Coyote Ugly
When I first sat down to watch this movie this past weekend, I could only remember that the commercials for this film hyped up the fact that THERE WERE A LOT OF HOT WOMEN on screen. I didn't remember hearing about a plot or anything else. Tyra Banks! Sign me up....
Coyote Ugly revolves around a time-honored story, "small-town girl moves to the big city to make it big in showbiz." The spin here is that the girl is from New Jersey, and she moves to NYC to be a songwriter. Needing to make a little money to pay the rent, she starts working at a bar. In the meantime, she (Violet) meets a guy who she falls in love with, and manages to get her music heard. I won't go in depth to ruin this for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but I will say that the scene where Violet, her best friend, and her father are driving through a tollbooth on the turnpike is cute. I just want to know how they get the car through without getting a scratch. In the end, I was surprised to see that this film actually had a story. From what I had remembered of the previews, I thought that it was just going to be a film about hot women dancing around and showing some flesh.
In the end, although we do get a little bit of that, the film has a storyline, and some decent substance. John Goodman, as Violet's father, does a good job of playing the lower middle-class, overweight white guy character that he was born for. And Piper Perabo, as Violet, was convincing as a little New Jersey adapting to life in the city. The movie is definitely one of the all-time greats, it was entertaining. In my mind, if a film can attain that, it's worth seeing.
Legally Blonde 2
What's it about? Reese Witherspoon is back as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Now Elle is juggling a demanding career as a rising young lawyer as well as preparations for her wedding to the man of her dreams. But when she stands up for the rights of the other guy in her life - Bruiser, her chihuahua - Elle is fired from her job. She's devastated, but you can't keep an optimist down. Ms. Woods goes to Washington to take matters into her own well-manicured hands. Trying to learn the political ropes and win over self-serving politicians, Elle faces a formidable challenge. But with her clever and sassy signature blend of determination and intelligence, she bucks the system the Elle Woods way, inspiring those around her to find a voice of their own.
Matrix 2
Just as with the first Matrix, you'll find yourself blown away by special effects like you've never seen before. The fights are satisfying and full of wonder, and there are set pieces of action so visually rich, they have to be consumed several times to be fully digested. Really, the movie rocks on a visual level.
But the story suffers from cinematic flatulence, as if the Wachowski brothers decided that the franchise needed to capture the mythic power of the first Star Wars trilogy. And that's where Reloaded goes wrong: Its earnest attempts at achieving something bigger, conceptually and philosophically, rather than merely being the most kick ass sci-fi extravaganza ever, make it feel bloated and self-important. There's a painfully silly Blade-like subterranean tribal dance sequence that feels ridiculously out of context, and it's indicative of a larger problem. The Matrix Reloaded spends eons on circular conversations about the idea of choice vs. fate, but doesn't really deliver any sort of cogent message. And when did Morpheus start talking like Mr. Smith?
At the same time, Reloaded introduces or fleshes out ideas that open entirely new vistas for the world the directors have created. Inside the Matrix, everything is part of a gigantic program, right? And smaller programs, or subroutines, are essential for every item, being, texture, reflection-anything the denizens of the fake world experience. That means every freaking thing is made up of code, which defines not only its most obvious properties, like, say, color and smell, but intangibles as well-like the way it interacts with its environment. There's a moment with a piece of pie that's truly spellbinding-not just in the wild way the idea is introduced into the story, but for the implications across the Matrix experience.The elasticity of the environment-the fact that programs can mutate or replicate or fix themselves or write new code-makes for endless possibilities in the mythos of the story. And that realization, that construct, is so much more interesting than the "lite" and mundane concept of fate vs. free will. I wish the W brothers had used their storytelling brawn to explore that concept further (there's a moment with lipstick that could have been frightening, and would have made for a serious shattering of the conventions set up in the first film-a fundamental shaking of faith that could have morphed the foundations on which the world inside the Matrix is based). Oh, well.
But, damn, the film is breathtaking to see-with the shadowed grays of the ships, and the hyper-clarity of the fight scenes. Holy shit, when Neo goes mano a mano a mano against Mr. Smith, Mr. Smith and Mr. Smith, the brilliance and beauty of the thing just grows and grows. The Wonder Twin bad guys are fun, and the chase scene on the highway is, well… DUUUUUDE.
And, you know, there's something off-hand and natural about the diversity in the film. It's notable because the movie is so casually multi-racial. You don't think about it, because it's so intrinsically woven into the narrative, but the movie is rich in multicultural stew.
You'll notice there's no synopsis in this review. I wouldn't do that disservice to you. In the same light, there's not even the slightest rehash exposition at the beginning of Reloaded. The film essentially picks up where it left off, without breaking to bring newbies up-to-date. I'm glad.
Finally, there's not much of note in the holy triumvirate of the three returning characters. Reeves and Moss inhabit their roles without too much pretense. Fishburne is decidedly less cool, though almost too detached, and surprisingly stilted and hunched in his physical presence. Just as in the first flicks, it's the supporting cast that really propels Reloaded along. Harold Perrineau plays the new pilot, Link, and he's funny and driven, kind of a Greek chorus with his reactions to what he's watching happen from his place outside of the Matrix. Monica Bellucci is so freaking yummy, she's almost painful to watch. Jada Pinkett Smith doesn't get enough screen time, though she's magnificent in both looks and presence when she's up there, and there's nobody cooler than Hugo Weaving, period. Truly amazing is Lambert Wilson as Merovingian. He's funny, he's a bastard, and he does the French thing so well, you just want him to stay on the screen and talk awhile longer. He savors his lines as if he's drinking a 200-year-old Burgundy-smacking his lips and drawing out the pleasure.
You'll find lots to love in The Matrix Reloaded. It's fully satisfying in spite of its flaws, though it doesn't have the tight, streamlined feel of the first film. I'm all for long movies, but there are big chunks of detritus the brothers should have saved for the DVD. It doesn't matter, though, because I'm already counting down to Revolutions, and you will be, too.
More soon>>>>>>>>
