It is Hogmanay ans this will be the last film reviewed in 2009, and how did it end, not with a bang but a whimper...
392 - Paris, Texas - 2 stars
A Belmont staff favourite but for me, my response was a bit... meh.
Harry Dean Stanton plays Travis, a man who has disappeared for four years, who reappears on the Mexican border looking to reconnect with his son and find his missing wife, with the hope of redemption in the form of an empty plot of land in Paris, Texas.
I have only seen Stanton in Alien, and he was pretty non-communicative in that, so it was interesting to see his character develop and open up through the course of the film, up to the important confession scene where he reveals to his wife why he disappeared, albeit through the mirrored glass of a nudie booth. It was this scene that saved the film from being a total disappointment for me.
Like Travis is unable to connect to his family, I was unable to emotionally connect with the characters, and thus the film left me cold. My disinterest in the film aside, Wenders did create a beautiful colour pallete for the film, with vivid blues, golds, greens and the pink of Kinksi's dress when we first meet her.
Right I'm off out to celebrate the start of 2010, which will hopefully be better than 2009. Happy New Year to everyone who is reading the blog, thanks for sticking with me.
Days remaining - 258 Films remaining - 345
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Top 25 Films of the Decade
The Noughties has been quite the decade for the film industry.
We've seen the rise of the most successful franchise in film history in Harry Potter; success for genres like musicals, comic book movies, Pixar-style animation and torture porn; technological advances in the form of digital cinema, 3D and live satellite screenings.
On the flipside there was a writers' strike, and Hollywood began to run out of creativity and originality, developing an over-reliance on remakes and uninspired sequels, often at the expense of the smaller productions. Plus we had to deal with the increase in movie downloads and piracy that threatened the industry.
But all was not lost as there was the rise of the arthouse cinema as the UK cinema going public developed an bigger interest in foreign cinema and documentaries, the standard of which has been exceptional this decade and more than rivalled the output from Hollywood.
Here is a list of the 25 films that I consider to be the best/favourite/influential of the last decade (in chronological order):
Memento (2000)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001)
Requiem For A Dream (2001)
Moulin Rouge (2001)
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (2001 - 2003)
Mulholland Drive (2002)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2002)
Donnie Darko (2002)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (2003)
Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Downfall (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Brokeback Mountain (2006)
Children Of Men (2006)
United 93 (2006)Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Zodiac (2007)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
There Will Be Blood (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Let The Right One In (2009)
Avatar (2009)
(500) Films of Empire - Day 106
270 - The Death Of Mr Lazerescu - 2 stars
The soundbites on the DVD hailed this as a "comic masterpiece" but I think that my funny bone must be broken.
I felt nothing other than sadness and depression after viewing this 2.5 hour long tale of one man's misery at the treatment he receives from the Romanian health service as he is shipped from hospital to hospital.
Filmed almost in a documentary style, it is a terrifying look at a health care system where the doctors and nurses don't care at all. Lazerescu symptoms are immediately dismissed by most doctors because he's been drinking, highlighting some prejudice and stereotyping.
The film is far too long but I guess this is part of its message about the waiting time that patients go through when at hospital.
Would hate to see a UK remake looking at the NHS, but if they are looking to make a real comedy then having one produced by Armando Iannuci or Chris Morris would be a welcome watch.
336 - Titanic - 3 stars (overall)
"This ship can't sink!" "She's made of iron sir, I assure you she can".
And so comes the turning point in this 3 hour epic that is half Romeo & Juliet, half Posidien Adventure. As such I will be reviewing the movie in two halves - the love story and sinking ship.
