I've decided that for at least the next few days, I'll be watching films I have seen before and reviewed here. I figured I would do it for Letterboxd to either greatly expand on reviews that I first put up and were way short (I watched the first American Pie and later tonight I'll be talking about that there) or I hadn't done before. For example, on TCM I saw Strangers on a Train, a movie I've seen before and reviewed here.
I'll return on Friday night.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Cobra Thunderbolt
Cobra Thunderbolt (1984)
Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by: Tanong Srichua
Starring: Sorapong Chatree, Rapeetran Kornsakul, Krung Srivilai, Siriporn Lamsoontron
From: Saha Mongol
Here's another review where a lot of it is copied and pasted from my Letterboxd review, with additional information added here. This is a super obscure Thai film I found on a site called Rare Lust, which sounds dirtier than it actually is. It's a site filled with links to downloads of real obscure films. I picked it out due to its title, the fact that there are several posters of it out there and all are 80's-riffic awesome, and the description.
To write up the plot description myself: This is about an armored vehicle known as the Cobra Thunderbolt. It is designed by an ex soldier in a wheelchair known as COLONEL DAVE. He has a daughter known as LIEUTENANT MOLLY. A private army and weapons dealers are both looking for the blueprints for the vehicle and they're willing to kidnap the mom/wife of the family to do so.
Now, onto the part I copied on over from Letterboxd.
I discovered this film then "acquired" a copy of it from the bowels of the Internet. I had to see it after seeing the title, looking at the poster, then finding out it's from Thailand. There was a copy online but it vanished just recently. Don't ask how I know but it seems to be a common thing for Russians to dub movies by having one dude translate the dialogue over the audio of the movie. Really. So, the YouTube copy was an English dub of a Thai movie with Japanese subtitles and a Russian was speaking over it. Crazy.
As I found out, it wasn't just in recent years that Thailand has produced crazy wacky action movies. This is one of them. While there are some slow spots and there is ineptitude all around, I rate it as such due to pure entertainment value.
If you enjoy low-budget zany action films from the 80's then this is worth seeing. If you enjoy the likes of Miami Connection, Order of the Black Eagle, Action USA, or 80's movies also from Southeast Asia such as The Stabilizer (which is even crazier and better than this) or various Filipino programmers, then you'll likely also enjoy this.
The movie contains the following:
* A vehicle (where you get the title of the film) that reminded me of the one from Damnation Alley.
* Hilariously bad dubbing. That was a good part of its charm to me.
* Plenty of gratuitous explosions and general carnage during the action scenes, including a gas station blowing the F up. Also, plenty of gratuitous dirtbike wheelies.
* A guy whose name is either Dick Simone or Dick S'more (he's a convict but he's supposed to be one of the good guys despite having escaped from jail and helps out Dave and Molly) drives the title vehicle while wearing an Oakland Raiders football helmet, just because.
* A dirtbike stunt that obviously went wrong (I presume it was supposed to clear all the cars; it fell a little short and the stuntman crashed and burned) and yet they left it in.
* A random Snoopy poster is seen in a newspaper's headquarters. I do not know why either.
* Molly uses a JETPACK as if she's James Bond.
* An incredible 80's synth soundtrack. It was great, even if it got repetitive at times.
There's more but I don't want to give everything away. You'll know by now if this is up your alley or if you should avoid.
I shall return on Monday night.
Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by: Tanong Srichua
Starring: Sorapong Chatree, Rapeetran Kornsakul, Krung Srivilai, Siriporn Lamsoontron
From: Saha Mongol
Here's another review where a lot of it is copied and pasted from my Letterboxd review, with additional information added here. This is a super obscure Thai film I found on a site called Rare Lust, which sounds dirtier than it actually is. It's a site filled with links to downloads of real obscure films. I picked it out due to its title, the fact that there are several posters of it out there and all are 80's-riffic awesome, and the description.
To write up the plot description myself: This is about an armored vehicle known as the Cobra Thunderbolt. It is designed by an ex soldier in a wheelchair known as COLONEL DAVE. He has a daughter known as LIEUTENANT MOLLY. A private army and weapons dealers are both looking for the blueprints for the vehicle and they're willing to kidnap the mom/wife of the family to do so.
Now, onto the part I copied on over from Letterboxd.
I discovered this film then "acquired" a copy of it from the bowels of the Internet. I had to see it after seeing the title, looking at the poster, then finding out it's from Thailand. There was a copy online but it vanished just recently. Don't ask how I know but it seems to be a common thing for Russians to dub movies by having one dude translate the dialogue over the audio of the movie. Really. So, the YouTube copy was an English dub of a Thai movie with Japanese subtitles and a Russian was speaking over it. Crazy.
