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I was just in heaven the whole time I was watching it. You will probably really enjoy it.
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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019
Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019
Rate The Last Movie You Saw
The Man who wasn't There-Coen Brother films have always had a hint of film-noir, but with this film they fully embrace it. This neo-noir has dazzling black-white cinematography, great acting and a tight script. It truly feels like a classic film-noir.
Pretty cool, but obviously worked so much better in black and white.
Picnic at Hanging Rock- 7/10 a good film, though part of me felt like it could have been better. Overall can't complain for a first watch.
I watched two films yesterday.
The first was "The Iceman". Really enjoyed the film. They were some great performances from the likes of Michael Shannon who was chilling and also Chris Evans although it took us a while to realize it was him.
7/10
The second was "Don Jon". I thought this was okay. Quite different from any movie really that I have seen before. It fell a bit flat at the end and never really gave that extra punch to me to think - 'WOW'. Still it was quite enjoyable and was funny a few times. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut and it was not an absolute disaster.
6/10
The first was "The Iceman". Really enjoyed the film. They were some great performances from the likes of Michael Shannon who was chilling and also Chris Evans although it took us a while to realize it was him.
7/10
The second was "Don Jon". I thought this was okay. Quite different from any movie really that I have seen before. It fell a bit flat at the end and never really gave that extra punch to me to think - 'WOW'. Still it was quite enjoyable and was funny a few times. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut and it was not an absolute disaster.
6/10
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The Lords of Salem
Rabies and germs, the word is out on the street, and it was a sneaking suspicion that I have carried ever since seeing Devil's Rejects, but I do believe that Rob Zombie is, in-fact, not a terrible director. I think that it's something that little will agree on because of his music and/or the subject-matter of his movies, but I appreciate a lot of his work. House of 1,000 Corpses was enjoyable, whereas Devil's Rejects merely expanded on that, with an uncanny way of making you root for the serial-killers and feel devastation when they're in jeopardy. He isn't Quentin Tarantino, however, at the very least, I found for him to be a capable director. He eventually transferred over to dangerous territory by reshaping Micheal Myers from Halloween in a remake and a later sequel. I know that the reception from critics about the remake is negative, but I know a lot that enjoyed it, and I thought that it added a different dimension to the Michael Myers character. I don't know for certain whether or not I would call it on-par with the first or fourth movie, but I found it to be a massive improvement over H20 and Resurrection. There is a lot more profanity and vulgarity in the movie, I don't believe that a lot of it is needed, but all in all, the remake got my approval.
The sequel, however, I found to be absolutely terrible on all accounts, and is possibly the worst of the franchise, excluding the intriguing but tedious Season of the Witch, and including Resurrection. With all of this being said, I approve a lot of what Rob Zombie has been doing. However, I do believe that he may very well be regressing as a director with Halloween II and what I will be reviewing now, The Lords of Salem.
For those that aren't aware, The Lords of Salem is a 2012 Canadian-American horror film starring Sheri Moon Zombie, who is featured as a significant character in all of Rob Zombie's films. There is other familiar faces as well, shades of Robert Rodriguez and other directors, Rob Zombie has a handful of individuals that he particularly likes to shoot in movies. As far as the story is concerned, it follows a disillusioned radio-host that awkwardly becomes entangled with a coven of ancient witches. From the beginning, this movie doesn't have a lot of appeal to me considering the fact that horror-movies about witch-trials have already been iterated hundreds of times before. There is a certain psychedelic feeling that comes across in the cinematography and scenery when it comes to how everything tends to unfold. And that is a very friendly way of saying that the movie comes across as an incoherent mess that barely makes a lick of sense that substitutes through deliberately bizarre scenes, which are bizarre for the sake of being bizarre.
If there is anything that I have to praise about this movie, I suppose that it would have to be the camerawork itself. Which, although, is filming an absolute mess, captures it in a such a desolate and bleak way that actually works to add something, even if it doesn't add enough.
There were a lot of critics that argued that this movie wouldn't appeal to mainstream audiences, and I find that to be a scapegoat meant to keep this movie from receiving the criticisms that it deserves. The movie doesn't propel itself through character-development or actual unique intricacies, but rather decides to depend entirely off of nonsensical scene after another. There are moments during the movie where it actually starts achieving a level of atrocity where you start mistaking it for nothing more than a joke that's meant to be laughed at simply because of how stupid it is. Sherri Moon Zombie delivers a performance that isn't anything worth jumping up and down about, however, there isn't any moments where you actually are given a chance to appreciate her as a character, there isn't any development whatsoever. There are shots of her naked once or twice, along with a million or so others that appear naked throughout the movie, but there isn't any actual worthwhile dialogue.
