http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/07/13/kisses-movie-review/
Kisses Movie Review
Kisses can hold a powerful meaning behind them, based on the context in which they are given. The 2008 Irish drama ‘Kisses,’ written and directed by Lance Daly, is getting ready to jump the Atlantic Ocean to America, and seems to want to prove that people’s intentions transcend culture. Kelly O’Neill and Shane Curry, two inner-city Dublin teens with no acting experience between them, play the two main characters in the movie, adding to the air of innocence and good intentions.
After premiering at the Galway Film Festival in 2008, and later being picked as an official selection at the Locarno, Toronto International, Telluride, Miami and Seattle International Film Festivals, ‘Kisses’ seemed destined from the start to be a popular movie with fans around the world. Even though coming in at a mere 75 minutes, much shorter than most American movies, the advertisements for ‘Kisses’ focuses on how teens can cope with family matters in a short period of time.
‘Kisses’ follows Kylie (played by O’Neill) and her next-door neighbor, Dylan, (portrayed by Curry), who live in the poorer outskirts of Dublin. Neither has friends in the outside world or within their families, as Kylie doesn’t get along with her four siblings, and Dylan is abused by his father after his older brother runs away.
After Dylan gets in trouble with his father yet again and Kylie saves him, the two decide to runaway themselves. They try to find his brother on the streets of Dublin. While Kylie has no intention of returning home, they come to discover how dangerous the big city is without their families there to protect them.
While Daly strives to prove that children from all walks of life all over the world don’t always get along with their families and sometimes want to run away from home, ‘Kisses’ falls short of portraying teen angst. While both Kylie and Dylan both genuinely seem to dislike their families, their night in Dublin seems more like a first date for two friends who were always afraid to admit their feelings than a real attempt to break free from their home lives.
Dylan also doesn’t seem to know what he wants. While he wants to escape the wrath of his father’s abuse, he seems too eager to change his mind about going back home after he and Kylie get off to a rough start trying to find his brother. Kylie seems to want to stay away from home more so than Dylan. The reason why is questionable, as her home life wasn’t as heavily discussed as Dylan’s, and therefore doesn’t seem as bad.
Despite these fallbacks, Daly redeemed himself by casting newcomer O’Neill as Kylie, who seemed to understand what it meant to live with a down-on-their-luck large family that can’t catch a break. In order to cast the misfit lead actress, Daly told the View Oxford that he went to numerous schools in Dublin and picked out the worst behaved students to audition. Dylan added that he picked O’Neill not only because she was smart, but she also had an “immediate intuitive understanding of what acting really is.” Her instinctive understanding of teen angst resulted in a nomination for Best Actress in a Lead Role in a Film at the 2009 Irish Film and Television Awards.
‘Kisses’ also succeeded in the fact that O’Neill and Curry, two eleven-year-olds, were able to take on the responsibility of being the main characters, as their characters’ families have little screen time. Being so early in their careers and not having the guidance of more experienced actors to show them their craft, and still being able to create instant chemistry on-screen together, proved that both correctly chose their careers.
The black-and-white to color transition used throughout the movie was also an effective way to show what the young characters were feeling. When both Kylie and Dylan were with their respective families, Daly used a muted black-and-white color scheme, representing the teens’ desolate feelings. They both felt isolated from their families, as well as other teens, as the only attention they received was negative.
But when Kylie and Dylan came together and started their journey into Dublin, Daly discreetly started adding color. Daly was able to subtly show that the two only felt alive when they were with each other.
With a scheduled release date of July 16 in New York, with other select cities to follow, anyone interested in seeing the sights of Dublin will enjoy ‘Kisses.’ Parents may be hesitant to allow their pre-teens to watch the movie, as there is a brief scene of nudity, some coarse language, themes of family violence and abuse and Dylan and Kylie being given a beer by a Bob Dylan impersonator. However, the overall theme that all teens, to some degree, want to be with their family, no matter what happened between them.
