'Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes' somewhat goes into that direction. 'Kammerflimmern' also has a little bit of weirdness/mystery, but not that much. 'La cité des enfants perdus' is very weird though. 'Skenbart' is certainly weird, but not in a mysterious way but rather in a WTF? kinda way... But most films that come to mind are English: 'The Piano Tuner of EarthQuakes', 'Donnie Darko', '2001 - A Space Odyssey', 'Institute Benjamenta', 'Naked Lunch', 'Brazil', 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' and pretty much every film David Lynch has ever made. Plus, you might like the animated shorts from the Quay Brothers.
I feel like shit today, I must have caught the flu or something...so since I'm confined to my bed and after yesterday's discussion about weird films, I decided to rewatch 'Being John Malkovich' after what must have been 10 years: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI-aW7v9vF4"]YouTube- BEING JOHN MALKOVICH trailer[/ame] And yes, it was as weird as I remembered it to be. The backdrop is that a puppeteer and loser in life finds work in an office on the 7 1/2 floor of a strange building (it's only half the height of a usual floor) and one night, he finds a portal behind a locker in his office which leads into the head of John Malkovich, which itself obviously leads to a lot of trouble. I did enjoy the film, but at the end of the day, it's basically 'only' a weird film, playing out its weird premises. At least I didn't find any deeper meaning or exploration of the impact which such a portal has on the human condition or anything like that. Having said that, it's still a great film. It's funny, intriguing and...well, weird. Definitely worth watching. Next, I promised to write something about 'Skenbart' AKA 'Illusive Tracks' I didn't find a trailer, so here's the poster instead: This is a very, very dark Swedish comedy. I have never seen a film that was both so dark and so funny. It all takes place on a train from Stockholm to Berlin right after WWII and we follow several quite different characters, all with their own agenda and with almost everybody failing miserably. The anchor point is a literary critic who sees the end of the war as a chance and wants to help rebuild a united Europe once he arrives on the continent. He's the kind of character who only has the very best intentions for everybody, but somehow manages to screw up everything...literally. He's just a magnet for bad luck. To mention every character in detail would take too long, but believe me, they'd all make this movie worth watching on their own: The elderly gay couple (one manic depressive ex-playboy, the other a sophisticated, drunk woman hater) who constantly get into fights with each other (and everybody else), the devout Catholic doctor who wants to kill his wife so that he can remarry, the conductor who hates our literary critic with a passion because he doesn't treat the train as well as he probably should, the nuns taking care of war refugees returning home, the soldier who only accidentally ends up on the train... It's a dark symphony that just fits together perfectly. If you ever get the chance to watch this film and you're not turned off by dark humor, then this film is a MUST!
Watched The Wolf Man yesterday... lame movie really. Gross and predictable. Kinda fun I guess, but not that much because it was, well, gross and predictable... the only good thing about it were the actors. Don't know why they were all in it really .
Next too see?. I went to see The Russian Ark to the cinema... the only time I've ever fell asleep in a cinema!.
Yup, next to see. I already started the Russian Ark, incredible cinematography. The entire movie is a single sequence shot. Obviously it's not for everyone but there is a lot to be admired about that kind of intricate film-making.
Yeah, I know... but it's still incredibly boring . And I don't have a problem with "slow" movies. But I couldn't help but to fall asleep (just for a few seconds though... but was about to anyway for most of it) when the main character is out of the museum walking in the snow calling Katherine the great (I think), and walking, and walking, and walking...
Just watched Inception. Very well done, the last hour is just amazing, pretty much perfect. Actors superb as well. Just a little bit too much shooting for me.
I went to see a pair of German movies t a film festival that's on here now. One was Soul Kitchen wich I loved. It was so energetic and fun . Great. I had seen Gegen die Wand by Fatih Akim before and had liked it a lot hence wanted to see this film... (the Goethe Institut had organized a retrospective of all of his moves, and I intended to go to see them all, but after not being able to get into the place the first day, I changed my mind... after all it's a pretty long trip, and in a crammed subway). The anotehr was Die Fremde, which I thought was very good for the first half, very good construction of characters and acting... but I liked far less the second half (raughly), which kinda dragged on lot, became repetitive...
