Post by: goodguy on August 31, 2008, 07:06:18 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=4047553500546&locality=5) | Transformers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/) (2007) Directed by: Michael Bay Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox DVD: R2-DE Paramount (2007) My rating:  |
Shia LaBeouf reminded me a little of the young John Cusack, Megan Fox looked really hot and can fix cars, the parents (Mitzi from SFU, yeah) were delightful. Come to think of it, the script was in large parts surprisingly charming and funny for an action blockbuster (well, except for the p*ss jokes). Bay has great connections to the military and showed off their stuff well, the machine thingies looked great, but got a bit boring towards the end. All in all, much better than I expected.
Post by: goodguy on August 31, 2008, 07:58:33 PM
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yCnPMR1xL._SL500_AA240_.jpg) | Illuminata (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120709/) (1998) Written by: Brandon Cole & John Turturro Directed by: John Turturro Starring: John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken DVD: R2-DE Kinowelt/Arthaus (2007) My rating:  |
John Turturro is mostly known as an actor, but he has also written and directed three movies. I already wrote about his gorgeous Romance & Cigarettes (2005) here (http://www.dvdcollectorsonline.com/index.php/topic,854.msg73079.html#msg73079). Illuminata is about a theater company in New York at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie disguises itself as comedia del'arte and has probably half a dozen dangling subplots, but its main theme really is the problematic relationship between two creative people. It's a bit like Fellini crossed with Bergman. The big names like Sarandon and Walken all deliver great performances, and so does Turturro himself, but Katherine Borowitz (a stage actress and Turturro's real-life partner) absolutely stands out.
Post by: goodguy on August 31, 2008, 08:37:23 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=616892622826&locality=0) | Marion Bridge (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329355/) (CA 2002) Written by: Daniel McIvor Directed by: Wiebke von Carolsfeld Starring: Molly Parker, Rebecca Jenkins, Stacy Smith DVD: R1-US Film Movement (2005) My rating: |
Cover blurb: In the midst of struggling to overcome her self-destructive behavior, the youngest of three sisters, Agnes (Molly Parker), returns to her hometown in Nova Scotia determined to confront the past. Her arrival sets in motion a chain of events that allows a family of women to each in their own way re-connect with the world and each other. The film speaks volumes about siblings and parental relationships with a beautiful realized tale of loss, healing and humor.
The basic story of Marion Bridge is a bit like in those Lifetime movies of the week, but it is done right here. In fact, Carolsfeld's approach is so subtle and low-key that you might mistake it for boring, but it has the most startling effect in a confrontation near the end. Molly Parker is one of my favorite actresses, and she is great here as always. As a bonus, a very young Ellen Page can be seen here in a small but crucial role.
Post by: goodguy on August 31, 2008, 09:44:51 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5060021175601&locality=4) | Me Without You (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263725/) (UK 2001) Written & Directed by: Sandra Goldbacher Starring: Anna Friel, Michelle Williams DVD: R2-UK Momentum (2002) My rating: |
Cover blurb: ME WITHOUT YOU is a funny, moving and uplifting evocation of the 80s - decade of post-punk and protests - that will strike a chord with anyone who has ever lived through friendship and survived to tell the tale.
In a long, hot summer, Holly and Marina make a childhood pact to be friends forever. For the troubled and fiercely independent Marina (Anna Friel), determined to try everything, Holly (Michelle Williams) stays the only constant in a life of divorcing parents, experimental drugs and fashionable self-destruction. For Holly, Marina represents sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, a stark contrast to her own insecurity over her appearance and studious lifestyle.
As the years pass by, the girls experience all life has to offer - sex, love and loss - but the whole while Holly harbours a secret passion for Marina's brother Nat (Oliver Millburn). Will their friendship survive the truth to stand the test of time?
This is not a female buddy picture or a chick flick, but an honest and bittersweet look at a friendship that turns into something suffocating as the girls grow older. I already knew that Michelle Williams is a fine actress, but so far I had only seen her in supporting roles. Here she proves that she can also play the lead. Anna Friel, while having the slightly more difficult role, is equally great. Never saw her before, but I look forward to the arrival of my Pushing Daisies box.
DVD Note: Avoid the R1-US. It is slightly cut, has the wrong aspect ratio, and lacks the AC.
Post by: Najemikon on September 01, 2008, 12:29:50 AM
Seriously though, she always seems to put a lot of work into her roles. I can recommend The Land Girls too. I think it was just a TV movie, but it's a decent story.
Post by: goodguy on September 21, 2008, 12:51:14 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=883929023646&locality=0) | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851851/) (Season 1, 2008) Created by: Josh Friedman Starring: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones DVD: R1-US Warner (Aug 19, 2008) My rating: |
Cover blurb: The mother of all destiny. Her son, the future leader of mankind. Their protector, a Terminator from the future. Together they must take back the future as Sarah Connor (300's Lena Headey) prepares her son to fight the war against machines determined to annihilate the human race. The Clock is ticking. Can they stop Judgement Day?
I had low expectations for this series, but it surprisingly manages to stay slightly above average. There is no really bad episode in the short S1 run, and at least one of them comes close to being outstanding. That would be The Demon Hand, written by Toni Graphia, who has also written for Carnivale and Battlestar Galactica. That's worth mentioning, because I always thought that his BSG episode Flesh and Bone was the only truly great one in BSG S1.
The main cast is pretty adequate, and as much as I like Summer Glau, it is Richard T. Jones as the FBI agent who stands out. Lena Headey is quite good too, but her voice-overs grated on my nerves. To be fair, that is much less her fault and more a case of bad and clichéd writing.
The score was written by Bear McCreary, who also worked on BSG. While the BSG score, especially in the mini series and S1, often appeared to me as a Firefly rip-off, I mostly enjoyed what he has done here.
I usually don't care much about so-called plot holes, and so I didn't mind that Cromartie was able to make the time jump without being covered by organic material. However, especially in the first few episodes are lot of moments that are cringe-worthy in terms of logic. For example, shouldn't Cameron be able to immediately recognize the Bruce Campbell impersonator slash teacher as a fellow terminator? And what's with the situational awareness of all those terminators that they get overrun by cars on a regular basis? And if you end up naked on a highway, wouldn't it be advisable to not stand there for a few minutes until everyone can take a picture of you? Especially if you are a fugitive and your main objective is to go into hiding??
DVD Note: Warner continues to annoy me by misusing scenes from Casablanca as an Anti Piracy Spot.
Post by: goodguy on September 24, 2008, 10:22:10 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=025195046015&locality=0) | The Big Lebowski (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118715/) (1998) Written & Directed by: Coen Brothers Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro DVD: R1-US Universal (10th Anniv. Edition; Sep 9, 2008) My rating:  |
Cover blurb: From the Academy Award-winning Coen Brothers comes THE BIG LEBOWSKI - the hilariously quirky comedy-thriller about bowling, avant-garde art, nihilistic Austrians, and a guy named...the Dude.
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski doesn't want any drama in his life...heck, he can't even be bothered with a job. But, in a case of mistaken identity, a couple of thugs break into his place and steal his rug (you gotta understand, that rug really tied the room together). Now, the Dude must embark on a quest with his crazy friends to make things right and get that rug back!
Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro, THE BIG LEBOWSKI has become a cultural phenomenon. Now experience the outrageous fan favorite like never before in this 2-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition loaded with all-new bonus features that will take you beyond the movie! The Dude abides...
Meh. I said that already.
One of the really interesting extras on this DVD is Jeff Bridges' Photo Book. Bridges shows and talks about photos he made with an extra-wide-lense camera during the shooting of the movie. The photos are black-and-white and look really great. Among them are some portraits, showing the same actor twice, that resemble those greek comedy/tragedy theatre masks.
What a great, albeit unintentional, way to criticize this movie. But not only is TBL a comedy without a glimpse at something tragic, it is a comedy without respect for its characters, it is a dumb comedy that looks down on them.
TBL is obviously supposed to be a riff on The Big Sleep; it has a similarly convoluted, almost non-existing plot, and the iconic elements, including the porn ring, are all there. What's missing is the sense of moral, the clever and sparkling dialogue, any kind of chemistry between the characters. Just compare any of Bacall's double entendres with Moore's blunt vagina speech to see how unfunny TBL really is.
Post by: Najemikon on September 25, 2008, 11:31:04 PM
I agree it is a riff on Noir, almost a piss take. But I can't agree at all when you say it was dumb, there was no chemistry or even that it looked down on the characters. After giving us some of the very best in modern Noir, the Coen's have earned the right to kick back a little. It was always affectionate and as I said in the other thread, I think Sam Shepard's cowboy represents the viewer and hopefully we share his kind bemusement.
I think the last thing you should do is compare Julianne Moore's character directly with Bacall. She is the femme fatale, but her blunt speech is purposefully a direct contrast to The Dude. Double-entendres are a game, possibly to test someone and flirt, plus the one saying them actually has to have respect for who they are saying them to. Moore's character was after establishing control over The Dude. She's blunt to give no room for manoeuvre and no time to think. And The Dude works slow.
You could say it's simply an excuse for poor writing, but the badly judged The Ladykillers remake aside, the Coens have an exemplary record for writing and in various styles too. A more understandable complaint I sometimes hear is that they are sometimes too clever for their own good, creating rather manipulative and distant screenplays. Personally I've always enjoyed their quirky approach and seen the warmth behind such design, which I thought was perfectly done here. Do you like their other movies?
Post by: goodguy on September 27, 2008, 10:37:02 PM
Bloody hell. When you said "meh", I thought you meant, "kind of, alright, I suppose", but that seemed downright vicious! :D
Yeah, what can I say? I got angry afterwards.
I agree it is a riff on Noir, almost a piss take.
And quite literally so. Har-di-har-har! Now I don't know if something got lost in translation here, but doesn't a "piss take" imply a lack of respect? Btw, nice explanation of double etendres in that context.
And I stand by my "dumb" comment. The Coens make fun of their characters in an absolutely lowbrowed way. Maybe deliberately so, but if there lies the cleverness, I fail to recognize it. Plus, it just falls flat. Wannabe-artists laughing there heads off in a conference call - not funny. A raging Vietnam vet smashing the wrong car - not funny. It is all so predictable and stereotyped, it drains the life out of the characters and the movie. And did I mention that it just isn't funny?
Do you like their other movies?
I haven't seen that many of their movies. No Country for Old Men was great. I remember liking Fargo, but my memory of it is fuzzy at best. The same fuzzyness clouds Barton Fink, which I didn't like.
Post by: Najemikon on September 28, 2008, 02:13:06 PM
And quite literally so. Har-di-har-har! Now I don't know if something got lost in translation here, but doesn't a "piss take" imply a lack of respect? Btw, nice explanation of double etendres in that context.
Ah, very sorry. Shouldn't have used that term at all! It's a heavily used British colloquialism, but usually in speech. I suppose at a basic level it does mean a lack of respect, but it's often used to recognise good natured ribbing; like if someone was mimicking something you did or said, you might turn around and tell them to "stop taking the piss". How you say it depends on how seriously you're taking it, so it isn't suitable in writing at all. Suffice to say, I meant good natured. ;)
And I stand by my "dumb" comment. The Coens make fun of their characters in an absolutely lowbrowed way. Maybe deliberately so, but if there lies the cleverness, I fail to recognize it. Plus, it just falls flat. Wannabe-artists laughing there heads off in a conference call - not funny. A raging Vietnam vet smashing the wrong car - not funny. It is all so predictable and stereotyped, it drains the life out of the characters and the movie. And did I mention that it just isn't funny?
I haven't seen that many of their movies. No Country for Old Men was great. I remember liking Fargo, but my memory of it is fuzzy at best. The same fuzzyness clouds Barton Fink, which I didn't like.
The great thing about the Coen's is that their movies tend to be distinctly one style or another. They are known to love Chandler's works so Noir can feature in any. Much as I love Lebowski and their other more light-hearted fare, I have to admit there are a lot of people who simply don't see the appeal, so obviously you're one of them. :laugh: But as you've implied yourself, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy their others.
I think a key for me enjoying all theirs is understanding that they never do anything for the money or anything that's expected. They've had numerous opportunities to break into mainstream, but they usually come back with a new film that sort of dares to challenge peoples conceptions. If they worked in an corporation, they'd get promoted just to prove they could do it, then turn up to work naked or something and get booted out!
As way of an example, consider that they insisted Fargo was a true story, but it's not; or they claim to be working on a particular script, but it turns out they've made it up to tease journalists. Also extras on their DVDs are often fake, so they're taking Spielberg's approach of not revealing anything, but can't resist teasing. Except of course for quality exceptions like Bridges photography.
Fargo I'd say sits on the fence between thriller and affectionate piss-take (I might as well use it now! :P) and remains one of their best. I wouldn't bother with their latest (Burn After Reading) if I were you. I haven't seen it yet of course, but reviews suggest it's definitely Lebowski territory. I can't wait!
The Man Who Wasn't There is interesting. Gorgeous black and white, pure Noir in all it's themes (it's bleak), but utterly absurd. Billy Bob Thornton narrates in fine Noir fashion, but his character is a mute hairdresser. There's a scene towards the end that I hated because it seemed so ridiculous, but I recently read a theory about the whole thing that puts it in new light and I must try it again. The Coen's are never interested in making something easy, that's for sure. Give it a go one day, I'd love to hear what you think.
Intolerable Cruelty is another perfect example of their style. It's pure screwball comedy and works pretty well, but they alienate the core audience of such chick-flicks by including near the knuckle humour and characters (the joke about green salad or the asthmatic hitman). However I think that's quite British (Fish Called Wanda) so maybe that's why I liked it.
But the two films I'd definitely recommend are Miller's Crossing and Blood Simple. Especially Blood Simple. It was their first film, quite low budget. Brilliantly written, though typical thriller, and some of the cinematography is fantastic. Miller's Crossing is another early one, but heavily stylised. Still has their unique vein of humour, but it isn't a million miles from The Untouchables, with Albert Finney and Gabriel Byrne in Prohibition America.
O Brother Where Are Though... no idea. I love it, it's wonderful, it's looks gorgeous and the music is fantastic, but it is one of their films about idiots, so I really don't know what to tell you on that one! It's supposed to be based on Homer's Oddysey, but also has strong links to Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels. I've even heard someone suggest it could have been a sequel, but you'd have to have seen ST to fully understand how.
Post by: goodguy on September 28, 2008, 05:41:41 PM
I think a key for me enjoying all theirs is understanding that they never do anything for the money or anything that's expected.
I do have a thing for so-called independent movies, especially American ones. While the Coens aren't mainstream, they seem to me pretty well established, though.
I wouldn't bother with their latest (Burn After Reading) if I were you. I haven't seen it yet of course, but reviews suggest it's definitely Lebowski territory. I can't wait!
Yeah, I gathered as much from the trailer, but thanks for the other recommendations. Miller's Crossing was already on my wishlist for some time, but I can't remember why I put it there.
Post by: goodguy on September 28, 2008, 09:44:59 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=883929024322&locality=0) | Pushing Daisies (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925266/) (Season 1, 2007) Created by: Bryan Fuller Starring: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Kristen Chenoweth DVD: R1-US Warner (Sep 16, 2008) My rating: - |
Cover blurb: Every not-so-often, along comes a show that's different. Wonderfully different. Pushing Daisies, TV Guide's Matt Roush writes, "restores my faith in TV's ability to amuse, enchant and entertain." It's the story of Ned, a lonely pie maker whose touch can reanimate the dead. Neat, but there's a hitch. If Ned touches the person again, the miracle is reversed. If he doesn't, a bystander goes toes up. What to do? Easy: Team with a private eye, bring murder victims back just long enough to discover whodunit, and collect the rewards. Things go well until Ned's boyhood sweetie is the next dear departed, and he can't resist bringing her back for keeps! Dig the wit, style and quirky romance: If you're not laughing, you may need a visit from Ned.
I enjoyed the show very much, but I'm also glad the season was cut short by the WGA strike. Even more than Fuller's previous shows (Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me), this one is very "high concept". But the concept gets old after a while, and Fuller seems unable to flesh out the characters or sustain an interesting storyline over an entire season. I'm afraid I will be less than thrilled by the 20+ episodes of season 2.
I had the same problem with Wonderfalls, but not with Dead Like Me. Interestingly, the latter one was the show Fuller left after a couple of episodes due to "creative differences" with MGM. Maybe the execs were up to something there.
DVD Note: More Casablanca abuse by Warner. :redcard:
Post by: richierich on September 28, 2008, 10:23:38 PM
I enjoyed the show very much, but I'm also glad the season was cut short by the WGA strike. Even more than Fuller's previous shows (Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me), this one is very "high concept". But the concept gets old after a while, and Fuller seems unable to flesh out the characters or sustain an interesting storyline over an entire season. I'm afraid I will be less than thrilled by the 20+ episodes of season 2.
I had the same problem with Wonderfalls, but not with Dead Like Me. Interestingly, the latter one was the show Fuller left after a couple of episodes due to "creative differences" with MGM. Maybe the execs were up to something there.
DVD Note: More Casablanca abuse by Warner. :redcard:
Hey Matthias - grateful thanks for the heads-up on this series. I own it but will push it back down my 'to view' list after your excellent review
cheers
rich
Post by: Najemikon on October 11, 2008, 12:47:38 AM
Post by: goodguy on October 12, 2008, 04:29:32 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=027616879004&locality=0) | The Long Goodbye (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070334/) (1973) Written by: Leigh Brackett, based on Raymond Chandler's novel Directed by: Robert Altman Starring: Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden DVD: R1-US MGM (2002) My rating: + |
Cover blurb: Elliott Gould "gives one of his best performances" (Esquire) as a quirky, mischievous Philip Marlowe in Robert Altman's "fascinating and original" (Newsweek) send-up of Raymond Chandler's classic detective story. Co-starring Nina Van Pallandt and Sterling Hayden and written by Leigh Brackett (The Big Sleep), The Long Goodbye is "a gloriously inspired tribute to Hollywood" (The Hollywood Reporter) with an ending that's "as controversial as it is provocative." (Los Angeles Times)!
Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe (Gould) faces the most bizarre case of his life, when a friend's apparent suicide turns into a double murder involving a sexy blonde, a disturbed gangster and a suitcase full of drug money. But as Marlowe stumbles toward the truth, he soon finds himself lost in a maze of sex and deceit - only to discover that in L.A., if love is dangerous... friendship is murder.
Now that is more like it. Sorry Jon, but Altman's take on film noir is so much more interesting than the Coen's misguided attempt at, erm, uri-noir. It's also funnier. Just consider the opening sequence with Marlowe and the cat.
There are certainly parallels between the two movies. Both have protagonists that stumble quite clueless through the plot, but put the pieces together in the end. But the Dude is defined as a somewhat slow and clueless character right from the beginning, so it's not suprising that he doesn't get what's going on. Gould's Marlowe on the other hand looks like a cool and smart detective straight from a '40s noir, but doesn't quite act like it. That's irritating, but in a good way.
And the '40s hero, chainsmoking, with white shirt and wrinkled dark suit, is quite lost in the '70s world he has to navigate. He constantly talks to himself, and mumbles "That's okay with me" however strange his encounters with that world's inhabitants seem to him.
The entire movie has a dream-like quality, it is much more a mood piece than a crime story, which makes the occasional burst of violence all the more shocking.
And what a great ending. And I don't mean Marlowe's action itself, but the final shot afterwards.
Post by: goodguy on February 11, 2009, 12:13:52 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=7321925016482&locality=5) | The Dark Knight (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/) (2008) Written by: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan Directed by: Christopher Nolan Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart DVD: R2-DE Warner (Dec 22, 2008) My rating: |
Disappointing mess whose only saving grace is Ledger's performance as the Joker. There is no dramatic structure, no characterization, no mood or atmosphere - nothing what could make a movie compelling. Nolan can neither establish nor develop a scene, so this is just a lot of stuff happening, mostly boring, with a few unexpected but inconsequential twists (e.g. Gordon). I've read a lot about how dark and complex TDK supposedly is, but I can see only very few glimpses of that (Dent/Joker). And after the ferry scene, I thought it couldn't get any more embarassing, but the cheesy voice over at the end easily topped that.
BTW, I liked Batman Begins. While it was flawed, it took a maybe less "complex" theme and managed to do something with it that (at least to me) was fresh and original. TDK on the other hand is all pseudo-edginess without depth.
Post by: DJ Doena on February 11, 2009, 12:17:57 PM
Post by: Jimmy on February 11, 2009, 04:19:23 PM
The Dark KnightFinally someone here recognize that this film isn't that great. I've only seen the trailer and it was enough for me : this isn't the Batman that I've known when I was young (in the comic books and the tv series). Batman is not suppose to be depressing and dark, he is suppose to be a good funny time just like the films made before were (yes, even Batman and Robin is a good time movie). I found this so ridiculous to see the fanboys said that this is "the best of the greatest movie ever made in the entire universe"... I think that it is even in the imdb top 5 (now this is stupid). I'm tired too of the Heath Ledger bandwagon : he is dead, so what! That doesn't make him the greatest actor to appear on the screen and seriously how many of those fanboys care about his other films? Not so many, so why create a legend with a not that great actor died of a drug overdose...
My rating:
Post by: richierich on February 11, 2009, 05:31:39 PM
The Dark KnightI'm tired too of the Heath Ledger bandwagon : he is dead, so what! That doesn't make him the greatest actor to appear on the screen and seriously how many of those fanboys care about his other films? Not so many, so why create a legend with a not that great actor died of a drug overdose...
My rating:
In this role - he was great.
