The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

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

Speaking of Peter Jackson, why not watch through this again. And while we're doing commentaries too I threw on the cast commentary for the Extended Edition. You can read my thoughts on the film here.

The cast commentary is a lot of fun. Those Hobbits are funny guys. Ian McKellen has some interesting things to say and Orlando Bloom just seems to be enamored by the whole thing. Most hilarious is every time Christopher Lee speaks he has such great importance and intellect but he's always cut between the Hobbits who are just mucking around, unknowingly undermining everything he's saying. I guess it just shows how well cast the film is.

Hot Fuzz

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First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Steve

I guess Edgar Wright can do no wrong in my book. I do love this one. Listened to the commentary with him and Simon Pegg today. This film is cameo heavy, it's a little ridiculous but pretty amazing too, he cast they came up with.

This audio track was filled with great tidbits, Wright is a fountain of film knowledge. I didn't know Repulsion was the first film that revealed a killed in a bathroom cabinet mirror and I didn't know they made Jackie Chan high kick shots by putting shoes on their hands. Neat.

Man I love Timothy Dalton, he's great and the scene at the end with the model town, I love that. I also love the town's production of Romeo and Juliet. Also without the commentary I think I never would have spotted Peter Jackson's cameo.

It's been a while since I've watched this one. I like Shaun of the Dead a little better but there's no denying this film is hilarious and so much fun to watch. Great stuff!

The Craft

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

After watching Return to Oz the other day I was thinking about this film. This is one of those fun teen films from when I was growing up where I also loved taking note of the effects. I watched it with the commentary on bluray today and Andrew Fleming had some nice insights into the film and what a pain it was to do those effects back then. There were also a few funny stories and anecdotes about girls spending a lot of time hanging from wires. There is a lot of wire work in this, I'd forgot.

The funniest was the bitterness he harbours against whoever decided to use the same song as the theme for Charmed that he picked for this film.

It's got a neat cast, all folks I watched in a hundred other films around that time. This was quite a big hit when it was released, I think most people my age know this film. It's pretty fun and holds up today ok as well. Again it's a nostalgic one, and cool to watch in HD for the first time.

Hanna

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

Brilliant!

Again, I waited patiently for this to get a cinema release before I went to see it. Man this one was worth the wait to see in a cinema with MASSIVE PUMPING SOUND. that was awesome.

Joe Wright takes a huge left turn with film, it's nothing like his other films. Although there are a few sequences in The Soloist that suggest his affinity for sound and music with abstract imagery but he's never done action like this. The editing can be very disembodied, there are a lot of close-ups and shots that begin out of context. It's strange, but it really puts you in the same frame of mind as Hanna, experiencing the world for the first time and taking in all these little details. We get to see things like the Spanish dancing and singing through Hanna's eyes.

As usual he has one or two one take wonders. Eric Banna's fight in the subway is pretty neat. But Saoirse Ronan is just out of this world great. And man she kicks ass too. When she breaks out of custody you know you're in for a hell of a ride. Cate Blanchett is creepy and great and Tom Hollander has the most hilarious outfits ever.

Getting the The Chemical Brothers to score was a stroke of genius. The score doesn't kick in until the action does which makes the opening nice and stark. And the cinematography is beautiful. Some striking images in this film, a lot of that has to do with some unique locations they found to play scenes out.

This is a very satisfying film, I really loved it and well worth the wait.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil

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

Finally this gets a release at a cinema. I held off seeing it illegally for the longest time on the off chance it would show in Perth and low and behold, it came out yesterday. Although it looks like the cinema was just projecting a downloaded HD version anyway. God I hate the Luna's shitty projection. It was very pasty and washed out and filled with compression artefacts. Still, I'll take what I can get.

Alan Tudyk was the main draw in this film for me, him and the concept which looked like a fun spin on the slasher cabin in the woods film. And it was. Despite the obvious low budget it's very enjoyable, very funny and a few bits of nice gore too.

