Two Brothers
Two Brothers is a film for the entire family. It's a story of two tiger cubs, Kumal and Sangha, seperated from their parents and eventually from each other. You'll follow their stories individually and eventually see them face off against one another. Kumal and Sangha have their own unique personalities. Kumal is the bold one and Sangha is timid. Kumal ends up watching out for Sangha up to the point of their seperation. Kumal is taken from the jungle by Aidan McRory(Guy Pearce) and ends up becoming part of the circus where he loses his jungle spirit, and Sangha becomes a trained fighter. Of course, after these events is when they are faced against one another.
Visuals: Two Brothers deserves a 4.5 here. This film is definitely visually stunning. If you really like nature, then you'll enjoy the fantastic cinematography of this film. Jean-Marie Dreujou was the cinematographer for Two Brothers, and I believe he did an excellent job.
Sound: I'd say a 3 is deserving here. There really isn't a lot for sound as far as I can remember. There's a lot of ambient noises in the jungle which is nice. The fact that there were moments when noises of the tigers were added in is what brought this score down a bit. I felt some of the tigers "growling" sounded a bit out of place.
Story: I give story a 3 as well. The plot is a bit weak, but entertaining. It is by no means a "happy" story about the life of the tigers from birth to adulthood. They have a lot of unfortunate things happen to them, all because of selfish humans. This is not a tear-jerker either. It's a story that makes you feel sorry or bad for the tigers.
Special Features: A 3.5 is well placed for rating the special features. There are a lot of short (3-5 minute) behind-the-scenes events/documentaries. There's a 30 minute documentary on tigers narrated by Guy Pearce which I found to be very informative. I haven't had a chance to listen to the feature commentary with director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear), but based on how friendly he was in the behind-the-scenes stuff, I have a feeling it's a good commentary. For a full list of bonus materials, visit Two Brothers website, enter the site, and click on Bonus Features at the bottom.
Entertainment Value: Goodness, I have to give Two Brothers a 4 here. The story isn't all that strong, but it's a great movie for the entire family. I'm a fan of nature, so I really enjoyed the cinematography of the jungle scenes. I also enjoyed the bonus materials. If you have to choose between The Bear or Two Brothers... get both!! The bottom line... Two Brothers is worth viewing for sure. Go out and rent it for an enjoyable two hours of family fun.
Finding Neverland
Up until now, I've only been doing dvd reviews, but I feel that's going to change. If I see any movie now, I'm gonna be putting something up about it. My wife and I went to the cheapseats and saw Finding Neverland last night. OH MY GOODNESS!! What a great film.
Finding Neverland is about a playwright (Johnny Depp) who is having a bit of a dry spell in his creative streak. He meets a family of 4 boys with a single mother in the park where he frequently does his writing. He feels great when with these boys because they help him to be a boy himself. This in turn, helps his creativity come back. It's a very FUN movie to watch. So... review is as follows:
Visuals: I say it's worth a 4.5. The cinematography and editing were well done. The glimpses into "Neverland" were absolutely amazing. Fantastical even.
Sound: I give this a 4. To be honest, I wasn't really paying attention to the sound of the movie. It was one of those things that happens in the background unnoticed. Which is good, mind you. It helped the story move on and didn't get in the way.
Story: A 5 for sure. The script, the story, the idea are all wonderful. I've always been a sucker for the story of Peter Pan as is, but this was absolutely brilliant. It isn't an obvious Peter Pan rip-off. I don't feel that it's a rip-off at all, actually. It's a story of heart.
Entertainment Value: A definite 5. I feel that EVERYONE should see this film. It really is THAT good. If you have not seen this one yet, go out and do so as soon as you possibly can. It is such a great movie. Seriously.
The Bourne Identity
Yesterday was a pretty lazy day for me, and I ended up watching The Bourne Identity. I really enjoy this film. I think Matt Damon (Ocean's 11 & 12; Good Will Hunting) does an excellent job in this film. He plays a man with amnesia who is found floating in the ocean. He soon discovers that he has abilities that normal people don't have. Also, he is being hunted down to be killed. He finds clues as to who he is while trying to stay alive, but doesn't have enough to figure it out.
I also feel that Franka Potente (Run Lola Run, The Princess and the Warrior) does an excellent job as well. She plays an innocent citizen who's hard up for money. Damon asks her for a ride to Paris for $20,000 toward the beginning of the movie, and she agrees to help him. If she only knew what that decision was going to get her involved in. I don't want to say too much more or I may end up ruining the film for you.
If you want to sit down and watch an edge of your seat action film, then this one will suit you just fine. I feel that it easily keeps you interested, and you start to put Damon's identity together along with him. It almosts makes you feel like you're in his shoes. How much fun would that be? Onto the review catagories.
Visuals: I give it a 4. This is based on the fact that there is some excellent cinematography. There really aren't many visual effects in the movie, and when there are, you don't go "Oh that's an effect." While I was watching the commentary, Doug Liman (director) (Go, Swingers) points out some moments where there are visual effects, and they're so subtle I would've NEVER realized it while watching the movie. That's a true sign of well done visual effects.
Sound: I give this a 4.5. The musical score to this film is nicely done. It's not like Liman's other films where there's a bunch of techno thrown into the movie. Another reason this is such a high score is from what I found out during the commentary as well. Liman and his sound advisor sat with the musician for 6 hour sessions just to pick out what music would work best where. Also the fact that it sounds GREAT in 5.1 surround, as far as sound effects go.
Story: I give this a 4.5 as well. This film is based on the well-known novel by Robert Ludlum, but Liman took some liberties with it. In my opinion, they are good ones. For those familiar with the novel, you should be able to know where these liberties take place. For those of you not familiar with it, you can find out some of them by listening to the commentary.
Special Features: Oh yes, special features. I give them a 3. I do NOT own the "explosive extended edition" so this score is based on the "plain jane" version of the dvd. There aren't a LOT of features that are good, but the ones that are make up for the ones that aren't. There are quite a few features on the disc. The features I enjoyed were:
- The Birth of Bourne - 15 minute documentary on how the movie's idea started
- Moby "Extreme Ways" Music Video - a pretty cool music video (as far as movie music videos go)
- Feature Commentary with Director Doug Liman - this is very interesting and informative. Liman seems to be a very down to earth kinda guy.
- Production Notes - there's some really cool behind the scenes info. to be read in here
Entertainment Value: Overall, I give this dvd a 4. I really like the movie. The special features could be better. Should you buy it? If you're an action movie fan, YES. If you can get it for $15, yes. If both of these apply, then definitely yes. If you're leary on my opinions, then RENT it for sure. While you're at it, you could get
The Bourne Supremacy as well, and see the whole story up to this point. Also, in case you're wondering, the third film
The Bourne Ultimatum, has been announced too.