Written by: Karen Benardello
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Knight and Day Movie Review
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/07/09/knight-and-day-movie-review/
Knight and Day Movie Review
Compared to other action thrillers, this one is night and day apart. The new Regency Enterprise and 20th Century Fox comedy ‘Knight and Day,’ starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, was aimed to prove that at older ages, both actors could carry a big summer movie. While wanting to show they can still draw in big summer crowds, Cruise and Diaz prove that not provoking at least some thought in audiences won’t protect a movie from viewer displeasure.
‘Knight and Day’ follows the adventure of suspected CIA spy Roy Miller (played by Cruise), who bumps into unsuspecting June Havens (played by Diaz) at an airport in Wichita. Agent Fitzgerald (played by Peter Saarsgard) is trying to catch Roy, and after seeing him interact with June, puts the two on the same flight together to Boston. After crashing the plane, Roy tells June that intelligence agents are trying to capture him, and not to believe anything they say when they come to question her.
Roy later takes June hostage, so the agents don’t think she was in on his plan. He explains that he’s also trying to protect Simon Feck (played by Paul Dano), a young genius who invented a perpetual energy battery. Spanish arms dealer Antonio (played by Jordi Mollà) is trying to steal the battery while killing Roy, Simon and June.
Like most big-budget summer blockbusters, ‘Knight and Day’ was low on plot and high on action sequences. But despite the failures of his last several movies, as well as the criticisms of his personal life, Cruise proves that at the age of 48, he can still carry stunt-filled action sequences. As in his glory days in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ trilogy and other action films, including ‘Minority Report,’ Cruise can still make the audience forget not much was going on plot-wise.
Cruise also reignited the spark with his ‘Vanilla Sky” co-star Diaz. The two have a built-in chemistry together, and both brought in a comedic spark that played off of each other. While other actors were considered for both of their parts, including Adam Sandler, Chris Tucker and Gerard Butler for Roy and Eva Mendez for June, Cruise and Diaz fit perfectly together.
While Cruise carried most of ‘Knight and Day,’ it’s questionable to some degree why he passed on both the highly-anticipated upcoming thrillers ‘Salt’ and ‘The Tourist,’ both starring Angelina Jolie. While he said he felt both felt to much like his ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies, those where the films he received the most recognition from in recent years. He should stick to the same types of movies until his career gets on solid ground again.
Having gone through ‘development hell’ since its inception, ‘Knight and Day’ lacked an overall original creativity, and therefore was Cruise’s worst opening of an action film in 20 years. The script seemed to have no clear vision of what it wanted to portray, having gone through so many re-writes by numerous writers, including Patrick O’Neill, Scott Frank, Dana Fox, Laeta Kalogidis, Ted and Nicholas Griffin, Timothy Dalton and Simon Kinberg. As for directors, Tom Dey was originally signed on to helm the movie, only to be later replaced by James Mangold.
With so many collaborators on board, there was no really cohesive or realistic feel to the movie. One of the select few commendable attributes to the film besides Cruise is the fact that the audience spends most of the film understanding what June feels. It’s not told right away if Roy or Agent Fitzgerald is telling the truth about their intentions.
Overall, ‘Knight and Day’ isn’t the best movie of the summer, or of Cruise and Diaz’s careers. Not even making three quarters of its budget back in its first two-and-a-half weeks in theaters, it will most likely be considered a box office failure, especially when compared to other big blockbusters, including ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ and ‘Toy Story 3.’ But fans of the two will definitely want to see their reunion.
Written by: Karen Benardello
Knight and Day Movie Review
Compared to other action thrillers, this one is night and day apart. The new Regency Enterprise and 20th Century Fox comedy ‘Knight and Day,’ starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, was aimed to prove that at older ages, both actors could carry a big summer movie. While wanting to show they can still draw in big summer crowds, Cruise and Diaz prove that not provoking at least some thought in audiences won’t protect a movie from viewer displeasure.
‘Knight and Day’ follows the adventure of suspected CIA spy Roy Miller (played by Cruise), who bumps into unsuspecting June Havens (played by Diaz) at an airport in Wichita. Agent Fitzgerald (played by Peter Saarsgard) is trying to catch Roy, and after seeing him interact with June, puts the two on the same flight together to Boston. After crashing the plane, Roy tells June that intelligence agents are trying to capture him, and not to believe anything they say when they come to question her.
