Where The Wild Things Are

This film gave me one of the most cathartic filmgoing experiences I've ever had.

See this in a cinema by yourself.

Before it is too late, go.

Buy BRICK

There's a new price drop on Rian Johnson's neo-noir, high-school set, detective film, BRICK. It's a steal, since you can buy this thing from the comforts of your home for five dollars. At five dollars - cheaper than a cinema ticket - I strongly recommend doing so.

I did ponder the availability of a Blu-Ray version, though, before officially ordering this DVD. After shamelessly professing my love for his debut film, I asked him about an HD version of it, to which he responded the following:

You can order BRICK from Amazon for 5 dollars by clicking this.

Stop it. Watch The Wire

I am halfway through Episode Four of Season Three of The Wire, and it is so Fucking good that I had to log in to this website and exclaim this publicly. Watch The Wire. It is worth your time.

Primer

Primer is the brainchild of a Shane Carruth - a first time director, first time actor, first time screenwriter, first time producer, composer, editor - the list continues. Needless to say, this film is an incredibly admirable achievement for a debut filmmaker. What is it about? One of my favourite subjects of human science and philosophy - Time Travel.

It might be because this is an independent film, with little resources and funding, that it differs so enormously from other films within the same genre - such as Back to The Future, or Donnie Darko. Those films used Time Travel as a tool for adventurous and excitement or existentialism. Primer actually tackles its subject matter head on, and conveys a sense of realism that almost approaches a Docu-style vibe. Shane Carruth is a former engineer with a degree in mathematics, which is probably what made this film is so meticulous in its details.

Quentin Tarantino once said - "It's okay to be confused, as an audience - as long as the movie makes you feel like you're in good hands. Otherwise you'll tune out" - or something like that. Carruth handles the exponential complexity of how the use of time travel affects reality really well, which is already admirable enough to like the film.

Apparently, he's working on his follow up, currently titled "A Topiary", which is also within the confines of the Science-Fiction genre. And needless to say, I can not wait for what this guy does next.

David Sullivan, who stars in Primer, was apparently very happy about me praising the film on twitter.

When asked whether or not he'll be part of Shane Carruth's next project, another Sci-Fi based film currently titled "A Topiary", he responded once again.

The Brothers Grimm Bloom

For those who have never seen BRICK, stop reading and leave your computer and find it. Watch it.

Rian Johnson's first film was a fusion of a Neo-Noir, Western, and High-School films. Throughout Brick, it is obvious that Rian Johnson is one hell of a writer, not to mention his direction - some of his shots are just aesthetically pleasing and feel creative and fresh. There are sound cues and visuals that one would rarely expect of a first time director, and the on-screen talent just perpetuates our awareness of it all. But enough about Brick.

A filmmaker's second film seems to be the true test. We expect that person to do not just as well - but better. Tarantino seemed to have aced this test with his debut follow up, Pulp Fiction. David Fincher, Se7en. Christopher Nolan, Memento.

Anything Rian Johnson seems to make, encompasses a palette of creative easter-eggs. That is to say that any shot is specifically framed (and if it isn't, then it certainly feels like it), the colours of any new scene actually means something, and the story - whilst it isn't necessarily anything new - feels like a fresh take on con-man movies, and the result is an awesome new yet classic tale.

There is much symbolism in this film. There is a scene in which Stephen and Bloom meet for the first time in a long while. Stephen, for whom everything seems to work out all the time, is upbeat and energetic. Bloom looks like shit, sad - as if he bears all the pain in the world, constantly. Rian Johnson expresses this visually, in the following manner: Bloom reaches for the sugar, tries to pour some into his coffee - he tries twice, nothing comes out, and he gives up, with such an existentialist look in his face, downtrodden. Stephen also likes his coffee sweetened, so he grabs it, and whilst replying to something, simply pours it into his cup - with no problems whatsoever.

If it seems like I'm making a big deal about a small scene like that - just know that this is the simplest example of intelligent filmmaking this film contains. There is a lot more.

The music, for example. The music is simply and honestly glorious. Rian's cousin, Nathan Johnson, created BRICK's soundtrack in his kitchen with Ace Hardware supplies - and it was epic. A more jazzier, funkier, more upbeat score is what we get with this, and it totally fits.

While there may be a special place in my heart for Brick, I do admit that Brothers Bloom is a better crafted film - with a palpable Heart and Soul.

500 Days of Summer

This is a film I have been looking forward to with joyful excitement for a long time. And I fucking Loved it. Once the film was over, I didn't want to leave my auditorium. I wanted to watch it again.

