Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Dead of Winter DVD Reviews

Corpse Bride
A very fun little film. Burton and crew are able to create a beautifully haunting atmosphere. I really enjoy seeing non-Pixar animation. The characters have such life – of course, this is greatly helped by the perfect casting, especially Albert Finney and Christopher Lee. It’s a bit more accessible that Nightmare Before Christmas and is therefore probably more fun for the whole family. Did I just say that?

Serenity
I never watched Firefly. Heck, I’ve only seen a handful of Buffys, but I love, loved, loved this movie. I wish all movies were like this. I was totally sold on the characters. I was on the edge of my seat the entire bloody time. I felt like I was a 5-year watching Star Wars for the first time again. Damn, I wish it had made enough money to warrant a sequel.

The Constant Gardener
This is another film that should have made a more money. I do like the fact that it was set in an actual African nation (gotta give props to Sahara for its Mali setting too), and it (Kenya) does not come out looking too good. Neither do the British government nor Canadian Pharmaceutical Companies for that matter. People are going on and on about Rachel Wiesz’s performance, but for me, the long, quiet desperation portrayed by Fiennes was the best performance I’ve seen in ages.

Red Eye
Wes Craven starts to show his inner Hitchcock, in taut and economical (80 minutes?) thriller. It was much more sophisticated that I was expecting. The leads provide very strong performances except, surprisingly, for a somnambulistic Brian Cox. Perhaps most impressive is the opening act which perfectly portrays the airport experience. It’s nice to see that a great thriller can be made for under $100 Million.

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