The Reef

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

Man I had to travel to seek this one out. It only appears to be playing at one cinema in Western Australia.

First thing I will say. Awesomely realistic looking shark attack x 2. Some good real footage and some cleaver compositing and it feels very real and pretty scary. There are quite a few moments of really good suspense.

If only the characters kept their mouths shut at the start. The relationshipy drama stuff felt pretty forced. I didn't like the dialogue or the delivery. But once they are in the water it picks up a bit.

The logistical problems of shooting on the water really show themselves here. Water surface and cloud and sky continuity are the biggest culprits. The ocean and clouds can change very quickly, I'll give you that, but not from shot to shot. It must have been a bitch of a shoot. The sound came out great though.

I think a lot of the problems with the sky colour should have been fixed in the colour grading, they hardly ever match up from shot to shot. Also, and I don't know it this was because of a dim projector bulb or not, but the hi-lights were very dull looking, to a distracting point for me. It just made it look very digital. I'll have to check it out on disc to compare.

There are two good shark attack scenes but is it worth sitting through the rest of the film to get to them? Hmm, that's a tough one. Maybe. If you like that kind of thing defiantly check it out. But it doesn't offer much more than that.

Red Riding Hood

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

Catherine Hardwicke's screw you to Summit Entertainment for being booted from the Twilight franchise. Her Werewolf is actually pretty badass. Unexpected. The rest was pretty much what I thought though.

The film is basically a whodunnit. Anyone could be the werewolf and everyone is suspicious. There is a really hopeless teen love triangle in there that may make you want to claw your eyes out Event Horizon style. Gary Oldman is on hand playing the priest and werewolf hunter. He's doing one of his big characters again but it's not too over the top.

One thing I will say, Hardwicke's sense of visual style seems to have matured greatly. I think that's in large part due to some fantastic production design and great huge sets. Shooting indoors with lighting rather than her previous more grungy doco style shot on the fly on location she produces a slick looking film. The snow looks a little fake and they overdose on the old smoke and fog, but still, it's a nice look. But you can tell they were indoors because almost every shot is a mid or a close up. There are only 2 or 3 wide shots that have been extended with digital mattes and as few sequences that looked shot out doors. It's not really a problem though, it does add to a claustrophobic feeling of being locked up inside a small village with as werewolf on the loose.

Despite the setting there are a lot of modern teen idiosyncrasies that squish there way into the film. I actually like the digital grading even though it's a very modern looks but the biggest culprit it the score. It stands out like a sore thumb, opting to use an indie guitar sound throughout. Especially over the "romantic" scenes which are very awkwardly handled but no where near as annoying as Twilight.

Lukas Haas, Julie Christie and Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh!!) are wasted. There were some girls behind me that seemed scared in some of the attack scenes but it didn't do much for me. If you want a good Red Riding Hood film I'd suggest checking out Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves. Or the awesomely exploitative Freeway, my personal favourite.

The Mechanic

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

Never saw the original with Charles Bronson. In fact looking over his credit list I don't think I've ever seen him in anything. (That's right, I've never seen Once Upon A Time in the West, The Dirty Dozen, The Magnificent Seven or the Great Escape. I'm not good with Old Westerns and War movies and it takes a great effort on my behalf to get me to watch them... Shame on me I know, but I just can't get excited about them.) So I don't know how it compares in story or action. I just know Jason Statham does not have a moustache.

I've said it before, I love Ben Foster and that may have hindered my view of this one, because I felt far too much sympathy for him and was thus really let down by the ending. I like Jason Statham fine in certain roles, this is one of the good ones thankfully. But Ben Foster is far more interesting. The scene of his first job is my favourite part of the film. He's so good pretending to lead on another guy in order to kill him.

I saw this with an older crowd that all gave a little humm of delight when Donald Sutherland popped up. Despite his character being in a wheelchair he still gets a little old person actiony scene at the start of the film. I liked that. There should be more wheelchair action scenes.

Simon West handles the action just fine and there are some pretty explosions to look at in the latter half. Some good shoot outs too. All in all a good action film but the end was a little disappointing if your sympathies lie in the wrong place.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

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

Zack Snyder's kick-ass owl movie. Visually stunning and richly detailed in animation and texture, lighting and sound. It's got some great tense moments and scary bits to freak out little kids too. Unfortunately what could have been an awesome action adventure film is ruined with the placement of the most horridly jarring pop song, smack bam in the middle of the film and at the end credits. Curse you Owl City. Curse you.

