Cinemexperience: part deux., Some more filums you saw. Options

[Ade]

The Next Three Days
A more than half decent thriller from Paul Haggis, and a remake of the French original Anything For Her, which overall I much preferred. For the subtitle phobic though, this version isn't half bad.

[logger]

Unstoppable

It stops.

[Sean of the Dead]

Spoilers man!

[logger]

I didn't say how it stops.

[maian]

Wuthering Heights (2011)

I won't say too much about it since I've already written four separate reviews of it for different websites, so am a little bit tired of talking about it, but it is very, very good. It pretty throws into question every presumption of how to do a period piece/literary adaptation with a bracingly modern and uncomfortable style that will be familiar to anyone who has seen Red Road or Fish Tank. The acting is a little suspect - none of the non-professionals can hold a candle to Katie Jarvis as far as young leads in Andrea Arnold films go - but that's not the focus of the film. It's more about atmosphere and sensuality than acting and character, and on those terms it suceeds. Fans of the novel will probably not care for the swearing or the lack o romanticism, but I found it to be really effective.


Michael Clayton (2007)

Geogre Clooney plays a fixer for a law firm who is called in when his friend (Tom Wilkinson) has a breakdown in the middle of a meeting with some high profile clients. From there he discovers that the corporation his firm works for may not be squeaky clean and is drawn into a web of deceit and murky dealings that threatens the lives of everyone it touches.

The plot machinations aren't much too write home about - corporations are teh evols is hardly new ground - but the acting, style and atmosphere are brilliant. Director Tony Gilroy slowly ratchets up the tension over the course of the film whilst revealing just enough details about the characters to make them interesting, but not enough so as to make them predictable. Clooney's a solid, unshowy core for the film, but Tom Wilkinson steals the show as his raving friend, and Tilda Swinton is typically icy as the representative of the corporation who finds herself driven into taking extreme action without really considering the consequences.

[sweetbutinsane]

Unstoppable

It stops.

Spoilers man!

I didn't say how it stops.

That made my day.

[Ade]

That made my day.

It gave me chuckles also.

[Serafina_Pekkala]

Wuthering Heights (2011)

My version would be called Withering Hates and have 2 pointless shouty people as Tubbs and Edward.

RocknRolla

Pointless enjoyable mockney nonsense from Mr Ritchie. I find hating on his films to be rather boring and predictable now - especially since he is very professional and has some amazing action sequences. The cast was great and the whole look was slick and stylish and contained a hilarious dance sequence. Okay it is basically the plot of Lock Stock re-written with some Russians and the script contained the odd moment of stupidness. And it appeared that Thandie Newton was on Qualuudes but I can't complain. She was great BTW and managed rather well in a sea of blokes. Tom Wilkinson makes a great villain and the gang - Leonidas, Stringer Bell, Bronson and SuperHans - all meshed. Plus, Toby Kebbell from Dead Man's Shoes (yes - he played Anthony the brother - can you believe?) was unrecognisable and kinda stole the show and should be in more films. He scrubs up rather well too. I hope they make a sequel one day.

This post has been edited by Serafina_Pekkala: Nov 7 2011, 01:44 PM

[Ade]

RocknRolla

Pointless enjoyable mockney nonsense from Mr Ritchie. I find hating on his films to be rather boring and predictable now - especially since he is very professional and has some amazing action sequences. The cast was great and the whole look was slick and stylish and contained a hilarious dance sequence. Okay it is basically the plot of Lock Stock re-written with some Russians and the script contained the odd moment of stupidness. And it appeared that Thandie Newton was on Qualuudes but I can't complain. She was great BTW and managed rather well in a sea of blokes. Tom Wilkinson makes a great villain and the gang - Leonidas, Stringer Bell, Bronson and SuperHans - all meshed. Plus, Toby Kebbell from Dead Man's Shoes (yes - he played Anthony the brother - can you believe?) was unrecognisable and kinda stole the show and should be in more films. He scrubs up rather well too. I hope they make a sequel one day.

