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

[logger]

Attack the Block

I had been put off by what I had seen in the trailers making it look unfunny and pandering. Even all the talk of films from the 80s had me wary that this would just be more masturbation from the grow the fuck up generation. But it has got great reviews so I decided to give it a go. Now we've discussed before on here how a trailer can make a film look bad. I wouldn't have watched Scott Pilgrim if it wasn't for Edgar Wright, the trailer for Four Lions put me off seeing that at the cinema. Those films were much better than the trailer made them out to be, in fact they were completely different films than the trailer made them out to be. Alas, that isn't the case here. The film could possibly be worse than the trailer made it out to be. It's not just that it's not funny, it's actively unfunny, sucking any joy out of the atmosphere, leaving the odd moment that could have worked floundering in disappointment. The one time I did laugh was at the end when the main woman is introduced as the woman who reported the mugging as the police are clearing up an alien invasion.

This awful, fall flat on its face, anti humour pretty much kills the film off. The gang of hoodies are obnoxious, this is kind of the point, but they don't have the charm or humour to carry it off and when their redemption comes they are still pretty obnoxious, charmless and unfunny. If it had been funny it might have been an alright film, not a good one but an alright film which would have been better than the shit one that it is. If it had been funny then maybe you could forgive the lack of excitement or thrills or suspense. They clearly had a low budget but things could still have been done so much better. Maybe if novice director Joe Cornish could have given the film any energy at all it could have worked.

Maybe I'm being too harsh as I'm clearly not the target audience, with this basically being Twilight for boys, but whilst Twilight gets ripped to shreds for being a little girls' film whilst critics are stumbling out of the Groucho club to heap praise on this as some kind of socially aware, sci fi, cult classic in the making rather than the dull, pandering, philosophically childish, little boys' film that it is. In fact, it reminded me of the British children's films that the BBC used to show in the afternoon in the 80s, only bloodier and cruder but just as amateurish. Then again, I'm not a middle class, middle aged, London, medianista so what would I know about how working class yoofs should be portrayed in films.

Possibly beats out Sucker Muncher as the worst film I've seen this year. If you've seen the trailer you've seen the best bits already so you don't need to bother.

[maian]

Cape Fear (1991)

Charming, erudite and well-read convict (Robert De Niro) gets out of prison and tries to start a new life for himself, yet the lawyer who defended him (Nick Nolte) just can't seem to leave him alone.

I enjoyed bits of Scorsese's remake of the 1962 classic, but overall I found it a little too much. Everything about it felt overcooked, from Nolte's "I AM SO FRUSTRATED!" acting to Scorsese's lurid direction, and whilst parts of it worked - the introduction of Max Cady, covered in tattoos, working out in prison, despite being so thoroughly and brilliant parodied on The Simpsons, is really impressive - over two hours it felt kind of oppressive. Even De Niro's performance, which starts out being really interesting and creepy, certainly once he starts trying to seduce Juliette Lewis, got very tiring by the end.

I got the feeling that the film would have worked better if it was closer to the more restrained original or if someone like Brian DePalma, who does overblown Hitchcock pastiches much better than Scorsese, had directed instead. You might even have got John Lithgow as Cady, which would have been fun.

Maybe it's just that I can't hear that Bernard Hermann theme without thinking of Sideshow Bob.

Anyway, this means that I've seen every feature film Scorsese's directed to date. Now, the documentaries.

This post has been edited by maian: May 18 2011, 04:30 PM

[logger]

You might even have got John Lithgow as Cady, which would have been fun.

I always thought they should have switched De Niro and Nolte's roles, although I'm not sure how convincing it would be to have Nolte seduce Juliette Lewis.

[maian]

I always thought they should have switched De Niro and Nolte's roles, although I'm not sure how convincing it would be to have Nolte seduce Juliette Lewis.

De Niro can do buttoned-down more convincingly than Nolte, who always looks like a mountain man even when he's dressed like a lawyer. Admittedly, that does play into the idea of the family as fractured and dysfunctional nicely, and does make his shift to violence seem more natural. Then again, the great thing about the original was that the moment when quiet, gentle Gregory Peck punched seedy, violent Robert Mitchum was actually pretty shocking.

