Conversations With Other Women, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckhart, was one that I initially watched solely because of Helena. Being a huge Helena fan, I admit that the first time I watched it I think I was focused primarily on her. It wasn’t until I re-watched it recently that I saw that the movie as a whole was put together quite well. Helena and Aaron are essentially the only actors/physical in the film and they play the unnamed ‘man’ and ‘woman’. They meet at a wedding reception that they were both attending and engage in seemingly harmless small talk, which turns to flirting as the couple soon recall that they were lovers in the past. They seem to rekindle their past love as the night goes on, and despite the fact that they were both seriously attached to other people, a one night stand seems to be in consideration.
The very first thing you’ll notice about this film when watching it is the split screen. For the majority of the movie, one side of the screen is always focused on the woman and the other is focused on the man…except when they’re showing a flashback, which they can conveniently play at the same time as the present day due to the split screen. I thought originally that the split screen would be distracting, annoying, and get old after awhile, but you get used to it fairly quickly and it does add a certain intimacy to the movie.
The whole movie felt really honest to me…it was a small independent film with a budget less then half a million and I felt like that tight-knit feeling carried on into the movie. All the emotions that went into what happened that night felt so real, so developed, and so upsetting …
I really loved how the movie ended…the way it was filmed and the actual content of the scene both satisfied me. I don’t like when you can predict many film’s endings by just assuming that it was going to work out for the characters…you can’t do that for this movie, and that’s what I like…it’s different.
7.0/10
Friday, August 19, 2011
District 9
District 9 is a sci-fi type of movie in a unique setting, the slums of South Africa. It starts out as a spaceship sits hovering over South Africa for close to three months…Obviously, that is slightly concerning, so the government sends some military guys up to the spaceship to check that shit out. Upon breaking into the hovercraft they discover aliens in pretty rough physical shape. They bring them down to ground and set up an area called District 9 where the aliens are nourished and can live to recuperate. Years later (I think, I’m sorry I’m terrible with details…oops) they aliens nicknamed “prawns” are still living on earth and have created a slum in the middle of South Africa. Their presence is causing tension so the government decides to move the prawns to a newly build District 10 which is farther away from the African city. However, when this plan goes into action, shit kinda hits the fan and that’s when all the action begins to go down.
I really loved that it was set in South Africa…it’s not the typical setting for a sci-fi movie and I appreciate when a movie switches stuff up, especially when the plot isn’t entirely unique. The simple plot actually worked for this film though…it made it more believable…which is a benefit considering the subject matter. Even the aliens were more plausible because they were less animal-like then the stereotypical extraterrestrial. They have families and jobs and are intelligent…it allows us to feel and sympathize with them more.
Last thing I have to criticize, kinda, is the camera. I love the shaky camcorder feel, similar to movies like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, but the documentary type interviews at the beginning were just a tad bit too much. They were interesting to begin with, but they ran on for just a little too long into the movie.
Altogether, it was entertaining, different, and unique and an easy watch. It didn’t require a great amount of thought, it wasn’t confusing or anything…just a nice viewing.
7.8
I really loved that it was set in South Africa…it’s not the typical setting for a sci-fi movie and I appreciate when a movie switches stuff up, especially when the plot isn’t entirely unique. The simple plot actually worked for this film though…it made it more believable…which is a benefit considering the subject matter. Even the aliens were more plausible because they were less animal-like then the stereotypical extraterrestrial. They have families and jobs and are intelligent…it allows us to feel and sympathize with them more.
Last thing I have to criticize, kinda, is the camera. I love the shaky camcorder feel, similar to movies like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, but the documentary type interviews at the beginning were just a tad bit too much. They were interesting to begin with, but they ran on for just a little too long into the movie.
Altogether, it was entertaining, different, and unique and an easy watch. It didn’t require a great amount of thought, it wasn’t confusing or anything…just a nice viewing.
7.8
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Big Lebowski
Kinda a classic, made in 1998 establishing Jeff Bridges as "The Dude" :P
It starts off with Jeffrey Lebowski, who's Jeff Bridges' character, having his home broken into and being kinda verbally and physically abused by some random gangsters looking for money from him. He has no idea what they're talking about and eventually they leave...but not without violating his carpet, by urinating on it. Well, way to piss of the Dude right?
So, the Dude tries to hunt down the other Jeffrey Lebowski, whom the gangsters were looking for in the first place. I think it would be noteworthy to mention that "The Dude" Lebowski is pretty much a pathetic slacker while the other Lebowski is a millionaire. Upon finding the millionaire Lebowski he winds up involved with large sums of money and a task to find a kidnapped wife. From there on, it takes a feel similar to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...in the sense that you have no idea what the fuck is really going on. Money goes from hand to hand and people get pissed at each other but there's always an obvious presence of the easy going, carefree life that the Dude and his bowling buddies are dedicated too.
I really enjoyed watching this movie, a fantastic laugh that actually gave my brain a break...
I love the Coen brothers, and they continue to impress me with this one. I'm also a huge Jeff Bridges fan and this is officially my favourite movie and character he's done.
I've only seen the movie once, yet I feel like it's the kind of movie that only gets better the more times you watch it.
I'm actually now kind of having a hard time deciding whether I like it better than Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels now...initially it was no, then it was yes! However now, I'm thinking it may fall a bit short, I'm afraid.
They have very similar messes as plots. All over the place involving money, drugs, and guns...but where I have trouble is the cast. I like the Coen brothers directing better than I do with Guy Ritchie, and I'm a bigger fan of Jeff Bridges than I am for any of the actors in Lock Stock...however, Jeff Bridges, aside from the small role of Steve Buscemi, is pretty much the only character I found very very intriguing..and with Lock Stock, there was a good five British actors that just blew it out of the water.
Anyway, toss up as of now...so, it's getting...
8.6/10
It starts off with Jeffrey Lebowski, who's Jeff Bridges' character, having his home broken into and being kinda verbally and physically abused by some random gangsters looking for money from him. He has no idea what they're talking about and eventually they leave...but not without violating his carpet, by urinating on it. Well, way to piss of the Dude right?
So, the Dude tries to hunt down the other Jeffrey Lebowski, whom the gangsters were looking for in the first place. I think it would be noteworthy to mention that "The Dude" Lebowski is pretty much a pathetic slacker while the other Lebowski is a millionaire. Upon finding the millionaire Lebowski he winds up involved with large sums of money and a task to find a kidnapped wife. From there on, it takes a feel similar to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...in the sense that you have no idea what the fuck is really going on. Money goes from hand to hand and people get pissed at each other but there's always an obvious presence of the easy going, carefree life that the Dude and his bowling buddies are dedicated too.
I really enjoyed watching this movie, a fantastic laugh that actually gave my brain a break...
I love the Coen brothers, and they continue to impress me with this one. I'm also a huge Jeff Bridges fan and this is officially my favourite movie and character he's done.
I've only seen the movie once, yet I feel like it's the kind of movie that only gets better the more times you watch it.
I'm actually now kind of having a hard time deciding whether I like it better than Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels now...initially it was no, then it was yes! However now, I'm thinking it may fall a bit short, I'm afraid.
They have very similar messes as plots. All over the place involving money, drugs, and guns...but where I have trouble is the cast. I like the Coen brothers directing better than I do with Guy Ritchie, and I'm a bigger fan of Jeff Bridges than I am for any of the actors in Lock Stock...however, Jeff Bridges, aside from the small role of Steve Buscemi, is pretty much the only character I found very very intriguing..and with Lock Stock, there was a good five British actors that just blew it out of the water.
Anyway, toss up as of now...so, it's getting...
8.6/10
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The Fighter
So, I have to say that The Fighter definitely exceeded my expectations. I had never heard of the director, David O. Russell, but when I looked him up I discovered he also directed I Heart Huckabees...which was a decent movie.
But even knowing that, this quality of movie I was not expecting from someone I had never heard/watched before.
The plot was relatively simple...based on a true story, the story of boxer Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg. This boxer has potential...but he is surrounded by this crazy family and his ex-boxer crack addict brother, played by Christian Bale.
Once again, Christian Bale shows us how serious he is about roles...dropping weight and working out (although not as much as in The Machinist...I don't think ANY role I've seen has been as physically extreme as him in The Machinist)
The biggest surprise for me was Mark Wahlberg. I was really not a fan of him before I saw this movie. I thought he was a terrible actor, I never appreciated the roles he played, and just him as a person...kinda pissed me off. However, he really impressed me with his role as Micky Ward. I will admit, the quality of his acting still was not 100%, but the story and emotion in the character made up for it. He made me really feel for his character, I loved him!
