DVD Rental Day (2004 - 2010)

[rluzinski]

I've never seen an Akira Kurosawa movie but there's a couple guys here that seem to love his work. I can download Dreams (Yume) on the 360 and was wondering if that would be a decent introduction to his work? I like artsy-fartsy, slow paced movies, so it looks pretty appealing, even if it's only a compilation of short stories. Should I hold out for a better Kurosawa film? Which one?

[Fatter than Joey]

I saw one I liked the other night --

 

Hard Candy

 

It's about a 14 yr old girl, and a 35ish yr old guy, and their blossoming predator/prey relationship.

 

I am always astonished by movies, that have 2 or 3 characters and take place inside a house/room. It takes well written dialogue and interesting stories and characters for this to happen.

 

This one delivers.

[RobertR]

rluz,

 

Dreams is uneven. And not Kurosawa's best from a storytelling point of view. However, it's a visual treat throughout with "The Blizzard" and "Crows" being standout chapters, the latter featuring Scorsese in a cameo. The chapters are based on dreams, increasingly getting more apocalyptic towards the end, and, as such, sometimes take leaps of logic and realism.

 

It wouldn't be my first recommendation as an introduction to Kurosawa, but it was my wife's introduction to Kurosawa and she was swept away by the visuals. Ran, The Hidden Fortress, The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ikiru, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Stray Dog, and High and Low might be better choices though, at least from a storytelling point of view, although Ran is as impressive from a visual point of view as anything made in the 80s.

 

Robert

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Ran, The Hidden Fortress, The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ikiru, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Stray Dog, and High and Low might be better choices though

 

I finally watched my Criteron version of Ikiru and was actually disappointed. It was a much longer cut (and sometimes needlessly longer, the hooker girls sining Rosemary Clooney was not in the version I had on VHS)

 

For everybody's starter in Kurosawa I would suggest BOTH Yojimbo and Sanjuro, since they are the two most influenced and influential to western films that there are things in them that somebody coming to them will relate to.

 

Throne of Blood is also a great place to start.

 

captured by Altman's zoom lens

 

Which is HIS Kurosawa influenced trait.

[Katuluu]

I've never really liked Ikiru all that much. It's just to gooey. Where's the paranoia? The Shakespeare? The dogs carrying severed limbs?

[RobertR]

I'd agree that the Tokyo nightlife section of Ikiru runs a tad long. Nothing too over the top, but certainly it could be tighter.

 

That said, it's an important Kurosawa film, it's one of the best representations of post-war Japan on film, it has an interesting structure, perhaps echoing Citizen Kane in the second half, and it has one heck of a great climatic shot with Shimura on the swing in the snow. And, it's partly on my recommendation as an introduction to Kurosawa because it's a reminder that Kurosawa didn't just direct samurai movies. With that said, High and Low might be a better introduction to contemporary Kurosawa, especially since it has a gripping crime story at the center of the movie.

 

That said, I'd agree that you can't go wrong with Yojimbo as an introduction. Short, exciting, funny, well shot, and with a familiar story. It doesn't ask for a three hour investment of time and attention, but begins paying off right from the opening shots. It's perhaps not the most ambitious Kurosawa film, but it's still reasonably ambitious and pretty much flawless. The only reason Sanjuro wasn't on my initial list was because I think you should see Yojimbo first.

 

And, nothing wrong with Throne of Blood as an introduction either. It's MacBeth transported to Japan. You know the story and can concentrate on the directoral decisions.

 

Robert

[RobertR]

New rentals...

 

Art School Confidential

 

Starts out promising, but ends up not saying a lot and having a sudden and not very entertaining shift in tone about 2/3rds through. After some initial, fun observations about art school, the humor pretty much devolves into art school is full of poseurs. Add in a main character that gets more unlikable as the film goes along and mostly wasted star cameos and it's a missed opportunity.

 

Inside Man

 

Not a great film, but an entertaining thriller with very solid performances by Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster, and a style and little touches that make it recognizably a Spike Lee film. It won't win any prizes, nor should it, but I was fully entertained over the 2 hour running time and felt that I got my money's worth.

 

The Devil Wears Prada

 

I was expecting to like this and I didn't. Meryl Streep is excellent, most of the rest of the cast is very good, and it's well photographed, but I found the story obvious and superficial. And I was especially bothered that the film wants to say that the "world of fashion is shallow" yet can't resist a single opportunity to make it look as fun and glamorous as possible with really only shallow "crises" to move the plot along. "Fashion Porn" is a phrase that crossed my mind several times while watching the movie.

 

Robert

[Team Canada]

Watched Wordplay last week. I think it would be pretty fair to call it an adult Spellbound. In short, it's a documentary about crossword puzzles, and focuses largely on the annual tournament in Stamford, along with frequent interjections from Will Shortz (NYT cw editor) and various celebrities (Jon Stewart, Clinton, Mussina, etc). The tournament is a lot more family reunion and collegial than the spelling bee, but there's still a fair amount of internal pressure to do well, and a heartbreaker of an ending in the finals (well, depending on your POV). Fun watch.

