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adamjschellenberg
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The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Fantastic
View from the Second Star: The Passion of the Christ (Adam watched this film at a special preview in January)
It's hard to walk into a picture these days without knowing every detail about the movie. Trailers have shown too much story, reviews have jaded your perspective, or friends have refused to see it - movies get spoiled. Yet, sometimes, knowing the story is a far cry from seeing the event. For many, the story of the crucifixion is something they've grown up with, lived with, as far back as memory serves. I tell you this, no matter what you've heard, no matter what you know - you will be stunned by The Passion of the Christ.
From the opening shot to the falling credits, this film demands full control of ones body and emotion. So visually spectacular and physically gripping, this film had me literally convulsing as I attempted to watch what was onscreen. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, starring Jim Caviezel, is a retelling of the last hours of Jesus Christ. Believe me when I say that this production is more than a story, more than a movie; this film can only be described as an experience.
This movie is fantastically brutal. From beginning to end, blood drenched flesh is smeared across the screen in a ghastly fashion. Gibson defends his incredibly graphic depiction by noting that the bible states Jesus was beaten beyond recognition. I assure you, beaten beyond recognition hardly describes soft tissue being torn to be the bone as blood drips into puddles on the ground. The violence shown in this movie is unlike other Hollywood violence - it's uncomfortably personal. The scenes are so believable, the violence so real, that the scenes appear to take place in your very presence; imagine before you a man being torn to bloody shreds; your helpless to do anything, you're a spectator - utterly horrific.
As any appreciator of the finer things in film might see, The Passion of the Christ is artistic genius. Mel Gibson stated that his film follows the last 12 hours of Christ in accordance to the gospel, and although biblical scholars have confirmed this to be true, it is also true that a certain artistic license was taken to particular moments in the story. Nothing anti-biblical was added, but inside a sense deep meaning was inserted through symbols and actions not actually recorded in the gospels. This artistry serves to aid the story and engage the audience - artistically and culturally, expect nothing less that a film superbly crafted. Set your expectations high, this one can handle them.
Unless you've been avoiding the media in recent months you've heard accusations of anti-Semitism against this movie: its going to rekindle a hate for Jews, its depicting the Jewish leaders of the day as monsters, and its showing that the Jews were solely responsible for the death of Jesus. I trust that once the movie is seen by the general public all of these statements will fade into the shadows; this movies greatest defense will be itself. It is true that the Jews were involved in the crucifixion of Christ, just as it's said in the bible for nearly two thousand years. Hearing this story doesn't swell up a hatred for the Jewish race, no more than watching Schindlers List makes one hate current day Germans. This film is going to be many things to many people - anti-Semitic is not one of them.
No matter your background, no matter your race, no matter your beliefs on the afterlife, this movie needs to be seen. The art, the culture, and the magnificence - see The Passion of the Christ and you will have seen the fantastic. Ten out of ten.
This has been a critical review by Adam Schellenberg
Torque (2004)
Fast and freaking terrible.
View from the Second Star: Torque
Hop on, strap in, and prepare to go nowhere; you're watching Torque, Hollywood's latest (and I think poorest) attempt to cash in on the success enjoyed by The Fast and the Furious. The film is directed by Joseph Kahn and stars Martin Henderson as Ford, a biker who sort of looks like a cross between Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, and Aragorn in LOTR. He was set up for murder by an old rival, and now he's on the run from revenge bent gang leader Ice Cube, and some FBI guy who gets his fashion advice from Ryan Seacrest. That's the story in a nutshell, and it's what the film force feeds down the audience's throat in the first three minutes of the film: pathetic.
It wouldn't take much to save this film; just a story, characters, and maybe some element of realism. When I first saw The Fast and the Furious, I wasn't really impressed. Okay acting, not much of a story. To me, this picture was going nowhere real fast; but still, I do admit, it was fun to watch. And upon subsequent viewings, I managed to change my mind about that little fan favorite. Stories don't always have to be the only focus, and characters, as long as they exist, can sometimes forgivably take a backseat to action. On the other hand, Torque makes The Fast and the Furious look like the Shawshank Redemption.
Due to the lack of any character development at all, every scene designed to put tension into the audience only results in boredom on the viewer's part. One never worries about these characters onscreen because they're paper thin lumps of flesh whom the audience has no common bond. The films characters, each with no more than one basic trait (example: I'm a drug running black guy in a gang), bombard the boring protagonist with simplistic story elements and excessively wretched lines of dialogue. In essence the film sits you on grandpa's knee and explains the entire mess in first grade vocabulary. I feel more emotionally involved after watching a bank commercial than I did after seeing this mass of garbage.
This film suffers from something I last experienced while watching Xena: Warrior Princess. It's when the main characters are superhumans just for the heck of it. The uniquely named "Ford" fights off car drivers like he's Jet Li, and races his motorbike through passenger trains. Believe me, the train scene looks every bit as corny as it sounds. Fast cars/bikes are pretty cool, but when every single element of reality is removed so is ever iota of me caring. The endless cartoon visuals serve only as a constant reminder why the CG in Star Wars made fans hate Jar Jar Binks.