I can't pinpoint exactly what I liked about this movie so much...it didn't stick with me on an philosophical level, I wasn't left wondering about the meaning or symbolism in the movie...but I WAS left wanting to watch it again. From the day after I saw it, up until today, I've thought a lot about seeing it again.
8.1/10
But even knowing that, this quality of movie I was not expecting from someone I had never heard/watched before.
The plot was relatively simple...based on a true story, the story of boxer Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg. This boxer has potential...but he is surrounded by this crazy family and his ex-boxer crack addict brother, played by Christian Bale.
Once again, Christian Bale shows us how serious he is about roles...dropping weight and working out (although not as much as in The Machinist...I don't think ANY role I've seen has been as physically extreme as him in The Machinist)
The biggest surprise for me was Mark Wahlberg. I was really not a fan of him before I saw this movie. I thought he was a terrible actor, I never appreciated the roles he played, and just him as a person...kinda pissed me off. However, he really impressed me with his role as Micky Ward. I will admit, the quality of his acting still was not 100%, but the story and emotion in the character made up for it. He made me really feel for his character, I loved him!
I can't pinpoint exactly what I liked about this movie so much...it didn't stick with me on an philosophical level, I wasn't left wondering about the meaning or symbolism in the movie...but I WAS left wanting to watch it again. From the day after I saw it, up until today, I've thought a lot about seeing it again.
8.1/10
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
True Grit
I think this is awesome, so many good movies are actually coming out new now, and I'm loving it...so I saw this one in theatres the other day. Unfortunately I had not read the book before I saw the movie, I have read it now, so I can compare them both.
It's basically about this young girl (12...i think?) who needs to hunt down a man Tom Chaney who murdered her father. She seeks the help of U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn, played by Jeff Bridges and this Laboeuf guy who ...is also looking for Chaney.
So...this old man Cogburn and this young girl Mattie go on this hunt for this guy...accompanied by Laboeuf at times, because he leaves the group halfway through. That is one of the things that stuck out to me as a difference between the book and the movie. In the book, Laboeuf doesn't leave, and obviously, the events that occur when Laboeuf returns to the group doesn't occur in the novel either. Other than that, I didn't pick out much that was different between the two. A little bit more different in the ending, but nothing major...at least I didn't think so. I seem to have a really bad habit of not accurately comparing books and movies. I always seem to think they do a fairly good job until other people point out really obvious flaws lmao.
Anyway, the plot is simple...but simplicity can be a good thing, and it does work in this movie. The only complaint I have with the simplicity of the movie was the climax. No matter how simple and slow a plot may be, the climax needs to be big...and the climax kindaa flopped, I have to admit. It was still good though it was only a minor dissapointent.
I love Jeff Bridges! I think he is one cool dude...that guy is like, a 'man'. He is just...amazingly awesome, that is all I have to say.
Matt Damon, not a huge fan :/ I kinda can't stand him...he was okay in this movie. I don't think it helped that I didn't think his character was fantastic, and I do blame a bit on him, but, I think the character himself could have been better coming from the Coen brothers.
My biggest complaint, which really doesn't have to do with film quality, was how much of an ass Mattie turned out to be. I loved Cogburn and the way Mattie treats him in the end just pisses me off so much...she shoulda lost the other arm, she deserved em both gone!
Good movie, not for everyone, slow but definitely cool.
8.4/10
It's basically about this young girl (12...i think?) who needs to hunt down a man Tom Chaney who murdered her father. She seeks the help of U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn, played by Jeff Bridges and this Laboeuf guy who ...is also looking for Chaney.
So...this old man Cogburn and this young girl Mattie go on this hunt for this guy...accompanied by Laboeuf at times, because he leaves the group halfway through. That is one of the things that stuck out to me as a difference between the book and the movie. In the book, Laboeuf doesn't leave, and obviously, the events that occur when Laboeuf returns to the group doesn't occur in the novel either. Other than that, I didn't pick out much that was different between the two. A little bit more different in the ending, but nothing major...at least I didn't think so. I seem to have a really bad habit of not accurately comparing books and movies. I always seem to think they do a fairly good job until other people point out really obvious flaws lmao.
Anyway, the plot is simple...but simplicity can be a good thing, and it does work in this movie. The only complaint I have with the simplicity of the movie was the climax. No matter how simple and slow a plot may be, the climax needs to be big...and the climax kindaa flopped, I have to admit. It was still good though it was only a minor dissapointent.
I love Jeff Bridges! I think he is one cool dude...that guy is like, a 'man'. He is just...amazingly awesome, that is all I have to say.
Matt Damon, not a huge fan :/ I kinda can't stand him...he was okay in this movie. I don't think it helped that I didn't think his character was fantastic, and I do blame a bit on him, but, I think the character himself could have been better coming from the Coen brothers.
My biggest complaint, which really doesn't have to do with film quality, was how much of an ass Mattie turned out to be. I loved Cogburn and the way Mattie treats him in the end just pisses me off so much...she shoulda lost the other arm, she deserved em both gone!
Good movie, not for everyone, slow but definitely cool.
8.4/10
Black Swan
Well, I obviously had extremely high expectations for this film as Darren Aronofsky is one of my top absolute favourite directors! I love everything he does. I'll admit that I was the SLIGHTEST bit skeptical when I heard that he was doing a movie about a ballet dancer...cause, I just found it strange, I couldn't really picture it. But, I should have known better, because he puts an amazing spin on ballet, making it shocking for anyone expecting a typical 'ballet' movie (Heard a few stories from friends...was NOT what they were expecting :P )
The movie revolves around Nina, an extremely dedicated and quite good ballet dancer. She scores the role of swan queen in a ballet production put on by the studio she belongs to. The catch is...the role of the swan queen is a progressive one...in which the swan transforms from the elegant and confident white swan to a dark and depressed black swan...
She has trouble transforming into the black swan on the stage, as she is too uptight and controlled...until, slowly, she loses control and her mind as the transformation becomes very real.
Natalie Portman actually does a fantastic job...I'm not really a fan, as I don't fully agree with a lot of the acting roles she accepts...I don't really feel as though she has high standards...which makes me question if she really knew what a fantastic role she had from Aronofsky...BUT I'll leave it at that because I have no complaints about her performance in this particular film.
I read recently someone compared Darren Aronofsky to Nick Cave...and at first I was kinda like 'what the fuck' ...how....and then, the more I thought about it, the more it actually makes complete sense. They both produce work that is extremely raw, gritty, and real. It's the real shit! It's not going to come easy for the audience...it's gross, and disturbing, and ugly but SO intriguing...you cannot stop watching it no matter how uncomfortable it makes you (and it WILL make you uncomfortable).
This time, Aronofsky focused on the grit in the characters rather than the setting like with Requiem or Pi. So...I do see the resemblance between Cave's work and Aronofsky's and I am a HUGE fan of them both.
One last thing that I need to mention is the length of the film. It's an hour forty I believe, and within that hour forty there are very few 'slow' moments and even those are completely entertaining. I feel like so many movies now are like going for two and a half hours...and I don't know if they think that that somehow improves the quality of the movie, but it really doesn't. It's quality over quantity for sure. The length of the movie was ideal. It would have been so easy to drag it out and make it nice and long...but he didn't and I appreciate it. :P
Definitely a must see.
9.3/10
The movie revolves around Nina, an extremely dedicated and quite good ballet dancer. She scores the role of swan queen in a ballet production put on by the studio she belongs to. The catch is...the role of the swan queen is a progressive one...in which the swan transforms from the elegant and confident white swan to a dark and depressed black swan...
She has trouble transforming into the black swan on the stage, as she is too uptight and controlled...until, slowly, she loses control and her mind as the transformation becomes very real.
Natalie Portman actually does a fantastic job...I'm not really a fan, as I don't fully agree with a lot of the acting roles she accepts...I don't really feel as though she has high standards...which makes me question if she really knew what a fantastic role she had from Aronofsky...BUT I'll leave it at that because I have no complaints about her performance in this particular film.
