Movies with Fred and Marcio #1: Prince of Persia

The chosen movie to start this new feature was Prince of Persia. Let's see what our commentators have to say about it, ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS are available right below each text.

Frederico Bastos

Este verão foi uma autêntica desilusão em termos cinematográficos e talvez a maior delas todas tenha sido este Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. É certo que as adaptações de jogos de computador não têm sido muito felizes, mas confesso que as participações de Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley e Alfred Molina sob a direcçao de Mike Newell me davam algumas esperanças que estivéssemos na presença de um sólido blockbuster de verão. Bem que me enganaram!

Para começar podia ter reparado que os argumentistas eram os mesmos de Dirty Dancing 2 e The Uninvited (um remake medíocre de um filme brilhante sul-coreano). Ficamos portanto a saber que eles sabem escrever sobre pessoal a dançar e que também conseguem fazer traduções asiáticas. Penso ser esse o grande problema do filme, o argumento. Nos dias que correm, devido ao elevado custo de produzir um filme destes, existe a necessidade de não correr grandes riscos e para isso tratam o público como se fosse um atrasado mental. Ora, este filme está cheio de momentos que me fizeram sentir como tal e um dos melhores exemplos disso é quando Dastan, o personagem principal, carrega acidentalmente no botão de um punhal e assistimos a uma elaborada sequência de efeitos especiais que nos mostra o tempo a voltar para trás com ele incrédulo a assistir a tudo isso. A seguir carrega outra vez, para percebermos mesmo que aquilo faz o tempo voltar para trás. Não sendo isto suficiente, ainda acharam necessário acrescentar uma fala em que Dastan diz: Wow! Se eu carregar aqui neste botão o tempo volta para trás!! Sigh… Claro que o meu ilustre co-participante nesta coluna do blog deve gostar deste tipo de coisas, visto ele achar que os filmes não são feitos para pensar, o que interessa são as explosões e as gajas boas….

Os actores bem se esforçam, mas o material não é brilhante, e tenho de dizer que se no papel parecia uma boa ideia ter Jake Gyllenhaal como herói de acção, a prática veio provar o contrário e penso que o realizador ou o director de casting a certa altura deveriam ter pensado melhor e contratado outra pessoa. Ele bem tenta, mas nota-se que não está à vontade neste tipo de papéis e falta-lhe um certo carisma para carregar o filme às costas. A actriz Gemma Arterton também não sai nada bem na fotografia. Quer dizer, na fotografia até se sai bem, mas no filme nem por isso. Mais uma vez aqui a culpa é dos argumentistas que confundem independência e feminismo com teimosia e estupidez, criando um personagem feminino completamente insuportável! Não só isso, como obrigam o pobre Dastan a apaixonar-se por ela, enfim...

Gostaria ainda de falar do excelente twist que nos aguarda no final. (SPOILERS) Pois a cereja no topo deste filme fantástico é o recurso a um truque de narração que eu odeio especialmente, o de que afinal era tudo um sonho. Neste caso não é bem isso mas é parecido, o que faz com que todo o impacto emocional que o filme podia ter tido se perca e tenhamos um happy ending totalmente absurdo. (FIM SPOILERS)

Em resumo, um filme que teve o dom de me irritar solenemente enquanto o via, mas que pareceu agradar ao puto de sete anos que veio ver o filme comigo e a certas pessoas que se julgam os melhores jogadores de Magic do mundo...

Nota na IMDB 3/10

Concerning movies this summer was full of disappointments and perhaps the biggest of them all might have been this Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It is a fact that computer games adaptations haven't been particularly suceeded, but I must confess a casting composed by Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina directed by Mike Newell gave me hope that we might be in the presence of a solid summer blockbuster. I felt cheated!

To start I could have noticed that the screenwriters were the same of Dirty Dancing 2 and The Uninvited (a mediocre remake of a brilliant Korean movie). Therefore we know they can write about people dancing and can also do asian translations. I think this is the biggest problem of the movie: the script. Nowadays, due to the high cost of producing a movie like this one, there's the need of not taking big risks, and to accomplish that they deal with the audience like they're retarded. Now, the movie is full of such these moments that made me feel like one, and one of the best examples is when Dastan, the main character, accidentally presses the dagger's button and we are presented with an elaborated sequence of special effects showing us time flowing back. After that he presses it again, so that we can really understand that time flows back. Being this not enough, they still felt necessary to add a line where Dastan says: "Wow! If I press here, time goes back!!" Sigh... Of course my illustrious co-participant in this Blog's feature, should probably like this kind of things, since he feels movies aren't made to think, what matters are the explosions, the hot chicks, and he loves the king of this kind of movies: Transformers.

