On a Friday. Whatever, its the premise people.
This week's choice is: "History of the World Pt. 1". A Mel Brooks film, it was considerably raunchy and inappropriate. Had some funny stuff in it, but I wasn't super in awe. I know at the time it was super innovative and different and probably considered pretty racy. But this is 2011.
This is becoming a common theme on Throwback Thursdays...I'm sure it was innovative at the time, but these days it wasn't too special. I definitely appreciated the Mel Brooks style and comedy, he is a founding father of comedy and successfully achieves ridiculous puns and tongue-in-cheek comedy.
It gets one lonely thumb up. Good job.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Dogtooth
I don't even know what to say about "Dogtooth". Nominated for best foreign picture, from Greece, this was one of the weirdest effing movies I've ever seen. It also explains to me why very few foreign films make it in the states, and why the rating system in America works the way it does.
The plot line seemed very interesting: three children are kept completely clueless from the world outside of the twisted compound their parents keep them in. The have been taught different words for the wrong items (asking for the phone and getting a pepper shaker) and have completely warped senses of reality. Other than that, the filmmakers took it to a whole new level with explicit sex scenes both in and outside the family, along with aggressive abusive and the killing of a kitten. I was not only scarred by this one, but rather disappointed. I thought the story wasn't extremely original, but would have been told in a more artful and interesting way than the last time we saw this ( "The Village" with crazy old Joaquin Pheonix) but it was not. I'm concerned what will be on the highlight reel that they show at the Oscars.
The plot line seemed very interesting: three children are kept completely clueless from the world outside of the twisted compound their parents keep them in. The have been taught different words for the wrong items (asking for the phone and getting a pepper shaker) and have completely warped senses of reality. Other than that, the filmmakers took it to a whole new level with explicit sex scenes both in and outside the family, along with aggressive abusive and the killing of a kitten. I was not only scarred by this one, but rather disappointed. I thought the story wasn't extremely original, but would have been told in a more artful and interesting way than the last time we saw this ( "The Village" with crazy old Joaquin Pheonix) but it was not. I'm concerned what will be on the highlight reel that they show at the Oscars.
Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Films
Nerd Out. No one is going to read this anyways, and even if they did I doubt they would go see the short films anyway. From myself, for myself.
I was really impressed with the Live Action short films. I've never given the category much thought, or seen any of them, so I didn't really know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the ability to tell a pretty complex story in 30 minutes or less, and how heavily these films relied on the writing and artistic direction to tell their story.
1. The Confession-UK
This was by far the darkest of the shorts, and a very complex story. Two boys are preparing for their first confession, and one is more morally upright than the other. I almost cried at the end, and that is pretty impressive considering it was only 26 minutes long.
2. Wish 143-UK
Funny but also heartfelt little story about a teenage boy with Cancer. I appreciated the tongue-in-cheek British humor mixed with emotion and a cool priest. Very good story, original.
3. Na Wewe-Belgium
Set in Berundi, focusing on the continued conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi people. I took the subtitles and context as a little short comedy poking at the ridiculousness of the people still championing the cause, but I may have been off base. It was cute, and I loved the ending.
4. The Crush-Ireland
A precious Irish boy named Arnad loves his teacher. It was a very short little film, but it was so funny and cute. An original idea and story.
5. God of Love-USA
Yuck. I'm sorry, but yuck. Made by hipsters at the Tisch academy, I'm embarassed that this is from the United States against all these other great little foreign nuggets. Whatever.
Winner is.......a tie!!! Between "The Crush" and "The Confession" regardless they were all wonderful, except that American crap.
I was really impressed with the Live Action short films. I've never given the category much thought, or seen any of them, so I didn't really know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the ability to tell a pretty complex story in 30 minutes or less, and how heavily these films relied on the writing and artistic direction to tell their story.
1. The Confession-UK
This was by far the darkest of the shorts, and a very complex story. Two boys are preparing for their first confession, and one is more morally upright than the other. I almost cried at the end, and that is pretty impressive considering it was only 26 minutes long.
