MISTER LONELY - Directed by Harmony Korine, who wrote kids, and wrote and directed Gummo and Julian Donkey Boy
VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA - Woody Allen's new film... looks great!
AMERICAN TEEN - Documentary about high school kids in Warsaw, Indiana (coming in 2 weeks)
THE PROMOTION - Looks great... sounds great.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS!!!!!
STEP BROTHERS
NEW JOE WRIGHT FILM STARRING ROBERT DOWNEY JR. JOE WRIGHT DIRECTED PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ATONEMENT.
That's all i can think of right now. Maybe i'll do this again later.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
INDIANA JONES - THE KINGDOM OF CRYSTAL SKULL (4 STARS)
My first theater movie of the year. I had the whole place to myself. I bought the ticket with a gift card so i didn't feel like i was wasting money...heck... i even bought a coffee. Sat down and realized i had the whole place to myself. I said, "i'm really going to enjoy this". I breathed in my scolding hot coffee and watched the previews.... American Teen, a dumb chick flick, Batman, and Hancock. I teared up hardcore during American Teen even though i've seen the previews on line about 20 times. Batman choked me up thinking about Heath Ledger... and HANCOCK!! What a great lookin movie! Perfect or Wil Smith. Looks really funny.
Movie stars and i'm bumed already. The open shot is CGI. Then we are reintroduced to Indiana and find that his looks like he's 70. He looked horrible during the first 10 minutes. The dialogue was straight out of a cheezy action comic book. The digital background looked like a stage play. I will say that Cate Blanchett has never been hotter. She looks so got in ever shot of this film.
So anyway..... I got threw the opening with the thought, "I can handle this for a while but if it goes on threw the whole movie, we're in trouble."
I was extremely happy to find that after the first 10 minutes, i settled right in and really started enjoying myself. It was classic Indiana Jones. The wit was there. The action was there. The suspence was there. The over the top effects were there. The chases were better than ever. Shya Labouf (or whatever) "MUTT", i thought, was oustanding. I would never have guess that his role would ever really work. I thought he saved this film. His bike riding was so fun to watch, and he doesn't have that annoying witty snappy come back crap lines that the one guy had in National Treasure. He's straight with comedy, and it works. He pulls off the cool thing very nicely.
I thought this 4th film was extremely bold. To put Indiana in these situations was so odd. I can't list them because they're all spoilers. But... they weren't playin' it safe. The only obvious thing that is sort of a given is Soviet's... communist Russia... the 50's.
The end was bad. Over the top. Ridiculas. Was not at all a classic Indiana ending. So there we have it.
Not a good intro... not a good end... but classic middle.
Favorite scenes... Soda Shop Scene, and Sand Trap Scene.
Movie stars and i'm bumed already. The open shot is CGI. Then we are reintroduced to Indiana and find that his looks like he's 70. He looked horrible during the first 10 minutes. The dialogue was straight out of a cheezy action comic book. The digital background looked like a stage play. I will say that Cate Blanchett has never been hotter. She looks so got in ever shot of this film.
So anyway..... I got threw the opening with the thought, "I can handle this for a while but if it goes on threw the whole movie, we're in trouble."
I was extremely happy to find that after the first 10 minutes, i settled right in and really started enjoying myself. It was classic Indiana Jones. The wit was there. The action was there. The suspence was there. The over the top effects were there. The chases were better than ever. Shya Labouf (or whatever) "MUTT", i thought, was oustanding. I would never have guess that his role would ever really work. I thought he saved this film. His bike riding was so fun to watch, and he doesn't have that annoying witty snappy come back crap lines that the one guy had in National Treasure. He's straight with comedy, and it works. He pulls off the cool thing very nicely.
I thought this 4th film was extremely bold. To put Indiana in these situations was so odd. I can't list them because they're all spoilers. But... they weren't playin' it safe. The only obvious thing that is sort of a given is Soviet's... communist Russia... the 50's.
The end was bad. Over the top. Ridiculas. Was not at all a classic Indiana ending. So there we have it.
Not a good intro... not a good end... but classic middle.
Favorite scenes... Soda Shop Scene, and Sand Trap Scene.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
THE CIRCUS (4 STARS)
Charlie Chaplin in maybe his funniest film. I laughed so hard i cried. By the way i've cried in every Chaplin i've seen so far. Great introduction to "the little tramp" i thought... and a beautiful ending.
Here's the first 9 minutes.
Here's the first 9 minutes.
Friday, June 20, 2008
IN BRUGES (4 STARS)
First time screenwriter first time director Martin McDonagh. McDonagh is famous for being a playwright. He's currently hot on the scene in Europe's stage. So he writes a screen play and it's so good that he gets to direct it too. And it's really freakin good. Halarious diologue, great action. Gives you something moraly and spiritually to think about. At the same time, it's a movie any Joe Shmow would enjoy. I think that's why he's so good.
I'd say the main theme/subject of this film is stereotypes. It's really funny. They must have mentioned every stereo time of every single different person on Earth. Relentlessly stereotyping even the types you're not allowed to stereotype. I'd say Dwarfs get it worst.
Everything comes back... it all comes back. Every one comes back. It's like Back to the future or something.
Great ending... expect a great ending.
I'd say the main theme/subject of this film is stereotypes. It's really funny. They must have mentioned every stereo time of every single different person on Earth. Relentlessly stereotyping even the types you're not allowed to stereotype. I'd say Dwarfs get it worst.
Everything comes back... it all comes back. Every one comes back. It's like Back to the future or something.
Great ending... expect a great ending.
PERSEPOLIS (4.5 STARS)
Adapted from a graphic novel, Persepolis tells the story of a girl from oppressed, war torn Iran. It's about her family, her heritage, politics, and her growing up struggling to stay true to herself.
