Going to make a top 10 list of beat 'em ups since I've played a fair share of them. It's definitely one of the most repetitive genres in videogames, but it would be nice if there were more of them nowadays in 2D.
Top 10(in order)
1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time(dev. Konami)[Arcade]
It's not exactly deep, but it's still one of the most immediate and fun games in the genre. It might be the nostalgia talking, but I doubt anybody wouldn't include this on his/her list.
2. Alien vs. Predator(dev. Capcom)[Arcade]
I just discovered this game recently, but man, it's a great one. Thank God, they made special not take any of your life away, which just seemed lazy and made things unnecessarily hard in their other beat 'em ups.
3. Comix Zone(dev. Sega)[Sega Genesis]
While I'm not sure if it's technically a beat 'em up since it's only on one plane, it pretty much has everything else found in the genre like screens where you can't progress unless all the enemies are taken care of. It's one of the most difficult games for the Genesis especially in it's original state with no save system, but it's one of the most rewarding.
4. Captain Commando(dev. Capcom)[Arcade]
Capcom is the king when it comes to beat 'em ups and fighting games so it's not exactly a surprise to find them on my list more than once. Babies, mummies, ninjas, and robots... what's not to love?
5. Streets of Rage(dev. Sega)[Sega Genesis]
Lots of people say Streets of Rage 2 is the best, but I'm not a huge fan of the whole special move taking up life and I enjoyed the screen clearing special in this. It's unquestionable that Street of Rage 2 has better graphics, but this one has a better and more memorable soundtrack. It's fairly standard in terms of beat 'em ups, but it's still one of the best.
6. Battletoads(dev. Rare)
The other beat 'em up with amphibians. It's considered one of the hardest games on the NES and it's also one of the best.
7. Rollergames(dev. Ultra aka Konami)[NES]
It might not be a beat 'em up because of the ability to move up and down, but if the whole game revolves on beating the shit out of other people with your fists and feet then I would classify it as a beat 'em up. Sort of a guilty pleasure just because it's a damn beat 'em up on rollerskates, but I still enjoy it immensely.
8. Vendetta(dev. Konami)[Arcade]
It essentially has recreations of Mr. T and Hulk Hogan. Enough said.
9. Golden Axe(dev. Sega)[Sega Genesis]
It's sort of required to put this on a beat 'em up list especially considering it's one of the more original games in the genre. Sure, there were other medieval-themed beat 'em ups, but this remains the most well-known with good reason. It's kind of murky territory whether this should be classified as hack n slash instead of beat 'em up, but whatever.
10. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs(dev. Capcom)[Arcade]
It has possibly one of the coolest titles ever. It's pretty bizarre and awesome at the same time since you fight a lot of dinosaurs along with people and even dinosaur people. Also when you continue, you start out with a bazooka. It's definitely not in the league of an Alien vs. Predator, but it still remains enjoyable.
Yes, I didn't put Final Fight on the list because it's dated and there's simply better beat 'em ups that came after it. If this was a list about historical importance, it'd probably be on the top of it, but it's not so it's not even on it.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Oh 2007(music)...
Ran out of ideas for lists for movies so I'm doing music now. YIPPY! I might do videogame lists as well, but I haven't played much games from this year so don't really expect a 2007 list anytime soon. I might start doing music reviews, but I find it particularly hard to talk about music since it's usually just I either dig it or I don't.
2007(no order for now)
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
It's probably their most consistent album yet and "For Reverend Green" is an amazing song.
Feist - The Reminder
There's nothing on this record as profoundly beautiful as her cover of "Lover's Spit" on Broken Social Scene's Bee Hives, but it has it's moments("I Feel It All", "My Moon Man", "1234", and "Past in Present").
St. Vincent - Marry Me
"Now Now" is a great opener and while the album doesn't necessarily maintain that level of quality, it's still pretty bitching.
Burial - Untrue
Probably my favorite album of the year, but it's hard not to feel that it gets kind of repetitive.
Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
"The Opposite of Hallelujah" just puts a smile on my face. It's ridiculous.
Kanye West - Graduation
Probably the best rap album of the year.
Grizzly Bear - Friend LP
Their self-covers are great and that CSS cover of "Knife" is simply mind-blowing.
The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
I personally think it's better than Funeral.
Honorable mentions:
Tegan and Sara - The Con
It's not great by any means, but the amount of times I listened to this is almost embarrassing. There are some songs that are just flat-out Hilary Duff bad, but it has it's fair share of good ones as well.
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Need to listen to it more before I can give a real opinion, but all I know is that I dig it.
Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Don't really have anything to say. I haven't listened to it that much, but I know it's definitely good.
Battles - Mirrored
It's slightly overrated, but "Atlas" is an awesome song and they definitely have an original sound.
M.I.A. - Kala
I find most of her music annoying, but "Paper Planes" is simply irresistible.
Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
"Campfire" is great even if the rest of the album isn't.
Overrated mentions:
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
It's fine, but I fail to see what's so great about it. The amount of critical acclaim it has received makes it seem like the greatest album ever.
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
His songs start out fine, but they ultimately feel overlong and stretched.
Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
If it wasn't for "Killa Lipstick" and "Slow Down", this would have been merely mediocre.
Wrap-up:
Nothing this year was as great as say The Woods by Sleater-Kinney, but yeah, not much is. I also need to listen to more metal and punk albums from this year.
2007(no order for now)
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
It's probably their most consistent album yet and "For Reverend Green" is an amazing song.
Feist - The Reminder
There's nothing on this record as profoundly beautiful as her cover of "Lover's Spit" on Broken Social Scene's Bee Hives, but it has it's moments("I Feel It All", "My Moon Man", "1234", and "Past in Present").
St. Vincent - Marry Me
"Now Now" is a great opener and while the album doesn't necessarily maintain that level of quality, it's still pretty bitching.
Burial - Untrue
Probably my favorite album of the year, but it's hard not to feel that it gets kind of repetitive.
Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
"The Opposite of Hallelujah" just puts a smile on my face. It's ridiculous.
Kanye West - Graduation
Probably the best rap album of the year.
Grizzly Bear - Friend LP
Their self-covers are great and that CSS cover of "Knife" is simply mind-blowing.
The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
I personally think it's better than Funeral.
Honorable mentions:
Tegan and Sara - The Con
It's not great by any means, but the amount of times I listened to this is almost embarrassing. There are some songs that are just flat-out Hilary Duff bad, but it has it's fair share of good ones as well.
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Need to listen to it more before I can give a real opinion, but all I know is that I dig it.
Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Don't really have anything to say. I haven't listened to it that much, but I know it's definitely good.
Battles - Mirrored
It's slightly overrated, but "Atlas" is an awesome song and they definitely have an original sound.
M.I.A. - Kala
I find most of her music annoying, but "Paper Planes" is simply irresistible.
Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
"Campfire" is great even if the rest of the album isn't.
Overrated mentions:
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
It's fine, but I fail to see what's so great about it. The amount of critical acclaim it has received makes it seem like the greatest album ever.
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
His songs start out fine, but they ultimately feel overlong and stretched.
Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
If it wasn't for "Killa Lipstick" and "Slow Down", this would have been merely mediocre.
Wrap-up:
Nothing this year was as great as say The Woods by Sleater-Kinney, but yeah, not much is. I also need to listen to more metal and punk albums from this year.
Oh Vegas...
Redacted(dir. Brian De Palma)
Reminiscent of The Fountain, it's a film that remains compelling because of it's conviction even when it goes sort of braindead every now and then. Telling it's story through different types of media isn't really all that involving since De Palma uses it in such a nice and neat way in order to progress his narrative where all the media being shown focus on the characters or events in the story so it never truly widens the scope to any real degree, which would have made much more sense. Like many reviews have stated, the acting isn't so hot especially the actor who essentially plays the "hero," but he was forced to act in a criminal investigation scene that was absolutely ridiculous and an extremely melodramatic scene near the end where Brian De Palma's voice asks him to tell him some war stories in a bar and he ends up having an emotional meltdown so he shouldn't get all the flak. The bar scene in particular is probably the best example of how shitty the acting could get since it could have been emotionally involving, but it was sort of cringe-inducing since De Palma's voice almost seems like he's trying to parody all those "patriotic" Americans that think anybody that was involved in a war is a hero and that actor wasn't convincing at all. There's also other touches that seemed a little ridiculous as well like the faux-photograph of the rape victim in the film following images of real victims of the war. What the hell was he trying to do with that? It's almost as bad as Emilio Estevez trying to garner audience sympathy for his fictional characters with the RFK assassination in Bobby. There's also some borderline manipulative stuff found in most anti-war films like a shooting of an innocent that just happened to be pregnant. I don't entirely disagree with what the film is trying to say, but it could have went about it in a more subtle and intelligent way. In a lot of ways, it was much like a supped-up and engrossing TV movie, which might sound like a bad thing, but it remains engaging all the way through except for those specific scenes mentioned above and maybe a few more. I recommend.
*** out of ****
The Nanny Diaries(dir. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini)
After you get past the first 20 insufferable minutes or so, it's not so bad. There's really no denying that this is essentially fluff and I'll soon forget it, but it was still a good time-waster I guess. This might possibly be her best performance yet, but that's not saying very much. There are some moments like her yelling at the "nanny cam" that show her weaknesses as an actress, but there's no moment as cringe-inducing as some of her more dramatic scenes in Match Point. It's "skewering" of the upper class is about as unoriginal as you can get, portraying them as so self-centered and unaware of other people's feelings that they almost don't appear human. Laura Linney gives a relatively cliched performance as the "bitch" in the picture while Paul Giamatti seems almost too comfortable playing her scuzzy "dick of a husband." The biggest problem that makes this all lightweight is the lack of conflict and narrative drive. It doesn't necessarily get boring, but it's "conflict" is resolved in such a easy way that it shouldn't be considered a conflict at least in comparison to other films. Characters are capable of changing so easily that it's a surprise that this lasts for a whopping 100 minutes. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Flanders(dir. Bruno Dumont)
It's similar to Redacted in terms of narrative, but totally different in tone. Dumont's direction is sometimes clumsy much like De Palma's, but he never gets as passionate or "in your face" as De Palma since that's not really his style. That doesn't mean that nothing horrific happens in this film. On the contrary, it contains a lot more violence in comparison to Redacted, but since it's rather detached and it's difficult to get emotionally involved with the film, it's not really that effective. Redacted implied more than showed and was effective while this film showed more than implied. How they deal with their respective characters and emotions are the opposite, however. Everybody's emotions are essentially externalized in De Palma's film while everybody's emotions in this film are pretty much internalized, which makes it more intellectually stimulating but less so emotionally. I'd go out and say that this is probably his worst so far, but it's definitely not bad. It's just hard film to warm up to. Maybe a rewatch in the future is in order. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Reminiscent of The Fountain, it's a film that remains compelling because of it's conviction even when it goes sort of braindead every now and then. Telling it's story through different types of media isn't really all that involving since De Palma uses it in such a nice and neat way in order to progress his narrative where all the media being shown focus on the characters or events in the story so it never truly widens the scope to any real degree, which would have made much more sense. Like many reviews have stated, the acting isn't so hot especially the actor who essentially plays the "hero," but he was forced to act in a criminal investigation scene that was absolutely ridiculous and an extremely melodramatic scene near the end where Brian De Palma's voice asks him to tell him some war stories in a bar and he ends up having an emotional meltdown so he shouldn't get all the flak. The bar scene in particular is probably the best example of how shitty the acting could get since it could have been emotionally involving, but it was sort of cringe-inducing since De Palma's voice almost seems like he's trying to parody all those "patriotic" Americans that think anybody that was involved in a war is a hero and that actor wasn't convincing at all. There's also other touches that seemed a little ridiculous as well like the faux-photograph of the rape victim in the film following images of real victims of the war. What the hell was he trying to do with that? It's almost as bad as Emilio Estevez trying to garner audience sympathy for his fictional characters with the RFK assassination in Bobby. There's also some borderline manipulative stuff found in most anti-war films like a shooting of an innocent that just happened to be pregnant. I don't entirely disagree with what the film is trying to say, but it could have went about it in a more subtle and intelligent way. In a lot of ways, it was much like a supped-up and engrossing TV movie, which might sound like a bad thing, but it remains engaging all the way through except for those specific scenes mentioned above and maybe a few more. I recommend.
*** out of ****
The Nanny Diaries(dir. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini)
After you get past the first 20 insufferable minutes or so, it's not so bad. There's really no denying that this is essentially fluff and I'll soon forget it, but it was still a good time-waster I guess. This might possibly be her best performance yet, but that's not saying very much. There are some moments like her yelling at the "nanny cam" that show her weaknesses as an actress, but there's no moment as cringe-inducing as some of her more dramatic scenes in Match Point. It's "skewering" of the upper class is about as unoriginal as you can get, portraying them as so self-centered and unaware of other people's feelings that they almost don't appear human. Laura Linney gives a relatively cliched performance as the "bitch" in the picture while Paul Giamatti seems almost too comfortable playing her scuzzy "dick of a husband." The biggest problem that makes this all lightweight is the lack of conflict and narrative drive. It doesn't necessarily get boring, but it's "conflict" is resolved in such a easy way that it shouldn't be considered a conflict at least in comparison to other films. Characters are capable of changing so easily that it's a surprise that this lasts for a whopping 100 minutes. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Flanders(dir. Bruno Dumont)
It's similar to Redacted in terms of narrative, but totally different in tone. Dumont's direction is sometimes clumsy much like De Palma's, but he never gets as passionate or "in your face" as De Palma since that's not really his style. That doesn't mean that nothing horrific happens in this film. On the contrary, it contains a lot more violence in comparison to Redacted, but since it's rather detached and it's difficult to get emotionally involved with the film, it's not really that effective. Redacted implied more than showed and was effective while this film showed more than implied. How they deal with their respective characters and emotions are the opposite, however. Everybody's emotions are essentially externalized in De Palma's film while everybody's emotions in this film are pretty much internalized, which makes it more intellectually stimulating but less so emotionally. I'd go out and say that this is probably his worst so far, but it's definitely not bad. It's just hard film to warm up to. Maybe a rewatch in the future is in order. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Oh West Philadelphia...
The Dark Knight Trailer
I'm not totally sure about Heath Ledger's Joker. I've never seen(or I don't remember) the original Batman movie by Tim Burton so I don't know how he compares to Jack Nicholson, but it seems like he's trying a little bit too hard. I still want to see this since Batman is, you know, the coolest superhero ever and Batman Begins was really good, but I don't know how it'll turn out.
**1/2 out of ****
*SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER*
I Am Legend(dir. Francis Lawrence)
Surprisingly good. I wasn't expecting to like this much especially after seeing Will Smith's last movie, which I found to be particularly terrible. He really does carry the movie even if his performance is a little overly emotional. The biggest problems lie with the script, which forces him to have a long monologue about why Bob Marley is such a bitching human being. He describes how Bob wanted to "light up the darkness" with his music and the mental image of Bob Marley lighting up a joint in a dark room quickly follows. There's also the CGI, which was particularly bad. The film would have been much better if it suggested these "dark seekers"'s presence instead of actually showing them. The film also relied on "jump" scares a little too much, but they remained effective to my friend, who sat next to me, even after the sixth or seventh time. It was also much more emotionally engaging before other people entered the picture since the dialogue wasn't so hot. It's interesting to say that since one would expect it to be the other way around and it truly exposed how shitty the script actually was. There was actually a moment that I thought I was going to cry because, you know, killing a dog is possibly the saddest thing a movie could do. Manipulative factors prevented any tears from flowing, however, with an overly sentimental score and Smith's character revealing that the dog was, in fact, a female, which seemed like a cheap tactic to garner some audience sympathy. I still don't understand how these mindless fucking things were able to devise such a complicated booby trap, which leads to the dog's death, but whatever. It's post-apocalyptic world was also quite impressive. It's probably the best sci-fi film of the year, but I still haven't seen Southland Tales so it might not be. I recommend.
*** out of ****
I'm not totally sure about Heath Ledger's Joker. I've never seen(or I don't remember) the original Batman movie by Tim Burton so I don't know how he compares to Jack Nicholson, but it seems like he's trying a little bit too hard. I still want to see this since Batman is, you know, the coolest superhero ever and Batman Begins was really good, but I don't know how it'll turn out.
**1/2 out of ****
*SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER*
I Am Legend(dir. Francis Lawrence)
Surprisingly good. I wasn't expecting to like this much especially after seeing Will Smith's last movie, which I found to be particularly terrible. He really does carry the movie even if his performance is a little overly emotional. The biggest problems lie with the script, which forces him to have a long monologue about why Bob Marley is such a bitching human being. He describes how Bob wanted to "light up the darkness" with his music and the mental image of Bob Marley lighting up a joint in a dark room quickly follows. There's also the CGI, which was particularly bad. The film would have been much better if it suggested these "dark seekers"'s presence instead of actually showing them. The film also relied on "jump" scares a little too much, but they remained effective to my friend, who sat next to me, even after the sixth or seventh time. It was also much more emotionally engaging before other people entered the picture since the dialogue wasn't so hot. It's interesting to say that since one would expect it to be the other way around and it truly exposed how shitty the script actually was. There was actually a moment that I thought I was going to cry because, you know, killing a dog is possibly the saddest thing a movie could do. Manipulative factors prevented any tears from flowing, however, with an overly sentimental score and Smith's character revealing that the dog was, in fact, a female, which seemed like a cheap tactic to garner some audience sympathy. I still don't understand how these mindless fucking things were able to devise such a complicated booby trap, which leads to the dog's death, but whatever. It's post-apocalyptic world was also quite impressive. It's probably the best sci-fi film of the year, but I still haven't seen Southland Tales so it might not be. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Oh Puppeteers...
Double Suicide(dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
Japanese melodrama at it's finest? I'm not quite sure if you would label it that, but yeah, the overacting, which could be annoying to some, was simply astounding and lent a melodramatic tone to the film. I guess the acting could be viewed as theatrical since this film is supposed to be puppet theater, but the film is too cinematic to be labeled as theatrical. This film was pretty incredible. It's experimental tendencies were quite audacious, but it's whole puppeteer "gimmick" became a little overused. It's amusing and ingenious at first, but it ends up hindering the finale, at least for me. I'd imagine the conclusion would be more emotionally engaging if there was not as much of it beforehand. The puppeteer aspect did add a fatalistic layer to the proceedings, however. I'd imagine down the line, when the film has settled in my mind and stomach, labeling it a masterpiece, but for now, I'm labeling it a near-masterpiece. I'm definitely going to need to check out some more of his stuff.
***1/2 out of ****
Japanese melodrama at it's finest? I'm not quite sure if you would label it that, but yeah, the overacting, which could be annoying to some, was simply astounding and lent a melodramatic tone to the film. I guess the acting could be viewed as theatrical since this film is supposed to be puppet theater, but the film is too cinematic to be labeled as theatrical. This film was pretty incredible. It's experimental tendencies were quite audacious, but it's whole puppeteer "gimmick" became a little overused. It's amusing and ingenious at first, but it ends up hindering the finale, at least for me. I'd imagine the conclusion would be more emotionally engaging if there was not as much of it beforehand. The puppeteer aspect did add a fatalistic layer to the proceedings, however. I'd imagine down the line, when the film has settled in my mind and stomach, labeling it a masterpiece, but for now, I'm labeling it a near-masterpiece. I'm definitely going to need to check out some more of his stuff.
