Alright, the last movie post of 2009. Meaning the book is closed on movie viewings for this year and the top 10 list can be made!
THE VISITOR (2007)
The OCD movie viewing process begins, as I make an attempt to watch a critic's complete top 10 list from 2008, with Metacritic as my source. It was really fun to do that last year, as I watched some movies (like Joshua and Exiled) that were really under the radar and were interesting.
BUT, The Visitor fits into a category of 'performance' movies that kind of bother me. Richard Jenkins was nominated for an Oscar for his lead role here, which was kind of unique since he isn't really well known, but has had character actor parts over the years that make his presence ubiquitous. (In Burn After Reading he was the quiet manager of the Hard Bodies gym). But as absolutely great a performance could be, it doesn't mean a whole lot if everything surrounding that character, including the plot and other people and dialogue, is mediocre to bland. This didn't gel for me, in the same way that performance movies like As Good As It Gets and Hotel Rwanda disappoint.
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007)
Heart-pounding, suspensful, and awesome, but the only shortcoming is completely my fault. Ever since I started playing high quality cinematic video games on my PS3, I get distracted when I watch action movies... because (this is so pathetic) I miss the interactivity of the gaming experience! So when there was this roof top chase scene that was such a great action piece, I started recalling a recent game I picked up where you're chased over the rooftops of an ancient Middle Eastern City! Only a slight problem, but still it took me out of the movie. As easily distracted as I am, it's something worth mentioning.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Week the Was: Back to 2008 WIFF
Yep, I decided to theme my movie binge with movies on my Instant Q that were all screened at the Wisconsin Film Fest in 2008... my first film fest experience.
These aren't movies I saw way back when... but I kept the program and I was overwhelmed with the variety and the quality that I vowed to at least aspire to watch as much of the films in the WIFF as I can!
CHOP SHOP (2007)
I couldn't think of the term for this kind of movie... then a snotty film critic (or a Wikipedia author) called it an example of "neo-realism". I think it's the kind of film festival movie you expect... understated... compelling... but with many moments that lets your mind wander because of the lack of urgent pacing. So distant from any commercial fare.
CONSTANTINE'S SWORD (2007)
A documentary that unfortunately is the second one I've seen this year to feature the creepy and now disgraced Ted Haggard as an interview subject. Jesus Camp was the first time I saw him and his Church in Colorado Springs. The topic is historic Anti-Semitism in the Church. But the pieces and scenes are a little loosely connected and don't come together as well as other documentaries.
ALEXANDRA (2007)
This one is pretty hypnotic if you don't expect anything extreme or direct. Following an elderly Russian grandmother as she visits her grandson on the war front in Chechnya.
Probably will watch a few more 2009 films before I can make my top 10 of the year.
These aren't movies I saw way back when... but I kept the program and I was overwhelmed with the variety and the quality that I vowed to at least aspire to watch as much of the films in the WIFF as I can!
CHOP SHOP (2007)
I couldn't think of the term for this kind of movie... then a snotty film critic (or a Wikipedia author) called it an example of "neo-realism". I think it's the kind of film festival movie you expect... understated... compelling... but with many moments that lets your mind wander because of the lack of urgent pacing. So distant from any commercial fare.
CONSTANTINE'S SWORD (2007)
A documentary that unfortunately is the second one I've seen this year to feature the creepy and now disgraced Ted Haggard as an interview subject. Jesus Camp was the first time I saw him and his Church in Colorado Springs. The topic is historic Anti-Semitism in the Church. But the pieces and scenes are a little loosely connected and don't come together as well as other documentaries.
ALEXANDRA (2007)
This one is pretty hypnotic if you don't expect anything extreme or direct. Following an elderly Russian grandmother as she visits her grandson on the war front in Chechnya.
Probably will watch a few more 2009 films before I can make my top 10 of the year.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Report
ROLE MODELS (2008)
An example of the convoluted way I decide which movies are worth my time. Looked like a pretty conventional plot to me until I found out that the guys from The State are behind it. THEN it became intruiging, not because of the actors, story, or my like for comedies. The presence of McLovin didn't hurt.
Funny, but I still don't get how I laugh out loud more at comedy television than even the best movie comedies.
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
An even better example of the my convoluted movie tastes. Not a fan of Nick Cage movies, but am a fan of Werner Herzog. IF this movie was Nicholas Cage playing a cop gone bad.... yawn. But a bad cop movie done by the same guy that did Grizzly Man and the Enigma of Kasper Hauer? Something very unique. The result is strange to say the least... but when I told my friends at a party in Chicago what I saw, I was thankful they didn't ask me to elaborate on why I wanted to see it, because it isn't simply a film, but an homage to bad filmmaking, crazy acting, and a bunch of other things that need to be explained by film geeks before viewing.
