Incendies

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

WOW. Knocked me off my feet, wasn't expecting that at all.

A story that feels epic and intimate. I can see why this has made so many top 10 lists and I'm glad I got to slip it in before the end of the year after missing it at the cinema.

Definitely a must see.

Tokyo Sonata

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

I've already said a few times this year how much I like Kiyoshi Kurosawa's work. This is his latest and it's just beautiful. Like his other films it's quite and subtle, but this time there are no horror or dark genre elements, it's a straight forward drama about a japanese family and what happens when the father loses his job.

It's a little unpredictable and, again, I probably don't know enough about the social climate of Japan to understand all the statements it makes subtextually but I still enjoyed this sweet and melancholy little drama.

The Last Circus

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Ooo crazy stuff. I won't pretend to understand the socio-political undertones prevalent throughout this film but I can say that it was a great deal more entertaining than Water for Elephants...

Sad clowns with machine guns. That's really all you need to know.

Blame

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan, Amberly

So what can we blame? My natural aversion to Australian accents? My knowledge of locations that ruin suspension of disbelief? Or just the boring characters, writing, action and direction.

I don't believe for one second that these characters would group together to kill someone. I do believe that they would screw it up as bad as they did but even then, the drama, the stakes, the tension wasn't there.

It just feels like no choice was made in directing or editing to make any stylistic effort to manipulate the audience into caring about anything. It's perfectly watchable and the footage is exposed correctly but other than that there's not much going for this. It finishes as arbitrarily as it began. Eh.

Babe: Pig in the City

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan, Amberly

Just needing to prove a point I made in Happy Feet 2. It's unfair to say that the movie advertised int hat trailer is not what you get. But it's certainly not HOW you get it.

George Miller has made a fascinating film and the darkest, most traumatising g-rated film I've ever come across.

Mickey Rooney dressed as a clown. Horrifying enough I know but then Babe kills him via a series of accidents, in front of an audience of cancer kids, in slow motion to the soundtrack of Édith Piaf's Non, je ne regrette rien. That's just really messed up. There are other ways you could have directed that sequence. And again, it's these unusual directorial choices from Miller that makes watching Happy Feet so fascinating to me as well.

And while maybe not as traumatising as watching a dog strung up upside-down by a chain slowly lowered into a canal and drown while other animals slowly turn away and ignore his desperate plight to the soundtrack of Puccini's Humming Chorus, (already traumatising in itself thanks to Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures) I find there is a far more particular psychological cruelty to watching a cute little cripple dog get killed trying to save his friend's firstly, secondly showing him finally at peace and happily running around in heaven and finally having Babe rip him out of his one state of bliss back into the grimy depressing real world where his is a cripple again. It's hard to describe exactly how well this sequence works at tearing your insides up but it leaves me shellshocked every time.

Yes, Babe 2 is a very dark little number, especially compared to the bright sunshine of the first film. I really do love the way the portray the city. They've made it THE city, with bits of every famous city landmarks all rolled into one giant idea of what a city is, filtered through a children's storybook world. Production design is amazing. And FX work by Rhythm and Hues is great as well.

Look, don't get me wrong, I think the film is utterly amazing and I like how dark it goes but it still does leave me in shock at some of the stuff they got away with depicting without getting the bump up to PG.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan, Amberly

Chan-wook Park's last in his thematic trilogy of revenge films. Just arrived on bluray from the U.K. and the first thing that struck me about it watching again was the ending. I don't remember ever seeing this version where in the films final act everything slowly fades to black and white. I distinctly remember all those scenes in colour. A quick jump on IMDB revealed that two edits exist and the fade was an idea he was toying with. It's an interesting effect, I do so miss the colour from all the blood in the last half but it does serve to emphasises character over actions and a few other things as well.

Chan-wook Park's created another uniquely stylised world (a friend remarked how much it reminded her of Amelie, except this is a littler darker...) and this time he plays around with time a much more and manages to get a great deal of exposition done with snappy flashbacks and fast pace so it never feels too clawing for the audience. I love the way he cuts right to the reactions and aftermath of events for just a few seconds before moving on, and lets the audience fill in the details of what happened.

While there is not big twist revelation like in Oldboy there is a realisations that changes the course of the last act of the film to something that is easily the most emotional part of the film and a rather unusual situation to think about.

In all 3 films we are never told explicitly what to think about the revenge taking place. It's very much left up to the audience to debate after. This film also come with a heavy dose of atonement that cripples our main character, making it very different from the other films in the series. And in the end, as expected, there is not real happy resolution but there is a cathartic release.

It's certainly less extreme than Oldboy but keeps it's pace and style. It's been a very long time since I've watched Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, the first of these films and I think I'll have to dig it up and give it another look now. Check this one out if you have the chance. I believe the Australian DVD that I own has the full colour ending, I don't know which I prefer, I'm still getting over the confusion of thinking there was something wrong with the television.

Arena

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Well that happened.

It's pretty much exactly what you would expect from DTV low budget filmmaking. Cheap thrills, a story we've seen before, some fighting, Samuel L. Jackson? VFX are ok, directed by a VFX guy so you'd hope so. The movie is not that bad compared to most DTV stuff, but then again, I don't watch most DTV films, so yeah, it's pretty bad.

The Skin I Live In

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Pedro Almodóvar's films are a huge gaping hole in my film knowledge. I think I've seen maybe one or two before and it was only with a very vague idea of what this was about that I went into the cinema. Always a refreshing treat.

Maybe it's because I've been watching so many lately but there was something very 90's thriller about this, well, at least the start, which also reminded me a great deal of Eyes Without A Face that I also watched for the first time this year. Of course this then delves into places you couldn't have dreamed of in the 1960.

After the comparatively straight forward set up there is an extended flashback that take us through the rest of the film where not only character backstory is established but there are some slow revelations that become apparent.

Hard to talk about without spoiling but it does seem to be a subject that he's dealt with in the past. Probably not like this. Makes for a fun ride though, very enjoyable.

P2

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan, Amberly

Festive horror! Alexandre Aja's horror films are always enjoyable and this Christmas number, while quite different from his others, is a nice little treat.

I love it mainly for Wes Bentley, who I find just adorable, even as a psycho stalker murderer man. He's just a guy that wants a date for christmas, I can relate.

While the film is basically 2 people in a car park for 80 minutes it keeps the tension and action going with some inventive sequences.

A great addition to my list of Christmas horror films and definitely one of the better ones, easily the best in the last few years.

The Cottage

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan, Amberly

Write Up. Do like this one.

Lovewrecked

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly, Tyler

From the Director of Grease, Honey I blew Up the Kid and Flight of the Navigator!!! Another Amanda Bynes gem. It's even more trashy than most of her output.

The transitions. MY GOD THE TRANSITIONS! There is actually a STAR WIPE. They are accompanied by SOUNDS! I scoured the credits and looked through IMDB crew list and couldn't find anyone willing to claim responsibility for editing this film. Just some people that were assistants. Does make you wonder.

It's really very bad. This is coming from someone who genuinely likes She's the Man and Sydney White. It does have a gloriously convoluted set up, that's really the main reason I like these films. But really... It's pretty atrocious.