As I found out, it wasn't just in recent years that Thailand has produced crazy wacky action movies. This is one of them. While there are some slow spots and there is ineptitude all around, I rate it as such due to pure entertainment value.
If you enjoy low-budget zany action films from the 80's then this is worth seeing. If you enjoy the likes of Miami Connection, Order of the Black Eagle, Action USA, or 80's movies also from Southeast Asia such as The Stabilizer (which is even crazier and better than this) or various Filipino programmers, then you'll likely also enjoy this.
The movie contains the following:
* A vehicle (where you get the title of the film) that reminded me of the one from Damnation Alley.
* Hilariously bad dubbing. That was a good part of its charm to me.
* Plenty of gratuitous explosions and general carnage during the action scenes, including a gas station blowing the F up. Also, plenty of gratuitous dirtbike wheelies.
* A guy whose name is either Dick Simone or Dick S'more (he's a convict but he's supposed to be one of the good guys despite having escaped from jail and helps out Dave and Molly) drives the title vehicle while wearing an Oakland Raiders football helmet, just because.
* A dirtbike stunt that obviously went wrong (I presume it was supposed to clear all the cars; it fell a little short and the stuntman crashed and burned) and yet they left it in.
* A random Snoopy poster is seen in a newspaper's headquarters. I do not know why either.
* Molly uses a JETPACK as if she's James Bond.
* An incredible 80's synth soundtrack. It was great, even if it got repetitive at times.
There's more but I don't want to give everything away. You'll know by now if this is up your alley or if you should avoid.
I shall return on Monday night.
Friday, March 7, 2014
My Top 11 Films Of 2013
Finally, in the early part of 2014 here is my best 11 movies of 2013. You can click on the titles for each movie to read my original review for it.
11 Nebraska. The movie is a quite entertaining drama with plenty of comedy. I was always interested in this black and white indy movie and it was nice to see it with a large crowd.
10 The Last Stand. I know this polarizes people but I am in the camp that really enjoyed it. While this wasn't the director's previous action movie (The Good, The Bad, The Weird), this is still a lot of fun, with sweet action, nice setpieces, and humorous moments... even with Johnny Knoxville.
9 Behind the Candelabra. This is an HBO movie I watched on YouTube. It is a wacky entertaining true story of Liberace and his longtime gay lover.
8 Pain & Gain. This is a movie I am surprised I am rating this high due to my opinion of the director's usual work. But, with style and plenty of twisted humor, I had a blast with it.
7 You're Next. This is a movie I am surprised I am rating this high due to my opinion of the director's usual work. But, with style and plenty of twisted humor, I had a blast with it.
6 Captain Phillips. Paul Greengrass is another director I don't actively seek out (mainly due to how he films this movie) but he did a great job here. Also great was the performances all around, especially from Hanks.
5 The Conjuring. This did live up to all the hype I had heard. It really was that good as entertainment, a thriller, and a horror film. Things are done right and it's no cheap jump scares BS. There are plenty of legit scares and creepy moments.
4 Furious 6. I know that this one and Fast Five are really ridiculous, but Goddamn if they aren't a blast to watch, especially on the big screen. They're no-brainer action movies done right. Sure, if you think about it, the ending and its 32 mile or so runway (yes, someone did the math) is real stupid. Who cares, though!?
3 Pacific Rim. I know this is a polarizing film and some actually hate it. I don't get it. While you can squabble about some things, overall it is a blast to watch, with colorful characters and situation, a bitchin' world, and awesome battles between giant monsters and giant robots.
2 The Wolf of Wall Street. I understand why some would be turned off by this, given how it's so vulgar, loud, and in your face. However, I was greatly entertained by it... and sometimes horrified too by what that drug-crazed loon Jordan Belfort would do. It was done in a way that worked and a method that only Scorsese could pull off. I was relieved I enjoyed it as much as I did.
1 Gravity. Now having seen it twice, I am now certain this is my movie of 2013. From the way it looked to the very long shots, the suspense and the performances, it was all tremendous. Seeing someone I know on Facebook say the movie was “boring”, and some of his friends (none of whom I know) agreed with him... that made me very sad. Then again, I rarely agree with him when it comes to movies. Not to be an ass but I think his tastes are awful so I really shouldn't be surprised he didn't like an awesome film like this.
Hopefully everyone found this to be an interesting list. I'll return tomorrow night and the movie I plan on watching is one of those hilarious wacky action motion pictures from the 80's.
11 Nebraska. The movie is a quite entertaining drama with plenty of comedy. I was always interested in this black and white indy movie and it was nice to see it with a large crowd.
