Mel and Dave: August 2007

Here we are "simpsonized" (go to http://www.simpsonizeme.com/)

David's Movie Reviews: SICKO

SICKO:
Sometimes you just don’t know if you should do a review because it won’t make a difference. Occasionally, upon seeing who is involved with a movie an immediate decision is made about the worth of a viewing. Sicko is just such a movie.

There is one misconception about this movie that Michael Moore dispels in the first ten minutes: that this movie is about the nearly fifty million Americans who have no health insurance. This movie is not about them. It is, however, about the rest of us, those of us who have health insurance. It is, to a degree, about how well that insurance serves its customers. It poses the question: does for profit heath care work? (By the way the point of view of the movie is that the American for profit health care system is incredibly broken)

It then takes a quick tour of the universal health care systems that are used by the rest of the industrialized world. It is undeniable that there is a skewed story being presented in this movie. But it is also undeniable that the rest of the industrialized world has found ways to make sure health care is available to everyone. Is it perfect? I don’t suppose it is as perfect as is presented in the movie, but the fact remains: it works! My opinion of universal health care is not solely based on viewing this film. I was already a fan of universal health care. I have, shall we say, toured the Italian health care system during the 2003 summer heat wave. I have seen universal health care in action and it worked.

Whether you think universal health care can work in the United States or not, it is worth seeing this movie and Michael Moore’s sense of humor and sensitivity.

David's Movie Reviews: RATATOUILLE

RATATOUILLE - The first aspect of this movie that is a challenge to get past, (other than the obvious interaction between the human and rat populations of France), is that a rodent is not only in the kitchen, but cooking dinner. If you can get past the thought of that, (this is a Disney/Pixar movie, so suspension of disbelief is a requirement), then we’re home free. The core message of the story is being what you want to be regardless of what society thinks you should be and getting that through perseverance. With that positive message in mind, you overcome the fact that a RAT is cooking dinner. This movie works on many levels: the location is Paris, France. They have captured the essence and architecture of the City of Lights without feeling the need to take a tour of the city, plus for those who have been there, you will recognize monuments on screen that are part of the background and not highlighted as Eiffel Tower is. And they do show enough of Paris, (from a rat’s perspective and scale), that you feel as though they are in Paris. All this in an animated movie. They take this fine groundwork of story and location and populate it with a cast of characters who are a joy to watch. I wasn’t sure I liked some of the character designs when they first appeared on screen, but they grew on me, especially as they revealed their individual personalities around which their character designs were built. Lastly, and most importantly, this is a very clever funny movie. The sight gags, physical humor and dialog work to tell the story of two individuals who needed each other to move forward in life and their struggle to fulfill that promise in each other.

David's Movie Reviews: THE FANTASTIC 4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

FANTASTIC 4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER – The best thing that I will say about this movie is that it is genuinely better than the first movie. But that bar is kind of low. That said, this movie has a better story, and better special effects (again, low bar). But it is still mired in bad writing. Bad one-liners, bad dialog between the leads that is meant to pass as character development and the actors seem to know it because they are phoning it in. Well, Chris Evans is good at playing the self-centered Johnny Storm who actually does an ounce of developing as a person but that is handled in such a ham-handed manor that it is hard to accept as genuine. Someone needs to tell Jessica Alba to stop with the tanning salon or spray-on tan because she was as orange as The Thing and her face had about as much emotional range as the suit worn by Michael Chiklis. And on that note, in order to give the Thing the look and proportion that he truly needs, they need to computer generate him, anything short of that looks like a dude in a bad suit, (the Silver Surfer looks great). Everything I have mentioned to this point would be moot if the movie had delivered on the ending hinted by the appearance of the Silver Surfer. Fans of the Marvel Comic series know what I mean. An apocalyptic battle is to be fought AFTER the appearance of the Surfer especially in this rendition of the classic plotline. I don’t want to give that away here, but suffice it to say, in my opinion, the end fizzled. I came away having enjoyed this movie but still thinking a better movie could have been made.

Mel and Dave

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Simpsonized!!

America

The Pale Blue Dot