Yep, I'm a fan of the original series, and "Conquest for POTA" is my second-favorite (it also depicted the rise of Caesar and the apes, rebelling against the humans; it was quite futuristic and a little crazy). I heard they were remaking it some time ago, but decided to reserve judgment.
I think you'll really enjoy it once you see it.
The original 5 films (and Burton's) never piqued my interest at all. I watched a little bit of Burton's on tv the other night and quickly turned it off
Fans of the originals and non-fans both seem to be enjoying this one though
[Show spoiler](Drama, Fantasy)
Directed by Frank Darabont
Starring Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan and David Morse
Warner Bros. | 1999 | 188 min | Rated R | Released Dec 01, 2009
Video:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles:
English SDH, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German SDH, Greek, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc
The Film 5/5
If you read my Top 20 Drama articles, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Frank Darabont’s Stephen King adaptations. The Shawshank Redemption ranks second and The Green Mile is just behind in fourth.
Watching a Darabont movie is like entering another world. He takes his time with the story and the development of the characters. Don’t expect fast cuts and short scenes; each film is a work of art that is meant to be savored.
Before I talk about the film, I have to mention a funny story. Stephen King decided to write the book in a series of six installments. King was inspired by Charles Dickens, who also liked the serial novel format. I found the first installment in a supermarket and kept the receipt. A scan of it is shown below. See if you can spot the unusual item (five items from the top). It’s amazing what you can buy in supermarkets these days. I guess I was low on junk food that week? What a terrible diet I had back then.
The Green Mile is set in a Louisiana prison, but, unlike The Shawshank Redemption, the inmates can only interact by talking and never leave their cells to mingle. Each prisoner is condemned to death and is awaiting a meeting with Old Sparky, the electric chair.
The story is narrated by Paul Edgecomb (Dabbs Greer and Tom Hanks), the head warder, and the vast majority of the story is told through the use of flashback and is set in 1935. He explains how he met a huge black prisoner named John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan). Coffey is a simple man and seemingly gentle despite his size, but he was found guilty of murdering two little girls. His behavior doesn’t do anything to suggest that he was capable of such an act.
Coffey has a secret, but I can’t reveal it here without ruining the movie. His nature becomes apparent about an hour into the film and it changes everything.
The story revolves around Edgecomb’s role in running the prison and how he reacts when he finds out Coffey’s true nature. Prison life is fairly quiet, but Edgecomb has to deal with an annoying warder called Percy Wetmore. We are told that Wetmore has connections and so the other warders have to tolerate him or risk losing their jobs. Another thing that upsets Edgecomb’s routine is the addition of a new prisoner, 'Wild Bill' Wharton (Sam Rockwell), who likes to make as much trouble as possible.
One part of the story concerns the appearance of a mouse. The reaction of the individual warders reveals something about their own nature and it’s a brilliant plot device. Unfortunately, I can’t say anything more about the mouse without ruining the story.
The Green Mile isn’t what it seems. It begins like a hard-hitting drama, but things change as we discover more about the characters. In the end, the story is about trust and belief. It’s very powerful and some of the characters do extraordinary things. The warders, with the exception of Percy, are a close-knit group. They demonstrate the kind of trust that can only occur between close friends. The stakes are high and the story is compelling.
I’ll say no more about the plot other than that the conclusion is very satisfying.
Darabont draws strong performances from every member of the cast. Hanks is superb as usual, but the story wouldn’t work without Michael Clarke Duncan’s performance and his Oscar nomination was well deserved. I could mention at least 15 actors who played their role to perfection. Darabont was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay and the film deserved all of the recognition it received. The mouse should have won an Oscar.
The film has a couple of disturbing scenes, such as one of the executions, but is generally a series of character studies. You’ll be sucked into the story because of what the characters do, rather than for any special effects or shocking scenes. The story has a lot of heart and will stay with you long after the credits roll. At 189-minutes, many will be wary of watching the film. Don’t let that put you off. Good films never feel too long, and this is a very good film.
Video Quality 4/5
The VC-1 transfer looks very good for the most part. Detail in close-ups is exceptional and, apart from a few soft scenes, detail is generally strong throughout. Black levels are problematic on occasion. Darabont uses plenty of dark shots using blacks, grays and browns. Sometimes, shadows obscure some of the detail. I’m very happy with the upgrade, but it could have been slightly better. Owners of the DVD will be relieved that the Blu-ray comfortably contains the entire film, so you won’t have to flip the disc over as you did with the DVD.
Audio Quality 4/5
The English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is quiet and I found myself increasing the volume by 10 decibels over my normal level. Once that adjustment was made, everything sounded clear. It’s a dialogue-driven film, but the surrounds do play a part when required. Listen to the sound of the mouse running across the floor and you’ll hear the fine detail in the mix. One electrocution is particularly noisy and you’ll feel like it’s happening right in front of you. I couldn’t detect any imperfections in the track at all.
Special Features 5/5
The extras all appear in standard definition:
Commentary by Director Frank Darabont
Walking the Mile: The Making of The Green Mile (25:30)
Miracles and Mystery: Creating The Green Mile (1:42:54) – If the commentary and “Making Of” features weren’t enough, here’s an in-depth look at every aspect of making the film. It’s split into six parts if the running time seems daunting:
Stephen King: Storyteller
The Art of Adaptation
Acting on the Mile
Designing the Mile
The Magic of the Mile
The Tail of Mr. Jingles
Deleted Scenes (3:38) – Two scenes which didn’t make it into the film.
