Eyes Wide Shut

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

Another one it's been a while since I last saw. Sadly, Stanley Kubrick's last film and one I am sure I was probably far too immature to process properly when I first saw it.

It's easier to watch now and focus on the story and characters, without all the tabloid publicity that accompanied it on it's release, Mainly concerning the two stars and also the untimely death of the director. It's perhaps a little more straightforward than I had remembered but there's still this Kubrickian undercurrent of dark unease saturating the scenes.

As Dr. Bill's sexual temptations begin at the start of the film you have no idea just how far things will go or where the film ends up. It kind of segues into a mystery thriller but as it never fully resolves these threads it really just serves as an extended obstacle to overcome. The film is very sure about what its intentions are however I know I forget this everytime and always wish for that tangent to become the main story. I suppose if it was all resolved the film wouldn't still have this uneasy mystery about it upon rewatching.

Alan Cumming! Haha, his brief role here is hilarious.

Longest movie shoot at 400 days? That's quite the commitment.

This film has lost none of its potency. It still manages to draw me in, I find it mesmerising.

Marie Antoinette

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

I really appreciate Sofia Coppola's rendition of a historical biopic. She's presented as a Paris Hilton type. The slight modern slant not only makes the character far more relatable but also doesn't bore me to tears. There's something about always staring in this fantasy world of palace life and never addressing the real issues of the country that is so effective, keeping the audience about as in the dark as Marie Antoinette probably was. The accents never bothered me either.

Absolutely stunning visuals. The Hair, costumes, locations and food all look immaculate. Also The cast is populated with many favourites. Easy to win my favour, something Sofia Coppola doesn't always manage to do.

Perhaps a more relatable Marie Antoinette is not what the French public wants. But I do. I love ending it where they did too. Good stuff.

Stand By Me

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Just had to watch this again after viewing Misery again the other week.

Another Stephen King story but this feels infinitely more Rob Reiner-ish. This is also a childhood favourite of mine. It somehow manages to make me nostalgic for a time and place I've never seen and friends I've never had.

Stellar performances by the 4 leads. Always a joy to watch.

The Host

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

What a fantastic monster movie. It feels so epic, it has so much going on and keeps things moving. And most importantly, the monster is awesome. The Orphanage have done a great job with this dude. That first attack sequence, which happens in bright daylight with a bunch of extras, is just so thrilling.

It's also one of those films that managed to be sad and tragic one minute, hilarious and horrifying the next. I love the way it sets up all the conventions of a hollywood monster movie but then does the exact opposite.

This is at it's heart, the story of a dysfunctional family who have to band together to save the youngest. They all get their own bits to do and the outcome is pretty shocking but very refreshing. Definitely a favourite.

In Time

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

Write Up 1 and 2.

And while this film probably doesn't warrant 3 cinema viewings, it was the second of a double feature at the Drive-In which, again, is novelty enough for me to stick it out. Besides, it's pretty fun.

We Bought A Zoo

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

Write Up.

Haha, I didn't really write anything much did I. Well I did enjoy it alright. It's VERY Cameron Crowe, filled with whimsical little bits of dialogue that only characters in Cameron Crowe films would ever say. There was one in particular that annoyed me so much, but he managed to retroactively make it better by explaining the origin of it in the last scene of the film. It's sweet enough and Elle Fanning is just adorable. There's nothing pretentious about her laughing in this, it's so genuine it's catching. You can't help but smile.

Added bonus, Saw this at an honest-to-god old school drive-in cinema. Not too often you get the opportunity, so I'll take the novelty over good sound and washed out projection when the film starts before the sun has completely gone down.

Spirited Away

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Write Up.

So magical. I really love the score too. Beautiful.

Baxter

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

The life of a psychotic bull-terrior as he finds his way from owner to owner in the suburbs of France.

Delightfully black comedy. There have been a few films that are narrated from the point of view of a dog, but none are as twisted as this. Things get especially dark in the latter half with Baxter's final owner, a young boy who it seems is every bit as psychotic as he is.

Extremely enjoyable. If you ever can find a copy, give it a watch.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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

Previous Write Up.