[Weirdos19]

I recieved the first season of Malcolm in the Middle for Christmas. It was on my wishlist.

 

If you didn't get a chance to see this show, rent it and enjoy. Absolutely hilarious.

 

 

Also, the Pilot episode is laugh out loud funny. Alot of comedy pilots are rough because they havent figured out a "comfort zone" for the characters and a direction for the show, in general.

 

Do yourself a favor. "Malcolm" is a top ten sitcom to me.

[Fatter than Joey]

I saw 3 movies -- I think all of them addressed in this thread -- but to add something to the reviews...

 

Little Miss Sunshine -- I was not blown away by this movie -- but I think it was very clever, the characters are great, and I suspect some viewers may identify with them more than others. Very enjoyable and easy movie to watch... but nothing I am going to hurry up and watch again.

 

The Descent. -- Holy Moly. I am a horror junkie. This movie is pure evil, and I fell asleep with VH1 on the TV just to be safe. I think I would have tweaked a couple of aspects of the movie, but this was the scariest thing I have seen in a long time. I am convinced that Lions Gate does not make bad movies.

 

The Proposition -- Very entertaining on a lot of levels. I liked the Australian setting, and the complexity of the situation that the 2 main characters were in.

[Team Canada]

Little Miss Sunshine

 

Two words. Awe. Some. One of the funniest movies I've seen in a while, including a classic dance sequence.

 

Unlike EDR, I think I actually Greg Kinnear's characters for some reason.

 

At any rate, I'd definitely recommend it.

 

 

It's not on video yet, but to me, Running with Scissors == Squid and the Whale.

 

I'm sure that will mean different things to different folks.

[RobertR]

A few new rentals.

 

Clerks 2

 

I have mixed feelings. I laughed at regular intervals, but part of me wants to take a crowbar to Kevin Smith's car while shouting "This is what happens when you fail to grow as a filmmaker!"

 

It doesn't help that Rosario Dawson is both the best thing in the movie and also the most unbelievable as she's so far out of the league of Dante. Any dramatic decision in the movie is undercut instantly by the casting of Dawson.

 

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

 

If it wasn't for Sacha Baron Cohen, I'd say you could give this movie a complete pass and not miss anything. And he's not in the movie enough. Honestly, I laughed more during The Queen than I did during this movie. Really, if you're choosing between this and Cars, go rent Cars.

 

Really, there's really no justification for the running time of nearly two hours. It has a plot, but it does nothing with it that isn't formula. A tighter, quicker edit likely would have been better.

 

Shallow Grave

 

I believe this is Danny Boyle's debut film. And you can see many of the ways that he's developed since then in the film including use of color and working with multiple film stocks and video. It's a nice, succinct little thriller about a tight knit set of roommates who cover up a death over a suitcase full of money and how that decision and the resulting paranoia drives them all apart. Ewan McGregor makes the most impact and it's obvious why he was the star of Boyle's next movie, the much improved Trainspotting. There are a few too many plot holes and little to no rooting interest among the characters for this to be a classic thriller, but it moves fast enough to cover up its missteps and keeps you guessing until the end.

 

While I'm at it, a bonus theatrical review.

 

The Queen

 

Helen Mirren getting an Oscar nomination and being the frontrunner is completely justified based on her performance as Elizabeth II. She has the icy stoic exterior down, but she lets you see that there's a person underneath that exterior and she really is a woman of her generation. That being the WWII stiff upper lip generation.

 

I don't think the movie as a whole is Best Picture material, although it may be nominated for that, as it is quite small in scope. But it is illuminating to someone that doesn't understand the British monarchy at all. And, as I alluded to earlier, it is funnier than you'd suspect with plenty of acid tongued asides thrown in.

 

Robert

[brettac1]

Townes Van Zandt - Be Here to Love Me

 

I've been heavy into the music docs for a while now, and outside of The Devil and Daniel Johnston, this is the best one I have seen. If you're not familiar with him (sadly a lot of people aren't), it likely won't be a hinderance to your enjoyment of the movie. It's mostly a sad story, I guess, but it's a pretty riveting movie regardless. And, it doesn't really sugarcoat the man - you get the feeling that if he wasn't one of the best songwriters ever, you'd despise him.

[bucks2281]

Has anybody seen the Zac Braff movie Last Kiss lately? I had high hopes because I love Garden State, but this movie was downright sad and depressing. Nevertheless, I found it to be compelling because it addresses the troubles and questions of truly growing up, but it's a downer. Btw, it takes place in Madison and features UW-Madison, if you wanted to know.

[Team Canada]

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

 

Ditto what Robert said. What a complete piece of garbage. I'm just glad I didn't pay to rent it.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Crank

 

 

Eh......lot's of blowy up stuff, but not much substance. It's like the movie Speed, except in Jason Statham's body instead of a bus. And well, no Keanu Reeves (which is a good thing, right?)

