Recent Movies
Posted March 24, 2008 
Comments(0)
Comments(0) - I Am Legend – haven’t read the book, so can’t compare, but this was reasonable for a blockbuster. Better than I, Robot, this suffered from more than a few hollywood-isms, such as the super shiny cars, the explanation in dialogue, and over the top CGI. In terms of an experience, it was nothing compared to 28 Days Later (and 28 Weeks Later). And they could have played up the angle that the zombies were a new social organisation a bit more I think. Will Smith was good, but its hard to shake being Will Smith, y’know
- American Gangster – I loved the graininess of the film, the characterisations and the depth of the story. Denzel shares a bit of the problem of Will Smith, in that he is such a character as a person that most of his film roles have a continuity that can be difficult to get away from as a viewer. Russell Crowe was fantastic and must surely be the best actor in Hollywood right now. The only downside of this film was the inexplicably poor last fifteen minutes. Was it even necessary? Why would Frank give everyone up and then be friends with his captor. But considering that they really hadn’t had a “cat & mouse” type relationship anyway, it felt very stilted. I think they could have finished off the last 30 min far, far better.
- No Country For Old Men – This was great, from Tommy Lee Jones, to Josh Brolin, and whoever the creepy bad guy was. The cinematogrophy was top notch, and the story line perfect in pitch. Briefly, a bad guy with a very strong but incredibly strange set of standards haunts portions of Texas, and in particular Llewelyn Moss, who has a couple of million dollars that the bady guy Anton Chigurh feels entitled to. Sure, there was lots of blood, but it wasn’t out of context. I could have done with a neater tie up at the end, but am in no way complaining with the decisions of the Coen brothers.