Cowardly Lion's Roar

Great Lines

2011-10-19T15:07:00.000+01:00

"I like a woman with an arse you can park a bike in and balance a pint of beer on"

Micmacs à tire-larigot

2011-10-19T14:58:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

You only need five minutes of Micmacs to confirm the storytelling talents of the director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. In that short period of time, you're given the entire background of the protagonist allowing you to understand his motives, all this wrapped up in a visually stunning, inventive and funny package. And that's just the first five minutes.

This was a delightful comedy caper, full of bizarre and charming outcast characters, on a david versus goliath revenge mission against two powerful weapons manufacturers. The heist moves presented here would put any Mission Impossible team to shame. They're more imaginative, trickier, devious and certainly more humourous.

I particularly liked the fact the protagonist, a video club clerk, is so amazingly smart, a characteristic I attribute to the long hours of watching movies. I rather like this explanation better than a bullet in the head ;-)

Another not to be missed work from Jeunet

Limitless

2011-10-19T12:49:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

When you watch three movies in one weekend, and two days later you have trouble remembering what the third movie was, it's a clear indication of the quality of that particular movie when it barely registered compared with the other two (Submarine and I Saw the Devil). The movie in question is Limitless, which to be fair was pretty entertaining, but unlike what it's title suggests, it remained pretty limited. A movie about a pill that unlocks the full potential of the human brain asked for a story larger in scope. A true sci-fi novel or movie would explore the social and moral ramifications of this wonder drug. The possibilities surrounding the use of this drug are staggering. The consequences and impact at the individual level alone are immense and 'Limitless' brushes a few of them, but for the most part settles for the more confortable zone of the thriller. It works well as such, but overall it feels a bit disappointing. Other than this and the ending, which totally screws up with the backstory, as well as some plot points abandoned or poorly handled, the movie is visually appealing, Bradley Cooper carries the movie well, the action scenes are well shot and the suspense is kept effective.

Limitless is an entertaining thriller, but unlike the character of the movie that acquires total recall, you'll probably forget all about it in a couple of weeks, and won't be in a hurry to revisit.

I Saw the Devil

2011-10-18T16:30:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Revenge is a very powerful sentiment. It can take over one person so completely, one hardly recognizes himself. There's a terrible need in all of us to see justice done, to carry out due punishment. The punishment however, differs greatly from one individual to another.

I Saw the Devil aka Akmareul boatda in its original title, is the last work from hot shot Korean director Jee-woon Kim. The basic premise behind the film is great. The most satisfying part in a movie dealing with the wrongdoings of a villain, is seeing him get his much deserved comeuppance. The side effect of this is, it ends the story. 'I Saw the Devil' picks up on this and works around it. Instead of offering one cathartic act of revenge, you get several smaller appetizing ones, satisfying on their own, but allowing for the delay of the story's resolution. There are several upside effects to this. One, it extends the suffering inflicted on the villain, thus increasing our viewing pleasure. It sounds sadistic doesn't it? That's another thing the film makes you think about after you finish watching it. The nature of revenge and the sadistic streak to it. But that's not all. It also allows for an hypnotizing and deadly cat and mouse game between the villain and the "hero", played by Byung-hun Lee as the young secret agent seeking revenge for the murder of his fiancee, Min-sik Choi as the serial killer, and magistrally conducted by Jee-woon Kim. Third, it gives plenty of opportunities to showcase the collateral damage inflicted upon others as a result of this game, further enhancing the destructive nature of revenge, as well as the ugly emptiness of its aftermath.

I find the movie easy to recommend. I think even people who were not thrilled by Asian movies in the past, might find something to enjoy here. This is not just another bloody brutal slasher asian movie.

Submarine

2011-10-18T14:47:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I was playing with the idea of giving Submarine a higher rating. I'm still torn about it, because this was one of the best teen movies I've seen in quite some time. It's definitely one of the best films I've watched this year, period. This British film lacks the glamour and fast pace usually associated with American teen movies, but more than makes up with a fantastic script that captures the essence of adolescence awkwardness. Almost everyone at one point will recognize themselves in something that shows up on the screen. It has plenty of drama, some of it blown out of proportion as is typical of that age, but it's also very funny, although I'm sure the humour might not appeal to everyone's taste.

'Submarine' is a gem of a first feature film by director Richard Ayoade. It's consistently good all the way through, and some parts are simply brilliant. A good example is the ending scene. Talk about wraping a movie on a high note. As I'm writing this, I'm feeling the urge to watch it again, despite much of it being already indelibly carved in my memory. There's no better compliment than that.

Contagion

2011-10-14T15:32:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

I'm split on how I feel about Contagion. As an healthcare professional, I think it does a decent job as to what people can expect happening in the event of a pandemic like the 1918 Spanish Flu. The H1N1 outbreak of 2009, and the perceived notion by the general population that the situation was blown out of proportion by the authorities as part of a conspiracy with the pharmaceutical industry to sell drugs is very dangerous indeed. Yes, the tax payers ended up paying for a lot of vaccines that didn't got used. We should all thank our good fortunes that was the case, because had the situation evolved differently, even with the vaccines available, the costs would amount to several times what was spent. And make no mistake, a pandemic like that is still inevitable, so better safe than sorrow, and the release of the 'Contagion' helps in raising awareness.

As a moviegoer, it's a different story. Contagion is a disaster movie in essence, but it pales in comparison with both the 70's golden age, and the most recent examples of the genre. The thriller aspects are almost absent, and despite depicting several story elements that should infuse the movie with its dramatic weight, it fails to do so effectively. That was for me the main problem. It didn't manage to convey the drama and horror of the situation. You see it on screen, but you don't feel it. I felt detached from it. One factor that might have contributed to that was the number of characters and subplots. Even if it has always been a staple of the genre, 'Contagion' has too many characters and subplots going on, some of them duplicating their function in the story. Soderbergh doesn't grasp character economy here. I'm not against a large cast or several plots running together, but only when they add something significant to the story. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking how much better the movie could have been if it focused more strongly on just three main character subplots. Laurence Fishburne as the director of CDC to cover the political side, Kate Winslet as the CDC field officer to show us the reality from the point of view of the authorities attempt to manage the situation on site, and Matt Damon to give us the point of view from the general population. This would be enough to cover all the bases without dispersing itself too much. Other characters would still show up but with less time dedicated to them, and some would be gone altogether.

As a result, a relatively weak emotional involvement and impact with the viewers also hurts the message it carries. Perhaps it was done on purpose to avoid alarming people too much whenever a new flu epidemic shows up every year, but I doubt it.

Should have go and watched Submarine instead. Oh well, next time.

In the Company of Men

2011-10-14T10:58:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I can't say I was impressed by In the Company of Men. It's a very good movie, but taking into account its controversial reputation for mysoginistic material, I couldn't but feel a bit disappointed for what I felt was a somewhat insipid material regarding that issue.

Two business executives Chad (Aaron Eckhart) and Howard (Matt Malloy) have just been rejected by their girlfriends. While traveling for a few weeks temporary assignment in another office, they plot to get revenge with women. They plan to seduce a vulnerable woman and then dump her with her feelings and self-esteem completely destroyed. When they meet the deaf secretary Christine (Stacy Edwards), they find their perfect victim.

What I enjoyed most from the film were the actors performances. Good stuff from all the three main leads, especially Stacy Edwards. Another high point in the film is Chad, one of the most amoral villains in movie history. No matter how you interpret his actions and motives, whether his target was really Christine or ultimately his co-worker and friend Howard, he is truly a major a$$hole. I give Neil Labute credit for consistently writing some real awful characters in his films. Chad was the first, followed by Cary in 'Your Friends and Neighbors', and Evelyn in 'The Shape of Things'. Truly awful people, made even worse because there's nothing extraordinary about them. Sadly, we all know people just like them.

Despite all these "good things", I had trouble at times when the movie failed to engage me fully. Sometimes the pace is just too slow and the scripted dialogue isn't brilliant enough to compensate for it. It's not a movie with a high replay value to me.

Regarding the misogyny bad rep, I found it bland. In my interpretation, Chad true goal, the one person he really wanted to destroy was his friend Howard. Christine was just a expendable tool for him. It doesn't make him any less evil, quite the opposite, but I don't see hatred for women driving his actions. Of course, if your interpretation differs from mine, than the movie's last scene, above all others, will of course explain the much vilified label tagged upon it.

Mystery Soundtrack Challenge #20 - Revealed

2011-10-14T01:39:00.000+01:00

The movie is Once Upon a Time in America

Original Score by Ennio Morricone.

Congratulations to Júlio Rodrigues for identifying it

Great Lines

2011-10-12T16:24:00.001+01:00

"A guy can change anything. His face, his home, his family, his girlfriend, his religion, his God. But there's one thing he can't change. He can't change his passion"

Thursday (unrated director's cut)

2011-10-12T16:06:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Here's a few fun facts about Thursday. It's one of the most obscene movies I ever had the pleasure of watching. The film saw release in only two theaters. It made a couple thousand dollars in the box office. When it played at the Toronto Film Festival in 1998, Roger Ebert, a film critic I admire and respect, trashed the film so completely, that most distributors stayed away from it. He call it a racist and absurd movie, and a poorly done Tarantino knock off. Not surprisingly, it's the first, and only movie directed by Skip Woods, who managed to survive as a writer afterwards. A week after it came out on DVD in 2002, Polygram went bankrupt, and no more than 1000 copies of the DVD were made. All these combined, turn Thursday into a fairly unknown movie for most people. I did a little research and your best bet to get a copy would be Australian imports...or download it for free from the internet, because apparently no one owns the rights to the movie which basically means it's legal to do so.

Hi, I'm here to help fuck up your day

What about the movie per se? Any good? Well, it depends. I found it very funny, but I can see how many might disagree. It does have a Tarantino flair to it. Although the type of characters and narrative have some common ground, Thursday pales in comparison. The script is not bad, but it's not good enough to sustain the movie on it's own. The actors help it a lot, particularly Paulina Porizkova. In fact, it's her character scenes that raise the movie into something...well, into something you won't soon forget.

In all honesty, Mr. Ebert is right in his general assessment of the film. The only part he left out was that it's also damn entertaining. File this under guilty pleasures if you'd like.

Go

2011-10-12T12:10:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

This was a lot of fun. Following the formula made so popular by 'Pulp Fiction', Go gives us three sets of characters inhabiting what at first seems to be independent plotlines, until they eventually intersect each other. Here's the recipe: start with a supermarket clerk and friends (Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes and Nathan Bexton), trying to score some money to pay the rent, a group of friends on a trip to Las Vegas (Desmond Askew, Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer), and a couple of soap tv actors trying to save their asses (Scott Wolf, Jay Mohr). Now that you have a good group of young talented actors for the roles, add a clever script (John August) filled with quirky lines, mix the plots well late at night, and voilá, instant success under the direction of a solid filmmaker like Doug Liman.

Besides all these good points, 'Go' still suffers a tiny bit from inconsistency. Not all the segments/plotlines are of equal strength. Here the weak link is the middle one. It's not that it's bad, it's just not at the same level of the others. For one, it's story doesn't merge as strongly as the other two, and second, it lacks an antagonist capable of raising the bar. The first segment had Timothy Olyphant oozing menace, danger and sexiness in the form of the drug dealer, and in the latter you get William Fichtner in a sexually disorienting police detective. But all this is really nitpicking. If you haven't watch this 1999 movie before (I didn't until recently), then you're missing a very fun and entertaining work. Check it out.

Clerks

2011-10-11T17:35:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Finally!!! At long last I got to watch the movie that started the Kevin Smith's askewverse films. After hearing so many good things about it, and knowing some of the characters already from other movies, one question kept popping up in my mind as I inserted the pendrive into the player. Would the movie stand the test of time almost 20 years past its debut? The answer is a rotund yes.

This black & white depiction of one day in the life of Dante, convenience store clerk extraordinaire, is a riot. Girlfriend problems, ex-girlfriend problems, stupid and abusive customers, and an even more demanding best friend Randal, means that Dante's supposedly day off turns out a very stressful one.

All the characteristics you love from the askewverse films are here. It's a landmark in independent filmmaking. Shot with a budget of 27,575 dollars, Kevin Smith had to sell his comic book collection, max out several credit cards, and draw funds set aside for his college education. It had a very limited release in theaters, made 3 million buckaroos at the box office, spawned several other successful movies and launched Kevin Smith's film career. Not bad.

A well deserved cult classic status.

Mystery Soundtrack Challenge #20

2011-10-10T21:40:00.000+01:00

New challenge is up.

Check the tracks in the mp3 player and name the movie.

And just because I'm feeling randy...

2011-10-10T17:49:00.000+01:00

Name the actress proud owner of these lovely gluteal muscles?

The Help

2011-10-10T16:40:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I know it's kind of hard to see beyond the racism issue, after all that is the theme background, the engine that propels the characters into action, and it's been marketed as such. But if you can, you'll realize two things about The Help:

Number one - This is a movie about women, of all races, living in a particular time and place in America. You'll be hard pressed to remember any male characters in it. There are a few, but they're irrelevant character wise. Every hero and villain, every character that has any significant weight on the story is female. The movie brushes upon their lives, and no matter their race, they all struggle, Sure, the center piece is the struggle of the black maids within the civil rights movement, but there is so much more going on. The struggle for women's independence, class struggle, motherhood, etc. Narrowing the movie issues to just racism is a mistake. In fact, viewed as a film about racism, it kind of weak and simple minded. It's not particularly realistic and accurate. It is however a great movie about women. Poignant and very funny in equal measure.

