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Moving Pictures – December 2005

Posted by Administrator December 2nd, 2005 No Comments »

What ever happened to the intermission?

Many, many years ago a genius of the theater came up with a fantastic idea. It was a break, in the middle of a long performance. It was a chance for the audience to stretch their legs, to ease their full bladders and to buy tasty snacks. They called it “Intermission,” and it was good. Sadly, somewhere along the way in our hurried little lives we seem to have misplaced the movie version intermission. With recent lengthy films like the “Lord of the Rings” trilogies, audiences have really had to settle in for the long haul.

Universal executives have agreed to release Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” at a length of three hours. Which personally, I think will make for a better film. So whether your gripe is a full bladder in a three-hour film, or the desire for a longer film format to tell a better story…say it with me…

“Hey movie gods! Bring back the damned intermission!”

“Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”
Cast, voices: Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham-Carter, Peter Kay, Nicholas Smith, and Liz Smith
Director: Steve Box and Nick Park

There is little better than a film that is literally fun for the whole family. That fine-line of humor that appeals to adults while just skimming over the heads

Moving Pictures
By Traci Adams

What ever happened to the intermission?

Many, many years ago a genius of the theater came up with a fantastic idea. It was a break, in the middle of a long performance. It was a chance for the audience to stretch their legs, to ease their full bladders and to buy tasty snacks. They called it “Intermission,” and it was good. Sadly, somewhere along the way in our hurried little lives we seem to have misplaced the movie version intermission. With recent lengthy films like the “Lord of the Rings” trilogies, audiences have really had to settle in for the long haul.

Universal executives have agreed to release Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” at a length of three hours. Which personally, I think will make for a better film. So whether your gripe is a full bladder in a three-hour film, or the desire for a longer film format to tell a better story…say it with me…

“Hey movie gods! Bring back the damned intermission!”

“Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”
Cast, voices: Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham-Carter, Peter Kay, Nicholas Smith, and Liz Smith
Director: Steve Box and Nick Park

There is little better than a film that is literally fun for the whole family. That fine-line of humor that appeals to adults while just skimming over the heads of children. That simplicity of story that brings out the giggling child in all of us. Wallace and Gromit have always had a knack for hitting that elusive full-spectrum funny bone.

This latest endeavor, their first full-length film is no different.

Wallace and his faithful dog Gromit set about discovering the truth of the “were-rabbit.”

The theater lights dim and on-screen a pair of claymation feet get out of a claymation car.

“Who is that daddy?” Said a tiny voice behind me.

“We’ll have to wait and see.” Her father replied.

“But daddy, who is that?” She repeated, bringing small giggles from every adult that could hear her.

“Keep watching and we’ll find out,” The father said, a slight pleading to his tone.
On screen we now saw that this character was a policeman.

“Who is he daddy?” The tiny voice asked again.

“He’s a police man honey.” Her father said with a bit of relief and triumph.
That relief lasted mere seconds, when we all heard…

“Why is he a police man daddy?”

Whispered rolls of laughter filled our little section of the theater.
Come find the wonder of childhood glee.

This is a great movie. You can’t help but love it and laugh out loud.

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Robert Pattinson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Matthew Lewis
Director: Mike Newell

Finally, the long awaited fourth film is here.

Like many, I am a Harry Potter addict. I await the release of every new book and every new film with an almost shameful anticipation, and dread the impending end of the series. J.K., hear me plea…

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” sees Harry, Ron and Hermione off to another year at Hogwarts, however this year will be different. This year will see the return of the Death Eaters, the followers of Lord Voldemort who have been underground since Lord Voldemort’s defeat fourteen years ago by the infant Harry Potter.

The fourth year will also see Hogwarts hosting the Triwizard Tournament, a multi-task competition for glory and fame: a competition that will force Harry to muster all that he knows, and all that he has, to survive.

Just as with the books, the story, characters and content of the films age along with the audience, thus this film is significantly darker then the last. Harry Potter fans may wonder how they will work all of book four into one film. Book four is one of the longest and most involved of the series. The answer is that they don’t. Die-hards will shed a little tear for the lost pages, but that tear is a fleeting moment as you are whisked quickly into the meat of the story. Screenplay writer Steve Kloves has done a great job of keeping the most important storylines alive.

You will feel at times like you are on a rollercoaster as the action just keeps coming.
Dragons and dancing and Death Eaters oh my. As an added bonus we are watching these three young talented actors grow. They are coming into their own on-screen.

I could go on and on. Suffice to say this is a great flick. Visually, I would call this film flawless.

The Harry Potter tradition of excellence continues to roaring applause!

“Walk the Line”
Written By: Gill Dennis and James Mangold
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick, Waylon Payne
Director: James Mangold

Oscar, Oscar, Oscar. I can’t repeat that word enough.

If Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t walk away from this film with an Oscar, something is terribly wrong in Hollywood.
Oh wait…

Well, there’s even more wrong than we already knew.

But seriously, I left the theater feeling dazed, in a good way. This is an all-around amazing film. The cast does a phenomenal job and I can’t say enough about director James Mangold’s choice to have these talented actors sing for their supper, so to speak. To attempt the speaking voice of Johnny Cash would be a risky undertaking for any actor, but to try, even for a brief moment to sing like The Man in Black…

Who were they kidding?

Amazingly, Phoenix pulls it off with near perfection. I couldn’t imagine another actor doing so fine a job. Joaquin Phoenix is an incredible actor, and if you didn’t know that already, you will after seeing this movie.

This film follows the life of Johnny Cash from childhood through the beginning of his career and his ten-year romantic pursuit of June Carter.

Johnny Cash is an American legend beloved by so many, and this film really does him justice. It’s a look at the man. he real man, behind the legend.

“Pride & Prejudice”
Cast: Keira Knightly, Matthew MacFadyen, Rosamund Pike, Simon Woods, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn
Director: Joe Wright

Sappy romantics unite and march yourselves down to your local theater to see this movie. It is, as promised a great new incarnation of the Jane Austen classic “Pride & Prejudice”.

Keira Knightly is a wonderful Elizabeth Bennet, seeming completely natural to this role. The cast of mainly British actors does a beautiful job bringing this tale to life. With fantastic period costuming, romantic views of the English countryside and masterful camera work, this film is the whole period package.

If you love action-packed, highly explosive and great special-effect blockbuster, or if you loathe slow-moving, sentimental love stories, then “Pride & Prejudice” is not for you. But I’ll bet you already guessed that.

If you are, however, looking for a gentle story in classic fashion, then you should probably check out this movie.