The actors make their best efforts, but the results aren't brilliant, and I must say if in theory looks like a good idea to have Jake Gyllenhaal as an action hero, in practice the contrary was shown, and I think the director or the casting director should have at some point reconsidered it and hired someone else. He does try, but it's obvious he's not confortable playing this kind of role and he lacks a certain charisma to carry the movie on his back by himself. The actress Gemma Artenton also doesn't look good on the picture. I mean, in the picture she's actually ok, but in the movie not quite. Once again, it's the screenwriters fault, who misunderstood Independence and Feminism with Stubborness and Stupidity, therefore creating a completely annoying female character! Not only that, but they also make poor Dastan fall in love with her, oh well...

I would still like to mention the excellent twist awaiting us at the end of the movie. (SPOILERS) Well the cherry on top of this fantastic movie is using a narration trick that I especially hate, that everything was a dream after all. In this case it isn't, but it's close, making all the emotional impact this movie could have had being lost and we having a completely absurd happy ending (SPOILERS ENDING)

In short, a movie that had the accomplishment of making me extremely annoyed while I was watching it, but it seemed to have pleased the 7 year old kid who came watch it with me, and also a certain person who considers himself the best Magic player alive.

Score Frederico Bastos awarded on imdb: 3/10

Marcio Carvalho

Então vamos lá prometi ao meu amigo Tiago chan que escrevia sobre o filme prince of pérsia, ao contrário do meu amigo Frederico bastos eu gostei do filme.

Achei que é daqueles filmes que tas em casa ao domingo e queres ver algo ligas a televisão e olha ta dar Múmia 2 ou something like that e pronto já ta passas uma hora e meia entretido e nem notas por isso.

Depois quando acaba apercebeste te que nao foi nada de espectacular obvio mas são umas 2 horas que passas e nem notas por isso foi isso que senti no prince of pérsia 1 filme que se vê bem mas que não te deixa de boca aberta ou nada parecido a parte de ele carregar no punhal e voltar atrás no tempo sei que nosso amigo bastos acha bastante estúpido por causa que ele tem que fazer aquilo repetidamente para se aperceber que tá mesmo a voltar atrás no tempo o que eu digo a isto e que o bastos pode não coompreender mas também vão crianças ao cinema e nem todos tem que ver filmes russos mudos a preto e branco como tu meu amigo portanto se votasse no imdb daria 6/10 ao filme e em resposta ao outro filme que tu gozaste comigo transformers 1 foi mesmo bueeee niceeeee pelo menos não adormeci como no No country for old men mas isso é historia para outra semana e com isto deixo vos aqui a minha opinião sobre o filme prince of pérsia.

So let's go! I promissed my friend Tiago Chan I would write about the movie Prince of Persia, well unlike my other friend Frederico Bastos I liked the movie.

I tought it's one of those movies when you're at home Sunday afternoon, and you want to watch something, you turn on the TV, and what you know, Mummy 2 or something like that is on, and there you go - you spend one and a half hour entertained without have even noticed it.
Then when it's over you realize it obviously wasn't so great, but 2 hours went by without notice, and that's what I felt with Prince of Persia a movie perfectly watchable, but doesn't leave you stunned.

The part where he presses the dagger and goes back in time, I know our friend Bastos feels it's really stupid because Dastan has to repeatdly perform that action so everyone can realize time it's really flowing back, what I say is this and Bastos may not understand but, there are also kids watching movies and not everyone has to watch Black and White muted Russian movies like you my friend, therefore if I voted on imdb I would award this movie 6/10. Regarding the other movie you mentioned Transformers 1, it was really sooooo nice at least I didn't fell assleep like in No country for old men, but that's a topic for another week, and just like that I leave you here my opinion about Prince of Persia.

Thank you Fred and Marcio, I hope this was entertaining and please vote on the Poll, who do you think it's right. If you wish to hear the opinion of our comentators about a movie, please specify which one on the comments, and maybe who knows, it will be the next one featured on "Movies with Fred and Marcio"

Mr X and the concept of Anonymity

As all my faithful readers know, the new feature Movies with Fred and Marcio is running late, and since it's nobody's fault except Fred and Marcio themselves I decided to, until they submit me their reviews of the chosen movie, I'll be telling funny stories about them to entertain my readers in this long wait.

Fred: Hey Marcio, I've heard you had a pretty wild time last night.
Marcio: Yeah, it was crazy, so stupid but still so crazy.
Fred: Care to tell me what happened?
Marcio: No man, I can't.
Fred: Come on, don't be a princess, just tell.
Marcio: I would, but, I'm sure the other guy who was with me last night doesn't want others to know.
Fred: You don't have to tell me who he is.
Marcio: Fine, I'll be calling him Mr. X.
Fred: Mr X it is, have it your way.
Marcio: So I go out with Mr X to this new club, meh it was ok, but at some point it kind of sucked, so I turned to Mr X and said: "Hey Mike let's get out of here!".
Fred: Ahahahahahahahahaha!
Marcio: What?

I already have Frederico's comment about the chosen movie, I'm only waiting for Marcio. So, next on my Blog either will be the debut of Movies with Fred and Marcio, or a story that happened in the summer of 2005, at the Kiss Disco Club involving a male transvestite. Your choice Kid!