I watched Midnight in Paris last night. I had no idea what I was getting into other than it was a Woody Allen movie and it was well received critically. If you haven't seen it, rent it and don't look into what it is actually about, I liked it much more I think having not been spoiled whatsoever. It's fantastic imo.
I also watched The Ides of March. Another good one, although it didn't do anything for my faith in politics as of late.
And a while before that I saw Warrior. Most of what is in the movie is super cliche, but somehow they work around that fact and make it really good. I thought both the leads were great, all around just a really enjoyable movie.
I hadn't really seen a lot of movies from last year, and from what I had seen I thought it was a really shitty one. But these last couple of movies I've rented have been great.
Went on an American Verhoeven streak: ROBOCOP, TOTAL RECALL and STARSHIP TROOPERS. Total Recall is probably one of the best action sci-fi movies I've seen with some really interesting stuff going on besides the action, though all were good (Troopers the worst of them). I should watch Soldier of Orange sometime.
Happy-Go-Lucky **** (my introduction to Mike Leigh's filmography. I liked it a lot. The protagonist is charming and delightful and I totally fell in love with her)
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover ***** (a brutal and unsettling tale of morality and revenge. Loved the art direction and lavish cinematography. Great music, too.)
The Sea Inside ** (felt way too schmaltzy at times like the director was begging me to cry because oh god everyone is ill and wants to die and life sucks.)
Femme Fatale *** (DePalma deserves his title as a second-rate Hitchcock. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos makes a great Hitchcockian heroine.)
Black Narcissus **** (a great study of inner turmoil and the effects of social pressures on a group of nuns. Brilliant cinematography and use of color.)
Hausu ** (probably the craziest movie I have ever seen. The pre-CG era was glorious. Movie was not as funny or entertaining as I was led to believe, however.)
George Washington ** Bloody Sunday * Eraserhead **** Rachel Getting Married *** Layer Cake *
It's stylistically very awesome and I haft to give Fincher props for elevating a rather average script with his signature sense of craft, but I don't think he elevated it well enough, as the pacing was pretty spotty and the film was about 20-minutes to long, and lost a lot of it's momentum towards the end, the solid sense of atmosphere, rooney mara and the style was enough to make it worth the price of admission
Also you left out another Godly opening credits sequence...
I'm tempted to read the books but probably won't. Have to read all of the "A Song of Fire and Ice" books still...
Working my way through Kieślowski's Dekalog at the moment...
All I can say is "wow". It's a shame he died with so little work left for us. Amazing stuff. Easily rivals Fassbinder's Alexanderplatz as the best TV film ever!
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
Finally got to watch this, it was great. I'm a sucker for lighting and shadows in movies and I've never seen any animated movie do it better than this (Dr. Facilier, wow!), it's totally like they went all out to slap CG movies on the wrist and came quite close. I could watch it again right now just for dem visuals.
Also enjoyed the simple way the story progressed in, except perhaps for the Voodoo lady scene, they didn't need to spell out Tiana's real desire - though she didn't catch it from that scene which was good at least. Good music and song numbers, fun characters, not much bad stuff to say at all. Except that it's a shame it apparently didn't make Disney enough money to keep doing 2D animation?
Watched the Next Generation Star Trek movies, so now I've seen them all finally.
Star Trek: Generations - Definitely liked this one the best. The Nexus was an ok plot device and Malcom McDowell was really solid as the villain. The passing of the torch from Kirk to Picard was handled pretty well
(aside from Kirk's hokey death scene).
Definitely felt like an extended ST: TNG episode (from my limited experience with them) whereas the rest didn't.
Star Trek: First Contact - Meh. Hated the new ship design, hated the new bridge, hated Geordie without his visor, hated the Borg queen, way too many corny jokes that fell flat. Just meh all around. Unsure how much of the suck is attributable to the fact that Commander Riker directed this one, and how much is just a terrible story. On the plus side it was cool to see the source of that SWEETJESUS!.gif and the Picard-shooting-a-machine-gun-at-chunk's-stomach.gif
Star Trek: Insurrection - More Riker-directed meh. F. Murray Abraham rules, but his character was really a lame villain and I felt like his talents were totally wasted. Didn't care for the whole "displaced peoples" plot at all. Lots of really cheap looking effects throughout. Thank god for the woman who played Picard's love interest. She was graceful and elegant but in an understated way, and kept me from totally hating the movie. I have to admit I was kinda smitten.
Star Trek: Nemesis - Hoooo boy. This was atrocious on every front. Just a terrible way to close out this series, but at least Riker's hands are clean since some other schmuck directed this turd. Only redeeming thing about Nemesis is that Picard's clone dude looked a lot like Tim Tebow and that was mildly amusing. Which is more than I can say for the film as a whole, unfortunately.
