Idiocracy

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Write Up.

Really love this one. I was watching it this time thinking how closely it resembles Planet of the Apes, especially in the music. Fitting really.

Movie 43

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Matt, Tim

The Farrelly Brother's very own Kentucky Fried Movie. Except each segment had it's own creative team, making this more like an anthology movie made up of comedy shorts rather than a bunch of sketches. 

And as is the case with all anthology films, there are hits and misses. Unfortunately the misses far outweigh the hits. Like horror, comedy can play very different for an audience depending on personality. For me, far to many of the jokes just fall flat. 

They pretty much all have a great central conceit for each segment. Just the ideas alone are funny enough. The Farrelly's idea of humour is to take an idea and keep playing it out to ridiculous extremes, they seem to think if something is more outrageous it is funnier. This structure plays out through all the shorts, and NONE of them have a good punchline, which is my biggest problem with the film. The set ups are great but then they just add in absurdity and then they can't go any further so they end and go on to the next. 

It's no surprise that the funniest segments are all very short mock advertisements that play between the longer shorts. None of them overstay their welcome and they only need time to set up one funny idea without getting too ridiculous.

That's not to say that I'm against ridiculousness, I'm all for it, and there were a few segments that had some really great moments. But overall they fall flat and without that strong finish they just seem ridiculous for the sake of it. The best reason to watch this film is it's you're a keen 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon player. 

Mac and Me

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Michael, Tyler

Well, they tricked me when I was a kid. I saw the cover and thought it looked like another E.T. I fell for it. And all these years later I still remember this stupid film. It's basically just a cheap imitation, not so subtly sponsored by McDonalds. 

But it does have some hilariously terrible sections. The 80's dance number in McDonals is infamous. And Paul Rudd has put that wheelchair-over-a-cliff scene into the zeitgeist. 

Christine Ebersole does what she can to add any kind of credibility as the mother. Alan Silvestri provides a great score that is far too good for the film it's paired with. These two are just trying too hard.

I think the aliens are meant to be cute but they come across as stupid and perverted. It doesn't help that as the film continues it looks like the appliances are falling apart and they didn't have any money to fix them. 

Hilariously terribly film that promises a sequel that thankfully never came. Good for a laugh though. Or if you really enjoy uber-80's dancing. (Which I do.)

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

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

Tommy Wirkola's been shipped over from Norway after the success of his somewhat uneven Dead Snow. This film is just as uneven. There's a whole lot of stuff I want to say is cool and bits here and there I enjoyed but in the end it just never connects. 

A real shame, because the artistry and technical ability (horrific post conversion 3D aside) displayed is just fantastic, utterly wasted on an average story with just a few too many idiosyncrasies to feel cohesive in any way. There's some great looking witches and a beautifully designed troll. The fight scenes are all pretty fun and inventive. Supporting players like Famke Janssen and Peter Stormare do what they can. 

I feel a little sorry for Gemma Arterton, she seems like she could be a great actress but so far all her big american films have left much to be desired, and the roles she plays in them are not a great showcase. And being stuck with the most uncharismatic guy ever to keep getting leads in Hollywood films is another blow to add to the list. 

This feels a lot like last year's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It either needed to be more straight laced or more off the wall. Where it sits now is just confusing and makes the audience uncomfortable. 

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Write up for part 1.

Hell yeah.

Man I forgot how dark this one gets, it's been a while since I read it. Michael Emerson's take on Joker is pretty kick-ass. But this second half is where things really get interesting. I kind of wish this is what Nolan's last film was more akin too. This is just epic, and wraps up the story in such a great way. Check out these ones.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

I haven't read all that many comics or graphic novels but I know this one very well. Warner's adaptation is once again, a fantastic telling of the iconic story that helped usher in the new tone of one of their flagship characters.

The animation sometimes leaves a little to be desired but it does the job well enough. I'm not sure I really like Peter Weller's voice for Batman but then again, this is a much older take on the guy. Things are a little disjointed and slow going at the start but the action is pretty consistent once things get going. Unfortunately all the best parts are in the second half.

Great to see this story in motion.

Deadly Blessing

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No

Snake in the bathtub. And this is a few years before Wes Craven went on to make Nightmare on Elm St. This one also sees Sharon Stone battling a spider. And the late great Ernest Borgnine doing some old school creepy biblical preaching.

