X-Men: First Class

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

Original review here.

Just a couple of additional thoughts:

•Those bad guys have the best tailors ever.
•Just how many awesome actors have bit parts in the background of this movie?
•Love the retro end credit sequence
•Young Magneto is that kid from Son of Rambow! Couldn't place it last time.

Beauty and the Beast

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

This looks AMAZING all cleaned up in HD projected on a big screen. I saw this originally at the cinema with mum in '91. I think I like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin more than this one which, despite the cute little enchanted furniture sidekicks is done as a more serious story. But I guess that's why the adults like it so much too, this film and later, Pixar's Up, are the only 2 animated films to be nominated for best Picture.

It's also the 2nd feature to use CAPS for their colouring and compositing, and the first full 3D background. Everyone knows the shot, it's great. Watching it again like this you can really appreciate the detail in the background art.

Apart from the title song and Be Our Guest I didn't remember any of the others. They are so music theatre. Howard Ashman was a great lyricist though and he is very much missed.

There are some very funny bits in the animation, especially regarding the Beast when he's falling for Belle. There are also a lot of very kiddie gags I don't really care for, mainly when the furniture fights the angry mob. But it's nothing that overwhelms. (Unlike Pocahontas which I have never been able to sit through in its entirety due to those bloody talking animals.)

Great to catch up again and I hope Disney hurries up and release more or their stuff with nice clean HD versions.

The Long Kiss Goodnight

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

Ahh, gotta love Shane Black action scripts from the 90s. They are the best. And I totally forgot Brian Cox was in this! Bonus.

This is one of the few action films I really loved growing up. Probably because I knew Geena Davis from Beetlejuice and thought it was hilarious she became a badass. Samuel L. Jackson doing Shane Black dialogue is great. Man he just really has a way with the smart-ass characters with witty one liners. Chefs do that indeed.

There are some nice action scenes too, the end on the bridge with the exploding truck is pretty grand. They don't make many like this anymore. A good solid action thriller.

Delicatessen

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

Ooo a bit of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Back when he was with Marc Caro. I believe this is their first feature too. It's a very stylish debut, even through the plot is a little disjointed at times. But it's also very charming, despite being a post-apocalyptic cannibalism story.

The majority of the start is like a series of pleasant little vignettes. The apartment building is populated with a variety of some very french and very outlandish characters. I love the humour. If you've seen Jeunet's later film Amelie you'll have some idea. That's the film of his most people know of but I much prefer his earlier work, when he was less... overtly happy. There's an awesome dark edge to this.

Their films have a very unique colour palette, like someone urinated on the celluloid. It's a strange yellow/green with a slightly higher contrast that makes the rusty textures pop. He uses it in all his films, even when he made the 4th Alien film. Some people accuse Bioshock of stealing his look, they do have a lot of similarities.

Dominique Pinon has such a crazy funny face. He's a great performer as well, it's no wonder he's been cast in every one of his films. The build up to the climax is the best part though.

It's a funny little film, I think I like their follow up City of Lost Children a little more just because the plot has a bit more substance to it, but there's something to be said for the tangental charm their debut produces.

Batman and Robin

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

At the start of this commentary Joel Schumacher talk about a new word he learnt on this film. Toyetic. All the studio was concerned about was to have enough characters and gadgets to make merchandise. It really shows too, the whole film is like a big commercial made for kids under 10.

This film has more in common with the tone of the Adam West series than the newer films. Arnold Schwarzenegger has to have his horribly hilarious puns in every line. And Uma Thurman is even more over the top. I didn't remember just how cartoonish she plays this.

The way Schumacher talks about this, it sounds like he knew it was just a cash in and so just decided to have fun with it. I think they had more fun on set than the audience does watching it.

Batman Forever

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Ahhh I might as well finish off what I started.

Nipples on Batman. A catchphrase we still hear in geek talkback forums all over the internet today. It's just a step in the wrong direction.

Joel Schumacher's first try out has some successful moments. It does. I quite like Jim Carrey as Riddler. I also actually quite like Chris O'Donnell even though I don't think Robin needs to be included in the films. Hell, even Nicole Kidman isn't half bad.

But there is a push to a lighter tone. I do not enjoy the bizarre neon/black-lighting makeover Gotham City has had. And so many giant human sculptures. Every shot is a dutch angle. It doesn't make it more comic booky, it's just annoying.