False Salvation

In retrospect, the build up to Terminator Salvation was brutally unfair. It felt like this could actually be Great. The weeks leading up to its release were riddled with exciting news, awesome posters and production stills, interviews that felt genuine, etc. It also looked good. And most importantly, even the script became promising. There was talk of Jonathan Nolan having some sort of creative control over it, even news of a substantial rewrite by him. All of this made me believe that this would definitely be of a particular level of quality. Christian Bale was involved, and he's an actor that challenges himself, picking roles that have some sort of emotional purpose and Life to them. All throughout pre and main production, McG was saying the right things. And I, Marco the Fool, was sold. I felt some sort of tiny amount of hope and chance that it could actually take advantage of this awesome plot. Terminators. The future war.

The result is, of course, an antonym translated version of the above paragraph. For some reason the finished product was a scathingly ridiculous piece of unemotional bullshit, riddled with way too many plotholes, way too little character development (I know we know these characters, but give us some reasons to care), and horribly written monologues. The machines capture Kyle Reese and use him to capture John Connor. Why? Kill Kyle Reese instead - John Connor would never have be born. Easy. Or how about the older Terminator model (Marcus Wright's) being more realistic and 'normal' than the newer model (Arnold's) ?. These things don't make any sense whatsoever, and ruin the film immediately.

Christian Bale, one of my favourite actors of our time, does nothing in this film. I don't even remember him well in it. Why? Because he was not really acting. He assumed an identity of complete seriousness, and differentiated his character's moods by altering the volume of his voice. There was no life in him - even when he was screaming his soul out through the screen at me.

But. Yes, McG films action well, and there's a cool Helicopter shot.

Besides that, though, I can't really recall much else to be exited about.

No rewatch worthy here.

Fuck This Film

The bastards of Hollywood have done it again. After Indiana Jones, Die Hard and Star Wars another franchise has been run into the ground (I don't count Terminator 3). McG really proves that he is a worthless director who should go back to making Charlie's Angels AND change his fucking name.
I mean I tried...I tried hard, I really did but after days of lying to myself and fooling myself that this had actually been an OK film, my mind had had enough and I had to give in. This is not the film that I had waited for, this is not the future that Sarah Connor had warned us about...although someone should have warned us about the garbage that we had to endure.
But why was it so horrendous? Was it the poorly written script riddled with plot holes, was it the lack of character development or was it Christian Bale's Batman voice?
It was all of the above and more. From silly one liners to a confusing story line which screws up the Terminator world, which had been so wonderfully set up during T1 and T2.
There are so many things horribly wrong with this film that I wont even bother listing them.
The main problem with the film (apart from letting McG direct it) is that it tries to bring together two story lines in one, we get very little character development (especially from Bale) and therefore don't develope an emotional relation to any of the characters.
There is no epic battle, John Connor comes across as a "subway crazy" who may or may not have throat cancer and the film just has too many ridiculous scenes which destroy any chance of taking this piece of shit seriously.
The Terminator franbchise ended with T2 and sadly it remains dead, even the Dark Knight couldn't revive it. They should have just released the trailer as the feature film.
No wonder Bale flipped out.

Marco say something about this please

Congratulations SIR Christopher Lee

Just a quick congratulation to the newly Knighted Sir Christopher Lee. A brilliant decision by the queen. Christopher Lee has been around for ages and has been my favorite bond villian for some time now. Most people will probably know Sir Christopher as Saruman and/or Count Doku (although we should all forget those movies) and of course as the one and only Dracula (yes he defeats Bela Lugosi in my books). Thruought his career Lee has played a huge part in the horror genre especially due to his frequent work in Hammer films (which I urge everyone to see).
Congratulations to Scaramanga, the one man that could have defeated Bond.

Southland Tales

It's not good...really. It tries hard, too hard and ends up being a jumble of ideas. Skip it...really.

The Mist

This film made me love Thomas Jane. Many familiar faces appear, including Mystic River's Marcia Gay Harding, W.'s Toby Jones, and Andre Braugher. The cast is filled with prominent actors playing minor roles, which really rounds the quality of acting out to a solid level of decency. Even American Pie's Sherminator is in this. (His name is Chris Owen).

