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Buried - A
Full disclaimer that if you choose to watch this film you are going to see Ryan Reynolds for the full hour and a half. Reynolds plays Paul Conroy, a trucker working in Iraq. When his convoy is ambushed, he is knocked out and finds himself in a coffin, buried with only a few things in his possession. A satellite phone given to him by the man holding him for ransom allows him to connect with the outside world. Some of his conversations include: the man who buried him, ignorant HR people at his company, his delusional mother, the self-serving bigwigs at his company, and a hostage specialist named Dan Brenner who is venturing to save him. I've always been interested in movies that isolate their main character; though there are plenty of interactions, they are all done with Conroy knowing he is by himself in the coffin. I don't know what I was expecting when I started the movie, but for 95 minutes I was captivated. Reynolds was awesome. I am still in shock at how this movie took me by surprise. There are a couple of quirky filmmaking things I didn't like, but for a movie set almost completely in a 8 ft. x 4 ft. coffin, it's bound to happen. Definitely worth your time, unless your claustrophobic... you might not like it if you are. Finally, I do have to say that it lost some points for using the worst word in the english language, use your imagination.
Story (10) - 8.5
Genre (Tragedy) (10) - 10
Characters (5) - 5 (there weren't many characters so this is due mainly to Reynolds superb acting)
Believability (5) - 4
Filmmaking (10) - 7.5
Enjoyment (10) - 9
Buried - 4.4 out of 5 yukes
bam... you just got Yuked.
"I have had it with these m*****f***** snakes in this m*****f***** coffin."
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Lightning Round - 5 Movies in 5 Minutes
Christmas was good, but I didn't write any of the reviews or watch any of the movies I had originally hoped to. With that said, I'm going to shorten the next couple of reviews so that I can catch up on writing them. The following are movies that are kind of here nor there movies, enjoyable (for the most part) but nothing special... in order of my ranking.
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The Ghost Writer - B
Roman Polanski directs this political thriller about a Tony Blair-esque politician (played by Pierce Brosnan) caught up in a scandal regarding some of his decisions while in office. His initial ghost writer (writing his memoires) dies under suspicious circumstances and the un-named writer (Ewan McGregor) is brought on to finish the job. Little does he know he's about to uncover deeper misgivings about the whole situation. He gets caught up in the tornado himself and follows his research to find the truth. I, unlike many others, found this movie to be entertaining, and happily complex enough for my liking, but a little to try-hard. Critics seem to love how taut the script is, the black comedy style of filmmaking and the clever acting; yet I couldn't help being let down to a certain point. I did enjoy the movie, but not as much as it seems the world did.
Story (10) - 8
Genre (10) - 7.5
Characters (5) - 4
Believability (5) - 4
Filmmaking (10) - 7.5
Enjoyment (10) - 8
The Ghost Writer - 3.9 out of 5 yukes
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Catfish - B
A documentary that follows Nev Schulman and his online friendship with the family of an 11 year old artist named from Michigan named Abby. Nev, a photographer strikes a romance with Abby's sister completely online and devoid of human contact. As the story unfolds however, Nev finds out that you can't always trust what you can't see. The question I kept asking myself is, "is this real?". They do a great job of keeping you in measurable suspense throughout the movie, and it almost comes across as a beautiful lead-up to a B horror movie. Some say it's a farce; I say it's a movie that begs the question of our society, "how much trust are we putting in our online interactions, and at what point will they let us down causing our social fabric to crumble?" A bit too close to home, but again, still worth a watch.
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Exit Through the Gift Shop - B
Another documentary that makes you wonder if it's real or not. An expose on the outsider art of graffiti artists based in Los Angeles. Thierry Guetta (or Mr. Brainwash), is a pretty terrible filmmaker that just loves filming anything. He gets caught up in the whirlwind of street art and just starts filming. Guetta, who has no clue as to the first thing about filmmaking, convinces the artists that he's making a documentary of them.... duh duh duh... the film leads you to believe he isn't... but he kinda is. Just before he makes his crappy version of a documentary, he has a chance encounter with the notorious street artist Banksy, and strikes a friendship with the artistic genius. Once Banksy gets a chance to watch the film, he convinces Guetta to follow his artistry instead of his filmmaking dreams. Guetta becomes a street artist, and through hype and copycatting famous styles, he becomes one of the biggest street art sensations in LA. I enjoyed how the movie turned into an inquisition regarding society's willingness to follow the hype machine. Reese Roper of FIF once sang these lyrics:
"The packaging is nice, we're building it to sell,
Call all your people in Hollywood and Nashville,
It's one in a million, in fact we broke the dye,
It's all of the hype that your money can buy."