10 The Last Stand. I know this polarizes people but I am in the camp that really enjoyed it. While this wasn't the director's previous action movie (The Good, The Bad, The Weird), this is still a lot of fun, with sweet action, nice setpieces, and humorous moments... even with Johnny Knoxville.
9 Behind the Candelabra. This is an HBO movie I watched on YouTube. It is a wacky entertaining true story of Liberace and his longtime gay lover.
8 Pain & Gain. This is a movie I am surprised I am rating this high due to my opinion of the director's usual work. But, with style and plenty of twisted humor, I had a blast with it.
7 You're Next. This is a movie I am surprised I am rating this high due to my opinion of the director's usual work. But, with style and plenty of twisted humor, I had a blast with it.
6 Captain Phillips. Paul Greengrass is another director I don't actively seek out (mainly due to how he films this movie) but he did a great job here. Also great was the performances all around, especially from Hanks.
5 The Conjuring. This did live up to all the hype I had heard. It really was that good as entertainment, a thriller, and a horror film. Things are done right and it's no cheap jump scares BS. There are plenty of legit scares and creepy moments.
4 Furious 6. I know that this one and Fast Five are really ridiculous, but Goddamn if they aren't a blast to watch, especially on the big screen. They're no-brainer action movies done right. Sure, if you think about it, the ending and its 32 mile or so runway (yes, someone did the math) is real stupid. Who cares, though!?
3 Pacific Rim. I know this is a polarizing film and some actually hate it. I don't get it. While you can squabble about some things, overall it is a blast to watch, with colorful characters and situation, a bitchin' world, and awesome battles between giant monsters and giant robots.
2 The Wolf of Wall Street. I understand why some would be turned off by this, given how it's so vulgar, loud, and in your face. However, I was greatly entertained by it... and sometimes horrified too by what that drug-crazed loon Jordan Belfort would do. It was done in a way that worked and a method that only Scorsese could pull off. I was relieved I enjoyed it as much as I did.
1 Gravity. Now having seen it twice, I am now certain this is my movie of 2013. From the way it looked to the very long shots, the suspense and the performances, it was all tremendous. Seeing someone I know on Facebook say the movie was “boring”, and some of his friends (none of whom I know) agreed with him... that made me very sad. Then again, I rarely agree with him when it comes to movies. Not to be an ass but I think his tastes are awful so I really shouldn't be surprised he didn't like an awesome film like this.
Hopefully everyone found this to be an interesting list. I'll return tomorrow night and the movie I plan on watching is one of those hilarious wacky action motion pictures from the 80's.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Stalingrad
Stalingrad (2013)
48% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 62 reviews)
Runtime: 131 minutes
Directed by: Fedor Bondarchuk
Starring: Mariya Smolnikova, Yanina Studlina, Pyotr Fyodorov, Thomas Kreschmann
From: Art Pictures Studio/Non-Stop Productions
I will presume that most people in the United States don't know this is a popular Russian 3D film from last year that shockingly was released this past Friday on a little over 300 IMAX screens across the United States for one week and a lot of the traffic it does get is from people seeing it on the marquee once they get to the theatre and once they're told by the ticket seller what it's all about, they take a chance on it. I know I haven't seen any advertising for it and I stumbled across it even being a thing while looking up theatre listings on AMC's website.
Not surprisingly, after it leaves theatres tonight it'll likely make around 800,000 dollars at the box office and that's with IMAX 3D prices. The fact that this Russian film was released here when many Americans are pissed at Russia in general (I'll leave it at that to avoid talking about world politics here) couldn't have helped either. Talk about rotten timing for Sony, who put it out in the United States. It was quite the risk for Sony to put out a Russian film in Russian and German that's subtitled and I figured I should give them a few bucks as that may help them continue to do things like release these random foreign movies, whether it be this or the awesome The Raid: Redemption or The Raid sequel, which is out later in the month and I am REALLY looking forward to it.
To take the plot description from Letterboxd: "Drama set in 1942, during one of the most important battles of World War II, which stopped the progress of Nazi forces and turned the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Soviet army mounts a counter-attack on the Nazi forces that occupy half of Stalingrad on the other side of the Volga, but the operation to cross the river is unsuccessful. A few soldiers who managed to get to the other side take refuge in a house on the bank of Volga. Here they find a girl who didn’t escape when the Germans came. While the whole might of the German army descends onto them, the heroes of Stalingrad experience love, loss, joy and the sense of ultimate freedom that can only be felt by those about to die."
