Unknown

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Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Jaume Collet-Serra has now made 3 films for Dark Castle Entertainment. The House of Wax remake was good, Paris Hilton gets murdered and Orphan was far better than it had any right to be mainly due to a great cast that sold the premise and drama so damn well. This film feels like a step up in terms of budget and scope and a step down in terms of story and script.

It's very straight forward, is Liam Neeson crazy or is everyone covering up his existence and why? There's some actiony stuff and something about a summit and a terrorist attack on a foreign prince and they shoehorn in some romance stuff with that girl from the National Treasure films. It's fine, but very predictable. As for the big twist, well it's not really that twisty and if you start to think about it too much it's credibility unravels fast.

Berlin looks very pale green-blue. They've colour timed the whole film like this. There's a preset in my colour grading scheme called Berlin that is the same colour. I guess that's just what people think Berlin looks like?

I'll be honest I had a bit of a sugar rush at the start of the film (curse you cinema food dinner) and got very sleepy in the middle. I don't think I missed anything though or if I did it obviously didn't impact on the plot at all. Overall a very meh film.

The Experiment

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

A film based on the german film Das Experiment which in turn was based on the actual Stanford Prison Experiment. I haven't seen Das Experiment since it's original release but from what I recall it was far more interesting than this one. Maybe because I know exactly what to expect this time, I just remember feeling far more tense when the protagonist is thrown in the box.

Forest Whitaker is great as the shy guy that goes power mad. After being in Burlesque it was good to see Cam Gigandet raping another guy. Maggie Grace was in this purely so thy had a female cast member.

They got the guy that made Prison Break to do the remake. Not really the same thing, despite the prison setting, but he does a serviceable job.

Legends of the Fall

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

More James Horner and it was instantly recognisable as him. Well this is another film I can cross of the list of "probably should have seen but never got around to it."

I'm sorry Edward Zwick, your films are big and epic and technically well made, but not one of them has managed to connect with me. The closest was probably Blood Diamond but Glory, The Last Samurai, Defiance and now I can add this film, just feel hollow. I don't know why, they just don't get me involved at all. Actually that was the same problem I had with Love and Other Drugs but that's not quite an epic battle film.

The locations, cinematography and music are all great. The actors are alright. Good mostly. It might just be that I'm not an epic romance kinda guy. But I don't think so, I've enjoyed others in the past. Anyway I've seen it now.

The Land Before Time

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Watched With: Myself

Ahh nostalgia.

It's been a long time. And yet I still seem to remember every line and music cue. Horner's score is pretty damn great. I think I watched this the most out of the Don Bluth animations when I was younger. But I still think An American Tail is his best.

This film spawned a thousand direct to video singalong sequels. I guess if you couldn't get into Disney this is where you'd want to be, with the Disney renegades.

Man there's some pretty scary stuff in this one. Those Sharptooth's are angry. An everyone probably remembers being traumatised by Littlefoot's mother being killed at the start. But the animation is great and coupled with the music can be surprisingly emotional at times. Maybe that's just the nostalgia but I bet kids would still love this today. There's something very economical and simple about the set-up and story telling. And the characters are all unique and easy to differentiate. It's a good group dynamic, so it's no wonder there are thousands of others, they are probably very easy to write for.

It's rare in kids animation that the filmmakers allow for stillness and thoughts. It makes these character come to life so much when you can almost see the thoughts going through their heads, instead of trying to rush to the next joke. If you've only ever seen Disney animations you must check out Don Bluth's work. It's generally all great stuff, especially the stuff he did with Speilberg.

I Am Number Four

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

Another in a long line of popular children's novel series adaptations that probably won't make it past film one because of poor box office returns and thus will never have a conclusion for the people like me that can't be bothered to read them. Everybody wants to make the next Harry Potter. So far the only series that seem to have caught on is Twilight.

It's a pity too because while most of the films don't warrant a sequel, a handful piked my interest enough to make me want to see what happens next. Especially now that the groundwork has been laid, the characters and world established and all the boring exposition is gone so you can just get on with the action.

This one was definitely one of the better ones, but still doesn't quite get there. The last 30 minutes of action is really cool and all the fights are great. The rest is just really average.

They throw some trippy concepts at you hard and fast and don't allow any time to build credibility before they are talking about alien planets and super powers. They must expect you've all read the book or seen the trailer, which pretty much sets up the whole film. In fact most of those scenes in the trailer aren't even in the film. So it's a little hard to get into. They really needed to take more time if anyone that doesn't have that knowledge is going to care about what happens in the next hour and a half.