Post by: Najemikon on February 11, 2009, 06:44:43 PM
The Dark KnightFinally someone here recognize that this film isn't that great. I've only seen the trailer and it was enough for me : this isn't the Batman that I've known when I was young (in the comic books and the tv series). Batman is not suppose to be depressing and dark, he is suppose to be a good funny time just like the films made before were (yes, even Batman and Robin is a good time movie). I found this so ridiculous to see the fanboys said that this is "the best of the greatest movie ever made in the entire universe"... I think that it is even in the imdb top 5 (now this is stupid). I'm tired too of the Heath Ledger bandwagon : he is dead, so what! That doesn't make him the greatest actor to appear on the screen and seriously how many of those fanboys care about his other films? Not so many, so why create a legend with a not that great actor died of a drug overdose...
My rating:
Rubbish! As Richie said, Ledger was great in this role. I have an excellent bullshit detector and I'm not remotely influenced by what happened to him. The fact is he was magnificent as the Joker. I'm not sure posthumous awards mean a damn thing, but if he were alive, I honestly believe he would still be getting the nominations. It's easy to be cynical in a situation like this, but I think that whole film defied the hype in many respects. But he was always a very good actor anyway, from A Knights Tale to Brokeback Mountain.
As to the film in general, I agree it's nice to see someone with another opinion. I also agree it isn't good enough for top 5, but the fact remains it is a marvellous film. Interesting that you happen to picking up an a similar thing that Lovemunkey was saying in another thread; that people judge comic book films wrong because of their preconceptions. It doesn't match up with your idea Batman, but it fits perfectly with mine! The Batman comics I know are very dark. Without checking, I'm talking the original 30s stories, the 70s, 90s and Frank Miller's books. The fun Batman does exist, but to me the character only makes sense when he's a miserable bastard!
The Batman in the 60s TV show was a laugh, but overall utter crap. Actually Burton's (very dark) version is possibly still the best compromise. I prefer Nolan's, but I think the surreal vein in the first one is probably the closest to the comic.
Post by: goodguy on February 17, 2009, 04:30:39 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=031398104360&locality=0) | Repo! The Genetic Opera (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963194/) (2008) Written by: Darren Smith & Terrance Zdunich Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman Starring: Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head DVD: R1-US Lionsgate (Jan 20, 2009) My rating: |
Cover blurb: In the not-so-distant future, a worldwide epidemic of organ failures devastates the planet. Out of the tragedy, a savior emerges: GENECO, a biotech company that offers organ transplant... for a price. Those who miss their payments are scheduled for repossession... and hunted by the REPO man!
"Rocky Horror meets Blade Runner" was Bousman's (of the Saw franchise) own pitch for the movie. The latter can indeed been seen as a an influence on the visual style, the comparison with the former is only wishful thinking of the "this will be cult" variety. A more apt musical point of reference would be Sondheim (may he forgive me), with the atonal music and the sung dialogue. But the music is rather dull and the lyrics are really, really aweful. And while the overall visual style has some appeal, Bousman is a lousy director, who often goes for largely static arrangements that resemble bad music videos more than anything else.
Post by: goodguy on February 17, 2009, 04:31:50 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=024543051008&locality=0) | The Rocky Horror Picture Show (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/) (1975) Written by: Richard O'Brien & Jim Sharman Directed by: Jim Jarman Starring: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richar O'Brien DVD: R1-US Fox (2000) My rating: |
Cover blurb: The Rocky Horror Picture Show is an "erotic nightmare beyond any measure." Relive Richard O'Brien's sinfully twisted salute to horror, sci-fi, B-movies and rock music - a "sensual daydream to treasure forever" - starring Tim Curry (in his classic gender-bending performance), Barry Bostwick, and Oscar winner Susan Sarandon. Do the "Time Warp" and sing "Hot Patootie" with Meat Loaf again...and again...and again. Pull up a slab and let the madness begin!
I guess you have to be at one of those whacky screenings to fully enjoy this. The movie is great for the first half hour, after that it rapidly deteriorates. Still, even then it retains a certain silly charme and the occasional catchy song (e.g. Eddie's Teddy) makes sitting through the remaining parts worthwhile.
Post by: goodguy on March 03, 2009, 01:03:08 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=758445115628&locality=0) | Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404364/) (2005) Written by: Kevin Murphy & Dan Studney Directed by: Andy Fickman Starring: Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer, Steven Weber DVD: R1-US Showtime (2005) My rating:  |
Cover blurb: Inspired by the legendary 1936 film of the same name, Reefer Madness is a tongue-in-cheek raucous musical comedy about clean-cut kids who fall into a twisted, hilarious downward spiral of reefer, sex and mayhem! A straight-laced high school lecturer (Alan Cumming) seeks to impart his wisdom to frightened parents about the "demon weed" by telling them the frightful tale of two innocent teens. Mary Lane (Kristen Bell) and Jimmy Harper (Christian Campbell), who fall under the spell of the public's enemy #1 and quickly find themselves in a world of evil jazz music, dance and madness. Filled with outrageously funny and musical performances by Neve Campbell, Christian Campbell, Kristen Bell and Steven Weber, Reefer Madness is the feel good event of the year that should not be missed!
I have watched this now for the 6th time, but it continues to be such an entertaining blast that sweps me away every time with its mix of goofiness, satire and energetic musical numbers. I'm almost tempted to state something absolute like: Best. Musical. Ever. At least it is certainly much funnier than "Rocky Horror" and "Little Shop" combined (to both of which it owns a little debt).
BTW, as a teaser for those of you who don't like musicals, but can occassionally be found here drooling over pretty lady pictures: Can you really say No to a scene with Kristen Bell as a dominatrix?
Post by: addicted2dvd on March 03, 2009, 08:19:51 PM
Post by: goodguy on March 06, 2009, 04:07:47 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=7321921250651&locality=5) | The Sopranos (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141842/) (Season 1, 1999) Created by: David Chase Starring: James Gandolfini DVD: R2-DE Warner/HBO (2008) My rating: - |
I'm almost through the first season (2 episodes to go): Great acting, reasonably well written and directed, yet I'm not very impressed and I honestly don't get the hype that surrounds this show. Again, it isn't that the show is bad, I just cannot bring myself to really care. I adored Six Feet Under, another portrayal of a dysfunctional family. I loved the short-lived Profit, which might have been the first show with a bad guy as the protagonist. Compared to those, the Sopranos are an underwhelming affair so far.
Post by: Najemikon on March 06, 2009, 10:05:29 PM
All that said, I'm continually disappointed by how the media can only focus on one series. They'll say The Sopranos was the absolute best, or The Wire as current fave. But there are several things in the show I thought were handled badly, even lazily. On the other hand, other shows, especially Buffy, keep pushing the boundaries but everyone dismisses them. And sticking with Joss Whedon shows, maybe if Firefly got all the attention BSG had, it would have had a longer run. It certainly deserved it just as much...
Final example, it's currently fashionable to retrospectively highlight Seinfeld as the best a sitcom can possibly be. It's good, but not that good!
Post by: goodguy on March 09, 2009, 12:27:28 PM
Post by: Najemikon on March 09, 2009, 07:56:36 PM
Apparently Matt worked on seasons five and six? I have to say my favourite episodes are in season 3 (Pine Barrens! :hysterical:). Five and six has some incredible revelations, but the mood and pace doesn't alter, so honestly, if you don't like it by season 3, I doubt his input will change your mind. Mind you I'd seriously like to hear your take on the very final episode and the way they end the whole thing. Controversial, in a way... ;)
Post by: goodguy on March 16, 2009, 08:35:11 PM
For some reason I keep comparing this to Six Feet Under. While SFU too is a sometimes bleak and sometimes hilarious family drama, it has in almost every episode moments of stunning beauty and tenderness, something that's completely missing from The Sopranos. Another thing I'm missing is a certain transcendent and poetic quality that elevates the characters. With The Sopranos, even the dream scenes are rather dull.
Post by: Najemikon on March 16, 2009, 08:43:18 PM
Post by: goodguy on March 22, 2009, 08:26:14 PM
I have to say my favourite episodes are in season 3 (Pine Barrens! :hysterical:).
"This guy killed 16 Czechoslovakians. He was an interior decorator." :hysterical:
Season 3 didn't convince me either. I admit, I'm mildly curious how it develops from here - e.g. the new FBI attempt started in the last episode. But overall, the series is just not that interesting to me. Showing the lifes of not so bright people might occasionally work in a movie, but watching them for 30+ hours is, uhm, boring. The scrabble board between Meadow and Jackie Jr. symbolizes that rather well.
Average episode rating per season (scale 0-4):
Season 1: 2,88
Season 2: 2,65
Season 3: 2,73
Favorite episodes:
1x08 The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti
1x13 I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano
2x07 D-Girl
3x04 Employee of the Month
3x12 Amour Fou
Post by: goodguy on May 10, 2009, 03:51:18 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5014437943033&locality=4) | Iron Man (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371746/) (2008) Written by: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway Directed by: Jon Favreau Starring: Robert Downey Jr. DVD: R2-UK Paramount (oct 27, 2008) My rating: |
Cover blurb: Suit up for action with ROBERT DOWNEY JR, in the ultimate adventure movie you've been waiting for, Iron Man! When jet-setting genius-industrialist Tony Stark is captured in enemy territory, he builds a high-tech suit of armour to escape. Now, he's on a mission to save the world as a hero who's built, not born, to be unlike any other. Co-starring TERRENCE HOWARD, JEFF BRIDGES and GWYNETH PALTROW, it's a fantastic, high-flying journey that is "hugely entertaining" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).
Overall, an enjoyable experience. The story is simple and doesn't always make much sense; the political aspect is nothing more than window dressing (although thankfully not as exploitative as Rambo), yet in shines in a lot of details. It is funny, but mostly in a dry-witted way. It is emotional, but that too is mostly underplayed and rarely melodramatic. Robert Downey Jr expectedly is marvelous with such material, so is Gwyneth Paltrow, and both have a great chemistry. Jeff Bridges unfortunately has to go completely bonkers at the end, but before that, he also gives a fine performance.
The action sequences lack the excitement of, for example, Transformers, but they are adequate. I usually enjoy the character stuff more anyway. And like Transformers, the movie gets a bit boring in the final confrontation. Watching Tony Stark design and build the Iron Man suite in his Malibu house, assisted only by an equally dry-witted AI, then taking it on a test fly - that is just so much more entertaining than two metal monsters pounding on each other.
Post by: Najemikon on May 10, 2009, 04:21:28 PM
Post by: goodguy on May 10, 2009, 09:16:55 PM
Pleased to see you enjoyed it! :laugh:
I think we more often agree on a movie than not. Don't get me started on Wanted, though. Your bewilderment at my purchase was absolutely justified. Everybody drew Matrix comparisons, I expected something like Shoot 'em Up - but nobody told me that it is about people who can't shoot straight.
I think anyone willing to accept the inherent silliness is rewarded by a very good performance from Downey Jr. at least.
He is a great actor. And I'm almost tempted now to give Tropic Thunder a try.
Post by: Najemikon on May 11, 2009, 01:39:16 AM
Pleased to see you enjoyed it! :laugh:
I think we more often agree on a movie than not. Don't get me started on Wanted, though. Your bewilderment at my purchase was absolutely justified. Everybody drew Matrix comparisons, I expected something like Shoot 'em Up - but nobody told me that it is about people who can't shoot straight.I think anyone willing to accept the inherent silliness is rewarded by a very good performance from Downey Jr. at least.
He is a great actor. And I'm almost tempted now to give Tropic Thunder a try.
Hmm, coincidence. I watched Tropic Thunder only last night. :D I'll stick some comments in my watch log, but for now, definitely worth seeing for Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise, and if you enjoy war films, plus huge explosions.
I enjoyed Wanted for what it was for the most part and in the end the "not shooting straight" was still annoying though not half as much as I expected. But what's Shoot 'Em Up like? I was curious about that for a while but then it fell off the radar a bit.
Post by: Achim on May 11, 2009, 07:20:39 AM
But what's Shoot 'Em Up like? I was curious about that for a while but then it fell off the radar a bit.Shoot 'Em Up is Clive Owen against Paul Giamatti (sp?). It start of with Clive being a nurse and shooting the biblical cord and ends 90min and 1Mio bullets later. It's not bad, taken for what it is, which is what the title tells you already :P
Not everybody's taste, obviously, and somewhere between lactating hookers (can we say that here?) and the shoot out while having sex the film almost lost me too.
Post by: goodguy on May 12, 2009, 12:49:39 AM
But what's Shoot 'Em Up like?
Over the top action and violence, outrageously funny, deliberately offensive and cheesy. Brilliantly casted with Clive Owen as angry, carrot-eating hero, Paul Giamatti as erudite contract killer, and Monica Bellucci as hooker with a heart of gold. There is a conspiracy involving gun control, babies and bone marrow - not that it matters much. As Achim said, the title is pretty much the plot. I really liked it.
Post by: Najemikon on May 12, 2009, 12:51:07 AM
Post by: Achim on May 12, 2009, 06:46:48 AM
Hmmm, sounds interesting! I thought it would be like Smokin' Aces, which should have been much better than it was.I'd say there are similarities, but with less effort to convey a story. :laugh:
Post by: goodguy on May 21, 2009, 10:16:23 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5050582465662&locality=5) | House M.D. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412142/) (Season 1-4, 2004-2007) Created by: David Shore Starring: Hugh Laurie DVD: R2-DE Universal (S1-3), R4-AU Universal (S4) My rating: (S1+2+4), (S3) |
House M.D. essentially is a medical procedural, very formulaic for the post part. I don't like hospital shows. I don't like procedurals. Even the quirky ones like Monk and The Closer didn't hold my interest for more than a couple of episodes. So I shouldn't like House, but I really, really do.
One reason is the writing. It is exceptionally brilliant, with a sharp and snarky humor. The cases are intriguing, because they are usually pushed far beyond normal medical occurrences and the way a solution is found is truly inventive and can be admired even on repeat viewing, when the surprise no longer exists.
The show has a great production design and the cinematography shows a constant and very high level of craftsmanship and occasionally ventures into something truly artistic and beautiful.
But the ultimate reason to watch the show is of course House as played by Hugh Laurie. Yes, part of the praise again belongs to the writers for subverting the usual human interest angle and teary-eyed-ness of hospital shows with a physician who prefers to solve his cases on a whiteboard and tries to avoid contact with patients at all costs. But the way Laurie brings this character to life is truly something else. He does the mixture of high intelligence and misanthropic bitterness perfectly, his comedic timing is impeccable, and he brings an amazing physicality to the role - kinda ironic, considering he plays a cripple with a cane.
The supporting cast is really quite good as well, but naturally pales in comparison. To quickly round them up: there is House's team of three assistants, then there is the hospital administrator Lisa Cuddy, and House's only friend Wilson, who also is a doctor at the hospital. With a new case to solve every episode, there is of course a large number of guest stars, and some of them truly shine.
Season 1 (22 eps) is the most formulaic one, with only a small backstory arc involving a conflict between House and a new chairman of the hospital board.
Season 2 (24 eps) tries to bring some variety to patient-of-the-week stories by amping up the drama between House's assistants, but those episodes feel rather contrived and the ones that stick to the formula and focus on House are much stronger.
Season 3 (24 eps) is the weakest of the bunch, again due to the attempt of shaking up the PotW formula. A conflict between House and a cop is drawn out far too long, and adding a romantic relationship between two of the assistants IMHO didn't really work as well.
Season 4 (only 16 eps due to the writers strike) marks a fresh start. House lost his team at the end of the previous season and now assembles a new one during the course of several epsiodes, hilariously staging Survivor-like games to pick three winners from an inital cast of about 30 applicants.
DVD Note:
S1 is Fullscreen (that applies to all R2/R4 releases), whereas the R1-US is Widescreen, although non-anamorphic. S1 and S3 have German title card inserts - a minor annoyance, but sometimes it bugs me. S2 has an authoring error: the English subtitles are missing from one episode. The Australian S4 has no subtitles at all and one featurette is flagged as 4:3 while it actually is WS, resulting in a distorted image. The missing subtitles aren't really a problem for me, but a few times the medical jargon is hard to follow.
Post by: goodguy on May 21, 2009, 01:52:46 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=883929048830&locality=0) | True Blood (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844441/) (Season 1, 2008) Created by: Alan Ball Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Tramell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley DVD: R1-US HBO (May 19, 2009) My rating: - |
Cover blurb: Vampires have come "out of the coffin" and are now living among us. Surviving on synthetic blood, they no longer need human blood to survive. Or so it seems...
The small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana boasts a wide array of colorful locals. Meet Sookie Stackhouse (Academy Award winner Anna Paquin), a sweet and innocent waitress who hides her powerful ability to read minds; Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire who's just moved back to town; Sookie's brother Jason, a ladies' man who can't seem to stay out of trouble; tough-as-nails Tara, Sookie's loyal best friend; Sam, the owner of Merlotte's who tries to keep his feelings for Sookie to himself; Lafayette, a man about town who's always cooking up something illicit and "off the menu" and a quirky cast of characters who each hide their dark secrets in the shadows of the night in this series that's like no other.
I'm currently in the middle of watching this series for the second time in a row, which is a rare thing for me to do. Last time this happened was with S1 of Veronica Mars. Of course, that doesn't say much about the quality of the series per se; it is just to emphasize what a highly enjoyable experience I found it to be.
It is kinda strange, though, to watch an HBO show that starts with a teaser before the title sequence. And what a title sequence that is! Very beautiful, perfectly capturing the mood of the show, and with a great theme song as well.
I admit I have a faible for that southern gothic thing, the imagery, the speech patterns - all of which makes me predisposed to like this show and more easily overlook or forgive eventual flaws.
Enough with the preliminary rambling.
Season 1 of True Blood is based on the first novel from a book series by Charlaine Harris, although there are some significant changes. That's according to a Wikipedia article; I haven't read the books and can't say if they are for better or worse, although one change to a main character later in the season strikes me as an rather odd choice.
The characters lack the richness and complexity present in Alan Ball's previous work Six Feet Under, but they are still interesting and engaging. It's just a bit more on the stereotypical side, and relies more on shortcuts than real exploration of a character.
Obviously, the vampires are a metaphor for certain political discurses, gay rights for example. But it isn't too overdone and the show seems to take an even stronger interest in psychological themes. On the other hand, the vampire lore is embraced with a certain fondness for the trashy side without making fun of it in the way that Buffy did. There is one notable exception to that: a newly made vampire near the end of the season could be straight out of a Buffy episode.
The entire cast is exceptional including the supporting roles. Anna Paquin is amazing, and especially in the early episodes the mix of innocent/sassy/smart with the occassional girlishness is absolutely adorable.
As I already said elsewhere, I liked the Southern accents and the melodic speech patterns. I also liked the great mix-up of cursing vocabulary, using both explectives and those properly tamed versions.
The show looks as stunningly beautiful as I have come to expect from the better HBO shows, the attention to detail is amazing. Some of the show has been shot on location in Louisiana, while other exterior shots have been taken in the LA area or on sound stage. For the most part, the latter ones blend in very well. Combined with a simple and equally beautiful soundtrack, the show almost effortlessly creates a rich atmosphere.
There is a lot of explicit gore and blood, but the vampire SFX is rather subdued. I liked the snake-like fangs, but some people may have a hard time getting used to it. As far as vampire abilities go, the speed thing is simple, yet elegant and effective.
There are also a lot of explicit sex scenes, but to my European mind they are rather tame.
Post by: richierich on May 21, 2009, 02:26:36 PM
My rating:
[/td][/tr][/table]
a few times the medical jargon is hard to follow.
Bizzarly I would of given exactly the same marks per season, season 3 was slightly below par, and the twists in the new characters in series 4 really perked the series back up again.
We always laugh at the medical jargon, god knows what most of it means! And the way they use a defibrillator is hilarious, it is so Hollywood! In real life it's of course nothing like that.
Great series though, I love it
Post by: DJ Doena on May 21, 2009, 02:55:05 PM
Post by: richierich on May 21, 2009, 04:38:37 PM
My favourite running gag from House is the possible diagnosis of "Lupus". ;)
Have you seen the extras?, they do spoof sketches as something called 'Valley' girls :hysterical:
Post by: DJ Doena on May 21, 2009, 06:18:03 PM
Post by: goodguy on May 31, 2009, 12:30:55 AM
| (http://www.ascot-elite.de/stills/714/cover_dvd_big.jpg) | Låt den rätte komma in (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/) (Sweden 2008, AKA Let the Right One In, AKA So finster die Nacht) Written by: John Ajvide Lindvist Directed by: Tomas Alfredson Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson DVD: R2-DE MFA+/Ascot Elite (May 20, 2009) My rating: |
IMDb summary: Oskar, a bullied 12-year old, dreams of revenge. He falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl. She can't stand the sun or food and to come into a room she needs to be invited. Eli gives Oskar the strength to hit back but when he realizes that Eli needs to drink other people's blood to live he's faced with a choice. How much can love forgive? Let The Right One In is a story both violent and highly romantic, set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1982.
In its use of vampirism, LTROI reminded me of Abel Ferrara's flawed masterpiece The Addiction. There is the same messy and grim approach to the actual blooddrinking and the same disregard for the typical vampire lore. There are vampires in both movies, but neither is a vampire movie; they are about something else entirely.
Linking a vampire tale with a coming-of-age story is not that unusal. But LTROI doesn't fall into the traps of a teenage love fantasy. There is tenderness and even a kiss between the two leads, but their bond is decidedly asexual and prepubescent; it is forged from a deep sense of alienation and has a haunted innocence. Both performances are spectacular.
Alfredson finds striking visuals in the most banal and desolate settings, creating a bleak and chilling atmosphere with a strong poetic quality. This is combined with a beautiful score and an ingenious sound design that draws the viewer into the isolation of the protagonists.
Highly recommended and certainly one of last year's best movies.
Post by: Achim on May 31, 2009, 08:05:34 AM
Linking a vampire tale with a coming-of-age story is not that unusal. But LTROI doesn't fall into the traps of a teenage love fantasy. There is tenderness and even a kiss between the two leads, but their bond is decidedly asexual and prepubescent; it is forged from a deep sense of alienation and has a haunted innocence. Both performances are spectacular.I haven't seen it yet so have to go with hearsay; and in spoiler tags, as it's a rather reveling plot point:
(click to show/hide)
Post by: goodguy on May 31, 2009, 06:25:00 PM
I haven't seen it yet so have to go with hearsay; and in spoiler tags, as it's a rather reveling plot point:(click to show/hide)
The German DVD is uncut. Spoilers for the twist you are referring to:
(click to show/hide)
I haven't read the novel, but from what I gathered, it goes into more detail on several things that are left without an explanation in the movie. Besides the aforementioned twist, there is also the Hakan character. Spoiler again:
(click to show/hide)
Oh, and since I forgot to mention it in my review: The German subtitles seem to be adequate. There is of course always the danger that little subtleties get lost, but at least I didn't catch any glaring errors. Also, the film isn't that dialogue-heavy and some of the Swedish I was actually able to understand.
Post by: Achim on June 01, 2009, 06:23:13 AM
I haven't read the novel, but from what I gathered, it goes into more detail on several things that are left without an explanation in the movie. Besides the aforementioned twist, there is also the Hakan character. Spoiler again:(click to show/hide)
(click to show/hide)
(BTW, I am not in the habit to spoil movies for myself by listening to review podcasts. I usually only listen to them if I already seen the movie, don't know the movie or am on the fence about it.)
Post by: goodguy on June 03, 2009, 07:03:10 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=796019819572&locality=0) | The Reader (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976051/) (2008) Written by: David Hare, based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink Directed by: Stephen Daldry Starring: Kate Winslet, David Cross, Ralph Fiennes DVD: R1-US Weinstein/Genius (Apr 14, 2009) My rating: - |
Cover blurb: Academy Award winner Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road) delivers a dynamic performance in this "tale of eroticism, secrecy and guilt" (Claudia Puig, USA Today) set in turbulent post-Nazi Germany. Bringing to life the celebrated international novel, Winslet is riveting as Hanna Schmitz – a lonely, working-class woman who experiences a brief but intense affair with a teenage boy. Years later they meet again: Hanna now a defendant in a notorious case and her ex-lover, now a law student, holding the secret to her salvation. Directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) and featuring Ralph Fiennes (The Duchess) as the grown man still reeling from Hanna's influence, The Reader is a "moving, romantic and poignant story" (Roger Friedman, Fox News) about the difficult distance between truth and reconciliation.
The Reader isn't as bad as I feared it to be, but it isn't a good movie either. Why did I buy it, despite my low expectations? Well, I happen to like Kate Winslet and she did win an Oscar for her role here - btw, as predicted by herself in that Extras episode three or four years ago.
But while the Best Picture nomination was a joke, Winslet's nomination at least seems to be warranted. I can't say if she deserved to win, since I haven't seen all of the other nominees, and I slightly suspect the combination of Holocaust theme, being nude and handicap acting was in her favor.
Still, especially in the early and middle parts of the movie Winslet is great, while David Kross as her young lover is pretty solid. Ralph Fiennes on the other hand hasn't much to do except looking thoughtful and torn.
The movie itself unfortunately hasn't much to say. It dutyfully poses the "big moral questions" and then slaps easy (non)answers on them in a painfully obvious way. And if that isn't annoying enough, the movie also hedges the small bets it makes with a closing statement from one of the survivors.
Somewhere in all of this are glimpses of a good movie. One cannot help but think that, without the Holocaust backdrop, it could have been more honest and meaningful.
Post by: goodguy on June 06, 2009, 05:18:48 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=4048317351268&locality=5) | Wamego: Making Movies Anywhere (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084950/) (2004) DVD: R2-DE Ascot Elite (2007, Firecracker SE) My rating: |
Firecracker (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420312/) (2004) is the second movie by American independent filmmaker Steve Balderson. It is almost a classic tragedy, yet very odd and original. It is gorgeously shot on Super 35mm film, mixing stark black & white photography with highly saturated color sequences. It is a movie I cannot recommend highly enough. But lets talk about something else instead.
The documentary "Wamego: Making Movies Anywhere" has been included on the German release of Firecracker. To some extent, it is indeed a making-of for that movie. But at almost two hours running time, it goes way beyond that. What you get is an in-depth look at truly independent filmmaking as a family business in the middle of nowhere (in this case Wamego, Kansas).
The term "independent film" has been watered down over the years. Often it is used for small-budget movies, financed by subdivisions of big studios. That's not the case here. Firecracker was financed, produced and filmed completely outside the Hollywood industry. The documentary shows how that was possible and focuses heavily on the business and administration side of filmmaking.
This may sound a bit boring, but trust me, if you have any interest in the filmmaking process at all, it is deeply engrossing and informative. And it gains additional appeal, because you see a family of pretty earth-bound people working together to make an artistic vision come true without compromise.
DVD Notes
AFAIK, the German and the US release of Firecracker are the only ones available. The German DVD wins due to being anamorphic and for including the documentary. The documentary and all other movies by Steve Balderson are also available on his website www.dikenga.com. (http://www.dikenga.com/) And I just noticed that the documentary now has two sequels and all three together have a very reasonable price. Time for another double-dip, I guess.
Post by: goodguy on June 12, 2009, 12:01:03 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=043396283343&locality=0) | Rachel Getting Married (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084950/) (2008) Written by: Jenny Lumet Directed by: Jonathan Demme Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Debra Winger DVD: R1-US Sony (Mar 10, 2009) My rating: |
Cover blurb: When Kym (Anne Hathaway - Golden Globe Nominee, Best Actress, Motion Picture (Drama)), returns to the Buchman family home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), she brings a long history of personal crises, family conflict and tragedy along with her. The wedding couple's abundant party of friends and relations have gathered for a joyful weekend of feasting, music and love, but Kym - with her biting one-liners and flair for bombshell drama - is a catalyst for long simmering tensions in the family dynamic. Filled with the rich and eclectic characters that remain a hallmark of Jonathan Demme's films, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED paints a heartfelt, perceptive and sometimes hilarious family portrait.
From a deceptively clichéd setup, RGM soon moves into a richly developed family drama, masterfully handled on all levels, be it script, cinematography or acting. Demme clearly draws from his experience at making documentaries, giving large parts of the movie a kind of "home-made wedding video" style. But again, that is only the surface, because the narrative flow, seemingly often interrupted by the set pieces of the wedding ceremony, is in fact continued throughout them as the camera work subtly reinforces previously mapped out connections and tensions between the characters while adding new layers as well.
RGM is an ensemble piece with an exceptional cast throughout. But the biggest surprise to me was Anne Hathaway. Not that I ever thought her to be a bad actress, just a somewhat unremarkable one, starring in mostly fluffy roles. Here she finally gets the chance to truly shine in a mature and complex role and her performance is nothing short of amazing.
This might very well be the best film of 2008. It is a shame that it didn't get nominated throughout the Oscar main categories and I firmly believe that Anne Hathaway should have won for Best Actress. Very highly recommended.
Post by: richierich on June 12, 2009, 12:55:27 AM
(http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=043396283343&locality=0) Rachel Getting Married (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084950/) (2008)
Written by: Jenny Lumet
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Debra Winger
DVD: R1-US Sony (Mar 10, 2009)
My rating:
Damn - I gotta buy this now after your review - and I'm trying to save money for holiday!
:surrender:
Post by: goodguy on June 15, 2009, 08:19:09 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=7321925009965&locality=5) | Gia (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123865/) (1998) Written by: Jay McInerney & Michael Cristofer Directed by: Michael Cristofer Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mercedes Ruehl, Faye Dunaway DVD: R2-DE Warner/HBO (2008) My rating:  |
IMDb summary: Fact-based story of top fashion model Gia Marie Carangi follows her life from a rebel working in her father's diner at age 17 to her death in 1986 at age 26 from AIDS, one of the first women in America whose death was attributed to the disease. In between, she followed a downward spiral of drug abuse and failed relationships.
Wow. I've seen this many years ago and I didn't remember it was that bad. The movie tells Gia's story as a sort-of cautionary tale, interspersing a series of vignettes with fake interview snippets. A very dated "stylish" look, sex scenes in Playboy softcore manner, and a heavy-handed but insubstantial approach of the subject make this a thoroughly boring affair. As a punk girl turned supermodel, Jolie is fun to watch in the early parts, but that's about it.
Overall, a nice reminder that HBO once was just another crappy cable outlet and that the channel's foray into high quality TV didn't start before around 2000.
On the other hand, I might be entirely wrong - a look at the award wins and nominations on IMDb is mind-boggling.
DVD Notes
There are two versions of this movie, an R-rated one and an Unrated one with slightly extended sex scenes. The new German DVD contains the latter, and it's rated FSK-12. The same UK DVD is rated 18.
Post by: goodguy on June 15, 2009, 10:11:23 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5039036040396&locality=4) | Taken (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/) (FR 2008) Written by: Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen Directed by: Pierre Morel Starring: Liam Neeson DVD: R2-UK Fox (Feb. 9, 2009; Extended Cut) My rating: - |
Cover blurb: Liam Neeson stars in this action-packed international thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. When his estranged daughter is kidnapped in Paris, a former spy (Neeson) sets out to find her at any cost. Relying on his special skills, he tracks down the ruthless gang that abducted her and launches a one-man war to bring them to justice and rescue his daughter.
Frankly, it escapes me why everyone seems to think Taken is "Da Shit" and Punisher: War Zone is, well, just shit. Both are pretty violent action movies that can be enjoyed to some degree with the right mindset, or more precisely, the mind checked out at the door for a bowl of popcorn. Yes, one tries to be more gritty and real, the other one more comicbook-like and gory, but they are really not that different.
Except: While PWZ knows it is just trash, Taken is pretentious and manipulative. So it spends half an hour of its short 90min running time to setup its paper-thin characters, and it casts a serious actor as protagonist instead of a B-list one. Well, that doesn't work, because it raises expectations beyond the realm of mindless fun, and the script is unable to meet them.
For a vastly superior and really brilliant take on the "black ops guy rescues girl from sex slavery" scenario, I recommend David Mamet's largely ignored Spartan (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360009/) (2004), starring Val Kilmer.
Post by: goodguy on June 17, 2009, 02:36:21 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=4045167008229&locality=5) | Quantum of Solace (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0830515/) (2008) Written by: Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade Directed by: Marc Foster Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Curylenko DVD: R2-DE Fox (Mar 27, 2009) My rating: - |
Sorry, not much to say about it. More entertaining than Casino Royale, although a second viewing will have to confirm that, because I gave CR the same rating the first time I saw it, and it dropped to plain "boring" the next time around.
Marc Foster (does anyone remember Stay (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371257/)?) doesn't do action all too well, plus some intercuts are beyond cringeworthy. Gemma Arterton could have been as good as Eva Green, but she didn't have enough screen time. And as far as Olga Curylenko movies go, I prefer Hitman (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465494/).
Post by: goodguy on August 31, 2009, 07:33:32 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=025195050029&locality=0) | Battlestar Galactica (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407362/) (Season 4.5, 2009) Created by: Ronald D. Moore Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff DVD: R1-US Universal (Jul 28, 2009) My rating: |
Cover blurb: All will be revealed as the thrilling final episodes of Battlestar Galactica 4.5 land on DVD. From their initial action-packed battles against the Cylons to their desperate attempts to find the fabled 13th colony, Earth, a determined band of human survivors has captivated audiences everywhere with their desperate quest to find a new home for their dwindling numbers. Join them now as the fleet journeys into the furthest reaches of unexplored space and faces a crucial decision that will change all of their lives irrevocably. ...
It is a bit difficult to write about this without spoilers, but I try. Overall, they brought the series to a satisfying conclusion, making it the only well-rounded scifi tale besides Babylon 5(*1). I still think Firefly is the most brilliant attempt in the genre, but its short run makes it difficult to compare.
Anyway. The begin of S4.5 shows again that BSG is at is strongest when focusing on character development rather than expanding the series mythology or attempting a political or sociological commentary. I know that especially the latter has earned the series quite a reputation as being dark and edgy, but I'm unable to buy into that, sorry.
So the first two epsiodes are great stuff, but then we get into the events involving Gaeta and Zarek, which are essentially a retake on the resistance story. This could be interesting, but Zarek is too easily made the bad guy, thereby not only removing any dramatic tension, but also any meaningful political discurse. Still, the welcome return of Starbuck as a bad ass makes these episodes worthwhile.
In the middle of S4.5 we have the BIG REVEAL how it all really happened. Great stuff, at least as far as the idea goes, but could it be presented anymore clumsily? Worst info dump ever. Followed by a Jane Espenson episode that again sticks out like a sore thumb: mixing more info dump with bad soap opera and characters changing there mind on a whim. Espenson really isn't suited for a show like BSG.
After hitting rock bottom, we get one of the best episodes of the series, once again centered around Starbuck. Starbuck is a character I immediately liked from the beginning, even when I had a less favorable opinion of the early seasons. I'm really excited about the way "the song" is integrated in the story presented in this epsiode and how it is used later in the finale.
The 3hour finale (and the epsiode before that) are a somewhat mixed bag. I liked the flashbacks to the life on Caprica before the Cylon attack. I didn't care much for the big battle and found some of the CGI really bad, especially on board of the colony ship (but that could just be the strange magenta based color-palette, which made it look like a first generation computer game). We also learn what the opera house dream was all about - calling that underwhelming is me being polite.
As I said at the beginning, it is difficult to write about this and avoid spoilers, so I won't say anything about where and how it all ends, except that the idea per se works well within the context of the series, but I'm a bit miffed about the way it is actually done. Although, partly this could very well be due to the fact that I watched the extended version instead of the originally aired episodes.
I'm not sure if I will give Caprica and The Plan a try. From what I gathered, Espenson seems pretty involved in the latter. On the DVD extras, she talked about how it will be darker than BSG, but also with more comedy elements. Shudder.
---
(*1) I'm actually tempted to rewatch B5, but I sold my set years ago. :(
Post by: DJ Doena on August 31, 2009, 09:28:49 PM
(*1) I'm actually tempted to rewatch B5, but I sold my set years ago. :(
I actually have B5 twice. First the original release and their ever-changing look and then the complete box with everything.
I would sell you the former for a very decent price, if you are interested.
Post by: Kathy on September 01, 2009, 11:17:39 PM
(*1) I'm actually tempted to rewatch B5, but I sold my set years ago. :(
I actually have B5 twice. First the original release and their ever-changing look and then the complete box with everything.
I would sell you the former for a very decent price, if you are interested.
If he is not interested, I am. I haven't seen any of this series yet. :-[
Post by: DJ Doena on September 01, 2009, 11:21:07 PM
If he is not interested, I am. I haven't seen any of this series yet. :-[
I would but shipping is so expensive that you probably get it cheaper when you buy a new one on Amazon.
Post by: goodguy on September 02, 2009, 10:09:32 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=031398104858&locality=0) | Mad Men (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804503/) (Season 2, 2008) Created by: Matthew Weiner Starring: John Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks DVD: R1-US Lionsgate (Jul 14, 2009) My rating: |
Cover blurb: The Golden Globe-winning series for Best TV Drama two years in a row continues to blur the lines between truth and lies, perception and reality. In its second season, the world of MAD MEN is moving in a new direction - can Sterling Cooper keep up? Meanwhile, the private life of Don Draper becomes complicated in a new way. What is the cost of his secret identity?
Winner of six Emmys, MAD MEN is the groundbreaking series from AMC that critics are calling one of TV's best-ever dramas.
Am I the only one around here watching Mad Men?
In the "What'ya got?" thread I said Mad Men is the best show not running on HBO or Showtime. That's not true. It is the best show. Period. Neither HBO nor Showtime currently have anything to offer that is even remotely as complex and insightful as Mad Men. It is the rare case were all the hype and the awards are well-deserved.
Mad Men essentially is a working place drama, set in an advertising company in the early 60s. The Mad Men are the men of Madison Avenue, NY. I love shows that take the working place seriously and deal with people passionate about there job. Not the usual cop/doctor/lawyer bore fest that uses the setting just as a convenient spring board to throw a bunch of characters together, but where the work they do truly illuminates the characters. Six Feet Under comes to mind, or the Canadian Slings & Arrows.
Be warned, though. If you like your shows to have fast paced stories with twists and turns at every corner, Mad Men isn't for you. It is first and foremost a very introspective and layered character piece, with careful attention to mood and atmosphere, gorgeous camera work and production design.
Post by: richierich on September 02, 2009, 10:41:39 PM
http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/5261144//Product.html?P36=FUVNGD
Post by: RossRoy on September 02, 2009, 11:20:04 PM
Ordering S1 and S2 now. :thanks:
Post by: goodguy on September 02, 2009, 11:24:16 PM
I've just ordered series 1 based on your recommendation at just £9.99 :thumbup:
Erm... oops? Considering how you teared into Revolutionary Road, I'm a bit weary about the repercussions. :fingerchew:
Not that they are really that much alike, Mad Men is far less neurotic and the suburban "hell" is only one part of a much richer story.
Post by: Najemikon on September 02, 2009, 11:58:09 PM
Post by: goodguy on September 06, 2009, 09:57:08 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=025192866326&locality=0) | Brick (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0393109/) (2005) Written & directed by: Rian Johnson Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Noah Fleiss, Emilie de Ravin, Lukas Haas DVD: R1-US Universal (2006) My rating: |
Cover blurb: Brendan Frye is a loner, someone who knows all the angles but has chosen to stay on the outside. When the girl he loves turns up dead, he is determined to find the "who" and "why" and plunges into the dark and dangerous social strata of rich girl Laura, intimidating Tug, drug-addled Dode, seductive Kara, and the ominous Pin. But who can he really trust? These are the ingredients of 'Brick', a gritty and provocative thriller that critics describe as "a clever, twist-filled whodunit!" (Claudia Puig, 'USA Today')
In 2006, a bunch of Noir movies (film noirs? films noir?) came into the cinema. There was Hollywoodland, which I haven't seen. Then there was The Black Dahlia, De Palma's big budget retro noir, an overall boring exercise that didn't do anything new or interesting. And there was Brick, Rian Johnson's debut feature.
Actually, Brick already appeared in early 2005 at Sundance, where it won the Special Jury Price for Originality of Vision. In 2006 it was released theatrically. In Germany, it was a big hit at the Fantasy Film Fest.
Brick essentially is a Film Noir set in high school. Veronica Mars, you may think, but that's not quite it. While VM may have coined the term "teen noir" and brought it to a wider audience, VM remains a high school series that somewhat undecidedly plays around with Noir elements. With Brick, it is the other way around.
The first thing you will notice is the language. It is all hard-boiled Noir dialogue, complete with 30s/40s slang expressions. It probably sounds more like Hammett than he himself ever did. It is that highly condensed, that archetypical. The same is true for the characters, the morally ambiguous detective, the femme fatale, the dead damsel, the mysterious man in the background, etc. What Johnson does is not a mix of Noir and high school drama, it is a transposition. Which isn't just a gimmick, btw. It is taken absolutely serious and it makes perfect sense, just as early Buffy's "high school is hell" premise did.
Visually, Rian Johnson takes some cues from film noir, but with the style already firmly established in the language, he is free to experiment a little more here. Aided by a wonderful and simple score, there is a somewhat dreamy quality to his images that reminded me just a tiny bit of Altman's noir hommage The Long Goodbye.
The entire young cast is great, especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who gives a wonderful physical performance as the hero who gets beaten up a lot on his journey.
This might sound like a sacrilege considering the classics, but Brick has become my favorite Film Noir and made it into my all-time movie top ten.
DVD Notes:
While I have the R1, the R2-UK (Optimum) has some additional extras, most notably an interview with Rian Johnson and a featurette about the making of the score.
Post by: Najemikon on September 06, 2009, 11:06:17 PM
Argh! Matthias, your thread is getting expensive. First, Madmen (which to be fair I already knew I would get, but still, I'm blaming you...) and now Brick, which I have never considered before. Stop it!
Post by: goodguy on September 06, 2009, 11:19:59 PM
Argh! Matthias, your thread is getting expensive. First, Madmen (which to be fair I already knew I would get, but still, I'm blaming you...) and now Brick, which I have never considered before. Stop it!
If it is any consolation, you will probably get it cheap. I bought mine when it was released (actually before it) and paid some hefty bucks for it.
Post by: Najemikon on September 07, 2009, 12:25:13 PM
Argh! Matthias, your thread is getting expensive. First, Madmen (which to be fair I already knew I would get, but still, I'm blaming you...) and now Brick, which I have never considered before. Stop it!
If it is any consolation, you will probably get it cheap. I bought mine when it was released (actually before it) and paid some hefty bucks for it.
Cheap as chips! 3.99 used, from a PlayTrade seller... 8)
oh yeah, 2 disc edition as well!
Post by: richierich on September 07, 2009, 04:42:40 PM
Argh! Matthias, your thread is getting expensive. First, Madmen (which to be fair I already knew I would get, but still, I'm blaming you...) and now Brick, which I have never considered before. Stop it!
If it is any consolation, you will probably get it cheap. I bought mine when it was released (actually before it) and paid some hefty bucks for it.
Cheap as chips! 3.99 used, from a PlayTrade seller... 8)
oh yeah, 2 disc edition as well!
£3.63 delivered new here - http://www.asda-entertainment.co.uk/asda/8547329.product
:tomato:
Post by: Najemikon on September 07, 2009, 05:20:18 PM
Post by: goodguy on September 08, 2009, 01:45:30 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5055002551659&locality=4) | Northfork (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0322659/) (2003) Written by: Mark & Michael Polish Directed by: Michael Polish Starring: James Woods, Nick Nolte, Duel Farnes, Daryl Hannah DVD: R2-UK Metrodome (2004) My rating: |
Cover blurb: 1955, Montana and a great flood is about to come. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above Northfork, ready to flood the valley in the name of progress.
It is the charge of a six man strong, trench-coated Evacuation Commitee to relocate the townsfolk to higher ground. But there are still tenacious stragglers. A lustful couple, a man with a pair of wives and his own Ark, a priest and the frail orphan he watches over, whose fevered visions lead him to believe he is the member of a lost band of roaming Angels desperately searching for a way home. Each one in limbo. Each one looking for a sign. Each one seeking a way to say goodbye.
Telling a beguiling story of loss & resurrection and rendered as a surreal, magical vision of America's Heartland, the Polish Brother's award winning 'Northfork' is a modern day fairytale and a testament to life, death and all that lies in between.
Jon says Quentin Tarantino, I say Hal Hartley. Jon says Coen Brothers, I say Polish Brothers.
To be honest, I'm not sure if it makes sense to compare the latter ones, but I had to get this started somehow. And it certainly seems that what Minnesota is to the Coens, Montana is to the Polish Brothers, meaning, there is a certain fondness for there respective roots in the middle of nowhere, in the "heartland"; combined with an odd and quirky sense of humor that seems to come from there.
In Northfork, that humor is more subdued and deadpan, and it only accentuates a spiritual and enigmatic story that couldn't be further away from the Coens usual antics. Northfork is such an achingly beautiful movie, it so perfectly captures a sense of loss, the longing to preserve a status quo and the dread that comes with unavoidable changes. It is deeply moving and profoundly sad, yet not entirely without hope.
I'm afraid that, even after having seen it now for the second time, I don't really know how to describe it. I intuitively understand it (I think), but I can't explain it. Go, see for yourself.
Post by: Najemikon on September 08, 2009, 09:34:56 PM
Oh yeah, I got a Brick put through my door today... ;)
Looks right up my street. No idea why it passed me by.
Post by: Najemikon on September 13, 2009, 08:03:49 PM
Why am I telling you this here? On my way out, I saw next to the checkout the two disc Brick for £2... A solitary pound per disc? :slaphead:
Post by: goodguy on September 14, 2009, 02:01:33 AM
Why am I telling you this here? On my way out, I saw next to the checkout the two disc Brick for £2... A solitary pound per disc? :slaphead:
If I hadn't already killed myself in Kathy's West Wing thread, I would do it now.
Post by: goodguy on September 25, 2009, 09:19:17 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=097368938045&locality=0) | Dexter (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/) (Season 3, 2008) Created by: ?? Seriously, I have no idea. Starring: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter DVD: R1-US Paramount/Showtime (Aug 18, 2009) My rating: - |
Cover blurb: Dexter is back and more killer than ever! The groundbreaking and critically acclaimed original series from Showtime returns on DVD with all 12 thrilling and riveting episodes in DEXTER: The Third Season. Having faced his darkest demons and eluding the FBI, Dexter has a new take on taking life, when a high profile case puts him in the sights of the most powerful and influential DA in Miami. Will Dexter's need to do away with those who slip through the cracks finally lead to his undoing? Or will his new friend in the DA's office prove to be all he needs to have his cake and eat it too?
Well, I'm still completely in love with Dexter's foulmouthed sister, so that's a plus. Michael C. Hall as Dexter is still terrific and there are no weak links in the remaining cast. But the shows premise of a sociopath unable to feel any emotions and just faking it starts to wear really thin and becomes more and more unbelievable during its 3rd season. Yet, the 4th season is about to start and I think I read somewhere that a 5th season is already locked. Seems like Showtime really wants to run this series into the ground. I really prefer series to be prematurely cancelled instead of fizzling out.
Anyway, the 3rd season is still pretty great entertainment, but the show has definitely lost its edge. I was already miffed by the Heroin plot of S2, but despite my misgivings, it did work very well. But Dexter's new friend in S3 just isn't that interesting. Also, there aren't any flashbacks to Dexter's childhood and youth anymore, only an ongoing conversation with his father in Dexter's head. Not really that interesting either.
Post by: Touti on September 25, 2009, 09:37:10 PM
It's available on Blu-Ray at around 45$CAD for season 1, I'm thinking of buying it and give it a try.
Post by: goodguy on September 26, 2009, 12:48:40 AM
It's available on Blu-Ray at around 45$CAD for season 1, I'm thinking of buying it and give it a try.
S1 I can wholeheartedly recommend. It is definitely the sharpest in terms of writing. Among other things, I really liked the way they developed Rita (Dexter's girlfriend, played by Julie Benz) with a plot that always played a little on soap clichés, but than skillfully danced away from it. Great stuff.
Well, I'm still completely in love with Dexter's foulmouthed sister...
I was just thinking again of a scene later in S3, where she wakes up startled, having overslept, and spouts out:
(click to show/hide)
---
(*1) BTW, what is the forum policy on bad language? I'm using spoiler tags just to be on the safe side.
Post by: goodguy on September 26, 2009, 02:58:04 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=658769021639&locality=0) | Sudden Manhattan (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117775/) (1997) Written & Directed by: Adrienne Shelly Starring: Adrienne Shelly, Tim Guinee, Roger Rees DVD: R1-US Vanguard (2002) My rating: |
Cover blurb: SUDDEN MANHATTAN is an off-beat, black comedy about a New York girl in trouble. Donna, a 20-something, is jobless, single and broke. On a fateful day, reality turns itself upside down and she is suddenly faced with one absurdity after another. Men start stalking her and murders take place all around her. Full of deliciously funny moments, SUDDEN MANHATTAN weaves an intricate and engaging storyline including lovers, admirers and fortune tellers that may just hold the key to the puzzle that her life has become.
"The song of love is a shriek."
I only knew Adrienne Shelly for her work as an actress with Hal Hartley. That she also was a writer and director, I didn't learn before hearing of her senseless death, shortly before the premiere of her film Waitress (with Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion) in early 2007. That one was her last, Sudden Manhattan was her first.
The movie is a charming and quirky romantic comedy set in, well, Manhattan. It is a little neurotic, but not as grating as Woody Allen's stuff to which it has been compared. There is an overall playfulness and a surreal creativity that comes to full force towards the completely whacko finale. Highly enjoyable, with great performances throughout.
DVD Notes
Unfortunately, I can't recommend the DVD, but AFAIK it is the only one available. Full screen, washed out colors. I had high hopes for Shelly's audio commentary, but she basically says that she hasn't watched the movie for years, doesn't know what the hell she was thinking when making it, and not much more. Bummer.
Post by: goodguy on October 04, 2009, 12:08:13 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=025195046176&locality=0) | Duplicity (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135487/) (2009) Written & Directed by: Tony Gilroy Starring: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen DVD: R1-US Universal (Aug 15, 2009) My rating: |
Cover blurb: Oscar winner Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star as two sexy spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair. When they find themselves on either side of an all-out corporate war, they'll put everything on the line to remain one double-cross ahead in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. From writer/director Tony Gilroy (seven-time Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton) comes the film critics are raving about: "Roberts and Owen have sizzling chemistry in this instant classic."(Lou Lumenick, NEW YORK POST)
No they don't. Have "sizzling chemistry", I mean. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of a movie pairing with less chemistry (*1). That Roberts and Owen can do much better even with somewhat detached characters playing games with each other, they both demonstrated in Closer a few years ago. Here, about the only scene that works between them is one that gets repeated a few times throughout the movie under different circumstances; the first repetition also cleverly clueing you into what's really going on, plotwise.
The plot, of course, is all clever scheming and double-crossing in a corporate spy game. For all its cleverness, it is surprisingly pedestrian and dragged quite a bit during the two hour running time. It has a final twist, I didn't see coming. Maybe I would have, if I cared enough about it in the first place. But I'm the guy who prefers Ocean's 12 over Ocean's 11, so spending too much time on supposedly intricate plotting and twisting is a surefire way to get me bored.
The highlight of the movie is Carrie Preston as a travel agent who gets caught in the crossfire. She has a separate scene with each of the leads, and with her, even Clive Owen gets a chance to shine.
---
(*1) Maybe Kate Beckinsale and the Michael character in the Underworld movies, but there the romance angle wasn't that important anyway.
Post by: goodguy on October 04, 2009, 10:31:34 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=013138003393&locality=0) | Sunshine Cleaning (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862846/) (2008) Written by: Megan Holley Directed by: Christine Jeffs Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin DVD: R1-US Anchor Bay (Aug 25, 2009) My rating: |
Cover blurb: Academy Award Nominee Amy Adams, Golden Globe Winner Emily Blunt, and Academy Award Winner Alan Arkin find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in this "colorful, refreshingly quirky comic drama" (Leah Rozen, People).
Desperate to get her son into a better school, single mom Rose (Amy Adams) persuades her slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt) to join her in the crime scene cleanup business to make some quick cash. With the help of their ill-fated salesman father (Alan Arkin), they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, finding themselves up to their elbows in murders, suicides, and... specialized situations. But underneath the dust and grime they also come to discover a true respect for one another, and create a brighter future for the entire Lorkowski family.
"Quirky" is pretty much an indie staple nowadays, and while this one doesn't exactly disappoint, it is a bit too well-calculated as an audience pleaser. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are both gifted actresses and give strong performances. Adams has the more interesting role while Blunt is a bit underused, especially since a side plot involving her and the tech girl from 24 (name?) ends rather abruptly. All in all, pretty light fare, but nontheless worth watching.
Post by: goodguy on October 04, 2009, 02:47:43 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=013023052796&locality=0) | Nadja (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110620/) (1994) Written & Directed by: Michael Almereyda Starring: Elina Löwensohn, Martin Donovan, Galaxy Craze, Peter Fonda DVD: R1-US Artisan (2000) My rating: - |
Cover blurb: Twin brother and sister vampires struggle against each other - and the ancient curse that binds them - in this stylish, erotic thriller set against the concrete canyons of modern-day Manhattan. Fiendishly seductive Nadja (Elina Löwensohn), and her brother Edgar (Jared Harris), spend their days entombed in darkness, and their nights hiding in the heart of the New York afterhours scene. But Edgar is haunted by the painful duality of life lived in the shadows - and troubled by his twin's relentlessly evil nature. Nadja weaves her sensual spell around the niece and nephew of famed vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Fonda), Edgar joins forces with his would-be-assassin, plotting to bring down his sister in an all-out orgy of sex, blood, danger and death that the L.A. Weekly calls "Truly hot! Sex and moviemaking of the unsafest sort."
I know too little about the genre, but it seems that in the '90s, vampire movies entered the arthouse cinema, and some even in glorious black and white. The best known is probably Abel Ferrara's The Addiction, a philosophical meditation with then indie icon Lili Taylor as the lead.
Nadja is another one, a more obscure and experimental project, mixing standard 35mm material with video footage shot with a Fisher Pixelvision toy camera. It is a stylish and trippy experience with cool music from Portishead and My Bloody Valentine. There isn't much substance to it, but it sure looks eeriely beautiful. For the most part, it takes place in Manhattan, but for the finale it goes to a Carpatian castle. The dialogue is sometimes hilariously absurd and sometimes poetic, but it is played completely straight throughout. Elina Löwensohn, who also happens to have a natural Romanian accent, is gorgeous and exotic in the title role. Recommended, if you can enjoy an atmospheric B&W movie outside the standard genre fare.
Post by: goodguy on October 10, 2009, 12:42:17 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=883929077571&locality=0) | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851851/) (Season 2, 2008) Created by: Josh Friedman Starring: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones DVD: R1-US Warner (Sep 22, 2009) My rating: |
Cover blurb: The time: today. The stakes: all our tomorrows. A nascent AI, assisted by deadly cyborgs, continues to edge toward world domination and the ruin of humankind. It accepts no limits. It fears no one. Except John Connor. The machines know John, now 16, is the future leader of the human resistance. They know he is growing in abilities. They must find and terminate him. But Sarah Connor is there, protecting and instructing her son as he becomes the man he's destined to be.
The hunt is on in a season of powerful revelations, breathless pursuits and bravura effects. A mysterious 3-dot symbol (do UFOs provide a clue?), a girlfriend for John (is Cameron jealous?), a mysterious tech company ZeiraCorp (can it master the renegade software called Turk?) - Season 2's 6-disc action arsenal is locked, loaded, ready to amaze.
This show has managed to surprise me twice now. As I wrote in my previous review, I got into S1 with very low expectations, but found it pretty well done and once or twice close to outstanding. For S2 I hoped it would continue on that level, but I've read a lot of negative comments on it (even here), thus I started watching S2 with guarded curiousity - yeah, I'm a pessimistic guy by nature.
But all those nay-sayers were dead wrong. In S2, the show fully unlocks the potential that could already be seen in S1. I found the overall story arc fascinating and well developed, resulting in a great payoff as its central question is revealed in the two-parter Today Is the Day and turned around in the finale.
A number of new characters are introduced to great effect, much enhancing the dramatic qualities of the show. I especially liked Jesse (Stephanie Jacobsen in a role similar to her Kendra in BSG Razor, but much better realized here, both in writing and acting). Without spoilering anything, I just want to note that I also liked the Riley (Leven Rambin as John's new girlfriend) arc very much, although not right from the beginning. The same is true for the addition of Shirley Manson to the cast, which had me worried for a bit, but turned out to work great.
S2 has some stand-alone episodes, which may have been forced by the Network, but mostly they work great as character pieces. In addition, you can almost literally see the network notes tacked onto certain scenes or shots, but those are minor annoyances.
Bottom line: In its second year, TSCC has become a truly great show and I'm a little sad that it is gone. Dollhouse has some big shoes to fill if it wants to justify Fox' choice.
Post by: goodguy on October 23, 2009, 10:35:28 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5039036042062&locality=4) | Dollhouse (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135300/) (Season 1, 2009) Created by: Joss Whedon Starring: Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett, Olivia Williams DVD: R2-UK Fox (Sep 7, 2009) My rating: |
Cover blurb: FROM JOSS WHEDON, CREATIVE MASTERMIND BEHIND Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, comes the provocative Dollhouse, a sexy, suspensful thriller starring the stunningly talented Eliza Dushku.
As an "Active," the mysterious Echo (Dushku) serves as an unwitting agent of Dollhouse, an illegal underground organisation that provides its elite clientele with programmable human beings. Actives receive personality imprints, allowing them to temporarily become anyone or anything - the perfect burglar, lover, spy, or assassin. Now, with the FBI and her own shadowy past closing in, Echo must face a rogue Active who will stop at nothing to bring Dollhouse down - forever.
Since I briefly mentioned Dollhouse in my Terminator: TSCC review, the first thing to get out of the way: Joss Whedon was right. Commenting upon Fox's decision regarding both shows, he said that the better show got cancelled.
As everyone else said, Dollhouse really improves with episode 1x06, but don't be fooled into thinking it turns suddenly brilliant. The first five episodes are really aweful generic crap, with 1x06, the backstory gets more focus and becomes more interesting, but only in a "wonder with what twists they will come up with next"-way. To me, that is always the least interesting thing about any show. The characters (and not only the dolls) remain pretty lifeless throughout and the show doesn't improve visually at all, continuing in the same flashy but dull style it started with.
I remember Joss Whedon telling over and over the story how he invented the show basically as a way for Eliza Dushku to show off her versatility. Sadly she doesn't have that much. Jennifer Garner did a better job on Alias with portraying different personas, and both are not even in the same game as Toni Collette on United States of Tara.
Olivia Williams does a pretty good job as head of the Dollhouse, but that too is a very generic role. I liked Amy Acker as Dr. Saunders, but she is underused. Surprisingly, I also liked Fran Kranz as Topher, the resident genius and doll programmer.
Much fuss has been made about the unaired final-final episode of the season, 1x13 Epitaph One. Despite the general opinion, as an episode, it isn't really that great. But it jumps 10 years forward in the future and gives a condensed view of the shows concepts, ideas and possible developments. As such, it is more an interesting footnote than anything else.
The DVD also contains the discarded original pilot. It certainly is better than the new one (1x01 Ghost), but again the difference in quality is not earth-shattering.
Bottom line: Dollhouse is an interesting premise executed badly in almost every possible way.
Post by: goodguy on October 27, 2009, 07:05:48 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5060034576426&locality=4) | The Wicker Man (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070917/) (UK 1973) Written by: Anthony Shaffer Directed by: Robin Hardy Starring: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland DVD: R2-UK Optimum (3-Disc CE, 2006) My rating: - |
Cover blurb: Since its release in 1973, The Wicker Man has held an enduring fascination for audiences, commanding a devotion that most films can only dream of. A unique and bona fide horror masterpiece, the film can now be seen in its original theatrical version and Director's Cut including 15 minutes of footage that was thought lost for decades!
When a young girl mysteriously disappears, Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. But this pastoral community, led by the strange Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) is not what it seems as the devoutly religious detective soon uncovers a secret society of wanton lust and pagan blasphemy.
Brilliantly scripted by Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth, Frenzy) and featuring an astounding performance by the legendary Christopher Lee, director Robin Hardy's atmospheric use of location, unsettling imagery and haunting soundtrack gradually builds to one of the most terrifying and iconic climaxes in modern cinema.
This is the second time this year that a much-hailed masterpiece of British '70s cinema falls a little flat for me. A few months ago, I watched "O Lucky Man!" (also made in 1973) for the first time and was similarly underwhelmed. But I digress.
All my warning bells should have gone off as Jon called this the "Citizen Kane of horror movies" in his recent LTROI review. They didn't, because Jon turned that phrase into praise for LTROI, and I happen to agree with him on that.
First of all, The Wicker Man isn't really a horror movie. It's a thriller that goes a bit on the weird side, but isn't overly imaginative. A bit folk-singing, lyrics with corny sexual subtext, a bit nude dancing - those wacky pagans! The main problem: all of this is more funny than poetic and remains so as the creepiness is supposed to slowly increase. Still, Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee give mostly solid performances and I suppose I shouldn't complain about Britt Ekland being naked (although there is a body double involved in addition to her being dubbed).
Anyway, I was amused for about the first half of the movie and I got a bit bored during the second half as it became pretty clear where this would all end. As for the ending itself, I didn't found it terrifying as so many have claimed, just again a bit silly.
I'm not sure why this movie is regarded so special. It lacks the haunted and poetic atmosphere that, for example, Picnic at Hanging Rock has. It lacks the true weirdness and beauty that you can find in Czech surrealist movies of that time, for example Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. It might be an improvement over the usual Hammer horror stuff Christopher Lee was doing at the time, but seriously, that's not a big achievement.
DVD Notes
I watched the two documentaries included in this release (The Wicker Man Enigma and Burnt Offering) and found the production history more interesting than the movie itself. I didn't bother with the Lee/Hardy interview or the commentary.
Post by: Najemikon on October 27, 2009, 02:24:12 PM
Of course I didn't, though going by your review I bet you wouldn't find much difference. ;) First things first, while it isn't a genre film, it is predominantly Horror; it's an horrific, abstract and nightmarish situation. Some class it as Fantasy, but if you drag it right back to the core genres then that means it has to be Horror. Anyway, I'm far more concerned about your reference to O Lucky Man. Where the heck did you pull that from and who has been telling you it's a classic of British cinema? It's a tolerated oddity at most! No-one ever confuses it with the term classic over here. Then again maybe I've led a sheltered life and Rich will come up with a passionate defence... :laugh:
I can't remember where I first read the quote "the Citizen Kane of Horror", but I remember disagreeing. By it's very nature it has little of the technical endeavour. However then I started to think about it more and couldn't find another candidate, and by the time I'd seen it again, I was enthusiastically agreeing. It comes down to the substance and it's very clever, and deceptively intricate.
Traditional horror features a fantasy monster and therefore can be dismissed as silly by people not wishing to engage such nonsense. Even LTROI has this safety net. Other horrors piggyback on accepted ideals such as the Bible, giving The Exorcist and The Omen weight. But they can still be dismissed as silly. The Wicker Man is silly (or is happy to appear so, like the inhabitants of the island), but cannot be dismissed because it is absolutely authentic. Your average Christian would see the island as the natural end-point of a promiscuous society. I suppose it is dated now, but back in 1973, Britain had just emerged from the brief Swinging Sixties and the birth of the teenager and the moral God-fearing guardians were seeing things start to crumble.
While I like your review, albeit disagreeing, it does surprise me that you make no reference to religion or faith. I'm not religious at all, but I do respect their position. Therefore, the first time I saw The Wicker Man, I thought it was too silly to be taken seriously, but on multiple subsequent viewings it clicked and even when I think about Howie now and the situation he finds himself in, it makes my skin crawl. It's a viable situation and he is physically and spiritually helpless, so in that sense, I think he's more alone than anyone has ever been in cinema. He hasn't even got a church to retreat to. Finally, because I believed in Howie, I did find the ending as awful as I'd been led to believe.
They're attacking not just him, but they're undermining everything he's built his life on. He's relying on his faith to see him through the most testing situation possible and I like the sense that regardless of the outcome, his life will be irrevocably altered. It's this fundamental strength of the story and attention to detail that set it apart.
