Showing posts with label Michelle Pfeiffer. Show all posts

Thursday, October 10, 2013

The Family

The Family (2013)

R - 111 min - Action, Comedy, Crime - 13 September 2013
Big Blue Sky Rating : 6.5/10

Director : Luc Besson
Writers : Luc Besson, Michael Caleo
Stars : Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo

A mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite the best efforts of CIA Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Fred Manzoni (Robert De Niro), his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and their children Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D'Leo) can't help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems the "family" way, enabling their former mafia cronies to track them down. Chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings in this darkly funny film by Luc Besson (Taken, Transporter).

Original funny mob action comedy

This is a very original and enjoyable mob comedy with a terrific cast and a European setting - Normandy. "The Family" is under witness protection and relocated to France. Because of snitching they are on the run with the Fed protection accompanying them. At the center is a quirky endearing darkly comic and surprisingly loving Brooklyn mob family. The way each one of them housewife, teenagers and ex mobster adapt to their new French town is delightful.

Robert De Niro does a similar comic role to his Analyse This & Analyst That character. Good to see his rapport with crusty old Tommy Lee Jones as a fed. Michelle Pfeiffer acts convincingly as the wife. She's still attractive and it's so refreshing she isn't botoxed like many actresses her age. Dianna Agron is quite lovely here as the teenager daughter who can take care of herself. John d'Leo is the teenage son with a lot going on in school.

For those who are expecting a thriller action movie from Luc Besson - they won't get it. It's more comedy than action and it's nice to see Luc Besson can pull it off just as well. Although there is some killing it is more funny than graphic.

An enjoyable watch.

Watch The Family Trailer :

OR

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows (2012)

PG-13 - 113 min - Comedy, Horror - 11 May 2012
Big Blue Sky Rating : 6.2/10

Director : Tim Burton
Writers : Seth Grahame-Smith, John August
Stars : Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter

In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet-or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy...until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth ...

Will Suck the Life Out of You

I guess I will start out by saying that I am a huge Johnny Depp fan and that I even like some of Tim Burton's works (Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas). However, that being said, I did not like this film all that much. If you are looking for some comedy in this film, then go and watch the trailer, because most of the funny parts are in it. I understand that this film was supposed to be a spoof of the soap opera that appeared in the 1970's, but it really fell short of my expectations. I remember being in elementary school and rushing home to see what was happening on Dark Shadows. In this film, not only did I not want to see what happens next, I really didn't care. Johnny Depp (Barnabas Collins) once again embraced his character and does a really fine job of making the character believable, but the content just wasn't there. I don't think that this film ever decided what it wanted to be when it grew up. There were elements of comedy, horror, drama and even a little romance. There was some jostling around in this film between Barnabas and Angelique (Eva Green), but you could almost sense the wires that the actors were tied to. And is it just me or does Bella Heathcote (Victoria Winters/Josette DuPres) look a little like Anne Hathaway? Victoria and David Collins (Gulliver McGrath) gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "I see dead people". I guess my favorite character in the film was Willie (Jackie Earle Haley) who was Barnabas' sidekick. He was fun to watch even though he did not have many lines (thank goodness). This film may end up sucking the life out of your expectations. By the time you get to the end of the film, things get downright silly and stupid. The last ten minutes of the film I kept thinking to myself ….. oh brother. Also at the end of the film there was almost a hint of a sequel; man I sure hope not. Not all of the Depp/Burton collaborations have been successful and this is one of them. If you just want to see Johnny Depp on the big screen, then by old means go. However I think that this film should be locked in a box (redbox). As sure as my blood is red, so is the light for this film.

Watch Dark Shadows Trailer :

OR

The Family

The Family (2013)

R - 111 min - Action, Comedy, Crime - 13 September 2013
Big Blue Sky Rating : 6.5/10

Director : Luc Besson
Writers : Luc Besson, Michael Caleo
Stars : Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo

Scenes of graphic violence create NO interest if the viewer has no stake in the violence

Wow. This is some of the poorest storytelling I've ever seen in any film. Yeah, the acting is good. But I want to slap the screenwriters. Some of the problems: The protagonists are just as evil as the bad guys. I know it's a mafia movie, but there is NO reason to identify with any of these characters. They're all sociopaths. So I, the viewer, don't care how the conflict is resolved. I have no stake in it.

Lots of violent scenes, but again, the viewer has no stake in the violence. So it's boring. Zero tension, zero suspense.

Subplots that don't relate to the main plot at all. So basically: all of the subplots. Although it's hard to have a good subplot when your main plot is based around a conflict between two equally evil factions.

And the main issue: NO CHARACTER ARC. Basic rule of storytelling is that, because of events, the protagonist must learn some new skill that help him overcome previous failings. By the end of the story there must be a change in the power dynamics. In this movie, all characters are exactly the same at the beginning as they were at the end. Even movies with poorly constructed character arcs and lots of disjointed scenes usually ATTEMPT a change in power dynamics and some sort of character growth. This script is too stupid to even make an attempt.

Skip it, you guys.