20130617, lundi--3 mini reviews

20130617, lundi; continued through 20130620, jeudi

A. The Gift

1. Released in 2000, rated R, 111 minutes.
2. Sam Raimi director; Billy Bob Thornton was one of the writers.
3. Stars Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, Gary Cole, J. K. Simmons, Giovanni Ribisi, Kim Dickens, Michael Jeter.
4. Thriller, mystery, supernatural elements.  Set in the fictitious town of Brixton, Georgia.
5. Slow start.  Long slow middle.  Deadly boring through to the disappointing end.
6. There were a number of unbelievable elements.  Katie Holmes and Greg Kinnear as a couple?  No; Greg's 15 years older than she is.  Hilary Swank as a punching bag?  No.  Cate Blanchett as a psychic?  Nope.  Cate Blanchett as an American, as a lower class single mother in Georgia?  No, no, no.  Giovanni Ribisi with a cast of real actors?  Dubious at best.  I like almost all of this group of actors, but in different kinds of roles.
7. Mild plus ratings for J.K. Simmons and Michael Jeter for injecting chunks of skepticism.
8. Suspend disbelief?  No, I'm gritting my teeth.
9. 111 minutes is too long; 30 would have been better.
10. One star of five.

B. Animals

1. Mark Blucas, Naveen Andrews, Nicki Aycox
2. 2008, 93 minutes, NR, horror, supernatural, werewolves
3. Mark Blucas' character gets dragged along through the film by his new werewolf girlfriend.  This passive role is is not one of my favorites for him.
4. Naveen Andrews' character in Animals varies among the following states: menacing, threatening, demanding, and ultraviolent.  I liked him better in Lost, and some of his other works, such as The English Patient and Kama Sutra, where he was able to show his range.
5. Nicki Aycox has been doing competent work for a number of years in a number of roles.  In this film, I liked her performance better than Blucas' for instance.
6. The film was dark, blurry, and murky; this describes the plot as well as the lighting.
7. Two stars of five.

C.  Kaze no Stigma

1. Anime series, 2007, TV-14, 24 episodes at 24 minutes each (well, perhaps 18 minutes of content)
2. Supernatural thriller with comedy and romance elements; set in contemporary Japan; use of fire, air, and earth magic
3. The main character, Kasuma was born into the fire magic clan, but cannot learn it.  He is cast out of his clan for this failure.  He returns as the 'contractor' for the Wind Spirit King; that is, one of the most trusted and powerful of all wind magic users.  He bears the stigma of the wind (Kaze no Stigma); that is, very blue eyes when resonating with the wind spirits. 
4. After a bad start, Kasuma and the fire clan try to come into harmony.  Along the way, they battle other potent families and some European magicians who use the Internet to disseminate bad mojo.
5. Finally finished it.  Great.  Wish there could be more, but I read the creator of the series passed on.
6. Five stars of five.