***1/2 out of ****
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Oh DVD/Poster Art...
I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to lists, but yeah, I don't care. These covers are probably going to be of movies that I like so it's not going to be all that unpredictable. I'm not even going to do an order or anything. I'm just gonna post these covers and give maybe a sentence blurb on why I like it so much.
DVD:
It's not an exactly complicated cover, but I just adore the image of Henry and Fay on top. I also really like the picture of Fay in her wedding veil on the back as well. Hal Hartley 4 Life, broz.
The cover is so good that it's almost tempting to get the UK DVD, which is what the cover is of, even though the image and audio quality is supposed to be horrible. It's hauntingly beautiful with Sarah Polley's character staring at Ian Holm's character. I also dig the haze and light.
Posters:
While the one up above has better font and using her wallpaper as background for the font is sort of neat, it's really the image itself that makes the whole thing. It's just so devastatingly beautiful and encapsulates everything that is so beautiful and horrific about the movie. Her beaten face is absolutely depressing, but her expression shows that she's still alive and kicking in the inside, which is uplifting. It's pretty much how I feel about the film as a whole, it's somehow simultaneously depressing and uplifting. It just utterly overwhelms me emotionally and it's the reason why it's my favorite film.
And Neil Patrick Harris as... Neil Patrick Harris.
DVD:
It's not an exactly complicated cover, but I just adore the image of Henry and Fay on top. I also really like the picture of Fay in her wedding veil on the back as well. Hal Hartley 4 Life, broz.
The cover is so good that it's almost tempting to get the UK DVD, which is what the cover is of, even though the image and audio quality is supposed to be horrible. It's hauntingly beautiful with Sarah Polley's character staring at Ian Holm's character. I also dig the haze and light.
Posters:
While the one up above has better font and using her wallpaper as background for the font is sort of neat, it's really the image itself that makes the whole thing. It's just so devastatingly beautiful and encapsulates everything that is so beautiful and horrific about the movie. Her beaten face is absolutely depressing, but her expression shows that she's still alive and kicking in the inside, which is uplifting. It's pretty much how I feel about the film as a whole, it's somehow simultaneously depressing and uplifting. It just utterly overwhelms me emotionally and it's the reason why it's my favorite film.
And Neil Patrick Harris as... Neil Patrick Harris.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Oh 2008...
Upcoming
Log
2008's not done yet...
...but I'll make a most anticipating list anyways.
Most Anticipated Movies of 2008
1. Tree of Life(dir. Terrence Malick)
If this gets off the ground and actually makes a 2008 release, you bet your ass that this year is going to rock.
2. Jack and Diane(dir. Bradley Rust Gray)
A lesbian werewolf movie with chicks around my age that are attractive (Ellen Page and that other chick in Juno) makes this probably my ultimate male fantasy movie since probably ever. Too bad, it hasn't gone into production yet so it might not make 2008.
3. The Road(dir. John Hillcoat)
I'm not exactly a fan of McCarthy's work just from the hundred or so pages I read of Blood Meridian and the film adaptation of No Country for Old Men, but The Proposition is easily probably the western of this decade and the whole post-apocalyptic world stuff makes me want to see what Hillcoat does with it.
4. Speed Racer(dir. The Wachowski Siblings?)
I don't know what compels me to see this movie. Maybe it's the fact that it could possibly be the biggest debacle of the year or that it might be the most ridiculously fun movie of the year.
5. Two Lovers(dir. James Gray)
A chick flick by the dude that did We Own the Night? Sounds good to me.
6. Diary of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero)
This film looks really... uhh... ahhh.... AHHH... BRAINS!!!
7. Untitled Todd Field Project(dir. Todd Field, duh!)
I highly doubt this will even make this year because it's not even titled yet, but Todd Field can do no wrong in my eyes(for now).
8. The Box(dir. Richard Kelly)
Even though it essentially sounds like a feature-length episode of The Twilight Zone, I simply have to see how this turns out after seeing that epic and fascinating mess that is called Southland Tales.
9. Stop Loss(dir. Kimberly Pierce)
This is another one of those films that I have no idea why I want to see it. I usually try to steer clear of these Oscar-bait sort of films and I haven't seen Boys Don't Cry so I'm not sure how good of a director she is. Maybe there's just a certain endearing quality to that trailer that struck a chord with me. I don't know...
10. Mammoth(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
I didn't bother to watch his two films after Lilya and I'm not so certain he's that great of a director despite getting some amazing performances on his two films that I've seen, but the fact that he's not doing some avant-garde experiment that pretty much no one wants to see(at least so far I know) is enough to get me excited about this film.
Log
2008's not done yet...
...but I'll make a most anticipating list anyways.
Most Anticipated Movies of 2008
1. Tree of Life(dir. Terrence Malick)
If this gets off the ground and actually makes a 2008 release, you bet your ass that this year is going to rock.
2. Jack and Diane(dir. Bradley Rust Gray)
A lesbian werewolf movie with chicks around my age that are attractive (Ellen Page and that other chick in Juno) makes this probably my ultimate male fantasy movie since probably ever. Too bad, it hasn't gone into production yet so it might not make 2008.
3. The Road(dir. John Hillcoat)
I'm not exactly a fan of McCarthy's work just from the hundred or so pages I read of Blood Meridian and the film adaptation of No Country for Old Men, but The Proposition is easily probably the western of this decade and the whole post-apocalyptic world stuff makes me want to see what Hillcoat does with it.
4. Speed Racer(dir. The Wachowski Siblings?)
I don't know what compels me to see this movie. Maybe it's the fact that it could possibly be the biggest debacle of the year or that it might be the most ridiculously fun movie of the year.
5. Two Lovers(dir. James Gray)
A chick flick by the dude that did We Own the Night? Sounds good to me.
6. Diary of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero)
This film looks really... uhh... ahhh.... AHHH... BRAINS!!!
7. Untitled Todd Field Project(dir. Todd Field, duh!)
I highly doubt this will even make this year because it's not even titled yet, but Todd Field can do no wrong in my eyes(for now).
8. The Box(dir. Richard Kelly)
Even though it essentially sounds like a feature-length episode of The Twilight Zone, I simply have to see how this turns out after seeing that epic and fascinating mess that is called Southland Tales.
9. Stop Loss(dir. Kimberly Pierce)
This is another one of those films that I have no idea why I want to see it. I usually try to steer clear of these Oscar-bait sort of films and I haven't seen Boys Don't Cry so I'm not sure how good of a director she is. Maybe there's just a certain endearing quality to that trailer that struck a chord with me. I don't know...
10. Mammoth(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
I didn't bother to watch his two films after Lilya and I'm not so certain he's that great of a director despite getting some amazing performances on his two films that I've seen, but the fact that he's not doing some avant-garde experiment that pretty much no one wants to see(at least so far I know) is enough to get me excited about this film.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Oh SF...
Sink or Swim(dir. Su Friedrich)
Her films are intensely personal but are capable of sucking you in in an empathetic reverie. I've probably used this description before, but they really do play out like an intimate diary or journal entry that would be difficult to reveal to anybody due to how exposed emotionally they are. Much like some of her films, this film is her trying to come to terms with some aspect in her life and in this film, that would be her relationship with her largely absent father. Even though her films are intensely personal, she hardly ever presents the "story" as if it were her own. It could be anybody's story and she strives for a universality by focusing on the emotions instead of the details. The voice-over is detailed about certain events and memories about her father, but the main appeal is the emotions the voice-over conveys to the audience. It's almost cold and detached yet it's actually fiercely alive and emotional. Her poetic sensibility is immensely appealing to me so me labeling this as a masterpiece isn't that big of a surprise. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Cool Hands, Warm Heart(dir. Su Friedrich)
Images of women in the street protesting against the patriarchal society we live in by shaving their legs and armpits in public, cutting their hair, and skinning apples? The skinning apples didn't make all that much sense. Maybe it's supposed to represent how that particular woman feels being on a tiny stage, essentially exposing herself in public in an emotional sense. A woman eventually grabs her hand and takes her an arcade to have some fun(no, not sexual fun, get your mind out of the gutter). What does all this mean? This seems to be one of her more outspoken "message" films even though there's nothing didactic at all about it in the traditional sense with her evocative imagery and "storytelling." I feel what it's trying to convey is that feminism, especially of the lesbian sort, aims to create an environment where individuals can freely love without traditional gender rules, but the individuals trying to achieve this goal are also unable to love given the amount of time and energy they put into their effort. As the central woman is taken away by this unknown woman, there's a sense of liberation. As they have fun in the arcade, you can see that this is the protesters' vision of paradise and their ultimate goal. While my description probably makes it sound shittier than it really is, it's actually profoundly moving and thought-provoking unlike pseudo-feminist trash like The Vagina Monologues. It's another masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Scar Tissue(dir. Su Friedrich)
Another one of her more "message"-driven films and a little more heavy-handed or at least stretched compared to her other films of this type. Thankfully, it's not as bad as Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire, Too(I blame her co-director for everything that was wrong with that film). While it's duration is only 6 minutes, it's hard not to say that it feels a tad overlong even if it took me about half that time to figure out what she was trying to convey. The film is composed of images of men and woman in dress attire and the editing is much like a flicker film(or at least my understanding of them from what I've read). She conveys to the audience the unfairness of "acceptable" dress attire for men and woman. Men are able to wear suits and pants while woman must wear uncomfortable high-heels and skirts. While this thought is sound, it's not a particularly insightful one. It's probably the most subtle protest I've ever seen and I do agree with what she's saying, it just doesn't make all that great cinema. I still recommend.
*** out of ****
Her films are intensely personal but are capable of sucking you in in an empathetic reverie. I've probably used this description before, but they really do play out like an intimate diary or journal entry that would be difficult to reveal to anybody due to how exposed emotionally they are. Much like some of her films, this film is her trying to come to terms with some aspect in her life and in this film, that would be her relationship with her largely absent father. Even though her films are intensely personal, she hardly ever presents the "story" as if it were her own. It could be anybody's story and she strives for a universality by focusing on the emotions instead of the details. The voice-over is detailed about certain events and memories about her father, but the main appeal is the emotions the voice-over conveys to the audience. It's almost cold and detached yet it's actually fiercely alive and emotional. Her poetic sensibility is immensely appealing to me so me labeling this as a masterpiece isn't that big of a surprise. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Cool Hands, Warm Heart(dir. Su Friedrich)
Images of women in the street protesting against the patriarchal society we live in by shaving their legs and armpits in public, cutting their hair, and skinning apples? The skinning apples didn't make all that much sense. Maybe it's supposed to represent how that particular woman feels being on a tiny stage, essentially exposing herself in public in an emotional sense. A woman eventually grabs her hand and takes her an arcade to have some fun(no, not sexual fun, get your mind out of the gutter). What does all this mean? This seems to be one of her more outspoken "message" films even though there's nothing didactic at all about it in the traditional sense with her evocative imagery and "storytelling." I feel what it's trying to convey is that feminism, especially of the lesbian sort, aims to create an environment where individuals can freely love without traditional gender rules, but the individuals trying to achieve this goal are also unable to love given the amount of time and energy they put into their effort. As the central woman is taken away by this unknown woman, there's a sense of liberation. As they have fun in the arcade, you can see that this is the protesters' vision of paradise and their ultimate goal. While my description probably makes it sound shittier than it really is, it's actually profoundly moving and thought-provoking unlike pseudo-feminist trash like The Vagina Monologues. It's another masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Scar Tissue(dir. Su Friedrich)
Another one of her more "message"-driven films and a little more heavy-handed or at least stretched compared to her other films of this type. Thankfully, it's not as bad as Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire, Too(I blame her co-director for everything that was wrong with that film). While it's duration is only 6 minutes, it's hard not to say that it feels a tad overlong even if it took me about half that time to figure out what she was trying to convey. The film is composed of images of men and woman in dress attire and the editing is much like a flicker film(or at least my understanding of them from what I've read). She conveys to the audience the unfairness of "acceptable" dress attire for men and woman. Men are able to wear suits and pants while woman must wear uncomfortable high-heels and skirts. While this thought is sound, it's not a particularly insightful one. It's probably the most subtle protest I've ever seen and I do agree with what she's saying, it just doesn't make all that great cinema. I still recommend.
*** out of ****
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Oh Your Gun...
Decision at Sundown(dir. Budd Boetticher)
It was a rather standard and bland western. Randolph Scott is an actor who really needs to have good actors supporting him and since this film didn't really have any, it's easy to see why it's not so hot. The film ran at a sluggish pace due to spending most of it's time in a stable and a bar and a lack of narrative drive. There's only one memorable moment and that was when his partner hooks a dude's arm. Outside of that moment, the film was pretty much a bore. Valerie French gave a solid performance, but it wasn't good enough to salvage the thing. It was merely mediocre.
** out of ****
It was a rather standard and bland western. Randolph Scott is an actor who really needs to have good actors supporting him and since this film didn't really have any, it's easy to see why it's not so hot. The film ran at a sluggish pace due to spending most of it's time in a stable and a bar and a lack of narrative drive. There's only one memorable moment and that was when his partner hooks a dude's arm. Outside of that moment, the film was pretty much a bore. Valerie French gave a solid performance, but it wasn't good enough to salvage the thing. It was merely mediocre.
** out of ****
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Oh Bubonic Plague Carrying Bastards...
Ratatouille(dir. Brad Bird)
I liked it quite a bit, but for a movie about cooking, it's surprising to find it focusing on cooking very little during a majority of it's running time. The film, however, makes up for it by providing a scene of an army of rats working together to make gourmet cuisine. It's at this point when the film becomes quite lively and if it's development in creating a crowd-pleasing finale wasn't so apparent, I would have probably liked it even more. It's not a revolution in animated cinema or anything, but I still wholeheartedly recommend.
*** out of ****
I liked it quite a bit, but for a movie about cooking, it's surprising to find it focusing on cooking very little during a majority of it's running time. The film, however, makes up for it by providing a scene of an army of rats working together to make gourmet cuisine. It's at this point when the film becomes quite lively and if it's development in creating a crowd-pleasing finale wasn't so apparent, I would have probably liked it even more. It's not a revolution in animated cinema or anything, but I still wholeheartedly recommend.
*** out of ****
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Oh Who's Your Daddy?!...
Deck the Halls(dir. John Whitesell)
It was awful. Awfully good. I usually find unintentional comedy funnier than intentional comedy, but since it's goal isn't to make me laugh in at least the way I do, it's hard to really give a glowing recommendation for any movie with that sort of humor unless the movie is called Rush Hour 3, which almost appears to be intentional because it seemed like nobody really gave a shit. This movie almost approaches that level of ungraceful grace, but some people were actually not inept in terms of acting in this so it's hard to really look at it as a resounding failure-success. Matthew Broderick almost makes up for the lack of inept acting with his abomination of a performance. Thankfully, his performance isn't as overly cringe-inducing as John Travolta's in Wild Hogs, which was almost unbearably embarrassing, and the bizarre overabundance of repetitive line readings found in this film only helped to underline it's badness. It's almost the equivalent of taking a bad music cue and pressing rewind and playing it again. The awesome badness of the repetitive shitty line readings reaches it's apex with his character unknowingly ogles his daughter with Danny DeVito's character and constantly repeating, "Who's your daddy?!" Maeby is going to need some serious therapy down the road because of that. It's incestuous undertones are disturbing, but it was oddly funny because of Broderick's horrendous line readings. He might as well have repeated, "Yes, I'm a shitty actor!" It's strange to say a bad performance makes a movie, but his definitely makes this one worth watching along with the film's cheesy ending with the neighborhood trying to help DeVito's character with his quest to make his house visible from space by turning on their cell phones and waving them around to the sounds of some Christmas song. The ending wears out it's welcome, but it's hard not to say that it's probably one of the most lamest and hilarious things I've ever seen. I've changed my mind about slightly recommending it. I fully recommend this train wreck of a movie.
*** out of ****
Shrek the Halls(dir. Gary Trousdale)[TV]
Like I said above, I usually find unintentional comedy funnier than intentional comedy probably due to the fact that when a joke doesn't go off well, it's almost painful. A lot of the returning characters like the gingerbread man and Pinocchio are obnoxious and the humor has grown repetitive and stale. It's Christmasness, however, saves it from totally falling flat on it's face. It's pretty entertaining to see that this film has essentially the same message as the one above and presents it in almost the same exact manner. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
It was awful. Awfully good. I usually find unintentional comedy funnier than intentional comedy, but since it's goal isn't to make me laugh in at least the way I do, it's hard to really give a glowing recommendation for any movie with that sort of humor unless the movie is called Rush Hour 3, which almost appears to be intentional because it seemed like nobody really gave a shit. This movie almost approaches that level of ungraceful grace, but some people were actually not inept in terms of acting in this so it's hard to really look at it as a resounding failure-success. Matthew Broderick almost makes up for the lack of inept acting with his abomination of a performance. Thankfully, his performance isn't as overly cringe-inducing as John Travolta's in Wild Hogs, which was almost unbearably embarrassing, and the bizarre overabundance of repetitive line readings found in this film only helped to underline it's badness. It's almost the equivalent of taking a bad music cue and pressing rewind and playing it again. The awesome badness of the repetitive shitty line readings reaches it's apex with his character unknowingly ogles his daughter with Danny DeVito's character and constantly repeating, "Who's your daddy?!" Maeby is going to need some serious therapy down the road because of that. It's incestuous undertones are disturbing, but it was oddly funny because of Broderick's horrendous line readings. He might as well have repeated, "Yes, I'm a shitty actor!" It's strange to say a bad performance makes a movie, but his definitely makes this one worth watching along with the film's cheesy ending with the neighborhood trying to help DeVito's character with his quest to make his house visible from space by turning on their cell phones and waving them around to the sounds of some Christmas song. The ending wears out it's welcome, but it's hard not to say that it's probably one of the most lamest and hilarious things I've ever seen. I've changed my mind about slightly recommending it. I fully recommend this train wreck of a movie.
*** out of ****
Shrek the Halls(dir. Gary Trousdale)[TV]
Like I said above, I usually find unintentional comedy funnier than intentional comedy probably due to the fact that when a joke doesn't go off well, it's almost painful. A lot of the returning characters like the gingerbread man and Pinocchio are obnoxious and the humor has grown repetitive and stale. It's Christmasness, however, saves it from totally falling flat on it's face. It's pretty entertaining to see that this film has essentially the same message as the one above and presents it in almost the same exact manner. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Oh Wong Kar-Wai...
Best to Worst
1. Chungking Express
2. 2046
3. Days of Being Wild
4. Fallen Angels
5. In the Mood for Love(need to rewatch)
1. Chungking Express
2. 2046
3. Days of Being Wild
4. Fallen Angels
5. In the Mood for Love(need to rewatch)
Oh Hou Hsiao-Hsien...
Best to Worst
1. Millenium Mambo
2. Goodbye, South Goodbye
3. The Flowers of Shanghai
4. Cafe Lumeire
5. Three Times
1. Millenium Mambo
2. Goodbye, South Goodbye
3. The Flowers of Shanghai
4. Cafe Lumeire
5. Three Times
Oh Tsai Ming-Liang...