Elliot Goldenthal makes a great new theme for the new films. I did not know he was married to Julie Taymor. One of the many pieces of trivia I learnt from Schumacher's commentary.

As much as the first two films aren't Shakespeare they at least gave the characters some kind of inner turmoil, a duality of identity they are wrestling with. This one doesn't have much of that, despite Kidman's character being a criminal physciatrist.

Drew Barrymore and Debi Mazar are in this! Do not remember that. Also, future comic book super hero director Jon Favreau makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it walk on appearance in the background of one scene. Perhaps that's where he learnt what not to do.

Compared to the next film this one is a huge success, lord knows it made enough money. But you can see the downfall of the series has already started.

Batman Returns

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

This was my favourite of the 90's Batman films. Pretty much because Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer are awesome. Pfeiffer's Catwoman is truly remarkable and DeVito's Penguin is icky and hilarious. I always forget Christopher Walken is in this one too. Also there are penguins with rockets strapped to their backs.

Here we can also see some of the first digital effects in film. There are only a handful and they work really well. Still the thing to behold here is the production design. I don't envy anyone having to light that much black on black but as dark as the film is, it still looks great.

I love the dynamic between Batman and Catwoman and their and their alter egos. It's a very different kind of relationship than the first film and works wonders. I have no idea what Nolan is planning with his take on Catwoman but Selina Kyle's transformation and complete mental breakdown is probably my favourite part of this one, so he has a lot to live up to.

Again I listened to the director's commentary. It's interesting that Burton had some enthusiasm about doing another one but the studio was not happy with the reactions to how dark the series was getting. They went in another direction and we all know what happened there. Plus his aversion to adding Robin to the series meant one less toy to sell. Nolan took it back to the darker tone but added a realism as well. Still I love the very stylised comic world created here.

Also there are penguins with rockets strapped to their backs.

Batman

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

It's been quite a while since I've caught up with these version of the character, the ones I was nuts for as a little kid without ever being allowed to actually watch the film.

This is the film many people credit (or blame) for creating the modern day studio tent-pole blockbuster movie franchise that we are saturated with today. The impact this film had, just in terms of marketing and tie-ins, was unprecedented. And it was made back when no-one was really making comic book films, all people remembered about Batman was the hilarious Adam West TV series.

Tim Burton goes for a much more modern, dark take, although compared to the current films Christopher Nolan is making it's still very comic book-ish, graphic and stylised. The design of these films and their success lead to a lot of imitators, still too this day. It's a very iconic film. Jack Nicholson's Joker, Danny Elfman's score, The design of Gotham City, even the Logo, they all exist in my memory, even before I ever saw the film.

I remember when I did I was surprised how violent it was. Doesn't seem like much now though. I listened to Burton's commentary where he talks a lot about his experience dealing with his first big studio picture at a time when the word "Franchise" didn't exist in the executives minds.

There was actually a lot of stuff I had completely forgotten about with this film. The humour is what stood out most. And probably in comparison to some later films, just how much I liked Kim Basinger in the female lead.

Nolan's films are just incredible but I still really like a lot of Burton's stuff.

Drive Angry

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

Like Season of the Witch we have yet another Nicolas Cage film that will not receive a cinema release in Australia. This one pisses me off more though, firstly because it's actually awesome and secondly because I won't be able to see this wondrously exploitative film in 3D unless I can find some one with a 3D TV. The next best thing is getting the Bluray ordered from America.Still if they went to the trouble of shooting in 3D I'd prefer to see it that way at least once.

This film is so delightfully trashy. Everyone in it is the ultimate badass. William Fichtner as The Accountant is the coolest thing I've seen all year. It also features the best shootout-whilst-having-sex scene I've seen since Shoot 'Em Up. Like that film we are dealing with a baby as the cause of all the fuss. But unlike The Clinic it's not really the focus and everything else is so much fun I don't care.

I really liked Patrick Lussier's remake of My Bloody Valentine and here he just lets loose with the crazy. It's a highly enjoyable ride and one I wish I could have seen as intended, on the big screen in 3D.

Clash of the Titans

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

I first saw this film in year 3 when we were looking at greek mythology, specifically Perseus the Gorgon Slayer. I went nuts for this film and the other Ray Harryhausen films. I love it dearly despite a few problems. The remake leaves me with a bit of a sour taste but the best thing to come out of it was the tie-in release of the original on bluray.