The Love Story - 2 stars
Rather insipid stuff that was created to give an emotional focus to the film to avoid it being a simple retread of A Night To Remember, with some terrible dialogue written by James Cameron (who seems more comfortable writing dialogue for machines than humans), and a manipulative score to tug at the heart strings. I wasn't really a fan of Leo until he started working with Marty but he has a great chemistry with 'England's Rose' Kate Winslet. As a bloke watching the film, things definitely picked up when she got naked. Was not expecting that in a 12 rated movie ;)
The Sinking Ship - 4 stars
The action still holds up well 12 years on. Before Avatar, Cameron knew how to balance practical and special effects. Similar to Apollo 13 where we know how the story will end, does create tension in who will survive.
Then it all ends with another Celine Dion song, but as much as I want to knock a point off for it, but I found myself kind of liking it, must be getting soft in my old age!
309 - The Terminator - 4 stars
A thriller as cool and efficient as the cybernetic assassin stalking Sarah Connor. Between the electronic music score by Brad Friedel and Arnold's unstoppable Terminator, this plays out like a Sci-Fi version of Halloween.
The first installment of the franchise has a much more gritty, grungier feel than the more expensive, polished sequels, part of the Tech Noir sci-fi style that was popular during the 80's with films like Blade Runner and revived by The Matrix.
My God, the 80's had some bad fashion, and bad dancing. The scene where the Terminator attacks Sarah in the club Tech Noir (where the style got its name from) is hilarious for some of the haircuts, outfits and dancing.
A breakout role for The Governator who proved particularly adept at playing a near silent, ruthless killing machine.
But T-101 in this movie is not as proficient as the model in T2. During the chase sequences, the targeting system is poor, with the Terminator being about as accurate as an Imperial Stormtrooper!
Having watched T2 last week, I was startled at the change in Linda Hamilton between the films, with only a hint of the steely eyed warrior that would emerge in the sequel present in the poodle permed Sarah Connor.
Days remaining - 259 Films remaining - 346
The soundbites on the DVD hailed this as a "comic masterpiece" but I think that my funny bone must be broken.
I felt nothing other than sadness and depression after viewing this 2.5 hour long tale of one man's misery at the treatment he receives from the Romanian health service as he is shipped from hospital to hospital.
Filmed almost in a documentary style, it is a terrifying look at a health care system where the doctors and nurses don't care at all. Lazerescu symptoms are immediately dismissed by most doctors because he's been drinking, highlighting some prejudice and stereotyping.
The film is far too long but I guess this is part of its message about the waiting time that patients go through when at hospital.
Would hate to see a UK remake looking at the NHS, but if they are looking to make a real comedy then having one produced by Armando Iannuci or Chris Morris would be a welcome watch.
336 - Titanic - 3 stars (overall)
"This ship can't sink!" "She's made of iron sir, I assure you she can".
And so comes the turning point in this 3 hour epic that is half Romeo & Juliet, half Posidien Adventure. As such I will be reviewing the movie in two halves - the love story and sinking ship.
The Love Story - 2 stars
Rather insipid stuff that was created to give an emotional focus to the film to avoid it being a simple retread of A Night To Remember, with some terrible dialogue written by James Cameron (who seems more comfortable writing dialogue for machines than humans), and a manipulative score to tug at the heart strings. I wasn't really a fan of Leo until he started working with Marty but he has a great chemistry with 'England's Rose' Kate Winslet. As a bloke watching the film, things definitely picked up when she got naked. Was not expecting that in a 12 rated movie ;)
The Sinking Ship - 4 stars
The action still holds up well 12 years on. Before Avatar, Cameron knew how to balance practical and special effects. Similar to Apollo 13 where we know how the story will end, does create tension in who will survive.
Then it all ends with another Celine Dion song, but as much as I want to knock a point off for it, but I found myself kind of liking it, must be getting soft in my old age!
309 - The Terminator - 4 stars
A thriller as cool and efficient as the cybernetic assassin stalking Sarah Connor. Between the electronic music score by Brad Friedel and Arnold's unstoppable Terminator, this plays out like a Sci-Fi version of Halloween.