I read recently someone compared Darren Aronofsky to Nick Cave...and at first I was kinda like 'what the fuck' ...how....and then, the more I thought about it, the more it actually makes complete sense. They both produce work that is extremely raw, gritty, and real. It's the real shit! It's not going to come easy for the audience...it's gross, and disturbing, and ugly but SO intriguing...you cannot stop watching it no matter how uncomfortable it makes you (and it WILL make you uncomfortable).
This time, Aronofsky focused on the grit in the characters rather than the setting like with Requiem or Pi. So...I do see the resemblance between Cave's work and Aronofsky's and I am a HUGE fan of them both.
One last thing that I need to mention is the length of the film. It's an hour forty I believe, and within that hour forty there are very few 'slow' moments and even those are completely entertaining. I feel like so many movies now are like going for two and a half hours...and I don't know if they think that that somehow improves the quality of the movie, but it really doesn't. It's quality over quantity for sure. The length of the movie was ideal. It would have been so easy to drag it out and make it nice and long...but he didn't and I appreciate it. :P
Definitely a must see.
9.3/10
Friday, December 24, 2010
True Grit
I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for quite some time now. I really love the Coen brothers and Jeff Bridges and together is just golden. It's a fairly typical western story (...I would think. Although, I don't pretend to be an expert on westerns by any means). A young girl, Mattie, wants to have revenge and kill the man who killed her father. She hires the most fierce marshal, Cogburn, played by Jeff Bridges, who is known for having "true grit".
She is an amazingly intelligent and well spoken girl who fights for the right to ride with Cogburn, and occasionally some company, to catch and kill the man who killed her father.
In my opinion the film did well with how much action and guns etc they had. I would imagine it would be extremely easy to over do it with thr violence in a western like this...
The humour was always fantastic, the majority of it coming from Jeff Bridges.
Something that I'm noticing with many Coen films is the lack of music, and they continued the trend with this one. They really make it work...I'm not sure if many other filming styles could support a lack of music as well as theirs does.
One negative that I am just remembering now is probably the length of the film. It was an hour and fifty minutes long, which seems like a perfectly respectable length of time for a movie, but this one I felt required a minimum of fifteen minutes more...ideally, probably a good half hour. I felt like things were a bit rushed and a bit choppy, and I wish we could have also spent a bit more time getting to know the characters of the marshal and the girl. I wanted to feel for them more, and that would have made the film even more effective than it was.
Another negative for me was too much Matt Damon and not enough Josh Brolin. I really don't like Matt Damon and I thought his acting was below average and his character quite underdeveloped and lifeless. Brolin on the other hand, I quite like and wished to see more of...he wasn't given enough time...not enough time to be able to develop into anything more than a minor character. I wish he was given that chance.
One final note...regarding the final notes of the movie.
It didn't end fantastically. It was a respectable ending but nothing special.
And then the song playing for the credits just totally killed the mood.
Forgetting that, it was a great film, and I look forward to more from the Coen brothers, Jeff Bridges, and hopefully Josh Brolin in the future.
7.7/10
She is an amazingly intelligent and well spoken girl who fights for the right to ride with Cogburn, and occasionally some company, to catch and kill the man who killed her father.
In my opinion the film did well with how much action and guns etc they had. I would imagine it would be extremely easy to over do it with thr violence in a western like this...
The humour was always fantastic, the majority of it coming from Jeff Bridges.
Something that I'm noticing with many Coen films is the lack of music, and they continued the trend with this one. They really make it work...I'm not sure if many other filming styles could support a lack of music as well as theirs does.
One negative that I am just remembering now is probably the length of the film. It was an hour and fifty minutes long, which seems like a perfectly respectable length of time for a movie, but this one I felt required a minimum of fifteen minutes more...ideally, probably a good half hour. I felt like things were a bit rushed and a bit choppy, and I wish we could have also spent a bit more time getting to know the characters of the marshal and the girl. I wanted to feel for them more, and that would have made the film even more effective than it was.
Another negative for me was too much Matt Damon and not enough Josh Brolin. I really don't like Matt Damon and I thought his acting was below average and his character quite underdeveloped and lifeless. Brolin on the other hand, I quite like and wished to see more of...he wasn't given enough time...not enough time to be able to develop into anything more than a minor character. I wish he was given that chance.
One final note...regarding the final notes of the movie.
It didn't end fantastically. It was a respectable ending but nothing special.
And then the song playing for the credits just totally killed the mood.
Forgetting that, it was a great film, and I look forward to more from the Coen brothers, Jeff Bridges, and hopefully Josh Brolin in the future.
7.7/10
Monday, October 18, 2010
Dazed and Confused
Made in the 90s but based in the mid 70s...76 I think...it's basically about the last day of school, high school for some, grade 8 for others. I would expect I probably would have enjoyed it a bit more if I was around in the 70s...or graduating in the 70s...but I do appreciate it, and I've heard from talking to people who did graduate mid 70s that the movie is pretty spot on. Favourite character would have to be Slater...the pot head played by Rory Cochrane.
Fun fact of the day...in this movie the word 'man' was said just over 200 times (I would guess 80% of those were from Slater :P) and the word 'fuck' just over 60.
Matthew McConaughey makes a creepy appearance as an old graduate...I'm sorry, but I find him so disgusting...his little blonde mustache, ugh it's just so gross.
I kinda liked that his character was there though...him being the old graduate, hanging out with the new graduates, hanging out with the soon-to-be freshmen...it was kinda neat. And alotta fun. The movie was just fun...
With a kick ass classic rock (well, now classic rock) soundtrack consisting of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan, Nazareth, Black Sabbath, The Runaways, Kiss, Foghat etc.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and it was funny without being overly cheesy which I can imagine would be very easy for that type of movie.
7/10
Fun fact of the day...in this movie the word 'man' was said just over 200 times (I would guess 80% of those were from Slater :P) and the word 'fuck' just over 60.
Matthew McConaughey makes a creepy appearance as an old graduate...I'm sorry, but I find him so disgusting...his little blonde mustache, ugh it's just so gross.
I kinda liked that his character was there though...him being the old graduate, hanging out with the new graduates, hanging out with the soon-to-be freshmen...it was kinda neat. And alotta fun. The movie was just fun...
With a kick ass classic rock (well, now classic rock) soundtrack consisting of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan, Nazareth, Black Sabbath, The Runaways, Kiss, Foghat etc.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and it was funny without being overly cheesy which I can imagine would be very easy for that type of movie.
7/10
2001: A Space Odyssey
So, I had really really high hopes for this movie when I finally decided to sit down and watch it. I really enjoy Stanely Kubrick and I've heard that this is considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made...kinda a cult classic?
However, I have to say I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
The movie is divided into fourish pieces.
The first one is these ape-like animals who I assume are supposed to represent humans pre-evolution kinda thing. This big black monolith appears and in touching it and being around whateve this may be emitting...they suddenly aquire the ability to use tools. They use a bone...as tools and eventually as a weapon.
The second part follows a scientist I believe who is about to travel to a base on the moon. A group of people confront this scientist about an epidemic that is rumoured to be going on on the moon. The scientist doesn't deny it...implying it's true. When he gets to the moon h meets with fellow scientists where they reveal that the epidemic was a cover up for a monolith discovered on the moon. They go out to see it where again, it emits a loud...radio signal?
Part three, two scientist/astronauts are on a spaceship on their way to Jupiter. They're accompanied by three...hibernating? Astronauts in these chamber kinda things along with HAL, a computer helping them with the mission. HAL is said to be totally and completely foolproof and never makes errors. Eventually HAL tells the guys that their is some issue with some machine that needs to be fixed, however the humans back home say that THEIR HAL computer is telling them that thiers is wrong. This gets the men questioning HAL and despite their caution when expressing their concerns, HAL realizes this and murders one of the men when he's fixing thr apparent problem by severing his oxygen. When the other man goes out to retrieve the body, HAL kills the three hibernating astronauts, and gives the man difficulty getting back into the spaceship. When he finally got in, he dissabled HAL as HAL was begging him robotically not to. Upon dissabling it, he gets a video message telling him the actual purpose for his trip to Jupiter...it was because the signal from the monolith on the moon was aimed there. He continues to Jupiter.
In the last part of the movie, the astronaut makes it to Jupiter to find another monolith. He suddenly is like...sucked into this...I dunno what, but I do know it's very colourful, noisy, and lasts like five minutes. He then sees himself in different stages in his life, in a room...middle aged, older, then elderly...When he's old and lying in bed, a monolith appears at the foot of his bed. As he reaches for it, he transforms into a fetus and hovers in space over Earth.
