DVD Rental Day (2011 - ?)

[RobertR]

I'm actually looking forward to them turning off the p.o.v. rules a bit. And I find the zombie angle they're taking extremely fun. OTOH, I'm not sure how much I buy the "you can only find the room in the dark" angle, the "why set up in an apartment building instead of a research facility" seems sketchy to me the more they go into it, and there seems to be some inconsistency in what kills these zombies (minus blowing their heads completely off which seems to work everytime). And how smart they are which seems to come and go. Plus I think that having every SWAT guy essentially go Pvt. Hudson was a little much and I found the characters overall in the first one more likable, diverse, and interesting. That said, I had a lot of genuine fun with the second and I'm all for seeing more badass priests in action. That's a trope that doesn't get old for me.

 

Robert

[homer]

Finally got around to see Bertolucci's The Conformist last night. It's a visual masterpiece. Some of the shots are just breathtaking in their framing, lighting, and art design. Storraro is one of the desbt cinematographers of all time (Apocalypse Now, The Last Emporer) and this is considered one of his best efforts. I had some issues with the story and I didn't like some of the editing choices and the English dubbed version I watched probably took away from the performances. Quite frankly I could have watched the film on mute and probably liked it just fine. If you are a fan of photography in film, this is a good place to start.

[Katuluu]

Granted it's been a year so my math might be a little off but wasn't it only 4 SWAT guys who went into the building and two were knocked out right away? It seemed pretty genuine that it would knock them off their guard enough that they might lose control. One thing I did regret is they didn't do more with the multiple cameras at one time. That I thought could have been really fun and had some solid rewatchability.

 

As for only finding the room in the dark, yeah its a tenuous link to the supernatural elements of the movie but it makes for a great WTH? moment and really put me in a position to know that I had absolutely no idea what the heck was going to be thrown at me next, which is too rare a thing for horror films nowadays. I would agree that their seems to be a lot of just throwing concepts at the wall and seeing what sticks, but for me so far almost everything seems to be sticking through both films.

[RobertR]

They lost one SWAT guy right away and another by about the mid-point, albeit the mid-point in the movie with this short a running time isn't too long. Overall though, I felt that the SWAT guys were indistinct and a page out of Cameron would have been in order. Even though the Colonial Marines of Aliens are all types, even the cannon fodder were different types.

 

I kind of felt that the "room you can only find in the dark" was simply the workaround they needed to get to another set after they exhausted the layout of the building. I'm still not sure how that fits with the supposed backstory of the researcher and how he managed to utilize/create(?) it. Or why the researcher would bother to put a refrigerator to store an important sample in an air duct?!? But, the execution of both those concepts were so well done that I'm willing to let them slide and put them in the category of nitpicks. That said, I think there's much more to nitpick about the second film than the first. The first is tight. The second is more ambitious but also a bit sloppier.

 

Still, overall I think the [Rec] films are among the most creative, fun, and scary horror movies of the last decade, minor nitpicks aside. They essentially are thrill rides/haunted house movies, but they do it very well. And, they make the found footage conceit work. That's one thing I like about low budget horror, there's room for trying new things. When's the last time anyone saw a first person, found footage bio-pic?

 

Robert

[jjkoestler]

Robert - Do you have a website? If so, please post the url. I'd love to read more of your reviews.

[Katuluu]

Robert is currently doing an outstanding job working his way through Kurosawa's filmography and reviewing them over at my website. I do believe he also does some reviews at Al's site as well.

[RobertR]

^Yeah, I'm working my way through all 30 films Kurosawa directed at Matt's website, latest is going up Monday, and I'll post reviews of more recent releases at Al's site. I tend to try to work the reviews at Al's site around the Brewers, so maybe I'll post some thoughts Wednesday on what I saw at the Milwaukee Film Festival. FYI, Close Encounters still rocks on the big screen.

 

Robert

[dadofandrew]

Robert, you really class up the place, let me tell you. I'll wait to post my latest Cops DVD release for another day.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[RobertR]

Playing catchup for Halloween.

 

The Wicker Man

 

Not the Nic Cage version. This is a weird movie. For about the first half it threatens to become this strange, Pagan/folk musical. It's almost a farce. But, it does create a creepy, stranger in a strange land atmosphere. And the ending is really something, where everything clicks into place. It may require some patience on the part of the viewer, but it's worth it.

 

Carnival of Souls

 

Part Twilight Zone, part Kafka. This is a low budget movie that's part supernatural / part psychological. Or at least it pretends to be. The cinematography is stark, high contrast, black and white and I have to think Romero viewed it before Night of the Living Dead. It creates horror, in the daylight, in the middle of Salt Lake City, which is really something to behold. There's plenty of scenes of isolation / alienation in the middle of America. Terrific movie, albeit the final twist isn't really a surprise at all.