The first installment of the franchise has a much more gritty, grungier feel than the more expensive, polished sequels, part of the Tech Noir sci-fi style that was popular during the 80's with films like Blade Runner and revived by The Matrix.
My God, the 80's had some bad fashion, and bad dancing. The scene where the Terminator attacks Sarah in the club Tech Noir (where the style got its name from) is hilarious for some of the haircuts, outfits and dancing.
A breakout role for The Governator who proved particularly adept at playing a near silent, ruthless killing machine.
But T-101 in this movie is not as proficient as the model in T2. During the chase sequences, the targeting system is poor, with the Terminator being about as accurate as an Imperial Stormtrooper!
Having watched T2 last week, I was startled at the change in Linda Hamilton between the films, with only a hint of the steely eyed warrior that would emerge in the sequel present in the poodle permed Sarah Connor.
Days remaining - 259 Films remaining - 346
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
(500) Films of Empire - Day 105
I'm now off work until 2010! A great statement to make, until you realise that it only means a couple of days. But that is a lot of time for movie watching...
492 - Amores Perros - 3 stars
Is it just me but I am beginning to worry about Inarritu. Is he unable to make a film that isn't made up of interconnecting stories? Between this, 21 Grams and Babel, it has become his M.O. Can't he come up with just one story that could sustain a 90 minute film rather than lots of little 30 minute stories?
That being said, he is very good at this type of film. Inarritu draws good performances from his central cast, keeps the action moving well by knowing when to cut back and forth between the stories, and by having stories that people can invest in to begin with (although I would liked to have seen more in the Daniel et Valeria story about the seperation between him and his wife).
This is not a happy movie though, given that the title roughly translates to "Love's a bitch", and while not as emotionally raw as 21 Grams which deals with death and loss, this examines the pain that people experience for love, whether that is for a human or a dog! Just witness the heartbreak 'El Chivo' suffers when he returns home to find his dogs have been killed.
It was clear from this performance that Gael Garcia Bernal was destined for great things, displaying charisma and bravado that would make him a worldwide star.399 - Greed - 2 stars
Begins with a title card reading 'personally directed by Erich Von Stroheim', as if it could have been impersonally directed by him? The film is also dedicated to his mother, a back handed compliment perhaps considering the film is called Greed?
Stroheim's original vision was a 9 hour epic on how greed corrupts and destroys. It was cut down by the studio to just over two hours, and it is amazing that something vaguely coherent could be salvaged from that.Even for two hours the story plods along at a pedestrian pace, as a woman's obsession with her lottery winnings threatens to alienate her husband, family and friends, ultimately leading to tragedy.
The film's message is clear and due to the style of silent filmmaking, most of the subtlety is lost.
This is the only silent film on the list and you can forget how important music can be in a film till you see a silent movie, where it relies on music to create mood and emotion.
P.S. The husband in the story is dentist and I just wanted to highlight the two greatest dentists in cinematic history; Szell and Orin Scrivello
328 - The Truman Show - 4 stars
It shares a central theme with The Matrix, in that what do you do when the world you are living in turns out to be a lie? This is what happens to mild-mannered Truman Burbank as he slowly loses his grip on his sanity as it is revealed that he is the star of the biggest reality TV in the world - but without his knowledge. "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented" - Christof
It is a deeply satirical look at the world's obsession with reality TV, yet this was made back in 1998 when the craze was just starting to take off. It touches upon issues like product placement (Truman's wife dropping brand names into the conversation) and Big Brother-style control of what we see and do (in the form of Ed Harris's Christof aka The Creator)
But the revelation here is Jim Carrey, delivering a beautifully understated performance. It showed the world that he was able to successfully do dramatic roles as well as the zany, rubber faced comedies he became famous for... although try telling this to the Academy who have criminally overlooked his performances in Truman Show, Man On The Moon and his best film, Eternal Sunshine.
