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You can visit me or my art at www.esbe77.deviantart.com and drop me a line if you feel like it, comments are always welcome as well as critiques of my work.
Reviews (9)
01 Sep, 2009
We are what we eat...
I never thought that Tim Burton + Musical would equal such a tragic and entertaining mixture of horror, comedic elements, gothic and charged sets.
A fellow critic of mine said that Johnny Depp was, for once, bad in that he thought the character to be introverted. In that respect, my fellow was right except for the bad acting part. Depp marvelously under-played the title role to fool the audience so that when slashing time began, we'd all be horrified and a bit detached from the cahracter, yet compelled to look as if to justify. A means to an end if you will.
Helena Bonham-Carter, a natural extrovert, was also asked to tone down her act a bit and pulled the most interesting character of the picture: playful, lusty, doomed, bad cook, singer, infatuated of a man she'll never have. Much could be said about Mrs. Lovett's sweet and sour character, whose personality is far from Marla Singer ("Fight Club") or Syrius Black's overacting cousin.
Tim Burton's direction remains at the peak of its capacities. The imaginative director went where no one could think he'd go: a horror-musical. Needless to say many of Burton's followers didn't feel appealed after the oscar-nominated "Corpse Bride", but Burton's direction proves to be up to the task. Instead of delivering a fairy tale for the ages, he gives us here all the ingredients of a fearfuly delicious pie... To that extent, Burton's message about human nature is plain and clear: it's a dog eat dog world and human nature is as ugly as it gets even in the sweetest of looks.
No one is innocent in this movie and everyone is convinced to be doing the right thing, which, by the third act of the movie, comes full circle with a shocker of an ending that would make "Hannibal", "Red Dragon" and "Hannibal Rising" both shake.
You only need see it to believe it.
17 Oct, 2011
Toy Story: A children's gem to own
The first ever computer-generated movie could have gone so wrong had it not been handled by the wizards at Pixar. As much as it was a hard film to make due to the technology of the time (1995, needless to say) and the very limited softwares, they conjured up magic on every level.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen give strong character voices to Woody and Buzz and make their digital alter ego all the more believable, giving Toy Story a third dimension with its dialogue, relationships and all the characters populating this amazing cast of unforgettable characters.
If you have yet to watch Toy Story 2 and 3, DO NOT WAIT another minute. In my opinion, children as well as grown-ups will enjoy both sequels as they contain something unique and, when comes the time to part at the end of Toy Story 3, do not be surprised should you shed a few tears... I did it too.
14 Oct, 2011
How does one word define one's life? It doesn't!
Simply put, Citizen Kane isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Should you happen to not like movies from the 40s for whatever reason, then you're out of luck, and you're missing out because it is a true piece of cinematic history in its own right. They don't call it the "greatest movie of all time" for no reason, but do I share this opinion? Probably not, but that doesn't mean I do not respect its place in the pantheon of motion pictures.
Mister Welles battled the odds time and again and fought his way to make HIS picture and that alone is worth a great deal in any book. To have a man so dedicated to his work and believing in himself this much is as inspiring as it is dangerous and after viewing Citizen Kane for the 10th time, I feel like I only begin to understand what I was meant to, and scenes can extrapolate in my mind in an unsuspected way.
As far as picture quality go, this one is very high up there. If I should give it a number, a 4.5 out of 5 seems about right and the restauration truly shows all the best qualities in Welles' work. Even minor acting notes that weren't as clean on the DVD are now apparent as daylight, and reinforce the film that much more.
Soundwise, it is safe to say Citizen Kane hasn't been made for the 21st century, but it boasts a very soft and immersive soundtrack that, once too loud, shows is age and slight problems such as hissing and some pops here and there. Nevertheless, dialogue is clean and the music and dialogue are satisfying. to put it in number, one would have to give it 3.5 out of 5.
In terms of special features, we do obtain quite a bit, but seeing as how these are mainly movies shot to re-enact what has happened (or what MAY have happened), I will only say that the quality is there... the only thing I would have liked is a retrospective documentary about the legend surrounding this film, its legacy, if there were deleted scenes, etc. Even the trailer is absent, sadly, which would make me give 3.5 out of 5 for the effort.
All in all, Citizen Kane is a motion picture event that forged cinema in the more adult paths of artistic measure. It defies comprehension and dares to leave more questions than answers, something most movies of the period would never do. You would be hard pressed to get this "ultimate" edition of Orson Welles' masterpiece.
Here's hoping for "Touch of Evil" in a set as impressive as this one, or as amazing as "Ben Hur"...