An example of the convoluted way I decide which movies are worth my time. Looked like a pretty conventional plot to me until I found out that the guys from The State are behind it. THEN it became intruiging, not because of the actors, story, or my like for comedies. The presence of McLovin didn't hurt.
Funny, but I still don't get how I laugh out loud more at comedy television than even the best movie comedies.
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
An even better example of the my convoluted movie tastes. Not a fan of Nick Cage movies, but am a fan of Werner Herzog. IF this movie was Nicholas Cage playing a cop gone bad.... yawn. But a bad cop movie done by the same guy that did Grizzly Man and the Enigma of Kasper Hauer? Something very unique. The result is strange to say the least... but when I told my friends at a party in Chicago what I saw, I was thankful they didn't ask me to elaborate on why I wanted to see it, because it isn't simply a film, but an homage to bad filmmaking, crazy acting, and a bunch of other things that need to be explained by film geeks before viewing.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
MORE TUESDAY MOVIES
I'd better right this up before I forget!
PUSHER III
And i wrap up a very interesting film trilogy... very good, invigorating experience. Each movie went in unpredictable directions, the first of them being the characters each movie decides to focus on. I would say #2 has the slight edge over the 3.
RED CLIFF I and RED CLIFF II
This is an unprecedented treat. My friend was on a summer teaching trip to China and brought back this two-part movie epic back to the States in pirated form (shhhhhhhhhh). It's just been given a limited release here. And it's pretty incredible. An epic movie with exciting battle scenes, morally complex characters, and a sequencing of events that never has you tapping your foot, waiting for the exciting parts, whether they be quiet character development or intricate ware strategies being played out before your eyes.
REDBELT
The latest slick talking Mamet experience. I love listening to these well crated words, especially if it serves a sharp story.
WATER LILIES
It will be a futile task, but I will try to see as many films that were screened at the last two Wisconsin Film Festivals as I can... and thanks to the Netflix Instant Watching capability through my PS3, it's all the easier, time and commitment being my only enemy. This is an understated French film exploring female adolescence and sexuality. Unique and modern, a real film festival film in that it's an interesting exercise to expose yourself to, but nothing too earth-shattering.
PUSHER III
And i wrap up a very interesting film trilogy... very good, invigorating experience. Each movie went in unpredictable directions, the first of them being the characters each movie decides to focus on. I would say #2 has the slight edge over the 3.
RED CLIFF I and RED CLIFF II
This is an unprecedented treat. My friend was on a summer teaching trip to China and brought back this two-part movie epic back to the States in pirated form (shhhhhhhhhh). It's just been given a limited release here. And it's pretty incredible. An epic movie with exciting battle scenes, morally complex characters, and a sequencing of events that never has you tapping your foot, waiting for the exciting parts, whether they be quiet character development or intricate ware strategies being played out before your eyes.
REDBELT
The latest slick talking Mamet experience. I love listening to these well crated words, especially if it serves a sharp story.
WATER LILIES
It will be a futile task, but I will try to see as many films that were screened at the last two Wisconsin Film Festivals as I can... and thanks to the Netflix Instant Watching capability through my PS3, it's all the easier, time and commitment being my only enemy. This is an understated French film exploring female adolescence and sexuality. Unique and modern, a real film festival film in that it's an interesting exercise to expose yourself to, but nothing too earth-shattering.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Movie check
Now it's been three weeks... time to check in...
A SERIOUS MAN (2009)
How very exciting to have a film experience that merges Coen Brothers weirdness with inside jokes about Jewish traditions! I always feel a little special when I use Yiddish based words to move a conservation along, and watching this made me feel like I was part of a cult with the unique background to get all the detailed observations. Only replace "cult" with the implications that Judaism is some kind of fanboy thing and consider my appreciation for this movie coming from a unique spiritual heritage. Definitely a effective film.... at times difficult, but one of my favorites of the year.
PUSHER II (2004)
Continuing through this cult trilogy that's available on Comcast On Demand in HD. It has the same awesome opening as #1, and continues a very immediate and intimate focus on characters that are absolutely in the dumps. So far these two movies have turned the cliched "fall from grace" storyline into sometime far more depressing... characters that start so low that their fall into depravity is so natural.