 

The Reptile

 

One of Hammer's one off entries. It's a nice, atmospheric movie set in a village in Cornwall. It shares many similarities with The Plague of the Zombies utilizing the same sets and having similar setpieces. There's a theme of the British colonial mistakes coming back to haunt the country itself as the film centers around an Indian/asian horror, with symbols of Britain's eastern colonialism everywhere. The first 40 minutes are a bit slow as the mystery is obvious and we're waiting for the protagonist to catch up to the audience, but it's still nicely atmospheric. Plus, Michael Ripper, a long time Hammer regular who mostly played bartenders, gets a really extended part as kind of a bartender-hero. Not top tier Hammer, but solid.

 

Black Sunday (aka The Mask of Satan)

 

Mario Bava's horror debut and it's a terrific film. It's definitely one of the best looking horror films I've seen with deep, lush black and white photography, atmospheric sets, and a camera that glides through it all. It may be the best shot horror film I've ever seen, totally immersing you in the environment and mood of the world it creates. It's a pretty solid vampire movie as well and Barbara Steele really makes an impression in a dual part. Tim Burton was obviously influenced by this. The pre-title prologue really makes an impression with its brutality on display. Highly recommended as a link between old school, atmospheric Universal horror films and the more modern horror films.

 

Suspiria

 

There's lots of great stuff here, but you really have to take it as a nightmare / fairy tale as it's certainly over the top. The colors, especially red, really pop. The murders are beyond brutal and grotesque. Goblin's score is memorable. There's some hints of camp to it as well. And, I still can't make heads or tails of it, I guess I can follow the plot but the plot seems more of an excuse for these exquisite setpieces in this fairy tale wonderland than a movie with any actual meaning. But, it does all of it with great style. Not for everyone, you want solid plots and fully fleshed out characters look elsewhere, but unforgettable all the same.

 

Zombi 2 (aka Zombie)

 

Lucio Fulci's gory, pseudo-sequel to Dawn of the Dead, this time taking you to a tropical island and linking Romero's flesh eaters to voodoo. What I like best about this is that it's not trying to be deep in social commentary, but just deliver shocks and thrills. It's a total midnight movie, and it's a blast at it. There's nudity, extreme gore, and a jaw dropping centerpiece of a zombie fighting a shark. But, the film also has a nice rich color scheme, the action is staged well, the pacing is good, and the zombie makeup is very good. It's not as good a fully rounded movie as Romero's Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead, but it might surpass those two in delivering zombie setpieces and shocks. It's just a straightforward zombie exploitation movie that delivers on everything it promises.

 

I've a theory that an exploitation film can be labeled a success if it does at least one of two things; 1. Deliver all the expected thrills as good or better than often bigger budgeted studio fare or just the more respected films of the genre, and 2. Bring something new to the genre. Zombi 2 delivers all the promises of the genre AND brings some new stuff to the table.

 

Not Halloween related, but I watched The Quiet Duel from Kurosawa as well. At the end, I kind of wish Ozu had directed it instead of Kurosawa. Kurosawa just seems straining to do more where when the material demands a patient chamber piece approach and I think when he finally gets a chance to let loose, Kurosawa lets Mifune go too big. There's a nice opening setpiece set at a Japanese field hospital during WWII and a lot of nice acting and filming on display, but it doesn't fully work.

 

Robert

[TooLiveBrew]

Just finished It Might Get Loud. One word: amazing.

 

This weekend is going to be full of Zeppelin.

[dadofandrew]

My wife and I were both surprised how unfunny Bridesmaids was. Had some moments, but given the box office and reviews, was expecting far more. If not for the Mike and Molly gal, it would have been a snoozer.

[homer]

Just finished It Might Get Loud. One word: amazing.

 

This weekend is going to be full of Zeppelin.

Agreed. Awesome doc.

[TooLiveBrew]

My wife and I were both surprised how unfunny Bridesmaids was. Had some moments, but given the box office and reviews, was expecting far more. If not for the Mike and Molly gal, it would have been a snoozer.

If you didn't think that movie was funny, I really don't know what to say. Did you think it wasn't funny because basically everyone else that's seen it thought it was hilarious?

[DuWayne Steurer]

Some lesser known flicks that I've watched recently on my netflix.

