jonathanspence.com » Movies

United 93

Jonathan — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 05:27:31 +0000

I just saw United 93, and it is the best movie I have seen in a long time. It is incredibly realistic, and exactly what a movie based on actual events should be like. This is the definitive movie for those few hours on 9/11, and I don’t think anyone will even try to make another movie that covers the same people for a very long time. It never gets heavy handed or tries to push an agenda or message, it just lays out what happened as accurately is possible from what we know. The scenes in the ATC centers and NORAD feel accurate in a way that I have never seen on film before. It’s obvious these are real people, not perfect robots, but once they realize what’s going on, they react as well as they can to a situation they are entirely unprepared for. It’s a must see movie.

Serenity = Awesome

Jonathan — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 22:56:56 +0000

Wow. I have watched Serenity twice so far, and it is better than what I expected, and I had pretty high expectations. Joss Whedon has proven once again that he is the current master of story and dialog. For the last 1/3 of the movie, I actually believed that it was possible all the main characters would die by the end of the move. It’s exactly what it should have been, Firefly, but bigger, darker, and with better special effects. I will go so far as to say Serenity is the new Star Wars, except what Lucas managed to do by accident, Joss has done with skill and vision.

If you like sci-fi and haven’t seen it yet, go out and buy the DVDs, watch them all as fast as you can, and then go see the movie.

The 40 Year Old Virgin

Jonathan — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 17:47:36 +0000

I saw The 40 Year Old Virgin last night, and it was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I do have to caution that if you don’t like crude movies in the style of Anchorman, then you should probably pass. I have been a fan of Judd Apatow and the people in his circle since I first watched Freaks and Geeks, which is probably the most realistic depiction of high school ever put on TV. His sense of humor seems to be exactly lined up with the kind of comedy I find funny. Most of the "classic" comedies like Blazing Saddles don’t really get anything more than a chuckle from me every once in a while, but Judd’s shows and movies have me rolling every other scene.

Steve Carell is continuously hilarious throughout the whole movie. He was funnier at times in Anchorman as the retarded straight man, but that’s only because he was slamming home the jokes everyone else was setting up. His character is an surprisingly realistic example of the post college single geek. He isn’t one of those scary guys that live in their parents house and don’t bathe very often, but he does have a collection of hobbies that most people would find a little weird. One of the tings that makes the movie work so well, is that like Apatow’s TV work, it is very close to real life. Everything is slightly exaggerated, but you could see most of the stuff in the movie happening if you had particularly funny and eventful friends. Unlike Apatow’s previous movie, Anchorman, this one has a well thought out and paced plot that keeps the movie moving along in between jokes. While Anchorman was more like a series of SNL skits that dealt with news people, this is a romantic comedy that is ridiculously funny.

The other characters in the movie are also well acted and funny, with the standout being Seth Rogan who is also credited as a co-producer. He started to stand out in Undeclared where he wrote a few episodes, and he is just getting funnier as a kind of more likable Vince Vaughn.

The funny in this movie just keeps coming. I don’t want to ruin any jokes, but I will say that they are masterfully placed, even in scenes with serious exposition. There are also a few in jokes for fans of Apatow’s previous work.

If you don’t think you will be offended, and think Judd Apatow or Steve Carell is funny, then you should definitely go see this movie.