It's also a little saddening to know that this film is the last of its kind. It's the end of an era. Even at the time of its release these effects were somewhat outdated and audiences seemed to have had enough. ILM was using motion control to make space ships fly with whole teams of people contributing to shots while Harryhausen was still a one man show, sitting in a room animating fantasy puppets frame by frame. But there's something magical about this that is almost timeless. You can see the art and the detail that goes into each creatures performance. Pegasus flying through the sky is just incredible, his run is so lifelike.

Medusa in this film is damn creepy, with a rattlesnake tail. I love how the star of that scene is silent and then you can just faintly hear the rattle as she approaches in shadow. It was freaky watching it as a kid. The new one is all big action and spectacle but it's not nears as effective as the insidious creeping menace hunting you through the halls.

The other thing I really didn't appreciate about the new version was their treatment of Bubo. I understand he is a little bit of an annoying kiddie sidekick but that kind of callous dismissal is a bit mean. As much as I didn't like Your Highness at least they can appreciate a good robot bird sidekick.

This is also the youngest I've ever seen Maggie Smith look in a film. Her character gets the raw end of the deal in this film but she is pretty bitchy. I do love bitchy Greek gods. Laurence Olivier playing Zeus is fun although I must admit the casting of Liam Neeson in the new one is one of the thing I really like about it.

I know this is probably blasphemous but Laurence Rosenthal's score for this film soars to greater heights than anything Bernard Herrmann wrote for Harryhausen's films. It's simply magical and I get it stuck in my head all the time. One of the greatest fantasy adventure scores.

Great fun catching up with an old favourite. Perhaps I'll give the remake another look now they are filming its sequel. But that film has far many more problems than this original version. If you've only ever seen the new one, do yourself a favour and check this one out.

Bridesmaids

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Amberly

What a crazy screening. More on that later, first though, how is the movie?

The movie is awesome. Yes. Great Job! (Bahaha It actually has Tim Heidecker in it from Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! but unfortunately in a cast that is comprised of an embarrassment of riches he gets no lines. Still the idea of anyone marrying him is just hilarious in and of itself.)

Chris O'Dowd from the I.T. Crowd! Awwwwww he's just adorable. What a cool choice for a romantic lead. And Jon Hamm plays a great dick. But who cares about them? This ones all about the girls.

Kristen Wiig is front and centre here doing the writing and playing the lead. And even though there are a few of those typical moments you have to endure of a female character ridiculously embarrassing herself (man they have some classics here though) she manages to make you care enough about her to make it matter. You wanna stick with her and see her get her life sorted out.

The great Rose Byrne is on hand playing what would usually just be the bitchy villain but in the writing and acting they have made a much more well rounded character than I'm used to seeing for the antagonist in a chick flick. She even manages to be sympathetic at the end, but the real fun stuff is the rivalry at the beginning. The engagement toast speech war was probably my favourite scene. The way it just keeps going, well after any sane comedy editor would have chopped it off, but always manages to top itself is great.

Maya Rudolph is reliable as the best friend getting married. It's strange, I don't watch Saturday Night Live so I've only seen her in a more dramatic role in Sam Mendes' underseen Away We Go and again here she more of a straight person tot he insane comedic antics happening around her. I just can't imagine her doing Saturday Night live, I'll have to look up some clips on youtube.

Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey aren't given as much to do but they each have a few moments. Melissa McCarthy on the other hand is a stand out. I know her mainly from Gilmore Girls (I watched a season...) and she was fantastic in multiple roles in the The Nines (seriously, check that film out) and she plays a slightly more outrageous character than the others but it's never not funny. I hope to see more of her in the future.

This is just a great time out at the cinema. The crowd loved it. I'll definitely be going again when it finally receives a very belated proper release in Australia.

And now some highlights from a very odd evening that helped shape the mood of the screening:
• falling asleep after 3 hours sleep the night before and waking up 15 minutes before the screening.
• arriving in baggy jumper, beanie and boots to a sea of women all decked out drinking cocktails before the sold out screening
• topless waiters handing out said cocktails
• a pole dancer and DJ in the foyer
• a bouquet toss
• free gift bags containing make-up and tampons
• sitting in the front row and being one of about 3 males in the audience.
• lost car keys!
• epic search for car keys!
• found car keys!

Good times.

An American Werewolf in London

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First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Alex, Jordan

Best Werewolf transformation ever. Rick Baker is genius.

