Short Reviews #25
Babel (2006)
I was a complete wreck after watching Babel. A sobering mess. This is the film Crash wished it was. Intelligent, thought-provoking, heartbreaking, politically charged storytelling at its very best and cinematically a masterpiece. I can’t believe there is such a backlash against this film, particularly those who consider it pretentious and unfathomable. Well, if you’re one of those people then you may need to stop reading because this review serves as nothing but complete respect for what director Alejandro González Iñárritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga have achieved. I think one’s opinion essentially comes down to director Iñárritu’s approach to the material. Some will find it one-sided but just like Paul Greengrass did with Bloody Sunday and United 93, it’s his own interpretation of the world and events that take place. For this reviewer, every situation made perfect and plausible sense and communicated its message powerfully. The film focuses on four interwoven stories playing with the themes of miscommunication, misunderstanding, chance and coincidence. The story that compelled me the most was that of Chieko, a deaf-mute Japanese schoolgirl who strives to make a connection with people. Iñárritu handles this storyline with immense compassion and care and relative newcomer Rinko Kikuchi is a revelation. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Gael García Bernal are good too but Kikuchi and actress Adriana Barraza playing the Mexican nanny are exceptional. Babel is a film I highly recommend everyone to see. A modern day masterpiece of drama.
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Visually, this is probably the most lavish period film I’ve ever seen. But then again, I generally despise period films in general because they bore me to tears and I find it very difficult to buy American actors spouting British dialogue. So I don’t see that many. I had hoped Sofia Coppola would do something different with Marie Antoinette but unfortunately splicing in American indie music wasn’t enough to stop me falling asleep. This pissed me off because I loved both The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation. They at least had interesting characters to follow and there seemed to be a more adult approach to the material. With Marie Antoinette I got the feeling she invited her girlfriends over and showed them the amazing costumes and shoes she had lining her extensive wardrobe. And that’s fine for the target demographic (teenage girls) but to me, I witnessed a lot of style and very little substance. The substance Coppola oozed from the screen with her previous outings just isn’t present here. And I understand her understated approach to the material, allowing us to soak up the atmosphere and dreamlike quality to Antoinette’s lifestyle and absorb her loneliness. And this will appeal to a lot of people out there. I just didn’t enjoy it and felt really letdown.
Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny (2006)
I had hoped the Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny would be a little like the Wayne’s World films – witty skits and parodies trenched in homage’s to popular culture and classic rock music. I own the Complete Masterworks Tenacious D DVD too and their self-titled debut album has its charms. But unless you’re extremely stoned and/or intoxicated, you’ll probably get bored of the predictability of the “D’s” adventures and mark this one up as a lame attempt at a buddy movie. I watched this after 6 or so beers so I thought I was pretty prepared for laugh out loud antics. But the only time I really cracked up was the sequence involving how the name ‘Tenacious D’ came about. That was indeed comic gold! Cameos galore attempt to mask the non-existent screenplay but even those aren’t worth mentioning. Ok well yes, Dave Grohl does play The Devil towards the end of the film quite well but it’s not worth sitting through the other 80 or so minutes for his sequence. And the songs from the film aren’t a notch on their debut album either. What a bummer dude. Definitely for hardcore fans of the “D” only.
Blood Diamond (2006)
Three things come to mind after watching Edward Zwick’s Blood Diamond. One - that it’s incredibly violent. You see innocent people being shot at close range by adults and children alike in fairly graphic detail. Two - Leonardo DiCaprio continues to show his progression as a serious actor. And three – it makes you doubt the purchase of diamonds and jewelry. This is the kind of structure Edward Zwick has used for years. Make a film about repression, slavery and political insights, stage the action sequences well, add a number of scenes of brutality to help drive the point home and cast a well known actor or two in the lead roles. He does all those things well. What he generally falls short of is trimming the fat and working from a top notch screenplay. Here Jennifer Connelly’s character is poorly drawn and so is the love story between her and DiCaprio. Yes it’s a Hollywood film so I guess you expect that to an extent but the serious business of diamond trade has been seldom covered on film so it could have gone deeper into the issue and the Sierra Leone civil war (which serves as the films backdrop so to speak). Had he spend more running time on those aspects rather than the forced romance, it would have served him better. A well made and acted film, but a tad too long.
Rocky Balboa (2006)
Well, the thought of Stallone getting back in the boxing ring at age 60 wasn’t exactly sitting towards the top of anticipated films to see in 2007 (that list is coming!). After 4 fairly terrible and pointless sequels, this project just seemed like a lame cash-in attempt. However… Rocky Balboa achieves what I never thought possible – a viable and plausible reason for Rocky to step back into the ring. Although many of the devices used to get him into the ring aren’t entirely original, they work and Stallone gives us a reason once again to care for these characters. Those saying this is the best film since the first are definitely right. Stallone still mumbles gratuitously throughout but it’s one of his best performances in years, perhaps the best since Copland. Granted, this isn’t high art but it’s well made, acted, shot, scored (the great theme from Bill Conti drifts in and out beautifully) and peaks enough emotion during the training and fighting sequences. Hopefully this will be the last Rocky film though because it ends on a high note and sits nicely alongside the original for a good Rocky double-feature.
6 Responses to “Short Reviews #25”
Great review James. I enjoyed this movie as well. My only fault with it is that I found the ‘Mexican’ story arc the weaker of the arcs and a little too unbelievable at times. My girlfriend works as a deaf-interpreter so we both found the Japanese arc to be fascinating and incredibly well-done. A moving and strong film no doubt.
I loved the Mexican story and yeah the film could be considered a wave of unbelieveble events but then again, the unexpected turn of events are central to the themes.
Babel is truly unique. If there is any justice it will win Best Film, but I think the Academy voters will vote against it. I actually found the Mexican story the most involving and I thought Adriana Barraza was wonderful.
I thought Copland was excellent, especially the longer director’s cut, which is worth the upgrade if you already have the ‘edited highlights’ version. It proves that ‘Sterioid’ Stallone doesn’t need to be articulate to give an effective performance (but we already knew that). I’ll see Rocky Balboa on DVD out of curiosity. Nice to know that Babble (sic, as per the Golden Globe awards) lives up to the hype.
I just bought the original Rocky for $15 at JB. Titled ‘The Definitve Edition’, it’s a pretty sweet 2 disc set. Oh and Twin Peaks: Season 1 for $36! (normally $64!) ( Planning to watch it again before Season 2 FINALLY comes out in April).
[...] No other film this year moved me as much as Babel. An important film to see and although upon second viewing it didn’t pack the same emotional punch, it certainly is one of the finest dramss of the year. (read review) [...]