Days remaining - 260 Films remaining - 349
(500) Films of Empire - Day 104
70 - Stand By Me - 3 stars
Looking at the list, Rob Reiner has quite a good showing, with 4 films in the top 500, and all of them made in the space of just five years.
This is the more family friendly of Reiner's Stephen King adaptations, the other being Misery, and proves that he is the second best person to do justice to King's stories, the other being Frank Darabont. However it might not be a coincidence that they have normally stuck to the less supernatural horror stories in his catalogue.
That is not to say that the film doesn't deal with death. A friend's funeral sparks a memory in our narrator's mind about the first time he'd seen a dead body.
He tells the story of how Wesley Crusher, the young Indiana Jones, that kid from all those 80's movies and Jerry O'Connell aka the fat kid from Stand By Me go on a journey to find the dead body of a kid from their school.
It is a film about the loss of childhood innocence and the fight against having to grow up, deftly handled by Reiner who manages to balance the sentimentality, comedy and drama in the story while drawing authentic performances from the young friends, and genuine menace from 80's bad boy Kiefer 'Jack Bauer' Sutherland.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
Well yes Richard Dreyfuss, I do. I'm still friends with the guys I've known since secondary school and despite having grown up and moved on to different cities, have careers, long term relationships, etc. We still see each other and I genuinely believe that we'll be friends for life.
Looking at the list, Rob Reiner has quite a good showing, with 4 films in the top 500, and all of them made in the space of just five years.
This is the more family friendly of Reiner's Stephen King adaptations, the other being Misery, and proves that he is the second best person to do justice to King's stories, the other being Frank Darabont. However it might not be a coincidence that they have normally stuck to the less supernatural horror stories in his catalogue.
That is not to say that the film doesn't deal with death. A friend's funeral sparks a memory in our narrator's mind about the first time he'd seen a dead body.
He tells the story of how Wesley Crusher, the young Indiana Jones, that kid from all those 80's movies and Jerry O'Connell aka the fat kid from Stand By Me go on a journey to find the dead body of a kid from their school.
It is a film about the loss of childhood innocence and the fight against having to grow up, deftly handled by Reiner who manages to balance the sentimentality, comedy and drama in the story while drawing authentic performances from the young friends, and genuine menace from 80's bad boy Kiefer 'Jack Bauer' Sutherland.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
Well yes Richard Dreyfuss, I do. I'm still friends with the guys I've known since secondary school and despite having grown up and moved on to different cities, have careers, long term relationships, etc. We still see each other and I genuinely believe that we'll be friends for life.
Sunday, 27 December 2009
(500) Films of Empire - Day 103
288 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit - 3 stars
Why does this not have a question mark in the title? It means that Who was the one that framed Roger. Was it Doctor Who?
It uses the familiar film noir plot of having the private detective being involved in a frame job, and then investigating the crime behind the crime, the twist here being that the people involved are not people but toons.
Before we had Jar Jar Binks, Gollum or Avatar, it was Bob Hoskins acting against cartoons.
Roger Rabbit was famous for having the cartoon characters from both Disney and Warners interacting together on screen for the first time, with Donald Duck and Daffy Duck recreating the piano scene from The Cat Concerto during a club cabaret night.
Let me take a moment to talk about Jessica Rabbit, the hottest cartoon character of all time, with a figure too hot for a PG cartoon, like she says "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way". It was a great piece of casting to get Kathleen Turner, the modern day Lauren Bacall, to voice Jessica, a sultry femme fatale who may or may not have any underwear!
The action is quite extreme for a PG, with a couple of murders, Christopher Lloyd's Judge Doom is a terrifying creation, and "The Dip" that dissolves toons is sure to distress young kids worried that Roger might end up going the same way as Bambi's mother, not to mention the fact that a cartoon woman is married to a rabbit... if they had kids would they be half rabbit/half human toons?
A problem I did have with the film is that between Zemeckis, Lloyd and Silvestri doing the music, I occasionally got a feeling a Back To The Future deja vu!