Michael Clarke Duncan's Screen Test (8:26)
Tom Hanks' Makeup Tests (5:30)
Trailers
The Green Mile is a film about hope, trust, friendship and the power of belief. It’s a stunning achievement and the story never feels boring despite the long running time. I give it a spin every three months or so and am always glad to visit that world once again. Anyone who enjoys good acting, master storytelling and emotional drama would probably find a lot to like in this film.
[B]Overall score 5/5[/B
]
I want to watch this again someday. I just know it will take so much (emotionally) out of me. It drained me when I saw it in the theater.
After 45 minutes I had to start fast forwarding this movie. I probably saved myself a good 25 minutes and didn't miss a thing. This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It had very few good moments in it. Ryan Gosling is better than this. Not recommended.
PQ - 3.5/5
AQ - 3/5
1/5
NSE
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquidPuppet
Lars and the Real Girl
2007 PG-13 95 minutes
Netflix synopsis:
When a delusional loner (Ryan Gosling) buys a life-size sex doll over the Internet, promptly falls in love with her and starts telling people that the doll is his girlfriend, his brother (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer) decide it's time to intervene. Patricia Clarkson co-stars in this offbeat feature film debut about love, loss and human relationships from director Craig Gillespie.
I really enjoyed this movie. I was very engaged the entire time.
I particularly enjoyed how the psychologist and Lars worked together under the guise of treating the doll. Touching stuff about a troubled man coping with life in an offbeat way. And those around him doing all they can to help him through his difficult journey. We get to see some really good people doing some really good deeds. I also liked that fact that there is nothing crude in this film. It's about a "relationship", not sex. The story offers many touching moments, many smiles, and a few "What the heck?" moments.
Gosling is fantastic here. Mortimer and Clarkson were quite strong as well. Schnieder had some good moments too, but was a little stiff a few times.
The best performance though, was of course
[Show spoiler]Bianca
. She was charming, elegant and one hell of a dancer.
I like the script a lot. Dialogue felt very real.
Its a mildly quirky film that asked me to accept a very weird premise, but it did so without making me feel uncomfortable. I just went with it, as did the characters in the film.
This is not a mindblowing masterpiece, but it is super original and very much worth seeing.
Yep, it is very emotional. Most of my favorites are. Anything that makes me cry must have some merit.
The Elephant Man is another that wrecked me.
Most of my friends think I have a problem because my favorite films are ones that knock me silly for a few days or ones where almost all Humans die. I still have my fingers crossed that someday an up-and-coming young director will have the balls to kill us all.
Most of my friends think I have a problem because my favorite films are ones that knock me silly for a few days or ones where almost all Humans die. I still have my fingers crossed that someday an up-and-coming young director will have the balls to kill us all.
Elephant Man does that to me too.
There's always Grave of the Fireflies or Perfect Storm if you want death.
I've been told recently that it carries some pretty on the nose commentary about the issues of the time. True?
Yes. Technology advancing too quickly at too high of a price. Mans selfish nature. Mans blindness to his own self destructive nature. Mans bigotry and arrogance.
Its mirrored through the Apes though.
It also has, perhaps, one of the best endings of a sci-fi film ever. Which, sadly, you have been exposed to.
Most of my friends think I have a problem because my favorite films are ones that knock me silly for a few days or ones where almost all Humans die. I still have my fingers crossed that someday an up-and-coming young director will have the balls to kill us all.
We got pretty close with
[Show spoiler]the new Apes movie. Worldwide pandemic and all that causes us slow painful deaths
If not for those stupid astronauts out in space
The director said they could go the way of people going underground and stuff in the sequel...but that doesn't exist yet, so right now, we're all dead on the planet as far as I'm concerned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquidPuppet
Yes. Technology advancing too quickly at too high of a price. Mans selfish nature. Mans blindness to his own self destructive nature. Mans bigotry and arrogance.
Its mirrored through the Apes though.
It also has, perhaps, one of the best endings of a sci-fi film ever. Which, sadly, you have been exposed to.
Now that makes it more interesting sounding to me.
Yea I know the ending, but I could imagine not seeing that coming when seeing it back then and being
I agree with Diesels review, in whole, and his score. Except for the part where he says it wasnt his favorite film of the year so far. Total FAIL!
There are SO MANY things that occurred so frequently that were done perfectly, it made it easy for me to get past the few goofs.
Suspending my disbelief was easier for intelligent primates than it was for Franco as a scientist. The guy just smokes too many herbs for a role like that.
The CGI/Motion Capture is fantastic, but, also, has along way to go. It will only get bettar as the years go pass.
Bingo! Like seeing The Sixth Sense for the first time. Or T2 when we learn that Arnold is the
[Show spoiler]good guy.
I've never seen The Sixth Sense or The Planet of the Apes, though I know both endings due to other people saying them etc etc. Do you think I'd enjoy them as much/close to as much despite knowing the endings?
I've never seen The Sixth Sense or The Planet of the Apes, though I know both endings due to other people saying them etc etc. Do you think I'd enjoy them as much/close to as much despite knowing the endings?
They are certainly still enjoyable, but the impact of the twist wont slam you as hard. I'd recommend watching both though.
Yes. Technology advancing too quickly at too high of a price. Mans selfish nature. Mans blindness to his own self destructive nature. Mans bigotry and arrogance.
Its mirrored through the Apes though.
It also has, perhaps, one of the best endings of a sci-fi film ever. Which, sadly, you have been exposed to.
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