The film that I chose for today was one that always peaked my interest, but I never pulled the trigger because I was always weary of Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) doing anything other than comedy. Nevertheless, the film I chose for today is The Number 23 and Carrey plays dog catcher Walter Spearow. One day, Walter’s wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen) buys him a mysterious book simple called Number 23 for his birthday. After reading deep into it, Walter starts becoming obsessed with the number and starts to find that just about everything equals the number 23. Walter then begins to suspect that there could be some correlation between the book and real life so he sets out to find the author to figure out the answers. The film also stars Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Isaac French/Dr. Miles Phoenix, Logan Lerman (The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) as Robin Sparrow, Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Suicide Blonde, Rhona Mitra (Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans) as Laura Tollins, Michelle Arthur (Fun With Dick And Jane) as Sybil, Ed Lauter (Trouble With The Curve) as Father Sebastian, Patricia Belcher (Jeepers Creepers) as Dr. Mortimer, Corey Stroll (Ant-Man) as Sgt. Burns, and the film was directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever).
This was definitely an interesting film and an interesting role for Jim Carrey to take, but it was definitely a cool role for him. He definitely stepped it up in this film and proved that he could do films that were not comedies. The concept of the actual number 23 in the film was interesting, but to become obsessed with it is one for those that believe in conspiracy theories. What I loved about the film was how most characters portrayed two characters in the film when Jim’s character reads the book and he narrates. The story that you see unfold in front of you is actually a very cool one that has that detective crime story feel to it that definitely kept me glued. The real part of the story that was the best for me was the very end when all about the origin of the book is finally revealed to you onscreen. It was a text book thing that I should have seen coming, but I actually didn’t. It was just sitting there in front of my face and then it gets revealed and my reaction was of course it was. The tone of the film is very dark with lots of reds and out of focus shots that help tell the eerie story as it unfolds in front of us. I couldn’t believe that the film is less than a decade old it cause it seems like it came out forever ago, but I think if you’re a fan of mystery thrillers like this then you should give it a shot. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
I am about to go on a Oscar Isaac binge and for good reason I might add. He is an incredible actor who is slowly becoming one of my favs after roles as Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Nathan in Ex Machina, Blue in Sucker Punch, and he is about to be Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse. In today’s film, Robin Hood, he plays King John in this origin story about Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe). King Richard (Danny Huston) was killed in battle and it’s up to his most trusted friend to return the crown. The only problem is that he is killed in an ambush and Robin agrees to bring his sword back to his father. Once Robin returns the sword to Sir Walter Loxley (Max Von Sydow), he is asked to pretend to be his son while England boils away in turmoil due to a traitor to the crown. The film also stars stars Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Secret Service) as Godfrey, Cate Blanchett (The Monuments Men) as Marion Loxley, William Hurt (The Incredible Hulk) as William Marshal, Mark Addy (The Full Monty) as Friar Tuck, Matthew Macfadyen (Frost/Nixon) as Sheriff Of Nottingham, Kevin Durand (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Little John, Scott Grimes (American Dad!) as Will Scarlet, Alan Doyle (State Of Play) as Allan A’Dayle, and the film was directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator).
You should know going into a film like this that you can guarantee that it’s going to be well made when it’s Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe. A team that looked to repeat the success of Gladiator some ten years or so before it. As I said above, this is the origin story so it’s pre-steal from the rich and give to the poor Robin Hood. It explains how he became who he would eventually become in the story we loved as children. One of my favorite things about period pieces like this (because it is after all) are the sets, costumes, and the cinematography. You know that the costumes are going be done very well leading you to believe that you are in the 14th century or whenever this takes place. The sets are going to be showing you a time you were like where are the streets, Chipotle, and the shopping malls? Oh yeah because this takes place in the medieval times so those didn’t exist yet and not for a heck of a long time. The cinematography was absolutely amazing showing you the lush green of England and some of the shots of the ocean when the French are coming. Oh yeah, then there’s that thing called acting and it’s pretty phenomenal in this film especially Oscar Isaac as the mad and immature King John. The film may not be as amazing as Gladiator, but it’s hard to repeat the exact magic of a film and so there is no point in fretting over it and just watch the film. I am going to give Robin Hood, an A for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 