Number two - The film is populated by a remarkably large number of great memorable female characters, fueled by amazing performances from their respective actresses. A lot of people will go see it because of rising star Emma Stone, but will come out marveled by a few others instead. At least I did. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer have of course the spotlight as the two black maids. They play very different characters, one the main comedic force of the movie, the other offering the more serious tone. These were film roles actresses often dream about, and they were both up to the task. So was Bryce Dallas Howard as the vindictive antagonist. Bryce has grown out of Night Shyamalan's movies, and she had recently impressed me in Clint Eastwood's 'Hereafter' in a very small, but unforgetable role. Here she gives life to a great movie villain, confirming her talent if anyone was still doubting. The cast wonder continues with Sissy Spacek, Aunjanue Ellis and so on. A special note to Allison Janney and Jessica Chastain. Both managed some stellar moments in what little time they had on screen. Quintessential oscar worthy supporting roles. That's where this movie can probably make a dent at Oscar night. Best actress in leading and supporting role, and to be honest, whatever the decision, it's going to be unfair for any and all the others involved in The Help.

All the talk about the movie trivialising the civil rights movement is just hogwash for the reasons I stated above. It misses the point. It's a great film, and as performances go, it doesn't get much better than this. I certainly can't think of a female driven film this good in recent times. Bridesmaids was very good, but this is on a all new level.

Great Lines

2011-10-10T14:30:00.000+01:00

"I want to tickle your belly button... from the inside"

Murder and biscuits at tea time (part 2) - Mum & Dad

2011-10-10T14:23:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

This second British horror movie caught me off guard for several reasons, neither of them in a good way. This was just despicable, and I felt dirty for watching it, but was unwilling to stop doing it. Mum & Dad is about a "familly" of sadistic/victim homicidal freaks. The film depicts the "assimilation attempt" of its newer member, a female Polish immigrant, abducted into this house of horrors as the new daughter. The familly makes a living from stealing the Heathrow airport cargo, as well as any victims that come their way. Most of the familly obviously started out as such. Certainly the children, but I suspect even mummy was at some point a victim, although that is open to interpretation.

Mum & Dad is an exploitation movie, and not a very good one at that. Sure there's some humour thrown in, but any pretense to label this as a dark comedy or possessing lofty artistic merits is just false propaganda. The only people that will get a kick out of this will be the S&M crowd. They will love the mom character played by Dido Miles, who was in fact the only somewhat perversely arousing character in the movie.

mommy and daughter quality time

Murder and biscuits at tea time - Tony

2011-10-10T12:30:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Here is a portray of a serial killer that you won't soon forget. Tony, played by Peter Ferdinando, is a socially awkward loner living in London, who above everything else craves for company. He's meek and eager to please, but he's also a serial killer. In some ways, this reminded me a of 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer', with one distinct difference. In Tony, despite being disturbed by his actions, we can at some level empathize with the protagonist. There's character development present, which was basically absent in Henry.

'Tony' is more of a drama than an horror flick. There's a lot of blood, but it's basically a disturbing picture of a very sad individual. The scary part is that we're not too far from him. We want the same things that he does, and there's certainly a lot of anger issues boiling underneath our socially acceptable façade, that are just waiting to be released. That's the main appeal of the movie. If you're looking for a typical horror fest, keep looking elsewhere.

The movie is short, falling under 80 minutes, but it doesn't feel that way. Good movie, but I'm not sure I would watch it a second time.

Great music score by The The.

Last Night

2011-10-06T15:19:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Last Night is a well shot, mature, sensible tale of romance, marriage, fidelity and temptation. Joanna (Keira Knightley) and Michael (Sam Worthington) are a married couple. Their relationship will face a trial during Michael's business trip out of town, when both will be tempted astray by new and old flames in their individual lives. For Michael in the person of attractive co-worker played by Eva Mendes, while Joanna is visited by an old passion (Guillaume Canet). Is their bond strong enough to resist it? And if not, is it strong enough to survive it?

For most of its length, the action is split into two segments running parallel one night: Knightley/Canet and Worthington/Mendes, and here lies the problem with the movie. The Knightley/Canet segment is much stronger than the other, which translates into only half the movie working as it was meant to. I have litlle doubt the filmmakers could have excised most of the Worthington/Mendes story, and 'Last Night' would have been a stronger movie as a result. Why did this happen? I'm not sure the script is blameless regarding favoring one segment of the story over the other, but I can certainly say the actors performance had a great deal to do with it. Some movie critics and theorists will tell you actors have or should have a minor input in the creative process of a movie. I never agreed with them. An actor, with something as simple and small as a gesture, a look, a spoken line, can add layers upon layers of emotional impact. They contribute with stuff that simply cannot be written in a script. The chemistry and interaction shown in the Knightley/Canet work completely pulled me into their story, and I was engaged in the complex and difficult decision Knightley's character has to make. All this was mostly absent in the other segment.

This was the directorial debut of Massy Tadjedin, based on a script of her own. The unbalance I spoke of, was possibly the result of her inexperience, but she looks promising. 'Last Night' was almost a keeper. It still is if you fast forward most of the Worthington scenes.

One more thing. Keira, you need to feed and put some flesh over those skinny ass bones. I'm worried honey.
Also, another good Clint Mansell score.

Gnomeo & Juliet

2011-10-06T12:29:00.002+01:00

RATING: ☺

The most important thing you need to know about Gnomeo & Juliet is that it was made exclusively for small children. Just because there's been a lot of computer animated features that appeal to young and old alike, this isn't one of those times. Don't let the look, theme and high production values fool you. This movie shares a trait with the garden gnomes characters populating it's fantasy world - it's tacky.

Unless you're six years old, for whom bright colors in motion are the pinnacle of filmmaking prowess, there's nothing here for you in this watered down Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. If you're a parent taking your kids to watch an animated feature film, that you think you might enjoy as well without admitting it, brace yourself for a disappointment. Your kids will probably love it though. As for me, despite the vibrant red and blue hues of the two gnome factions, it all looked kind of grey.

As a final note, I disliked the musical choices made. Most of the time they stand out in the worst way. Elton John, who was also a producer of the film, apparently crammed in as many of his songs as he could. It's like an Elton John back catalog. Excessive, inadequate and not cool.

17 Again

2011-10-04T14:10:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Speaking of Zac Efron, here's another push to his acting career, this time not as successful movie as the one in my last post. The biggest problem with 17 Again is that we've already seen this story before, four or five times, and they were done better. A guy whose life didn't quite turn out how he wanted it to and wishes he could go back and change it. How many times have you seen this in movies now? In order to make it work, you need something new, something to make it stand from what was done before it. Unfortunately, There's nothing new or original brought in to the basic premise.

The only element that peaked my curiosity during the movie was the subplot ongoing seduction of the school principle (Melora Hardin) by his best friend character Ned (Thomas Lennon). It was mildly amusing, especially if you're a sci-fi geek like me. Otherwise, there's nothing here that will last very long in your memory. Even the presence of that uber babe Michelle Trachtenberg is not enough to motivate me to a second viewing. This is the kind of movie you might watch if you catch it on tv in one lazy afternoon, but nothing more.

Me and Orson Welles

2011-10-03T13:28:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

The main obstacle for this movie to overcome in its search of sucess is the lead actor. There's nothing wrong with Zac Efron's performance in this, but to be fair I almost dismissed Me and Orson Welles as just another vehicle to further the cinematic career of someone who is perceived as nothing more than a pretty boy. I suspect many will dismiss it as well. Then I noticed this was a Richard Linklater movie. You've heard of him right? There's no way this would suck. At the very least it would be entertaining. Wrong. It's much better than that. This little gem I never heard of before is simply one of the best movies about Orson Welles and the theater. Christian McKay is fantastic as Wells. This is truly his movie despite the story centered around two characters - his and Efron's. It's a fascinating portray of one of the most accomplished artists in recent history, and what it was like working with the man and the theater. There's not a weak link in the cast. Everyone is remarkable, but I have to point out Ben Chaplin. This guys has been consistently great in almost every work I've seen of him, and again here.

Give this film a shot. Quality stuff.

Mystery Soundtrack Challenge #19 - Revealed

2011-09-30T15:28:00.000+01:00

The movie is K-PAX

Original Score by Ed Shearmur

Great Lines

2011-09-30T15:23:00.000+01:00

"In 1972 in Branzburg v. Hayes this Court ruled against the right of reporters to withhold the names of their sources before a grand jury, and it gave the power to the Government to imprison those reporters who did. It was a 5-4 decision, close. In his descent in Branzburg, Justice Stewart said, 'As the years pass, power of Government becomes more and more pervasive. Those in power,' he said, 'whatever their politics, want only to perpetuate it, and the people are the victims.' Well, the years have passed, and that power is pervasive. Mrs. Armstrong could have buckled to the demands of the Government-she could've abandoned her promise of confidentiality. She could've simply gone home to her family. But to do so, would mean that no source would ever speak to her again, and no source would ever speak to her newspaper again. And then tomorrow when we lock up journalists from other newspapers we'll make those publications irrelevant as well, and thus we'll make the First Amendment irrelevant. And then how will we know if a President has covered up crimes or if an army officer has condoned torture? We as a nation will no longer be able to hold those in power accountable to those whom they have power over-and what then is the nature of Government when it has no fear of accountability? We should shutter at the thought. Imprisoning journalists-that's for other countries, that's for countries who fear their citizens, not countries that cherish and protect them. Some time ago, I began to feel the personal, human pressure on Rachel Armstrong and I told her that I was there to represent her and not her principle. And it was not until I met her that I realized that with great people there's no difference between principle and the person."

Død snø

2011-09-30T14:21:00.004+01:00

RATING: ☺

And because I don't want you to think I have something against vampires flicks, here's another crappy movie (imho), this time with zombies. It's only fair.

I don't get it. I honestly don't understand why this movie from Norway has gathered such a fan base and critical acclaim. I'm bored out of my mind watching Død snø, and I'm thinking of reasons for it. It's not very scary, and as far as gore go, I didn't find it particularly impressive, but then again I always thought gore only works well when inserted within a tense or terrifying context, which is hardly the case here. Storywise it's riddle with holes. Regarding the much vaunted humour of the film, I found it dry and lacking. With the exception of one scene of toilet humour, which not surprisingly takes place in a toilet, there's hardly anything else that will stick to memory. Even the much talked about scene involving intestines, pales in comparison with another similar scene in 'Machete'. So what is it? The snow setting? I don't think it qualifies as a novelty in horror films. Was it the combination of blood red over the white snow? Meh. And Nazi zombies? That thing is decades old now, both in movies and videogames. I'm really dumbfounded as to the appeal of this film. Not even a good nude scene. A cheap Scandinavian horror flick without any nudity. That's unnatural somehow.

This is what Dead Snow needed to make me pay attention.
Have a great weekend :-)

Bitten

2011-09-30T12:44:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

We can badmouth the Twilight movies and novels all we want, but the fact remains it at least managed to offer a fresh angle/look into the vampire myth. Coming up with anything new on the subject, is hard enough, without the expectation of coming up with something both fresh and well executed. Bitten is neither of those things. It's unoriginal, poorly written, poorly acted (with the exception of a decent Richard Fitzpatrick), poorly directed, poorly...well you get the picture.

Jason Mewes can't act. He only does one role, that of Jay in Kevin Smith's askewniverse. Every other character he plays is just a Jay under a different name, which is a problem when the role calls for something different.

Bitten is a silly vampire's tale that doesn't take itself seriously, but isn't any fun either, despite a couple of mildly amusing scenes. "fangs and silicone" will probably describe the movie's only assets to perfection. This one will make you long for a Twilight marathon to wash away the experience. Moving along...

Horrible Bosses

2011-09-30T11:43:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I was in a lousy mood yesterday, so I went to the theater looking for something to make me laugh a little, brighten my spirits. I wasn't really taken by the Horrible Bosses trailer I've seen in theaters, but yesterday, that was the only film playing that might to do the trick.

It's good, but I didn't find it as good as the positive buzz surrounding it. The reason why I found it lacking was this: You have basically 6 main characters in the movie. 3 terrible bosses (our villains) and 3 victims of their abuse (our heroes). The only truly good stuff, character wise, comes from only half of that balance - the villains. Out of those 3 villains, only one (Kevin Spacey) is evil enough to elicit murdering intent. Colin Farrell's character, although annoying is severely underused in the film, so we never really get to hate his character, simply because we don't see enough of him. As for the nymphomaniac dentist played by Jennifer Aniston, her behaviour is despicable, and I wanted to do all sorts of nasty things to her, but murder was the last thing on my mind. Let's be honest for a moment here ok? Who among the straight male audience wouldn't jump at the opportunity to get freaky with a sexcrazed hottie like her? See what I mean? On the side of the heroes, only Jason Bateman shows some restrain that fits the character. Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis are mainly loud. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Storywise, the film works great, and there are indeed some very funny situations. It's crude and gross, but unlike similar movies, it keeps it under a tight leash preventing it from taking over the center stage of the humour. That and the character by Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston really made the movie into something above average. And Julie Bowen. You can never have enough Julie Bowen ;-)

The Hammer

2011-09-29T12:54:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I watched it last night and had to write something about it. This was one of the funniest movies I've seen this year, and it made me laugh out loud several times. It's a 2007 movie, but I never heard of it until recently, like I never heard of Adam Carolla who plays Jerry "The Hammer" Ferro, an has been amateur boxer down on his luck. Forty years old and a carpenter by trade, he just lost his job, his girlfriend dumped him, and the only source of income is a part-time boxing classe at a gym. What a prospect! Well, he might be for someone scouting for amateur boxers to represent USA in the 2008 Olympics. Is a comeback to competitive boxing really possible at that age? Will this be the turnaround in Ferro's life?

