Machete Kills

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

From fake grindhouse trailer to franchise. And they quite clearly set up the 3rd film, which if at all possible looks even more ridiculous than this entry...

Cheap and nasty, as you'd expect, with some fun stunt casting and wonderfully over the top sequences. Gratuitous and silly, just the way we like it.

I never thought I'd see Antonio Banderas, Lady Gaga and Cuba Gooding Jr. share a role...

The Purge

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

What a ridiculous premise. And they don't even have fun with it. Even more frustrating is that they hint at a greater point being made, that might have been interesting, but never delve into it and seem satisfied wasting it on a by the numbers home invasion flick which just degenerates into some cheap domestic violence and a lot of gratuitous gunplay. Meh.

The Complex

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

I've only managed to get to one film at the Japanese Film Festival this year. As a lover of J-horror I couldn't pass up Hideo Nakata's latest. According to IMDB trivia it was inspired by Let the Right One In. In an odd way I can kind of see that. The stories are completely different but I could imagine coming up with this after watching the trailer without subtitles. Some of the imagery is similar and you could misinterpret and extrapolate this story out of those images.

After a slow beginning things pick up a little with the reveal of a few twists and turns, most of which are pretty obvious. The big finish does involve what looks like a traditional Japanese exorcism. After becoming kind of numb to the amount of exorcisms in films, seeing a very different style was a pleasant change.

The film fails to build up the same amount of tension and dread as Ringu, but it's a very different kind of story. All the characters here are trying to move on with their lives (or afterlives) after tragedy, to varying degrees of success. The sentiment is successful even if the scares aren't, so the film still works. And it was great to be able to see it on the big screen.

The Counsellor

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

Cormac McCarthy's novels have made fantastic films in the past. His first attempt at a screenplay however is a very mixed bag and Ridley Scott is an odd match for the material. It feels like he doesn't know what to do with the script so he's just shot what's there, which is a bunch of terrible people sprouting elegant but highly uncharacteristic prose. 

The overall structure is almost identical to No Country For Old Men but it has none of the grace or empathy of the Coen's masterful direction. Tommy Lee Jones delivers our central theme and leaves a lasting effect. Here, the central message is much darker and our surrogate for it is a cast-against-type Cameron Diaz doing a very big performance. I think so much of what you'll think about the film will rest on what you make of her. I didn't really go for it.

The film is cold and detached and pretty grim from start to finish. Well shot, as you'd expect, but the great cast struggle to make these characters sound like real people and it's ultimately an unfulfilling experience. 

Blue Jasmine

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

Write Up.

Watched again before it finished the theatrical run. Such great character writing. Mesmerising performances too.

The Butler

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

I think the full title is now "Lee Daniels' The Butler," as if it wasn't hard enough to be cynical about the film already. We have a fluffy, period spanning true story combining race relations and politics, made by an oscar darling, released by the Weinsteins and with a cast list of name actors a mile long, all in prosthetics doing impersonations of presidents. If that doesn't scream oscar bait, I don't know what does.

And really there's not much you can't gleam from the story that isn't in the trailer. Our main character feels so passive, by his very job description. He is witness to important things and lives through difficult times so it just feels more like an excuse to parade a series of historic events and ride on the emotional coattails they conjure. Sort of like Forrest Gump but without any good personal or emotional connective tissue.

Sure our butler has a homelife, that juxtaposes with the lives in the White House where he serves, and he has a wife and two kids that have some kind of dramatic storylines going on but it was nothing I hadn't seen done better before and the only pay-off is your typical father son estrangement, most everything else feels superfluous.

I know I'm being really cynical with this one but it didn't do anything for me. It felt ham-fisted an obvious.

Computer Chess

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Well, I've never seen a film quite like this before. Once again filmmakers using period equipment create a very authentic feeling sense of time and place. Also authentic are the cast of mainly unknowns who inhabit these awkward characters.

Initially hard to get into, once the main players are identified the events and character interactions really suck you in and as different sci-fi-ish themes are introduced the film starts tripping out a bit along with them.

Absolutely fascinating from start to finish, with a handful of really great scenes, authentic acting and plenty of bizarre moments. Leaves you with a lot to think about. Perhaps not all of it feels cohesive but I really enjoyed it nonetheless.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No

Thought I'd better check this out before the christmas onslaught of Ben Stiller's re-adaptation. I've only ever seen Danny Kaye in The Court Jester but it's a similar showcase of character switching and vaudeville-esque singing with two extended numbers and plenty of fantasy sequences. Your opinion of the film pretty much depends on what you think of Kaye as a performer. I certainly enjoyed it for what it is.

The film briefly plays with what it reality and what is a dream but the conclusion is quite obvious from the set up. Still, fun to see Boris Karloff in a comedy. It's a fine looking classic production and a simple crowd pleaser. I can definitely see more being mined from the material though and why Stiller was eager to play the lead.

