Well, I intended to post the most recent "Married to the Movies" article today on 1408 but due to my own laziness, an I-95 delay, a late train arrival and my own ineptitude for leaving my portion of the review at home... yeah, that's been delayed until tomorrow.
So instead, here's the already terribly late "Recent Watches" category for everyone to throw their two cents in on. I've watched quite a bit more recently, including The Darjeeling Limited, Transformers, Singin' in the Rain, and City Lights that need talking about. Plus the leftover ones I never got around to discussing like The Brave One, The Dirty Dozen, The Groomsmen, Evan Almighty, etc. etc. etc.
Since that's a rather daunting list, maybe I'll break it into comment posts, 1 at a time? Who knows.
For now, I'll leave you with my thoughts on Transformers which I've already discussed my reaction on with Rebecca yesterday...
"Meanwhile, I watched about half of Transformers on the ride home yesterday (I've since finished it and still echo these sentiments 100%) and it was every bit the crapfest that I expected. Good lord who likes this stuff? And I used to be a Transformers kid too. I just don't get it anymore. Why is every guy excited for Transformers and 300? I guess it's the robots and loin cloths? I dunno. Wait, I've got it. The reason Transformers is worthwhile... it makes you feel like a freakin' genius while watching it (it's so stupid it's ridiculous). I did find it absolutely hilarious that even though this film is dumb as dirt (robots actually say "My bad" in it), they still find time to take a shot at President Bush (you hear what can only be described as a very southern voice as the president ask for some ding dongs... no freakin' kidding). Genius. Then the 'hot flight attendant' character in the next scene drops it on the ground and then proceeds to eat it. Yuck. Gotta love that quality of writing. Oh yeah, and a recent high school grad (the 'hot high school grad' character) is telling the NSA how to do their jobs. It'd be great camp if they weren't playing it so deathly serious. Ah... and one last thing, the whole thing feels like a big car commercial thus far. I wonder how much Chrysler and Cadillac paid to be a part of this film?"
Yeah, Transformers sucks. Shia is the only one who gets out without a scratch, everyone else needs to do some serious apologizing for this one... ugh.
15 comments:
HAHAHAHA!!! Finally. Someone that agrees with me. I've had to put up with every damn person on the planet saying how awesome this film is (including you Chachi)...when it sucked so horribly. Dear lord. How the hell did everyone fall for this? Lazy lazy stupid writing. Bad acting (even Mr. Labeouf couldn't save this, and will someone please shoot Anthony Anderson?). The effects were good, but Bay can't shoot a damn film to save his life, and I had no idea what the hell was going on through most of the action sequences. This is horrible filmmaking, even for Bay. It wasn't fun (which seems to be almost everyone's excuse for liking it). It was way too long. And it was stupid, even for the lowbrow audience it was aiming for. Finally though, I feel vindicated. I no longer have to fight the good fight alone.
I just like to point out Ted that Mulligan didn't care for "Babe" that much, so you can have him. HA HA HA
Babe B+
Transformers D
Got a lot to talk about so here goes.
I've been on a Disney kick recently. Watched Bambi, Jungle Book and Robin Hood. Bambi is a gorgeous story that Disney will never come close to making again. Today's audiences are too ADD for this kind of somber storytelling. Jungle Book is just a hell of a lot of fun, as is Robin Hood. Nothing more than that except good songs, memorable characters and some face paced fun.
Big David Lynch fan, so I was excited for Inland Empire. Yet I'm also very aware of the running time as well as the possibility of it being his most incomprehensible film yet, so I was still quite hesitant. Lynch is a master when it comes to creating some of the most haunting and cerebral imagery. This film is among his best looking ever. There are such nightmarish scenes that I will take to the grave. Still it was "easy" to follow in the first hour, but it spirals down into what can only be described as the lead characters subconscious. There is a family of rabbits ala Three Company. Time and sanity come and go as they please. Death appears just as it makes its exit. It truly is like interpreting a work of art, no one is wrong, but just whether it speaks to you on any level is all that matters. For the most part this film did, but I would be lying if I said I knew what the hell happened or if I said I wasn't bored at all. Also Laura Dern made great headway into me forgiving her for Citizen Ruth.
