Zoolander (2001)

2/5

Zoolander is not my kind of film. The plot follows male model Derek Zoolander (Stiller) after losing model of the year to Hansel (Wilson) and after losing his three roommates and close friends in a freak accident. He is being brainwashed by fashion designer Mugatu (Ferrell) to assassinate the Malaysian prime minister, who is implementing changes in his country that will ruin Mugatu's sweatshops. What frustrated me the most about the movie was the way all the characters spoke their lines--or maybe it was just Ben Stiller, who does most of the talking in the film anyway. He overly articulates every single word as if every one of his lines is a punchline, except only about 1 in 50 are. It's frustrating on my ear and my brain to keep expecting a punchline and not getting one, and it particularly hurts the weak jokes. The comedy itself is fair--although not always to my tastes--although I felt that the movie got a lot funnier over time (I especially loved the X-Files and Godfather references). Anyway, Zoolander may be your kind of film, but I am not a huge fan.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196229/

Ali (2001)

4/5

I knew nothing about Muhammad Ali's life story going in, so this movie was a very eye-opening experience for me. I like how the movie wasn't simply a boxing movie, but really dug into all aspects of his character, including the social and political realms he affected. His motto, "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," could describe this movie as well. It flows naturally from scene to scene buoyantly and then strikes the viewer hard when the fight scenes occur. Technically, this movie matches Mann's other works. The crisp and beautiful cinematography by Lubezki is exceptional in this piece, bringing a visceral realism to the fights and ethereal fluidity to the rest. The music was spot-on, although sometimes a bit too prevalent. The acting by all parties was outstanding, although I think Smith's acting in the title role was slightly too weak to carry the entire picture (although quite strong overall). But it was really fun to hear Ali trash-talk.

It did have quite a few problems as well, I thought. It was too long. It meandered in meaningless areas that I never really cared for (although more knowledgeable fans might have found them interesting) and unexplained subplots. A firm sense of time and place was never really achieved. There were no dates or locations to inform the audience; the only markers were social events like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.'s deaths. The problem with the amazing cinematography was that Mann got too enamored of it, unable to cut parts out to keep the piece tight. The editing was competent for the most part, but failed to impress. Other than these minor squabbles, though, I really liked the film.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0248667/

Transformers (2007)

3/5

Transformers was a really, really fun movie. It's a summer blockbuster action movie that delivers for the entire two and a half hours. The special effects and the fights just blew me away. Some of the scenes were absolutely hilarious and had me laughing and smiling. Even though the movie was long, it was varied enough in content and mood to keep you interested and entertained. I especially loved the shout-out to Bay's earlier movie, where a kid runs around with a camera shouting, "This is so much better than Armageddon!" Also, I hear fans of the original cartoons were very pleased with how it turned out. The music was excellent and kept your blood pumping strong. The multiple storylines weave together really well.

As expected, the dialogue was extremely corny the entire time. The acting was awful. There were a ton of minor characters that were worthless (the hackers), along with subplots that were worthless (sending out a code while trapped inside). It could have easily been a much tighter, better-acted, better-written two hour movie if they had tried a little harder. Also, the main actress was pretty hot, I guess, but her face was really weird. Most of the scenes went on for too long and, at two and a half hours, the movie definitely overstayed its welcome. Although it never really got to the point where it was boring, I definitely felt some of the scenes to be quite tedious and tiring. Some of the fights were too short and there wasn't as big of a climax as I expected there to be; also, some were really confusing because of how it was shot and it was hard to tell what was going on. Also, I didn't like how the Transformers were so alien; I really didn't like their new designs. Anyway, if this movie ever interested you or you thought it might be good, go watch it, because you will not be disappointed.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0418279/