Gravity

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Jess, Jim, Tim, Arielle, Ichina, Tom

Write Up.

Back to Imax this time. I was having withdrawal. I've been looking into good 3d home systems in preparations for the home video release but still don't think it's going to be the same as on the big screen. Soak it up while you can folks!

Escape from Tomorrow

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Ahh yes, the film shot guerilla style at Disneyland. I think this novelty will ultimately overshadow anything else about the film, it's a daring feat to be so subversive to the notoriously protective company.  And what they get away with (so far, Disney has wisely chosen to just ignore the small film) is pretty amazing.

The film itself is a real oddity though. At times a real lynchian nightmare and at others a very amateur home holiday movie. I loved the sci-fi-esque ideas present in the film, the themes are obvious and work fine and I even was surprised at the execution of much of it. There are segments where the tone really works and the absurdist humor is on full display.

But this is all coupled with some very primitive acting and dialogue and a pretty messy structure and pace. A very mixed bad and a cult oddity at best. Still, worth a look especially for Disney fanatics.

The Frozen Ground

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Another very dark police procedural. But despite an impressive cast this film was merely a series of events rather than a good dramatic retelling of true events with characters we cared about. Consequently the film never really took off for me. The repetitive droning score became annoying after a time and the films self importance seemed a little pretentious, especially with the inclusion of photos of the real victims during the end credits.

It's an okay first effort for new writer director Scott Walker, technically it seems fine. There's just no heart to it.

Prisoners

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

A very grim and quite lengthy police procedural, thoroughly engaging with some great showcase acting for the male leads and beautifully shot by Roger Deakins. Although it's long, the pace never really lets up, the tension is always there and they do cover quite a bit of ground which allows for some twists and turns along the way.

While I don't normally go for procedurals this is far more focused on the drama, the effects of a tragic incident on everyone involved. Pretty much none of the characters make it through these events unscathed and some of them practically embrace their dark side to cope.

This is easily the scariest Hugh Jackman has ever been on screen. I wish we saw more of this rage in the Wolverine movies. Jake Gyllenhaal's detective is methodical and introverted. It's a subtler performance by comparison but even his character has lapses of control. The supporting cast are all great as well, although Viola Davis and Maria Bello aren't really given much to do.

It's hard to say it's an enjoyable experience but it's certainly riveting and looks and sounds top notch. Be prepared for a long watch though as the snowball effect of one bad deed birthing more not only takes its toll on the characters, but the audience as well. (I.e., don't think it's a good idea to drink one and a half frozen cokes while watching or your bladder might explode.)

Captain Phillips

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

Thank god I remembered this was a Paul Greengrass film and chose to sit further back from the screen than I normally like to. His usual shaky cam is on full display here and that coupled with the rocking high seas makes for a very sickness inducing movie, so you have been warned.

After what might be the most offensively scripted opening sequence I've ever seen (not even Tom Hanks and a cameo from Catherine Keener can make that work) we quickly get to the Somali pirates and out to sea. From there the film is a slow build of tense events all leading to the inevitable conclusion. And with a far more engaging script.

Much like the similarly themed A Hijacking that came out not long ago, it's a long ride and the film really wants you to feel it (although everyone gets off way easier in this film). I'd like to think that cutting down the running time would make a more effective film but that agonising waiting is a big part of it. I was certainly more engaged in the first half though and loved the staging of the hijacking. Once the navy becomes involved everything for both the characters and the story is downhill.

Tom Hanks gets his big showy performance right at the end which will probably make you forget the very grounded work he does throughout the film. And the newcomers that form our Somali pirates do some good stuff too.

It's a pretty thrilling ride (albeit a long and bumpy one) and could possibly get some awards attention this year.

King Kong

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

Write Up.

After watching the original we thought we'd better watch this one too (and do my king kong jigsaw puzzle that's been sitting in my room for 3 years). Maybe I should find those two from the late 70's...

Man, for all its faults it has some ridiculously crazy action set pieces. With dinosaurs. Gotta love that.

A Letter to Momo

IMDB

First time viewed: Yes

Current Release: Yes

Watched With: Michael

Managed to squeeze this in before the Anime festival this year came to a close. Good thing too, because it was by far the most enjoyable of the films I saw. Every time I saw those goblins in press releases and on posters I couldn't help but crack up. What great character design. And they are even better when animated and speaking.

It's a sweet little story about a girl coping with a big shift in her life. I guess traditionally she'd be whisked away to a magical land to learn to find herself but here, the magic invades her life and manages to screw it up even more.

The character drama works much better here, none of the melodrama the Japanese seem so fond of, much more realistic and even handed. And the goblin characters are adorable and hilarious. Looks shmick, as you'd expect from Production I.G. A real winner. Seek it out!