Movie Tab II

Fresh (Yakin, 1994) - +

Fresh (Sean Nelson) is a 12-year-old New York kid who's become a successful drug dealer. He spends his time pinballing between a variety of characters all over the projects - his schoolmates, his "bosses", his sister, his father, and so on. The danger he's in is constantly on the rise and he ultimately decides, for the sake of everyone, to try and beat the local crooks at their own game.

I get the feeling that I should probably give this a . I was very surprised by Fresh, and I reckon it's a bit of a shame that the only way I'd heard of it was through this site. It was a constantly great film, especially in the case of the second half of the film (where Fresh plays off opposing sides in a manner which reminded me very strongly of Tom from Miller's Crossing). The same thing goes for many of the central performances - notably Nelson's performance as Fresh, who manages to act as tough as the assorted adults he often finds himself dealing with but doesn't do it to the point where it becomes unbelievable. The supporting cast - which includes notable names such as Giancarlo Esposito and Samuel L. Jackson - is also rather strong, especially Jackson in his role as Fresh's impoverished father, who constantly uses the chess games they play as a means of teaching him life lessons. His scenes with Nelson are among the best in the film.

Of course, the pleasant if coarse scenes with Fresh at play (either with his friends or his father) are contrasted by some of the more confronting acts of violence that pepper the film. I don't know if I should spoil them for anyone who hasn't seen the film, but they are still pretty shocking if only because they are totally unexpected and directed towards rather undeserving targets more often than not. There are plenty of other scenes that are made particularly unsettling merely because of Fresh's extreme youth. While Fresh does have quite a few unpleasant moments, well, it's an unpleasant life for him. While it's still a great film, well-made and acted brilliantly, I doubt it'd be for everyone.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

The Untouchables -

+

For some reason, I constantly see this movie referenced in everything, so I've been really wanting to see it for awhile now to really see how great it is. I've also been wanting to see it for awhile now because it's from the same director as Scarface, but to me this is an improvement from Scarface. I can already tell that this is going to have a great rewatchability standard, unlike Scarface which I think is just going to get worse with each viewing of it. It starts off a little slow, but once it gets to the point the movie really gets moving. To me the movie just flew by, it didn't feel like 2 hours at all to me, except for a couple of scenes that are sort of slow. I can definitely see a similarity between this and The Godfather, I think that may be just because they take place in the same time period. Now I've never really been too big a fan of Kevin Costner, but I personally thought that he was really great in this. Robert De Niro was great as usual in this, I do wish that he could've had some more screen time though.

As you my have already knew, I absolutely love gangster movies, and this was definitely another movie to make me love this genre. I need to see some more though, I think I've seen most of the popular ones, so I have to start working my way to see some more of the not as popular ones. I can really see why this movie is talked about so much now, I'm really trying to decide wether or not to push this up an extra .5 of a point, I think for now I'll just stick with this though, and maybe I'll bump it up with a rewatch. I think this is a movie everyone just has to see to understand why it's so great.

Sneakers (Phil Alden Robinson, 1992)



This is a low-key comedy-thriller which actually comes across much more entertaining than it has any right to be. One of the main reasons is that the cast is just so cool; then again, each member of the cast is given something to do, even if they probably should have had more to do. Irregardless, the convolutions of the plot are such that a silly group of "spies" who are good at doing "easy, innocuous" jobs gets involved in a job which puts all of them in danger of being killed, and it eventually turns out that Robert Redford's best friend, Ben Kingsley, is responsible for most all of the dangers, along with some rogue ex-CIA agents. The humor is what really projects the film, but there are plenty of plot twists and James Bondian goodies going on in this mainstream entertainment which certainly qualifies as a bon mot to all film watchers (I hope).

