I've postponed putting up this topic for a couple of reasons. One being that I wanted to space out the posts we've got coming to give everyone some time to discuss on the boards... and the other is that ever since I've started taking the vanpool in to work I've been able to catch about a movie per day and have an excess of movies that I need to delve into here in the "Recent Watches" section.
First, saw Bugsy, Croupier (post coming within 1-2 days) and Sunshine (possibly the next "His & Her" article but if not I'll get into this on pengin's previous post). Those will all get their own time for discussion, but I've also got another two handfuls of films that need discussing.
Those films include: The Simpsons Movie, Blades of Glory, Fallen Angels, The Science of Sleep, All That Jazz, The Fountain, The Number 23, Babe (yes, I finally saw it) and Double Indemnity. I intend to spend some time discussing each one, even if it's just a short paragraph... but all that will be after the jump, in the comments section just so I can get this post up and give you guys your own forum for discussion.
Here we go.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Recent Watches: September 2007
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Got a lot to talk about, so lets get right to it.
Hudsucker Proxy- a film I had not seen until now because I remember my parents hating it when I was younger. Well they hated Pulp Fiction too, so I don't really value their movie taste. Really solid Coen Bros film. Probably in their top 5. I think the acting overall is stellar specifically Paul Newman.
Intolerable Cruelty- not as bad as I remembered, but still their worst next to Ladykillers. Clooney is over the top, and Zeta-Jones just looks lost. It should have been recasted. It was fun enough, but the leads aren't likable. They don't have chemistry, or morals for that matter.
Rob Zombie's Halloween- I can't believe this is getting mediocre reviews. I think it is easily the worst film this year and perhaps even worse than those awful Texas Chainsaw remakes. I don't care why Michael Myers is evil. It is a lot scarier in the original when the boy just puts on a mask and walks up stairs and kills his sister with no motive. Here we get a hour long childhood in which Michael is teased by his sister and a bully, beaten by his stepfather, lives in disrepair, and kills small animals for shits and giggles. All in all, it wasn't used as a way of understanding the psyche behind the killer, but just a way to ratchet up the body count. The kills are misogynistic (as each girl somehow winds up naked before each killing) and masochistic. The only kill that got a cheer was one taken directly from the original. I think Zombie has potential (hated 1000 corpses, dug Devils Rejects), but here he doesn't even give it his own signature. The last half is nearly shot for shot with the original. Just awful.
Balls of Fury- I can't believe this is getting such harsh reviews. It's harmless unlike Halloween and it's weird enough that I got enough giggles out of it. It had an extremely high giggle to minute ratio. Not hysterical except for one moment (damn panda), but the cast is game and so am I.
Death Sentence- well it was better than Dead Silence, that awful ventriloquist puppet film. Kevin Bacon gives it his all in this vengeance flick. Has some genuine flair at times, but too many illogical missteps and some terrible staging weigh it from being simply a good time. At least Kelly Preston dies.
3:10 to Yuma- fantastic. The acting, the story, the direction. The ending may be hard to get on board with, but they gave me enough reason to believe it would happen and I was glad I did. Really stellar work here from everyone. One of the best of the year.
Shoot 'em Up- I got exactly what I wanted from it. I got to witness shoot outs that have never been visualized before in a over the top manner, with some awful, but hilarious one liners to top them off. That is all I wanted and it delivered. Giamatti and Owen are having a blast. Giamatti not only chews up the scenery, I think he actually bit me. Don't bother with the plot. This film, much like Crank, was cranktastic.
Delicatessen- last of Jeunet's films for me to catch up with. Clearly from the start he and his co-director Caro had a eye for visuals. Best cannibal comedy ever. Great to look at. Funny as hell. A real original. If only he wasn't French. Oh well not everyone is perfect.
Smiles of a Summer Night- Bergman breakthrough before he would be known for his more somber story telling with Seventh Seal to come next. Comedy much like Midsummer Nights Dream in which a potion causes people to fall for their true love and comedy ensues. Unfortunately that isn't until the last thirty min. Though Bergman gives us enough to wet out whistle till than, it still isn't as much fun until the climax. All set up and little payoff. Still recommend though to see Bergman at work. Some great visuals and good acting all around.
Lives of Others- Remarkable. I prefer Pan's Labyrinth for it's more unique storytelling, but I can't fault the Academy for voting this the best Foreign Language Film last year. Great thriller with fantastic acting and a suspenseful, fascinating premise. Would easily have made my top 10 last year, probably my top 5. Watch It Now!!!
I've got a decent amount to talk about here, so ramblers, let's get ramblin'
We'll go theatrically first.
Rob Zombie's Halloween: I submit a logical imperative for you all.
A. Rob Zombie's Halloween is a real film and not a figment of our collective imaginations.
B. If Rob Zombie's Halloween is a real film and not a figment of our collective imaginations, then there can be no God.
C. Therefore, there can be no God.
Yes, this film is so awful it can be used to disprove the existence of God. Everything Chachi said is true, this is horrible, lazy film making. I like Rob, but he just fucked this film beyond belief.
