Hairspray

I have no idea about the background of this movie. I didn't even watch in the theaters and didn't really intend to watch it. However, a few months later, I found the DVD and decided to check it out, out of pure curiosity. The next thing I know, I'm trying to learn the songs in the movie, well at least some of them. It was groovy and very entertaining. The music was good, the dancing was good, the actors were good. Everything about it was good. I enjoyed it a lot more than I ever thought I would.

Hairspray was a 2007 musical starring a stellar cast that included John Travolta, Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Elijah Kelley and Taylor Parks. It was directed by Adam Shankman, also one of the producers of the movie. It proved to be a massive hit in the box office earning more than 202 million dollars worldwide. It also received positive reviews from critics. This review would be no different.

I'd like to start with the direction of the movie and say that it was awesome! It was exquisite and excellent. I also liked the screenplay, from the plot to the actual writing of the script. It made the message clear, but it was also fun. It always had the balance of the seriousness of a social commentary movie and the entertainment value. I think it's because of this balance that the movie became effective. Plus, Adam Shankman really took his already amazing screenplay and transformed it into a fun-filled, powerful movie.

It was really funny to see John Travolta in that role. I doubted myself if Tracy's mother was really being played by John Travolta (I really had little idea about the move. While I knew the cast, I didn't know the roles they were playing.) But it was a good funny. It brought the entertainment value way up there. Amanda Bynes also had the perfect timing and delivery for her funny lines. James Marsden was the biggest surprise here, at least for me. I didn't know Cyclops can sing and dance.

I was the most impressed by the cast. There were some that I already knew but I was still surprised to see them dancing and singing like Amanda Bynes and James Marsden. Others I wasn't really familiar with like Elijah Kelly and Taylor Parks, and even Nikki Blonsky. But I was also impressed by them, very talented, dynamic actors and actresses. Every single member of the cast was awesome! Even the council members, which is a shame cause they weren't featured too much, especially Curtis Holbrook and Spencer Liff (I was actually surprised to find out that they were part of the movie. I got to know them in other movies/shows before I found out that they were in the movie.) I would also like to mention that tWitch was also a dancer for the movie. If you don't know tWitch, find him on Youtube and you will know how insanely talented he is.

The songs were really good too. I don't know if all the songs were from the broadway show or if they wrote new ones, dropped some of the others or what. My favorite was probably Run and Tell that performed by Elijah Kelley. All the songs were catchy, but this one stood out. Also the choreography of the movie was sick. The dancers made it look easy, but we all know it's hard to dance a routine like that.

The movie was good as a whole, and dividing it to smaller bits highlights/emphasizes the greatness of it. Adam Shankman was really awesome for doing such a movie. It was also a bit historic, and very inspiring. Backed with a well-written screenplay, a marvelous direction, and a talented cast, this movie could do no wrong.

Kill Bill (Vol. 1)

The first volume of Kill Bill was released in 2003, and the second one was released a year later, in 2004. Both movies were directed by Quentin Tarantino, and starred Uma Thurman as The Bride. It also featured Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Julie Dreyfus, Sonny Chiba and more. Some other members of the cast only appeared in one volume. 

There were two reasons why I decided to watch this movie again. First, I've always liked Kill Bill. Second, after being extremely disappointed by Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever http://mrfilmreviewer.blogspot.com/2012/07/ballistic-ecks-vs-sever.html I thought it would be good to watch another Lucy Liu movie. To expound in the first reason, I remember watching it the first time, watching the first few minute and thinking it was really good, but pretty ordinary. Then as the film progressed, I just kept being impressed by it. It was really a cool movie, and as a kid, I was truly fascinated by it. After watching it, I wanted to watch it again, and I did after some time. It was that good that I just wanted to watch it over and over again. 

Watching it again, as a more mature person, hopefully, I liked it even more. Maybe I'm more able to recognize the techniques, the style, the artistry of it that I have an even greater appreciation of the movie. Also, I found it amusing that I also recognized the Tarantino film making style. It had similarities to Pulp Fiction, where the movie did not narrate the story in a chronological order. It was one of my favorite things about Pulp Fiction, and I also enjoyed that aspect of Kill Bill. I also liked how different styles and executions were present in the movie. I particularly liked the one with the animation since it was like a real Japanese anime. 

