Timer

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

Wow, managed to watch 2 entire films in an airport. This one is better terminal viewing. Light and fluffy, some intriguing ideas. Not terribly funny, not overly dramatic, just alright. With the added bonus magical realism of a counter that clocks out when you find your true love. And Anya!

What is the most rewarding about this one is the way it doesn't wrap everything up too easily. Quite the opposite in fact, the end poses some interesting questions about the validity of having one true love. I was finding the film just fine, an alright diversion but the ending really took it up a notch.

Gotta go catch the flight back home, so I'll just say that it's worth a look.

Twelve

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

Just randomly picked this one out off the new release shelf. Joel Schumacher directed, he's always hit and miss for me. Bizarrely enough as it started I realised this is based on a book I had actually read a few years earlier. I never read books. So this could well be the first and last time this ever happens to me.

I don't remember much of the book except it was about a drug dealer and some upper class New York youth doing stupid things. The film is the same. A lot of good work by the young cast most of whom I recognise from some tv show or film but couldn't place.

It has an interesting look, shot digitally on Red, and has pumpin soundtrack with dramatic interlude bits by Harry Gregson-Williams. They make the cost effective choice of showing all flashbacks in a white void with just the relevant people and props in place. It's an interesting choice.

My problem with this adaptation is one I have with a lot of adaptations, where the story is second place to the prose. They have to heap in voice over narration constantly throughout the whole film to get any of the writing in, instead of finding another way to bring it through the style of filmmaking. This is such a nothing plot, it's all about the characters thoughts and clever language. The voice over doesn't add much to the film here even though Schumacher regular, Kiefer Sutherland does a fair enough job.

The film is alright. It's not one of Schumacher's horrible ones.

Images

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

I was first made aware of this film when I heard some of John Williams' score for it back in high school. It doesn't sound like anything he'd done before, completely atonal, abstract and horrific. Very 20th Century.

Then when Susannah York died and I watched They Shot Horses, Don't They? I say this on her filmography. And I saw that Robert Altman directed it. I haven't seen as many of his films as I should have. Which means that I can't quite be certain but this feels like a departure from his usual stuff too. It took a while to track down a copy. I couldn't find a trailer for the film either, so this scene will have to suffice.

I really had no idea what to expect. What I did not expect was this Lynchian schizophrenic nightmare. It's really more like a horror film, like the last 20 minutes of Black Swan slowed down and played over two hours. Every time she turns her back the person she was speaking to has changed into someone else, sometimes herself and she, along with the audience never really quite knows what's real and what's not. And as she begins killing off these "images" we start to worry if some of them might be real after all.

It's a very confusing and slow paced thriller. A woman slowly breaking down, having trouble keeping her relationship with her husband, filled with paranoia and Susannah York is absolutely riveting to watch. It was too slow for my tastes but I found plenty to enjoy nonetheless. A scary trip into a fractured mind.

Antibodies

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

A neat little German psychological thriller in the vein of Seven or Silence of the Lambs. Very dark serial killer story with a small town cop mixed up in the proceedings and forced to confront the evil inside himself. There's a battle of faith thrown into the mix here too.

I figured out the main mystery very early on, so that revel held no suspense for me but thankfully the film a a few tricks up it's sleeve and threw some curveballs at the end that I didn't see coming. The good kind too, that actually unify the thematic motifs, not just thrown in to trick an audience at the expense of making sense.

I think the religious metaphors got far too heavy handed at the end. But apart from that this was a slickly produced thriller that has some great moments. A more serious work from Christian Alvart, who went on to make the delightfully demented and overlooked Case 39 as well as the sci-fi horror Pandorum. This one is well worth a look for fans of the genre and easy to see why Hollywood snapped him up.

Giant

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

When Elizabeth Taylor died I put this on my to see list. It's a classic I'd always meant to see but never got around to. I didn't know anything about it except Taylor and James Dean were in it.

Unfortunately it's one of those old school family epics I just don't do too well with. It's great, it is, but I'm not a fan of big long life stories that just go one without end or purpose. I can't stand Gone With the Wind and although this is much less melodramatic at least that had a few big visually epic events to grasp onto. This one could have just been a big play, and it's own sequel.