Out of interest, which version did you watch? Some find the theatrical cut less obvious. Certainly it's a film I hope you will come back to. As another comparison with Citizen Kane and a few others, it was only second or third viewings where I really got it.
EDIT: Forgot to mention. This theory of silliness expands on what I've been saying recently that proper horrors go out of their way to make you question what you're seeing. The folk-dancing nudes or people in animal masks are the "wtf" moment. Just like a chimp armed with a razor blade (Phenomena)... :stars:
Post by: goodguy on October 27, 2009, 08:47:18 PM
But on to "The Wicker Man". You are right, I didn't talk about faith or religion. What I write up here, usually aren't proper reviews, more random notes and comments. If I had to come up with something as elaborate as your usual reviews, I probably would have to spend half a day writing it.
The antagonism of Christianity versus the "old gods" is of course central to the movie; it's so obvious that I skipped it. Plus, it doesn't really work for me, because Howie mostly comes of as a righteous prick - even in the director's cut, which softens that impression a tiny bit with the introductory scenes on the mainland. He doesn't appear so much as a man whose faith is tested, more as someone who is unable to deal with or accept anything outside his limited experience. Part of that might be deliberate; to make us free-spirited viewers sympathize with the inhabitants of the island. That didn't work for me either. I was neither enthralled nor offended by the villagers, and I certainly didn't experience a WTF moment - mostly I rolled my eyes at the trashy second-rate eroticism with which they were portrayed. Again I have to refer to "Picnic at Hanging Rock", which does a so much better job at creating an eerie and seducing atmosphere - without needing any nudity btw.
Some spoilers follow:
(click to show/hide)
What you say about traditional horror versus "authentic" horror just doesn't apply to me. I'm not a horror fan in any way, but I would never dismiss a movie as silly, because of its supernatural components. I don't see that as a safety net. Like you, I'm not a religious person, but I don't need a rational explanation for everything. To go back to "Picnic" once more; that movie too has no supernatural element, but it is ambiguous and open-ended, not neatly tied up.
Post by: Najemikon on October 27, 2009, 09:43:48 PM
You might appreciate a couple of points in the Empire essay who put it much better than I'm attempting to! http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=7892
I vaguely remember Picnic at Hanging Rock, but it was a long time ago. Certainly never got under my skin like The Wicker Man, probably because there is so much in this film I can identify with, atmosphere aside. My reference to authentic horror doesn't apply to me either, but I can appreciate it. But there are a lot of people who can't begin to take vampires and ghoulies seriously. These pagan fellas in the silly hats make much more sense to them!
By the way, I do not spend half a day writing a review! Three, maybe four hours at most... :bag: No seriously, I just waffle. If I did it properly I'd manage to shorten them.
Post by: goodguy on October 27, 2009, 10:49:07 PM
And I find it telling that it mentions Polanski's "Repulsion" as one of the lesser examples of non-traditional horror, overshadowed by "The Wicker Man". It has been a long time since I've seen the former, but I'm pretty sure that I would find it superior.
If I'm supposed to sympathize with Howie right away, then the entire setup makes even less sense. And I did get that religion is the central theme, even if I forgot it to mention in my original review. :bag: The problem is that it falls flat, there isn't any real discourse about it, mostly because Howie is unable to express his "faith" - he is just appalled and speechless, no match for the eloquent Lord Summerisle.
Spoilers again:
(click to show/hide)
Come to think of it: In its best moments, the baffled interactions of Howie with the villagers indeed reminded me a little of the land-surveyor K. in Kafka's "The Castle", who pretty clearly is the character we sympathize with. But that's a largely superficial connection; the movie was never in danger of approaching the thematic richness of that novel. ;)
Post by: Najemikon on October 28, 2009, 01:33:30 AM
Just a quick note that the Empire essay Jon has linked to contains heavy spoilers.
Oops, good point. Their essays are not reviews as such, more studies to put particular films in context, so can be very spoilerific.
If I'm supposed to sympathize with Howie right away, then the entire setup makes even less sense. And I did get that religion is the central theme, even if I forgot it to mention in my original review. :bag: The problem is that it falls flat, there isn't any real discourse about it, mostly because Howie is unable to express his "faith" - he is just appalled and speechless, no match for the eloquent Lord Summerisle.
Spoilers again:(click to show/hide)
I think he does express his faith by simply by being there and trying to see it through. He never falters.
(click to show/hide)
Post by: goodguy on November 08, 2009, 05:49:53 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5050824166555&locality=4) | Trouble Every Day (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204700/) (FR 2001) Written by: Claire Denis & Jean Pol Fargeau Directed by: Claire Denis Starring: Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, Béatrice Dalle, Alex Descas DVD: R2-UK Prism (2005) My rating: |
Cover blurb: Shane (VINCENT GALLO) and his new wife June (TRICIA VESSEY) are newlyweds honeymooning in Paris. Although happy, their relationship becomes strained when Shane secretly visits the medical clinic where he was once involved in experimental research on the human libido. Before long, the effect of this research becomes terrifyingly obvious, and Shane seeks self-exile in a desperate effort to find a cure.
All the while, Coré (BEATRICE DALLE), a Parisian woman, preys upon the men she lures with the promise of sexual gratification. This extreme behaviour mirrors Shane’s own base instincts, and their mutual desire for carnal violence suggests a deep-seated bond which must be consolidated. Soon the two will enter a realm of experience far beyond anything they have known…
Raw, poetic and powerful, this extraordinary film explores the dark side of desire in a way that no other film before it ever dared.
The best horror movies are made by filmmakers who are only loosely interested in the genre. "Trouble Every Day" by Claire Denis is such a movie. It is a descendant of Ferrara's "The Addiction" and a more elusive and adult sister to Alfredson's "Let the Right One In". It is unmistakably an arthouse movie, but in the best sense of the word. It is slow and moody, but it also is bloody and gory, and more importantly, it is deeply unsettling and disturbing.
Vampirism or cannibalism as a metaphor for the darker side of sexuality is certainly nothing new. But Denis' is not only unflinching in exploring these primal instincts, she does so by imbuing a shocking tenderness into the most visceral scenes.
The movie is masterfully structured and paced, although fans of more traditional horror fare probably will find it too slow. It is devoid of any exposition and the characters remain somewhat enigmatic. Dialogue is sparse, the story is told visually with an assured sensual style that ranges from subtle to breathtaking. An effective score by the Tindersticks is essential to the movie's atmosphere.
Vincent Gallo and Beatrice Dalle play the two "monsters". Gallo gives a restrained performance, desperately fighting for control, but the danger always boiling underneath. Dalle is magnificent as the more primal character that is already beyond hope. In the movie's most terrifying and disturbing scene, she is so raw and animalistic and yet innocent and almost child-like, it is beyond description.
DVD Notes
While the cover lists partial English subtitles for the French dialogue, there are actually none. Doesn't matter much though, because there is little dialogue anyway and most of it is in English. The only extra on the DVD is the trailer. If you are fluent in French, the R2-FR would be the better choice, because it includes an audio commentary.
Post by: goodguy on December 01, 2009, 02:48:27 PM
Post by: goodguy on December 01, 2009, 02:50:05 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=4047553500683&locality=5) | Eagle Eye (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1059786/) (2008) Written by: John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz, Dan McDermott Directed by: D. J. Caruso Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan DVD: R2-DE Paramount (Mar 27, 2009) My rating: |
IMDb Summary: Jerry and Rachel are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move.
God, what a boring piece of crap. A pedestrian and far too long setup recycles the oldest clichés available to introduce the characters. When the action finally kicks in, it pretty much moves without pause - and without a single moment of excitement. Then the movie again grinds to a halt for the proper patriotic wrap-up (with medals and all, seriously) and if this wasn't enough, a romantic coda gets tacked on.
If you thought Monaghan was wasted in MI3, here she is even more so. And LaBeouf? Well, the only other movie I've seen him in was the first Transformers. There he was quite good - as a teenager. I'm not sure if he can pull off an adult action hero yet, even in a better movie. Judging him by this one would be unfair.
Post by: goodguy on December 01, 2009, 03:53:44 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=053939656527&locality=0) | Citizen Kane (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/) (1941) Written by: Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles Directed by: Orson Welles Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore DVD: R1-US Warner (2001) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: Orson Welles' timeless masterwork is more than a groundbreaking film. Presented here in a magnificent 60th anniversary digital transfer with revitalized digital audio from the highest quality surviving elements, it is also grand entertainment, sharply acted (starting many of Welles' Mercury Players on the road to thriving film careers) and superbly directed with inspired visual flair. Depicting the controversial life of an influential publishing tycoon, this Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winner (1941) is rooted in themes of power, corruption, vanity - the American Dream lost in the mystery of a dying man's last word: "Rosebud."
That's the third time I've given this a try, but it just doesn't improve. Yes, the cinematography is masterful. And the circular storytelling is probably pretty sophisticated, at least for its time. So I probably should appreciate it more, even if the story itself isn't really that interesting. The problem is, it is all so damn economical. You can explain every shot and every scene and it makes perfect sense (well, except for some awkward attempts at being funny). But it doesn't have a soul. And frankly, aside from Welles himself, the acting is less than stellar.
Post by: goodguy on December 01, 2009, 07:50:41 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=025192022265&locality=0) | Twilight (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1099212/) (2008) Written by: Melissa Rosenberg, based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson DVD: R1-US Summit (Mar 21, 2009) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) doesn't expect much when she moves to the small town of Forks, Washington, until she meets the mysterious and handsome Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) - a boy who's hiding a dark secret: he's a vampire. As their worlds and hearts collide, Edward must battle the bloodlust raging inside him as well as a coterie of undead that would make Bella their prey. Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling sensation by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight adds a dangerous twist to the classic story of star-crossed lovers.
Well, this movie probably doesn't need another review. I'm only putting it here to show that it gets a higher rating from me than the previous one. And I'm only half-joking, because as far as the purely subjective enjoyment of both movies goes, those ratings give a pretty accurate reflection. If you will never take me seriously again after that, so be it.
I haven't been subjected to all the obsessive craziness that apparently surrounds Meyer's books and the movie. Maybe if I had been, I would lash out against it too. But the only reason it popped on my radar were Hardwicke and Stewart.
Neither of them disappoints. They hit the right tone, especially in the early stages: the portrayal of Bella's relationship with her father, her introduction to the new school, her first encounters with Edward are all done pretty well. Stewart plays Bella with intelligence and wariness, even a little snarky, and although that should work against it, it also sells the more swoony moments.
I'm probably more forgiving than I should be and I can easily agree with a lot of the criticism against the movie, but the fact remains that I enjoyed it even on second viewing. The beautiful and lush photography helps, even if the camera gets more and more swirly towards the end. No cinematic masterpiece, but as far as escapist mainstream entertainment goes, this isn't so bad.
Post by: Najemikon on December 01, 2009, 09:26:56 PM
Citizen Kane (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/) (1941)
But it doesn't have a soul. And frankly, aside from Welles himself, the acting is less than stellar. And frankly, aside from Welles himself, the acting is less than stellar.
Don't be concerned, I'm starting another mega-thread debating Kane! I was just going to say that you put into words why I like it so much. Or at least the opposite, because it does have a soul... ;)
I thought the acting was typical of its time, but surely you aren't including Joseph Cotten or Dorothy Comingore? :shrug:
Eagle Eye (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1059786/) (2008)
God, what a boring piece of crap. A pedestrian and far too long setup recycles the oldest clichés available to introduce the characters. When the action finally kicks in, it pretty much moves without pause - and without a single moment of excitement. Then the movie again grinds to a halt for the proper patriotic wrap-up (with medals and all, seriously) and if this wasn't enough, a romantic coda gets tacked on.
If you thought Monaghan was wasted in MI3, here she is even more so. And LaBeouf? Well, the only other movie I've seen him in was the first Transformers. There he was quite good - as a teenager. I'm not sure if he can pull off an adult action hero yet, even in a better movie. Judging him by this one would be unfair.
Well, I was surprised when you picked it! :laugh: I gave it a good review because I liked the overall plot but recognised it was otherwise pap. I did like the action though and that was my main reason for watching. Looking forward to seeing it again actually. Would Indiana Jones be your thing? Just thinking LaBeouf has more to do in that, though I won't go so far as to say he was particularly better and the film overall has some awful flaws.
By the way, I have a feeling Lakeview Terrace might be up your street. No, I don't mean on a map...
Post by: goodguy on December 01, 2009, 10:27:35 PM
Citizen Kane (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/) (1941)because it does have a soul... ;)
No, it doesn't. :P
I thought the acting was typical of its time, but surely you aren't including Joseph Cotten or Dorothy Comingore? :shrug:
Cotton especially got on my nerves when playing old Jed, interviewed in the hospital.
Eagle Eye (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1059786/) (2008)Well, I was surprised when you picked it! :laugh: I gave it a good review because I liked the overall plot but recognised it was otherwise pap. I did like the action though and that was my main reason for watching. Looking forward to seeing it again actually. Would Indiana Jones be your thing? Just thinking LaBeouf has more to do in that, though I won't go so far as to say he was particularly better and the film overall has some awful flaws.
I picked it in the spur of a moment, against my own better judgement. And, hey, Jon gave it a 4-star review, so it can't be that bad. :redcard: As for LaBeouf, while I liked him well enough in Transformers, I wouldn't be drawn to a movie because of him. And Indiana Jones = Spielberg = keep it away from me. Come to think of it, who was EP on Eagle Eye? Yep.
By the way, I have a feeling Lakeview Terrace might be up your street. No, I don't mean on a map...
Sorry. Did read your review, but it didn't pique my interest. But I've heard he made a great remake of that '70s British island thingie. :P
Post by: goodguy on December 29, 2009, 02:29:11 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=3333297121170&locality=8) | Dom za vesanje (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097223/) (Yugoslavia 1988, AKA Time of the Gypsies) Written by: Gordan Mihic & Emir Kusturica Directed by: Emir Kusturica Starring: Davor Dujmovic, Bora Todorovic, Ljubica Adzovic, Husnija Hasimovic, Sinolicka Trpkova, Elvira Sali DVD: R2-FR Carlotta (2007) My rating: |
I decided to re-watch (and review) this before getting into the opera adaptation I recently bought.
Time of the Gypsies is a film entirely in Romani, the Gypsy language. The literal translation of the original title is "house for hanging".
The film tells the story of Perhan, a Gypsy orphan who lives with his grandmother, his crippled younger sister and his womanizing uncle in a Gypsy village on the outskirts of Skopje (Macedonia). Perhans days are filled with caring for his sister, working a small lime oven, practicing his telekinetic skills and adopting a turkey. A blossoming first love between him and Azra, a neighbor's girl, is strongly opposed by Azra's mother due to Perhan's lack of wealth. As the grandmother heals the son of the Gypsy king Ahmed, she wants him to take Perhan's sister to a hospital in Ljubljana. Perhan insists on accompanying her.
In Ljubljana, Ahmed persuades Perhan to follow him to Italy and slowly draws him into his shady business, which consists of child trafficking and running a small gang of burglars, beggars and prostitutes from a camp outside of Milan. The promise of making a fortune to provide for his sister and grandmother, to build a house and to put up the dowry for Azra causes him to departure more and more from values and beliefs he was raised upon by his grandmother.
When Ahmed has a heart attack, he sets up Perhan as the new boss. That however results in a fallout between Ahmed and his brothers and he sends Perhan back to Yugoslavia to acquire new members for the gang. But upon return to his home village Perhan finds that nothing is as he has hoped.
Kusturica weaves his tale of love, family, lost innocence and revenge in wondrous and magical images, with a rich symbolism deeply rooted in Gypsy mythology, while at the same time maintaining a gritty and unjudging realism in depicting the Gypsy life. Humor and comedy, sometimes venturing into the grotesque, are balanced seemingly effortless with touching tragedy and moments of uninhibited joy.
As in Kusturica's mesmerizing images, deep sadness and extreme exaltation, melancholia and euphoria, not as opposites, but synthesized are also the key elements of Goran Bregovic's magnificent score. To a large part it is based on a few Gypsy traditionals, but developed with great variety.
More superlatives are needed to describe the actors. Almost all of them are not only amateurs, but also actual Gypsies. Wonderful fresh and captivating performances throughout, even in minor roles.
Time of the Gypsies is such a poetic and beautiful film; it is a film not to be watched, but to be experienced, to be completely immersed in its images, music and sound. To me it is, ever since I've first seen it and without the shadow of a doubt, the greatest film ever made.
DVD Notes
The French release of 2007 is the first DVD release of the film in the western hemisphere. The film has been remastered and both a single and a 2-disc special edition are available, but sadly with French subtitles only.
The only English friendly version I know of is the VHS released in the US in 1995, although I've also heard of (but never seen) a Laserdisc. While searching for the trailer and a clip from the film on YouTube, I also found out that the entire film seems to be available there in 10min pieces. Hardly the proper way to watch it, but still...
Aside from the theatrical version I talked about here and which runs about 02:20h, there is also a 5h TV version. I've seen it once in the mid-90s, and a few years ago it became available on a Russian DVD (with Russian subtitles).
Trailer and Clip from the Film
Below is the international theatrical trailer and a clip from the film, showing the famous sequence of the St. George's Day celebration (Ederlezi).
Post by: goodguy on December 30, 2009, 02:52:54 AM
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C9vmVvrXL._SX100_.jpg) | Le temps des gitans (L'opéra punk) (FR 2007, AKA Time of the Gypsies - Punk Opera) Libretto & Music: No Smoking Orchestra Directed by: Emir Kusturica Starring: Stevan Andjelković, Milica Todorović, Dr. Nele Karajlić, Gorica Petrović DVD: R2-FR France Télévisions Distribution (2008) My rating: |
In 2007, Emir Kusturica adapted his movie Time of the Gypsies (see previous review (http://www.dvdcollectorsonline.com/index.php/topic,3213.msg100994.html#msg100994)) as a punk opera for the Parisian Opera Bastille. Libretto (again, mostly in Romani) and almost completely new music were a collaborative effort of the No Smoking Orchestra (of which Kusturica is a part).
The term "punk" is a little misleading, though. The score is a mix of gypsy music and rock/pop, the latter often nicely unpolished, but punk it is not. The story follows that of the movie closely enough, but it has been simplified and streamlined. On the plus side, this results in the part of Azra (Perhan's girlfriend) being slightly extended.
Overall, the adaptation is more folkloristic and circus-like, the tone much lighter and closer to Kusturica's second gypsy film Black Cat, White Cat than the one it is based on.
But even if the opera version lacks the depth and richness of the original, Kusturica's staging frequently is imaginative and beautiful and the music likewise has some great moments.
For the leading parts of Perhan and Azra, Kusturica again worked with amateurs. Both Stevan Andjelković and Milica Todorović were contestants on a Serbian TV show and do quite a remarkable job.
Trailer and Clip
I looked around on YouTube and found these two clips. The first one, while not an official trailer, works pretty well as such. The second clip is the St. George's Day scene as staged in the opera and makes for a nice comparison to the one I included in my movie review.
Post by: goodguy on January 06, 2010, 02:18:28 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=012233464320&locality=0) | Trucker (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1087527/) (2008) Written & Directed by: James Mottern Starring: Michelle Monaghan, Jimmy Bennett, Nathan Fillion DVD: R1-US Monterey Media (Jan 5, 2010) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan, Mission: Impossible III, Gone Baby Gone), a vivacious and successful independent truck driver, leads a carefree life of long-haul trucking, one night stands and all-night drinking with Runner (Nathan Fillion, Serenity, Waitress, "Castle") until the evening her estranged 11-year-old son, Peter (Jimmy Bennett, young James Kirk in Star Trek) is unexpectedly dropped at her door.
Peter hasn't seen his mother since he was a baby and wants to live with Diane as little as she wants him, but they are stuck with each other - at least for now, while his father Len (Benjamin Bratt, "The Cleaner") is in the hospital.
Burdened with this new responsibility and seeing the life of freedom she's fought for now jeopardized, Diane steps reluctantly into her past and looks sidelong at an uncharted future that is not as simple or straightforward as she had once believed possible.
I was looking forward to see Michelle Monaghan in a leading role for a long time, but after its premiere at the Tribeca Festival in early 2008 the movie pretty much disappeared until last October, when it finally got a (very limited) US release. Roger Ebert wrote an enthusiastic review, even considering Monaghan's performance worthy of an Oscar nomination.
So, does the movie deserve such praise and is this a career-defining performance for Monaghan? I hoped so, but sadly, the answer is "not really" in both cases.
While the clichéd and predictable story (just look at the summary) is handled with great restraint and subtlety, the movie never fully escapes it. Yes, there is a certain unsentimental and true-to-life approach, but sometimes, the reluctance on both sides of the mother-kid relationship feels forced. You almost hear the scriptwriter saying: Look, we don't do the sappy melodrama thing!
Monaghan, as the tough mother trucker (sorry, I had to borrow that one), is almost good, but - I don't know how to put this - you can see her acting too much. Not in an over-the-top way, mind you. It is more her belabored trying to give a naturalistic performance, but without being able to fully embody the role. From the very beginning (the sad look in the mirror after a one night stand), you still see the conscious choice an actress is making for a certain expression or gesture. The remaining cast, including Jimmy Bennett as the kid, is actually more at home in their roles than she is.
After I was so enamored with Monaghan in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, I frequently said that she was wasted in lesser supporting roles (MI3, Eagle Eye), but maybe I was wrong. Clearly the lighter stuff seems to suit her better than the dramatic lead she has to play here.