Roy later takes June hostage, so the agents don’t think she was in on his plan. He explains that he’s also trying to protect Simon Feck (played by Paul Dano), a young genius who invented a perpetual energy battery. Spanish arms dealer Antonio (played by Jordi Mollà) is trying to steal the battery while killing Roy, Simon and June.
Like most big-budget summer blockbusters, ‘Knight and Day’ was low on plot and high on action sequences. But despite the failures of his last several movies, as well as the criticisms of his personal life, Cruise proves that at the age of 48, he can still carry stunt-filled action sequences. As in his glory days in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ trilogy and other action films, including ‘Minority Report,’ Cruise can still make the audience forget not much was going on plot-wise.
Cruise also reignited the spark with his ‘Vanilla Sky” co-star Diaz. The two have a built-in chemistry together, and both brought in a comedic spark that played off of each other. While other actors were considered for both of their parts, including Adam Sandler, Chris Tucker and Gerard Butler for Roy and Eva Mendez for June, Cruise and Diaz fit perfectly together.
While Cruise carried most of ‘Knight and Day,’ it’s questionable to some degree why he passed on both the highly-anticipated upcoming thrillers ‘Salt’ and ‘The Tourist,’ both starring Angelina Jolie. While he said he felt both felt to much like his ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies, those where the films he received the most recognition from in recent years. He should stick to the same types of movies until his career gets on solid ground again.
Having gone through ‘development hell’ since its inception, ‘Knight and Day’ lacked an overall original creativity, and therefore was Cruise’s worst opening of an action film in 20 years. The script seemed to have no clear vision of what it wanted to portray, having gone through so many re-writes by numerous writers, including Patrick O’Neill, Scott Frank, Dana Fox, Laeta Kalogidis, Ted and Nicholas Griffin, Timothy Dalton and Simon Kinberg. As for directors, Tom Dey was originally signed on to helm the movie, only to be later replaced by James Mangold.
With so many collaborators on board, there was no really cohesive or realistic feel to the movie. One of the select few commendable attributes to the film besides Cruise is the fact that the audience spends most of the film understanding what June feels. It’s not told right away if Roy or Agent Fitzgerald is telling the truth about their intentions.
Overall, ‘Knight and Day’ isn’t the best movie of the summer, or of Cruise and Diaz’s careers. Not even making three quarters of its budget back in its first two-and-a-half weeks in theaters, it will most likely be considered a box office failure, especially when compared to other big blockbusters, including ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ and ‘Toy Story 3.’ But fans of the two will definitely want to see their reunion.
Written by: Karen Benardello
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Ne-Yo Expecting First Child With Girlfriend
Ne-Yo Expecting First Child With Girlfriend
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/06/27/ne-yo-expecting-first-child-with-girlfriend/
Ne-Yo has confirmed to Ebony Magazine that he and his girlfriend, Monyetta Shaw, are expecting a child together. It will be the first child for the rapper-songwriter. “It’s a New Year’s baby,” he added, as the child is due in January.
During the interview, Ne-Yo also said that he’s “very, very excited” to be expecting his first child. However, the two don’t know the child’s gender yet, as the baby was curled up in the womb during the first ultrasound.
While Ne-Yo is also preparing to release his latest album, ‘Libra Scale,’ he also told the magazine “I’m ust in a really good place right now.” However, the baby news comes after one of his former girlfriends became pregnant in 2005 and named the baby Chimere, after Ne-Yo’s middle name. The rapper believed he was the father at first, but testing later determine he wasn’t.
Written by: Karen Benardello
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/06/27/ne-yo-expecting-first-child-with-girlfriend/
Ne-Yo has confirmed to Ebony Magazine that he and his girlfriend, Monyetta Shaw, are expecting a child together. It will be the first child for the rapper-songwriter. “It’s a New Year’s baby,” he added, as the child is due in January.
During the interview, Ne-Yo also said that he’s “very, very excited” to be expecting his first child. However, the two don’t know the child’s gender yet, as the baby was curled up in the womb during the first ultrasound.