 

Wild Target -- Interesting cast with Bill Nighy and Rupert Grint (post Harry Potter) playing a hitman and his unwitting apprentice. Nighy really is one of my favorite British actors, and he does a great job in this somewhat light hearted crime caper. 7/10

 

Blitz -- If you watch this expecting a lot of Jason Statham chop-socky action, you'll be very disappointed. It's a pretty straightforward British detective flick that isn't horribly bad at what it does, but I think most people just cruising through the Netflix will see "ooh, a Jason Statham movie!" and expect lots of Jackie Chan style action. There's none of that, and the detective story isn't really even all that clever. 5/10

The Warrior's Way -- I went into this expecting a lot of House of Flying Daggers style wire-work, and while there was some, the Hong Kong action scenes weren't really the focus of the movie. A great cast (Geoffrey Rush makes any movie better), amazing visuals, and a pretty cool story all came together to make this one of my sleeper favorites of the year. Oh, and there WAS an epic 'final battle' scene that did get a little ridiculous at times, and made an excellent capper for the movie. 9/10

 

Hogfather -- Terry Pratchett's Discworld is a very weird place, and if you're familar with it, you know what I mean. If you watch this movie (or any of the Discworld movies), you have to go in knowing 2 things.

1.) Everyone speaks one language: sarcasm. It's easy to get lost in the dialogue, when every last character is a sarcastic know it all or a sarcastic jerk, or a sarcastic idiot. Strangely enough, it works though.

2.) There really aren't any hero's. There's definitely 'bad guys', and there's people that want to do the right thing, but they certainly aren't archtypical heroes, and for the most part, even the characters who've been painted into the role of 'good guys' are usually doing the things they do for self serving reasons.

 

With those two things being said, it's a very enjoyable (albeit very long) movie that pokes some fun at some of our more well-known mythological conventions, while placing them on a fantasy world that's almost nothing like ours. Good fun if you like British humor, or if you're a fan of stuff like Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide. 8/10

[mothershipconnection]

Here are our most recent rentals:

X-Men - First Class - I thought this was perhaps the best of the X-Men movies. I'm not a comic guy, but still found the backstory of the split between Professor X and Magneto to be a really interesting story.

Unknown - Yeah, it's not a very believable story, but few thrillers are. The wife and I really dig thrillers and conspiracy movies, and both enjoyed this one a lot.

 

Bridesmaids - You've gotta be down with raunchy humor. If you are, it's a pretty enjoyable movie, though it has the boring "plot development" stretches that plague the genre.

 

Hanna - We both thought this was awesome. Who doesn't like a story about a young girl trained in the wilderness to be an assassin?

 

Never Let Me Go - A pretty good story that occasionally got boring. If 1984 and Brave New World type stories (though this goes nowhere near as far) are your thing, you're likely to at least be intrigued by the movie.

 

Blue Valentine - Sucked, big time, and makes me wonder again what critics are thinking. With the divorce rate being what it is, I have no idea who finds this movie unique or interesting. A couple who used to be in love but aren't anymore? May as well have been the story of a kid who goes off to college, gets a 2.8 GPA, switches majors, and ends with him accepting a $35,000 a year job.

[rwa12]

I agree with Al about Bridesmaids, he actually summed up my feelings on it entirely. I thought that Melissa McCarthy was the only character that made it watchable.

[RobertR]

Bridesmaids biggest problem is that it needed an editor willing to cut down bits that went way too long. Wiig does some good stuff at times and I liked that it was dealing with the fallout from economic failure as at least part of the story, but McCarthy easily makes the most impact.

 

I should tout some films that are out on video now (or will be soon) that I saw in theaters earlier. Incendies easily had the biggest impact on me when I saw it in the theater so far this year with the final revelations being a real gut punch. Definitely not light viewing, but a really well made, hard hitting film.

 

I also found Midnight in Paris really enjoyable and I believe it's due out on dvd by the end of the year. It's more than a bit fluffy and blunt about it's ultimate message and Rachel McAdams is a bit too shrewish, but it's a fun romp, it looks terrific, and Owen Wilson hasn't been so engaged in a long time. Plus there's a great Luis Bunuel joke that you don't have to know much about Bunuel to get.

 

Robert

[dadofandrew]

Bridesmaids would have been far funnier as a 1:30 film, rather than 2 hours. All the wasted scenes, the entire subplots about baking, the jewelry store, her current relationship, added nothing. Even the looking for the bride thing could have been shortened.

 

Kevin Smith has said on many occasions that it's tough to sustain humor for more than 90-100 minutes, yet he has released 2+ hour films too. It's like getting into a relationship with someone who cheats, it rarely works, but people always think this will be the exception. Even a hilarious film like Something About Mary could have been better if it were 10-15 minutes shorter.