The bad alien guys are hilarious. English ain't their first language and there are some small hints that they find earth culture very amusing. The rest of the script and acting are all serviceable but nothing special. A few horrid moments too.

It looks great though. And sounds great. The opening shot screams "fuck you Hitchcock, look what I can do with a computer." I actually really liked D.J. Caruso's Disturbia (again a kind of fuck you Hitchcock) and I though Eagle Eye was... not so go, but silly fun. This one is almost at that level, if only it was more fun. I think this just takes itself too seriously. Maybe they shoudl take a hint from the Real Steel trailer that played at the front of it.

Also, No widescreen? Is this because it has to play in IMAX too? I saw anamorphic flares, but they could have just been added later. Either that or they cropped it. Just seems like the kind of film that should be in scope.

Red Sonja

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Apparently the perfect remedy for 3 hours of Hamlet is Macdonalds and a cheesy 80's sword and sorcery flick. Why do I own this on Bluray? Why was this released in Bluray? Don't question, just go with it and feast upon its delicious HD glory.

So the man that turned the r-rated Conan the Barbarian into the kiddy friendly Conan the Destroyer goes on to make a spin-off from the Robert E. Howard creation and gets Arnold Schwarzenegger to reprise his role, albeit with a different name. Then he fills the cast with a whole bunch of other people that don't seem to speak much english either.The annoying little asian prince is probably the best actor of the bunch here.

I do have a soft spot for this film. Mainly for a few of the matte painting shots that just look like a fantasy ought to. Ennio Morricone provides a funny little theme tune (I gotta say though Herrman's Clash of the Titans score in the trailer is pretty awesome with these images too, although completely different in tone...) and there is some cool action set pieces and great sets and costumes to make fun of.

And some classic dialogue and line delivery. Oh man...

So redheads, you can add Sonja to your list of rolemodels along with Pippy Longstocking and Annie. I don't know what's going on with the supposed remake but I don't think it would be too hard to improve upon this version, as fun and hilarious as it is.

Tamara Drewe

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Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Despite the title, this is very much and ensemble cast and they are all terrific. This is a fun little British comedy drama. I especially liked the two bored girls and all the trouble they cause purposefully and inadvertently cause for the other local residence and visitors.

This is definitely one of Stephen Frears lighter films, not in terms of technique, writing or acting but certainly less grand in ambition than The Queen or even Cheri. Ultimately I didn't find it that memorable but it comes recommended as an amusing and well made diversion, mainly to watch the cast.

Middle Men

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

Make a great double with The Social Network. I'd love to find out how much of this film actually happened. Some of it seems so outrageous it could probably only be true.

The guys that put porn on the internet and figured out how to charge credit cards for it. It's a hell of a story, and as the film notes some liberties were taken in the telling of it. The result is some hilarious and outrageous characters and ludicrous predicaments with russian mafia, the FBI, porn stars and terrorists. It's obviously a lot of fun.

We follow Luke Wilson as he gets dragged into this world, seduced by it, addicted, gets in a shitload of trouble and has to find a way out again. It's edited at a brisk pace and has a rockin' soundtrack. I had a good time watching this one.

The Winning Season

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

A high school sports motivational movie. What makes this one nice is that it's low key, it's not showy and there are no big motivational speeches or forced drama and impossible odds. It's simple and believable and avoids pretty much all the clichés of the genre, a pleasant surprise.

This time we are in the world of girls basketball. The coach is the great Sam Rockwell, who excels in playing washed up losers. Now of course he becomes a better person and learns to understand his own daughter through coaching these girls, that was a given, but man he's till on the booze and smoking pot right up until the last 20 minutes. Infact in the last game he has to coach via phone because they will arrest him if he enters the venue. That was a nice and funny touch.

As for comedy the movie is not laugh out loud funny, like the trailer is trying to make it look. It's more understated. That's the general vibe for the whole film actually. It works well.

Matching Jack

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

This is the reason I don't like going to see Australian movies at the cinema. I almost did, a few times, whilst this was playing last year but I never got around to it so I checked it out on dvd now.