489 - Brick - 4 stars
Another film that puts a unique spin on film noir, transporting the hard boiled world and language of the genre into a high school setting.It is a method that has previously been used successfully in films like Clueless and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet.
Initially confusing and jarring to the ears, the audience has to deal with lines like;
Look, I can't trust you. You ought to be smart enough to know that. I didn't shake up the party to get your attention, and I'm not heeling you too hook you. Your connections could help me, but the bad baggage they bring could make it zero sum gain or even hurt me. Better coming at it clean.
No, bulls would gum it. They'd flash their dusty standards at the wide-eyes and probably find some yegg to pin, probably even the right one. But they'd trample the real tracks and scare the real players back into their holes, and if we're doing this I want the whole story. No cops, not for a bit.
But stick with it and you are rewarded with a tightly paced film noir full of red herrings and double crosses.
There are great little touches like Brendan losing his shoes during a foot chase to stay silent, or the hilarious moment when two rival gangs meet up to discuss a deal and are served lemonade by the Kingpin's mum.
One of the main reasons for its success is the performance of Joseph Gordon Levitt. All grown up from the days of 3rd Rock From The Sun, he excels as the protaganist, as quick with his wits as he is with his fists (even though he is on the receiving end of quite a few beatings). G.I. Joe aside, Levitt has made some great film choices recently, choosing work for the role rather than the money e.g. Mysterious Skin, The Lookout and the great (500) Days of Summer.
Fascinating to see how the Film Noir genre has evolved in style over the years. From the black and white Warner Bros classics like Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity and The Big Sleep, through the 70's with The Long Goodbye and Chinatown, to modern day 'noirs' like The Big Lebowski, Brick and the fantastic Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang.
Why does this not have a question mark in the title? It means that Who was the one that framed Roger. Was it Doctor Who?
It uses the familiar film noir plot of having the private detective being involved in a frame job, and then investigating the crime behind the crime, the twist here being that the people involved are not people but toons.
Before we had Jar Jar Binks, Gollum or Avatar, it was Bob Hoskins acting against cartoons.
Roger Rabbit was famous for having the cartoon characters from both Disney and Warners interacting together on screen for the first time, with Donald Duck and Daffy Duck recreating the piano scene from The Cat Concerto during a club cabaret night.
Let me take a moment to talk about Jessica Rabbit, the hottest cartoon character of all time, with a figure too hot for a PG cartoon, like she says "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way". It was a great piece of casting to get Kathleen Turner, the modern day Lauren Bacall, to voice Jessica, a sultry femme fatale who may or may not have any underwear!
The action is quite extreme for a PG, with a couple of murders, Christopher Lloyd's Judge Doom is a terrifying creation, and "The Dip" that dissolves toons is sure to distress young kids worried that Roger might end up going the same way as Bambi's mother, not to mention the fact that a cartoon woman is married to a rabbit... if they had kids would they be half rabbit/half human toons?
A problem I did have with the film is that between Zemeckis, Lloyd and Silvestri doing the music, I occasionally got a feeling a Back To The Future deja vu!
489 - Brick - 4 stars
Another film that puts a unique spin on film noir, transporting the hard boiled world and language of the genre into a high school setting.It is a method that has previously been used successfully in films like Clueless and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet.
Initially confusing and jarring to the ears, the audience has to deal with lines like;
Look, I can't trust you. You ought to be smart enough to know that. I didn't shake up the party to get your attention, and I'm not heeling you too hook you. Your connections could help me, but the bad baggage they bring could make it zero sum gain or even hurt me. Better coming at it clean.
No, bulls would gum it. They'd flash their dusty standards at the wide-eyes and probably find some yegg to pin, probably even the right one. But they'd trample the real tracks and scare the real players back into their holes, and if we're doing this I want the whole story. No cops, not for a bit.
