Zotis' Film Watching Diary

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The Tracey Fragments (2007)
Directed by Bruce McDonald
Starring Ellen Page and Maxwell McCabe-Lokos

I'm on an Ellen Page kick. I never thought I'd get a crush on her. I never really used to find her particularly attractive, but she's growing on me. I just think she has a really interesting personality, and makes a lot of great film/career choices unlike many other talented actors and actresses. There are still a few of her movies I don't have any interest in watching, like Touchy Feely because it just looks boring. And I've never been able to sit through Juno. I tried twice, but just ended up turning it off after a while. Well she has captivated me again with her performance in The Tracey Fragments. The movie itself is a bit weird. It revolves around 15-year-old Tracey and explores her life as it swirls around the theme of her having lost her 9 year-old brother. She is a self-destructive, but relatively cool chick, yet is actually bullied at school and treated like a looser by, ironically, a bunch of loosers. It's kind of a sad movie that makes you feel the depression she must be going through. The cinematography is interesting. Often times there is a sort of collage of shots filling the screen which capture a scene from several angles and different points in time that weave together. In Tarantino fashion the various scenes are out of order gradually piecing together what's going on for the viewers. I like the poetic voice-over that internalises everything. I also love her retro ski-do jacket. It reminds me of one I used to have that got lost or stolen when I was living in an apartment with 10 room-mates. That also reminds me... I need to get another one.

I don't think I've watched anything else by McDonald. He seems to have done a good job with The Tracey Fragments, but nothing else on his resume looks even remotely interesting to me.







Juno (2007)
Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, J. K. Simmons, and Allison Janney

It took me a few tries to get through this movie, but once I learned to appreciate it's awkwardness it was quite an enjoyable experience. I felt that Ellen's character dealt a little too well with the difficulties of being a pregnant teen for it to be believable, but despite that I think they did an excellent job of making their story interesting.





Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina

An artistic masterpiece. I've never been so interested in the backs of people's heads. The cinematography was captivating. This was the first time I've seen Anna Karina. I think she is possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. That's probably not true, but if someone asked me that's the only name that would instantly come to mind as contending for the spot. I heard murmurs of this "famous" Anna Karina. I thought the Russian movie Anna Karenina (1967) was what all the fuss was about. And then I think I heard of another movie with the same or similar title... or was it a book... or a person... I also heard rumors, more specifically about "Anna Karina" the actress. Now I see what all the fuss was about. About five movies already on my to-watch list just got bumped up. Anyway, back to Vivra Sa Vie... Well, actually I don't think words would do it any justice.





Le Petit Soldat (1963)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Anna Karina and Michel Subor

An interesting movie, but not as impressive as Vivre Sa Vie. A younger Anna Karina was cute, pretty, and a bit ditsy. Michel Subor was the pivotal character. The camera work was a bit unrefined, and the plot was a bit rough around the edges. The dialogue was quite philosophical and poetic.




Master of My Domain
You should see a Godard movie without Anna Karina and see how you feel. How many of his works have you seen?

Good write up of Vivre Sa Vie. I give it the same rating.



Master of My Domain
I've seen three Godard films. The third is La Chinoise.
I strongly recommend Week End. It's my favorite Godard and I can easily see you liking it.



Birdman (2014)
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, and Zach Galifianakis


Long shots swept through scenes displaying brilliant set design and long periods of acting without cuts. This cinematography and acting combined with "Cinema Verite" style storytelling of actors playing actors enthralled me. The emotional tension kept me on the edge of my seat with excitement. I was thoroughly engrossed and absolutely loved it. I don't know if Keaton deserved the Academy Award over Carell, but his performance was pretty spectacular.




Whiplash (2014)
Directed by Damien Chazelle
Starring Miles Teller and J. K. Simmons


I like J. K. Simmons, and he was very strong in the lead supporting role as Terrence Fletcher, the university professor who pushed his students to perform beyond expectations with extreme methods. There was a lot of intense emotion from his character and he did it extremely well. I think it's the most impressive performance I've seen him in. The story was about striving to achieve a loft ambitious dream of becoming one of the greatest musicians of all time. Not many people have the courage to set their sights so high, and even fewer have the strength and determination to reach that height. It was a very inspiring film. Miles Teller is not an actor I'm at all familiar with, though he has done a number of movies already.




Wendy and Lucy (2008)
Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Starring Michelle Williams
Also with Will Patton


A beautiful emotionally gripping film with a very simple plot. A young woman's car breaks down while she's passing through a small town on her way to Alaska. Troubles compile and to make matters worse her dog Lucy goes missing. It's a fairly short movie running only an hour and twenty minutes. I felt very sympathetic for Wendy, played by Michelle Williams, as she bottled her emotions up inside while the problems kept piling up. I'm becoming quite fond of Michelle Williams. She's a very talented actress and beautiful woman.




Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
Directed by Chan-Wook Park
Starring Yeong-ae Lee


This was my second time watching Lady Vengeance. It had been quite a few years, and I wasn't sure how my initial impression would hold up. Well, I think I like it even more than I did before. I actually shed a few tears. It's a really well constructed film with strong acting and cinematography. The story unfolds through different time frames and complex series of events. There's really quite a lot going on. It's not as strong as Oldboy, but it's a very interesting movie in it's own right. At times it's shocking in it's sexual and violent content, and at other times it's very sympathetic and emotional the way it puts it's characters through tragedy and shows you their pain and sorrow.




