The Hunger Games

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Michael, Belinda, Josh, Tyler

Write Up.

Probably should have waited till after opening weekend o see this again, all the sessions were practically sold out and we ended up having to sit right up the front, which for a film with this much shaky cam is not great. Still, good crowd reactions.

21 Jump Street

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

Write Up.

Fun times.

Margin Call

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

Thank god I watched the trailer and read about this before hand. I know absolutely nothing about this world and there is an awful lot of jargon. Thanks to a great cast and a very heady but interesting script you do get the emotional beats, even if you have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

This is like a look into a fantasy world for me. I didn't understand everything about it but it still was fascinating and the direction is good enough that you get the increasing level of tension. Unfortunately for laymen like me it's never explicitly spelled out what is at stake so it was fortunate I knew the synopsis beforehand.

There is a chance this is going to be too alienating for some. Still they manage to round off some of the characters enough to make you want to see it through. And there's some scary implications in this one to leave you thinking.

Bellflower

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

Read about this one while it was doing the festival circuits. The most interesting part about it is the camera they created out of different parts to shoot the film. It does have an odd look because of this, and probably due to digitally capturing images projected onto a film back from lenses, it has an odd graininess and sometimes a few smudges here and there.

But it really fits with the do-it-yourself attitude of the story and characters in the film. I gotta admit, they aren't the sort of people I'd want to spend any time with. There's some big emotional moments with the relationships of the characters that sometimes feels amateur and sometimes seems heartfelt. And it goes to some dark and interesting places.

Ultimately I didn't really get into this one but it's quite interesting nonetheless.

Columbus Circle

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

This was alright actually. Selma Blair is hit and miss with me but she was fine here and it was interesting to see something Kevin Pollak wrote as well. Jason Lee makes a great evil guy, a role I don't think I've ever seen him play really, except in animation.

The film has a good cast, and a few cool twists and turns. Well shot, and I really liked the score, that's something that stood out to me.

It's a pretty standard thriller but engaging enough to hold my interest to the end.

The Hunger Games

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

This was really great. Like they took the kids from Battle Royale and the reality tv show from Series 7 and wrapped it into a dystopian futuristic political allegory film from the 70's. It's hard for me to say no to that.

I have not yet read the books but Gary Ross has made a fine film that, despite the running time and the midnight screening, seemed to fly by and left me wanting more.

What jumps out first is the independent filmmaking style. I guess that just comes down to hand held cameras, but it's not usually distracting except when some particularly violent action sequences kick in, probably to obscure some of the more gruesome stuff to maintain a PG-13 rating in the states. Make no mistake, there is some gore in this film, kids get wasted and it can be pretty brutal (within the ratings parameters of course, nothing like Battle Roayle).

The next thing that stands out is the production design. It's kind of hard to ignore the high fashion in the capitol. But beyond that, the buildings, the use of technology and the look of the surrounding districts are all done well.

And then we get to the fantastic cast of both adults and kids. Everyone looks like they are having a blast doing this. Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence are great and I was really pleased to see Isabelle Fuhrman from Orphan show up playing another evil child. She's great. And Alexander Ludwig finally gets in on a children's fantasy book adaptation film franchise that might actually go somewhere this time.

This one works for me. While it certainly only touches on some bigger ideas that I really wanted to see developed, and most likely they will be in future films, it still manages to have a satisfying ending as a stand alone film, thank god. Can't wait for Catching Fire!

Where the Buffalo Roam

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

Could only find that fan made trailer but you get the idea. After the Hunter S. Thompson double with Johnny Depp it made sense to cap it off with this one, the majority of which takes place chronologically after the events of the previous two films. Although this one was made first and stars Bill Murray in the role.

Ater the insanity of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas this almost seems quaint but it's great to see another take on this man.

There is some hilarity in here and it's a much less warped perspective that also doesn't contain all the darkness Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas had. There's something dangerous about that film whereas this feels more like it's trying to be a straight forward comedy. It also has a more overt political activism theme to it.

