Apt Pupil

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

Another more dramerific Stephen King and a bloody great film from early-ish Bryan Singer. Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro are so great in this and like Misery, it's full of quite moments of high suspense.

Oddly enough I watched this right after an episode of Fringe so Joshua Jackson suddenly popping up 14 years younger was a bit jarring.

It's probably a little flashier though and the power plays going on are far more complicated. Also fellow cat haters will all appreciate a particular scene.

Fantastic characters and I just love watching their little games. It gets pretty dark and hile I understand the ending is different than the novella, I love the way it finishes. Ian McKellen is just damn creepy.

Chronicle

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

Write Up here.

What a difference the crowd can make. The first time I saw the was with a massive crowd that were really engaged and attentive. This time there were less than half of that and, while they were actually equally as attentive they were some how far more vocal in their response.

At least in the first half. They were really making fun of the characters, calling them gay but still laughing along at all the little jokes and funny bits along the way. While it may sound like they were being annoying and didn't like the film, quite the opposite was true. They were treating the characters like their own mates. Making fun of them and laughing with them and really enjoying all the practical jokes they were playing.

Which is why when the film turned and the characters started heading down a rocky path they became dead silent. By the end of the film it was absolutely heartbreaking. Far more emotional than the first time I saw it. To see these bogan guys in the theatre watching a character they treated like one of their own fall so far was just incredible. I can't get it out of my head. This film played these guys something fierce.

So, the film played far more depressing this time. I still can't get it out of my head. I really really loved it.

MirrorMask

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

Watch The Labyrinth the other day reminded me I wanted to watch this again.

I do like Neil Gaiman stories and his graphic novels are usually accompanied by Dave McKean's unique visual stylings. Here we get and entire film done in this way and it's very trippy indeed.

It's a usual riff on the ol' girl goes into fantasy world to help cope with real world dilemma, the way they always make Alice in wonderland or Wizard of Oz. But it's very surreal and dream like. So watching it at midnight after an exhausting day just makes it extra extra trippy.

I love the music in this. I love that they got FX artists straight out of College and gave them each their own scene to do with what they wanted under Dave McKean watchful eye.

While there's a lot less puppetry from a Jim Henson company film than you might like it's still pretty magical. Give it a try!

Man on a Ledge

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

This film came out the week I was away. When I came back I was a bit dismayed to see it was already only playing once a day at my local cinema. As I write this up it's already finished it's very brief cinema release as I managed to just catch the very last session on Wednesday morning.

Surely a sign that the movie tanked and is probably no good right? Unfortunately for the film but fortunately me I was totally satisfied with this one. I didn't know it at the time but I really needed a bit of fun like this and it managed to hit that sweet spot.

I had seen the trailer a few times so I knew a bit about what to expect but I think this film rewards no knowing too much beyond the basic Man on a Ledge premise. Sam Worthington is that man, and he continues to prove you don't need to be able to hold an accent in order to be a leading man in Hollywood, bless him.

It's rounded out by a pretty cool cast, with 2 of my favs, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell. And Ed Harris shows up half way through the film as the bad guy. What fun.

Now I would have loved to see them do a phonebooth and make the Man on the Ledge story the focus of the whole film, but this is not one of those films. This one has the flashbacks and the action and heist film and revenge, it's basically a slightly more centralised than usual action film and it has interesting enough characters that you can get invested in what's going on.

My biggest complaint is the series of increasingly implausible coincidences needed to made the resolution turn out the way it does. They stretch things pretty far but by that stage I think I was just so happy to be in a cinema and enjoying myself that I didn't care that much.

And when he finally does go off the ledge and the camera follows, man if that doesn't give you vertigo, I don't know what will. Major props for not cheaping out and using bluescreen for the whole film. Actually filming in New York that high up really makes a world of difference.

I really enjoyed this as a fun popcorn action film, it's a shame its release totally got dumped here.

Time Bandits

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

What a trailer.

This is one of those Terry Gilliam films I saw once, a long time ago and very much forgot most of. I was basically watching it for the first time here although I had very vague memories of bits and pieces.

It's easy to see why now I've seen it again, it all plays out like some strange dream. It's not exactly the most cohesive film either but there are a lot of cool things in it and of course, some utterly bizarre. Being a Gilliam film there's some nice imagery too, although I must admit I don't like this as much as some of his other work.

And there's a quite the mean streak going through this film. You'd have a hard time ending a film the way this film does at any studio today.

Interesting to watch again, but it'll probably be a while before I get back to it again.

The Grey

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

Unlike The Artist, this film did manage to blow me away. I had read a lot about it and was excited to see it and I think I probably had a slightly better idea of what to expect from it, judging by the reactions as the film ended.

This is a character study first and foremost, that is masked by a survival horror. But make no mistake, the film is Liam Neeson's. And he is damn great in it as well.

I saw this at an advanced screening and I always think the cinema seem to go out of their way to make those screenings the best possible. They had the sound cranked right up and I'd say it probably made the film %50 more effective. The sound is incredible. Especially during that crash sequence. (Unfortunately at this particular screening the focus was ever so slightly out, enough for no one else to care or notice but to bug me to no end. But with such a packed crowd and a cinema with no isles and very little room between rows I didn't want to inconvenience everyone to tell someone to fix it.)

Now we've seen wolves in film before, but I don't think I've ever seen them realised as terrifyingly as in this film. As soon as they show up they set the stakes with a brutal attack. And for the entire rest of the film you never feel safe, like at any moment they'll burst out and rip another survivor apart.

The actors playing the band of survivors are all fine, they seem to be playing pretty strong archetypes. I was upset one of my favourites was offed so soon. They do a great job of making them more than just wolf food to spread out over the running time.

Really though, this whole situation is just a metaphor for our hero's internal struggle. This is a film about fighting through all the shit life throws at you to make it through the day. This struggle is realised in many ways through the film and the more I think about it, the more heartbreaking I think a lot of it is. But damn, you'll be rooting for them to survive by the end. Even when they struggle to find any reason for themselves.

I really want to see this one again soon. I have a feeling this one will be right up there on my 2012 film list.

The Artist

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

A really enjoyable little film that was severely diminished by my own over-saturation of it leading up to its release. They played the trailer in front of pretty much every movie I have seen at the multiplex for the last 4 months. And while I was hoping to be surprised, unfortunately my dreaded suspicions were confirmed upon watching, that damn trailer it literally the entire film beat for beat.

So the only surprises this film had in store for me was the playful use of silent film language and sound and how it is intrinsically linked to the story and characters. That was fantastic.

And I really did like the film a lot, it's great and I really recommend it. I'm not sure it's as awards worthy as everyone is making out but I can't deny that it really does play up to the film lovers, so like Hugo, it's an obvious choice to pander to the critics.

The film's story is very simple, the characters straightforward. It's a shame I had already seen it 200 times before I paid to watch it again, its simple charms were completely lost on me.