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by Sarah Star

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Archive for January, 2006

19/January/2006 [12:15 PM] -- Tristan & Isolde
Tristan & Isolde is a timeless legend about two star crossed lovers, sound familiar? Although it has been compared to the story of Romeo & Juliet this film can stand on it’s own as a truly extraordinary. The sets are remarkable and the scenery is spectacular taking place in both England and Ireland, the cinematography is nothing short of astounding. Orphaned as a small boy by Irish invaders Tristan is taken under the wing by Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell, A Knight’s Tale and Bless the Child ) a man who is to be a future king of England, who saved Tristan from death. Tristan now a man (James Franco, Spiderman and Annapolis) proves himself a true warrior in a battle with the Irish but is struck by a sword laced with poison and appears to be dead. His friends place his body in a boat to be sent out to sea, Tristan washes up on the shore of Ireland and is found and nursed back to health by Isolde (Sophia Myles) the Princess of Ireland. Tristan is unaware that Isolde is the King’s daughter as she has given him a false name. As they spend time together they fall deeper and deeper in love. The story at this point becomes very complicated and is it is impossible to due this complex story justice, but in order to try and make peace, the Irish the King offers his daughter as a wife to the man who can fight the best in a tournament. Tristan competes and wins, hoping that this unity will make a safe haven for him and his Irish love only to find out he has won Isolde for his King, Lord Marke. Tristan and Isolde are devastated but keep their undying love for each other from the rest of the Brits, meeting only in secret on a bridge. As the story progresses it becomes more and more tragic and I had to reach for tissue a few times. I can honestly say I loved this movie and everything in it. The directing by Kevin Reynolds (Robinhood Prince of Thieves and The Count of Monty Cristo) has proven once again he is a genius in this era. The fight scenes are rhythmically choreographed. Sophia Myles shines and will I’m sure become a brilliant leading lady. James Franco was serviceable I felt his stone like expressions made it difficult to feel what he was feeling. The visually impaired I do think will like this movie, it is available in MoPix and I strongly recommend it so that the fight scenes and scenery can be described to you in detail. This way nothing will be missed as there is a lot going on in this film. Superbly dazzling!
- (20th Century Fox)
- Starring: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell and Henry Carill
- Rated: PG-13
- Running Time: 126 mins
- This film is currently available in MoPix
Posted in [Drama Reviews]
13/January/2006 [3:26 PM] -- Brokeback Mountain
Beautifully directed, heartbreakingly poetic and brilliantly acted; Brokeback Mountain is the type of film Oscar was made for. This story spans 20 years and takes place in rural Wyoming and Texas. It begins in the summer of 1963 where Ennis Del Mar(Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) find themselves working side by side on the hills of Wyoming’s Brokeback Mountain tending sheep. Ennis is a very complex character and it takes awhile for him to warm up to even one conversation with Jack but when they finally begin to talk the connection is obvious. A cold night prompts Ennis and Jack to sleep in the same tent together which leads to very awkward and then almost desperate sexual intimacy because of the unspoken connection between each other, their want for it to be experienced is incredibly intense. Most of the film puts focus on Ennis’ inner struggle to have a normal life despite his feelings for Jack. After the summer is over the two men go their separate ways, Ennis goes back to Texas and gets married and starts a family. Years pass but Ennis is forever haunted by the love he has for Jack and all his suppressed feelings come crashing down on him when Jack comes to visit him. This film is skillfully adapted for the screen by Larry McMurty, based on the short story of the same name by Annie Proulx. Ang Lee has extraordinary vision and a way of capturing the human spirit that is absolutely breathtaking. These qualities mixed with Oscar worthy performances by Ledger, Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams leave the audience with a romantically luminous and thought provoking story that is worthy of much praise and admiration. Although this film is not available in MoPix I do recommend it for the visually impaired because I feel everyone should see this movie, there will be some parts that are definitely hard to follow due to the actors amazing ability to display their emotions in their body language and facial expression, if you do have a visually capable person you can take with you to fill in the spaces that would be ideal. Brokeback Mountain should not be missed.
- (Focus Features)
- Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway
- Rated: R
- Running Time: 134 mins
- This film is currently not available in MoPix
Posted in [Drama Reviews]
3/January/2006 [5:05 PM] -- King Kong