What is with Tarantino and extremely violent, gory movies? But you know what? Don't answer that. I don't want to spoil myself. All I know is that Tarantino has an artistic vision always. His movies, although some are violent, are always tasteful. At least that's how I see it. I really enjoyed the fight sequences of the movie. It was like a Chinese Kung Fu movie plus a Japanese Samurai movie plus a little bit of the Western gun shooting. It was just awesome to see all these things be combined in a 90 minute movie. 

This movie again showcased the genius that Quentin Tarantino is. The movie demanded attention because it was capable enough to impress and hold the attention. It was action-filled, had a very good story, and a brilliant director. This movie is the perfect example of thinking outside the box and creating magic. 

Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever

Ballistic was a 2002 action movie starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. It was directed Wych Kaosayanada and was written by Alan B. McElroy. It's considered as one of the worst movies made in 2002 both by critics and regular audience. I really wish I could disagree with this, but I really can't It was really bad and it was poorly made. It failed to impress critically and commercially.

You know how I always say I like all movies, except for a certain few. Sometimes, a movie comes along that just fits the latter. This one was one of the few movies I really disliked. I remember liking to watch this movie when it was released cause I just saw my first Antonio Banderas movie then (can't remember which movie), and I also just saw Charlie's Angles then. I remember thinking it was a nice coincidence that I just saw their movies and then they're appearing together in one film. Turns out I really didn't miss much.

I really thought it would be awesome cause I like Lucy Liu a lot, and I also like Antonio Banderas. I thought it would be an action-packed, ass-kicking movie, but somehow it just fell flat. It was one dimensional, and didn't progress much. Sure the plot flowed, but not in a direction that could have brought this movie into a new, better level. I feel bad for saying this but that's just my reaction to it. It didn't go anywhere. And it didn't make use of its stars. Although I will say that aside from Liu and Banderas, Gregg Henry and Terry Chen were also good elements to this movie.

I was hoping the action scenes would serve as its redemption but the sequences were poorly choreographed, and to be honest, a bit boring. It did have some really good action bits. Unfortunately, this time, when I said bits, I really meant small bits. Both actors are decent movie fighters, but somehow the movie didn't really utilize their skills or strengths. It just continuously fell flat. I think the camera angles and editing played a part on why the fight scenes got boring instead of exciting. I would give them that the explosions in the final battle scene was a little interesting. Also, the few moments of intense action in the same portion of the movie. I think the one with Sever (Liu) and Ross (Ray Park) was the most enjoyable one.

So yeah. It was a bit underwhelming and disappointing. It really utilize its stars to create a much more dynamic and engaging movie. It did have a potentially good premise, but was let down by the script and/or development. But I think my biggest problem with it was the editing. While it wasn't entirely bad, it was mostly disappointing. I still like Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas though.

Disney's The Kid

I'm pretty sue this will be a short one, but I hope the quality will be maintained.

The Kid was a 2000 Disney movie that starred Bruce Willis, Spencer Breslin and Emily Mortimer. It was directed by Jon Turtletaub and was written by Audrey Wells. I don't quite know what genre this movie should fit in. It had a little bit of drama, comedy, fantasy, maybe sci-fi. No action though, which was a little surprising since Bruce Willis was the star of the movie. But it's great to see things change up a bit.

This movie was very pleasing. It didn't have a heavy plot, didn't have special effects, didn't have any gimmicks, or anything extraordinary, except maybe the time-travelling thing. To be honest, I still don't know why this movie somehow worked for me. I still don't even understand why I liked the movie. If I would have to guess, it must be the entertainment quality of it. It was relaxed and just a light movie.

I would have to say that I felt a little awkward when Bruce Willis laughed. Just when do you see Bruce Willis smiling and laughing? I tried looking back and tried to remember if he ever did that in his movies, at least those I've seen. I couldn't remember a movie, or even just a scene. Who knew Bruce Willis had that side? It was also funny cause he was sarcastic and a little hilarious in this movie. He wasn't kicking someone's ass, or bawling for whatever reason. It was a nice change and I liked it.

Spencer Breslin and Emily Mortimer were also great in this. Breslin probably provided the majority of the reasons why this movie was funny as his charms and lines were really good. The filmmakers utilized Breslin in this one, which was probably the reason why he won an award for best performance by a young actor (given by the Young Artists Award). Mortimer as Amy was also an integral part of the film's entertainment value. For starters, she's absolutely captivating. To top that she had this irresistible charm and talent that made the movie work. I actually thought I wouldn't like it, but as the movie went on, I liked it more and more because of these three actors.

