The New World

The New World: Going into this film I already did not like Colin Farrell and this movie did nothing to change that opinion. This is an epic dud. The story centers around John smith and his conflict with Native Americans including the famed Pocahontas. For starters I could not take Farrell serious in the role (Alexander anyone?)…. he just does not fit a 17th century solider. After that we have an extremely slooooow moving film that never draws the viewer in. Director Terrence Malick use a lot of voiceovers to bring drama to the story – Did not work! I would speak of the action, but there was none to speak of. The editing of the film should also be noted – feels like a rock skipping on water, does not flow well at all. The only positive the movie possesses is the marvelous score and the cinematography which was beautiful to look at. I would stay away from this movie unless you are looking to catch up on your sleep.

*
If this movie had parents they would be: Dances with Wolves & Pocahontas

With a running time of 125 minutes
This film is rated PG-13

The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code: Good God where to begin; Having read Dan Brown’s novel like most everyone else, I have been eagerly awaiting this film. After reading the book your 1st assumption is – that would make a great movie. After thinking about it more, it is a difficult movie to make since most the “action” and “great discovery” are done with the characters talking and looking at paintings. – Not the most exciting visual, but works magnificently in the book. That being said….The Da Vinci Code is an excellent adaptation of the book. Director Ron Howard did a brilliant job with putting in visuals to help tell the story and have it make sense to those who did not read the book. We have flash backs to the days of Christ – which help make the plot feel that much more real or possible. The key moment, when we observe Da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper was done superbly. Howard used enough time and changed things a little from the book to make it that much easier to highlight and understand. Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon – We can all agree he is not the best choice for Langdon. However we are talking about Tom Hanks….he was not going to mess up the part – he did the best he could for not fitting into the Langdon character. Audrey Tautou did a fine job as Sophie Neveu, but the 2 that stole the show were Ian Mckellen as Teabing and Paul Bettany as Silas. Also enhancing the story was the score laid down my Hans Zimmer – I thought the music fit the movie so well….gave you the feeling of great discovery. As they say: the book is almost always better than the movie and that holds true for this adaptation, but that does not mean the movie did not succeed, because it did. The Da Vinci code is so much better than your typical summer fare at the theater. This is an easy film to recommend.
* * *
If this movie had parents they would be: Raiders of the lost Ark & National Treasure

With a running time of 142 minutes
This film is rated PG-13

The Family Stone

The Family Stone: Not the most original idea for a movie – The Stone Family all come together for their Christmas celebration every year, this time the oldest son is bringing his uptight girlfriend played by Sarah Jessica Parker. What surprised me the most was the script was much more serious than the previews led you to believe. The movie opens with almost all comedy, but slowly turns into a drama. The movie has a huge cast -besides SJP, we have Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Claire Danes, Craig T Nelson and Diane Keaton as the mother. The highlight of the afore mentioned is Luke Wilson, who plays a sort of hippie, care free brother -> Wilson doing what he does best. The characters, as much as they are cliché – actually work! - Thumbs up to the casting director (Mindy Marin). Unfortunately the movie could not avoid the “Oh So Typical, Everything Works Out” movie making premise. I would have like to see a few changes/surprises in the script which would have made the movie that much stronger.

* * *

If this movie had parents they would be: Home for the Holidays & Pieces of April

With a running time of 113 minutes
This film is rated PG-13

United 93

United 93: A very powerful film by director Paul Greengrass. How powerful? – I saw this on Sunday and could not bring myself to write a review of it till now. I still am not going to go into my typical review, but will just let you know that the film is done extremely well. No known actors are used and I think that is for the best. Most the air traffic controllers and military personnel is played by the actual people that were working that terrible day in September 2001. The movie works in real time – so we see how fast things happened. The movie also stays away from over the top, Hollywoodized emotional/heroic moments. The story is powerful enough. The whole story is shown from 3 areas. The passengers on United 93, air traffic controllers, and military personnel in VA. If Hollywood is going to make a movie about this day – this is how I want to see it done -> There was no political message, no Bruce Willis superhero character, just an inside look at the courage and bravery of the passengers that fought back. I recommend seeing this for the simple fact, that as painful as it was to visit that day again, we should never FORGET.

* * * and ½ stars
No parents for this movie

With a running time of 111 minutes
This Film is rated R