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The Ghost Writer - B
Roman Polanski directs this political thriller about a Tony Blair-esque politician (played by Pierce Brosnan) caught up in a scandal regarding some of his decisions while in office. His initial ghost writer (writing his memoires) dies under suspicious circumstances and the un-named writer (Ewan McGregor) is brought on to finish the job. Little does he know he's about to uncover deeper misgivings about the whole situation. He gets caught up in the tornado himself and follows his research to find the truth. I, unlike many others, found this movie to be entertaining, and happily complex enough for my liking, but a little to try-hard. Critics seem to love how taut the script is, the black comedy style of filmmaking and the clever acting; yet I couldn't help being let down to a certain point. I did enjoy the movie, but not as much as it seems the world did.
Story (10) - 8
Genre (10) - 7.5
Characters (5) - 4
Believability (5) - 4
Filmmaking (10) - 7.5
Enjoyment (10) - 8
The Ghost Writer - 3.9 out of 5 yukes
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Catfish - B
A documentary that follows Nev Schulman and his online friendship with the family of an 11 year old artist named from Michigan named Abby. Nev, a photographer strikes a romance with Abby's sister completely online and devoid of human contact. As the story unfolds however, Nev finds out that you can't always trust what you can't see. The question I kept asking myself is, "is this real?". They do a great job of keeping you in measurable suspense throughout the movie, and it almost comes across as a beautiful lead-up to a B horror movie. Some say it's a farce; I say it's a movie that begs the question of our society, "how much trust are we putting in our online interactions, and at what point will they let us down causing our social fabric to crumble?" A bit too close to home, but again, still worth a watch.
Story (10) - 7.5
Genre (10) - 7
Characters (5) - 3.5
Believability (5) - 4.5
Filmmaking (10) - 8
Enjoyment (10) - 7.5
Catfish - 3.8 out of 5 yukes
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Exit Through the Gift Shop - B
Another documentary that makes you wonder if it's real or not. An expose on the outsider art of graffiti artists based in Los Angeles. Thierry Guetta (or Mr. Brainwash), is a pretty terrible filmmaker that just loves filming anything. He gets caught up in the whirlwind of street art and just starts filming. Guetta, who has no clue as to the first thing about filmmaking, convinces the artists that he's making a documentary of them.... duh duh duh... the film leads you to believe he isn't... but he kinda is. Just before he makes his crappy version of a documentary, he has a chance encounter with the notorious street artist Banksy, and strikes a friendship with the artistic genius. Once Banksy gets a chance to watch the film, he convinces Guetta to follow his artistry instead of his filmmaking dreams. Guetta becomes a street artist, and through hype and copycatting famous styles, he becomes one of the biggest street art sensations in LA. I enjoyed how the movie turned into an inquisition regarding society's willingness to follow the hype machine. Reese Roper of FIF once sang these lyrics:
"The packaging is nice, we're building it to sell,
Call all your people in Hollywood and Nashville,
It's one in a million, in fact we broke the dye,
It's all of the hype that your money can buy."
Story (10) - 7.5
Genre (10) - 7
Characters (5) - 4
Believability (5) - 4
Filmmaking (10) - 8
Enjoyment (10) - 7.5
Exit Through the Gift Shop - 3.8 out of 5 yukes
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Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawntreader - B
This movie is exactly what it sells itself to be. It's the third movie in the Chronicles series, where the kids have grown up and they're banking on the fact that their audience has too. Lucy and Edmund are the only returning children; joined by their insufferable cousin Eustace on a trip back to Narnia. They meet up with now King Caspian and the crew of the Dawntreader who set out to rescue slaves sacrificed to the "dark mist" (LOST anyone?). On their journey they must find the seven swords of the seven lost lords ... and '6 geese a laying... and... 5 golden rings'. Anyone else have a problem with them finding each sword exactly in the first place they look? It's a disconnected adaptation of the book, and seems really forced. I had fun watching it for 3 reasons...
1. The CGI is pretty good, and battle scenes are cool
2. I like Simon Pegg as the voice of Reepicheep (the fighting mouse)
3. Aslan is AWESOME
It's a better film than it's predecessor and will probably lead to another sequel. Watch it if only because Narnia is a wonderful place to be explored.
Story (10) - 7.5
Genre (10) - 7.5
Characters (5) - 3.5
Believability (5) - 3
Filmmaking (10) - 8
Enjoyment (10) - 7
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawntreader - 3.65 out of 5 yukes
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Due Date - D
I was wholly unimpressed with this film. In a poor re-hashing of the classic Plains, Trains and Automobiles, Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is a stressed-out father-to-be forced to ride across the country with actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) to get home in time for the birth of his child. That's enough a synopsis for you to understand what's going on. The movie kind of lost me when you hear sounds of Ethan masturbating in the car while Peter is sleeping. It definitely lost me when Peter wakes up to find Ethan's dog is also masturbating in the backseat. The vulgarity of the movie is exactly that, and if you don't like me saying those things in a review you probably shouldn't see this movie. I can count on one hand how many times I laughed during the movie and was kind of sad that I spent money to see the movie in theaters. If you go see it and your opinion differs from mine, trust me, I won't judge you. But this movie was just not for me, and I can venture a guess that it probably isn't for most of you either.