X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Directed by Brett Ratner
Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Halle Barry, Famke Janssen, Ian McKellen, Ellen Page, Anna Paquin, and Shawn Ashmore


Okay so the only reason I decided to watch this again was because I wanted to see how Ellen Page really did in this aweful, horrible, piece of garbage of a movie. It had been years since I last watched it. About 9 years in fact. I saw it in theatres and hated it instantly. Watching it again though I'm amazed at how many talented actors did such a poor job. I'm also amazed at how good Ellen Page is in it. I think it's truly a testament to her talent as an actress. Even in the scene after Xavier dies where Iceman, Shawn Ashmore, is trying to comfort her, his acting was terrible and hers was fantastic. It was so obvious that he was just acting, but she was actually inspiring emotion and feeling. I think Haley Ramm, who played the young Jean, also did a pretty good job. Literally everyone else was utter garbage. I actually lost track of the number of times I burst out laughing at how bad the acting was, and how terrible the plot was. It was so bad that I enjoyed it. It's officially in my "so bad it's good" book.




I really enjoyed Reichardt's Meek's Cutoff but haven't seen anything else by her - have been meaning to so I will try to watch Wendy & Lucy soon. Lady Vengeance is very good. Apparently I have watched The Last Stand but have absolutely no recollection of it - my rating does seem to indicate that it sucked though



Meek's Cutoff is on my to-watch list, but I didn't really realise it was by the same director. I just put pretty much all of Michelle Williams' movies on my to-watch list.



Master of My Domain
Didn't love Birdman like I was supposed to, but Emma Stone was friggin hot.

Whiplash is my favorite movie of last year, because I'm a drummer and Fletcher reminds me of a strict, almost hairless old dude who made me practice a single drum beat for an hour.

i give Sympathy for Lady Vengeance the same rating as you did. Easy solid
, my 2nd fav Park behind you-know-what.

I enjoyed your thoughts on X-Men: The Last Stand while giving back and forth messages, glad to see it here. I didn't enjoy the unintentionally hilarious factor as much as you did, so I rest with a



Thanks Gatsby, I appreciate your comments, and yours too Sane (and everyone who's posted in this thread for that matter ). I like it when people actually make a comment at least, as apposed to just repping. I don't just want to post brief reviews and have a few people read them. I actually want to talk a bit about them too.

There was a scene where Logan and Storm were arguing, and the way that Jackman turned his back dramatically, scrunched his face in "anger/frustration/resentment", and then threw his posture to the side. I just couldn't help but laugh at how poor a portrayal it was of an argument and those emotions. I noticed whenever Jackman would portray emotion the camera would cut very quickly away from the closeup to a distant shot on his body so you couldn't see his face. Obvious editing to get around the bad acting, and just laziness on the director's part too instead of pushing the actors for a better performance. I figure Page was probably trying a lot harder because she was surrounded by so many stars at such a young age and early point in her career.

The thing about Birdman that really captured me was how long the shots were. It actually says a lot about the acting. The fact that all those emotional parts were done between so many actors without cuts.



Sorry for not commenting back when I repped you, I had to leave out the door so never got around to it.

Anyways, good short direct reviews, Zotis, they might actually be just about the perfect length for your opinion and thoughts to come across and without it ever feeling too long or too short. Respect for that, I enjoyed them.

Whiplash was one of my absolute favorites from last year, and the movie gave me an experience like never before. I was so pumped up and excited and on the edge of my seat during the last scene, that when it ended I was still breathless and bathing in sweat. Talk about the intensity coming out of the screen. Damn. But such a great film, expertly put together and the acting is phenomenal, which it has to be when it's only two forces that really drives this film and their individual ambitions.

Birdman was a hard movie for me to judge, but I will say I really like it, and it's very unique and fun to watch. I think I will have to watch it a couple of times to be totally certain of how I feel about it...

I will definitely try to check in here again, good work, Zotis!



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
you always have such a prolific, enjoyable array of movies. I need to come back and peruse.

I fully agree with Birdman, quite an excellent movie and I keep seeing Whiplash and keep getting more and more curious about this one. I love Lady Vengeance as well - the entire trilogy actually.

Great reviews, Zotis



I bought Whiplash quite a while ago, maybe two months ago. It took me a while to get around to watching it. I kept thinking to myself, Jazz drummer doesn't really feel like the most interesting theme. But it really impressed me in the quality of the acting and story, and it's emotional delivery.

I still need to watch Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance to finish the trilogy.

Thanks for the comments everyone, and MM, there's really no need to apologize.

Anyways, good short direct reviews, Zotis, they might actually be just about the perfect length for your opinion and thoughts to come across and without it ever feeling too long or too short. Respect for that, I enjoyed them.

I will definitely try to check in here again, good work, Zotis!
you always have such a prolific, enjoyable array of movies. I need to come back and peruse.

Great reviews, Zotis
Thanks guys, that's very nice of you to say.



The Seventh Seal (1957)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Max von Sydow


Bergman has been for some time now, in my mind, one of the greatest directors of all time based on his reputation and the way people have talked about his films. Without ever seeing a film of his I just knew he was great. Now it's been a long time coming, and I should have been watching his films ages ago. I'm glad that I've finally seen one of his films, and it was everything I had hoped it would be. The Seventh Seal is an extraordinary film. The story is told through brilliant contrasts from the most casual common everyday events to the most remarkably profound aspects of human existence. The characters are very real portrayals of an exceptionally broad scope. There's everything from brilliant minds to fools, from the saintly pure to the most violent scum of the earth. I can't wait to see more of Bergman, and I will very soon.




Master of My Domain
Glad you enjoyed it. The Seventh Seal is one of those films that helped me transform into a hardocre film-addict from just a guy who occasionally watches movies.