After seeing a sneak preview of this, I cannot express how much you should see this movie. Yes, it's a by-the-numbers, formulaic movie where the guy who cares very little for his students eventually learns to love them. But this a formula that doesn't go for the heartstrings, instead it goes for laughs while creating fleshed out characters. Jack Black's role as the rock-star-wannabe loser Dewey Finn is his best since his breakthrough performance in "High Fidelity", basically because it's the part he was born to play. He has the energy and flare that rivals that of Johnny Depp's in "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" and also the flexibility to be taken seriously when he gets personal with some of his students.As for the kids, they do just as well. They have an obvious chemistry with Jack and play thier roles with just as much energy. Albeit a predictable plot, this movie is the best comedy to hit the big screen this year, and something we can all raise our rock goblets to.Grade- B+
[For The Week Of 6. 13. 2003.]
Movie of The Week- "Finding Nemo"
When it comes to Pixar movies ("Monsters Inc.", "Toy Story 1 & 2", "A Bug's Life"), they never fail to entertain both children and adults and always raise the bar on Computer animation. "Finding Nemo" is no exception. The computer animation puts previous attempts both Pixar and it's competitors Dreamworks ("Shrek") and Fox ("Ice Age") to shame and only causes us to wonder if they will be able to outdo themselves in future films such as the already hilarious looking Pixar film "The Incredibles". Pixar also has an undeniable knack to touch bases both on a children's level and an adult's level with humor and a storyline that both can understand.
The story revolves around Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) searching for his only child Nemo after he is caught by some fishermen and placed inside a doctor's office aquarium. From that point on the movie divides into two different storylines which both work and blend very well. The most important storyline being Marlin's search is both dramatic and hilarious. It involves Marlin's funny sidekick Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) who has no short-term memory (surprisingly no "Memento" references though) who in thier search run into some beautifully animated jellyfish, absolutely hilarious surfer dude turtles, and sharks who have thier own fish version of Alcoholics Anonymous. While Nemo's main story takes place in an aquarium with some other great characters such as the Starfish and a loner-type fish named Gill (voiced very well by Willem Dafoe) and involves Nemo's attempts at escaping from the fish tank before the doctor's devilish daughter arrives.
Although "Nemo" seems to lack a bit of the clever humor that can best be found in "Monsters Inc." and "Toy Story", it remains one of the funniest and well done movies to be released this year so far. Pixar has yet to lose points in the human emotion that they give to thier characters while keeping things funny and this is certainly an example of that. Grade- B+
[ For the week of 5. 15. 2003.]
Gaug's Movie Pick of the Week
Ah yes, it returns, this time in Internet form. Well as you may have already guessed my movie pick is the new release/blockbuster "The Matrix: Reloaded", starring Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie Anne-Moss and that guy from Oz. For those who don't know the movie is a continuation of the first Matrix and delves deeper into Zion and the upcoming war with the machines.
The Good
The movie does not BS with anyone that hasn't seen the first one (ala X2 and LOTR: Two Towers), it begins pretty much where the first one left off. The special effects, although not as groundbreaking as the first one, are mind-blowing and the obvious centerpiece of the entire movie. The fight scenes are, for the most part, very impressive but lack the spontaniety of the first and occasinally seem a bit too choreographed. The best scenes in the movie come during the Neo-Agent Smith fight and the widely hyped car chase scene which both deliver very well.
The Bad
For every ying thier is a yang and this is no exception. It does fall short of the first one possibly because the first was probably the most influential film in the past 10 years. The acting, especially the supporting cast, was a bit subpar. With the exception of Keanu Reeves and the French guy (His name was too long and pronounced to remember) most of the actors seem to be either going through the motions or doing even less than that. Some scenes showcase the Wachowski Brothers intelligence so much that they lose the audience in the process (i.e. The Architect Scene). And although the CGI is very good, the rather outstanding Neo-Agent Smith scene is flawed by the times where Neo looks like something out of a PS2 game rather than Keanu Reeves. And finally the ending is just a bit cheesy, mainly the dum-DUM-DUM! music to end it. You'll see what I mean if you're one the trillions that will flock to see it.
Overall
With all of its flaws "Reloaded" has a bit of trouble standing on its own and will need "Matrix:Revolutions" to be better than it in order to be completely satisfying. But regardless it's certainly worth your money, especially if you're a Matrix fan.
AG Rates it: *** our of ****
"There Goes My Hero, He's Ordinary." 9/11/01.
