This film is perfection. From start to finish, there's nothing that isn't absolute bliss. If you wanted Lost In Translation to be less melancholy, I highly suggest you rent both Before films. Reunited 9 years after the events of Before Sunrise, Jesse and Celine meet up at his small press interview of his book which chronicles the happenings of the first film. They walk. They talk. They do it all over again. I'm a person who can't stand to listen to people talk to each other in public places. You know when you're sitting at a restaraunt by yourself and listening to the babbling of people near you? I can't stand that. But I could listen to Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy (in a script they cowrote but mostly improvised with writer/director Richard Linklater) talk for hours. So, after the first film, did they meet up months later in Paris? Do they get together in this one? Will we have to wait till 2013 for another sequel? You'll get your answers. There are many surprises thrown at the audience and its all in the form of character and dialogue and not plot. Hawke is at his best here where he plays what he was meant to: a confused, slacker for life, young man. As for Delpy, WOW! What a luminous performance! I thought I'd never see her again after An American Werewolf in Paris. This is the 2nd best performance I've seen this year and I can only hope the Academy remembers her in January. Good luck not tearing up to her guitar waltz. The ending is ambiguios, yet expertly matches the beauty and simplicity of the rest of the film. Amidst a year of big budget yet amazing sequels, Before Sunset is in good company, but way ahead of the pack.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - 8/10
Renee Zellweger returns to the role that earned her the first of three Oscar nominations. Though, if you ask me, Bridget should have been her 3rd or 4th nomination behind Jerry Maguire, Nurse Betty and possibly One True Thing. Texan Zellweger is so perfectly cast in the role that all of Britain immediately forgave her for taking the part of one of their most beloved, very English characters. Yes, her boobs are better this time around as well. Bridget this time goes for more physical comedy which Miss Z can surprisingly do to perfection. The film goes for a more original concept than the typical rom-com by showing that a happy ending isn't exactly an easy thing to keep up. There's all sorts of complications when insecurity gets in the way. Several very funny bits most notably a hilarious skiing scene make this one funnier than the first but I wish there could have been more witty dialogue. I didn't exactly go into this one looking for a great movie, rather a fun time with a big screen gal everyone can relate to. It delivered perfectly.
The Polar Express - 7/10
This film could have been a masterpiece had the studio waited about 5 more years to release it. As it stands, the human animation is quite distracting. The Stepford children look stoned throughout the film. Was it really necessary to have Tom Hanks voice almost half a dozen characters? Despite all this, there is some gorgeous animation and several exhilerating action sequences that rivaled anything other special effects driven film released in the past several years. The story is timeless. Child loses the belief in Christmas which is brought back to life. Child smiles. People cry. Everyone goes home happy. The film's message works very well and its a perfect time to catch this one even if isn't the perfect film it could have been.
Saw - 4/10
I thought the whole Seven style went out the window in the late 90's. I guess I was wrong. This film is DISTURBING. Well, it thinks it is. Every inch of atmosphere, every overly stylish shot, every bit of gore, every tortured victim, every third rate performance: DISTURBING. Two men wake up in a mysterious room with a dead body between them. Are you disturbed yet? Well, you will be. Then, through flashbacks (some of which have flashbacks in them, don't ask!) we get to know the characters and how they came in contact with the serial killer who put them in this DISTURBING situation. We get to meet some of his previous victims and his DISTURBING methods of killing them. All of them are directed in a hyped-up manor, throwing heavy metal music in because, well, that's DISTURBING! The twist is pretty predictable if you have a brain and pay attention to details or plot holes in this film's case. DISTURBING as it may think itself is, scary it is not. Or original.
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