Meet The Feebles

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly, Tyler

Write Up! Tee hee hee

Zathura

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly, Tyler

Write up! Love it!

We Bought A Zoo

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

They Bought a Zoo.

Cameron Crowe is just as shamelessly sentimental as Spielberg. Although most of this manages never to tip too far over the edge. It was pretty enjoyable.

Oh, and they bought a ZOO.

The Iron Lady

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly, Tyler

The latest in Marvel's superhero canon in the lead up to The Avengers movie next year. Meryl Streep takes over the role from Robert Downey Jr, who was busy with the Sherlock Holmes franchise. Stay for the end credits for a Samuel Jackson cameo!

Streep gives a lot of speeches. A LOT.

War Horse

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly, Tyler, Michael

There was a Horse. There was a War. What more do you want?

I think if you go into this film, after having seen the trailer and not expect blatant emotional string pulling from Spielberg you're bound to be disappointed. On the whole I thought it was pretty good, has a classic hollywood feel to it. Including the melodrama. You'll either go along with it or recoil in horror. I went along for the most part. But then again, I teared up in the trailer, Spielberg just pushes my buttons.

I have had major issues with Janusz Kaminski's cinematography in the past (why must everything glow like it's shot through Vaseline?) but the episodic nature of this allows for changes in the look so the happy glow timers at the start can give way to some gritty war stuff later. And a lot of orange filters at the end.

I loved the war scenes, I'll be honest I didn't care too much about the horse but the war was depicted fantastically. And John Williams gets to cut loose with big epic sweeping melody so that's good.

I like the film ok. I do't think it's fair to just write it off as lesser Spielberg or defend by using the excuse that it's just a kids film. It's definitely overtly sentimental and if you're in the right mood that's great, for me it was alright.

The Adventures of Tintin

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Mum, Dad, Jordan, Amberly, Tyler, Louisa, Naomi, Shane, Michael, Marie-Anne, Gerry, Nicole, Sam, Eathan, Kat, Ant, Werzle, Marcie, Lauren

Earlier this year we got to see what a feature length 3d animation from FX house ILM looks like with Rango. Now Weta has answered the call with an adaptation of a beloved character written by Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat and Joe Cornish, produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Steven Spielberg. Holy cow that's a hell of a pedigree.

As expected, it looks very pretty. Some uncanny valley issues, sure, but the world they've created is wonderfully detailed. Comparisons to Indiana Jones are apt. It is a fun period action adventure thrill ride and Spielberg seems to be having a good time playing in this new digital playground. Hell, there's a 7 minute action sequence all done in one shot. I do love my Spielberg action set pieces. Although he seems to be having so much fun with his camera it's never still, I felt sorry for the people in my group (biggest of the year!) who had never seen a 3D film before, they had a rough time for a lot of it.

Andy Serkis creates another memorable mo-cap performance. I liked Daniel Craig as the villain too, and of course Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. I was disappointed they didn't have Professor Calculus and the shark submarine but perhaps next time. Oh and it's the 2nd film in a row where opera plays an important part, but I like it's use in this film much more. Hilarious.

SWORD FIGHT WITH CRANES!

I loved the opening title sequence, although it's very reminiscent of Catch Me If You Can. The John Williams score was very similar in that segment.

The film is extremely enjoyable, I had a great time, I wanted more from the finale but they opted for a sequel set up rather than a full conclusion. I guess that suit, it is an ongoing series after all, and I would like to see Peter Jackson have a turn at one.

Happy Feet 2

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

When George Miller created Babe 2: Pig in the City he won the award for darkest, most traumatising sequel to a children's film ever created. So I'll admit I walked into this film with a little trepidation. Babe 2 scars, even as an adult. Serious nightmare material.

However Happy Feet 2 has so much in common with its predecessor you can, for most practical purposes, treat this write up as a review of both.

Primarily this is advertised as cute little penguins singing horrifying mash-ups of pop tunes and that is indeed what the majority is. However there is always a scarily apocalyptic undertone of impending doom that's unsettling in the extreme. Perhaps it's the juxtaposition of horrific real world dilemmas with singing cartoon animals. In any case, it can be a little jarring but most welcome to think about with things are getting too cutsey. And there are a few genuinely serious moments where I though he was going all Babe 2 again, but he did end up saving some of the characters in mortal danger this time. Perhaps he's mellowed in his old age. But still, it was touch and go for a while there...

The other thing that can be a little jarring but it actually pretty neat is the use of real humans in live action mixed in with the animation. I love that.

And that's just one of the many out-of-left-field decisions that went into the making of this film. While a lot of this is standard stuff it does goes places you couldn't see coming. This time through I'm thinking specifically about Matt Damon and Brad Pitt playing krill that go on an existential journey to try and change their standing in the food chain. Utterly bizarre stuff to deal with in a kids film but it actually ties in nicely to the finale.

What I don't like so much about the finale is the particular voice the new baby penguin finds. For most penguins it's a pop song, or possibly rap, for Mumbles it was tap dancing. But opera? Kids are probably going to find it as hard to sit through as I did.

Animal Logic have really outdone themselves with this film and I doubt 95% of their audience will even realise just what they have accomplished here. The first film was filled with incredibly gorgeous images, their digital rendering of Antarctica. Not only that but they are playing with hundreds of furry/feathered animals and a huge amount of water simulation and atmospherics. This film takes all these elements up a few notches and adds in what I can only describe as elastic scale. Level of detail must be a nightmare when dealing with creatures as big as whales and as small as krill and everything in between all interacting with each other and the camera having to move through and find and frame all of them appropriately. At krill level the detail on the ice and snow and fur looks incredible. And it pulls back all the way to shot of the entire universe. The dynamic changing between these scales in the same shot makes for some awesome 3D too.

So while I can't stand the singing and much of the kiddy humour I do love the unsettling undertones, the bizarre choices and on a technical level this is just staggering. It's very patchy but it holds together ok.

Tower Heist

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

It's very hard to find a cinema open on christmas day in Perth. But with a bit of a commute I managed to see the one bit film opening tomorrow that I don't already have a ticket for.

So Brett Ratner's latest is a poor man's Oceans 11. It's aiming for that fun, mischievous heist but with a little extra quirk from the inexperienced characters. The result is crowd pleasing enough but completely lacking in charm, suspense and any significant humour.

The coolest thing about the film is the score by Christophe Beck. Not often you get themes in 7/8 and it give the film a bit of a 70's throwback feel.

Alan Alda is a bad guy! Oooo. Gabourey Sidibe desperately trying to show her oscar nom wasn't a fluke does a Jamaican accent! Ooooo. Other People! OOooooo.

A poorly used chess game metaphor results with a build up to the climax of the heist ending in the classic line delivery "Checkmate." Uhh. Yeah that happened.

If you lay out a plan and then it goes awry in the execution, the audience is in suspense. If you hide the plan and then reveal the smart twist at the end then the audience is thrilled. If you don't lay out a plan then when it goes wrong we don't care and when all the clever twists happen we don't believe it.

I liked the re-staging of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. That looks like effort was made. The rest of the film is just ok. Glad this one's out of the way, I'm pumped for magical movie day tomorrow.