While Ne-Yo is also preparing to release his latest album, ‘Libra Scale,’ he also told the magazine “I’m ust in a really good place right now.” However, the baby news comes after one of his former girlfriends became pregnant in 2005 and named the baby Chimere, after Ne-Yo’s middle name. The rapper believed he was the father at first, but testing later determine he wasn’t.
Written by: Karen Benardello
Farrah Fawcett Cancer-Research Foundation Open
Farrah Fawcett Cancer-Research Foundation Open
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/06/27/farrah-fawcett-cancer-research-foundation-open/
In honor of the first anniversary of Farrah Fawcett’s death, a cancer-research foundation was dedicated in her name, Popeater.com is reporting. Her partner, Ryan O’Neal, his daughter Tatum and his son with Fawcett, Redmond, were part of a small gathering on June 25 at the offices of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation.
Alana Stewart said her friend started the foundation, which funds alternative cancer research and treatment methods, during her own struggle with cancer. The foundation is also designed to help improve the quality of life of those who are stricken with cancer.
“If I can carry on (Farrah’s) mission for the foundation, it’s an honor for me,” Stewart also said. She added that Fawcett felt she could help a lot of people, and started the foundation to give those stricken with the disease inspiration.
Written by: Karen Benardello
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/06/27/farrah-fawcett-cancer-research-foundation-open/
In honor of the first anniversary of Farrah Fawcett’s death, a cancer-research foundation was dedicated in her name, Popeater.com is reporting. Her partner, Ryan O’Neal, his daughter Tatum and his son with Fawcett, Redmond, were part of a small gathering on June 25 at the offices of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation.
Alana Stewart said her friend started the foundation, which funds alternative cancer research and treatment methods, during her own struggle with cancer. The foundation is also designed to help improve the quality of life of those who are stricken with cancer.
“If I can carry on (Farrah’s) mission for the foundation, it’s an honor for me,” Stewart also said. She added that Fawcett felt she could help a lot of people, and started the foundation to give those stricken with the disease inspiration.
Written by: Karen Benardello
Mena Suvari Marries For Second Time in Italy
Mena Suvari Marries For Second Time in Italy
Mena Suvari married concert producer Simone Sestito on June 26 in Vatican City, PEOPLE is reporting. The ‘American Pie’ actress and her fiancee had a private church ceremony, with a private reception following outside of the city.
To read more of this post, please visit:
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/06/28/mena-suvari-marries-for-second-time-in-italy/
Mena Suvari married concert producer Simone Sestito on June 26 in Vatican City, PEOPLE is reporting. The ‘American Pie’ actress and her fiancee had a private church ceremony, with a private reception following outside of the city.
To read more of this post, please visit:
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/06/28/mena-suvari-marries-for-second-time-in-italy/
Will.i.am's Possessions Stolen From Bentley
Will.i.am's Possessions Stolen From Bentley
Burglars stole $10.000 worth of Will.i.am’s possessions in L.A. on June 21, TMZ is reporting. The burglars broke into the Black Eyed Peas’ singer’s unattended Bentley in the Hollywood Hills, an area filled with celebrity homes and their cars. They stole everything that was in the Bentley, including jewelry.
To read the rest of this post, please visit:
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/06/28/williams-possessions-stolen-from-bentley/
Burglars stole $10.000 worth of Will.i.am’s possessions in L.A. on June 21, TMZ is reporting. The burglars broke into the Black Eyed Peas’ singer’s unattended Bentley in the Hollywood Hills, an area filled with celebrity homes and their cars. They stole everything that was in the Bentley, including jewelry.
To read the rest of this post, please visit:
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/06/28/williams-possessions-stolen-from-bentley/
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Micmacs Movie Review
http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/05/25/micmacs-movie-review/
Micmacs Movie Review
To simply call the new Jean-Pierre Jeunet movie ‘Micmacs’ non-stop madness, the English translation of its French title ‘Micmacs à tire-larigot,’ is an understatement. The action-slapstick comedy stars such supporting actors as Andre Dussollier, Nicolas Marie and Julie Ferrier, who Jeunet compared to the Seven Dwarfs. Lead actor Dany Boon also spontaneously added traces of Charlie Chaplin to his character Bazil in this movie about getting vengeance and revenge against those who have morally-corrupt actions.