I don't know what else to say about it. It's a normal movie, nothing too extreme but definitely nit disappointing. All I can say is that I had a huge smile on face for the majority of the movie because of the wit, the fun, and the entertainment. And also because Spencer Breslin was too damn good in this. And oh yeah, I also want to include how ridiculously funny the relationship of Russ and Amy was. Anyway, the bottomline is I had a lot of fun watching this one.

Changeling

Since I've been really impressed with movies directed by Clint Eastwood, I went ahead and checked out another one of his movies. Unlike the last two movies of his I saw, he wasn't included in the cast, although he still had a big role in it, serving as a director and producer of the movie. This movie just made me admire Clint Eastwood even more, if that's even possible. He had created yet another hit movie, just as impressive and incredible as his other movies I've seen. He's reaching the ranks of Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg for me, being one of the best directors. I even found out that he directed four of the movies included in the IMDB Top 250. I've seen 3 out of the four movies, but something tells me I'll be seeing the fourth one real soon.

Changeling was an award-nominated 2008 movie that starred Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins, a woman who lost her child. 

One thing I immediately noticed was how the movie started with explicitly saying it's a true story. It didn't say that it was based on a true story, but that it was a true story. I then knew it was going to be good cause movies based on true stories often end up only using a small fraction of the real events in the movie. At least if it states that it's a true story, there's an assumption that the filmmakers tried its best to stay conduct extensive research on the subject before starting developing the movie. It's also assumed that the filmmakers stayed true to the material as much as possible. I highly doubt that a movie will be a 100% accurate in every single detail, but at least the effort to make it as close to how things actually happened help.

It had to be good, it was nominated for several awards. We all know that being up for awards doesn't necessarily translate to a good movie, but at least there's some sort of impression. I think three things made this movie extremely likable. One was the competent, talented and perfect cast, from the movie's star, Angelina Jolie to other characters like Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly, John Malkovich, Jason Butler Harner and more. Even the kids were impressive; Gattlin Griffith and Devon Conti were both great in it. These kids will be the future of cinema; at least I hope so since they already have the talent. Harner's performance was a bit disturbing given the background of his character. It was demented, and perfectly captured the essence of a serial killer. Jeffrey Donovan was also good in this, granted that I hated the character, probably because Donovan was doing his job extremely well. He was passionate about it. I found all the actors incredibly impressive, but I don't think anyone of them could compete to Jolie's performance. I'm not used to seeing her in a mellow role especially when you associate films like Wanted, Tomb Raider, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith to her name. Second is the plot, thanks to a very well-written screenplay. J. Michael Straczynski did great in the screenplay. Lastly, I think Eastwood's direction just made this movie a sight to see. 

I like movies like these because of the social commentary aspect of it. The themes of the movie screamed issues that they faced in the 1920s, and unfortunately, things we still see in the news today. Kidnapping, murder, all kinds of abuse. There was a fight against things that are wrong about our society. Straczynski did a great job capturing these in his screenplay. I really liked the screenplay he did. The script was rich, and it's noticeable with the dialogues. It made the movie dynamic and very interesting. Of course, it helps that it's a true story. But he did a mighty fine job adapting it to a screenplay. 

I also liked how the movie had a balance of good evil. For every Jones, there's and Ybarra, for every Davies there's a Hahn, for every Northcott there's Briegleb. Thing is, the movie made sure that the movie wouldn't be filled with a majority of bad guys, an it balanced it with legitimately good people who genuinely cared about the movie. I thought I'd mention this cause at the beginning I thought the movie was becoming "me-against-the-world" as Christine seemed like fighting a battle alone. Also, there was something about the progression of the characters that seemed to elevate the movie for me. Before Christine Collins got the reverend, Ybarra and Hahn on her side, the movie, while still amazing, seemed to be one-dimensional. However, the addition of these characters really brought the movie to another level and improved the quality of the plot and the story. 

I've blabbed about it but I hope I made it clear how awesome it is, and how awesome Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie were. The movie was great, and it's a movie with great substance. The message, the portrayals, everything was strong and the movie was excellent. It's a shame it wasn't too successful in the box-office. You can follow me on twitter @sirfilmreviewer or email me at mrfilmreviewer@yahoo.com. You can also follow this blog by checking the right side of the page.