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Movies: What have you seen lately - part 2 Movies: What have you seen lately - part 2

11-30-2009 , 03:16 AM
Just saw Park Chan Wook's Thirst. Its an interesting take on Vampirism and I enjoyed it but not as much as I enjoyed Let the Right One In.
11-30-2009 , 04:01 AM
I just saw an interesting vampire movie as well, Shadow of the vampire with John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe and the sexy Catherine McCormack. Hard to describe, kind of a faux "making of" of Murnau's classic Nosferatu with Max Schreck being a real vampire. Needless to say Schreck's thirst hampered production at times.. I enjoyed this strange little movie quite a bit, Dafoe was excellent.
11-30-2009 , 04:01 AM
Never heard of it, but thanks for the heads up. Will check Netflix.
11-30-2009 , 04:26 AM
I've seen it. Definitely well worth watching
11-30-2009 , 04:32 AM
I mean the Korean one.

I loved the Willem Dafoe one, but the ending was surpassingly weak and phony. Still I admired everyone involved for even attempting the project.
11-30-2009 , 04:54 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blarg
I mean the Korean one.
I had to see it because it has Song Kangho, who I think does such a fantastic job in all of the movies I've seen him in and who I believe to be one of the best and most prolific Asian actors.
11-30-2009 , 07:56 AM
Stay

Psychological thriller starring Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling and Naomi Watts. Directed by Marc Forster. McGregor plays a psychiatrist trying to help a student (Gosling) who plans to commit suicide in 3 days.

The film stands out as a remarkable visual showcase by Forster. Shots are merged together which CGI transitions, many of which are rather cool, although the technique gets old after a while. POV is used very well. I believe that most of the film is shot on location in NYC, with some wonderful interior architecture shown off. Big ups to Forster.

Other than the visuals, the film is pretty standard psychological thriller fare - not everything is what it seems, etc. Gosling is terrific as usual, McGregor is average as usual. I really don't think he's much of an actor (either that or he just mails in a lot of performances).

Overall, it's worth a viewing for the visuals alone. If you like thrillers you will enjoy it. 4/5.

Last edited by PokerFink; 11-30-2009 at 08:14 AM.
11-30-2009 , 08:12 AM
Deception

Mystery thriller starring Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams. Directed by Marcel Langenegger. McGregor plays a loser corporate accountat who is befriended by a cool lawyer (Jackman). Jackman introduces him to a sex club, where McGregor meets and falls for a woman (Williams). But when she disappears, all hell breaks loose.

A decent idea for a movie falls short because of a terrible script. Mark Bomback should be bit** slapped for his half-as*ed script. The dialogue is plain and the plot is full of holes and completely predictable. The acting and directing are fine.

It's watchable, but nothing more. 2/5.
11-30-2009 , 08:24 AM
The Day The Earth Stood Still

Science fiction, remake of a 1951 film by the same name. Starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connolly. Directed by Scott Derrickson. Reeves plays an alien named Klaatu in a human body who comes to Earth because humans are destroying the planet, and something must be done. Connolly plays a scientist who gets wrapped up in the mess.

Overall, the film just falls flat. It doesn't keep you guessing, it doesn't have any WOW! moments, it doesn't elicit an emotional response. It's a smörgåsbord of a little action, a little sci-fi, a little drama, etc. but doesn't do any of them well. The pacing is weird with an extremely abrupt ending. Reeves gives his normal dead-panned performance, which I guess is what Derrickson wanted since he was the first choice, but it would have been nice if Klaatu showed any emotion at all. Connolly does a nice job as usual.

The original is a sci-fi classic, but the remake is utterly forgettable. 1.5/5
11-30-2009 , 01:15 PM
I went to the Road last night - the adaptation basically "works" as a film, but it's not on the same level as the book. The book is a very good, approaching great, book and the movie is a good, approaching very good, movie. Solid perfomances, well made, but there's some important aspects of the book that don't translate well to the screen. It's worth a look, though.
11-30-2009 , 01:23 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mosdef
I went to the Road last night - the adaptation basically "works" as a film, but it's not on the same level as the book. The book is a very good, approaching great, book and the movie is a good, approaching very good, movie. Solid perfomances, well made, but there's some important aspects of the book that don't translate well to the screen. It's worth a look, though.
This is exactly how I anticipate receiving this movie when I go to see it tonight or tomorrow.
11-30-2009 , 03:13 PM
Arsenic and Old Lace

Fun tale with the quintessential sweet old biddies in it, but these are sweet old biddies with a difference. They poison elderly tenants to put them out of their real or imagined misery, and don't seem to make any distinction between the two. To them, it's all equally a matter of charity.

Cary Grant stars as their nephew. Finding the latest corpse at the very hour he is to take off on his honeymoon, he kicks his new bride out of the house in a panic and tries to get to the bottom of things, only to find his sweet old aunts are the perpetrators. He spends the rest of the movie trying to protect them from themselves, the police, and a second nephew, this one prodigal, scheming, and prone to outbursts of rage, who attempts to commandeer the house for his own murderous ends. Peter Lorre costars as the nastier nephews drunken plastic surgeon, whose skills are so high that his patient is said to look like Boris Karloff -- the monster, not the man. All the while, Grant finds ways to fend off and send off his bewildered spouse for just a little while longer.

Cary Grant's mugging is often over the top, and while it would be perfect for a stage play, gets grating after a while. However, the light comic acting of the whole ensemble remains winning. Taking place almost entirely in one room, the movie might feel claustrophobic if not for its quick pace. There is scarely a moment when something amusing isn't going on in that room.

