The Rocketeer
November 20th, 2007
Bill Campbell as all-American hero rocking an art-deco jet-pack, Jennifer Connelly in 30s evening gowns, Timothy Dalton as scenery-chewing Errol-Flynn stand-in onboard burning Nazi zeppelins — The Rocketeer is good old-fashioned serial-style action-adventure full of pulpy twists tempered by a wholesome gee-whiz attitude. Based on the comic book by Dave Stevens, the character also inspired a Cinemaware video game I used to play on my Amiga (screenshots). Not to be confused with Raketenmensch Tyrone Slothrop.
The Rocketeer. Joe Johnston, 1991. ***
Here’s a climactic scene at the Griffith Observatory:
Blood Diamond
June 26th, 2007
An exciting action-adventure before the backdrop of the African diamond trade. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a South African rogue who smuggles weapons for rocks, Jennifer Connelly is the earnest journalist who falls for him, and upstanding father Djimon Hounsou struggles to reunite his family in the Sierra Leone civil war. Don’t expect to learn more than the most basic bullet points about child soldiers and the bloody reality behind your engagement ring, but the 143 minute running time flies by.
Blood Diamond. Edward Zwick, 2006. ***
Little Children
September 23rd, 2006
Todd Field’s follow-up to In the Bedroom is based on a novel by Election author Tom Perrotta, and the mixture of satire and straight drama doesn’t sit quite right with Field’s earnest style. Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly, and Patrick Wilson engage in some tame suburban version of Shortbus, but after Shortbus, every depiction of sex I’ve seen in the movies seems hollow and fake–and I don’t mean just the physical aspects. Some great moments though–full review forthcoming very soon. NYFF press conference with Todd Field and Kate Winslet was a bit of a letdown. Opens 10/6.
Little Children, Todd Field, 2006. ***
[tags]film, 3 stars, todd field, sex, suburbia, kate winslet, jennifer connelly, film[/tags]
Hulk
March 29th, 2006
I don’t know why I thought rewatching this was a good idea, but at least the second time around, I gotta hand it to Jordan: dull was just exactly the right word. I stand by what I said about the first Spider-Man movie and the comic transitions, but man this thing felt really lame the second time around. Kind of like King Kong without the tragedy, actually.
