Monthly Archive for July, 2008

Movie Diary V

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Tom
on July 30, 2008
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Blood Diamond

I don’t normally watch movies with a lot of drama but this one looked like it had enough action and adventure to make it worth while. And it was good.

When DiCaprio’s character first appeared on screen, for a while I couldn’t believe it was Leonardo DiCaprio - he has a fantastic South African accent. Months in voice coaching no doubt.

A bit of a political drive and a separated family make this movie ‘powerful’ whatever that means. I wasn’t in it for that, I enjoyed the cavaliering attitude of Danny Archer (DiCaprio), his moral structure, the action sequences and just the location in general.

Oh and it’s about a diamond.

Good.

30 Days of Night

Interesting concept - Vampires live around the artic circle because it’s night for months at a time. Vampires don’t like sunlight you see. These Vampires are ferocious and not smart. They act more like zombies.

This is an okay movie. I think what let it down for me was the zombie style of vampire, but more the setting. It’s hard to relate to a town that is freezing and is night for 30 days. Also the hiding and just surviving seemed wimpy.

Great style and cinematically the movie is good.

Above Average.

American History X

This is a one of ‘those movies’ that people are suprised you haven’t watched.

I thought the movie was going to be about white power and racisim, but it’s really about the life of Derek Vinyard, how he grew up to who he became, what he did, and how he changed.

Powerful stuff (powerful without quotes even), but I don’t live in America and don’t deal with these issues.

Above Average.

Nikita

My cousins introduced me to a TV show called ‘La Femme Nikita’ which I enjoyed. It’s a spy, espionage, operations style series. Lots of kevlar and guns as I remember.

The show was a spin-off from the original French movie, Nikita.

I already had a good idea of the plot and I’ve liked French movies in the past. One thing that I’ve found with French movies is their humour is very well done and subtle. I’m very big on dry, dark, black, subtle humour and this movie is no exception.

There is no one genre for this movie, it has a little of everything, but I think it had far too much crying. Harden up little lady you have a job to do.

A bit Noir.

Good.

Dark City

The alternate world and changing time of this movie reminds me of The Thirteenth Floor, the setting is very detective mystery. Old style cars, pocket watches, detective coats, cigarette smoke curling upwards. Very Noir.

Then there is the science fiction element which works okay.

I love the character of the doctor, the way he talks is great.

The movie is about unravelling the truth, trying to ‘get out’ of the world. Very Matrix really.

Above Average.

Movie Diary IV

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Tom
on July 30, 2008
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The Count of Monte Cristo

A tale of betrayal and revenge. Very well done. Set in Italy.

Above Average.

Along Came A Spider

I find that when I watch good movies they shadow others. Alone I might have enjoyed this movie more, but watching it not long after Spartan was a lacklustre experience. It too deals with kidnapping, and I think I like Morgan Freeman but overall I didn’t enjoy it enough.

Average. I guess I should explain the rating I’ve started giving movies.

Average: If you need a movie to watch, and are just killing time I guess you could watch it.
Above Average: A pleasant experience, perhaps even if you don’t like the genre.
Good / Recommended: Worth watching.
Fantastic / Great / Awesome: Self explanatory.

I’ll make up depths of bad as I go along, but they will be very few and far between - my to watch list only includes movies that will probably be good or better.

Braveheart

Braveheart suffers from star actor director issues. Well I’ve seen it in Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise, two actors who have starred in movies they have themselves directed - the only two I know of. Perhaps it’s just the personality of these two people, but their movies seem to be flimsy shells for the characters they’ve built. Quite hyped, quite arrogant. Braveheart, The Patriot, Mission Impossible II.

I’m sure other people have reviewed Braveheart and said things I would read and agree with. It’s exciting, passionate and tragic. Worth watching but perhaps only because it’s one of ‘those movies’. You know the ones - the ones where people say “I can’t believe you haven’t seen X”.

Another reason to watch it is because you have an infatuation for Mel Gibson.

The ending was too drawn out and I don’t think the torture scene was really needed.

Above Average.

Evil English.

Devil’s Advocate

To be honest, at the time of writing I haven’t finished watching this. I think I’m half way through. I got to a point where I wasn’t enjoying it. It’s unpleasant with no ‘lighter side’. Malevolent, malingering, manipulative. It gives me the creeps and not in that awesome horror way, in that actually creepy, too close to home way.

