When you hear Kevin Smith is making a film you tend to know what you are going to get. It’ll be a comedy with a heart, but there will be witty writing, biting dialogue and lots of sex and drug jokes – it’s almost his signature. You don’t expect a lot of visual flair, but it will be a well shot movie with actors you enjoy watching and if you are not a person easily offended by language you will walk out of the theatre having enjoyed what you just saw.
It’s for these reasons that I had no idea what to expect out of Cop Out. Every single film Kevin Smith has ever released has been written and directed by Smith, that’s how you can tell it’s a Kevin Smith film – it feels like him on every level. Cop Out is completely different; it’s scripted by Robb & Mark Cullen and only directed by Smith - Cop Out doesn’t look or sound like a Kevin Smith film. I was excited to see the film but I wasn’t sure what any of this would mean…I was surprised. I really liked Cop Out.
Cop Out is not my favorite Kevin Smith film, I have a feeling Mallrats will always be that film for me, but not only did I enjoy Cop Out as a comedy I enjoyed it for its visual style.
The thing about Kevin Smith films is that he tends to be so much about the writing that while his films look good, the camera just tends to stay in one location and let the actors move around it. His writing has consistently gotten stronger and matured with every film he’s put out but the only difference in his visuals seemed to be his budget…and then Clerks II came out. For the first time ever I saw a camera move in one of his films and let me tell you I adore that shot, not because it’s “Kevin’s first dolly move” but because I think it was a spectacular looking shot that was well placed, used perfectly and was vibrant. I have yet to see Zach & Miri to see if he kept up his visual evolution there, but it’s all over Cop Out.
The camera work and cinematography was one of my favorite parts of Cop Out; while Smith may not have made a film quite like Hot Fuzz or Shawn of the Dead, Cop Out is a loving homage to the police action film and Smith uses direct shot styles from films like Bad Boys to get that across on screen. It was subtle and wonderful to watch.
I had so much fun watching Smith try something new and the chemistry between Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis there wasn’t any way I could walk out of this movie unhappy. I commend Kevin Smith for making this and I can’t wait to see what he tries next!
Director: Kevin Smith
Writers: Robb Cullen & Mark Cullen
Jimmy Monroe: Bruce Willis
Paul Hodges: Tracy Morgan
Raul: Juan Carlos Hernandez
Hunsaker: Kevin Pollak
Barry Mangold: Adam Brody
Ava: Michelle Trachtenberg
Roy: Jason Lee
Debbie: Rashida Jones
Dave: Seann William Scott
|
|---|
|
|---|
Showing posts with label michelle trachtenberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michelle trachtenberg. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Monday, June 30, 2008
Ice Princess
I am not ashamed to admit that I watched Ice Princess yesterday. I am not ashamed because it was on the Disney channel, and I was straightening my hair so it’s not like that was my purpose.
I do like Michelle Trachtenberg as I am a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and she played the only series late comer in TV history that I actually forget is not in the first few seasons of the show, and I enjoyed her in Euro Trip, so I was interested in seeing what she’d do in another harmless kids movie.
This is a very odd movie in concept. Casey (Trachtenberg) is a high school senior interested in getting into the physics program at Harvard and with some encouragement from her uber-feminist, college professor mom begins a scholarship project where she’ll break down the physics of figure skating. In a desire to make what she’s learning personal Casey begins to take classes herself only to uncover a hidden talent that she must hide from her mother who thinks that figure skating is an affront to feminism.
Perhaps the oddest thing to me in this movie is Tina Harwood, the ice rink owner, former figure skater turned coach played by Kim Cattrall. This character is Casey’s encourager until she nearly bumps her daughter out of regional’s so she sabotages her by tricking her into wearing new boots on the ice and mangles her feet causing her to take a spill mid-program. Then after Harwood’s daughter drops out of figure skating out of disgust with her mother and desire to pursue something she actually likes Casey asks Harwood to coach her.
All in all, I know this is a movie I would have loved if I were a kid still. It would have filled my head with fantasies and I would have thought about it every time I managed to go ice skating. Despite the oddness of the story, it isn’t a bad movie, it’s just not that entertaining if you’re over the age of 11 – or a boy.
Director: Tim Fywell
Writer: Hadley Davis
Casey Carlyle: Michelle Trachtenberg
Joan Carlyle: Joan Cusack
Gen Harwood: Hayden Panettiere
Tina Harwood: Kim Cattrall
Teddy Harwood: Trevor Blumas
Tina Harwood: Look, I'm sorry, but when the CIA wants to learn new dirty tricks they observe figure skaters and their moms.
I do like Michelle Trachtenberg as I am a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and she played the only series late comer in TV history that I actually forget is not in the first few seasons of the show, and I enjoyed her in Euro Trip, so I was interested in seeing what she’d do in another harmless kids movie.
This is a very odd movie in concept. Casey (Trachtenberg) is a high school senior interested in getting into the physics program at Harvard and with some encouragement from her uber-feminist, college professor mom begins a scholarship project where she’ll break down the physics of figure skating. In a desire to make what she’s learning personal Casey begins to take classes herself only to uncover a hidden talent that she must hide from her mother who thinks that figure skating is an affront to feminism.
Perhaps the oddest thing to me in this movie is Tina Harwood, the ice rink owner, former figure skater turned coach played by Kim Cattrall. This character is Casey’s encourager until she nearly bumps her daughter out of regional’s so she sabotages her by tricking her into wearing new boots on the ice and mangles her feet causing her to take a spill mid-program. Then after Harwood’s daughter drops out of figure skating out of disgust with her mother and desire to pursue something she actually likes Casey asks Harwood to coach her.
All in all, I know this is a movie I would have loved if I were a kid still. It would have filled my head with fantasies and I would have thought about it every time I managed to go ice skating. Despite the oddness of the story, it isn’t a bad movie, it’s just not that entertaining if you’re over the age of 11 – or a boy.
Director: Tim Fywell
Writer: Hadley Davis
Casey Carlyle: Michelle Trachtenberg
Joan Carlyle: Joan Cusack
Gen Harwood: Hayden Panettiere
Tina Harwood: Kim Cattrall
Teddy Harwood: Trevor Blumas
Tina Harwood: Look, I'm sorry, but when the CIA wants to learn new dirty tricks they observe figure skaters and their moms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