Trespass

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Joel Schumacher is very hit and miss. I think that has more to do with the scripts than anything though. This is another home invasion thriller and with those two main stars in it, I'm surprised it didn't get a bigger release.

Anyway the film is halfway decent. It's a pretty standard genre piece, well staged and I like a lot of the supporting cast too. If you've ever seen a home invasion thriller before well there's not really anything new here but it is made well so I dunno, I guess it's ok.

Shelter

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

This one almost slipped me by, as I'm sure it has everyone else.

I only read about this because the next Underworld film's trailer was just released and I wanted to see who these random Swedish directors were, Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, and what they had done. I'm having a lot of trouble tracking down their Swedish film Storm but it looks like something I would enjoy.

This was ok. A thriller that takes a turn for the supernatural in the second half. I don't really like the whole religious bent of it but I was willing to go along just because I like the actors involved.

It's one of those films that has a really great set up for it's central mystery. I just happened to be discussing the disproving of multiple-personality disorders a few nights ago so that was fresh in my mind when this started.

Unfortunately it's also one of those mystery films that doesn't quite stick the landing. It's slick enough and has some good moments throughout and the cast are all fine, I'm just not sure I could go with their final explanation. I mean, yeah it works and it's not too bad but it's a little bit of a let down after the cool set up.

Colombiana

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Writer/Producer Luc Besson once again has crafted a really solid action slick, along with collaborator and Director Olivier Megaton who took over the last of the Transporter series.

Zoe Saldana play our heroine out for revenge against the death of her father. As you would expect for these veterans, the action is great and the story, simple as it is, is good too. They really know how to create great iconic characters that the audience will root for and they've done it again here.

The rest of the film is pretty slick too. Oh and it has sharks. Awesome. Great little action thriller if you're ever in the mood for one.

Dolphin Tale

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

A bit like Soul Surfer earlier in the year, we have an inspirational true story involving a marine animal, although the circumstances involving them are very different.

2nd Ashly Judd film for the day! Although the adults don't have much to do here, it's really all about the dolphin and the kid, played by Nathan Gamble from The Mist.

I saw this in 3D, and it was done really well, especially compared to Shark Night and their horrific underwater stereoscopic photography. But while the 3D was really well done there wasn't really any need for it, the film is basically a drama. Still if they go to the trouble to shoot in 3D, I'll watch it in 3D.

The whole opening sequence was a little unnerving. Completely CG dolphins swimming through CG oceans. Thankfully the opening titles and a few select shots are the only ones that use CG dolphins, the rest of the time we get the real thing. And by that I mean the actual real dolphin the story is based on.

The film is never overly sentimental thank god. In fact it never really hits any strong emotional beats ,at least not for me. It's pretty easy going, even the drama with a cousin becoming an amputee in the army is light.

Watch it if you're interested in the story, it's not bad, but there's nothing that'd keep you coming back to watch again.

Flypaper

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Another bank robbery movie. Although this is more like an Oceans 11 style Agatha Christie murder mystery masquerading as a botched double bank robbery. It's a lot of fun, very entertaining.

They've assembled a really great cast and keep the pace fast, the dialogue snappy and the twists coming. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Hobo with a Shotgun

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

What started as a competition entry to make a fake Grindhouse trailer for Rodriguez and Tarantino's Grindhouse Double Feature is now a full feature film, ala Machete.

First time filmmaker Jason Eisener does a pretty good job making it look authentic to the period, but out of all 4 films I'd say this one walks the finest line between faking it's a bad movie and actually being a bad movie. I dunno, does that just make it more authentic?

Everybody likes crazy Rutger Hauer, I wish he was more crazy. The other actors are a umm, yeah a little too authentic. These are some ridiculously silly things in the film which I appreciate. I like that they killed a busload of school kids with flame throwers. And the random robot guards, yeah sure why not.

I like the very flat saturted colour grading from the Red One footage. They put a technicolor logo in their opening credits and I admit some of it does look a little like Suspiria albeit with a more modern high contrast look.

Music was all over the place. Most of the film was too. I think I like this the least out of Death Proof, Planet Terror and Machete but it does satisfy the grindhouse itch for now. I want to see "Don't" from Edgar Wright though...

Rabbit Hole

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Here's my write up. Re-readin it now it does come off as rather flippant, so I wish to reiterate how great I think the film is. I just think everyone made all the right choices and the end result is wonderfully balanced and nuanced.

I see David Lindsay-Abaire adapted the screenplay from his own play. He did a great job, it never falls into the trap of feeling like a filmed play.

Glad I watched this one again before going about starting my best of list for the year.

Nashville

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

I'm still very behind in my Robert Altman viewing. This is one of the bigs ones and I'm glad to finally knock it off the list.

What a cast! Except that they are all singing Country Western songs. Not really a fan, so I'll jus focus on the rest of the film.

Altman's patented improvised talking-at-the-same-time style naturalistic drama is on full display here. Was this his first big one of these? In any case in a film with this many characters and plot line threads it does make the first half of the film easy to get lost in. Once you get a sense of how the characters relate and that they are all building to a single event it gets easier but that's 2 hours into a long film.

It's a snapshot of American at a certain time and place. While it's not really my cup of tea I still found it interesting.

Mother's Day

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Well, Darren Lynn Bousman's film is finally getting released in Australia. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for his next one, which, with the 11/11/11 date used as the title, only gives away exactly how late we get everything here.

I was talking about Rebecca De Mornay the other night with the friend that introduced me to The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, so it was great to see here again here firing on all cylinders.

For the love of god though please everyone stop killing Shawn Ashmore in your films. The last 4 films of his I've seen he doesn't make it to the end credits and it's very upsetting, he seems like such a nice guy.

A basic home invasion premise and a robbery gone wrong, one of those great "bad situation" scenarios that just gets worse and worse for the characters on both sides. I really enjoyed this film, it managed to suck me in and keep the suspense and action up with plenty of characters at their disposal to do horrendous acts to. Works a treat.

Visitor Q

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Ben

3rd time I've watched this year! No mean feat, but there is just something so magical and special about this film that fascinates me and keeps drawing me back. Highly recommended.

Write up.

Star Wars: Ewok Adventures - Caravan of Courage

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Tyler, Amberly, Ben, Judith, Louisa

Well, it's that time of year. Time to unleash the Star Wars Holiday Special on unsuspecting friends. As it's a TV special it doesn't make the blog, but we did watch the first Ewok Adventure as a follow up. I never really watched Caravan of Courage as a kid, Battle for Endor is in my opinion a billion times better and I would constantly hire it out of the video library.

Just to be extra mean, I made everyone finish off this film by watching the first 7 minutes of the next one. It's pretty harsh, especially after the light fun of the first film.

A lot of love for Warwick Davis lately with the TV series Life's Too Short. Wicket is a pretty awesome little dude. Many people have problems with Ewoks bringing down the Empire. I don't mind so much. But then again I was the right age when I saw Return of the Jedi.

So made for TV movie, it's not the best acting but there are some awesome matte paintings (but I never did find the rumoured Winnie the Pooh painted into one of the trees). And awesome Phil Tippett creatures. It's very episodic, basically a riff on the ol' Seven Samurai structure (Lucas using a Kurosawa structure? Never!) where a bunch of Ewoks team up to go rescue these kids parents from a big ogre dude.