Feast of Love- likable cast wasted in this very narrow minded love story. Pretentious for the fact it thinks it understands love when it really only uses it as a cruth to propel story. Morgan Freeman's character pops up everywhere only to tells these characters how much they are in love. He actually sees two high schoolers banging on the football field only to claim they were "making love." Oh please. But Radha Mitchell gets naked so I'll probably buy it. :)
Eastern Promises- I wanted to post on this, but I never find the time for it any more. Let me say that, while not as good as History of Violence, it still probably ranks among my top 15 of th year. Viggo is great here and that naked spa scene is the best scene of the decade let alone the year. Watts doesn't get to do much, but I just really dug the atmosphere of this film. Russian mob...London...it felt like watching something I've seen before in a totally new light. And that is the essence of Cronenberg. Subvert the genre to make fresh and exciting.
Heartbreak Kid- I smiled once or twice, but usually when Rob Cordry was on screen. Everything else is pretty bad. Stiller looks tired. It has Carlos Mencia, so be careful. I root for the Farrelly's (Stuck on You was good dammit), but they missed it with this one. Do admire the ending though....a protagonist who doesn't learn his lesson. Too bad I don't like the guy to begin with.
We Own the Night-entertaining if forgettable. Good acting and some good direction keep it from being stale. But story isn't anything to boast about.
Poltergeist- got the distinct pleasure of watching this on the big screen for the twenty fifth anniversary. FX both look dated and cheesy, but the story is still pretty good. Some scenes like the ceiling crawl are still quite cool and creepy to see. For a PG13 film, it manages to creep you out. Hokie? yet classic.
Wild Strawberries- fascinating story of a man as he is about to receive an award he recalls his regrets in life. Interesting turn as we see a man who comes to turns with his past as he realizes it is those events that got him to where he is today. Part road trip, part romance, part "old"life crisis. Wonderfully acted and beautifully directed by Ingmar Bergman. Both this and Seventh Seal in same year. Dear God that is impressive.
Dear Lord, I'm a lazy man. The 1408 review still isn't up (although it will be today) and I haven't even posted the "Month of Movies" for October yet. Argh. Plus I'm just stockpiling films that I haven't talked about yet that need mentioning on this board... somebody stop me.
Alright, right now, I'm gonna cover a bunch of films probably not in the detail I would like, but here goes...
But first Chachi, right on with Stuck On You, a harmless entertaining picture. I think it's for the most part trivial... but it's still probably the best Farrelly Brothers movie in their recent filmography (dating back to Me, Myself & Irene which I will still defend as well). Other than that though, I have not seen any of the films you mentioned - except the obvious Disney movies as a child but even they need a rewatching to refresh my memory a bit.
First up, The Brave One. I don't know how I went so long without posting anything on this. I was fascinated by this movie and for the most part drawn in by it's setup and cinematography and Neil Jordan's choices... but I have also never been more repulsed by a movie simply because of its audience reaction (people cheering the bloodshed and killings like it was somehow justified because she herself had been hurt). I would attribute that to a simpleminded audience, but I think a lot of the blame goes to Jordan for some poor editing choices - some of which make Jodie Foster seem like some kind of Terminator character. Plus the scenes get more and more implausible as it goes on. By the end of the film, it had lost most of the goodwill it started with. Okay movie.
The Darjeeling Limited was a more recent watch, but something I wanted to post on desperately... but I just didn't know what to make of it. I've tried discussing it with Rebecca a few times but mostly the film just won't settle down to let me explore it all that well. I liked it. It's 100% a Wes Anderson film. It's overstylized and overdone with its art direction (but this somehow seems to work for Anderson anyway). Being apparently one of the few who really enjoyed The Life Aquatic, I never felt that Anderson needed to atone for anything. This is a good film, much as that was. It's probably my least favorite of his films to date, but it's still rapturously entertaining to look at, has some interesting characters and some brilliant moments (Wilson removing the bandages, the "Play with Fire" Rolling Stones sequence, the walk through the Indian village, the opening Bill Murray cameo). Very enjoyable film, although I wish the characters would let us in a little bit more. They're SO eccentric and unique that they're almost hallowed out of emotion (except in those scenes I mentioned where it seems to come through). Wes Anderson is still a favorite of mine so it'd be interesting to hear what an Anti-Wes viewer would say. I can imagine them lumping this in with his other pictures and disregarding it... it is, as Rebecca put it, 'classic Wes'.
