spoiler7 Reviews

The Dark Knight (2008)

Avoid if you are an adult

[1/10 · 5 January 2009]

I finally saw this movie because everyone kept talking about it. But for anyone who has seen more than a few movies (ie somebody over 20) there is just nothing there. Even without the hype I found this movie to be really painfully bad. A few points:

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It seems the movie is trying to be realistic starting with something that looks like a somewhat believable heist. But then there are so many totally improbable things like batman's hideout and gadgets, the joker somehow getting zillions of minions, etc. So which is it a gritty crime movie or fantasy? I can't tell.

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Haven't we seen "witty" dialog like this 100 times:

Batman: "Let her go" Joker: "Oh, very poor choice of words" (drops her out window)

When this happened my jaw dropped. This is worse than a Rambo movie.

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I get it that Heath Ledger playing The Joker is supposed to be some crazy psycho. Hardly original or award worthy. Just looked like a hundred others we have seen before in other movies.

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All "characters" are totally off-the-shelf. There's no depth or surprise to them at all.

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What does Rachel Dawes see in Bruce Wayne? In the scene in the restaurant ("I own the place") he seems like a braggart and feels the need to arrive at his own party in a helicopter with three arm candy women on his arm. (Why isn't he already at his own place?)

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Oh look a fancy party in Wayne's penthouse. I wonder what's going to happen? Look the bad guy comes in a starts tormenting people. Then Wayne has to change into his batman costume to save the day. How is this not 110% predictable.

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Again, is the movie supposed to be realist? When arrested The Joker would really be forced to wash the makeup off his face.

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Bruce Wayne saves the armored truck from a collision by placing his Lamborghini in between it an on coming truck. Aren't armored trucks stronger than sports cars. Yeah, I know Wayne has some magic tech. So at this point we are supposed to suspend disbelief.

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I could go on. Obviously some people really like this movie. That's great but please don't say its anything like the best movie ever until you have seen some films from the AFI's lists http://www.afi.com/10TOP10/

Luna: Spirit of the Whale (2007 TV Movie)

Better than most Disney stuff

[7/10 · 19 April 2007]

I saw this movie 2007Apr18 at the Toronto Sprockets fest. Its a kids/family movie and I'm not a kid so I can't give you the kid's point of view. As an adult I found it better than most Disney stuff but nothing amazing. I liked the story (without giving much away is about a human spirit in an Orca whale). It was unique and seemed authentic. There is also parallel story which doesn't invoke any sea mammals. I sometimes felt I was watching an episode of the Beachcombers -- but maybe all dramas set in the Canadian West coast will have that feel for some viewers. This is meant to be a criticism. All in all this is a film most families will like.

Tropical Malady (2004)

Huh?

[3/10 · 10 September 2004]

Sorry, I don't see how the first half and second halves of this film tied together. OK, there were soldiers in both. As two separate films it has hope.

The pace in the two halves (films?) was entirely different. As were the people. Everyone was a "slacker" at the start and the solders were driven in the second.

However, I liked the two sisters who befriended the two young men, gave them soda and offered pot. I'd like a movie about them! Didn't see them at the mall.

Signs (2002)

No suspense - just dense

[1/10 · 10 August 2002]

I can't begin to describe how much I hated this film. The plot was very stupid and Mel's "inner journey" was 100% predictable.

SPOILERS!!! (quibbles: Why was the only "person of color" in the film the bad driver? Why not an Indian-American cop, etc. Did you notice the cop's car started 1 nanosecond after she entered it in one scene? Even before the door closed!)

Since this was a Hollywood film, did anyone wonder if the main characters would make it? I was only wondering if I would make it through this sappy slop. If you want to make a "small film" about human feelings - fine - then drop the alien invasion with reporters choking up on TV! Speaking of which - how many thousand times have we seen people in (bad) films watching reports on TV from the world's capitals of the alien invasion (eg Independence Day). This is always sure sign of a film that has dropped into cliché.

In summary: didn't work as a SciFi (too dumb) and didn't work as human film (*I* wanted to kill these people) - it didn't work.

Samsara (2001)

Terrific

[9/10 · 22 September 2001]

I saw the premier of this film at the Toronto Film Festival in Sept 2001. The crowd at the Uptown 1 theatre (and I) loved it. I voted it was fav film of the festival. Some may find it slow - and at 2 ours - some may find it long. But I think the pacing and length were appropriate for the subject. This is a profound and moving film.