Divergent : Mix between Hunger Games and Harry Potter's Sorting Hat
Very intriguing at the beginning then loses steam fast. Got way too cheesy towards the end. Also the settings looked so cheap. Hilarious that Kate Winslet always had something to cover up her belly (She was pregnant). Loved the soundtrack though. Also the romance felt so cheesy and tacked on.
Divergent : Mix between Hunger Games and Harry Potter's Sorting Hat
Very intriguing at the beginning then loses steam fast. Got way too cheesy towards the end. Also the settings looked so cheap. Hilarious that Kate Winslet always had something to cover up her belly (She was pregnant). Loved the soundtrack though. Also the romance felt so cheesy and tacked on.
Started watching this and bailed out after they started talking about the groups and one group was called the fucking dauntless or some shit and all they do is basically parkour around the city. Usually I can take teen movies, actually enjoyed Hunger Games but this was insulting.
Started watching this and bailed out after they started talking about the groups and one group was called the fucking dauntless or some shit and all they do is basically parkour around the city. Usually I can take teen movies, actually enjoyed Hunger Games but this was insulting.
Say Anything was pretty great. It's not nearly as funny as Fast Times, but I thought the romance was done really well. It never got too melodramatic or schmaltzy, even the boombox scene was pretty restrained. If I had been alive in 1989, I would have had the biggest crush on Ione Skye.
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is probably the worst movie i've seen all year by a long shot - it's insanely hokey, predictable, obvious garbage with completely unearned payoffs. Like, you could probably guess the whole movie by reading the premise. And Mila Kunis is crazy bad.
Dom Hemingway - not as bad, but it's super tryhardy and obnoxious rather than actually funny (it fucking opens up with Jude Law monologuing about how powerful his cock is), and the character stuff is just messy and there's barely any real earned development
Been on a Marvel spree as of late, and watched Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I'm not a very big comic fan at all, but I have to say, both movies were ridiculously entertaining, though I have to give the edge to the Cap (can't believe I'm saying this).
GotG was excellent; surprisingly great humour, good chemistry between the main characters, good special effects, and as many have already said, a style that's highly reminiscent of the old Star Wars movies. The negatives are an unmemorable main villain that didn't get a real chance to show off his chops and the lack of good background stories for pretty much everyone except Star-Lord. Still, a surprisingly good movie with the humour being the highlight, especially (big near-end spoiler)
the dance battle, which was hysterical
.
TWS surprised me in a way I thought was impossible, since I found the first movie to be quite shit. The rawer, more old-school action choreography was mindblowingly good, and the thriller-esque, more lowkey approach to a superhero movie was very appreciated, though that was thrown out of the window by the end without me minding. Really, really entertaining movie and probably the Marvel movie I've liked the most so far.
Say Anything was pretty great. It's not nearly as funny as Fast Times, but I thought the romance was done really well. It never got too melodramatic or schmaltzy, even the boombox scene was pretty restrained. If I had been alive in 1989, I would have had the biggest crush on Ione Skye.
Brubaker
Very Cool Hand Luke-ish, which I guess makes sense since it's by the same director. Part of me thinks they should have held off on the twist for a little while longer, though I don't know how that would have affected the rest of it. I liked it overall but the plot started to get a little muddled toward the end.
The Wind Rises
Man, this was really great, what a pleasant surprise. With the exception of Arrietty, I haven't really liked any Ghibli films since Spirited Away, and even Arrietty -- as well directed as it was -- was pretty light on plot. But this is one of the studio's most interesting and best told stories in a long time. Nice score and beautiful animation as well (as per usual), already one of my favorites from both Ghibli and Miyazaki. Just a really, surprisingly good film and a fitting swansong for Miyazaki.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Sigh. Another typical and loud Marvel action film. Okay maybe I'm being a bit harsh since I went in with higher expectations than usual from all the positive reviews but this just felt like another run of the mill film. There were some good movements here and there but not enough to carry the whole film. The plot was almost non existent and took a back seat every 5min so they could cram in a joke in between. By the end I was glad it was over as I'd been numbed down by barrage of constant cgi fest battles of the climax. Vin Diesel channels his inner Iron Giant again to give a great performance.