Best to Worst
1. The Hole
2. The Rebels of the Neon God
3. Vive L'Amour
4. Goodbye, Dragon Inn
5. What Time is It There?
6. The River
7. The Skywalk is Gone
8. The Wayward Cloud
1. The Hole
2. The Rebels of the Neon God
3. Vive L'Amour
4. Goodbye, Dragon Inn
5. What Time is It There?
6. The River
7. The Skywalk is Gone
8. The Wayward Cloud
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Oh Thai Midget Cowboy...
Pride & Prejudice(dir. Joe Wright)
I dare anybody who finds Keira Knightley unattractive to watch this and not be enraptured by her beauty. It's hard not to be won over by this film even if it's not exactly intellectually complex. It's romanticism is a little too optimistic, but I was still able to enjoy it immensely. The cinematography was quite beautiful as was the film itself. Gotta see Atonement now. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Tears of the Black Tiger(dir. Wisit "Sid" Sasanatieng)
This movie contains a Thai midget cowboy so do I really need to even write a review? Much like Planet Terror, I'm not sure if I was supposed to be gawking or laughing at it, but unlike that film, you're actually able to gawk at the film with it's inventive deaths and intense colors and laugh at the film with it's imagery of a dancing midget cowboy. It plays out like a western melodrama with WW2-era weaponry including bazookas directed by Seijun Suzuki in a more coherent and silly fashion than his usual self. It's stylistic excess simply can't compete with anything remotely transcendentally imaginative by Suzuki, but it's still a good and crazy watch. I recommend.
*** out of ****
I dare anybody who finds Keira Knightley unattractive to watch this and not be enraptured by her beauty. It's hard not to be won over by this film even if it's not exactly intellectually complex. It's romanticism is a little too optimistic, but I was still able to enjoy it immensely. The cinematography was quite beautiful as was the film itself. Gotta see Atonement now. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Tears of the Black Tiger(dir. Wisit "Sid" Sasanatieng)
This movie contains a Thai midget cowboy so do I really need to even write a review? Much like Planet Terror, I'm not sure if I was supposed to be gawking or laughing at it, but unlike that film, you're actually able to gawk at the film with it's inventive deaths and intense colors and laugh at the film with it's imagery of a dancing midget cowboy. It plays out like a western melodrama with WW2-era weaponry including bazookas directed by Seijun Suzuki in a more coherent and silly fashion than his usual self. It's stylistic excess simply can't compete with anything remotely transcendentally imaginative by Suzuki, but it's still a good and crazy watch. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Monday, November 26, 2007
Oh There's Something Really Sexy About Scrooge McDuck...
The Painted Veil(dir. John Curran)
The whole thing is pretty much disposable. It's sort of blandly affecting and it's already escaping my memory as I write this, but I still think it's recommendable. There's something inherently theatrical about actors doing fake British accents and period piece decor and this film has both. Toby Jones gives probably the most memorable performance because well, he's actually British and has the juiciest role as a good-hearted sleazeball. Naomi Watts looks ravishing as usual. She has a rather simplistic role, but she still gives a fine performance. The film doesn't contain much depth because everything is pretty much on the surface so it creates an instantly forgettable atmosphere, which makes the whole thing feel disposable. The story seems to scream for a sweeping epicness much like a David Lean film like Doctor Zhivago, but it simply doesn't have it. The director aimed for a more intimate and self-contained atmosphere, but since everything is rather simplistic, his attempt isn't entirely successful. Doctor Zhivago, a film that contained that epic scope, also felt intimate so it's possible to acclompish both. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
The Last Days of Disco(dir. Whit Stillman)
It's strange to find a film being ameliorated with this fun, light-hearted, and borderline ridiculous ending, but yeah. The ending clearly has the sense of fun that some of the film's preceding moments would have greatly benefited from. These characters are his most unlikeable creations since none of them realize how vain they are. In his other films, it seemed like some of his characters were conscious of their flaws, but here, they all seem oblivious, which makes them more irritating to spend time with. The film is also not all that romantic outside of it's ending compared to his previous efforts. There's never really a moment in the film where the characters show that they're aren't completely narcissistic so it's hard to really embrace the film, but man, it's hard not to have a smile on your face with that ending. This film actually has some of his most amusing bits of dialogue especially one memorable conversation about Lady & The Tramp. It also contains the funniest moment out of all of his films, which is simply the sight of Chris Eigeman's priceless expression after Kate Beckinsale's character says that disco might have died because of the herpes epidemic, but this film is still, in my mind, his weakest effort. It's disappointing to find Carolyn Farina's presence only amounts to a brief silent cameo since I thought she was the most appealing part of Metropolitan. She really needs to do more movies because she has a terrific screen presence. If it wasn't for the ending, I wouldn't being recommending this film, but here I am, slightly recommending it. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
P.S.
Interestingly enough, I saw a tiny bit of this when I was younger and it happened to be the scene where the woman is nude on the couch. I'm pretty sure it was my first exposure to nudity in a movie. I always wondered what the movie was called and it's strange to stumble upon it by simply going through my normal cinephillic viewing pattern, but yeah.
The whole thing is pretty much disposable. It's sort of blandly affecting and it's already escaping my memory as I write this, but I still think it's recommendable. There's something inherently theatrical about actors doing fake British accents and period piece decor and this film has both. Toby Jones gives probably the most memorable performance because well, he's actually British and has the juiciest role as a good-hearted sleazeball. Naomi Watts looks ravishing as usual. She has a rather simplistic role, but she still gives a fine performance. The film doesn't contain much depth because everything is pretty much on the surface so it creates an instantly forgettable atmosphere, which makes the whole thing feel disposable. The story seems to scream for a sweeping epicness much like a David Lean film like Doctor Zhivago, but it simply doesn't have it. The director aimed for a more intimate and self-contained atmosphere, but since everything is rather simplistic, his attempt isn't entirely successful. Doctor Zhivago, a film that contained that epic scope, also felt intimate so it's possible to acclompish both. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
The Last Days of Disco(dir. Whit Stillman)
It's strange to find a film being ameliorated with this fun, light-hearted, and borderline ridiculous ending, but yeah. The ending clearly has the sense of fun that some of the film's preceding moments would have greatly benefited from. These characters are his most unlikeable creations since none of them realize how vain they are. In his other films, it seemed like some of his characters were conscious of their flaws, but here, they all seem oblivious, which makes them more irritating to spend time with. The film is also not all that romantic outside of it's ending compared to his previous efforts. There's never really a moment in the film where the characters show that they're aren't completely narcissistic so it's hard to really embrace the film, but man, it's hard not to have a smile on your face with that ending. This film actually has some of his most amusing bits of dialogue especially one memorable conversation about Lady & The Tramp. It also contains the funniest moment out of all of his films, which is simply the sight of Chris Eigeman's priceless expression after Kate Beckinsale's character says that disco might have died because of the herpes epidemic, but this film is still, in my mind, his weakest effort. It's disappointing to find Carolyn Farina's presence only amounts to a brief silent cameo since I thought she was the most appealing part of Metropolitan. She really needs to do more movies because she has a terrific screen presence. If it wasn't for the ending, I wouldn't being recommending this film, but here I am, slightly recommending it. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
P.S.
Interestingly enough, I saw a tiny bit of this when I was younger and it happened to be the scene where the woman is nude on the couch. I'm pretty sure it was my first exposure to nudity in a movie. I always wondered what the movie was called and it's strange to stumble upon it by simply going through my normal cinephillic viewing pattern, but yeah.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Oh You Can't Stop What's Coming...
There Will Be Blood Trailer #3
Super hyped up now. The music was crazzzy and looks like Daniel Day-Lewis gives one of the most sinister and devilish performances ever. I can't wait.
**** out of ****
No Country for Old Men(dir. Coen Brothers)
More like No Country for Overrated Movies. Just kidding. To an extent. It's easy to see how it's getting such high notices by the critics because it's accessible to a wide audience and it's obviously well-crafted, but much like Pan's Labyrinth, just because it's probably the best reviewed movie of the year doesn't mean it's anywhere near the best. It's also made by filmmakers that most will say have had an artistic slouch with their two previous films so maybe it's just that the critics were excited that they made something actually good after those two films(haven't seen either, just going by the critical reaction). I'm sort of a contrarian, but since this was easily one of my most anticipated films of the year, I feel that it's just not me trying to be "different" from everybody else. It's just not all that great. There's definite moments of brilliance, but in the package it's in, it's hard to say it approaches anything resembling a masterpiece. The film is sort of an artfully done thriller in it's first three quarters of the film and during this portion's running time, it's hard not to say that it wears out it's welcome and then the film becomes something more interesting and then eventually fizzles out with that tangent. The film's ability at creating a sense of place with it's focus on little details is commendable, but it's not equally able at creating an effective dramatic story. There's something inherently dramatic about a man getting chased down by pretty much a killing machine, but there's brief glimpses that show that the film could have been better like a scene where Llewelyn is leaning against a rail after an encounter with Chigurh all bloody and looking like he's about to cry. It's a very emotionally involving moment in a rather cold film filled with violence. Anton Cigurh is an interesting character and probably the most memorable, but since he creates all the violence in the picture, it's hard to really embrace him or the film. I'd say that's most likely more the source material's fault than the Coen Brothers due to McCarthy's extreme non-description of characters in at least the book I attempted to read, Blood Meridian, and what I've heard of The Road. And much like those two books, this film is filled with violence and you'll probably end up walking away with images of blood in your head rather than a character's face after a shoot out. The film is still emotionally engaging and it would be fine if it ended on a good note, but you know, of course, it doesn't. I can't really imagine how anybody could defend this ending. It feels so tacked-on especially when a scene that precedes it would have made a really good ending. Heck, I would haven given this film a higher recommendation if it wasn't for the ending. Some could argue that it brings to the forefront the film's theme of violence being a part of human nature for as long as we existed, but you still have to wonder if it's really necessary? It's almost the equivalent of the ending of Psycho where someone tries to dumb down and sum up the picture for the audience, but more anticlimactic and out of place. I've heard the book ended that way, but why not improve on the book by excising that ending? It's still a good film, but when viewed as a whole, it just could have been so much more.
*** out of ****
P.S.
The more I think about this movie, the more I dislike it. My gut reaction right now is ** because I'm starting to feel totally indifferent to this film on an emotional and intellectual level. The violence, while abundant, had no weight and the characters are more like ciphers than actual flesh and blood now that I think about it. Anton Cirgurh, while fascinating at the time, might as well have been played by Arnold Schwarzenegger since he's pretty much The Terminator. There's also an apparent lack of conviction with the film's message, which isn't totally surprising since it's neither profound or new. The world isn't in the greatest shape, but it seems particularly puzzling why the violence in the film really didn't hint at this message until Tommy Lee Jones's character started to talk about the violent and scary times we're living in. It's a fault of the filmmakers even if aesthetically in terms of image and sound, the film is rather pleasing. Disappointing and overrated.
Super hyped up now. The music was crazzzy and looks like Daniel Day-Lewis gives one of the most sinister and devilish performances ever. I can't wait.
**** out of ****
No Country for Old Men(dir. Coen Brothers)
More like No Country for Overrated Movies. Just kidding. To an extent. It's easy to see how it's getting such high notices by the critics because it's accessible to a wide audience and it's obviously well-crafted, but much like Pan's Labyrinth, just because it's probably the best reviewed movie of the year doesn't mean it's anywhere near the best. It's also made by filmmakers that most will say have had an artistic slouch with their two previous films so maybe it's just that the critics were excited that they made something actually good after those two films(haven't seen either, just going by the critical reaction). I'm sort of a contrarian, but since this was easily one of my most anticipated films of the year, I feel that it's just not me trying to be "different" from everybody else. It's just not all that great. There's definite moments of brilliance, but in the package it's in, it's hard to say it approaches anything resembling a masterpiece. The film is sort of an artfully done thriller in it's first three quarters of the film and during this portion's running time, it's hard not to say that it wears out it's welcome and then the film becomes something more interesting and then eventually fizzles out with that tangent. The film's ability at creating a sense of place with it's focus on little details is commendable, but it's not equally able at creating an effective dramatic story. There's something inherently dramatic about a man getting chased down by pretty much a killing machine, but there's brief glimpses that show that the film could have been better like a scene where Llewelyn is leaning against a rail after an encounter with Chigurh all bloody and looking like he's about to cry. It's a very emotionally involving moment in a rather cold film filled with violence. Anton Cigurh is an interesting character and probably the most memorable, but since he creates all the violence in the picture, it's hard to really embrace him or the film. I'd say that's most likely more the source material's fault than the Coen Brothers due to McCarthy's extreme non-description of characters in at least the book I attempted to read, Blood Meridian, and what I've heard of The Road. And much like those two books, this film is filled with violence and you'll probably end up walking away with images of blood in your head rather than a character's face after a shoot out. The film is still emotionally engaging and it would be fine if it ended on a good note, but you know, of course, it doesn't. I can't really imagine how anybody could defend this ending. It feels so tacked-on especially when a scene that precedes it would have made a really good ending. Heck, I would haven given this film a higher recommendation if it wasn't for the ending. Some could argue that it brings to the forefront the film's theme of violence being a part of human nature for as long as we existed, but you still have to wonder if it's really necessary? It's almost the equivalent of the ending of Psycho where someone tries to dumb down and sum up the picture for the audience, but more anticlimactic and out of place. I've heard the book ended that way, but why not improve on the book by excising that ending? It's still a good film, but when viewed as a whole, it just could have been so much more.
*** out of ****
P.S.
The more I think about this movie, the more I dislike it. My gut reaction right now is ** because I'm starting to feel totally indifferent to this film on an emotional and intellectual level. The violence, while abundant, had no weight and the characters are more like ciphers than actual flesh and blood now that I think about it. Anton Cirgurh, while fascinating at the time, might as well have been played by Arnold Schwarzenegger since he's pretty much The Terminator. There's also an apparent lack of conviction with the film's message, which isn't totally surprising since it's neither profound or new. The world isn't in the greatest shape, but it seems particularly puzzling why the violence in the film really didn't hint at this message until Tommy Lee Jones's character started to talk about the violent and scary times we're living in. It's a fault of the filmmakers even if aesthetically in terms of image and sound, the film is rather pleasing. Disappointing and overrated.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Oh Fire in the Hole...
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause(dir. Michael Lembeck)
So bad, it's good. Well, so bad, it's decent at least. It doesn't retain a constant state of ridiculous badness like Rush Hour 3 does so when you experience the stretches that aren't amusing at all, it's just bad. The annoying fat Jewish Elf kid from the second one is in this one and boy, you wish he got hit by a car more than ever, but thankfully, his time on screen is rather minimal. I fail to see how someone wouldn't think Tim Allen going "fire in the hole" while his ass is on fire or Judge Reinhold having a little too much Christmas spirit at least as mildly amusing. Everybody is so happy and joyful that it's borderline creepy, which makes it even more hilarious when it's cheesy "heart-warming" moments come around. Alan Arkin and Ann Margaret are the only ones that aren't very convincing in their drunkedness on the happiness that is Christmas time and stick out like sore thumbs. They're easily the worst thing in the movie. They just totally kill the Christmas spirit. Merry Christmas. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Live Free or Die Hard[Unrated Cut](dir. Len Wiseman)
This is seriously the cut that should have gone to theaters. Without all the coarse language, John McClane didn't seem like John McClane. Without all the swearing, they might as well have made it Ethan Hunt or James Bond. While this is the definitive version of the film, it's still marred with the same problems as the original cut. The action set-pieces are some of the most ridiculously fun set-pieces found in all of cinema, but when they're not happening, the film noticeably drags. It could be because the drama of the film isn't really all that involving, but I feel it's because of a more serious problem: they don't focus on John McClane enough. The previous Die Hard films were fine when they focused on the "bad guys" a little bit now and then because well, they had fucking guns and the bad guys in this are armed with computers so it's just not the same. The villains also barely register due to a lack of screen presence. Timothy Olyphant tries his damnedest to be sinister, but he's not all that threatening. While some of John's one-liners are hilarious, there's just some that verge on being offensive with their misogyny. It's hard to laugh or be expected to laugh when he refers to a woman he killed as a "another dead Asian hooker bitch" way after his encounter with her. It's still definitely the best action movie of the year and the second best Die Hard film after Die Hard 2: Die Harder. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Rescue Dawn(dir. Werner Herzog)
Little Dieter Needs to Fly is a great documentary and a fictional recount of his experience in a Laotian prison camp isn't a totally awful idea, but I simply couldn't shake the notion that he'd probably fuck it up especially with the relative Hollywood-ish gloss this film had in it's trailers. It's not a total fuck up, but it's hard to really call it a resounding success as well. I'd imagine the film would have been more effective if it was much more grim and bleak especially in concern with this film's ending. There's also the fact that the film is undeniably overlong with the time spent in the prison camp(more reasonable) and time spent outside of the prison camp(more unreasonable). The decapitation scene was handled rather sloppily(can't show the head get cut off!). While I'm fine with not going crazy on the blood and guts in movies, this film felt like it specifically was trying to divert away from it in rather clumsy ways. The ending, while touching, seemed like it was lifted from a goddamn inspirational sports movie. Dieter threw the winning catch! It's hard not to be moved by this, but when you think about it, was this film really necessary? Hearing the real Dieter talk about his life experiences is much more emotionally involving than watching actors recreate it. I don't think the film was all that Hollywood-ized outside of it's ending, but there's still an undeniable sensation that Herzog was holding back or was held back. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
So bad, it's good. Well, so bad, it's decent at least. It doesn't retain a constant state of ridiculous badness like Rush Hour 3 does so when you experience the stretches that aren't amusing at all, it's just bad. The annoying fat Jewish Elf kid from the second one is in this one and boy, you wish he got hit by a car more than ever, but thankfully, his time on screen is rather minimal. I fail to see how someone wouldn't think Tim Allen going "fire in the hole" while his ass is on fire or Judge Reinhold having a little too much Christmas spirit at least as mildly amusing. Everybody is so happy and joyful that it's borderline creepy, which makes it even more hilarious when it's cheesy "heart-warming" moments come around. Alan Arkin and Ann Margaret are the only ones that aren't very convincing in their drunkedness on the happiness that is Christmas time and stick out like sore thumbs. They're easily the worst thing in the movie. They just totally kill the Christmas spirit. Merry Christmas. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Live Free or Die Hard[Unrated Cut](dir. Len Wiseman)
This is seriously the cut that should have gone to theaters. Without all the coarse language, John McClane didn't seem like John McClane. Without all the swearing, they might as well have made it Ethan Hunt or James Bond. While this is the definitive version of the film, it's still marred with the same problems as the original cut. The action set-pieces are some of the most ridiculously fun set-pieces found in all of cinema, but when they're not happening, the film noticeably drags. It could be because the drama of the film isn't really all that involving, but I feel it's because of a more serious problem: they don't focus on John McClane enough. The previous Die Hard films were fine when they focused on the "bad guys" a little bit now and then because well, they had fucking guns and the bad guys in this are armed with computers so it's just not the same. The villains also barely register due to a lack of screen presence. Timothy Olyphant tries his damnedest to be sinister, but he's not all that threatening. While some of John's one-liners are hilarious, there's just some that verge on being offensive with their misogyny. It's hard to laugh or be expected to laugh when he refers to a woman he killed as a "another dead Asian hooker bitch" way after his encounter with her. It's still definitely the best action movie of the year and the second best Die Hard film after Die Hard 2: Die Harder. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Rescue Dawn(dir. Werner Herzog)
Little Dieter Needs to Fly is a great documentary and a fictional recount of his experience in a Laotian prison camp isn't a totally awful idea, but I simply couldn't shake the notion that he'd probably fuck it up especially with the relative Hollywood-ish gloss this film had in it's trailers. It's not a total fuck up, but it's hard to really call it a resounding success as well. I'd imagine the film would have been more effective if it was much more grim and bleak especially in concern with this film's ending. There's also the fact that the film is undeniably overlong with the time spent in the prison camp(more reasonable) and time spent outside of the prison camp(more unreasonable). The decapitation scene was handled rather sloppily(can't show the head get cut off!). While I'm fine with not going crazy on the blood and guts in movies, this film felt like it specifically was trying to divert away from it in rather clumsy ways. The ending, while touching, seemed like it was lifted from a goddamn inspirational sports movie. Dieter threw the winning catch! It's hard not to be moved by this, but when you think about it, was this film really necessary? Hearing the real Dieter talk about his life experiences is much more emotionally involving than watching actors recreate it. I don't think the film was all that Hollywood-ized outside of it's ending, but there's still an undeniable sensation that Herzog was holding back or was held back. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Oh Terrence Malick...
