Funky Forest: The First Contact

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

Technically I started watching this with 5 people but one by one they all dropped out. It's a bit of an endurance test. Completely absurd in the way that only the Japanese can be, a very specific kind of humor and excruciatingly slow paced. It's a series of vignettes that are edited together almost like watching a televisions series season on dvd in one sitting complete with pauses for ad breaks and a 3 minute intermission in the middle. As is usually the case with such endeavours, it's very hit and miss. A lot of the scenes feel pointless, some are slow and poetic, some are like a hip indie film, some are downright bizarre and there are many I find very funny.

This is one of the few films that I think would benefit from a broken up viewing, something I generally despise. Its episodic nature combined with major pacing issues and an excessive running time make it a perfect candidate.

I've seen a few of Katsuhito Ishii's other films and have a soft spot for this kind of humor so I think I may have liked this more with a better idea of what to expect, judging by the way people dropped out of this one like flies. It's a very flawed film but there are segments that a just pure insane genius.

A very uneven film. Words cannot describe it but fortunately most of my favourite segments are on youtube if you do a quick search. Seek it out if you also love the completely bizarre absurdist humor and feel up to the challenge of making it through the long dull stretches.

A Serbian Film

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

Another extremely controversial film, albeit a much more recent one. I have a copy of the British Bluray release which is sadly the censored cut but I am as yet unsure that the uncut version will ever be released anywhere, save for the illegal screener I downloaded in order to see it last year because I'm very naughty. But if it does ever come out uncut, rest assured I'll be getting that copy too, there were few bits here and there that helped clarify some character points, specifically relating to the brother, and made the action a little smoother and discernible in the more graphic portions. Also there was a bit more baby rape.

So like Salo, this film is filled with extreme sexually graphic and violent content. I mean extreme. Probably the harshest I've ever seen. Unlike Salo though, I find this film much harder to take but also easier to get behind in recommending. It's a very angry film but at least it has characters to get behind and a narrative flow. There is actual drama here to follow, it takes its time setting up the characters and the predicament. It's also very technically proficient, it looks slick and has a great soundtrack that I would normally hate but the damn thing's been stuck in my head since last year and I kind of love it now.

So the shocking acts of sexualised violence... It's a pretty big publicity stunt and hard to justify in any context. This being a current film there is still a lively debate going on about the virtue of the film and fortunately the director and writer are still alive to defend their work. I've read a bit of what they've said and it does indeed seem plausible that they are that pissed off at the Serbian government, among other things. It certainly makes that statement loud and clear. But there's also a sad moralistic tale that you could relate to anyone trying to escape their past and one generation being figuratively (and literally) screwed over by the generations before them. Again it's a simplistic reading and you could take what you want from it however I don't find this to be pure exploitative trash, I think it does have artistic merit.

It leaves you feeling very dirty and drained. Be warned there's things in this film you can't unsee. It was softened upon second viewing though.

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

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

That's the best trailer I could find, but we watched it in Italian. Although with the Italians habit of never recording sound live and post-synching everything if probably wouldn't have made much difference.

So Quills was really just a warm up to this film which is actually based around one of the Marquis de Sade's stories, transplanted to fascist Italy. But it's one thing to watch a film about these graphic and perverted stories and another entirely to see then acted out. It's basically what happens when someone actually performs the Aristocrats joke. Arguably, it makes the same point too.

It's a famously controversial film, one that's only been available in Australia for a few years now, since its original release. There's some most unpleasant acts perpetrated by and to kids. A lot of rape, a fair share of graphic violence and too much poo eating for any one film. There really is quite a lot poo.

It's also quite slow and meandering and feels aimless at times, like it's just forcing the audience to watch these grotesque perversions for the sake of it. Its is gratuitous? Is it art? Does it have merit? I would say yes on all accounts and add that I don't get much out of it more than "people who abuse power are bad." (and eating poo is gross.) I'm on the fence about this one. I really only knew about it from it's notoriety and that's primarily the one thing it has going for it. I don't find the acting or story that great (that post sound synch really screws with me).