Which might be a good thing. Perhaps it’s too good of a movie.

My actor of the moment is Pacino. He’s fantastic.

Cube Zero

The Cube series of movies (this is the third and I think a fourth is planned) are part of a newish sub genre of movie that lionsgate have almost singlehandedly created for themselves. I guess it’s gore horror. Films such as Saw and Hostel have apparently been making good money for the budget spent on them. Though not nearly as graphic as the other movies in this sub genre Cube Zero extends the cube concept beyond the maze, but in many ways still in it’s own maze.

Watching the other Cube movies first is suggested but not needed. The second cube movie doesn’t add a whole lot to the concept so if in a rush (in a rush with movies?) it can be skipped.

This is where any rating system breaks down, I want to recommend this movie to anyone who has seen Saw, although it’s not the same, but at least recommend it to anyone who has seen a Cube movie. It’s a bit gorey and a bit sadistic so not for everyone.

Movie Diary III

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Tom
on July 30, 2008
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Deep Red (Profondo rosso)

This is the first of a series of italian horror thrillers by Dario Argento I’ve been watching.

This was made in the 70’s and it does show a bit, so if you are watching it expect an old movie. The creation of mystery is fantastic but what I liked the most is the dialogue - the witty banter between two of the main characters. It’s not forced, overly structured or cut down like a lot of American cinema.

I quite liked the music, although I’ve found with Dario (at least his older stuff) the music is either on or off, there is no subtlety in the transition or use of the music.

Skip this if you don’t like older movies, but I recommend it.

Spartan

Suprisingly good thriller. It doesn’t do anything particularly special - kidnapping mystery needs solving, dangrous parties trying to stop it. For me this movie did everything right and had a few cases where I was impressed at the depth of thought. Things went wrong, mistakes made, people killed.

Definitely action thriller, guns, spies, action. Very enjoyable.

L.A. Confidential

For some reason I’ve seen this movie poster or DVD cover a lot. I’m not sure if it was in a video store I used to go to, or I just liked the cleavage - I know the picture. I don’t know why but I had some pre-conceived ideas of what L.A. Confidential was and they were wrong.

It’s a tale of the people in the police, very gritty, corrupt. It’s also the story of an investigation, uncovering the truth.

It’s not a movie I would normally watch, I like safe thrillers or action. I don’t like watching bad things happen, brutality or bad situations. I’m glad I did watch it, it was very good.

Jin Roh - The Wolf Brigade

I’ve been broading my horizons lately with Japanese animation, mostly movies. This cropped up from several sources as a good movie from other similar movies I liked.

In common anime there are quite a few unique characteristics I dislike. Overemphasis of emotions, especially in facial cartoonisation and a crazy funny / serious duality.

I guess the first anime movie that I really enjoyed was Akira, and what a start. Most other movies can’t compare to Akira.

I don’t like the crazy / funny anime. I like the ’serious’ anime.

Back to Jin Roh, it’s an interesting movie. I was introduced to a common theme in Japanese cinema through Ghost in the Shell; the powerplay that goes on between different governemt departments, sections and the military. Jin Roh is quite political.

I wouldn’t recomment it to a viewer new to Japanese cinema and I didn’t enjoy it greatly.

My motto is that there too many great movies I still haven’t seen yet to waste time on the average ones. Jin Roh might have been great, but it wasn’t. My loss your gain.

Oh and I don’t mean ‘average’ as in ‘this muffin looks decidedly average’ I mean average as ho hum, run of the mill, normal. I’m trying to take the word back. If you say a movie was average the general impression is that it’s not good. We’ve started using the word ‘good’ to replace ‘average’.

If you ask someone how they are (even me) they will often reply ‘good’. If they replied ‘average’ you will ask them what’s wrong. Average should mean just that - average. Nothing coming or going.

It would please me to have this continue. Average weather is not sunny nor raining. Just average.

Battle Angel Atilla

Continuing with Japanese animation I watched Battle Angel Atilla. It was average. The interesting part was the concept of living in another city’s shadow, living off their scraps, always wanting to get into that city.