Best to Worst
1. The New World
2. Days of Heaven
3. Badlands
4. The Thin Red Line(need to rewatch)
1. The New World
2. Days of Heaven
3. Badlands
4. The Thin Red Line(need to rewatch)
Oh Anthony Mann...
Best to Worst
1. The Man From Laramie
2. T-Men
3. The Naked Spur
4. Winchester '73
5. The Tin Star
1. The Man From Laramie
2. T-Men
3. The Naked Spur
4. Winchester '73
5. The Tin Star
Oh Baby, You're Going to Miss Your Plane...
Before Sunset(dir. Richard Linklater)
The characters are much more likeable this time around due to their more realistic and less naive disposition. They still yearn for true romantic love, but they're more cynical and more experienced from simply living their lives since the last time they saw each other. It's refreshing to see that this film is purely focused on the couple's ongoing conversation and doesn't resort to colorful side characters to "spruce" up it's narrative. It's a better film than Before Sunrise, but I don't know if I would quite call it great. It's ending, while perfect in set-up, isn't all that emotionally satisfying due to a use of a fade to black instead of just cutting it off. Broken English, a film that "borrows" this film's last two lines, ended by simply cutting it off and it was pretty much perfect because of it. A fade to black just makes an end is too conclusive and doesn't create audience curiosity like a simple cut to black does. It's just that I'd imagine enjoying it more if it concluded better. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
The characters are much more likeable this time around due to their more realistic and less naive disposition. They still yearn for true romantic love, but they're more cynical and more experienced from simply living their lives since the last time they saw each other. It's refreshing to see that this film is purely focused on the couple's ongoing conversation and doesn't resort to colorful side characters to "spruce" up it's narrative. It's a better film than Before Sunrise, but I don't know if I would quite call it great. It's ending, while perfect in set-up, isn't all that emotionally satisfying due to a use of a fade to black instead of just cutting it off. Broken English, a film that "borrows" this film's last two lines, ended by simply cutting it off and it was pretty much perfect because of it. A fade to black just makes an end is too conclusive and doesn't create audience curiosity like a simple cut to black does. It's just that I'd imagine enjoying it more if it concluded better. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Monday, November 19, 2007
Oh 100...
Top 10
1. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
3. In a Lonely Place(dir. Nicholas Ray)
4. Titicut Follies(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
5. Woman in the Dunes(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
6. The Mirror(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
7. L'Argent(dir. Robert Bresson)
8. The Hole(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
9. Pistol Opera(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
10. Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
I posted this on a message board. It's my top 100 films.
No Limit. No Order. No Mercy.
1. Lilya 4-Ever
Because of Oksana Akinshina's performance and the ending overwhelms me with sadness and happiness.
2. Show Me Love/Fucking Amal
Because it puts a smile on my face.
3. Chungking Express
Because it puts a smile on my face and Faye Wong is adorable.
4. 2046
Because it make me nostalgic and Faye Wong is adorable.
5. Choose Me
Because it puts a smile on my face.
6. M*A*S*H
Because it makes me laugh, I love Catch-22, and Elliot Gould is the fucking man.
7. California Split
Because it makes me laugh and Elliot Gould is the fucking man.
8. The Player
Because traffic was a bitch.
9. Short Cuts
Because it made me fall in love with Robert Altman.
10. Nashville
Because it don't worry me.
11. The New World
Because the ending overwhelms me and the cinematography is gorgeous.
12. Days of Heaven
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
13. Mirror
Because the ending overwhelms me and it's poetry for the eyes.
14. Andrei Rublev
Because it changed my perception of what a film can be and the Jester in the rain scene encapsulates everything that is beautiful and tragic about our existence.
15. The Sacrifice
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
16. Miami Vice
Because the ending overwhelms me and the cinematography is gorgeous.
17. Heat
Because the ending overwhelms me.
18. My Darling Clementine
Because of Henry Fonda and it's poetry for the eyes.
19. The Searchers
Because of John Wayne holding up Natalie Wood in the air.
20. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Because of Vera Miles putting a cactus flower on John Wayne's casket and Lee Marvin.
21. Pistol Opera
Because it's fucking insane.
22. Branded to Kill
Because I secretly want a room full of dead butterflies.
23. Tokyo Drifter
Because I secretly want to sing the theme song of the movie I'm in.
24. L'Argent
Because it's the first Bresson film I fell in love with.
25. Lancelot of the Lake
Because Knights + Bresson = Awesome.
26. Diary of a Country Priest
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
27. Mouchette
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
28. In a Lonely Place
Because it's the first film that convinced me that Bogey was a great actor, further convinced me that Gloria Grahame was the sexiest woman ever to grace celluloid, and the ending overwhelms me.
29. On Dangerous Ground
Because it further convinced me that Ida Lupino is a total babe and the ending overwhelms me.
30. The Killing
Because Sterling Hayden is the fucking man and it's absolutely thrilling.
31. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Because Space + Classical Music = Awesome.
32. Dr. Strangelove
Because mein Fuhrer, I CAN WALK!
33. Henry Fool
Because any film that can make someone having an intense shit into something mildly moving is a masterpiece in my book.
34. Trust
Because the ending overwhelms me.
35. Simple Men
Because the ending overwhelms me and is probably the greatest ending. Ever.
36. Fay Grim
Because the ending overwhelms me.
37. Mulholland Dr.
Because it's fucking insane and has some of the sexiest sex scenes ever. SEX.
38. The Hole
Because the ending overwhelms me and puts a smile on my face.
39. Rebels of the Neon God
Because the soundtrack is rad and Tsai is the man.
40. Goodbye, Dragon Inn
Because it bored the shit out of me until the ending, which was absolutely beautiful.
41. Vive L'Amour
Because the masturbation-sex scene was pretty hilarious and Tsai is the man. The ending overwhelmed me with it's length.
42. What Time is It There?
Because Buddhism is funny and Tsai is the man.
43. Down by Law
Because I screama, you screama, we all screama for ice creama.
44. Dead Man
Because the soundtrack is rad and the cinematography is gorgeous.
45. Millenium Mambo
Because the beginning and end are absolutely beautiful. Shu Qi is quite easy on the eyes as well.
46. The Royal Tenenbaums
Because of these days... and the ending overwhelms me.
47. Suspiria
Because the soundtrack is rad and it's fucking insane.
48. Winter Light
Because it's the first film to convince me that Bergman was, in fact, a master.
49. The Seventh Seal
Because Bibi Andersson's performance puts a smile on my face and Death is one hell of a chess player.
50. Killer of Sheep
Because it turns human existence into something beautifully poetic.
51. The Pawnbroker
Because it takes the Holocaust and deals with it in profound and modern ways.
52. Do the Right Thing
Because it makes me think.
53. Scorpio Rising
Because it's fucking insane and any movie that compares a biker to Jesus is a OK in my book.
54. Damned If You Don't
Because the ending overwhelms me on a sexual and emotional level.
55. The Ties That Bind
Because it makes me think and the cinematography is gorgeous.
56. First Comes Love
Because it's the most succinct and beautiful argument for legalizing gay marriage.
57. The Rules of the Road
Because it's ending is overwhelmingly cathartic and setting pop songs to images of station wagons is genius.
58. Lessons of Darkness
Because oil has never looked so good.
59. Aguirre, The Wrath of God
Because it's fucking insane and that tribesman can sure work that flute.
60. Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Because the ending overwhelms me.
61. Platform
Because the monotony of life has never been so poetically beautiful.
62. Paris, Texas
Because of the scene with the phones and glass.
63. The Marriage of Maria Braun
Because she's a babe and I have never seen a period piece like it.
64. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Because Ben Gazzara and John Cassavetes are the fucking mans.
65. Shadows
Because John Cassavetes is the fucking man.
66. A Woman Under the Influence
Because Gena Rowlands is amazing and it convinced me that Peter Falk is the fucking man.
67. The Sweet Hereafter
Because it's so utterly elegant and poetic in it's depiction of coming to terms with death.
68. Belle De Jour
Because I wish prostitutes looked like that.
69. Rear Window
Because it surprises me even though I know what happens.
70. Psycho
Because it surprises me even though I know what happens.
71. Vertigo
Because obsession has never been so fun.
72. The Birds
Because it sounds horrible on paper but is quite terrifying on the screen.
73. Woman in the Dunes
Because it's absolutely haunting.
74. Harakiri
Because it further convinced me that Akira Kurosawa isn't that great.
75. The Wind Will Carry Us
Because it's poetry for the eyes and makes me think.
76. Taste of Cherry
Because it makes me think.
77. Close-up
Because it makes me think.
78. Small Deaths
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
79. The Big Lebowski
Because Jeff Lebowski should be everybody's role model.
80. Rocco and His Brothers
Because Alain Delon is the fucking man and melodrama has never been so gritty.
81. The Passenger
Because it convinced me that sometime in Jack Nicholson's life, he was actually a great actor.
82. Apocalypse Now
Because war has never been so beautiful in all it's chaos and glory.
83. Taxi Driver
Because it took me three tries before I actually enjoyed it and it's grit is almost intoxicating.
84. Nostalgia(Frampton)
Because it makes me think.
85. Masculin, feminin
Because it's what I imagined when I first read and heard about the French New Wave and Chantal Goya is adorable.
86. Landscape in the Mist
Because that hand coming out of the sea is crazy.
87. The Battle of Algiers
Because it convinced me that terrorism could, in fact, be poetry.
88. Ashes and Diamonds
Because bloodstained sheets make awesome flags.
89. La Dolce Vita
Because it's fucking insane.
90. 8 1/2
Because it's fucking insane.
91. You Only Live Once
Because Henry Fonda and cynicism has never been so rad.
92. Ace in the Hole
Because of Kirk Douglas's performance and cynicism has never been so rad.
93. The Lady from Shanghai
Because it convinced me that Welles was a master.
94. Le Cercle Rouge
Because Alain Delon is the fucking man and those club scenes are awe-inspiring.
95. Le Samourai
Because Alain Delon is the fucking man and it's meticulousness is downright intoxicating.
96. The Fall of the House of Usher
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
97. Wanda
Because it turns human existence into something beautifully poetic.
98. Titicut Follies
Because it's horrifying and beautiful.
99. Hospital
Because it's horrifying and it restores my faith in humanity.
100. Dekalog Six
Because it's the best Dekalog out of the seven I've seen and portrays love in a tragically beautiful way.
1. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
3. In a Lonely Place(dir. Nicholas Ray)
4. Titicut Follies(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
5. Woman in the Dunes(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
6. The Mirror(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
7. L'Argent(dir. Robert Bresson)
8. The Hole(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
9. Pistol Opera(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
10. Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
I posted this on a message board. It's my top 100 films.
No Limit. No Order. No Mercy.
1. Lilya 4-Ever
Because of Oksana Akinshina's performance and the ending overwhelms me with sadness and happiness.
2. Show Me Love/Fucking Amal
Because it puts a smile on my face.
3. Chungking Express
Because it puts a smile on my face and Faye Wong is adorable.
4. 2046
Because it make me nostalgic and Faye Wong is adorable.
5. Choose Me
Because it puts a smile on my face.
6. M*A*S*H
Because it makes me laugh, I love Catch-22, and Elliot Gould is the fucking man.
7. California Split
Because it makes me laugh and Elliot Gould is the fucking man.
8. The Player
Because traffic was a bitch.
9. Short Cuts
Because it made me fall in love with Robert Altman.
10. Nashville
Because it don't worry me.
11. The New World
Because the ending overwhelms me and the cinematography is gorgeous.
12. Days of Heaven
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
13. Mirror
Because the ending overwhelms me and it's poetry for the eyes.
14. Andrei Rublev
Because it changed my perception of what a film can be and the Jester in the rain scene encapsulates everything that is beautiful and tragic about our existence.
15. The Sacrifice
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
16. Miami Vice
Because the ending overwhelms me and the cinematography is gorgeous.
17. Heat
Because the ending overwhelms me.
18. My Darling Clementine
Because of Henry Fonda and it's poetry for the eyes.
19. The Searchers
Because of John Wayne holding up Natalie Wood in the air.
20. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Because of Vera Miles putting a cactus flower on John Wayne's casket and Lee Marvin.
21. Pistol Opera
Because it's fucking insane.
22. Branded to Kill
Because I secretly want a room full of dead butterflies.
23. Tokyo Drifter
Because I secretly want to sing the theme song of the movie I'm in.
24. L'Argent
Because it's the first Bresson film I fell in love with.
25. Lancelot of the Lake
Because Knights + Bresson = Awesome.
26. Diary of a Country Priest
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
27. Mouchette
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
28. In a Lonely Place
Because it's the first film that convinced me that Bogey was a great actor, further convinced me that Gloria Grahame was the sexiest woman ever to grace celluloid, and the ending overwhelms me.
29. On Dangerous Ground
Because it further convinced me that Ida Lupino is a total babe and the ending overwhelms me.
30. The Killing
Because Sterling Hayden is the fucking man and it's absolutely thrilling.
31. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Because Space + Classical Music = Awesome.
32. Dr. Strangelove
Because mein Fuhrer, I CAN WALK!
33. Henry Fool
Because any film that can make someone having an intense shit into something mildly moving is a masterpiece in my book.
34. Trust
Because the ending overwhelms me.
35. Simple Men
Because the ending overwhelms me and is probably the greatest ending. Ever.
36. Fay Grim
Because the ending overwhelms me.
37. Mulholland Dr.
Because it's fucking insane and has some of the sexiest sex scenes ever. SEX.
38. The Hole
Because the ending overwhelms me and puts a smile on my face.
39. Rebels of the Neon God
Because the soundtrack is rad and Tsai is the man.
40. Goodbye, Dragon Inn
Because it bored the shit out of me until the ending, which was absolutely beautiful.
41. Vive L'Amour
Because the masturbation-sex scene was pretty hilarious and Tsai is the man. The ending overwhelmed me with it's length.
42. What Time is It There?
Because Buddhism is funny and Tsai is the man.
43. Down by Law
Because I screama, you screama, we all screama for ice creama.
44. Dead Man
Because the soundtrack is rad and the cinematography is gorgeous.
45. Millenium Mambo
Because the beginning and end are absolutely beautiful. Shu Qi is quite easy on the eyes as well.
46. The Royal Tenenbaums
Because of these days... and the ending overwhelms me.
47. Suspiria
Because the soundtrack is rad and it's fucking insane.
48. Winter Light
Because it's the first film to convince me that Bergman was, in fact, a master.
49. The Seventh Seal
Because Bibi Andersson's performance puts a smile on my face and Death is one hell of a chess player.
50. Killer of Sheep
Because it turns human existence into something beautifully poetic.
51. The Pawnbroker
Because it takes the Holocaust and deals with it in profound and modern ways.
52. Do the Right Thing
Because it makes me think.
53. Scorpio Rising
Because it's fucking insane and any movie that compares a biker to Jesus is a OK in my book.
54. Damned If You Don't
Because the ending overwhelms me on a sexual and emotional level.
55. The Ties That Bind
Because it makes me think and the cinematography is gorgeous.
56. First Comes Love
Because it's the most succinct and beautiful argument for legalizing gay marriage.
57. The Rules of the Road
Because it's ending is overwhelmingly cathartic and setting pop songs to images of station wagons is genius.
58. Lessons of Darkness
Because oil has never looked so good.
59. Aguirre, The Wrath of God
Because it's fucking insane and that tribesman can sure work that flute.
60. Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Because the ending overwhelms me.
61. Platform
Because the monotony of life has never been so poetically beautiful.
62. Paris, Texas
Because of the scene with the phones and glass.
63. The Marriage of Maria Braun
Because she's a babe and I have never seen a period piece like it.
64. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Because Ben Gazzara and John Cassavetes are the fucking mans.
65. Shadows
Because John Cassavetes is the fucking man.
66. A Woman Under the Influence
Because Gena Rowlands is amazing and it convinced me that Peter Falk is the fucking man.
67. The Sweet Hereafter
Because it's so utterly elegant and poetic in it's depiction of coming to terms with death.
68. Belle De Jour
Because I wish prostitutes looked like that.
69. Rear Window
Because it surprises me even though I know what happens.
70. Psycho
Because it surprises me even though I know what happens.
71. Vertigo
Because obsession has never been so fun.
72. The Birds
Because it sounds horrible on paper but is quite terrifying on the screen.
73. Woman in the Dunes
Because it's absolutely haunting.
74. Harakiri
Because it further convinced me that Akira Kurosawa isn't that great.
75. The Wind Will Carry Us
Because it's poetry for the eyes and makes me think.
76. Taste of Cherry
Because it makes me think.
77. Close-up
Because it makes me think.
78. Small Deaths
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
79. The Big Lebowski
Because Jeff Lebowski should be everybody's role model.
80. Rocco and His Brothers
Because Alain Delon is the fucking man and melodrama has never been so gritty.
81. The Passenger
Because it convinced me that sometime in Jack Nicholson's life, he was actually a great actor.
82. Apocalypse Now
Because war has never been so beautiful in all it's chaos and glory.
83. Taxi Driver
Because it took me three tries before I actually enjoyed it and it's grit is almost intoxicating.
84. Nostalgia(Frampton)
Because it makes me think.
85. Masculin, feminin
Because it's what I imagined when I first read and heard about the French New Wave and Chantal Goya is adorable.
86. Landscape in the Mist
Because that hand coming out of the sea is crazy.
87. The Battle of Algiers
Because it convinced me that terrorism could, in fact, be poetry.
88. Ashes and Diamonds
Because bloodstained sheets make awesome flags.
89. La Dolce Vita
Because it's fucking insane.
90. 8 1/2
Because it's fucking insane.
91. You Only Live Once
Because Henry Fonda and cynicism has never been so rad.
92. Ace in the Hole
Because of Kirk Douglas's performance and cynicism has never been so rad.
93. The Lady from Shanghai
Because it convinced me that Welles was a master.
94. Le Cercle Rouge
Because Alain Delon is the fucking man and those club scenes are awe-inspiring.
95. Le Samourai
Because Alain Delon is the fucking man and it's meticulousness is downright intoxicating.
96. The Fall of the House of Usher
Because it's poetry for the eyes.
97. Wanda
Because it turns human existence into something beautifully poetic.
98. Titicut Follies
Because it's horrifying and beautiful.