The art is beautiful every moment of the film. The story moved me so many times. Everyone needs to see this. If reading subtitles is not something you want to do then just wait... it'll come out in English soon. And i'm pretty sure the dad is going to be the voice of Iggy Pop.
I can't explain why... but every time I watch a trailer and someone is playing a guitar... i tear up. I've seen the trailer for Persepolis maybe 20 times and i have teared up every time he is playing guitar on her tennis racket. There's a few trailers, but they all have the tennis racket... this is my favorite tennis racket one.
The art is beautiful every moment of the film. The story moved me so many times. Everyone needs to see this. If reading subtitles is not something you want to do then just wait... it'll come out in English soon. And i'm pretty sure the dad is going to be the voice of Iggy Pop.
I can't explain why... but every time I watch a trailer and someone is playing a guitar... i tear up. I've seen the trailer for Persepolis maybe 20 times and i have teared up every time he is playing guitar on her tennis racket. There's a few trailers, but they all have the tennis racket... this is my favorite tennis racket one.
FUNNY GAMES (4.5 STARS)
Best movie of 2008 so far. This is my kind of movie. Very cool, very post modern. Plus i'm in love with Micheal Pitt.
It's about a vacationing couple in there summer home, who are terrorized by to nice young men. But what it's really about is violence in cinema. Humans love torture.
This was directed by the same guy 10 years ago frame for frame. I'll be seeing that one soon.
It's about a vacationing couple in there summer home, who are terrorized by to nice young men. But what it's really about is violence in cinema. Humans love torture.
This was directed by the same guy 10 years ago frame for frame. I'll be seeing that one soon.
MONSIER VERDIOUX (4 stars)
1947 black and white "talky" written, directed, and starred by Charlie Chaplin.
Orson Wells came up with the idea, and Chaplin bought it off of him. It's based on a true story about a french guy during the depressing, who marries women who have money and then kills them. All the while being married to his original wife. He has several wifes all at the same time and he goes wife hopping until it's not going to work out anymore and then he kills them.
Great film. Tedious at times but funny. The ending is indescribably good. The dialogue is extremely smart.
It reminds me of Funny Games. There were several looks into the camera... like 30 looks into the camera through out the film. And it all comes back in the viewers lap in the end. Great movie.
The dialogue is extremely smart.
Orson Wells came up with the idea, and Chaplin bought it off of him. It's based on a true story about a french guy during the depressing, who marries women who have money and then kills them. All the while being married to his original wife. He has several wifes all at the same time and he goes wife hopping until it's not going to work out anymore and then he kills them.
Great film. Tedious at times but funny. The ending is indescribably good. The dialogue is extremely smart.
It reminds me of Funny Games. There were several looks into the camera... like 30 looks into the camera through out the film. And it all comes back in the viewers lap in the end. Great movie.
The dialogue is extremely smart.
CHARLIE BARTLETT (2.5 STARS)
I think I'd rather watch THE MIST than to see this movie again. It was awful. Completely brainless and forgettable. It's not ripping off just one... it's an almost commendable homage to several of the same kinds of movies that we all know and love. To name a few; Harold and Maud, Rushmore, Every John Hughes movie ever, and Pump up the volume. There's a scene where he actually stands up and gives the same speech as in Pump up the volume. He's a rich kid that gets kicked out of private school and goes to public school and still wears his school jacket like in RUSHMORE. He's a rich kid with a crazy mother PLUS he sits down with a his girlfriend and plays on the piano "If you wanna sing out, sing out, if you wanna be free be free, cos theres a million things to be, you know that there are", like in Harold and Maud. However, they changed the lyrics from "if you wanna get high, get high" to "if you wanna live high live high." But in the end, it turns out to be just a stupid John Hughes rip off.
and by the way... i hated Juno for all the same reasons.
I will say that the main character kid was really really good in it. He had to pump out several horrible lines and do many many ridicules things through out the film and i feel like he definitely pulled it off.
He looks like Kevin Bacon too.
So... this is a bad movie. I find my self yelling several times... "AAHH, I HATE THIS MOVIE!!" at the screen. Don't be fooled... this is not good.
and by the way... i hated Juno for all the same reasons.
I will say that the main character kid was really really good in it. He had to pump out several horrible lines and do many many ridicules things through out the film and i feel like he definitely pulled it off.
He looks like Kevin Bacon too.
So... this is a bad movie. I find my self yelling several times... "AAHH, I HATE THIS MOVIE!!" at the screen. Don't be fooled... this is not good.
Friday, June 13, 2008
BE KIND REWIND (3.5 STARS)
Huge disappointment! I had Michel Gondre down for 5 stars for the rest of his movie making days. This however is barely a 3.5. It's cheesy, dumbed down, and predictable. It's a comedy without a single laugh in it. I sat threw the whole thing completely bummed. The Science of Sleep was my favorite movie of 06. I thought it was perfect. And i love Eternal Sunshine of a spotless mind (although i have my problems with it). But this is just boring movie making.
I'll give one scene credit. It's the only scene that felt like Gondre. It's the Montague. Very original, one shot. The actors run from place to place for this one huge scene. The camera movies along this maze of genius camera tricks. It's really great. Also the fact that the characters shot their film in black and white threw a fan and wires to look like a film projector and scratches.
I'll give one scene credit. It's the only scene that felt like Gondre. It's the Montague. Very original, one shot. The actors run from place to place for this one huge scene. The camera movies along this maze of genius camera tricks. It's really great. Also the fact that the characters shot their film in black and white threw a fan and wires to look like a film projector and scratches.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
