Claudia's Talk

The Ten Commandments

"Take care, old frog, you croak too much against Moses."


Director: Cecil D. DeMille
Starring: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, John Derek
Running time: 220 minutes
Country: USA


After seeing The Prince Of Egypt as a child and hearing that it was a remake of The Ten Commandments, I realised that when watching it, it is no remake at all because both have the same story but the way the characters are with each other in each of the films are totally different. I had extremely high expectations for The Ten Commandments because of it being such a classic, all of the Oscar nominations it received and the cast within the film really caught my attention as well. One thing I was worried about were the visual effects but to be honest, they weren't half as cheesy as I was expecting. I mean, the visual effects were very cheesy in Fantastic Voyage but they were absolutely amazing in this one! The costumes, art direction and make-up was absolutely fantastic!


This film stars three legendary actors who really made names for themselves in the 1950s: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter. Charlton Heston's performance as Moses is in my opinion, the best performance of his career because it was the performance that was a breakthrough that expressed filmmakers interest to cast him in their films. For example, his role in Ben-Hur was 3 years after The Ten Commandments and he won the Oscar in that film so I think his performance as Moses was the start of a legendary career. It is also my favourite film starring Heston as well. 1956 was an amazing year for Yul Brynner because he starred in 3 of the 5 Best Picture nominees that year: The Ten Commandments, The King And I (which he won the Best Leading Actor Oscar for) and Anastasia. Yul's performance as Rameses was absolutely brilliant! To be honest, I thought he was as good in this one as Charlton Heston was because Yul really showed what kind of person Rameses really is like the evil and hatred towards Moses and towards the Hebrew slaves. He is probably more famous in The King And I but his performance as Rameses in this film is simply unforgettable. Anne Baxter made a name for herself starring alongside Bette Davis in All About Eve for which she received an Oscar nomination for that film. Her performance as Nefritiri was absolutely awesome as well. She is the love interest of both Moses and Rameses (until Moses marries Sephora in the desert and they have a child together).


Cecil D. DeMille remakes his own creation and in a huge way! The 1956 version that he directed is a lot more of a success than the 1923 version was. The reason for this was probably every single thing about it like the fact it had an amazing cast. The Ten Commandments was one of the earliest and still is one of the most famous epic films of all time. I really loved Cecil's introduction to the film on the DVD because he wanted to tell the audience who was watching it what to expect and how it is made. The script was absolutely fantastic! What I loved about the script of that film was that it had normal English and it had words from the Bible as well which is really good. I figured when watching it that it obviously showed its present reality but tried to prove that the story of Moses is history. The events in the Bible are neither history or myth; they are legend.


Overall, The Ten Commandments is an absolutely outstanding classic biblical film that I really enjoyed from start to finish. I absolutely adore and cherish it as a true classic and landmark of cinema. One of the best films of the 50s and of all time!

Law Abiding Citizen

Good movie that is, for once, not predictable. Jamie Foxx is actually likeable for once and didn't make me want to kill myself. And a little different role for Gerard Butler which is nice. Humorous cameo by the real mayor of Philadelphia. Us locals could spot him ;)

Io non ho paura (I'm Not Scared)

FANTASTIC drama, on the same quality level as The Boy in the striped Pyjamas.
It keeps you on the edge of your chair and fills you with both amazement and disgust.
An Italian must see movie!

