traceymeredith

Let me start out by saying that Clint Eastwood is a magnificent genius. Who would have thought that this stereotypical cowboy would become one of the greatest directors of our time? This film amazed me- the war scenes were not only realistic, but incredibly historically accurate.

However, the war reenactment and faded photograph throughout the whole movie was not enough to keep me interested.

Poor decisions in story telling and casting took away from major elements of the plot. The only Oscar worthy performance was given by Adam Beach, while main character Ryan Phillippe did nothing but his usual looking pathetic and cute in order to gain audience sympathy. Fresh faces, please Clint. Fresh faces. Not those who used to be teenage dreamboats (Phillippe, Walker) or those recognizable only for roles in annoying over the top films (McDonough from Angels in the Outfield, Bradford from everything he's ever done) The casting of Tom McCarthy, who looks much more like he could have been related to Bradford than Phillippe, was possibly the worst decision because of the confusion it caused for the entire film.

Like in Million Dollar Baby, the pace of the movie suddenly slows...no, it s...l...o...w...s. Even those who were enjoying the film up until the ending suddenly found themselves begging for the end.

Praise to Eastwood for being such an amazing director, but as a storyteller, this time he just fell short. The story could have been a lot better, and it's a shame it wasn't.

I grudgingly agreed to screen Over the Hedge this week, despite my lack of interest from seeing the previews. I am thrilled to tell you that it was well worth my time, and left me with a smile on my face the rest of the day. Everything, from the superb mixture of a real likeness and cartoon feel of the cuddly creatures to the creative style of the animation itself to the wonderful script keeps you entertained from start to finish. Not only is it a fun and safe film to take the kids to, the hilarity of these animals making fun of humans and the wasteful consumer environment we live in is hysterical! Not to mention, Dreamworks put together an awesome cast to pull it all together. See? Bruce Willis CAN do more than just action movies!

Before bashing this film, I'd like to point out that it was visually stunning. From the mountains in the training scenes to the color in the garden when Bruce was young to the hideous transformation of Gotham between when the Wayne parents were alive and deceased. The cast was also wonderful (with Katie Holmes of course being the exception), but what it comes down to is that this movie focused far more on being a summer blockbuster than on being a Batman prequel.

The script had its camp, silly moments, but not enough to make it unbearable. While Christian Bale was by far the best Bruce Wayne of all films, he was almost the worst Batman. He was dramatic and over the top, making it comical to stare at his mouth while he spoke, as it looked cartoonish, or like he was always enunciating far more than necessary.

While it may be true to the comic books in his training and background, the movie itself did little to explain these things. Who exactly was Liam Neeson's character and why were they trying to recruit Bruce Wayne? Why was he being trained? To join the League of Shadows? And what do they do? Not get revenge, for they spoke of cities like Rome that just grew too big, became too large of an Empire and it was their job to humble them. Why? It never explains their motivation behind it, which gave me little hope for conclusion in the rest of the film.

Bruce Wayne is a very troubled individual. He witnessed his parents being mugged and murdered in a dark alley when he was just a young child. Events like this traumatize people to a much larger degree than is discussed in the film. The film portrays a fairly calm cool and collected version of Bruce Wayne, and not, what I feel, he really was: a driven, slightly psychotic young man who had the bucks to back up his desire for justice. How exactly can you go about deciding all of a sudden to become a superhero? Like Bale says in the movie: anyone who dresses up as a bat in his free time clearly has issues.

And on a final, and personal note: Batman is not a superhero. He is just a man in a costume with a bunch of goofy gadgets. This is why Batman has been able to be portrayed by four different actors (keaton, kilmer, clooney, bale). Anyone could put on a batsuit and become Batman- there's simply no magic behind it, yet the film sends the message that Bruce IS more than just a man (notice how he only had weeks of training and could immediately beat and murder countless numbers of men who had been training their whole lives on the mountain top) As incredible as the effects were, as terrifying as the Scarecrow was (that alone is worth seeing the movie for), this movie just doesn't do it for me. Please, let's close the Batman chapter and move on to more original ideas, not ones that have been beaten into the ground.