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 Chris' Review: Well, I guess you can't always believe the hype. Ok, when can you EVER? I walked into Catwoman expecting it to be everything I had heard and less. Maybe it was just because I had heard SO many bad things about it that my expectations were that low. Maybe everyone else was expecting more. Maybe the critics forgot that this was a movie based on a comic book villain. Whatever the reason, I ended up being pleasantly surprised. Catwoman wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Sure, don't expect Halle Berry to win an award from this one... but it was a nice way to spend a couple hours. The biggest problem that I had with Catwoman was the unevenness. It was about as consistent as the emotional balance of a cat (or a woman for that matter.) There were moments in the writing that danced along merrily like a ballerina clown. There were others where the dialogue stumbled away like a drunken sailor. Sometimes the plot was rock solid, then out of nowhere a thread would pop up... and then fall to never be recovered. The sheer brilliance of half the special effects lit the celluloid, while others resembled something that the Hulk crew would have left on the cutting room floor. Even the titles... the opening scenes had a gorgeous presentation of cats throughout history while the credits slid effortlessly in and out. The end credits were white lettering on a black screen, zero effort. The acting was one particular sore spot for me. Halle Berry as Catwoman was excellent. She really made the character believable, and her performance was such that she danced around the plot holes and bad special effects, leaving them in her wake. Like a master of misdirection, your eyes are on her rather than on the mistakes. Supporting her, Benjamin Bratt as Tom Lone, her love interest, was also very good. In contrast, (and again my complaint about consistency) Ophelia, played by Frances Conroy, couldn't have been worse. The already heavy dialogue was a burden to listen to her deliver. Everyone else fell somewhere in the middle, although I really would like to see Sharon Stone play more villainous roles. She has a real knack for it. So the movie never really came together, it was always too busy fighting itself for anyone to notice that Catwoman was fighting the Marble Maid. Eventually the film just wound down and you realized that although you had been entertained for the last two hours, you'd really have rather just watched Spider-man for the 20th time. I give Catwoman 3 thumbs up. It's not that great a movie, but certainly better than the Hulk or Daredevil when it comes to the Comic Book genre. Then again, how much is that really saying? I'll probably buy it just because it's in that comic book CATegory that I enjoy so much.   Jim's Review: I've noticed a peculiar, inevitable phenomenon when it comes to my estimation of films: The amount of enjoyment I get out of a movie is often effected to a large degree by my preconceived notion of it when heading into its viewing. For instance, if a film is heavily touted by the popular opinion to be the second coming, a can't-miss, an utter spectacular, my expectations are understandably inflated. At that point, I'm invariably disappointed upon actually viewing the film. If my expectations are ramped up to an absurd degree, and the film less than blows me away, I leave it soured. On the other hand, if I've been told by every critic, friend, and opinion-spouting media outlet that a film is a complete and utter turkey, I may see it for the kitsch value, fully expecting it to be a squalid lump of doo-doo. Then, if it's nowhere near as bad as everyone says, I leave refreshed, thinking to myself, "Well, THAT was hardly crap at ALL!" Such was the case with "Catwoman". "Catwoman" stars Halle Berry as Patience Phillips, a young, over-talented (albeit reserved) marketing designer at a large urban cosmetics company. While working late one night, she stumbles upon a dirty secret: The company's new anti-aging cream (creme?), "Beau-Line", works miracles - but at a premium price. The goop is addictive...and if you ever STOP using it, all of the aging you've managed to stave off catches up with you all at once. Cumulatively. Oops. Naturally, the powers-that-be can't let that sort of thing get out...Especially not on the eve of the much-anticipated product's retail launch. So, Ms. Phillips is disposed of, and swept under the rug like so much trash. Problem solved, so the execs think. Unfortunately for them, Patience has friends in low places. Slinky, low, shadowy places. Her body is found by a passel of alley cats, and via the power vested in them by leftover Egyptian-worship mojo, Patience is not only revived...but gifted with leonine powers of agility, speed, and perception. Then, aided by her new abilities, she sets out to bring the makeup mavens to justice. Along the way, we're treated to scenes of a smooth cop (Benjamin Bratt) who's torn by Patience's dual personalities, Sharon Stone as a chilly, villainous, plotting ice queen, and the very, very yummy Alex Borstein as Patience's adorable, sexpot co-worker Sally, all of whom give enjoyable performances. Is it light? Yep. Is it fluffy? Of course. Does it play fast and loose with the source material? No Selina Kyle, here. No Batman cameos, either. BUT. Is it ripping good fun, stylish and energetic? You betcha. Halle Berry may be an Oscar winner, and she's certainly capable of pulling off headier material, but she's really quite a bit of fun, here. She deftly handles the physical demands of the cat-like movements required of the character, as well as the personality shift required to effectively make the transition from frumpy wallflower to leather-clad, whip-toting anti-hero. As the titular feline femme fatale, she purrs and vamps her way through some deliciously edge-of-camp dialogue and settings, and it works more often than not. The story line is even reasonably coherent. As I sat in my chair, watching things unfold, and actually ENJOYING them, I couldn't help but wonder where the litterbox of a movie the mainstream critics had trashed was. "This IS 'Catwoman', right? When does it start sucking?" I thought. That's not to say it was flawless. It wasn't. There were some glaring continuity errors (what are the chances that an entire department of a cutting-edge, beauty-centric company would all wear the same clothes two days in a row, especially after Patience having had her wardrobe openly insulted?), sloppy jump-cut editing (was that quarter-second shot SUPPOSED to be subliminal?) and curiously under-developed plot elements (what, exactly was the point of sending Sally to the hospital? What was wrong with her?), but it STILL was nowhere near the complete waste of two hours most of the reviews would have you believe. I daresay I'm gonna go out on a limb and actually recommend it. If you're in the mood for a stylish, attractive movie that moves along briskly and has a lot of fun with itself, "Catwoman" is a good bet. So, I've gotta buck the group-think trend, and give it five thumbs up...Pop-culture wags be damned. It was fun. BackHome - Info - Reviews - Map - Message Board - Photo Album |
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