Evan Almighty wasn't worth the time it will take me to write this paragraph. I watched it as a Carell fan, but it was so bad it might have put me off of ever seeing Dan in Real Life (which looks equally bad). Hell, Bruce Almighty wasn't a great movie itself, but it was still leaps and bounds above this one. Anything resembling a funny line was used in the trailer and while Carell stole scenes in Bruce, he's handing them away here by doing stupid dances which are supposed to be funny for reasons unbeknownest to me. Pitiful. Transformers pitiful. Haha.
Good Lord Chachi, I'll never get how you can like Transformers. Even for what it was, which was a crappy Michael Bay action flick, it was lazy and stupid as hell, it seemed like Bay was stealing scenes from his own damn movies. I was so bored and frustrated with how badly handled it was that the only satisfaction I got out of it was snickering at how badly Michael Bay handled every last thing. Thank God for Shia making it possible to even get through once. Never again.
Still a bunch more to write about, but I need to take a break and jump back on here later to cover those. Today though, I'm catching up with all these review capsules today.
Back with two more films that I had to lump together for no other reason than that I absolutely adored both.
City Lights comes first. For a large portion of its running time, this film is an often very funny staging of comedic sets and pratfalls by a very talented performer. But that blind girl is a stroke of genius, pure genius by Chaplin. In her, we get the real sense of story, of love, of heart that the movie needed. Chaplin's tramp character goes through an assortment of scenarios trying to see her again, help her, woo her and be with her... passing himself off as a rich playboy and in the end enabling her to get the money to have an operation which lets her see. I've never been so floored by a single moment in a film as I was at the very end of City Lights when she sees him for the first time and we see the tramp's reaction. Beautiful.
The second is the best movie of 2007 thus far... Into the Wild. This movie struck a chord with me in all the right ways. I loved its story, its characters, the journey, the settings, the cinematography and the acting. But most of all, I loved this movie for the message it presents. Something very simple that the main character Chris overlooked and learned too late. It's a beautiful story. It's a heartbreaking story about death and a warm glowing embrace of life. It easily wrestled Zodiac out of my top spot of the year and that should not have been an easy thing to do. With only one minor exception, every character in this film is someone I enjoyed meeting and spending time with and longed to spend more with. I wanted Chris to stay longer, to put off his journey to Alaska. To realize what he was apart of before it was too late. It's the first movie in a couple years to make me tear up too. A lovely film. One of the few films that have hit me and invigorated me with such energy that I wanted to rush right back in and watch the film all over again. It's moments and scenes are imprinted on my mind... and I don't want them to leave.
Yes, I'm that glowing. Two great great films.
OK...I've got a few here.
Palindromes: Weird as hell. I love Todd Solondz. As much as anyone could I guess. Happiness is an amazing flick. This was just too weird, and more than that, it was pointlessly weird. None of it added up to anything. Just very strange.
We Own the Night: Meh. Seen everything here before. All of the actors have been better before. Eva Mendes gets somewhat naked...which is good. The direction is very well done, as are the action pieces, but the story was just so "been-there" that I can't recommend it for anything more than a rental.
Feast of Love: Lots of nakedness....and that's about it. The rest is bloated indie crap. When someone says that they don't like indie flicks, this is the type they're talking about. Its tried way too hard to be "indie" and shoves far too much into the story. But...yeah...it's not good. I wouldn't bother, unless you want to see Radha Mitchell naked, and even that will be up on Mr Skin soon.
The King: Great acting from all involved. William Hurt is pretty much the god of awesomeness...and he rocks a Chester A. Arthur in this....which triples his awesomeness. Gael Garcia Bernal is probably at his worst here, but even that's pretty good. My problem with this flick was that no reason, no rationale is ever offered up for anything that Bernal's Elvis does. I think the filmmakers wanted us to infer the reasons behind his action, but we're never given enough to have any of it make sense. Even still, this is worth a rental is your a big Hurt fan, as he's at the top of his game here.
