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.

Arachnophobia

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

Such an Amblin Entertainment film. Frank Marshall directs, Kathleen Kennedy produces. Made in 1990 so it still has that 80's vide to it. And it's a lot of fun. And if you're scared of spiders it's also horrifying. I happen to love spiders and the film.

This is yet another film I grew up on and watched repetitively but haven't seen in a very long time. But of course as soon as it started it all came flooding back. There's a reason all these Amblin films were so popular. Those guys knew what they were doing. You can see it in the structure of this film, the script, the action, the characters, the editing and music. It's not the greatest film ever made it it's so confident.

Jeff Daniels as the lead is wonderful too. John Goodman is hilarious.

This one has a hell of a climax. I think it was bigger in my memory of it though, rewatching it again it went by pretty quickly, but when that house gets completely taken over it's pretty unnerving, even for someone who loves spiders. I imagine this would have caused many a nightmare as it's much darker than that trailer makes out. Hehehehe

Idiocracy

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

An overlooked masterpiece. That trailer is horrible though, perhaps a reason why no one saw it and it was dumped straight to dvd in Australia. Pity.

I guess you'd call it a comedy but I think of it more as a prophetic sci-fi horror film. The ideas in this film are truly disturbing. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

What's extra great about the film is that it walks such a fine line between stupid low brow comedy and one of the smartest satires I've ever seen that the idiots it's making fun of will love it as much as the intellectuals but for completely the opposite reason.

It's also the kind of film that looks like it would have been very challenging to make on a budget. Still I think the design and execution of all the future world stuff is pretty good. I like the actors in it too.

Fans of Office Space or Mike Judge or Dystopian Future films owe it to themselves to seek this out. It's great!

Gantz: Perfect Answer

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

Well if Gantz was Part 1 then Perfect Answer is parts 2, 3 and 4 combined. Man they pack a lot into this film. The concept was well established in the first part but this one takes those ideas and plays with them in new and exciting ways. It's much more complex and justifiably has a much longer running time. It has a much more satisfying conclusion although it does leave open possibilities for further instalments.

Once again, the action and fx are great and the characters are also on par. I think this is a textbook example of how to develop the 2nd and 3rd act of a story, even though it still doesn't feel like it had enough time to get everything in. I also wonder if it would have helped to introduce some of the elements in part 2 in the first film. It would definitely free up some room here but would also make the ending of the first film much more inconclusive.

This was a really interesting series that I enjoyed immensely. The ending does go on a bit but I like where it finally ended up.

Adam

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

Watching Hugh Dancy in Martha Marcy May Marlene a few weeks ago reminded me of his awesome performance in this film. I'd consider this one of the best romantic comedies (or perhaps just romances) of the last 5 years. It's wonderful.

Unfortunately it was a film that was also completely overlooked by the people that would have enjoyed it the most, only playing on one tiny arthouse cinema screen for a few weeks before never being heard of again. It's a real shame, I think it's truly a beautiful and unique love story and one that doesn't get too full of itself or sentimental about things.

Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne are both fantastic. I'm hesitant to say too much more, I think even the trailer gives away more than I knew when I saw it at the cinema and so there were a few surprises for me which was also really nice. So don't watch the trailer if you can help it. If you're in the mood for a New York romance, get a copy of this little gem.

A Single Man

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

Brief Write Up.

I should say I think Tom Ford has done a hell of a job with his first film, and coming from the world of fashion, you can be sure all the costumes are fantastic. The 50's never looked so classy.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

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

Write Up.

Always nice to revisit. Leatherface gets damn close to that poor actress. Freaky.

Carrie

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

I her this one bandied about in reviews for Chronicle. I can see why the comparisons, and it's been a very long time since I last saw this classic horror from Brian De Palma.

Another Stephen King adaptation too. Been watching a lot of King lately.

What I found so refreshing watching this again is how straightforward it is. There really wasn't much more to the film that what I remembered, it's a very simple story and isn't bogged down in sub plots and extraneous characters.

Some De Palma split screen at the end there. And the infamous jump scare at the end that has been used by horror films for years since. Great stuff.

Piper Laurie is just so creepy in this role, she's playing everything so large, but really I can't imagine it any other way.

Classic horror, great to see again.

The American

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

A slow paced character study with a few tense moments and brief explosions of action. Like an old Western. Anton Corbijn delivers a beautifully shot film, as to be expected. George Clooney gives a great quiet performance.

I like the film, I really do, but I gotta say, the music drives me nuts. It almost ruins it for me. I can't stand it. I don't know if it's because it sounds like bad midi sometimes or because it's too simplistic or inappropriate for the film or just plain bad but I know I would like this film much more if it had no score. It doesn't really need a score anyway. All of the important sections play great without music.

The rest of the film is really great though. It really feels like a 70's slow burn thriller or something like that. Very cool.