So going with the Sci-Fi theme from the Books! thread, I'm gonna review the Sci-Fi movies I've seen this last year: District 9 [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyLUwOcR5pk"]YouTube - District 9 - trailer[/ame] As a disclaimer, I hate this pseudo-documentary-style that seems to be all the rage recently when it comes to motion pictures...usually. District 9 also employs this documentary style, and it is one of the very few films where it actually works. The premise of the film is that an alien spaceship is stranded on Earth, in South Africa of all places, and are now forced to live in Slums, treated like dirt. The film starts out when the Bureaucrat Wikus is being put in charge to relocate the aliens in District 9, with force if necessary. However, he gets deeper into this than he had imagined when he gets in contact with a DNA altering alien substance. Now he gets between the fronts of humans trying to figure out the superior alien weaponry as well as the aliens who don't trust any humans. I really loved the film, the play on South Africa's Apartheit past works really well. I do think however that there was even more potential in this film. This film would have been predestined to take up the question of what makes us (including the aliens) "human". However, towards the end it rather turns into an action flick. But that's not bad either as it's still very entertaining. I really dig the story. It's not just a black and white film, everybody has his motivations and while this is one alien film where it's the humans that tend to be the bad guys there are lots of shades of grey on all sides making this a really engaging movie that's not built around plastic characters. It just feels right. Moon [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q"]YouTube - "Moon" - Official Trailer [HQ][/ame] The other great Sci-Fi movie I've watched last year was Moon. It's very different to District 9 but just as good. Moon is however a very slow film and reminiscent in style of 1970s movies like Silent Running or Dark Star. So if this isn't your cup of tea, then spare yourself this film. Now to the story: For three years has Sam Bell been stationed on Moon and it's only three more weeks until he can return home to his family. And it's about time. Three years of absolute loneliness have taken their toll as Sam starts to see imaginary things. But then he has a severe accident and is saved by someone who not only looks exactly like him, but also claims to be Sam Bell. As I said, I loved this film, which is in large part also due to Sam Rockwell's great performance, having to carry the entire film on his own. This film is just as much about the exploration if the human psyche as it is about the actual plot where all Sam wants to do is to return home. Pandorum [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PItZ-qr9jG8"]YouTube - PANDORUM - HD TRAILER[/ame] Another classical Sci-Fi theme here. This time, it's going into the horror genre. We're on a massive space ship with 60,000 human beings on it, on their way to colonize an alien world. The passengers are all frozen for the flight, only the crew is awake. In fact there are several crews who are supposed to take turns. But something went wrong. The astronauts Payton and Bower are unfrozen, but nobody's there to greet them, the ship seems to be in a terrible condition and about to be destroyed several crew members are found dead and they soon find out that they're not alone. Generally, I really like the idea, unfortunately the film didn't deliver...not fully anyway. The story is good, the plot twists all work, it really has a lot of potential, but instead of building upon that, the movie drifts into being an average horror flick, going for cheap thrills rather than something of more substance. I can't really say what it is though...I guess there's just too much action. The original Alien movie pretty much showed how to do horror in space. It's more about suspense than action, especially with this over-the-top kung-fu stuff thrown in. Having said all that, I still enjoyed he film. It's somewhat sad because it could have been so much better, but it was still a descent movie. It certainly won't become a classic, but if you're into this kind of movie, I think it's still well worth watching. Plus, it's very accessible, it's good entertainment that's not completely dumbed down. It certainly has a broader appeal than Moon for example. Monsters [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njeofv4dr9Q"]YouTube - 'Monsters' Trailer HD[/ame] Ok, so once again (like with District 9) we have a hyped film with a pseudo-documentary style but unlike District 9, which was advertised to be low budget, Monsters actually is low budget. This time it's supposed to be a horror film though...And I have to say, it didn't work for me. 7 Years ago, a space probe returning to Earth exploded over Mexico, contaminating it with alien spores (or something). In the meantime, these aliens have grown enormously and have taken over large parts of Mexico. After missing the last ship to the US, two Americans try to cross the infected zone, back into their homeland. As I said before, this time the style of the film wasn't for me at all. It just felt cheap, like a daily soap. I didn't feel involved at all. For example: when they went to the cemetery with all the candles for the victims shortly before entering the infected zone, I'm sure I was supposed to feel something, but I didn't. Similarly, I never really felt any suspense or horror throughout the film (except maybe a little during the very first scene of the film). I was just bored - and that in spite of the fact that I usually dig slowly paced movies. Yes, there are beautiful nature shots in there, the monsters are pretty cool and I also liked that it doesn't have a conventional ending. But I didn't feel any chemistry between the lead actors, I didn't see any plot to speak of and I can't stand that pseudo-documentary shaky-camera look and feel. Maybe I need to give it another chance though...I mean this is the type of movie where you definitely need to be in the right mood and maybe I wasn't (although I think I was). Obviously this movie is about the journey itself, so the lack of a plot isn't all that important, but then while the characters are on a physical journey, there is no mental journey, no transformation. At the end, they're still the same people they were in the beginning, so I wonder: What was the purpose of this film?