Yep, much of the movie is either spent at the house with a handful of Russian soldiers and an attractive young 18 year old girl who stays around just because (Smolnikova) and you also sometimes spend times with a German soldier and the camp he's in and he has a Russian girl who he holds against her will. He is played by Kreschmann, a German actor who was in the likes of King Kong, Blade II and Wanted and you'd likely recognize him. He also has what I understand will be a decent role in next year's Avengers movie.
This movie does have quite a bit of melodrama, which is OK with me. You have the guys fighting over the young girl, because they're men. You find out about their background, and I know why people wouldn't care for that or seeing the relationship with the German and his girl, or that this looks at the huge battle on a small personal scale. I was fine with it.
What you care the most about with this... the action scenes and the effects. I say that they look real nice, especially considering the budget was estimated at what would be 30 million American dollars, a fraction of the bloated budget most Hollywood blockbusters are these days. The sound was LOUD and it sounded real good too. You see the expected war violence with physical fights, gun battles, and a lot of shit exploding and things being on fire. It was bitchin' to see in IMAX 3D. A lot of it was filmed on actual sets, which was appreciated by me.
Overall, I did enjoy this movie and I am glad I am one of the few who saw it this week. It's comparable to American action movies, both good and bad. At least Russia can do it too and put on fine entertainment. It was a hit in its home country and elsewhere, at least.
Oh, and I almost forgot: the movie is framed at the beginning and end by a Russian rescue team in Fukushima, Japan after the nuclear disaster and they help some trapped Germans. Really. I heard about this beforehand so I wasn't shocked or befuddled by how the movie began.
I will return tomorrow night.
48% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 62 reviews)
Runtime: 131 minutes
Directed by: Fedor Bondarchuk
Starring: Mariya Smolnikova, Yanina Studlina, Pyotr Fyodorov, Thomas Kreschmann
From: Art Pictures Studio/Non-Stop Productions
I will presume that most people in the United States don't know this is a popular Russian 3D film from last year that shockingly was released this past Friday on a little over 300 IMAX screens across the United States for one week and a lot of the traffic it does get is from people seeing it on the marquee once they get to the theatre and once they're told by the ticket seller what it's all about, they take a chance on it. I know I haven't seen any advertising for it and I stumbled across it even being a thing while looking up theatre listings on AMC's website.
Not surprisingly, after it leaves theatres tonight it'll likely make around 800,000 dollars at the box office and that's with IMAX 3D prices. The fact that this Russian film was released here when many Americans are pissed at Russia in general (I'll leave it at that to avoid talking about world politics here) couldn't have helped either. Talk about rotten timing for Sony, who put it out in the United States. It was quite the risk for Sony to put out a Russian film in Russian and German that's subtitled and I figured I should give them a few bucks as that may help them continue to do things like release these random foreign movies, whether it be this or the awesome The Raid: Redemption or The Raid sequel, which is out later in the month and I am REALLY looking forward to it.
To take the plot description from Letterboxd: "Drama set in 1942, during one of the most important battles of World War II, which stopped the progress of Nazi forces and turned the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Soviet army mounts a counter-attack on the Nazi forces that occupy half of Stalingrad on the other side of the Volga, but the operation to cross the river is unsuccessful. A few soldiers who managed to get to the other side take refuge in a house on the bank of Volga. Here they find a girl who didn’t escape when the Germans came. While the whole might of the German army descends onto them, the heroes of Stalingrad experience love, loss, joy and the sense of ultimate freedom that can only be felt by those about to die."
Yep, much of the movie is either spent at the house with a handful of Russian soldiers and an attractive young 18 year old girl who stays around just because (Smolnikova) and you also sometimes spend times with a German soldier and the camp he's in and he has a Russian girl who he holds against her will. He is played by Kreschmann, a German actor who was in the likes of King Kong, Blade II and Wanted and you'd likely recognize him. He also has what I understand will be a decent role in next year's Avengers movie.
This movie does have quite a bit of melodrama, which is OK with me. You have the guys fighting over the young girl, because they're men. You find out about their background, and I know why people wouldn't care for that or seeing the relationship with the German and his girl, or that this looks at the huge battle on a small personal scale. I was fine with it.
What you care the most about with this... the action scenes and the effects. I say that they look real nice, especially considering the budget was estimated at what would be 30 million American dollars, a fraction of the bloated budget most Hollywood blockbusters are these days. The sound was LOUD and it sounded real good too. You see the expected war violence with physical fights, gun battles, and a lot of shit exploding and things being on fire. It was bitchin' to see in IMAX 3D. A lot of it was filmed on actual sets, which was appreciated by me.
