Friday, August 20, 2004
Is Summer Almost Over?
I was out of town so much that I didn't get to the movies as much as I'd like. But I have seen some good ones that, if you don't get to see, you should add to your Netflix list or run out to the video store this fall to rent.
Last night, I saw Garden State. It was a subtle, heart-warming, charming and romantic film about a man coming to grips with himself and his humanity.
Zach Braff not only wrote and directed Garden State, he starred as the lead character, Andrew "Large" Largeman. The film starts when Large is told that he has to come home to New Jersey from Los Angeles for his mother's funeral and he leaves behind the meds that he's been on for depression since he was 10.
As the film unfolds, we discover who Large is so slowly it doesn't hit you until the end of the film that he has transformed into more of who he really is. Zach is brilliant in his role as actor.
Zach's directing is fresh with his still-life shots throughout as well as his use of color to show us the main character's transformation.
I've only seen Natalie Portman in the Star Wars films and I was unimpressed, to put it mildly. She was stunning in Garden State and her performance told me two things: that Zach Braff is skilled and that George Lucas is not. Natalie shows us what real vulnerability and real strength look like in this film.
All-in-all, Garden State is not only worth going out of your way to go to it, it's definitely worth $8.
Other things I've seen this summer include:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring. A quiet tale of a young boy who grows into a young man then an old man and his transformation through his life. The film's cinematography as used to tell us the tale (much more so than the dialogue) is stunning. Definitely worth $8 but you'll probably have to rent it. That is too bad because it's worth seeing on the big screen.
Napoleon Dynamite. This film is a funny, quirky tale of a geek who in the end shows his true colors. I would describe it like an artsy, intelligent "Revenge of the Nerds". Definitely worth a matinee.
Love Me If You Dare. I would recommend avoiding this one. It's about two young kids who dare each other to do precocious things. The dares get more dangerous as they get older and as they each refuse to acknowledge that they love each other. It had no redeeming value whatsoever. My rating? I want those two hours of my life back. Don't waste your time.
Last night, I saw Garden State. It was a subtle, heart-warming, charming and romantic film about a man coming to grips with himself and his humanity.
Zach Braff not only wrote and directed Garden State, he starred as the lead character, Andrew "Large" Largeman. The film starts when Large is told that he has to come home to New Jersey from Los Angeles for his mother's funeral and he leaves behind the meds that he's been on for depression since he was 10.
As the film unfolds, we discover who Large is so slowly it doesn't hit you until the end of the film that he has transformed into more of who he really is. Zach is brilliant in his role as actor.
Zach's directing is fresh with his still-life shots throughout as well as his use of color to show us the main character's transformation.
I've only seen Natalie Portman in the Star Wars films and I was unimpressed, to put it mildly. She was stunning in Garden State and her performance told me two things: that Zach Braff is skilled and that George Lucas is not. Natalie shows us what real vulnerability and real strength look like in this film.
All-in-all, Garden State is not only worth going out of your way to go to it, it's definitely worth $8.
Other things I've seen this summer include:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring. A quiet tale of a young boy who grows into a young man then an old man and his transformation through his life. The film's cinematography as used to tell us the tale (much more so than the dialogue) is stunning. Definitely worth $8 but you'll probably have to rent it. That is too bad because it's worth seeing on the big screen.
Napoleon Dynamite. This film is a funny, quirky tale of a geek who in the end shows his true colors. I would describe it like an artsy, intelligent "Revenge of the Nerds". Definitely worth a matinee.
Love Me If You Dare. I would recommend avoiding this one. It's about two young kids who dare each other to do precocious things. The dares get more dangerous as they get older and as they each refuse to acknowledge that they love each other. It had no redeeming value whatsoever. My rating? I want those two hours of my life back. Don't waste your time.
