So we have Gary, he’s a retired gangster who is living happily in Spain with his wife, and his good friend and his wife. Then, Don, an old associate, comes looking for Gary to bring him back to London to do a job…a good part of the movie is Don trying to convince Gary to come back, to which he continues to decline, repetitively stating that he’s retired.
Right now, I need to say, that Ben Kingsley doing Don Logan was fantastic! His character was so vile, unpleasant, manipulative, and violent…it was really good.
Unfortunately he gets out of hand trying to convince Gary to come back to London that he throws a punch and ends up getting himself shot…dead. :P Dernn…
The plot wasn’t anything special…actually, it was really really simple. Usually when I say ‘not anything special’ it means its good…im a tough critic, I know, but this was really flat. No twists whatsoever. That was a little bit of a downfall for me, but it actually wasn’t that bad at the time, so, whatever it did, it worked…so, I’m not holding it against em.
I was actually a little bit surprised by the lack of violence in the movie. Sure, you see a few people get shot just straight on…one in the head…one in the stomach…but a lot less than I expected when I heard ‘retired gangster film’.
One more thing…my favourite scene in the movie. Don Logan is smoking on a plane…the flight attendant tells him to put out his cigarette…to which he declines. He gets super riled up :P Ends up leaving the plane, and ends up in shit with airport security…where he decides he has the perfect way of getting out of this situation…
He tells security that he was sexually assaulted by a male flight attendant and was smoking unknowingly to calm his nerves :P
I honestly found this scene quite funny…
And I pulled one of those moments where I laugh and turn to the person beside me only to discover I was watching it by myself…depressing yes I know haha…
Anyway, this one needs to be quick…I only have the house to myself for a little bit longer, so I need to get downstairs.
It was entertainment…it kept me occupied for a couple hours…it wasn’t terrible….
6.5/10
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Memento
Guy Pearce plays Leonard, an insurance guy who now suffers from amnesia due to a head injury from when he and his wife were attacked. His wife was killed, and now he lives for revenge…needing to kill the second attacker that he knows was present during the attack, but who the police refuse to believe exists. He basically has to tattoo himself with important information and constantly take polaroids just to get through each day and continue with his own little personal investigation.
This film is kinda broken into two parts…approx. a quarter is in black and white, while the rest is in colour. The part that is in colour shows Leonards investigation, and what he’s doing to find and murder this man that supposedly attacked him and killed his wife. The thing is, it’s all backwards…so the film starts off, and we actually see who Leonard ends up killing…concluding them as his wife’s murderer. The other part of the film, the black and white portion, is telling us a little bit about Leonards amnesia in the form of a phone call. Leonard is is discussing a former client, Sammy, with an unkown caller, and Sammy had the same sort of condition that Leonard now has. This part of the movie actually plays in chronological order…so in the end of the film, they both kind of come together quite well.
One of my favourite things about this movie is how it made me feel…it was filmed and edited in a way that was very quick and left you with many questions, never fully understanding everything. The fact that the majority of the movie was backwards, made you feel how you would imagine Leonard feeling…totally confused. You never had any background as to why something was happening…you just witnessed it, and found out why later. The quick editing and pace also kept you from really analyzing the movie for too long…just adding to my constant feeling of being a little bit lost throughout the movie.
I also loved how it was so NOT what I expected! The whole ‘guy with amnesia’ trying to solve a mystery isn’t exactly the most unique story…and the technique of showing the scenes backwards isn’t terribly unique either…but, they way they put it together just totally worked, and made it unique!
The acting left me feeling indifferent…which is my only complaint…which is good! My complaint isn’t even bad…its just a lack of…great. I do agree with their choice of casting Guy Pearce though…Brad Pitt was originally the first choice for Leonard, and he wanted to accept, but it ended up not working schedule wise, and don’t get me wrong, I like Brad Pitt…but I don’t think an A-list actor would have been right for that role.
Anyway, this film was totally engaging, I loved it, and I would love to see it again sometime soon. I recommend it 100%
This film is kinda broken into two parts…approx. a quarter is in black and white, while the rest is in colour. The part that is in colour shows Leonards investigation, and what he’s doing to find and murder this man that supposedly attacked him and killed his wife. The thing is, it’s all backwards…so the film starts off, and we actually see who Leonard ends up killing…concluding them as his wife’s murderer. The other part of the film, the black and white portion, is telling us a little bit about Leonards amnesia in the form of a phone call. Leonard is is discussing a former client, Sammy, with an unkown caller, and Sammy had the same sort of condition that Leonard now has. This part of the movie actually plays in chronological order…so in the end of the film, they both kind of come together quite well.