I'm not going to lie to you. The Hammer is not a big time fancy comedy filled with Hollywood stars that will please everyone. It has its flaws, and I'm sure some won't find it funny at all. It's not a physical comedy unlike what you might expect from a boxing theme movie, and it's not loud or grossly over the top. In fact, the humour is mostly kept low key. There are some great one liners, but your enjoyment will really depends on the way you embrace Adam Carolla's performance and comedic timing. Yes, the story is kept unpredictable and will keep you guessing. Yes, it can also be emotionally moving at times. But nothing of these will matter much if Carolla's style fails to make a positive impression with you, in which case there's very little else here for you. Having said that, take a look at the trailer and check if it tickles your funny bone. If it does, then give this film a try. I found it better than many of more well known and successful comedies out there. I'm sure it will never reach classic status, but it deserves better acknowledgment than it's probably getting.

The Collector

2011-09-27T15:51:00.002+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

This film was a double surprise. Not only did I enjoy the hell out of it, but it managed a comeback at grabbing my attention after I lost interest in the first 15 minutes. I actually got up and starting doing other stuff in the living room while the film was playing on tv. My advice to you is to not give up on the movie if it feels dull at first. The first few minutes are a bit insipid, and you'll start to question the choice of actor (Josh Stewart) for the protagonist, but trust me, the movie reaches a point after which you can't take your eyes off the tv screen.

Arkin is a thief who breaks into people's houses to pay off his ex-wife debt. He works as a construction handyman to get an inside view of the place, the layout, security systems and where the goodies are. When nobody is expected in the house, he makes his move. This time however he finds himself with an unforeseen problem, and it's going to be a handful.

The Collector strongest point, as is the case with any slasher movie, is the villain figure. The collector character is a welcome addition to the genre gallery of human monsters. This is one sick sadistic puppy. I don't want to give too much away. It's not there's anything terribly original about him. When you think about it, he's basically a strong, fit and hands-on Jiggsaw character really. It's the way he's portrayed in the movie. He'll make an impression even among the most jaded of fans.

Marcus Dunstan who wrote some of the weakest Saw sequels, managed to find redemption in the director's chair. In his first attempt, besides the appealing visuals and excellent use of sound effects, he offers a tense clautrophobic cat and mouse game which later turns into a horrific descent in violence and torture, orchestrated so well, that you'll hardly notice the holes in logic of some plot points while you're watching it. This and a memorable killer and it's no wonder there's a sequel in the works already - The Collection.

Peter and Vandy

2011-09-27T13:01:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Peter and Vandy was a nice surprise. It's the first movie from writer-director Jay DiPietro. As far as I can remember, it was also the first time I ever saw Jason Ritter work, and I wasn't so sure about Jess Weixler in the movie. Her role in 'Teeth' was still too fresh in memory, in a bad way. The unknown factor was very high here for me.

Peter and Vandy is a love story told out of order, going back and forth in time to several periods in this couple relationship. You watch them meeting for the first time, falling in love, fighting, breaking up. This time shuffling can be a bit disorienting at first, but I assure you it achieves the goal this type of narrative is designed to do. It spikes your curiosity and grabs your attention, and in the end it turns what is basically a run-of-the-mill love story into a compelling and satisfying tale, and by that I don't necessarily mean an happy ending. Of course, this all stands in the shoulders of the two lead actors to make it work, and they absolutely nailed the parts. Great chemistry between them, and just great performance from both. Every scene between these two, whether be the good times or bad, is riveting to watch. DiPietro keeps it very down to earth and realistic, sometimes almost painfully so, and what a joyous sight it is.

'Peter and Vandy' is a perfect example why I keep watching movies nobody you know has ever watched, knowing full well most of the times there's a good reason why they're unknown and neglected. It's the thrill of the hunt, because in the middle of all the crap, sometimes you find little gems like this that really don't deserve to be neglected.

Great Lines

2011-09-26T15:58:00.000+01:00

- I haven't had sex since Clinton was re-elected.

- Why bother? He's having enough sex for the entire country.

Killer Elite

2011-09-26T15:46:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Ok, here's the deal. I had a good time with Killer Elite. As action films go, this is a good one, but if I'm going to be honest, I still felt a sting of disappointment.

Action scenes are handled well for the most part, some are actually quite good, with the occasional slip into director's lazyness in the full contact fight sequences, which is something plaguing today's action movies in my opinion, but even in those, they're played to either look realistic (no superhuman hero here), or outrageous. It sounds a contradiction, but it actually works well. And even if the movie has plenty of action scenes to satisfy the most avid of viewers, it's the care given to most of its main characters that makes a difference. In the end you want everyone, every side to win, which makes for some interesting viewing.

The notable players are Jason Statham as the former mercenary forced to go back into action to save a friend, Clive Owen as the former SAS, a man driven to prove himself and others that he still got what it takes, and Dominic Purcell was just great as the muscle guy in the team (characterization is fantastic and it took me a while to place that face with the Prison Break show). Other than these, you'll also get De Niro in a very small role, Aden Young as the tech member of Statham's team, and Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck tv show) as the romantic interest.

The weak link in all of this is the plot. I confess I had trouble following and understanding the motivations of a couple of the minor characters in the story (some not so minor), as some didn't make much sense to me, or it simply wasn't clear enough. This is supposedly based on a true story, so perhaps it was meant it this way, because sometimes, unlike in movie scripts, things don't have to make sense in real life. However, there was yet another thing that bugged me. The plot demands that Statham's character kills three people, making it look like accidents, and not before obtaining a confession from each one. For the most part this is abandoned or left ambiguous for two of the three. This inconsistency hurts the movie in my eyes. The rest was perhaps a deficit in my concentration. Maybe.

Anyway, Killer Elite is bound to please action aficionados, consolidating Jason Statham as the number one action star of the moment. It's a good action flick, nothing more nothing less, so don't expect much more than that and you should be fine.

The Six Wives of Henry Lefay

2011-09-26T14:34:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

The cast was the bait that lured me into watching this, and I suspect the same for everyone else. The female cast to be precise. Elisha Cuthbert, Jenna Elfman, Andie MacDowell, Paz Vega. It sounded like a candy shop. Hell, Paz Vega alone would turn me into watching the movie. Unfortunately it doesn't work. As a comedy is pretty weak, and whatever dramatic elements they introduce into the story are an afterthought swiftly cast aside, thus preventing the film from achieving some depth. The jokes aren't very funny, there's little sense of comedic pace, and towards the end, the twist in the story ruined whatever it had going for it. The only character that felt alive was the daughter played by Cuthbert (she tries). All the other ones were underdeveloped. This wouldn't be much of problem if the humour would pick up the pieces, but like I said, I didn't find it all that funny. The Six Wives of Henry Lefay needed to be outrageous to work as a comedy, and for the most part is a vapid affair. For Elisha Cuthbert fans only.

I didn't rate it worse only because I never hit the fastforward button. A technicality. Go watch Frank Oz's 'Death at a Funeral' instead if you hadn't done so by now.

Dakota Skye

2011-09-26T12:43:00.002+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Dakota Skye is the story of a young woman who since she was a little girl, can see when people tell a lie, which is almost all the time. And by 'seeing' a lie, I mean that literally. Whenever someone lies, subtitles of the truth magically appears in front of her eyes. Like she says, it's like a super power. So what happens when she meets a guy who apparently doesn't lie? Is he Mr. Right or are her powers failing? And if that's the case, how will she cope with living without knowing for sure if someone is telling the truth or not?

Sounds interesting doesn't it? The premise of the movie is really it's strong point. I mean, the movie isn't bad, but it doesn't live up to the concept potential. For example, the whole subtitle device was totally wasted. There was an opportunity there for a writer to shine, and it simply didn't happen. In fact, thats the main problem with the movie. The script is simply not strong enough to make the story compelling for most of the time. I did enjoy the characters though, even if the protagonist isn't a very appealing character at first, she grown on me. I simply had to assimilate that her cynical disposition and aloof behaviour was a logic result for someone who has very little faith in people since a very early age. That and Eileen Boylan is a cutie.

There you have it. 'Dakota Skye' is a nice little movie, if you keep your expectations low. I didn't regret watching it, or cursed the time spent with it. It's miles away from what it could have been in the hands of a more inspired and talented screenwriter, but I still enjoyed it.

Mystery Soundtrack Challenge #19

2011-09-24T22:59:00.000+01:00

New challenge is on.

Check the mp3 player and name the movie.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

2011-09-23T12:53:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I know some people that will loathe Crazy, Stupid, Love. with every fiber of their being. The movie is another Hollywood fairy tale material about true love, soulmates and all that crap. I personally find this stuff refreshing sometimes, a welcomed break from a bleaker reality in the form of a couple of hours of romantic fantasy. What's so wrong with that? If you dislike this type of thing, then there's nothing to see here, but you'll be missing a good movie. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the same directors team that gave us 'I Love You Phillip Morris', show us they're still in form.

Crazy, Stupid, Love manages to be effective in every aspect of its emotional spectrum. True, it's a very simplistic spectrum, but still...It's very funny with its impossible love affairs and middle age single scenes hijinks. It's sweet in its belief that there's someone special out there just right for us, our one true love, and that it will succeed and last forever if you fight for it, and it does all this while hinting that might not always be the case. But don't worry, even if the film mixes all these qualities, the sweetness trumps all the other aspects, and this is still Hollywood fare.

Dan Fogelman's script creates characters that are a joy to watch. They're all likeable, but they're also granted some depth to make them interesting. Not only that, but the script is clever in the way it gives and hides stuff from the viewer. And then the roles are filled with one of the best casts in recent memory. Steve Carell works well as the stunned husband who loses his one bearing in life, his wife played by Julianne Moore. Struggling in the affairs of the heart is also their 13 year old son, played by Jonah Bobo, who is hopelessly in love with his 17 old babysitter (Analeigh Tipton), who herself has her heart locked into someone with a much bigger age gap. Ryan Gosling is fantastic as the ladies man who thinks love is for suckers, until he meets that epitome of sweet Emma Stone. Finally, Marisa Tomei steels whatever scenes she's in.

However, not everyhing works perfectly in the movie. Some characters get severely underplayed. Some victims of necessary time saving restrains, like the youngest daughter or Kavin Bacon's character, others for reasons that will become apparent later in the film. Whatever the reasons, it becomes noticeable during the viewing. And of course the mandatory public declarion of love towards the end is also present. It's a corny storytelling device as ever.

In any case, Crazy, Stupid, Love succeeds. It's a very pleasant entertaining movie. You'll leave the theater in a good mood and recharged in your quest to find true love, or keep it alive if you're one of the lucky ones.

Dare

2011-09-23T10:52:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

I had to check IMDb to remember what this movie was. I knew I'd seen it a few weeks ago, but as I was trying to remember it to write a review, my mind came up blank. And even worse, I had to watch the trailer to remember the damn thing. Then, and only then did I started to recall the scenes. That's probably all you need to know when deciding to watch this. It's actually not a terrible movie (those are usually harder to erase from your mind), it's so just utterly forgettable. And I started to think why was that? I remember the acting was fine. Emmy Rossum is easy on the eyes and does a fine job as the prim and proper teenager drama student who decides to be less so in order to improve her acting performance. Ashley Springer fits well in his role of shy sensible teen who struggles with sexual identification issues best friend, and Zach Gilford is convincing as the school's troubled loner, messed up kid. This coming of age story was edgy (read racy), it showed potential, but is ultimately ruined by a lack of direction and focus, and the script simply doesn't live up to the basic ideas where it spawned from. There's only one scene that stuck in memory - the pool scene. It's the best moment of the movie, but is also a confirmation that 'Dare' isn't so much a feature film, but a collection of shorts glued together to give the appearance of one. That particular scene is identical to a short shot four years previously from the same writer/director team. It shows a lack of imagination from them, adding to the lack of talent in producing something cohesive. They're the real culprits for squandering away the story and characters potential.

Dare is yet another movie fated to the limbo of our movie consciousness. Hopefully, it doesn't drag the main actors careers into it. They deserve better.

Triangle

2011-09-21T17:08:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

It's kind of hard to do a review which would do justice to this movie richness in interpretation and subtext, as well as the fascinating narrative structure of the script, without spoiling it heavily. I even hesitated in filling out some of the post tags because of it. Hell, I've been meaning to post something about this movie ever since I watched it a couple of months ago, and I've been postponing it for that same very reason. This movie deserves a much more in-depth review than the ones I'm willing to do at the moment, but I decided to do one anyway.