Poltergeist: Saw this with Chachi for the 25th anniversary showing. I love this flick. Certainly the effects have not aged well, but the overall effect of the film still holds up. And most importantly of all, Zelda Rubinstein is fucking awesome.
Eastern Promises: As with Chachi, I never did get around to posting this. I agree with Chachi's assessment. Viggo is fantastic. Watts is given nothing to do. Vincent Cassel is really damn good too. Cronenberg is still one of my personal favorites, but this is not one of my favorite films from him. It's a very good character study, and a very interesting look into the London underground and the world of the Russian mob, but it lacked a greater, deeper meaning that I've come to expect from Cronenberg. Despite that, it's easily one of the best of the year, and I pray to the god of cinema that Cronenberg and Mortenson continue to work together, cuz they make some magic. Hot, sexy, violent magic.
Across the Universe: I'm not sure how to write a review for this. All the reviews I've read so far have either loved it to death, or wanted to kill it and all involved in its making. Somehow, I'm in between. It has some really fantastic sequences. And some really horrible (the worst of which features Bono and Eddie Izzard) ones. For the most part, I liked the way the songs were used. I'm not one that finds the covering of Beatles songs an act of sacrelige as apparently so many do. Some of the covers are very interesting, and work very well for the film. Among the ones that are drastically different from the originals, my favorites were "Come Together" and "Let It Be". The more psychedelic songs are not done very well (with the exception of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Across the Universe"...both of which had gorgeous sequences attached, but I wasn't fond of the way they were utilized). I won't break down the whole film on here, but, suffice it to say, there are definite highs and lows. Overall, I really walked away with a profound respect for the people involved. This is a ballsy movie. Considering the debacle that was Sgt. Peppers, I can't imagine anyone daring to do another Beatles film without the actual Beatles. This one doesn't entirely work, but you can feel the love and respect Taymor and her cast have for the band and their music. This isn't about money (as Sgt. Peppers was). This was definitely a passion project. It's overly ambitious, which is its biggest downfall, but I have a great respect for her for even trying. I recommend it for those who can watch it with an open mind. Most of the people I've talked to about it (including Bryant and Chachi to some degree), seem to have their minds made up already. If you go into it not wanting to like it, then you won't. If you hate the idea of covering a Beatles song, don't bother. Stay home and listen to one of their albums. But, if you can give it a chance, I think it has enough good sequences to win you over. But seriously, when Bono comes on screen, just take like a 10 minute break...he's fucking awful.
That's it for now, I should be on later tonight to post my review of Michael Clayton, which was definitely my most anticipated of the week.
I stand by my initial assessment of Transformers. I didn't grow up with it as a child like so many so it isn't sacrilege for me. I just found it fun. My first screening was a blast because of the excitement my friend Ian had for the film as well as the the theater in general. There is no doubt that pengin and you have hit it spot on. Just about everything you say is something I dislike the film for, just to a much smaller degree. Maybe its because I had low expectations. I will say that with each viewing I got more and more bored with the whole thing, and because of that I won't be buying the DVD. But you know what, a whole mess of people think Armageddon was one of the worse films ever made, but whenever that film is on I watch it for the same reasons I do here. Dumb fun. After all, I own Snakes on a Train. And you pengin of all people know the power of dumb fun, you just didn't have any fun with this film and that's fine. "Fun" is subjective. Some people find it with this film; others find it by killing small animals with a cerated spork. You just happen to believe they are the same person.
Also how can you rip on Evan Almighty as much as you did. I understand why people didn't find it funny, etc, but it is harmless. It tells a sweet enough message surrounded by unfunny scenes. Good film, not one bit. A pitiful one, I think not. It bombed, is that not enough for you. Even Gigli had redeeming qualities.
But I will totally agree with you on Me Myself and Irene. It cracks me up just like Dumb and Dumber did. Something about Mary is a bit overrated but still funny enough. I mean they shoved a chicken up a guy's ass. Chaplin himself would be jealous.