Due to high expectations, I may have been overly critical in my comments. All in all, this certainly isn't a bad movie; I just couldn't find it to be a very remarkable one either.
Post by: goodguy on January 06, 2010, 11:56:14 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=782891001198&locality=0) | The American Astronaut (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243759/) (2001) Written & Directed by: Cory McAbee Starring: Cory McAbee, Rocco Sisto, Greg Russell Cook, Annie Golden, James Ransone DVD: R0-US Facets (2005) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: SPACE TRAVEL HAS BECOME A DIRTY WAY OF LIFE dominated by derelicts, grease monkeys, and hard-boiled interplanetary traders such as Samuel Curtis. Written, directed, and starring Cory McAbee of the legendary cult band The Billy Nayer Show, this sci-fi, musical western uses flinty black and white photography, rugged Lo-Fi sets and the spirit of the final frontier. We follow Curtis on his Homeric journey to provide the all-female planet of Venus with a suitable male, while pursued by an enigmatic killer, Professor Hess. The film features music by The Billy Nayer Show and some of the most original rock 'n' roll scenes ever committed to film.
When I said Star Trek it is not in the What'ya-got-thread, I didn't know the half of it. Described as a black & white sci-fi/western musical, I guess I expected something like "Firefly: The Musical", but even if you can picture that, it would still be way too conventional. And just to make note of it, the movie premiered in early 2001, nearly two years before Firefly.
Anyway. Words like eccentric, absurd, eclectic don't even begin to describe this oddity. The plot has Sam Curtis (played by Cory McAbee), a smuggler and the titular hero, do a complicated series of tradings in the hope to get rich. A black cat, a real-life-girl in a music box, and the-boy-who-saw-a-woman's-breast are the goods that are exchanged on a journey from Ceres to Jupiter to Venus, with a side-stop in an actual barn floating in space.
Still with me? The villain of the piece is Professor Hess (Rocco Sisto), who is also the narrator and has an unexplained history with our hero. Hess is a guy who kills without reason, which means, he can't kill you if he has one. Oh, and it's his birthday, as he likes to tell everyone.
The black & white visuals are as simple as they are stunning, with a strong expressionist touch. The special effects are decidedly lo-tech (a disintegrator pistol turns bodies into heaps of sand that are thrown from off-screen) and the space travel transitions are done via series of static paintings. The music numbers are probably best described as country-punk, mostly with nonsensical lyrics. It is absolutely exhilarating - if you are in that sort of thing. The performances are bold with a slightly amateurish feel, and I mean that in a good way.
The movie is an unbelievable and insane ride almost from beginning to end. It only fails to get full marks due to some really bad patches after the first hour, but it soon finds its footing again.
Trailer and Clip
Below are the trailer and a clip of the first song that happens in the movie (to give you an idea of the music numbers).
Post by: goodguy on March 21, 2010, 11:31:25 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5060126870388&locality=4) | In the City of Sylvia (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0809425/) (ES/FR 2007) Written & Directed by: José Luis Guerin Starring: Pilar López de Ayala, Xavier Lafitte DVD: R2-UK Axiom Films (Jun 22, 2009) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA is one of the most acclaimed European films of recent years and marks the international breakthrough of Spanish director, José Luis Guerín.
In the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock, Eric Rohmer and Robert Bresson, Guerín presents the deceptively simple tale of a man seeking the woman he met six years before. With only a sketch to identify her, he searches the streets and cafes of Strasbourg, hoping to encounter the object of his desire.
Seductively shot and featuring excellent performances by Xavier Lafitte and Pilar López de Ayala, IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA is a sensual and enigmatic journey that beautifully captures the complexity of human emotions.
The name-dropping in the cover blurb isn't entirely wrong, but it is a bit misleading. You need to think of Hitchcock without plot and Rohmer without dialogue. The film celebrates (and, with a soft irony, also criticizes) the obsessive romantic pursuit of an idealized image. Despite the lack of a traditional narrative, there is plenty of dramatic tension and suspense, but it is created through composition, visual and aural, through patterns, structure and style.
This is one of the most remarkable, beautiful and pure films of recent years. During the last few days, I have watched it three times, and I could so again. Very highly recommended.
Post by: goodguy on July 02, 2010, 07:44:39 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=4010324025203&locality=5) | Silent Hill (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384537/) (2006) Written by: Roger Avary Directed by: Christophe Gans Starring: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Alice Krige, Jodelle Ferland DVD: R2-DE Concorde (2006) My rating: |
IMDb Summary: A woman goes in search for her daughter, within the confines of a strange, desolate town called Silent Hill. Based on the video game.
Despite some creepy monster design and the occasional atmospheric and eerie shots, too much of the early parts with Rose (Radha Mitchell) running around the town rely on worn out horror situations. I actually enjoyed it a little bit more once Christabella (Alice Krige) and her group turn up, although the change in tone at that time doesn't really do the movie any favor either. The writing is clumsy throughout, not only when giving exposition, but in the situational dialogue as well. There is about one line in the entire movie that has some poetry, but it doesn't benefit from being used twice.
Post by: goodguy on July 02, 2010, 07:45:59 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5050582503579&locality=5) | Elizabeth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127536/) (UK 1998) Written by: Michael Hirst Directed by: Shekhar Kapur Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Richard Attenborough DVD: R2-DE Universal (2007) My rating: |
IMDb Summary: A film of the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
I don't know and don't care much about Bollywood movies, but I often enjoy a certain eclecticism, a merging of styles. Infusing an Elizabethan history drama and its medieval locations with Indian flair surely makes for one gorgeous looking movie. The plot is intriguing without being too much distracted by historical accuracy. At the center of it is a bravura performance by Cate Blanchett, who makes Elisabeth's transformation interesting and believable. Great stuff.
Post by: Najemikon on July 02, 2010, 01:11:27 PM
Post by: goodguy on July 02, 2010, 11:52:11 PM
I've always enjoyed Elizabeth too, except maybe for Kathy Burke.
Maybe only, because she somewhat stands out amongst all the pretty people?
Haven't bothered with The Golden General yet, because it seemed to get poor reviews across the board, whereas the first film was the opposite.
It's still worth watching (and I will do so tonight). I even gave both the same rating on first viewing. :bag: And I definitely liked them more then the HBO miniseries with Helen Mirren.
Post by: Najemikon on July 02, 2010, 11:58:06 PM
I've always enjoyed Elizabeth too, except maybe for Kathy Burke.
Maybe only, because she somewhat stands out amongst all the pretty people?
No, in fact I like Kathy Burke. Her voice makes her stand out from the other accents though, coupled with I know her too well from her TV comedy work with Harry Enfield.
Post by: goodguy on July 03, 2010, 11:13:56 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5050582551037&locality=5) | Elizabeth: The Golden Age (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414055/) (UK 2007) Written by: William Nicholson, Michael Hirst Directed by: Shekhar Kapur Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Abbie Cornish, Samantha Morton DVD: R2-DE Universal (2008) My rating: |
For the most part, the sequel has the same visual splendor as the first movie, but it is less balanced in both storytelling and direction. Too much melodrama, too Braveheart-y battlefield speeches, some superfluous action scenes. But even when Kapur missteps, he still manages to dazzle, as in the underwater shots of the burning Spanish Armada.
Cate Blanchett was a promising talent when the first movie was made and an established star at the time of the second one, which actually is befitting for her role. Clive Owen as Raleigh is solid as always and Abbie Cornish adorable. And kudos to Samantha Morton, who as Maria Stuart has only a few scenes, but what a powerful performance.
Bottom line: While not as great the first one, this is still a very enjoyable movie, well worth watching.
Post by: goodguy on July 03, 2010, 11:20:04 AM
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61jQZ%2Bkq3RL._SX95_.jpg) | The Secret of Kells (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485601/) (IRL 2009) Written by: Tomm Moore, Fabrice Ziolkowski Directed by: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey DVD: R2-IRL Buena Vista/Cartoon Saloon (Aug 19, 2009) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: There are legends of a secret book, whose pages hold tremendous power to defeat the forces of darkness. Now one boy must fullfil his destiny and write the final chapter to bring light back to the world.
Brendan, a mischievous young boy, is hard at work with his uncle to strengthen the village walls as a protection against a legion of Viking raiders. In order to save his people, Brendan must embark on a secret quest that will take him beyond the world he knows into an Enchanted Forest where a host of mythical creatures await. There he will uncover the mystery, experience the magic and live the adventure of THE SECRET OF KELLS.
The Secret of Kells isn't quite on the same level as Persepolis or Sita Sings the Blues, but it still shows that the results of working within the limits of handdrawn 2D animation and a strict formal and stylized approach are simply more magical and rewarding than anything 3D animation has to offer.
Kells takes his cues from the art of illumination and indulges in a rich, ornamental style grounded by the use of basic geometric shapes. It even refrains from the use of perspective (except for the Viking attacks). A visually stunning and marvelous movie whose only weakness is a somewhat underdeveloped story that kinda fizzles out at the end.
Post by: Najemikon on July 03, 2010, 01:00:55 PM
Cate Blanchett was a promising talent when the first movie was made and an established star at the time of the second one, which actually is befitting for her role.
That's a very good point. I'll certainly give this one a go.
Post by: goodguy on July 07, 2010, 09:29:15 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5024017005891&locality=4) | The Saragossa Manuscript (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059643/) (PL 1965) Written by: Tadeusz Kwiatkowski, based on the novel by Jan Potocki Directed by: Wojciech J. Has Starring: Zbigniew Cybulski DVD: R0-UK Mr. Bongo Films (2008) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: Enter a dazzling, mysterious world of the supernatural courtesy of The Saragossa Manuscript, a magical text discovered during the Napoleonic Wars by a pair of opposing soldiers. Capt. Alphonse van Worden lives out the book's intricate, devilish storylines as he embarks on a journey across scenic Spain, now populated with ghosts, alluring demons, debauched royalty and mystical priests. Spanning centuries and nations, the manuscript's reach encompasses a wide array of stories both humorous and horrifying, gleeful and grotesque, before the final chilling revelations bring this one of a kind book to a close. Critically applauded and embraced over the years by such admirers as Jerry Garcia, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese, this swirling tapestry has been restored to its original, full length director's cut with all of its labyrinthine riddles intact.
Much less weird than one would expect from a movie that Jerry Garcia named as his favorite. It wasn't Garcia though, who put this on my radar, but rather Neil Jordan in a side comment in his AC for "The Company of Wolves".
Anyway. Based on an early 19th century novel by Polish author Jan Potocki, this is a bit like a cross between Don Quixote and the Decameron. Stories are nested within stories and the narrative framework is quite nifty, but pretty easy to follow. Shot in B&W cinemascope and with a great score by Krysztof Penderecki, the outer stories taking place in the Spanish Sierra Morena have the most visual impact in a haunted, slightly surreal way. Some of the substories unfortunately degrade somewhat into slapstick and farce, but overall it remains entertaining.
Post by: goodguy on July 07, 2010, 09:30:24 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=0711969108491&locality=4) | The Hourglass Sanatorium (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070628/) (PL 1973) Written & Directed by: Wojciech J. Has, based on short stories by Bruno Schulz Starring: Jan Nowicki DVD: R0-UK Mr. Bongo Films (2008) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: Adapted from the 1937 collection of stories by Polish author Bruno Schulz; Sanitorium Under The Sign Of The Hourglass, Wojciech Has's 1973 film version follows the journey of a young man, Joseph (Jan Nowicki), as he visits his dying father in a mysterious sanatorium. Joseph comes to realise that time itself behaves very strangely inside the walls of the asylum, and he soon finds himself immersed in a web of memories, fantasies and visions - which express the longings and frustrations of his childhood.
The film contains crazed scenes of Jews dancing together and many of the residents appear dressed as giant birds. For his part, Schulz was widely seen as Poland's answer to Kafka, he was eventually murdered by Hitler's SS army during the Nazi occupation of Poland.
A surrealist headspin, this film has been compared to the best works of Terry Gilliam, Peter Greenaway, and Luis Bunuel...
I'm glad I bought both of Has' movies together, because, while I liked "The Saragossa Manuscript" well enough, I might not have given another of his movies a try afterwards. But with this one we truly are in the realm of the surreal and the weird. While the transitions between stories in "The Saragossa Manuscript" were clearly marked, this is not the case here. The protagonist moves as seamlessly between fragments of his memories as he moves between places that cannot possibly be connected. The structure is dreamlike, but never feels arbitrary, even if one has difficulties making heads or tails of what the hell is going on. I greatly enjoyed this, but a second viewing is definitely required to make more sense of it.
Post by: goodguy on July 07, 2010, 09:31:36 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=012569591721&locality=0) | Gone with the Wind (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031381/) (1939) Written by: Sidney Howard, based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell Directed by: Victor Fleming Starring: Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland DVD: R1-US Warner (2004) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: David O. Selznick's production of Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize winner 'Gone with the Wind' is "the pinnacle of Hollywood moviemaking," Leonard Maltin of 'Entertainment Tonight' said. And in Maltin's view, "it looks better than it has in years." This sweeping Civil War-era romance won an impressive 10 Academy Awards (including Best Picture), and its immortal characters Scarlett (Vivien Leigh), Rhett (Clark Gable), Ashley (Leslie Howard), Melanie (Olivia de Havilland), Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) and Prissy (Butterfly McQueen) populate an epic story of enduring appeal across generations. Judged by many to be the greatest movie of all time, 'Gone with the Wind' now comes home in its best video edition ever!
For the most part, this is an obnoxious sentimental melodrama, which heaps misery upon misery upon its heroine in almost comic (albeit probably inadvertently) proportions. But it has its moments, especially in the early parts, as I found confirmed upon rewatching. Yes, I seem to like insufferable characters, but, really, isn't Scarlett the only sane one among all those fools happily talking about war? At least she has a certain spark and seems alive. Now that Melanie on the other hand...
As far as the cinematography goes, the silhouette shots against the horizon (or that burning warehouse) still hold up, but otherwise it isn't too remarkable, although often pretty to look at. Certainly not the "greatest movie of all time" and I hope Maltin's "pinnacle" quote is taken out of context.
Post by: goodguy on July 08, 2010, 01:03:01 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=4006680038285&locality=5) | Der freie Wille (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499101/) (DE 2006, AKA The Free Will) Written by: Matthias Glasner, Judith Angerbauer, Jürgen Vogel Directed by: Matthias Glasner Starring: Jürgen Vogel, Sabine Timoteo DVD: R2-DE Kinowelt/Arthaus (2007) My rating: |
Glasner's film about a serial rapist begins with a prologue to make it abundantly clear that its protagonist, Theo (Jürgen Vogel), is a monster who doesn't deserve our sympathy. In an almost unbearable long scene, Theo assaults a woman, brutally beats her to a bloody pulp and rapes her. We learn later that this is the third time he has done so.
9 years later. After his time in a psychiatric detention facility, Theo is about to be released to live in a halfway house, supervised by a social worker. Theo shows remorse for what he has done and he seems to have worked hard to become a different person and to control his violent urges. He gets a job in a printing company. He awkwardly attempts normal social interaction. He exercises a lot. That urge is still there, but he seems to control it.
The boss at the printing company has a daughter, Nettie (Sabine Timoteo), and Theo accidentally meets her at work for a short moment. Suddenly, the film abandons Theo and follows Nettie. She's in her mid-twenties and finally about to move out of her father's house into her own apartment. The relationship to her father is strange, almost creepy. So is the one to her ex-boyfriend. Nothing is made explicit though. But as damaged as Nettie herself may be, it is clear that she too attempts to take control of her life.
Of course, the stories of Theo and Nettie eventually come together. A chance meeting at the supermarket, an awkward, silent date at which she suddenly states that this is getting nowhere, because she doesn't like men. Well, Theo doesn't like women either. They meet again anyway, go to a movie, have nothing to say afterwards. She comes to his karate class, where he teaches her self-defense. During the sparring, she aggressively acts out against him, he takes it, calmly continuing the session.
More I will not reveal, because it could be considered spoilers. Glasner shoots all this in a matter-of-fact-style and on digital video to allow for long takes. The camera often gets very close to the actors as if it wants to crawl under their skin to see what makes them tick. The colors are desaturated. The dialog is sparse, with long stretches of silence. These aren't very articulate people. There is no score, but the sound is carefully designed.
Director and cinematographer Glasner and actor Jürgen Vogel have worked on this project for many years before the film was made. They did tons of research. But in the end they created a deeply personal story, not a social study. The script became a mere blueprint; the scenes were developed with the actors during the filming. Both Jürgen Vogel and Sabine Timoteo are terrific in raw and unflinching performances, but especially Timoteo will leave you speechless towards the end.
This is one of the best contemporary German films, but certainly not an easy one to watch. Forget about hollywoodized productions like "The Live of Others" or "Downfall". The real German cinema is elsewhere.
Post by: goodguy on July 09, 2010, 05:52:34 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=712267273027&locality=0) | Mouth to Mouth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383518/) (2005) Written & Directed by: Alison Murray Starring: Ellen Page, Natasha Wightman, August Diehl, Beatrice Brown, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos DVD: R0-US Strand Releasing (2007) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: Sherry, a young runaway meets the radical street collective SPARK - Street People Armed with Radical Knowledge - while living on the streets of Europe. They introduce her to a new life filled with substance. She travels through the continent in the SPARK van, recruiting members from street gangs and disenfranchised youth at raves and town squares finally settling in an abandoned vineyard in Portugal that will become their paradise. Harry, the group's leader begins harvesting ripe grapes and ready minds through his own methods of hard work and punishment. The stakes are high within this volatile group. Sherry is searching for a place to belong where she can still be herself. She thinks she has found this in SPARK, but when her mother comes to find her, Sherry discovers that she must pay a price for rebellion. An adventurous coming-of-age story that follows young rebellious Sherry through Europe as she loses her illusions, virginity and lip ring; MOUTH TO MOUTH considers the fine line between acceptance and manipulation.
Worth seeing for Ellen Page's committed and honest, but somewhat underdeveloped performance. And if you ever wondered why she had short hair in "Hard Candy", you will find the answer here. She joined a cult and shaved off her hair. Actually, writer/director Alison Murray's apparently did so in the late '80s. Her semi-autobiographical debut feature has enough kinetic energy to propel you through the first half hour or so, but then it becomes more and more apparent that she hasn't much to tell beyond the glaringly obvious.
Post by: goodguy on July 19, 2010, 02:51:56 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=5035822950139&locality=4) | Lola rennt (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0130827/) (DE 1998, AKA Run Lola Run) Written & Directed by: Tom Tykwer Starring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu DVD: R2-UK Columbia TriStar (2000) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who works as a small-time courier for a big-time gangster, is in huge trouble. He has accidentally left the cash from a mob deal on the subway, and he has only twenty minutes to deliver the 100,000 marks to his unforgiving boss. Desperate, he calls his girlfriend, Lola (Franka Potente), the only person who can rescue him form certain death.
As the seconds tick away and the tiniest choices become life altering, Lola must try to reach Manni before the line between fate and fortune begins to blur. One story told from three different perspectives, Run Lola Run is a veritable maze of intriguing plot twists and heart-stopping suspense in a high-octane thrill ride about one woman's desperate attempt to save her lover.
A rating of 4½ would be probably more adequate, but since Jon was so dismissive in his recent review (http://www.dvdcollectorsonline.com/index.php/topic,6515.msg119813.html#msg119813), I decided to round up. Frankly, Jon's reaction surprised me, because "Run Lola Run" bridges the gap between experimental arthouse cinema and mainstream with a postmodernist approach that is not entirely unlike the early movies of Tarantino. Of course, Tykwer is less violent, a little more philosophical, a lot more puristic, and his hommages (which are actually just little nods) to other movies show a better taste.
Now, is RLR the best video game adaptation without being based on any actual game, a cross between "Groundhog Day", Godard's "Breathless" and "Wonder Woman", a philosophical meditation on fate and chance, or a portrait of the reunited Berlin, completely in flux?
Well, it is all that and probably more, but while the movie certainly isn't without depth, it also works on a strict surface level as a fantasy of wish fulfillment that is pure Hollywood. Add to that an iconic female lead, true love that conquers all and a few thriller elements, and you are in for a fun ride.
Right from the start, the prolog ironically alternates between both choices. T. S. Elliot versus Sepp Herberger, a narrator waxing philosophically only to be dismissed by more football platitudes from a guy in uniform.
The plot and the backstory are given in the initial phone conversation between Lola and Manni that gets more and more hysterical until Lola's first glass-shattering scream. Then it's mission time for Lola. 20 minutes to get the money from her banker dad and to get to Manni before he robs a supermarket. Game on and Lola runs through Berlin to frantic techno music with spoken lyrics, Anne-Clark-style. If at first you don't succeed, repeat. Three times.
That's pretty much all that happens. There is no narrative ballast, no character motivations, no further explanations, only encounters and exchanges, although the repetitions cleverly interlock, expand and, of course, change the happenings until the final outcome is achieved. That minimalist narrative is of course what makes RLR interesting, because while it keeps the basic framework of an escapist mainstream fantasy, it throws away all the exchangeable fillings.
Tykwer uses different techniques and even different film materials to organize his story. Lola and Manni are shot on normal 35mm film, the flashbacks of Manni's initial backstory are in black and white, any scenes not involving those two are shot on video. As Lola runs into various people on her mission, a sequence of photographs shows flash-forwards to their future as generated by the ripple effect of Lola's actions. There is animation, there are split screens, an almost codified use of colors, dazzling camera moves that create a hyperkinetic visual style. The pacing and editing is flawless and the rhythm precise with ironic counterpoints and full stops, such as the sudden soap opera of Lola's dad and his mistress in the bank office.
