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weblog :: the.rumpus :: archives Tuesday, July 15, 2003 Firefly is dead. Long live Firefly! Whedon Writes Firefly Film Link courtesy of Philos. :: 2:18 PM :: :: link to this post :: Friday, July 11, 2003 Matrix Ping PongWho needs fancy CGI effects? http://www.ntv.co.jp/channel/asx/hkzkt10.asx If the link doesn't work, open media player and do a file... "open from url" and paste the link in there. :: 11:01 AM :: :: link to this post :: Monday, July 07, 2003 Book: Raymond Chandler, The Lady in the LakeMusic: Richard Thompson, The Old Kit Bag PC Game: True Combat 1.0 (the new version) RPG: Universalis I've been renting movies again lately. Here are some capsule reviews. I use a 7-word scale to rate movies, from best to worst: Superb, Great, Good, Fair, Mediore, Poor, Terrible. Frida [Rating: Great] Wow. This movie is amazing and wonderful. I should have seen it in the theater. Julie Taymor works her magic and brings Frida's impossible world to life. And Salma Hayek is stunning. She finally gets to show off her acting abilities and they are impressive. All of the performances are very good, particularly Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera. Elliott Goldenthal really earned his Oscar for the music, too. Punch-Drunk Love [Rating: Great] A lot has already been said about this film, so I won't go into all of it here. In short: I liked it a lot. It's bizarre, and difficult, and tantalizing. It's a movie that asks questions instead of giving answers, which is all too rare. Adam Sandler did not get the recognition he deserves for his performance in this movie. He creates a quirky, unsettling, complicated on-screen character that never drops into a one-note oversimplification. Narc [Rating: Superb] Wow. Again. Narc is an independant-film success story on many levels. It's one hell of a movie that was made on a shoestring budget without studio control. It was then shown at Sundance and picked up by Paramount for national release. It's a director's true vision, without interference from test-audiences and marketing groups. And it's played wonderfully by Jason Patric and Ray Liotta. The director, Joe Carnahan, gives us a fresh take on the "gritty cop" genre, which is no mean feat. This type of film has been done and re-done countless times, often brilliantly (Serpico, French Connection, Training Day) yet Carnahan finds his own voice with the material. The Rashomon-style storytelling gives the movie a classic feel, while the style and performances are completely modern and exciting. I'm giving Narc a "Superb" not because it's the best movie ever, but because it's a fantastic genre-film that (like Training Day) shows that its genre is still alive and kicking. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys [Rating: Good] This was at SIFF last year, and I watched it on DVD with my housemate recently. Despite its uneven emotional tone, this is a real winner. The inner fantasy life of the main character resonates with me, for obvious reasons. And the animated sequences add a lot to the film. They could have been very cheesy and damaging, but instead they add a layer of emotion and story that helps the movie be more than a typical coming-of-age tale. :: 11:23 AM :: :: link to this post ::
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