99. Hospital
Because it's horrifying and it restores my faith in humanity.
100. Dekalog Six
Because it's the best Dekalog out of the seven I've seen and portrays love in a tragically beautiful way.
Oh Ace of Bass...
The Hoax(dir. Lasse Hallström)
The film as a whole hovered around that fine line of being boring and entertaining. The film is pretty much fine all the way through until it tries to make itself seem more important and grandiose than it really is and starts looking as delusional as it's protagonist. It's easy to see how Richard Gere's character could cheat on his wife with Julie Delpy because she has a horrible accent. Marcia Gay Harden gave easily the weakest performance because you know, her accent was totally believable and didn't sound ridiculous at all. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Spartan(dir. David Mamet)
What happened to Val Kilmer's career? I'm not saying this movie is bad, but it's a serious question that I think about especially while I was watching this. What happened to Batman? An even more serious question is what happened to Ed O'Neil's career? Al Bundy needs to be in more movies. Watching this, I realized or more like it reinforced my disinterest in most purely plot-driven films. If your movie is going to be plot-driven, it better be melodramatic as hell. There is one fairly outlandish and overly dramatic moment that I might label the peak of the film since it took it's low-key story to fairly high heights, but other than that, it seems rather routine. I've never seen a David Mamet film before this and I've heard all sorts of praise about his dialogue. While I'm pretty sure this isn't considered one of his best, his dialogue in this is not all that impressive. It's the type of hard-boiled dialogue found in most film noir and some of it is, frankly, laughable. Derek Luke's character says "I saw the sign" so much than I almost mistook him for an Ace of Bass fan(and I hope he is). Veronica Mars stating "I was raised by wolves" isn't exactly ingenious, either. Val Kilmer gives a fine performance as pretty much a bad ass spy dude. The actors all around, though, are not convincing enough as these macho professionals. Compared to the performances found in Michael Mann's films, you almost think these characters are playing dress-up and play-acting as crazy assassin agent-types. The film is definitely compelling, but if it contained more memorable characters, I could picture giving it a higher recommendation. I recommend.
*** out of ****
The film as a whole hovered around that fine line of being boring and entertaining. The film is pretty much fine all the way through until it tries to make itself seem more important and grandiose than it really is and starts looking as delusional as it's protagonist. It's easy to see how Richard Gere's character could cheat on his wife with Julie Delpy because she has a horrible accent. Marcia Gay Harden gave easily the weakest performance because you know, her accent was totally believable and didn't sound ridiculous at all. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Spartan(dir. David Mamet)
What happened to Val Kilmer's career? I'm not saying this movie is bad, but it's a serious question that I think about especially while I was watching this. What happened to Batman? An even more serious question is what happened to Ed O'Neil's career? Al Bundy needs to be in more movies. Watching this, I realized or more like it reinforced my disinterest in most purely plot-driven films. If your movie is going to be plot-driven, it better be melodramatic as hell. There is one fairly outlandish and overly dramatic moment that I might label the peak of the film since it took it's low-key story to fairly high heights, but other than that, it seems rather routine. I've never seen a David Mamet film before this and I've heard all sorts of praise about his dialogue. While I'm pretty sure this isn't considered one of his best, his dialogue in this is not all that impressive. It's the type of hard-boiled dialogue found in most film noir and some of it is, frankly, laughable. Derek Luke's character says "I saw the sign" so much than I almost mistook him for an Ace of Bass fan(and I hope he is). Veronica Mars stating "I was raised by wolves" isn't exactly ingenious, either. Val Kilmer gives a fine performance as pretty much a bad ass spy dude. The actors all around, though, are not convincing enough as these macho professionals. Compared to the performances found in Michael Mann's films, you almost think these characters are playing dress-up and play-acting as crazy assassin agent-types. The film is definitely compelling, but if it contained more memorable characters, I could picture giving it a higher recommendation. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Oh Burbank, California...
PTU(dir. Johnny To)
It's more of a crime thriller than an action movie since it only contains one shoot-out and it's not as overtly exciting as one found in a typical action movie. It's sound design was quite impressive with it's ability at creating an uneasy atmosphere. The film was filled with memorable set-pieces and I would label it a masterpiece if it wasn't for it's atrocious score. The ending was pretty underwhelming as well but it's much more forgivable in comparison. I highly recommend. Oh yeah and never underestimate the power of the beret.
***1/2 out of ****
It's more of a crime thriller than an action movie since it only contains one shoot-out and it's not as overtly exciting as one found in a typical action movie. It's sound design was quite impressive with it's ability at creating an uneasy atmosphere. The film was filled with memorable set-pieces and I would label it a masterpiece if it wasn't for it's atrocious score. The ending was pretty underwhelming as well but it's much more forgivable in comparison. I highly recommend. Oh yeah and never underestimate the power of the beret.
***1/2 out of ****
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Oh Richard Linklater...
Best to Worst
1. Before Sunset
2. A Scanner Darkly
3. Dazed and Confused
4. Before Sunrise
5. Fast Food Nation
1. Before Sunset
2. A Scanner Darkly
3. Dazed and Confused
4. Before Sunrise
5. Fast Food Nation
Oh Robert Altman...
Best to Worst
1. M*A*S*H
2. California Split
3. Nashville
4. The Player
5. Short Cuts
6. The Long Goodbye
7. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
8. Prarie Home Companion
9. Fool for Love
10. Secret Honor
?. Cookie's Fortune
?. Dr. T and the Women
1. M*A*S*H
2. California Split
3. Nashville
4. The Player
5. Short Cuts
6. The Long Goodbye
7. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
8. Prarie Home Companion
9. Fool for Love
10. Secret Honor
?. Cookie's Fortune
?. Dr. T and the Women
Oh John Ford...
Best to Worst
1. My Darling Clementine
2. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
3. The Searchers
4. The Grapes of Wrath(need to rewatch)
5. Rio Grande
6. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
7. Drums Along the Mohawk
8. Cheyenne Autumn
9. Two Road Together
1. My Darling Clementine
2. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
3. The Searchers
4. The Grapes of Wrath(need to rewatch)
5. Rio Grande
6. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
7. Drums Along the Mohawk
8. Cheyenne Autumn
9. Two Road Together
Oh Hal Hartley...
Best to Worst
1. Henry Fool
2. Fay Grim
3. Simple Men
4. Trust
5. Amateur
6. The Unbelievable Truth
7. Surviving Desire
1. Henry Fool
2. Fay Grim
3. Simple Men
4. Trust
5. Amateur
6. The Unbelievable Truth
7. Surviving Desire
Oh Directors...
Gotta feed my list addiction and do directors. I'll go by all the labels of directors and reviews over the years.
Robert Altman
Michelangelo Antonioni
John Ford
Hal Hartley
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Richard Linklater
Terrence Malick
Anthony Mann
Michael Mann
Tsai Ming-Liang
Wong Kar-Wai
David Lynch
1. Mulholland Dr.
2. Inland Empire
Steven Spielberg(need to rewatch a lot of his stuff)
1. Saving Private Ryan
2. Munich
3. Schindler's List
4. Jaws
?. Jurassic Park
?. Indiana Jones(all of them)
?. A.I.
?. Minority Report
Stanley Kubrick
1. The Killing
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. Dr. Strangelove
4. Full Metal Jacket
5. Clockwork Orange
?. The Shining
Wes Anderson
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Bottle Rocket
3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
4. Rushmore
5. The Darjeeling Limited
6. Hotel Chevalier
Paul Thomas Anderson
1. Magnolia
2. Boogie Nights
3. Hard Eight/Sydney
4. Punch-Drunk Love
Dario Argento
1. Suspiria
2. Tenebre
George A. Romero
1. Dawn of the Dead
2. Day of the Dead
3. Land of the Dead
?. Night of the Living Dead
David Cronenberg
1. Eastern Promises
2. A History of Violence
Howard Hawks
1. The Big Sleep
2. El Dorado
3. Red River
Budd Boetticher
1. Ride Lonesome
2. Seven Men From Now
3. The Tall T
4. Comanche Station
Joseph H. Lewis
1. Gun Crazy
2. A Lawless Street
3. Terror in a Texas Town
Andre De Toth
1. Crime Wave
2. Man in the Saddle
3. The Stranger Wore a Gun
4. Carson City
Nicholas Ray
1. In a Lonely Place
2. On Dangerous Ground
3. Rebel Without a Cause
Ingmar Bergman
1. Winter Light
2. The Seventh Seal
3. Saraband
4. Wild Strawberries
5. Persona
Robert Bresson
1. L'Argent
2. Diary of a Country Priest
3. Mouchette
4. Lancelot of the Lake
5. A Man Escaped
6. The Trial of Joan of Arc
7. Pickpocket
8. Au Hashard Bathalzar
Andrei Tarkovsky
1. Mirror
2. Andrei Rublev
3. The Sacrifice
4. Stalker
Spike Lee
1. Do the Right Thing
2. Malcolm X
3. She's Gotta Have It
4. 25th Hour
5. Inside Man
?. He Got Game
Kenneth Anger
1. Scorpio Rising
2. Fireworks
3. Puce Moment
4. Kustom Kar Kommandos
5. Anger Sees Red
Su Friedrich
1. Damned If You Don't
2. The Ties That Bind
3. First Comes Love
4. The Rules of the Road
5. Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire, Too
Frederick Wiseman
1. Titicut Follies
2. Hospital
3. Law & Order
4. High School
Werner Herzog
1. Lessons of Darkness
2. Aguirre, The Wrath of God
3. Little Dieter Needs to Fly
4. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
5. Grizzly Man
6. Stroszek
7. Fitzcarraldo
Wim Wenders
1. Paris, Texas
2. Wings of Desire
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
1. The Marriage of Maria Braun
2. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Luis Bunuel
1. Belle De Jour
2. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Whit Stillman
1. Barcelona
2. Metropolitan
John Cassavetes
1. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
2. Woman Under the Influence
3. Shadows
Tim Burton
1. Frankenweenie
2. Beetle Juice
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
4. Edward Scissorhands
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas(does this one count as directed by him?)
?. Vincent
James Cameron
1. Terminator 2
2. Aliens
3. Terminator
John Woo
1. Hard-Boiled
2. The Killer
3. A Better Tomorrow
?. Mission: Impossible 2
Brian De Palma
1. Femme Fatale
2. The Black Dahlia
3. The Untouchables
?. Mission: Impossible
?. Carrie
Bruno Dumont
1. The Life of Jesus
2. Twentynine Palms
3. L'Humanite
The Dardenne Brothers
1. L'Enfant
2. Rosetta
Lukas Moodysson
1. Lilya 4-Ever
2. Show Me Love/Fucking Amal
Seijun Suzuki
1. Branded to Kill
2. Pistol Opera
3. Tokyo Drifter
4. Youth of the Beast
Hiroshi Teshigahara
1. Woman in the Dunes
2. The Face of Another
Akira Kurosawa
1. Rashomon
2. Ran
3. Seven Samurai
4. Yojimbo
Abbas Kiarostami
1. The Wind Will Carry Us
2. The Taste of Cherry
3. Close-Up
4. Ten
5. 10 on Ten
The Coen Brothers
1. The Big Lebowski
2. Blood Simple
3. Fargo
4. Raising Arizona
5. The Hudsucker Proxy
?. O Brother, Where Are Thou?
Guy Maddin
1. The Heart of the World
2. Cowards Bend the Knee
Vittorio De Sica
1. The Bicycle Thieves
2. Umberto D.
Luchino Visconti
1. Rocco and His Brothers
2. The Leopard(American cut)
Clint Eastwood
1. Mystic River
2. Million Dollar Baby
3. Letter from Iwo Jima
4. Flags of Our Fathers
?. Space Cowboys
Abel Ferrara
1. King of New York
2. The Addiction
3. Ms .45
Martin Scorsese
1. Taxi Driver
2. Mean Streets
3. Goodfellas
4. The Departed
5. Raging Bull
Francis Ford Coppola
1. Apocalypse Now
2. Apocalypse Now Redux
?. The Godfather(not sure if I've seen the whole thing)
Jean Renoir
1. The Grand Illusion
2. The Rules of the Game
3. The Southerner
Paul Schrader
1. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
2. Light Sleeper
3. Cat People
4. Affliction
Jean Cocteau
1. Orpheus
2. The Blood of a Poet
Todd Field
1. Little Children
2. In the Bedroom
Sofia Coppola
1. Marie Antoinette
2. Lost in Translation
3. The Virgin Suicides
David Fincher
1. Zodiac
2. Fight Club
Hollis Frampton
1. Nostalgia
2. Zorn's Lemma
Jean-Luc Godard
1. Masculin, feminin
2. Breathless
3. Band of Outsiders
4. Meetin' WA
5. Notre Musique
Francois Truffaut
1. Jules and Jim
2. The 400 Blows
Samuel Fuller
1. The Naked Kiss
2. The Big Red One
3. White Dog
4. Forty Guns
Alfred Hitchcock
1. Rear Window
2. Psycho
3. Vertigo
4. The Birds
5. The Wrong Man
6. Lifeboat
7. To Catch a Thief
8. North by Northwest
John Huston
1. The Maltese Falcon
2. Fat City
3. The Asphalt Jungle
Jim Jarmusch
1. Down by Law
2. Dead Man
3. Night on Earth
4. Ghost Dog
5. Mystery Train
6. Stranger Than Paradise
7. Broken Flowers
Jia Zhang Ke
1. Platform
2. Unknown Pleasures
3. The World
Hirokazu Koreeda
1. After Life
2. Maborosi
Lynne Ramsey
1. Small Deaths
2. Morvern Callar
3. Gasman
4. Kill the Day
Fritz Lang
1. You Only Live Once
2. The Big Heat
3. While the City Sleeps
4. Human Desire
5. The Blue Gardenia
6. Woman in the Window
7. Scarlet Street
Jean-Pierre Melville
1. Le Cercle Rouge
2. Le Samourai
3. Bob Le Flambeur
Yasujiro Ozu(need to rewatch his stuff)
1. Early Sumer
2. Tokyo Story
3. Late Spring
Otto Preminger
1?. Anatomy of a Murder
2?. Whirlpool
Sam Raimi
1. Spider-Man 2(I'm not even sure I saw the whole thing)
2. Spider-Man
3. Spider-Man 3
Christopher Nolan
1. Batman Begins
2. Memento
3. The Prestige
Quentin Tarnatino(need to rewatch his stuff)
1. Death Proof
2. Jackie Brown
3. Pulp Fiction
4. Kill Bill Vol. 2
5. Kill Bill Vol. 1
6. Reservoir Dogs
Robert Rodriguez
1. Sin City
2. Planet Terror
Alan Rudolph
1. Choose Me
2. Afterglow
Steven Soderbergh
1. Ocean's Eleven
2. The Limey
3. Ocean's Thirteen
Bela Tarr
1. Damnation
2. Almanac of Fall
3. Werckmeister Harmonies
Gus Van Sant
1. Drugstore Cowboy(need to rewatch)
2. Elephant
Lars von Trier
1. Dogville
2. Dancer in the Dark
Andrzej Wajda
1. Ashes and Diamonds
2. A Generation
3. Kanal
Woody Allen
1. Crimes and Misdemeanors(not sure if I've seen the whole thing)
2. Scoop
3. Manhattan
4. Match Point
5. Annie Hall(not sure if I've seen the whole thing)
Michael Winterbottom
1. Wonderland
2. 24 Hour Party People
3. Code 46
4. A Mighty Heart
Billy Wilder
1. Ace in the Hole
2. Double Indemnity
Orson Welles
1. Lady From Shanghai
2. Citizen Kane
Gonna try to alphabetize this.
Robert Altman
Michelangelo Antonioni
John Ford
Hal Hartley
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Richard Linklater
Terrence Malick
Anthony Mann
Michael Mann
Tsai Ming-Liang
Wong Kar-Wai
David Lynch
1. Mulholland Dr.
2. Inland Empire
Steven Spielberg(need to rewatch a lot of his stuff)
1. Saving Private Ryan
2. Munich
3. Schindler's List
4. Jaws
?. Jurassic Park
?. Indiana Jones(all of them)
?. A.I.
?. Minority Report
Stanley Kubrick
1. The Killing
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. Dr. Strangelove
4. Full Metal Jacket
5. Clockwork Orange
?. The Shining
Wes Anderson
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Bottle Rocket
3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
4. Rushmore
5. The Darjeeling Limited
6. Hotel Chevalier
Paul Thomas Anderson
1. Magnolia
2. Boogie Nights
3. Hard Eight/Sydney
4. Punch-Drunk Love
Dario Argento
1. Suspiria
2. Tenebre
George A. Romero
1. Dawn of the Dead
2. Day of the Dead
3. Land of the Dead
?. Night of the Living Dead
David Cronenberg
1. Eastern Promises
2. A History of Violence
Howard Hawks
1. The Big Sleep
2. El Dorado
3. Red River
Budd Boetticher
1. Ride Lonesome
2. Seven Men From Now
3. The Tall T
4. Comanche Station
Joseph H. Lewis
1. Gun Crazy
2. A Lawless Street
3. Terror in a Texas Town
Andre De Toth
1. Crime Wave
2. Man in the Saddle
3. The Stranger Wore a Gun
4. Carson City
Nicholas Ray
1. In a Lonely Place
2. On Dangerous Ground
3. Rebel Without a Cause
Ingmar Bergman
1. Winter Light
2. The Seventh Seal
3. Saraband
4. Wild Strawberries
5. Persona
Robert Bresson
1. L'Argent
2. Diary of a Country Priest
3. Mouchette
4. Lancelot of the Lake
5. A Man Escaped
6. The Trial of Joan of Arc
7. Pickpocket
8. Au Hashard Bathalzar
Andrei Tarkovsky
1. Mirror
2. Andrei Rublev
3. The Sacrifice
4. Stalker
Spike Lee
1. Do the Right Thing
2. Malcolm X
3. She's Gotta Have It
4. 25th Hour
5. Inside Man
?. He Got Game
Kenneth Anger
1. Scorpio Rising
2. Fireworks
3. Puce Moment
4. Kustom Kar Kommandos
5. Anger Sees Red
Su Friedrich
1. Damned If You Don't
2. The Ties That Bind
3. First Comes Love
4. The Rules of the Road
5. Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire, Too
Frederick Wiseman
1. Titicut Follies
2. Hospital
3. Law & Order
4. High School
Werner Herzog
1. Lessons of Darkness
2. Aguirre, The Wrath of God
3. Little Dieter Needs to Fly
4. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
5. Grizzly Man
6. Stroszek
7. Fitzcarraldo
Wim Wenders
1. Paris, Texas
2. Wings of Desire
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
1. The Marriage of Maria Braun
2. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Luis Bunuel
1. Belle De Jour
2. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Whit Stillman
1. Barcelona
2. Metropolitan
John Cassavetes
1. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
2. Woman Under the Influence
3. Shadows
Tim Burton
1. Frankenweenie
2. Beetle Juice
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
4. Edward Scissorhands
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas(does this one count as directed by him?)
