Independence Day (1996)

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Independence Day. Feature film. (1996, 145 mins) IMDB

...another tent-pole movie...

hey say you can't make this film anymore because of September 11th. Maybe. INDEPENDENCE DAY is one of those tent-pole movies that did well. Here the computer effects are for the most part believable. It was made at a time before the craze to have films loaded with CGI. I don't know what actor said it, but it seems accurate and apropos, "They don't teach you how to work with blue screen in school and they should."

The film is peppered with one-dimensional characters and that's to be expected. Our hero gets to be the hero, the nag plays the nag. They don't change notes.

Since this is an action film, it is of course filled with action that is implausible. The final downfall of the alien forces seems completely implausible. The heroes should have died, but audiences don't like those types of downers.

And who where these aliens? Ugly creatures devoid of personalities.

Posted 2009/04/30 at 20h55ET in Movie Commentary.

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Bedtime Stories (2008)

Thursday, May 14, 2009 Bedtime Stories. Feature film. (2008, 99 mins) IMDB...a tame comedy that results in few laughs... There's the young Adam Sandler as a boy living with his sister in a small hotel in LA. His father owns and operates it. Sandler helps out. The dream of father and son is for the son to take over some day except there's a problem. The father isn't a very good manager and the place isn't making enough money. Enter the villain to buy it off him. The villain being a Mr. Hilton type who is able to turn lead into gold. Fast forward twenty years or so. The hotel is a large, thriving business, but for Sandler, instead of owning it or even managing it, he's the custodian who repairs broken dishwashers and replaces burnt-out light bulbs. The promise by the villain to put him in charge was either forgotten or ignored. Enter his estranged sister. She's a health freak with two young children. The father left a long time ago. Part of the humour…

Words: Fairy—Ferry

Thursday, September 6, 2012
A homonym.
FAIRY—A fairy tale. A fairy godmother. Fairy—not a long, long way to run.
FERRY—A boat or ship to transport drunken Swedes back home from Copenhagen. It’s the Danish beer.
Fairy Ferry Samantha the Swimming Fairy by Daisy Meadows Evening Ferry by Katherine Towler
Posted 2012/09/06 at 5h02ET in Words, Writing.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Feature film. (2003, 102 mins) IMDB...do you like lots of gunfire?... The guitar player is back at it. This time there's no mistaken identity. He's wanted by the CIA to help with a coup or to stop a coup. It's never very clear to me, but it doesn't matter. The plot is oh so involved with many players. There's the president and his back-stabbing advisor. There's the CIA. The FBI. The drug cartel and fractions within it. There's also the Mexican army and a certain General. And of course there's El Mariachi and his men. The plot doesn't matter. It's an excuse to put action sequences on screen. In this case it's scenes where our hero is attacked and out numbered and he has to shot his way out of every situation. Bullets fly like rice on a wedding day. It's guns and guns and more guns. The most interesting aspect of this film? The making of it. Many of the things done on scree…

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