Pacific Rim
I'm a big fan of
Guillermo del Toro's, and I'll see nearly any movie with Ron Perlman
in it on general principle. Seriously – Pan's Labyrinth ranks
among the best movies I've ever seen, and you just have to check out this Facebook page about Ron Perlman donning
the Hellboy makeup to make a little kid's day.
That
said, I found Pacific Rim
to be a below-average film in del Toro's ouvre. Yes, it features cool monsters, cool giant
robot—thingies to fight the monsters, and Idris Elba selling the
heck out of a poorly written motivational speech. But the script
needed a few more passes. The hero's journey was simplistic, the
story routine, and the whole thing lacked depth.
Nevertheless, Pacific
Rim gave a great
filmmaker the chance to play with some really neat toys and included
a Ron Perlman supporting role that just made the movie. All that,
and my boys dug it. At the end of the day, that'll do.
To Rome with Love
I'm a Woody Allen fan. Here's someone who makes films that reflect his vision,
as opposed to lowest-common-denominator pablum. Often, as was the
case with Midnight in Paris,
this results in magic. Sometimes, as with To
Rome with Love,
it results in a middling effort that, while reasonably entertaining,
doesn't hit the sweet spot.
Why
not? Well, the film's interlocking stories aren't particularly
interesting. When I was with one set of characters, I didn't feel
any particular need to get to the next set. In fact, each transition
had me thinking, “Ok, who are these people? Why should I care
about them again?” With two exceptions, I found that I couldn't
find reasons to care. The first exception came in the form of
Penelope Cruz, whom I'd watch doing the dishes for two hours. The
second came in the form of Judy Davis, the most interesting character
in the movie. She plays Woody Allen's long suffering wife with wit,
style, and all the best lines. Come to think of it, I'd much rather
have seen Judy's
Adventures in Rome
than the movie I got.
At
least the film works as a travelogue. Rome is a city every bit as
wonderful as it's cracked up to be, and Cinematographer
Darius
Khondji does it justice. I just wish that great work had been in
service to a better movie.