For King Kong I had expectations as big as the ape himself, I mean you have academy award winning actors, an academy awarding winning director and a Kong-sized budget, it’s hard to believe I could be let down, but I was. Let’s start with the positive; Peter Jackson has proven once again he is one of the most gifted filmmakers of his time. He can film action sequences with remarkable vision that also has you on the edge of your seat. The actors were perfectly cast in every role from Kong himself down to the sea crew on the ship. The cinematography beautifully captures the imaginary world of Skull Island. Where I felt the film was lacking was in story. The movie I felt started off very well with the introduction of the characters including Carl Denham (Jack Black, who added his own flavor to his role) an overzealous filmmaker who decides he must shoot his next film on the worst location site known to man. However the producers funding Carl’s film decide to cut him off because of his crazy notion to film on an undiscovered island. So Carl takes matters into his own hands and with the help of his trusty assistant Preston (Colin Hanks, who fits into this role perfectly) they are able to leave with the ship provided to them before the film company knows what hit them. First though Carl had to find himself a leading lady, enter Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts, who was my favorite thing about this movie) a starving actress with strong morals, a girlish crush on Jack Driscoll the films scriptwriter (Adrien Brody) and an inkling for adventure. They all set sail on a somewhat rundown ship and no one is aware of their destination except for Carl Denham. Okay it all sounds good up until now right??? Well once they get to the island the movie begins to drag with long drawn out action scenes of Kong fighting Ann, Kong fighting Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs fighting the crew trying to rescue Ann from Kong. It’s one action sequence after another which does build tension but also leaves the story seriously lacking. The parts of the movie that I found the most entertaining were between Ann and Kong, which unfortunately didn’t offer up a lot of dialog for the visually impaired. However, Naomi Watts was absolutely mesmerizing you could see everything she was feeling through her expressions, her desperate need to communicate with this beast and eventually her understanding of him. Those tender moments I believe are the most beautiful to watch. Overall I would say the good outweighed the bad but this film could have definitely been shorter! I wouldn’t recommend this to the visually impaired since most of it is action scenes and even with MoPix the most you would get out of it is “Kong is chasing the dinosaur” ROAR ROAR “ Kong is fighting the dinosaur” ROAR ROAR and so on.
- (Universal)
- Starring: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black and Colin Hanks
- Rated: PG-13
- Running Time: 187 mins
- This film is currently available in MoPix
Posted in [Action Film Reviews]
3/January/2006 [3:29 PM] -- The Family Stone
The last thing I thought I might need when going into this comically advertised film was a box of tissue and I’m not talking about tears of joy here! The Family Stone is your average Christmas movie about a family and their dysfunctional ways. However I was expecting a light hearted comedy like Home for the Holidays and instead got a very gloomy story of how unkind and vindictive family members can actually be to each other. Dermot Mulroney (Wedding Date, My Best Friends Wedding) plays Everett the eldest son and for Christmas is bringing home his uptight girlfriend Meredith, Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex in the City, whom I normally can only tolerate for short periods time, but actually quite enjoyed in this film) to meet the family. When they get there they find that his family has already made up their mind to hate poor Meredith and begin to pick on her and push her buttons to no end until she finally ends up moving into a hotel! Amy, the rebellious younger sister, (Rachel McAdams, Wedding Crashers, who has amazing eyes and allows you to see everything she’s feeling in them) is the absolute worst out of them all with her completely immature behavior which brings Meredith to tears and allows Parker to show off some serious acting stripes! When things get worse Meredith calls upon her sister Julie (Claire Danes, always remarkable) to join her for moral support. Throw in Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson as the parents along with Luke Wilson and Ty Giordano as the other brothers and you have a brilliantly cast ensemble. The film touches on many different levels of your heartstrings which above all include love, knowing when you are with the right person and knowing when to let someone go. The Family Stone was directed by Thomas Bezucha with a chic sense of style. Although I did enjoy this film and all it has to offer I was expecting a comedy and ended up with a truly heartbreaking subplot that has you reaching for hankies. If you can keep this in mind I do think you will benefit greatly from this film. The Family Stone has a great deal of dialog for the visually impaired but I would recommend MoPix for some of the scenes where emotions are showed in very visual way, in body language and facial expressions.
- (20th Century Fox)
- Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson, Craig T. Nelson, Elizabeth Reaser, and Ty Giordano
- Rated: PG-13
- Running Time: 103 mins
- This film is currently available in MoPix
Posted in [Drama Reviews]

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by Sarah Star

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