Stone

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

I think I got the wrong idea about this movie from the trailer. If they had said from the writer of Junebug and the director of The Painted Veil I might have been more on the right track because this is first and foremost a drama and a character piece. I wouldn't even say it was a thriller.

The misleading expectations I had for the film probably did it somewhat of a disservice because I really wasn't in the mood for what it was actually offering me. Robert De Niro and Edward Norton do fantastic work, they are always dependable. Milla Jovovich is on fire here, her work may have been my favourite, which in a film with Robert De Niro and Edward Norton, is as much of a surprise to me as it probably would be anyone else. I guess she just hasn't been in a straight drama for a long time or had a chance to show off her acting chops, but there are on full display here and she nails it. The great Frances Conroy is on hand as Robert De Niro's somewhat tragic wife and although she's not in the film much her character is probably the most interesting.

So the acting is all great, really great, but what about the rest of the film. Eh, well I didn't really understand what was going on in this one. There's a lot of vague religious references and some talk about fate and stuff like that and a smidgen of mind games and power play but to what end I don't really know. It is proficiently shot and executed I just think the script was a little lacking for my taste.

Enter The Void

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

I don't recommend watching this with your mother.

Trippy film huh? A first person point of view of the afterlife from before a drug dealer is shot to after he floats around Tokyo watching over his sister and friends. The drama and characters aren't that great but that's not really the point here, it's the way it's delivered in this very hypnotic visual style.

It's a long film too but I guess that helps when you are trying to convey eternity.

The opening credits suggest you are in for a crazy epileptic trip and these flashes of light and colour do feature prominently through the film but it's not nearly as fast paced as you are led to believe from the titles. Instead you get into the head of this character and then watch events unfold, mainly from a birds eye view, which I found strangely distancing from the drama and the rest of the characters. It made it hard to connect to any of the characters when at any moment you feel like you could float through a wall and be looking at something else.

This film is a technical marvel. The only other Gaspar Noé film I've seen was Irreversible, I have had I Stand Alone on dvd for sometime but never found the right time to watch it. I shall have to do that soon. But like Irreversible the camera is a character in the film, one that floats from scene to scene in huge long takes where action plays out in full. This time though the camera is given even greater freedom and constantly flied through walls and over cities and streets to find other pieces of a disparate story.

The effects in these transitions and also the interlinking acid trippy sequences are stunning. In fact the majority of frames in the substantial running time has been effected in some way. There is a huge use of selected focus that must have caused a headache for the months of rotoscoping involved. But it allows the edges of the images to just blur away giving the film a dream like style.

Likewise the sound is effected so a lot of the audio sounds blurry. We can hear the characters thought and speech clearly at the beginning and other dialogue and sound is also treated in a first person point of view style. Later on the background soundscapes come to the fore or sometimes drop out all together which is an effect I quite like.

Ultimately this film is visually and technically amazing. It's hypnotic and given the first person point of view sometimes feels voyeuristic and over indulgent. I love love love the sound design, the hyper neon style colours, the camera work and even the thematic motifs and ideas explored in the film but ultimately found it emotionally void.

Shoot 'Em Up

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

The only recent action films more deliriously outrageous than this is Crank 1 & 2. This film has none of the pacing issues of the last film I watched. Consequently it clocks in at a brief 88 minutes which makes it great late night silly fun.

A lot of gun battles. And each one is unique or different in some way. My personal favourites are gun battle whilst delivering a baby and gun battle whilst having sex with Monica Bellucci.

Paul Giamatti as the villain is a thing to behold. He looks like he's having a lot of fun. And Clive Owen delivers the most ridiculously corny one lines in the most serious British way possible and it makes them that much more hilarious.

This thing goes all out, balls to the wall. It's a hell of an entertaining film and one that I wished they had released at cinemas in Australia. I remember being so excited seeing all the posters up in the lobby and then seeing it on dvd a few months later. Very disappointing because this is the kind of film that works best with a big riley crowd.

But even without that advantage it still works a treat. If you're in the mood for a quick fun action film this one has some great creativity, hilarious characters and some great head scratching insanity.

How To Steal A Million

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

As this film started I read on the opening credits music by Johnny Williams. You can recognise phrases and bits of orchestration that is undeniably a John Williams score. It's was a delight to hear an early work from the master.

