Iro's Film Diary

Hullo

07-31-16

Originally Posted by Iroquois

#292 - The Expendables 3

Jeez, how can you screw up such a perfect opportunity? I've only seen the first one and it was just so... bland.

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Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

07-31-16

Originally Posted by Omnizoa

Jeez, how can you screw up such a perfect opportunity? I've only seen the first one and it was just so... bland.

I don't follow.

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Originally Posted by Yoda

I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.

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Omnizoa

Hullo

07-31-16

Originally Posted by Iroquois

I don't follow.

Expendables should be friggen' awesome, why is it a run-of-the-mill action movie with so little self-awareness?

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

07-31-16

Originally Posted by Omnizoa

Expendables should be friggen' awesome, why is it a run-of-the-mill action movie with so little self-awareness?

So little self-awareness? The Expendables has always been a little tongue-in-cheek - even the first one has the bit where Stallone cracks wise about Schwarzenegger by saying "he wants to be President". It got taken up to eleven in the second one where they had Chuck Norris jokes and even Willis and Schwarzenegger swapping catchphrases. (That's without mentioning all the characters repeatedly remarking on their advanced ages. Snappy one-liners are such a big part of what distinguishes the '80s action-movie so it makes sense that they'd lean on them but they aren't that prevalent and the examples I mentioned do come across as clunky within context. There's also an issue in that they're trying to juggle a larger ensemble than usual (as opposed to the "one-man-army" sub-type or the "buddy comedy" sub-type that were both common in the '80s) and have trouble coming up with good plots or even good action scenes to make the best use of everyone involved. In that regard, Expendables 2 makes the most of the premise's potential but it's still pretty lacklustre. Oh, well.

MovieMeditation

Friendo.

07-31-16

Fully agree with this^^

The second film is the best of bunch that is pretty mediocre or even awful (like the third). The third film totally misunderstood its own purpose, by crapping on its own concept of 80s action heroes back in action. Not only that, but they used up pretty much half the runtime on the introductions of this bland new cast. And it was PG-13. Everything The Expendables ever stood for or at least tried to stand for, was forgotten in the third film.

Anyways, one thing that bothers me about every single of these films, is how the humor is so forced and never really works. They try to crack these jokes at each other, which really isn't that funny or even build up properly, and then they all laugh like it was the best thing ever...

This franchise really needs a good writer and director. They kind of got the latter in the first sequel, but the script was still weak.

Omnizoa

Hullo

07-31-16

Originally Posted by Iroquois

That's the only bit I can remember.

Originally Posted by Iroquois

In that regard, Expendables 2 makes the most of the premise's potential but it's still pretty lacklustre. Oh, well.

I still have to see that.

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-01-16

#296 - Cat People
Paul Schrader, 1982

A woman travels to New Orleans to meet a brother she never knew but she soon discovers that he is hiding a terrible secret.

Cat People is a warmed-over slab of supernatural erotica that does have the odd good detail - most obviously the Giorgio Moroder score and the David Bowie theme song, to say nothing of moments where it indulges its capacity for weirdness through some fantasy sequences. Otherwise, it proves quite a slog that offers a very simplistic attempt to infuse an old horror plot with overt early-'80s sexuality (and one can question what exactly it has to say about female sexuality in particular when it comes to the treatment of Nastassja Kinski's virginal protagonist).

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-01-16

#297 - Safe
Todd Haynes, 1995

An affluent woman gradually develops an allergy to modern living.

Safe sees Haynes channel the experimental edge he showed in Superstar and Poison into a feature-length narrative about Julianne Moore's Los Angeles homemaker slowly becoming ill for no apparent reason before eventually learning that she has "environmental illness". It's slow but not without reason and Haynes is able to create some indelible imagery that emphasises strong colours and/or stark compositions, effectively deploying creepy horror synths to further underline this tale of malicious malaise. Moore proves a good performer at the heart of a story that is largely predictable when it comes to broad strokes yet frequently defies expectations when it comes to the finer details and stays compelling up until its very last frame.

TheUsualSuspect

28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds

08-02-16

I'd rate the second Expendables as the best of the bunch.

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Suspect's Reviews

TheUsualSuspect

28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds

08-02-16

Originally Posted by Iroquois

#285 - Josie and the Pussycats
Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, 2001

A shady music executive signs an all-female rock band to his company in order to make them into the next big pop sensation.