Triangle is simply one of the most fascinating movies I've watched this year, and the only which earned repeat viewing from me. The three smileys rating doesn't truly reflect my feelings towards it. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I didn't give it a higher mark because objectively I think there are some things that needed to be done better. Some minor plot holes (in my interpretation of the events) or contrived plot elements could have been easily corrected or avoided by the writer-director Christopher Smith, and the suspense/psychological horror elements, could have been upped a notch. Had that happened, and a more cohesive cast been used (Melissa George is great btw), and 'Triangle' could have been one of the greats. But don't let these words drive you away from watching it. It's still a mind bender of a movie, and it's a delightful movie experience you should not miss.

The story revolves around a group of friends and acquaintances that take a leisure trip in a yatch. They are struck by a mysterious storm that capsizes the ship, but in the midst of these unfortunate events, they're lucky enough to cross paths with a passing liner. Or are they? The liner is apparently deserted, even if they saw one person on the deck while they were still on the capsized yatch. Is the crew playing a game with them?

This is as much of the story I'm willing to give you about 'Triangle'.

*************SPOILERS AHEAD*************

I did a spreadsheet representation of the events of the movie to test the internal consistency of the narrative, just to check if it hold together when viewed purely without considering the supernatural elements. I never properly finished it after I watched the movie a second time, but here it is. That shows how fascinated I was by the movie lol.

The movie message board at IMDB is also a great source of discussion about the meanings and possible interpretations. There are notes to many references in the film, some of which you probably don't notice in just one viewing. You'll find references to 'The Shinning', Greek mythology, literature and poems, ending in quantum physics discussions. Some of them are incredibly detailed and carefully thought-out.

*************END OF SPOILERS*************

This is a must see movie imho. I've been telling friends to watch it, and not one disliked it so far. It's a pitty this never saw commercial distribution where I live. It didn't open in theaters as far as I can remember, and no dvd edition in sight. What a crime!

Christopher Smith had already caught my attention with his first feature film 'Creep'. He followed it with a pretty good 'Severance', but 'Triangle' is on a different level. 'Black Death' was a miss for me, hopefully the only one.

*************TRAILER CONTAIN SPOILERS*************

(seriously, some people need to learn how to edit a trailer)

Soldier Blue

2011-09-21T13:05:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

This is an oldie. A 1970 movie that became famous, or infamous depending on the way you look at it, for the brutal depiction of the native American genocide by the American goverment through the hands of the army. At the time the film opened, Vietnam war was ongoing and the media was all over the story of massacres commited over there by US Army troops, which strongly resonated with the film. Nowadays, Soldier Blue pales in comparison with more recent movies with a similar theme, like 'Dances with Wolves', and the graphic violence that help make the film's reputation at the time, loses much of its potency in view of today's standards, but even so it still holds surprisingly well, despite its somewhat exploititive nature, or perhaps because of it, and it remains one of the first revisionist westerns.

Peter Strauss plays a naive army officer that survives an ambush by the indians and hooks up with a white woman (Candice Bergen) who had been living with the Cheyenne for a few years. Together they must cross hostile territory in the attempt to reach the safety of a fort, which might prove to be even harder to accomplish due to their opposite views regarding the indian issue. The film ends in the above mentioned brutal climax.

I wouldn't go out of my way to get a copy of this, but if you happen to come across it in the torrentsphere, you might want to give it shot.

Great Lines

2011-09-21T11:45:00.000+01:00

"You see, the real value of a conflict, the true value, is in the debt that it creates. You control the debt, you control everything. You find this upsetting, yes? But this is the very essence of the banking industry, to make us all, whether we be nations or individuals, slaves to debt."

Women in Trouble

2011-09-21T11:37:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I probably wouldn't have enjoyed Women in Trouble so much if it wasn't for the good looking female cast in it. Carla Gugino, Adrianne Palicki, Connie Britton, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Marley Shelton to name just a few. I'm mean, I'm only human, and in my defense, this thing was written for them. The male actors are just extras. It's all about the ladies. Sweet :-). However, reducing the merits of the film to just that would be unfair, because writer-director Sebastian Gutierrez managed to create something that is both sexy and fun, without being stupid or moronic, which is not seen as often in movies as I'd like.

There isn't much of a plot, as the movie is a collection of barely interconnected character stories, but the script is good and well delivered by the actors, and some of its characters will remain fresh in your memory months after you've watched the movie. I have to point out Adrianne Palicki's character. She absolutely steels the show and is the perfect mirror of the spirit in which this was written - FUN and SEXY. She alone is worth the movie.

I definitely want to check out more works from Mr. Gutierrez, starting with the sequel to this - Elektra Luxx.

Shut-Eye

2011-09-21T11:19:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

This was one of the most amateurish productions I've ever seen. Picture, sound, acting, script, everything screams garage sale production values. It looks and feels extremely cheap. Like something you or me could have made with a mid-range digital camera and a group of friends or familly, probably the former as I had trouble discerning most male actors from one another.

A complete waste of time if not for Shut-Eye's best quality - scratch that - only redeeming quality in showing young actors struggling to get their foothold inside the door leading to professional success and fame, to not lose hope with the crummy jobs they might have to endure early on in your acting career. If Stana Katic could survive this and still go on to star in a high profile tv show like 'Castle', anyone can. Hopefully, it will also happen to Jenny Kern, the only one that showed a glimpse of talent here.

The trailer is a good indication of what you can expect from the movie. I should have watched it myself before I wasted my time.

Motherhood

2011-09-20T12:41:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

This was just too much estrogen filled for me. By the end of the movie I was feeling up my private parts to check if everything was still in place. I know I'm going to be unfair with the movie here. Motherhood does everything right to pass the message along. Motherhood can, and usually is a full time job. And if you're a stay at home mom, it can strip away your own identity. It can be relentless, ungrateful and exhausting. Hell, I got tired just by watching the mom going through her daily routine. Ok, not exactly a routine since this particular day takes place at her daughter's birthday, but still....

It's fairly well written, sometimes funny, occasionally poignant, and well acted. I still wouldn't watch it a second time though.

The question here is, whats the target audience? Despite the unquestionable merit of the movie, it feels like is targeted to the moms like the one Uma Thurman plays in the film. How many of those will ever find the time to watch it?

The Informant!

2011-09-20T11:59:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

The Informant! is a comedy at heart. Based on a true story surrounding price fixing schemes by biotech companies. At the center of the investigation was a man, Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) a top executive at such a company, who turned informant for the FBI. The problem was, Whitacre wasn't just involved with price fixing. And his mental health is a matter for debate.

The main problem I had with the movie is that it's not particularly effective, neither as a drama, a thriller, or a comedy, at least not until the later stages of the film. Don't get me wrong, it gets quite funny, but it takes too long to get there, and even then it's not the humour seeked by typical audiences. So it's not a surprise it didn't meet with a lot of success with the general public, unlike what happened with the movie critics crowd. The critics are right in their analysis of the film merits, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and this wasn't it.

Despite my feelings towards it, The Informant! is a good movie (I never watched a Soderbergh movie it wasn't), with good acting (Matt Damon is excellent here), and a 'real life stranger than fiction' vibe that will make you smile at the very least.

Talhotblond:

2011-09-19T16:55:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

*****spoilers ahead*****

This one would make you chuckle if only you're not familiar with the real case it's based on. And of course all the humour just fades away when the affair ends in violence. Talhotblond: is a documentary about a real homicide known as the "Internet Chatroom Murder". Thomas Montgomery, a 47-year-old married man with two young daughters was convicted in 2007 of murdering a workmate. He posed as "Tommy", a 21-year-old marine, and began an online relationship with a 17-year-old called Jessi. A workmate of his, 22-year-old Brian Barrett, had also began an online relationship with the same girl. After Montgomery's deception was revealed, things got sour between the three and Montgomery shot Brian in his car parked at work. During the police investigation, it was discovered that "Jessi" was actually a middle-aged woman who had been using pictures of her daughter.

The documentary, even if a bit biased and sexist, is still fascinating because it's constructed in a way to surprise the viewer, and it's a wake up call to people too trusting on other people they meet online and who you really don't know anything about. That, and it raises issues of accountability regarding what you say and do online. In this case it's not only shocking that a man would kill a co-worker over a woman neither of them ever met, but also the fact that a mother would exposed her unaware teenage daughter to a volatile dangerous situation, fueled by her own actions. In the end one person was murdered, but it could easily been worse. The behaviour of all involved ranged from despicable to homicidal.

I still smile whenever I hear someone says they met a nice girl online. For all they know, they could be telling intimate details of their life to a total stranger dude.

Green Card Problems?

2011-09-19T12:55:00.002+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I've recently watched two movies revolving around the subject of immigration to the United States, specifically the illegal kind. The first one was a complete surprise, as I wasn't expecting much from it. The Visitor's story goes like this: Walter, a gloom college professor (Richard Jenkins) travels to New York and finds a young couple of illegal immigrants living in his apartment. Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira) were swindled into thinking they were legitimately renting the apartment. Seeing the couple on the street with no place to live, the professor invites them to stay until they can find another apartment. The premise sounds a bit far fetched right? In this day and age, who the hell would invite a couple of strangers into their home? Well, give the film a chance and you might be surprised by the richness of the characters and of the social commentaries within. It's not just a look into the unsympathetic treatment of illegal immigrants in the US, but also a commentary on the unsympathetic way American citizens treat themselves. It took the interaction with a foreign element to make Walter change the way he sees and react to other people (hopefully).

Exceptional performances from everyone, and I mean everyone. The main actors Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira and Hiam Abbass all have a chance to shine here. Director Thomas McCarthy is rapidily becoming one of the most interesting filmmakers today.

The movie is bound to challenge your views on illegal immigrants. Yes they break the law, but they can still be good, hard working decent people, not the lazy hard criminals often portrayed in movies, and the irony of globalization, which happens to be the expertise of the professor, doesn't go unnoticed either. If you can stand a slow pace movie, this is a must.

RATING: ☺☺

The second movie was Crossing Over. It is by far the more complex or wide ranging of the two movies, but it's also the weaker of the two. Why? A thought that occurred to me in the first fifteen minutes of the film might have something to do with it. There are perhaps too many characters and storylines. Don't misunderstand me, there's nothing wrong with the type of narrative used where different character stories will eventually overlap regarding a central topic. 'Crash' and 'Babel' used it to great effect. There are perhaps four or five storylines in 'Crossing Over' good enough alone for four or five good movies. Packed together in the same movie however, and they lose much of their individual strenghs as they get diluted in the mix. It has exactly the opposite effect of what was intended. Compare it to 'The Visitor' which kept focused on a handful of characters, and you'll see the difference. In that one you can't help but feel the plight of the characters, where in 'Crossing Over' is a hit-or-miss affair. Furthermore, the story arch in the second movie that I considered the most effective, not only is very similar to the one in the first movie, it's also a bit too extreme. I just found it shocking that FBI government officials would do what they did, to what for all purposes was an American family. But then again, I might be wrong and this type of thing actually happens, which is really horrific. Curiously, I suspect this same story arch I found so effective, is probably not going to get the same reception from most American viewers, who will most likely react the same way the high school students and the FBI agent did in the movie, as they failed to grasp the message Taslima was trying to convey. Finally, it also bothered me a bit the skewed moral stance the movie takes with some characters. More than the Korean kid getting his citizenship despite his involvement with criminal activities for example, it was the treatment the movie adopts with the characters of Jim Sturgess and Alice Eve that bothered me the most. Why does one gets rewarded and the other punished is beyond me. There's a serious moral criteria duality at work here.

Despite of everything negative I said, Crossing Over is still an interesting movie well worth a look, which had the potential to be a lot better, but failed to get there.

Great Lines

2011-09-16T14:06:00.000+01:00

"The money is nice, and paid fellatio isn't that much more humiliating than flipping burgers".

Midnight in Paris

2011-09-16T11:18:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I've not been the biggest fan of Woody Allen's European phase. Since 2005 Allen directed seven movies, six of which take place in either London, Barcelona, and now Paris. Coincidently, this cycle starts with one of his finest movies, but since then, it has been somewhat disappointing to me. It sometimes felt Allen was just using filmmaking as an excuse to do some extensive traveling and sightseeing. Considering this, and because there was nothing else opening this week that tickled my fancy, I went into the theater with very low expectations. I knew nothing about the story, other than what's in the trailer, but I'm so glad I did. This was lovely.

I'm not sure Midnight in Paris will please most Woody Allen's fans, as I think it's a fairly atypical work from the man. It's upbeat, hopeful, almost happy, without much of the angst that's been a staple of even his earlier work. I don't want to give too much away about the story, than to say it's truly a magical parable about the glorification of the past in detriment of the present's own wonders, that takes place in a magical city itself. As for the cast, they did well all of them, which is usually the case with Allen. I found Adrien Brody impersonation uncanny. I have to say that in his old age, Allen only got better in casting the sexiest actresses around for his movies. Midnight in Paris doesn't deviate from this trend, and I'm not complaining one bit. I don't know what I would have done if I were in Gil's (Owen Wilson) shoes. Any Marion Cotillard's character is bound to be almost impossible to resist, even without the benefits of antibiotics ;-)

Cairo Time

2011-09-15T14:57:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Cairo Time will probably fall into one of these two categories for most people: Slow moving, uneventful and boring, or sensible, adult and touching love story. It was mix of the two for me. I liked the slow pacing of the story, and in general I liked the simple but realistic portray of the beginning of a love affair between two characters with very differents backgrounds, namely Juliette (Patricia Clarkson) and Tareq (Alexander Siddig). It's carefully handled, but if I'm going to be honest, I found the somewhat lack of energy in some scenes and the quality of the dialogue to be a bit frustrating at times. It's a beautiful love story that evolves at a suitable pace, beautifully shot within the magic scenery of the city of Cairo and Egypt, and accompanied by a very pleasant piano score, but despite all that it can also feel a bit emotionless and cause a disconnection with the characters at times. This doesn't happen often, but it happens enough times to cause a problem.