?. Vincent
James Cameron
1. Terminator 2
2. Aliens
3. Terminator
John Woo
1. Hard-Boiled
2. The Killer
3. A Better Tomorrow
?. Mission: Impossible 2
Brian De Palma
1. Femme Fatale
2. The Black Dahlia
3. The Untouchables
?. Mission: Impossible
?. Carrie
Bruno Dumont
1. The Life of Jesus
2. Twentynine Palms
3. L'Humanite
The Dardenne Brothers
1. L'Enfant
2. Rosetta
Lukas Moodysson
1. Lilya 4-Ever
2. Show Me Love/Fucking Amal
Seijun Suzuki
1. Branded to Kill
2. Pistol Opera
3. Tokyo Drifter
4. Youth of the Beast
Hiroshi Teshigahara
1. Woman in the Dunes
2. The Face of Another
Akira Kurosawa
1. Rashomon
2. Ran
3. Seven Samurai
4. Yojimbo
Abbas Kiarostami
1. The Wind Will Carry Us
2. The Taste of Cherry
3. Close-Up
4. Ten
5. 10 on Ten
The Coen Brothers
1. The Big Lebowski
2. Blood Simple
3. Fargo
4. Raising Arizona
5. The Hudsucker Proxy
?. O Brother, Where Are Thou?
Guy Maddin
1. The Heart of the World
2. Cowards Bend the Knee
Vittorio De Sica
1. The Bicycle Thieves
2. Umberto D.
Luchino Visconti
1. Rocco and His Brothers
2. The Leopard(American cut)
Clint Eastwood
1. Mystic River
2. Million Dollar Baby
3. Letter from Iwo Jima
4. Flags of Our Fathers
?. Space Cowboys
Abel Ferrara
1. King of New York
2. The Addiction
3. Ms .45
Martin Scorsese
1. Taxi Driver
2. Mean Streets
3. Goodfellas
4. The Departed
5. Raging Bull
Francis Ford Coppola
1. Apocalypse Now
2. Apocalypse Now Redux
?. The Godfather(not sure if I've seen the whole thing)
Jean Renoir
1. The Grand Illusion
2. The Rules of the Game
3. The Southerner
Paul Schrader
1. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
2. Light Sleeper
3. Cat People
4. Affliction
Jean Cocteau
1. Orpheus
2. The Blood of a Poet
Todd Field
1. Little Children
2. In the Bedroom
Sofia Coppola
1. Marie Antoinette
2. Lost in Translation
3. The Virgin Suicides
David Fincher
1. Zodiac
2. Fight Club
Hollis Frampton
1. Nostalgia
2. Zorn's Lemma
Jean-Luc Godard
1. Masculin, feminin
2. Breathless
3. Band of Outsiders
4. Meetin' WA
5. Notre Musique
Francois Truffaut
1. Jules and Jim
2. The 400 Blows
Samuel Fuller
1. The Naked Kiss
2. The Big Red One
3. White Dog
4. Forty Guns
Alfred Hitchcock
1. Rear Window
2. Psycho
3. Vertigo
4. The Birds
5. The Wrong Man
6. Lifeboat
7. To Catch a Thief
8. North by Northwest
John Huston
1. The Maltese Falcon
2. Fat City
3. The Asphalt Jungle
Jim Jarmusch
1. Down by Law
2. Dead Man
3. Night on Earth
4. Ghost Dog
5. Mystery Train
6. Stranger Than Paradise
7. Broken Flowers
Jia Zhang Ke
1. Platform
2. Unknown Pleasures
3. The World
Hirokazu Koreeda
1. After Life
2. Maborosi
Lynne Ramsey
1. Small Deaths
2. Morvern Callar
3. Gasman
4. Kill the Day
Fritz Lang
1. You Only Live Once
2. The Big Heat
3. While the City Sleeps
4. Human Desire
5. The Blue Gardenia
6. Woman in the Window
7. Scarlet Street
Jean-Pierre Melville
1. Le Cercle Rouge
2. Le Samourai
3. Bob Le Flambeur
Yasujiro Ozu(need to rewatch his stuff)
1. Early Sumer
2. Tokyo Story
3. Late Spring
Otto Preminger
1?. Anatomy of a Murder
2?. Whirlpool
Sam Raimi
1. Spider-Man 2(I'm not even sure I saw the whole thing)
2. Spider-Man
3. Spider-Man 3
Christopher Nolan
1. Batman Begins
2. Memento
3. The Prestige
Quentin Tarnatino(need to rewatch his stuff)
1. Death Proof
2. Jackie Brown
3. Pulp Fiction
4. Kill Bill Vol. 2
5. Kill Bill Vol. 1
6. Reservoir Dogs
Robert Rodriguez
1. Sin City
2. Planet Terror
Alan Rudolph
1. Choose Me
2. Afterglow
Steven Soderbergh
1. Ocean's Eleven
2. The Limey
3. Ocean's Thirteen
Bela Tarr
1. Damnation
2. Almanac of Fall
3. Werckmeister Harmonies
Gus Van Sant
1. Drugstore Cowboy(need to rewatch)
2. Elephant
Lars von Trier
1. Dogville
2. Dancer in the Dark
Andrzej Wajda
1. Ashes and Diamonds
2. A Generation
3. Kanal
Woody Allen
1. Crimes and Misdemeanors(not sure if I've seen the whole thing)
2. Scoop
3. Manhattan
4. Match Point
5. Annie Hall(not sure if I've seen the whole thing)
Michael Winterbottom
1. Wonderland
2. 24 Hour Party People
3. Code 46
4. A Mighty Heart
Billy Wilder
1. Ace in the Hole
2. Double Indemnity
Orson Welles
1. Lady From Shanghai
2. Citizen Kane
Gonna try to alphabetize this.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Oh Vienna...
Before Sunrise(dir. Richard Linklater)
The only reason why I watched this movie was because I want to see Before Sunset and I hate not seeing a movie that preceded whatever movie I want to see beforehand. The biggest problem I had was that they hit it off too well and too quickly. If the film was perhaps more whimsical and hopelessly romantic, I would be able to believe it, but since the film is fairly realistic in terms of their conversations and the things that they do, it's hard to believe it especially given that they're fairly analytic about their relationship. While their conversations are definitely believable, it's hard to really say they're all that interesting. Philosophical banter can be amusing like in Linklater's Dazed & Confused and A Scanner Darkly, but here, it's kind of mundane and uninteresting. The couple don't feel their conversations are ultimately trivial even though in a way, they pretty much are. If these characters have understood that their conversations are trivial much like the characters in a Whit Stillman film do, it would have been more fun and enjoyable. I ragged on this film enough. I thought it was good, but you could clearly see how they could have improved it. I think a lot of it's problems could have been assuaged if it was more romantic. I hope Before Sunset is. I recommend.
*** out of ****
The only reason why I watched this movie was because I want to see Before Sunset and I hate not seeing a movie that preceded whatever movie I want to see beforehand. The biggest problem I had was that they hit it off too well and too quickly. If the film was perhaps more whimsical and hopelessly romantic, I would be able to believe it, but since the film is fairly realistic in terms of their conversations and the things that they do, it's hard to believe it especially given that they're fairly analytic about their relationship. While their conversations are definitely believable, it's hard to really say they're all that interesting. Philosophical banter can be amusing like in Linklater's Dazed & Confused and A Scanner Darkly, but here, it's kind of mundane and uninteresting. The couple don't feel their conversations are ultimately trivial even though in a way, they pretty much are. If these characters have understood that their conversations are trivial much like the characters in a Whit Stillman film do, it would have been more fun and enjoyable. I ragged on this film enough. I thought it was good, but you could clearly see how they could have improved it. I think a lot of it's problems could have been assuaged if it was more romantic. I hope Before Sunset is. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Oh Bathhouse Fight Scene...
Eastern Promises(dir. David Cronenberg)
That fight scene definitely makes it worth checking out even if you have zero interest in the rest of the movie. Viggo's performance is a little overrated in my mind. He overdoes his charm a tad too much in a number of scenes before the fight scene, but by the end, it starts to become more complex since his character becomes more than just an extremely charming and suave Russian mobster. It's still probably the performance of the year so far even if I feel it's overpraised. I wasn't all that into it before that fight scene probably because it seemed a little too squeaky clean in my mind even if there was some lurid content like Kirill forcing Nikolai to have sex with a presumably underage prostitute. There was a sort of blandness and lack of immediacy that didn't stir up much interest before, but once you see that fight scene, you become immediately wrapped up in it. It's the equivalent of the sex scene in Red Road. The scene is not as violent as what some will you lead you to believe, but it's still brutal and incredibly intense, nonetheless. I don't really understand all the complaining about the ending because I can't see how they would have been able to take the narrative any further. I do have to say their kiss near the end was pretty iffy since she has no idea who he really is. I'd understand if someone might feel it's a little too cheery, but most of the complaints have been about it's inconclusive nature even though it pretty much wraps everything up. Overall, it was really good. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
That fight scene definitely makes it worth checking out even if you have zero interest in the rest of the movie. Viggo's performance is a little overrated in my mind. He overdoes his charm a tad too much in a number of scenes before the fight scene, but by the end, it starts to become more complex since his character becomes more than just an extremely charming and suave Russian mobster. It's still probably the performance of the year so far even if I feel it's overpraised. I wasn't all that into it before that fight scene probably because it seemed a little too squeaky clean in my mind even if there was some lurid content like Kirill forcing Nikolai to have sex with a presumably underage prostitute. There was a sort of blandness and lack of immediacy that didn't stir up much interest before, but once you see that fight scene, you become immediately wrapped up in it. It's the equivalent of the sex scene in Red Road. The scene is not as violent as what some will you lead you to believe, but it's still brutal and incredibly intense, nonetheless. I don't really understand all the complaining about the ending because I can't see how they would have been able to take the narrative any further. I do have to say their kiss near the end was pretty iffy since she has no idea who he really is. I'd understand if someone might feel it's a little too cheery, but most of the complaints have been about it's inconclusive nature even though it pretty much wraps everything up. Overall, it was really good. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Monday, November 12, 2007
Oh Empathy...
Code 46(dir. Michael Winterbottom)
Wonderland and 24 Hour Party People were near-masterpieces in my mind so I was definitely taken aback with A Mighty Heart with it's excruciating blandness(I'm starting to feel I might have overrated it with my ** rating). This film, unfortunately, doesn't take me back to the esteem I had for him prior to seeing that Angelina Jolie Oscar baiting extravaganza. It is quite bland much like that film, but it's not nearly as painful to watch since it doesn't reek of being a vanity project for any of it's lead actors and doesn't strive to be "socially important" by being "topical." This film has some fleeting moments of brilliance, but as a whole, it's a pretty frustrating experience. The biggest problem lies with it's two lead actors, who aren't bad, they're just bad for each other. Since this story is a romance, chemistry is crucial and while there are some glimpses of it throughout, there's just not enough of it to make the film truly engaging. It's sci-finess wasn't really all that interesting and the story dwells on it consistently because if it didn't, you would start to wonder why it's even a sci-fi movie. It's story reminds us of Blade Runner with it's forbidden love in a futuristic society theme and if you compare the two, Blade Runner easily comes up on top with it's beautifully extravagant imagining of the future and a romance that actually has chemistry. I say it's better than average but not by much.
**1/2 out of ****
Wonderland and 24 Hour Party People were near-masterpieces in my mind so I was definitely taken aback with A Mighty Heart with it's excruciating blandness(I'm starting to feel I might have overrated it with my ** rating). This film, unfortunately, doesn't take me back to the esteem I had for him prior to seeing that Angelina Jolie Oscar baiting extravaganza. It is quite bland much like that film, but it's not nearly as painful to watch since it doesn't reek of being a vanity project for any of it's lead actors and doesn't strive to be "socially important" by being "topical." This film has some fleeting moments of brilliance, but as a whole, it's a pretty frustrating experience. The biggest problem lies with it's two lead actors, who aren't bad, they're just bad for each other. Since this story is a romance, chemistry is crucial and while there are some glimpses of it throughout, there's just not enough of it to make the film truly engaging. It's sci-finess wasn't really all that interesting and the story dwells on it consistently because if it didn't, you would start to wonder why it's even a sci-fi movie. It's story reminds us of Blade Runner with it's forbidden love in a futuristic society theme and if you compare the two, Blade Runner easily comes up on top with it's beautifully extravagant imagining of the future and a romance that actually has chemistry. I say it's better than average but not by much.
**1/2 out of ****
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Oh Thinamon...
The Game Plan(dir. Andy Fickman)
I have to preface this review with the fact that I probably enjoy watching the classic TGIF line-up(Family Matters, Step by Step, Full House, and so on) more than watching Friends or The Office(both versions) so if you don't often find treasure in another man's cheese then maybe you shouldn't take my advice when it comes to this movie. It doesn't reach it's full potential as seen from the previews. The parts that were shown in the previews were easily the best parts outside of some scenes with a "sensitive big black man" character(and he's not played by Michael Clarke Duncan) who behaves like a gorilla most of the time(he even growls!). It stays consistent in it's cheesiness, but it doesn't quite take it to the poetic heights that Rush Hour 3, a film that transcends classification of bad or good with it's ridiculous nature, did. It seemed like there were some moments thrown in with sexual connotations just for the hell of it like a ballet practicing scene where the instructor feels up The Rock's muscles(it's basically the equivalent of the "lick lipping" scene in Transformers but a tad bit subtler) and a brief moment in the beginning where it shows a woman at one of The Rock's parties making a gesture that makes it seem like she's describing some dude's Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It becomes predictable near the end but that's to be expected. It's just not all that funny in it's predictable cheesy uplifting manner, which was disappointing. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry(dir. Dennis Dugan)
It's strange reviewing this since I was expecting to watch some hypocritical piece of shit like 300, but I actually ended up liking it quite a bit. Sure, it's a little heavy-handed with it's speechifying about acceptance, but if it didn't feel so honest and heartfelt, I would have found it much more unbearable. Yes, it does utilize gay stereotypes extensively but the view the film has on it's gay characters compared to previous Sandler efforts is surpisingly warm and embracing. Unlike his older films, this film doesn't want the audience to laugh at it's gay characters but laugh with them. It's easy to see how some critics found it to be offensive given the sterotypicalness of the characters, but wouldn't you think it's more proactive to take a stereotype of a certain demographic and make it more "acceptable" than simply creating characters of a certain demographic that are seemingly "acceptable" like Brokeback Mountain. It's easy to rally behind Brokeback Mountain for critics since it's "high-minded" and appears to be more graceful with it's depiction of homosexuals but since stereotypes are usually viewed in a negative light by a number of people, making the "negative" appear "positive" to these people is much more progressive than simply showing that the "negative" isn't always the case for everyone in that demographic. Also unlike Brokeback, it has no pretense of changing the world(or it at least it hasn't been labelled as socially important by critics because, well, it's a god damn Adam Sandler move), it simply wants to change the perception of gay people commonly found in it's target demographic and there's nothing wrong with that. The only thing I found particularly "politically incorrect" or "in a bad taste" was Jessica Biel's character given that it seemed fairly misogynistic since she was pretty much T&A and was a little too dumb when it came to their case even in the film's realm of logic. She was pretty much a stereotype of a "hot chick" minus an attractive personality. With that out of the way, I recommend.
*** out of ****
I have to preface this review with the fact that I probably enjoy watching the classic TGIF line-up(Family Matters, Step by Step, Full House, and so on) more than watching Friends or The Office(both versions) so if you don't often find treasure in another man's cheese then maybe you shouldn't take my advice when it comes to this movie. It doesn't reach it's full potential as seen from the previews. The parts that were shown in the previews were easily the best parts outside of some scenes with a "sensitive big black man" character(and he's not played by Michael Clarke Duncan) who behaves like a gorilla most of the time(he even growls!). It stays consistent in it's cheesiness, but it doesn't quite take it to the poetic heights that Rush Hour 3, a film that transcends classification of bad or good with it's ridiculous nature, did. It seemed like there were some moments thrown in with sexual connotations just for the hell of it like a ballet practicing scene where the instructor feels up The Rock's muscles(it's basically the equivalent of the "lick lipping" scene in Transformers but a tad bit subtler) and a brief moment in the beginning where it shows a woman at one of The Rock's parties making a gesture that makes it seem like she's describing some dude's Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It becomes predictable near the end but that's to be expected. It's just not all that funny in it's predictable cheesy uplifting manner, which was disappointing. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry(dir. Dennis Dugan)
It's strange reviewing this since I was expecting to watch some hypocritical piece of shit like 300, but I actually ended up liking it quite a bit. Sure, it's a little heavy-handed with it's speechifying about acceptance, but if it didn't feel so honest and heartfelt, I would have found it much more unbearable. Yes, it does utilize gay stereotypes extensively but the view the film has on it's gay characters compared to previous Sandler efforts is surpisingly warm and embracing. Unlike his older films, this film doesn't want the audience to laugh at it's gay characters but laugh with them. It's easy to see how some critics found it to be offensive given the sterotypicalness of the characters, but wouldn't you think it's more proactive to take a stereotype of a certain demographic and make it more "acceptable" than simply creating characters of a certain demographic that are seemingly "acceptable" like Brokeback Mountain. It's easy to rally behind Brokeback Mountain for critics since it's "high-minded" and appears to be more graceful with it's depiction of homosexuals but since stereotypes are usually viewed in a negative light by a number of people, making the "negative" appear "positive" to these people is much more progressive than simply showing that the "negative" isn't always the case for everyone in that demographic. Also unlike Brokeback, it has no pretense of changing the world(or it at least it hasn't been labelled as socially important by critics because, well, it's a god damn Adam Sandler move), it simply wants to change the perception of gay people commonly found in it's target demographic and there's nothing wrong with that. The only thing I found particularly "politically incorrect" or "in a bad taste" was Jessica Biel's character given that it seemed fairly misogynistic since she was pretty much T&A and was a little too dumb when it came to their case even in the film's realm of logic. She was pretty much a stereotype of a "hot chick" minus an attractive personality. With that out of the way, I recommend.
*** out of ****
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Oh Marriage...
License to Wed(dir. Ken Kwapis)
One of those only one person can see that the asshole is an asshole movies. I can't stand those movies, but wait, there's a twist, the guy that sees the asshole for what he is loves the dumb bitch in the movie. It's hard to like any of these characters since these types of movies usually make all the characters seem fucking retarded because they can't tell that the asshole is an asshole so yeah. Mandy Moore's character is pretty much a dumb bitch(OH NO, HE HASN'T WRITTEN HIS VOWS YET!) so it's hard to really sympathize with the dude from The Office's character that much because he's in love with her. The ending is that type of faux happy ending found in every terrible chick flick imaginable, which are always a joy to watch. I also hate fat annoying Jewish kids and thank God, this movie has one. It was pretty bad.
*1/2 out of ****
Broken English(dir. Zoe R. Cassavetes)
You could say this is my "Scoop" of this year where I know the movie is fluff, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it immensely. It's basically a chick flick with indie aesthetics and I guess some could see that as a slam, but sometimes, you just need a hopelessly romantic movie once in a while and boy, this movie is hopelessly romantic. There are some moments that don't work all that well and the movie was sort of drag until the central romance comes into play. Some of it's plot devices were pretty clichéd and contrived as well, but as a whole, the film was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
One of those only one person can see that the asshole is an asshole movies. I can't stand those movies, but wait, there's a twist, the guy that sees the asshole for what he is loves the dumb bitch in the movie. It's hard to like any of these characters since these types of movies usually make all the characters seem fucking retarded because they can't tell that the asshole is an asshole so yeah. Mandy Moore's character is pretty much a dumb bitch(OH NO, HE HASN'T WRITTEN HIS VOWS YET!) so it's hard to really sympathize with the dude from The Office's character that much because he's in love with her. The ending is that type of faux happy ending found in every terrible chick flick imaginable, which are always a joy to watch. I also hate fat annoying Jewish kids and thank God, this movie has one. It was pretty bad.