The movie starts off during Bazil’s childhood, when he was orphaned after his father was killed by a mine that exploded in the Moroccan dessert. The movie then cuts to Bazil as an adult, working in a video store, when he gets hit by a stray bullet during a freak accident.
After undergoing surgery (during which the doctors leave the bullet in his head) and being released from the hospital, Bazil loses both his home and his job. After living on the streets for a couple of months, he is taken in and ‘adopted’ by a group of scavengers who live in a salvage yard. Along with his diverse group of new friends, who include Calculator, Slammer and Elastic Girl, Bazil is determined to take revenge on the weapons companies that caused his misfortunes.
Before watching ‘Micmacs,’ it’s hard to image a comedy being focused on a main character who is determined to take revenge on weapons manufactures. It’s easy to believe that Bazil would go about executing his self-imposed mission in a more serious manner. Since the movie was also made and set in France, it was also questionable if the French’s need for revenge would translate well to Americans.
But once the movie starts to play, all questions are swept aside. With their diverse and descriptive nicknames, just like the Seven Dwarfs, as Juenet calls them, each of Bazil’s new friends perfectly fit into his scheme of revenge, and they all bring a natural wit to their parts. Buster, for example, is proud of the fact that he’s a human cannonball who’s made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, and Elastic Girl, who can stretch and bend like rubber, and fits into the most unexpected places. The group also has good chemistry as they agree to take in and help Bazil, their leader, or their ‘Snow White.’
Even though he played the main character, Boon is still the standout star. He made Bazil humbling when he was bombarded with support from the scavengers to bring down the weapons companies. He also showed that he connected to the character, even though Juenet wrote Bazil to slip into fantasy and imaginary worlds. Boon has said he enjoyed bringing fantasy into adulthood, and it shows.
But while the point of the movie was for this down-on-his luck character seek revenge on the weapons manufactures, Nicolas Thibault de Fenouillet (played by Dussollier) and Francis Marconi (played by Marie), it was questionable there was more of a backstory to them than Bazil’s group of friends. While it’s easier to build backstories for two characters as opposed to seven, it was confusing on why the scavengers would be so willing to help someone they just met. Jeunet said he wanted the group to join forces against the ‘businessmen of death,’ but it would have been easier to understand their motivations if more of their lives were revealed.
The movie, which runs for 104 minutes, could have been cut down 15 minutes to an hour and a half, as the theme that the weapons dealers should be stopped was getting a bit redundant. The point Juenent was trying to make is true-he said his inspiration for the movie came when he was editing ‘The City of Lost Children’ next to the Dassault factories. He would often go to a restaurant where the Dassault engineers would go, and was bothered that they seemed to be living care-free lives, even though they were creating weapons that kill people. But Juenet could have cut down on some of the tricks the scavengers took part in, as towards the end, they were no longer fresh and exciting.
But Juenet did succeed in showing that Paris shouldn’t just be portrayed as the City of Love in movies, Nicolas and Francis were both portrayed as the stereotypical morally corrupt ‘bad guys.’ Their actions of greed and selfishness, as well as their ultimate outcome, were predictable, much like those portrayed in American movies.
Juenet also deserves credit for limiting the number of visual effects he used in ‘Micmacs,’ as opposed to his film ‘A Very Long Engagement,’ in an effort to make it more realistic. He said he also tried to include some different shots of Paris than the traditional, more well-known places. Instead of showing the Eiffel Tower, Juenet included the architecture from the 1930s, the city’s metro and the Galeries Lafayeete.
While ‘Micmacs’ premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009, debuted in France the next month and was also shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2010, so far it has only made about $13 million against a $34 million budget. While several aspects of the movie could have been improved, anyone who enjoys physical comedy with morals will enjoy ‘Micmacs.’
