Monsters University

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

Ok, so first off, the short film that plays before this, The Blue Umbrella, is just gorgeous. It's pretty much photo real and looks like a 70's new york indie film. The story is pretty standard boy-meets-girl, etc. etc. But it's just soooo preeettttyyy.

Monster's Inc. is great. You can't give it a sequel because the end to the original is so perfect. It doesn't need a prequel, but it has one now so you're just gonna have to deal with that. It seems like a very odd proposition to make a college movie that's targeted towards kids. Especially here in Australia where the majority of the audience have absolutely no idea what a frat house is or how the whole college lifestyle works.

So it's a good thing they made the film funny. Because besides that, and the prospect of spending some more time with old favourites, the film doesn't have much more going for it. I did laugh a couple of times and it's perfectly enjoyable. The story is pretty straightforward, not many thrills there.

I do have to give them credit for the major theme they tackle that goes counter to almost all hollywood children's movies. We all know from years of movie-going that if we work super hard and follow our dreams we can achieve them. This film shits all over that and rather, prepares us to deal with the inevitable failure that comes from such wistful thinking.

I also got very excited when I thought they were going to go all Friday the 13th in their third act, but they didn't utilise that opportunity to its full potential. (Come on, it's no more outlandish that doing a college movie for kids, they're the same generation.)

As with all prequels they are inherently anti-climactic, because we all know where the characters eventually end up. It's a fun ride to get there but won't leave a lasting impression.

Generation Um...

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

I dunno, I felt like this was trying to be Sex, Lies and Videotape but the characters just weren't as developed or interesting. It's a cool little indie drama but it never really grabbed me so I never bothered to figure out what the point of it was.

Upstream Color

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

Shane Carruth finally got another project off the ground after his impressive debut with Primer, a film I really love. Here with have another big sci-fi premise that is very grounded in the real world and doesn't ever worry about if the audience knows exactly what is going on or not. While this can be confusing at times it seems to be more important that you feel your way through rather than figure out exactly what's going on in the plot, which is most likely going to be different for each viewer.

Now I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as Primer, but despite the extremely esoteric nature of filmmaking on display, there was still much to enjoy. This film has some beautiful moments and a hypnotic dream-like tone. The actors equip themselves well, the film is gorgeously photographed. There's certainly enough to keep you interested and the relationship drama that unfolds is certainly unique. Despite its distancing style I latched onto that.

After a long stall with an ambitious project that fell through I'm glad to see Carruth back in the game and hope he continues his output more frequently.

Rounders

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No

A friend told me to watch this one after having discovered I'd never seen it. I'd never even heard of it. I don't even know what a rounder is. I still don't really, but it has something to do with gambling. The films is about guys that play poker. I still don't know the first thing about poker. But that doesn't really matter you still get all the beats of the drama and it was fun to just watch the awesome cast do their stuff. Good ol' Mirimax.

World War Z

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

I read Max Brooks' Zombie Survival guide but I've only managed to head some of the audio book of World War Z. (Awesome cast they got for that btw.) Suffice to say this film does not resemble what little I know of the book and nor do I think you could make a straight adaptation of it into a 2 hour film. It is a very globe trotting zombie adventure, which makes a nice change from the usual zombie fare. And the spectacle of this new breed of zombies, that swarm like ants high on red bull rather than shambling around looking for brains, is visually thrilling.

What doesn't work as well is creating any tension or empathy for characters. The episodic nature of the structure means we aren't with any one group for very long and our only guide is Brad Pitt, so you just assume he'll always get out fine. In that sense it does seem very observational, rather than emotional.

It's also hard to separate expectations from the widely reported production troubles and high profile writers that came onboard to re-write the end, extensive re-shoots and many many delays on the release date. I wonder what the original ending was supposed to be. What we are left with now for a resolution is a small first step towards recovery, but very much an open ending which makes room for sequels.

Now there are some really cool set pieces in each location. I loved the idea of a plane outbreak and also that idea that all the people that prayed to god caused the downfall of Jerusalem. Delicious. There's also an attempt to create suspense at the end with a sequence set in a hospital, but it doesn't really work, for reasons stated above.

I saw the film in 3D. It didn't really add that much. It's a pretty shaky-cam film too. There were one or two moments where, looking down a long corridor they add a lot of depth only to have a biter jump out right up close. But I think that works just as well in 2D. It's a pity they had to keep the rating PG, there is no blood associated with these guys. Gore hounds will be very disappointed.

I think this comes of as overly negative, but I did enjoy the film. It has some great visuals, a few nice new ideas but at the same time it just felt a little empty.