I can't recall a film I've ever seen that was so utterly and completely destroyed by the music. It really brings the whole film down to TV movie of the week level. Don't get me wrong, that's not the only thing. The cinematography isn't great (Was this shot on HD? It certainly looks like it. I don't normally care but it just looked so cheap here.) The acting is fine from the adults most of the time, but the kids, not so much. It's a bit mean to expect a perfect Irish accent from young Kodi Smit-McPhee, but he does do a fine american one in The Road and Let Me In. There's nothing worse than a bunch of kids fake laughing.

But the script just isn't there. It's a shame, this was a great concept and could have been really good. I'm sure they did the best they could with their budget. Uhh that music just grates my ears. That coupled with the subject matter makes the whole affair seem so tv movie. I wouldn't bother with this one.

The Extra Man

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Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Ak, another film I really don't know quite what to make of. Kevin Kline's character is a funny eccentric old man, John C. Reilly briefly appears with the most ridiculously high voice and Paul Dano is wondering if he should be a transexual or not and like to imagine his life being narrated.

I'm not sure what this film was aiming for, it has a few funny moments and some light drama. I just wish there was more of a story there. The characters a pretty great if you can handle how "big" they are. I think they just needed a better framework.

Dead Ringers

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Another film I saw ages ago and hardly remember. More Cronenberg, which is always good. And double the Jeremy Irons!

This is an oddly fascinating film. A psycological drama about twin gynecologists. I'm still not sure I get what's going on in those heads but it's strangely compelling to watch. There's a lot of medical procedures that can be a bit hard to watch if you're squeamish. And then some drug abuse. This is such an oscar bait dule role I can't believe Irons didn't get a nomination. Anyway he is ridiculously amazing as both twins that seem very similar at the start but gradually as you get to know them you see how unlike they are.

It's a very complicated relationship and it's what makes the bulk of the film work. And throwing Geneviève Bujold into the mix creates some interesting problems. The two have a very unique bond, so when one brother spirals out of control you know it's probably not going to end well for either of them.

Cronenberg is flexing developing his dramatic muscles even more here. While there's some gore it's not the b-movie kind he usually based his early films around. It's a curious film that features some great performances and an iconic theme by Howard Shore. I may not understand it completely but I'm pretty sure I like it.

The Ninth Gate

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

I don't know why I decided to watch this again, I just saw it on one of my dvd shelves and thought, what they hey. I like my occult films and I like my treasure hunts even more. With Roman Polanski at the helm you know it's gonna be classy too. Well... As classy as a thriller about summoning the devil can be.

Frank Langella is one creepy old man. Seems to be a role he's been milking a lot lately. He's so damn good at it though. Lena Olin is creepy too. Johnny Depp is... the protagonist.

I love the mystery, finding all the clues in old books and the whole spooky old-school devil worship stuff. That's a lot of fun. And in a lesser directors hands it would all be pretty b-movie cheesy but it's all played straight and the slow burn eases you into the more fantastic parts of the film later on. Polanski know how to move his camera. There's some very Hitchcock-like sequences where the camera pans from one object or person to another and the audience can put everything together in their head. It's simple and economic and tells us exactly what we need to know. Very smart.

The other thing I really love is Wojciech Kilar's score. I only really know his work from this and Dracula. It's damn creepy.

Good to revisit this. It's not one of Polanski's more popular films but I remembered enjoying it when I was younger and It holds up well.

Hatchet 2

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

Like Hostel Part 2, this picks up from the last shot of the first film and then continues. Only this time Marybeth is being portrayed by Danielle Harris and she does a fine job. This one certainly amps it up a bit, many more deaths and much more fantastic gore. Apparently the most on screen deaths in a slasher flick? It certainly gave the ratings board in America trouble, they had to release it NC-17.

I'd say it has the same problems and positives as the first film. After the prologue the sep up section of the film is kinda dreary. We get an extended recap of the Legend of Victor Crowley with a few added details and then set up the witch hunt with all the characters that will die at his hands through the film. Parry Shen returns playing his twin brother from the first film and hence gets to do another ridiculous accent. AJ Bowen from the great indie horror film The Signal a few years back does more solid work here and has one of the more iconic deaths in a film filled with them.

I noticed at least 3 cast members from Frozen, my favourite Adam Green film. (Still waiting for my blu-ray of that to arrive in the mail... any day now.) Shawn Ashmore shows up in a flashback and gets his face hacked off and Emma Bell reprises her role from Frozen in a news broadcast in the background of one scene. It is nice to see her character was ok after the events of that film hahahaha. There was also a nice little nod to Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, another great little po-mo indie horror from a few years back.