It's a good movie, but I don't think I could watch it a second time. It still worth a look.

New York, I Love You

2011-09-15T12:12:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I'm not the biggest fan of movies made up from short segments directed by different directors. It's often a mixed bag, and usually not in a good way. That's the recipe for New York, I Love You. It's an anthology film depicting several love stories that take place in New york, showcasing the diversity of the city. In this type of film, there's always some segments less accomplished than others, at least to the eyes of some viewers. It can't be avoided. New York, I Love You has ten segments writen by different persons, and directed by ten different people. Some are bound to be frown upon. The movie worked for me because there were enough good segments to outweigh the ones I perceived as the weaker ones (about 50/50), and above all, the movie ends with the strongest one.

If you're curious, here are my favorites with the indication of the director:

The wheelchair segment with Olivia Thirlby, Anton Yelchin, James Caan and Blake Lively (Brett Ratner)
The hooker pick up segment with Maggie Q, Chris Cooper, Robin Wright and Ethan Hawke (Yvan Attal)
The painter segment with Qi Shu and Ugur Yücel (Fatih Akin)
The hot-blooded couple with Bradley Cooper and Drea de Matteo (Allen Hughes)
The elderly couple with Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman (Joshua Marston), which was so good.

Among the other segments there are still a couple decent ones.

Because of all of the above, it's especially hard to predict if a specific someone will like or dislike the movie. You simply have to watch it yourself.

Nurse Betty

2011-09-14T17:30:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

It's ok. As far as mistaken identity comedies go, I've seen better. It's pretty predictable, but it's funny nevertheless, and has some good moments. Good actors though. Excellent really. Greg Kinnear and Renée Zellweger particularly have a couple of great scenes together. It's a nice couch potato movie if nothing else is on tv. I feel like I should have enjoyed this more than I did, but can't put my finger on the reasons why that didn't happen.

The Sleeping Dictionary

2011-09-14T16:24:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Ok, I confess. The only reason I watched this was because Jessica Alba stars in it. And she plays a sleeping dictionary, a native in a British colony somewhere, who moves in with recently appointed British officers in order to speed up their learning of the language. There is really no greater learning positive stimulus than sex is there? This could revolutionize the education system as we know it. It's really a great idea. I can only imagine my math grades in high school if only I was promised sex with a math teacher that looked like Alba. Oh well.

The Sleeping Dictionary was not that bad overall. Interesting premise, exotic locations, and a romance story brushing with elements of hypocrisy within British empire. It also has a pretty good cast, with the likes of Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Noah Taylor and the never so lovely Emily Mortimer. The weak link was the main lead actor Hugh Dancy. It's not exclusively his fault bacause the script doesn't help him any, but his character was annoying as hell to me, which as you can understand posed a problem to my enjoyment of the movie.

To Jessica Alba fans mainly. Probably Emily Mortimer's too ;-)

No One Knows About Persian Cats

2011-09-14T13:19:00.002+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I usually use the original title of movies, but this time I had to go for the international English one, because the original - Kasi az gorbehaye irani khabar nadareh - makes me dizzy whenever I try to read it. Don't let the title scare you off though, because underneath that vertigo inducing name, there's a wonderful film awaiting for you.

It's not easy to describe the movie. It's a mix of a feature drama with a proper story arch, and a documentary about the struggle of Iranian musicians to express themselves in their home country. As much as I could tell, the cast is made up with the real musicians, and it works surprinsingly well. The movie will make you sad and laugh, sometimes within the same scene. Like I said, the film doesn't use professional actors for most of the time, but there is one that gets your attention whenever he's on screen. Hamed Behdad plays Nader, a bootlegger sweet talker entrepeneur with connections to the underground scene, and I can tell you I'd love to watch a movie about this particular character alone. That's how good Behdad was.

The film is filled with an amazing soundtrack that showcases Iranian music scene and the bands performing. This could easily get a bit repetitive, but I never felt bored, quite the opposite. First, because it shows you the lengths and risk these people take to play their music. Second, it will knock your socks off to find out the sheer diversity of the music genres played, some of which I never suspected, and certainly didn't associated with Iran. From tradicional Iranian music, to the more extreme heavy metal scene, you'll also get indie-rock, jazz, blues, new age, synth pop and rap. Third, almost every music song is awesome and/or is presented in interesting shots or segments, sometimes almost like videoclips.

The closest thing I can compare Persian Cats to, it's the movie 'Once'. If you liked that one, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy this one as well. Both are beautiful works about the passion and reach music has over us. It's more powerful than any political regime will ever be. Hopefully.

Great Lines

2011-09-14T11:50:00.003+01:00

"I don't want to just be theoretically gay. I want to do something about it."

Music Poll

2011-09-13T18:02:00.000+01:00

io9 is running an interesting poll over the greatest use of pop music in Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Check it out here.

Colombiana

2011-09-13T15:22:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I hesitated a lot before deciding to give Colombiana a shot in theaters. Lately, action films have been a bit below my expectations, and as far as the girls with guns type go, the last one (Hanna) was a big disappointment to me. Plus, Zoe Saldana was not very convincing in action roles I've seen her in (The Losers), but I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, because frankly, that movie was so bad it felt wrong to finger point anyone. What made up my mind was positive word of mouth, and the name of the director - Olivier Megaton. MEGATON!!!. I had never heard of him, but that is one cool name for an action film director isn't it? Just the name conjures imagery of violence and explosions. So how was it? Well, Colombiana is the best action flick I've watched this year. Now, there was a time a sentence like this would mean I was talking about a great action film. Nowadays, not so much. The protagonist Cataleya, a profissional hit woman, doesn't have the depth, charisma, or wit of a Rambo or a John McClane, or if we want to use a similar action female lead, a Nikita (from producer Luc Besson's own French version). It's not that the filmmakers didn't try to infuse the character with some depth. They did, it just didn't work very well. Things started well enough, in fact, things worked pretty good during the young Cataleya segment in the beginning of the film. It estabilishes the character background effectively and spectacularly, and provides her a simple but clear motivation. The problems with the film begin with the adult Cataleya. Apart from the action scenes, and even those have problems (I swear action directors these days are a lazy bunch when it comes to shooting a action fight sequence), the film struggles with character development. Bland dialogue, a poorly handled and inconsequential romantic interest, and too predictable a plot, really drags down the movie a notch or two. And yes, for a professional killer, Cataleya isn't very smart in her decisions, although I can overlook some of it as justification for some action scenes and visuals.

Colombiana gives what people are expecting from this sort of film. Plenty of fights, gun shootouts and chase scenes, and for the most part delivers it well. But it doesn't give you much else. It's good, but within the realm of today's average action movie standards. Still, it felt I got my ticket money's worth. These days within the action scene, that's not bad.

Mystery Soundtrack Challenge #18 - Revealed

2011-09-10T00:49:00.000+01:00

The movie is No One Knows About Persian Cats

Featured music by Take It Easy Hospital, Rana Farhan, Darkoob, Hichkas, The Free Keys, Mirza, The Yellow Dogs Band.

So Fine

2011-09-09T16:40:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

Ok, one final bitter lemon. I remember watching the trailer for this at the movie theater back in the day. I never actually saw it, which proves I had more common sense then, than I do now. Some, if not the majority of my all time favorite comedies are fruit of the 80s, but let me tell you, some really were meant to fade away into the mists of time, never to be seen again, except for torrent lurker geeks. Anyway, So Fine is about a struggling fashion company that manages to turn things around by accidentally inventing a fashion sensation - see through jeans, specifically, the ass cheeks area. Yep, that's the gimmick of the film if you can believe it. It stars Ryan O'Neal, Jack Warden, and Richard Kiel, the lovable Jaws from the James Bond movies., and is as bad as it sounds. Enjoy the trailer for a taste of the brilliant and daring concepts that came out during the 80s to help push the envelope of creative screenwriting in films ;-)

The Babysitters

2011-09-09T13:16:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

You know what? Let's take out some of the garbage today. Consider these posts as a public service announcement. Avoid watching these films at all costs.

Picking up the trend of babysitters, these ones run a prostitution service on the side for the right amount of money. Hey, it's the American way silly. Free enterprise and initiative. Work out the money to go shopping at the mall. Those designer jeans and shoes aren't cheap.

Katherine Waterston is both the best and worst thing of this movie. The best, because she takes her clothes off. Hey, an actress got to eat. The worst, because she's the protagonist. How the hell did John Leguizamo ended up in this dreck? I guess he needs to eat too.

The House of the Devil

2011-09-09T12:45:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

You know what? Let's take out some of the garbage today. Consider these posts as a public service announcement. Avoid watching these films at all costs.

Actually The House of the Devil isn't as bad as the previous two, but still, not a stellar work on the dangers of babysitting.

Good casting. Jocelin Donahue plays a likeable lead character you can sympathise with. You get Tom Noonan as the employer, so you know the creepiness factor is going to be high enough. And as a bonus, you'll also get Greta Gerwig as the crazier but good hearted best friend. There are no problems with the cast. The film also manages a fairly suspenseful and creepy atmosphere, it surprised me a couple of times, and there's a nice 80s feel to the film, when the action is taking place. However, the film still managed to bore me. The start of the film is too slow. It takes almost 20 minutes before things get into creepville, and a large part of that time is not filled very well. And when the action gets into a higher gear in the final part of the movie, things get surprisingly boring again, when it really shouldn't have happened.

The House of the Devil is not a terrible movie, but it still doesn't work most of the time.

Growth

2011-09-09T11:42:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺

You know what? Let's take out some of the garbage today. Consider these posts as a public service announcement. Avoid watching these films at all costs.

Growth has a very messy introduction into the story. Then it sports a very messy introduction to the characters. Then it's just messy afterwards.

The story revolves around a scientific research on the use of parasites to enhance human attributes. This takes place on an isolated island, and of course the experience goes terribly bad. Sounds good? Unfortunately that is just the background to the movie. The action takes place several years after those events took place, and it's not remotely as interesting as the initial premise sounded like.

When Night Falls

2011-09-09T11:20:00.002+01:00

RATING: ☺

Here is a New Zealand movie made with ten thousand dollars and within ten days...and it shows. In keeping with the number trend, I give it a ten out of one hundred possible points. Sometimes I think about adding a subtitle to this blog - 'Watching crap so that you don't have to'. Oh well, the pleasure of discovering gems in virtualy unknown movies makes up for all the other garbage you go through. What's that? You want to know what this was about? Ok, there are some nurses in a mansion, and there's a serial killer on the loose with a thing for nurses. Call a doctor.

Black Death

2011-09-09T10:46:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Not bad, but not especially good either. It's not like Black Death has glaring flaws or severe mistakes were commited in making it, it's just not compelling enough. I would never lose time watching this a second time.

Good actors all around, and there's actually effort put in characterization, which I appreciated. Wardrobe, acessories, sets and the look of the film matches with the time period well. Some interesting scenes and shots, but overall, only the ending really sticks in your mind while the rest will become a blur in time.

Christopher Smith makes some good movies, but to be honest, I think he really shines as a writer. His most interesting works as a director are the ones he wrote as well, which was not the case here. Which reminds me, I really ought to do a review of 'Triangle' soon, a 2009 Christopher Smith that is a gem I discovered recently. That, is really a not to be miss movie.

Beginners

2011-09-08T11:56:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Oliver (Ewan McGregor), a mid-thirties slightly damaged single artist, meets Anna (Mélanie Laurent), a French movie actress and yet another slightly damaged soul. They fall in love, but will it work? Can these two screwed up individuals manage to keep a relationship alive? Ultimately the source of their romantic handicaps (their families), could also be the inspiration they need to keep it going.

Beginners is never going to be a big box-office success. I don't see a lot of people queueing to see this, and a lot of the ones that go see it are probably going with the wrong expectations. This is not a comedy despite the material potential for it, and the trailer induces the viewer into thinking some events in the movie take place at the same time period, like the couple meeting and the boy's father coming out of the closet, which it doesn't. Plus the narrative jumps up and down through three time periods, which might annoy some people, and on top of it all you have access to the dogs thoughts about what is going on. Beginners is however an endearing movie about the pursuit of love and happiness, and the courage and hard work that comes with it. It's not a film about homosexuality, although it features it prominently through mainly the pivotal character of the gay father played by Christopher Plummer, which I'm sure is the reason for the film's R rating. It's an original, thoughtful and inspirational work from the mind and life of writer-director Mike Mills, who with the help of a very talented cast, weaved something special, well worth your time if you can stand something a bit different.

A small reference to a character that will probably go unnoticed and cast aside by most, but that I found equally if not more fascinating than the rest. The boy's mother, played by Mary Page Keller. She has considerably less screen time than the father, but she's not any less meaningful in the story and film.

