Apocalypto. I didn't know what to expect from this film. Was it some sort of supernatural flick, detailing how the Mayans vanished from the face of the earth? Maybe a sci-fi film showing how aliens helped them create their civilization, only to take it away? As it turns out it was a pretty good movie, despite some historical inaccuracies. It helps that I'm fascinated by Mayan culture.
Stardust. I really wanted to like this movie, I really did. Unfortunately, it left a lot to be desired. Maybe it's because the book was the first Gaiman novel I ever read (well, unless you count Good Omens, which I consider more Pratchett-like), and thus opened a gateway to his fantastic imagination. Expectations were high; too high, as it turned out.
Whatever the case, I was pretty disappointed with the movie. Especially with Robert de Niro's character. Ugh. Why did they have to "flesh out" his character? What did it buy them? A couple of cheap laughs? Claire Danes didn't do much for me either--maybe she and Sienna Miller should've switched roles instead. And the ending--the book had a perfect, bittersweet ending. The movie? Um, Hollywood.
There were some good things about it, though. Michelle Pfeiffer has aged very well, and is still quite the beautiful actress; I kept remembering Ladyhawke while watching her. Mark Strong was an effective Septimus, and the scenes with the seven brothers were quite entertaining.
I've always been critical of purists who nitpick every single detail (such as the LOTR fans who complained about the movie trilogy). Unfortunately, in this case...
The book was better.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment