One Movie A Day Remix

Not sure i want to see someone rip out guts to strangle someone with them

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Buddha

Three Kings is one of my favourite movies and Academy-Award-Winner Mark Wahlberg actually delievers a good performance here.

Erm... Really? I missed that award. Care to name what he won for?

Yeah, I missed that too. He sure was nominated, but never won.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Day 24: May 24th, 2010

Kung Fu Hustle



Crazy Cartoon Kung Fu Comedy Action

A young man and his friend try to join the notorious AXE GANG, but in doing so they need to do some pretty nasty things. Through a series of unfortunate events the axe gang stumble upon this place called pig stye alley and they cause chaos for the people who live there. This causes kung fu masters who live there to reveal themselves and begin a war. The young man, Sing, nearly dies during a battle and is reborn as a kung fu master, who must fight the evil one known as The Beast.

I saw Shaolin Soccer and was surprised by how much I loved that film. It had soccer, kung- fu, great comedy and hilarious off the wall moments that would never happen outside of the world created in the film. Chow has taken this concept to the next level with Kung Fu Hustle, a brilliantly funny and ass kicking kung fu film. The quotes about the film are true, it really is a Kill Bill Meets Looney Tunes flick.

Chow is Sing, the lead character, who wants to be really bad. He has trouble doing this because he is horrible at it. It all stemmed from a troubling childhood, in which he was sold some wacky looking kung fu manual, which made him think he knew kung fu. When he sees a young deaf mute girl being picked on, he tries to use his kung fu to help her. Oops, he gets his butt kicked and then he gets urinated on. How's that for humiliation. Now that he's older, he thinks the only way to get things in life is if you take them by force. So he joins the axe gang, but has a battle of conscience and is nearly killed. This unleashes his kung fu skills and then the poop hits the fan.

The film is off the wall wacky fun. The kung fu in the film is really well choreographed and with the added use of funny CGI, it takes the film to another level of entertainment. Chow uses numerous references in his film, from Kill Bill to The Matrix to The Shining. It's fun to spot them here and there. The film never feels like it's cheating or copying others, it's definitely it's own unique film. It just knows where its inspirations are.

I can't recommend this one enough, it has numerous re-watch capabilities. I find myself watching it every time it is on television. If you're a fan of Chow and Shaolin Soccer, Kung fu Hustle manages to outdo it's predecessor. It might take some people a moment or two to get use to the animated style used in the film, it is very Bugs Bunny/Road Runner. Go in with the right expectations and you will have fun.

Day 25: May 25th, 2010

Martyrs



Emotionally Draining, I Felt Dirty Afterwards

A young girl is abused, force fed slop and chained up. She escapes, but is haunted by a ghastly looking demon girl who continue to inflict harm on her. She is sent to an orphanage, where she makes friends with another girl. 15 years later, she seeks revenge on the people that did this to her. What she and her friend end up going through, is more haunting than they imagined.

I don't really know where to start with this review. Let me say that I consider myself desensitized to violence and horrors. I can sit through the Hollywood films of Saw and Hostel and laugh at the screen in the violent terror. I can sit through the shock and horror of Cannibal Holocaust and I Spit On Your Grave. I was not expecting anything from this film, and yet it hit me the hardest. No other film has really made me feel as emotionally drained as this. The images, the sounds and the emotions in this film are very disturbing and hard to watch.

Martyrs is not something I would recommend people watching, simply because of it's subject matter. I won't go into details but the second half of the film is some of the most heart wrenching images to watch, from a fictional film standpoint. The film almost has a grindhouse feel to it, as if you are watching two different films. The first half is a revenge tale with a bit of psychological horror thrown in, then the second half hits you and you don't know what to do.

The film has no hope for it's characters. I usually hate films like this because it makes the point of watching it almost mute. Why should I care about these characters when I know the journey they are going on will end in a horrible mess. For some odd reason though, this film felt a little different. I suppose this is why I don't throw it into the same torture porn horror field as the Hostels and Saw films in this world. The film is in French and it plays out with a sense of professionalism. It knows the point it wants to get across and it does so. I can completely understand that people can feel the total opposite though. This film walks a very fine line.