Basically this series started out OK and just got worse with each film. 1 > 2 > 3 >>>> 4. Was a little surprised that Q or the Ferengi didn't make an appearance at all. Glad to have seen all the ST movies finally, now I'm ready for that JJ Abrams sequel.
Been a while Friday Night Lights - 6/10 some decent moments and a wonderful soundtrack. dwarfed by the show. had seen this before but didn't remember it well at all. A Fistful of Dollars - 9/10 a real blast. Having seen Yojimbo made this all the more fun. Se7en - 6/10 was discussion about this recently that I think went along these lines: Fincher can nail a decently interesting visual style, but he doesn't have a strong voice. Didn't think the acting (Even in the ending) was as bad as everyone else seems to think Rushmore - 9/10 Perfectly written, three fantastic protagonists, excellent soundtrack. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - 7/10 great mystery that would be very nice to view again. not a ton of depth to the characters though. despite that, oldman and cumberbatch give exciting performances. Dr. Strangelove - 8/10 hilarious. Sellers, Scott, and Hayden kill it. It felt like it was a very specific flavor of satire too, though. The kind that will only get better the more I watch it. Lost in Translation - 7/10 I love Murray, the film portrays the language barrier very well, it's funny, and it's sweet. The Muppets - 8/10 nostalgia done with the right amount of winking. we need more modern musicals that aren't shit. Contraband - 2/10 numb with one of the worst protagonists I've seen in a while. not because he's an awful person, but because he's rewarded for being so terrible and the film finds that okay. every supporting cast member is grating. Three Colors: Blue - 8/10 Binoche is brilliant, visual style is superb. Feels like this is a running theme with my reflections, but I think another viewing will help me to appreciate the conflicting desires to cut yourself off from others and to be close to others. The Truman Show - 8/10 funny and heartfelt. had only seen pieces on cable; unfortunately one of those moments was the final one. regardless, this was a great experience. Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio - 6/10 jeeze Burns really loved Armstrong and hated de Forest. Good story but I'm not a fan of Burns docs on the whole. Three Colors: White - 7/10 I thought people disliked this one a lot, don't know why though. I don't think it has the lasting impact that Blue has, but Karol Karol is an amazing protagonist and the story is compelling and strikes an interesting tone. Shame - 7/10 Not quite as awesome as Hunger. an effective tale of an emotionally stunted man who has never become comfortable with anything beyond the most juvenile of feelings. which is why I don't get the criticisms from some that Brandon acting childish was a fault. it was the point, I thought. McQueen's mise-en-scene is shockingly beautiful still and I hope his third feature comes soon. The Magnificent Ambersons - 8/10 Charismatically acted and masterfully filmed High Fidelity - 6/10 I do think it's depiction of music obsessives is accurate and that makes a lot of the dialogue fun. I like Cusack and love Chicago. Shallow story that's comforting to watch The Disappearance of Alice Creed - 4/10 Some nice sets and okay music. Very bad script that is unconscious of its sexual politics and doesn't create a single alluring character.
A Separation- So good. Definitely my new movie of the year. I've never seen a film that had me sympathizing with so many of the characters in such a strong way. From start to finish the entire film just beats you down, but is never really trying to pull at your heart strings. It is made in a very spectator-in-the-room sort of fashion, almost like a documentary, and I spent two hours feeling very strongly for the people there. It was just so authentic and contained every ounce of the nuance and caveats that would exist if this situation were actually occuring.
Watched this for the first time this week, thoroughly enjoyed it just as i had the previous two films. Some questions are answered, lots aren't, though i've just read thaat theres a 4th film in the works so hopefully that'll tie everything up.
Also just been made aware over the controversy over the the film and the trailers prior to its release. A good 75% of the trailer never happens in the film, all of it good stuff too.
i really wanted to like it, but its pretty fucking terrible. yes, everything you heard was true. brutal acting aside, Steve Antin is a piece of shit. two hours of shaky cam for no fucking reason. there were maybe 2 steady shots in the whole film and i think it was stock footage. the real conflict in this film is cher trying to show emotion through 13 plastic surgeries and botox. though it did cause me to look up MASK on imdb and remember what a sweet ass cast rocked that movie. that said, christina aguilera can fuckin sing man. and she wears a bowler hat, but only very briefly
anyway, i multitasked through this. mostly reading lost+found on craigslist which was somehow sadder than Steve Antin's career
Carnage (2011): I laughed the whole time. It was short, but funnier than I had expected. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): As many here have said, I thought it was well acted and directed. The cast was simply amazing and it was very stylish. However, I couldn't really care about the end. I didn't impact me that way it should have. The Double Life of Veronique (1991): It was simply beautiful. I loved every scene in that film. Certified Copy (2011): It reminded my a lot of Before Sunset, but it had enough to make it special. Well written dialogue Great performance by both Juliette Binoche and William Shimell.