The Darjeeling Limited
One of his most restrained films but yet very true to his style. Wes Anderson really brings the brothers relationship to life and I feel like they are some of his best most fleshed characters he has done. There's a really somber tone to this film with a sense of sadness prevailing all the way through. In the end I was left with a tinge of disappointment with the film not because it was bad but because I wanted to see more (the running time was short). I felt there could have been more done with the characters which would have elevated it to his very best.
The movie theater here has fucked up priorities. They are having that Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods for one night and Boyhood is nowhere in sight. Just give me one showing. Please.
Locke
MOTY, and maybe even MOTLFY. One actor, Tom Hardy, one director, Steven Knight, one character, Locke, portrayed as he drives from Birmingham to London, and his whole life is about to turn upside down in the space of a few phone calls. Movie manages to keep the tension high thanks to brilliant camera work, and Hardy reaches an all time great performance as Ivan Locke. He masterfully dominates the movie with a supremely nuanced, rich, intelligent performance. Emotional, intense, never boring for the entirety of its 90 minutes run (in real time, Birmingham- London takes exactly 90 minutes if you drive by night), a breath of fresh air after all the plastic CGI shit we being fed these days. Now this is a Movie
The movie theater here has fucked up priorities. They are having that Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods for one night and Boyhood is nowhere in sight. Just give me one showing. Please.
Locke
MOTY, and maybe even MOTLFY. One actor, Tom Hardy, one director, Steven Knight, one character, Locke, portrayed as he drives from Birmingham to London, and his whole life is about to turn upside down in the space of a few phone calls. Movie manages to keep the tension high thanks to brilliant camera work, and Hardy reaches an all time great performance as Ivan Locke. He masterfully dominates the movie with a supremely nuanced, rich, intelligent performance. Emotional, intense, never boring for the entirety of its 90 minutes run (in real time, Birmingham- London takes exactly 90 minutes if you drive by night), a breath of fresh air after all the plastic CGI shit we being fed these days. Now this is a Movie
Locke
MOTY, and maybe even MOTLFY. One actor, Tom Hardy, one director, Steven Knight, one character, Locke, portrayed as he drives from Birmingham to London, and his whole life is about to turn upside down in the space of a few phone calls. Movie manages to keep the tension high thanks to brilliant camera work, and Hardy reaches an all time great performance as Ivan Locke. He masterfully dominates the movie with a supremely nuanced, rich, intelligent performance. Emotional, intense, never boring for the entirety of its 90 minutes run (in real time, Birmingham- London takes exactly 90 minutes if you drive by night), a breath of fresh air after all the plastic CGI shit we being fed these days. Now this is a Movie
Really liked this one. Helped that I was the sole audience member at a midnight showing. I was thrown into the character. Don't know how my opinion would have differed in a different setting. But first impressions...
Felt like the movie was a lead up the final moment, but the impact wasn't quite what the director was reaching for. Also felt like the cold/illness never really went anywhere. It blended something to the overall tone & feel of the story, but didn't have a significant impact in any of the character arcs.
But the movie was fascinating, and gripping throughout. Will definitely watch it again.
An American Werewolf in London. Finally a good movie! Great combination of comedy and horror, and wonderful makeup work make for an awesome experience. How refreshing it is to see a werewolf that comes back from the transformation wearing nothing. 8/10
There's a deep sense of impending mortality to An American Werewolf in London that really helps sell both the humor and the horror, in a way that other horror-comedies never really try to bother with, except perhaps Return of the Living Dead. It keeps it consistent in a way that is really quite unusual. It also has one of my all-time favorite shots in any goddamned film, and to this day, I don't think I'll ever shake this from my consciousness:
There's a deep sense of impending mortality to An American Werewolf in London that really helps sell both the humor and the horror, in a way that other horror-comedies never really try to bother with, except perhaps Return of the Living Dead. It keeps it consistent in a way that is really quite unusual. It also has one of my all-time favorite shots in any goddamned film, and to this day, I don't think I'll ever shake this from my consciousness:
There's a deep sense of impending mortality to An American Werewolf in London that really helps sell both the humor and the horror, in a way that other horror-comedies never really try to bother with, except perhaps Return of the Living Dead. It keeps it consistent in a way that is really quite unusual. It also has one of my all-time favorite shots in any goddamned film, and to this day, I don't think I'll ever shake this from my consciousness:
Great shot indeed. And yes, the movie is consistent, and the humor never feels goofy or lessens the horror sections. I really appreciated the dark comedy (the movie theater scene in particular).