The Duchess (Saul Dibb, 2008)



Sumptuous film, set in England just before the American Revolution, tells the story of the emotionally-constipated Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) who marries young Georgiana (Keira Knightley) who unfortunately is unable to produce any sons for him. Therefore, he seeks solace with Bess (Hayley Atwell) and attempts to turn his marriage into a sort of ménage à trois to not only get a son but to keep his wife from drifting afar with Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper) who strives to become the future Prime Minister of England. The film begins rather entertainingly, but eventually it settles down into something rather predictable. However, Rachel Portman's gorgeous musical score makes things seem more poignant and interesting than they otherwise probably are, especially during the last five minutes.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Peter R. Hunt, 1969)



After Sean Connery played Bond, James Bond, for five films, Australian George Lazenby was recruited for this rip-roaring adventure which turned out to be a one-off. Even so, Lazenby acquits himself handsomely, and he's matched with one of the most-memorable "Bond girls" (the gorgeous Diana Rigg) in a film which not only provides an avalanche of action scenes for the final hour, but gives a Bond "girl" the emotions and actions of a truly mature woman, perhaps for the first-and-only time in the Bond Universe. Bond has dozens of women to deal with in the first hour and a half, and he also has to outwit one of the more-physical and in-your-face villains, Blofeld (Telly Savalas), so the flick is entertaining throughout its entire length. However, if somebody just turned the film on with about a hour to go, they would be "assaulted" (in a good way) with non-stop action. The way I recall it, you have a machine gun scene involving skiers, a helicopter attack on a mountaintop fortress, a chase scene involving bobsleds, a hair-raising cable car scene, and an equally-hilarious-and-exciting car chase ending up in a demolition derby. The finale is spectacularly-poignant and perhaps the finest ending of any Bond flick.

Dr. No (Terence Young, 1962)

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Bond appears in 1962 in his first film, and nowadays, it seems to almost be a work in progress. Bond has to hunt things which a normal spy would have to in a 1962 film, but he's just beginning to be the misogynistic semi-Superman he would eventually become. In this flick, Bond makes mistakes and survives due to certain allies who help him out without his own knowledge. Even so, Bond has to survive assassinating scientists, creepy tarantulas, and all those extracurricular activites with the hyper-healthy Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress), who certainly has a way of exiting from the ocean loaded for bear (whether it's for sex or violence). Connery does seem to be a perfect Bond, but he certainly grew far-more-comfortable in From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Anyway, I have this feeling that many people have never watched an older Bond film, and they're truly missing out. I think my actual faves are Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me.

I Know Where I'm Going! (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1945)

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This should probably be linked to my You Need a Shot of Michael Powell thread, but I'll post it here for now. This Youtube link also seems to give you the entire film, automatically, so maybe you should take advantage of this free link while you can. While I will easily say that this film isn't near my fave Powell/Pressburger flicks, it does seem to fit into the high end of their more idiosyncrantic films which seem to jettison plot for mood and flamboyant cinematics. It's also my wife's fave Powell film, and it's definitely incredibly romantic, even if I think A Matter of Life and Death is one of the two MOST romantic flicks I can think of. You see, that's why I'm fortunate to have a better half such as Brenda to guide me, even if I would have fallen in love with this film with no prodding whatsoever. As a side note, has any film ever combined such disparate goodies as whirlpools, lost falcons, desolate locations, talking trains, hunting dogs, castles with curses, etc., and done it so smoothly?

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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Mr. Brooks (2007)

Mr. Brooks is a fantastic portrayal of a madman’s mind. After watching the film, it has easily sealed a spot among my favorite films and on a par with the best of 2007. The film contains a somewhat bizarre storyline including a man with a bloodthirsty alter-ego, a vexatious witness to a murder, and a cop with problems of her own chasing down a serial killer infamously known as the "thumbprint killer."