A Bronx Tale - Probably my 3rd favorite gangster movie. I keep forgetting though that one of my favorite scenes period is C talking to his dad about the difference between the hard working man & the criminal.
Breaking Bad S4 - Not a movie, but suck it. Finally caught up with the show and I still think it's great. Loved the ending, wondering what season 5 will bring us. 8/10
Arthur Christmas - Not Aardman's best, but still enjoyable. 6/10 Into the Abyss - Well made documentary about a messed up crime, even weirder families/people and a bit about how the death sentence is carried out. Herzog always seems to know what questions to ask to evoke a great (=emotional) response. Very good. 7.5/10 Chocolate - Kick-ass fight-scenes with amazing stunts and great choreography, the rest..pretty darn awful. 5/10
Watched today: Trois couleurs: Bleu - 8/10 Trzy kolory: Bialy - 7.5/10 Trois couleurs: Rouge - 8.5/10
All 3 were great. Loved the visuals and recurring themes. White felt a bit empty compared to the other two. Red was especially fantastic, and I am totally in love with Irène Jacob. The ending of Red was also surprisingly satisfying.
After being blown away by The Double Life of Veronique and loving the Color Trilogy, up nex in my Kieslowski adventure: Dekalog.
Breaking Bad S4 - Not a movie, but suck it. Finally caught up with the show and I still think it's great. Loved the ending, wondering what season 5 will bring us. 8/10
Wow this movie bombed huh? Checked the OT and theres only like 5 posts. I loved this movie, has anyone here seen it? I don't know what it was but it was so suspenseful. My heart was and kind of still is pounding from it. There was only like 2-3 wtf moments, other than that I found it very well paced for such a long movie and an extremely satisfying ending.
A Separation
Absolutely remarkable on all accounts. Brillantly shows how powerful ellipsis may be in storytelling and how devastating it can be to human relations.
The Red Shoes
Probably the most stunning technicolor movie I've ever seen. Maybe one of the most beautiful films period. The ballet sequence, the last minutes of the movie and several other shots were absolutely breathtaking. Great art allegory too. I can see how Scorcese, Coppola and Spielberg might have been fascinated with Lermontove. Made me want to watch Tetro again.
Top-shelf noir in the rank of Out of the Past and Kiss Me Deadly. Siodmak is a master stylist---this film is just suffused with cinematic ingenuity from the signature heist scene to the painterly ending. But the thing that really sets this film apart for me is its piercing cynicism---I don't mean the fatalism that is so common in noir but its wickedly clever and subtle inversion, the suggestion that Steve is at some level very much aware of what he is doing and is doing it despite the inevitable consequences, not because of external forces but because of internal ones.
Rolling Thunder
So perverse it crosses into embarrassing absurdity once or twice, but it remains a bizarrely powerful and powerfully bizarre film experience. Schrader's script, the film's strongest feature, plays so beautifully as camp, I can't help but wonder how much it could have achieved in the hands of someone like Nicholas Ray. But matters of style aside, the film is animated by the frighteningly deadpan performances of the male leads, which seem deliberately constructed to deny any possibility of rational understanding or interpretation, giving the film a monstrous dimension that makes the ensuing violence all the more disturbing and fascinating. If there's supposed to be some thesis set forth here about the psychological effects of war, it's really not as interesting as the film itself.
Good call with these two, enjoyed them quite a bit.
Life in a Day is extremely interesting, a lot of the footage is cut so that it manipulates the meaning of it but it doesn't make the points it makes any less real.
Saw Hugo which I liked quite a lot. It seemed to be a sort of masturbatory commercial for movies/movie makers towards the end, which I didn't mind and actually enjoyed. Also rewatched Battle Royale, which was more anime-esque than I had originally remembered. Need to read the book still too.
Still waiting and hoping for Shame to come around my town, actually emailed my local indie theater but I don't know if they ask distributors to show movies or distributors ask them. Will probably have to wait for it to come to Bluray.
Wow this movie bombed huh? Checked the OT and theres only like 5 posts. I loved this movie, has anyone here seen it? I don't know what it was but it was so suspenseful. My heart was and kind of still is pounding from it. There was only like 2-3 wtf moments, other than that I found it very well paced for such a long movie and an extremely satisfying ending.
The thing about it is that I believed almost every part of the plan and how it went down. I didn't think TOO hard about it though so theres no need to post the unbelievable details =P I want to stay ignorant to them and enjoy the movie.