I liked the first half, the set up and the mistaken identity and all that stuff. The climatic end was ok but as it was telegraphed from the beginning it wasn't as fun as the first two thirds.

Despite being a little scrappy, the cast and the premise pull you through. A slasher film based entirely on a misunderstanding. It's delightful.

(500) Days of Summer

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

500 films! Bam.

Seems like an appropriate film to watch now. I liked this one a lot when it came out but only revisited it once. Watching it now I can see how its cutesy stylings could drive someone mad, it's the poster-child for all post-modern indie romantic comedy dramas, with it's non-liniear timeline, funky little animated graphics and incessant hipster soundtrack. It's even set in New York.

But I do love it despite all this. I just really like Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the melancholy nature of the story. It is very funny, cool cast, relatable. Eternal Sunshine is still king to me though, even though that film is far more fantastic and this one more based in a reality (despite many funny daydreaming-type sequences).

Marc Webb pull every trick out of the bag in this one and most of it is very effective. I guess he did have something to prove, being his first feature. And I guess he proved it, as his follow up will be the new Spiderman. I have no idea how that will turn out from just watching this but I'm intrigued.

Nice way to end the day and to celebrate this movie watching milestone.

Captain America: The First Avenger

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Paul, Josh, Tyler, Alex, Kyla

This was very enjoyable. Strangely enough the action was my least favourite part about it though, which probably isn't the greatest thing to say. But I enjoyed the in between bits more than the actual sequences, which felt somewhat simple compared to other Marvel films. They were all overshadowed by simple dialogue scenes between characters and a lot of nice period fun.

I especially love The nod to the comics and Captain America being used as propaganda to make people buy war bonds. Those scenes are great and Alan Menken song is delightful too.

Stanley Tucci is so awesome, we all know that though. I was surprised by how funny Tommy Lee Jones was though. I mean, yeah he's been funny before but he's just fantastic in this role. Hugo Weaving is the bad guy looking for some magic cube of power. He get's that role a lot. Hayley Atwell's the girl and Chris Evans is in his 7th comic book movie, so he's got it down now. Although this is a different kind of character to what he normally plays and he does it well.

Let's talk about Skinny Steve, you've got to be endeared to him to buy into the character. Some spooky digital trickery going here and for the most part I'd say they pulled it off, if not for the big deep voice coming out of that impossibly tiny frame.

I love the sound of the shield. That thing is neat. There was a particularly cool placement of the Wilhelm scream too, so be on the look out for that. There was one scene in a tent that had terrible dialogue sound but the rest of the film sounds great and although I didn't notice it much in the film, Alan Silvestri's score over the end credit sequence was great (as was the end credit sequence).

Again I saw this projected digitally although not in 3D. Some of it looked really digital, a lot of that smooth video look, mainly the nighttime stuff, but most of it looks great. Looks like they used a lot of formats on this one.

Joe Johnston does a great job but this never soars to the heights of The Rocketeer. I think the very VFX heavy action has a lot to do with it. I don't think it's the greatest Marvel film (here's hoping that's the Avengers, the tease at the end was okay looking) but it's definitely very enjoyable.

Bad Teacher

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

This one never really gets anywhere. Don't know what it is but I guess the main factor is that it's just not funny and the story ain't great either. It's very frustrating that they have some great supporting characters and never do anything with them, while the main characters are woefully utilised.

There are one or two laughs but that's all you're gonna get. The best thing about the screening was actually the digital projection, looked great and was nice and sharply in focus except for the bottom which had a little ghosting, but it really made the slightest misfocusing issues apparent. There was a scene where 2 times it cut back to Cameron Diaz it seemed her shoulders were in focus but not her face. I do love film projections when done right but these new digital prints do look amazing, that you can really notice those little things.

The fact that I spent more time doing that than actually paying attention to the film probably says more about it than I care to so I'll leave it there.