Most of the film is extremely well-contrived. The “Hangman Killer” sub-plot is the most discernible thing that the film could do without. My favorite accessory to the film was the ashamed serial killer Mr. Brooks (played by Kevin Costner) talking to his alter-ego Marshall (played by William Hurt). Mr. Brooks is addicted to killing and is drastically trying to stop, though his darker side (Marshall) convinces him to keep doing it. The film leads you to believe that Mr. Brooks is trying to stop yet cannot help killing. Mr. Brooks, though a murderer, is the man in which the audience is set to believe is the “good guy.”

A man claiming his name is Mr. Smith (played by Dane Cook) witnesses Mr. Brooks commit a murder; a murder that Mr. Brooks had planned to be his last. Mr. Smith blackmails Mr. Brooks with photographs taken by him at the moment of the killing. Mr. Smith asks for an unusual favor from Brooks; to take him with him the next time he kills; to demonstrate a carefully crafted murder to him. Mr. Brooks, who recently planned never to murder again, is forced to murder once more with the blackmail that Mr. Smith has put forth.

The performances in the film are top-notch. Kevin Costner and William Hurt steal the show. The character of Mr. Smith was surprisingly well-acted by comedian Dane Cook. The film starts off in what looks like an apparent cop chasing a murderer plot, yet a good ways into the film originality overflows on the screen creating a genuinely engrossing, disturbing, bizarre, and splendidly frightening experience.

With the exception of the “Hangman Killer” sub-plot as I mentioned before, I rate Mr. Brooks as a perfect thriller superbly combining elements of Crime, Horror, Drama, and Mystery. Mr. Brooks is also undoubtedly one of the best serial killer pictures I’ve ever seen. I could go on and on about how much I've enjoyed this film. It comes highly, highly recommended from me.+

Hellboy II

Didn't get much glow off it - but wasn't expecting a huge amount as the first only just sparked the fairy-dust for me. Still want to like the characters - but the 'despised hero' / others-against-norms archetypes were feeling very well worn. The hotchpotch of mythology is fine, but the recycling going on behind the fun design became trying - and yeah, it never really ignited. Suffered fairly heavily from computer-game-CGI syndrome in the finale too.


The Dark Knight

Can't say I was totally blown away. Did like the grittiness that rasped its way through the plot, although felt it had rubbed itself down to more of a raspy annoyance by the very end (The Eckhart arc didn't work for me ultimately – leaving the story flapping in the breeze somewhat after a point).

Nolan still doesn't quite seem to have a handle on the action scenes – although the epic end to the second act was one big barrel-roll of fun The camera-circling technique surrounding some of the Joker's rambles also fell flat for me (and the rising musical tone used to enforce tension felt like an act of desperation in some ways – as if the original material hadn't quite done the trick – or they'd been beguiled by the idea that this sparse sound complemented the single-minded insanity of the character, but then couldn't let it go, even tho it was about as effective as a 5th-grader's violin solo).

Thought Ledger did well with the Joker – he'd obviously drawn on Nicholson a lot, but modulated it into a version which meshed well with the 'post-structuralist' chaotic vibe of this incarnation. Gyllenhaal also seemed a much better fit for the Rachel-shoes, and this new Nolan-tone, than Katie Holmes did.

If it weren't for all the hype I would have put the brakes on some of that bitching. But given that the fanboy flames of passion were burning so bright, I thought I'd unleash my snarky critic and have a snipe at some weaker bits & pieces

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Finally cobbled together a review of My Winnipeg too (thanks to mark for reminding me what it's actually called - and that i had the notes hanging around, like some hand-written promise of a hangover. What can i say, the film's... intoxicated )

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

^ You speak the gospel golgs...



