Superb Scenes With Seanc

2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ

11-12-13

I think you will really dig Dial M forMurder. I enjoyed To Catch a Thief and Strangers on a Train as well. I think you've picked his better films. I haven't seen Frenzy, Shadow of a Doubt, or Suspicion though, as well as The Trouble with Harry.

seanc

Lone Wolf

11-12-13

Thanks guys. I may just throw in a few extra for my Hitchcock viewing we will see how the first few go.

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seanc

Lone Wolf

11-17-13

Director: Steve McQueen

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch

Directing:

Everything is as and exactly where it should be. Perfectly done in all the best and worst ways.

Plot:

Feels as authentic as anything I have seen in a long time.

Visuals:

Looks as authentic as anything I have seen in a long time.

Script:

I can't imagine writing 160 year old dialogue. Ridley deserves a lot of credit for the tone created in this film.

Acting:

Ejiofor and Fassbender are perfect in a film where a lot of great actors show up. Ejiofor does so much to effect the film without using dialogue. Really amazing performance.

What I dislike: There are a couple of characters that I don't feel were fleshed out properly. That's a nitpick though. I don't think it would have stood out in another film but did here because everything else is so perfect.

What I like: I can't believe I am giving two films in the same year a pefect rating on one viewing. 12 Years A Slave is simply one of the most affecting films I have ever seen. It reminds me of Schindler's List in that it probably will not show up on a lot of my favorite lists, and I probably will not revisit it very often. It will always come up though when discussing the most poignant movies, or movies that have the most emotional effect on me. This man's story is beyond extraordinary. However if this was a fictitious account it would be no less an amazing film. That is a rare accomplishment. McQueen has his masterpiece.

Last edited by seanc; 05-31-14 at 11:25 PM.

cricket

Msg

Registered User

11-18-13

This film really does look awesome; I look forward to seeing it.

seanc

Lone Wolf

11-24-13

Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

"A man of your legendary prowess drinking rain! It's like a lion eating houmous."

I have just entered the world of the "Cornetto Trilogy" this year. The premise simply did not appeal to me. My perception of it was that it was a slightly higher concept Scary Movie series. Listening to all the hype and love this year before The World's End was released I decided I had to give it a try. Shaun Of The Dead mostly lived up to the hype for me. The dry humor and likeable characters portrayed by Pegg and Frost were enough. Good, not great, comedy. That is enough for me these days

I'm in. Next up is Hot Fuzz. Where on earth did my laughs and likeable characters go? Way too much of the same garbage comedy being pumped out the last few years.

still knowing I will watch the third because now I am engrained and I have to see most of these things to the end.

Happily The World's End is more Shaun Of The Dead than Hot Fuzz. The first half hour is fantastic. I love the role reversal, with Pegg playing the low brow character this time around. Through the first half hour I am dying laughing. Watching Pegg recruit his buddies to complete the same pub crawl that they fell short of after high school. Of course they have all moved on with normal lives so it is hilarious to watch them interact with Pegg. It is beyond a stretch, however, that any one of them would actually show up. It's a comedy though, so we believe and we move on.

The first couple of pubs are as well done as the beginning of the film. The boys sitting and ripping on each other. This is where The World's End is at its best and where I wish it would have stayed. Unfortunately the action aspect enters into the picture and they lose me for the majority of the rest of the film. There are a couple of very funny scenes towards the end. Especially Pegg and Frost teeing off on the alien being who is responsible for the invasion. Lots of stuff to enjoy and I am sure I am mostly alone in wishing that the action aspects did not exist. Certainly see it if you enjoyed the others, if not there is nothing going on here that your gonna miss.

Last edited by seanc; 05-31-14 at 11:28 PM.

seanc

Lone Wolf

11-28-13

Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson

I just don't have anything to say about this film that hasn't been said in the past couple of weeks. There seem to be two camps. Book readers who think it is an awesome adaptation and improvement. Non book readers who feel it is filler and unnecessary. I fall into the latter category. I enjoyed the first installment a good bit better than this one. There were a lot of logic jumps that I was unwilling to take. It really does seem like the first and second film could be condensed into one. It isn't and there are things to like so on we go.

