Dec 24
Love Actually is one of those movies that I’ll throw in when I need an assured boost. The Richard Curtis picture is a favourite of mine because of its barefaced production and lack of guilt. It is a romantic comedy that knows exactly what it’s doing, cruising cheerfully through several stories about love in countless forms.
It’s that time of year where Christmas movies are on damn near every channel and people are generally in the mood for a little holiday cheer when they’re through mauling each other for fancy electronics. In that spirit is Elf, a cheery little comedy directed by Jon Favreau. Now sure, the ending is hokey and that whole Christmas spirit stuff is probably going to irritate the hell out of the curmudgeons and Scrooges in the crowd, but the overall energy and humour of Elf should put smiles on most faces.
Bulletproof Monk is apparently based on a “very underground comic book” by Michael Avon Oeming. The movie, from 2003, is another vehicle designed to sell Chow Yun-fat to American audiences. He made his introduction stateside with The Replacement Killers and solidified his presence with the amazing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This film is a long way away from Ang Lee’s marvel, I can tell you that.
Nov 18
Disney’s 44th feature under the so-called Animated Classics is 2003’s Brother Bear. This is the third and last feature to be produced by the Orlando Disney-MGM Studios. Amazingly, Brother Bear received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. Of course, it wound up losing to Finding Nemo.
Brother Bear is a lazy motion picture. The animation gets progressively worse as things move on and the filmmakers’ lack of regard for the story is clear. The voice talents are underwhelming and the songs by Phil Collins are awful. The real shame, though, is the potential for a rich, compelling narrative given the sources. Telling a story that involves the Inuit and takes place after the Ice Age could have been a wonderful opportunity to show off some animation chops, but Disney flubs this one from the outset and never looks back.
Backing my courageous assertion that I must watch everything and anything I come across, here is From Justin to Kelly. This 2003 “musical” is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Penned by Kim Fuller, the brother of American Idol creator Simon Fuller, From Justin to Kelly features Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini partying it up during one of the lamest spring breaks on record.
Is this some sort of elaborate joke? Can a movie actually be this bad? What the hell is Clarkson wearing? Why, dear Jesus, why?