Story (10) - 4
Genre (10) - 5
Characters (5) - 2.5
Believability (5) - 1.5
Filmmaking (10) - 4
Enjoyment (10) - 4.5
Due Date - 2.15 out of 5 yukes
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Sunday, December 19, 2010
New Review - The Fighter
The Fighter - A
When you think of a film like this, your first reaction might be that it'll be focused solely on the fighter's rise to the top with a little bit of character development sprinkled in. You would be wrong. It certainly includes some of that feel-good, defying all odds kinda stuff... but what I loved about this movie is that the character development is priority for the filmmakers. The feeling we're all supposed to feel about Mark Wahlberg's character is predicated on the connection that is built in the first two thirds of the movie. Now that you have an overview, onto the review.
Story - 8
Mark Wahlberg plays "Irish" Mickey Ward, a boxer from Lowell, Mass. with a recent slump in the ring. His brother Dickie (Christian Bale), a Lowell hero and Mickey's trainer, is struggling with addiction to crack and subsequently having an HBO special recorded about his fall and addiction. As his volatile brother continues to fall, Mickey is confronted with the possibility of leaving his brother and overbearing mother/manager (Melissa Leo) for the chance to train elsewhere. At this point he meets and falls for Charlene (Amy Adams), who sees his potential and stands in the face of Mickey's family causing a rift between the once tight family unit. Dickie ends up going to jail as a part of his downward spiral, giving Mickey an out. As he starts to distance himself from his family, he finds more and more success. The story does a lot of justice to the brokenness and selfish motives that can tear a family apart, but it does a really good job of showing what can happen when all parties involved realize what needs to be done for the greater good.
Genre Fulfillment -8
It succeeds as a drama that explores broken family units and the struggles they face, and it does well to frame that drama in the style of a sports movie. It blends the two styles very well, and never feels as if one is taking over from the other.
Characters - 4.5
Let's be honest, as good as Mark Wahlberg is, he is upstaged throughout the entire movie by Christian Bale's performance. Christian ought to be recognized for this incredible turn. Melissa Leo and Amy Adams provide a great support to the story line. The family dynamic is really represented well in the script and the characters have a lot of depth to them.
Believability - 4
We all have family issues right?
Filmmaking - 8
There's not a whole lot that's outstanding when it comes to technical categories. But there isn't much that takes away from the story. The intention of this movie is to present the story and nothing really distracts you from that. Some of the boxing scenes are pretty cool, I really liked the way it really felt like a mid-nineties boxing broadcast.
Enjoyment - 8
I was invested in this family's struggle to survive together. I was invested in Mickey's success. I left the movie feeling satisfied, not blown away, but it was certainly worth watching and I would recommend you go out and see this as well... after you see Black Swan that is!
The Fighter = 4.05 out of 5 yukes
"he's a fighter... YUKE his hand"
CU
When you think of a film like this, your first reaction might be that it'll be focused solely on the fighter's rise to the top with a little bit of character development sprinkled in. You would be wrong. It certainly includes some of that feel-good, defying all odds kinda stuff... but what I loved about this movie is that the character development is priority for the filmmakers. The feeling we're all supposed to feel about Mark Wahlberg's character is predicated on the connection that is built in the first two thirds of the movie. Now that you have an overview, onto the review.
Story - 8
Mark Wahlberg plays "Irish" Mickey Ward, a boxer from Lowell, Mass. with a recent slump in the ring. His brother Dickie (Christian Bale), a Lowell hero and Mickey's trainer, is struggling with addiction to crack and subsequently having an HBO special recorded about his fall and addiction. As his volatile brother continues to fall, Mickey is confronted with the possibility of leaving his brother and overbearing mother/manager (Melissa Leo) for the chance to train elsewhere. At this point he meets and falls for Charlene (Amy Adams), who sees his potential and stands in the face of Mickey's family causing a rift between the once tight family unit. Dickie ends up going to jail as a part of his downward spiral, giving Mickey an out. As he starts to distance himself from his family, he finds more and more success. The story does a lot of justice to the brokenness and selfish motives that can tear a family apart, but it does a really good job of showing what can happen when all parties involved realize what needs to be done for the greater good.
Genre Fulfillment -8
It succeeds as a drama that explores broken family units and the struggles they face, and it does well to frame that drama in the style of a sports movie. It blends the two styles very well, and never feels as if one is taking over from the other.