Last edited by seanc; 05-31-14 at 11:44 PM.

seanc

Lone Wolf

12-03-13

Director: Jean-Marc Vallee

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner

The story of Ron Woodroof is compelling unfortunately Dallas Buyers Club does not make it engaging. McConaughey does his best to make it as engaging as possible. He is as good as advertised as the homophobic, hard living man who finds out he has HIV and is given thirty days to live. After taking the drugs approved to treat the disease at that time and becoming sicker, Woodroof moves on to unapproved drugs. When they help his symptoms subside he begins the Dallas Buyers Club to help other HIV sufferers get the same drugs that he takes.

My issue with the film is not that it suggests the FDA drags its feet when approving drugs, I am sure there is a lot of truth there. My issue is not that this man would take unapproved drugs and sell them to others. I am sure if I was faced with the same circumstances that I would take whatever I felt helped as well, government be damned. My issue is that this films seems to want to demonize the very people that have continued the good fight and have helped to make the progress that we have against this terrible disease. At the end the film even tells us that the very drug that Woodroof is hell bent against is still used in smaller doses today. The issue is that it words it in a way that makes it seem as if Woodroof had something to do with this. In truth he is portrayed for the entirety of the film as if he would flush the drug down the toilet forever. Dallas Buyers Club is simply disingenuous when discussing the politics behind these drugs and it greatly hindered my enjoyment of the film.

There is some things to like in the film. In addition to McConaughey, Leto is really good as the cross dressing Rayon. Rayon and Woodroof's relationship is interesting and entertaining though at times it is also problematic. Dallas Buyers Club manages to mine quite a bit of entertainment out of a deadly serious subject and should be commended for that. At the end of the day the film is an uneven affair in my opinion. I will remember it for McConaghey's performance and little else.

Last edited by seanc; 05-31-14 at 11:43 PM.

seanc

Lone Wolf

12-14-13

Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner

At many points during my viewing of Frances Ha I had the feeling that this might be the most pretentious movie I had ever seen. Twenty four hours later I am not so sure. I still think it is somewhat pretentious, just not the most pretentious ever. The characters are pretentious to be sure, I just seem to be going back and forth on how Baumbach wants us to view them. In reality that shouldn't make a difference. I should take the characters as they are written and come to my own conclusions. It was hard for me to do during Frances Ha.

Every single scene is shining a light on how dysfunctional these characters are. For me that was pretty grating at times. Many are bound to disagree. I am sure the plight of right brained twenty somethings struggling to obtain self centered perfection will appeal to many. I found little, if anything, to connect with in these characters. The last piece that made this film seem pretentious to me was the fact that it was in black and white. To me it simply gave me the feeling that it was trying to be Woody Allen's Manhattan. I see no reason for this movie to be in black and white, except for to say look at me.

There were things that I enjoyed in this film. Despite my dislike for them the characters are drawn and acted well. There are a couple of montages that are pure exposition and they worked quite well for me. The pacing is great. I always say it is better to end well than start well in a film and Frances Ha does that. The ending is one of the reasons I would be interested to know how Baumbach feels about these characters. It is quite good and moved Frances Ha up a couple of notches in my opinion.

Last edited by seanc; 05-31-14 at 11:41 PM.

seanc

Lone Wolf

12-18-13

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen

"The world is full of evil but if we hold on to each other, it goes away."

The Hunt is the story of a man who is a kindergarten teacher. When one of the students accuses him of pedophilia his life is turned upside down. The film places us firmly on the side of the accused man from the start and never wavers from that. I think this is what made the movie so intriguing and what will surely bring most viewers to anger. I believe it is to the films detriment as well however. Except for the scene where we see the little girl's accusation and another where she is questioned, which may be the most blood boiling in the film, we are given no insight into the process. He is also given little to no chance to defend himself throughout. As a viewer this is infinitely frustrating and at times makes it feel like the story is not grounded in reality.

There is plenty to love about The Hunt. The main character is very well drawn. He is meant to be sympathized with and always is. His ongoing battle to see his teenage son is also maddening and creates some of the more heartbreaking moments. The themes in The Hunt are also engaging. They are very of our time and more than a little frightening. The reality that someone could be railroaded this easily is more than a little disturbing. Even more disturbing is the reality that what this man is accused of goes on every single day in all corners of the world. This though is expressed by the man's friend in what is one of the most poignant scenes in the film.

