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DroopyMcCool
Writer/Director.
Barrel o' laffs.
Loves squirrels.
Reviews
The Omen (2006)
(Attempted) Style over Substance
I was looking forward to seeing this version of The Omen, as the original is a favorite of mine and I was intrigued as to what John Moore could bring to the table. So I was somewhat surprised at how annoyed I felt at the end. This film is like a Big Mac - kind of fun in parts, but leaving you hollow and hungry moments later. First off, the cast. Overall, it was well cast, but Julia Stiles was a poor choice, her acting is fine, but she's just too young for this role. And as much as I love David Thewlis' work, having him decipher the biblical passages made me relapse into happy memories of him as Johnny in 'Naked' - "Are yer familiar with the book of revelations...?" What really got my goat though, was the direction. Moore obviously saw this as his opportunity to stamp his 'auteur' mark all over this - and it comes off second rate. The symbolic layers are not very deep (though I loved Damien's funky wallpaper), and enough with the red already! This was trite when M. Night did it to death - here it is as subtle as a scarlet ferret in your pants. 'Less is more' could be the mantra for the palette. It really felt as if some scenes were lovingly designed just for their style, forget plot enhancement, and don't get me started on the cinematographic choices. It worked fine for the dog attack in the graveyard, not for the stroll through the marketplace. It's annoying because I had high hopes for this movie. So now I ask myself, why is the original so much better? In a nutshell, substance over style.
Moving (2006)
An intriguing short film
I caught this short at the Sacremento Film Festival and was surprised that such a short film could have so many hidden layers and meanings to it. On the surface, it seems like a strange 'Twighlight Zone' episode, but when I started thinking about it, it made me consider the way in which modern society isolates individuals, and what it takes to bring them back together again (i.e. the loss of material possessions). The picture looks very nice, I believe it was shot on H.D., and I am sure I have seen the two leads in other films from the Bay Area. The music which accompanied the film was not overbearing, but complimented the confused state of the characters' minds, and the end song was really nice. Certainly worth checking out if you see it in a festival program.