Each segment starts with the same scene Lola leaving the apartment (and her distracted mother). Then it turns into a cartoon of Lola running down a staircase and passing a guy with a dog on the way. That's her first obstacle and the first difference between the segments, with a strong hint how the segment will play out. The song lyrics do so as well. In the first run, she is determined, but she just passively reacts. In the second run she fights head-on, with no regards for herself or the people around her. In the third run she becomes completely in tune with what is happening around her, causing her to succeed.
The final ending cannot be anything than a happy one, albeit again with a slightly ironic touch. Also, if you didn't pay attention to the bank security guard, you might have missed something.
I'm glad Jon caused me to rewatch this; I had almost forgotten why I liked Tykwer once. I also posted a few remarks (http://www.dvdcollectorsonline.com/index.php/topic,6515.msg119991.html#msg119991) directly in response to Jon's review.
And for a Berlin film that is the complete antithesis to RLR, I recommend Maria Speth's "In den Tag hinein" (AKA The Days Between).
Post by: Najemikon on July 19, 2010, 05:18:43 PM
I do agree with "Add to that an iconic female lead, true love that conquers all and a few thriller elements", although I didn't find it thrilling as I was getting bored. ;) I also did appreciate the different film styles as you pointed out, but I just can't quite see the overall point, nor how you find such relevance with other [better] films.
Post by: goodguy on July 25, 2010, 02:29:23 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=7321925004298&locality=5) | The Prestige (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/) (2006) Written by: Jonathan & Christopher Nolan, based on a story by Christopher Priest Directed by: Christopher Nolan Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine DVD: R2-DE Warner (2007) My rating: |
IMDb Summary: A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy.
The Prestige is a clever construct in a pedantic and unambigous way, and it hammers home its meaning with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Upon rewatching, the movie's first line "Did you watch closely?" becomes plainly insulting, because their is no longer a twinge of confusion or surprise to distract from its unevocative blandness. Still, the period dressing is nice to look at, the acting is solid, but overall it's an underwhelming affair.
Post by: Critter on July 25, 2010, 03:21:28 PM
Post by: Achim on July 25, 2010, 03:45:30 PM
The Prestige is a clever construct in a pedantic and unambigous way, and it hammers home its meaning with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Upon rewatching, the movie's first line "Did you watch closely?" becomes plainly insulting, because their is no longer a twinge of confusion or surprise to distract from its unevocative blandness. Still, the period dressing is nice to look at, the acting is solid, but overall it's an underwhelming affair.Having a movie with a twist still be interesting on multiple re-viewings is quite difficult. It all relies on how well the story between the opening and the twist at the end is told.
Post by: goodguy on July 26, 2010, 09:13:27 AM
Do you like any Nolan film?
I've only seen Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight. I liked Batman Begins to some extent, but I don't feel like putting it to the test by rewatching it, and I suspect my experience with the other two will reflect back negatively on it.
But the truth is, I can't even bring myself to be upset with Nolan, like others do with Tarantino or the Twilight franchise. The Prestige particularly is perfectly shrugworthy; it is mediocre, not bad. Jon claims it is intellectual, but I don't find it very engaging on that level either. It is neatly constructed with its doubled narrative viewpoint and three time periods; it taunts you to watch closely, and so there are the hats and the crushed birds, yadda, yadda. But for all its structural complexity and foreshadowing, it is surprisingly literal in its themes.
Post by: Critter on July 26, 2010, 09:20:20 AM
Post by: Najemikon on July 26, 2010, 12:10:55 PM
Post by: goodguy on July 27, 2010, 08:34:28 AM
After reading the IMDb FAQ entry on the differences between novel and movie, and after reading Achim's complaint about Inception that it "sadly lacks emotional investment", I was reminded of a scene where Cutter invents a new method for the "disappearing bird" number.
(click to show/hide)
But despite all those increased costs, Achim's complaint applies to The Prestige as well; the characters remain flat and don't resonate with the viewer. I haven't read the novel and I'm not saying the changes are wrong, but even comparing Nolan to Cutter might give him too much credit.
Post by: Najemikon on July 27, 2010, 09:44:16 AM
For one thing, I don't quite agree with Achim. The emotional investment is there in Inception, but it is a labyrinthine construction and it's going to take a couple of viewings to unlock it. Perfectly fine. Not unlike other films, Vertigo for one. I'm sure Achim did not mean that comment to be applied to Nolan's career though!
Next your complaints about The Prestige are without merit. Each of Nolan's films so far is about grieving in some ways and self/selfish-sacrifice in others. Ramping up the body count is a broad way of doing this. Borders on Nihilistic if the themes weren't so optimistic overall. This is also perfectly fine. He is not only an artist, but as he defines these themes, he'll be an auteur.
What's clear from past debates is you simply have no interest in genre films or technical film-makers. You don't like Hitchcock or Spielberg, so it goes without saying you're never going to like Nolan. I can guess you have no interest in Scorcese or Leone either. What about the sweeping epics of David Lean or Val Lewton's classic horrors? Unlikely I'd guess.
These men are amongst the finest directors the industry have ever produced. To dismiss any of them as not being film-makers is crazy. I don't like musicals, but I see that as a personal disadvantage; I don't just brush off their producers as invalid.
Post by: goodguy on September 16, 2010, 09:43:47 AM
...
(http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=3333297121170&locality=8) Dom za vesanje (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097223/) (Yugoslavia 1988, AKA Time of the Gypsies)
Directed by: Emir Kusturica
Time of the Gypsies is such a poetic and beautiful film; it is a film not to be watched, but to be experienced, to be completely immersed in its images, music and sound. To me it is, ever since I've first seen it and without the shadow of a doubt, the greatest film ever made.
DVD Notes
The French release of 2007 is the first DVD release of the film in the western hemisphere. The film has been remastered and both a single and a 2-disc special edition are available, but sadly with French subtitles only.
...
Just noticed that since July 2010, a German release is available from Winkler Films (http://www.winklerfilm.de/index.php?set_language=de&cccpage=filmedetail&set_z_filmdaten=31). I assume it uses the same master as the French DVD, but I don't know for sure. Subtitles are in German only.
Post by: goodguy on November 09, 2010, 01:36:54 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=031398126409&locality=0) | Winter's Bone (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399683/) (2010) Written by: Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini, based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell Directed by: Debra Granik Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt DVD: R1-US Lionsgate (Oct 26, 2010) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: After her deadbeat father jumps bail and mysteriously disappears, 17-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) must find a way to track him down or she'll be left without a home or custody of her two young siblings. To avoid losing everything, Ree must hack through the lies and threats looming everywhere in her rural town to piece together the dangerous truth about her father – without getting herself killed – in this taut, pulse-pounding thriller.
Long time no post. I'm still not really in the mood for writing even some mini reviews, but this one deserves a few words, because it moved straight up into my Top 3 of 2010.
David Gordon Green's Undertow and Jeff Nichols' Shotgun Stories are the obvious reference points for this Southern Gothic tale, but I'm going out on a limb here (and probably also pique more of an interest on this forum) by mentioning Rian Johnson's Brick.
This time, the weary and beaten teenage detective is a girl, who has to navigate a white trash backwoods community with unspoken rules that are far more complicated than the setting suggests. Newcomer Jennifer Lawrence is amazing in the leading role, but the entire cast is without a flaw.
Trailer:
Post by: Najemikon on November 09, 2010, 01:38:19 AM
Post by: Antares on November 09, 2010, 02:04:26 AM
Post by: goodguy on November 15, 2010, 12:11:34 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=043396331730&locality=0) | An Education (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1174732/) (UK 2009) Written by: Nick Hornby, based on a memoir by Lynn Barber Directed by: Lone Scherfig Starring: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard DVD: R1-US Sony (Mar 30, 2010) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: From acclaimed writer Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) comes this inspired coming-of-age film Rolling Stone magazine calls "a miracle of a movie." When Jenny (Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Carey Mulligan), a bright young school girl who longs for adulthood, meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), a dashing older man, he introduces her to his vibrant world of glamorous friends, chic jazz clubs and her own sexual awakening. Will she let this affair ruin her dreams of attending Oxford, as her headmistress (Emma Thompson) fears? This captivating film sparkles with wit, charm and style of 1960s Britain.
I have just one thing to say: How could Carey Mulligan not win the Oscar for this? The movie itself is a bit of a mixed bag, to eager to portrait the parents and some other characters as dull, clumsy and uneducated. A bit more subtlety would have been appreciated. That's also true for the safely played wrap up that ends the cautionary tale with the proper morale. However, all that is forgiven because of the way Mulligan lights up the screen as the bright young girl in love not so much with that older guy, but with a world full of possibilities.
Post by: Critter on November 15, 2010, 12:14:11 AM
Post by: Najemikon on November 15, 2010, 12:40:06 AM
Post by: goodguy on November 20, 2010, 08:38:29 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=876964003124&locality=0) | Ondine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235796/) (IRL 2009) Written & Directed by: Neil Jordan Starring: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Dervla Kirwan, Alison Barry DVD: R1-US Magnolia (Sep 21, 2010) My rating: |
Cover Blurb: ONDINE is a lyrical modern fairy tale that tells the story of Syracuse, an Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman in his nets. His daughter Annie comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However, like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand. Written and directed by Neil Jordan and shot against the Irish coast's magical backdrop, Ondine is a story of love, hope and unwavering belief in the impossible.
For most of its running time, this plays as a sort-of naturalistic fairytale, wonderfully ambigious and poetic. I wish Jordan had kept that up until the end, but for reasons I cannot imagine he turns it into a thriller for the last half hour or so. This is a truly odd choice and I should lower my rating accordingly, but I just loved everything else too much.
Trailer:
Post by: Antares on November 20, 2010, 05:54:31 PM
I'll be looking for it.
Post by: goodguy on November 21, 2010, 12:40:47 AM
That does look good. Kind of like Splash meets The Secret of Roan Inish.
You do have a thing for odd combinations recently. :) I have seen neither, but the latter seems to fit while the former just sounds awful.
Post by: Najemikon on November 21, 2010, 02:10:32 AM
Post by: Achim on November 21, 2010, 05:30:54 AM
You might be surprised by Splash, Matthias.I would be surprised if he would be surprised... :laugh:
Post by: goodguy on December 22, 2010, 02:33:23 AM
It takes a bit too long till the soul really starts to dance, but otherwise - what a movie! I might comment a little more tomorrow, but now I'm off to watch Herzog's My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done next.
Post by: Najemikon on December 22, 2010, 02:47:17 AM
I loved this film too. The scene in the chemist was tipping the balance into awesome, but Herzog really won me over with the reptiles! :laugh: I was going to post my review soon actually. I wrote it a while back for Find DVD and I'm just pulling them together to put on here.
Post by: goodguy on December 22, 2010, 03:16:33 AM
Post by: Najemikon on December 22, 2010, 03:20:35 AM
I've seen interviews with him before (including the notorious one where he was with Mark Kermode and got shot! Only an air-rifle, but still...), but did you see the one on the DVD? Lovely bloke anyway and his attitude is like a breath of fresh air.
Post by: goodguy on December 22, 2010, 08:20:40 PM
I've put a bunch of others of his on my wishlist. I never quite got interested enough in Aguirre, but I really want to now.
Not to discourage you, but Bad Lieutenant is probably not a very typical Herzog film. Not that I'm someone who really is able to put this into context - I've previously seen only a couple of his films and that was ages ago. When I mentioned Herzog in comparison to Scorsese and Winterbottom I really meant only specific films, not their body of work: i.e. Bad Lieutenant vs. Shutter Island and The Killer Inside Me.
I've seen interviews with him before (including the notorious one where he was with Mark Kermode and got shot! Only an air-rifle, but still...), but did you see the one on the DVD? Lovely bloke anyway and his attitude is like a breath of fresh air.
I've watched a bare-bone rental, so no interview for me. But I will probably buy a proper release in the future.
Post by: Najemikon on December 22, 2010, 08:40:30 PM
Actually his "live and let live" tone makes the story of him pulling a gun on Klaus Kinski all the funnier!
Post by: goodguy on December 24, 2010, 03:00:40 AM
Surprise: the worst movie of 2010 I've seen is neither Inception nor Twilight: Eclipse. That honor goes to Coppola's sorta remake of her own Lost in Translation in which she replaces the charm of the original with a big fat single message that hits you over the head in the first shot of a Ferrari driving endless circles in the desert until it finally stops and the protagonist emerges. After 90 minutes ennui of the rich and clueless, guess what the last shot is?Post by: Achim on December 24, 2010, 05:27:17 AM
:o You have actually seen Eclipse...?
Post by: goodguy on December 24, 2010, 05:48:15 AM
:o You have actually seen Eclipse...?
I didn't plan to and there were extenuating circumstances. :laugh: And, hey, I like Ellen Page and Kristen Stewart.
Post by: Najemikon on December 24, 2010, 12:31:09 PM
Post by: goodguy on December 24, 2010, 09:52:23 PM
I know Nolan's films aren't your thing, but whatever you think of Inception, it does not deserve to be lumped in with a Twilight film! Have some respect.
David Slade at least had made Hard Candy before (with Ellen Page btw). So, yes, he does deserve some respect. :P Based on my experience with Nolan's films and scathing reviews by Andrew O'Hehir (Salon), A.O. Scott (NY Times) and a couple of others, I went into Inception expecting the worst, but was actually quite entertained. That was surprising to me, whereas Eclipse not being the worst of the year might be surprising to everyone else.
Post by: Critter on December 25, 2010, 12:52:55 AM
That was surprising to me, whereas Eclipse not being the worst of the year might be surprising to everyone else.
I watched Eclipse. While not being the worst film of all time I was most certainly not surprised by it. :puke:
Post by: goodguy on December 25, 2010, 11:34:01 PM
... scathing reviews by Andrew O'Hehir (Salon), A.O. Scott (NY Times)... [for Inception]
To be fair: both also raved about Somewhere. And I will give daddy's Tetro a try now.
Post by: Antares on December 28, 2010, 01:32:42 AM
(http://www.invelos.com/dvdpro/GetThumbnail.aspx?upc=876964003124&locality=0) Ondine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235796/) (IRL 2009)
Written & Directed by: Neil Jordan
Starring: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Dervla Kirwan, Alison Barry
DVD: R1-US Magnolia (Sep 21, 2010)
My rating:
Just finished watching this with my wife, we both loved it. Great atmosphere and story. And you're right the thriller ending seemed out of place.
Post by: goodguy on December 30, 2010, 05:03:20 AM
Most Magnificently Marvelous | ||
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1371574.jpg) | 1. | Kosmos (Turkey 2010, Reha Erdem) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371574/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr0dc93Bi64) Kosmos is a thief and a miracle-worker. He appears one morning in a tiny, snowbound border village where he is welcomed with open arms – on account of arriving just in time to resuscitate a small boy who would otherwise have drowned. (http://www.kosmos.com.tr/ (http://www.kosmos.com.tr/)) |
Terrific | ||
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1263750.jpg) | 2. | Habitación en Roma (Spain 2010, Julio Medem) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1263750/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOlWezhYuBY) A hotel room in the center of Rome serves as the setting for two young and recently acquainted women to have a physical adventure that touches their very souls. (IMDb) |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1399683.jpg) | 3. | Winter's Bone (2010, Debra Granik) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399683/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE_X2pDRXyY) An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact. (IMDb) |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1235796.jpg) | 4. | Ondine (Ireland 2009, Neil Jordan) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235796/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80HzX8UGEKM) The story of an Irish fisherman who discovers a woman in his fishing net who he believes to be a Selkie. (IMDb) |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1020773.jpg) | 5. | Copie conforme (FR 2010, Abbas Kiarostami) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020773/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie2l8TctAG8) In Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged English writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. (IMDb) |
Excellent | ||
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0947798.jpg) | Black Swan (2010, Darren Aronofsky) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/) A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan, but slowly looses her mind as she becomes more and more like the evil twin sister of the White Swan, the Black Swan. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1250777.jpg) | Kick-Ass (2010, Matthew Vaughn) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/) Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1095217.jpg) | The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009, Werner Herzog) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1095217/) Terence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants. (IMDb) | |
Great | ||
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1174732.jpg) | An Education (UK 2009, Lone Scherfig) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1174732/) A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0842926.jpg) | The Kids Are All Right (2010, Lisa Cholodenko) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0842926/) Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0446029.jpg) | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010, Edgar Wright) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/) Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0485601.jpg) | The Secret of Kells (Ireland 2009, Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485601/) The animated story of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0964185.jpg) | Tetro (2009, Francis Ford Coppola) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964185/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ_XTIsMKig) Bennie travels to Buenos Aires to find his long-missing older brother, a once-promising writer who is now a remnant of his former self. Bennie's discovery of his brother's near-finished play might hold the answer to understanding their shared past and renewing their bond. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0954990.jpg) | The Yellow Handkerchief (2008, Udayan Prasad) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0954990/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njxPGjkMdno) A road trip through Louisiana transforms three strangers who were originally brought together by their respective feelings of loneliness. (IMDb) | |
Good | ||
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1426352.jpg) | Amer (FR 2009, Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1426352/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaEKIgHr1_0) Three key moments, all of them sensual, define Ana's life. Her carnal search sways between reality and... (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1352824.jpg) | Chloe (2009, Atom Egoyan) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352824/) A doctor hires an escort to seduce her husband, whom she suspects of cheating, though unforeseen events put the family in danger. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1139328.jpg) | The Ghost Writer (2010, Roman Polanski) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139328/) A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1375666.jpg) | Inception (2010, Christopher Nolan) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/) In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0954947.jpg) | The Killer Inside Me (2010, Michael Winterbottom) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0954947/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq94Nbrupk8) A West Texas deputy sheriff is slowly unmasked as a psychotic killer. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1233219.jpg) | My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009, Werner Herzog) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233219/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43oniH2EAdw) Inspired by a true crime, a man begins to experience mystifying events that lead him to slay his mother with a sword. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0935075.jpg) | Rabbit Hole (2010, John Cameron Mitchell) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0935075/) Life for a happy couple is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident. Based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1017451.jpg) | The Runaways (2010, Floria Sigismondi) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1017451/) A coming-of-age biopic about '70s teenage band The Runaways. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0944835.jpg) | Salt (2010, Phillip Noyce) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944835/) A CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1285016.jpg) | The Social Network (2010, David Fincher) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/) A story about the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1087527.jpg) | Trucker (2008, James Mottern) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1087527/) A trucker, leading a life free of depth and on the way to nowhere, is forced to make a decision about her aggressive loner 11-year-old son whom she openly deserted ten years previously. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1172233.jpg) | Whip It! (2009, Drew Barrymore) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172233/) In Bodeen, Texas, an indie-rock loving misfit finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin. (IMDb) | |
Average | ||
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1600524.jpg) | Les amours imaginaires (CA 2010, Xavier Dolan) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1600524/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gCPIof4kNQ) The story of three close friends who are involved in a love-triangle. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0997035.jpg) | Bibliothèque Pascal (Hungary 2010, Szabolcs Hajdu) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0997035/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8UVHlY3AQg) In order to regain custody of her daughter, whom she left in the care of her fortune-telling aunt, Mona must tell a social worker her story... (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1183665.jpg) | Cracks (UK 2009, Jordan Scott) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183665/) A look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite British boarding school. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1228705.jpg) | Iron Man 2 (2010, Jon Favreau) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1228705/) Because of his superhero alter ego, Tony Stark must contend with deadly issues involving the government, his own friends and new enemies. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1470827.jpg) | Monsters (UK 2010, Gareth Edwards) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470827/) Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1130884.jpg) | Shutter Island (2010, Martin Scorsese) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/) Drama set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1325004.jpg) | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010, David Slade) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1325004/) As a string of mysterious killings grips Seattle, Bella, whose high school graduation is fast approaching, is forced to choose between her love for vampire Edward and her friendship with werewolf Jacob. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1588895.jpg) | Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand 2010, Apichatpong Weerasethakul) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588895/) • Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk-EoUb0nvg) On his deathbed, Uncle Boonmee, recalls his many past lives. (IMDb) | |
Bad | ||
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0988045.jpg) | Sherlock Holmes (2009, Guy Ritchie) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988045/) Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1421051.jpg) | Somewhere (2010, Sofia Coppola) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1421051/) A hard-living Hollywood actor re-examines his life after his 11-year-old daughter surprises him with a visit. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt1193138.jpg) | Up in the Air (2009, Jason Reitman) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1193138/) With a job that has him traveling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham leads an empty life out of a suitcase, until his company does the unexpected: ground him. (IMDb) | |
| (http://homepage.alice.de/goodguy_dvdpro/movies2010/tt0403702.jpg) | Youth in Revolt (2009, Miguel Arteta) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403702/) While his trailer trash parents teeter on the edge of divorce, Nick Twisp sets his sights on dream girl Sheeni Saunders, hoping that she'll be the one to take away his virginity. (IMDb) |
Post by: Critter on December 30, 2010, 05:20:18 AM
Post by: goodguy on December 30, 2010, 05:37:33 AM
That's a really nice way to display the films you saw for the year.
Thanks.
Also why do you put the countries next to some films and not others? For example you have UK next to An Education but not next to Kick-Ass which is also a British film.
Omitted country stands for US, but I cleaned up the co-productions manually and might have made some mistakes in picking a primary one.