In general this film is not recommended unless you know what you're getting in for. It's slow going and doesn't have a very satisfying ending, not because it's sad but because there are no major protagonists that you are following though this ordeal so it's just a series of increasingly worse events that just stops once the running time is up. It's very open to interpretations, i'll give it that, so maybe you might get something more out of it. I'm too lazy to do the research into Facscism and Pasolini or whatever else might help make sense of all this, I just wanted to see how graphic it really was. Not nearly as bad the second time through (but looks stunning on bluray for a film this old, especially compared to the previous version I saw).

Quills

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan, Amberly, Michael, Naomi, Alex, Kyla

Wow that trailer is epic, but the film is just a simple and effective drama, a biopic of the Marquis de Sade based on the Play about the notorious writer of some very filthy stories. The best thing about the film is that it never feels like it was translated from a play. That and the acting is very good indeed, but with this cast you come to expect that. They are all magnificent.

Stephen Moyer from True Blood even show up briefly in a fun little role that I had forgotten about since last viewing. Michael Caine is playing a wonderfully evil man and he's pretty scary. This is really Geoffrey Rush's show though.

I believe the events have been spruced up for dramatic effect here, but whatever they did it works. The film doesn't have any slow patches, the characters and situations are engaging throughout. The production looks great and the music very fitting and never overwhelming.

A very solid, entertaining and enjoyable drama with some interesting points to make about artistic freedom.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Josh, Jordan, Michael, Naomi, Alex, Kyla, John, Kim, Paul

Rob Marshall needs to not turn everything into a musical. Granted there was only 3 songs and one dance number but still, not in my pirate movies please. The one advantage he does have is he's buddies with Judi Dench so she shows up for a funny little cameo.

There was a little Gore but not enough Verbinski. Gone are the fantastic creature effects and big action sequences. We're left with people walking around the jungle talking at each other in 3D. Ok that's not entirely true, the best sequence involves a mermaid hunt and the mermaids are done very well indeed.

But not much else connected with me. The forced love story between the young guy and the mermaid captive didn't amount to anything. The new character of Blackbeard is not nearly as intriguing as Barbosa or Sparrow. Penélope Cruz is in there somewhere too.

So Tim Powers wrote a book called On Stranger Tides and after 3 huge films the writers were obviously out of any ideas to continue the franchise so they appropriated his book, chucked in their characters and ended up with this. It's small in scale, more on par with the first film and thankfully cuts down on the excess of characters and plots but didn't have much fun with the new ones. There were hardly any nods to the other films either. It's very much it's own thing.

The 3D was good, only one or two shots where the compositing was given away (the sky was in front of the ocean horizon... an odd vision indeed.)

Despite a few good moments it didn't leave me with a very satisfying feeling. If it is indeed the first of a new trilogy as IMDB suggests then maybe it will lead to bigger and better things. But it's not satisfying on its own.

Josh and S.A.M.

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

This film is incredibly hard to come by. It's so brilliant though, the tone of it feels more like a Sam Mendes movie. Actually that's probably the cool Thomas Newman score talking but it has this strange feeling about it I just love. It's essentially a kids running away from home road trip with the added bonus that thanks to a heap of lies his brother told him, Sam, the younger brother believes he is a mutant cyborg they are going to send to war in Africa so he needs to escape to Canada.

They get up to some really crazy and screwed up stuff that you would not find in kids films today in a million years. I'm talking breaking into a house, knocking a guy out, stealing his car kind of stuff. Maybe that's why it's so hard to find.

But what makes it so great is at the heart of it all these kids are dealing with very real problems in their family and the film doesn't soft pedal any of this. The kids in the film actually manage to handle the drama required form them too.

I think this film is something very special. If I had seen this as a kid I know it would have been one of my all time favourites. It doesn't feel like any other kids film I can think of and never speaks down to its audience. It's a real shame this only seems to exist on VHS somewhere overseas. If this ever gets a DVD release or you can get hold of it, firstly, let me know, secondly watch it immediately, it's truly a lost gem. Oh and very young Jake Gyllenhaal is funny.