This film was great in 3d but looks just as amazing on bluray, there is so much detail to chew over. And of course the film is filled with the Snyder speed ramps so you get time to look at them. Unfortunately there is no commentary on the disc but there is one of those funky multimedia in-movie viewing modes that he has on all his films. They are teh funky.

There is some great action in this. It's pretty epic. It's a strange tone, some of the characters are very "kiddy" while a lot of the scenes, especially the stuff with any of the antagonists are pretty intense. I think this unevenness causes it some trouble. It also suffers from that horrible children's book series adaptation syndrome where things are left unfinished in the hopes of possible sequels that usually never come. It's nowhere near as bad as some more recent films, the main arc is completed, but there's definitely stuff there that is left hanging.

But don't dismiss this one, there's a lot here to enjoy and it's definitely worth a watch. The guys over at Animal Logic have done some great work.

Cyrus

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

Another neat little film from the Duplass brothers, champions of the "mumblecore" movement. This is their first studio funded picture but aside from some name actors and higher resolution video they've kept to their same idiosyncratic improvised style.

I really like this one, I think Jonah Hill is exceptional. Hilarious and really creepy at times. There are moments through where you just have no idea where it's going to go and there are a lot of cringe inducing awkwardness which I always love. It's another film where it's hard to believe someone like Marisa Tomei could fall for someone like John C. Reilly, but apparently only unattractive people are funny in these comedies.

It ends up being pretty standard plot structure but it's natural enough that nothing ever really feels forced, which I guess is the key to all their films.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

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

Thought I would check out the one of the commentaries on the new Bluray I picked up the other day. By the sounds of it these guys barely knew how to keep film exposed properly and yet their film has stood the test of time.

It's very gritty, very grainy and makes you want a shower. I find it's less of a scary film and more of a repulsive one. Also a lot of people overlook the wonderful dark humour in this twisted family dynamic of the second half. Very funny.

I find the title a bit misleading, only one person gets killed with a chainsaw. Far more people are bludgeoned.

The last 40 minutes of the film are the most effective to me. It's like the worst family dinner scene ever created. What makes it so unbearable is the constant screaming from the female lead, really starts to give you a headache after a while. And then there's all the extreme close ups of her eyeballs which is just kinda gross. The grandpa is hilarious though.

Nice film to revisit. It's so cheap and nasty and raw, it's never been one I watch often but it's still good to refresh the memory on this iconic horror classic.

Steamboy

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Naomi, Rebecca, Kyla, Alex, Ichina

Again a wonderfully rich and detailed animation from a few years back.The size and scope of this film is just massive. And Like his previous film Akira, features some of the most incredibly detailed large scale epic destruction ever animated.

I guess you can call this Steampunk although it is set in 1866. We watched it with the English dub with some great cast, all let down by Anna Paquin as the lead, Ray Steam, who unfortunately can't hold the accent.

This film is action packed. Great steam powered gadgets and gizmos. There is a lot about the power of science being used for good or evil and that is mirrored in a 3 generational family struggle with the invention of this super powered steamball. SCIENCE!

It's an incredibly drawn world, It's grimy and desaturated. Everything is covered in soot. I do love industrial revolution London.

The main problem I have with the film is it is an embarrassment of riches. The scope of the story and the action gets more and more grandiose and doesn't let up but it just goes on and on. It feels like there is an extra act in there that doesn't really need to be. It's a little exhausting and tends to slowly disengage me from the film right before the climax. The very end is great though.

You can tell Otomo loves this world, it feels like he never wants to leave it. Hell he even tell an entire sequel in the end credits. It's truly something to behold on the big screen and I wish they had it out on Bluray, but for now the dvd will do.

The Secret of Kells

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

This is a beautiful Irish animated film from a few years back. I love the style of the animations which mimics the look of the designs in the Book. No perspective in the backgrounds can take a little bit of getting used to.

