Spring 2005
Crash
Crash is a movie about racism. It takes a very strong angle on the different fears and opinions and stereotypes, the ways they manifest in our society, and how it affects people's lives. It follows several loosely connected people and stories around LA over the course of a couple days. The story is basically an opportunity to reveal the flaws in the characters, nearly all of whom seem to have some racial bias or compromised integrity. By the end of the film you have a relatively low opinion of humanity in general, or possibly just LA. It was very well made though, and definitely worth watching.
Batman Begins
The caped crusader returns without the aid of Joel "I liked him campy" Schumacher or Tim "I forgot how to make good movies" Burton. The story follows the Dark Knight version of Batman, as did the first two movies, though it contradicts the first movie on a couple of points that the majority of the audience probably won't notice. The movie kicked ass. Christian Bale makes an excellent Batman, if a reluctant Bruce Wayne. The Batsuit is reborn in a higher-tech, cooler, nipple-free edition, and the Bat mobile which I had mixed feelings about, turned out to be really cool (though the repositioning to fire missiles was a little dumb). I haven't quite decided if this more visceral, conflicted Batman is cool enough to make me foresake Keaton and Nicholson, but if not it's pretty close.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
There is definitely something to be said for not watching or reading spoilers before seeing a movie. Between what I already knew from the backstory, and a few very revealing web sites, little came as a surprise in Star Wars episode III. Trying to put that aside is difficult, because it was actually fairly good. It had a lot of good action, special effects, and light saber battles. It suffered from the same too-digital, too-polished feel as the previous two, which left some of the battles and scenes feeling hollow and unreal. It had some bad dialogue, and left some unexplained questions, but overall it was an entertaining movie that exceeded the previous two prequels and lined up fairly well to the original trilogy.
Kung Fu Hustle
I will admit there is a certain frame of mind you need to be in to appreciate a slap stick, over the top, not to mention subtitled kung fu movie. Apparently I was in just such a frame, because I thought Kung Fu Hustle was a movie of unmitigated awesomeness. I laughed through the whole thing as one insane DragonballZ-esque move followed another, each upstaging the last. The characters of the story are a young man and his friend trying to join a gang of thugs in nineteen twenties China, the inhabitants of a slum, and a few would-be assassins the gang hires when they are defeated by the humble slum denizens. If you like Kung Fu movies, plenty of action and special effects, and a touching story that wraps it together, check this one out.
Sin City
There is something to be said about a movie with cop killers, whores, and a mentally unstable man that enjoys torturing people that are all protagonists. This movie was violent, perhaps visciously so, and definitely more visceral than Kill Bill or other fare that includes the slaying of dozens of extras. There is nothing about the graphic novel film style of this movie that has not already been said, so I'm going to skip it. The film is a series of three semi-related stories following dark characters -often to their demise- through a seedy and stark world. The A-list actors that fill out the marquee are intense and brooding, and only at a few rare moments seem poorly connected to their digital canvas of a set. This movie will most undoubtedly be imitated by others, and for good reason. The only thing more savage than the characters in this movie is the story they tell. This movie was awesome and if you have the stomach for it, I recommend it.