The Town That Dreaded Sundown

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

I didn't think too much of the original film, obviously a very low budget affair. I needn't have worried about watching it though, because this new film is set in a present day where the original film exists and the town still watches it every year. Hence we see a great deal of it in this new film.

So this kind of meta sequel plays more like an old school slasher rather than the docudrama of the original but for some reason they decide to keep the convention of not using any music during the kills. That coupled with the film never giving us more than a few shots of the characters before they become victims makes it feel strangely objective and removed from the action. It's not really heightened or thrilling and it's also not sympathetic because we don't know any of these people. The film has no trouble jumping right into the kills with little preamble or mucking around with chases or taunts or tourture. It's all very cold. That certainly can be effective but I found it really hard to engage in at all. It didn't help that our final girl had the personality of a wet blanket.

The cinematography is pretty interesting. Though the majority of the film takes place at night, they manage to work in a lot of bright colour. They have a lot of that diffused glowing light filters that I'm really not fond of though. And a few too many extreme split diopter lens shots.

It's an interesting way to do a sequel. And the kills are somewhat effective. The rest of the film is a bit of a bore. But it also looks pretty cool. A mixed bag.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No

Write Up.

It's that time of year. Time for the Extended Edition. And all those Extra features!

This time the added content includes some backstory to Thorin's dad as well as the reveal he's still alive, some extra Beorn and some more Stephen Fry.

Looking forward to the documentaries, always my favourite part. I'll also have to get through the commentaries at some stage too. Only one more to go after this!

This Is Where I Leave You

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Family drama, with all the actors. They all get their own little problem to deal with. Shawn Levy makes another crowd pleasing effort. The comedy is mildly amusing, the drama mildly emotional. It's not challenging or confronting or hilarious but it's also not offensive. It's pleasant and forgettable. Passes the time.

Hector and the Search for Happiness

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Pleasant film, Simon Pegg in mid-life crisis mode. Globe trotting adventure filled with little platitudes of wisdom. The cast a great, I didn't trust Rosamund Pike after seeing Gone Girl, but they all do what they can. It's a pretty fluffy film, perfectly enjoyable but particularly memorable.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 3 - Descent

IMDB

First time viewed: Yes

Current Release: Yes

Well shit, that was a frustrating experience. Turns out this isn't the end at all. It's a trilogy alright, it's the FIRST trilogy. See, this is why I'm always weary of starting anime series. They just keep going. And usually run out of budget and never get completed, or if they do, unsatisfactorily. 

Well the first half of this movie was much the same. The band of mercenaries get back together, break out their leader who was captured and tortured by the bad guys, our protagonist comes back because he realised outside of this narrative he has no purpose, because, you know, he's not actually a character in any way, shape or form. 

But then the film takes a huge left turn and becomes full on hentai. Hellraiser style demons break free, turns out the leader is becoming one two, that was his plan all along? Everyone dies a horrible gory death and there's quite a bit of rape. And the protagonist again somehow fights his way through this impossible situation and gets out. 

I don't know what I'm supposed to take from this. It's just terrible. The worst. Apparently there's an original Anime tv series and all of these are based of an original Manga. I'm sure they are much better. Anything has got to be better than these movies, which I will admit look very pretty but have no interest in telling the story well or giving us characters to care about, only in showing cool battles and gore and creepy demons. 

So much regret. I don't even know if any other films are being made at this point. If they are though, I have a hard time getting myself enthused to watch them. Unless its with friends who want to laugh at their ineptitude. 

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 2 - The Battle for Doldrey

IMDB

First time viewed: Yes

Current Release: No

So now I finally continue with the series. Apparently a lot of the stuff in the first film was of no consequence. It's not good story telling. There's a central battle in the film, it's namesake, that has a real problem conveying the battle plan and just how our mercenaries win against multiple armies simultaneously. Except that they're just better fighters? 

It really doesn't make an sense but then, there is also a scene where our intrepid protagonist Guts takes on 100 men at once and kills them all. Because he's an unstoppable badass. It goes past being cool to being stupid for me. 

And it has a real backwards sense of feminism. It's quite clearly a female character that's written by men that think a chick with a sword who can fight is all you need for a strong female lead. The fact that she constantly curses that she was born a women, cries out about her powerlessness when she's overtaken by the enemy and multiple times has her top ripped off to show her perfectly bouncy breasts doesn't help. It's laughable. 

So this is the empire strikes back of the series. after getting pretty much everything they want, there's the betrayal, the friendship (which was never really established past the servant/slave capacity in the first film) breaks and the Egg of the King is lost! Oh no! Umm... I still don't know why it's important!

There's still one more chapter to go though. Although my confidence that I'm in the hands of capable storyteller has long since diminished. 

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc - The Egg of the King

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No

Write Up.

