movies

[JL21]

Ha... someone edited together a ton of instances of the Inception sound- BWAAAAAAAAAA- being used in trailers.

[/youtube]

[go birds]

Awesome.

[Vidor]

http://inception.davepedu.com/

[The Third Man]

Stuff I've watched recently:

End of Watch: This was way more brutal and depressing than I was prepared for. It's nice to see a found-footage film (or whatever you wanna call it) that strays outside of horror, though admittedly my own unfamiliarity with the genre has probably made me forget other examples (Chronicle?). It's also nice to see a cop film that treats the cops as people with outside lives first and cops second, rather than as avatars for a mission statement. It makes their dealings with the horrific cartel violence of Los Angeles that much more intense and gripping. Gyllenhaal and Pena are really great as the leads, playing off each other and convincingly portraying a partnership/friendship(/bromance) as well as anything I've seen. And good lord is Anna Kendrick hot.

Killing Them Softly: Low-key gritty crime drama by the guy who did The Assassination of Jesse James? How could I not be excited? Most of the criticism I've read has focused on the political elements, which, given how in-your-face they are, is understandable. Subtle it's not, but it's integrated into the story well enough that I can forgive its polemical nature, and it gives what might otherwise have been something rather rote an interesting twist. It's always nice to see a crime film that focuses so much on characters just talking and hashing situations out, though to be sure the heist that kicks off the film's plot and the few scenes of violence are very effective - with the exception of one scene that indulges in too much overt stylization, sticking out like a sore thumb in what is otherwise a very restrained film. Always nice to see Ray Liotta pop up in something worthwhile, and Pitt and Gandolfini are predictably excellent. There's also a character played by Vince Curatola, aka Johnny Sack from The Sopranos - good to see him getting work.

Young Adult: Full disclosure: I love - not like, love - Juno, so I went into this expecting quality. And if anything, it's even better than Juno, though if you weren't a fan of that, fear not, because apart from Cody's gift at flipping characters on their head, this shares little of that film's DNA (and none of its penchant for quirky dialogue). It's so cringingly awkward at times that I couldn't help but dart my hands up over my face. Theron as Mavis the has-been hottie is such a desperate sad-sack that you'd hate her if she wasn't so pitiable. The interplay between her and Patton Oswalt as a former-and-current loser, both of whom (ironically, in Patton's case) peaked in high school, is great. I feel dumb for missing this in theaters.

The Hunger Games: How was this movie 2.5 hours when so little of interest happens? The plot couldn't be more simple: Kids are picked to battle to the death; kids battle to the death. But there's so little battling-to-the-death to be had here. So they tack on a rote romantic subplot...and yet neither of the romantic leads is at all developed as a character. I can barely remember Jennifer Lawrence's name (Katniss, it took me a second), let alone tell you anything about her on a personal level. She's a good hunter, and, uh, headstrong? And her would-be boyfriend is strong and gave her some bread once or something. I mean, it's watchable, but if you're giving me a movie about kids fighting to the death, show them fighting to the death, damn it. That's what I signed up for. It's an indictment of this film that, other than Woody Harrelson's boozehound ex-champ, the character I found most interesting was the one redhead girl who lurked in the shadows on the game's map scavenging and avoiding getting killed. I mostly found her interesting in theory, because she's barely featured, but I would watch the hell out of a version of this movie recut to focus on her. Oh well, Battle Royale still exists, so whatever.

The Dictator: Often thuddingly obvious in its stereotypes and humor, but there's still plenty of worthwhile humor. The closing speech is obnoxiously didactic, but I'm not sure that doesn't make it even more effective, since seeing it all laid out like that is pretty amusing in and of itself. Worthwhile, but nowhere near Borat (haven't seen Bruno). Oh, and I think I laughed every single time Cohen made that head-chopping gesture. Somehow that never stopped being funny to me.

Skyfall: I'm so far from a Bond aficianado - I've only seen the Craig films plus the regrettable Die Another Day - but even with that in mind, it's cool to see how much the DNA of former Bond films runs through this. The tropes of a Bond film are so deeply ingrained into pop culture that even a babe-in-the-woods like me can appreciate all the nods to classic Bond - and, occasionally, the subversion of these tropes. Likewise, the more modern touches - the explicit suggestions of homoeroticism, the villain being a former double-0, et al - gave it the cool effect of both looking backwards at the history of Bond films while trying to do justice to what is ostensibly a very old-fashioned character in modern times. And the film's obsession with death and decay is pretty grim for something so blockbuster-y. Now, that aside, the plot is contrived and muddled enough that I actually ended up enjoying Casino Royale a bit more on the whole, but this is still excellent.

[JL21]

Killing Them Softly: Low-key gritty crime drama by the guy who did The Assassination of Jesse James? How could I not be excited? Most of the criticism I've read has focused on the political elements, which, given how in-your-face they are, is understandable. Subtle it's not, but it's integrated into the story well enough that I can forgive its polemical nature, and it gives what might otherwise have been something rather rote an interesting twist. It's always nice to see a crime film that focuses so much on characters just talking and hashing situations out, though to be sure the heist that kicks off the film's plot and the few scenes of violence are very effective (with the exception of one scene that indulges in too much overt stylization, sticking out like a sore thumb in what is otherwise a very restrained film). Always nice to see Ray Liotta pop up in something worthwhile, and Pitt and Gandolfini are predictably excellent. (There's also a character played by Vince Curatola, aka Johnny Sack from The Sopranos - good to see him getting work.)

Yeah, I keep seeing critics bash it for its lack of subtlety, but that pretty obviously wasn't Dominik's goal. He had something to say and he was going to make damned sure that viewers heard it. I loved it, even the over-stylized scene you're referencing. The opening sequence and the final line are going to stick with me for a very long time. It reminded me a ton of Dominik's own "Chopper" for the violence and vulgarity, and sort of hearkened back to 90s indie films.

I also love that the film was set in 2008, but felt 100% like it was set in the early-to-mid 70s.

I'd go so far as to say it's my favorite film from 2012 so far. Maybe not the best- I'd still give that honor to Argo- but definitely my favorite.

[The Third Man]

I like it more and more the more I think about it. I might have to go catch it again while it's still in theaters, though I also need to go see Argo, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook. I agree that the final line - followed by the smash-cut to black - was a very memorable capper. And the opening credits were about as jarring as any credit sequence I can remember. Chopper has been on my list for a while, I didn't even realize that was Dominik. I'll have to move that up in the order.

Favorite for me is still Killer Joe, but Killing Them Softly might make the top five to this point. (Though Django Unchained will likely bump it.)

[JL21]

Lincoln was decent, but I didn't really think it was that special. It felt a lot like Amistad- very dry and bogged down in politics and legal procedure, at least at times.

I bet Zero Dark Thirty ends up being an Oscar contender.

I keep hearing that Holy Motors is great.

[The Third Man]

Yeah, Holy Motors is coming here in a few weeks. It made the top of the New Yorker's year-end list. And Zero Dark Thirty looks great as well. Mmm baby Jessica Chastain...

[JL21]

Mmm baby Jessica Chastain...

She's naked in Lawless.

[TimeForGuinness]

BWAAAAAAAAAARRRRAAAAAAPPPP-free trailer for once...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVu3gS7i ... ture=share][/youtube]