I felt dirty after the film, I felt horrible and helpless. I wanted the characters to do so many things to get them out of their situations, but it never happened and I knew it never would. The explanation at the end of it all is a bit out there in terms of believability. But the ending is left to the viewers imagination. My take on it is that the human mind cannot fathom the truth of what they seek. Which is why it ends the way it does.

Martyrs is a very tough film to sit through and I commend anyone who does so.

Day 26: May 26th, 2010

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs



Cloudy With A Chance Is A Great Fun Time.

Failure after failure after failure after failure, Flint decides to solve a certain sardine problem his town has, by converting water into food. He invents a machine, which then goes a bit haywire and launches itself into the sky. Fortunately for him, it worked, and food begins falling out of the sky. Unfortunately it eventually gets a mind of it's own and tries to destroy to town with over-sized food.

Look at the pretty colours. Those were the words from my girlfriend when we saw the trailer for this film, which we sadly did not see in the theatres. Yes, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is a great animated kids film with more than enough comedy for the older crowd. Although it wasn't the best animated film last year, it was the funniest in my opinion.

The animation fit the story perfectly and the food falling all over were great visuals. You can tell the animators had a lot of fun with this film. Sony Pictures Animation haven't really had a film in their roster to stand out and to me, this one is their golden ticket. It's a shame it wasn't recognized at the Oscars, as I think it deserved a place on the nomination list.

The kids learn valuable lessons about responsibility and being yourself, while getting to have fun with the images of ice cream snowball fights, a building made out of jello and a school covered by a giant pancake. The adults get the comedy of Bill Hader from SNL, recognizable voices of Mr. T, Neil Patrick Harris and the man, the myth, the legend himself, Bruce Campbell. Each role fit their voice actor perfectly. Usually Anna Faris annoys me, here she made me like her character more because of her unique voice. James Caan as the dad is the added cherry on the top of the cake. Gummi Bear Twilight Zone reference? Brilliant.

The film is really funny and hits every note it has to. The climax works perfectly and the vibrant colours will keep the kids watching the screen. The disaster film has been given the animated kids film treatment and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs for the entire family.

All caught up now HK.

Well done, TUS. Good reviews.

I'd forgotten all about Kung Fu Hustle. Put it on my list of movies to watch when I read Ebert's review, but just kinda lost sight of it. Will rent it this weekend!

Let me know what you think of it.

Day 27: May 27th, 2010

From Paris With Love



A Fun Way To Spend 90 Minutes.

Let me start this by saying, Shut your brain off as soon as the film starts.

A young spy who wants to get bigger and better jobs is partnered with an American hot head with a foul mouth and a love for violence. The mission is to stop some terrorists.

To say I was expecting crap would be an understatement. Travolta's goofy look, a tired clichéd pairing of straight man and crazy partner, senseless action that would try to cram a plot and story in at some point. Yet, after the credits rolled, I sat there with a smile on my face. As far as spy films go, this one takes a more action heavy side. There are some cool and interesting gadgets, but I didn't get any James Bond moment.

Travolta surprised me here too. His character was funny, bad ass at times and knew how to kick some ass. The only downside would be that I just couldn't imagine Travolta doing half of these things. He's a great character and fits perfectly with this film, but it seems a tad miscast for the action sequences. Travolta nails every other part of the role. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the straight man to Travolta's crazy hero. This is nothing new and the film doesn't try to step around this issue. Instead it is upfront about it. It tells you exactly what you are in for when you are introduced to these characters. All it asks is for you, as a viewer, to enjoy the action and thrills this film wants to give you.

The action is non-stop. Of course we are privy to those scenes in between where we need to move the plot along, but the film has shootouts, car chases, foot chases, rocket launchers, etc. It's handled well and I was actually able to see the action on the screen. I was never lost in the film, I knew where I was the whole time and what was being depicted. Again, that one shortfall is that we know Travolta isn't doing these action sequences, it's clearly a stuntman.

With every spy film you know there will be some twist that someone is not who they seem to be. I was able to pick this one out right from the beginning. Again, the plot devices used in From Paris With Love are far from original, we have all seen this film before. So why bother watching it? For the chemistry between the two leads and the action sequences in a beautiful city. The city, we unfortunately, did not see enough of.

I went in with low expectations and came out happy with the end result. I would suggest you do the same.

