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Reggy's Quick Reviews
Here are short but straight-to-the-point reviews of a few older films, which I finally got the chance to see, enjoy!
Alexander:
Alexander was one of the greatest military leaders in history. He knew how to conquer a big part of the then known world. Unfortunately, Oliver Stone doesn't make a big impression with his epic film. He's got the tools to do it but fails to use them correctly.
Colin Farrell delivers an okay performance. It's a better casting choice than Brad Pitt as Achillis in Troy. But somehow Farrell doesn't have the charisma of a great leader, resulting in an average presentation of his character. Val Kilmer as Alexander's father, Philip, Anthony Hopkins as Ptolemy and Angelina Jolie as Olympias all give great performances but their characters do miss something to make it better. So the problem with Alexander is the script and direction. The story is messy and missing depth so it's hard to care for the characters.
The giant battles, journeys through rough landscapes and the climatic finale; the battle for India, all makes a mediocre impression, with just a few visual highlights. Oliver Stone doesn't succeed to give the film an epic feel, which makes the running time of three hours very long.
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Ocean's Twelve:
The gang is back, yep, they're all back in this sequel to Ocean's Eleven. The cast includes, here we go, George Clooney, Chaterine-Zeta Jones, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Bernie Mac, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Carl Reiner Elliot Gould and Don Cheadle. Director Steven Soderbergh is also back as leader of the pact.
Terry Benedict wants his revenge, he can't stand the fact that Danny Ocean robbed his casinos. Benedict comes up with a plan to get his money back from Ocean… plus interest of course.
Ocean's Twelve feels different than the first film. Steven made it look more gritty, down to earth and less Hollywood-slick, which gives the film a great European cinema look. The story is well written with some nice twists and fun jokes. The movie is also very fun for my Dutch readers, like me, cause the film was partly shot in Amsterdam.
The power behind the film is, once again, the great cast. They have a great chemistry and you can tell that they made this flick just for fun but also trying something new. Steven Soderbergh knows how to direct the great amount of different characters. He never loses control and finds the right balance of telling each story. Ocean's Twelve is a fun non-Hollywood comedy.
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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events:
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is cut for Jim Carrey. He's out of control as Count Olaf and also presents a couple of other bizarre characters.
The movie with one of the longest titles in film history tells the story of three children who lost their wealthy parents. A distant member, named Count Olaf, wants to take care of the children, not because they're sweet but because he has a plan to inherit their fortune.
Lemony Snicket is a wonderful family flick. The impressive art direction and tone are beautiful. Meryl Streep is fantastic in her supporting role but of course, Jim Carrey is the star of Lemony Snicket's, creating hilarious strange characters.
Brad Silberling (City of Angels) delivers a fun, dark tale with pitch black humor.
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Written by Reggy 18/01/05
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