I quite agree there. I've long been a fan of Lock Stock and Snatch, so I never quite grasped what all the Ritchie hatred was about anyway. But still, after the hilariously abysmal Swept Away and overblown nonsense that was Revolver, I was left more disappointed than disillusioned with Mr Ritchie. RocknRolla was, then, a surprisingly and mercifully excellent dose of rollicking fun - far better than I'd hoped it would or could be; definitely a return to form. Confidence thus restored: Guy had redeemed himself rather nicely, I thought.

And a sequel would certainly be most welcome.

[Serafina_Pekkala]

And a sequel would certainly be most welcome.

It would. Revolver and Swept Away were pretty terrible but since he left Madonna, he has got his form back. Funny how she does that.

[Sostie]

RocknRolla was great fun. Particularly liked the Newton/Butler dance sequence.

As for Revolver, I like it. Over ambitious yes, and a bit crap towards the end, but it ain't all bad. It's also the first of The Stath's Arguing With Himself In A Lift Trilogy. The second being Crank, the third not yet made

[Serafina_Pekkala]

You just love The Stath. For you.

Why he not your avatar?

This post has been edited by Serafina_Pekkala: Nov 8 2011, 03:23 PM

[Ade]

It would. Revolver and Swept Away were pretty terrible but since he left Madonna, he has got his form back. Funny how she does that.

He has ex-or-caaahhhzed the dee-munnnz-ah!


Sorry, went a bit deep south there.

[maian]

Hard Eight/Sydney (1996)

I decided to rewatch Paul Thomas Anderson's often maligned debut to see if it was as rubbish as I remembered it being and it totally wasn't! It's not on a par with the works that followed it, but as a stylish mix of character study, noir and chamber piece it works really well. Philip Baker Hall is superb, John C. Reilly is adorable and Gwynnie is tolerable, whilst the moody look and woozy, laidback feel give it a distinct feel. It'd never happen, but I would like to see a sequel picking up with these characters years later and seeing where they are in their lives.


Mr Brooks (2007)

Dark, fun and pulpy thriller in which Kevin Costner plays a serial killer who has spent years suppressing his murderous urges (represented by a supremely creepy William Hurt) but gives in to them once more, which in turn causes him to come to the attention of a potential killer in waiting (Dane Cook) who wants Mr Brooks to be his mentor, as well as a policewoman (Demi Moore) who is dealing with her own personal problems. It's a little bit messy in places - Moore's character felt like little more than an after-thought since she never really engaged with the central storyline, which was much more focused on how Brooks relates to his family and Cook's character - but in general the atmosphere and darkly comic interplay between Costner and Hurt carries the film along nicely.


Naked Lunch (1991)

Something something two things wrong with that title something something.

It was interesting seeing someone try to adapt a book that completely defies adaptation, especially once it became clear that David Cronenberg was merely using elements of the novel and interweaving it with William S. Burrough's real life to create a commentary on the creation of the book and the life of its creator, but it wasn't all that satisfying as a work in its own right. The effects are pretty disgusting and it looks very good, but it's ultimately a weird, sort of successful experiment that I don't think I'll revisit very often.


The Thin Blue Line (1988)

Compelling documentary that delves into the murder of Texas police office in 1976 and the resulting investigation and trial. Eroll Morris interviews all the key figures in the case - the man accused of the murder, the police and lawyers, the "witnesses" called at the trial - and uses their words, court documents and reconstructions to create a murky story of deceit, corruption and a misguided pursuit of justice. Morris doesn't editorialise or shape the narrative to present one side as right or wrong right until the end, in the process turning the film into a mystery in which the audience is left to decipher who is telling the truth and who is lying, as well as why they might be lying.

Really gripping and exciting, it should be on iPlayer from tomorrow.

[logger]

The Life Aquatic

It always fills me with such sweet melancholy.