So, the movie is definately slow, but I appreciate that for sure...there's definately enough substance to keep me fairly interested. So, that's not what made me dislike it...well, I didn't even dislike it actually! I enjoyed it but it didn't wow me like I had expected. I felt like there was kinda a theme of the monoliths allowing for evolution or progress or enlightenment...but then it doesn't really seem to be all that it's cut out to be. For example, the use of bones as a tool...then turns into a weapon and spurs on violent actions etc.
My favourite scene was probably when HAL was begging the astronaut not to unplug him. He has this super monotonous voice, being a robot, but you could sense the attempt at emotion...as he was begging and telling him that he was hurting him. Eventually he is eliminated to everything but his core, which happened to be him singing a song..."Daisy, daisy...." as he slowly fades out completely. I really liked that scene, I thought it was really creepy.
I'm going to let this one marinate a bit...and what i would rate this one now is actually even higher than what I had in mind before I started writing.
7.2/10
However, I have to say I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
The movie is divided into fourish pieces.
The first one is these ape-like animals who I assume are supposed to represent humans pre-evolution kinda thing. This big black monolith appears and in touching it and being around whateve this may be emitting...they suddenly aquire the ability to use tools. They use a bone...as tools and eventually as a weapon.
The second part follows a scientist I believe who is about to travel to a base on the moon. A group of people confront this scientist about an epidemic that is rumoured to be going on on the moon. The scientist doesn't deny it...implying it's true. When he gets to the moon h meets with fellow scientists where they reveal that the epidemic was a cover up for a monolith discovered on the moon. They go out to see it where again, it emits a loud...radio signal?
Part three, two scientist/astronauts are on a spaceship on their way to Jupiter. They're accompanied by three...hibernating? Astronauts in these chamber kinda things along with HAL, a computer helping them with the mission. HAL is said to be totally and completely foolproof and never makes errors. Eventually HAL tells the guys that their is some issue with some machine that needs to be fixed, however the humans back home say that THEIR HAL computer is telling them that thiers is wrong. This gets the men questioning HAL and despite their caution when expressing their concerns, HAL realizes this and murders one of the men when he's fixing thr apparent problem by severing his oxygen. When the other man goes out to retrieve the body, HAL kills the three hibernating astronauts, and gives the man difficulty getting back into the spaceship. When he finally got in, he dissabled HAL as HAL was begging him robotically not to. Upon dissabling it, he gets a video message telling him the actual purpose for his trip to Jupiter...it was because the signal from the monolith on the moon was aimed there. He continues to Jupiter.
In the last part of the movie, the astronaut makes it to Jupiter to find another monolith. He suddenly is like...sucked into this...I dunno what, but I do know it's very colourful, noisy, and lasts like five minutes. He then sees himself in different stages in his life, in a room...middle aged, older, then elderly...When he's old and lying in bed, a monolith appears at the foot of his bed. As he reaches for it, he transforms into a fetus and hovers in space over Earth.
So, the movie is definately slow, but I appreciate that for sure...there's definately enough substance to keep me fairly interested. So, that's not what made me dislike it...well, I didn't even dislike it actually! I enjoyed it but it didn't wow me like I had expected. I felt like there was kinda a theme of the monoliths allowing for evolution or progress or enlightenment...but then it doesn't really seem to be all that it's cut out to be. For example, the use of bones as a tool...then turns into a weapon and spurs on violent actions etc.
My favourite scene was probably when HAL was begging the astronaut not to unplug him. He has this super monotonous voice, being a robot, but you could sense the attempt at emotion...as he was begging and telling him that he was hurting him. Eventually he is eliminated to everything but his core, which happened to be him singing a song..."Daisy, daisy...." as he slowly fades out completely. I really liked that scene, I thought it was really creepy.
I'm going to let this one marinate a bit...and what i would rate this one now is actually even higher than what I had in mind before I started writing.
7.2/10
Friday, September 24, 2010
Amelie
Jean-Pierre Jeunet continues to impress me. The first I saw of his was Micmacs…then City of Lost Children, and now Amelie.
I think Amelie is probably his most widely known film, and it’s fairly new…2001.
It’s about a girl named Amelie, surprise surprise, who had a very antisocial life growing up, lacking a lot of human contact.
Now, she’s older, single, a little lost, but thoroughly enjoying the small things in life.
She’s almost nauseatingly nice…like, really…I’m not sure it’s possible. Her first act of kindness, that we witness, is her tracking down and anonymously returning a childhood keepsake of a middle-aged man that used to live in her apartment. I think his overwhelming reaction kinda inspired her, and she continued to help people out and match people up anonymously.
One day she finds this scrapbook, full of different pictures of people from photo booths that had been torn up and reassembled. She sets out to find the person its belongs to, however, she plans on having a little bit of fun on the way…as she is now genuinely intrigued by this guy, due to the strange nature of the scrapbook she found. While browsing the scrapbook, she finds pictures of the same man repeated many times throughout the book, and the mystery man of the photos consumes her just as much as finding the scrapbooks owner does. Eventually, she uncovers the secret of both the man in the photos and the scrapbooks owner…and conjures up a plan to have them discover each other…well, the scrapbook man discover who the man in the photo’s is…the other half of this reunion is completely unaware that anything is happening.
As Amelie is concentrated on playing games with everyone else, she frequently visits her neighbor for talks that eventually help HER figure herself out. Her neighbor is working on a painting the entire time…one that he’s painted multiple times before, only…he can never get the face of the girl with the water right. He can never figure out her expression. As her visits increase, we assume that the girl with the water represents Amelie, and in Amelie trying to help him with her expression, she simultaneously discusses and discovers herself.
So far, every single movie of Jean-Pierre Jeunets that I have seen, has been beautifully shot, and this one is no exception! I always think it’s a pity that I have to concentrate on the subtitles as much as I do because it takes away from the visual. As with the City of Lost Children, I’ll probably end up watching it again, just to take in the visuals more…
The acting was good…nothing fantastic I didn’t think. Amelie as a character was very interesting, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt as uneasy and uncomfortable about a character that was essentially the poster child for a “good person”. It was kind of strange.
It was easy going, it was cute…I enjoyed it thoroughly (:
8.6/10
I think Amelie is probably his most widely known film, and it’s fairly new…2001.
It’s about a girl named Amelie, surprise surprise, who had a very antisocial life growing up, lacking a lot of human contact.
Now, she’s older, single, a little lost, but thoroughly enjoying the small things in life.
She’s almost nauseatingly nice…like, really…I’m not sure it’s possible. Her first act of kindness, that we witness, is her tracking down and anonymously returning a childhood keepsake of a middle-aged man that used to live in her apartment. I think his overwhelming reaction kinda inspired her, and she continued to help people out and match people up anonymously.
One day she finds this scrapbook, full of different pictures of people from photo booths that had been torn up and reassembled. She sets out to find the person its belongs to, however, she plans on having a little bit of fun on the way…as she is now genuinely intrigued by this guy, due to the strange nature of the scrapbook she found. While browsing the scrapbook, she finds pictures of the same man repeated many times throughout the book, and the mystery man of the photos consumes her just as much as finding the scrapbooks owner does. Eventually, she uncovers the secret of both the man in the photos and the scrapbooks owner…and conjures up a plan to have them discover each other…well, the scrapbook man discover who the man in the photo’s is…the other half of this reunion is completely unaware that anything is happening.
As Amelie is concentrated on playing games with everyone else, she frequently visits her neighbor for talks that eventually help HER figure herself out. Her neighbor is working on a painting the entire time…one that he’s painted multiple times before, only…he can never get the face of the girl with the water right. He can never figure out her expression. As her visits increase, we assume that the girl with the water represents Amelie, and in Amelie trying to help him with her expression, she simultaneously discusses and discovers herself.
So far, every single movie of Jean-Pierre Jeunets that I have seen, has been beautifully shot, and this one is no exception! I always think it’s a pity that I have to concentrate on the subtitles as much as I do because it takes away from the visual. As with the City of Lost Children, I’ll probably end up watching it again, just to take in the visuals more…
The acting was good…nothing fantastic I didn’t think. Amelie as a character was very interesting, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt as uneasy and uncomfortable about a character that was essentially the poster child for a “good person”. It was kind of strange.