Overall, I did enjoy this movie and I am glad I am one of the few who saw it this week. It's comparable to American action movies, both good and bad. At least Russia can do it too and put on fine entertainment. It was a hit in its home country and elsewhere, at least.
Oh, and I almost forgot: the movie is framed at the beginning and end by a Russian rescue team in Fukushima, Japan after the nuclear disaster and they help some trapped Germans. Really. I heard about this beforehand so I wasn't shocked or befuddled by how the movie began.
I will return tomorrow night.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Captain Phillips/American Hustle
Captain Phillips (2013)
93% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 235 reviews)
Runtime: 134 minutes
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat A. Ali
From: Columbia Pictures
American Hustle (2013)
93% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 241 reviews)
Runtime: 138 minutes
Directed by: David O. Russell (no relation, I swear)
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner
From: Columbia Pictures
Tonight, I close out talking about the movie marathon I had on Saturday by talking about the two more mainstream films I saw for the first time. First, Captain Phillips.
To steal the plot description from the IMDb: “Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.”
I have to say first that while I remember hearing about the case as it happened (it was the first act of piracy against an American ship since the early 19th century) but I knew little of the details. That allowed for me to be engrossed in the story as I did not know what would happen next. I know that not everything in the movie was 100% factual, but I figured that beforehand.
I'll be honest and say that I usually don't seek out the films of Paul Greengrass. His trademark of shaky-cam way too quick editing BS is NOT for me, as I've mentioned many times before. But, if that was present in the movie, I didn't even notice it. That should say a lot about how this tale is told and how interesting it was for me. The newbie actors were great as the villains (while Abdi apparently is broke as of today, he did deserve the Oscar nomination he got) and I'd say that Hanks also deserved a nomination, which he didn't get but he was great as the title character. As others have noted, the final 10 or so minutes you see the Captain on screen... that was a tremendous bit of acting, and I'll leave it at that.
This is a very intense sale with a lot of suspense (part of the film is the crew of the ship hiding out from the pirates, and all that ensued) and you also get empathy... even from the villains, who come across as pawns in a bigger game. This will be on my Top 10 list of 2013 (coming out in a few days, or that's the plan), for sure.
Now, onto American Hustle, which I won't say as much flowery things about. To steal the plot description from Letterboxd: "A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his equally cunning and seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that's as dangerous as it is enchanting. Carmine Polito is the mayor of Camden, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving's unpredictable wife Rosalyn could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down."
The rest of this review is taken from my Letterboxd review. Note that this is only barely based on the real life Abscam operation done by the FBI, done by the director who once called Lily Tomlin "a c*nt". You can read about Abscam on Wikipedia or other places. As for the next time I'll be back, it'll be Thursday night.
How do I put this best... I don't usually seek out the films of David O. Russell (no relation). Besides how he does movies, the way that he treats the talent who work for him... a HUGE turn-off for me.
Still, I tried to give this a fair chance, despite the backlash that came out after receiving a whole lot of praise. Well, I have to agree with the backlash. Right away, seeing a bunch of awful characters treating each other horribly gave me pause but I was hoping that I would end up finding them very interesting and fun to watch despite them being morally repugnant. After all, I enjoy films like The Wolf of Wall Street and Goodfellas and those have characters you'd never call heroes.
However, by the end I was turned off by this long rambling mess of a movie; I would have much rather preferred reading the actual events of the Abscam operation rather than this wannabe Scorsese thing that only barely is based on that real-life situation.
Sure, the 70's setting was cool and I enjoyed the soundtrack and the outfits (especially most of the shirts that Amy Adams wore...) but when you can't stand any of the characters and they love to ramble on incessantly and the way they act is nonsensical, I am not going to enjoy this and all the awards this has won is just baffling to me. I absolutely do not understand it.
I can tell you that I could NOT stand the character that Jennifer Lawrence played. Besides it being miscast, in real life I can't stand Lawrence and her fake dumb act... or maybe it's a legit dumb thing, I don't know... point is, that was such a grating character no matter who would have played her and I don't care if that was supposed to be how she came across, it was a huge turn-off and I groaned whenever she popped back up in the story.
I have to say, after this movie it'll likely be a long time before I feel like checking out the work of the director who happens to share the same surname with me.
93% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 235 reviews)
Runtime: 134 minutes
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat A. Ali
From: Columbia Pictures
American Hustle (2013)
93% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 241 reviews)
Runtime: 138 minutes
Directed by: David O. Russell (no relation, I swear)
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner
From: Columbia Pictures
Tonight, I close out talking about the movie marathon I had on Saturday by talking about the two more mainstream films I saw for the first time. First, Captain Phillips.