Oh and they totally have to go through the spider web from Krull.

As much as I like the second one a great deal more, this one does a good job of endearing you to some of the characters so that when you watch the second one you can get a little freaked out at the start.

Happy life day everyone.

Dream House

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Trailer gives away a big twist that comes at the halfway point. Apparently that trailer also infuriated the director and stars who refused to promote the film in protest. Problem is, that twist comes right in the middle of the film, it's the big conceit of the story and one I had a hard time going along with which really just killed the end for me.

It's not really much of a horror film, like the trailer makes out either. The cast they have assembled should have given that away, but it's more of a drama thriller. The cast is wasted with this material too. Despite being competently produced, it's just not very appealing.

Mimic

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan

Guillermo del Toro's second film and his first american feature. Although I have seen it many a time, this is the first time I've watched through this new director's cut. It is the exact same film I remember with perhaps 7-10 minutes of new exposition added. As the original script Del Toro wanted to film was changed by the studio before the opportunity to film any of the scenes happened, it's hardly much of a director's cut, but I'm hoping his commentary will be able to shed light onto what happened between him and the Weinstein brothers, looking forward to that immensely.

As it is now, it's a very nice but a very flawed creature feature. You can see glimpses into the director he would becomes and many familiar motifs are used throughout. I have issues with the pacing and there are many themes that could have been explored better. Chances are this is the result of studio tampering.

I like the cast. Always love Jeremy Northam. Really like the score and the creatures too. Fond memories of horror films from this period. They are probably much worse than I remember them but after re-watching this one I'd say it holds up surprisingly well.

Takers

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Ehhh.

I'm playing catch up now, I started watching this midway through the year, finally got around to finishing. Didn't really hold my interest though. Everything you need to know is in the trailer.

It's getting down to crunch time so I'm trying to find all the films I missed or that went straight to dvd in Australia. This was one of them. Chances are, they go straight to DVD for a reason, but sometimes there is some really cool stuff there so you never know.

This was competently made and had an alright cast too but just fell completely flat dramatically. The action was only ok.

The Loved Ones

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Here's my first write up. A great quick late night horror film and one of the best Australian horrors of the last few years.

Watching it again with title and the theme in mind I can see those sub plots working a bit better. It's still not a connection I think works completely but the idea is more formed in my head at least. There is a lot of abuse dealt out to others or to oneself due to the loss or lack of a loved one, from pretty much every single character in the film.

Anyway it's the horror and great character performances I keep coming back for. And they are still just as delightful as the last 3 times I've watched this.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Michael, Tyler

Here's the first write up.

Those big sequences don't quite have the same effect in regular widescreen. I mean, they are still great but if you have the opportunity see it in full Imax, it's fantastic and worth the extra few dollars.

Also HEY, check out that funky new Paramount logo at the start. 100 years. Neat.

I hope if they do another with this team, because they do set that up, take a throw away line of Jeremy Renner and run with it. A hot sexy female spy always has to seduce a rich man with important intel. I'd love it if they started a mission with this plan only to discover the rich man was gay so they have to change it up and Ethan has to seduce. Comedy gold.

Oh also I spotted Brad Birds A113 reference. I mean I saw it the first time, it was quite overt but I completely forgot what it was there for. Slusho in number 3, A113 in number 4. The in jokes continue.

Hamlet 2

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Really liked this film from a few years ago. Seemed to slip through the cracks a bit, but I feel it's much better than the trailer makes it look.

Steve Coogan is just amazing and very funny. I can also see aspects of his character in many of my theatre obsessed friends. Catherine Keener has a small but very memorable role and Elisabeth Shue is delightfully self-depreciating as herself.

It follows the inspirational teacher movie tropes while at the same time making fun of them. And the actual play of Hamlet 2 that is glimpsed in the finale is quite something to behold. Most enjoyable. If you missed it, seek it out.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Paul, Matt, Tom, A few others

So much fun. Brad Bird can direct live-action just as well as animation. This action sequences are impeccably choreographed and shot. And those few shot in the Imax format look amazing. When those black bars start to slide out of frame as Tom Cruise steps out the window of the worlds tallest skyscraper and the camera follows him over the edge, you do get a little vertigo.

This one has one of the best title sequences in the series and I love the set up for it. I'm also glad they had cameos from Ving Rhames, so he is still the only other character that's in all 4 and also another person from the 3rd instalment I was hoping would show up.

Speaking of which, Simon Pegg finds his role expanded in this film, gets to act as comedic relief and does a good job of it. This film doesn't have as strong an emotional grounding as the third film and it's also the most straight forward of the series. The double crossing, the switching sides, the mystery villains, the reveals with masks, all that stuff is gone making this the most generic.

I don't mind so much about the masks, the were overused in the sequel and while they found a great way to fake out the audience with them in the 3rd film, I think it's best they left them out of the equation here. However I was really hoping for a double cross somewhere along the lines. Especially as they had a great set up with Josh Holloway at the start that never amounted to anything.

The spy tech in this film delightful too. Some pretty far out there stuff, but who knows, it probably exists somewhere. Compared to the bubblegum and a mac laptop in the first film it's almost sci-fi.

While the very end fell a little flat for me, the rest of the film is pretty much non-stop high-stakes action. It builds well and there's no annoying shaky cam where you can't tell what the hell is going on.

Definitely one of the best in the franchise. See it in Imax if you have the chance.

Little Women

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

I've been meaning to watch a version, any version of this story after having just been introduced to the story via musical. And also it make for a hilarious double feature with The Women.

I liked the look of the cast in this one. I do adore young Christian Bale. It's a perfectly sweet telling of this story. Ooo and a Thomas Newman score to boot.

Look it's not really my kind of story, I with this many characters over this long a period of time it tends to get episodic so I don't really connect with some individuals as much as others in the way you can with a novel. But there's still a lot to like here.

The Woman

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

I love Lucky McKee's film May and am pleased to see another great horror film directed by him with Angela Bettis and his usual strong feminist bent.

Things start off pretty straight forward, a family capture a wild woman with plans to civilise her. But of course things don't do as planned, leading to a delightfully gruesome finale. While the beginning was somewhat slow, there are strong hints of dark intent brewing underneath it all. Much fun.

The Future

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Michael

After watching the trailer, this is exactly the kind of film I was expecting to see. And I had the exact kind of reaction too it I thought I would. It was ok.

I think I liked Miranda July's first film You and Me and Everyone We Know a little more than this one. Sure it's quirky, indie, light dramay, absurdist and too-hipster-to-function and I don't know exactly if it's too much for me or if I'm fine with it. But it was ok.

Green Lantern

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Michael

Write up.

The extended cut on bluray adds nothing but some exposition at the start.

Melancholia

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Well, it's certainly a lot happier than Antichrist. But that's not saying much. It's defiantly more welcoming though. And I DO love my disaster films so the idea of someone like Lars von Trier taking one on does make me somewhat giddy. Even if it's only a part of the film, it've very well done and looks stunning.

And the end of the world is just absolutely gorgeous in this. I am loving everything I see out of the Phantom camera. It all looks like some elegant perfume commercial, true, but I still love it. Like in Antichrist we have a little slow motion prologue that seems separate from the rest of the film, especially seem as the main segments are shot in a more Dogma 95 style, despite using the Alexa. He somehow manages to make it look like home video. Skill.