Stranded

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Yeah, it's not good. It's pretty bad. I'm a sucker for bad sci-fi horror. That's what this is. Their lack of budget shows. Pretty silly alien/the thing rip-off. But bless Christian Slater, even here he's acting like he could be in an awards contender.

A Monster in Paris

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

That's a terrible trailer, but the film is okay. I watched it in english as the animation seemed to be in sync that way, I don't know if the French version would have made it an better or worse. It's got a few good tunes and looks good for an independent animated film. The characters and story a very simple and the structure feels a little strange but I don't think the target audience are gonna mind. You could do worse with your kids entertainment.

Parker

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Another pretty solid B-grade action. It passes the time and looks nice. J-lo and Statham don't meet until halfway through and then it feels like another movie begins, kinda odd. They got a nice cast together to deliver pretty cheesy lines. But I still enjoyed the ride for what it was.

V/H/S/2

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

Well I didn't really like the first one. This one is a great improvement, the wrap around story is better, the pace is much quicker (thank god) and there's more humor too. However it still suffers from a lot of the problems that are just inherent to anthology films and found footage horror. I guess that's not going to go away, despite a few segments with many more unmotivated cameras so they can cut more like a normal film.

The pedegree behind this one is a step up and that certainly shows. Overall I enjoyed this one much more and loved some of the ideas on display, especially the zombie p.o.v.

Welcome to the Punch

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Gritty British cop thriller. Good production value, nice cast too. I see Ridley Scott was a producer. A lot of gun shoot outs. Some other nice action. James McAvoy as a badass amuses me for some reason. Yeah it was pretty cool, kinda forgettable but again, another solid b-grade action.

Jack and Diane

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

A slightly offbeat New York indie coming-of-age lesbian drama romance. Well, 90% of it is. When new sexual urges take over we are treated to a ravenous werewolf-like transformation and in these brief dream states the film flips to horror mode. Unexpected and quite fun.

Riley Keough and the ever-reliable Juno Temple inhabit their characters well. The rest of the cast a fine too. I thought it was a little long but an interesting take on a first-love story.

Pawn

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

A hostage thriller that gets very twisty turny, very fast. Enjoyable b-grade thriller even if it does get a little ridiculous. Good cast too.

The Dinosaur Project

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

I love a good found footage film. I love a good Dinosaur film. I love the idea of this film. And the vfx are pretty good too actually. But everything else in the film is pretty much a dud. Anytime something exciting starts to happen the cameras short out. Some effort was made to get a father/son drama happening but it's pretty woeful, and everything else is just an excuse for stringing vfx shots together.

Vehicle 19

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Paul Walker heads over to South Africa for more fast car action. Don't expect much from the acting, the story is pretty straightforward too. I do like a good creative closed quarters low budget film. This one takes place pretty much entirely inside this car. They've made a pretty good looking B-grade action movie, and I'm guessing that anyone that wants to watch this shouldn't be expecting more than that.

Mud

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

After the amazing Take Shelter, I was keen to see what Jeff Nichols came up with next. He's come up with somthing akin to a modern Huckleberry Finn. A coming of age story set on a river where a young boy befriends and outcast and learns some hard lessons about love.

The story feels sweeping even though it's actually quite contained. They packed in a coming of age drama, a romance and a crime thriller into a coherent and engaging package.

Newcomer Tye Sheridan is great. Matthew McConaughey is charming as ever. The film is beautifully shot and steadily paced. Overall a very satisfying watch and despite the less than optimal seating position in the cinema I really enjoyed it.

Why Stop Now

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

This one was quite fun. Things just kind of resolved themselves after one heartfelt speech at the end, but the hijinks before that were okay. The romantic sub plot was kinda daggy. The actors do their best with light material.

Union Square

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

An okay drama that follows the story of two estranged sisters. Mira Sorvino sinks her acting chops into a very grating character which can be both fun and annoying. Well put together but nothing here lingers.

Voyage of the Rock Aliens

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

Oh lordy. An interesting follow up to The History Of Future Folk. I'd seen the trailer and had to seek out the film. An 80's sci-fi musical comedy. Very silly, completely hilarious. I don't even know where to begin. They somehow throw in a whack town sherrif played by Ruth Gordon, whom I recognised from Rosemary's Baby, a giant tentacled monster, 2 insane escaped serial killers and what feels like wall to wall songs. They mash up 50's and 80's aesthetics, I do like that. There's some very loony toons style slap stick and just a lot of general bizarreness. Mainly though, I just love marvelling at the hair-dos.