Guardians of the Galaxy (for a second time) - 9.5/10
I have a feeling this will be a movie I can rewatch again and again for years to come. Just a great ride from start to finish. It's got it all: humor, brilliant visuals, action. Easily my favorite Marvel movie, and probably one of my new favorite movies. It's not perfect, the villains are kind of boring, but the Guardians themselves pick up the slack and make it worthwhile.
This is on my queue (non-theatrical) for the month of August (so many long films):
Singapore Sling, The Day the Pig Fell into the Well (along with some more Hong Songsoo so I can finish his filmography), Panelstory, Celine and Julie Go Boating, As I Was Moving Ahead I Saw Brief Glimpses of Her Beauty, Brighter Summer Day, Diabel, Heat, Trash, If Footman Tire You What Will Horses Do, Final Flesh, The Left Handed Woman, Deep End (1970), Medium Cool, Melvin Goes to Dinner, and J'Taime J'Taime. Will probably watch 3 of those and just watch garbage for the rest of the month.
Deep End, Celine and Julie, J'Taime J'Taime are rad. Need to watch more Hong. Need to watch Yang, including BSD and Yi Yi. As I Was Moving Head might not be the best starting point for me with Mekas, but I've heard great things from those that have seen it. Still haven't seen Heat (or maybe any Michael Mann now that I think about it..guess that makes me a horrible cinephile, but I don't know..his movies seem to masculine bro-y to me hmm).
5cm is very uneven. The first segment is good, but slow. Second segment is boring as all hell. Third segment has some nice ideas but blows through them in like 5 minutes.
I think Shinkai peaked with Voices of a Distant Star.
5) Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
4) Band of Outsiders
3) Eyes Without a Face
2) The Vanishing
1) The Decalogue (which I actually started over a year ago, and finally finished up)
Here's to a good August. Thanks for the inclusion in the OP!
Only Yesterday - Definitely one of Ghibli's best ones.
Pretty funny as well as heartwarming.
As a grounded animated movie, it felt directed at a more mature audience than other Ghibli stuff (surely more than Poppy Hill).
fucking preach..love Only Yesterday..haven't seen all that much Ghibli (though may change that with the recent stuff with the studio) but I can't imagine any of them topping Only Yesterday
Watched Deep End (1970) earlier and it feels like a godfather to Rushmore but with its whimsy dialed back to realistic levels and was like a step ahead of Harold and Maude by a year. Good shit. Started Singapore Sling but didn't have caffeine for the day so I had to take a nap. For whatever reason I thought it was a horror film not some avant-comedy but I can get behind that, you know.
Norte, The End of History
Kill all the bad elements.
My internal reaction:
What an absolutely devastating and aggravating film. Amazing 250min morality epic. What starts as political and philosophical discussions between fairly well-off law students eventually becomes something bigger where Fabian nothing but pretensions Viduya stops being an educated hypocrite and carries out his post-truth manifesto that doesnt go as planned. I was surprised to find such a sympathetic trans character portrayal (Moira) among the law students, and they mostly bring the lighter tone. The film isnt all po-faced, there are some hilarious lines, but that goes away when the gravity of Fabians actions take hold. There is not class warfare but more a contrast between the rich and poor, set around the vignette structure making the main characters just pass by at the most excruciating times when they should meet. The other side is given to a working lower class family or really more about a single mother, Eliza, as time passes while husband Joaquin wastes in prison and how that devastates her. This is evident in one spoilery moment
where you can tell that shes about to attempt suicide at the top of a mud cliff
. There are shades of moral grey here, where even the loan shark Magda is not as much a bad person but more pragmatic. I couldnt quite figure Fabian (the pro/antagonist) out at times who reminded me of Simon Killer where he always goes against my moral expectations, even though there is remorse in him.