Deceiver

2011-09-07T16:28:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Deceiver is one of those movies that dazzles you with it's wit and clever writing, but after it's all done, it loses some of its spark somehow. Most of the movie takes place inside a room in a police station where a man is being interrogated regarding the murder of a woman. It's supported by a cast of well known Hollywood names with no weak links, of which Tim Roth takes center stage, good cinematography and interesting script. However, when it's over, I can't help feeling the movie took things a little too far and stretch things a bit too much. There were so many twists and turns that frankly I was a little tired of it. It's an entertaining piece, but is also disappointing immediately upon ending, and ultimately forgetable after a month or so.

Barney's Version

2011-09-07T15:44:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I'm beginning to think you could make a film with Paul Giamatti doing his laundry and personal hygiene and it could probably be interesting to watch. That's how good this guy has been. Of course Barney's Version has a much better story than that. Giamatti plays a truly deliciously incorrect character, someone you know you should loathe but find yourself loving him instead. You simply can't help it, as the movie gives you glimpses of several decades of the life of one Barney Panofsky, a tv producer, heavy drinker, cigar smoking, foul mouthed, womanizer. This is one despicable person, and yet so endearingly human.

The acting is excellent, not only from Giamatti, but from the entire supporting cast, which sports some very big names.

It's funny without being a comedy, it's sad without being melodramatic, it's got a murder mystery but it's not a crime film. It's just a charming and irresistible character piece centered on a very flawed individual, that is a lot more like you and me than we care to admit. Well, maybe not so much lol. It's one of the best films 2011 has to offer so far, and a likely oscar nomination for Giamatti.

Valhalla Rising

2011-09-05T17:14:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

I'll say one thing about Valhalla Rising. It's not a movie easy to forget. But does that qualifies it automatically as a good movie? I guess it depends on who's watching.
The cinematography is absolutely amazing. You could pick a scene or shot at random, and odds are it would look good with a frame around it. Add the fact that sometimes the movie goes into LSD mode, and this one is a trippy and interesting ride. The story and the action is brutal and raw. But beware, this is also where my biggest problem with the movie lies. There's very little action. That wouldn't be a problem on itself, only...there's very little story...and not much dialogue either. This is one slow movie. Really slow. When the main character is not cracking skulls I mean. I wouldn't call it boring, for several reasons, among them is the beauty in front of you, but I can see why some will find it exactly that. If you're expecting an action viking thriller, keep looking elsewhere.

I did enjoy Valhalla Rising. Barely. It's not something I would get caught watching a second time though. Still, this story of a group of vikings from a decaying Viking society being swallowed up by Christianity, who end up far, far away from their intended destination will remain on your mind for a long time.

The Dilemma

2011-09-05T16:21:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

The best I can expect from Channing Tatum is that he doesn't ruin the movie he's in. If cast in the right role (the brood, or strong stoic silent type), he can be convincing enough to achieve that. What I never expect from him is his character and performance to outshine the others. You can imagine my surprise, more like shock, to find out a movie where this aberration really takes place. The character played by Channing in The Dilemma is the funniest and more memorable element in this bromance comedy, which speaks volumes about the overall quality of this movie. I don't remember laughing once. I might have smiled a couple of times, but...This is so bad that they can't even find a scene capable of raising a chuckle to put in the trailer. A complete wate of talent. Vince Vaughn can be a very funny actor. Not here. And Vince, you're starting to look a little chubby there. I don't think pairing Kevin James with a taller version of himself was the intended goal with the casting. Jennifer Connelly is her stunning beautiful self, and Winona Ryder tries hard to work something into the part, but there is simply nothing there to work it from. So in a movie filled with a stellar cast, the only stars to shine if only for a very briefiest of moments, were Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Searching for Bobby Fischer

2011-09-05T14:54:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Yet another sports film I only recently had the pleasure of watching for the first time, despite being a work from 1993. I sometimes dread to think of how many good/great movies have gone unnoticed by me. Too many I fear.

Searching for Bobby Fischer remembered me heavily of another child prodigy film - Little Man Tate. It deals mainly with the way we handle child prodigies. How to juggle the development of the child's unique talent with his other needs common to a healthy growing up. It's not as easy as it might seem, and in some cases the gift can turn into a curse if a balance can't be found. This is something the movie accomplishes very well, showing an honest insight about it, which can be easily explained by the fact it's an adaptation from a book written by the father of the main character in real life. The story is set within the fairly unknown universe of competitive chess, but don't worry, you don't really need to know how to play to enjoy the movie.

It's a charming and very effective film, which tries to convey a very important message. In life, as in chess, we should always look at the big picture, on the long run, a few moves away.

Friday Night Lights

2011-09-05T12:43:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

It's a funny thing really. I'm not a fan of American football. Give me a good rugby match anytime, which I find a much more organic and dynamic sport when played well. I've always considered American footbal a sport that is only interesting if you're playing, not so mych as a viewing spectacle, much the same way as I view baseball. Perhaps you have to be an American to fully enjoy it. However I must concede, they can look great on film.. There's just something about it that make it a great source of material for dramatization.

I've only recently had the opportunity to watch this movie about high school American football. Was I in for a surprise. This is one of the great sports movies of all time, as it not only presents some of the best action scenes of the sport captured on film, but it delivers it imbued with such meaning and spirit, that it's impossible to remain indifferent.

Friday Night Lights elevates the sport and its players, and also depicts a very alarming picture on the world surrounding it. It's both riveting to witness these kids perform under such pressure, mentally and physically, and heartbreaking to understand that high school football will probably be the high point of their lives for many of them. At least that's how they and the rest of society view themselves. The movie is both a triumphant celebration of the game, as is a dramatic reprehension on the way people can project their demons into it. It's this dichotomy, coupled with the actors performance and direction that makes the film so special.

I've seen other similar movies tackle some of the same issues and themes present in Friday Night Lights, with some of them doing it better and in more detail, by focusing particularly on those. Friday Night Lights does however allows a much broader picture of the universe in question. You can either see it as a cliché movie because of it, or a fully realized renaissance piece of American footbal and society.

Mystery Soundtrack Challenge #18

2011-09-02T21:04:00.000+01:00

New challenge is on.

Check the mp3 player and name the movie featuring the songs.

Great Lines

2011-09-02T16:11:00.001+01:00

"Principles only mean something when you stick to them when its inconvenient"

Miral

2011-09-02T16:05:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Underneath the fairly average Miral movie, there's a really interesting movie trying to get out. It's name is Hind. I guess the filmmaker decided focusing the story on a younger Freida Pinto was much more appealing to audiences than Hiam Abbass. I think they were wrong. Anyway, the films does have some moments, but overall I felt disconnected from it. Some characters turned almost irrelevant when they shouldn't be. It dilutes the characters over three temporal segments, which didn't work very well in my opinion. Furthermore, it sometimes feels like a propaganda film, but I'm not sure for which side of the Arab-Israeli conflict lol.

Des hommes et des dieux

2011-09-02T15:40:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

"The disciple is not above his master". This line sums up a lot of the essence of the movie for me. Doesn't mean I agree with the monks decision, but I respect it. Here is a film that speaks loudly of religious tolerance and intolerance, but also the strength to stand by your beliefs when things get a bit harder and dangerous.

Based on a real life event, Christian monks live peacefully and in harmony with the local village within a Muslim country, which although is not mentioned in the movie is Algeria. This however takes place during the 90s civil war when several thousands innocent civilians were massacred by the hands of the Armed Islamic Group. In fact, the way the film portrays some of the characters and events is just too soft and sugary considering the atrocities commited by the islamic group in reality, where women, children, old people and new-born babies were slaughtered, disembowelled, hacked to pieces and burned alive.

However, history was never the goal of the movie. What it tries to do, is placing you in the monks sandals so to speak. You can't help but wonder what your decision would be if you were them. You listen to all their reasonings and arguments, which are all solid and valid. In that regard, the movie is a rotund success.

In the end, the movie resolution follows the reality of what happened. Some people will find the monks actions to be worthy of praise, others will feel the movie just embellishes what was a stupid decision and a waste of resources. Either way, Des hommes et des dieux is a damn good film.

It's not however a movie I would care to watch a second time. All the chantings started to get on my nerves after a while. I don't think it works very well. And then there were too very small but annoying details. Some of the actors were simply too good in past roles, which proved to be a distraction here. I had a hard time picturing Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale as these two gentle and kind monks, while I kept having flashes of them, one as the cursing machine in 'Matrix Reloaded', and the other as the James Bond villan in Moonracker. My fault really lol

Drive Angry 3D

2011-09-02T13:07:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

Some films just start to make me feel old. I watch them and think why? Action for action sake. That's what Drive Angry 3D is about. That's all it has going for it. Characterization? Everytime anyone opens their mouths it made me cringe my teeth. Plot? I guess there is one - drive fast, shoot guns, save baby. 3D effects look exactly what they are, a cheap stunt. I simply don't have the patience for this type of film anymore. If you do however, there's plenty to like here with its barrage of speeding cars, guns blazing and sex, sometimes both of these in the same scene, which was probably the first of its kind and no doubt will push Drive Angry into cult movie status. Truth is, sometimes cult movies are just crap. Oh wait, Shoot 'Em Up had already done a mid-coitus gunfight scene, so this is not even original. And Shoot 'Em Up was actually a very funny movie. I didn't even smile once here.

High Life

2011-09-02T12:14:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Yet another good movie that still felt a bit unfulfilled. However, this time the characters are very well defined and turned memorable by the actors, particularly Timothy Olyphant, Rossif Sutherland and Stephen Eric McIntyre. These junkies crew will win you over completely. That's half the battle won. The plot is solid and the heist makes sense, at least as much sense as it can make when planned by a junkie. The humour is actually funny. All these things turn High Life into one very enjoyable heist comedy movie. And yet, sometimes, some segments of the film aren't simply at the same level. Occasionally things get a little too far fetched, and the characters turn into caricatures. It happens ever so briefly, and it's probably an unfair beef of mine considering we're dealing with some very unbalanced individuals, but it's enough to put a small dent on my enjoyment in what is otherwise an accomplished caper that deserves much more attention than it's receiving.

The Company Men

2011-09-02T11:23:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

The Company Men is undeniably a nice enough movie. The story is very up to date to the current economic climate we're living and the lack of , or should I say misguided direction Capitalism is taking worldwide. The problem is the movie brings nothing new to the audience. We've seen the same issues presented in other films and in a much more compelling way, which kind of makes 'The Company Men' feels a bit redundant despite the weight of the theme.

Some very good actors in this, but the quality of the script doesn't really let them shine, with the exception of Ben Affleck. His was the only character whose story arch actually worked well. The filmmakers intentions were commendable, but the final result leaved much to be desired for me.

30 movies featuring sports, some of which you probably never thought of as such

2011-09-01T18:21:00.003+01:00

After my last shameless post, I feel the need to make up with something more useful and serious. Therefore, let's talk about sports :-)

I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for movies with a sports theme or background. And by sports I mean any sort of competitive activity. Be it a physical game played by 300 pound gorillas passing as human beings, or brainy nerds who put your IQ to shame.

These are movies that either first made me aware of a sport or competition, or showcase the love or passion it can elicit on people, as well as the competitive nature of the game, dedication and work that athletes or competitors put into it. They might not be the best film in each category, but they are my choice for the above criteria. Sometimes I included movies that really didn't represent any of those qualities, but are the ones I consider the best ones featuring a specific sport.

When I first thought about doing this, I figured this would be a really quick post to do. Just five or six movie references list. I had no idea what I was getting into. When I started to actually writing it, I realized the extent of the task. There are quite a few sports featured on film when you think about it.

If you have any suggestions for other similar movies, I'd love to hear from you.

American football

Plenty of movies to choose from, but this turned out to be an easy choice for me when I didn't think it would be the case.

Baseball

This was a lot harder to choose. I have more baseball themed movies than any other sport. 'The Natural' is perhaps my favorite movie within the baseball realm. I almost went to 'A League of Their Own', but didn't want anybody to think baseball is a game for pussies. Still, it somehow feels wrong not nominating a Kevin Costner film in this category.

Basketball

No contest here.

Boxing

Was either this or Rocky, but I bow to the better movie in my opinion.

Surf

Looking forward to 'Soul Surfer' though

Running

Honorable mention to 'The Jericho Mile' because I love that film.

Swimming

Gymnastics

Competitive cheerleading

Tennis

Surprisingly, not much to choose from.

Figure skating

Sailing

Fencing

Auto racing

Cue sports - Snooker and Pool

Skateboarding

Horse racing

This was hard. Plenty of nice movies.

Chess

It's a tie. 'Searching for Bobby Fischer' focus much more on the competitve aspect of chess, while 'Joueuse' speaks much more of the passion for the game.

Card games - Poker

Wrestling

No, 'The Wrestler' doesn't qualify. Different kind of wrestling. Not really a competitive activity there.

Debate teams

Golf

It was either this or 'Tin Cup'. Kevin Costner is out of luck.

Bowling

Not much to do with the criteria, but it's the only good movie featuring bowling I could think of.

Free diving - Competitive Apneia

Academic competition - U.S. Academic Decathlon

I have to mention 'Stand and Deliver' here. I know the Advance Placement program is not a competition, but the movie is so good and since it raises some of the same issues Cheaters did, I just have to.