It was easy going, it was cute…I enjoyed it thoroughly (:
8.6/10
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
So...I heard so much about Buffy Buffy Buffy! Ash, you gotta watch it...I was so built up on this...and I think it may be my own fault...that upon hearing these recomendations I watched the film ( '96..'94ish?) instead of the tv show (1997 I believe) that everyone was raving about.
I thought that it would be smart to get a small taste for Buffy with the film instead of diving right into the ever famous show...
BUT I did...and I was not impressed lol.
Uhh...I'm not sure if it was supposed to be one of those movies so bad they're good??
I'm not sure...see, I'm quite a fan of movies that are so bad they're funny...even if they're not intended that way.
I get it. When it's done right, I get it.
The acting was terrible :P God, that chick pissed me off so much!!!
I dunno...I think all my Buffy loving friends are going to murder me...but I did promise I'd give the show a chance :P
anyway, I'm not going to spend a lot of my time thinking about this...I'll save it for when I get around to seeing the tv show.
4.0/10
I thought that it would be smart to get a small taste for Buffy with the film instead of diving right into the ever famous show...
BUT I did...and I was not impressed lol.
Uhh...I'm not sure if it was supposed to be one of those movies so bad they're good??
I'm not sure...see, I'm quite a fan of movies that are so bad they're funny...even if they're not intended that way.
I get it. When it's done right, I get it.
The acting was terrible :P God, that chick pissed me off so much!!!
I dunno...I think all my Buffy loving friends are going to murder me...but I did promise I'd give the show a chance :P
anyway, I'm not going to spend a lot of my time thinking about this...I'll save it for when I get around to seeing the tv show.
4.0/10
Monday, September 13, 2010
Basquiat
I have no idea why I watched this film before I watched The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, because that was the movie that was recommended to me, by the same director. I think...that this was the first movie of this director, but I'm not positive.
It was about this black artist, Basquiat. He was homeless, living in a cardboard box, struggling to make it as an artist and to be rich and famous. Him and his friend (Benicio Del Toro) run into Andy Warhol (David Bowie) and his art dealer friend (Dennis Hopper) and Andy is actually quite a fan of his work. He buys a couple cheap pieces and they seperate. Then Basquiat is discovered by someone else, and over time ends up rising to fame in the world of painting. He reunites with Andy Warhol and they become good friends.
Unfortunately, he seems to be being used...used by people high in the business...but as much as I would like to feel sorry for him, I really don't. He kinda becomes an asshole to his old friend and the first person to recognize his art. He cheats on his girlfriend and then Warhol dies...and he discovers that that's really all he had left.
Andy was kinda the only one left in the art world that recognized him, and without him, he was nothing...with no friends or family left either.
Speaking of family...probably mt biggest complaint about this movie was the portrayal of Basquiat's relationship with his family. We learn that his family is actually middle class, so why does he live in a cardboard box. We are introduced to his father once but get no real insight to what their relationship might be (although I think we are meant ro assume that it's only after his rise ro fame that his father became re-interested in him). And we also learn that hismother is in a mental institution yet we have no idea why or how this affects him.
In that sense, the movie felt a little incomplete...and I also think that if I had previous knowledge of the artist or his work I may have appreciated it more.
On a positive note, the soundtrack and cast was AMAZING. For the cast we had David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Benicio Del Toro, Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Walken etc. It was really great...all these cameos left me and my friends going "woahh! That's _____" every other scene
With the soundtrack we had multiple songs by The Pogues, The Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, Public Image Ltd., a little Iggy Pop and David Bowie..it was great too (:
6.7/10
It was about this black artist, Basquiat. He was homeless, living in a cardboard box, struggling to make it as an artist and to be rich and famous. Him and his friend (Benicio Del Toro) run into Andy Warhol (David Bowie) and his art dealer friend (Dennis Hopper) and Andy is actually quite a fan of his work. He buys a couple cheap pieces and they seperate. Then Basquiat is discovered by someone else, and over time ends up rising to fame in the world of painting. He reunites with Andy Warhol and they become good friends.
Unfortunately, he seems to be being used...used by people high in the business...but as much as I would like to feel sorry for him, I really don't. He kinda becomes an asshole to his old friend and the first person to recognize his art. He cheats on his girlfriend and then Warhol dies...and he discovers that that's really all he had left.
Andy was kinda the only one left in the art world that recognized him, and without him, he was nothing...with no friends or family left either.
Speaking of family...probably mt biggest complaint about this movie was the portrayal of Basquiat's relationship with his family. We learn that his family is actually middle class, so why does he live in a cardboard box. We are introduced to his father once but get no real insight to what their relationship might be (although I think we are meant ro assume that it's only after his rise ro fame that his father became re-interested in him). And we also learn that hismother is in a mental institution yet we have no idea why or how this affects him.
In that sense, the movie felt a little incomplete...and I also think that if I had previous knowledge of the artist or his work I may have appreciated it more.
On a positive note, the soundtrack and cast was AMAZING. For the cast we had David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Benicio Del Toro, Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Walken etc. It was really great...all these cameos left me and my friends going "woahh! That's _____" every other scene
With the soundtrack we had multiple songs by The Pogues, The Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, Public Image Ltd., a little Iggy Pop and David Bowie..it was great too (:
6.7/10
Barry Lyndon
A Stanley Kubrick film that hasn't really gotten recognized as widely as a lot of Kubricks other films.
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the movie is over 3 hours long and doesn't exactly have an action packed plot.
The movie is divided into two halves. They're called (in MUCH fancier terms) How Redmond Barry aquired the name of Barry Lyndon and The Unfortunate Events that Barry Lyndon underwent as he fell from his high position....I just totally butchered that, but you get the idea.
The first half of the movie, we are introduced to the main character, Redmond Barry. He's an Irishman and, because of some love issues and a staged murder, he has to leave Ireland. From there he joins the British army...from THERE he ends up running away, getting caught up in a lie, and is forced to join the Prussian army. He works his way up there in the army and is assigned to spy on this...guy (yah, I totally forget his status).
When Barry discovers that the man he was sent to spy on is a fellow Irishman, they stick together and end up cheating rich men out of their money.
Eventually, they're found out and forced ro leave the country...where continuing to cheat men out of money with cards and Barry decided he needs to marry rich to continue the lifestyle he wants.
He finds a rich Lady (Lyndon)...and she falls in love and they're married.
The second part is after they're married. Barry kinda turns into an asshole at the point. He is extremely cruel to Lady Lyndons child with her previous husband, and totally favours his own child with her.
Long story short, (yah right...I suck at summarizing) he kinda abuses his stepson in front of people who he needs to impress in order to keep himself socially high...
Slowly he falls from the lifestyle that he was used to, without securing himself with any financial stability...the stepson comes back, challenges him to a dual, which Barry loses...and is sent out of the country to leave his mother alone...
I can see how people may consider this movie extremely slow and boring...it is really really long, and it didn't hold my attention as much as I would have liked, but I dis feel like every scene had a lot of work put into it.
I haven't read the novel it was based off of, but I get the feeling like what they kept from the book was done really well, true to the details of te book.
I have no idea why I feel like that...but, I dunno.
It was interesting...but I think someone interested in the 1700's time or in Kubricks film will really enjoy and appreciate it.
7.1/10
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the movie is over 3 hours long and doesn't exactly have an action packed plot.
The movie is divided into two halves. They're called (in MUCH fancier terms) How Redmond Barry aquired the name of Barry Lyndon and The Unfortunate Events that Barry Lyndon underwent as he fell from his high position....I just totally butchered that, but you get the idea.
The first half of the movie, we are introduced to the main character, Redmond Barry. He's an Irishman and, because of some love issues and a staged murder, he has to leave Ireland. From there he joins the British army...from THERE he ends up running away, getting caught up in a lie, and is forced to join the Prussian army. He works his way up there in the army and is assigned to spy on this...guy (yah, I totally forget his status).
When Barry discovers that the man he was sent to spy on is a fellow Irishman, they stick together and end up cheating rich men out of their money.
Eventually, they're found out and forced ro leave the country...where continuing to cheat men out of money with cards and Barry decided he needs to marry rich to continue the lifestyle he wants.
He finds a rich Lady (Lyndon)...and she falls in love and they're married.
The second part is after they're married. Barry kinda turns into an asshole at the point. He is extremely cruel to Lady Lyndons child with her previous husband, and totally favours his own child with her.
Long story short, (yah right...I suck at summarizing) he kinda abuses his stepson in front of people who he needs to impress in order to keep himself socially high...