Just One of the Guys

Who doesn't love a good high concept 80s flick. I'm a sucker for enjoying films like this even if the overall film itself is a bit rubbish. The 80s gave birth to movies that were directly aimed at teenagers who wanted comedy without the whole thing being a bit too silly or overly risque. And this gives you just that.
Joyce Hyser plays Terry an attractive highschooler who just isn't take seriously. She feels that this is mainly down to the fact that she is female. When she loses out to a couple of guys for a journalism summer scholarship she decides it's the last straw and dressed in her brothers clothes and sporting a new hair cut she enrolls at a neighbouring school and enters the same competition. Spending most of her time as a guy, she makes new friends and meets boys who are all convinced she's a bloke.
The girl dressed as a guy concept has been done before but i found that this was quite an original take on the whole thing.
Hyser does a pretty good job. And although it's irrelevant, I thought she looked a hell of a lot better as a guy. There is something quite masculine about her features so she was a very good choice for the character and her performance was definatly good on the grand scale of things.
As for the supporting cast, they were all blend into the background with the small exception of the guy who plays her brother. (I don't know the actors name and can't be bothered looking it up).
He plays a sex crazed teen with only one thing on his mind, getting laid. He brought loads of laughs to the film and the actors performance was excellent.
I found the last scene to be a little too fantasy styled. But I suppose with a film from this decade it's only to be expected.
As a prediction I can see this film being remade in the near future as that is the way Hollywood seems to be going these days with all their remakes and i think it would translate well with the youth of today.
I suggest checking it out, it's a fun movie.

A Perfect Getaway

Starts out kinda slow,Pretty good overall. =)

Fantastic Mr. Fox

if your a fan of director wes anderson, he of such films as rushmore, royal tenubums and life aquatic, youll love this. all andersons trademarks are here, from the holding of the book, telling title at beginning, right through, catchy soundtrack, pans across, dry observations, and ecentric charactors, and dialogue coming from there mouths, its all present, anderson has magically, transplanted his world to animation, and stop motion too, george clooney as the fantastic fox is well suited,and a great supporting cast, including, meryl streep, bill murrey,, a exelent jason schwarzsman, who almost steals there show, the story is engaging, and although young kids might be put of by andersons style, lots of tallking, during beginning, it does turn into a adventure, but maintaining his wit and style, its been a long long time since i read the roald dahl novel, i was a kid, and read all his books,so cant say how much is changed, but as a film, i liked it a lot

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

a entertaining light horror for teens that both they and adults can enjoy, 2 friends come upon a freakshow,and events take them to joining the underworld of vampires, john c riley is exellent as the one who takes one in, and teaches him, but with another gang, out to get the boy, its set for a showdown, some exellent touches throughout, nice c.g.i, and horror action, it never gets dull, as riley steels the show,

A Few Days in September (Quelques jours en septembre)

juliet binoche plays a protector escorting brother and sister from paris to venice, to meet upwith there father,eho has had very secret dealings in goverment things, john turtorro plays a hitman with motives not clear, quite entertaining, and the three are a good watch, tuetorro isexellent as usuall, playing on events around september 2001, which is pretty relevent

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

terry gilliam visuals on full show here, with some exellent moments, when ledger died during filming, it was not known what was going to happen, but gilliam braiinstormed, tweked the script a bit,and called in jude law, colin farrell, and johnny depp, close friends of ledgers,to finish scenes, of his charactor, on otherside of parnassus's mirror,and it works great, the three getting ledger well, some amazing moments here, reminded me of gilliam films like baron monchausen, and stuff from monty python,the story isengageing throughout, and never dull, another slice of gilliam

Triangle

melissa george, turnsup to her friends yaught,and they sail off for the day,they get caught in a storm,and board a deserted ship,and thisis where events turn weird,for her in particular, theres someone else on ship she may be connected to,a twisted thriler,which makes use ofits location very well, with a great pace,and tension,the story goes nicely, and always keeps you guessingandwhen it all makes sence, its cool to think about it,

Triangle

melissa george, turnsup to her friends yaught,and they sail off for the day,they get caught in a storm,and board a deserted ship,and thisis where events turn weird,for her in particular, theres someone else on ship she may be connected to,a twisted thriler,which makes use ofits location very well, with a great pace,and tension,the story goes nicely, and always keeps you guessingandwhen it all makes sence, its cool to think about it,

Dead Snow (Død snø)

nazi zombies, who needs them, as a bunch of medical students going for a break in the mountains find out, a slow start and crappy annoying charactors, gives this a slow start, butonce it gets going, theres great moments,andthe gore and violence is pretty inpressive, a charactor they chance on, explains why there could be nazi zombies walking around, but after that its all mayhem, death and blood, yes they could just be zombies walking around in the snow, being nazis doesentreally add anytthing, and indeed to story, but its diferent i guess,

Couples Retreat

Freakin Funny!!

