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.

Series 7: The Contenders

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

This movie is 10 years old and yet it is more timely than ever. The reality tv crazy has showed no signs of slowing. This was a favourite of mine in my high school years. A wonderfully dark satire of of the genre that plays scarily authentic.

Daniel Minahan went on from this to direct some of my favourite episodes of HBO television. I always get excited when his name comes up. The reason I remembered his name was because of this film and the great commentary track that came on the dvd.

The recreation of reality tv conventions is apt and allows for some great characters and delightfully forced drama. I think it works as both an authentic homage and a parody, it really just depends on the viewers interpretation.

I love the use of dramatic reenactments and that the entire climax of the film takes place without the real actors. Throughout the film you can imagine the producers of the show twisting the events to make them more entertaining so that by the time it gets to the end you doubt completely the reality of what you are seeing. Especially when Will Arnett shows up. That's the 2nd film tonight he cameos in!

Great to watch this again after so many years.

Hot Rod

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

There have been many Saturday Night Live movies in the past and many of them don't stick. This one kind of fell through the cracks but I actually think it's one of the better ones out there.

I find any scene with Andy Samberg and Ian McShane are hilarious, what a pairing. I like the cast a lot. There are some very funny bits and the rest of the film is inoffensive enough not to be a bother. It's a very silly kind of humor, one that I'm rather partial too.

The Wizard of Speed and Time

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

I do love my old school fx and this one is all about them. A film that celebrates the insanity and hard work and hoop jumping to get animation to screen. Despite the slightly fantastic reality created in the film it still manages to portray a section of the film industry from a time gone by, as it will never exist again. There's not really anyone left that does effects the old fashioned way but the hand made quality of them really does have a nostalgic flare.

The story is simple enough, self referential and semi-autobiographical, based on Mike Jittlov's experiences trying to get a job at Disney with a 3 minute demo reel. It moves at quite a pace and is filled with little fx flourishes all over the place. For better or worse, it's also a musical.

While the story is nothing amazing the film is quite charming. You get a whole lot of great old school effects and a look at the real problems of trying to break into the industry. Good stuff.