Das Experiment

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

I watched the remake earlier this year. Good to see this one for a second time, and yes I can confirm I much prefer this version. The music in this is so very German haha. Well except for the Elvis.

That this is based on a real event is kinda scary and fascinating. This is another film that builds. I'm not sure how I feel about the cut away scenes to outside the prison and again, I don't think the female love interest adds much to the film. But the cast is great, I recognise so many of them from Black Book and other such films, I feel so cultured.

There's some tense bits in this one, I remember this one one of the first times I saw night vision camera used to such an effect, which is much more common now.

Cool to catch up with this one again, it holds up well even though it gets a bit over the top at the end. But that's part of the fun.

Anatomy

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First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Amberly

Franka Potente became an international star after Run Lola Run. This film did pretty well because of it. It's like the German contribution to the teen horror slasher boom of the late 90's and it's pretty fun too. There's parts of it that play out like a high school comedy.

They try and do a gender reversal and have the girls objectifying the guys and the guys being all sensitive. It comes off a little hammy but who am I to complain about the objectification of men in films?

MEDICAL GORE! Yay times. Some beautiful work created for this film. And a few moments of suspense but nothing to write home about. They work in the whole college secret society angle and the conspiracy and all that, always a treat. But they reveal the bad guy pretty early and unceremoniously.

There's also a strange little coda during the credits. I do not remember the sequel at all but I presume this is the set-up that allowed it. I just remember not liking it that much. But this one is a welcome addition to the bout slasher films I grew up with.

The Baader Meinhof Complex

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

REVOLUTION! Oh man, so early in the morning though?

This is one of those films that spans a long time and encompasses a great many events. As such it has a long running time that you really feel the weight of by the time you get to the trials. I've only seen this once before and again this time I start to struggle once they get into prison.

There is actually a montage of montages. There's like, 3 montage sequences in a row at one stage. But there is a lot to get through if you are going to tell this whole story in one go. I personally think the job is a little too big for one film.

But the cast is like a who's who of great German actors and they all do fantastic work. It's really slickly produced and the thing I love most about it is the period detail and how they manage to convey the passage of time, just watch the hair styles changing is enough to clue you in.

Onwards with German Film Day!

Wait Until Dark

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

And we did wait until dark to watch this one. I saw this for the first time just last year. Blind Audrey Hepburn vs scary Alan Arkin. Needles to say, the outcome isn't realistic, but it's a great thriller, some would even say horror. It does have that infamous ridiculous last big jump scare.

It's a great lesson in slow build, expertly structured, based on the play. It does manage to draw you in as it slowly lets the tension build in that little apartment. Not only can the audience see what our protagonist can't but we also know the whole story while she's left to figure it out, which is the first lesson in suspense.

Definitely one to check out.

Ironclad

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

A neat battle flick. Paul Giamatti is damn great chewing the scenery as King John. Seeing him go up against Brian Cox is the main draw for me in this film.

Despite a modest budget they get some great visuals and action into the film and go heavy on the battle gore, the way I like it. It seems to be commonplace nowdays but we should never take our battle violence for granted despite being able to see it on half a dozen television series.

There's a long stretch in the middle of the film as the army tries to out-wait the knights in the keep. They use this time to develop some of the characters a little, and they have a great cast to do it with but none of it really connected with me all that much. That goes double for the timid love story with Kate Mara and James Purefoy that seems to only be in there to have a female cast member.

Still enjoyable enough.

Cedar Rapids

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

This is a quaint little indie comedy, it's more amusing than laugh out loud funny, although it does have its moments. Ed Helms seems to be playing the same character from the first Hangover film. John C. Reilly is the loud obnoxious guy, Isiah Whitlock Jr. is steadfast friend who watches The Wire, even though he was actually in it for, and Anne Heche is the girl.

I enjoy watching this cast even though the plot and humour was so slight. Well I guess that's kind of the easy going charm it was going for but it's more that the actors are all great and really made their characters work well together.

It's pleasant enough but I barely remember what it was about now.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

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

Aka "a kid is embarrassed, the sequel."

