More

"More" is a film I would never have seen if not for my sister and her wide knowledge of all things artistic and unknown. It is a stop motion film running at six minutes, and though it sounds unimpressive it was an experience for viewers unlike any in recent memory. The story is that of a factory worker whose life is a continual existence of melancholy and sadness, though he dreams, and his dreams inspire him to create a way to escape the sadness of life, but his honor and fortune come at a price as he becomes the things he used to despise. It's short yes, but this film knows what it wants to say and says it. Nominated for an Academy Award as best animated short, this inspiring film is one that will haunt my thoughts with it's thought provoking images, and truthful if sometimes vague expressions of life as many know it.


B+

The Terminal

This will be a short review as I have not much to say. The Terminal, possibly my most hated work by usually brilliant master filmmaker Steven Spielberg, is nothing short of a sad messy film that doesn't know it's own plot, much less it's themes or motivations. Tom Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a man whose country, while he was in the air, had a change of power and due to these strange circumstances he finds himself stuck between countries in the terminal of one of New Yorks airport. He meets the staff, gets a job, falls in love, (sounds of violent retching), blah blah blah blah blah. The story doesn't have a leg to stand on no airport is going to let some foreign traveler tear apart random pieces of their terminal to build a little home for himself, or let him break random glass objects to construct a fountain for some stewardess he has met all of four times. It just doesn't work. The characters are cardboard, the direction is amateur, and the soundtrack, by John Williams is surprisingly bland. It's not that on the whole the movie is bad, it's that every single detail is poorly conceived, poorly put forth, and highly unbelievable. If you have ever trusted my judgment, stay away from this film, there are better ways to spend two hours and eight minutes of your life.

D-

National Treasure

This movie did not hold a lot of hope for me, a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence was about the stupidest thing I could have possibly imagined, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I saw this movie...opening night, and I found myself very pleasantly surprised. The opening fifteen minutes are murder, the whole legend is laid out, and for moment the movie looks like it will live up to it's ridiculous nature, then the story begins following Benjamin Gates (Nicholas Cage), his often funny sidekick Riley (Gigli's Justin Bartha), and Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger in a much better role than her recent Helen of "Troy"). They are drawn into the race for the treasure, against Ben's recent partner played by Sean Bean. There are car chases and other such cheap thrills, but it's a family movie, and for all the action, it stays clear of bad language and crude humor, giving it a definite appeal to holiday movie goers with younger viewers. The story is far fetched, the stunts are those we've seen a thousand times, and the actors are never more than good, but for all it's qualms, National Treasure is a surprisingly fun movie, with enough laughs and suspense to entertain at all ages. Very bottom line; it may be the plastic fake kind, but it's treasure none the less.

B