While I would like to rattle on and on about what my problems were, in an effort to keep it simple, I'll wraps things up with a final verdict. Rob Zombie was trying to achieve something that different and unique from everything else that he has already tried thus far in his acting career. However, it feels more like a step backwards than forward, I found it to be an attempt at being symbolic and metaphorical that felt more forced than anything else. There were times where the movie dragged on and on, and I was merely waiting for it to end. It was an attempt that simply didn't work, and I think that a bad movie resulted from it.
Chilling Visions
I always approach horror anthology films with caution, there are exceptions such as Trick 'r Treat that manage to actually capture something remotely unique or refreshing, but at least when it comes to a compilation of unique stories oftentimes from unique directors, it's a mixed-bag that is leaning more toward negativity when it comes to my perspective. V/H/S wasn't very well-done, and it's sequel was even worse, while Three ... Extremes was only passable. Obviously, this isn't a strong representation of all of the horror anthology films out-there, but I have found that it's usually either terrible or adequate, and there isn't ever a moment whenever I believe I have witnessed something well-done on all accounts. Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear doesn't do much of anything at all whatsoever to change my stance, but I didn't feel the need to grind my teeth from beginning to end.
As the full-name would suggest, the film is an anthology assembled around five senses, these being touch, see, listen, taste, and smell, albeit not in that order. Similar to a lot of other anthology films, Chilling Visions does not have a wraparound story, but rather, it only has occasional connections between all five films, primarily a mysterious company called Watershed is featured throughout. A lot of anthology films tend to bring about known directors, for example, Three ... Extremes had Park Chan-wook, who served as the saving grace for that movie in my opinion. The ABC's of Death also had some known directors contributing, to name a few, I know that the directors of Time Crimes, Shutter, and Sightseers all respectively added their contributions. However, as far as directors known, I couldn't figure out who any of these directors are, and I don't recognize any of the actors for that matter.
However, that doesn't have to be a bad thing as long as the acting and directing both excel, it doesn't make a difference whether or not they are experienced. However, that is where the problem lies, because in this movie, there are a compilation of interesting ideas. All of the ideas are interesting in their own way, however, they aren't flushed out properly without the care necessary to make the ideas function properly. For example, one of them is about a song that carries a melody that is evidently capable of killing whoever hears it. The idea is there, and to a certain extent, the acting is believable, however, how they present the idea on the screen makes it difficult to appreciate. That's one of the biggest problems with anthology films is that it's an idea that is bunched and smashed down in-order to keep it from being a film in its own right. They don't have the opportunity to build suspense, emotion, or get the viewer invested in their idea, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, if they weren't trying to build suspense and emotion.
It's bad because they can't build emotion, or at least, they don't, and they don't build suspense, rather, it feels like they are trying to complete a checklist for all of the things necessary to formulate a coherent storyline. In an effort to keep it simple, I'll summarize by saying that the movie has ideas and uniqueness to be found within it that will at least provide a certain novelty or entertainment-value. There will be times where you see scenes and think to yourself, "That could have been cool if they would have done it better," and that's about the extent of it. Whereas, there will also be times where you find yourself having to endure something that feels inorganic or generic meant as a substitute for authenticity and the constructs of immerse storytelling. There's one or two good ideas, but for every good one, there's five or six bad ones that follow, however, the acting isn't bad, and it wasn't what I would call terrible.
Ratings:
Lords of Salem: 3.0/10.0
Chilling Visions: 5.0/10.0
Rabies and germs, the word is out on the street, and it was a sneaking suspicion that I have carried ever since seeing Devil's Rejects, but I do believe that Rob Zombie is, in-fact, not a terrible director. I think that it's something that little will agree on because of his music and/or the subject-matter of his movies, but I appreciate a lot of his work. House of 1,000 Corpses was enjoyable, whereas Devil's Rejects merely expanded on that, with an uncanny way of making you root for the serial-killers and feel devastation when they're in jeopardy. He isn't Quentin Tarantino, however, at the very least, I found for him to be a capable director. He eventually transferred over to dangerous territory by reshaping Micheal Myers from Halloween in a remake and a later sequel. I know that the reception from critics about the remake is negative, but I know a lot that enjoyed it, and I thought that it added a different dimension to the Michael Myers character. I don't know for certain whether or not I would call it on-par with the first or fourth movie, but I found it to be a massive improvement over H20 and Resurrection. There is a lot more profanity and vulgarity in the movie, I don't believe that a lot of it is needed, but all in all, the remake got my approval.
