Summer Time Machine Blues

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

Write Up.

The most fun time travel movie ever. And even now I'm still picking up new things they've layered into the background. So great.

Timecrimes

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

Write Up.

So great.

Static

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

Didn't get to see this in 3D unfortunately. I'm curious to see how they used it though.

This looks like a standard home invasion horror and for the first half it is. It's a pretty slow build too. Things take a left turn though. It's a twist we've seen before and it makes the emphasis more on the drama but I don't think the characters were set up well enough for me to be invested in that. Sara Paxton's been getting around a bit of late, come a long way since the Aquamarine days.

Open Grave

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

There's a really good premise here and a pretty good cast too. I think the audience gets ahead of the mystery a little which means waiting for characters to catch up. And it's hard to get invested in characters when they spend the whole movie trying to figure out who they are. I liked the set-up and the idea of the film a little more than the execution but there's still some good stuff to enjoy here.

Drinking Buddies

IMDB

First time viewed: Yes

Current Release: Yes

Watched With: Tyler

Joe Swanberg really stepped up to the plate with this little number. That whole mumblecore movement seems to have moved on a bit into something that's much more palatable. They've really got it down and these independent filmmakers are now all working with some really great talent too. This one manages to set up all the romantic story beats but keeps defying expectations of cliché.

Our four leads are just amazing, empathetic, heartbreaking and loveable. It's a really interesting examination of a seldom examined kind of relationship and there is great tension in waiting for the smallest thing to push the whole thing out of balance. 

I thought it was really beautiful and oh so bittersweet. Seek it out.

Ender's Game

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

Write Up.

I wanted to see this one again, it keeps growing in my estimation. Really interesting.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

IMDB

First time viewed: Yes

Current Release: Yes

Watched With: Tyler, Naomi

The satire works great this time around. And the insanity seems to have escalated somewhat. Plenty of laughs as should be expected. This that were funny in the first film because they were subtle or unexpected are more front and center here which robs them of much of what value they had in the first place but there's plenty of new jokes to enjoy as well. 

A little of Brick goes a long way but he was given much more to do here and with so much else going on the other members of the crew didn't get as much time to make an impression. The endless cameo parade at the end got a little tiresome and I don't think the end credit scene was really worth the wait but it's still all good fun. 

This Is the End

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Naomi

Write Up.

Checking out the bluray. There's some great laughs and really nice supporting turns.

Jaws

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

Write Up.

Such a gorgeous bluray. And really fun to watch with someone who has never seen it before. Those jumps still work.

Oz the Great and Powerful

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

Write Up.

Checking out the film and some extras on bluray. No denying the feats of fanciful production design.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

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

Time for a rewatch before the sequel. It's be a very long time since I watched this on first release. I was never obsessed enough to be able to quote the whole thing like some of my friends, in fact I think I only watched it once.

Watching the bluray now, the biggest tell tale sign that the film is 10 years old is that it is a comedy that was still shot using film. You can see the grain and a few specks on the print. With the amount of footage they generate in these improv comedies, the film stock must get very expensive (as evidenced by the copious amounts of extra features of deleted alternate and extended sequences that we waded through after). I can only imagine how much they create now they don't have to worry as much about that.

I enjoy those steps outside reality the film takes, the characters are heightened enough as is but there are moments that just push it over the top into absurdist territory. Ferrell and the gang all have their great moments. For me the unsung hero is Christina Applegate who has to be the straight person but still go toe to toe with this insanity and fit into the world.

I forgot about all those cameos too. They just roll them out.

Good to catch up with, still not an all time favourite but most enjoyable nonetheless.

Ass Backwards

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

June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson have been playing the best friend / co-worker roles in comedies for a while now but they've taken it upon themselves to write a film where they'll get to finally be lead roles. It's an admirable effort with plenty of good laughs, if only mildly memorable.

Frozen

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Naomi, Michael

Not to be confused with Adam Green's great film of the same name, although I can imagine the hilarity. Also sadly no seen in 3D yet, but hopefully that will be rectified very soon. Especially to see the Micky Mouse short Get A Horse that's attached. That NEEDS to be in 3D.

I've been anticipating this one for a while, listening to the soundtrack and checking out all the amazing technical stuff in vfx news. The fx animation in this is really spectacular. As is the character animation. Olaf must have been tricky to rig.

But enough tech talk. What makes this film great is that it is both a wonderful throwback to the Disney animated musical, with some really great songs that actually further the plot, and at the same time the story manages to twist the more conventional fairy tale cliches into something more modern but never really loses that classical feeling.

You could argue that this is a more feminist piece but at its heart it still about woman being unable to control their emotions. But the idea of a Prince Charming and true love breaking the spell certainly look different here. And the lack of a true villain is very interesting, the sister relationship is what's centre stage here.

Kristoff could replace Flynn Rider as my prince of choice. Flynn has more personality, but shucks, I just can't lay off the blondes. 

The songs in the first half are very enjoyable. But besides a quick reprise, they sort of forget about singing halfway through and only go back to it for a pretty naff comedy number in the 2nd act. But there's some memorable stuff by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who also gave us Avenue Q, Book of Mormon and the little seen but delightful new Winnie the Pooh movie. 

It also has its fair share of comedy. Kristen Bell's Anna is probably the scruffiest and most proactive princess I can remember. Idina Menzel's Elsa can high belt. And just like in Wreck-it-Ralph, stealth Alan Tudyk does marvellous work.

The film really has nothing to do with Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen but it stands on its own as hopefully a representation of what Disney can do with story and character from here on in.  Here's hoping for a second golden age. And stay through the credits for some humorous messages and a nice little moment at the end.