Entries Tagged 'Movies' ↓

The zombie apocalypse is upon us, a mindless nation of meat is fed a diet of crap TV.  A diet with zero nutrition, a mere distraction from the real world, a new religion to placate the masses and keep everyone in line, happy consumers with simpler dreams and minimal ambition…

The popular consumer culture that was satirised so well in 1978 in Dawn of the Dead has provided the framework for a million zombie flicks since and in Dead Set it is updated to take a stab at that most vile of TV productions Big Brother.  Of course setting your zombie tale within the Big Brother house means that we viewers have to suffer the kind of people that appear on the Big Brother program.  Now perhaps elsewhere in the world Big Brother attracts reasonable people with some mildly perverse idea that it could be an interesting experiment (I suspect not), but in the UK the viewing public demands it be populated with the most irritating, nymphomaniac, fame-starved, wannabees our wee island can produce.  An interesting challenge for Dead Set to take care of.
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Here follows my favourite films of the year so far.  I’ve also listed my original score and linked the original reviews, but it’s the order listed that matters here.

1. No Country For Old Men 10/10
I’ve watched this a couple of times now and I’m not prepared to say it’s anything less than fantastic.  Read the review for the full details.

2. Son of Rambow 9/10
I’m eagerly awaiting next month’s DVD release so I can see this again but it sticks firmly in my mind as a brilliant vignette of 80’s childhood nostalgia in only the good ways.

3. Once 9/10
A musical with great music and real soul, a rare beast indeed.

4. I’m Not There 8/10
It’s a more cerebral than emotive capturing of Dylan but an interesting one none the less.

5. In Bruge 8/10
Black comedy at it’s best, even bigoted hitmen have souls.

6. Wall:E 8/10
I’m trying not to get swept up by this and stick it even higher in the list but it’s a nimble, skillful dig at everything that makes Disney its money and manages to do it with more sentiment than 100 Sleeping Beauty 2s.

7. In To The Wild 9/10
The thinking man’s Robinson Crusoe, if it makes you think too much maybe your employer should be worrying about your retention prospects.

8. Persepolis 8.5/10
As beautiful and touching as you could ever expect a history lesson to be.

9. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters 9/10
An honest documentary masterpiece.  Gamesmanship, drive, ambition, and a bad guy, all the things a good sports film needs applied to Donkey Kong.

10. Shoot ‘em Up 8/10
Stupidity incarnate but all in good spirits.

The not quite good enoughs:
2 Days in Paris 8/10
I’m a Cyborg But That’s OK 8/10
Juno 7.5/10
There Will Be Blood
Chocolate 7/10
El Orfanato 7/10

I was certain I was going to hate this one from the start.  I’m not a fan of the English Hooligan genre and remain unconvinced about writer/director Shane Meadows, seemingly a poor man’s Ken Loach.

Still I always liked 24/7 and I’d had too many recommendations to ignore.  It was an exceptional film that never took the easy road, those watching this to see some good times gang violence will be sorely disappointed.  The thugs in this film are for the most part not the simple stereotypes and the film successfully portrays the ways some people can fall into the worst kind of racist groups.  Stephen Graham may get to do the star psycho turn (and very well I might add) but it’s the young Thomas Turgoose that’s so engrossing.  His turn as the young initiate is more than a simple blank slate observer role.

Meadows recently released Somers Town again starring Turgoose and I’m looking forward to getting to it.  For UK viewers this seems to be on Film4 reasonably regularly check it out.
8/10

Quite a mainstream selection this month, but well it’s July so where better to escape the few measly weeks of Scottish sunshine than hiding in a dark movie theatre pretending to be somewhere else.

Hancock
Embarrassingly I actually enjoyed this, I may as well admit that I have a tendency to see most of the big blockbusters although I don’t report them here and it’s basically a given that I’ll see the Superheroes ones.  Well apart from pretty rough effects I really enjoyed this.  If you’ve seen the trailer you can basically guess the entire film.  Hancock has basically all of the power of Superman but lives the life of a drunk.  His help is unwanted by the city as his temper and unpredictability make him a liability.  It gets a bit ropey towards the end, but you always knew in a film starring Will Smith he’d make good eventually.  The best bit though is when he’s bad he’s proper bad.  I found it funny anyway
6/10

Wall:E
Just when you thought Miyazaki had a monopoly on touching enchanting children’s entertainment, Pixar trumps him by rolling it up with one of the most biting satires I’ve ever seen in a Hollywood picture.  What seems to start out as a vague eco-fairy tale with a charming central character in the second half of the film starts taking digs at popular culture the likes of which I’ve not seen since Fight Club or Idiocracy.  And Pixar have managed it all while working for Disney!

I went home thoroughly impressed and with perhaps even a slight dampness in the corner of my eye.
8/10

The Dark Knight
As interesting a production as a Hollywood studio could ever make and one that had me thinking more than I had any right to expect.

There are a few problems, firstly for a film that takes itself so seriously there are some bits that are just really silly, the batvoice has to be reined a little for a start.  It’s comic origins work against it in a few segments as well, they do a spectacular job of making the film really feel like an exaggerated real world but still lose it from time to time.  Also the critically adored performance of Heath Ledger is a little slight, sure it’s great but he has what seems like 10 minutes total screen time.

This is a far braver transformation than Batman Begins though and when I was 15 and addicted to the animated series this would be my dream film, even more so than Burton’s Returns sequel.

The thinking part came from the politics suggested.  I am in no way coming round to the point of view it promotes but certainly it made me think more critically of my politics than any film I can think of (most films seem to support my positions than question them).  A very strange prospect indeed.
7/10

Todd Haynes is a director that I’ve heard a lot more about than actually seen films of.  While I was not a fan of Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven was interesting.  I’m Not There is assuredly nothing like either of these films.  In case you haven’t heard the film’s ruse is to take the biopic and turn it on its head.  Six different actors play the different Dylan characters from various periods of his life.

