Every Sunday, Gill delves into his archive of over 800 movie reviews and randomly selects three for your enjoyment! Here are this week’s…
Wanted
Much like director Timur Bekmambetov’s films Night Watch and Day Watch, Wanted exists in a strange cinematic world that is extremely over-the-top and has loads of crazy visual flair, but takes itself very, very seriously. The story of a wimpy average joe who discovers that he’s basically a superhero when he is recruited by an organization of mystical assassins who used a weaving loom to determine their targets (no really), Wanted does have a lot of appeal. The cast is good, with James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie and Terence Stamp all doing their best to make the silly seem serious, and the plot of a jaded, run-down office worker discovering that he’s the son of a magical mercenary is a fun little fantasy that I think just about any cubical drone could get behind. The trouble lies in the movie’s, um, more ridiculous elements, such as the aforementioned “Loom of Fate” and the abilities of the heroes to completely alter the laws of physics. Angelina Jolie’s character doesn’t get a very satisfying arc in my opinion, either, but overall, I quite enjoy this film. And you get to hear Morgan Freeman say “motherfucker”, which is pretty damn great.
3.5 out of 5
Super Size Me
Morgan Spurlock has enough charm to pull off this documentary/experiment wherein he eats nothing but McDonald’s food for a month, but honestly, I didn’t feel like this film revealed any deeper truths the way I feel a good documentary should. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, everyone already knows that fast food is bad for us, and so watching Spurlock document what happens if you consume it every day is less revelatory and more, well, disgusting. Honestly, the best thing I can say about this movie is that it made me want to go on a diet. It’s not a badly made film, but I don’t feel as though it left me any more enlightened about the evils of McDonald’s than I was before I viewed it.
3 out of 5
Drive
Arthouse action at its finest, Drive is a cool, slick, and altogether badass mashup of car movies like Vanishing Point, westerns like Leone’s Man With No Name trilogy, and the fairytale story of the white knight and the princess, all wrapped in an intriguing crime drama plot that isn’t totally unpredictable, but is undeniably satisfying. This is a movie that aspires to be visually mesmerizing without pulling any overly flashy tricks. It presents us with a story that’s engaging without beating us to death with subtext or metaphor. There’s great action, but it never takes over for the plot, and as such, Drive more closely resembles something like the film Payback than it does The Fast and The Furious. It’s clever and intelligent, and even if you only watch it for the cinematography and editing, you’ll find yourself blown away by the time the end credits roll. Add an electro-pop soundtrack to the mix and you have a memorable, visually astounding and altogether awesome movie. Ryan Gosling, Albert Brooks, Christina Hendricks, and Ron Perlman are all especially good, but in my opinion, it’s Bryan Cranston who steals the show as a hammy mechanic and former stunt driver. I loved every minute of this film.
5 out of 5
See you next Sunday for three more thrilling short reviews!