the fake and the fairytale

The Counterfeiters was solid enough, but not spectacular in my opinion. I wanted to see the film that nabbed the foreign movie oscar (perhaps no other foreign movies were made last year). Once again, the acting was very good, the script solid, and the storyline undoubtedly the weakest part. The main actor, Karl Markovics, was amazing in a gradual sort of way. For the first half of the movie, I was staring at this thin man with his pinched and ahem...slightly criminal looking face and few words and never really noticed him. Suddenly, I realized that he was spectacular. I could believe that he was a real man with his stubby fingers running over the sheets of fake pound notes and dollars. He reminds me slightly of Mads Mikkelsen. They're both so mysterious and the intenseness is hidden away behind layers. Nothing's exposed until it builds up gradually and slaps you in the face. Then you realize just how intense they are. It's frightening and more subtle than Clive Owen's brooding and sullen airs. With Clive Owen's characters, you know that he's about something from his first scene.

Although the story flowed much better than the one in In Bruges, it still felt choppy. The camera work was unspectacular, and the story felt undeveloped. Moreover, the ending didn't feel quite right. Although I guess it is the director's way of telling us that our emotions trump our work and art, it's still hard to sympathize with the main character even with the spectacular job that he did. Technically, this should be a superb movie, but it just falls a bit flat.

Enchanted is a completely different experience. No more concentration camps and unsavory characters (the realistic kind). Surprisingly, I enjoyed this movie quite a bit considering that I'm averse to Disney movies and this movie pretty much takes all of them and shoves them down its own throat. Amy Adams pulls off the sweet and naive heroine without falling into the pit of saccharine and melodrama, which is a mighty feat. James Marsden nails the bland Prince Charming (He was pretty bland in the original Disney movies as well), and I rather enjoyed Susan Sarandon as the evil stepmother in her S&M/teenage goth gear. Of course, McSteamy was rather nice as the down-to-earth lawyer with his expressive blue eyes and wrinkles. I'd have to admit that he definitely made the film better for me, especially in the climactic scene fitted with an eighteenth century blue waistcoat and white tights.

Being a Disney movie, there were some clever parts in the film. Surprisingly enough, the clever parts outweighed the cliched parts that we knew had to be there. The indispensable glass shoe and singing to the birds were given a slick contemporary twist. I'd even say that I like this type of satire better than Shrek because this one was so much fluffier and romantic. Or maybe I have a fondness for people in 3-D rather than in 2-D.