The plot: A mysterious mist covers a small town, and citizens are trapped in a supermarket. Mysterious monsters appear. We are told the military has been experimenting with unknown motives in the local mountains. We are reminded that the fog that preceded the storm was unexpected and strange. Furthermore, we are constantly involved with the characters in this supermarket, and therefore really begin to care about Thomas Jane's character, and his son - even more so once we are presented with the deep psychotic nature of many of the other characters - and how influential they become. Basically, it's just a really effective movie, tense and entertaining. It feels like a good old basic Sci-Fi story, but much more humanized than I'd expected.

If you like thrillers, horror films, Thomas Jane, or Half-Life (the story is basically the same, the POV being the only difference) - then watch this film. The ending is very interesting.

Watch This!: The Company

I remember when I first heard about "The Good Shepard", a DeNiro directed C.I.A. epic. Sadly what we got was a 2 and something hour long film that just dragged to the finish. Luckily I discovered The Company, a tv mini series starring Michael Keaton (to name one), at a blockbuster.
The series begins in Berlin, the Iron Curtain is slowly closing and the C.I.A. is desperately trying to gain valuable information through contacts in East Berlin. From then on the show follows the C.I.A. and KGB through a 40 year period with the Cold War and the slow demise of the Soviet Union as a backdrop.
The show is what "The Good Shepard" should have been, well paced and entertaining from start to finish. The end lets you feel as if you have taken this 40 year journey with the characters.
The ensemble includes: Michael Keaton, Alfred Molina, Chris O"Donnell.
If you liked Band Of Brothers or you love espionage thrillers you will love this show.
WATCH IT.

Sam Rockwell Yelling in Space...AWESOME

The Tribeca Film Festival has ended. Although not majorily excited about this years line up, I was able to see the one film that I had been excited for ever since I heard the first Sundance buzz, Duncan Jones' 'Moon' starring Sam Rockwell. I had read a lot of positive reviews and I was not gonna miss the first showing in New York. Naturally I went in with very high expectations.....and I was not let down. This movie is fucking incredible....I would go so far as saying that this is my favorite film of 2009 (Public Enemies has to be amazing if it wants to compete with this film.) This being the first showing during the TFF, the audience was treated to a Q and A after the film which featured Duncan Jones and Sam Rockwell, as well as Nathan Parker (the writer) and the producer. A fun side note, Duncan Jones' father was also in attendance (David Bowie).

Sam Rockwell plays Astronaut Sam Bell who has been working on the Moon for the last three years alongside his robot GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey).

That is all you need to know about the plot. This film is just amazing, Sam Rockwell AGAIN proves that he deserves to be in more movies, basically being the only actor in this film. After the first 5 minutes you develope a connection with this character which lasts thruought the film. Although I knew that Rockwell was in attendance I still believed that this was not Rockwell but Sam Bell who was waiting to return home.
The film is shot beautifully and it is amazing to see what Jones does with a 5 million dollar budget, showing us that we don't always have to see gigantic explosions in space to make a scifi film entertaining.

The film is paced excellently,  giving us longer emotional scenes but also quick back and forth dialogue which adds some comedy to the overall rather saddening film.

I will not discuss the film any further, because it would just spoil the film for you. 

WATCH IT....it will change your life for the better.

Writer's Block

Barton Fink tells the story of a New York theatre writer in the 1940s, who gets an opportunity to run off to Hollywood within the first ten minutes of the film. The titular character is played by John Turturro, and man is he good. He set his bar really high in Miller's Crossing, but does a good job at playing eccentric and insecure here.

Fink is a quiet writer who warily accepts the assignment to pen a film about a wrestler, and checks into a hotel in Los Angeles. The bellboy is played by Steve Buscemi - a little treat for Coen fans. What I loved about the set up of this move to Hollywood is that you really get to see how Barton Fink reacts to the eccentricity and strangeness of the place, and the characters he has to interact with to accomplish this task of writing a wrestling picture. Everybody around him is like a bizarre alien to him, and there is some great comedy to be found in that - which somebody like Joel Coen really knows who to play up.

John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Tony Shalhoub, and Jon Polito, all directed by the Coen Brothers. What more could you ask for?

An Extremely Dangerous Vinnie Jones

I love Vinnie Jones...always have, always will.... Although he usually stars in bullshit films I enjoy his screen presence and find him very amusing and to be honest very talented.... I think Vinnie Jones would make an excellent Hamlet. Anyway due to Vinnies name being attached to the film watching 'Midnight Meat Train' was a no-brainer, I mean Vinnie Jones as a serial killer in a suit = Excellence.
After seeing this film however, I can honestly not make up my mind if I like it or not.

