antonia and jane . the constant gardener . elektra . the fantastic four

since i cant type as well as i used to.. courtesy my hand.. and i still want to record the films i saw over the past two days- this post just for that.

antonia and jane – british buddy film about two close female friends – one frumpy and the other suave. each envies the other and talks about it to an uptight therapist. early nineties realism that would be oh-so bittersweet with its poignant human moments if it were not so drab and predictable.

the constant gardener – terrific film out of a good book. ralph fiennes breathes the courteous justin quayle diplomat in kenya as he follows the footsteps of his murdered wifes quest into the shenanigans of big business pharma in africa. and its good not only because of good politics.

elektra – the first of the two marvel comic book films. daredevil sidekick does not have enough of a personality or superpowers to hold this film together. trying to attract a young girl fan club it panders to girl power shtick that the spice girls did better. a young protégé and her older mentor.

the fantastic four - the second of the marvel superhero films.– all superhero films are only as good as the media myths that they are elaborations of. for the x-men it is the unbearable alienation of the odd in ‘straight’ society and for elektra – a silly coming of age story where a young girl ‘learns’ from her mentor as much as the older woman gains in return. naturally the x-men films rock while elektra suck. for the fantastic four the model of the drama is a daytime soap opera and therefore the film is characterized by cut out characters reciting stock lines and actors who would even be background filler in ‘the bold and the beautiful’- jessica albas’ invisible woman notwithstanding.