Posts Tagged ‘see’
midnight in paris »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Paris. It’s as much a location as a map as a fantasy. A place easily flown to but never reached. The idea of Paris is as much a part of western culture as the Big Mac, consumerism, or infallible markets.
Americans, especially, have a total hard-on for the Parisian Ideal. Mr Allen does an impressive job making a movie that simultaneously perpetuates this and laughs at it simultaneously.
A self-described hack screenwriter, Gil (Owen Wilson), piggy-backs on a trip to Paris with his fiance, Inez (Rachel McAdams), and her parents. They are uninterested in Paris and he’s infatuated, specifically with Paris of the 1920s (and in the rain). (more…)
slumdog millionaire »
Monday, January 12th, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire
Friday, Girlfriend and I went to Slumdog Millionaire. I hadn’t much heard of it but people were saying it was good. I dig the director and have no self-control so I didn’t put up a fight.
As you must know, I’m a sucker for twisted love stories. Slumdog, essentially, is just that. It follows Jamal, who is suspected of cheating on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (or Millo-nare). As each question is played back to him, major events in his life play out.
Most of the events of his life are tragic but Jamal is strangely distant from them, unaffected, as if he wasn’t meant for the turmoil at all. Put another way, amid all his misfortune, he is fortunate.
The plot is chronologically schizophrenic (love those sorts), the acting is solid throughout and the story is as dramatic as unrealistic as believable (I don’t get it either). The pace is consistent in its inconsistency. It’s entertaining and awesome.
It’s a solid rent. It seems predictable but the sequence is tweaked just right. Though I knew what the last question was, I was off as to how it fell on the time-line. (And apparently don’t know anything about literature.)
Stick around for the end. It’s one of the most entertaining credit roll I’ve seen. (If only for the stereotypical greatness of Bollywood cinema.)
Note: I’ve imported old reviews from my past site. There are 160-some sets of thoughts and critiques. These are under the “chasm reviews” category. Also, I’ve brought in posts from Drainage. That’s a blog most of you haven’t read. The tone is much different. Those posts are under “drainage” (obviously).
iron man »
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
… is what film based on comic books should be, sorta. The acting is solid and the story is pretty good (a little predictable, but that’s like knowing the end of the notebook because you read the book). There was a lot of intensity build-up and even though the ending wasn’t all that surprising, it was still entertaining.
The story revolves around Tony Stark (Downey Jr., Guide to recognizing your saints, kiss kiss bang bang), a weapons manufacturer, who does a 180° after a near-death kidnapping. He builds a super-strong suit to defeat those who try to do wrong.
Favreau did a nice job with the direction. The effects were only distracting in a few scenes (like when he’s putting the suit on). The whole thing came together very well.
As far a comic-book-to-film movies go, it’s awesome. As a film in general, it’s still decent.
****
this is england »
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
… is a surprisingly awesome movie about English sub-culture. The acting, direction, story-telling and characters are all impressively strong. I didn’t know what i was getting into because I hadn’t even looked at it before, but I’m a fan.
The accents are thick, but I adjusted to them easily enough. The only actor I’ve seen before was Stephen Graham (Snatch), but they all pulled their weight well enough. Thomas Turgoose was especially strong, considering it was his first film. The direction captures the mood well. Fast action, tight spaces and close shots add to the intensity.
For this one, story really broke the bank. The build-up is awesome and the climax is crazy and the resolution is satisfying. Cinematically delicious. It follows a pre-teen boy as he copes with school and his father’s recent death. He runs into a group of guys that take him under their collective wings. It’s a group of skinheads and one member returns that busts the laid-back feel in favor of revolution. Shaun (Turgoose) follows along.
I’d recommend this one for a rainy night. There’s subtlety to it that’s hard to follow if it’s in the background. It’s maybe not as intense as the believer in that they’re similar, but it has a lot of heart.
****1/2
kiss kiss bang bang »
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
… is a hilarious buddy-cop comedy that’s slightly twisted. Harry (Downey Jr., Guide to recognizing your saints), the thief, ends up landing the role of a detective in a film after a botched robbery attempt. A private eye, (Kilmer, Salton Sea) works with him to research his role. A struggling actress meets up with the two of them and enlists them to help solve the mystery of her sister’s disappearance.
It’s not film noir in the classic sense, but modernized. The cigarette smoking hero/narrator explains and deduces while solving an unlikely riddle. The direction is great, working with the narration to tell a story in a disorganized, but purposeful way. The story unfolds in parts, some in flash back and others through asides. It’s entertaining and smartly done.
The characters are strong and easily related to on top of being genuinely funny in their own ways. The acting is strong. The pace is intentionally sporadic, which kept me on my toes. It’s not what you’d expect from a buddy crime drama, but it builds on the long-standing framework while manipulating it to its own ends. There’s a realness and surrealness to the entire plot that makes for a good show.
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