Review of Rize (2005) by Katie R — 27 Jun 2005

[i][u][b]Batman[/b][/u] (A plesant & refreshing surpise)[/i] - In the same way that Revenge of the Sith restored the Star Wars empire, Batman Begins returns the DC Comic hero to his status of cool.

Although Christian Bale certainly could not have been the best choice, the filmmaking more than compensates for his lackluster performance. Of particular note is the length. The film is at lasts at least 2 1/2 hours, but when it's done you won't believe it was that long. The scenes keep the film moving forward by not prolonging them to focus on any one actor. The mediocre performances are therefore not as noticeable either.

[b][i][u]Land of the Dead[/u][/i][/b] - Okay, so this is the first zombie movie I think I've ever seen...but I went with an expert, and he thought it was pretty horrible too. Although I was plesantly surprised that these movies actually have a rather complex plotline, however implausible.

Weird side note: Having seen this in New York City, when went outside a lot of the people out on the street started looking like zombies.

[u][i][b]Forgotten[/b][/i][/u] - After seeing the previews for this movie, I thought surely it wasn't worth trying to catch while in the theater. And when I rented it, I was still unsure about the quality. But this one was another surprise. It's a psychological thriller that takes the audience on a mother's expedition to find out why she is the only one who remember's her son who died in a plane crash; with some scary effects along the way. While it's not the big screen fun of Batman, this one is definitely worth renting.

[u][i][b]Rize[/b][/i][/u] - In case you haven't heard about this one (since thankfully it doesn't have an annoyingly huge mass marketing campaign behind it), it's a documentary about clowning and krumping dance groups in the "tough" parts of LA. While at times it tries to beat you over the head with it's message, the amazing visual style and sheer craziness of the dancing wins out, and makes it a lot of fun to watch. Plus you learn about something positive, about real people.

To break up the story behind the dance craze, it weaves together long dance sequences with the interviews. I later found out that the director/producer is a french fashion photographer, and I could definitely see that when thinking back on the visual style of some of the dance sequences.