funny people

judd apatow has had his name on nearly every big comedy that has come out in the last few years. that being said it is strange that 'funny people' is only his third time actually directing a film. his other two movies, '40 year old virgin' and 'knocked up' were well received and very funny, so i along with many others were looking forward to 'funny people.'

this film is much different than apatow's previous projects. it is much more of a serious comedy (dramedy is the term) and deals with some very dark subject matter. people expecting to go see a light-hearted raunchy tale with a standard plot will likely be disappointed.

i, however, was not disapointed with this movie. i am not exactly a fan of adam sandler's previous comedies; my favorite role of his is 'punch-drunk love.' but i found him very funny in this movie as the terminally ill comedian superstar who seemingly has it all but really has nothing. seth rogen, jonah hill, and jason schwartzman also do great jobs as up and coming comedians struggling to make it big. while watching i really felt like i was getting insight into the lives of standup comedians, and i found it rather fascinating and personal. chemistry wise, rogen and sandler both work well together on screen. it is also worth noting that apatow's choice to use spielberg's cinematographer janusz kaminski makes a world of difference in tone and seriousness when compared to apatow's previous works.

the plot of this film kept me engaged the entire way. it is both hilarious and serious all the way through. watching sandler befriend rogen while also coping with his illness and loneliness seemed satisfying enough, but then when you think the movie is winding down, almost a second movie starts where sandler attempts to reconnect with his former girlfriend who now has a husband and two kids. this portion of the movie drags a bit, because it is not as funny as the first half and the subject matter is pretty heavy at this point. however, i enjoyed it thoroughly, because like life itself, this film does not follow any set formula. it has twists and turns where the character's imperfections are illuminated. i feel that the second part of the movie is possibly where most casual fans who came to see a basic sandler comedy might be lost a bit.

i liked this film a lot. it is clearly judd apatow's best movie and one of rogen and sandler's best performances. it is quite artsy for a comedy of this nature, and i found myself thinking about it afterwards, both for the jokes and all the memorable events that occurred. i think that average moviegoers who thought the film was just ok when it finished, will find themselves liking it more and more the more they reflect upon it.

public enemies

i have always held a curious interest about bank robberies and stories of them. who better to tackle the cinema friendly true story of john dillinger than michael mann of 'heat' fame.

johnny depp is a very good actor, and he is in top form in this form here as the charming dillinger who loves fast cars, women, and robbing banks. the gun fights were very intense, and i liked the realistic sound of the guns, like how they echoed and sounded different when they were fired inside as opposed to outside. mann appears to do his research when it comes to these finer details that take a film to the next level.

i could tell i liked this film because throughout its entirety i was rooting for the bad guys (aka the bank robbers). i mean these were people who did some bad things. they commited crimes and routinely shot at the police, yet they were presented as likable characters (except baby face nelson) so i, along with the rest of the audience, was hoping down in my heart that dillinger would just walk away when he got the chance.

i liked this movie quite a bit. the camera angles and shots were all spot on, and i felt the two main stars, johnny depp and christian bale were directed well. some people did not like mann's choice of using high-def cameras, but i did not mind it. i prefer film, but high def camcorders do not make me like a film less.

this is a good summer flick. it's got everything going for it: a great cast, a seasoned director, good source material with plenty of action and plot development. it did run a little long, and i feel more time should have been spent with the emotional development of bale's character. those minor complaints aside, i rather enjoyed this movie. i do not think it is a masterpiece that will sweep the academy awards, but it is one of the better movies i have watched this summer, and i recommend it to any movie lover.

harry potter and the half-blood prince

i love the harry potter books so watching the latest installment on the big screen at midnight was a special treat. this is one of my favorite books in the series (though i feel they are all tremendous).

i came into the movie realizing that being a lengthy book, aspects of the story might have to be cut out or compressed. i was completely ok with that, and felt the director did a good job at it. i did feel however that the relationship stories with ron/hermione, and harry/ginny was definitely overplayed and got old after a while. i felt too much time was spent on that part and not enough on the half-blood prince story. this made the revealing of who the half-blood prince actually was at the end of the movie much less shocking than it was in the novel.

some scenes towards the end of the movie slightly disapointed me. while i found scene where harry and dumbledore travel to the cave to be completely terrifying, i wish the director would have stuck with the images and details from the book, (for ex. crystals and seashells instead of the book's goblet and basin). i felt the images in the book would have elevated an already haunting scene to new levels. Yate's decision to not really have a real hogwarts battle at the end of the movie made it feel less climatic.

those few gripes aside i liked this movie a lot. it was very dark; i'm surprised that it only got a PG rating. despite it's extremely dark subject matter, i found the movie to be very funny at times. it was acted well, and the direction and cinematography was also done very professionally. i had the thought while watching this film, that if all the potter films were directed this well and were this dark (similar to lord of the rings) i would like them better.

i recommend this film to fans of the book series and fans of the film.