DONKEY PUNCH (2008)
Ringing in a new era of movie watching... Netflix sent me a disc that lets me play all of my instant movies through my PS3 on my big TV! Hundreds of films at my fingertips! Of all my choices I jumped the gun and chose this one based on Harry Knowles' Ain't It Cool recommendation that this was one very disturbing thriller.
And yes it is... and only a few minor times did the characters seem a little unbelievable to the point where I was reminded this is a genre film that follows the pattern of an initial tragic incident turning everyone against eachother. But it works... there are no monsters, or supernatural forces causing violence, just fragile people stuck in a hopeless situation.
A SERIOUS MAN (2009)
How very exciting to have a film experience that merges Coen Brothers weirdness with inside jokes about Jewish traditions! I always feel a little special when I use Yiddish based words to move a conservation along, and watching this made me feel like I was part of a cult with the unique background to get all the detailed observations. Only replace "cult" with the implications that Judaism is some kind of fanboy thing and consider my appreciation for this movie coming from a unique spiritual heritage. Definitely a effective film.... at times difficult, but one of my favorites of the year.
PUSHER II (2004)
Continuing through this cult trilogy that's available on Comcast On Demand in HD. It has the same awesome opening as #1, and continues a very immediate and intimate focus on characters that are absolutely in the dumps. So far these two movies have turned the cliched "fall from grace" storyline into sometime far more depressing... characters that start so low that their fall into depravity is so natural.
DONKEY PUNCH (2008)
Ringing in a new era of movie watching... Netflix sent me a disc that lets me play all of my instant movies through my PS3 on my big TV! Hundreds of films at my fingertips! Of all my choices I jumped the gun and chose this one based on Harry Knowles' Ain't It Cool recommendation that this was one very disturbing thriller.
And yes it is... and only a few minor times did the characters seem a little unbelievable to the point where I was reminded this is a genre film that follows the pattern of an initial tragic incident turning everyone against eachother. But it works... there are no monsters, or supernatural forces causing violence, just fragile people stuck in a hopeless situation.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Movie update
THEY LIVE (1988)
Another New Cult Canon movie nicely available on Comcast On Demand. Pretty good.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (2009)
Now this one might be significant because I've probably followed the online buzz on this movie as long as any movie... and now it finally arrived seven years after Spike Jonze's last film Adaption. Heard lots of news that Jonze was getting this just right, and the results were pretty fantastic. When I keep getting annoyed at its limited scale, I have to remind myself that the movie was operating under the parameters of a children's book. In that sense, this was great.
I don't like the rate at which I've been watching movies. Oh well... the miserable winter will keep me indoors soon enough.
Another New Cult Canon movie nicely available on Comcast On Demand. Pretty good.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (2009)
Now this one might be significant because I've probably followed the online buzz on this movie as long as any movie... and now it finally arrived seven years after Spike Jonze's last film Adaption. Heard lots of news that Jonze was getting this just right, and the results were pretty fantastic. When I keep getting annoyed at its limited scale, I have to remind myself that the movie was operating under the parameters of a children's book. In that sense, this was great.
I don't like the rate at which I've been watching movies. Oh well... the miserable winter will keep me indoors soon enough.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
MONTHLY (!!) movie report
Yes, it was almost a month since I watched some films, but I'm making up for it I swear! Some traveling and a commitment to watch a good chunk of the third season of How I Met Your Mother on my vacation visiting New Mexico restricted my cinema time. But...
PUSHER (1996)
The first installment of the latest entry to The AV Club's New Cult Canon shows up for free in HD on Comcast On Demand! It's part of a Danish trilogy about drug dealers, with the second part released 6-7 years later, and man does the ending leave you wanting more.
JAPON (2002)
The debut film by the director Carlos Reygadas, who really intrigued me with his hypnotic and appropriately slow-paced movie about Mexican Mennonites, Silent Light. Same patient beautiful shots of nature that I liked so much, a little more abstract narrative that fits in with a large amount of difficult indie films. I'm really liking this filmmaker though.
PUSHER (1996)
The first installment of the latest entry to The AV Club's New Cult Canon shows up for free in HD on Comcast On Demand! It's part of a Danish trilogy about drug dealers, with the second part released 6-7 years later, and man does the ending leave you wanting more.
JAPON (2002)
The debut film by the director Carlos Reygadas, who really intrigued me with his hypnotic and appropriately slow-paced movie about Mexican Mennonites, Silent Light. Same patient beautiful shots of nature that I liked so much, a little more abstract narrative that fits in with a large amount of difficult indie films. I'm really liking this filmmaker though.
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