Roller skating

Spelling bee

This impressed the hell out of me. I never suspected the amount of study and work needed to gather the knowledge to be a contender at one of these things.

Football

Not a lot to choose from. At least not good ones. Soccer still hasn't hit it big in Hollywood.

Solar car racing

I'm going on a stretch here, ain't I?

Movie watching? Zapping?

Underappreciated Divas - Selma Blair

2011-09-01T11:00:00.000+01:00

Another heartfelt homage to those actresses that will never achieve movie superstardom, but are the much needed bread and butter to feed Hollywood, in a feature I like to call Underappreciated Divas, which is really an excuse for me to post as much pictures I can of some very good looking women.

Selma Blair

She's probably better known from her role of Liz Sherman in 'Hellboy'. Oh, who am I kidding? She's better known for the lesbian kiss scene with Sarah Michelle Gellar in 'Cruel Intentions', but for me she'll always be the lovely Jane from 'The Sweetest Thing'. Her bj scene made the movie for me.

I don't think she never landed a role in a film that proved popular enough to catapult her to higher flights, but she can act (I don't care what other people say), is fearless, and even if she's not your typical Hollywood beauty, I think she's absolutely sexy gorgeous.

Relevant filmography?
(I still haven't seen many of these)

Can't Hardly Wait
Cruel Intentions

Kill Me Later
Storytelling

Legally Blonde

Highway
The Sweetest Thing

A Guy Thing
Hellboy
A Dirty Shame

Pretty Persuasion
Purple Violets
w Delta z
Feast of Love
My Mom's New Boyfriend
The Poker House
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Columbus Circle
The Family Tree
Replicas
Dark Horse

The lovely Selma Blair in the Tonight Show

great wallpaper material innit?

Luftslottet som sprängdes aka The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

2011-08-31T16:45:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

This is the third and final original movie adaptation of Stieg Larsson's trilogy, before the launch of the America remake by David Fincher, and I'm afraid it's also the weakest, ending the movie series with a fizzle despite tying all the loose ends from the previous films. Here's the problem in my opinion: they tried to squeeze in as much material as possible into this third movie. Sure, it makes for a closer adaptation of the book, but somebody could have told the filmmakers, that move doesn't necessarily translates into a better movie. Too many new and significant characters introduced without enough screen time to develop them properly and taking a lot of time away from the two characters we love the most, extremely condensed time frame making the narrative feels somewhat disjointed at times, and a great deal of the runtime devoted to dull exposition over facts we already gathered from the previous films. All of this makes it hard to follow no matter how predictable it is. But the very worse is the final act of the movie taking place in a courtroom. It really feels like a coutroom procedure (not the American version of the courtroom that works so well for showbusiness), and as anyone who has been in one of these can tell you, it's fucking boring. Add to that some awful trite dialogue, and the movie ends badly no matter how satisfying the characters fate might be.

I'm sure the material works great in the book, but it's not handled very well in this movie number three. Which only reminds me, I still have the book trilogy gathering dust in a shelf somewhere in my living room, waiting for me to pick it up and read it already.

Super 8

2011-08-31T14:00:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

For a too short a time, you can feel the magic of movies. It's right there in front of you in the big screen. For a short time, you'll get nostalgic about the wonderful 80s Spielberg movie productions, like Goonies and E.T. And then the magic is gone, and we're reminded we're not in the 80s, we're not kids anymore, and J.J. Abrams is directing this. Yes the same man who has a serious problem wrapping up his projects with suitable endings (Lost, and I fear Fringe), and destroyed the soul of Star Trek.

To be honest, I can't say the film is not entertaining. And the first third/half of the movie is very good. Hell, I'll say it's excellent. Great performance by the kids and filmed perfectly. I was totally captivated, and I would be very happy if the entire story was like that for the remaining of the movie. Just the kids making a movie, and going about their familly struggles and coming of age pains and joys. But this is a summer blockbuster flick, so you screw things up by turning up aliens and a barrage of explosions and special effects. Look, I don't mind all those things, but do it properly. E.T. also had kids, aliens, and a conspiracy to capture it, but the movie had charm, and the alien was something you could root for. I doubt anyone will feel any sympathy for this movie's ET. The final act of Super 8 is just a big mess, and it hurts the movie more deeply than it should, as it completely demolishes the expectations built by the film beginnings, and pretty much nullifies all the good work done up to that point. As such, Super 8 is one of those movies that might put me in couch potato mode and watch it again in a few years if I ever catch it on tv and have nothing better to do. Otherwise, I don't see myself actively putting it on a dvd player, and it's a real shame, because there was a good opportunity here, especially for those child actors to be part of something special.

JJ, you really need to learn how to pace yourself. Give it a serious thought on how to end your projects before you start them, because is painfully obvious you can't improvise. And Spielberg, what happened? Did you stop caring? I went to see the movie because your name was on the poster. Not because of J.J's. I'd hate to think your name on a film project turning into something almost obsolete as the medium referenced in this movie's title.

Battle Los Angeles

2011-08-31T10:25:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

If The Tree of Life was epic in scope, Battle Los Angeles just wants to shoot guns often. And that's ok. Unlike some film critics, I think there's place in cinema for art and entertainment, both if possible. Here, is just about the former. And even if the film doesn't excel at it (far from it as it's pretty dumb and doesn't make a lot of sense most of the time), it still provides a roller coast of fun mayhem and destruction. Either that or I was just in the right mood to enjoy this when I did.

It's cheesy, dumb, poorly written and cliché, with some terrible shots decisions at times, lacking any decent characterization. Seriously, everytime a character opens his mouth it almost makes me cringe. And yet I had fun with it. Good cinematography, as well as editing, which I thought were pretty good...oh forget it. No poiut in trying to rationalize it. It's crap lol

I don't recommend this to anyone. I actually feel guilty for giving it three smileys, but that's what guilty pleasures are all about anyway.

Great Lines

2011-08-30T16:11:00.002+01:00

Because I'm having way too much free time this week.

The nuns taught us there were two ways through life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow.

Grace doesn't try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries.

Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it.

-So Hanna, is your Mom and Dad still together?
-My mother is dead
-Nice one Dad
-I'm sorry to hear that. I lost my mom when I was very young, so...
-It's alright, it happened a long time ago
-Hanna, what did your Mom die of?
-Three bullets...

The Tree of Life

2011-08-30T15:32:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺☺

This made me laugh and sad at the same time - "Some American theaters set up signs - warning moviegoers about the enigmatic and non-linear narrative of the movie - following some confused walkouts and refund demands in the opening weeks."

I consider myself fortunate for enjoying Terrence Malick's movies. I know a lot of people don't and I understand their reasons, but for me they're usually a moving experience. I find it impossible to remain indifferent to them, despite the sometimes little segments and scenes less accomplished, or frustrating, or simply disconcerting. In The Tree of Life there are a few again, but it still doesn't prevent the film from becoming a deeply challenging spiritual experience through imagery and sound. I left the movie theater (and this really should be watched in a big screen) stunned and carried it in the back of my mind for a couple of days. That's the mark of a great movie in my book, and of a great and visionary original American filmmaker.

It's probably Terrence Malick's most epic and ambitious film, but it's still the kind of movie where, when the final credits roll, you'll either stand there ecstatic and emotionally drained from what you've seen, or simply walk out regretting the price you paid for the movie ticket and just glad it's over. I can assure you, you'll fall into one of these categories. Therefore, you should try it out, don't you think? I mean, there's a fifty percent chance it will blow your mind. ;-)

Los Ojos de Julia

2011-08-30T15:19:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Los ojos de Julia is a good effort. It offers a fresh take on the impaired protagonist horror/thriller flick genre. I've seen mute and blind (don't remember any with deaf, but I'm sure it's been done). This time the protagonist is slowly losing her sight due to a degenerative disease. She'll eventually go blind, and the progression towards that is hasten by emotional upsets or physical strains. Her twin sister commiting suicide and the consequent search for reasons why leads to exactly that...and some very good suspense moments.

Los Ojos de Julia conveys a great atmosphere, in great part to its excellente cinematography. The situation where the protagonist can still see but is visually impaired works better than if she was totally blind, as it allows the filmmakers to put the audience in the protagonist shoes much more efficiently. The film remains unpredictable until the last act, and along the way it gives a couple of very memorable scenes. It creates tension effectively not only with the mystery of the sister's suicide, but also combining it with decline in vision that comes from trying to solve that mystery.

Despite all these good things, the film does fall short on what it could have been. The script needed some more work. There is great stuff and ideas here, but it feels raw and unrefined. And for all the original ideas and situations, there are also quite a few clichés. Plus, I wasn't particularly happy with most of the cast, with the exception of the leading lady Belén Rueda.

Overall, Los Ojos de Julia is a solid entry in the genre, with some originality to it, and genuine suspenseful moments, that unfortunately can't sustain itself on the same level for the entire length of its runtime. It's still worth your time.

Hanna

2011-08-30T12:26:00.005+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

I was pretty pumped up to go see Hanna when it opened in theaters around here. Several factors led me to believe this was going to be a great action flick. First of all, Saoirse Ronan. I like the young actress that first caught my attention in 'I Could Never Be Your Woman'. Her projects since then have been on the up and down, but I enjoyed her work in all of them, with the possible exception of 'Atonement'. I was quite intrigued with the casting of Saoirse as the child killer. Then there were the other cast members, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett. This was promising. The only thing that troubled me a bit was the director Joe Wright. Looking at his past work, this could go either way. 'Pride & Prejudice' is a favorite of mine, but his next two film projects proved to be a major disappointment to me. In the end, it was the trailer who sold me into go see the movie with high expectations.

Where do I begin? I'll mention only a few of the problems I had with the movie. Let's start with the choice of Saoirse for the role. There have been quite the discussion lately on some blogs about the lack of female actresses for action roles. The general opinion seems to be that Angelina Jolie was the uncontested queen of the genre, but her recent physical changes puts a dent in her credibility in those roles, without a suitable actress available with star power to carry a movie to pick up the spot, at least an actress that manages a consensus of sorts on audiences. Several names have been suggested, but more or less have also been shot down for several reasons. One of the reasons for the debate is the physical attributes of the actress to make her believable in the role. Jolie, Zoe Saldana, Milla Jovovich, Kate Beckinsale, are probably the names you associate with female action roles the most, and none of them look like they can hold their own in a ordinary catfight, let alone perform the stunts you see on screen without breaking into a thousand little pieces. On this subject, my personal opinion is that the actress's physique is a factor at play and it should fit the role she's playing, but it's also an obstacle that can easily be overcome by the writing and clever shooting. If you look at those actress names again, and think about the action roles, most of the characters they played had special powers (vampires, nanites, etc) that allowed them some credibility. And you can always play the technique vs. brute strength angle. Which brings me to Saoirse Ronan in the role of Hanna. No matter what plot device the film infuses into her character to explain her performance and abilities, I simply couldn't get past the actress physique. Saoirse is simply too young, too frail looking to make me a believer. Had they kept the action scenes at a suitable level, I might have bought it, but it was too extreme for my poor suspension of disbelief.

Then there is the character inconsistency. Hanna, who was raised out of contact with civilization and technology her entire life, goes from being mesmerized with the workings of electricity and artificial light by a flick of a switch, to doing a research on the internet with a laptop, like it's something she used all her life. There are more details like that before that particular episodes in the movie, but these were so painfully obvious, that I still remember them a few weeks after I've seen it.

None of the above are the worst thing about Hanna though. Oh no. The worst thing about it is how dumb everything is. Nothing makes any sense. And I'm not talking about those details or plot holes you don't really think about it while you're watching the movie for the first time because you're so entertained and immersed on what's going on. These are glaring flaws that keep slapping you in your face while you're trying to lose yourself in the film and the story. I couldn't take it. All those slaps hurt too much.

Not everything was terrible. The movie actually works fine up to a point, until after her escape from captivity. The problem is that point was too early in the film to make it worthwhile. I'll keep my hopes up for Saoirse Ronan in her future endeavours. Joe Wright however is losing credits fast.

Stone

2011-08-30T10:28:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

I would never have guess that someday I'd say my favorite performance in a movie starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton and Milla Jovovich, was by the former supermodel. Milla Jovovich. Her character is really the only good interesting thing in Stone. Now that I think about it, Milla Jovovich is often the only good thing in the movies she enters. I watched The Claim just the other day, and it's the same story. It's a pitty then that all her movies turn out to be utter crap (yes, I'm including The Fifth Element on the list).

Robert De Niro and Edward Norton are still great actors, but the script and plot doesn't help their characters and the film just get lost somewhere in the middle. This had the potential to be a good thriller, and yet they ruined by trying to turn it into something else more profound, and failing miserably. I'm not saying it couldn't be done, I'm just saying it didn't work, at least for me.

Mystery Soundtrack Challenge #17 - Revealed

2011-08-30T00:54:00.000+01:00

The movie is The Terminator.

As I suspected, this was just too easy. I'm uploading some other tracks from the movie.

Original score by Brad Fiedel

Additional music tracks by Tahnee Cain & Tryanglz, and Lin Van Hek

Congratulations to Ana Isabel for guessing it first.