As I have been saying since I first saw Transformers, I'm not out to change anyone's opinion of the flick. I've stated mine, I've stated the biggest problems it has (most of which you agree with), but I've never tried to tell someone they shouldn't like it. I understand you had fun...I didn't. It was a miserable fucking flick, which I had no hope for (other than robot on robot fighting, which it lacked enough of to satiate me), and I did not have fun while watching. My biggest problem is with people who think it's a legit movie, rather than the extremely long product placement ad it really is. It bothers me that what is essentially a 2+ hour long commercial for toys, computers, cars, soda, video games, etc... managed to make so much money. Really fucking sad. But, people were entertained apparently, so who am I to speak out against the masses, no matter how misguided and stupid I think they are?
And as for Armageddon, that is indeed a guilty pleasure. Horrible movie, but Ben Affleck's bitch breakdown at the end is worth watching the entire film for.
Okay so it's been a while since I posted and unfortunately I don't have much to add but here're my recent watches:
Last of the Mohicans-Mmmm okay, so Brian claimed that Daniel Day-Lewis does an "astronomical amount of running" in this film. This is only pertinent because he definitely DOESN'T...I only agreed with you before I think Brian cause the only snippet of the film I'd seen was of him running. So I take my agreement back. Other than that important note, I enjoyed it. I didn't watch it very closely (it was on tv so there were commecials, plus, my sister called in the middle and I had to gab with her) but I could easily see why it's become a staple in American cinema. Loved the heart wrenching scene up on the cliffs. Good stuff.
Interview-You'll have to wait for MTTM for that one.
Darjleeng Limited-You know, after I left the theater I thought I was going to have the same problem Brian had with not being able to let it settle in my mind. But as time has gone on, it has. And I've come to the conclusion that, while this was (as I said) "classic Wes" it fell short of my expectations. I've throughly enjoyed all of his movies but this one just didn't strike a chord with me. As Brian said, the characters don't really open up to you except briefly and thus the story seems hollow--and not in a good symbolic way. Visually, it was wonderful. But to date, this is probably my least favorite Wes Anderson film. I don't know that I'd ever want to watch it again.
Well, that's it for me. Hopefully, going to "Into the Wild" this weekend and "Eastern Promises"...stay tuned cause I know you love to hear what I have to say. And good god, "Transformers"---I don't need to see it to know it was terrible. As soon as I heard that one of the robots says "My bad" I was done and done.
Oh, I get it. Rebecca is trying to earn 'movie cred' by agreeing with me one day and disagreeing with me on the boards the next.
Shame though, this is the equivalent of filling out the right answer on a scantron, then erasing it and filling in the wrong bubble. Big mistake, you gotta stick with your initial reaction.
And how do you profess to know whether Daniel Day-Lewis does an astronomical amount of running when you yourself say "I didn't watch it very closely (it was on tv so there were commecials, plus, my sister called in the middle and I had to gab with her)?"
Seriously. That movie was great and all, but it was scene, Day-Lewis running, scene, Day-Lewis running. They practically used it as scene transitions I swear. Let's run over here! No, now over here! Oh a battle! Lots of running now!
Totally wrong.
And Darjeeling has settled by now and the more I think about those great scenes that I mentioned in my post, the more I like it. I would watch it again, but I stick with it being the weakest of Wes. Good stuff, but I want him to get more into the heart next time.
I WAS *watching* it. I just wasn't necessarily listening. So I could clearly see that the only time he runs a lot is at the end when he has to go be a hero. Also, my initial reaction was, as I said, due to having seen said running sequence only prior to my complete viewing the other night. My 'movie cred' remains in tact.
I'm excited for the Hitchcock marathon this weekend. For anyone else who might be interested it's going to be on Sat. on AMC ALL DAY LONG. Woot!
Nah, you were watching the bastardized full screen television version. They probably cropped the widescreen picture down just enough so that you don't see Day-Lewis running in the corner of every other scene. Plus, they probably removed a couple of his less interesting jogging moments to make room for commercials. You're still wrong. Sorry.
Okay, this is my last post for Oct. in this category. Here we go:
Eastern Promises I was very underwhelmed by this movie. Viggo did a great job--I'm sure Russian is not the easiest of languages to pretend you know and I loved his swagger and bad-assness. Naomi has way more talent than this role allowed her to exhibit; what a waste. I liked the premise of the whole thing but I was bored. It seemed to be ever "building up" to something that never came to fruition. The ending sucked too. It just lolled along and then--oh, I guess we need to end it--END. Disappointing, in a word.