It's a simple little story filled with wonder and gorgeous imagery. There's also some great evil bits in it mainly to do with a dark monster that lives in the forest and the invading vikings that kill everyone. I love their design too. There are also some great funny bits, most of the m at the start before things become darker.

The music and sound is great, the voices a good, all in all it's a great film with a mythical quality of an old folk tale. It's sweet, simple and effective. One of my favourite pieces of animation from the last few years.

The Legend of Hell House

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

Wow, watch that trailer and then Edgar Wright's trailer for Grindhouse. Cool.

Michael Gough has just passed away. Not Cool. I remember him mainly from Tim Burton films, notably as Alfred in his Batman films and also uttering my favourite line in Sleepy Hollow. "Taken. Taken by the Headless Horseman. Taken back to hell!" I saw the name of this film in his filmography and thought, I do love a good haunted house film so I gave it a look. Unfortunately it's not the best example of his acting talent. He only appears as a corpse in the last minute of the film. But his characters presence is there from the start.

I was pleasantly surprised to get to see Roddy McDowall without chimpanzee make-up covering his face. I've been going through all the extras on my new Planet of the Apes bluray box set so I'm just used to hearing his voice filtered through those prosthetic lips.

He and the rest of the cast member are required to do some pretty big acting here and I think they sell it for the most part. But if you aren't getting into it it'll be pretty ridiculous. There's all the stereotypical haunted house staples here. Whispering voices, low angles, high contrast shadows, moving objects, temperature drops, clairvoyance and some even ectoplasm.

They try and make is a science by explaining about electromagnetic radiation and using a machine to clear it. Good thing the ghost was smarter than that.

It's not the greatest haunted house movie but it has all the elements I love about them and does them reasonably well too.

Limitless

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

Magical miracle drugs. Mmm.

The story here is all in the trailer, there's not too much more to it. But it's entertaining and has some cool sequences. Alright drama, Some cool paranoia stuff, terrible romance (but it's not really the focus, just glanced over) a few cool and unexpected action sequences and some triply drug benders.

This one has a heap of awesome little directorial flourishes. The way they visualise the effects of the drug is creative and fun. I love the 180 degree vision, the multiple versions of himself and the sequence where he first starts to lose time walking through the street.

Kate from Lost is in it! And she look amazingly dishevelled. But she's really just on hand for some exposition.

As enjoyable as the film was I thought it was let down by the ending. It got some momentum going but the coda at the end feels dubious. It's an interesting take on addiction and how far someone will go to get the next hit, you'll know what i'm talking about when you get to it... ew. But to come out of it all with a happy ending and no real consequences or downsides feels a little cheap, not to mention a little moralistically evil.

And what the hell happened with that whole "did he murder that girl" plot line? That wasn't really seen through. A load of things seem left by the wayside. They are probably all in the book it's based on but feel lacking in the film. Perhaps there are deleted scenes.

Anyway it was enjoyable enough, there are some great funny moments and enough other things to at least keep you interested.

Network

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

My bluray arrived. I love that 70's grain in HD.

What can one say about Network. I honestly don't know where to begin. It's a titan. Funny and horrifying and one of the greatest dramas from the 70's or indeed ever. The script is immaculate and the performances match. A film that I only saw for the first time last year and while that's something I'm a little ashamed to admit I'm glad I didn't see it when I was much younger because there's no way my sensibilities would have appreciated it as much as I can now.

God what a cast.

A lot of the satire of network news predictions have come to fruition now, and it's just as relevant today as it was 40 years ago.

We're mad as hell and we're not gonna take it anymore. That scene stops my breath. Can't wait to hear the commentary.

Red Dawn

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

This one has also been in the news a bit of late. MGM is finally getting out of it's bankruptcy and will be able to release the remake they shot a year and a half ago. But the filmmakers have made the amusing and somewhat controversial decision to go back and digitally change the communist invaders from Chinese to North Korean. I'd only seen this once before a few years ago, right after I had 4 wisdom teeth out, so I though it would be a good time to revisit.

I think the best thing about this film is the opening. It's shocking and brutal. The image of the paratroopers landing on the school grounds is beautiful and foreboding and then BAM the massacre starts. The battle is over and the core group of kids have escaped with supplies into the mountains while the county is overrun by evil communist invaders. All this happens within the first 10 minutes. It's great.