The film was enjoyable enough. Excruciatingly slow paced for a heist movie. Maybe I'm one of those annoying modern ADD kids that can't concentrate for more than 2 minutes on something at a time and doesn't appreciate old film. But I generally do. I think this is just a slow paced film that overstays its welcome a bit.

I would never have picked Peter O'Toole for a role like this. He's perfectly fine in the charismatic leading romantic interest role (aka the George Clooney), I just always see him as either a dramatic Shakespeare epic actor or a crazy old man. Audrey Hepburn is playing Audrey Hepburn again. Eli Wallach, is he in every movie ever? Yes.

This film takes its time setting up the romance, the characters and the elements of the heist. The actual heist itself also seems to go on forever, most of it spent crammed in a small cupboard which conveniently forces the two characters together. There are a few neat things in the heist but not much that we haven't seen before.

It's enjoyable enough. A fine was to pass a lazy Friday afternoon but nothing about this film will linger with me.

Spiral

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

That trailer is rather misleading. This is a strange little film from 2007 from Adam Green who also made the delightful horror slasher Hatchet and one of my new favourites Frozen, which has just been released in Australia.

This is NOT a slasher serial killer film like the trailer suggests. It's more of a drama/romance between a delightful young girl played by Amber Tamblyn and a severely socially awkward guy with some vague emotional problems wonderfully played by Joel Moore, who co-directed. The majority of the film is more of a character study of this damaged man and it lulls you into a false sense of security. Sure towards the end things do get dark and a little messed up but the in more of a kind of thriller way.

There's a twist ending that I won't talk about here that might turn some people off if they are digging the character drama vibe. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but in truth there probably wouldn't be a movie without it. And it's not handled too badly either. In fact throughout there are some nice directorial flourishes on display, I like the looseness in the camera and editing as the lead slowly gets more comfortable in his own skin and then goes a little crazy. The use of music throughout is cool, I think there should be more horror with jazz scores.

It's a neat little indi drama/thriller/romance/horror that just seemed to slip through the cracks a few years ago but if you like awesome dark character pieces or films that question reality and sanity give this a look.

The Fly

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

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

This is a classic. A remake that, like Carpenter's The Thing, is generally considered to be a greater film than its original. It has been a long time since I saw the Vincent Price version which I recall even at a young age thinking it came off as a pretty cheesy b-movie monster. SCIENCE GONE WRONG! Well this is essentially the same concept but it's just done in a far more intelligent way, superbly acted and taken seriously every step of the way. The end result is powerful, emotional and horrifying.. It's been far to long since my last Cronenberg film viewing.

Jeff Goldblum. Nuff Said.

Now the film won the oscar for best make-up effects. There is a great deal of work on display here but not all of it holds up as well today. I hope that would be the only reason Cronenberg would consider remaking this film again because the rest of it is perfect. That or he has some other plan in mind. Perhaps the third remake will never come to pass and it was something he was just mulling over while he directed the OPERA VERSION OF THE FLY.

Holy shit if I had a spare $400 and lived in L.A. I'd be seeing that Fly Opera in a heartbeat. It seems like a bizarre idea but watching it again now you can see it has all the elements in place. There's pretty much only one or two locations and three characters. And it's such a heightened emotional story, it's a classic tragic romance. Plus onstage nudity. Dunno if they will have the birth dream sequence though. That would be something to see...

Something else to see... The Fly 2? Anyone? I've never seen it but Eric Stoltz? That's pretty Awesome. And Princess Vespa from Spaceballs? I guess it makes sense considering Mel Brooks had a hand in getting Both Fly pictures made... maybe?

Enough Tangents. Cronenberg's The Fly is a masterpiece. It's a tragic love story that packs an emotional wallop but is also filled with gore and monsters and some very dark themes. And Jeff Goldblum is hilarious to boot. If you've never seen a Cronenberg film I always recommend this as a starting point. Looks great in HD too.

Arsenic and Old Lace

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

I have never seen the play of this. In fact I don't think I've ever seen a Frank Capra film. THAT'S RIGHT! I have never seen It Happened One Night or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or It's A Wonderful Life. I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. I think that's quite a feat actually and wear that as a badge of honour. I'll watch it one day. Maybe.