One of my favourite things about this movie is how it made me feel…it was filmed and edited in a way that was very quick and left you with many questions, never fully understanding everything. The fact that the majority of the movie was backwards, made you feel how you would imagine Leonard feeling…totally confused. You never had any background as to why something was happening…you just witnessed it, and found out why later. The quick editing and pace also kept you from really analyzing the movie for too long…just adding to my constant feeling of being a little bit lost throughout the movie.
I also loved how it was so NOT what I expected! The whole ‘guy with amnesia’ trying to solve a mystery isn’t exactly the most unique story…and the technique of showing the scenes backwards isn’t terribly unique either…but, they way they put it together just totally worked, and made it unique!
The acting left me feeling indifferent…which is my only complaint…which is good! My complaint isn’t even bad…its just a lack of…great. I do agree with their choice of casting Guy Pearce though…Brad Pitt was originally the first choice for Leonard, and he wanted to accept, but it ended up not working schedule wise, and don’t get me wrong, I like Brad Pitt…but I don’t think an A-list actor would have been right for that role.
Anyway, this film was totally engaging, I loved it, and I would love to see it again sometime soon. I recommend it 100%
Sunday, April 11, 2010
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
So…I had heard a ton of good things about this movie…I mean, its really a classic, and I have to say it met my expectations. It didn’t quite surpass them, but it lived up to what I had heard.
Basically, Jack Nicholson’s character, McMurphy, is in jail for statutory rape…and he convinces the jail gaurds that he is mentally ill, mad, and is sent to a mental asylum. While he’s there he creates chaos, stirring shit up, which actually seems to be helping some of the patients advance in their mental health, while driving the nurse insane. :P
Uhmm…so, this is based on the book by Ken Kesey, which I’m looking into reading, especially after I found out that it’s actually narrated by my favourite character in the film, CHIEF!! Haha.
I love that guy man…
The first half of the movie is good. There’s nothing really outstandingly unique or anything…it was funny though, and it set it up good, you get to know everyone, work everything out, see exactly how this mental ward works.
I think the point in the movie where it really picked up, for me anyway, was when McMurphy invited over the girls who brought booze.
The result of that night was Billy finding this weird newfound self-belief after sleeping with one of the girls. When the nurse comes and finds him, his stutter is gone, and he has this air of confidence around him. It’s great, they build him up, he is so happy, you feel happy for him…then the nurse goes and threatens to tell Billy’s mother. Bam, stutter comes back, he’s a fucking emotional wreck all over again. Now, I’m totally sympathizing with this kid, I totally know how it feels to constantly have your stomach dropping because your scared of your fucking mother…maybe not to the extent that he does, but I was definitely feeling terrible for him.
Then, minutes later, he’s found in the office, throat cut, dead. Just like that. Literally two minutes ago he was this confidant guy, totally released from his mother and then he’s dead. Well…fuck. That sucked. They did it really well though, I felt horrible at that moment.
Next scene I liked was when McMurphy came back from receiving a lobotomy and was just, gone. A vegetable. Chief is so excited to see him, he has this big speech…feels as big or strong as a mountain…something like that…only to realize what had happened. He knows the only thing that he can do is to end his suffering…he suffocates McMurphy and then takes off on his own.
I don’t know, I really liked the ending…simply riding into the sunset, sounds cheesy, I know, but its just…crushing.
I randomly just remembered the scene where Mac is trying to teach Chief how to play basketball…and that might be my favourite scene…he’s so…passionate, and you can’t help but feel it with him. This guy is so fucked up…I mean, he’s in jail for statutory rape, he would be what society defines as a ‘bad guy’, but he’s incredibly optimistic. I’m all for Mac’s pep talks (:
“What do you think you are, for Chrissake, crazy or somethin'? Well you're not! You're not! You're no crazier than the average asshole out walkin' around on the streets and that's it.”
8/10
Basically, Jack Nicholson’s character, McMurphy, is in jail for statutory rape…and he convinces the jail gaurds that he is mentally ill, mad, and is sent to a mental asylum. While he’s there he creates chaos, stirring shit up, which actually seems to be helping some of the patients advance in their mental health, while driving the nurse insane. :P
Uhmm…so, this is based on the book by Ken Kesey, which I’m looking into reading, especially after I found out that it’s actually narrated by my favourite character in the film, CHIEF!! Haha.
I love that guy man…
The first half of the movie is good. There’s nothing really outstandingly unique or anything…it was funny though, and it set it up good, you get to know everyone, work everything out, see exactly how this mental ward works.
I think the point in the movie where it really picked up, for me anyway, was when McMurphy invited over the girls who brought booze.
The result of that night was Billy finding this weird newfound self-belief after sleeping with one of the girls. When the nurse comes and finds him, his stutter is gone, and he has this air of confidence around him. It’s great, they build him up, he is so happy, you feel happy for him…then the nurse goes and threatens to tell Billy’s mother. Bam, stutter comes back, he’s a fucking emotional wreck all over again. Now, I’m totally sympathizing with this kid, I totally know how it feels to constantly have your stomach dropping because your scared of your fucking mother…maybe not to the extent that he does, but I was definitely feeling terrible for him.