But stick with it and you are rewarded with a tightly paced film noir full of red herrings and double crosses.
There are great little touches like Brendan losing his shoes during a foot chase to stay silent, or the hilarious moment when two rival gangs meet up to discuss a deal and are served lemonade by the Kingpin's mum.
One of the main reasons for its success is the performance of Joseph Gordon Levitt. All grown up from the days of 3rd Rock From The Sun, he excels as the protaganist, as quick with his wits as he is with his fists (even though he is on the receiving end of quite a few beatings). G.I. Joe aside, Levitt has made some great film choices recently, choosing work for the role rather than the money e.g. Mysterious Skin, The Lookout and the great (500) Days of Summer.
Fascinating to see how the Film Noir genre has evolved in style over the years. From the black and white Warner Bros classics like Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity and The Big Sleep, through the 70's with The Long Goodbye and Chinatown, to modern day 'noirs' like The Big Lebowski, Brick and the fantastic Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang.
Friday, 25 December 2009
(500) Films of Empire - Day 101 - Merry Christmas
413 - Finding Nemo - 4 stars
Widely regarded as Pixar's finest hour, both critically and commercially, so I thought that this would be much higher up the list.
The film follows Marlin, a neurotic, unfunny clownfish as he searches the ocean for his missing son Nemo, who is stuck in a fish tank as the inhabitants attempt a POW-style prison break. There is family drama, action, comedy, everything a great family film needs. Yet as with all great Pixar productions they appeal to adults and children alike.
It still amazes me how Pixar continue to improve film after film. The quality of the animation is the highest they had produced, yet they improved again with WALL-E and Up. The underwater world is stunning to look at yet back up with some of the best characters in the Pixar universe; Ellen DeGeneres as the Leonard Shelby of the reef, Bruce the shark, Geoffrey Rush as Nigel the pelican, the whole cast of the fish tank and of course, the Seagulls "Mine!". The best ensemble since Toy Story.
Further proof that Pixar are one of the very best studios at work today and have the highest overall rating do far on the Top 500 list.
451 - Speed - 2 stars
"I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode. I think it was called, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down." - Homer J. Simpson.
Don't expect anything too deep from Speed as this is what I call a Ronseal film, in that "it does exactly what it says on the tin". After a tense opening sequence involving an elevator rescue, we get 60 minutes of a bus speeding around the city, great chemistry between Keanu & Sandra, Dennis Hopper hamming it up, running, jumping, explosions, etc.
Days remaining - 264 Films remaining - 355
Widely regarded as Pixar's finest hour, both critically and commercially, so I thought that this would be much higher up the list.
The film follows Marlin, a neurotic, unfunny clownfish as he searches the ocean for his missing son Nemo, who is stuck in a fish tank as the inhabitants attempt a POW-style prison break. There is family drama, action, comedy, everything a great family film needs. Yet as with all great Pixar productions they appeal to adults and children alike.
It still amazes me how Pixar continue to improve film after film. The quality of the animation is the highest they had produced, yet they improved again with WALL-E and Up. The underwater world is stunning to look at yet back up with some of the best characters in the Pixar universe; Ellen DeGeneres as the Leonard Shelby of the reef, Bruce the shark, Geoffrey Rush as Nigel the pelican, the whole cast of the fish tank and of course, the Seagulls "Mine!". The best ensemble since Toy Story.
Further proof that Pixar are one of the very best studios at work today and have the highest overall rating do far on the Top 500 list.
451 - Speed - 2 stars
"I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode. I think it was called, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down." - Homer J. Simpson.
Don't expect anything too deep from Speed as this is what I call a Ronseal film, in that "it does exactly what it says on the tin". After a tense opening sequence involving an elevator rescue, we get 60 minutes of a bus speeding around the city, great chemistry between Keanu & Sandra, Dennis Hopper hamming it up, running, jumping, explosions, etc.
Days remaining - 264 Films remaining - 355
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