Thor

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

I think waking up after a night of debauchery to have Thor cook you scrambled eggs for breakfast could just about be the best thing ever. He's just so charming isn't he?

This really is a very pretty film despite being shot entirely at 45 degree angles. Original review here.

Watching in Gold Class is a nice treat though. Damn fine ice-cream sundae.

I didn't notice the music much first time through but it is pretty neat. But I still think that fight at the start is the best. Thor will return in the Avengers.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

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

The final film of the Verbinski Pirates Trilogy. This one has a more unified drive than the last film but still suffers from the great number of characters and plots left over from the second instalment. It's also a much darker film than I remember. According to the George Lucas storytelling rules it's usually the 2nd film of the trilogy that is the darker one. But this is basically a Pirate Apocalypse that they have to prevent here by teaming together and going against the evil East India Trading Company.

As the stakes are raised higher the fun seems to drain out of the action, everything is much more serious, life or death. Or something inbetween that.

Let's talk about that Davey Jone's Locker sequence. It's a head scratcher. A Fantastically absurd diversion into the metaphysical desolation of abstract madness made tangible. It's too much for some people and a delight for a seemingly small few. I am one of those few, I loved the grand visuals, the humor and the change of pace from the rest of the series. You can see a lot of these ideas developed further in Verbinski's Rango from earlier this year. It's a crazy sequence and one I'm glad made it into a big budget studio blockbuster where it probably has no place being.

The big finale fight is very well crafted and staged. It's certainly the biggest of the series and the biggest ship to ship fight I've ever seen. There's no doubt the action at the end is satisfying.

The climax and conclusion is a little more problematic. Mainly just the romantic leeds. They have a situation with no easy way out of and in a way it's nice that not everyone can end up happy. The love story between Will and Elizabeth has a very melancholy ending, especially when viewed with the sequence after the end credits (I do hope you've all seen the scenes after each of the end credits). It does raise a few logistical questions and overall isn't exactly the most satisfying end to their tale.

And as far as I'm aware it is the end of their tale as they aren't in the next film. As for the dark tone of the 3rd film perhaps that's something that can be sated with the next instalment. We shall see soon enough.

So We managed to get through all 3 in one sitting. They look bloody fantastic on Bluray and I now await the next film with some trepidation and curiosity more than anything else.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

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

Now things start to get bigger and unfortunately, much more confusing. I actually like that about this film but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. Actually this is my favourite film of the series (at the moment, still have to wait a day to see the new one).

Filmed concurrently with the third, this must have been a huge undertaking. It's immense and intricate. The open the world up with this film, with great deal more shot on exotic distant locations.

This has the best action of them all with the cannibal island cages and Jack's shish-kebab escape attempt in the first half and the dizzying in more ways than one three-way wheel sword fight/treasure chest race with about 5 different objectives from 7 different parties all colliding at once. I've said it before, that entire last sequence is one of my all time favourite actions sequences, it's sheer delight.

I was originally surprised at how many returning characters are in the next two films, seemingly minor parts from the first film that are fleshed out and given more to do. My favourite is Jack Davenport who's character, the former Commodore Norrington has taken a huge dive after the evens of film one and greatly changed him, for the better in my opinion.

This film also serves as the introduction of Davey Jones the most brilliantly realised creation from ILM probably ever. Their Transformers look damn impressive too, but they don't get out a performance like Jones, tanks in large part to the great Bill Nighy. The lighting, rendering and compositing is gob-smackingly astonishing that most people think they are looking at some kind of make-up. And the wonderful Crash McCreery fills out the rest of his crew with such imaginative characters that you're always looking at them in the background and picking up new and bizarre details.

The biggest problem with this film is that it's a bit all over the map in terms of how many characters and plots it's juggling. It allows for some very amusing scenes, like that final battle, but for the most part it feels a little convoluted and without a strong central drive to pull the story through.

Still, I find it a lot more fun than the other two. It has a great cliffhanger ending. Oh and I love me some Kracken action.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

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

Wow that's an old trailer. It still has Alan Silvestri listed as composer.