Slowly he falls from the lifestyle that he was used to, without securing himself with any financial stability...the stepson comes back, challenges him to a dual, which Barry loses...and is sent out of the country to leave his mother alone...
I can see how people may consider this movie extremely slow and boring...it is really really long, and it didn't hold my attention as much as I would have liked, but I dis feel like every scene had a lot of work put into it.
I haven't read the novel it was based off of, but I get the feeling like what they kept from the book was done really well, true to the details of te book.
I have no idea why I feel like that...but, I dunno.
It was interesting...but I think someone interested in the 1700's time or in Kubricks film will really enjoy and appreciate it.
7.1/10
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Blair Witch Project
I’ve been wanting to see this movie for quite some time now. I’ve heard good things from people whose opinions I trust…but I’ve also heard people saying it’s one of the worst movies they’ve ever seen. Those two facts alone almost always make me want to see a movie.
Also, I’m a fan of the style that it was filmed in…similar to Cloverfield etc.
Basically, these three friends are making a documentary on the Blair Witch, who is said to haunt this local forest. After interviewing a few people around the town, they travel in to the forest, set up camp, and stay the night…filming almost everything as they go. Unfortunately, things start going south after the first night…when they cant find their way back to their car. They end up spending another night in the forest…hearing strange noises this time.
They pretty much conclude the next day that they are lost, and one of the guys even admits to kicking the map into the river, which enrages both the other people. They continue to hear strange things, mostly at night, and they stumble across strange things during the day. One of the guys, Josh I believe, ends up missing about ¾ of the way through. Dun dun dunnn.
I’ve talked to a few people about their “theories” as to what is exactly going on, and what happens at the end of the movie…and the majority of the people I talk to bombard me with questions as to why the witch does what she does to the characters at the end of the film…and why she lets some other unknown party come and collect the tapes that recorded what went down. People have themselves really worked up over what/why this witch is doing what she’s doing.
MY theory, if that’s what you want to call it, is that there really is no witch…
I mean, at no point throughout the entire movie do we ever get concrete proof that the witch exists…nothing.
My first thought is that it’s Josh setting his friends up…I mean, I obviously don’t think he’s sane…I feel like maybe he went kinda insane? Maybe being paranoid with the Blair Witch curse and being in the forest…it all just got to him?
HIS pack and clothes are the ones that got covered in slime…HE is the one that disappeared…they hear HIM screaming…but as much as they try and find him he seems to avoid it…
I don’t really know…
As for the ending…I’m not really sure what happened…MIKE…yesss I just remembered his name. Mike ends up staring at a wall…screaming? I’m not sure, I don’t remember…
The beginning of the movie states that they remain missing, that they, nor anything that belonged to them, aside from their tapes, was ever found.
On the whole, I really enjoyed the movie…I can see how its kinda a ‘love it or hate it’ kind of movie. As I said before, I’m a sucker for movies that feel like you’re watching a playback of something recorded on a video recorder. I think it gives it an eerie realistic feel that you lose when they put a lot of effort into the professional filming. And although it had the feel of just spontaneous filming, it was obvious when you paid more attention that many of the shots were thought out very thoroughly and some pretty neat shots were achieved.
I also liked the fact that there was a lot left to the imagination…never seeing the witch and the camera turning off and on, cutting out parts…you miss some stuff…for example, we don’t figure out until later that Heather actually took one of the little stick figures that were hanging in the tree.
ANYWAY. I liked it…it kept me entertained.
7.7/10
Also, I’m a fan of the style that it was filmed in…similar to Cloverfield etc.
Basically, these three friends are making a documentary on the Blair Witch, who is said to haunt this local forest. After interviewing a few people around the town, they travel in to the forest, set up camp, and stay the night…filming almost everything as they go. Unfortunately, things start going south after the first night…when they cant find their way back to their car. They end up spending another night in the forest…hearing strange noises this time.
They pretty much conclude the next day that they are lost, and one of the guys even admits to kicking the map into the river, which enrages both the other people. They continue to hear strange things, mostly at night, and they stumble across strange things during the day. One of the guys, Josh I believe, ends up missing about ¾ of the way through. Dun dun dunnn.
I’ve talked to a few people about their “theories” as to what is exactly going on, and what happens at the end of the movie…and the majority of the people I talk to bombard me with questions as to why the witch does what she does to the characters at the end of the film…and why she lets some other unknown party come and collect the tapes that recorded what went down. People have themselves really worked up over what/why this witch is doing what she’s doing.
MY theory, if that’s what you want to call it, is that there really is no witch…
I mean, at no point throughout the entire movie do we ever get concrete proof that the witch exists…nothing.
My first thought is that it’s Josh setting his friends up…I mean, I obviously don’t think he’s sane…I feel like maybe he went kinda insane? Maybe being paranoid with the Blair Witch curse and being in the forest…it all just got to him?
HIS pack and clothes are the ones that got covered in slime…HE is the one that disappeared…they hear HIM screaming…but as much as they try and find him he seems to avoid it…
I don’t really know…
As for the ending…I’m not really sure what happened…MIKE…yesss I just remembered his name. Mike ends up staring at a wall…screaming? I’m not sure, I don’t remember…
The beginning of the movie states that they remain missing, that they, nor anything that belonged to them, aside from their tapes, was ever found.
On the whole, I really enjoyed the movie…I can see how its kinda a ‘love it or hate it’ kind of movie. As I said before, I’m a sucker for movies that feel like you’re watching a playback of something recorded on a video recorder. I think it gives it an eerie realistic feel that you lose when they put a lot of effort into the professional filming. And although it had the feel of just spontaneous filming, it was obvious when you paid more attention that many of the shots were thought out very thoroughly and some pretty neat shots were achieved.
I also liked the fact that there was a lot left to the imagination…never seeing the witch and the camera turning off and on, cutting out parts…you miss some stuff…for example, we don’t figure out until later that Heather actually took one of the little stick figures that were hanging in the tree.
ANYWAY. I liked it…it kept me entertained.
7.7/10
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Snatch.
Directed by Guy Ritchie…biggest names being Brad Pitt and Benicio del Toro. The plot, similarily to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is huge mess of people and confusion…in a good way. It’s good, and it’s a style that he makes work.
There are people searching for the monster of a diamond…and people stealing it off of each other, along with a series of rigged boxing matches with a participant that isn’t exactly willing to win and lose when he is supposed to.
Brad Pitt plays Mickey…the gypsy boxer who has a mind of his own. Definitely my favourite character by far…They joke in the film about them having an accent that is not understandable…it not being English or Irish, but seemingly a combination of them both, mixed with pure gibberish. However, I found myself understanding him quite easily…and I’ve come to the conclusion, that his accent sounds extremely similar to that of a Newfie! I know a few people, a friends family actually, that come from Newfoundland and that’s exactly what they sound like. Anyway, off track.
I was actually a little disappointed by how similar I found it to be to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels…
Some of the same actors were used, some of the characters were extremely similar, the plot was a similar tangled web of murders and stealing.
It was still good. I just would have liked more to see something a little different from the director…because I really enjoyed Lock Stock…
The short, witty comments almost make this movie for me. I laughed non stop…
It was good…I’m going to stop, cause Im not even going to attempt to begin to loosely describe the plot.
8/10
There are people searching for the monster of a diamond…and people stealing it off of each other, along with a series of rigged boxing matches with a participant that isn’t exactly willing to win and lose when he is supposed to.
Brad Pitt plays Mickey…the gypsy boxer who has a mind of his own. Definitely my favourite character by far…They joke in the film about them having an accent that is not understandable…it not being English or Irish, but seemingly a combination of them both, mixed with pure gibberish. However, I found myself understanding him quite easily…and I’ve come to the conclusion, that his accent sounds extremely similar to that of a Newfie! I know a few people, a friends family actually, that come from Newfoundland and that’s exactly what they sound like. Anyway, off track.
I was actually a little disappointed by how similar I found it to be to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels…
Some of the same actors were used, some of the characters were extremely similar, the plot was a similar tangled web of murders and stealing.
It was still good. I just would have liked more to see something a little different from the director…because I really enjoyed Lock Stock…
The short, witty comments almost make this movie for me. I laughed non stop…
It was good…I’m going to stop, cause Im not even going to attempt to begin to loosely describe the plot.