The sequel, however, I found to be absolutely terrible on all accounts, and is possibly the worst of the franchise, excluding the intriguing but tedious Season of the Witch, and including Resurrection. With all of this being said, I approve a lot of what Rob Zombie has been doing. However, I do believe that he may very well be regressing as a director with Halloween II and what I will be reviewing now, The Lords of Salem.
For those that aren't aware, The Lords of Salem is a 2012 Canadian-American horror film starring Sheri Moon Zombie, who is featured as a significant character in all of Rob Zombie's films. There is other familiar faces as well, shades of Robert Rodriguez and other directors, Rob Zombie has a handful of individuals that he particularly likes to shoot in movies. As far as the story is concerned, it follows a disillusioned radio-host that awkwardly becomes entangled with a coven of ancient witches. From the beginning, this movie doesn't have a lot of appeal to me considering the fact that horror-movies about witch-trials have already been iterated hundreds of times before. There is a certain psychedelic feeling that comes across in the cinematography and scenery when it comes to how everything tends to unfold. And that is a very friendly way of saying that the movie comes across as an incoherent mess that barely makes a lick of sense that substitutes through deliberately bizarre scenes, which are bizarre for the sake of being bizarre.
If there is anything that I have to praise about this movie, I suppose that it would have to be the camerawork itself. Which, although, is filming an absolute mess, captures it in a such a desolate and bleak way that actually works to add something, even if it doesn't add enough.
There were a lot of critics that argued that this movie wouldn't appeal to mainstream audiences, and I find that to be a scapegoat meant to keep this movie from receiving the criticisms that it deserves. The movie doesn't propel itself through character-development or actual unique intricacies, but rather decides to depend entirely off of nonsensical scene after another. There are moments during the movie where it actually starts achieving a level of atrocity where you start mistaking it for nothing more than a joke that's meant to be laughed at simply because of how stupid it is. Sherri Moon Zombie delivers a performance that isn't anything worth jumping up and down about, however, there isn't any moments where you actually are given a chance to appreciate her as a character, there isn't any development whatsoever. There are shots of her naked once or twice, along with a million or so others that appear naked throughout the movie, but there isn't any actual worthwhile dialogue.
While I would like to rattle on and on about what my problems were, in an effort to keep it simple, I'll wraps things up with a final verdict. Rob Zombie was trying to achieve something that different and unique from everything else that he has already tried thus far in his acting career. However, it feels more like a step backwards than forward, I found it to be an attempt at being symbolic and metaphorical that felt more forced than anything else. There were times where the movie dragged on and on, and I was merely waiting for it to end. It was an attempt that simply didn't work, and I think that a bad movie resulted from it.
Chilling Visions
I always approach horror anthology films with caution, there are exceptions such as Trick 'r Treat that manage to actually capture something remotely unique or refreshing, but at least when it comes to a compilation of unique stories oftentimes from unique directors, it's a mixed-bag that is leaning more toward negativity when it comes to my perspective. V/H/S wasn't very well-done, and it's sequel was even worse, while Three ... Extremes was only passable. Obviously, this isn't a strong representation of all of the horror anthology films out-there, but I have found that it's usually either terrible or adequate, and there isn't ever a moment whenever I believe I have witnessed something well-done on all accounts. Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear doesn't do much of anything at all whatsoever to change my stance, but I didn't feel the need to grind my teeth from beginning to end.
As the full-name would suggest, the film is an anthology assembled around five senses, these being touch, see, listen, taste, and smell, albeit not in that order. Similar to a lot of other anthology films, Chilling Visions does not have a wraparound story, but rather, it only has occasional connections between all five films, primarily a mysterious company called Watershed is featured throughout. A lot of anthology films tend to bring about known directors, for example, Three ... Extremes had Park Chan-wook, who served as the saving grace for that movie in my opinion. The ABC's of Death also had some known directors contributing, to name a few, I know that the directors of Time Crimes, Shutter, and Sightseers all respectively added their contributions. However, as far as directors known, I couldn't figure out who any of these directors are, and I don't recognize any of the actors for that matter.