The Hunt is a worthy watch. I am sure there are many who will love this film. Despite my being fairly lukewarm on it, I would definitely recommend it.

Last edited by seanc; 05-31-14 at 11:39 PM.

honeykid

MoFo Whisperer

12-18-13

Two films I've been interested in for a while now. Thanks for the reviews.

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Lucas

Msg

Finished here. It's been fun.

12-18-13

Good reviews dude, well written and to the point. Really look forward to seeing some of the films you reviewed.

Cobpyth

As Time Goes By

12-18-13

I didn't think Frances Ha was pretentious.

I thought it was funny, sweet and deliciously melancholic without overdoing it at all. The gorgeous black and white cinematography gave the film something timeless and arty, which worked very well with this kind of witty story and alienated characters.

It was certainly not trying to be Woody Allen's Manhattan, which is an example of a film that I understand being seen by some people as pretentious, but then again I personally think it succeeds in everything it tries to be and consider it a masterpiece.

Still a thumbs up for your review. It's always interesting to read different point of views!

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

seanc

Lone Wolf

12-21-13

Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell

I love the first Anchorman and desperately wanted the sequel to work where most comedy sequels fail. This movie does retread a lot of the same jokes as the original. Anchorman 2 manages to breathe new life into them however. The movie somehow manages to feel fresh and original. The gags are absolutely non stop. It never gets bogged down taking the time to drive a narrative which is where a lot of comedies go wrong these days. Anchorman purely concentrates on the jokes, so if one or two don't land for you there is one right around the corner that will.

The film did make a couple of errors that keep it from being as strong as the original in my opinion. I know that Carell is a much bigger star than he was when the original was released. Brick is not a character that should be getting a lot of screen time though. The character is simply too stupid and doesn't work. Teaming him with Wiig and making that character just as dumb does not help. I can't remember laughing at any of the time spent with these characters at all. The station executive played by Meagan Good was also problematic for me. In retrospect I don't think it is because the gags don't work. I believe it is because Good is over matched. Her entire character is based on being dominant. Ferrell is simply chewing her up and spitting her out in their scenes together. The character never works for me as a result.

Despite those couple of flaws, Anchorman 2 is working the majority of the time. The laughs are plentiful and in the end that is what I want from a comedy.

Last edited by seanc; 05-31-14 at 11:36 PM.

Mmmm Donuts

A Real Human Bean

12-21-13

This is good to hear. I've only heard generally positive things about it thus far.

Nice review!

__________________
Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that's a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake... I... drink... your... milkshake!
-Daniel, There Will Be Blood

seanc

Lone Wolf

12-21-13

Director: David O'Russell
Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence

David O'Russell cares about characters and his movies are better for it. Whether or not Wahlberg wins his last fight, whether Lawrence and Cooper end up together, or who wins the end game in Hustle. All these things become incidental because it is about the characters. The way they interact with each other is more important than why they interact with each other. I have to admit I was a little nervous the first twenty minutes or so of American Hustle. I wasn't hating the movie by any means, but I didn't connect with Bale and Adam's characters as quickly as I would have liked. I quickly settled in though. Once Cooper's character shows up and shortly after Lawrence's I was all in and enjoyed every frame of the film.

There is so much to enjoy and glean from every single relationship, and there are a plethora of them. Bale and Adams, Adams and Cooper, Cooper and Bale, Bale and Lawrence, Bale and Renner. Every single interaction is complex, humorous, intense, and most importantly intriguing. O'Russell has become a master film maker in my opinion. His dialogue is spot right down to each actor's accent being perfect. The way he dresses his characters adds a dimension to them as well. It may be trite to say, but everything about American Hustle just feels lived in.

I cannot do a movie like this justice by writing about it but I cannot recommend this movie enough. I know there are some ho-hum reviews out there and frankly I am baffled by them. I have fawned over the characters but would be remiss if I didn't mention the plot which is intriguing. O'Russell doesn't let it get too convoluted or step on the character's toes however which is why this film worked so well for me. The soundtrack is also phenomenal. In your face and fun when it needs to be but in the background when more appropriate. Great music used perfectly. I could go on about this movie all day. It's one of the year's, and possibly O'Russell's, best. See it now.

Last edited by seanc; 05-31-14 at 11:34 PM.

cricket