Also, let me plug this site: http://www.redlettermedia.com/plinkett.html This guy makes the best movie reviews out there. They're absolutely hilarious, and at the same time so blatantly true. They are somewhat on the long side, each having the length of an actual feature film, but they're absolutely worth it. Especially his Star Wars Prequals reviews have gained cult status by now, but the other ones are just as good. If you have the time, start out with Star Wars Episode I and you'll see what this guy is about. His reviews don't really serve as recommendations. I mean he mostly reviews films that everybody knows anyway. I would even go so far to say that his reviews work best when you've already seen the film. Because then you go: "Oh yeah, he's absolutely right, why didn't I realize that when I watched it?" all the time. And despite the dark humor, you actually learn a lot about movies and movie making in general. Great stuff... If you don't want to start out with such a long review, his Avatar review is only 18 minutes long, also pretty cool and it gives a glimpse at his style.
Here are two trailers that have me totally psyched for the films, albeit for very different reasons: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecILvyLG4hc"]YouTube - teaser: Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKC_ORM0vpo"]YouTube - Battle Los Angeles | trailer #1 US (2011)[/ame]
Random video of the day: Spidey San - interpretative dance edition [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq0MYjeezzE"]YouTube - ????????????[/ame]
Just read it up on wikipedia. Next. (Although I think I could sit through most of it because I do get the overall theme of outside world v/s 'inner' creation behind it. The gore would be a little bit too much....maybe.)
I've just watched "Exit Through the Gift Shop"... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHJBdDSTbLw"]YouTube - "Exit Through The Gift Shop" - Official Trailer [HD][/ame] ...absolutely brilliant.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRrCIvw8DRQ"]YouTube - "Green Lantern" A Superhero We All Know And Love, Says Studio‏[/ame]
So I've just watched Battle Los Angeles I've first seen the trailer months ago and it got me really psyched, I think it's absolutely brilliant: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKC_ORM0vpo"]YouTube - Battle Los Angeles | trailer #1 US (2011)‏[/ame] However, when it hit the movie theaters, it got terrible reviews, so I didn't watch it then. Now that I did watch it, I kinda wish I had gone to the theater. It was much better than I expected. Still not an instant classic, not even a particularly good film, but two hours full of action. But first, let me concentrate on the shortcomings. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't capture the atmosphere of the trailer. In fact, the trailer gives more of a backstory than the movie itself (seriously). We find out next to nothing about the aliens but get right into the action of the invasion, there is no sci-fi atmosphere but rather a wartime atmosphere. Both of which isn't bad by itself, but a lot of viewers probably expected something else. The movie is all shot with Shaky-Cam™, you know the kind of pseudo-documentary shooting technique without any steady shot whatsoever and lots of fast paced cuts. I'm not that old, but my attention span is long enough to appreciate longer, steady shots. Of course that requires more skill as a narrator/director... Anyway, while it's absolutely terrible in the Bourne movies for example, it kinda works with this type of movie...it's a war-movie after all, so I actually found it tolerable. More severe was the lack of a story. It's just action sequence after action sequence with a bunch of cookie-cutter-characters without much of a development (and the little character development there is is pretty terrible). Finally, it suffers from the same problem most alien-invasion movies suffer from, namely the unrealistic weak spot of the aliens. Not only is the alien strategy somewhat strange - just pound 'em from orbit and then send in the infantry, when there's nothing but rubble left - but also their obvious weak spot. No intelligent race would design something like that. Finally, I can see why a lot of people don't like the somewhat ambiguous ending, personally, I dig that kind of thing. So for me that was a plus. But leaving all that aside, Battle LA has a lot of great action. It's basically an urban warfare movie with aliens. If you look at it that way, it's really fun. So my verdict is: If you're not out for some cinematic masterpiece but just want 2 hours of action packed entertainment, this is a good choice.