We all know good will triumph over evil in these old movies, and as long as it is done well, there is something charming and reassuring about going back to them to see exactly that. While not uproariously funny, I'd recommend this light comedy for a quiet, charming good time.
11-30-2009 , 05:31 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blarg
Saw Watchmen. Way better than I thought it would be, though there were some clear problems IMO.

1. The second sex scene was extended and pointless.
2. The music was hilariously badly used at times. Very literal usage, sometimes based just on a few words and otherwise not really fitting the mood of the scene even ironically. Truly WTF bad.
3. Dr. Manhattan's "realization," much less crediting it to his girlfriend, was far too tidy and unexceptional for a guy supposedly quite bright.

But I had been fully prepared to dislike this movie tremendously. I wasn't a fan of the book. I had read a lot of negative reviews of the movie that seemed very level-headed. And I didn't dislike this movie. I may even watch it again sometime.
Did you see the theatrical version or the director's cut? I've seen both and the added scenes of the director's cut make it a better movie. I definitely agree with you regarding the sex scene and some of the music.
11-30-2009 , 05:36 PM
I think I saw the Director's cut, but am not 100% on that.
11-30-2009 , 07:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blarg
I mean the Korean one.

I loved the Willem Dafoe one, but the ending was surpassingly weak and phony. Still I admired everyone involved for even attempting the project.
Yeah they clearly didn't have an ending. I enjoyed the rest of the film so much I didn't really mind.
11-30-2009 , 07:17 PM
What I liked about The Shadow of the Vampire was it reminded me cinematically of Herzog's version of 'Nosferatu', which I consider one of the greatest remakes ever.
11-30-2009 , 07:45 PM
Ditto.
11-30-2009 , 08:44 PM
can't believe the love for the utter crap fest that is Watchman.
11-30-2009 , 08:46 PM
Does anyone else have an opinion on Stay?
12-01-2009 , 01:45 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by PokerFink
Does anyone else have an opinion on Stay?
I liked it, just not as much as most of the other stuff Gosling has been in.
12-01-2009 , 04:14 AM
In the mood for love. **** **** ****

**** me, **** love, **** loneliness, **** every love song and every ****ing movie that turns me into a foolish maudlin dysfunctional mess

beautiful movie
12-01-2009 , 04:12 PM
Ballada o soldate (Ballad of a Soldier) – Russian movie about the sacrifices that soldiers have to make. It takes place during WW2 or what Russians call the Great Patriotic War. The movie was made only a dozen or so years after the WW2, so its point of view is a bit unfortunate and has no choice but to paint some things in a black and white light. World War 2 is seen as the struggle between good people and beasts and most soldiers on the Soviet side are depicted as compassionate, kind people. Still all of this takes a backseat to a very simple, beautiful and universal story of a young soldier coming from the front to briefly visit his mother and meeting a girl on the way.
The viewer is given a sign right in the beginning of how this story will ultimately end; this does not detract anything from the story, but just puts the story into a more interesting perspective. The war is not heavily featured in this picture. There are a couple of action scenes in the beginning illustrating how heroism can often be a result of simple cowardice. However, most of the war is shown in the faces of soldiers and civilians, in their hardships and circumstances that they find themselves in and in the ravaged terrain through which they all shift through. Director is really good at using the young actors and does not heavily rely on them that much to tell the story. Their actions are accompanied by smooth and tranquil camerawork, calm and poetic images of nature and wonderful, soft and harmonious music.
This movie reminds me a bit of Zurlini’s Violent Summer, which came out the same year. Both movies are trying to make a sense of the war and it is effects on people, but not really coming up with any good answers. Like all the movies about sacrifices, Ballada O Soldate has to ask the viewer if the sacrifice is ultimately worth it. The answer which the viewer will reach, will probably not be what the director intended, and speaks to the strength and poetry of this movie.
A+ very strongly recommended
12-01-2009 , 06:19 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by PokerFink
Does anyone else have an opinion on Stay?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Losing all
I liked it, just not as much as most of the other stuff Gosling has been in.
Agree with this sentiment. I'll even add that it got a little too weird for me at times.

I actually like McGregor quite a bit. I think it's mostly his personality or something. I realize he's not a fantastic actor by any means.
12-01-2009 , 06:31 PM
Trancers

goddamn, I watched this film 20+ years ago, and it was entertaining back then. And now....it's just as entertaining. Hell, it's cheesy, bad dialogue, cheap as hell effects, but you know, it still works. Most of it I could remember clear as day, 20 years on, so there's definitely something good going on.

Highlights - 'Dry hair's for squids', and Santa getting shot in a mall with kids around.
12-01-2009 , 06:38 PM
Ink

I don't quite know how to describe this movie as it's very unique and I'm pretty sure I've never seen another movie quite like it. It's a sci fi/fantasy indie movie that seems like it's part Matrix, part Neverending Story, part Labyrinth (the quest for the child motif). It's a little difficult to understand at the beginning since it begins pretty much in the middle of things, thereby making it hard to figure out just what is going on and what is what. But once everything gets sorted out, it's really an enthralling movie. The acting is good all around, especially from the little girl who plays Emma. Although the less than stellar special effects (as compared to mainstream, big budget movies) and unusual camera angles can seem a bit distracting and disconcerting at times, the great story wins out in the end.

It kind of reminded me of Northfork for some reason...

      
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