A double feature with 2001 makes a hell of a night.

2001: A Space Odyssey

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

It's quite the jump from Apollo 18 to this. So good to watch on a big screen from the bluray. Still, I'd love to see a real 70mm print one day.

I always remember the Jupiter mission section of the film the best, as that section feels the most like a contemporary film. It has characters, dialogue, conflict, action, that sort of thing. It's always a surprise when it starts and I remember there's the whole dawn of man and the moon trip first. And with the roadshow overture, entr'acte and intermission (which we utilised) on the bluray you really feel the epic scope of the story that is told so impressionistically.

I have to admit, I always feel slightly fatigued by the end of that trippyness going beyond the infinite. It really does go on for what feels like forever.

The effects in this film are still stunning today. And I'm still creeped out by the silence in space, especially when HAL is going homicidal. There's something very eerie about so much of this. Always the feeling that something terrible or great is lurking just beneath the surface and you're not sure which but you have to be prepared for either.

When dealing with such huge concepts as this, I really appreciate the interpretive approach. It's like a Rorschach blot with an awesome soundtrack. I'm pretty sure that trailer explains more than the film ever does. This is a movie for special occasions. I usually can't watch it more than once a year or so, but I always love it when I do.

I wish we had a Hilton space station we could stay at now though. With awesome retro pink couches.

Apollo 18

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

In my Chronicle write up I mentioned how much I love the found-footage concept. More times than not though, it doesn't really work. I do love the audacity of found-footage from the moon. That's just ridiculous. I only wish the end game wasn't so ridiculous.

I'll be honest I didn't have high hopes for this film after the release was dumped. So I was surprised to find a few moments where the slow build really did work, as well as some genuinely creepy scenes. I think something about the absolute isolations of space makes these situations all the more tense inherently. All credibility goes out the window when it's finally revealed what the big secret is. I think a simpler survival horror story would have been far more effective. But this film takes the b-movie route big time.

One thing I cannot falter is the recreation of the moon surface and period footage. As unlikely as it would be that as much footage as we see was recorded, the authenticity of the environment and the footage is far beyond anything I can recall and I really have to give it big credit for that, as it's something I'm always trying out in my own work.

I note Timur Bekmambetov as a producer, so I presume he helped provide the lunar landscape fx that blend so authentically. It truly is beautiful.

Pity about the end. This is a real could-have-been.

The Breakfast Club

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

Been itching to give the bluray of this a spin for a while now. It's never a bad time to throw on some John Hughes.

And really, this has the gotta be at the top of the list of great teen films, 80's or otherwise. It's hard to encapsulate just how this one works so well and yet seemingly has not real plot. But by using these character archetypes we are all so familiar with and then giving them a chance to play off each other we get some funny, poignant, tragic and memorable scenes.

By any rights, a classic.

Silent Hill

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Previous Post.

It's so prrdy.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

Wow, it's been a very long time since I saw this little number. Steven Soderbergh's breakthrough film and an extremely enjoyable 90's drama. Also contains one of my favourite pieces of IMDB triva:

"On the first day of production, the producers sent a telegram to Steven Soderbergh; they teased him good-naturedly, telling him they'd heard reports that he couldn't direct traffic. Twelve years later, Soderbergh won an Oscar for directing Traffic."

Hilarious.

James Spader, you are just awesome. Probably the least annoying Andie MacDowell role ever as well.

And apart from the great dialogue and acting, one of the things I find interesting about this film is that it makes me slightly nostalgic for those big cassette videocameras. Beta is better folks.

Labyrinth

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly

The Imagination of Jim Henson, The Wizardry of George Lucas, The Excitement of David Bowie!

Another nostalgic all-time childhood favourite. Many would agree that this is far more digestable than The Dark Crystal although slightly more dated. You get humans in this film, a faster pace and musical numbers. Plus Terry Jones' humour coming through in the dialogue. And Brian Froud's amazing designs and Trevor Jones' great 80's-tastic score.

And a young Jennifer Connelly, who is just adorable.