Some of the best cinematography Ive ever seen (trailer), the natural lighting is to die for and one shot of climactic rain is timed so perfectly that I wonder if it was real or by machine. Bars and fires are recurring visual motifs that speak to the prison and hopelessness of life. There are quite a few brilliant dreamy aerial shots that furthers the hope that Joaquin has behind bars. There is one long stare back at the camera shot by Eliza that is mesmerising. The incredible naturalistic performances combined with the long shots really capture the quiet moments you dont often see in films but do see in reality where you can just imagine where the characters headspaces are at. Enough is understood about them that when the long shots after grand moments come, they provide that contemplation for what theyre thinking and what theyre about to do. The long shots also immersed me enough to have a couple of violent moments in the prison that feel so real where I tried to figure out how they were done.
One revelation in the last hour was a real whoa moment where it ties all the themes together such as how spirituality isnt always a good thing or what the rotting of family cohesion explains about Fabian. That whole theme reminded me of that heartbreaking documentary Last Train Home about Chinese migrant workers estranged from their families. I was waiting for a
deus ex machina
as is discussed by the law students and it comes, but goes against expectations which lead to my anger as the film ended. It made me think about how film directors can create their own worlds of morality and here a cruel Gods hands (or maybe the lack of one) are at work.
Feel like I should read some Dostoevsky after this. Fans of Tarkovksy and the Vengeance Trilogy should have this on their radar.
BEST FILM OF 2014
Apparently, you can rent it on Youtube for £3.49 (UK), whoah ok so more people can see this!
I think it's playing here in Austin but not until November. Kind of a bummer but whatever. Haven't seen any of Diaz's other movies. His next is apparently closer to 5-6 hours..people already raging. Adrian Martin wrote an interesting takedown of Lav Diaz that spoke specifically of Norte.
The movie theater here has fucked up priorities. They are having that Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods for one night and Boyhood is nowhere in sight. Just give me one showing. Please.
heh..funny how that works out..used to adore dbz..contemplated going to that battle of the gods thing but crushed by how much i'd probably loathe watching it now
Fantastic Fest first wave announced and honestly not really much seems appealing aside from stuff I've heard good stuff about from prior festivals (mostly talking The Babadook). Not gonna subject myself to another ABCs. Never watched V/HS 2 and don't think I'd watch a third either. To be fair, don't know much about international features other than the brief synopses listed on the site that seemed mostly bleh but who knows. Gonna wait until subsequent information to come out before making a decision, though with my current work schedule, it might be impossible to commit to anything anyway.
Locke
MOTY, and maybe even MOTLFY. One actor, Tom Hardy, one director, Steven Knight, one character, Locke, portrayed as he drives from Birmingham to London, and his whole life is about to turn upside down in the space of a few phone calls. Movie manages to keep the tension high thanks to brilliant camera work, and Hardy reaches an all time great performance as Ivan Locke. He masterfully dominates the movie with a supremely nuanced, rich, intelligent performance. Emotional, intense, never boring for the entirety of its 90 minutes run (in real time, Birmingham- London takes exactly 90 minutes if you drive by night), a breath of fresh air after all the plastic CGI shit we being fed these days. Now this is a Movie
I kind of felt similar to AU after watching it.
Well, not that bad, but i thought Hardy did a great job with what he was given, and i thought the idea of having no over the top twist (we kidnapped your wife!) was refreshing in and out of itself, since i really didn't know what to expect from the movie.
However, in the end i did kind of feel like "ok, so what?".