Shoot 'Em Up- Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, this film is fun. Nothing serious, although the actors are deadpan serious. This takes action films to places never before seen, but without the tongue-in-cheek humor that plagues a lot of them. It's funny because it's so over-the-top but so serious that it doesn't realize its over-the-top. It's great fun. Clive Owen is a badass. Paul Giamatti is masticating his lines like nothing I've ever seen. Don't expect plot...expect guns, carrots, more guns, boobs, dead boobs, a baby, and more guns. If you grew up with Die Hard or any like franchise, you'll love the hell out of this.
Death Sentence- So very meh, that I barely considered commenting on it. Boring start, decent finish. Bacon does what he can, but James Wan is not a good writer. The logical holes in the film are gaping, and there's really not anything we haven't seen before. At least Kelly Preston dies.
Balls of Fury: I giggled. Nothing awful here. The actors were fun, and you could tell. Plus Diedrich Bader shows up as a man-whore...what more can you ask for.
DVD:
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer- Loved this film. I loved the book, but wasn't sure how they would translate it into a film. They did a great job. Acting all around is good. Writing is good. Tom Tykwer is a genius. Totally original. How the hell he translated smell to film is beyond me, but he did a hell of a job. Really a great film.
Deliver Us From Evil- This should have won the Best Documentary Oscar last year. This film is unflinching in its investigation into the Catholic priests child molestation epidemic. It presents damning evidence from the victims of the abuse, a priest who was convicted of abuse, priests within the church who condemn the way has handled the situation, and testimony from those who covered everything up. Remarkable film making. Very powerful. Gripping, heartbreaking stuff.
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story- Loved this one too. It has the mega-weird and random British humor that I love so much. Great acting all around. Steve Coogan is fantastic. There is no way to try to begin to describe what this is about. If you love random, weird movies and British humor, then this is definitely for you.
The Oh in Ohio- This was okay. I was expecting more considering the cast. They all do good jobs, special regards to the awesomeness that is Paul Rudd, but the structure of the film throws everything off a bit. My biggest problem is that our protagonist, Parker Posey, just isn't that likable. I would have preferred it had Paul Rudd been our lead character, but that just be due to the fact that he's fantastic while Posey kinda isn't. It's still good, light fun. Not really a laugh out loud film (expect when Rudd is on screen), but a smile and feel good kinda flick. Nothing harmful...just could have been better. Oh...and Danny Devito is very good. Relaxed and charming...but you have to see him more or less naked...he's a garden gnome. Or Ron Jeremy's less gifted, more midget-ish brother.
Real quick I'm going to address a couple of the films that I've seen recently and then I'll come back for more later.
Guess I'll start with the bad:
Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her is another collection of short story-like films that director Rodrigo Garcia wraps together for really no other reason that I can see then that he's fascinated with the story of women. Much like his Nine Lives movie, I was largely bored and would have welcomed some real filmmaking that involved going deeper into these individual storylines. Instead, Garcia gives you snippets from different lives and I don't think they add up to much at all, especially since they all seem to deal with being alone or depressed without really saying anything at all about it.
Blades of Glory was just about 100% what I imagined it would be from the previews... which really serves me right. I watched it for Will Arnett and to see if Will Ferrell could get enough laughs out of me to warrant the watch - he didn't. Plus Jon Heder continues to prove he has absolutely no talent or charisma and really shouldn't have a career either.
The Number 23 is easily Jim Carrey's funniest film in years. Unintentional or not, I got a kick out of all this ridiculous pandering to get that number to actually try to mean something (when they get to the point of saying 32 is simply 23 reversed, I nearly lost it). As a thriller, it's awful and makes no sense. As a comedy though... hahaha.
Alright, that's it for the bad. I'll be back on here soon to give some thoughts on the good.
Some quick comments here,..
Good Luck Chuck- sucked. Dane Cook has potential when he isn't being Dane Cook. Not bad in Mr. Brooks for example. The movie was just not funny at all. It seemed like it suddenly interjected raunchy humor suddenly in order to boost its teen appeal. Cook and Alba have some decent chemistry, but it is such a dumb illogical movie that it doesn't matter. I mean the climax is on a plane to ANTARCTICA. A Boeing 747 going to the South Pole with many passengers on board. On top of that, there are two flights at the same time for the protagonist to choose from. Apparently Antarctica has become quite the tourist destination that they need two flights leaving every hour.
Resident Evil- I couldn't even enjoy this on the most purely stupid level of entertainment I could muster up for. I loved the Marine with John Cena for that exact reason. So awful it is bad. Here everything is just awful. Every zombie looks the same. The action is stale. The big action piece is "The Birds" + explosion. Telekinesis has something to do with it suddenly. The bad man takes an antidote that makes him into a mutant. And if I have to sit through another zombie flick where a guy gets bitten and keeps it hidden from his friends through out the film I will stab someone in the eye. To top everything off, it is so damn boring. I fell asleep in the first 15 min. Thankfully I missed what sounded like the worst part.