I have no affinity for Texas. Or this time period. Or the people in it. I had to watch this in two sittings and really struggled to keep interest through the second part. I can definitely appreciate it's value, it's just not for me.

Just Go With It

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

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What I'm sure was a perfectly good french play and movie, ruined. Not even an extended Nicole Kidman cameo can help this. Bailee Madison is the only good thing in the film.

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Sucker Punch

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

Perhaps it's not fashionable, but screw the nay-sayers I fucking loved this. This met my needs from what I wanted from it, It's exactly the kind of pure escapism I wanted today. It is style over substance, make no mistake. It is a video game, it is an exercise in modern comic book action directing and nothing more. The plot is paper thin, there are shameless excuses for disjointed but visually appealing action fantasy sequences and a bizarre eclectic mash of music and setting that should not work and for most people won't. I probably won't even like this in a few years but i had a hell of a lot of fun with it today.

I think it's the epitome of everything that's great and everything that's wrong with today's action films. This film just unashamedly embraces it and I kinda love it for that, warts and all. The pace is never lacking, the good and bad are pretty black and white, the characters are there to look sexy shooting guns, I think a select few a a little something more going on but only barely. The patented Snyder Speed Ramps and fast shifting camera is in full effect. There's one sequence on a train full of robots that must have 100 set-ups that all flow together into one continuos shot. It's more cartoon than real.

I became one of those jerks that love Michael Bay films today. Zeppelins! Zombie steampunck clockwork soilders! Dragons! Robots! Mecha Samurai! Explosions! Violence! Sexy girls with machine guns in slow motion with a hardcore remix of an old song playing! Boy this one got me. It's kind of shameful isn't it? I actually really loved the look of it though. This is the first films Snyder has made that isn't based off a previous property. But it has just as many visually iconic moments.

Most intriguing of all is the full on musical burlesque routine in the end credits that has obviously been deleted from the film. It looks like there was more than one actually, They looked great! I must get the bluray primarily to see if they are included in their entirety and to see where they were meant to go? Also to have a cool looking giant music video to have on mute in the background of parties. Let's face it that's what this is good for. I did actually like the story but I'm not above admitting it's nothing spectacular.

So can I recommend this to others? You will never enjoy this wanting to see a great story or through provoking masterpiece. It's mindless diversion and exploitative fun and nothing more. If you can accept it on this level alone, which most sane people who aren't as hard up for entertainment as I am won't be, then you might just find yourself leaving the theatre in a better mood than when you went in. Am I alone in this? Don't judge me.

Rio

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

Perhaps my expectations were too high, i thought this looked like it would be good. Pretty standard though, not that funny.

The worst thing is the horrible psudo-latin poprap songs with voices auto tuned to death. That's right there are about 5 songs in this and they are all the most horribly offensive things my ears have had to endure in a long time. The only fun thing about it was hearing Jesse Eisenberg sing a line or two in the end credit song.

Technically the animation is good, they use a lot of soft lighting in this one, I normally like Blue Sky's lighting, it's the best thing about all the Ice Age films but this one didn't pop as much for me. 3D was ok. They used perfect circles for their out of focus lens "circles of confusion". Guess they want to emulate lenses but not too real, just real enough to know that they are fake…

Anyway the film was a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps one of the other 3D kids films opening for the holidays will provide the goods. More likely they will just make this one look better by comparison. Ho hum.

Family Plot

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

Alfred Hitchcock's last film. The real reason I watched this though was because I remembered seeing it on the video shelf at the cheap motel in the film The Ring. (also the reason I saw the hilariously insane and cheesy movie YOR: Hunter from the future.)

It has a lot of the usual stuff here, mistaken identity, a man on the run, pursued by people trying to kill him for reasons unknown. It's much lighter in tone though. I had heard it described as a comedy or Hitchcock doing a satire of his work, I didn't find it funny at all just kind of mediocre.

Also I thought the music sounded like John Williams more than Bernard Herrman so I was surprised to find that it actually was Williams's work.