It only recently occurred to me that all these films have finally been released here and there's an english dub too. I did always intend to finish off the series so i thought I'd marathon the trilogy and see what all the fuss is about.

Watching this first one again, it really seems like a mess, a bunch of battles and sword play and some hilariously inept dialogue and "characters" as well as some amusing and odd design choices.

It's really just a medieval war movie, following a band of mercenaries trying to gain nobility through their acts. Except there's also a giant minotaur demon dude. And a strange egg thing with a prophecy/curse thing that's eluded to but not really mentioned in this film much, despite the title.

The main character's name is Guts. He somehow manages to wild a sword as big as he is, great in battle too, but the worst assassin ever. And I have no idea of the importance of that whole sequence but I presume it will make sense in the later instalments.

The dialogue is ridiculous in the english dub, just as it was to read the subtitled translation.

Whiplash

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

Write Up.

Man, this is one of those films that's much harder to watch the second time through. I started feeling a  little sick once the film kicked into gear, just remembering what was coming. It's truly stunning. A film I keep thinking about and keeps growing in my estimation. It's so effective.

Intense and on point from beginning to end. And the editing and camera movements really stood out to me this time. Some great stuff going on there. This is definitely a must see.

Alien 3

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

Write Up.

Watched the special edition cut again. Besides the alien hatching out of a different animal I have a hard time remembering what all the little changes are. Such a great cast. And Fincher makes a slick looking picture. A bit of a mess, but I still love coming back to this one.

Fury

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

WWII, a ragtag bunch of Americans have to fight the German soldiers, completing various missions that give us a chance to get to know them a little and see the devastation war causes both physically and psychologically. It all culminates in a final stand off with impossible odds of survival. It has themes of honour, bravery and human compassion. I feel like I've seen it a thousand times before. But this one is in a tank so that makes all the difference.

David Ayer is a legitimate film maker now guys. This film is nothing like all his other films about a ragtag bunch of cops that have to fight drug lords, completing various missions that give us a chance to get to know them a little and see the devastation the job causes both physically and psychologically, culminating in a final stand off etc. etc.

No this film is legitimate because it's a period piece and it's historical and the actors in it all speak with thick accents so they are all real proper actors.

Sarcasm aside, there's a lot of good stuff in the film. It's certainly slickly produced and the action is impressive. As is the gore. David Ayer really likes to make gritty films with a lot of violence groups of characters covered in dirt and sweat, swearing their tits off and acting macho. This is no different. The story is pretty standard but hey, if it ain't broke...

It's effective, and I think others might get more out of this than I did. I might just be to cynical. I did like a lot of it. I wanted to like it more though.

Love, Rosie

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

We made a drinking game based on the trailer and our knowledge of romantic comedies. You have to drink everytime someone is backlit. I think we should try this with more films because if we weren't just drinking coke in the cinema, we would have been drunk by the 30 minute mark.

This film features two protagonists that can't quite figure out how to kiss. Whenever they try they stop or something conspires to stop them. Usually it's in the form of the most horrible person they can find to have a spiteful relationship with. And then there is a montage of 5 years passing and general life shenanigans set to a pop song before they run into each other and can try to kiss again. This cycle happens about 7 times, each time the events conspiring to stop them kissing become more and more unbelievable.

Will they ever get together? Well, yes, of course they do at the end. But by then, no even before then, we've all lost interest.

This film is not so good. Or perhaps it's perfect. If you like terrible romance movies then you're welcome to give this one a go. I couldn't stand it after the opening decided to have 3 different caption styles and then didn't use the convention again until the very end of the film. Perhaps the book is great, but condensed into a film it just seems like a lot of ridiculous contrivances to stop two really stupid people from being able to kiss.

A Walk Among the Tombstones

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Don't know the books but the film is another gritty Liam Neeson thriller. More like an old school gumshoe story, A private detective who gets a big case dumped in his lap. It follows all the beats I'd expect, it's pretty dark and gloomy and the cast do a good job.

David Harbour plays one of the main villains, really creepy character. But so some reason I just want to laugh at everything he does. There must be some past role lodged in my subconscious but I was happy to see him every time he popped up, which worked horribly for the film but was amusing to me. It's always odd when that happens. 

Don't expect a big Taken style action film, this is a slow methodical detective mystery with occasional bursts of violence. Dunno how it compares to the books but as a film it's quite enjoyable.

Son of a Gun

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Seems like Western Australia has been up on the big screen quite a lot recently. That's quite exciting. Still a real trip to recognise locations and friends in a film at the cinema. Does make viewing the drama a little less objective but this was a pulpy fun hijacking film with some unexpected action beats that had me impressed. I'm glad the people here are making fun entertainment as well as good drama, getting it funded and on to our screens. And they managed to snag Ewan McGregor too, which certainly helps.

A solid heist film with the usual twists and turns and a bit of home flavour added in, makes this one a good time.