However, that doesn't have to be a bad thing as long as the acting and directing both excel, it doesn't make a difference whether or not they are experienced. However, that is where the problem lies, because in this movie, there are a compilation of interesting ideas. All of the ideas are interesting in their own way, however, they aren't flushed out properly without the care necessary to make the ideas function properly. For example, one of them is about a song that carries a melody that is evidently capable of killing whoever hears it. The idea is there, and to a certain extent, the acting is believable, however, how they present the idea on the screen makes it difficult to appreciate. That's one of the biggest problems with anthology films is that it's an idea that is bunched and smashed down in-order to keep it from being a film in its own right. They don't have the opportunity to build suspense, emotion, or get the viewer invested in their idea, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, if they weren't trying to build suspense and emotion.
It's bad because they can't build emotion, or at least, they don't, and they don't build suspense, rather, it feels like they are trying to complete a checklist for all of the things necessary to formulate a coherent storyline. In an effort to keep it simple, I'll summarize by saying that the movie has ideas and uniqueness to be found within it that will at least provide a certain novelty or entertainment-value. There will be times where you see scenes and think to yourself, "That could have been cool if they would have done it better," and that's about the extent of it. Whereas, there will also be times where you find yourself having to endure something that feels inorganic or generic meant as a substitute for authenticity and the constructs of immerse storytelling. There's one or two good ideas, but for every good one, there's five or six bad ones that follow, however, the acting isn't bad, and it wasn't what I would call terrible.
Ratings:
Lords of Salem: 3.0/10.0
Chilling Visions: 5.0/10.0
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Her (2013) - I think it's really a well-made film, nicely shot, acted and directed. The only thing is that I don't really like romance films so I couldn't really get involved in it.
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I did. I always watch Studio Ghibli films in theaters first.
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Shakespeare in Love
Not a bad movie but is unbelievable how Saving Private Ryan lost Best Picture award for this.
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The Apartment +
Fantastic film. Superbly entertaining with great characters, and a warm script. Stunning photography as well, the film looks incredible.
Fantastic film. Superbly entertaining with great characters, and a warm script. Stunning photography as well, the film looks incredible.
I thought this was a very good movie and an improvement on The Passion of the Christ.
The Passion IMO focused too much on Christ's death and over emphasized the violence, while merely touching on his teachings. And while that movie did have moments of religious inspiration, the prospects of rewatching the Passion makes me feel uneasy. And for a religious movie meant to inspire, to make a film with NO rewatch potential is in my opinion a grave mistake.
This movie on the other hand spends more time with Jesus outside of the scourging and crucifixion. Gathering his followers, healing the sick, and performing miracles before his entrance into Jerusalem. We hit on big events. Calling on John to be a fisher of man, calling on Matthew (a tax collector) to follow him, the prevention of stoning an adulteress, raising Lazarus from the dead, and the like. The final part of the movie is Christ's betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection; but is no where near as explicit in the violence as the Passion.
My only real gripes is at the beginning the story really feels rushed, like the movie hit fast forward. I think this is more to do with the editing of the film, as this movie is a cinematic version of part of the 10 hour mini series The Bible. Obviously some stuff got left out to make the film fit for a standard movie time. That is another weakness IMO. I am used to a Biblical epic being 3 to 3 1/2 hours long. The 2 hour and 18 minute running time seems a tad short for me. I am sure the full mini series cut is stronger. There might be a Fanny & Alexander kind of parallel here, but I have not seen the mini series version of either Son of God or Fanny & Alexander.
But the rest of the film is very good. The production design is great, the cast look the part, the acting is good, and the Hans Zimmer score is fantastic! Probably not for those who are non religious. But a definite for the faithful.
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I haven't seen it. Have you seen my two fave Christ films, Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) and Jesus of Montreal (on my '80s list)?
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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I rewatched the Godfather movies recently.
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“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” ~ Rocky Balboa
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” ~ Rocky Balboa
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I haven't seen it. Have you seen my two fave Christ films, Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) and Jesus of Montreal (on my '80s list)?
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Watched "Welcome to Sarajevo" by Michael Winterbottom about the Bosnian War in Sarajevo. Touching story depicting yet again the lack of international help in a time of crisis. The film itself was okay but feel it could have been better to push the message.
7/10
7/10
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Manhattan
Probably the best Allen film I've seen so far. Beautifully photographed, the decision to make the film black/white lends the film a timeless beauty. Plus it's a sweet,realistic take on romance.The humor is rather dry, but i found myself laughing a few times. Plus I love all the references to Cinema including Casablanca
Probably the best Allen film I've seen so far. Beautifully photographed, the decision to make the film black/white lends the film a timeless beauty. Plus it's a sweet,realistic take on romance.The humor is rather dry, but i found myself laughing a few times. Plus I love all the references to Cinema including Casablanca