Those that grew up with it love it. Those that didn't might find it odd but I think more of it still works than what doesn't. The puppetry is still incredible. I really love the production design, the forced perspectives, matte paintings, all of it. Some revolutionary CG used in the opening titles. A taste of George Lucas to come...

When I think about it now, the idea of David Bowie trying to seduce a 12 year old girl is rather frightening but, that really the point of the whole film, the ol' "young girl escapes to a fantasy world to help her deal with pressures of becoming an adult" story. I do love them.

Well I have nostalgia blindness with this film. I can't view it objectively when I can recite the whole thing, vocal inflections and all. I will say, loved watching it again on a big screen and on bluray. Looks great.

Chronicle

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

Yay! This was everything I could have hoped for after viewing the trailer. There was a big opportunity here for some extreme suckage but thankfully these freshman filmmakers have managed to make one of those films that feels like it was made just for me.

Now, I am a big fan of the doco-style found footage movie which has been abused a lot over recent years and is rarely done well but I think really works here for the most part (I wish my cheap home video cameras shot in 2k). And again, for the most part, the fx worked really well too. I noted Rhythm and Hues in the credits, so no shock there.

Really jealous to learn that director Josh Trank and writer Max Landis are the same age as me and have made exactly the kind of film I would want to make given the opportunity. They've taken the Akira-like concept of observing what happens when angsty teens get the powers of a god and given it a modern and personal spin. And despite having far more modest goals that that anime epic it still has some big moments and a great climax.

To top it off, I think the actors do a great job with their characters giving us something to invest in. Nice to see Alex Russell on the big screen after being able to watch him work filming Wasted on the Young.

Make an effort to go out and see this one at the cinema. At the moment, this is the film to beat for 2012.

From Dusk Till Dawn

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

It's great when you can show people films from long ago enough that they don't remember or never saw the trailer and reviews and instead can watch with a clean slate. It definitely makes the twists and turns of the film more fun, although when people consistently check IMDB stats about the film they are watching while they are watching it it really ruins the surprise.

Even so I think this film is just so much damn fun. I love the set up, the whole first act. We get some interesting characters and Tarantino has written himself a wonderfully creepy role.

And then the shit hits the fan and all hell breaks loose. The rest of the film is a lot of genre action fun times. Some great KNB fx work and some early cheap visual effects here too but still some really inventive sequences.

I think it's still fun even if you know where it's heading but nothing beats the surprise in my book. Either way, I enjoy it immensely every time.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

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

Why would I see this? Well there's no way it could possibly be as bad as the first one. And it's not. It's definitely not great but you could do worse. Where else are you gonna see The Rock sing a song while playing the ukulele or Michael Caine riding a giant bee?

The only holdovers from the first instalment I can see are Josh Hutcherson, the pretty cool score by Andrew Lockington and the bastardisation of another beloved Jules Verne novel. They do get away with it somewhat by treating the novel as a treasure map within the story, just like the first. They also throw in some 20 000 leagues for good measure and set up a trilogy capper with from the Earth to the Moon.

First off, I'm gonna say, the 3D is great and the Fx are way better this time around. I don't like what I hear about the poor fx houses getting cheated out of wages in the first instalment but I still didn't care for their work. Thing look pretty good this time and there a range of creatures and incredible vistas keeping things looking very pretty.

Once again the 3D is abused for many gimmicky tricks in the name of fun. I didn't mind so much though.

Luis Guzmán doesn't fare to well in this but the rest of the cast were fine, even Vanessa Hudgens.

I'll probably never see this again but it's not too horrific and definitely a step up from part 1.

A Few Best Men

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

Once again Australia tries to combine influences from American and British aesthetics and ends up with a bland mix that won't work for anyone. It seems to be aiming for something outrageous like the Hangover but it has none of the pace, physical comedy or interesting and divers characters, nor does it contain an ounce of that wonderful dry British wit from when two social classes collide.

Now I am aware I just said The Hangover has diverse and interesting characters and as ridiculous as that sounds, it actually does when compared to something like this. There is just something awkward about this film. The editing is odd, especially at the start, cutting scenes before lines of dialogue are finished. I suppose it's a way to save time and make things feel like they are moving towards the 2nd act but it comes off as sloppy.