The Prince of Egypt

"Let my people go!"


Director: Simon Wells and Brenda Chapman
Starring: Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock
Running time: 100 minutes
Country: USA



The Prince Of Egypt is a film that combines the legend of the Bible with what the world is like nowadays. It is a disturbing film for young children to watch especially with the cruelty of the slaves and people being ugly to each other as it did for me as a child. Despite that fact, it was a film that I couldn't stop watching because it was a film of pure magic, inspiration and delight. The Prince Of Egypt was the first animated film by DreamWorks and it is in my opinion almost as famous as Shrek. I feel that some people are put off by this film being a musical but I think it being a musical sort of relieves and brightens some children's moods when watching it without it completely scaring them. It is probable the most serious animated film that I think I've ever seen.


This film had one of the animated ensemble casts ever which included Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Stewart, Steve Martin and Helen Mirren. Moses is a young man who was adopted the King and Queen of Egypt but has a secret: he is really a Hebrew. He was seperated from his mother, father, brother Aaron and sister Miriam as a baby because the Pharoah ordered the death of all male Hebrew children to prevent a rise in male Hebrews to fight upon the Egyptians. When he learns of his true identity, he runs away from Egypt and lives in the desert which is where he meets God and is assigned to go back to Egypt to free the Hebrews and back to confront his former adopted brother.


It is a remake of the 1956 films The Ten Commandments and I was ever so impressed how they managed to cut down the 220 minutes in The Ten Commandments to around 100 minutes in The Prince Of Egypt. I mean, that is a hard task but it worked ever so well. The script is absolutely brilliant because it's so powerful for both adults and children. It is written in a very serious manner like it wanted to be as believable as the Bible says it is.


Overall, The Prince Of Egypt is the most serious animated films I've ever seen. It is one of my favourites of that genre and is one of the best films of 1998 and one of the best animated musicals ever too. It is a film that used to scare me a lot as a child but I still watched it because it's so good. An absolutely terrific film that will be a classic for many generations!

Time to Leave (Le Temps Qui Reste)

To me this is perfect drama.
I love this heartbreaking story which is told very naturally. Great acting performance by Melvil Poupaud. The second movie by François Ozon which I like, the first one being 8 femmes, also a recommendation.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

"Can you put a price on your dreams?"


Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Lily Cole
Running time: 122 minutes
Country: France, Canada, UK



I have been dying to see this film ever since 22nd January 2008 (the date of Heath Ledger's death). I think people are going to see this film for the wrong reasons, really, which is a shame. It was a very long wait for the world to see. When I saw it at the cinema on the day it was released in the UK, I enjoyed it but was mildly disappointed by it. The reasons why I found it quite disappointing was that the plot was a really muddle and I started to really get lost with what was going on. However, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus is visually stunning with absolutely incredible visual effects, costumes and art direction.


Heath Ledger's final film performance as Tony was very good but I have seen him in better films. It is a fact that Heath's better posthumous film and performance was as the Joker in The Dark Knight. I obviously realise that Johnny, Jude and Colin had to replace Heath in this film due to his death mid way through filming but unfortunately it didn't feel like Heath, Johnny, Colin and Jude were all playing the same character because of the different voices and stuff like that. I think it would've been better if only one actor replaced Heath instead of 3. Another thing that disappointed me was that Johnny Depp was only in the film for like 10 minutes. I mean, it's Johnny Depp!! Why only 10 minutes?! In fact, his appearance as Tony was shorter than both Jude Law's and Colin Farrell's. Lily Cole was good as Valentia. Her acting was decent but I have to say: she was bloody gorgeous!! Christopher Plummer sorta disappointed me as Dr. Parnassus. Yes, he was a bit of a weirdo being 1000 years old but I mean, I just couldn't get into the character. I just found him annoying unfortunately. Verne Troyer was absolutely amazing as Percy! I'd say that Verne was probably the best out of anybody within this film.


