As much as I love Christian Bale and very much like both Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart, Heath Ledger was the best part of Dark Knight, which is saying a lot because the whole film was fantastic! Ledger’s Joker character was wholly believable, funny and much better than Jack Nicholson’s portrayal in Batman (1989).
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I’ve updated the Looking Forward to 2008 Films post (sidebar). Visit here: Looking forward to 2008 films
An apathetic, hard-living superhero (Will Smith) who has fallen out of favor with the public is approached by a public relations professional (Jason Bateman) who has ideas as to how he can repair his client’s image.
I was quite looking forward to Hancock because of the concept of the film. See above. But, not even 10 minutes into the film, I knew it was a dud. The directing was so mediocre. I don’t even understand why, of all directors to shoot an action film starring Will Smith and Charlize Theron, Columbia settles on Peter Berg. What the f@*k? Then again, the film does have a messy history and went through so many script rewrites the original script is almost non-existent in the final. At the getgo it seemed producers had no real artistic vision for the film and were only looking to make it palatable for the masses without any concern for a plot that made any sense. Both Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3) and Gabriel Muccino (The Pursuit of Happyness) who are both as ill-equipped as Berg to direct such a large scale, high-concept modern superhero action film, both bowed out in directing the film.
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After being sent away by Judge Turpin, Sweeney Todd a.k.a Benjamin Barker returns to London with the help of a sailor, Anthony Hope. He opens a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pie Shop, where she sells “the worst pies in London.” With the help of Mrs. Lovett, Todd means to rid London of the corrupt aristocracy, and hopes to be reunited with his daughter, Johanna, who is now Judge Turpin’s ward.
I’ve known Tim Burton to be creepy in his directorial and writing, but never really down right gorish. But, how else can you unflicnhingly remake the story of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, who slits the throats of his unsuspecting customers who only want a “close shave” only to have his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett dispose of the bodies by making human meat pies and selling them in her meat pie shop.
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Two sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn (Natalie Portman & Scarlett Johansson) vie for the affections of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana).
The cinematography and directing in The Other Boleyn Girl is stunning. Many shots could be captured and framed as a still life. But, the most surprising and refreshing aspect of the film was Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Anne Boleyn. After watching the past couple of seasons of The Tudors, I’ve looked forward to seeing other takes on the story of King Henry VIII and his affair with Anne Boleyn. Though The Other Boleyn Girl is based on a novel by Phillipa Gregory and not “actual events”, it awakens ones imagination as to what could have or possibly did really occur during Henry VIII’s reign and before Elizabethan times.
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