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Shutter Island (2010). Shutter Island is simply a brilliant piece of work. There is something wrong with this island, and the tension is united with how are characters are all portrayed, just a little askew, but nothing we can sink our teeth into. This was simply a great story told under the direction of a wickedly adroit director. The result is a short two hours and eighteen minutes. With heavy use of flashbacks, this one unravels in such a fashion that all of the pieces are there, but the fog of this psychological thriller does not clear until the end, and perfectly so. The pacing and edginess are perfectly captivating, maybe ingeniously so. The acting was stellar, with DiCaprio at the head of a splendid cast, all of which hammer our great performances. The camera work, whilst a tad obtrusive in the beginning, settles down nicely. In short, Scorsese has created a winner. Late.
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Hunger (2009)--3/10
Stop me if you've heard this one--madman captures a group of people, then forces them to commit atrocities, or commits atrocities to them, as he whittles away at their psyche and humanity. Really, as much moaning as there is about remakes on this board, the REAL crime is churning out the same movie over and over again under the pretense that it is somehow "original" in each variation. The past decade has been flooded by these "psychological decay thrillers" that all follow the same worn out blueprint. I can go the next decade without seeing another if they're not going to deviate from the program anymore than that. |
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). Billy Wilder's take on Sherlock Holmes was both refreshingly original whilst holding true to the original essence of the great detective. The first act sets contrives to perceive the sleuth in a rather intimate light, then sets forth to elucidate upon that which was hinted at. The result sets the stage for the anticipatory adventure, where ludicrous plot devices are managed with dark humor and Wilder's wit. The story is perfectly built up and executed, with Holmes just shy of perfect and Watson just shy of a bungler. The direction of course was amazing with flawless camera work taking advantage of the Scottish countryside. The score was simply befitting. This was a wonderful take on this tireless detective and his sidekick.
They Live (1988). How such a cult classic could simultaneously be silly and intensely witty is beyond me, but this film accomplishes just that. The genius here taking mediocre performances and creating a biting classic that may never go out of style. Roddy Piper is cast at the heroic everyman confronted with conspiracy at every turn, and his solution is to point his never-empty guns of redemption only to fire away with reckless abandon. With hilarious fight scenes, playful dialog (...and I'm all out of bubblegum), guns a blazing, and fun camera work, this flick is a highly entertaining political commentary on a malaise of the 80s that has yet to be cured. Merci beaucoup. d |
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http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg Well, I will be honest. As a longtime fan of Argento and a fan of our own Roderick Usher, I was really expecting plenty. Maybe that let me down a bit. The film is pretty decent, with plenty of neat photography, good pace and filled with trademark Argento shots of colorful scenery - the red carpets, the greenery, etc. But what was missing was matching background music (sorely missed Simonetti here), and a very uninspiring performance by both leads - Brody & Seigner, especially Brody who looked half-asleep throughout the film. Elsa Pataky was wonderful as the victim AND looked very gorgeous, and surely was the high point of Giallo. The gore was okay, and one or two scenes made me flinch a bit. Where Giallo lets the viewer down is plotwise - the killer is revealed a bit quickly, it all becomes too evident in the last 30-odd minutes of the film, the bordering-on-torture-porn storyline, and the very unconvincing "jacking off" scenes. Surely Argento could have done a lot better with what he had in his hands. I am sure Sean visioned Giallo a bit differently than the final product - either way this could have been better. Sorry, Sean. Don't be mad at me. :( * * * http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg Fantastic intertwined anthology chosen for the perfect setting of all things horror - Halloween. It might be one of the best films to have come out in our genre in the past 2-3 years. Too bad it wasn't a wider commercial release - bet it would have given some of the more successful BO films a real run for their money, if it had been released in October last year or the year before. Specially loved Anna Paquin's segment, and that one of the little girl in the lift. Superb. * * * * http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg I blame Newb for making me watch this yet again. That is my final say. * * * http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg Something to keep the wife happy. * * |
A Dirty Carnival (2006). This South Korean take on a low level gangster with skills is the same old story told in an unbelievably enjoyable fashion. The anti-hero is perfectly ambiguous, at times cold blooded and calculating, at times likable, humble, and human. What's worse, as life's choices come at a price, no matter which good life one chooses, the price is almost too much to bear once ensconced in this dirty employ. The acting was phenomenal, with our lead portraying an impossibly good-hearted, cold-blooded career criminal. The story itself contains all of the requisite elements of a good mob drama. The fights scenes were brutally realistic as opposed to stylistic orchestrations of over-the-top martial arts excellence. The score was wonderfully antagonistic to the realities on the screen. The ending was left open for subtle interpretation, where betrayals and motivations are left for the imagination to fill in. Merci beaucoup.
Genru ps i meant to put this in the last Asian movie thread- my bad... |
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
>>: C The Vampire Lovers (1970) http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/70/vampirelovers.jpg An intriguing Hammer masterpiece where most of the female cast really possess some kinda hallucinating power.:o >>: A- |
Watched Pan's Labyrinth again last night. I think based on my outlook of this movie, somewhere in the last 3 years I became a pessimist. :(
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Escape From New York
& Escape From L.A. |
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