Day 28: May 28th, 2010

The Black Dahlia



All Style & No Substance

Two detectives are on the case of The Black Dahlia, which is taking a huge toll on their personal and professional lives.

The Black Dahlia is a mess of a film, but what a beautiful mess it is. De Palma for all accounts is at fault here for failing to make an interesting film on a topic that should have been essentially easy to do. Everyone likes a good detective story and trying to solve the Black Dahlia case is enough to get the audience invested in the history. This film didn't even make me want to look any of the actual accounts up, which tells you how unaccomplished the film is.

As I said earlier, it is beautiful to look at. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and Brian De Palma have the noir style down perfect in Dahlia and whenever I got bored, which was 90 percent of the film, I would try to get lost in the atmosphere this film creates. Everything is in the right place, yet only the look of the film manages to make me smile.

Josh Hartnett seems miscast in the lead role that required someone with more gravitas. He still has that boyish charm to him and the role required someone with a harder core shell. Someone along the lines of his partner, Aaron Eckhart. Hilary Swank plays Madeleine Linscott, she always seems to rub me the wrong way with her acting choices. This one is no different. How she has two Oscars is unknown to me. Scarlett Johansson is given nothing in this film to do and if she had something, I doubt she would have been able to pull it off.

This film has too many subplots involving the characters that the case itself seemed to play second fiddle. This shouldn't be the case when your film is called The Black Dahlia. It's hard to see that this film was directed by the guy who also gave us Scarface, The Untouchables and Snake Eyes...okay, maybe I'm alone on that one.

I would advise against watching this film as it fails to ignite any interest in the case or what the story should actually be about. Character relationships seem really odd and written by someone who has no real thoughts or intentions with them. The Black Dahlia should be having people look the murder up and discuss, much like Fincher's Zodiac. This film doesn't do any of that, it feels like it wants to be another film entirely. De Palma has always been hit and miss with me and this entry is showing me that he has lost a lot of what people thought was talent.

Not Recommended, especially for those wanting to know more about the case itself.

Hopefully I get back on track with viewing films I haven't seen and the old list.

Day 29: May 29th, 2010

Igor



Igor Should Have Been A Success

...but the film fails to deliver on it's actually interesting premise.

Igor is the sidekick to an evil scientist, we always get the evil scientist story, but never the story of the sidekick. This is where this film comes in. Igor, even though he is a sidekick, wants to be an evil scientist himself. Insert some humour that most kids won't get and some dark material that will scare them away, then you are left with an animated film that seemed to have lost it's target audience. It's also completely obvious they are trying to target the Tim Burton crowd as well, but it feels really third rate in terms of anything in that department.

Igor is voiced by John Cusack, interesting choice. My problems with some animated films these days is that we no longer have voice actors in the lead roles, who are trained in this sort of thing, but any actor who is looking for a paycheck to just sit behind a microphone and speak the words from the script out loud. I found that Cusack is at fault here, despite everyone else in the film actually doing a decent job.

The animation is nothing special. If looked at in comparison to other films, it looks very basic and that it belonged to the year 1998, not 2008. The dark and brooding atmosphere is not brooding enough, and not childish enough. It feels very boring and bland. Almost as if no effort was put into it.

The writing is very bad and the script is below par. For a film that could have been filled with some funny jokes about the cliched parts of this genre, it had none that made me laugh. The supporting characters are good, for adults, but not children. I think some kids might be scared that there is a suicidal bunny....even more scared when they find out it is voiced by Steve Buscemi.

With so many good animated films out there, it's easy to close your eyes and blindly pick one up off the shelf that is better than Igor. It falls in the category of completely forgettable, with films like Valiant, Space Chimps, Fly Me To The Moon and others I can't even remember....because they are that forgettable.

I'm sure there are people who had no intention of seeing this. Consider this review as confirmation to those who were maybe a little interested, that you should just skip it.

Thanks, will give this one a miss

Interesting stuff, Suspect! I like it

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Nah, you're not alone, TUS. Lots of people like The Untouchables. I, of course, am not one of them.

If you like true crime though, do take a look at the Black Dahlia case. It's really interesting stuff. This film really should've felt something like L.A. Confidential.

Ah, I meant more along the lines of Snake Eyes.