Mystery Soundtrack Challenge #17

2011-08-26T21:19:00.000+01:00

I haven't done one of these in a while. Let's pick an easy one. Starting with just one track. I'll add more if nobody can identify it.

Check the mp3 player and name the movie.

Bridesmaids

2011-08-26T16:59:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Proclaimed as the female version of The Hangover, Bridesmaids proves its no one's clone. With the exception of the bachelor party background theme, bachelorette in this case, I found very little in common with the hit comedy of 2009. But worry not, that's not necessarily a bad thing, as Bridesmaids stands high on its own too feet as one of this year's best comedies.

You could say the movie is directed mainly to a female audience, more in touch with one's feelings, but that simply is not true. Yes, there's a tenderness and maturity (if you can call it that here) that is usually lacking in movies specifically targeted to a male audience, but let me assure you the humour is universal and you'll find it funny no matter what sex chromosome you have. In fact, comparing it with The Hangover, Bridesmaids can be a much, much dirtier movie. Scatological dirty at times. Literally.
Wonderful written characters and situations, performed by a group of very talented actresses led by Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. These two carry the movie, but with a huge help from the others, especially Rose Byrne and Melissa McCarthy who basically steals every scene she's in. The romantic subplot is kept low key and doesn't feel out of place in a film filled with several unforgetable hillarious moments. Try watching it with a group of friends or in a movie theater with the right kind of crowd, and no doubt this will enhance your movie experience as the reactions and laughs will only feed the humour even more.

Battle of the sexed up romantic fairy tales

2011-08-26T14:43:00.001+01:00

Versus

The competition continues. After dishing it out for 'Black Swan', Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis keep at it by each doing a romantic comedy revolving around casual sex between male and female friends. No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits. Two very similar themed movies in the same year. What was this? A bet between the two?

So if your girlfriend is in the mood to see a movie with you, and you have to go through with yet another romcom, which one should you choose?

Let's start with the hypocrisy of the theme. These are by the numbers romantic comedies. Their outcome is totally predictable. Once in a while Hollywood comes up with a fresh spin on the genre. This is not one of those times. This is just straight up fairy tale material. Boy meets girl, they fall in love but don't realize it right away, or some obstacles get in the way of them getting together, but eventually they do and live happily ever after. The quirk of these two movies is the obstacle to eternal bliss is the sex. Go figure...

Therefore, no points for either of the movies.

For the gents:

Looks - both actresses are very atractive. I find Natalie a bit more alluring, but that's just my personal taste. I'm sure others have a different opinion, but I'm awarding one point to Natalie.

Acting performance - both have already proved their abilities, and they do well here too. One point each.

Character - I'll have to go with Jamie the headhunter played by Mila. Her character feels more genuine and better built, and better suited to the material and scope of the genre. One point to Friends with Benefits.

With two points each, it's a tie.

For the ladies:

Looks - After consulting a couple of female friends, the verdict is Ashton Kutcher. If I had to choose how I wanted to look between the two, I'd go for Justin Timberlake, but I bow down to the female perspective on this one. One point to the boyish look.

Acting performance - Unlike a lot of people, I don't dislike Kutcher as an actor. I think he can act. The same can be said about Timberlake. This is a tough call. I think both actors performed adequately to what was required of them. I'm awarding one point each.

Character - Again, Friends with Benefits win this one. There is a reason for this. I'll explain later.

With two points each, it's a tie yet again.

Sexyness. I have to evaluate this. After all, sexyness is what these films are selling to the audiences. Which film offers more bang for your buck? Well, I'm a little suspect on this because I've watched one movie a couple of months ago, and the other just yesterday, but I'd have to say Friends with Benefits wins this one. The nudity factor is pretty much the same in both flicks. It's just I felt the situations and dialog were a bit more racy and mature in the second film, and that made it sexier for me.

Humour. How do you compare this? The number of laughs? Their intensity? I have no clue. I guess if you take into account the number of times the film made me chuckle, then the winner is probably No Strings Attached. I remember there were a lot of penis jokes there. But I think Friends with Benefits is a bit classier with its material. This is a tough call again, but I'm going with Friends, because I'm a classy guy myself :-)

Chemistry. How good does the romantic couple looks and feels on screen.? Point goes to Mila and Timberlake. By the end of the movie, I was rooting for them to be together, where with Natalie and Kutcher I wasn't sold on the idea of them as a couple. They look great together, but I think a divorce was just around the corner.

Best quote - "I can't focus on my porn with all this real sex going on around me!" One point to Strings.

Supporting characters. This is the main reason why Friends with Benefits is a much better movie. Both have good and well known actors in the roles. Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, Greta Gerwig, Lake Bell and Olivia Thirlby bring very little to the table on No Strings Attached. Their scenes are bland and the characters utterly forgetable for the most part. Most important, they're irrelevant to the events of the film and the main characters decisions. Compare it with Friends with Benefits. Patricia Clarkson as the hippy carefree Jamie's mother sheds some light on why she is the way she is. Woody Harrelson as the gay sports editor is anything but forgetable. And Richard Jenkins as the Alzheimer diseased father (don't worry, it's the early stages of the disease, and it's not played for melodramatic effect) is crucial to the story, and has one of the best scenes of the movie. These characters make all the difference. They impact the main characters and the movie. The weakest role was probably the sister played by Jenna Elfman and the ex-girlfriend by Emma Stone. Any actress could have played those roles, but hell, it's freaking Emma Stone and I haven't seen Jenna Elfman in anything since Dharma & Greg. The nostalgic value alone...

Friends with Benefits RATING: ☺☺☺

No Strings Attached RATING: ☺☺

Both are entertaining movies, but No Strings Attached is very unfulfilling. You get a bit more nourishment from Friends with Benefits. Even its perfunctory corny final scene of public love declaration wasn't bad enough to ruin it for me. Close, but not enough ;-)

I Love You, Man

2011-08-25T15:16:00.004+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

I Love You, Man tells the story of Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) about to be married to Zooey (played by the beautiful Rashida Jones). The fact Peter has no male friends is brought to his fiancée's attention, which raises concerns about Peter turning out to be a very clingy and needy husband in the future. Determined to calm Zooeys's fears, Peter sets himself on a quest for a male best friend. He meets Sydney (Jason Segel) at an open house event and they immediately hit it off. Too much so, as their relationship starts putting some strain on Peter and Zooey's own.

I was pleasantly surprise about this film. Didn't know the director, and the lead actors of Paul Rudd and Jason Segel didn't exactly inspired me much confidence about enjoying it. Glad I was proven wrong, as these two offer one of the best 'bromances' in movie history. The remaining cast is top notch at supporting the leads, with small but memorable stints from Jaime Pressly and Jon Favreau.

It's a fresh spin on the romantic comedy genre. Well worth your time.

Death at a Funeral

2011-08-25T14:37:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺☺

I've only recently watched Death at a Funeral. Shame on me, because it was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. The film is virtually flawless in my book. I'm usually very picky about comedy, but this one completely won me over. I'm keeping this review very simple - go see it.

I understand there's an all-black version remake made 3 years later by Chris Rock!!!! Don't bother. The original is the one you want to see. Priceless.

Some robots have all the luck

2011-08-25T13:36:00.002+01:00

After going over that poster Where's Wall-E from my last post, I realized two things:

First, I'm not as big a geek as I thought I was. Out of the 180 robots in that picture, I only managed to identify around 40 of them, with perhaps another dozen or so of them I recognize but can't really place them in the movie or show they belong to.

The other thing is the terrible bad luck some of these creations get, made even worse because unlike their flesh and bone actor's counterparts, our mechanical or cgi characters only get one change to make it big in the movie business.

Take R2-D2 for example

Let's be objective about it shall we? Is it a robot you would like to have? Let's face it, R2-D2 is handicapped. I mean, he needs ramps wherever he goes! He looks cluncky. And you need another robot just to understand anything he says. What is he good for anyway? I suppose he could hack into an ATM machine and draw you some money...if he could reach the interface. Yet, none of these glaring design flaws prevented him from achieving world fame and selling millions of toys.

On the polar opposite of the spectrum, you get AMEE.

AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion) is just awesome. It looks sleek, functional, and is cute to boot. I would love to have one as a pet. Wouldn't you? Just think about it. You don't need to walk him if you don't feel like it, and if you do, you don't need to clean up after his mess. Kids would just love him. You can take him everywhere with you, as he can just fold himself into a handy little package. And if someone makes the mistake of messing with you, just activate his military mode and watch your little mech buddy kick their asses. There's no downsides to this beauty (ok, the disposal of his nuclear power cell could prove to be a bit problematic, but that's hardly a deal breaker).

The throw of the dice has never been so unfair. Star Wars catapulted R2-D2 into fame and fortune, while Red Planet dragged an otherwise brilliant creation into movie oblivion. Even the poster that ignited this post perpetuates this. Try finding AMEE there. It's harder than finding Wall-E.

P.S.- I'm a geek after all. This post is proof enough.

Where's Wall-E?

2011-08-24T15:05:00.000+01:00

This was just too much fun not to share it here with the rest of you.

Name as many characters as you can, and where each is from (movie, tv show, computer game etc). If you think you got them all, you can enter a contest and win the poster. Answers to richard@hopewellstudios.com. Closing date for entries is 31st August 2011. This will help you.

And a heartfelt thank you to the artist Richard Sargent, for reminding us all of our geekness. Now, let's see how many I can identify...

Kaboom

2011-08-24T14:19:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺

Never really grabbed me. I'm not even sure how to describe you what the movie is about. The end of the world from too much sex? Your guess is as good as mine. I can't even say what genre does this falls into.

Weak script, uninteresting plot if you can call it that. The metasexuality feels gratuitous and boring, without any real purpose or effect. Besides the competent cinematography, and the actors youth and willingness to get naked on screen, not much else kept me involved with the movie. A bitter disappointment from Greg Araki, especially after his 'Mysterious Skin'

After.Life

2011-08-24T13:50:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

If it wasn't for sexpot Christina Ricci, in all her naked glory, I would have fallen asleep during After.Life. I know most of the movie takes place in a morgue, but please don't try to bore your viewers to death. It doesn't make the movie more authentic that way.

It's a real pitty because I think the premise had potential. Is the main character really dead, or is she being played by a very sick individual? And how can you convince someone she's already dead? This interesting premise however was completely wasted by an uninspired script, a somewhat poor choice of actors *cough Justin Long cough*, and overall dull characters. By the end, I couldn't care less. As such, instead of a gripping thriller, you get a soon to be cult movie among the necrophiliac and goth crowd.

I leave you with some of the movie's best moments:

Who would have though being a mortician was such a dangerous job?

You do get some perks with the job though.

Have you ever seen such a yummy corpse?

She's giving you her heart. Isn't that sweet? Not creepy at all.

There, there, Christina. Don't worry, I don't think this is the end of your acting career yet.

Just another gratuitous boob shot :-)

Great Lines

2011-08-22T15:15:00.001+01:00

"You're ignoring a very hard fact of life, David.

What's that?

She's never going to be one of us.

I know. Isn't that great?"

"I've never been closer to anyone, and I don't know you at all."

"Look at her. I swear to God, I didn't even know that people like her existed. She's perfect."

"There's nothing that I do she doesn't like.

She doesn't know you long enough."

"My father always said to only regret the things you didn't do not the things you did. But I had an abortion and I don't know if that's something I did or didn't do."

All Good Things

2011-08-22T14:44:00.000+01:00

RATING: ☺☺

Here is an undoubtedly good movie. Great actors offering good performances, with Kirsten Dunst in perhaps her best work to date. Very competent work from director Andrew Jarecki and a well written script speculating on real life persons, events, and one of the most high profile unsolved crime/missing persons case in N.Y. recent history. So why did I have such a hard time remembering what the film was about, a month or so after I watched it? Seriously, if it wasn't for IMDb, I couldn't tell you anything about it. Only as I was reading the synopsis, did my memories of the film started resurfacing again in my mind. Perhaps it's because there isn't a single remarkable scene or aspect of the film that sticked in my mind. Or maybe the film, despite all the great work that was put on it, will only appeal to those who followed the real case at the time? Most likely, I just wasn't in the right mindset to watch this when I did. Damn it. Now I'm thinking I need to watch this film again to clear this lol.

Like I said, it's a good movie, and if you're a movie geek like me, you should definitely try to watch it if you can. You might enjoy it more than I did.

Buried

2011-08-22T12:07:00.001+01:00

RATING: ☺☺☺

Speaking of claustrophobic setups, nevermind the Devil. Buried is the film you want to watch. I have to be honest, I had my doubts about this one. I thought making a movie where there's only one character on screen, buried alive inside a wooden box somewhere, for the entire length of the movie, was taking things a little too far. But it was an amazing surprise. One of the best movies I'll see this year for sure. With a 3 million dollars budget, it just proves once again that you don't need a lot of money to make an interesting film. Decent/good actors, a director that knows what he's doing, and a good script. It pains me sometimes to see filmmakers without a clue or talent given hundreds of millions of dollars to play with, only to turn up crap.

I'm still in awe on how they managed to pull this off and turn it into such a gripping suspenseful tale. Congratulations to Ryan Reynolds, director Rodrigo Cortés, and scriptwriter Chris Sparling. This is a gem of a movie at so many levels. It's a real shame the film didn't have a wide release or a decent marketing campaign. It deserves much better that what it made at the box office.