The recent bluray release put this one on my radar, otherwise I'm afraid I'd never have heard of it. An 80's Wes Craven horror I haven't yet seen? I love finding out about titles like this. I love it more when they deliver. Really enjoyed this one.

I had started it quite late and was starting to drift off when a darn jump scare jolted me upright, and made sure I saw wide awake for the whole glorious finale and for a short time after as well. Lois Nettleton's wonderfully off kilter performance at the beginning perhaps tipped the hat a little too much but it was a joy to watch anyway.

And James Horner provides a a great horror score. I don't know many straight horror films he's done but it's a good fit here. It's no masterpiece but it's a very worthy companion to other fun 80's horror classics. And for those that already knew this, check out the bluray when you get the chance because it looks great.

Exam

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

I don't know what's going on with the release of this one but it's a set up that I do love. Films like this can go either way though, it always comes down to acting and the outcome. This one actually worked out quite well thankfully. It also helps that it looks great and while sometimes you're waiting for that characters to catch up to you they usually don't do anything completely unbelievable. A nice little low budget/high-concept thriller.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

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Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Bless Brad Silberling and his love of giant old school sets. Finally thought to give the bluray a spin and it's such a stunning looking film. I remember really enjoying this one the few times I saw it at the cinema but it's been a while and I forgot the massively talented cast they amassed for even the smallest parts, even though the trailer advertise it as Jim Carrey's film. Although he does do quite a job too.

I really wish this film had done better because I am desperate to see the rest of the stories adapted but now I never will. The film does work well on its own but leaves quite a lot of mysteries unanswered. I really love the dark tone of it, the comedy works great, the stylised world they've created is amazing and Thomas Newman's music is very Thomas Newman and brilliant.

So disappointing I don't get more. But I still really love this one. Oh and the opening animation and closing credit design is awesome as well haha.

Zero Dark Thirty

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

A C.I.A. procedural on the hunt for the worlds most wanted man. I didn't expect to go for it as much as I did, it was surprisingly engaging, especially since we all know the outcome. I didn't feel the length as much as I expected to, so that can only attest to the filmmaking and actors doing a good job.

For me it wasn't an overly satisfying film, besides the minutia of the events you can basically gleam everything you need to know about it from news and trailers, so not many surprises. It's a very straightforward telling of what happened. To what end, I'm not sure but I did enjoy it in the moment.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Woody Allen's latest, or should I say latest released in Australia. This was actually a 2010 film and the two films he made after it have already been released here. I don't know why we are only getting this one now but it's here and I saw it. It was quite enjoyable but didn't really go anywhere.

Cool cast assembled to play a divers bunch of characters all dealing with different self delusions to make their lives more manageable. Some of these work out and some don't. That's pretty much the sum of it. 

Flight

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

It's nice to know Robert Zemeckis hasn't abandoned live action filmmaking. And it's a fine return to the form. He's made a character study of an alcoholic battling with addiction entertaining and engaging, with the help of a good script and some great actors doing what they do best.

It's certainly a smaller scale film than he's done in quite some time, it's also the most adult film I've seen from him. It's nice to see him exercise some restraint in regards to his camera work. He's still got it, I hope we got more from him soon.

The Possession

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First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler, Jordan

Yeah, it's not too bad.  There were 2 good moments of suspense, some very standard possession CG stuff and quite a lot of characters that, let's be honest, we don't mind seeing bad stuff happen to... Not exactly satisfying but it wasn't terrible.

Big Man Japan

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

Hitoshi Matsumoto became a name to watch for me with this film. A documentary style look at a Japan where their fabled kaiju giant monsters were real and giant men were the countries protectors. 

The character at the center of the film is a little bittersweet. He's very funny to watch but the whole film is tainted with a sadness. It's an interesting statement about the degradation of these once iconic allegorical stories to mere spectacle to nothing more that cheap saturday morning kids tv shows, as referenced in the utterly bizarre finale.

Despite this sad theme, the film itself is very amusing in that insane Japanese way. The subdued documentary segments are interspersed with giant cg monster fights that are just as absurd. It's a bit of a riddle of a film but I really like it and what it has to say about the breakdown of this proud tradition of filmmaking. 

The Devil's Backbone

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

Some early Guillermo del Toro and a great little thriller with some supernatural tendencies. Beautifully crafted, I love the cinematography here. Great to catch up with again. I hope he will one day finish his thematic trillogy. Pan's Labyrinth is one of my all time favourite films and his treatment for Saturn and the End of Days sounded fantastic too.