24 city - Zhang Ke Jia (2008)

Went to see this at the local art theater. It tells the story of a Chinese factory which is being moved to make way for a modern housing estate through a series of interviews, some with real workers some with actors. Basically I was bored out of my mind. While some of the interviews were compelling, namely those with the real workers, as soon as the actors were included all the sense of realism that made these stories interesting to watch was dispersed and all you were left with is drab and meaningless stories about the most ordinary things imaginable. I understand what it set out to do, to show how the little people are being crushed by the merciless giant of the new Chinese market economy, but he made the same point with his previous features, The world and Still life, and managed to keep my attention. But both of those films had very interesting backdrops, the former a curious "World" park, the latter, much more impressively, the taring down of an entire city to make way for the world's largest dam. If it wasn't for the soundtrack which kept kicking in every ten minutes or so I would have fallen asleep. God only knows why I stayed till the end.


Hunger - Steve Mcqueen (2008)

Well after the two hour stupor of the above film, this one came like a fist to the head. Based on the true story of the final days of Bobby Sands, an IRA prisoner who died from a hunger strike in the early 80's, it's a shocking and brutal depiction of the goings on in a Northern Ireland prison. Lacking a soundtrack and with very sparse dialog (the general silence is broken by a 15 minute continuous shot of a conversation between Bobby and a priest where he divulges the reasoning behind his actions) it's a compelling portrayal of a man who is willing to die for an ideal. Fantastic debut and great cinema.

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http://www.last.fm/user/diezelpower/

Been in the mood for some good 80's comedies today, I just finished



3.5/5

Up next is



4/5

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

So is The Blues Brothers next?

Or maybe The Great Outdoors huh? Definitely not Caddyshack 2.

No, because he was looking to watch good 80's comedies.

"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!"

"You're right, no human being would stack books like this."

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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

The Prestige -

Okay, I hadn't really even planned on giving this a full perfect score, I actually planned on giving it .5 of a point or a point less than this, then the ending came up. The beginning of the ending wasn't really surprising because I basically knew what happened like mid-way through the movie, so there I was thinking that was it, then the real ending came up. I'm not even sure I can completely describe what even happened to me after I watched that ending, it blew me away more than any other ending that I've ever seen, I honestly mean that. Nolan is a genius at endings for movies, every movie of his that I've seen so far (this, Memento, Batman Begins, and TDK) have all had very amazing endings, this and Memento standing out the most though. The music that started playing during the credits seemed to have messed it up a little though.

The movie itself messes with your mind so much I couldn't even believe, I believe this movie is the true definition of mindf**k. The whole movie is basically told in a flashback, and then it switches back to present day for the end of the movie, all the constant changing from flashback to present day are the main things that were messing with my mind. As far as acting goes, everything seemed to be top notch, even Scarlett Johansson who I really don't think is that good of an actress. I'd probably rank this as Bale's second best performance so far, nothing beats his insanity in American Psycho. But for Hugh Jackman, I think I'd even goes as far to say that this was his best performance so far, he seems to really just flesh into his character, especially towards the ending. Michael Caine is always great, so I didn't even really expect anything different from him.

As far as ranking this with Nolan's other films, I'd probably put it right under Memento, which is right ahead of Batman Begins. I'm going to have to watch it again just to make sure it stays this great though. I've actually never really been a big fan of movies about magicians. Right now I'd rank Nolan pretty high on my favorite director's list, I mean three movies of his are in my top 10 which may get switched to four soon, I'm going to have to think about it some though. Anyone even considering seeing this though needs to get to do so sometime soon, the money to buy the DVD is worth it alone just for the ending, but you still have a great movie that goes along with the excellent ending.

I didn't really like The Prestige as much as everyone seems to, I'd give it a 3/5, which means I still liked it, just didn't love it.

Now it's time to bend the fabric of time...



4.5/5

1.21 Gigawatts!!!!

Yeah, I hear Hunger is great. It is playing the Festival, but unless they put it in the encore screenings the final day I won't be able to see it this week. But I figure it should come back around in the next month or so at the art houses here. I hope so, anyway.

And I had heard from other Festival goers that 24 City wasn't all that worth seeing.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

I wish I had Ferris Bueller's Day Off on DVD.

Anyway, back on topic...