8/10
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Gummo
So, as much as I have tried…there really isn’t much to the plot of this movie. To sum it up, I guess you could say its primarily about a group of kids living in a small down, pretty much destroyed by a prior tornado. Everyone is living in trailers, killing, torturing, and selling cats for meat. That’s actually a huge part of the movie. The torturing, drowning, and killing of cats by these kids.
The movie is just really really strange.
I’m not entirely sure what the point of it was, or what I was supposed to get out of it.
At first glance I would have said that it’s trying to depict life in a trailer park kinda atmosphere? But I’m not sure if that’s realistic…I just…I don’t really know.
I did like a lot of the characters!
I thought the three sisters were probably the most likable characters…they were cute…naïve…
The bunny boy was also kinda funny.
I liked the scene where the…I would venture to say mentally disabled? Person shaves off her eyebrows…
And the mother of the funny looking kid.
There were a couple of really random scenes that just kinda disturbed me…and surprisingly it was none of the ones involving cats lol.
At one point, this kid is taking a bath…in filthy water, and his mother brings him spagetti and milk to eat while he’s having a bath…
So, he’s eating…and she’s shampooing his hair…and she goes to the door to buy a chocolate bar off of some kid…gives it to him. He drops it…in the water…and then eats it, while soggy chocolate stuff drips out the side of his mouth…and then the scene just continues…
I don’t know, I think I’ll always remember that scene…I just found that really gross…
And the random bacon taped to the wall…
There is just a lot of random shit :P
Anyway, recommendation wise, I think I would definitely recommend people to watch it…I think a lot of people will hate it…
I think its one of those movies that people either love or hate…no real grey area…
Actually…I feel kinda grey about it though :P Uhhh…I think it just needs to marinate…
I’m trying to figure out if it was stupid stupid…or stupid genius :P
I’m not sure.
But it’s so different, and SO strange…I’d recommend it for sure.
6.7/10
The movie is just really really strange.
I’m not entirely sure what the point of it was, or what I was supposed to get out of it.
At first glance I would have said that it’s trying to depict life in a trailer park kinda atmosphere? But I’m not sure if that’s realistic…I just…I don’t really know.
I did like a lot of the characters!
I thought the three sisters were probably the most likable characters…they were cute…naïve…
The bunny boy was also kinda funny.
I liked the scene where the…I would venture to say mentally disabled? Person shaves off her eyebrows…
And the mother of the funny looking kid.
There were a couple of really random scenes that just kinda disturbed me…and surprisingly it was none of the ones involving cats lol.
At one point, this kid is taking a bath…in filthy water, and his mother brings him spagetti and milk to eat while he’s having a bath…
So, he’s eating…and she’s shampooing his hair…and she goes to the door to buy a chocolate bar off of some kid…gives it to him. He drops it…in the water…and then eats it, while soggy chocolate stuff drips out the side of his mouth…and then the scene just continues…
I don’t know, I think I’ll always remember that scene…I just found that really gross…
And the random bacon taped to the wall…
There is just a lot of random shit :P
Anyway, recommendation wise, I think I would definitely recommend people to watch it…I think a lot of people will hate it…
I think its one of those movies that people either love or hate…no real grey area…
Actually…I feel kinda grey about it though :P Uhhh…I think it just needs to marinate…
I’m trying to figure out if it was stupid stupid…or stupid genius :P
I’m not sure.
But it’s so different, and SO strange…I’d recommend it for sure.
6.7/10
The City of Lost Children
So, basically, this crazy scientist guy is stealing children to…harvest their dreams I guess you could say? So, first of all…I guess I should rewind a bit…This man, an incredible inventor guy, had no children, no family…so he decided to create some for himself. He created a wife, five or six sons (I can’t remember) who look identical to him, this giant brain, and basically the most intelligent man on the face of the earth. The thing is, something…I’m not sure if this little fact was omitted or if I just totally missed it…but I’m not sure exactly WHAT it was…anyway. Something put a curse on this little family that he created. His wife was super short, his children fell asleep spontaneously, the brain was prone to migraines, and lastly, the intelligent man, could not dream. SO because of this, he is ageing extremely fast…and attempts to steal children’s dreams so he can finally experience what it is to dream.
The main character One is this big, simple, ‘strong man’ whose little brother is kidnapped by this scientist. He really reminded me of like…Will Ferell on steroids…and like, a good actor :P. Most of the movie is about him going and searching for his brother…
He builds this extremely creepy (in my opinion) relationship with this little girl. She’s helping him find his little brother, actually, she’s the one who ultimately saves him in the end. She is obviously in love with him…you know, little girl crush…but its HIM that just creeped me out insanely ughh… :P It was weird.
I mean they’re so many weird things…these conjoined twins, evil fleas…really strange shit.
It was in French…so, unfortunately, I wasn’t as focused on the overall picture as I would have liked to be…it had a really cool tone to it, and I’d definitely want to watch it again to be able to see more of the visuals…now that I know exactly what’s going on.
It was overall really good (: I liked it…the ending was a bit predictable. All the “bad guys” get blown up, and One, his little brother, and his new little…friend…are all safe and happy :P
It was good though. Unique. I liked it. It actually reminded me of a really fucked up, and good, Golden Compass…the whole child stealing idea :P
7.5/10
The main character One is this big, simple, ‘strong man’ whose little brother is kidnapped by this scientist. He really reminded me of like…Will Ferell on steroids…and like, a good actor :P. Most of the movie is about him going and searching for his brother…
He builds this extremely creepy (in my opinion) relationship with this little girl. She’s helping him find his little brother, actually, she’s the one who ultimately saves him in the end. She is obviously in love with him…you know, little girl crush…but its HIM that just creeped me out insanely ughh… :P It was weird.
I mean they’re so many weird things…these conjoined twins, evil fleas…really strange shit.
It was in French…so, unfortunately, I wasn’t as focused on the overall picture as I would have liked to be…it had a really cool tone to it, and I’d definitely want to watch it again to be able to see more of the visuals…now that I know exactly what’s going on.
It was overall really good (: I liked it…the ending was a bit predictable. All the “bad guys” get blown up, and One, his little brother, and his new little…friend…are all safe and happy :P
It was good though. Unique. I liked it. It actually reminded me of a really fucked up, and good, Golden Compass…the whole child stealing idea :P
7.5/10
The 25th Hour
So, this one is basically about the day before the main character, Monty, played by Edward Norton, goes to jail. He was caught dealing drugs…and was sentenced to 7 years in jail.
Obviously, it starts off in the morning the day before he is set to go to jail. His entire day/night is dedicated to hanging out with his two best friends Jacob and Frank. They go to a club, Jacob, who is a high school teacher, hooks up with one of his students…awkwardly.
There isn’t much to the plot of the movie…we get a little bit of background information on Monty, see him talking with his father, see that he wanted to become a firefighter when he was a kid. It builds up and it keeps building up the entire movie…you feel sorry for him and he grows on you! You really really like this guy by the end of the movie…I mean, the opening scene is him saving a dog who is dying on the side of the street.
Then comes the ending :P I really really loved the ending. I thought it was really smart. When it first started, I was a little disappointed…I was disappointed maybe that that’s what Monty would choose…but also that it seemed like the easy way out…both for the movie and for Money the character…
Then, it REALLY ended…and I really loved it. It was cruel and terrible and you hate to see a character you have grown to love be put through that, but it was beyond effective.
The acting was really good…I love Ed Norton…and Philip Seymour Hoffman was playing Jacob…
One of the scenes that I keep remembering is near the end of the film…Monty confessed that he is terrified of being raped in jail. He’s a good looking guy, he is terrified he is going to get torn apart. He tries to convince his other friend, Frank, to beat him up…really rearrange his face. He has to really antagonize Frank to get him to do it…by threatening Jacob physically. Eventually Frank does give in, and leaves Monty’s face a mess, but is also himself an emotional wreck. That’s how Monty leaves his friends…that was his goodbye…
He walks away from them face bloody and swollen and Jacob is trying to console a hysterical Frank.
I dunno…I thought it was pretty intense.
Oh! Shit!…I almost forgot my favourite part of this movie lol. Even better than the ending I thought…was Monty’s “fuck you” monologue. I thought it was great…
He is in the washroom, and he looks at himself in the mirror…and he’s ranting to himself…saying Fuck You to all the different races and stereo types found in New York…this goes on for like five minutes, him blaming everyone else in New York for his issues and his fuck ups…and then in the end, the Monty in the mirror kind of comes back and says noo…you know what fuck YOU. Basically, your life is yours…and if anyone fucked it up it was you. You had it all…and you fucked it up (:
I really liked it. Done!