Then, minutes later, he’s found in the office, throat cut, dead. Just like that. Literally two minutes ago he was this confidant guy, totally released from his mother and then he’s dead. Well…fuck. That sucked. They did it really well though, I felt horrible at that moment.
Next scene I liked was when McMurphy came back from receiving a lobotomy and was just, gone. A vegetable. Chief is so excited to see him, he has this big speech…feels as big or strong as a mountain…something like that…only to realize what had happened. He knows the only thing that he can do is to end his suffering…he suffocates McMurphy and then takes off on his own.
I don’t know, I really liked the ending…simply riding into the sunset, sounds cheesy, I know, but its just…crushing.
I randomly just remembered the scene where Mac is trying to teach Chief how to play basketball…and that might be my favourite scene…he’s so…passionate, and you can’t help but feel it with him. This guy is so fucked up…I mean, he’s in jail for statutory rape, he would be what society defines as a ‘bad guy’, but he’s incredibly optimistic. I’m all for Mac’s pep talks (:
“What do you think you are, for Chrissake, crazy or somethin'? Well you're not! You're not! You're no crazier than the average asshole out walkin' around on the streets and that's it.”
8/10
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Apocalypse Now
Mkay. So…last night I watched Apocalypse Now. Loooooong movie. Bad idea to start watching it at like 1:30 in the morning lol. You’ll be up all night…Not that I wouldn’t have been anyway :P
So, basically, this Captain in the Vietnam war is sent on this secret mission sort of thing. It doesn’t technically exist…it’s to eliminate one of their own men…a Colonel who has apparently gone insane and is controlling a huge amount of people.
My favourite character was the camouflage guy!! I loved him…and he saved da puppayy XD
Speaking of which, I totally got distracted and have no idea what ended up happening to the puppy…I don’t know if I’d want to know…
I wasn’t a huge fan of the Captain…he seemed a little too cold…I mean, I guess its kind of understandable.
He’s being sent on this mission…to destroy one of their own men, basically because mankind find it incredibly difficult to be able to accept something that they can’t understand and can’t control…in this case Kurtz. Anyway, bam. He gets ‘eliminated’, a scene that I really enjoyed.
I liked how they kept Kurtz in the shadows for the first two thirds of the confrontation. It reminded me of the Elephant Man, how we’re kept from seeing his face until we were well into the movie…
Anyway, that was random.
I liked how they flashed back and forth from the Captain interrogating Kurtz to a scene with a tribe sacrificing a bull.
Which I found out a little while after watching the film was actually real. They got this local tribe, and filmed them during one of their rituals, which included the sacrifice of a bull…they didn’t stage it…they documented it…intense shit.
I also loved how the farther the Captain’s boat made it down the river the crazier and more hectic things became. The closer he got to Kurtz, the more chaos ensued.
It was different than the typical war movie…It reminded me more of…Full Metal Jacket maybe?
Where it focused more on the psychological aspects of the war then most war movies do, which is great, I like that.
Ohh…and I finally got to hear where the famous line “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning” came from (:
Speaking of quotes…another one I liked kinda just popped into my head. Spoken by Kurtz, about a snail scrawling along the edge of a razor…lemme find it.
I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving.
8.5/10
So, basically, this Captain in the Vietnam war is sent on this secret mission sort of thing. It doesn’t technically exist…it’s to eliminate one of their own men…a Colonel who has apparently gone insane and is controlling a huge amount of people.
My favourite character was the camouflage guy!! I loved him…and he saved da puppayy XD
Speaking of which, I totally got distracted and have no idea what ended up happening to the puppy…I don’t know if I’d want to know…
I wasn’t a huge fan of the Captain…he seemed a little too cold…I mean, I guess its kind of understandable.
He’s being sent on this mission…to destroy one of their own men, basically because mankind find it incredibly difficult to be able to accept something that they can’t understand and can’t control…in this case Kurtz. Anyway, bam. He gets ‘eliminated’, a scene that I really enjoyed.
I liked how they kept Kurtz in the shadows for the first two thirds of the confrontation. It reminded me of the Elephant Man, how we’re kept from seeing his face until we were well into the movie…
Anyway, that was random.
I liked how they flashed back and forth from the Captain interrogating Kurtz to a scene with a tribe sacrificing a bull.
Which I found out a little while after watching the film was actually real. They got this local tribe, and filmed them during one of their rituals, which included the sacrifice of a bull…they didn’t stage it…they documented it…intense shit.
I also loved how the farther the Captain’s boat made it down the river the crazier and more hectic things became. The closer he got to Kurtz, the more chaos ensued.
