Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Review Shots - Wall-E, Slumdog Millionaire, Quantum of Solace

I'm putting in a rating scale of 1-10 for my reviews now, just because my reviews are probably incoherent, incomplete and rambling most of the time. It is an easier way to tell if I liked it or not (since it matters so much).

Wall-E - Throughout the years, Pixar has delivered time after time with animated films. Though Wall-E is certainly another supremely animated and meaningful animation, it is just that: an animation. It is a good family movie that has a positive message and can (and should) be enjoyed by people of all ages. Is is Best Picture quality though? Not quite. The enthralling first half hour starts wearing thin and the third act falls into mediocrity, as it is hampered with an overly preachy message and an overdone climax. But then again, who cares? I for one am not looking for Best Picture quality in an animated film and Wall-E still almost delivers that. Despite its flaws, it is an excellent movie that is fun to watch.
Dan-o-Meter: 7 out of 10

Slumdog Millionaire - The most enjoyable film I have seen this year, Slumdog Millionaire is about destiny and the power of love. Seldom are you so gripped with horror and so filled with joy in the same movie, yet Slumdog Millionaire does both. It is a rags-to-riches story about an Indian slumdog who makes it on to Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Only he doesn't care about the riches. Featuring an amazingly cohesive story and brilliant cinematography, it is Daniel Boyle's best pic to date and is a front-runner for the year's Best Picture Oscar. It is a feel-good movie that isn't cliched and doesn't cheat to make you feel good.
Dan-o-Meter: 9 out of 10

Quantum of Solace - Casino Royale brought the Bond franchise to a whole new level. It had an intelligent plot, great acting, witty dialogue and a gritty sense of realism. Quantum of Solace brought the series back down. Then drove it into the ground. Then completely obliterated any remembrance of Royale's positive qualities. Its shaky camera action has been compared to that of the Bourne series, which is an insult to the trilogy which employed both action and intelligence. Solace does neither. Its action isn't exciting, either because you have no clue what is going on or it has been done before. Its villain is weak and boring, and worst of all, the plot is absolutely incomprehensible. I'm still not sure what the whole point of the movie was. Nor do I care. The characters were one-dimensional, uninteresting, and not funny. It's like the director (I can't even recall his name. I should find out so I know what to avoid in the future) intentionally included every bad quality he could because he knew it would make money. He succeeded in both: its a bad film and it made a lot of money.
Dan-o-Meter: 2 out of 10

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