Thursday, February 16, 2006

Aeon Flux

 
Google Aeon Flux and you will find a few links that take you to sites about  the movie, a few to sites about the MTV show, but mostly you will find usernames. There are a lot of people who have "Aeonflux" as their username. I mean a lot.
 
This tells you how lame and unimaginative the fans of this character are. This tells you how lame and unimaginative a character this "Aeon Flux" girl is. This tells you how lame and unimaginative the movie is. For the tedious herds of sheep that think this is cool I strongly suggest that you read a book. I know, all those little words on the page there are so many of them! But you will find that it  actually exposes to new things, maybe a few original ideas, it might even get you to think(!).
The fact is that this movie was made by people who think that they are being clever and original.  You can see their little imaginations working hard at their "new ideas". You can see how smart they think they are being. Of course, there is nothing new here, post-apocalyptic societies and cloning are only interesting sci-fi concepts if you are a  semi-literate 12 year-old girl. The violence is PG-13 at best, the acting minor, and Charlize Theron is showing her age. Were you to have taken an AK-47 and mowed down a line of theater-goers queueing to see this movie humanity would not have suffered for it.  
 
Below is a selection of works from the man the "new ideas" in this movie were stolen from:
 
 
Charlize Theron .... Aeon Flux
Marton Csokas .... Trevor Goodchild
Jonny Lee Miller .... Oren Goodchild
Sophie Okonedo .... Sithandra
Frances McDormand .... Handler
Pete Postlethwaite .... Keeper
Amelia Warner .... Una Flux
Caroline Chikezie .... Freya
Nikolai Kinski .... Claudius
Paterson Joseph .... Giroux
Yangzom Brauen .... Inari
Aoibheann O'Hara .... Scientist
Thomas Huber .... Scientist
Weijian Liu .... Scientist
Maverick Queck .... Chemist (as Maverick Quek)

  (more) 

 

Al Pacino for the Money

                                                             
Another wild, overbearing performance from Mr Pacino. McConaughey is an ex-quarterback with a bad knee who takes a job with Pacino's sports betting service. Think Wall Street, at least that's what Two for the Money is trying hard to be. It doesn't even manage to be Cocktail. More mentor/grasshopper Hollywood crap. Karate Kid, only with gambling. Rene Russo looking even more equine than ever. The script is boring, does nothing new, nothing shocking, nothing interesting. Performances are average, average for Pacino being, of course, that he has to bellow everything. It's like he's not even trying to restrain himself or to think about the role anymore, he just yells and makes these random, scary faces that may or may not have to do with what he's saying.  I was thinking that this might just be a jaded actor in old-age, but even in the Godfather movies he was overbearing. Think of Don Corleone sitting down and crossing his legs, adjusting himself so as not to wrinkle his suit. Even that was theatrically intense.
 
Al Pacino .... Walter Abrams
Matthew McConaughey .... Brandon Lang
Rene Russo .... Toni Morrow
Armand Assante .... Novian
Jeremy Piven .... Jerry
Jaime King .... Alexandria
Kevin Chapman .... Southie
Ralph Garman .... Reggie
Gedde Watanabe .... Milton
Carly Pope .... Tammy
Charles Carroll .... Chuck
Gerard Plunkett .... Herbie
Craig Veroni .... Amir
James Kirk .... Denny