This movie borders dangerously close to the not so serious side of Japanese animation - the hairstyles are quite spikey and crazy. Thankfully the subject matter is serious and enjoyable.

Average (revised usage).

Paprika

A fantastical exploration of dreams and dream manipulation. Vibrant anime with a few dark twists.

Above Average.

Movie Diary II

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Tom
on July 30, 2008
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Gia

Powerful biography of Gia Carangi’s life. Lesbianism, drugs, AIDS. Very intense drama. Not my style of movie, I normally like to be entertained while this was gruelling. I have to say it’s very good if you like that sort of movie.

Sneakers

A great hacking movie. It has the setup, suspense and execution of a heist which I love. Released in 1992 and suprisingly doesn’t show it’s age. I need to come up with some sort of Fresh / Rotten rating but personalised for me. I’ll work on it but for now consider this movie ‘Fresh’.

Aliens vs Predator - Requiem

The second of the Aliens vs Predator movie crossover. I think I remember reading somewhere that the Aliens and Predator worlds being related was perhaps already hinted at in either the original Alien or Predator movies. If this is true or not I feel the crossover works well.

The first AVP movie was ho hum. Great action but I found it too other-worldly and contrived. This movie watches more like a zombie movie, it details the alien spread through a small American town.

Of particular attention is the brutality of some of the scenes, often unexpected.

Er, ‘well done’? (Still searching for a fresh / rotten alternative). The movie is good.

Virus

We enjoy watching B grade movies as a flat perhaps with a beer or two. This was the first one for a while - I don’t think I was actually present at the flat showing but I caught up on it the night after so I could partake in the discussions.

The concept is: at the start of the movie we are introduced to the characters. Normally it’s obvous who is the star guy or girl. Everyone watching the movie is assigned a character who is almost guranteed to die as part of the movie - not the main guy or girl. It’s fun discovering how long you survive, how you die, who you betray and whatnot.

The movies are bad. But they are very good entertainment when viewed in this way. In the past we have watched Dog Soliders to give another idea of the style of movie that suits.

In this movie I was Hiko, played by Cliff Curtis who was born in Rotorua. I get this confused with Deep Rising which we also watched a couple of days later so a appoligise if I’m very light on the detail.

Contains lots of little machines.

Deep Rising

Another B horror on a ship also having a character played by Cliff Curtis. (Another one of those two event oddities.) I was Mamooli.

Tentacled, man-eating sea creatures!

Movie Diary I

Published
by
Tom
on July 30, 2008
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My movie watching has increased lately and I think starting a movie diary is a good idea. I have quite a backlog that I’ll detail in one or more posts and after than perhaps monthly summarise the movies I’ve seen during that period.

I welcome any and all movie recommendations, all I ask is to think of me when recommending the movies. As I detail the movies I watch my taste should become apparent. Through these posts I’ll recommend movies but hopefully put some grounding on these recommendations - if you liked x you might like y sort of thing.

Anyway, onto the movies!

Stargate: The Ark Of Truth

Generally meh. This is the first movie of three? in a series providing closure to the Stargate SG-1 story arc. What a ride it’s been. I’m a longtime fan of the Stargate series. Individual episode quality differs wildly but if you enjoy science fiction, futuristic weaponry, and galactic struggle you’ll enjoy the Stargate universe.

In particular this movie feels more like the first of a miniseries, it has more in common with one of the many two part episodes. The timeline of events is faster but that’s generally it. I would suggest getting into Stargate through the episodes themselves.

Beowulf & Grendel

I think I read in Freakonomics where the economist is talking about seeing a group of three similar, seemingly unrelated events as an oddity but that he’s always seeing groups of two and trying to say that they are an oddity. I think the same way - A Bugs Life and Antz, Finding Nemo and A Sharks Tale, The Illusionist and The Prestige. All these are movies relased at similar times with very similar subjects.

Anyway, I have stumbled upon two Beowulf & Grendel movies at the same time; this one and Beowulf: The IMAX Experience. I couldn’t recommend either, although I’ve only skipped through the second movie.

The monster Grendel, in the second movie, is fantastic.

An interesting note is the second movie is animated and done suprisingly well but seems to descend into Uncanny Valley.

If you want to watch a movie for-the-sake of watching a movie these movies aren’t bad.