It was different than the typical war movie…It reminded me more of…Full Metal Jacket maybe?
Where it focused more on the psychological aspects of the war then most war movies do, which is great, I like that.
Ohh…and I finally got to hear where the famous line “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning” came from (:
Speaking of quotes…another one I liked kinda just popped into my head. Spoken by Kurtz, about a snail scrawling along the edge of a razor…lemme find it.
I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving.
8.5/10
Sunday, April 4, 2010
28 Days Later
So…it’s based on a book by Alex Garland...an author I've heard great things about and a book that is among the many on my 'to read' list.
Directed by Danny Boyle…who did The Beach, also based on a novel by Alex Garland, which I have yet to read and see. He also did Trainspotting…Sunshine…Slumdog Millionaire I think…that’s all I can think of right now.
Basically it is about this weird virus that was in these chimps, that these activists set free. The disease causes complete rage and when spread to humans, they basically destroyed each other, or committed suicide in fear…
Anyway...the VERY beginning was good, it was okay...then it started to go downhill for me. I couldn't really see where they were trying to go...the plot kind of seemed to disappear. Then the third quarter was great. It died down again for the last quarter but it was still better than the majority of the beginning half.
The main character is the guy from Red Eye I believe...the bad guy, and I think he’s in Sunshine too.
He's a creepy looking guy, and I don't think he was that great of an actor...and not because of the fact that I think he’s creepy…if anything, I would consider that to be an advantage.
The other main character was Selena...I liked her. Besides the fact that she had a really kick ass haircut, she started off as a hardass and softened up a bit by the end, possible a bit too much.
some of the events that happened were very predictable....and some were unpredictable however completely unrealistic, even for a movie.
I think this movie was attempting to show how savage humans are...maybe compare the non infected with being almost as savage as those infected with “rage”.... and it started off in the right track, but it didn’t go all the way.
I mean, there are a group of survivors hunting for women to rape basically to restart civilization....one of these girls happened to be a young teen.
But they never end up raping them...
And I'm not saying I wanted it to happen...but I think they should have insinuated that it was happening, or let us hear it or something, I don’t know…I probably sound incredibly sick right now.
But if your trying to show what monsters humans can be, just go all the way!
It was hard trying to decide which was worse…the fact that the entire human race was about to become extinct because of this virus, or the fact that the entire human race could possible be rebuilt by these supposedly sick and twisted men.
I think the human race being repopulated by these maniacs had the potential to be more frightening, and should have been more upsetting, however as I said before, they didn’t go as far as they could have with the pathetic remains of mankind.
overall it was okay
I think I'd rather read the book, I’m planning on it...and I hope it's better.
6/10
Directed by Danny Boyle…who did The Beach, also based on a novel by Alex Garland, which I have yet to read and see. He also did Trainspotting…Sunshine…Slumdog Millionaire I think…that’s all I can think of right now.
Basically it is about this weird virus that was in these chimps, that these activists set free. The disease causes complete rage and when spread to humans, they basically destroyed each other, or committed suicide in fear…
Anyway...the VERY beginning was good, it was okay...then it started to go downhill for me. I couldn't really see where they were trying to go...the plot kind of seemed to disappear. Then the third quarter was great. It died down again for the last quarter but it was still better than the majority of the beginning half.
The main character is the guy from Red Eye I believe...the bad guy, and I think he’s in Sunshine too.
He's a creepy looking guy, and I don't think he was that great of an actor...and not because of the fact that I think he’s creepy…if anything, I would consider that to be an advantage.
The other main character was Selena...I liked her. Besides the fact that she had a really kick ass haircut, she started off as a hardass and softened up a bit by the end, possible a bit too much.
some of the events that happened were very predictable....and some were unpredictable however completely unrealistic, even for a movie.
I think this movie was attempting to show how savage humans are...maybe compare the non infected with being almost as savage as those infected with “rage”.... and it started off in the right track, but it didn’t go all the way.
I mean, there are a group of survivors hunting for women to rape basically to restart civilization....one of these girls happened to be a young teen.
But they never end up raping them...
And I'm not saying I wanted it to happen...but I think they should have insinuated that it was happening, or let us hear it or something, I don’t know…I probably sound incredibly sick right now.
But if your trying to show what monsters humans can be, just go all the way!
It was hard trying to decide which was worse…the fact that the entire human race was about to become extinct because of this virus, or the fact that the entire human race could possible be rebuilt by these supposedly sick and twisted men.
I think the human race being repopulated by these maniacs had the potential to be more frightening, and should have been more upsetting, however as I said before, they didn’t go as far as they could have with the pathetic remains of mankind.
overall it was okay
I think I'd rather read the book, I’m planning on it...and I hope it's better.
6/10
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