Characters - 4.5
Let's be honest, as good as Mark Wahlberg is, he is upstaged throughout the entire movie by Christian Bale's performance. Christian ought to be recognized for this incredible turn. Melissa Leo and Amy Adams provide a great support to the story line. The family dynamic is really represented well in the script and the characters have a lot of depth to them.
Believability - 4
We all have family issues right?
Filmmaking - 8
There's not a whole lot that's outstanding when it comes to technical categories. But there isn't much that takes away from the story. The intention of this movie is to present the story and nothing really distracts you from that. Some of the boxing scenes are pretty cool, I really liked the way it really felt like a mid-nineties boxing broadcast.
Enjoyment - 8
I was invested in this family's struggle to survive together. I was invested in Mickey's success. I left the movie feeling satisfied, not blown away, but it was certainly worth watching and I would recommend you go out and see this as well... after you see Black Swan that is!
The Fighter = 4.05 out of 5 yukes
"he's a fighter... YUKE his hand"
CU
Saturday, December 18, 2010
New Review - 'Black Swan'
Black Swan - A
First of all, thank you for your patience as I finished up the semester... it's not a great idea to write reviews when papers are due. And for that reason, there will be a saturation of movie reviews in the coming days so I can catch up on the 10+ I have to write still. I thought I would start with one I just watched, and would recommend to EVERYONE.
Without further ado, I present to you Black Swan, but this isn't your grandmother's Swan Lake. This movie is a dark re-hashing of the Swan Lake narrative, using a creepy tone to set the stage for a dancer's 'descent into madness' (thank you CV for use of that phrase). Rick Groen of the Globe and Mail said it better than I can even put it, "Darren Aronofsky has madde one of those rare movies that gets right in your face and demands a response: Love me, hate me, just don't mess with Mister In-Between." He has hit the nail on the head there, there's a great possibility that some people won't like this movie because of it's psychological in your face attitude, you may be put off by the 3 minute Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis erotic scene (and that is my fair warning), but my argument to those is that Aronofsky presents the film and that provocative scene with such care and style that it's impossible to look away. As SP and I discussed immediately after the film, if you're sitting in the theater after 20 minutes and aren't liking the style and tone, you're in for a rough ride. There were plenty of elderly people at the theater, I'm sure expecting a sweet tale of Swan Lake, that were in for a rude awakening. The thing about this movie isn't that it will be loved by all, but rather that it will have such a dichotomous following. Whether you love it or you hate it, it's hard to find any flaws in the film.
Story - 10
Throughout the film you follow the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina who wins the role of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. The problem? She's the perfect technical dancer who embodies the White Swan, but lacks the emotion and rawness to portray the black swan in the ballet. The movie does so well at showing Nina's mental imbalance right from the get-go. As Nina gets further into the character of the Swan Queen, she feels as though everybody is out to get her. Throughout the whole film there is no allusion to who is good and who is bad. At different times I felt myself incensed at the over-controlling mother, or the fame-driven alternate (Mila Kunis), or even the chauvinistic dominating director (Vincent Cassel), yet throughout the film you see the possibility that Nina has concocted the whole conspiracy theory in her head. The movie is less about the mirroring of the Swan Lake plot in the movie, and more about the depths one person can sink to when uncertain of their own identity.
Genre Fulfillment - 10
This fills the boots of a psychological thriller with perfection. It's as if we are brought alongside Nina's journey from being a meek and shy white swan, to her transformation into the raw black swan. Aronofsky has overdramatized the insecurities we all feel about our inadequacies, and he has done so with spine-tingling directing. As I said above, this isn't your grandmother's swan lake, it's meant to take a new daring approach to the storyline and it does so with all the wonders a psycho-sexual-unnerving-creepy-elegant-beautiful movie should.
Characters - 5
There are only a handful of characters we are introduced to in depth, but each one is perfectly cast, and adds to the web-like melodrama of the story. Natalie Portman, like the queen her character portrays in the ballet, shows such a wide range of emotions. Her ability to display such a timid apprehension in the first half of the movie accentuates the dark, powerful black swan she becomes. Mila Kunis does really well in this serious role, and Vincent Cassel plays his part to a tee. The surprising turn in this film was from Barbara Hershey playing Nina's overbearing mother. I can't say much more than you never know if she's living out her own childhood dreams through Nina's dancing, or whether she's really concerned about where the role is taking her daughter. Characters - Great... Acting - Greater... Natalie Portman SHOULD (as of Dec. 18) win best actress.
Believability - 5
As SP said in his review here: http://skochscorner.wordpress.com/ ... Aw hell yes!