[sweetbutinsane]

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Lots of swashbuckling. Very funny. No Will and Elizabeth (although no Pintel and Ragetti either). Yeah, I liked it a bit more than the last two.

[Rebus]

Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)

No set dressing required as it was shot amongst the rubble of the city still recovering from the bitter war that ended up taking the lives of about a quarter of a million innocent civilians. Starkly affecting, and brilliantly shot, making it difficult at times to decipher which was a scene being filmed by Winterbottom, and which was actual footage of some of the atrocities that went on. Needles to say, do not watch the movie if you can't handle real footage of the victims who were caught up in the fighting. All the performances were great, save perhaps for Marissa Tomei who detracted from the realism a little bit with a pretty Hollwood approach to her role.

The music was an especially brilliant touch, with scenes of absolute horror being juxtaposed with Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, and as a result really highlighting just how completely different and detached the West was during this time. Watching Bez jump around on Top of the Tops was about as far removed as you could get from the crisis in Sarajevo.

I guess it makes some kind of ironic sense that this film was largely ignored when it was first released, and got barely any release in theatres, just as the conflict itself was given the same treatment.

[Hobbes]

Attack the Block

Exactly the opposite of what logger said. Funny, kinetic, stylishly shot, well-written and uses its environment brilliantly. Perhaps skimps on the look of the monsters a bit (ie they're largely dark, ill-defined masses), but clearly due to budgetary things as oppose to intent.

Offers a look into adolescent life on the fringes in-between some excellent, and comedy set-piece filled, action scenes and funny dialogue between the leads, all of whom are entertaining and fit the look and sound of the flick to a tee. Cornish uses a few brilliant shots too, from the huge opening tracking shot down to Oval tube to the use of angled cameras to distort and mystify the block's hallways, making them seem far more alien than any spacecraft's interior.

The above spoiler is missing the point completely. The implication is that no-one outside the block knows what's happening because everyone stays as far from it as they can/ignores it, blaming all the disruption, noise and violence on the kids who have been (to an extent rightly) stereotyped as hoodies who just want to nick your watch and ride around on mini-scooters throwing bangers and fireworks. Hence she's "the woman who reported the mugging" because people don't know what's happening inside the confines of the estate.

See it, decide yourself. I liked it a lot. Excellent Buckles cameo as well.

ed: Comparing this to Twilight is preposterous. It's like saying beef and milk are the same thing just because they both come out of the same animal.

This post has been edited by Hobbes: May 18 2011, 10:56 PM

[logger]

ed: Comparing this to Twilight is preposterous. It's like saying beef and milk are the same thing just because they both come out of the same animal.

Twilight is a film for little girls to pretend to be mature. This is a film for little boys to pretend to be masculine.

[Ade]

Cape Fear (1991)

Charming, erudite and well-read convict (Robert De Niro) gets out of prison and tries to start a new life for himself, yet the lawyer who defended him (Nick Nolte) just can't seem to leave him alone.

I enjoyed bits of Scorsese's remake of the 1962 classic, but overall I found it a little too much. Everything about it felt overcooked, from Nolte's "I AM SO FRUSTRATED!" acting to Scorsese's lurid direction, and whilst parts of it worked - the introduction of Max Cady, covered in tattoos, working out in prison, despite being so thoroughly and brilliant parodied on The Simpsons, is really impressive - over two hours it felt kind of oppressive. Even De Niro's performance, which starts out being really interesting and creepy, certainly once he starts trying to seduce Juliette Lewis, got very tiring by the end.

I got the feeling that the film would have worked better if it was closer to the more restrained original or if someone like Brian DePalma, who does overblown Hitchcock pastiches much better than Scorsese, had directed instead. You might even have got John Lithgow as Cady, which would have been fun.

Maybe it's just that I can't hear that Bernard Hermann theme without thinking of Sideshow Bob.