Once the carnage starts though, it's fantastic fun until the last frame. And it mirrors the end of the first film perfectly and ends just as abruptly. It's hard not to like a film that goes out on such a high note.

Hatchet

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Hatchet 2 has just come out so I figured now is a good time for a double feature. Also my first time watching the directors cut of this.

It's Adam Green's breakout feature and although some of it is a little clunky, overall it's a great fun throwback to 80's slasher in the woods movies with a tone of gore.

Joel Moore, who went on to write and star in Spiral with Adam Green, is great in this as is Mercedes McNab playing a very similar character to her Harmony from the Buffy series. The film also has Freddy Kruger, Jason AND the Candyman.

It's short and sweet. I didn't notice much difference between the Directors cut and the original, but it has been quite a few years since I've seen it. It's a bit hoky at the beginning but great fun once the shit hits the fan. The ending is a classic out of nowhere cliffhanger, very Friday the 13th, so it's a good thing I have part 2 ready to go, which starts with a bang from the exact same shot part 1 finishes with.

127 Hours

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Jordan

The one where the guy cuts his arm off.

I think Danny Boyle may have over compensated just a little bit. A story of a guy trapped under a rock may seem uncinematic, so he's pulled out every trick in the book to keep us interested. But with all the constant time cutting and crazy new angles and pumpin' soundtrack, split screens, flashbacks, dreams etc. there is never any feeling of stillness or boredom or the passage of time. It makes being trapped under a rock look almost appealing and entertaining. Yes. I'm afraid Danny Boyle is glamorising being trapped under a rock and now all the cool kids will want to do it.

Okay, that's too far. But it does make something that could have been a slow build of tension into more like taking drugs at a rave. The best tension building bits are all the fake outs of arm cutting. Everyone knows going in he's going to cut his arm off and are all just waiting for that scene so playing with expectations like that works well.

The best parts of the movie for me was the exhilaration after he gets out. The build up and release works great and you can't help but feel happy and relieved for the guy. The most disgusting part for me was not him cutting his arm off, which isn't too graphic at all. No, the worst part for me was the gagging after drinking his own urine. That just makes you feel gross. So top points for that.

The other thing I really liked was the accompanying sound each time he tries to cut through his nerve tendon thingy. It's like a screeching distorted guitar. I fucking hate guitars, so that sound really worked to instil a sense of pain in me.

James Franco is neat. Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn are at the start that ends up playing out like those extended pre-title sequences comedy shows now employ, where the title doesn't come up until just before the first add break. Lizzy Caplan you are in this film! You were only in it for 3 seconds and didn't say anything but that's ok, you are still cool.

There's a lot of brief appearances but really it's just James Franco and a rock. If they had gone hardcore like Buried there would be no need for any of them really. But the flashbacks do serve to tell us a bit about his character, not anything we couldn't have worked out for ourselves through what he does in the canyon, but it does help create the slightest of character arcs, from always being out on his own to at least telling others where he is going. It's not much but it makes the ordeal feel slightly worthwhile.

I really didn't like the music in this. The rest of it was okay. Best picture nom? I guess they have to fill out 10 spots this year. Best actor nom? I like Franco better in Howl this year. I like Danny Boyle films just fine. I like this film just fine.

eXistenZ

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

A fun little David Cronenberg mindgame. Made a big impact on me when it came out in '99 and made me immediately seek out all his other films, so I shall always been indebted to it for that because they are all amazing. I do love films that make us question our reality.

This film has a hell of a cast, so many people that are much more well known now than when they were in this. As usual it has some very bizarre biological mutations that we come to expect in Cronenberg's work (well, his earlier work) and also an element of deception and paranoia that develops as things keep becoming progressively confused as to what is real and what is not. I wonder if Cronenberg is a gamer himself?

The acting in this is hilarious. Great actors playing fake game characters. It is a great artifice and allows for some very convoluted plots that are then critiqued by the film itself in the final moments.

There are some really cool concepts here too and the fx hold up too, which I was surprised about. My favourite parts are the transitions between the the different worlds of game and reality. There's a lot of ickyness in this one too, mutant creatures and biologically engineered game consoles. The organic bone gun is genius. Howard Shore's music sets a dark brooding tone throughout.

It's been a long time since I watched this one and there's still new details to find. Always been a favourite.