7.3/10
Obviously, it starts off in the morning the day before he is set to go to jail. His entire day/night is dedicated to hanging out with his two best friends Jacob and Frank. They go to a club, Jacob, who is a high school teacher, hooks up with one of his students…awkwardly.
There isn’t much to the plot of the movie…we get a little bit of background information on Monty, see him talking with his father, see that he wanted to become a firefighter when he was a kid. It builds up and it keeps building up the entire movie…you feel sorry for him and he grows on you! You really really like this guy by the end of the movie…I mean, the opening scene is him saving a dog who is dying on the side of the street.
Then comes the ending :P I really really loved the ending. I thought it was really smart. When it first started, I was a little disappointed…I was disappointed maybe that that’s what Monty would choose…but also that it seemed like the easy way out…both for the movie and for Money the character…
Then, it REALLY ended…and I really loved it. It was cruel and terrible and you hate to see a character you have grown to love be put through that, but it was beyond effective.
The acting was really good…I love Ed Norton…and Philip Seymour Hoffman was playing Jacob…
One of the scenes that I keep remembering is near the end of the film…Monty confessed that he is terrified of being raped in jail. He’s a good looking guy, he is terrified he is going to get torn apart. He tries to convince his other friend, Frank, to beat him up…really rearrange his face. He has to really antagonize Frank to get him to do it…by threatening Jacob physically. Eventually Frank does give in, and leaves Monty’s face a mess, but is also himself an emotional wreck. That’s how Monty leaves his friends…that was his goodbye…
He walks away from them face bloody and swollen and Jacob is trying to console a hysterical Frank.
I dunno…I thought it was pretty intense.
Oh! Shit!…I almost forgot my favourite part of this movie lol. Even better than the ending I thought…was Monty’s “fuck you” monologue. I thought it was great…
He is in the washroom, and he looks at himself in the mirror…and he’s ranting to himself…saying Fuck You to all the different races and stereo types found in New York…this goes on for like five minutes, him blaming everyone else in New York for his issues and his fuck ups…and then in the end, the Monty in the mirror kind of comes back and says noo…you know what fuck YOU. Basically, your life is yours…and if anyone fucked it up it was you. You had it all…and you fucked it up (:
I really liked it. Done!
7.3/10
Audition
Mkay. So this is like a Korean horror movie…
It starts out with this guy, and his wife passes away. Years later, his son mentions to him that he thinks that his father needs to get out, start dating, perhaps get married again.
So, the man, being a part of the movie industry, sets up an audition for a female lead role that describes what his ideal woman is. Obviously, he finds and falls in love with one of the women who auditioned. The first three quarters of the movie is them building up a relationship basically. We see a little bit into the girls past…which as more and more is revealed to us we find out that she’s had a fucked up childhood…then we figure out that SHE is pretty fucked up as well. It’s a really really slow beginning…they’re building up…and the “climax” is moderately surprising. Because it was advertised as a horror you kinda suspect something is going to happen.
But, when the climax does happen, it wasn’t really…disturbing enough for me :/
I know, I’m probably really fucked up. But I can deal with a really slow build up, but the big BAM better be big and worth it! It just feel short for me a little bit.
My thing is eyeballs…I cannot stannndddd stuff with eyeballs. And in part of her torture…she sticks pins under his eyeballs, and I almost wish they would have shown them getting put in! That would have made me cringe…
But, they didn’t so…ahh well…
One thing that I did love about the movie, and it was really really memorable for me, was what she was saying while she was putting the pins in various areas of his body. Every time she stuck one in she would kinda coo “kikireekireekireeeee…” and it was quite eerie.
Other than that…acting wasn’t fantastic…plot was mehh…wasn’t all that disturbing…
I felt a little bit let down.
5/10
It starts out with this guy, and his wife passes away. Years later, his son mentions to him that he thinks that his father needs to get out, start dating, perhaps get married again.
So, the man, being a part of the movie industry, sets up an audition for a female lead role that describes what his ideal woman is. Obviously, he finds and falls in love with one of the women who auditioned. The first three quarters of the movie is them building up a relationship basically. We see a little bit into the girls past…which as more and more is revealed to us we find out that she’s had a fucked up childhood…then we figure out that SHE is pretty fucked up as well. It’s a really really slow beginning…they’re building up…and the “climax” is moderately surprising. Because it was advertised as a horror you kinda suspect something is going to happen.
But, when the climax does happen, it wasn’t really…disturbing enough for me :/
I know, I’m probably really fucked up. But I can deal with a really slow build up, but the big BAM better be big and worth it! It just feel short for me a little bit.
My thing is eyeballs…I cannot stannndddd stuff with eyeballs. And in part of her torture…she sticks pins under his eyeballs, and I almost wish they would have shown them getting put in! That would have made me cringe…
But, they didn’t so…ahh well…
One thing that I did love about the movie, and it was really really memorable for me, was what she was saying while she was putting the pins in various areas of his body. Every time she stuck one in she would kinda coo “kikireekireekireeeee…” and it was quite eerie.
Other than that…acting wasn’t fantastic…plot was mehh…wasn’t all that disturbing…
I felt a little bit let down.
5/10
American Psycho
Okay…so, first of all, I have to say that I read the book, American Psycho, a couple weeks before the movie…and I am SO glad I did! I mean, I’m usually glad, but this time, I was REALLY glad.
I loved the book…I thought Bret Easton Ellis was incredibly descriptive, really creative (in the wrongest ways :P) and I just thought it was really well written.
It did lack a plot…it didn’t really go anywhere, but that didn’t even matter, honestly, it wasn’t about that for me. I couldn’t help but laugh every time he would bring up something about killings and it would either be misheard or ignored :P
There was a point where I considered that none of the killings were happening…especially when the fact that the lawyer had lunch with Paul Owens multiple times through his death. But, then it kinda clued in…something else I found amusing…the fact that they were constantly mistaking people for others…something which actually made the book so confusing for me at the beginning.
Now, onto the movie…I’ve been putting this off…cause, I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. It may be sick, but I didn’t think it was near graphic enough.
Also, I don’t think Christian Bale was right at all for the part…I thought he should be more pompous and less monotonous.
Best part of the movie was Willem Dafoe…hands down! That guy was the perfect touch…I loved it.
I mean…I think the conclusion that you are eventually supposed to come down to is…who is crazy? Is it society? Or is it Patrick?
As I said before, I do think that Patrick actually committed the murders, but I’m not sure who is to blame? Society or Patrick? I tend to lean towards society…I do think that Bateman was fucked…but society definitely did not help. I don’t know, I really don’t know lol…
Urghh…so, I was just kinda frustrated by this movie. I still wanted to add more…but I really don’t feel like bitching any more…and a lot of what I have left is just that :/
I’m going to focus on the book…
Book: 9.3/10
Movie: 7.0/10
I loved the book…I thought Bret Easton Ellis was incredibly descriptive, really creative (in the wrongest ways :P) and I just thought it was really well written.
It did lack a plot…it didn’t really go anywhere, but that didn’t even matter, honestly, it wasn’t about that for me. I couldn’t help but laugh every time he would bring up something about killings and it would either be misheard or ignored :P
There was a point where I considered that none of the killings were happening…especially when the fact that the lawyer had lunch with Paul Owens multiple times through his death. But, then it kinda clued in…something else I found amusing…the fact that they were constantly mistaking people for others…something which actually made the book so confusing for me at the beginning.
Now, onto the movie…I’ve been putting this off…cause, I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. It may be sick, but I didn’t think it was near graphic enough.
Also, I don’t think Christian Bale was right at all for the part…I thought he should be more pompous and less monotonous.
Best part of the movie was Willem Dafoe…hands down! That guy was the perfect touch…I loved it.
I mean…I think the conclusion that you are eventually supposed to come down to is…who is crazy? Is it society? Or is it Patrick?
As I said before, I do think that Patrick actually committed the murders, but I’m not sure who is to blame? Society or Patrick? I tend to lean towards society…I do think that Bateman was fucked…but society definitely did not help. I don’t know, I really don’t know lol…
Urghh…so, I was just kinda frustrated by this movie. I still wanted to add more…but I really don’t feel like bitching any more…and a lot of what I have left is just that :/
I’m going to focus on the book…
Book: 9.3/10
Movie: 7.0/10
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