Don't even get me started on the music. Horrifying Australianised covers of popular songs that rarely fit into the scenes they play in and have vocal tracks that usually interfere with the dialogue. No.

And is it just me of has Laura Brent been badly dubbed for the entire film? That or some very bad ADR.

The worst thing is barley a handful of the jokes land. Most of the actors look like idiots, especially Olivia Newton-John. Even Rebel Wilson is finding it hard to get a laugh here. Xavier Samuel comes out the most unscathed probably due to the fact that he's playing the straight man to all the shenanigans.

I really don't know what Stephan Elliott was thinking. This one just didn't come together. Hell even the comedic tone was all over the map. Some people are playing it real while others like it's a kids cartoon. Very disappointing on all fronts.

J. Edgar

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

People over the age of 40 seem to just apply blanket praise to everything Clint Eastwood touches. I haven't really liked anything I've seen from him in the last decade and was kind of dreading this one after Hereafter.

While nowhere near as terrible as that, I found it to be everything I expected. Beautifully photographed, brilliantly acted technically well made story I didn't care at all about. I get no heart from Eastwood films, just empty emoting. And he really needs to stop doing music for his own films and hire someone that can write more than just one song that repeats throughout the duration. That's not a score.

I don't know anything about Hoover so I have no idea how accurate this depiction is. The way the character is presented is structurally very close to The Iron Lady, telling a story from the end of his life and flashing back to various other scenes from the past. Again they don't attempt to vilify him or make him sympathetic, he just is and I'm still not sure why I should care either way.

For a film over 2 hours long there's no way it should feel so lacking.

Underworld: Awakening

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

Oh yeah the Underworld series. That was a thing.

It's been amicable enough so far. Nothing spectacular. This time we get our original lead actors back, we go 3D and we get those Swedish dudes that made Shelter directing. I've still yet to see their big breakout film but it's on my list.

This entry in the series is problematic. It suffers from what so many film series or potential series seem to think is passable as a story arc, in that it only bothers to tells a small part. It's something that is increasingly pissing me off. I'm thinking specifically of films that like to break up novel adaptations in to parts in order to have more time (and make more money) so they never complete the journey and often don't get the funding to actually finish the story, leaving any potential fans with an unresolved cliffhanger or at the very least, a lot of questions. Underworld is not based on any previous stories, despite it being derivative of so many, however in the past they have managed to tell complete stories.

Awakenings sets up a new world, it introduces new ideas, some new characters. It does not play them out into any kind of story though and feels so very incomplete. They've taken a 20 minute introduction and padded it out with an hour of action. The action isn't terrible, but there are no stakes yet. Nothing is determined or explained for either side and consequently nobody cares how anything plays out yet. This could work better if all these film were watched back to back but I haven't seen any of them since the last release and this film jumps into the action so quick and never bothers to take any time to reintroduce any of the characters in a meaningful way. Nor does it ease into the action. So the entire endeavour is a whole lot of sound and fury signifying not much at all. It's the sort of thing that could retroactively become better if they do in fact make any sequels that build on the ideas presented here but it does not work as a stand alone.

The characters are as dull and cold as the cinematography. Actually I sometimes quite like this very stylised blue world but if you are going to make the next instalment of your film franchise in 3D don't choose a world where everything is pitch black and only lit in reflected hi-lights. It's nice they went to the effort to shoot in 3D but the the inter-occular reflective discrepancy is a major issue. Especially when your lead character is waring shiny black leather that has slightly different hot spots in each eye.

When there is more light in the scenes the 3D works well and also sells the CG creatures really well. The majority of the time is unfortunately spent at night in sets with shiny metal or glass and wet roads. Not good for 3D.

Some of the action beats are cool. There's definitely some nice stuff in here and I do like the reset to the world they've done but now I want to actually see some stories told in it. The chess pieces are all set up in place, so it just remains to be seen if the film makes enough money to warrant paying off the work they've done so far.