With Internet culture combing the past few decades of cinema for any movie that it could potentially hold up as an under-appreciated gem, I can definitely understand why this movie would deserve some recognition beyond being yet another turn-of-the-millennium girl-power relic based on a comic book from the 1960s. Josie and the Pussycats may not be subtle in its satirisation of soulless corporations and their treatment of musicians, but none of it actually feels unearned despite the obvious family film status. The performers may vary in terms of ability (and the best performers at least look like they're having fun with their silly roles, especially Parker Posey and Alan Cumming as a pair of nefarious label executives) but there's nothing that really grinds this film to a halt in terms of being totally awful. Even the actual songs on display, which are as early-2000s bubblegum-rock as you can possibly get, don't actually suck. While I'm still hesitant to consider Josie and the Pussycats some kind of secret success thanks to its relatively basic humour and generally ordinary execution, it didn't actively irritate me either and that's certainly worth some consideration.

EEEK.

That's some Suspect level of movie watching right there.

What's going on Iro?

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-03-16

Originally Posted by TheUsualSuspect

EEEK.

That's some Suspect level of movie watching right there.

What's going on Iro?

I saw it get placed on the AV Club's recent list of the top 50 comedies made since 2000 and considered that recommendation enough. I certainly enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than Walk Hard, that's for sure.

TheUsualSuspect

28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds

08-03-16

Originally Posted by Iroquois

4 Edgar Wright films? I'm not so sure The World's End should be on that list...and I like that movie.

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-03-16

Originally Posted by TheUsualSuspect

4 Edgar Wright films? I'm not so sure The World's End should be on that list...and I like that movie.

Edgar Wright is the man, though - my main quibble with his placements is that Scott Pilgrim not only outranked The World's End but cracked the top 10. In any case, I can concede that The World's End is probably the least out-and-out funny film in the Cornetto trilogy but it still got more laughs out of me on a seventh viewing than most of those other films did on a first viewing.

TheUsualSuspect

28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds

08-03-16

I think he's one of the best directors working today. I would only place hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead on the list myself. Try and get more variety.

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-03-16

It has to balance out all that Apatow sh*te, though.

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-03-16

#298 - Star Trek Into Darkness
J.J. Abrams, 2013

The crew of the Enterprise becomes drawn into a dangerous situation involving a lone human terrorist and a looming war with an alien race.

I think the reason that I didn't get too bent out of shape over Star Wars: The Force Awakens lifting plot elements from the original Star Wars is that it was downright benign compared to the ways in which Star Trek Into Darkness appropriated parts of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The many call-backs are symptomatic of a far greater issue with Into Darkness and how it only exacerbates the flaws of not just its predecessor but also the general storytelling abilities of Abrams and the writers. Returning cast members are still decent even though they are barely given anything of worth (with Zachary Quinto's Spock getting the best material) whereas Benedict Cumberbatch seems especially miscast as the film's villain (for reasons that go beyond the controversy surrounding his character's true nature). Shiny visuals are wasted on a plot that may be constantly moving but lacks any kind of weight as characters are shuffled from set-piece to set-piece. A second viewing does this no favours and it may just be my least favourite Trek film, which is saying an awful lot.

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-03-16

#299 - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Pedro Almod�var, 1988

An actress who has recently been dumped by her colleague tries to get in touch with him but is beset by all sorts of problems.

Almov�dar is another one of those directors whose work I haven't gotten around to watching and this seems as good a starting point as any. It's a short but jam-packed comedy of errors that involves a variety of eccentric characters constantly having absurd misadventures. It's got plenty of laughs but also a strange heart to the proceedings that carries it through the rare spot where there isn't some sort of outsized melodrama being splashed across the screen in extremely vivid colour.

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-03-16

#300 - 12 Angry Men
Sidney Lumet, 1957

When a jury convenes in order to provide a verdict for a murder case, one juror decides to argue against the others.

No words necessary.

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

08-03-16

#301 - Arsenic and Old Lace
Frank Capra, 1944

A recently-married theatre critic discovers that his elderly aunts have been poisoning people and must deal with the resulting chaos.

I remember really liking this when I first saw it many years ago, but the years have not been kind to it and now I find it much harder to like. A decent set-up for a black comedy - a pair of dotty old ladies becoming serial killers out of a misguided sense of mercy - serves as an okay through-line but the excessive length and sheer volume of nutty characters create a rather unwieldy and over-stuffed comedy. Even the odd clever moment (most notably the bit where Cary Grant's critic is complaining about a play even as its events are about to actually happen to him) isn't enough to help it hold up on a second viewing.

Camo