Speaking of Sci-Fi, who else can't wait to see this: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3tidwW1gGM"]YouTube - Rise of the Planet of the Apes - HD Trailer 2 - (2011)‏[/ame]
And just now I've watched Rango [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-OOfW6wWyQ"]YouTube - 'Rango' Trailer HD‏[/ame] Obviously, this is a computer animated movie and as such, people automatically have certain expectations. It's not just a movie making technique, but almost a genre. That genre has been defined by Pixar and Dreamworks, the pioneers of computer animation. The thing is, Rango is different. If you expect this to be like Toy Story, Finding Nemo or Shrek, then you will be in for a surprise. The animation This is ILM's first animated movie and they've done a wonderful job. It's as good - and probably better - than anything Pixar has ever done. Absolutely brilliant. The Story This is the story of Rango, a pet Chamaeleon who through an unfortunate accident is stranded somewhere in the Mojave Desert. On his search for water, he finds the little frontier town Dirt which is inhabited by wild animals and Rango gets sucked into a tale of greed, deceit and crime surrounding the one all-important natural resource: Water. Rango is the typical unlikely hero who ends up having to save Dirt and its inhabitants. So what's the deal with this? As I said, the label "computer animated" is almost like a genre. Yes, Rango does have some typical elements of the "computer animation" genre in that it is also a comedy and of course it's centered around animals. But it's not quite as light hearted as the typical Pixar film, as it has some deaths and a generally grim tone. The plot, while certainly not being extraordinarily complicated, is not as straight forward as one might expect from an animated movie. But the main thing about Rango that will probably irritate some people is its weirdness. The line between dream and reality in this film is very blurry and at times you really don't know what is what, especially towards the end. So while most kids can certainly enjoy this film, it's not really a kids movie in that they won't be able to grasp the full scope of this film. Also, this film is packed with allusions and references to classic Hollywood movies. The first one that I noticed was a reference to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, so that fact alone might tell you something about this film But it's also referencing Roman Polanski's Chinatown and Sergio Leone Westerns but also other classic Westerns like High Noon or True Grit. Then there's Back to the Future and even Return of the Jedi. My Verdict Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. If you don't like animated movies that deviate from the Pixar norm, this might not be the right movie for you. Everyone else needs to watch Rango.
I did plug the http://redlettermedia.com site before for their awesome "Plinkett Reviews". These are elaborate movie reviews, somewhere between 20 and 90 minutes long, mostly about films from the Star Trek and Star Wars series, but generally not very up to date. The reviews are made from the perspective of a character called Mr Plinkett who's a psychopathic serial killer slash movie maniac. It sound weird...well it is weird, but it works perfectly, not just giving great insights into movie making but also being dark comedies by themselves. Over the course of these reviews, there's also a back story being told, about an abducted hooker who frees herself and swears revenge against Plinkett... Anyway, to produce these kinds of reviews is of course extremely time consuming and not suitable for regular reviews. So the maker of the Plinkett reviews has come up with another, slightly more classical format to review current movies. This series is called "Half in the Bag" and sports two guys discussing recent movies, enriched with some clips. Again there's a slight twist to it as there's also a back story. The two movie reviewers are repair men, hired by Mr Plinkett in order to repair his VCR, but instead they drink beer and talk movies. Again, these reviews are spot on if you ask me, so I highly recommend checking them out. They're also more accessible and less time consuming than the Plinkett reviews, plus they're actually usefull when it comes to making up your mind whether or not you should watch a film, while the Plinkett reviews usually work best when you already have seen the movie in question. So go on the website I linked to above and check it out. As an appetizer, here's the first episode, setting the whole thing up. The latter episodes don't have as much back story, so don't be put off by that: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvqRCv-DwME"]YouTube - Half in the Bag - Episode 1‏[/ame] Also great, here's a really funny special edition, which is not a movie review as such, but you'll see... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu02VSsLorE"]YouTube - Half in the Bag: Special Edition‏[/ame] I really enjoyed the well crafted David Lynch reference in the end
And since I'm, at it, let me plug another review. This is a 90 minute review, not of a movie, but of a review of a movie. It was done by Chase Melendez who destroyed a critical review of "2001 - A Space Odyssey" and in the course of it, of course he also reviews the film itself. Here's a link to the playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?annotation_id=annotation_863716&p=A92A639CBA3CBD66&feature=iv It's really long, but if you even have the slightest interest in 2001, I highly recommend this review, as it will give you a lot of insight into the movie. Since it builds upon a negative review of the film, it also brings enough comedy to the table. The original review is used in order to raise specific points and Chase did an awesome job dismantling the claims and providing great insights into the film. Unfortunately it seems as if Chase Melendez died earlier this year. Of course one should never completely trust some internet rumors, but if true, that would be a very sad loss. This video series was so great that I was really hoping for some more. But now that he's presumably dead, I hope that his memory will live on the videos he made.