Filmmaking - 9.5
I love the idea of a story within a story. The swan lake plot is mirrored in the movie, and done with such talent. I also love a movie that has the balls to tell you exactly how the movie is going to end, then plays it out as if you had no idea what was going to happen. Black Swan does this! When Citizen Kane came out in 1941, it heralded a new line of thinking when it came to moviemaking; films used flashbacks to aide in plot progression. Flash forward to 2010, and Darren Aronofsky uses dream sequences to blur the line between reality and neurosis. Never once was I certain of what was real or one of Nina's self-dreamed fantasies. It was this blurring that really helped sell the story. Another feature to pay attention to is the use of mirrors, not unlike the last season of LOST, the characters are constantly confronted with themselves and often it's not simply their reflection staring back at them. Pay close attention to inanimate objects moving; things like pictures, paintings, tattoos and a host of other things help to showcase Nina's mental breakdown. The loss of a half point was for two reasons: a) I have a hard time giving a movie a perfect rating. b) 15 second scene near the end, it was just poorly done. But save for about 15 seconds this was the perfect movie (for me of course)
Enjoyment - 10
I had no preconceived notions as to what this movie would be like, and I left knowing that I needed to implore others to see this movie. For the last half hour I watched with a grin on my face at the marvel of moviemaking in front of me. This is a MUST SEE movie. So... go see it now!
Yuke-ann put it in the win column...
Black Swan = 4.95 out of 5 yukes
P.S. It probably won't win Best Picture because it could come across as unaccessible to some, it deserves one of the following four awards:
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Original Screenplay
Best Picture (if nothing else)
First of all, thank you for your patience as I finished up the semester... it's not a great idea to write reviews when papers are due. And for that reason, there will be a saturation of movie reviews in the coming days so I can catch up on the 10+ I have to write still. I thought I would start with one I just watched, and would recommend to EVERYONE.
Without further ado, I present to you Black Swan, but this isn't your grandmother's Swan Lake. This movie is a dark re-hashing of the Swan Lake narrative, using a creepy tone to set the stage for a dancer's 'descent into madness' (thank you CV for use of that phrase). Rick Groen of the Globe and Mail said it better than I can even put it, "Darren Aronofsky has madde one of those rare movies that gets right in your face and demands a response: Love me, hate me, just don't mess with Mister In-Between." He has hit the nail on the head there, there's a great possibility that some people won't like this movie because of it's psychological in your face attitude, you may be put off by the 3 minute Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis erotic scene (and that is my fair warning), but my argument to those is that Aronofsky presents the film and that provocative scene with such care and style that it's impossible to look away. As SP and I discussed immediately after the film, if you're sitting in the theater after 20 minutes and aren't liking the style and tone, you're in for a rough ride. There were plenty of elderly people at the theater, I'm sure expecting a sweet tale of Swan Lake, that were in for a rude awakening. The thing about this movie isn't that it will be loved by all, but rather that it will have such a dichotomous following. Whether you love it or you hate it, it's hard to find any flaws in the film.
Story - 10
Throughout the film you follow the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina who wins the role of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. The problem? She's the perfect technical dancer who embodies the White Swan, but lacks the emotion and rawness to portray the black swan in the ballet. The movie does so well at showing Nina's mental imbalance right from the get-go. As Nina gets further into the character of the Swan Queen, she feels as though everybody is out to get her. Throughout the whole film there is no allusion to who is good and who is bad. At different times I felt myself incensed at the over-controlling mother, or the fame-driven alternate (Mila Kunis), or even the chauvinistic dominating director (Vincent Cassel), yet throughout the film you see the possibility that Nina has concocted the whole conspiracy theory in her head. The movie is less about the mirroring of the Swan Lake plot in the movie, and more about the depths one person can sink to when uncertain of their own identity.
Genre Fulfillment - 10
This fills the boots of a psychological thriller with perfection. It's as if we are brought alongside Nina's journey from being a meek and shy white swan, to her transformation into the raw black swan. Aronofsky has overdramatized the insecurities we all feel about our inadequacies, and he has done so with spine-tingling directing. As I said above, this isn't your grandmother's swan lake, it's meant to take a new daring approach to the storyline and it does so with all the wonders a psycho-sexual-unnerving-creepy-elegant-beautiful movie should.
Characters - 5
There are only a handful of characters we are introduced to in depth, but each one is perfectly cast, and adds to the web-like melodrama of the story. Natalie Portman, like the queen her character portrays in the ballet, shows such a wide range of emotions. Her ability to display such a timid apprehension in the first half of the movie accentuates the dark, powerful black swan she becomes. Mila Kunis does really well in this serious role, and Vincent Cassel plays his part to a tee. The surprising turn in this film was from Barbara Hershey playing Nina's overbearing mother. I can't say much more than you never know if she's living out her own childhood dreams through Nina's dancing, or whether she's really concerned about where the role is taking her daughter. Characters - Great... Acting - Greater... Natalie Portman SHOULD (as of Dec. 18) win best actress.
