Movie Tab II

I think the intent was to build slow, impending dread through most of the film in order to make the finale that much more of a crazy, horrific release of evil. I feel like it works pretty well if you lend yourself to that perspective. Kubrick presents a relatively mundane existence for the three characters, but leaves just enough weirdness and dread bubbling underneath (the hotel's history, the two girls, the mystery surrounding room 237, even the musical track) to keep your senses heightened in expectation of bad things to come.

Ironically, although King reportedly hates this version, I think that's what he was most interested in when he wrote much of his fiction. The idea is that horror can exist right in your own backyard and become interwoven into the very normal life you think you're living (or, in Jack's case, trying to live).

Yeah, I am just over-the-moon for The Shining, and I would rate it . Over the years, I have grown to like the first half more than the second, because that is where the insidious dread is. I just don't understand the complaints about Nicholson. This is my favorite performance from him, hands down. The scene at the bar, during which he speaks to Lloyd about Danny, is some of the best acting ever put on film. Nicholson twists through emotions flawlessly and just owns the scene. I can watch that scene over and over. how about the scene in the bathroom with the conversation about the caretaker's job? So chilling, and again, knocked out of the park by the actors.

Love the film - the isolation, the stark banality of everyone and everything right at the beginning, a device Kubrick uses a lot, for example in 2001. The Shining is a film that almost requires multiple viewings in order to really uncover all its subtleties.

Meanwhile:

The Chronicles of Narnia : Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Apted, 2010)



Again, I think this series gets better as it goes along. Caspian seemed much more natural and less doe-eyed in this one, and the fantasy sequences were fun and inventive. I especially liked the kid's entrance to Narnia this time around. Sure, the film is sort of a CGI-fest, which did take away from it from time to time, but still, if there is any genre in which it's OK to overuse CGI, it's children's fantasy films. This series has grown on me a bit. It will never compete with something like LotR, but it's a fine little fantasy series. I had to knock half a box off because Susan, my favorite character, wasn't in it much.

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I agree, I liked Dawn Treader best, but man...the book is so, so much better in this instance. I enjoyed the film but given that the story is definitely the most cinematic in the series, I was hoping for a lot more. But yes, the entrance to Narnia is a superb; which is another example of the best parts of the movies merely being the transfer of ideas from the book, rather than anything new brought to the table.

I hear they're doing The Magician's Nephew next, which is a prequel. I like that book a great deal, but I was really hoping they'd continue in sequence with The Silver Chair, which is the second-most cinematic of the stories, after Dawn Treader.

Lisa wants me to buy the book series for her, but i want to avoid any versions associated with the films at all. Hopefully I can track a nice set down!

Yeah, get originals. They read plenty modern most of the time.

I don't know how you'll react, to be honest. They are fairly light at times (though some awfully advanced theology is smuggled in at certain points), but the core creativity is deeply impressive. However, it's been my experience that modern readers who come to read them later in life (as opposed to as children or young adults) are too preconditioned to expect deep character exploration and moral gray areas to accept anything else. It feels "simplistic" to many now, when in reality it just has a different goal than they're used to stories having.

But, anyway, I hope you give them a try and I'd be all sorts of giddy to hear your thoughts, even if the above ends up describing your reaction to them. If nothing else, though, you can be sure that each book will have two or three really breathtakingly creative ideas or turns of phrase. The shifting tastes of various time periods can hide the full brilliance of a masterpiece, but some of it always shines through.

Well, one of my favorite books of all time is Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, which was written for children, I believe. Simple is fine, as long as its well done.

I think Voyage of the Dawn Treader was my favourite so far as well. Was just really fun and had the best child performance by far in the series with Will Poulter as Eustace.

I still have a box set of the Narnia books from back as a kid but I don't know if I ever actually read any of them other than Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe

I've got an old BBC adaptation on DVD. I thought they were only pretty good when I was growing up, and a large part of the seeming quality was probably just satisfaction that any adaptation existed. It's kind of funny to watch them now. Certain aspects of the production hold up well (the theme is really lovely and "feels" Narnian), but it's beyond amusing to see how badly certain characters -- like the White Witch -- were overacted, now that I have some conception of what overacting looks like.

You can say that again - that kid was great. I still missed Susan, though...

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Zodiac: Yet another David Fincher film I loved on my first viewing. I will definitely re-watch this one, superbly crafted thriller.

Magnolia: Brilliant film, great performances and direction. It isn't my favourite Paul Thomas Anderson, though.

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Damn, now I've posted in here. Best flick I've seen recently was Touch of Evil (1998 'restored' version). Saw the languorous hours of Arena-interview with Welles and it reminded me to get on it (shame it didn't reinvigorate his directorial career, but yet again he didn't get to sit in his treasured editor's seat it seems).

In some ways not as dark as I was expecting, with a certain parity to proceedings and even genialness at the end (or am I wrong for having expected more darkness when it was foreshadowed?). Still hits the mark for me tho, thanks to some classy shots, great character portrayals, and tense sweaty scenarios. For some reason, my favourite exchange was:

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

Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
This is a movie that's worth seeing multiple times. At the level that most people seem to comment on, it's a story about subjectivity, trust, and nested storytelling; it is complex and narrative. I think within that level there's another, ironic layer (embodied in the peasant who is eager to hear the story) that is critical and mocking of storytellers in general and moralistic wordiness in particular.
Just visually, I found the first two scenes -- the introduction to the gate and the "walking-through-the-forrest" scene -- completely arresting. These scenes are imagistic and concrete. They palpably show you the minute temporal details that the characters experience. Even better, there's a constantly shifting cinematic awareness of form and environmental space (the scene I screen-capped for this post is one good example) that just makes the film seem a lot more alive to me when I'm watching it without the distraction of story. I think the next time I watch it I'm going to keep the subtitles and volume muted.




