Noir's Movie Reviews

[Papillon Noir]

I've been wanting to start one of these review threads for awhile now, but I wasn't sure if the reviews should be just horror. In truth, I really just watch all kinds of movies, though I think the horror genre is my favorite.

So, these movie reviews will cover a little bit of everything, because i think a lot of us do watch a little bit of everything. Whatever I see from Netflix, my own personal collection, or the movies. It's all going in here.

Enjoy! :)

[Papillon Noir]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/Wristcutters20a20Love20Story20movie.jpg

Director: Goran Dukic

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf9dbrjuVwE

After Zia (Patrick Fugit) and his girlfriend Desiree (Leslie Bibb) break-up, he commits suicide only to find himself in a kind of purgatory for those who commit suicide. It's just like life, only crappier where you can't smile and there are no stars.

Zia desperately misses his love, Desiree and finds out that she also commited suicide, and with the help of his friend, Eugene (Shea Whigham), he sets out to find her.

Along the way they meet hitchhiker, Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), who joins the group. Mikal believes that she got stuck there by accident and is looking for the people in charge so that she can go back to life.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/wristcutters2.jpg

This whole movie flows like you are sitting in purgatory. The colors are dull, the landscapes are dull, everything is slow and boring and falling apart. While I'm sure the effect was intentional, it does make it a boring viewing.

The premise of the movie is fresh and original (at least to my knowledge), though the whole romantic comedy aspect was pretty predictable. While the movie isn't quite ever funny, it is rather quirky.

Now, if the quirkiness could have only made up for the fact that this was a boring movie, I think they would have had something there.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/wristcuttersalovestorypic.jpg

[Papillon Noir]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/doomsday_galleryposter.jpg

Director: Neil Marshall

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feELmdZUrTs

A deadly virus wipes out most of the population in Scotland. Unable to find a cure, the government builds a wall on the Scotland/England border as containment.

Twenty-five years later, the virus resurfaces in England and Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) and her team are sent into Scotland by her mentor (Bob Hoskins), to find Kane (Malcolm McDowell), a doctor who may have found a cure for the virus.

While searching for Kane, Sinclair and her team discover a punk group of cannibal misfits lead by Sol (Craig Conway) and the tattooed, Viper (Lee-Ann Liebenberg).

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/doomsday2.jpg

This movie is The Road Warrior meets Escape from NY/LA with a little 28 Days Later thrown in for good measure, and a chick as our hero. It brings nothing new to the table.

That being said, this movie was fun! It had top notch action, acting, fx, cinematography, editing, the list goes on. The characters were interesting and had depth and motivation (many movies tend to lack this these days, but it seems to be consistent for Marshall). It had that summer blockbuster movie feel to it.

So if you want to see something original, then skip this. If you want to see a new version of a few of your favorite movies combined, then don't miss this one!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/doomsday3.jpg

[Despare]

Very nice, a host of talented people with their own opinions on films... HDC is great.

[Papillon Noir]

Very nice, a host of talented people with their own opinions on films... HDC is great.

Thanks. :)

[Papillon Noir]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/B0000D9PNY01LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Director: Mamoru Oshii

Trailer (Polish with Japanese Subtitles): http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/B0000D9PNY01LZZZZZZZ.jpg

In a dystopian future, there is a very popular and illegal virtual reality war game called "Avalon", named after the mystical island of the Arthurian Legend. One of the top players is Ash (Malgorzata Foremniak).

Ash was once one of the members of the top scoring team of all time, Wizard. The team disbanded after one of the team members made a rookie mistake by calling "reset". She has been playing solo ever since.

Ash runs into one of her former team members, Stunner (Bartlomiej Swiderski), who tells her of secret game level, "Special A". Their other former teammate, Murphy (Jerzy Gudejko) had gone looking for this game level and had lost his mind to it.

Reluctantly enlisting the help from the mysterious Bishop (Dariusz Biskupski), Ash forms another team to find "Special A", and to unlock the truth to Murphy's fate.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/avalon10.jpg

From the Japanese director who made "Ghost in the Shell", and filmed in Poland with a Polish cast (with top-notch acting), this film is very much a live-action anime. It's full of action, but with a slower pacing, very similar to "Ghost in the Shell". It's not a high-paced thrill ride, but one with mysteries that have to unravel before your eyes.