The film is divided into two halves, each focusing on a different sister. Kirsten Dunst is dealing with what I can only assume, given the director, is clinical depression. She does her best to make it through her wedding day but things get nice an awkward. I would have no problem marrying Alexander Skarsgård. Kirsten Dunst is just great in this.

The next half we follow her sister, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg, who has trouble dealing with family dramas but also the impending doom from the impact of a giant planet subtly named Melancholia.

While it still doesn't exactly feel cohesive in places, I actually really enjoyed this film. As much as you can enjoy a film about sadness. If this is how Lars works out his emotions, all the more power too him. It's vastly more accessible than the majority of his work and certainly easier to sit through than Antichrist. It has a very authentic feeling in the portrayal of depression. And the final sequences got me more worked up than any Roland Emmerich end of the word.

Total Recall

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Leith

Another awesome Paul Verhoeven film and one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most quotable. And as much as I love the action and the awesome fx it's really the story I love and the is it real or isn't ending, quintessential Philip K. Dick stuff.

We get a remake next year and perhaps it'll stick close to the book than this does. I would love to get my hands on the script David Cronenberg was going to make before it got passed on to Verhoeven. But I do like his pulpy style.

One of my favs.

Restless

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Whoa, cancer double feature. I should have read more about what these films were about before randomly going to see both just because it was a cheap day.

Gus Van Sant is an interesting director. I suppose that's a nice way of saying sometimes I just don't get what he was thinking. I love some of his stuff, and other times I find it very boring. Oddly enough though, I liked Gerry, but I didn't like Last Days or Paranoid Park.

This one sits somewhere in the middle, but he's definitely in Indie movie mode. While it's no Harold and Maude it seems to be going for the same tone.

Mia Wasikowska is great, new comer Henry Hopper is pretty good too. Again, I just don't think I cared that much about the story. It's certainly a lot sweeter than I was expecting, and from the mixed reviews I've read I think some very low expectations helped somewhat. Faint praise indeed, but really, this is the worst film to follow up Burning Man. My bad.

Burning Man

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

It's Man on Fire all over again. Is it too much to ask to see someone set alight?

Instead we have a non-linear to the point of becoming schizophrenic story of a chef, played brilliantly by Matthew Goode, having trouble dealing with his wife dying of cancer and being left with an 8 year old son.

Goode is great. The rest of the film was a pretty standard caner drama, no matter how much they try to chop up the timeline to make it more mysterious. The editing also makes it hard to connect. Or maybe I'm just a heartless bastard, but I always think it's cheating to just have someone die from cancer and automatically expect the audience to be empathetic and ball out eyes out. Not if we're not invested in character first.

Yeah I didn't really connect with this one.

New Year's Eve

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

This film is like the white noise of romantic comedies. The writer and director of Valentine's Day decided they hadn't got enough milage out of that film so the shuffled things about a bit and changed the setting. Really, it's the EXACT SAME MOVIE. They even make fun of this fact in the awful credit blooper reel by literally pulling the Valentine's Day bluray out of Jessica Biel's vagina and shoving it in our faces. And then the DVD. I wonder what's next. Arbour Day? Labor Day? Inauguration Day?

This film has a cast list a mile long and doesn't do much with any of them. Although I liked to think Cary Elwes was reprising his role from the Saw franchise. They would intercut nicely. All the stories are light a fluffy, except Robert De Niro dying of cancer. That was just boring.

The most impressive thing about the film was creating New Years Eve 2012 in Time Square. Good job. The Arri Alexa night footage looks pretty great, very saturated and colourful but even then, there is a lot of very obvious digital enhancement trying to make Katherine Heigl look human. Ew.

The advantage of having so many stories is that if you don't like one plot line, chances are the film will have moved on to something else within a few minuets. For me though, there was a greater percentage of dislikes so that didn't help. It's a bland romantic comedy (that was neither romantic nor funny) and the best, the film is inoffensive.

Jack and Jill

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Happy Madison producitons used to be watchable. That all changed somewhere along the lines when they realise that kids will watch any old crap so they can make more by trying less. This feels like a bad parody movie from Funny People. It cuts the soul.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Write up.

Bit of late night commentary. I started on the director, but he sounded pretty boring, so I swapped to the writers.

Mission: Impossible 2

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Ahh what the hell, may as well finish off the series.

Anthony Hopkins is in this? Forgot that. I do remember it's practically all set in Australia. Perhaps that's why I shy away from it so much. They do absolutely everything to remind you of this every two seconds, with shots of kangaroos of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The BMX Bandits ending doesn't help either.

So this is the John Woo entry. So there's an awful lot of gunplay in slow motion with a big rock guitar soundtrack. And everyone always wares sunglasses. And there's not really much spying at all despite the over use of masks. There's something very early 90's about the romance side of the action/romance. As in, even at the time it was made it was already dated.

I guess it's serviceable.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Mum, Dad

Write ups here and here.

Watch with the old folks this time. I still can't get over the scale of this film. And the Budget spent of a talking car movie. It was too epic for them, they had to split it into two nights of viewing. That's why I hate showing films to my parents not in a cinema.

By the way, the current bluray has crap all extra features. Very disappointing.

Mission: Impossible 3

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Sorry John Woo! We skipped your entry due to time constraints, but to be fair, it is the worst of the series. No slow mo flying doves for us.

So 10 years later, J.J Abrams takes the reins after 5 season of his own very fun Spy TV series. They add in a love interest for a bit of heart and keep the action big and the stakes high. And as usual have a mysterious high concept macguffin that is never explained but does allow for some nice location shooting for an action sequence on a skyscraper in Shanghai.

It also benefits from having a much clearer villain than the first instalment, here embodied with relish by the great Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Watching it directly after the first instalment a few things stand out. The spy technology for one, colour grading went crazy in 10 years and every set piece is 30 times bigger. The Helicopter chase at the start is nifty and I like breaking into Vatican City just because it shows off their more high tech mask creation technology, a staple of the series and one they finally sold me on with this instalment.

Again, a great cast of supporting characters, some of whom shall thankfully be returning in the next film.

Mission: Impossible

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Holy Cow this film is 15 years old. The internet and computer tech dates it pretty clearly but it's still a damn great film from Brian De Palma, a man who never says no to a good split field diopter shot.

The harness drop scene has been parodied more times than I could count and that whole sequence still manages to get the tension up. The opening fake out is great, classic noir stuff. They introduce a team played by great actors who all get top billing and then just immediately kill them off. It's pretty mean, but it just get you on edge. And then there's the final train action set piece, which is pretty ridiculous but a lot of fun.

It's the film that ushered in the new wave of spy films, that sits somewhere between where the big action of James Bond was at the time and before the Borne series with it's more serious and realistic low key approach, which the Bond franchise has now taken on to a degree.

Good stuff.

Black Swan

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Mum

I've watched this the most. 6 times this year now. I finally wore mum down and she worked up the nerve to watch it. Good stuff.

While I haven't started thinking much about my best of 2011 list yet, and I don't think this will be number 1, I think it'll definitely make the top 10.