Believability - 5
As SP said in his review here: http://skochscorner.wordpress.com/ ... Aw hell yes!
Filmmaking - 9.5
I love the idea of a story within a story. The swan lake plot is mirrored in the movie, and done with such talent. I also love a movie that has the balls to tell you exactly how the movie is going to end, then plays it out as if you had no idea what was going to happen. Black Swan does this! When Citizen Kane came out in 1941, it heralded a new line of thinking when it came to moviemaking; films used flashbacks to aide in plot progression. Flash forward to 2010, and Darren Aronofsky uses dream sequences to blur the line between reality and neurosis. Never once was I certain of what was real or one of Nina's self-dreamed fantasies. It was this blurring that really helped sell the story. Another feature to pay attention to is the use of mirrors, not unlike the last season of LOST, the characters are constantly confronted with themselves and often it's not simply their reflection staring back at them. Pay close attention to inanimate objects moving; things like pictures, paintings, tattoos and a host of other things help to showcase Nina's mental breakdown. The loss of a half point was for two reasons: a) I have a hard time giving a movie a perfect rating. b) 15 second scene near the end, it was just poorly done. But save for about 15 seconds this was the perfect movie (for me of course)
Enjoyment - 10
I had no preconceived notions as to what this movie would be like, and I left knowing that I needed to implore others to see this movie. For the last half hour I watched with a grin on my face at the marvel of moviemaking in front of me. This is a MUST SEE movie. So... go see it now!
Yuke-ann put it in the win column...
Black Swan = 4.95 out of 5 yukes
P.S. It probably won't win Best Picture because it could come across as unaccessible to some, it deserves one of the following four awards:
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Original Screenplay
Best Picture (if nothing else)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Catching up on 2010: August - 'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World', 'The Switch'
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - MUST SEE *A*
This film has nostalgia written all over it for anyone in their twenties, maybe early thirties. Numerous gaming references drive this highly creative piece of artwork, from it's 8-bit take on the 'Universal' intro to coins falling when Scott defeats is foes to it's epic Mortal Kombat-like battle scenes. I'm gonna try and make lots of references from the movie in this review... so read the review, then watch the movie, then read it again. And don't get too offended.
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is dating a high schooler.. Scott Pilgrim is dating a high schooler, that is until Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) crosses his path and starts him on a journey to prove himself worthy of her lesbian. Turns out she's got some baggage, 7 evil exes to be exact. Scott has to defeat each of the exes before he can win Ramona's heart. Her exes include a mystical power-laden guy singing to compensate for his lack of any fighting skill, a famous skateboarder-turned-movie star (Chris Lee), a vegan who just happens to be dating Scott's old flame, a bi-furious girl named Roxy, a set of twins that didn't have much of a back story but happened to help out with the plot progression, and the master-mind of the league of evil exes, Gideon. This movie is all about style, and it's done with such precision and flair that I can't not help but not gush... double negative... tricky. The subplot that progresses the film is that Scott is in a band with 'the talent' Stephen Stills, and yet another ex-girlfriend female drummer Kim Pine (Alison Pill). The band enters the Toronto International Battle of the Bands and progresses through with hopes of winning a record with famed producer G-Man Graves... here's the twist... G-Man is actually Ramona's evil ex Gideon. Awesome.
As I said, it's all done with a wonderful style and a technically savvy eye. It has cult classic written all over it, although I wish more people knew about it. I just realized something, SP has the same initials as SP. Awesome. I re-watched it the other night for SP's birthday (the SP that I know) with SB, DB, DM.soontobe.P, NB, MJ, LL.soontobe.cool.J, FVdB, JVdB, GV, TP and CP. It was just as good the second time around. There are so many moments you'll find yourself grinning from ear to ear, laughing hysterically, connecting with the characters, and plain enjoying yourself. The story itself is pretty good as well, there's a real connection with Pilgrim's fight for the one he loves, and the literal controlling feeling Ramona gets when she's around her ex's.
All of this I say, without any hyperbole, that this is and will be the best movie of the year. It scores the same as Inception, but I think it'll have a longer-lasting effect than Nolan's picture. You need to watching this movie, I guarantee you will enjoy it on some level. This is my first absolute must-see of the year. It may be the last. What are you waiting for? Go watch it!
