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Reviews
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Saccharine Entertainment
Stranger than Fiction is well written, well shot, well acted and well worth the view - if you like that sort of thing. That "thing" I am referring to is the saccharine, typical love-story. I would liken it to the Halloween candy I ate a few weeks ago that sounded like a good idea and tasted good while I was eating it, but it all just made me feeling a bit ill by the time I was done.
If you like the sweet love story genre in general, where characters fall in love despite their various ineptitudes and then live happily ever after, you'll like this movie. For what it's worth, it was a good, but I am not the type that enjoys this kind of movie.
With that said, I think it will be a while before I indulge in something as sweet as Stranger Than Fiction, lest I find myself ill again.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
A man dedicated to his craft, but...
All of its flaws aside, "Borat" was an enjoyable 90 minutes and is worth dropping $10 to see, but buyer beware.
Sacha Baron Cohen's dedication to his craft is most obvious in the fight scene with "Azamat," but be warned: this movie is not for those who are easily offended. If the sex, nudity, racism, or religious mockery doesn't offend you, perhaps the toilet humor will.
This is why I cannot give this movie 10/10. While it is certainly good for a laugh, there is no "wit" behind the offensive nature of the film. Recent films like "Team America: World Police" and "Idiocracy" did a much better job of adding significance to the offensive nature of their humor. Some might say that the significance of the humor in "Borat" is to display the ignorance of Middle-America, but any idiot should be able to distinguish that much of it is extremely exaggerated or fabricated.
With that said, I do recommend you see this movie. It's VERY funny and Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius. BUT - do not make the mistake of calling it anything other than just a funny movie. This is not the way people from Kazakhstan behave. This is not the way most Americans behave. It is not a poignant commentary on either the state of affairs in the U.S. or in Kazakhstan.
Please do not prove me wrong by attempting to make some sense out of the madness that is "Borat."
Ladies and Gentlemen, my edit...I was so amused by this film, I decided to see it a second time and I have a couple of things to say. First, yes, Borat did lose a bit of his luster. Second, when are we going to see a "retard" fat, loud, American tourist go to Europe and make fun of them? I think it's LONG overdue.
The Last Polka (1985)
King of the Mockumentaries
The king of the mockumentaries, The Last Polka is sixty minutes of Eastern European fun that you wish would never end. I consider this both Candy and Levy's best work.
For those of you comparing the film to similar, more recent movies such as Mighty Wind and Best in Show, please stop! Although both of those films are SCTV exploits, they pale in comparison to The Last Polka. These films sacrificed quality for quantity - they were both about 30 minutes too long!
In the Last Polka, each scene is funnier than the last because they didn't have time to bore the audience. Also - Christoper Guest was NOT involved, therefore, automatically making The Last Polka even more funny (Spinal Tap excluded, of course).
If you happen to be lucky enough to find this movie, it's a must see. Hopefully we will see this on DVD some day!
The Prestige (2006)
Let's be a bit more objective about this, shall we?
Let me start my review by saying that I enjoyed this movie. It was a thoroughly entertaining 2+ hours, and I certainly did not leave the theater feeling like I did not get my $10's worth. However, in reading some of the other reviews here, I feel as though I need to say something about the obvious flaws in this movie.
Christopher Nolan is a very good director/writer, however, this is not one of his best and certainly does not display the genius we saw in his other works, such as Momento. There were a number of twists and turns in this story, but in the end, the outcome was a bit predictable. I also felt that the movie was a bit too long for the outcome and even found myself a bit bored at some points.
Visually, The Prestige is beautiful and warrants a 10/10 review solely based on this. However, the screenplay and the acting falls short in my eyes. Most notably - I absolutely love Scarlett Johansen, but this movie seemed to be a bit above her abilities, or she otherwise was eclipsed by the acting abilities of the rest of the cast.
Bottom Line: Don't be deceived by all of the glowing reviews. While The Prestige is worth your time and your money, don't expect to exit the theater thinking that this is one of the best movies you've seen this year.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Hopeless, Depressing and Predictable
I was quite disappointed with Little Miss Sunshine. From the trailers, to the critics reviews, to the incredible cast, I expected this to be a movie that I would have enjoyed just a bit more. I suppose we are meant to sympathize with the losers in this movie, but I just found the whole theme of the "lovable losers" to be exasperating. This compounded with the fact that the outcomes for three of the characters were so easily decipherable that I checked out half-way through the movie, makes Little Miss Sunshine only worthy of a Sunday afternoon HBO waste of time. Lastly - Steve Carell is not the same actor we've been seeing on television and other movies as of late. I understand that comedic actors often try to bust out of their proverbial mode, but I almost felt as if he was holding back his usual wild antics, or they were otherwise edited out of the film. Bottom line: if you're looking for a comedy that makes you laugh because you are uncomfortable with the characters, see this movie. If you want to see a comedy that's actually funny, don't waste your time.