Results tagged “ewan mcgregor”

Review: Jack the Giant Slayer

I can only imagine the early production meetings... "guys, we need a storyline that'll let us show off some really cool new visual effects, something that everyone will know but that we can bring into the modern era." "Okay, but it better not cost a mil to get the book rights this time." "Okay, okay. Hey! How about Jack and the Beanstalk?" "Wait, are we talking a cartoon?" "No, live action. Big, epic, scary, in your face, even some splatter!" "Fine. Show me a script. I'll call Singer, I think he owes us one..."

The film Jack the Giant Slayer is actually a fun, modern and, yes, visual effects-heavy take on the Jack and the Beanstalk fable. You know the story, the simple boy Jack who trades his family's horse and cart for some magic beans that grow into a beanstalk that reaches far into the sky. He climbs up, rescues the princess, slays the giant, slides down, chops the beanstalk down before the rest of the giants invade. Cue happy ending.

The problem with this visually sumptuous remake isn't the storyline with its updates to the original fable, and it's not the performances, which are uniformly competent and occasionally quite entertaining, it's that director Bryan Singer couldn't decide if they were making an aggressive, violent adult movie in the vein of Game of Thrones and The Hobbit, or whether they were making a family friendly movie that would have earned the MPAA "moments of mild action and suspense" label. Instead, he made both, and it's a bit of a mess as a result.

Case in point: the family in front of us in the theater didn't pay attention to the fact that Jack the Giant Slayer is actually rated PG-13 (for intense action violence and frightening images) and as a result the two little girls (around 8 or 10) ended up on their parents laps through much of the film. Yeah, it's that kind of family film. Not really very pre-adolescent friendly at all.
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By Dave Taylor on March 4, 2013 5:04 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Best and Worst Films of 2010

According to Movieweb, there were 651 films released in 2010 and no, I didn't see them all. In fact, there are some movies still on my to-watch list that I know will affect this article (including The Fighter and The Kids are All Right), but I hope to see them soon and add some additional commentary at that point. For now, however, I figure I saw maybe 100-150 new films this year, both clunkers and superb examples of all that cinema has to offer.

It's inevitable that we're not going to agree on which films were the best and which were the worst of the year. As a critic, I'm used to it, used to walking out of a theater shaking my head at what a banal, insipid film I just wasted two hours of my life watching, while surrounded by people excitedly talking about how awesome and thrilling it was. Yeah, so it's totally okay if you disagree,

I also suspect that we look for different things in movies. Generally I look for films that demonstrate the hero's journey, a mythic tale of growing up, finding oneself and overcoming obstacles to grow and mature at the end of the film. It doesn't have to be The Karate Kid, however, even Iron Man (not a 2010 release, I know) does a great job of exemplifying what I'm talking about. In my opinion, a film should be a journey, an adventure!

Except for when it's not. Sometimes big, loud, sexy, exciting, silly and sophomoric is just what works and I will candidly admit that I can enjoy Police Academy just as much as I enjoy Lawrence of Arabia. Well, maybe not quite as much, but you get the idea. Roger Ebert coined the phrase "guilty pleasure movies" and I think that's a great name for 'em, though I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be guilty about.

Anyway, enough preface! Onward!!
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By Dave Taylor on December 31, 2010 3:49 PM | 5 Comments | No TrackBacks

Review: The Ghost Writer

the ghost writer one sheetBased on a terrific book by Richard Harris, The Ghost Writer is an exercise in European thriller plotting and cinematography, even though most of it takes place on Cape Cod here in the United States. Directed by the great - and troubling - Roman Polanski, it has a pace that turned off many filmgoers, unfolding slowly and occasionally with the feel of a stage play, but I really liked it quite a bit.

The story revolves around former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (well played by Pierce Brosnan) who is borrowing his publisher's Cape Cod estate to write his memoirs. As is common with these sort of politico memoirs, Rhinehart Publishing hired a ghost writer, a professional who can turn notes and reminiscences into a coherent, readable and engaging narrative. Problem is, the ghost writer has died in rather mysterious circumstances.

Enter frustrated writer Ewan McGregor, who upon being asked by the publisher why he would be a good choice for the replacement ghost writer, explains that he brings nothing to the project. But it's that very lack of bias, of agenda, that lands him the job, and a cherry job it is, with a paycheck of $250,000 for a month's worth of work. 

The film unfolds gradually and it's one of a small number of thrillers where a second viewing will reveal much more about the story progression (another example: The Spanish Prisoner). I really enjoyed The Ghost Writer and felt that the visuals, the acting and the windswept setting all contributed to an unsettling but intriguing cinematic experience.
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By Dave Taylor on March 27, 2010 9:25 AM | 2 Comments | No TrackBacks

Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

men who stare at goats one sheet"Is this really based on facts?" a fellow critic asked the studio rep at the screening I attended of this film. "Does it matter?" I asked in response, and I was right, it doesn't. Whether it's true or just a riff on the craziness of modern military and contemporary culture, it turns out that The Men Who Stare at Goats is a witty and engaging satire in the same vein as the classic war films M*A*S*H, Dr. Strangelove and Catch-22.

The tone of the film also reminded me of Matt Damon's witty The Informant! where part of the fun is the astonishment we, the audience, have at how seriously the characters in the film take the unfolding storyline. The premise? That in the 1970's the U.S. Army funded a squadron of psychic warriors trying to create supermen, men who could fight purely with their minds, the New Earth Army.

The squad leader is Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), a gray-haired hippie with a long braid and a great 70's iconic light brown fringed leather jacket, and the squad includes star psy-warrior Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) and frustrated sci-fi writer Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey, in one of his best roles since The Usual Suspects).

Decades later, it's Ann Arbor Daily Telegram reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) who has stumbled into the story by interviewing former New Earth Army member Gus Lacey (Stephen Root). During the interview, Lacey shows Wilton a video of him killing his hampster with just the power of his mind. Except, well, it's about then that you realize you've just jumped onto a satirical roller coaster...

I really enjoyed The Men Who Stare At Goats and found that it kept me chuckling as it unspooled. If you go into the theater expecting a serious film -- for whatever reason -- you'll probably find this a bit bizarre, but if you can appreciate satire, you'll agree that Clooney and team have another hit on their hands. Heck, even goat lovers will like how it all unfolds!
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By Dave Taylor on November 6, 2009 12:00 AM | 2 Comments | No TrackBacks
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