Minority Report

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Steven Spielberg directing a Philip K. Dick based story? Yes please.

What starts out as a Sci-fi action thriller steadily turns into a detective noir. As usual with Dick's stories, there's a great central conceit that leads to many morally and philosophically grey areas. In this case, arresting someone before they commit a crime.

I've always loved this film and what stood out to me most watching it through again, besides now knowing Anne Lively was played by Jessica Harper from Suspiria and Shock Treatment, was the great sound design and music and how it works almost subconsciously on the audience to keep complicated multiple plot threads recognised as they pop up and interweave.

If I have a problem with this film it's that it almost feels episodic. Don't get me wrong, it has a very clear, linear and compelling story driving everything through but they way it goes about telling it can sometimes feel like segments from different films. Sequences like Lois Smith's delightfully bizarre exposition in the greenhouse feel so radically different than the Jet Pack chase that comes before it or Peter Stormare's funny and icky surgery scene straight after. Pretty much all the supporting characters get there one scene and then that's it. So while everything has a great pace and if you don't like one segment chances are you'll like the next, it does make getting to the finish a bit of a chore. Each time you think you're getting a handle on the situation it changes up.

Perhaps that's not a bad thing at all, but watching it so late at night it does make it feel very long, each time you're ready for it to get to the end it picks up a plot thread you forgot about. And there is quite a lot in there, they do the work of fleshing out our main character with a damaged past and tying it in to story arc well.

And each segment is filled with cool stuff. I love all the future design stuff they came up with. That tricky area of being just slightly in the future, so recognisable but with some subtle and some not so subtle changes. Jet Packs are always awesome. As are those little spider eye scanning robots that suspiciously resemble the Tripods of Spielberg and Cruise's next collaboration.

It's also filled with wonderful and often eccentric performances from supporting cast. Like I said before, they don't all get much screen time but they do make some pretty big choices to ensure each one is unique and memorable.

Technically it's immaculate, as you'd come to expect. What can you say about a John Williams score? This one probably sounds the most like a mash-up of other work he's done but there's still really great stuff in there.

However I think this was the first film where Janusz Kaminski's cinematography started to get on my nerves. This is probably the highest contrast, bleached out grainy looking of Spielberg's films. That's fine, it suits the story. But Kaminski really went to town with his usual diffuse light glowing look. It's so pronounced it really started to bug me, peoples faces just became a shiny line of hi-lights. Probably made compositing a nightmare for the FX houses too.

Speaking of FX, I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to replicated the "Minority Report computer interface" style graphics. Although references seem to have moved forward to Ironman, this still crops up.

But despite all the cool sci-fi shine and the dark detectivy noir story, the usual warm beating heart at the centre of the story is there and there are some quite unexpectedly moving scenes towards the end.

I've heard theories about the end of this film, for the people that find Spielberg's happy everything's-neatly-tied-up endings too syrupy. Without giving anything away, there are lines planted, particularly by Tim Blake Nelson, that suggest the last few scenes may not be real at all, just a dream inside someone's head while they are incarcerated. Like other Phillip K. Dick stories, I'm thinking Total Recall here, it actively supports both readings, neither confirming nor denying either. So the cynical among you could debate the happy ending to your hearts content. While I'm not a big fan of the way the end just wraps up so quickly and so happily considering everything that came before it I do feel like what we are seeing is true, just because those references are so slight and, after all it IS Spielberg.

But perhaps you should give it a watch and see what you think.

The Gate

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Those little demons in Don't be Afraid of the Dark left me nostalgic for this film. A Genuine 80's kids horror film and a childhood favourite. This film is balls out awesome, filled with great freak out moments and has some of the greatest 80's Toronto teen fashion this side of Degrassi.

Randy Cook, visual effects supervisor on Lord of the Rings, was doing FX on this and they use every old-school trick in the book. Some truly wonderful work including some shots I have no idea how they could have pulled off back then. For the longest time I was convinced the only way most of the shots were possible was if they actually summoned real demons to help out with the filming. When I got the new Anniversary DVD, which has a nice shiny widescreen transfer and some behind the scenes extras and retrospective interviews, they were the first things I watched and the craft is fascinating. But they still don't give everything away there so there's still a few shots I'm just baffled by.

Little Stephen Dorff, who recently played one of the most enjoyable characters in Immortals is great as the young kid who unwittingly unleashes hell. I forgot how epic in scale the finale of this is and he really sells it all.

This is just a brilliant film to scare the crap out of kids, it really feels to me like something Amblin would have released if it just wasn't so dark. Avoid the dreary sequel but definitely seek out this forgotten gem. I love it dearly.

Puss in Boots

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Well it's far better than the last 2 Shrek films that's for sure. For an animated film from Dreamworks I was surprised at how slow and boring the start was. I mean there was running and swordplay but theres a bunch of clunky exposition to get out.

The best thing about the film is the 3D, it's really great and definitely worth the effort to see for that. It's not as post modern annoying as Shrek but it's still nowhere near as great as How to Train your Dragon or even Kung Fu Panda 2.

It does feel like a spin off film. It's not very grand in scale and despite having such great technical look there's never much weight to anything that happens. Or perhaps it's just me. But it was fun enough and there were one or two jokes that I really liked. I also like the split screens. Sufficient.

Attack the Block

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Paul

Here's my first write up. And second.

Finally I get to see it in a cinema! Only, what, like a year after it came out overseas? Bah.

Anyway it works wonders in a cinema, it plays really well. So strange how everything seems heightened at the movies as opposed to watching at home. Perhaps the lack of distractions helps.

The only disappointing thing is there wasn't much of a crowd. It's gonna be one of those films I love that no-one else will ever hear about. So sad. Unless they listen to the Super 8 commentary...

Zulu

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Dad

I've had this on a crappy DVD for about 6 years but always held off watching it. The disc was a crappy pan and scan. This is a film that needs the full widescreen. Looks great in HD too. There are some very nice vistas on display here often populated with thousands of extras, always impressive.

Michael Caine's first major role in a feature film. He's so damn British in this too, it's hilarious.

I'm not really one for war stories and this one didn't grab me too much aside from the cool use of extras (and cows in one scene). It lays out the battle pretty well. Still it's a little hard to get over how much make up everyone has caked on. Caine has a lot of eyeliner. A lot.

Zombi 2

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

AKA Zombi, Zombie, Zombie 2, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Island of the Flesh-Eaters, Island of the Living Dead... Basically it's Lucio Fulci's zombie movie that was at some stage given the sequel moniker to try and cash in as an unofficial sequel to Romero's Night of the Living Dead.

And as was the usual practice of Italian produced films with mixed nationalities in the cast, no audio was recorded on set and everything was dubbed in later. the sync problems from these old Italian films always wig me out a little. Also there seeming lack or ethics regarding animal treatment *cough* Cannible Holocaust *cough*. Or perhaps this time it was all a trick.

Okay so lets talk about that, because that's why everyone remembers this film and it's been given a bluray treatment and made a bit of a comeback. Zombie vs Shark. A zombie fights a shark underwater. Hand to hand. I'm serious. Holy crap it's badass.