*1/2 out of ****
Broken English(dir. Zoe R. Cassavetes)
You could say this is my "Scoop" of this year where I know the movie is fluff, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it immensely. It's basically a chick flick with indie aesthetics and I guess some could see that as a slam, but sometimes, you just need a hopelessly romantic movie once in a while and boy, this movie is hopelessly romantic. There are some moments that don't work all that well and the movie was sort of drag until the central romance comes into play. Some of it's plot devices were pretty clichéd and contrived as well, but as a whole, the film was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Oh America & China...
The Bloody Child(dir. Nina Menkes)
I was expecting this to be in black & white since the stills on IMDb are in black & white and are gorgeous, but it was actually shot in color and looks quite amateurish. It might be due to the DVD's poor image quality or that's just how the film looks. It plays like a Kenneth Anger film stretched out to 85 minutes without a rhythm that becomes progressively faster and an ending that isn't reminiscent to a sexual climax. The film is fragmented and what the director is happy to admit in the interview on the disc presents it's "narrative" backwards. It's kind of hypnotic in it's showing little bits and pieces of footage in a repetitive manner, but it can become tiresome at given lengths of time. There's one stretch where it seems like the film was just repeating itself over and over and the whole cackling and reciting lines from Macbeth on the soundtrack made zero sense. It seemed like the director was attempting to make her film have more artistic merit with it's overt references to that play and The Bible. They really serves no purpose and the African footage, while interesting to watch, didn't make much sense, either, but it added to the film's oblique nature. The film was able to create something resembling a state of mind by showing pieces of it's "narrative" and was quite fascinating. It's repetitive nature made the film sort of dull especially in that stretch mentioned above and the feeling that the director tried to stretch her material to feature-length is simply inescapable. It's flawed, but I definitely recommend.
*** out of ****
Unknown Pleasures(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
The same problems that plagued The World plague this film: a running time that's overlong and a narrative that's a little overly preachy about the social and economic problems in the director's homeland. Platform was epic and sweeping with it's narrative given that it spanned what seemed like many years and didn't have to strain to present the social problems in China while this film's story much like The World's is small and contained making it seem strange when Jia attempts to include references to China's larger social problems in the narrative. As the young protagonists watch the news, the audience is expected to take this information about China and apply it to their story, but their story is so small and insignificant that such an assessment doesn't really yield any sort of profound results intellectually. It's obvious that the characters' aimlessness is mainly a result of society's defects as one character proves that he's not totally unmotivated by attempting to enlist in the military but isn't able to because of an illness. This aimlessness causes the characters' downfall, which is similar to the one in The World, and the audience is probably expected to be outraged given that their aimlessness wasn't totally their fault, but it's too heavy-handed to really register on an emotional or intellectual level. The film definitely has some great moments like a character describing the beginning of Pulp Fiction and the film suddenly transitioning to a night club with a techno song that uses a sample from "Miserlou" blaring afterwards. It's moments like these that make the film worth watching because they're self-contained and fit within the scope of these characters' lives. It has it's fair share of problems, but it's still good.
*** out of ****
I was expecting this to be in black & white since the stills on IMDb are in black & white and are gorgeous, but it was actually shot in color and looks quite amateurish. It might be due to the DVD's poor image quality or that's just how the film looks. It plays like a Kenneth Anger film stretched out to 85 minutes without a rhythm that becomes progressively faster and an ending that isn't reminiscent to a sexual climax. The film is fragmented and what the director is happy to admit in the interview on the disc presents it's "narrative" backwards. It's kind of hypnotic in it's showing little bits and pieces of footage in a repetitive manner, but it can become tiresome at given lengths of time. There's one stretch where it seems like the film was just repeating itself over and over and the whole cackling and reciting lines from Macbeth on the soundtrack made zero sense. It seemed like the director was attempting to make her film have more artistic merit with it's overt references to that play and The Bible. They really serves no purpose and the African footage, while interesting to watch, didn't make much sense, either, but it added to the film's oblique nature. The film was able to create something resembling a state of mind by showing pieces of it's "narrative" and was quite fascinating. It's repetitive nature made the film sort of dull especially in that stretch mentioned above and the feeling that the director tried to stretch her material to feature-length is simply inescapable. It's flawed, but I definitely recommend.
*** out of ****
Unknown Pleasures(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
The same problems that plagued The World plague this film: a running time that's overlong and a narrative that's a little overly preachy about the social and economic problems in the director's homeland. Platform was epic and sweeping with it's narrative given that it spanned what seemed like many years and didn't have to strain to present the social problems in China while this film's story much like The World's is small and contained making it seem strange when Jia attempts to include references to China's larger social problems in the narrative. As the young protagonists watch the news, the audience is expected to take this information about China and apply it to their story, but their story is so small and insignificant that such an assessment doesn't really yield any sort of profound results intellectually. It's obvious that the characters' aimlessness is mainly a result of society's defects as one character proves that he's not totally unmotivated by attempting to enlist in the military but isn't able to because of an illness. This aimlessness causes the characters' downfall, which is similar to the one in The World, and the audience is probably expected to be outraged given that their aimlessness wasn't totally their fault, but it's too heavy-handed to really register on an emotional or intellectual level. The film definitely has some great moments like a character describing the beginning of Pulp Fiction and the film suddenly transitioning to a night club with a techno song that uses a sample from "Miserlou" blaring afterwards. It's moments like these that make the film worth watching because they're self-contained and fit within the scope of these characters' lives. It has it's fair share of problems, but it's still good.
*** out of ****
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Oh Cornelius & Rebecca...
Meet the Robinsons(dir. Stephen J. Anderson)
A slapdash collage of too many ideas that don't really stick. To sum it up, it's pretty much a mess. The ending is touching and if what preceded it wasn't so all over the place and incoherent, I would recommend it, but as it is, I simply can't.
** out of ****
Femme Fatale(dir. Brian De Palma)
My experience with De Palma has been mixed to say the least. I don't remember Mission: Impossible and Carrie all that much, but I do remember The Untouchables, which I found to be uniformly bland and uninteresting even if most consider it to be one of his finest films. The parts of Scarface that I've seen also didn't help change my mind at all about this director, but that was probably due to me being overly judgmental given the film's status. The Black Dahlia had me come around to liking the director. The film's trailer definitely piqued my interest before it was released and then when it was released, it became essentially mauled by most mainstream critics. Having seen it, it's quite easy to understand how some didn't take to liking it, but in all honesty, there was just something about it, a trashy allure that kept the film from being a total failure and made it more interesting to watch than say a safe film like The Departed. This film, thankfully, has an abundant supply of the same trashy allure. This is a much more focused and less messy film in comparison, but it's probably even more trashy given that the film's first 20 minutes deals with two women essentially partaking in foreplay in a bathroom stall that is part of an elaborate plan to steal a highly valuable dress top covered in diamonds. These first 20 minutes are absolutely dazzling not just because I'm a heterosexual male but a fan of movies in general. The film retains this level of quality for a majority of it's running time, but it slowly started to lose control as it went on. It's astounding that the film was able to pull off such a huge plot twist near the end without any of the sense of irony or smugness that often plague films that contain a plot twist of that size. It was able to flow rather smoothly after because of it instead of stopping dead in it's tracks, but it's hard to really label the twist as a good thing. The film could have been redeemed with it's ending, which was looking rather promising, but it doesn't quite hit the spot. I feel a little hesitant and conflicted in giving it this rating, but I can't exactly say that I loved it so I simply have to label it as a near-masterpiece. I'd imagine a rewatch would be beneficial, but for now, this rating will have to do. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
A slapdash collage of too many ideas that don't really stick. To sum it up, it's pretty much a mess. The ending is touching and if what preceded it wasn't so all over the place and incoherent, I would recommend it, but as it is, I simply can't.
** out of ****
Femme Fatale(dir. Brian De Palma)
My experience with De Palma has been mixed to say the least. I don't remember Mission: Impossible and Carrie all that much, but I do remember The Untouchables, which I found to be uniformly bland and uninteresting even if most consider it to be one of his finest films. The parts of Scarface that I've seen also didn't help change my mind at all about this director, but that was probably due to me being overly judgmental given the film's status. The Black Dahlia had me come around to liking the director. The film's trailer definitely piqued my interest before it was released and then when it was released, it became essentially mauled by most mainstream critics. Having seen it, it's quite easy to understand how some didn't take to liking it, but in all honesty, there was just something about it, a trashy allure that kept the film from being a total failure and made it more interesting to watch than say a safe film like The Departed. This film, thankfully, has an abundant supply of the same trashy allure. This is a much more focused and less messy film in comparison, but it's probably even more trashy given that the film's first 20 minutes deals with two women essentially partaking in foreplay in a bathroom stall that is part of an elaborate plan to steal a highly valuable dress top covered in diamonds. These first 20 minutes are absolutely dazzling not just because I'm a heterosexual male but a fan of movies in general. The film retains this level of quality for a majority of it's running time, but it slowly started to lose control as it went on. It's astounding that the film was able to pull off such a huge plot twist near the end without any of the sense of irony or smugness that often plague films that contain a plot twist of that size. It was able to flow rather smoothly after because of it instead of stopping dead in it's tracks, but it's hard to really label the twist as a good thing. The film could have been redeemed with it's ending, which was looking rather promising, but it doesn't quite hit the spot. I feel a little hesitant and conflicted in giving it this rating, but I can't exactly say that I loved it so I simply have to label it as a near-masterpiece. I'd imagine a rewatch would be beneficial, but for now, this rating will have to do. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Oh Old Baggage...
Hotel Chevalier(dir. Wes Anderson)[3rd rewatch]
It was a surprise to find this attached to Darjeeling. On this viewing, I ended up liking the use of slow-motion near the end more. Natalie Portman leaning on the dresser or whatever still doesn't make sense to me other than to allow the audience to ogle her ass in slow-mo. The dialogue still doesn't feel right to me. I still consider it his weakest work, but it's still good.
*** out of ****
The Darjeeling Limited(dir. Wes Anderson)
I understand the backlash lately towards Wes Anderson and this movie to an extent, but if you're a fan of the director as I am, you'll quickly realize that he hasn't lost his touch quite yet. He's actually quite experimental in a playful way in this with the beginning bit with Bill Murray that will surely frustrate fans of Bill that didn't know that his presence would amount to about 3 minutes of screen time and his use of zooms. This and The Life Aquatic show that Owen Wilson was most likely the genius behind the previous scripts, but the material for this film isn't too bad. The humor started to grow stale as the film went along since aside from it's bits with cough medicine and painkillers, it was fairly lame and unfunny, but then all of a sudden the funniest line in any of his films occurs("Look at these assholes.") quickly followed by one of his most tragic scenes, which is subsequently followed by a sequence marked by an almost sacred tranquility that Owen Wilson's character, Francis, would yearn for. This is when the film hits it's peak and what might be Anderson's artistic peak as well. The film slowly starts to decline after that. It doesn't quite hit the low that preceded it, but it's still a noticeable drop in quality. The end's overly literal use of getting rid of old baggage is slightly on the dumb side. As the narrative concludes, you'll be surprised at how anticlimactic the ending is given that was one of his strongest departments in his previous films. It's probably his weakest feature-length effort, but it's hard not to recommend it. It did, indeed, need more Bill Murray, though.
*** out of ****
It was a surprise to find this attached to Darjeeling. On this viewing, I ended up liking the use of slow-motion near the end more. Natalie Portman leaning on the dresser or whatever still doesn't make sense to me other than to allow the audience to ogle her ass in slow-mo. The dialogue still doesn't feel right to me. I still consider it his weakest work, but it's still good.
*** out of ****
The Darjeeling Limited(dir. Wes Anderson)
I understand the backlash lately towards Wes Anderson and this movie to an extent, but if you're a fan of the director as I am, you'll quickly realize that he hasn't lost his touch quite yet. He's actually quite experimental in a playful way in this with the beginning bit with Bill Murray that will surely frustrate fans of Bill that didn't know that his presence would amount to about 3 minutes of screen time and his use of zooms. This and The Life Aquatic show that Owen Wilson was most likely the genius behind the previous scripts, but the material for this film isn't too bad. The humor started to grow stale as the film went along since aside from it's bits with cough medicine and painkillers, it was fairly lame and unfunny, but then all of a sudden the funniest line in any of his films occurs("Look at these assholes.") quickly followed by one of his most tragic scenes, which is subsequently followed by a sequence marked by an almost sacred tranquility that Owen Wilson's character, Francis, would yearn for. This is when the film hits it's peak and what might be Anderson's artistic peak as well. The film slowly starts to decline after that. It doesn't quite hit the low that preceded it, but it's still a noticeable drop in quality. The end's overly literal use of getting rid of old baggage is slightly on the dumb side. As the narrative concludes, you'll be surprised at how anticlimactic the ending is given that was one of his strongest departments in his previous films. It's probably his weakest feature-length effort, but it's hard not to recommend it. It did, indeed, need more Bill Murray, though.
*** out of ****
Oh Natalie Portman Naked...
These viewings were on previous dates:
Hotel Chevalier(dir. Wes Anderson)
*** out of ****
Hotel Chevalier(dir. Wes Anderson)[rewatch]
*** out of ****
Today:
Hotel Chevalier(dir. Wes Anderson)[2nd rewatch]
It all really comes down to dialogue and aesthetics with this since it's set in a hotel room, it's only 13 minutes long, and well, it's by Wes Anderson. The dialogue isn't so strong in this one. A line like "I'll make sure we will never be friends" is mean-spirited and is rather poorly conceived. Portman is able to deliver her lines fine, but Schwartman struggles most likely due to some poorly written lines. He's not exactly a great actor to begin with so maybe the problem lies with his performance instead of the dialogue. Wes's camera gazes at objects in a fetishistic way creating a nostalgic sensation with a hint of sadness. He definitely has a profound ability in creating a sense of setting even if the setting basically looks like a stylishly decorated set. While I don't want to jump on the anti-Wes bandwagon that seems to be gathering new converts by the second, the slow motion shot in this film serves little purpose other than to ogle Portman's nude ass. It's difficult to find another reason for it other than that and Wes feeling the need to have it in there to please his fans with a trademark since it doesn't really underline anything emotionally given the film's brief duration. When I started this review, I was going to give it **1/2 on this viewing, but now I came around and am going to give it *** instead. It's definitely his weakest work so far and hopefully, it stays that way. I really hope The Darjeeling Limited is good.
*** out of ****
Hotel Chevalier(dir. Wes Anderson)
*** out of ****
Hotel Chevalier(dir. Wes Anderson)[rewatch]
*** out of ****
Today:
Hotel Chevalier(dir. Wes Anderson)[2nd rewatch]
It all really comes down to dialogue and aesthetics with this since it's set in a hotel room, it's only 13 minutes long, and well, it's by Wes Anderson. The dialogue isn't so strong in this one. A line like "I'll make sure we will never be friends" is mean-spirited and is rather poorly conceived. Portman is able to deliver her lines fine, but Schwartman struggles most likely due to some poorly written lines. He's not exactly a great actor to begin with so maybe the problem lies with his performance instead of the dialogue. Wes's camera gazes at objects in a fetishistic way creating a nostalgic sensation with a hint of sadness. He definitely has a profound ability in creating a sense of setting even if the setting basically looks like a stylishly decorated set. While I don't want to jump on the anti-Wes bandwagon that seems to be gathering new converts by the second, the slow motion shot in this film serves little purpose other than to ogle Portman's nude ass. It's difficult to find another reason for it other than that and Wes feeling the need to have it in there to please his fans with a trademark since it doesn't really underline anything emotionally given the film's brief duration. When I started this review, I was going to give it **1/2 on this viewing, but now I came around and am going to give it *** instead. It's definitely his weakest work so far and hopefully, it stays that way. I really hope The Darjeeling Limited is good.
*** out of ****
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Oh Performances...
Listy list list...
Top 10 Best Performances by an Actor(no order):
Kirk Douglas in Ace in the Hole
Kirk Douglas in The Bad and the Beautiful
Humphrey Bogart in In a Lonely Place
Rod Steiger in The Pawnbroker
John Wayne in The Searchers
Ben Gazzara in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Elliot Gould in MASH
Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas
Robert Ryan in On Dangerous Ground
Jack Nicholson in The Passenger
Honorable mentions: Henry Fonda in My Darling Clementine or The Grapes of Wrath, Lee Marvin in Point Blank or The Big Heat, Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski, Sterling Hayden in The Killing, Alain Delon in something, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in practically all his "fun for the family" films(he might be the greatest comedic actor of all-time)
Top 10 Best Performance by an Actress(no order):
Oksana Akinshina in Lilya 4-Ever
Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence
Gloria Grahame in In a Lonely Place
Laura Dern in Inland Empire
Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr.
Bjork in Dancer in the Dark
Barbara Loden in Wanda
Nicole Kidman in Dogville
Ida Lupino in On Dangerous Ground
Samantha Morton in Morvern Callar
Honorable mentions: Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat, Sarah Polley in The Sweet Hereafter, Faye Wong in Chungking Express, Chantal Goya in Masculin, feminin, Kyoka Kishida in Woman in the Dunes, Bibi Andersson in The Seventh Seal, and Makiko Esumi in Pistol Opera
Not sure about these...
Top 10 Best Performances by an Actor(no order):
Kirk Douglas in Ace in the Hole
Kirk Douglas in The Bad and the Beautiful
Humphrey Bogart in In a Lonely Place
Rod Steiger in The Pawnbroker
John Wayne in The Searchers
Ben Gazzara in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Elliot Gould in MASH
Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas
Robert Ryan in On Dangerous Ground
Jack Nicholson in The Passenger
Honorable mentions: Henry Fonda in My Darling Clementine or The Grapes of Wrath, Lee Marvin in Point Blank or The Big Heat, Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski, Sterling Hayden in The Killing, Alain Delon in something, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in practically all his "fun for the family" films(he might be the greatest comedic actor of all-time)
Top 10 Best Performance by an Actress(no order):
Oksana Akinshina in Lilya 4-Ever
Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence
Gloria Grahame in In a Lonely Place
Laura Dern in Inland Empire
Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr.
Bjork in Dancer in the Dark
Barbara Loden in Wanda
Nicole Kidman in Dogville
Ida Lupino in On Dangerous Ground
Samantha Morton in Morvern Callar
Honorable mentions: Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat, Sarah Polley in The Sweet Hereafter, Faye Wong in Chungking Express, Chantal Goya in Masculin, feminin, Kyoka Kishida in Woman in the Dunes, Bibi Andersson in The Seventh Seal, and Makiko Esumi in Pistol Opera
Not sure about these...
Friday, November 02, 2007
Oh Viewing Tally...
It's a list I guess...