Story (10) - 8.5
Comedy (10) - 10
Characters (5) - 5
Believability (5) - 4.5
Filmmaking (10) - 10
Enjoyment (10) - 10
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World = 4.8 out of 5 yukes
The Switch - *D*
I referenced this movie in my review for The Kids Are All Right, this is the crappy version of a movie about artificial insemination. I'll tell you the one thing I like about this movie first, so you can probably skip the rest of the review. Jason Bateman, who plays Wally, and the chemistry he finds with his on-screen 'son' Sebastian (Thomas Robinson) is wonderful. They really perfect the nervous, but cute, banter. The rest? It kinda sucked.
Basic Plot: Wally and Kassie (Jen Aniston) are friends who always seem to have bad timing when expressing their feelings for each other. Kassie is sick of waiting for a man, so she decides to have a baby the artificial way (throwing a weird party for it along the way). Wally is sad, he gets drunk at the party and switches the donor sperm for his own. She moves away. She comes back. She's got a son just like Wally. He endears himself to the kid and becomes like a dad. You can probably predict the rest of the movies from there. I'm not much for judging anyone who watches any movie, but if you decide yo watch this movie, I yuke you that you do so at your own risk. It's being put in the *D* category for a reason.
This film has nostalgia written all over it for anyone in their twenties, maybe early thirties. Numerous gaming references drive this highly creative piece of artwork, from it's 8-bit take on the 'Universal' intro to coins falling when Scott defeats is foes to it's epic Mortal Kombat-like battle scenes. I'm gonna try and make lots of references from the movie in this review... so read the review, then watch the movie, then read it again. And don't get too offended.
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is dating a high schooler.. Scott Pilgrim is dating a high schooler, that is until Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) crosses his path and starts him on a journey to prove himself worthy of her lesbian. Turns out she's got some baggage, 7 evil exes to be exact. Scott has to defeat each of the exes before he can win Ramona's heart. Her exes include a mystical power-laden guy singing to compensate for his lack of any fighting skill, a famous skateboarder-turned-movie star (Chris Lee), a vegan who just happens to be dating Scott's old flame, a bi-furious girl named Roxy, a set of twins that didn't have much of a back story but happened to help out with the plot progression, and the master-mind of the league of evil exes, Gideon. This movie is all about style, and it's done with such precision and flair that I can't not help but not gush... double negative... tricky. The subplot that progresses the film is that Scott is in a band with 'the talent' Stephen Stills, and yet another ex-girlfriend female drummer Kim Pine (Alison Pill). The band enters the Toronto International Battle of the Bands and progresses through with hopes of winning a record with famed producer G-Man Graves... here's the twist... G-Man is actually Ramona's evil ex Gideon. Awesome.
As I said, it's all done with a wonderful style and a technically savvy eye. It has cult classic written all over it, although I wish more people knew about it. I just realized something, SP has the same initials as SP. Awesome. I re-watched it the other night for SP's birthday (the SP that I know) with SB, DB, DM.soontobe.P, NB, MJ, LL.soontobe.cool.J, FVdB, JVdB, GV, TP and CP. It was just as good the second time around. There are so many moments you'll find yourself grinning from ear to ear, laughing hysterically, connecting with the characters, and plain enjoying yourself. The story itself is pretty good as well, there's a real connection with Pilgrim's fight for the one he loves, and the literal controlling feeling Ramona gets when she's around her ex's.
All of this I say, without any hyperbole, that this is and will be the best movie of the year. It scores the same as Inception, but I think it'll have a longer-lasting effect than Nolan's picture. You need to watching this movie, I guarantee you will enjoy it on some level. This is my first absolute must-see of the year. It may be the last. What are you waiting for? Go watch it!
Story (10) - 8.5
Comedy (10) - 10
Characters (5) - 5
Believability (5) - 4.5
Filmmaking (10) - 10
Enjoyment (10) - 10
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World = 4.8 out of 5 yukes
The Switch - *D*
I referenced this movie in my review for The Kids Are All Right, this is the crappy version of a movie about artificial insemination. I'll tell you the one thing I like about this movie first, so you can probably skip the rest of the review. Jason Bateman, who plays Wally, and the chemistry he finds with his on-screen 'son' Sebastian (Thomas Robinson) is wonderful. They really perfect the nervous, but cute, banter. The rest? It kinda sucked.
Basic Plot: Wally and Kassie (Jen Aniston) are friends who always seem to have bad timing when expressing their feelings for each other. Kassie is sick of waiting for a man, so she decides to have a baby the artificial way (throwing a weird party for it along the way). Wally is sad, he gets drunk at the party and switches the donor sperm for his own. She moves away. She comes back. She's got a son just like Wally. He endears himself to the kid and becomes like a dad. You can probably predict the rest of the movies from there. I'm not much for judging anyone who watches any movie, but if you decide yo watch this movie, I yuke you that you do so at your own risk. It's being put in the *D* category for a reason.