Heavy Metal (Potterton, 1981) -

I originally put this on as something to watch in the background while I cleaned my room up, but that gave way to watching it properly. I unapologetically love Heavy Metal in that "warts-and-all" way. The animation is rough in parts and the writing is sketchy from time to time, but I honestly don't care. I always get something out of watching it - whether it's to just watch some of the trippier visuals or to listen to the film's damned brilliant soundtrack (divided between Elmer Bernstein's spine-tingling score or the licensed songs by artists as diverse as Black Sabbath, Devo and Journey) or to actually appreciate the off-kilter fantasy stories on offer. The stories in Heavy Metal, just like the magazine it's based on, cover the best parts of comic-book fantasy - whether in the future with aliens or in other dimensions entirely - and each one is in its own way interesting enough to watch, even though a couple lack satisfactory conclusions or even decent plots in the first place, thus giving the feeling that you're watching one ten-minute sequence from an entirely different film. Of course, I don't consider this a flaw as I don't really watch Heavy Metal for incredibly intricate plotting - just a brief but fun ride across time and space, accompanied by great music and compelling visuals.



Mulholland Dr. (Lynch, 2001) - +

I started watching this at about midnight, deciding on this for some reason that seems unclear to me. Not entirely sure how long it's been since I watched it but I liked it quite a bit more than the last time. I didn't watch the film with the conscious intention of figuring out the puzzle - I just wanted something to watch and get lost in for a couple of hours, and Mulholland Dr. managed that well. Not much to say about it that hasn't already been said, plus I should think that most people around here have made up their mind about the film already (mainly whether they love it or hate it or whatever).



Sweet Smell of Success (Mackendrick, 1957) -

Yet another amazing example of fine writing and acting (I seem to be watching quite a lot of them nowadays). A loveably biting and satiric take on celebrity and journalism set amidst the one and only New York City, revolving around notorious gossip columnist J.J. Hunsucker (a scarily brilliant Burt Lancaster) and the various characters that are involved in some manner with him. The film focuses on one such character, press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) and his constant quest to win Hunsucker's favour in order to further his business. Hunsucker has various ulterior motives of his own, the most obvious (and the most important to the story) being his desire to break up his younger sister's relationship with a jazz musician.

Sweet Smell of Success features some of the most ridiculously contrived and theatrical dialogue I've heard lately (no small feat, considering that I watched Miller's Crossing twice this week) and yet it's brilliant to hear spouted by these characters. It holds up a wonderfully intelligent storyline that weaves through the neon-washed streets of New York to the sound of an appropriately jazzy score and comes to end on a shocking but somewhat unsurprising note. All in all, it's a damned good film, with the only real flaw being that at the speed the film and the characters within it act and move, it's a little hard to keep up at times.



The Long Goodbye (Altman, 1973) - +

I've got to stop watching good movies. Yet another compelling story, this time centring on detective Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) and his involvement with a friend's murder-suicide, said friend's massive debt to a local gangster and a missing writer and how all of them eventually become connected to one another.

As with any good detective story, The Long Goodbye unfolds at just the right pace, keeping the interesting developments coming in just the right amounts without leaving you feeling overwhelmed or impatient. I also liked the fact that a fair amount of humour was injected into what could've been another stony-faced neo-noir, thus giving the film its own very unique and likeable feeling. This is due in no small part to Gould's portrayal of Marlowe, who isn't an overly comic character yet he's not bitter or angry, merely just annoyed with the cards that life deals him and capable of shrugging off his bad luck. He certainly helps this film along, as do the various characters that pepper the cast (such as Sterling Hayden's role as the drunken writer). Damned enjoyable film.

Well I'd hate to sound like a philistine, obviously a lot of people thought it was moving and poetic, but there was really not much for me there, cinematography (95% of the film consists of "talking heads") or story wise. Had he decided to keep it a documentary it would have had at least some cumulative effect but even then it would have been mediocre at best...:\