So this is the film that started it all. Jerry Bruckheimer made a successful film out of a 60 year old disneyland ride. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio doing the final polish on the script and Gore Verbinski in the directors seat. They would prove to be a good team and they made some pretty neat movies.

With the the impending release of the 4th film, albeit not from this creative team, I thought it prudent to go back and check these out again all in a row. Although this first film is made as a stand alone they all play well together. This one serving as an introduction to the world, characters, locations and general mythology. Compared to the other two, this one seems rather modest in its intentions but it's the one generally regarded with the most fondness.

Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow is now an icon. He is a joy to watch. But what this film has going for it is the equally impressive Geoffrey Rush as the main villain of the first film. Barbossa is everything you want in a pirate.

The first film takes place in two basic locations, the port and the hidden cave, which is nothing when compared to the epic scope of the next films and their web of tangled plots, characters and objectives. Here though it's pretty straight forward. Undead pirates want to lift the curse and kidnap Keira Knightley who holds their salvation. Orlando Bloom teams up with Depp to save his love. They are all chased by the Britts.

The coolest action set pieces take place towards the start with the sword fight in the Blacksminths and Sparrow's escape. The finale in the cave has some great moments in it to, but overall isn't as fun as the earlier stuff. The effects for the undead pirates are cool but pale when compared to Davey Jones and his crew from the latter films.

A huge blockbuster at the time of it's release but when watched together this film feels like a fun brief little set up, the shortest of all the films and the smallest in scope. It certainly never drags and is filled with great details, many of which are capitalised and expanded upon later.

Severance

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

Whoa this was more horror and less comedy than I remember... Funny how mood and who you watch films with can alter your perception of them. I had thought this was funnier than The Cottage, another recent British comedy/horror but although The Cottage is far gorier this is the one that plays out more like a horror film from the start.

That's not to say there aren't a heap of hilarious moments. Basically you take the cast of The Office (U.K.) and drop them in a survival horror and you get this. It has a great cast and some very funny characters in extraordinary circumstances including something involving a bear trap, a land mine and best of all missile launcher.

The film does a good job of getting some genuine scares as well as laughs and there are a few great twists on audience expectations. The baddies for this film are always revealed in such a nonchalant way it's surprising how well it works. You expect them to pop up fast accompanied by an orchestral sting and be superhuman in strength or take a hundred blows before they fall. But there's something just as scary as them silently walking into the backgrounds of shots and taking a character out right in the middle of a dialogue scene or when you least expect it.

It's a very enjoyable film, it doesn't have a huge bang at the end but it does leave you with a smile.

Your Highness

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

Yeah not so great. Disappointing actually. Now no studios will risk funding an awesome 80's fantasy comedy and that's what I would totally make. Except mine would not be as sucky as this.

Swearing and bad penis jokes are not that funny. Putting them in a different context, even one as seemingly inappropriate and fish-out-of-water as this does not change the fact that Swearing and bad penis jokes are not that funny.

It's a real shame, there's so much they could have done with this. The production design is awesome, the location stuff look bloody amazing and the effects are really cool. Justin Theroux is my fav. He will always be my fav. Gah that's so annoying.

There were a lot of references to 80's films, like I had hoped. Mainly Willow, Dark Crystal, a bit of Jason and the Argonauts and a cute update on Bubo from the original Clash of the Titans.

There's a few funny bits. I think it's more that there are funny ideas and set pieces but all the jokes fall flat. Darn.

Sarah's Key

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

Really liked this one, It's a bit of a different angle to look at the holocaust. There's a duel narrative, the modern day mystery of tracking down what happened to this girl Sarah and then the period story of the events themselves. They are intercut back and forth.

The majority of the flashbacks are at the start with Sarah being taken to the camps and trying to escape and get back to her brother. The latter half focuses more on chasing up the family members. Needless to say the harsher stuff is in the first half. The Period stuff all works really well, beautifully realised. The latter half is more just family revelation drama and it's all good, it has some nice payoffs but there's not way it's going to be as strong as the first half.

It really does feel like a big story following multiple family members over decades and continents. Makes a great watch on a Sunday arvo. Great drama and I learnt a few things too.