Total "New" Movies Seen in 2008 so far:
January:
Total "New" Movies Seen in 2007: 302
December 2007: 29 movies seen
November 2007: 28 movies seen
October 2007: 25 movies seen
September 2007: 19 movies seen
August 2007: 36 movies seen
July 2007: 37 movies seen
June 2007: 15 movies seen
May 2007: 8 movies seen
April 2007: 18 movies seen
March 2007: 84 movies seen(I think it was a combination of January, February, and March)
January 2007: 3 movies seen
Total "New" Movies Seen in 2008 so far:
January:
Total "New" Movies Seen in 2007: 302
December 2007: 29 movies seen
November 2007: 28 movies seen
October 2007: 25 movies seen
September 2007: 19 movies seen
August 2007: 36 movies seen
July 2007: 37 movies seen
June 2007: 15 movies seen
May 2007: 8 movies seen
April 2007: 18 movies seen
March 2007: 84 movies seen(I think it was a combination of January, February, and March)
January 2007: 3 movies seen
Oh Pregnancy and Murder...
Mr. Brooks(dir. Bruce A. Evens)
I might be overrating this film with the rating I'm going to give it(**), but there's a certain appeal in a film that is so oblivious of it's own ridiculousness. The appeal eventually wears off once you realize that it's not going to focus on it's ridiculousness but instead on the mundaneness that is it's plot. There are some moments that are ripe for campy hilarity but the film breezes through them to make them not as enjoyable as they could have been like a scene where Dane Cook's character pisses himself. It's presented in such a nonchalant and quick way that it's not even all that funny since it almost seems like the film is ashamed of it. You just sit there after seeing it and wonder if it actually happened. The film's best moments are easily the ones where Mr. Brooks deals with his daughter. She is such a fuck up that it's hilarious at how calm and reserve he is with her since he's supposed to be this sinister cold-blooded killer. It's the only thing that's truly funny in a campy way and when it takes a backseat in the second half, the film becomes dull, not realizing the fun to be had with it's ridiculousness. I'm not sure why I'm giving it this rating since the the second half was quite bad especially with it's "it was all a dream" ending but whatever.
** out of ****
I might be overrating this film with the rating I'm going to give it(**), but there's a certain appeal in a film that is so oblivious of it's own ridiculousness. The appeal eventually wears off once you realize that it's not going to focus on it's ridiculousness but instead on the mundaneness that is it's plot. There are some moments that are ripe for campy hilarity but the film breezes through them to make them not as enjoyable as they could have been like a scene where Dane Cook's character pisses himself. It's presented in such a nonchalant and quick way that it's not even all that funny since it almost seems like the film is ashamed of it. You just sit there after seeing it and wonder if it actually happened. The film's best moments are easily the ones where Mr. Brooks deals with his daughter. She is such a fuck up that it's hilarious at how calm and reserve he is with her since he's supposed to be this sinister cold-blooded killer. It's the only thing that's truly funny in a campy way and when it takes a backseat in the second half, the film becomes dull, not realizing the fun to be had with it's ridiculousness. I'm not sure why I'm giving it this rating since the the second half was quite bad especially with it's "it was all a dream" ending but whatever.
** out of ****
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Oh Halloween...
The Fall of the House of Usher(dir. Jean Epstein)
I have a serious lack of experience with silent cinema. I'm not sure why. The score that accompanied this film was excellent. That's one thing that always seemed strange to me about silent cinema is that most of the time, they don't always have a default and "definitive" score for a film so your experience could be drastically different depending how you see it but whatever. The images were haunting and dream-like. It slightly dragged at certain parts, but other than that minor quibble, it is a masterpiece.
**** out of *****
Surspiria(dir. Dario Argento)
I spoke too soon with my comparison of him to John Woo. They obviously had really nothing in common before other than that they're great stylistically at their given genre, but now, having seen this, a more apt comparison would be to Seijun Suzuki given this film's over-stylized look. I'm starting to feel that I overrated Tenebre since it is starting to look mundane and dull because of this. The only thing Tenebre really had going for it in my mind were the overly violent murders while this contains a captivating world of horror and even more imaginative and elaborate murders. It's not really scary, but it's hard to disregard the film's creepy atmosphere, which is created mainly by the film's wonderful score by Goblin. I thought the Dawn of the Dead score was awesome, but man, this one easily dominates it. I easily consider it one of my top 5 favorite scores. The narrative doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's easily more engaging than the mystery presented in Tenebre. The set design is amazing. The whole film is amazing. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Wolf Creek[Unrated cut](dir. Greg McLean)
I don't really understand how Roger Ebert gave this zero stars. It's not exactly pleasant, but nothing about it was out of line. Reading his review, you expect an hour and 40 minutes of women getting tortured when there's very little of that. This is an extremely well-executed genre piece that is physically and emotionally draining. It has some problems like employing basically an invincible boogeyman in it's narrative and maybe taking a little too long to get the "horror" going. It exploited it's narrative's "based on true events" aspect perhaps a little too much with it's ending, expecting this film to resonate more with the audience because it's "true." That just seems cheap and phony, but it's hard to knock the film too much since it's so tight and well-done. Now, I feel like I overrated The Thing. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
I have a serious lack of experience with silent cinema. I'm not sure why. The score that accompanied this film was excellent. That's one thing that always seemed strange to me about silent cinema is that most of the time, they don't always have a default and "definitive" score for a film so your experience could be drastically different depending how you see it but whatever. The images were haunting and dream-like. It slightly dragged at certain parts, but other than that minor quibble, it is a masterpiece.
**** out of *****
Surspiria(dir. Dario Argento)
I spoke too soon with my comparison of him to John Woo. They obviously had really nothing in common before other than that they're great stylistically at their given genre, but now, having seen this, a more apt comparison would be to Seijun Suzuki given this film's over-stylized look. I'm starting to feel that I overrated Tenebre since it is starting to look mundane and dull because of this. The only thing Tenebre really had going for it in my mind were the overly violent murders while this contains a captivating world of horror and even more imaginative and elaborate murders. It's not really scary, but it's hard to disregard the film's creepy atmosphere, which is created mainly by the film's wonderful score by Goblin. I thought the Dawn of the Dead score was awesome, but man, this one easily dominates it. I easily consider it one of my top 5 favorite scores. The narrative doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's easily more engaging than the mystery presented in Tenebre. The set design is amazing. The whole film is amazing. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Wolf Creek[Unrated cut](dir. Greg McLean)
I don't really understand how Roger Ebert gave this zero stars. It's not exactly pleasant, but nothing about it was out of line. Reading his review, you expect an hour and 40 minutes of women getting tortured when there's very little of that. This is an extremely well-executed genre piece that is physically and emotionally draining. It has some problems like employing basically an invincible boogeyman in it's narrative and maybe taking a little too long to get the "horror" going. It exploited it's narrative's "based on true events" aspect perhaps a little too much with it's ending, expecting this film to resonate more with the audience because it's "true." That just seems cheap and phony, but it's hard to knock the film too much since it's so tight and well-done. Now, I feel like I overrated The Thing. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Oh 2003...
Less shaky since I've seen the obvious top three choices more recently.
2003
1. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2. Pistol Opera(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
3. Le Cercle Rouge(dir. Jean-Pierre Melville)
4. Platform(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
5. Millenium Mambo(dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien)
6. What Time is It There?(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
7. Lost in Translation(dir. Sofia Coppola)
8. 28 Days Later...(dir. Danny Boyle)
BLAH...
2003
1. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2. Pistol Opera(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
3. Le Cercle Rouge(dir. Jean-Pierre Melville)
4. Platform(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
5. Millenium Mambo(dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien)
6. What Time is It There?(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
7. Lost in Translation(dir. Sofia Coppola)
8. 28 Days Later...(dir. Danny Boyle)
BLAH...
Oh Brangelina...
A Mighty Heart(dir. Michael Winterbottom)
Taking an opposite approach to the material than the one he took on for 24 Hour Party People, he employs a deliberately bland style in an attempt to hide the fact that the thing is a film. Too bad this attempt at appearing more "honest" and "real" is undermined by Angelina Jolie's performance. All her character is is simply an accent and a pregnant belly. You never for once believe that this is an actual person. Jolie performs in a way as if she is asking the audience to love her character when there's nothing to love. The narrative is only somewhat effective with the flashbacks with her husband since he's easily the most sympathetic character in the story and the film would have benefited if it at least gave a snippet of what his experience was like during his brief time being detained. The film's narrative is incredibly uninteresting. I'm not saying this type of story needs to be exciting or anything, but it lacks insight and doesn't bother to examine anything around this situation in any type of profound way, making the film seem utterly pointless. The only logical reason in my mind for this movie to exist is to simply get Jolie an Oscar, which it might very well do. It was mediocre.
** out of ****
Taking an opposite approach to the material than the one he took on for 24 Hour Party People, he employs a deliberately bland style in an attempt to hide the fact that the thing is a film. Too bad this attempt at appearing more "honest" and "real" is undermined by Angelina Jolie's performance. All her character is is simply an accent and a pregnant belly. You never for once believe that this is an actual person. Jolie performs in a way as if she is asking the audience to love her character when there's nothing to love. The narrative is only somewhat effective with the flashbacks with her husband since he's easily the most sympathetic character in the story and the film would have benefited if it at least gave a snippet of what his experience was like during his brief time being detained. The film's narrative is incredibly uninteresting. I'm not saying this type of story needs to be exciting or anything, but it lacks insight and doesn't bother to examine anything around this situation in any type of profound way, making the film seem utterly pointless. The only logical reason in my mind for this movie to exist is to simply get Jolie an Oscar, which it might very well do. It was mediocre.
** out of ****
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Oh 2004...
Even more shaky.
2004
1. Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
2. Last Life in the Universe(dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)
3. Springtime in a Small Town(dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang)
4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou(dir. Wes Anderson)
5. Twentynine Palms(dir. Bruno Dumont)
6. Spider-Man 2(dir. Sam Raimi)
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(dir. Michel Gondry)
8. Collateral(dir. Michael Mann)
9. Kill Bill Vol. 2(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
10. Dogville(dir. Lars von Trier)
Honorable mentions: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Before Sunset, I <3 Huckabees, Hero, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Million Dollar Baby, Mean Creek, and more...
Need/want to see: Sideways, Crimson Gold, Blissfully Yours, Birth, The Aviator, Vera Drake, Moolaadé, Maria Full of Grace, The Incredibles, Bad Education, House of Flying Daggers, The Return, A Very Long Engagement, The Motorcycle Diaries(maybe?), Ray(maybe?), Hotel Rwanda(maybe?), Infernal Affairs, Closer, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, The Dreamers(maybe?), Finding Neverland(maybe?), [Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring], The Manchurian Candidate, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Garden State(maybe?), Saddest Music in the World, Kinsey(maybe?), The Passion of the Christ(maybe?), Primer(maybe?), Shaun of the Dead, Undertow, Dawn of the Dead(maybe?), Coffee and Cigarettes, Baadasssss!, The Brown Bunny, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Notre Musique(only movie I could think of that I didn't like) and more...
Moving on up....
2004
1. Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
2. Last Life in the Universe(dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)
3. Springtime in a Small Town(dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang)
4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou(dir. Wes Anderson)
5. Twentynine Palms(dir. Bruno Dumont)
6. Spider-Man 2(dir. Sam Raimi)
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(dir. Michel Gondry)
8. Collateral(dir. Michael Mann)
9. Kill Bill Vol. 2(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
10. Dogville(dir. Lars von Trier)
Honorable mentions: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Before Sunset, I <3 Huckabees, Hero, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Million Dollar Baby, Mean Creek, and more...
Need/want to see: Sideways, Crimson Gold, Blissfully Yours, Birth, The Aviator, Vera Drake, Moolaadé, Maria Full of Grace, The Incredibles, Bad Education, House of Flying Daggers, The Return, A Very Long Engagement, The Motorcycle Diaries(maybe?), Ray(maybe?), Hotel Rwanda(maybe?), Infernal Affairs, Closer, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, The Dreamers(maybe?), Finding Neverland(maybe?), [Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring], The Manchurian Candidate, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Garden State(maybe?), Saddest Music in the World, Kinsey(maybe?), The Passion of the Christ(maybe?), Primer(maybe?), Shaun of the Dead, Undertow, Dawn of the Dead(maybe?), Coffee and Cigarettes, Baadasssss!, The Brown Bunny, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Notre Musique(only movie I could think of that I didn't like) and more...
Moving on up....
Oh 2005...
Kind of shaky on this list since a lot of the films that are going to be on here are ones that I haven't seen in ages.
2005
1. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid[2005 Cut](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
2. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
3. Pride and Prejudice(dir. Joe Wright)
4. Wolf Creek(dir. Greg McLean)
4. 2046(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
5. Tropical Malady(dir. "Joe")[definately need to rewatch]
7. Batman Begins(dir. Christopher Nolan)
8. Land of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero)
9. Sin City(dir. Robert Rodriguez)
10. The World(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
Honorable mentions: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Grizzly Man, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Café Lumière, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Munich, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, The Squid and The Whale, A History of Violence, Walk the Line, Match Point, Syriana, Me and You and Everyone We Know, and more...
Need/want to see: Last Days, Keane, The White Diamond, Hotel Rwanda(maybe?), The Intruder, Memoirs of a Geisha(maybe?), March of the Penguins(maybe?), Cinderella Man(maybe?), North Country(maybe?), The Beat My Heart Skipped, Tsotsi(maybe?), Kung Fu Hustle(kind of), Transameria(maybe?), Murderball(kind of), Caché, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride(maybe?), Howl's Moving Castle, Oldboy(kind of), The Best of Youth, Nobody Knows, The Devil's Rejects, Kairo(Pulse), and more...
Dishonorable mentions: King Kong, The Constant Gardener, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and more...
Ehhh, I'll work on it some more...
2005
1. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid[2005 Cut](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
2. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
3. Pride and Prejudice(dir. Joe Wright)
4. Wolf Creek(dir. Greg McLean)
4. 2046(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
5. Tropical Malady(dir. "Joe")[definately need to rewatch]
7. Batman Begins(dir. Christopher Nolan)
8. Land of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero)
9. Sin City(dir. Robert Rodriguez)
10. The World(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
Honorable mentions: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Grizzly Man, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Café Lumière, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Munich, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, The Squid and The Whale, A History of Violence, Walk the Line, Match Point, Syriana, Me and You and Everyone We Know, and more...
Need/want to see: Last Days, Keane, The White Diamond, Hotel Rwanda(maybe?), The Intruder, Memoirs of a Geisha(maybe?), March of the Penguins(maybe?), Cinderella Man(maybe?), North Country(maybe?), The Beat My Heart Skipped, Tsotsi(maybe?), Kung Fu Hustle(kind of), Transameria(maybe?), Murderball(kind of), Caché, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride(maybe?), Howl's Moving Castle, Oldboy(kind of), The Best of Youth, Nobody Knows, The Devil's Rejects, Kairo(Pulse), and more...
Dishonorable mentions: King Kong, The Constant Gardener, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and more...
Ehhh, I'll work on it some more...
Oh Windows...
The Thing(dir. John Carpenter)
First movie by him that I've seen. I feel like a dumbass for calling myself a film buff without seeing any of his movies beforehand, but here I am. It's mildly scary but totally awesome. It seemed to drag with them just basically freaking out when there were no signs of "the thing," but once "the thing" finally shows itself again, you easily forgive it. While the ending isn't as satisfyingly haunting as one would like, it's still a good conclusion to the narrative. I will most likely check out Halloween, Escape From New York, or Assault on Precinct 13 next. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
First movie by him that I've seen. I feel like a dumbass for calling myself a film buff without seeing any of his movies beforehand, but here I am. It's mildly scary but totally awesome. It seemed to drag with them just basically freaking out when there were no signs of "the thing," but once "the thing" finally shows itself again, you easily forgive it. While the ending isn't as satisfyingly haunting as one would like, it's still a good conclusion to the narrative. I will most likely check out Halloween, Escape From New York, or Assault on Precinct 13 next. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Monday, October 29, 2007
Oh 2006...
Going to do the same thing as the Oh 2007... post, but have it be 2006 instead.
2006
1. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)[Original cut]
2. Little Children(dir. Todd Field)
3. Marie Antoinette(dir. Sofia Coppola)
4. INLAND EMPIRE(dir. David Lynch)
5. The Science of Sleep(dir. Michel Gondry)
6. Clean(dir. Olivier Assayas)
7. Scoop(dir. Woody Allen)
8. The Proposition(dir. John Hillcoat)
9. L'Enfant(dir. Dardenne Brothers)
10. The Fountain(dir. Darren Aronofsky)
Honorable mentions: Somersault, Deck the Halls, Casino Royale, The Descent[needs a rewatch], Half Nelson, The Good Shephard, Borat, The Departed, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima, A Prairie Home Companion, Children of Men, Babel, The Black Dahlia, Little Miss Sunshine[need to rewatch]
Need/want to see: Manderlay, Tideland(kind of), Volver, Battle in Heaven, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, Army of Shadows(re-release, whatevz), Bubble, The Good German, The Queen, The Lives of Others, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, 49 Up(maybe?), Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing(kind of), Hard Candy, The Last King of Scotland[don't really have a desire to see it, but feel obligated to], Blood Diamond(saw some of it, seems like a worthy candidate for dishonorable mentions once I see the whole thing), Notes on a Scandal, Thank You for Smoking(kind of), Dave Chapelle's Block Party(kind of), Cache, The Road to Guantanamo(kind of), Old Joy, Curse of the Golden Flower(kind of), Venus(kind of), The Illusionist, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, V for Vendetta(kind of), Find Me Guilty, Mutual Appreciation, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Bobby, The Wild, The Pursuit of Happyness, and more...
Best Performances:
Danny Huston, The Proposition
Laura Dern, INLAND EMPIRE
Kirsten Dunst, Marie Antoinette
Gael Garica Bernal, The Science of Sleep
Jeremie Reiner, L'Enfant
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
2006
1. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)[Original cut]
2. Little Children(dir. Todd Field)
3. Marie Antoinette(dir. Sofia Coppola)
4. INLAND EMPIRE(dir. David Lynch)
5. The Science of Sleep(dir. Michel Gondry)
6. Clean(dir. Olivier Assayas)
7. Scoop(dir. Woody Allen)
8. The Proposition(dir. John Hillcoat)
9. L'Enfant(dir. Dardenne Brothers)
10. The Fountain(dir. Darren Aronofsky)
Honorable mentions: Somersault, Deck the Halls, Casino Royale, The Descent[needs a rewatch], Half Nelson, The Good Shephard, Borat, The Departed, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima, A Prairie Home Companion, Children of Men, Babel, The Black Dahlia, Little Miss Sunshine[need to rewatch]
Need/want to see: Manderlay, Tideland(kind of), Volver, Battle in Heaven, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, Army of Shadows(re-release, whatevz), Bubble, The Good German, The Queen, The Lives of Others, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, 49 Up(maybe?), Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing(kind of), Hard Candy, The Last King of Scotland[don't really have a desire to see it, but feel obligated to], Blood Diamond(saw some of it, seems like a worthy candidate for dishonorable mentions once I see the whole thing), Notes on a Scandal, Thank You for Smoking(kind of), Dave Chapelle's Block Party(kind of), Cache, The Road to Guantanamo(kind of), Old Joy, Curse of the Golden Flower(kind of), Venus(kind of), The Illusionist, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, V for Vendetta(kind of), Find Me Guilty, Mutual Appreciation, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Bobby, The Wild, The Pursuit of Happyness, and more...
Best Performances:
Danny Huston, The Proposition
Laura Dern, INLAND EMPIRE
Kirsten Dunst, Marie Antoinette
Gael Garica Bernal, The Science of Sleep
Jeremie Reiner, L'Enfant
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
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