To steal the plot description from the IMDb: “Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.”
I have to say first that while I remember hearing about the case as it happened (it was the first act of piracy against an American ship since the early 19th century) but I knew little of the details. That allowed for me to be engrossed in the story as I did not know what would happen next. I know that not everything in the movie was 100% factual, but I figured that beforehand.
I'll be honest and say that I usually don't seek out the films of Paul Greengrass. His trademark of shaky-cam way too quick editing BS is NOT for me, as I've mentioned many times before. But, if that was present in the movie, I didn't even notice it. That should say a lot about how this tale is told and how interesting it was for me. The newbie actors were great as the villains (while Abdi apparently is broke as of today, he did deserve the Oscar nomination he got) and I'd say that Hanks also deserved a nomination, which he didn't get but he was great as the title character. As others have noted, the final 10 or so minutes you see the Captain on screen... that was a tremendous bit of acting, and I'll leave it at that.
This is a very intense sale with a lot of suspense (part of the film is the crew of the ship hiding out from the pirates, and all that ensued) and you also get empathy... even from the villains, who come across as pawns in a bigger game. This will be on my Top 10 list of 2013 (coming out in a few days, or that's the plan), for sure.
Now, onto American Hustle, which I won't say as much flowery things about. To steal the plot description from Letterboxd: "A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his equally cunning and seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that's as dangerous as it is enchanting. Carmine Polito is the mayor of Camden, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving's unpredictable wife Rosalyn could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down."
The rest of this review is taken from my Letterboxd review. Note that this is only barely based on the real life Abscam operation done by the FBI, done by the director who once called Lily Tomlin "a c*nt". You can read about Abscam on Wikipedia or other places. As for the next time I'll be back, it'll be Thursday night.
How do I put this best... I don't usually seek out the films of David O. Russell (no relation). Besides how he does movies, the way that he treats the talent who work for him... a HUGE turn-off for me.
Still, I tried to give this a fair chance, despite the backlash that came out after receiving a whole lot of praise. Well, I have to agree with the backlash. Right away, seeing a bunch of awful characters treating each other horribly gave me pause but I was hoping that I would end up finding them very interesting and fun to watch despite them being morally repugnant. After all, I enjoy films like The Wolf of Wall Street and Goodfellas and those have characters you'd never call heroes.
However, by the end I was turned off by this long rambling mess of a movie; I would have much rather preferred reading the actual events of the Abscam operation rather than this wannabe Scorsese thing that only barely is based on that real-life situation.
Sure, the 70's setting was cool and I enjoyed the soundtrack and the outfits (especially most of the shirts that Amy Adams wore...) but when you can't stand any of the characters and they love to ramble on incessantly and the way they act is nonsensical, I am not going to enjoy this and all the awards this has won is just baffling to me. I absolutely do not understand it.
I can tell you that I could NOT stand the character that Jennifer Lawrence played. Besides it being miscast, in real life I can't stand Lawrence and her fake dumb act... or maybe it's a legit dumb thing, I don't know... point is, that was such a grating character no matter who would have played her and I don't care if that was supposed to be how she came across, it was a huge turn-off and I groaned whenever she popped back up in the story.
I have to say, after this movie it'll likely be a long time before I feel like checking out the work of the director who happens to share the same surname with me.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Nebraska/Her
Nebraska (2013)
92% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 209 reviews)
Runtime: 115 minutes
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Bob Odenkirk, June Squibb, Stacy Keach
From: Paramount Vantage
Her (2013)
94% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 220 reviews)
Runtime: 126 minutes
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, the voice of Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Chris Pratt
From: Warner Brothers
Tonight, I decided to talk about the two independent movies I saw during Saturday's marathon. Tomorrow night it's the more commercial films I'll review; it'll be the two I hadn't seen already. I'll talk about Nebraska first.
Via the IMDb, here's the plot to Nebraska: “An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.” Of course it's about more than that. A lot of the runtime is spent in a random rural town in Nebraska that the father and his wife Kate (Squibb) grew up in; they get to meet up with family and friends they hadn't seen in a long time. The father is insistent that he did win a milllion dollars even if everyone else realizes that those things are a giant scam; you know, it's like Publisher's Clearing House.
Overall, this black and white film was quite entertaining. It's a drama but there are plenty of humorous moments. Dern's character-Woody-is a lifelong alcoholic and there's natural friction between him and his son (Forte, who does a nice job in a mostly dramatic role even though he's mainly a comedy actor) due to his troubles and him being an irascible person. Woody and his wife Kate often argue with each other but they still love each other; you know how it is. I'd say that Dern and Squibb both deserved their nominations. He did a great job portraying that alcoholic character who often stumbles around and does wacky things. She also did a great job playing a woman who seems to be cranky often and at times she can be someone vulgar who likes to curse, but she's a nice gal overall...
