictional and highly disappointing film.
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Criticism: Just too many people
Don't get me wrong. There are lots of good things in this movie. But the major downfall crushes them all. There are just too many people in this film! At times, three famous actors play a single character in varying stages of his/her life and are viewed in many confusing flashbacks. Keep up with all of 'em and you win a medal! Also, the "black hole" comment was just a tad racist.