I really love this film from John Landis. It's unique blend of horror and comedy has inspired thousands of the same ever since. There are some very funny bits as well as some really creepy stuff. The make up is amazing and the thing I'll always remember most is that climax in Piccadilly Square, it's so well put together.

For me this is the werewolf movie to compare all others by. It has a rockin' soundtrack with a bunch of moon-related songs that wonderfully juxtapose the on screen action. And the final use of Blue Moon after the abrupt and unexpected ending gets me every time. It perfectly encapsulates the fine line this film walks between shocking and hilarious. A Classic.

Dark City

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First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Alex

Watching The Crow the other day gave me a hankering for this. Alex Proyas's follow up film keeps the dark tone and fantastic production design but replaces the revenge aesthetic with a noir with sci-fi elements. This also has a brilliant soundtrack by Trevor Jones.

I just love the way this story unfolds. But even having seen it many times and know the answers to all the mysteries it's still entertaining. Kiefer Sutherland's character is hilarious. Jennifer Connelly is gorgeous. William Hurt is great. Rufus Sewell has POWERS! Awesome. For the moment this is the closest we'll get to seeing what Akira mind battles will look like on the big screen.

I watched the theatrical cut again, apart from the voice over narration at the beginning there isn't too much difference. (Unlike that other sci-fi/noir Blade Runner) I used to watch this film all the time. It never made as big of a splash as something like The Matrix even though they share similar ideas. But there are seom really cool sequences in this. I love love love the whole opening scenes where you just have no idea what the hell is going on, even more so in the directors cut where you don't get any narration to set you up. The Strangers flying around the city with long coats and hats is just neat. And an action sequence over the rooftops of a city that moves and changes is great as well.

And as cool as all this sci-fi stuff is, the search for a man's identity and later the romance that develops out of this is what brings it all together in the end. It's a beautiful ending.

I just love this film so much. Awesome on bluray too. Glad they got the budget to fix it up and release it.

Season of the Witch

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

This film never got a theatrical release in Perth, I can't vouch for the rest of Australia, but Perth usually draws the short straw in regards to limited releasing. It's a shame because I would have totally seen this at theatre AND enjoyed it. Alas, straight to DVD.

This film harkens back to those classic Roger Corman Hammer horror films starring Vincent Price or Christopher Lee. Hell, Christopher Lee even makes a cameo in this one. It's a very fun medieval men on a mission quest, that has some really great images and sequences for such a modest budget.

The opening of the film is probably my favourite part. It sets the tone well, with the hanging of 3 women accused of witchcraft. After that we are introduced to Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman battling it up in the Crusades. It's actually rather hilarious how that's done, it's a montages of a whole bunch of different battles and by the last one they have long hair and beards. This is some of the area the effects don't hold up so well, but creating 6 large scale battle sequences with thousands of digital men can't be that simple, and it's good enough to go along with. Besides it's just the set up for the characters, the real story doesn't begin until after they leave.

A few other times the small budget shows through, but for the most part the effects are impressive and the film works. What doesn't really work is Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman, as cool as they are, speaking in an idiosyncratic American accent. They appear to be using their natural accents and it's more than a little odd given the context. Robert Sheehan, who is so great in that British TV series Misfits, shows up here as the eager young lad looking for adventure, but he doesn't get to do that much except be a stand in for the damsel in distress, as the only female is supposedly a witch locked in a cage for the majority of the film.

For the rest of the film, scenes take place in cold damp weather or at night. The location scenery is greatly appreciated and really helps open the film out. And the darker lighting helps blend the effects better too.

Overall I found this to be a really enjoyable film, it's nothing spectacular but there's a lot to like, despite it's problems. I wish I could have seen it at a cinema.

Super 8

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Belinda, Paul, Alex, Kyla

Yay!

So this is a much more intimate little character coming of age story than you might think. The Monster stuff is only a very tiny part of the film and you barely see him anyway. Actually half way through you forget about it altogether and then he feels a little out of place at the end in this nostalgic little first romance tale. It's like someone replaced the dead body in Stand By Me with the Cloverfield monster's younger brother, I think that's the best way to describe it.

Elle Fanning is just great in this. She was one of the few reasons I didn't kill myself sitting through Somewhere and was fantastic in the criminally underseen Phoebe in Wonderland and here she someone you can see yourself falling for and doing whatever it took to keep her safe.