The Tourist (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2010)
Charming, comfortable vehicle for Johny Depp and Angelina Jolie to act like Hollywood movie stars in a classic Hollywood romance/intrigue. If you liked Charade and have a lot of nostalgia for the studio/star "classics" you'll probably like this and may feel my rating is on the low side. I enjoyed it pretty well. It's interesting how little the requirements for this type of movie have changed over the last 5 or more decades, which you can see if you look at Charade (1963), Hopscotch (1980) and now this. This seems to work just about as well as those two, though I think I liked it the least by a little bit. Worth seeing, though. Same director as The Lives of Others (2006).





The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)
A decent movie with some lovely images of New Zealand and an equally lovely score. The story is about how romance can be an emotional wilderness that you can journey to through (certain) music. There were plenty of times I thought to myself that the cinematography and music were lovely, but for some reason I never felt myself connect with that wilderness. I guess it's a case of "you can't help who you fall in love with" (or don't). My girlfriend liked this movie a lot, so I'll probably watch it again some time and try to go in with an open heart once again.



Lethal Weapon 2 (Richard Donner, 1989)
Lethal Weapon 3 (Richard Donner, 1992)
The Rock (Michael Bay, 1996)
Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988)
Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Werner Herzog, 2011)
Ten Canoes (Rolf de Heer & Peter Djigirr, 2006)

No love for Ten Canoes lines? I know in some ways it's a procession of fart jokes, but I kinda loved how the amateur dallyings were packaged in a way that felt more bark-wrapped than polythene.

*EDIT* I'd never thought of the narrative-criticism as such in Rashomon (I remember Mifune's bombast & the lady protesting and such, but I'd never thought to add that string to its bow). Film does have layers doesn't it. (And visual layers too, like you say )

You know, I really need to see Ten Canoes again. That really just means "liked it, or at least what I saw of it" (whereas other times it could mean "liked it, but didn't love it.") In the middle of the movie my grandmother called and I talked to her for about 15 minutes. I was kind of pressed for time and the movie was due back at the library the next day anyway, so I just left it running and had a hard time getting back into it after that. And one thing I definitely did love was the fart humor! I'll see it again some time.

Similar problem with Cave of Forgotten Dreams. My mother got the show-times wrong so we got to the theater about 20 minutes into the movie. We decided that the loss rather than wait for the next (non-matinee) show. Would like to see that one again too (hopefully in 3-D).

Rashomon: There's definitely a lot to it both at the story, and aesthetic levels. This is probably about the fourth or fifth change of opinion I've had concerning the movie. Which is fitting I guess.

Cool . Yeah it's normally a miracle watching any movie through without interruption. Canoes def seemed to have a fireside 'story flow' throughout to me (fitting with the narrative device) so I can imagine it being hard to slip back into down the line.

Let us know if the 3D 'zog is better/worse to your eye, if you catch it in that format. (The first 20 mins or so do have a scene-setting tone of their own, but his docs have such a higgledy piggledy style that I wouldn't say missing it throws off what follows massively).

Black Swan - Crazy, intense, and sometimes TOO intimate. I liked it a LOT.

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Psycho (first viewing) - Man this is one creepy, freaky movie! This film works both as a classic shock film full of suspense but also as a real study of this strange character, Norman Bates. Anthony Perkins is just incredible as Norman Bates as he switches from an eccentric but seemingly nice guy, to being absolutely terrifying.

The film looks incredible too, full of chilling set-pieces and effective 'tricks'. That along with a terrific score really help to ramp up the tension and nerves

I just wish I hadn't known about most of the twists and turns before seeing the film so it could have made even more of an impact. The shower scene in particular, while impressive, would have done more for me if I hadn't already seen it countless times.




How to Murder Your Wife (first viewing) – A daft, dated but ultimately still enjoyable film. The main reason for it being able to retain that enjoyment is the sheer energy of Jack Lemmon's performance, particularly in the courtroom scene near the end of the film which is terrifically funny.

Lemmon is also given help however by the supporting cast, especially from Terry-Thomas who achieves the impressive feat of almost stealing any scene he is in with Lemmon.

It's just a simple, good old-fashioned little comedy. The perfect kind of film perhaps for a lazy Sunday afternoon when the rain is pouring down outside




Here Comes Mr Jordan (first viewing)– A nice, good natured film. Certainly better than Chris Rock's Down to Earth which it inspired.

The most impressive element of the film for me were the performances. Robert Montgomery makes for a very likeable lead, Claude Rains is excellent as the suave, compassionate Mr Jordan and James Gleason steals pretty much every scene he's in, especially as his behaviour becomes more and more insane to all those around him

With a real warmth and charm, it is a sweet little film and certainly comes into the category of “They don't make 'em like that anymore!” kind of films.




African Queen (first viewing) – I've ran out of steam a little bit here to write anything substantial. So I'll just say it's a decent film which has stunning looking cinematography, some great dialogue and real chemistry between Hepburn and Bogart. Not however my cup of tea really and it would certainly be a long while before I would watch it again (if ever) but fairly enjoyable all the same

Jay you finally got to see Psycho! (And you threw in a little Bogie in there- one of which I have yet to see). Loved your review of it and glad you liked it!

Also really interested in seeing How to Murder Your Wife. I love Jack Lemmon- he always makes me laugh