galaxyquest
GALAXY QUEST (dir. Dean Parisot, 1999)
...the Alan Rickman film festival continues.
I'm not really sure what to say about this one. I remember hearing about it and maybe seeing it once when I was younger, and not really being that entertained/interested. So part of me always had it in mind that this wasn't going to be very good, but again, I was surprised. It wasn't great, or even particularly stand-outish; but it was solid, and I laughed (both are important for comedies). I'm unfamiliar with the Star Trek universe, and I'm sure that if I was I'd have enjoyed it more. That said, the most entertaining aspect (despite being mildly offensive) was the alien race looking for their new commander, which they find in Tim Allen. Which brings me to another surprise: Tim Allen. Again, my childhood gave me a general distaste for him. I was entertained by the Santa Clause when I was about 8, but since then he always seemed like one of those washed-up has-beens. He hasn't really done much to improve that standing lately, but something about his performance here convinced me that deep down, he may just redeem himself someday.
I liked the reflexivity of this. It reminds me of the Edgar Wright we-spoof-because-we-love movies. And like those movies, if you tuned in halfway through you'd almost mistake it for the real thing.
Performance-wise, everything pretty much worked. Again, nothing stood out. All of the performers seemed just a hair under-enthused. Of the crew, Tony Shalhoub and Sam Rockwell were the most interesting to watch. The pilot boy, like die hard, was hammed up more than I'd expect. Maybe I'm being too critical, but it's really disappointing to see black characters in mainstream entertainment portrayed as annoying and incompetent. Example: throughout the movie the pilot just can't seem to fly the ship properly, so during the final "let the white folks save the day" sequence, he gets the wonderful job of watching himself (as a child actor) maneuvering the ship, so that he can practice for the big leagues. I'm not really tryng to be a jerk, but there's just something about the way these actors end up coming across that forces me to look at the race card.
So final grade: B-
...the Alan Rickman film festival continues.
I'm not really sure what to say about this one. I remember hearing about it and maybe seeing it once when I was younger, and not really being that entertained/interested. So part of me always had it in mind that this wasn't going to be very good, but again, I was surprised. It wasn't great, or even particularly stand-outish; but it was solid, and I laughed (both are important for comedies). I'm unfamiliar with the Star Trek universe, and I'm sure that if I was I'd have enjoyed it more. That said, the most entertaining aspect (despite being mildly offensive) was the alien race looking for their new commander, which they find in Tim Allen. Which brings me to another surprise: Tim Allen. Again, my childhood gave me a general distaste for him. I was entertained by the Santa Clause when I was about 8, but since then he always seemed like one of those washed-up has-beens. He hasn't really done much to improve that standing lately, but something about his performance here convinced me that deep down, he may just redeem himself someday.
I liked the reflexivity of this. It reminds me of the Edgar Wright we-spoof-because-we-love movies. And like those movies, if you tuned in halfway through you'd almost mistake it for the real thing.
Performance-wise, everything pretty much worked. Again, nothing stood out. All of the performers seemed just a hair under-enthused. Of the crew, Tony Shalhoub and Sam Rockwell were the most interesting to watch. The pilot boy, like die hard, was hammed up more than I'd expect. Maybe I'm being too critical, but it's really disappointing to see black characters in mainstream entertainment portrayed as annoying and incompetent. Example: throughout the movie the pilot just can't seem to fly the ship properly, so during the final "let the white folks save the day" sequence, he gets the wonderful job of watching himself (as a child actor) maneuvering the ship, so that he can practice for the big leagues. I'm not really tryng to be a jerk, but there's just something about the way these actors end up coming across that forces me to look at the race card.
So final grade: B-
posted by js munoz at
1:55 AM
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