Stardust I was pleasantly suprised by this one. The visuals were consistant with what I would expect for a fairy tale, though nothing truly spectacular (like, Sunshine for example). It was fun and somewhat reminded me of Willow in its adventure/romance/light comedy tones. Michele Pfieffer is perfect for her role as her ageless beauty in real life is pretty wicked and supernatural in itself. Deniro and an enjoyable appearance by Ricky Gervais are both positive additions to the cast/story. All in all this film took the standard fairy tale themes and wrapped them up in an entertaining, enjoyable and (most importantly) fresh little package.
Enter the Dragon I rather enjoyed this movie. I wouldn't call myself a kung-fu movie fan necessarily but I can appreciate it. It had me chuckling throughout at the sheer cheesiness and terrible dialogue but that was what made it fun. Plus, the martial arts (being pre-Jackie Chan, Jet Li, etc.) were pretty sweet. And Bruce Lee's body was inhuman. I kept marveling at how I could see the fibers of his muscles....for such a little guy he could really kick some ass. My favorite (and I use that word in the lightest sense possible) was all of the villan's hand attatchments hahahahahaha! The bear claw, the metal hand and finally the knife hand. Good old fashioned mindless entertainment!
The Departed Hmmmm well, I did enjoy most of this movie. The acting was good and the story was even better, until the end. I felt completely gyped out of a good ending. And I felt blindsided by it. It was going along nicely and then bam bam bam bam bam--everyone is dead, the end. Well no shit. The movie can't go on when everyone's dead. I was shocked yes, but it was just ridiculous and uncalled for and on the verge of a cop out (no pun intended). And since I had invested so much time into that movie, I felt I deserved a little more thought put into the ending. I loved all the characters, especially Wahlberg as the gigantic ass hole. That's all I have to say. The ending sucked.
I'm genuinely surprised that you didn't like Eastern Promises very much. I still have yet to see it, but it seemed like a safe bet you would. Now I almost want to see it more just to see which side I come out on... but I do expect to like it, based on the Viggo-Cronenberg team and Watts. Look forward to seeing that one.
Stardust is one I was a little weary of because those type of fairy tale stories can either be sweet and hit the right notes... or they can just flat out fail miserably. Glad it appears this is the former.
Enter the Dragon I remember next to nothing about since I saw it as a kid. My dad had me trained to see every martial arts film ever made (especially if Van Damme or Seagal were involved), but this had the negative effect of blending every last martial arts picture into one in my mind. I still have visions from different movies popping into my head thinking they're all one long film. Also, with the sheer amount of martial arts films I saw as a kid... now I almost never want to see one (with the exception of Kung Fu Hustle which was just awesome).
Now we get into the real meat of it... The Departed. It's no secret that I love The Departed. It was my favorite film of the year last year, I'm glad it won Best Picture and vindicated the Oscars from giving one to Crash for some ungodly reason. However, the ending IS a little overboard, I'll give you that. But look at it from a different perspective. If you can get past the 5 or so brutal headshots in a row (tough to do, I know)... the Nicholson killing surprised me and took the story in an interesting direction. The DiCaprio killing was just absolutely shocking (it's still one of the most surprising movie deaths I've ever seen). And when Damon dies, it just closes out the tragedy of his story. The other supporting actors I could have lived without being involved... but I loved Damon's begging for DiCaprio to kill him and then how he tried to cover everything up. I even love his warped recommendation for the medal of honor. It's just twisted. But really, this is Damon's story. You get that from the flashbacks of Colin as a boy and you see how his story gets steered completely off path by Nicholson. When Damon says "Alright" as Wahlberg is about to shoot him... he's just come to grips with the fact that he deserves this. That he could have been something good, but wasn't (Scorsese's shot of the political office that Colin strived for was a nice touch, if the rat was a little too much). The story is a tragedy. A life influenced by evil.
But yeah, the 5 killings in 5 seconds part was a TAD overboard. Still. Loved that damn movie.
I'll be back to post on Gone, Baby, Gone, Michael Clayton, Singin' in the Rain, Bug, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen and Bonnie and Clyde sometime soon. They're piling up on me again.
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