Story (10) - 4.5
Comedy (10) - 6
Characters (5) - 3
Believability (5) - 1.5
Filmmaking (10) - 4.5
Enjoyment (10) - 4.5
The Switch = 2.4 out of 5 yukes
P.S. For those of you who have asked or are wondering, the term 'yuked' is interchangeable for any word I deem worthy of being spiced up. It's merely a play on my last name, and I find it enjoyable to say that...
... you just got yuked!!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Catching up on 2010: June - 'Get HIm To The Greek'
This movie is exactly as advertised, it doesn't pretend to be something that it's not. Plain and simple, it's a story about sex, drugs and Rock n' Roll. The vessel used to present the story is an international roller coaster ride where music exec Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) needs to get famous rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from London to Los Angeles for a show or fear losing his job. Their trip takes them through all the expected locations such as London, NYC, Vegas and LA. Snow encounters his estranged father, Green deals with having a 3-some with Snow and his girlfriend, Sean 'Puffy' Combs gets all hopped on drugs and lights a hotel suite on fire... you know, the usual. As I said, nothing you don't expect... there's an exorbitant amount of drug encounters, foul language and sexual... well I can't even really call them innuendos because they're pretty blatant. All this to say it's pretty over the top.
The movie is a spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and one of the frustrating things I found (if you've seen FSM) is that Jonah Hill is playing a completely different character. According to an interview, it's because the average person can relate more to an average joe trying to make it in the music business rather than the creepy stalkerish character he played in FSM. So really, what you're saying Jonah is that you're trying to make this film connect with our deepest need to succeed? FAIL... Just be honest and say you guys didn't like that character, that this guy is funnier. Because frankly any deeper connection or believability is lost with the ludicrous rock star lifestyle that's being showcased. And to go back to it, when was the last successful spin-off of any sort of TV show/movie??? Actually, maybe that's a good question for you to comment on...see below.
Don't get me wrong, I still laughed more than a few times throughout the film. And heck, the story is pretty simple and sound. And for that matter, Russell Brand actually deserves recognition, however inappropriate his character might have been, because not once did I catch myself thinking I was watching Russell Brand, he really sold the part of a British rock sensation. But sometimes you can have all the makings of a well done movie and still come up short. It was good all around, but never really gave itself a chance to be great. It's Judd Apatow-ness made it funny, but nothing special. If you can't handle language, sex jokes, drugs or anything of the like you should probably steer clear. If you like Judd Apatow, then you ought to enjoy it.
(I'm going to write what each category is out of in parentheses, for your sakes... thanks for the suggestion JG, keep em' coming)
Story (10) - 5.5
Comedy (10) - 7.5
Characters (5) - 2.5
Believability (5) - 2.5
Filmmaking (10) - 4.5
Enjoyment (10) - 7
Get Him To The Greek = 2.95 out of 5 yukes
Question of the Day: When was the last time a spin-off (not a sequel) came out that was actually good? I have two to start the discussion... Frasier from Cheers, and The Colbert Report from The Daily Show. Any others?
... you just got yuked!
CU
The movie is a spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and one of the frustrating things I found (if you've seen FSM) is that Jonah Hill is playing a completely different character. According to an interview, it's because the average person can relate more to an average joe trying to make it in the music business rather than the creepy stalkerish character he played in FSM. So really, what you're saying Jonah is that you're trying to make this film connect with our deepest need to succeed? FAIL... Just be honest and say you guys didn't like that character, that this guy is funnier. Because frankly any deeper connection or believability is lost with the ludicrous rock star lifestyle that's being showcased. And to go back to it, when was the last successful spin-off of any sort of TV show/movie??? Actually, maybe that's a good question for you to comment on...see below.
Don't get me wrong, I still laughed more than a few times throughout the film. And heck, the story is pretty simple and sound. And for that matter, Russell Brand actually deserves recognition, however inappropriate his character might have been, because not once did I catch myself thinking I was watching Russell Brand, he really sold the part of a British rock sensation. But sometimes you can have all the makings of a well done movie and still come up short. It was good all around, but never really gave itself a chance to be great. It's Judd Apatow-ness made it funny, but nothing special. If you can't handle language, sex jokes, drugs or anything of the like you should probably steer clear. If you like Judd Apatow, then you ought to enjoy it.
(I'm going to write what each category is out of in parentheses, for your sakes... thanks for the suggestion JG, keep em' coming)
Story (10) - 5.5
Comedy (10) - 7.5
Characters (5) - 2.5
Believability (5) - 2.5
Filmmaking (10) - 4.5
Enjoyment (10) - 7
Get Him To The Greek = 2.95 out of 5 yukes
Question of the Day: When was the last time a spin-off (not a sequel) came out that was actually good? I have two to start the discussion... Frasier from Cheers, and The Colbert Report from The Daily Show. Any others?
... you just got yuked!
CU
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