Apart from that, some amazingly fun eye trauma, a great many classic rising from the ground scenes and a few fire deaths there isn't much to this film. The zombie make up has a very unique look but also looks a little cheap now, with patches or normal skin always poking through here and there.

Still, I am glad I saw that zombie/shark fight. And I do like the more classical voodoo zombie vibe it has going.

Bridge to Terabithia

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Oh man that trailer is hilarious. It's one of the few false advertising campaigns that I like because of how devious it is. "Come on kids, Walden Media and Disney have the next Narnia adventure waiting for you!" Get them all excited and in the theatre and then BAM, punch them in the face.

This was one of the required reading texts in school so I was well aware of what to expect and as it did many fans, that trailer had me very worried. But really, how are you supposed to advertise the film without giving anything away? And no-one would probably go and see it if they knew what they would have to explain to their crying children on the car trip home from the cinema.

Well that's not really true the ending is very uplifting.

Suffice to say the finished film thankfully doesn't soft pedal anything from the book. I think it's a really fantastic adaptation and a really wonderful film. Just beautiful, even with the disney-esque sheen the whole thing is coated in.

Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb are bloody brilliant and once again, Bailee Madison shows some real talent. It's just such a beautiful story and I really love the film version. Don't write it off, and if you can avoid spoilers all the better. Watch it and thank me later.

Dune

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Mum

Someone once asked David Lynch if he has a favourite film to which he responded with the usual "films are like my children, I love them all differently" answer so many directors give. Someone pipped up and responded "Even Dune?" to which he simply responded "Dune was a very naughty boy." Still, it got him the contract that let him make Blue Velvet so it's not all bad.

And really, anyone is going to have trouble trying to tell a story like this in a regular running time feature film. But I still do like a lot about it. I watched the bluray of the theatrical cut. The extended television version, while it has some cool extra scenes, is a little clunky, I can see why Lynch had his name removed from it.

If you're gonna fail, fail big. This film goes for broke and for a lot of people it's great. I do like the score, the old school fx, some of which are interesting many of which were poor even for the time. The disparate group of actors give it their all selling some tough material. Makes for a great cult film.

Cypher

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Paul

I really love this Vincenzo Natali film and especially Jeremy Northam's performance. It's a great little spy thriller with a bit of a corporate sci-fi bent, beautifully shot, edited and scored and all done on a lean budget.

I love how Northam's character starts off as a bumbling idiot and ends up akin to James Bond. And how the macguffin works to theme. I love pretty much everything about this film. I remember it came out at cinemas in Perth for about a week, but I managed to see it on the big screen and the brainwashing sequence was intense.

Just love this film.

Hanna

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

First Write Up. Second.

I gots ma Bluray. Definitely one of my favourites for the year. Commentary time.

12 and Holding

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Another veteran of HBO directing that came from Indie films. I really love Michael Cuesta's L.I.E. and this film, following 3 stories of 3 kids getting up to varying amounts of mischief, doesn't quite hit the mark like his first film but still has a lot of interesting moments and some great performances from the young cast.

It's almost a prequel to Thirteen hah.

Immortals

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Alex, Jordan, Amberly, Naomi

Here's my write up.

2D doesn't really make much difference. But the sound certainly did. Sound in this cinema was awesome. Nice and loud with lotsa bass. Neat.

Arthur Christmas

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Sam

The trailer makes the film out to be cheap sappy kiddie holiday entertainment, which to a small degree it is, but there is one important factor many people overlook and that is, it's made by Aardman. And just like there other output, it's also filled with wit, wry British humour and a lot of heart. I'll cop to getting a little misty eyed at the end. And for a cynical guy like me, for the film to have won me over it must be doing something right.

The opening sequences are very cool. They present Santa's christmas deliveries as a mission impossible scenario, filled with ninja like elves and state of the art technology that would make Tony Stark jealous.

What's great is the 4 Santas from 3 generations have a very clear character traits and arcs and they way they all need to resolve these problems and come together works effectively and emotionally. And the rest of the film is just good clean fun. Enjoyed it muchly.

Das Boot

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

What can you do when you have to wait for computers to render? Watch the Uncut 293 minute version of Das Boot in German from the newly released bluray. Being a Wolfgang Petersen fan I always had intended to see this but I wanted to make sure I saw the full version. Really it's 3 films all rolled together but it works great in one epic sitting.

Despite the long running time, the pace is fine, there are definitely slower areas but everything works so well to really get you in that submarine with the characters and really raises the suspense well. There are some great sequences and without fail the film keeps flipping expectations, celebrations are interrupted by bad news and conversely moments of despair are brightened by small rays of hope. This flip flopping continues right up to the end credits and keeps you on your toes the whole time.

I'm glad I waited to see this version, I don't know how well it would hold together if the suspense moments had to be cut down, or more than likely all of the character moments would have been cut out.

It's rare I get so involved with a war movie but this one did the trick. I can see why it was so popular. It does leave you rather exhausted though so I'll leave it there for now.

American Psycho

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Wow, youtube is full of fake trailers for this. I could only find one real one on there and it wasn't even embeddable.

Anyway, I really love this film. I love the shallow world of 80's wall street as a backdrop to the ease of which it seems to allow you to loose your identity. Patrick Batman isa fascinating character and Christian Bale is stunning in the role.

I'm surprised he's never done a comedy because he is absolutely hilarious here. It's a black satire that becomes so outrageous in parts you doubt wether it can all be real. And indeed that is the intention. It's left in large part up to the audience to make up their mind about what is real and what is not and both possibilities have interesting and differing ramifications as to theme.

Absolutely love it.

The Ides of March

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

For a political drama about corrupted ideals, power struggles and moral grey areas this film is surprisingly straight forward. Although it hides it well beneath a sea of fast talking mumbo jumbo and quietly confident performance.

Once again George Clooney cannot resist throwing in a jazz performance in his film. I feel like he slipped some of his own political views into the background there too... The foreground here is the actors but as we've seen before he can pull off a fine looking film with the best of them.

It's the second film in as many months that Ryan Gosling takes centre stage but he's playing a very different character from in Drive. He hardly stares at all in this. Probably because he's too busy talking. He has a classic character arc from idealised innocence to understanding and it's done in a reasonably entertaining way too.

And that's what I'd say about the film as a whole. Reasonable entertaining. Slickly made, probably not my cup of tea but I did enjoy it for what it was.

The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

I know of many films that were released with the gimmick of Barf Bags being supplied but this is the first one I've actually been too. Oddly enough it's also the most political screening I've taken part in. This is a film series where it's notoriety is far greater than its actual content. So much was made of Australia being the only country to release it uncut but now, like the brilliant A Serbian Film that was released with an R18+ rating and then a week later banned outright, the Australian Classifications Board is in the process of re-reviewing it's rating. If they renege their rating, this screening could well be the only chance of seeing the uncut version in a cinema. It's rather infuriating, even with silly films like this one, if I was to see them I should be allowed.

And what a screening it was. According to lead actor Laurence R. Harvey, who was on hand for a Q&A, the Perth screening was the largest the film has yet seen. That does make me proud. The crowd had a great time and there were some cool tidbits learnt after the screening as well.