You, Me, and Dupree

 

I was told this movie was laugh out loud funny. It wasn't. It wasn't even *chuckle softly* funny. It's not a bad movie, for a chick flick, but it's not funny, and it doesn't really go anywhere.

Talladega Nights

 

I admit, I love lowbrow humor, and laughed my sides to pain a few times. That doesn't mean it's a good movie. It's not supposed to be. If you didn't like Anchorman, then by all means, don't watch this. If you liked Anchorman, or it at least made you laugh, you're probably ok with this one.

[fstorm1]

I just watched Talladega Nights last night. I had to force myself to watch it because a) I think Wil Farrell is wildly overrated and b) it just didn't look fun from the trailers. Incredibly, I enjoyed it alot on some low level. Not a great movie by any stretch, but I laughed out loud quite a few times. I especially enjoyed the ridiculousness (?) of Ricky and Cal's relationship after Cal "takes over" his life. And I especially liked Gary Cole as the father. The scene where he is talking to his grandkids on the front lawn is priceless. All this after i couldn't even finish watching Anchorman all the way through.

 

Maybe the reason I thought it was as funny as I did was because I just saw "The Ringer" the other day, and that was a complete waste of time. Maybe one or 2 laughs. Maybe.

 

Also saw The Descent, and at the time, I thought it was okay, nothing special. But it wasn't until after the movie, maybe over the next 24 hours that I really thought about the film and realized how good it was. The multiple "antagonists" (setting, the beasts, the underlying story between the leads) was very very good.

 

On a side note, I went back and watched a couple of my favorite films' commentaries in the last coupe days, Predator and Hellboy. I remember the good old days when director's commentaries were rare and a real treat, but now every movie has them, and they all tend to be boring. But McTiernan's candor on Predator and Del Toro's shear passion make those commentaries 2 of my all time favorites.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Jet Li's "Fearless"

 

 

I really enjoyed this flick. It's not as flashy as the usual stuff that's coming from Hong Kong these days, but the story is just as good (if not better). Yes, it's pretty much a 2 hour advertisement for Jin Wu sports, but I can live with that. Every movie has to be about something, after all.

 

If you like martial arts movies, but don't get into the wirework like what you'll see in Hero and Crouching Tiger, you'll probably like this.

[gbpacker40]

The Covenant - Was ok, slow getting to the plot, but just OK.

 

Snatch - Ive seen it before and still love it everytime I watch it, definately a must see. Best acting Brad Pitt has ever done.

 

Off topic, but also seen Stomp the Yard at the theatres and I must say, it was a dam good movie.

[mothershipconnection]

The Descent

Finally got around to this one, as the ladyfriend hates horror movies, but I talked her into this one, and she liked it even more than I did. Really well-done and keeps your attention from throughout.

 

Idiocracy

Maybe I like it so much because I have the same theory, maybe it's just that I think Luke Wilson is great. Either way, this wasn't incredible, but it was very good and had some very funny moments.

[dadofandrew]

Thank You For Smoking...I was pretty disappointed, I've been looking forward to seeing it on DVD since it came out in theaters. Just not that funny. Actually, the only real funny thing, which was cute repeatedly mind you, was the way he'd use doublespeak and go around the subject so that it came back to liberty and the freedom to smoke.

 

It was mildly funny,. just not the laugh riot I expected.

 

By the way, how did Katie Holmes, a simply spectacularly beautiful young woman, marry such a complete idiot?

[deeswan]

By the way, how did Katie Holmes, a simply spectacularly beautiful young woman, marry such a complete idiot?

 

Wait, I thought she married Tom Cruise.

[DuWayne Steurer]

The Protector

 

I came into this one hearing good things, so maybe I expected more out of it. If you've ever seen a Jackie Chan movie, you've probably seen this. I guess I should have expected that, but there ya have it.

 

Ok, it's not a bad movie, Tony Jaa is a heckuva martial artist, and the story is something mildly different. 2 hours of chop socky fun that could have been worse.

Monster House

 

I know everyone says this was a good movie, but I really am not a fan of animated pictures, be they CGI or hand drawn. That being said, after watching it, my main complaint was that it was too short. Far better than I figured it would be, and I'll say it right here, almost as scary than any gorefest the studios are putting out nowadays. Why? Most of the "goodguys" in the slasher flicks are young adults or older, and the main characters here are kids, that, ya know, still believe in the boogeyman. There's a few parts in this movie that make you remember what it's like to be a kid, and feel like you're all alone in the world. Great movie.

[valpocrewsader]

Quote:

---

You, Me, and Dupree

 

I was told this movie was laugh out loud funny. It wasn't. It wasn't even *chuckle softly* funny. It's not a bad movie, for a chick flick, but it's not funny, and it doesn't really go anywhere.

---

 

Verbatim, this could be my review of Wedding Crashers.

[PrimetimeHater]

Roco, I definitely agree with you there on The Protector. How many times did he break people's arms in that movie? I swear they used that bone break sound effect at least 50 or so times in that.

 

I just recently rented L'Avventura. I sort of feel bad because I did not like it that much and it's on all of the greatest movies lists. I thought it was pretty boring.