I guess the characters in this film immortal. They must be: they don't sleep, eat, or get injured by anything. They don't even seem to have houses or homes of any kind. And for some reason every lead character seems think that Mexico is the land of ultimate bliss. When they mess up their bikes I guess they just find new ones somewhere and they must have a huge stockpile of cash because nobody has a job. Ice Cubes gang doesn't even seem to trade drugs, so they must have gone legit: whatever. Plot holes and surrealisms exist around every corner in this train wreck of a production. What a mess.
If I was related to the director of this film, and he asked me, "Adam, did you like the movie?" I would probably start crying and begin cursing him for ruining the family name, but if somehow I bit my tongue and held back my tears I might be able to spout out a few nice words regarding select bits of cinematography. Joseph Kahn is a music video director and this film proves nothing different. With a great sense of camera placement, and often intriguing visuals it's no surprise Kahn has been successful with his music videos in the past. An entire Hollywood production however, seems to have been more of a challenge for him.
This film was shot for the bikes, and I admit, it does a half decent job of showcasing just what rocket powered flying machines would be capable of doing. But to stray from the only focus of this piece of rubbish for a moment, I would have to give some credit for a murder that seems out of place in this Saturday morning cartoon. It wasn't the acting and it sure wasn't the story, but for some reason the editing during this slaughter threw me out of the disaster for a few seconds. I felt like I was experiencing a movie far more meaningful, far more professional that I actually was. And for those of you who wonder what I'm talking about when you see the picture, just remember, I thought this for a moment. After 3 seconds, I was drawn back into the tornado.
If you don't mind watching cartoons, and you think motorbikes can fly into space you might enjoy this film. For the rest of us, I suggest a viewing of. anything else. Three out of ten stars for this piece of trash.
This has been a critical review by Adam Schellenberg
Elf (2003)
Funny for children, but made for adults.
View from the Second Star: Elf
Elves, it seems, are good for one of three things. Building shoes while the shoemaker is asleep, making cookies and tea in trees, or manufacturing presents for all the good little girls and boys in Santa's workshop. "Elf", starring Will Ferrell, is the story of a human baby who snuck into Santa's toy bag while he was delivering toys to an orphanage. Santa, the kind hearted old fellow that he is, upon find this child in his toy sack, had this human baby raised in the North Pole amongst the elfish as one of their own. However, when a now fully grown Ferrel, learns of his mysterious history, he sets out for New York city to find his father and his past. Well actually not his past, just his father. sort of.
This movie was funny - and anyone who says it was otherwise isn't me. From intro to the credits, I chuckled my way along the twisted bewildering path down which Ferrel leads the audience. The costume alone was a slap-in-the-face; it had me giggling at least once every fifteen minutes. Will Ferrell is hilarious: his expressions, his mannerisms, and this innocent little Elf routine: gold my friends, gold. He was good on Saturday night live, he's great in Elf.
The story itself isn't really much more than a vehicle for Ferrell's parade of cutesy insane behavior. A workaholic father, a mom who cares, and a son who needs a friend, cliché if ever there was; yet somehow, a six foot elf-man really brings the whole thing together. No moment to cheesy, no "Dad I love you" ending. Its obvious that this film wasn't created to cater to the family audience; I think, moreover, this film was designed specifically not exclude the family while appealing Ferrels main fan base, the teens and twenty somethings, at the same time. We've seen comedy designs like this before; Shrek anybody? Another example would be Shrek.
The only grievances I have for this film revolve around the late third and forth quarter where things begin to slow down comedy wise. The "I'm an Elf in the city" routine works beautifully, but one can only laugh at the same thing for so long. Aside from the wrap up being a little boxy, the lagging denouement, this film's marginal errors are hardly noticeable to the always entertained eye.
A ridiculous setting, a heavily recycled story, and a man dressed in yellow tights. This movie has no point, but who cares - I sure didn't, and I usually care too! It works, and it's funny. Good for the kids, great for the dates. Not doing much Friday night, or any night for that matter? Why not go see Elf; if you don't have many friends you can always find people to sit with there.
7/10
Red Dragon (2002)
As the Credits rise, the mind will not soon forget Red Dragon
As for taste in movies, I don't usually enjoy films that depict psycho killers, however Red Dragon proved such a dark seductive experience, that I found nearly no melancholy cliques existent, or at least none that took pleasure from this film. As stylish as it is stunning, Red Dragon delivers a powerful performance by both Edward Norton and Anthony Hopkins. This films greatest strength is in its excellent directing, which plays marvelously on a clenching screenplay. Never before have I felt such sympathy for a killer as I have in this case. A definite recommendation for those in seek of an film that delivers on a intellectual level, as well as a emotional.