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Robin-chan
Reviews
A Separate Peace (2004)
Poor adaptation, but excellent movie
I read ASP for English this year (my sophomore year) and personally loved it. I fell in love with the characters (particularly Finny) and re-read the book three times (naturally I aced my exam) and I'd been wanting to see the movie for a long time. After calling every rental store in my town I finally came across it and happily rented it and just finished viewing it.
As with all book-to-film movies, this naturally wasn't a play-by-play. Scenes were added, scenes were cut, details were left out. But this was a generally good film, and goes hand-in-hand with the book, granted that you read the original first.
The acting was superb; to my delight, Finny was exactly as I wanted him to be, and I was pleasantly surprised with Brinker and Leper, who I hadn't thought too much of at first. Gene was very good too, could've been better (but the cute accent was a nice touch!) All in all it was great.
As I said, this could've been a better adaptation, mostly because Gene's descriptive narrations aren't heard in the movie. Read the book, then watch the movie. It's a good pair, despite the differences. 8 out of 10.
--Robin-chan
Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)
Good book, bad movie
I read this book just this year for my sophomore English honors class in high school. I didn't like it too much, because the dialect paired with the in-depth symbolism make for one confusing book. But, the story alone was wonderful, and I managed to like it because of that. When my teacher found out about this movie, she taped it and brought it in for us to watch, which we did this week.
The Good -- Halle Berry, Michael Ealy, the scenery The Bad -- slow pacing, not enough details from the book, way too sexed up As my teacher and fellow classmates had feared, Hollywood managed to take yet another amazing story and sex it up way too much. The random, slow-motion sexual fondling (Janie biting Joe's ear, what the hell?) was way too out of place and completely unnecessary. The pacing was way too slow, and the movie lacked the major emotional details that pull the story together. The hurricane scene was good, but not that good, and everything else could've been played out much better; even the decent acting couldn't hold up the weak script.
Do yourself a favor and read the book. 4/10.
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
A fine addition to Vol. 1
As an avid fan of Kill Bill: Vol. 1, I was almost frightened to actually sit down and watch Vol. 2, not knowing what to expect. Now, I'm thrilled that I did.
Kill Bill 2 focuses more on The Bride's past, answering every question you may have had in Vol. 1: Who is Bill? What happened that day of the wedding? What's up with Elle? Who is Budd? What happened to the daughter? All of this and more is answered in Vol. 2, with twists and turns galore.
Let me say first off that this movie is hardly like the first -- but that's in a good way. The spiffy blood and guts and martial arts effects are no more, instead replaced with deep-rooted psychological plot points and expecting the unexpected. It lacks the kick-in-the-mouth, spontaneous martial arts scenes from the first one, and is replaced by a slow abundance of dialogue that starts the movie off on what could be mistaken for the wrong foot. But after a while, the action starts, and we're quickly drawn into a wild goose chase following The Bride -- now known as Beatrix Kiddo -- and her mad chase after Bill and all of her remaining opponents. Stories are told, questions are answered, and everything that you may predict to happen will not happen, which puts back the spontaneous plot points that we know and love. The movie is an unpredictable, wild ride that ends with a heartfelt, nicely done conclusion that wraps it all up very well.
I don't expect a Kill Bill 3; on the contrary, I think I'd be rather disappointed by one, but we'll see what happens. However, the first two volumes go perfectly hand-in-hand, and you will not be disappointed by either one. 9/10
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Amazing-ness
I saw this on a whim about a year ago when my best friend randomly came over with the DVD and said "YOU MUST WATCH THIS!" So, we sat down and did, and I have never been more satisfied.
A wonderful take on black and white, anime, the Japanese culture, and sweet, sweet revenge, Kill Bill is an amazing film that is purely unforgettable. I admit to not being familiar with Tarantino's work, but this definitely opened my eyes to genius and pure insanity. Everything about this film leaves twists and turns, plot points and plot holes, and of course, amazing blood and guts effects that are so well-done, it's almost beautiful.
The acting was superb; no one could've pulled it off but Uma Thurman. Lucy Liu, always a favorite, pleased me once more as O-Ren, and I was introduced to a new favorite, Chiaki Kuriyama, as the memorable homicidal school-girl Go-Go Yubari.
A wonderful film that you will NOT regret seeing. 10/10
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Genius
I saw this movie a while ago, I just never bothered to review...so I will now.
I personally loved this movie. I'd never seen the stage show, though I had listened to the original Crawford/Brightman soundtrack previously. I was already a fan of Emmy Rossum (Christine) going in, and I was delighted at her wonderful singing voice (there are times when I even prefer her to Brightman, but that's just me). Butler, all though not the best choice of course, managed to surprise me by pulling it off better than I'd have thought. (I mean, besides, who could compare to Crawford in the first place? Not to mention the hilarity of picking out his oh-so-obvious Scottish accent *giggles*) Everyone else was wonderful, I especially loved Driver's Carlotta, and the scenery was beautiful. An all-out amazing film, I'll definitely be first in line for the DVD. 10/10