More over, the parallels between his character as a man and as a father, and his job, were laid down a little thick (no pun intended), as well as his monologues with his father.
The movie has nothing else in it, you can risk being a bit more subtle and people will get it anyhow, since there's barely anything else to latch on to.
In the end, not a bad movie, but it didn't engage me as i thought it would, from all the feedback.
Gotta say though, after three films with him i didn't like (Inception, Bronson and Batman) this movie warmed me up a lot to Hardy.... just in time for Mad Max!
Has anyone here heard anything (positive or negative) about Into The Storm? I might go see it with my mom, who seems to have a fondness for nature-disaster movies.
Has anyone here heard anything (positive or negative) about Into The Storm? I might go see it with my mom, who seems to have a fondness for nature-disaster movies.
Has anyone here heard anything (positive or negative) about Into The Storm? I might go see it with my mom, who seems to have a fondness for nature-disaster movies.
The first since 2012, as I can tell. There have been plenty of other disaster films, but they often feature things like sharknados and typically skip theatrical releases.
Dog Day Afternoon: Good. Pacino being awesome and even if he's doing something "bad" you want to see him succeed.
The Town(2010): Surprisingly good. I'm looking forward for Ben's next movie.
The Graduate: Good. Mrs. Robinson steals the movie.
Mad Max: Okay. It was fun and made me interested in watching the rest of the trilogy.
All That Jazz: It's showtime, folks. Fucking awesome. I don't like musicals or people singing too much in movies(lol) and I avoid them as much as possible. Anyway, this was not the case and from the first minute of the movie I felt amazing captivated by the story. Two thumbs up for Joe Gideon and Bob Fosse.
Really liked this one. Helped that I was the sole audience member at a midnight showing. I was thrown into the character. Don't know how my opinion would have differed in a different setting. But first impressions...
Felt like the movie was a lead up the final moment, but the impact wasn't quite what the director was reaching for. Also felt like the cold/illness never really went anywhere. It blended something to the overall tone & feel of the story, but didn't have a significant impact in any of the character arcs.
But the movie was fascinating, and gripping throughout. Will definitely watch it again.
I'm in a similar to boat to this. While watching, I was enthralled and captivated. I was right there with Hardy's character and his issues. Motivations, tension and stakes all seemed appropriate. Literally all the way through with nary a hitch. But then it kind of just ended, and I'm wondering if there was actually any kind of meaningful arc to Locke at all, wondering if there was enough satisfying payoff and closure. Sort of felt like a film they didn't know how to end, so they just didn't. And unfortunately, a film is only as good as its ending, so I'm left feeling a little bit cold to the entire thing.
Also, films that are limited by physical space usually play around with that confined area a lot to make sequences feel fresh and new as they go along. The cinematography was beautiful, but in the end it only served to establish tone, not to guide or tell story. I was waiting for the "downpour of rain" sequence, akin to something like 12 Angry Men, that would signify a release in tension, or perhaps something more grim. Or perhaps a change in traffic congestion to ramp tension/the feeling of suffocation (Sometimes it was noticeably busier on the roads outside, but this was never used as a storytelling technique). And although this would have resulted in a change of the script somewhat, and so I'm not sure if this would be any good, but I was also expecting Locke to physically move in his environment more. I expected more objects to play a role, the car to change over time (I thought he would punch something in the car to leave a mark) or even have him park the car and sit in the back/passenger's seat for a bit. These are all just very vague ideas that don't add up to anything meaningful or substantial, but I feel like variety in things like blocking, cinematography, production design could have added a lot of energy and variety in the film to guide the viewer.
Once again 12 Angry Men does this really well in the confines of limited location. As I said above, the film is separated into two segments by the no rain/rain, but the characters are also often physically moving about the space, changing powers, emphasis. They change clothes, roll up their sleeves. The film starts with lots of wides and as the film goes on gets tighter and tighter to give a sense of "the walls closing in" on the characters. The shadows get harsher and harsher etc. Locke is obviously even further physically limited, but I certainly think it would have benefited from some variety in these areas.