The cinematography is gorgeous in a sepia tone that fits the dystopian setting. You can also see why Poland was picked as the setting as the bleakness of a more impoverished city seeps through. It has it's own kind of beauty with the complimenting orchestral and sometimes operatic music.

There's an overall theme here of "what is reality?", now that is not a new concept, but how it was explored here was fresh and modern. It really brought that theme to the modern age and contributed for an amazing and interesting ending.

So, if you looking for an action film that is part art, philosophy, and mystery, then give this a try. If you're looking for mindless action, then you may be bored.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/Avalon.jpg

[Papillon Noir]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/assassination_of_jesse_james_by_the.jpg

Director: Andrew Dominik

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp2ppYB9fDo

Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and the James Gang, which includes Jesse's older brother Frank (Sam Shepard), Wood Hite (Jeremy Renner), Ed Miller (Garret Dillahunt), Dick Liddil (Paul Schneider), and Charley Ford (Sam Rockwell), prepare for their final train robbery.

Charley's younger brother, Robert (Casey Affleck) begs to join the gang for this final robbery. Robert Ford had collected dime store novels about Jesse James and his gang and hero-worshipped him. Robert's idolization causes reluctance in the rest of the gang in allowing him to join, but Jesse allowes it.

After the robbery, the group splits up to avoid authorities and to later regroup. During this time Robert gets to know Jesse, desiring acceptance from him and realizes that the man is not the paperback hero he once thought.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/theassassinationofjessejamesbytheco.jpg

Casey Affleck is brilliant as Robert Ford (which is why he was nominated for an Academy Award for this role), and great acting from the rest of the cast. The cinematography is also simply breathtaking, with the costumes and art direction true to that time period.

With a title that already gives away the film's ending, the story is not so much "what happens in the end?", but "why did he shoot him?" and the irony of the title explained.

If you are looking for a fast-paced actioner, this is not it. At over two and half hours, this film is a study in character and the disintegration of the James Gang, the death of Jesse James, and the aftermath for Robert Ford, but you will still be on the edge of your seats.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/casey.jpg

[Doc Faustus]

Cool thread. Thanks for doing this.

[Papillon Noir]

Thanks, Doc :)

[Zero]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/doomsday_galleryposter.jpg

Director: Neil Marshall
So if you want to see something original, then skip this. If you want to see a new version of a few of your favorite movies combined, then don't miss this one!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/doomsday3.jpg

damn - i was hoping this would be good

[The_Return]

Blech....can't say that I agree with you on Jesse James.

I dont have a problem with slow paced movies, just so long as there is something to keep your attention. Aside from Casey Affleck + some beautiful cinematography, this film really didn't have anything going for it. The script was painful, most of the cast seemed bored out of their skulls, and the score was just flat out bland.

It started to pick up a little bit after the titular event, but by that point it was already a lost cause IMO.

Still, I'll freely admit that Affleck was incredible...deserved his nomination for sure. Can't quite understand why they classified him as "Supporting Actor" though....

[Papillon Noir]

I started writing these reviews, which got totally waylayed by working on Battle Royale for the Undead, then I got married and was away for awhile and had to catch up on work.

I finally feel like I have the time to catch up on some reviews here and then kind of make it a weekly thing.

So, my first review in awhile will be posted up later today, and I hope to actually get a couple done this week. :)

[Papillon Noir]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/51sDKT-2U3L_SS400_.jpg

Directors: David Moreau & Xavier Palud

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFTbcDRkG1o

Clementine (Olivia Bonamy) returns home from work, and she and her boyfriend, Lucas (Michael Cohen) settle down for the night. After they go to bed, they are awakened by music from downstairs.

Lucas goes downstairs to investigate, and the TV is on. It soon becomes apparent that they are not alone in the house, and their quiet night at home becomes a fight for their lives.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/069-Them2.jpg

This French film further dictates that France is becoming a leader (if they are not there already) in the horror genre. The tension in this film starts early on and doesn't let up until the credits roll.

With no background music at all, the eeriness is created by "Them" through flashes of light and clicks of noise. It is rare to find a film where sound (not music) is used so specifically to create a mood.

The terror felt by Clemetine and Lucas is empathetic as you only know what they know at that particular moment. It is not even clear until later in the film whether "Them" are indeed people terrorizing them or something else entirely.

This film truly explores the idea of fear of the unknown and that what you can't see can be scarier than what you can. Definitely recommended.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l205/Noir_HarleyQuinn/Movies/TRAILERS_Ils_Them_untitled-20inside.jpg