The film follows Leon (played by Bradley Cooper, who we know as the asshole in Wedding Crashers) a struggling photographer who begins his own investigation into dissapearences which occur along a nightly train line.

The movie itself is well crafted (apart from some CGI blood which just looks ridiculous), it features some awesome shots and some very crafty camera work. There is a lot of gore which you should expect from a Clive Barker story and the movie is generally entertaining. I think my main problem with this film is the ridiculous ending, which sort of destroys the film for me. Basically you are entrigued as to where the bodies go and how Vinnie can do all this without ever getting caught....but the solution is just ridiculous. Unless you like Clive Barkers style of horror (Hellraiser) I think that you will agree on the stupidity of the ending with me.

Like so many other movies before....watch this movie with friends and beer and you will have a good time. Just don't expect a serious horror film.

The Rum Diary is Alive

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a very important Hunter Thompson novel, The Rum Diary, will finally begin shooting as soon as next month. I have been following this project for maybe six years now, and am somewhat hopeful for it. Of course, since the book is one of my favourite novels, a film is unlikely to even compete. But for some reason or another, Depp's involvement adds some sense of security to this situation. I feel like he wouldn't allow, or even dare to fuck this up. I also feel like he should've done this years ago, but he decided to do his Pirates trilogy instead. Oh well. Maybe it was just too hard and weird to delve into his dead friend's life so soon after his death. In either case, if the film can convey the essence of "Blowin' in the Wind" + a young Hunter - this film could be glorious.

The Christian Bale Song

By now you have probably listened to the Christian Bale freak-out tape several times....but may not have heard this awesome song which the L.A. band The Mae Shi made in honor of his glorious rant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oFjz6JfACk


Honestly how can you not love the guy.

Hitman

I have been a big fan of the Hitman games for several years now and when the first trailer came out I was excited but doubtful at the same time. A year ago some friends and I watched the first 10 minutes of the movie...we were all disappointed and turned it off instantly. I remember saying "This is NOT Hitman"....and it isn't.
I gave the movie another shot, but this time I put it in my mind that I would be watching an action movie with Timothy Olyphant(astic) nothing more...The movie is actually very entertaining, when you get it into your head that you are not watching a Hitman movie...and thats probably better seeing as Agent 47 never had a single expression making him a rather dull character to watch..but rather a simple action film with a guy who has a barcode tattoed on the back of his head.
The Plot: Agent 47 (Olyphant) hired by a group known only as 'The Agency' is ensnared in a political conspiracy, which finds him pursued by both Interpol and the Russian military as he treks across Eastern Europe.(From IMDB...I know I am very lazy)

The movie has cheesy shots and plot turns, but the action sequences and violence make up for it, surprisingly I found some scenes rather amusing and at the end of the film I was glad that I had given it another chance. This movie is definitely not a great film...but entertaining and if you need to kill a few hours or want a beer night movie you should consider this flick.

Just don't expect a Hitman movie

Empire releases awesome Watchmen portraits.

The British movie magazine has printed some great portraits of the Watchmen (I know that's not what they are called in the novel...but deal with it.) Go to their website www.empireonline.com to see all portraits.

Bill

These last couple of months Aaron Eckhart has slowly become one of my favorite actors for numerous reasons, not only is he a very charismatic and entertaining actor (his small role in the show 'Fraiser' might be my favorite sitcom performance...ever) but he has a habit of choosing the right roles (lets forget 'No Reservations'). 'Bill' is no different.

Eckhart stars as Bill, an overweight guy who is fed up with his job (working for his father in-law, who does not respect him and didn't like him to begin with) and is married to a cheating wife (Elizabeth Banks). His in-laws (who participate in a mentoring program) force Bill to mentor a rebellious teen, who ends up mentoring Bill rather than the other way around. Basically the movie is about an unmotivated guy, in his mid-life crisis, trying to get his life together.

The cast is great overall, with Jessica Alba being the weakest link seeing as her acting talent is non-existent....she is surprisingly entertaining in this film (since she plays herself and no acting is needed). Timothy Olyphant (the worst Die Hard villian...ever) proves once again that he is underused (although he has been busy these last couple years he still does not get the credit he deserves) and Elizabeth Banks is now my favorite female actress.

This movie is a light hearted comedy, which is a perfect Saturday/Sunday noon hangover cure and I would encourage everyone to watch it.....don't go out of your way to watch it, but if you have nothing better to do watch this film.