SO how did I go with this one? Eh, not so great really. I just can't stand Cary Grant in this. Always mugging to camera, it's too much for me. I must not be in the right mood or maybe it's the different sensibilities between comedy then and now but I didn't find a single thing funny about this supposed comedy. I recognise all the comedic situations and the twisting of the murder mystery conventions but it just all fell flat.

All the exposition right at the start feels so much like the beginning of a bad play it's almost unintentionally comical. I think this should probably have just been left in the theatre, or if it's going to be put up on screen they should have made more of an effort to make it cinematic.

True Grit

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

This is probably the most accessible film the Coen Brothers have made in quite some time. A good old fashioned western. A lot of my friends have complained about their last few films no having endings which I completely disagree with, but there's no denying this film wraps everything up nicely.

Hailee Steinfeld makes one hell of a debut. As you would expect for the Coen's, the characters are so wonderfully written and amazingly performed by the actors. The trio of Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon make for an unlikely comedy trio, nevertheless they are all hilarious and a joy to watch. I love how their comedy is so infused by the characters, no one ever feels like they are trying to be funny and nothing ever feel untrue to the characters, it just is funny. It's fantastic writing. Watching Jeff Bridges drunk or Matt Damon trying to speak with a bit tongue is just wonderful. Josh Brolin shows up toward the end, also sporting a drawl accent and is surprisingly sympathetic as the "villain" everyone is hunting down.

But make no mistake it is a Western first and foremost, I just happen to find those character moments at the beginning hilarious. The action beats are quick and unexpected and sometimes a little violent. But everything feels very realistic.

I'm glad Roger Deakins got an oscar nod for his cinematography, which he should have won for The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford. The two westerns look absolutely nothing alike though, True Grit has a very natural feel to it.

It's a shame Carter Burwell score is ineligible for oscar nominations because a lot of it is based around a traditional hymn so technically he didn't compose it... That's just bullshit.

I have not seen the original film so I don't know how they compare but I thought this new version was a great easily digestible old fashioned western, with some of the most well drawn characters ever and some great action shoot out beats and a few other surprises thrown in. It's just plain entertaining, so go see it for a good time out.

Mystery Team

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

Not for everyone, it's very silly kind of humour made by the Derrick Comedy team famous for all the web comedy stuff. It's like some kids from the famous five grew up but never grew out of their childish crime solving ways.

There are parts that don't work for me and some parts that is just insane genius. The actual mystery is pretty standard fare it's all about the character comedy of these men thinking they are still 8 years old but dealing with some very adult situations.

Donald Glover stands out as the leader of the group and the master of disguise. He has the most to do and it's easy to see why he was cast in Community.

It's hit and miss for me. But on the whole it's more enjoyable than not. You'll get some laughs out of it. Especially if you are fans of the web videos.

Blue Valentine

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

Another character relationship drama but unlike Somewhere, some things actually happen in this film. We see parallel timelines intercut together. One starts with the couple falling in love and ends with them getting married and the other starts with them fighting and ends with them heading towards a divorce. Bittersweat much?

Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are great. They make a very real couple which means falling in love with them is easy and watching them break up is hard. A lot of the scenes feel very improvised and natural and the film is shot more like a documentary, no surprise director Derek Cianfrance is from a doco background.

It's not exactly the most uplifting or entertaining film but I believe it accomplishes what it sets out to do, depict a very realistic version of the life of a relationship, how love is created and how it can fade. My favourite part was actually the design of the end credits and the very mixed emotions it invoked. It is indicative of the film as a whole.

Somewhere

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

Some films have complex characters that over the course of the twists and turns of a plot grow and change. Other films still have character arcs but they are just smaller in scale. And some films are just a series of events one after the other. This film is somewhere in between the last two.

I know character studies aren't really my cup of tea, but some films do them so well with such interesting characters. This film is drearily slow paced and hard to engage with. I know Sofia Coppola can do these types of films and do them well. I love Marie Antoinette, I liked The Virgin Suicides thought Lost in Translation was ok too. Somewhere has less plot and character than Lost in Translation. It feels like we are just watching Stephen Dorff sleep and drive places. I like Stephen Dorff usually. He just didn't have anything to do here.

It's not all horrible. Elle Fanning is wonderfully natural as his daughter, the most important relationship in the film. And she ice-skates. Who knew? The delightful Ellie Kemper from the later season of U.S. The Office shows up as a P.R. rep and is the best thing in the film for all of 2 minutes.