We quickly realise this will not be a traditional biopic when we are introduced to 11 year old version played by the young black actor Marcus Carl Franklin.  He lives a transient life in railway cars playing his music to whoever will listen and going by the name of Woody Guthrie.  He is painted as full of pragmatic optimism and streetwise life experience.  While Christian Bale, furthers that idealism as a fervent protest song writer and later the 80’s dedicated Christian Dylan.  Heath Ledger gets to play the part of the superstar actor losing his touch with people at large and building a general ambiguity.  Cate Blanchett gets the interesting role as the nihilistic and belligerent transitional Dylan who first goes Electric.  Finally Richard Gere plays an older Billy the Kid, Dylan in his later years.  An ambitious plan but is it more than a gimmick?

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So slightly delayed but the Edinburgh summer inspired me (I can currently see about 200m at the most).  Anyway as promised after viewing The Mist I gave John Carpenter’s classic ghost story The Fog a viewing.  While the Mist’s failings were mostly acting it had a very interesting character dynamic and interesting conflict.  The Fog’s characters are more traditional, there aren’t any arcs here just chess pieces to positioned in varying degrees of peril.

There are strange goings on in a small town on the California coast.  A malevolent fog has descended and it appears something hiding within is taking its revenge on the townspeople.

Carpenter can shoot a good ghost flick and he skilfully manages his phantoms and manages to keep them scary with just makeup and well placed lights.  The low budget is only occasionally glaring but the film’s supernatural elements obviously make it easier to ridicule than his breakthrough production Halloween.  Still between Carpenter’s talent with the smoke machine this has aged surprisingly well.

The gore by today’s standards is extremely tame but the violence has a certain enthusiasm that still carries bite.  It’s amusing that the film was actually recut by Carpenter before release to insert more gore and to compete with other films of the time.

Its classic status is assured but don’t go expecting anything deeper than a well made ghost story and you’re sure to have an enjoyable evening.
7/10

The Special Edition DVD is available for a mere £7 from Amazon.co.uk with two documentaries.

The story goes, producer Shinya Kawai made a drunken challenge to his director friends Ryuhei Kitamura and Yukihiko Tsutsumi.  Who could make the better film starring only 2 battling principal characters, in 1 set, and filming for only a week.  The two films that resulted Aragami by Ryuhei Kitamura and 2LDK by Yukihiko Tsutsumi are very different but an equally special result as could ever be hoped for from a night of drinking.

Aragami finds two badly wounded samurai arriving at a small temple only to be brought back to health by a mysterious swordsman.  As per the rules you can see where this is going, more so if you’re familiar with Ryuhei Kitamura.  His films range from spectacular crap like Versus and Azumi to spectacularly crap like Godzilla: Final Wars, which makes Aragami actually the classiest work of his I’ve seen.  There’s a great element of mystery and while the twists might not be so shocking when they come brilliantly choreographed fights and some barbed dialogue make this far more interesting than you may suspect.  There are a couple of occasions where Kitamura’s affection for crap shine through (I could’ve done without the epilogue) but this was an enjoyable surprise.

2LDK is a very different beast indeed, two aspiring actresses seemingly alike in only profession are chasing a crucial role that will either entirely validate their chosen life choices or crush their dreams, oh and they share an apartment.  When they separately arrive home from the audition petty arguments about shampoo and food develop into a much deeper assassination of each other’s character.  This is no tense drama and soon enough the house becomes full of prospective weapons.  I am completely unfamiliar with Yukihiko Tsutsumi but on this form I’ll be on the lookout for other films.  Please stick any recommendations in the comments.

Amazon will sell you the double-pack for a mere £9.

Aragami 7/10

2lDK 8/10

Gordon Liu returns to the Shaolin Temple again, but this time rather than playing the legendary monk San Te he plays a con-man trying to impersonate him.  This works to great success when he conspires with the workers at a dye factory to get their pay back from an oppressive boss.  Of course it backfires and our hero must learn how to become a man of substance.  He travels to Shaolin and starts the task of persuading the monks to train him.

There is a more comical theme to this than other Liu films I’ve seen and the Kung-fu is not exactly prompt in making it’s appearance.  Your patience will of course be rewarded though.  When it comes in a Mr. Miyagi style revelation the kung-fu is fantastically entertaining and you can be sure that “scaffolding kung-fu” is unlike any style you’re familiar with.

A touch more original (if in tone and style rather than plot) than many of it’s peers this is an impressive classic.
8/10

Jason Copser has managed to create an impressive single thumbnail of the entire Big Lebowski film by taking 1 screenshot every second.  The original Brendan Dawes project that inspired it can be seen here with similar fingerprints for Vertigo, The French Connection, and others.

Via Boing Boing

Link

OK, yes I did go see the Mist, unfortunately I have no way to tell you whether it is worth seeing or not.  I have never had a film so comprehensively ruined in all my years.  A pair of nattering young women sat beside me in the theatre and subjected me to literally non-stop chat about who needs to die, who needs to stop talking (why I resisted to telling them so I don’t know), whatever..

Anyway, the film was in theory quite decent, a mysterious mist appears and something strange within brings death to a group of smalltown folk trapped in a supermarket.  It quickly goes Lord of the Flies as people break into factions of believers in science, religious zealots, and the pragmatists.  I liked how it played out but I spent most of my viewing in a rage.  No verdict this time, or possibly ever a ruined film for me I’m afraid.

Maybe The Fog will cheer me up.