An interesting cap to the evening.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

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

Had to follow up The Rum Diary with Terry Gilliam's take. While I know I'm never going to get a straight narrative from some gonzo journalism I do appreciate Gilliam's visual style and his manic sense of chaos seems perfectly suited to this material.

The other thing it does is firmly embed these happenings in a time and place which helps understand the context immensely.

Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro are great and can alternate between hilarious and horrifying at the flip of a switch. And it's fun to spot familiar faces pop up along the way.

This film is exhausting and I also find something very sad about it. It has always intrigued me and it was great to watch again and this time on bluray, after a whole film to set it up.

The Rum Diary

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

Bruce Robinson tackles some early Hunter S. Thompson. Johnny Depp reprises his role as Thompson's persona and is once again surrounded by a great supporting cast. Giovanni Ribisi and Aaron Eckhart stand out in particular.

This whole film feels like a prologue. It's about a writer finding his voice. If that doesn't seem very cinematic, well it kinda isn't, but that seems to be a problems with translating Thompson's work. I'm such a sucker for narrative so these films tend to loose me a little and this film is before all of that energetic chaos that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has going for it to keep you occupied.

Still it has its share of moments and provides some interesting backstory.

I Melt with You

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

This one is a tricky. And overly long. It feels like 2 films. Neither of which entirely work for me. The first half alternates between 4 guys getting wasted and then having tearful d&m's, the second half turns to a darker mystery about a promise from their past.

I'll give it this, it has style. 5D cinematography looks great, very arty stuff, the editing is pretty snappy. The film is basically wall to wall soundtrack for nostalgic rock and roll songs I've never heard of. Basically I feel it just has too much of all these elements though. This film shouldn't be as long as it is.

Perhaps it only felt so long because I couldn't connect with any of the characters so by the time something finally starts to happen half way through the film I had pretty much given up being able to care. I really like all these actors but I guess I can't relate to that mid-life crisis stuff at this stage in my life.

Didn't hold together for me.

The Art of Getting By

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

While it is just another New York set quirky coming of age story, I actually quite enjoyed this one. First time writer/director Gavin Wiesen delivers a sweet little tale helped greatly by the cast. I especially love Freddie Highmore and Michael Angarano who have both had interesting and diverse roles for actors their age. I'm always interested to see what they will do next.

It's perfectly enjoyable, if you're lookin' to kill some time you could do a lot worse.

Machine Gun Preacher

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

I've seen something about that Kony chap pop up on my facebook feeds over the past few weeks but I've never actually looked at any of them. So this was my introduction to that whole thing. Marc Forster continues to make perfectly adequate films. Some of them I really like others I find interesting but never overly engaging. This was one of them.

Unexpected Michael Shannon attack! Hooray.

Gerard Butler does a good job. I still find his accent to distinctive to believe he can pass for American, but that might just be me. I like how they twist his preaching from uplifting to very scary over the corse of the film.

Even though it's based on a true story it still follows a pretty standard plot. It's interesting though but for me, never overly engaging.

Chronicle

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Mum, Dad

Write up here, and here.

Just wanted to see it one more time before it's gone off the big screen. Took mum and dad and they both seemed to enjoy it too. Love this one.

Murder by Death

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

Old write up.

Don't know how we ended up picking this film to watch but it's not an entirely horrible experience. If anything it just makes me long for Clue, which I believe is superior in pretty much every way.

Role Models

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

Not the greatest comedy ever but still has is moments. I'm a fan of David Wain and although he didn't have any story input on this, he's populated the film with other guys from The State in the peripheral roles and they are all great.

All the big beats of the film a blatantly laid out and the end comes together unbelievably and far too neat but it's not the kind of film that you really care about that anyway. The jokes work fine and it's enjoyable.

The Adventures of Tintin

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

Write Up.

Great Snakes! The level of detail in this film staggers me. Such fun.

I am surprised it's still playing, it's obviously one of those popular kids titles that doesn't go away, but happy I got to see it on the big screen one more time.