The rest of the film follows them as they become guerilla terrorists fighting back for their land. There are some neat, suspenseful action beats and these kids get mowed down. This ain't Tomorrow When The War Began.

Some of the acting is a little unconvincing, even with the great young cast but they are having to play some really large moments. The quieter moments and action work best. I find entire chunks of the middle section unengaging. The finale is understated and works, but they wrap up so quickly there is no time to process.

There's a lot to like here. I do love extreme violence agains children. This film is pretty mean. I like that Lea Thompson survived and went on to make Back to the Future. I don't like that Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey were both killed but went on to make Dirty Dancing anyway. It's much better than it's modern Australian counterpart, and I'm sure the remake will be a lot of fun, whoever the bad guys are.

The Sugarland Express

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

The Beard's first theatrical feature film. Most people overlook this and jump straight to Jaws but this film has a lot to offer. I love the feel of the early Spielberg films. I decided to watch this one again because I have heard it mentioned as a reference in a lot of reviews of the new sci-fi road comedy Paul. Apparently there are a lot of Spielberg references so I'm extra excited for that now.

I see Matthew Robbins' name pop up again as one of the writers. More importantly this is the first time Steven Spielberg and John Williams worked together on a film. Match made in heaven.

The acting here is great. I sometimes find Goldie Hawn annoying but she is just on fire here sinking her teeth into this great character. She is a standout.

Based on a true story, I love the way the bad situation just escalates throughout the running time until there is only really one way it can possibly end. It's funny, poignant, heartbreaking and filled with a lot of car action and gun shoot outs. So many 70's cars. It also features one of the few real downbeat endings in a Spielberg film but it still manages to feel nostalgic somehow. Maybe just because it's old. heh.

If you've never seen this one it's definitely worth checking out. Anything Spielberg directs is always, at the very least, well made.

The Thief of Bagdad

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

I this I was the lone kid in 1992 who was more anxious to see this film again rather than the Disney cartoon Aladdin. That could be more to do with the fact that there was a real search involved in trying to find a copy of the film, which I assumed was also called Aladdin because it was the same story, whereas the cartoon was plastered onto every surface anywhere you looked.

It wasn't until a few years back that I was reading up on Sabu, who I must have watched at least one a week in the best version of Jungle Book and realised that the film I had been searching for all those years back was called The Thief of Bagdad and was not quite the same story although they have in common many of the same elements.

What this film has which the cartoon lacks is:
1. Sabu. He's just the most loveable scamp ever. And...
2. A giant spider battle over a pool with a giant octopus. That's to two of my favourite giant creatures together!

Watching this now I am really in love with the way they create such epic looking shots in the old ratio. The design of all the temples and the shots are all to accommodate the taller frame and it is really beautifully composed. You don't need widescreen to look epic.

Love the effects. Love the Miklós Rózsa score, especially that creepy music for the mechanical lady that kills the king. This is a remake of the silent version with Douglas Fairbanks, which I have never seen, but I have read many people prefer that version to this. I'll have to seek that out.

But this was that unattainable film from my childhood, the one that I saw one lazy Sunday afternoon on tv at my grandmother's house, the one that no-one in my class believed a live action version of Aladdin existed. The dvd transfer I have is not the greatest, but at least I can definitely state that the film exists and it is damn great entertainment.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

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

I think I did this film a bit of a disservice, my head wasn't completely together as I was watching. I think i needed something more perky today but instead all I could find was this rather slow moving character relationship piece. There was something about the war and a lot of sexy scenes but ultimately I missed the point of it all.

Juliette Binoche;s character is a little screwed up. She feels everything so intensely. I don't think I've seen much of Lena Olin's stuff before the late 90's so that was a treat. Ditto for Daniel Day-Lewis. They all craft great layered characters.

It's also shot beautifully. Not just the countryside landscapes of sex scenes, but Soviet's invade and they switch filmstock it's visceral and look authentic, for all I know they used stock footage and shot pieces like this so they would match but either way I really like that.

I wasn't ready for the end when it came, but I don't think I was paying close enough attention to the workings of the characters to figure out what they were leading up to. So if I'm just going by plot, I couldn't say I'd plan to revisit this one. It really just felt like a sequence of events that happened.