Post by: Critter on December 30, 2010, 05:46:47 AM
Post by: goodguy on January 03, 2011, 11:30:00 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/50/5060103790067.4f.jpg) | Hukkle (Hungary 2002) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289229/)
My rating: |
Images and sounds (but almost no discernible dialogue) from a rural Hungarian village: the humans, animals and plants treated with almost equal regard in a natural cycle of life and death, punctuated by the hiccups of an old man sitting on a bench by the roadside. Pálfi's almost documentary approach of looking at this and that is held together by a keen sense of rhythm and often surprising or humorous transitions. Towards the end, it becomes slowly clear that their was actually a narrative all along, but I didn't fully catch up to it until the mystery is resolved in a final song at a wedding.
While the following trailer fits the movie rather well, it might already reveal a little too much:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOLoR6nXeyw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOLoR6nXeyw)
Post by: Najemikon on January 24, 2011, 10:49:52 PM
Well, a listener wrote in and used Sita Sings The Blues to ask the question, how far can you take cinema etiquette when the film takes part? Apparently Sita has an intermission, where the characters fetch huge vats of popcorn and cola! :laugh:
You've done well to promote the film so I thought that was a nice point to demonstrate the breadth and irreverence of the animation. Not my thing, as I've said before, but still a very witty thing to do. :thumbup:
Post by: Achim on January 25, 2011, 05:43:12 AM
I've been catching up on some Mark Kermode pod-casts and a snippet about cinema etiquette came up.That was great fun when they set this up :laugh: "Code of Conduct", it's called. There is even a video for it. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2010/12/the_moviegoers_code_of_conduct.html)
The picture is here. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/5live/films/code_of_conduct.jpg)
Some listeners printed the list down on little name cards, so they can give them out to offenders in cinemas :hysterical:
Post by: Dragonfire on January 25, 2011, 05:47:43 AM
Post by: goodguy on February 16, 2011, 01:39:46 AM
Doctor Who (UK 2005-, Season 1-5) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/)
Season 1: Over in the Doctor Who thread, Jon was chiding me for saying "Doctor Who is all crap except for this bit..." At the time I had seen S4 and parts of S5 and I didn't actually say that or even wanted to imply it. But since Russel T. Davies apparently had no qualms about dedicating three (three!) episodes of S1 to farting aliens disguised as members of the British government, I don't hesitate to say that, yes, S1 is mostly crap. BTW, back in 2005, one of these episodes was my first encounter with Doctor Who and it took me five years to recover from that experience. Anyway, the only thing of note here is the WW2 two-parter The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. It was written by Steven Moffat, and while it isn't on par with his later contributions, it is miles above the rest of the season. I don't recall ever watching a TV show were I was tempted to use the fast forward button that much and not doing so took considerable will power. After having already seen David Tennant and Matt Smith, Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor took the most getting used to, not because he was bad, but because his appearance and approach was quite different from the other two. Billie Piper as Rose was hit and miss and her boyfriend Mickey just annoying the entire time.
Season 2: David Tennant takes over as The Doctor and his attitude makes the lesser episodes a little more bearable, but otherwise the verdict is the same as for S1. Steven Moffat contributes one of the best episodes of the entire five seasons with The Girl in the Fireplace. How the show can follow up an episode this brilliant with such utter generic garbage as the Cybermen two-parter is something to marvel at. Aside from the Moffat episode, the only thing of note is The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit.
Season 3: With the beginning of S3, the crapfest finally ends. The first episode introduces the new companion Martha Jones and is a funny and enjoyable romp. With the Shakespeare episode it gets even better, but then again it goes rapidly downhill, topping the worst of S1 and S2 with the Dalek/pigface two-parter, stalls with a couple of more episodes that are at least not too bad, and unexpectedly becomes great again with Human Nature/The Family of Blood, which might just be the best episodes not written by Moffat, who nevertheless tops that with the Weeping Angels and Carey Mulligan in Blink. The three-part finale with The Master has its moments, with no small thanks to John Simm, but is again a rather average affair. Overall, S3 has probably the most highlights of any of the Davies seasons and those highlights can't even be attributed to Moffat alone.
Season 4: The best that can be said about S4 is that there isn't any episode that is as excruciatingly bad as in previous seasons; for the most part it is all pretty watchable. Moffat again provides the highlight with Silence in the Library/ Forest of the Dead and of the other episodes The Fires of Pompeii and Midnight are at least worth mentioning. And Catherine Tate as Donna Noble might actually be my favorite companion.
Season 5: Steven Moffat replaces Russel T. Davies as show runner and finally Doctor Who takes off. Not only does Moffat excite with gripping and clever storytelling, he also brings in a couple of new directors and cinematographers who are able to make Doctor Who visually interesting as well. Daleks and funny-faced aliens are gone for the most part (in fact the one Dalek episode is the only real clunker in the entire season). Matt Smith and Karen Gillan as The Doctor and Amy Pond are impressive right from the beginning, no small feat considering that, at least acting-wise, they have big shoes to fill. Amy is once again a companion with a boyfriend and while that seems to go a bit the Mickey route at first, Rory is much better written and Arthur Darvill a much better actor, although both actor and character reminded me a little bit of Wash in Firefly. S5 also has an overall season story arc, although it doesn't always fully integrate with the actual episodes as demonstrated especially in The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood where the ending completely overshadows the otherwise rather stand-alonish episode. The season finale however is not only the best one of Doctor Who by a large margin; it simply is a thing of beauty and brilliance. With S5, Doctor Who has become a must-see show for me and I really hope Moffat can keep this up in subsequent seasons.
Post by: Najemikon on February 16, 2011, 09:40:17 PM
And that wet weedy whiny Rory over Mickey? Really? (K9 trying to explain to him "We, are in, a car!" is a favourite moment for me!). To be fair though, Mickey came into his own when separated from Rose and became tougher as a Unity agent which you see a couple of times in the specials... which by the way, have you seen? The season 4 specials are essential and you owe it to yourself to reserve judgement on Tenant's tenure until you have seen them. And even if you don't like them still, the series 5 Christmas special is also wonderful, with a quite brilliant twist on A Christmas Carol.
Back to Mickey for a moment. It seemed to me he slowly developed to match the very assured confidence of the actor, Noel Clarke, who is becoming an important figure in British film. He wrote Kidulthood, its sequel and most recently 4.3.2.1, which he also directed. Very talented and interviews well.
Now, ok, you prefer Moffat, but it seems to me that he can't actually pull off a proper Doctor Who story and that could prove calamitous for future series. I'm talking about the very things you seem to discount utterly: the Daleks, the Cybermen, etc. These are classic monsters that are deeply ingrained in the mythology and the core point of Doctor Who is that he is an unlikely, eccentric hero, in a little blue box, who can hold back a fleet of an alien invasion without any recourse to aggression. His relationship and fascination with other races and their absolute right to exist is a recurring theme. Except in Moffat's series 5 where he failed to imbue the classics with any kind of threat. You called the conclusion "a thing of beauty and brilliance", well, what about the awful scene where he contrives all his enemies working together. Where did that come from? And the Dalek in that later episode just didn't work.
I've said this before, but you must remember that the target audience are seven-year olds. The clunky episodes with the silly monsters are the ones designed to specifically make kiddies wet themselves. The Empty Child is a classic episode because of the truly scary gas mask kid, but children are still more likely to hide behind the sofa when a Dalek starts speaking... and that is the spirit of Doctor Who. Moffat needs to find that because Matt Smith, despite a great performance, has a long way to go to match Tenant in popularity.
Each Doctor has their own personality though and I really like Smith. The opening episode was wonderful.
Post by: goodguy on April 24, 2011, 09:27:36 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/60/600753194188.8f.jpg) | Anna (FR 1967) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090647/)
My rating: |
I decided I needed a break from my Godard marathon (16 movies in and still in the '60 :training:), and with all the musical talk going on here recently, I picked this French TV musical. Despite starring Anna Karina (so it's not a complete break) and music by Serge Gainsbourg, it has been largely forgotten and was unearthed only a couple of years ago at the Melbourne Film Festival, leading to some raving reviews.
But it's rather forgettable fluff, more a collection of bad romantic music videos than a musical, wearing its new wave and pop art influences like a fashion statement. Still, there are a couple of better moments, such as a small guest appearance by Marianne Faithfull. And of course Anna Karina doing Ro-Ro-Rollergirl.
Post by: goodguy on May 02, 2011, 09:11:04 AM
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x132M7NPL._SX150_.jpg) | Finisterrae (Spain 2010) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1794790/)
My rating: - |
Two ghosts in Barcelona don't want to be ghosts any longer. An oracle tells them how they can become living beings again and they take off on a journey along an old pilgrims path to Fisterra. The ghosts are the classic kind, white sheets with big black eye holes. Although it's a Spanish movie, they speak Russian. The oracle is the Oracle of Garrel: a ring of fire and that incredible Nico song "Janitor of Lunacy" most explicitly marking the homage to Philippe Garrel's early '70s film "La cicatrice intérieure". Mode of transportation is a horse, which sometimes is a real one, sometimes just a crude model, and at others a wheel chair. A road movie then, as a series of surrealist vignettes, with beautiful images of those two lonely figures in the landscape of Northern Spain. But as a feature-length film, it is stretched a little thin even for my taste. And the uneven tone, poetic surrealism offset by droll humor and crude comedy, never quite gels. Still, despite its shortcomings, this is one of those films worth seeking out at least once for its moments of originality and beauty.
Two trailers below. The first one is truer to the overall visual style of the film, but the latter one has that great song by Nico I mentioned before.
Post by: goodguy on May 07, 2011, 02:00:55 PM
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YPYCSKr7L._SX150_.jpg) | Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1337193/)
My rating: |
A full-fledged song-and-dance, tap-and-jazz musical, Damien Chazelle’s GUY AND MADELINE ON A PARK BENCH boldly recasts the 1940’s MGM musical tradition in a gritty, verite style, resulting in an exuberant celebration of romance and music, and one of the most critically-acclaimed films of the year.
Guy and Madeline have been dating for three months, but the excitement of first love has faded. When another woman catches Guy’s eye, sparks fly—spelling the end of Guy and Madeline’s romance. But when things don’t work out quite as planned, Guy must decide whether to try to win Madeline back—even if it may be too late. Their story unfolds in a world of jazz and tap, featuring original music composed by Justin Hurwitz and recorded by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra. (Cover)
Whoa, what an unexpected treasure. Since I posted my 2010 list, I've watched a lot more of last year's movies, but none of them was able to challenge the Top Five I made up at the end of the year. Well, here is finally one that does.
Chazelle shot his debut feature handheld, in grainy black-and-white on 16mm. Before the film really begins, the romance of Guy and Madeline is already over, shown in a stunning series of elliptical scenes entirely without dialogue. For the entire film, the storytelling remains distilled down to its barest minimum, and not much is revealed about the characters. Which is fine, really, because Chazelle creates an effortless intimacy out of looks, gestures and almost arbitrary situations, wrapped in a magical jazzy mood and the score of Justin Hurwitz. Highly recommended.
Two trailers (again). The first one is the new theatrical one, and (like the cover blurb) it overstates the MGM musical influence a little. The second one is the old trailer from the Tribeca festival and IMHO a better fit.
Post by: goodguy on May 17, 2011, 08:37:25 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/71/715515031127f.jpg) | Brand Upon the Brain! (CA/US 2006) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443455/)
My rating: - |
In the weird and wonderful supercinematic world of Canadian cult filmmaker Guy Maddin, personal memory collides with movie lore for a radical sensory overload. This eerie excursion into the Gothic recesses of Maddin’s mad, imaginary childhood is a silent, black-and-white comic science-fiction nightmare set in a lighthouse on grim Notch Island, where fictional protagonist Guy Maddin was raised by an ironfisted, puritanical mother. Originally mounted as a theatrical event (accompanied by live orchestra, Foley artists, and assorted narrators), Brand upon the Brain! is an irreverent, delirious trip into the mind of one of current cinema's true eccentrics. (Cover)
I desperately wanted to love this film. Guy Maddin is such a passionate, unique and wildly imaginative filmmaker that I'm more disappointed with myself than with him that I couldn't. But the eerie and often bizarre beauty of his black-and-white Super-8 images is distorted by such a frenetic editing style with jump zooms and cuts and a constantly jolting and twitching camera that it literally hurts to watch this and the latest Tony Scott appears like something by Bela Tarr in comparison. So sorry. :(
Post by: goodguy on June 06, 2011, 10:05:02 AM
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51p9wPCjuJL._SX150_.jpg) | Dead Hooker in a Trunk (CA 2009) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1508661/)
My rating: |
Grindhouse movies aren't really my thing, neither those from back in the days, nor their revival in recent years by Tarantino, Rodriguez and the like. To bother with such a movie, there has to be something special to pique my curiosity, for example, a female take on the genre. Such is provided by Canadian twin sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska, who not only wrote, directed and produced their micro-budget debut feature, but also star in it. Plot? A gang of four friends, three tough girls and a choir boy, run an errand together and discover a dead hooker in the trunk of their car. Bloody and violent hijinks ensue, involving pimps, cops, chainsaw gangs, and a serial killer. All this is gleefully over-the-top and has a couple of jaw-dropping WTF moments and twists, only heightened by the girls' rather blasé attitude at their misgivings (while choir boy frequently pukes his guts out) and a certain trippy visual flair. Highly enjoyable f**k-yeah movie.
Post by: Achim on June 06, 2011, 11:19:04 AM
EDIT:
Amozon.com didn't have it, but found it at Amzon.co.uk. Too bad my latest order from there just shipped out :(
Post by: goodguy on June 20, 2011, 08:54:46 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/03/037429139820f.jpg) | La passion de Jeanne d'Arc (FR 1928) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019254/)
My rating: |
I think I made two mistakes when watching the film. First, I watched it immediately after Bresson's version, which I found far superior. Second, I watched it with Eichhorn's Voices of Light as score, which is quite wonderful, but more than a little overbearing. Anyway. Especially the early grotesque caricatures of the judges and clerics during the trial were very distracting and severely diminished the experience for me. That includes Falconetti's performance as Joan, which in its juxtaposition becomes equally over the top. The film redeems itself somewhat in the second half and I can admire the sparse and stylized set design and some of the editing choices on a technical level, but overall I was nonplussed.
Post by: goodguy on July 18, 2011, 10:23:52 AM
| (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UXvIUSaXL._SX150_.jpg) | For Lovers Only (2011) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1648201/)
My rating: |
"Love doesn’t conquer. It’s not some kind of a weapon that you wield." The Polish Brothers pay homage to the Nouvelle Vague with a melancholic and intimate story of two former lovers whose paths cross again in Paris. Shot more or less on the fly in France, digital, black-and-white, and with no budget to speak of, the film is an admirable effort and certainly has its moments, but ultimately remains a little shallow. It's sometimes beautiful, but more often just pretty.
Trailer: http://vimeo.com/22111423 (http://vimeo.com/22111423)
Post by: goodguy on July 21, 2011, 11:48:02 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/50/5060114150331.4f.jpg) | Sedmikrásky (CZ 1966, AKA Daisies) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060959/)
My rating: |
Anarcho-feminist slapstick about two girls deciding to go bad because the world has gone mad. It's quite fun, with often wildly creative use of images and sound, but also a little tiresome in its completely unrestrained approach. I'm not a big fan of slapstick and I lean more towards surrealism than dadaism, which is why I ultimately prefer Rivette's Céline and Julie over Chytilová's Marie and Marie. However, one should not forget where and when this film was made and I greatly admire Chytilová's ultimate f**k-you attitude that doesn't even deem her totalitarian opponents worthy of discourse.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJIown9SSXU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJIown9SSXU)
Post by: goodguy on July 28, 2011, 12:57:19 PM
For five years I have ignored the NBC network series Friday Night Lights because, well, not only is it about sports, but about football of all sports. Earlier today I was stuck with a work problem and decided to watch something light and distracting. So I got my hands on the pilot episode. Boy, was I in for a surprise. That is some of the finest TV I've seen in a while. The pilot gives a very realistic feel of a Texas small town and also has a strong a poetic touch that defies the genre. I'm going to order the DVDs now.
Post by: Najemikon on July 28, 2011, 10:27:33 PM
Post by: goodguy on January 25, 2012, 10:58:17 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/50/5060000403107.4f.jpg) | Hausu (JP 1977) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076162/)
|
I enjoyed the first half hour or so, everything that happens before the girls actually reach the house. Ohbayashi is already playful and silly here, but there is still some formal restraint at work. Once they are in the house, that no longer applies and the pure eclectic chaos becomes more and more tiring. I still kinda admire it, especially when considering (after reading the booklet) that back then this was thought of to become the Japanese answer to blockbusters like Jaws, but even if it is a thousand times more interesting than these, I'm afraid it's just not my thing.
Post by: goodguy on February 26, 2012, 09:22:20 AM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/62/625828610745f.jpg) | Another Happy Day (2011) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1719071/)
My rating: |
Another Happy Day is one of those shit-happens-at-a-wedding movies and it makes Rachel Getting Married look fluffy and heartwarming in comparison. So if you couldn't stand the latter due to its "unlikable" characters, this one probably isn't for you either. But if you enjoy a sharply written drama that has both acerbic wit and compassion, then you should give this a try.
In an all-around great ensemble cast, Ellen Barkin deserves special mention. She certainly seems on a roll lately and even more so than in Shit Year gives a truly terrific performance. Sadly, nobody seems to really notice though, judging by the number of IMDb voters for both films.
Sam Levinson's debut feature may lack some of the finesse and beauty that Demme's film had, but direction and cinematography remain competent throughout in an unflashy yet skilled way. Produced by Ellen Barkin, Another Happy Day clearly is an actor's film - and when it is as good as here, there is nothing wrong with that.
Post by: Najemikon on February 26, 2012, 04:02:14 PM
Have you watched any of Terence Davies' films? I'm currently writing up reviews for a marathon thread and I have a feeling his early works especially would suit you well, in particular Distant Voices, Still Lives and perhaps even more so his Trilogy.
Post by: goodguy on February 26, 2012, 04:45:51 PM
Have you watched any of Terence Davies' films? I'm currently writing up reviews for a marathon thread and I have a feeling his early works especially would suit you well, in particular Distant Voices, Still Lives and perhaps even more so his Trilogy.
Sorry, I meant to reply in that thread to at least show my appreciation for your reviews, but somehow I forgot. I was aware of Davies before, but still haven't seen anything. Probably should just get the BFI set with my next Amazon order.
Post by: Najemikon on February 26, 2012, 05:22:50 PM
Post by: goodguy on April 02, 2012, 04:43:59 AM
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/someguy381/jess_moss/01.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/someguy381/jess_moss/02.jpg)
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(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/someguy381/jess_moss/04.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/someguy381/jess_moss/05.jpg)
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(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/someguy381/jess_moss/08.jpg)
Jess + Moss (2011, Clay Jeter)
Post by: goodguy on July 04, 2012, 02:26:51 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/40/4048317370078.5f.jpg) | Im Angesicht des Verbrechens (DE 2010, AKA In Face of the Crime) • IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1223917/)
My rating: |
I took the plunge despite my reservations and it was completely addictive: I pretty much watched the 10 episodes in one go. All I hoped for and never got from The Sopranos. Those NJ wiseguys can't hold a candle to the Russian mafia in Berlin. The series is probably the best thing that happened on German television since Edgar Reitz's Heimat trilogy, although it is much more mainstream. Graf goes for broke and effortlessly shifts the tone between fairytale, gritty realism, trashy pulp fiction and unabashed romance. What a rush!
BTW, the German DVD includes English subtitles.
Post by: Achim on July 04, 2012, 04:17:38 PM
I think I will order it next time I get stuff fom Germany...
Post by: goodguy on September 18, 2012, 09:11:58 AM
Damsels in Distress (2011, Whit Stillman)
Looking through the cast credits on IMDb, it seems like Stillman raided the casting pool of TV's Gossip Girl to accompany Greta Gerwig. I was afraid I was going to hate this as much as Tiny Furniture or Lola Versus, but Stillman's gentle college version of Heathers is kinda adorable in its well-articulated quirkiness and pointedly nostalgic visual style.
Post by: goodguy on September 18, 2012, 09:12:36 AM
Sunrise (1927, F.W. Murnau)
An unhinged farmer neglects his wife in favor of a mistress from the city who is vacationing on the countryside. She suggests he should kill his wife by faking a boating accident, because murder is apparently the only way to end a relationship and begin another. His first response is to strangle the mistress, but then he sees it her way. Except, when it comes to doing the deed, he takes pity on his wife and decides to have fun and laughs in the city with her instead. So all is well, except when they return to farmer's land, there is a storm and a non-faked boating accident. Also, the mistress gets strangled again. But due to that accident, the wife's hair got loosened up and now she looks really pretty. Thus all the mistress can do is sulk and return to the city alone, while the farmer and his wife live happily ever after.
Call me a heartless bastard for making fun of an apparently beloved film about romance and stuff, but I found it infuriating. On a technical level though, there is much to admire. Gorgeous sets, expressionistic angles, inspired camera tricks, etc - the whole shebang Murnau brought with him from Europe.
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/someguy381/misc/Sunrise4.jpg) (http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u317/someguy381/misc/Sunrise5.jpg)
Post by: samuelrichardscott on September 18, 2012, 01:17:09 PM
Damsels in Distress (2011, Whit Stillman)
Looking through the cast credits on IMDb, it seems like Stillman raided the casting pool of TV's Gossip Girl to accompany Greta Gerwig. I was afraid I was going to hate this as much as Tiny Furniture or Lola Versus, but Stillman's gentle college version of Heathers is kinda adorable in its well-articulated quirkiness and pointedly nostalgic visual style.
I haven't heard a good thing yet about Lola Versus, though still want to see it. You've piqued my interest on this one, and I actually added it to my rental queue yesterday based on Stillman.