There's definitely sequences where you can see his suspense panache but the overall story is a little weak and it's a pretty slow affair. A small curiosity from a great director.

Cargo

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

Neat German sci-fi movie. Very Alien-esque and slickly produced.

The thing that stood out most to me was the design. Everything takes place in the grimy, dimly lit corridors of the ship or, with a little help from some creative digital set extension, the giant empty spaces of the cargo hold. Everyone is costumed in winter gear and there is often moisture or even snow and frost, the result is a very cold, dark and generally inhospitable environment.

Having only seen the dvd cover, I loved not know exactly what kind of sci-fi this would be, Should I expect heavy philosophy, horror, action, scary monsters? It's great not to know, because there are a few mysterious noises and shadows at the beginning that create a lot of tension and suspense.

I don't want to say to much in the unlikely event someone finds this dvd and decides to watch it, but I will say that although it's pretty slow paced throughout, it's a pretty neat sci-fi thriller that has a lot of great moments.

Summer Wars

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

Yeah!

Wonderful. So very Japanese too. Like The Girl Who Lept Through Time, Mamoru Hosoda uses some sci-fi concepts to tell a human relationship drama. This time it's an online world that is corrupted by A.I. and has read world consequences, and the human drama is about the coming together of a family and a first love.

The sequences in the first half are ecstatically manic, both in the chaos of the family life and the wondrously visual online community. After a big shift in the middle things slow down a bit and the film seems to loose the focus it had at the beginning. This is a problem I have with a lot of Japanese films but this one thankfully doesn't suffer too much and get's thing back on track by the climax.

It's a pretty eclectic mix of styles and genres, it has it's cake and eats it too. A must for anime fans and defiantly worth a look for everyone else.

Dead Presidents

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

I can't find a trailer (in english) for this film anywhere. Seems like I'm not the only one who's overlooked it before.

The first thing I knew about this movie was the Danny Elfman score. I figured it had something to do with the vietnam war. Sure does. Then I saw it on the Hughes brothers filmography so I figured it was going to have some cool african american characters and some action. Right again.

This is a really well put together film that manages to feel satisfying even with it's inevitable downer ending. Bank robbery films rarely end well. Doubly so for characters that went through the Vietnam War. And Tripply for some poor black dudes in the Bronx in the early 70's.

What saves the film is a great sprawling story (I think any film that has a handful of war scenes in it suddenly becomes a sprawling epic) and great work from a fine cast of guys (so young at the time!) that flesh these characters out.

The film looks great, the soundtrack is pumping', and the whole picture painted of this time and places feels very authentic and real. I really enjoyed stumbling onto this one and I suggest you check it out. It's better than the Hughes bros. more recent work, (Book of Eli wasn't too bad though) I just hope they don't screw up that live action AKIRA if they are still attached.

The Switch

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

Yeah it was alright I guess.

It's not funny enough to be a good comedy or dramatic enough to be a good drama. It just sits somewhere in between.

I really love Patrick Wilson and he's playing the guy who has to be realistically likeable enough for someone to fall in love with but enough of a douche that the audience doesn't want to see him end up with Jennifer Aniston. I think he pulls it off.

And Jason Bateman is doing what he does best. No problems there. The kid isn't too annoying either.

There was nothing particularly wrong with the film, apart from some horrifying narration that ruined everything, but apart from that it was inoffensive and forgettable.

Side note: I watch this entire film in a private spa on the roof of a luxury resort. True story.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

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

The funniest CG animated film. The Funniest.

This film just makes me so happy. It's so ridiculous. Hardly anyone I know saw when it came out this which was really upsetting because it's actually great. And they missed out on seeing it in 3D on the big screen which was also damn impressive.

It's a visual feast, no pun intended. There is some damn crazy technical working going on here that I couldn't even begin to describe, just know that it looks awesome. The cartoonish character design must have been hugely problematic to get right but they are all insanely detailed and rich over the top cartoonish performances. Especially in the rubbery faces. Such great animation.

The Voices are top notch too. I love Bill Hader mainly because of his starring role in this. Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Neil Patrick Harris and of course a hilarious turn by Mr. T.