This on doesn't have Chloe Moretz. But it does have Fran Kranz. Albeit in a nothing role. Obviously I'm not the target audience for this one, all the stuff I liked I doubt any kids would get the references too anyway. The Partridge Family cut away gag was funny, mainly because Steve Zahn sells it so well.

And they made a hilariously (and far too authentic looking for kids to appreciate) bad 70's horror film that the kids watch on dvd called The Foot. That thing is a work of art.

They also keep the nice little snippets of stick figure animation and even integrate them into the live action in the opening, I like stuff like that.

Apart from that it's more of the same from the first one. It's not horrifically offensive as far as children's entertainment though. (Probably not as enjoyable as the first either.) Good thing they made the sequel so soon after the first one and kept the same cast, those kids won't be 11 forever.

Sucker Punch

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

Previous viewings here and here.

Finally got around to watching the Extended Cut on an imported bluray (thanks Jordan!) and it's still a thoroughly entertaining film. Just as I had expected all along, there is a whole Burlesque montage that's been deleted from the theatrical version that's reinstated here. There's some nice stuff in it too. Like the rest of the film it's beautifully realised.

There's also an extra scene with John Hamm at the end that serves to emphasise Baby Dolls sacrifice as her choice of freedom, it's a nice scene that does make the end drag out a little but does spell out those themes a little more.

I really do enjoy this film. Give it a try if you haven't already. You might just hate the crap out of it, and that's ok but if you're willing to just go with it it's an awful lot of fun.

Wake Wood

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

Kinda like Pet Cemetery only with a daughter, who comes back evil. I do love my evil children films.

It's a very low budget affair but has enough thrills and gore to keep you satisfied. There's also some rather confronting un-horror related stuff to do with cows that seemed very realistic, a cesarean birth being one of them. Whoa.

The cast do a fine job. It took me a while to realise I knew Aidan Gillen from Game of Thrones. Timothy Spall is great as always. They create a typical small creepy village with dark secrets. Of course the new arrivals discover the dark secrets and want in, but fail to properly follow the rules, resulting in some fun mayhem.

It's the latest release from the updated Hammer Horror company and it's a welcome little addition. Nothing particularly spectacular but still enjoyable.

Cast Away

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

I think I've only seen this one once or twice before. It's pretty cool though. I mean that plane crash alone is worth it I rekon. It's so good they don't just have a flash and then fade up on him waking up on a beach. The scene actually continues through. If they ever do get that Bioshock movie off the ground it needs to start like that.

I love that Zemeckis shot What Lies Beneath halfway through this. And then in the film Tom Hanks transforms to however long later in one cut and it's a complete transformation.

Also curious but effective is there is no score until he leaves the island way over an hour in.

Some people thing the ending is a bit shmaltzy, I don't mind it though. But I do find the island sequences the most unique in the film.

Eragon

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

Oh Eragon, you just don't work, do you.

I love me some dragons and there's a pretty neat design in this one although I'm not sure how I feel about feathers and furryness. It does make it kinda softer.

This is one of about 4 films I've seen where I actually read the book first which didn't help at all in this case because it only made it all the more disappointing. It just doesn't have any life in it. Still Jeremy Irons fares fare better here than in Dungeons and Dragons.

We'll just add this one to the long list of family fantasy series that never made it past the first book adaptation. Too many studio's trying to replicate Harry Potters success but without giving their films the time and money and talent those films had. Even if Harry Potter never continued past it's first film at least if felt somewhat complete as a story by the end. This and countless others didn't fare as well.

Catch Me If You Can

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

Such an interesting story and with the top guys in the biz telling it, you're in good hands. Great cast, good script, well shot and edited, there's not much you can complain about.

I loves me that opening title sequence and the John Williams music. So very cool.

It's a neat little flick I had forgotten about for a while but I saw it down the very bottom of my bookcase and thought I should give it a spin. Great to watch through again.