Terry Gilliam was in some sort of trap when Heath Ledger died because he died half way through filming but the way he filmed it was absolutely brilliant. As I've said, the visual effects are brilliant and it was handled brilliantly but I don't know why there needed to be three new actors playing a character that only needs one. The script was actually quite good for this kind of film up until near the end of the film. I mean, the story was a bit of a mess when Heath was no longer playing Tony and the actors changed. It felt like it everything changed around.


Overall, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus is a good film that I did like and enjoy but could've been a lot better. It wasn't all worth the wait but still liked it. To be honest, I don't think it would've been any better if Heath was in the whole film. Not one of the best of 2009 so far and it's not one of the worst of 2009 either.

Where the Wild Things Are

Perfection is a very interesting word. No matter what you experience there is always ways it could be better. So to me the closest one can get to perfection is when even with flaws that may seem jarring to some or all, you would not dare to see it anyway other way.
This is exactly the way I feel about "Where The Wild Things Are", a film that is sure to divide right now but that no one can deny is as visionary, pure and heart breaking as filmmaking gets.
Spike Jonze I have to say, this was five years well spent. An almost unbelievable combination of Maurice Sendak's vision and Jonze's own unique touch, he essentially just showed everyone in hollywood how the hell your suppose to adapt a story much more impressive considering the book is less then 400 words. Why does the film work? Jonze understands the difference between a film about children vs. a film that understands children.
I cannot praise the amazing cast enough but the two that stand out are Max Records and James Gandolfini. Records was born for this role, giving one of the best child performances of the decade and making Max an icon for all the emotions that we associate with childhood. As for Gandolfini, this his best film performance to date as the lead monster Carol, showing all the rage and sorrow that he did during his long run in The Sopranos but also a much gentler side that turns him into one of the most lovable angry teddy bears in cinema yet.
Now as I mentioned this is not a perfect film. Some may have problems with a lack of a traditional plot, slower moments and its darker moments are going to scare younger children. This is a film that is going to have to grow on some people. Its more "400 Blows" then "Sherk", to be honest I don't care.
Jonze's "Where The Wild Things Are" brings the heart and sense of danger that have been sorely lacking in children's films in the last decade. If any film was to rank with "The Wizard of Oz" fifty years from now, I'd put my money on this one.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Cute and fun! Great family film!

Where the Wild Things Are

Perfection is a very interesting word. No matter what you experience there is always ways it could be better. So to me the closest one can get to perfection is when even with flaws that may seem jarring to some or all, you would not dare to see it anyway other way.
This is exactly the way I feel about "Where The Wild Things Are", a film that is sure to divide right now but that no one can deny is as visionary, pure and heart breaking as filmmaking gets.
Spike Jonze I have to say, this was five years well spent. An almost unbelievable combination of Maurice Sendak's vision and Jonze's own unique touch, he essentially just showed everyone in hollywood how the hell your suppose to adapt a story much more impressive considering the book is less then 400 words. Why does the film work? Jonze understands the difference between a film about children vs. a film that understands children.
I cannot praise the amazing cast enough but the two that stand out are Max Records and James Gandolfini. Records was born for this role, giving one of the best child performances of the decade and making Max an icon for all the emotions that we associate with childhood. As for Gandolfini, this his best film performance to date as the lead monster Carol, showing all the rage and sorrow that he did during his long run in The Sopranos but also a much gentler side that turns him into one of the most lovable angry teddy bears in cinema yet.
Now as I mentioned this is not a perfect film. Some may have problems with a lack of a traditional plot, slower moments and its darker moments are going to scare younger children. This is a film that is going to have to grow on some people. Its more "400 Blows" then "Sherk", to be honest I don't care.
Jonze's "Where The Wild Things Are" brings the heart and sense of danger that have been sorely lacking in children's films in the last decade. If any film was to rank with "The Wizard of Oz" fifty years from now, I'd put my money on this one.