Review of The Gold Rush (1925) by Real G — 29 Jan 2005

[font=Comic Sans MS]Alright, for the sake of expediency I'm going to do a series of small reviews in list format of the remaining movies on my I.O.U. list so that I can clear up the backlog and get on to review some of my more recent movies. [/font].

[list][*][font=Comic Sans MS][b]Ronin[/b][/font]: [i][color=black][font=Comic Sans MS]Ronin[/font][/color][/i][color=black][font=Comic Sans MS] is incredibly excellent. I didn't know what to expect from this movie. I suppose in retrospect that this lack of expectations probably heightened the experience/enjoyment. The strongest feature of the movie is the incredibly intense atmosphere that is established within the first moments and maintained to the last. From the outset one gets the feeling of having fallen within a foggy maze with bad guys lurking around every corner all the while not knowing what's [i]really [/i]going on. With each step of the movie we follow a trail of precious bread-crumb like clues and rejoice as the story is ever so slowly revealed. That being the case I'm not going to spoil the fun by describing the plot ;-) Between the compelling performances, great car-chases, and the mastefully designed plot this movie is a definite must-see. [/font][/color][color=black][/color][*][font=Comic Sans MS][b]The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: [/b]For anyone who has ever watched a Jacques Cousteau special on T.V. as a kid I think this movie will hold special significance. The movie oozes with in-jokes, the most obvious being the ship, that make it a delight to fans. As a pure comedy it's pretty good but not nearly as fun as one would have hoped. The plotting seems awkward and uneven at times (not in a planned sort of way) and there's a specific plot twist towards the end that made absolutely no sense to me and seems entirely superflous to boot but I'll let you figure out what I'm talking about when you see the movie. Nevertheless, this movie about reevaluation and I suppose a touch of redemption does have some very enjoyable wierdly funny parts that make the time worthwhile and Steve Zissou sympathetic in the end.

[/font][*][font=Comic Sans MS][b]Meet the Fockers: [/b]As sequels go I was agreeably surprised by Meet the Fockers. The movie was painfully funny. Any young engaged persons who dread the first introduction of the parents should take heart in the fact that it can't be [i]that[/i] bad and if it is they might have the next Hollywood or reality TV blockbuster on their hands. Dustin Hoffman and DeNiro have excellent chemistry as well as great comic timing. The predicament of the families draws in the audience enough to offset the periodic glitches in the flow and story. The biggest beef for me is that the ending seemed a tad forced and quite contrite but there are enough laughs along the way to make it a pleasant comedy to see.

[/font][*][font=Comic Sans MS][b]Modern Times: [/b]This movie is a must-see for all true fans of film, particularly comedies. Charlie Chaplin is every inch the genius that he is reported. Modern Times is thought-provoking, relevant, heart-pulling, and hilarious all at the same time as it follows the life of one man trying to get along during the Depression. The range of emotion that Chaplin and his costars bring out with their faces and body is breathtaking. I challenge anyone who feels that old-movies are beyond our empathy or understanding to watch this movie and tell me that it didn't get under their skin.

[/font][*][font=Comic Sans MS][b]The Gold Rush: [/b]Now, there are a couple different versions of this movie with Charlie Chaplin and I'm honestly not sure which version I saw. Someday I would like to see all the versions so I can come to an accurate conclusion about each one. In any case, the one I saw started slow but warmed up into a very funny movie though it lacked the social conscious of [i]Modern Times.[/i] I do recommend this movie to anyone who likes a really good laugh out loud comedy because [i]The Gold Rush [/i]is definitely that and then some but compared to [i]Modern Times[/i] it isn't that sophisticated of a story. [/font][/list].