Written by: Karen Benardello
Micmacs Movie Review
To simply call the new Jean-Pierre Jeunet movie ‘Micmacs’ non-stop madness, the English translation of its French title ‘Micmacs à tire-larigot,’ is an understatement. The action-slapstick comedy stars such supporting actors as Andre Dussollier, Nicolas Marie and Julie Ferrier, who Jeunet compared to the Seven Dwarfs. Lead actor Dany Boon also spontaneously added traces of Charlie Chaplin to his character Bazil in this movie about getting vengeance and revenge against those who have morally-corrupt actions.
The movie starts off during Bazil’s childhood, when he was orphaned after his father was killed by a mine that exploded in the Moroccan dessert. The movie then cuts to Bazil as an adult, working in a video store, when he gets hit by a stray bullet during a freak accident.
After undergoing surgery (during which the doctors leave the bullet in his head) and being released from the hospital, Bazil loses both his home and his job. After living on the streets for a couple of months, he is taken in and ‘adopted’ by a group of scavengers who live in a salvage yard. Along with his diverse group of new friends, who include Calculator, Slammer and Elastic Girl, Bazil is determined to take revenge on the weapons companies that caused his misfortunes.
Before watching ‘Micmacs,’ it’s hard to image a comedy being focused on a main character who is determined to take revenge on weapons manufactures. It’s easy to believe that Bazil would go about executing his self-imposed mission in a more serious manner. Since the movie was also made and set in France, it was also questionable if the French’s need for revenge would translate well to Americans.
But once the movie starts to play, all questions are swept aside. With their diverse and descriptive nicknames, just like the Seven Dwarfs, as Juenet calls them, each of Bazil’s new friends perfectly fit into his scheme of revenge, and they all bring a natural wit to their parts. Buster, for example, is proud of the fact that he’s a human cannonball who’s made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, and Elastic Girl, who can stretch and bend like rubber, and fits into the most unexpected places. The group also has good chemistry as they agree to take in and help Bazil, their leader, or their ‘Snow White.’
Even though he played the main character, Boon is still the standout star. He made Bazil humbling when he was bombarded with support from the scavengers to bring down the weapons companies. He also showed that he connected to the character, even though Juenet wrote Bazil to slip into fantasy and imaginary worlds. Boon has said he enjoyed bringing fantasy into adulthood, and it shows.
But while the point of the movie was for this down-on-his luck character seek revenge on the weapons manufactures, Nicolas Thibault de Fenouillet (played by Dussollier) and Francis Marconi (played by Marie), it was questionable there was more of a backstory to them than Bazil’s group of friends. While it’s easier to build backstories for two characters as opposed to seven, it was confusing on why the scavengers would be so willing to help someone they just met. Jeunet said he wanted the group to join forces against the ‘businessmen of death,’ but it would have been easier to understand their motivations if more of their lives were revealed.
The movie, which runs for 104 minutes, could have been cut down 15 minutes to an hour and a half, as the theme that the weapons dealers should be stopped was getting a bit redundant. The point Juenent was trying to make is true-he said his inspiration for the movie came when he was editing ‘The City of Lost Children’ next to the Dassault factories. He would often go to a restaurant where the Dassault engineers would go, and was bothered that they seemed to be living care-free lives, even though they were creating weapons that kill people. But Juenet could have cut down on some of the tricks the scavengers took part in, as towards the end, they were no longer fresh and exciting.
But Juenet did succeed in showing that Paris shouldn’t just be portrayed as the City of Love in movies, Nicolas and Francis were both portrayed as the stereotypical morally corrupt ‘bad guys.’ Their actions of greed and selfishness, as well as their ultimate outcome, were predictable, much like those portrayed in American movies.
Juenet also deserves credit for limiting the number of visual effects he used in ‘Micmacs,’ as opposed to his film ‘A Very Long Engagement,’ in an effort to make it more realistic. He said he also tried to include some different shots of Paris than the traditional, more well-known places. Instead of showing the Eiffel Tower, Juenet included the architecture from the 1930s, the city’s metro and the Galeries Lafayeete.
While ‘Micmacs’ premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009, debuted in France the next month and was also shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2010, so far it has only made about $13 million against a $34 million budget. While several aspects of the movie could have been improved, anyone who enjoys physical comedy with morals will enjoy ‘Micmacs.’
Written by: Karen Benardello
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)