Watch This!: Freaks and Geeks

The show that put Judd Apatow (director of Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Vrigin and the person behind almost every great comedy at the moment), Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and James Franco on the map. This show is my new love and it still puzzels me how it only lasted for one season. Set in the 80's the show follows two different groups of 'outcasts' (the freeks and the geeks) in William McKinley High School.
Watch this show....it is highly entertaining and somewhat reminds of 'Friends' due to the feel good effect it has. WATCH THIS!

Doomsday

I had first noticed this movie last summer while working at the video store and as we only had two copies of it, and the majority of customers who rented it were fucking morons, I decided to pay this movie no attention. However, it started appearing more often and I would see it staring at me in stores and on websites. I was intrigued and when I found out that Neil Marshall was the director, I was sold (the Decent and Dog Soldiers belong to my all time favorite horror movies). So, last night, I finally sat down and watched it...with high expectations.

Basically if Escape From New York, Mad Max, 28 Days Later and Timeline (that horrible adaptation of the Michael Crichton novel) had a baby...in some fucked up orgie...then Doomsday would be their offspring.

Britain is overrun by the reaper virus, infecting and killing millions. In order to to save humanity the infected are locked up in a giant prison (the whole of Scotland) and are left to rot. Years later the virus reappears in London and a cure is desperately needed to prevent history reoccurring. Satellite images show that there are survivors left in Scotland....meaning there is a cure. A small elite task force is sent in to retrieve the cure (including the hot chick from the Ali G. movie...not his girlfriend but the hot one).

The idea of the movie is nothing new, but yet I was intrigued to see what Marshall would do with the set up. I came out of it with mixed reactions...on the one hand this movie has some very good gore and action scenes which makes the movie very fun to watch with friends and a couple of beers...on the other hand there are some questionable scenes (such as the leader of the savages performing a 4 minute stage show) which make the movie rather laughable. The acting is mediocre/poor and the script generally isn't very great. Having Malcolm McDowell as a medieval king didn't help the movie but rather added to its randomness (A part of the movie takes place in a castle in Scotland). Don't get me wrong the movie is fun and I was definitely entertained and the film features some awesome gore scenes (shotgun to the face, arrow to the neck etc.) but this is nothing spectacular and going in with high hopes I was somewhat disappointed.

If you watch this movie watch it semi drunk with friends.

The Glory of a Scandal

"When the President does it, then its not illegal"
Ron Howard's adaptation of Peter Morgan's stageplay Frost/Nixon sees Michael Sheen and Frank Langella reprising their roles as David Frost and Richard Nixon.... and oh my god is it awesome.
If you don't know about Wateragate or Nixon you need to catch up on your american history and then enjoy, what I consider, one of the best movies of the year (and with the movies that came out in 2008 that is saying a lot).
After the famous Watergate scandal (catch up on that american history) Richard Nixon was granted a pardon by Gerald Ford and retreatet to his California mansion without ever standing trial or admitting any sort of guilt. So in comes David Frost, a semi-succesful tv-show host and playboy, whos "American fame" is just a distant memory. Frost, seeing Watergate as a chance to regain his fame in the States and to gain some credibility as a reporter, fights for an exclusive interview with Nixon, going into his own pocket to finance it. Frost soon realizes that this interview could lead to a confession from Nixon.
(I know this is an oversimplified synopsis of the film....and not very well written either, but deal with it.)
The cast...which includes Sam Rockwell(the guy is great in everything...even his scenes Charlies Angels are fucking entertaining)...is awesome and no one is overshadowed by the performance of a single actor.
Having watched some of the original footage from the Frost Nixon interviews it is amazing to see how accurate Michael Sheen portrays David Frost, everything about his performance is spot on (voice, gestures, movement even the hair).
Langella looks nothing like Nixon (there are about two scenes in the movie when the sun is shinning on him from an angle that sort of makes him look like nixon) but he takes certain aspects of Nixon (voice, movement) and plays them to almost caricature extremes, but rather then making a complete joke out of himself, he makes the role his own and, for 120 minutes, lets you believe that this is what Nixon was like. Langella is nothing short of spectacular in this film.

Bottom line is that if you want to see an entertaining, historically interesting film, with a great cast and a director who has finally directed a great film again (A Beautiful Mind seems like it was a long time ago). Go see this movie...Do It..Do It Now. Also, the movie will most definitely be nominated for a Best Motion Picture Oscar, so if you want to to discuss this years nominations you should watch it.

Sitting on the couch, watching a lame TMZ Vampire movie, I have decided to create a blog...basically writing about the one thing that I know a little about...Films (and HSV games later on when the season starts again.) So yeah....'Here...We...Go!'