First I saw, Jaws. I was underwhelmed by this film. I had heard how this was a classic horror film, how it was the first great summer blockbuster and yet I wasn't sure it lived up to its hype. I liked the acting in it especially Roy Schneider and Richard Dreyfuss, but overall I thought it was an OK film. I guess it just couldn't live up to the hype that I already had in my head.
Then I saw The Day of the Jackal. This movie I really liked. The twists and turns were great along the way. I loved the whole fact that you know thought you know what was happening th whole way through the movie and the police were able to fill in much of that detail and yet in the end you knew nothing. It was even great as the police were onto the Jackal for much of the story and so it turned into a chase story as well as a story about an assassin. The story was strong and the acting was very good, IMHO.
Finally, this weekend I saw Meet the Robinsons. Yes, it is a family film and I knew that when i got it from Netflix, but every once in a while it is nice to see a family film, something that is not real heavy. This film was pretty good, I like some of the older Disney films like The Jungle Book and Robin Hood and I went to see Aladdin and The Lion King when they were in the theaters, but really lately most of the Disney films have not been very good and have really lacked any enticement for anyone over the age of 10, I would say. This film did a much better job of having a better plot and didn't treat the audience as though they were stupid. In fact, even though I had and I think most thinking adults would have figured out the "big surprise" even before more than half way through the film, it was also told in the movie with a lot more of the film to go and the rest of the film was resolving the issue and not still pretending that no one could figure out the "big surprise". There is also a great scene where you get this whole bad dubbed Asian martial arts film where the dialogue does not match the "actors" lips which is so funny and yet most kids wouldn't get it and yet I would hope most adults would.
So there are three quick reviews of movies I have seen lately.
4 comments:
I assume you watched Jaws from the safety of your living room on the small screen? I agree that as a movie it probably isn't the best scary movie ever made, but if you saw it for the first time in a theater full of people, and that shark suddenly jumps out of the water and looms over the boat and the entire theater full of people scream or gasp in unison, it really adds something to the experience! ;-)
Mauigirl- That is a very good point. In the theater on the big screen Jaws would have had a lot more intensity. This truly is one of those films that just needs to be enjoyed in a theater. Thanks for pointing that out, it is a great point.
jaws is one of the most overrated films of all time (along with the shining - another movie i find not scary --- and the LEAST scary movie of all time - the blair witch project)
since it rained on the trip i got to watch 6 movies -- ET, Herbie, Jurassic Park, Grease, The Devil Wears Prada, Game Plan
Sometimes, I find it difficult to have the same reaction to oldre films and novels than did the people who first experienced them. Because I have been exposed to all the films and novels that came after, when I go back to the original, my reaction is, "Well, not so special." But it is special. I am just jaded.
I had the same reaction to reading the LOTR. By the time I finally got to it in my late 20s, I had read so much damn fantasy, that I found myself mostly annoyed by the LOTR, slow moving, way too much linguistics, and I didn't care about any of the characters.
I adore Jaws. I first saw it at a drive-in while a little girl. My parents took me with them as the drive-in had a playground for the kids while the parents watched the movie. I have always adored sharks, so when I was bitty, that was the initial attraction for me. As I got older and interested in gender issues, I found the interactions between the men interesting. Then when I got into mythology, I was like, damn! I think I have probably seen Jaws at least 40 times.
But, to each his or her own. :) More for me, less for you and the world is a happy place....
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