At the end of the film, SPOILER ALERT I guess, Dorff confesses he doesn't feel like a real person. Here's the problem. Sofia Coppola succeeds greatly in portraying a person who is drifting through life and has no idea who he is. Unfortunately I find that subject and character very boring to watch for an hour and a half. The very end of the film is just frustrating. The character walks off into the sunset with a smile, presumably he's learnt something although I don't know what or how. Watching a close up of his face for 10 minutes doesn't mean we can get inside his head and connect to him.

This film feels like all the deleted in between scenes from a film that was about actually something. I know this subject and relationship was probably quite personal to Sofia Coppola she didn't manage to convey that to me.

The Fighter

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

I don't like "sports" movies and out of all the kinds of sports movies the ones I like least are "boxing" movies. I just can't get into it the way I can't get into gangster films, not my thing. But I still watch them because there's always the exceptions.

This film isn't quite an exception, it didn't blow me away. It's far to understated to do that. It's an interesting little drama that just happens to be centred around a boxer. Two warring factions, Micky's family and his friends/girlfriend fight over how he should be managed and he is caught in the middle of it all, torn between his loyalties to both parties.

Mark Wahlberg does a tremendous job of being the straight man at the centre of this shit storm. He has few lines and no big showy oscar scenes which makes him easy to overlook, but he is the heart of the film and holds the whole thing together. It probably doesn't help that he's surrounded by Christian Bale and Melissa Leo playing the more flashy character parts of the junkie brother and trashy mother both of whom have so far been awarded golden globes for their substantial efforts.

The mother and the posse of sisters have some great lighter moments. If it wasn't true you probably wouldn't believe it, but this bleach-haired army does exist. It's a scary thought. They are a hoot to watch though. Amy Adams as the girlfriend does her role dutifully and has some nice moments later in the film where you see she can be just as much of a bitch as the rest of the family which helps a great deal to avoid being a one-note love interest. Christian Bale has the most to do here. He is great as always and has a repeated defenistration gag that I loved.

David O. Russell seems to be taking a page from Aronofsky's book (originally he was going to direct, he's now and executive producer) and going for the more grungy doco feel rather than the more polished he's done in the past. The fight scenes are all shot and edited like an HBO live TV broadcast before jumping back into film for the drama segments. I guess for people who watch boxing regularly that would seem much more realistic, to me it was just an interesting device.

Thank God he put in some very clear methods and terminology of boxing, set up early that he can then use to set up problems and build tension in the fighting scenes for laymen like me who would have otherwise had no idea what was going on. It works very well especially in the final fight which is tense and involving.

It's probably not a film I would revisit again because the subject just doesn't interest me but the performances are great, the film works and could well be a new favourite for fans of the genre.

Black Swan

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

3rd times the charm huh? I take it back, the funniest thing is actually the fact that the No Stings Attached trailer is on directly before the film starts.

Seriously how in the hell did they shoot those scene on stage and in rehearsal without seen camera shadows or reflections. nightmare.

I also noticed the music in the bar/club place is still swan lake, just all techno remixy. genius.

The build up to the end still gets me. I love all the production design stuff, it's all black and white. This was the first time i noticed the rehearsal studio had a black and white forest backdrop on the walls. Perfect.

I have seen this 3 times and have been neglecting other films I should be seeing, but I just really love this film. This should do me for now though, There's all those other oscar films I need to see. But if you haven't seen this yet check it out!

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

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

Continuing a post apocalyptic theme. It's been a little while since I last watched this, probably my 3rd favourite Miyazaki film and his first feature film from Ghibli. It looks fantastic on blu-ray and I hope Madman they release the rest of the catalogue in HD soon! You can actually see the drop shadows from where the animation cels are placed over the backgrounds.

I watched with the new english dub. I know the purists say only to listen in Japanese but I actually quite like some of these new translations and the voice acting is very well done. Kudos to Disney for not half-assing it.

I have always liked the first half of this film more than the second, don't get me wrong, I like the ending and everything it's just I love the scenery at the start in the toxic jungle and the green valley.

It's just as enjoyable as I remember it. Kurotowa, the evil general, is such an odd character in this film, I think he's comedy relief but perhaps it doesn't translate very well. But the rest of it is a treat. Ghibli fans probably already know that.