[Schlitz001]

Kevin Smith has said on many occasions that it's tough to sustain humor for more than 90-100 minutes, yet he has released 2+ hour films too. It's like getting into a relationship with someone who cheats, it rarely works, but people always think this will be the exception. Even a hilarious film like Something About Mary could have been better if it were 10-15 minutes shorter.

Have you ever seen the unedited cut of Mallrats? Kevin Smith was forced to cut out about 30 minutes of footage that he wanted to keep in the movie. While it makes sense for the plot, the full length version of Mallrats is almost unwatchably boring and a lot less funny. You have to keep the jokes flowing fast, especially in more shallow comedy movies or it just doesn't work.

[RobertR]

Comedy and horror are the two genres where I start to worry when I see running times much above 90 minutes. Not to say that it can't be done, I'm a proponent that a movie should be as long as it needs to be, but you're generally playing with a smaller base of emotions and ideas.

 

And, extended, "unrated" comedy DVD editions are almost always filled with junk that wasn't funny enough to make it into the movie in the first place. There obviously have been films that have been hurt by studio mandated cuts/decisions, Brazil, Kingdom of Heaven, and The Abyss spring to mind, but the vast majority of extended editions only succeed in making a film longer.

 

Robert

[Team Canada]

Agreed on both Midnight and Bridesmaids. The latter was just more awkward and uncomfortable than funny, and what humor was there was just typical juvenile humor.

 

A couple others:

 

Main Street: I wouldn't recommend it except for Colin Firth.. but not because he's good. It takes place in Durham, and there's a pretty terrible mishmash of accents overall, but his supposedly Texan accent is unbelievable. You really have to see it to appreciate how bad it is. It's like Bertie from King's Speech took a couple lessons and is trying to sound like a Texan.

 

Win Win: It's hard to go wrong with Giamatti and Amy Ryan. Basically they end up bringing a troubled (but clearly good hearted) teen into their home, and the film explores that relationship and that of the boy and his mother. Really liked it, especially Ryan's character.

[homer]

While it makes sense for the plot, the full length version of Mallrats is almost unwatchably boring and a lot less funny.

That's how I feel about most Kevin Smith movies.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I realize that any animated movie not made by Pixar or Dreamworks tends to get immediately dismissed, but we caught Dragon Hunters on Netflix last night, and I was completely caught off guard.

 

This is a French movie, with Forrest Whitaker voicing the lead character. It's about a pair of rogues/con artists/fighters who pose as knights and promise to kill a dragon, and end up actually having to make good. The story is pretty straightforward, but I have to say, the art and animation style is simply amazing. The colors are vibrant, the environments are creative, bizarre, and really, just.......neat, and the character designs are over the top. If for no other reason, watch this movie for the bizarre and amazing art/animation style, and you probably won't be disappointed.

 

Total package? solid. 8/10

[EdgarDiazRocks]

I would like to comment on my original post that started this thread 7.5 years ago(!), that now that Hunger Games is coming out that I've completely come around to LOVING the original Battle Royale.

 

That said after seeing her in that Oscar dress, I could watch Jennifer Lawrence sitting in a chair eating a snicker bar for 90 minutes and be quite happy.

 

http://www.thesmokingjacket.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/jennifer_lawrence_04.jpg

[RobertR]

I've probably said it multiple times before, but Kurosawa's Stray Dog rocks. It's a great, early police procedural / action film.

 

We rented Horrible Bosses and I don't feel strongly about it in either direction. There are things that work, Colin Ferrell in particular, but there's not enough of the things that work, the plot seems to belabor the setup, and it coasts a lot on the charms of the cast. The cast is game, but Ferrell is the only one that's really inspired. Kevin Spacey probably could play his part in his sleep, which kind of takes out any kind of surprise factor.

 

X-Men: First Class had me with Michael Fassbender, superpowered James Bond. He's great and James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence are also very good. I wish the initial spy premise of the film had lasted longer, but at about the midway point it basically turns into a rehash of the first X-Men movie with extended montage/training scenes. And some dodgy CGI. Ultimately I think it's enjoyable blockbuster entertainment, but Fassbender in particular clearly outshined the rest of the material.

 

I tried watching Insidious, but never could get into it. When I started having problems with the DVD I said the heck with it.

 

In theaters, I enjoyed Hugo, but the second half concentrating on Ben Kingsley is vastly superior to the Hugo Cabret portion of the story. The Artist is a real crowd pleaser and charming, although the story is slight and there are nits to be picked with its conceit. Plus, I think the choice for music at the climax is an enormous cheat.

 

Robert