Archive for October, 2006
just a shitty mood all g’damn day »
Sunday, October 29th, 2006
you know what? i’m too damn tired to do this. i’ll get to it soon though. holy shit. can’t wait to fucking cash in.
broken flowers »
Saturday, October 28th, 2006
Bill Murray is hilarious, but in this one he’s probably the most subtle i’ve seen him. the movie itself is low on funny. his dull, emotionless face is fairly constant throughout. it’s a pretty straightforward if implausible story that drives itself as he drives his taurus. there’s even a little suspense as you wonder if he’ll find his kid at each stop.
there’s a lot of driving shots in this one, but not the normal center of the passenger seat or front of the car angles. they actually have a view from the driver’s seat so it was at least a little out of the ordinary. Murray nails down his part better than lost in translation (mostly because he has a higher quality film to carry him), but it’s a similar role. if you liked that one you’ll enjoy this one in some ways.
i like the film because of how dry and sensible it is. the story is slow, but consistent in it’s momentum. it all leads up to a very small, but satisfying climax.
***
brick »
Friday, October 27th, 2006
this movie was amazing. subtle, intense, suspenseful, and the shit. it created a language of it’s own. the dialogue drove the story and helped develop the characters. Gordon-Levitt played an interesting kid in high school who plays all sides. he’s an outsider that’s on the inside of everything.
the movie’s hard to explain, but it boils down to a drug-dealing, gang-busting, murder mystery. the visuals are great. Johnson put thought into every part of the story and imagery. it’s almost like Dawson’s Creek on drugs. the language isn’t as fluffy and multi-syllobic, but is much more mature than typical high school vocabulary.
it also stars Nora Zehetner who happens to be in my newest addiction: Heroes. you won’t recognize her from anything else unless you saw the ‘girl at party’ from american pie 2.
the writing is great and the acting (while sometimes overdone because of the weighty dialogue) is pretty spot-on. a different movie than most would get into, but well worth the effort in watching.
*****
sunset boulevard »
Friday, October 27th, 2006
the lady is tweaked. she got all her money from silent film and then kidnaps a washed up writer, falls in love with him, and holds him close to captive. i love the shots of LA back in the late 40s/early 50s. the narrative that starts the film is dramatic. the film starts in the present and then drops back six months to describe how it happened. i’m a sucker for those movies.
ok mr. demille. i’m ready for my close-up.
i am big. it’s the pictures that got small.
man. the end is really tweaked. well done. the story of how a woman with too much money slowly drops into madness. and the story played out on film as if in a movie. the story wraps on itself and then ends with an exclamation.
i’m not usually as big a fan of older movies. harder to follow and less interesting and less realistic, but in this one i feel it worked on a lot of levels. i’d recommend it on a night chilling when you’re wide awake. too tired and you’ll cash in and too up for doing something and it’ll be too boring, but an amazing film.
***
london »
Friday, October 27th, 2006
i was surprised by this one. i went in just wasting a free rental on some J.Biel. i ended up burning a copy. i guess it was part because of the random scenes with her topless (not frontal of course; she’s a serious actress) or in a changing room, but also because of the story that materialized through the flick.
it starts out incredibly depressing. Evans isn’t really on my list of great actors, but this one bumped him up a shelf. he plays the coked-out, heartbroken, depressed, high-tempered guy extremely well. Biel is her same old shitty actress self along the lines of J.Simp and J.Alba, but i forgive her for it. plus, brilliantly, she’s barely in the movie. Dane Cook plays an awesome cameo (awesome in that it’s short and doesnt let him get into his most outrageous ‘comedy’) and Statham is once again the shit. in fact he had a character development that i’ve never seen. not even in snatch.
the jumpcuts into flashback are awesome. the story develops over the course of the film in a series of these well-placed flashbacks. the style creates a depth to Evans’ character and the story that would have been ridiculous otherwise. almost the entire flick takes place in an upstairs bathroom. it’s a series of conversations that drive the plot and i have to admit i have a weakness for movies like that. i don’t know if you’ll agree, but it’s worth a download or a rental off a gift certificate.
****