Death of a President- fictional retelling of the assassination of Dubya. What could easily could have been gimmicky, is actually pretty compelling. The director splices footage together to make it seem like Cheney himself is giving the eulogy. Doesn't really have much to say politically. It isn't overtly for/against Bush, but it still was pretty riveting to watch. i would say the filmmakers certainly don't agree with his policies and the war, but they don't believe he should be castigated for it.
Hopefully I will actually post a review of Eastern Promises. More to come.
Forgot to comment on The Brave One. Mulligan, you talked about hating Croupier for many reasons, for most of all it being disingenuous. Thats exactly what I thought about this film. Nothing made sense in my eyes. Foster's reaction and more importantly Terrence Howard
s evolution felt really inauthentic and quite frankly ludicrous. This woman never dealt with violence in her life when suddenly she and her fiance are attacked. From than on, she just happens to run into these violent situations over and over. Say what you will about Death Sentence, at the very least Kevin Bacon's character goes looking for trouble, while here Foster justs stumbles upon it over and over. Neil Jordan is a fine director and for the most part he does his best. The camera technique was used effectively, and he gets the most from his actors. But this was just lazy writing. Thinks it has something profound to say about violence, when it is just utterly pretentious. Morality doesn't exist here in this world. As long as a wronged woman is behind the gun, everything is legal. I'm upset that such a talented crew didn't realize what a shitty script they had just signed on for. Hopefully it was just a paycheck for them all. Big disappointment!
Well, finally getting around to posting on some of those films I listed on the front page... just in time so I can have another growing list that needs talking about (The Dirty Dozen, Planet of the Apes, The Brave One included). Oh well.
Anyways, The Simpsons Movie turned out pretty well. Not unlike any episode of the show's 18-year run it was pretty solid entertainment with a handful of laughs and some nice observations (my favorite being when in the face of annihilation all the church members run into the bar and all the bar patrons run into the church). I don't think the film was as successful as maybe the South Park movie was in taking advantage of the format and the storyline seemed to pick some recognizeable story arcs from previous episodes, but all-in-all a solid outing for the nearly two-decades-old show.
Fallen Angels might be my least favorite Wong Kar-Wai film thus far... but it's still pretty damn good (and probably sticks out in my head the most of all the films I'm listing here except for maybe All That Jazz). Leave it to Wong Kar-Wai to tell the tale of a hitman as a tragic love story. Beautifully done. It's when the story cuts to the other character, an annoying childlike creation that doesn't gel with Kar-Wai's world at all that the film hits its road bumps. Still, there's brilliance buried there as well and moments I won't soon forget.
The Science of Sleep I was up and down on. I was caught up in the whimsical wonderment of the ride at times and other times felt like it wasn't really going anywhere. By the end though, the fantastical storyline and images and relationships had won me over enough to warmly recommend it to anyone interested. Again, not a perfect film but another one filled with wonderful moments.
All That Jazz somehow makes an alcoholic, womanizing dance choreographer and director into a tragic figure. Really good stuff here as well, with Roy Schneider turning in another terrific performance as Joe Gideon. It's showy and stylized to the point of being overly so (but never quite) and much in keeping with its Broadway roots. Ultimately, it's the account of a man discussing his life with the angel of death... fascinating and great.
The Fountain I owed it to myself to catch because of all the praise it receives here on these boards from you guys and I admit to liking it a bit, but I don't think I like it nearly in the same range as you two. Interestingly told multi-century-sprawling tale about a man obsessed with saving his wife from terminal cancer. I still have reservations because I never for a moment felt Jackman and Weisz's romance felt authentic and nor did I think it's 'everyone returns to the Earth, everyone is the source of future life' message was all that startling or revolutionary. It's a good film, but moreso for it's ambition and visual imagery than for it's grasp on emotion and lost love.
Having finally seen Babe, I still don't understand all the fuss about missing this one. It's a good movie, granted, but one someone should have as a 'must see'? I don't get it. And those three mice (blind or not, I couldn't be sure) are some of the most annoying characters ever. Like scratching a chalkboard awful. The storybook-like scene transitions I don't think were done especially well either. But... when it's all about Babe and Farmer Hoggett, it's great. It's cute. It's charming. It's one I'd recommend to others, but still... it's no 'must see'.
...Double Indemnity is though. Thanks for the recommendation Rebecca because I had put this one off far too long. I should have watched it during the Filmspotting marathon but just never got around to it. It climbed into my favorite movies of all time immediately. I loved the story, the characters, how it was told and how it unfolded. Some great dialogue and a wonderful set up. Man Wilder does some amazing noir work between this and Sunset Blvd.. I was caught up in this movie from the opening credits through the ending and I can't see a misstep anywhere. A very, very high recommendation.
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