The (fictional) Nebraska town was a very small town and it looked run-down and downright depressing at times, with various businesses closed down. The people there (most of whom you see are older people; it is nice that there are movies out there that mostly consist of those up there in age and those actors can get work) try to make it by but they seem to be doing decently, all things considered. However, with Woody telling everyone that he's a millionaire, there is drama with his young cousins (one of whom is best known for being Buzz from the Home Alone movies!) and also from an old buddy (Stacy Keach).
It's a nice film where you do have such things as character arcs as father and son do get to know each other better and their relationship does change. It was pretty cool seeing it on the big screen with a crowd that laughed at the funny moments. Me, I enjoyed how you briefly heard the Foghat song Fool for the City because hey, it's Foghat. And, I enjoyed how Stacy Keach did karaoke; it was as funny as you'd expect hearing that golden voice of his sing.
Now, onto Her...
To steal the plot description from the IMDb, but shortened by me: "Theodore is a lonely man in the final stages of his divorce. When he's not working as a letter writer, his down time is spent playing video games and occasionally hanging out with friends. He decides to purchase the new OS1, which is advertised as the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, "It's not just an operating system, it's a consciousness," the ad states. Theodore quickly finds himself drawn in with Samantha, the voice behind his OS1. As they start spending time together they grow closer and closer and eventually find themselves in love. Having fallen in love with his OS, Theodore finds himself dealing with feelings of both great joy and doubt...”
I'll be honest here... what little I've seen of Spike Jonze when it comes to feature films, he is just not for me. I thought that Being John Malkovich was more strange than anything else. Here, Her had quality performances, a visual style unlike most others, unique insights, and additional things... yet, there was something there that was distancing myself from loving the movie. Sure, I enjoyed Olivia Wilde's brief role and how I thought she looked hotter here than she ever had before. But, you know what I mean.
Maybe it was the overwhelming quirkiness and/or maybe it was other things. It's just that I did not love this movie like many others have. I rate it as a little above average; it's not a 5 star classic to me. I couldn't tell you why all the men in the movie dressed funny in this “near-future” film where it looked like the Japanese or Chinese have a huge influence on Los Angeles, at least judging by street signs.
I wish I could have enjoyed it like others did; oh well... there was laughter at various times. Sometimes it was rather uproarious and other times it was of the nervous kind, which is understandable, with what strange shit you see in this movie, to put it bluntly. One lady in the crowd couldn't stop giggling for at least a minute straight, and I'm not sure what it was that broke her. I remember it was before the movie winded down and I thought it ended in a silly and not that satisfying way. Maybe it was just me, though.
I shall return tomorrow night.
92% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 209 reviews)
Runtime: 115 minutes
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Bob Odenkirk, June Squibb, Stacy Keach
From: Paramount Vantage
Her (2013)
94% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 220 reviews)
Runtime: 126 minutes
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, the voice of Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Chris Pratt
From: Warner Brothers
Tonight, I decided to talk about the two independent movies I saw during Saturday's marathon. Tomorrow night it's the more commercial films I'll review; it'll be the two I hadn't seen already. I'll talk about Nebraska first.
Via the IMDb, here's the plot to Nebraska: “An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.” Of course it's about more than that. A lot of the runtime is spent in a random rural town in Nebraska that the father and his wife Kate (Squibb) grew up in; they get to meet up with family and friends they hadn't seen in a long time. The father is insistent that he did win a milllion dollars even if everyone else realizes that those things are a giant scam; you know, it's like Publisher's Clearing House.
Overall, this black and white film was quite entertaining. It's a drama but there are plenty of humorous moments. Dern's character-Woody-is a lifelong alcoholic and there's natural friction between him and his son (Forte, who does a nice job in a mostly dramatic role even though he's mainly a comedy actor) due to his troubles and him being an irascible person. Woody and his wife Kate often argue with each other but they still love each other; you know how it is. I'd say that Dern and Squibb both deserved their nominations. He did a great job portraying that alcoholic character who often stumbles around and does wacky things. She also did a great job playing a woman who seems to be cranky often and at times she can be someone vulgar who likes to curse, but she's a nice gal overall...
The (fictional) Nebraska town was a very small town and it looked run-down and downright depressing at times, with various businesses closed down. The people there (most of whom you see are older people; it is nice that there are movies out there that mostly consist of those up there in age and those actors can get work) try to make it by but they seem to be doing decently, all things considered. However, with Woody telling everyone that he's a millionaire, there is drama with his young cousins (one of whom is best known for being Buzz from the Home Alone movies!) and also from an old buddy (Stacy Keach).
