My posting:movies watched ratio is dangerously low these days. Gotta up my numbers a bit, so here's a few of the ones I've watched recently.
Transformers: Age of Extinction: I've seen folks calling this one an improvement on the first three. Frankly, I don't know what movie they were watching. This was some sloppy garbage that was only marginally better than Revenge of the Fallen (and that movie's essentially a cinematic sin, so that's not exactly high praise). Sure, Shia's gone, but he's replaced by a low-grade Marky Mark and the bizarre incestuous love triangle he's in with his daughter and her boyfriend. The action is somewhat more comprehensible, but it still is just a bunch of weightless pixels smashing into one another with no real rhyme or reason to it all. And even though the Autobots are actually different enough to be distinguishable now, they've made them all a bunch of infighters who are trying to kill each other at every step (when Optimus isn't threatening to kill all humans, of course). The villains are nonsensical, the plot moreso, and the ending stupid on an astonishing level. The movie is a complete wash, interesting only for one thing that's more on a meta thing: this movie contains the most pandering to China I've ever seen in a motion picture. I don't mean that in any sort of negative way, just that it's a rather fascinating look at the broad change that is sweeping most big blockbusters as they appeal towards the increasingly-important international dollar. It's been visible before, but it's remarkably overt here, and the discussions about that are far more interesting and rewarding than anything else this waste of space movie can deliver.
Snowpiercer: Been waiting a while to see this one, and I wasn't disappointed. This is a movie that has a lot to say about class systems of the world and the concept of balance and order, and it manages to say it all with a very straight face amongst a very crazy situation. It's imaginative, it's wonderful to look at, and it features o many little things that you just don't see in most big Sci-Fi movies these days. Small character beats, properly-delivered backstory, sudden moments of gruesome violence that somehow are melded in with bits of levity and general weirdness... it makes sense that this is the result of a South Korean director, frankly. A lot of high-quality, mature films have been coming out of there the past few years, and I look forward to see what comes next.
Memories of Murder: I've seen this favorably compared to Zodiac, which sounds about right. This being from the same guy who made the one above, it's still filled with a lot of intelligent commentary on how people try to figure out terrible crimes, and still mix it with that strange mix of horror, humor, and wacked-outness. It's a great character study as well, watching two cops with differing ideologies slowly lose their way. Which sounds like something that's been done a million times before, but here it feels fresh and spot-on.
The Purge: Anarchy: Not great, but not awful, which already puts it ahead of the first one. The overall concept still doesn't make any sense, but at least this movie takes the time to run with it and show a world going mad, with the appropriate amount of cartoonish villains and easy-to-root-for good guys. Having Frank Grillo as the lead is pretty much the main saving grace, since he gives off just the right level of late-70s/early-80s action star that helps this movie find the right mood. Still has way too much digitally-added violence, though.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Probably the best wide-release movie of the summer. This is the sort of blockbuster that does everything right. It keeps a strong focus on story and characters (sticking mainly to the apes even, which is a big plus), the action is somewhat spare but always affecting, and it keeps the right sort of grim atmosphere that a movie like this needs (but doesn't overdue it and make the whole thing silly. Which, in a talking ape movie, is key). I've never much been a fan of this series of movies, and in fact haven't seen any of the originals, but this is one that I'm definitely going to check out again.
Children of Men: Flawless. Full stop.
The Money Pit: I don't think I've seen much of Tom Hanks' pure comedy work (although I have at least seen The Burbs), although I should probably rectify that soon, since the man's hilarious. He walks the fine line between straight-man and total goofball, which is easier said than done. Plus, I'm a general sucker for comedies that go into total anarchy with their setups, so this movie had me the moment the circus that is the construction crew arrives. It does get a little strange near the end with regard to gender politics with regards to affairs and the like (and then sorta pulls back at the very end), but it still manages to keep itself together and be a funny little movie. Not a classic, but still very amusing.
In light of the Criterion sale, I've been watching a lot of titles I never got around to before, to see if I wanted to buy any. Haven't come across any gotta-have-it ones yet (I'm extremely picky about what I buy these days, especially when it comes to Criterion), but here's what I've seen:
Safety Last: I need to get into more of the silent era comedians. In the modern age with our raunchy comedies, it's easy to forget how incredibly hilarious the old sight gags and slapstick can be, which this one has in spades (not to mention perfect timing. That's about the hardest thing to do in comedy, so love it when you see it). It moves quick, it knows when to be logical and when to get crazy, and it actually still has some amazingly relevant jokes about working retail (stuff that will probably bring nightmares to those who work behind the counter on Black Friday). Plus, there's that building climb. Sure, Lloyd wasn't actually dangling 20 stories up, as the legends went, but it's still a great sequence that had plenty of danger to it all its own. Of all the ones I watched, this is the one I actually might end up buying. Now, time to finally give Sherlock, Jr. a go...
Foreign Correspondent: Hitchcock movies are all generally good to me, but only a few tend to really grab me. This isn't one of them, though it's still pretty wonderful. It's got all the classic hallmarks that Hitch is known for, has plenty of suspense and intrigue and double-crosses and crazy action sequences (including a plane crash that still looks great, even now over 70 years later). I'm never a fan of the constant romances in these old movies, though, or at least the ones where the characters fall for each other over the course of the movie (give me the ones where they're already a couple, it makes everything go smoother I think), but the old-school style of acting still makes it work.
Ministry of Fear: A pretty solid film noir. Featuring Nazis as the bad guys, as was the style of the time, and a pretty twisty-turny plot. It's rather predictable as well, but when it comes to noir, I don't think that's really a detriment. It's all about the atmosphere, and when you've got Fritz Lang at the helm, that's delivered in spades. This doesn't stand up next to M or Metropolis, but it's still a very entertaining little movie.
Down by Law: Jim Jarmusch moves are somewhat hit-and-miss with me, and he's always seemingly right on the edge of being too obtuse or plain to really grab me (The Limits of Control is just too stripped down for me to even call it a movie, for instance). But he can do some great characters-just-talking, and sometimes that makes for great cinema. Here he ignores all the usual trappings of a prison escape movie (including the actual escape), and just has three guys who hate each other slowly becoming friends. The three actors involved are all excellent, and I was pretty enamored by the whole movie. It's not flashy in the slightest, but it still has lots of little bits of humor and pathos that make it work. A good companion to his later film Night on Earth (which I also liked, and which was basically just more characters-just-talking for the whole movie).
A Hard Day's Night: A pretty energetic movie, and one that told me I don't know much about early-era Beatles (I think I'm the sort that prefers them post Sgt. Pepper, but then, they're always great, so I had no problems here). The faux-documentary style was also apparently rather revolutionary at the time, and it actually is interesting to see a lot of now-common styles and ideas seemingly birthed out of this movie (particularly when it comes to modern music videos). It's also a pretty funny movie all its own, and the Fab Four have a wonderful screen presence. All the British deadpan humor I love (the man in the closet bit is gold), with a few slightly more surreal gags thrown in as well (like Lennon being sucked down a bathtub). I haven't heard the best things about subsequent Beatles movies, but this one's definitely a winner.
Topic: What was the last movie you watched? (Read 1764708 times)