Again, I love that the humour doesn't rely on pop culture references or being mean to people. It's just plain ol' funny. But it also sneaks in a lot of heart, great characters, some incredible visuals and super cool action sequences done the way only animation can. That long single shot of Flint going from one side of town up into the spaghetti twister and back out is so neat. As is anything Mr. T. does. And Chicken Brent.

So much love for this film. Please give it a look if you ever had doubts. I promise it's way better than you might have thought.

Moon

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

So good. I think that trailer gives away more than you should know watching the film the first time. It's much more fun to discover it as the events unfold.

Duncan Jones's first film, thought I should give it another look as I'm excited for the upcoming release of his second feature Source Code, which looks to be another cool sci-fi head scratcher with big emphasis on character.

Sam Rockwell is just the best. The film is pretty much just him and some Kevin Spacey robot voice(GERTY is one of the best robot characters. It's a quiet and slow building film and has a bit of a twist (it's near the start though) but it's the drama and character that pull you in while the sci-fi conundrum get's your head scratching. Love that.

I love the old school effects mixed with some good compositing. Low budget film making at it's finest.

It's a pretty dire situation and although it has a bleak outlook I think the ending is hopeful. Definitely a winner.

City of Ember

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

This film was really overlooked when it came out, but I enjoyed it. Gil Kenan's second feature and his first live action, after the awesome Monster House. This one is also a great throwback to kids adventure films from the 80's. And it has Bill Murray.

I love my post-apocalyptic films and I include this one in the list. The underground city has an awesome retro design, like the Fallout games. Massive sets, I love the massive sets. Also massive moths and beetles. And Moles, hehehe.

But what's best about the film is the two kids following a mystery and piecing together this ancient puzzle, whilst on the run for treason. Old school adventure! It is awesome.

I wish there were more just plain fun kids films like this that don't need pop culture references, stupid comedic relief characters and bad jokes every 2 minutes. There's a sense of danger and also the possibility of the end of the world if they don't succeed.

The film is peppered with some great character actors in all the supporting parts, most of them don't have much to do other than offer some helpful advice or chase them down.

I think this film is really underrated. It's not the greatest film ever made but it's a damn fine entertaining film that is way better than most of the crap out there for kids.

The Ring Two

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

The sequel to the remake of the adaptation of The Ring. As far I can tell there have been a Japanese movie, sequel, prequel and tv series (which I haven't seen), a Korean adaptation, an American remake, a bridging viral short film and a sequel. Out of all of them I think I like this one the least. Recent talk of the franchise got me reminiscing. I don't think I've seen this one since it's original release, so I gave it another go. I think I like it even less now. Word is Paramount are working on a third film shot in 3D. I think the franchise has well and truly overstayed it's welcome so they'd need to do something drastic to make it interesting, scary and relevant again.

Hideo Nakata, they guy who made the original Ringu comes to Hollywood to direct the sequel to the American version, which the great Gore Verbinski helmed. The two films, though hugely similar in plot are actually quite different in other ways. I love Ringu and The Ring equally. They are both fantastic and The Ring is the only film I can think of that managed to scare me in a theatre and stay with me after I left. Ever since then I've been trying to film a film that effect me in that way and none have. It also made me obsessed with all things Ring. The announcement of a sequel was a little surprising but the news that Hideo Nakata was coming over to direct with interesting.

But none of that really mattered. It's well acted and the look and direction is fine I guess. But the script and the story are not. Instead of getting invested in this huge mystery and a life threatening race against the clock we get a possession story. And unlike the first films, pretty much all the scares are cheap jump scares or tired riffs of imagery from the first film and all of them shown in full view with a load of unnecessary CG effects instead of being done practically or more subtle, suggested horrors that work psychologically upon the audience. It just does everything wrong. It's a huge disappointment.

I hope I can show the first American version to friends soon, I want to give it another look. I love that film so much. Don't bother with this one. The best reason to get it out is to see the short film Jonathan Liebesman made that connects the two films. It really great and I found it quite effective. It's scarier than anything in the whole sequel.