It's a nice film where you do have such things as character arcs as father and son do get to know each other better and their relationship does change. It was pretty cool seeing it on the big screen with a crowd that laughed at the funny moments. Me, I enjoyed how you briefly heard the Foghat song Fool for the City because hey, it's Foghat. And, I enjoyed how Stacy Keach did karaoke; it was as funny as you'd expect hearing that golden voice of his sing.
Now, onto Her...
To steal the plot description from the IMDb, but shortened by me: "Theodore is a lonely man in the final stages of his divorce. When he's not working as a letter writer, his down time is spent playing video games and occasionally hanging out with friends. He decides to purchase the new OS1, which is advertised as the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, "It's not just an operating system, it's a consciousness," the ad states. Theodore quickly finds himself drawn in with Samantha, the voice behind his OS1. As they start spending time together they grow closer and closer and eventually find themselves in love. Having fallen in love with his OS, Theodore finds himself dealing with feelings of both great joy and doubt...”
I'll be honest here... what little I've seen of Spike Jonze when it comes to feature films, he is just not for me. I thought that Being John Malkovich was more strange than anything else. Here, Her had quality performances, a visual style unlike most others, unique insights, and additional things... yet, there was something there that was distancing myself from loving the movie. Sure, I enjoyed Olivia Wilde's brief role and how I thought she looked hotter here than she ever had before. But, you know what I mean.
Maybe it was the overwhelming quirkiness and/or maybe it was other things. It's just that I did not love this movie like many others have. I rate it as a little above average; it's not a 5 star classic to me. I couldn't tell you why all the men in the movie dressed funny in this “near-future” film where it looked like the Japanese or Chinese have a huge influence on Los Angeles, at least judging by street signs.
I wish I could have enjoyed it like others did; oh well... there was laughter at various times. Sometimes it was rather uproarious and other times it was of the nervous kind, which is understandable, with what strange shit you see in this movie, to put it bluntly. One lady in the crowd couldn't stop giggling for at least a minute straight, and I'm not sure what it was that broke her. I remember it was before the movie winded down and I thought it ended in a silly and not that satisfying way. Maybe it was just me, though.
I shall return tomorrow night.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
A Recap Of Yesterday
I am changing things up and tonight before the Oscars begin (which I'll have on mute and I'll sort of pay attention to it) I wanted to post a little thing where I talked about seeing 5 films on the big screen in a 12 hour period. Tomorrow night I'll write about Nebraska and Her and Tuesday night was Captain Phillips and American Hustle. There is a reason why I'm doing it that way, which I'll explain tomorrow night.
I went to the AMC Theatres at Downtown Disney to check it out. You got a lanyard to wear so between the movies you could go outside to eat, smoke a cigarette, or what have you. I could have done without the asstagonist who MC'ed things between the films and acted like a loud loathsome lout while yelling and screaming nonsense in between giving out goofy prizes for trivia where basically it was the person who could look up the answer fastest on their smartphone... yes, I ended up avoiding the auditorium when he was in it.
I had no idea what the attendance would be but it was far more popular than I would have suspected. It was cool that what I'd guess would be at least 200 people could view a small independent like Nebraska alongside something more popular like Captain Phillips. It was a real mix of people and thankfully there were little problems with how people acted while viewing the movies. I have had problems in the past with rude inconsiderate A-holes at a movie theatre but aside from the MC there was no issues.
I am thinking that at the end of the week I will finally have up my list of the Best Movies of 2013. The list now seems complete. And, I'll be back tomorrow night.
I went to the AMC Theatres at Downtown Disney to check it out. You got a lanyard to wear so between the movies you could go outside to eat, smoke a cigarette, or what have you. I could have done without the asstagonist who MC'ed things between the films and acted like a loud loathsome lout while yelling and screaming nonsense in between giving out goofy prizes for trivia where basically it was the person who could look up the answer fastest on their smartphone... yes, I ended up avoiding the auditorium when he was in it.
I had no idea what the attendance would be but it was far more popular than I would have suspected. It was cool that what I'd guess would be at least 200 people could view a small independent like Nebraska alongside something more popular like Captain Phillips. It was a real mix of people and thankfully there were little problems with how people acted while viewing the movies. I have had problems in the past with rude inconsiderate A-holes at a movie theatre but aside from the MC there was no issues.
I am thinking that at the end of the week I will finally have up my list of the Best Movies of 2013. The list now seems complete. And, I'll be back tomorrow night.
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