The group of friends are great too. They use bad language and talk over one another, like kids used to in films. It's refreshing, fun and relatable. I also have to admit geeking out over them making a zombie movie on Super 8 film. Damn I wish I grew up in a decade and a half earlier.

There are a lot of Spielbergian filmic signposts throughout the film. They do manage to invoke a sense of nostalgia from me but I don't see it as just a cheep knock off, most of them are just a kind of feeling or similar situation that's evoked. Mainly to do with the monster attacks and some of the family dinner scenes.

Still it's a very J.J. Abrams movie. I cant help but look at the design of those strange cubes and think of some other kind of Rambaldi Device macguffin.

The main problem is the two story elements, The kids movie coming of age and the Monster story, are quite disparate. They don't ever gel that well together except when one is used to heighten the other at the end. You can kind of tell they were two separate film ideas they mushed together in the script. But to be honest I don't mind so much, I've been brainwashed to love most anything J.J. does, ever since I first was him in a small role in Six Degrees of Separation.

There are also a few choice funny moments, I really love the stoner at the photo lab, he was delightful. The greatest bit is they actually play the whole zombie film during the credits. Brilliant.

No doubt I'll be seeing this again very soon so I'll probably have more thoughts then. Just know for now, it's not Transformers or a big action blockbuster, temper your expectations and you will probably find yourself enjoying the hell out of this.

Metro

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

Hahah yes. I've never seen this one before. It's hilarious, it's like a parody of itself. Textbook 90's cop action. The dialogue is the most magical mash of movie speak I've heard since Sanctum. It's just so damn serious too.

Michael Wincott is such a damn cool villain. Without realising it I just watched him Strange Days and The Crow. He's great, with that low raspy voice of his. If he took me hostage I don't think i'd be complaining as much as the lady in this film.

The climax was a little disappointing. A gigantic spinning wheel of death is a little 60's James Bond-ish for this but really it's just as ridiculous as the rest of the film. The love story is just there padding out the characters.

Overall I can't complain, it was entertaining enough. It's incredible how to-the-letter it is with stereotypical 90's cop action beats. So funny.

The Big Bounce

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

Jordan, I don't remember why you were talking about this film. But I've seen it now. A con movie set in Hawaii. I found the whole affair rather flaccid. It just didn't have that fun energy you want from these kinds of films.

Cool cast though, I suppose the allure of shooting in Hawaii get's the big names to sign on easier.

Look it wasn't horrible but it is extremely forgettable.

Spanglish

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

A pleasant Sunday Arvo film. I had meant to see some more James L. Brooks films when I saw How Do You Know earlier in the year and have only just now gotten around to it. Again the dialogue is far more naturalistic than other romantic comedy/dramas. I guess this isn't really a romantic comedy but it has the same feel.

Sarah Steele really stood out to me in this, playing the daughter of Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni. I had seen her ealier in Please Give and she's just as great here. I was a bit dubious about Adam Sandler as I generally don't like his films but thankfully this isn't one of his silly comedies and he's just fine in it.

I'm of two minds about the ending. I love the open-endedness of it but at the same time it's just that tiny bit unsatisfying too. It leaves you with a few questions, which also means it leaves you with something to think about, a nice change of pace for a light comedy/drama. On the whole an enjoyable film.

The Crow

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

I think I have seen this once before and that was a very long time ago and I really don't remember it at all. Now that I've seen it again I think I do remember most of it, it's just that there wasn't that much too it. It's a pretty simple story, but it's all about the style here.

Alex Proyas makes a great dark gothic sleezy comic book style city. I think he went further with his follow up Dark City, which ironically I think is better lit that this film, but you can see a lot of the same techniques here. A lot of blending of miniatures and live action with big camera fly throughs and pans and wipes and fun stuff live that.

The editing is very problematic for me. It's almost impressionistic. I don't know if this is on purpose or because they had to edit around Brandon Lee's unfortunate death but whichever the case, it makes for disjointed film. It always feels like we are missing scenes or we never spend enough time to get to know characters. There's so much jump cutting and intercutting and flashes of dreams and memory , you can follow what's going on but perhaps a few more straight scenes would be nice.

Arg, it's hard to describe, it's not that the exposition is vague it just never feels done to me. I'm never satisfied with what they've given me, like it's an extended trailer for the film.

It has a huge cult following, and it is an awesome looking 90's action revenge story. Dark and a little gothic, a little punk rockish with very comic book images. I've always been more of a Dark City fan though.