Anyway, this means that I've seen every feature film Scorsese's directed to date. Now, the documentaries.

I really enjoyed Scorcese's remake, although, having never seen the original didn't allow me the benchmark comparison. I would like to see the original at some point, certainly, and a rewatch of the 1991 version wouldn't go amiss either (about the only thing I can really remember of it now is my favourite line, delivered by cameo role Mitchum: "Well, pardon me all over the place.")

[Sostie]

Upside Down: The Creation Records Story
Feature length documentary about the rise of the greatest (British) record label ever. The level of hedonism going on in both the bands and the company itself, it's a wonder anything was ever released through the label. Lot's of great footage and great music, it's the type of "meat and potato" documentary that the BBC usually do so well.
I will probably spend the weekend uploading the Creation CDs I've not yet put on my iPod.

Do You Love Me Parts 8 & 9
Latest parts of the Nick Cave retrospective docs - covering Let Love In and Murder Ballads - featuring musicians, fans, friends etc. Everyone except Cave himself. The simple presentation - talking heads on a fixed camera, not cuts to any music or footage, no one asking questions - works well and is quite refreshing. If you worship at the Church Of Cave, well worth viewing.

Have parts 10 & 11 still to watch. I wonder if they'll have PJ Harvey on The Boatman's Call film. That could be veeery interesting

[monkeyman]

Tangled
Very enjoyable.

[Hobbes]

Twilight is a film for little girls to pretend to be mature. This is a film for little boys to pretend to be masculine.

I'd contest that the former of these isn't wholly true, and that the latter is completely false.

[Serafina_Pekkala]

Tangled
Very enjoyable.

My wee niece loves this movie.

It's like saying beef and milk are the same thing just because they both come out of the same animal.

Fnar.

[maian]

I really enjoyed Scorcese's remake, although, having never seen the original didn't allow me the benchmark comparison. I would like to see the original at some point, certainly, and a rewatch of the 1991 version wouldn't go amiss either (about the only thing I can really remember of it now is my favourite line, delivered by cameo role Mitchum: "Well, pardon me all over the place.")

Mitchum and Peck are great in their cameos. I particularly liked the fact that they cast Peck as the exact opposite kind of lawyer that he played in the original.

[Ade]

Mitchum and Peck are great in their cameos. I particularly liked the fact that they cast Peck as the exact opposite kind of lawyer that he played in the original.

I really do need to watch the original.


After many many months, I finally got around to seeing Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'Tis (Welcome To The Sticks) (or Welcome To The Shticks, to apply its more dialectically appropriate pronunciation).

French comedy fun starring Dany Boon (MicMacs), and Kad Merad as central protagonist Philippe Abrams. After fraudulently attempting to win a promtion to an office in the sought-after South, post office worker Philippe finds himself transferred instead to Bergues, an obscure rural town in the far North (notorious for its reputation as the worst location in all of France). Given the ultimatum by his superiors of either being fired, or accepting this most undesirable of transfers, Philippe opts for the latter, and leaving his wife and young son back home, sets off to commence his two year 'sentence'.

Upon his arrival, he finds communication with the locals something of a challenge, due to their bizarre Ch'ti (or Sh'ti) dialect. This lends itself to some wonderfully surreal exchanges of dialogue (the English subtitled translation of which, though not adhering to word-for-word accuracy, manages to convey the delightful confusion that ensues).

This wordplay and banter doesn't dominate proceedings however. As Philippe settles into his new job as Post Office manager and slowly overcomes the initial language barrier, he finds himself warming to the locals and his new co-workers. The story then switches focus to his unsuccessful attempt to convey to his wife that it's really not so bad in Bergues after all. His wife, assuming he's merely putting on a brave face to spare her worrying about him, decides to join him. Having been thrust into this situation because of his fraudulent attempt to better his career, Philippe finds himself resorting again to devious means in order to prevent his wife from discovering the truth (his reasons for which become clear soon enough, but it would spoil it to give away any further plot detail).

A sweet and affecting little comedy, with another affable turn from the ever-watchable Dany Boon. Well worth seeking out.