Showing posts with label Sean Penn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sean Penn. Show all posts

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Thin Red Line (1998)

Went to the Orioles vs. Yankees game yesterday with dad, during which he made the recommendation to watch this on the instant stream of Netflix.  I've seen it before but it was quite a while back, near when it came out, and at the age of 10 I can't say my movie appreciation had matured to the adequate level.  And yes, my parents did let me watch R movies when I was 10, something I appreciate today and I think greatly helped develop my love for movies.  So yeah, its 2011 now and I'm pretty sure I'll like it more.

After 20 years Terrance Malick returns with the Thin Red Line.  A star-studded film that explores the prism of human emotion of Charlie company on their slow crawl across Guadacanal Island during WWII.

43/50 Eggs

The Thin Red Line is filled with famous actors, either at the beginning of their career or in the midst.  War films tend to be somewhat synonymous with this, such as Saving Private Ryan, but this one goes above and beyond.  It would seem that once Terrance Malick announced he was making another movie everyone jumped in line.  For those reading this and don't know who he is , shame on you, go to imdb, and watch some of his movies.  Because of this the casting is incredible.  Often times in movies there are occasional one-line actors that are obviously not up to par and the film suffers because of it, this doesn't happen here.  Malick's ability to expose the emotions of the soldiers is compelling. This was well executed through great direction and the wonderful narration monologues. One cannot go without also noting the score.  Why it didn't when the Oscar I don't understand.

I do, however, feel that telling a story about WWII in the Pacific is hard.  It was such a slow deadly attack that to do it justice and stay true to the storyline the film can come across drawn out and boring.  Malick also went a hair outside of Hollywood and therefore the film has an independent feel that some may consider less entertaining.  Please don't see this as a negative in my eyes, but to achieve a 50/50 a movie has to be fully entertaining as well as providing full exploration of human emotion.  To do both in the same movie, can be quite difficult.          

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Interperator (2005)

Caught this on AMC, after I had finished the chores around the house.  I think I've seen it before, but couldn't remember how it ended so I thought it'd be good to watch as I did some things on the computer.

Political intrigue and deception unfold inside the United Nations, where a US Secret Service agent is assigned to investigate an interpreter who overhears an assassination plot.

26/50 Eggs


The film appeared to be a great thriller, with some big named actors.  The big plus of the movie is Kidman. She is one of those women who actually looks better as she ages, and is a talented actress. Sean Penn is also a good actor, and both do a great job in the movie.  Unfortunately the good acting can't overcome the weak script. I felt like the story was still a 2-3 drafts short of being ready for the screen. The biggest problem was that there are plot holes you could drive a truck through. The movie dragged through most of the middle, as well, as they tried to develop the strained relationship between the principle characters.The use of the United Nations building was a big plus and definitely gave the movie more realism.  Although I probably would still recommend it as a possible watch, it would be at the bottom of a long list of suggestions.