The first film was a very average slasher film but one with a great central conceit. Is it the most shocking depraved horror film ever made? Only if you've never seen a horror film before. They didn't do much besides introduce the idea in the first film. Unfortunately in the second they don't further its development besides adding 7 more people to it. It's another film that has an interesting premise but just don't do anything worthwhile with it.

For a film series so notorious, it's a great opportunity to examine the perceived effects of film violence on viewers. This film rather post-modernly follows a fan of the first instalment who takes it upon himself to recreate the events of the film himself. He's the ultimate fan boy. But once again, writer/director Tom Six seems to lack the capacity to say anything useful or insightful on the subject of its premise.

The film goes out of its way to live up to its own hype trying to lay on shock throughout the first half that feel rather hollow. Pretty much anything to do with the characters personal life doesn't work for me. I put it down to bad writing and bad acting. The old blanket excuse of being sexually abused and unloved by your parents turning you into a psycho is tired. It does allow for one or two funny moments with the Mother but really it just feels like padding.

Once the Centipede action begins it becomes marginally more interesting. Our protagonist, Martin, isn't a fun as Dr. Heiter from part 1 but his childlike glee at his creation and then his despair at his lack of technical knowhow that causes the early demise of a few patients is rather amusing.

The more over the top stuff plays like satire and it is quite funny. At least the crowd of horror fans were enjoying themselves and I really don't see how anyone could take this seriously. It's desperately trying to shock, masturbating with sandpaper, a rather gratuitous barbed wire rape and a hilarious emergency birth that has most assuredly been cut out of all other edits of the film, they all feel thrown in with no consequence. They have no weight behind them so it's hard to find it shocking and easier to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Further distancing itself from part 1, this film is in black and white, except for some very subtle hints of brown, which if you have any idea what the human centipede is, I'm sure you can guess what the brown is... It also makes all the gore a lot easier to take. It is one of the few cases where Black and white doesn't make the film feel classier. It makes it look gritty and grimy though, all the characters are constantly covered in sweat, naked and look like crap. Thankfuller there are one or two lookers in the bunch, I know exactly where I'd want to be situated in that chain.

So you probably already know it you want to see this or not. I love my gratuitous extremes but I find this film even emptier than the first. However at this stage you might not be able to see it anyway. We'll have to wait and see if the Classifications Board can make up its mind.

Thor

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Here's my first post. And Second.

I watched with Kenneth Branagh's commentary on the bluray. It's nothing very amazing, he does gush a lot.

Immortals

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Sam

Well Australia missed out on the cool 11•11•11 release date but it's finally arrived on our shores. And it ain't too bad neither.

Tarsem Singh (who keeps changing how his name is credited, even within the same film) made one of my all time favourite films with The Fall a few years back. If you still haven't seen it, rectify that immediately. His take on ancient Greek mythology keeps his keen visual sense, and very much takes a page from the 300 school of cinema but this film does have something films like that and Troy and even the recent Clash of the Titans lack, and that it Gods with powers delivering some whoop-ass.

They use some very cool Green Hornet style layered slow motion ramping that will no doubt now be used in every film until we are all sick of it. It's the new bullet time. But it works well coupled with the stylised graphic blood letting.

Tarsem films are all about the style and visuals. There are some truly awesome moments throughout. The depiction of the Gods and the Titans is kinda funky and simple, dunno how I feel about it yet but it may work for some of you. It heavily uses the blue/orange colour pallet and is graded to make everything look almost like a classical painting.

I saw the film in 3D and there was nothing terrible about it but in truth I think a lot of the visuals were designed to be for 2D just from the very painterly look to them. I'll have to see it again and decide. One thing is for sure, it does feel very studio based.

I did enjoy it, the action was good and I love the visuals. Unfortunately the film lacks an emotional investment that I think 300 managed to do so well. Instead of a glorious or heartfelt ending we are treated to a poor set up for the hope of a sequel. That makes this film a fun and entertaining spectacle but nothing that will linger. Don't expect much adherence to Greek Mythology either. Do expect yet another film John Hurt narrates.

The Inbetweeners Movie

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Leith

I do enjoy the tv series and the film is just as great. They take the holiday vacation approach and it works well as a capper to the series and the characters. Just as long as they don't do a Sex in the City and completely ruin it with a sequel, but I don't that would happen very much.

If you're a fan of the series, you'll have a good idea of what to expect and if you're not a fan, you'll still be able to enjoy this.

Pulse

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

Many credit this as starting the J-Horror trend. I really love Kiyoshi Kurosawa's direction and he made one of my all time favourite movies with Cure. This film is more overtly horror and has some very genuinely unsettling moments.

It is also very Japanese. What does that mean? Well I think I've spoken about this before, there are some sections of dialogue that just doesn't sound right to western ears when translated literally. They have a penchant for being what we would consider melodramatic too. This is also a film filled with overt metaphor as text, events probably not meant to be taken literally, like a David Lynch film. I think if you can't see it in those terms you'll just get frustrated trying to frame it in any logical manner.

What it does do very well is use stillness and silence and craft a very creepy atmosphere which subtly builds to an unexpectedly apocalyptic scope. That's right, an apocalyptic ghost horror film that is all a metaphor about isolation and loneliness, the kind that comes from our reliance on technology.

If you want the more jump scare, action packed spoonfed answers approach, by all means check out the American remake, but I find this film far superior. And please check out Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films, especially Cure and Charisma.

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

Here's my first post.

Interesting seeing a film print after watching the digitally projected version. The film print was much darker and there were sequences where the whole screen was basically black. But I'm glad I got to see this once more in the theatre because I love the sound design of those little whispering creeps in full surround.

We Need to Talk About Kevin

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Amberly

From what I had heard, I was expecting this to be a little harsher. Perhpas I was expecting something more along the lines of a hard drama like Rabbit Hole but it was quite a bit more abstract than that. Almost dream like, jumping back and forth through time. It keeps you at a distance, never allows you to fully connect with any of the characters, which I find very problematic.

Make no mistake though, Tilda Swinton and the various kids that play Kevin are awesome. It's a little odd she appears to be waring contacts because she just stares for most of the film.

Because the events of the climax are foreshadowed right from the beginning, there is a sense of dread brooding throughout. Unfortunately for me, but perhaps fortunately for others, the events aren't shown in the film. Really the film isn't about that, but for me it never got to a climax that the build up suggested. I do like the final moments though.

It's an interesting one, and I do love my evil child films. It just wasn't as gripping as I was hoping for, it's more of a slow burn.

Brazil

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler, Matt

I mentioned before that I wished I had this title in HD. Well now I do. It has a different opening and closing credit sequence though, I don't know which version that means I have but I didn't notice anything different in the rest of the film.

It's a little head hurty for late night viewing but I do love it.

Super 8

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Write up here and here.

Watched the commentary on the bluray along with a whole bunch of extras. It was cool to hear how they shot all the reshoot in the Bad Robot offices on a Red camera and they just blend in seamlessly. It was also cool to hear about getting the kids performances.

But best of all are the original 8mm films from the writer, cinematographer, producer and composer. That was really neat to see.

Robocop

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Tyler

Awesome!!!

Paul Verhoeven is great. He delights in extremes and dark satire. His squib hits are always so huge and bloody. I also love how 80's this film is. And the great score! An Phil Tippets stop motion robots! Love it.