2. Wish 143-UK
Funny but also heartfelt little story about a teenage boy with Cancer. I appreciated the tongue-in-cheek British humor mixed with emotion and a cool priest. Very good story, original.
3. Na Wewe-Belgium
Set in Berundi, focusing on the continued conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi people. I took the subtitles and context as a little short comedy poking at the ridiculousness of the people still championing the cause, but I may have been off base. It was cute, and I loved the ending.
4. The Crush-Ireland
A precious Irish boy named Arnad loves his teacher. It was a very short little film, but it was so funny and cute. An original idea and story.
5. God of Love-USA
Yuck. I'm sorry, but yuck. Made by hipsters at the Tisch academy, I'm embarassed that this is from the United States against all these other great little foreign nuggets. Whatever.
Winner is.......a tie!!! Between "The Crush" and "The Confession" regardless they were all wonderful, except that American crap.
The Social Network
I'm aware that I'm very late on this one. In my quest to see all the Oscar nominees possible before the Oscars, I finally added "The Social Network" to my list.
It was pretty good, but it definitely didn't live up to the hype I expected. Mark Zuckerburg is borderline savant as far as I'm concerned, but definitely a genius. Justin Timberlake was hella creepy with the n*sync style throwback hair and helped solidify the widespread belief that sean parker is a huge douchebag.
Other than that, I thought it was a good movie, but not incredibly amazing. I give the screenwriters mad props for making a pretty interesting story over Intellectual Property laws, and they definitely deserve an Oscar. But, other than them, I think they should just be excited to be invited to the party. One thumb up. And another one if you count my roommate who watched it with me.
It was pretty good, but it definitely didn't live up to the hype I expected. Mark Zuckerburg is borderline savant as far as I'm concerned, but definitely a genius. Justin Timberlake was hella creepy with the n*sync style throwback hair and helped solidify the widespread belief that sean parker is a huge douchebag.
Other than that, I thought it was a good movie, but not incredibly amazing. I give the screenwriters mad props for making a pretty interesting story over Intellectual Property laws, and they definitely deserve an Oscar. But, other than them, I think they should just be excited to be invited to the party. One thumb up. And another one if you count my roommate who watched it with me.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Mrs. Galifianakis......BUT
I wandered to my local video establishment this past weekend in order to pick up the fourth season of "Dexter". To my dismay, someone had beat me to the punch. So I wandered and happened upon a new release with my love Mr. Zach Galifianakis on the cover. I snatched it up on went on my way.
The movie is called "Frenemy" and the summary was as follows from IMDB.com "Mr. Jack and Sweet Stephen cruise aimlessly through the streets of LA speculating about life, death, divine will and the force of power that predetermines their existence. Mr. Jack attempts to illustrate to his sidekick the delicate and natural forces of the universe. Sweet Stephen's superficial charm and bloodsucking lifestyle sends him and Mr. Jack on a voyage that is relentless, engaging, and darkly hilarious.".
Let me make it clear here....Galifianakis is NEITHER of these two characters, and his screen time is limited. The sad little production companies that made this crap should be ashamed of themselves and admit to being sell outs! Putting Galifianakis on the cover in order to exploit his name and limited cult following (me).
This movies was really strange, there were a few things that were funny, but it generally made me uncomfortable. The plot summary and dust-cover gave no hint to the fact that this was going to be a sick and twisted film that left me concerned for the safety of talk show hosts and waitresses in addition to creating an irrational fear and suspicion for people with British accents. Don't waste your time with this, especially if you were hoping for more than a glimpse at that lovable little nugget of fur that is Zach Galifianakis. I am still a die-hard fan that flirts with the fine line of obsession, but Zach....you are better than this. It wasn't clever, or tounge-in-cheek, or even artsy. It just sucked.
The movie is called "Frenemy" and the summary was as follows from IMDB.com "Mr. Jack and Sweet Stephen cruise aimlessly through the streets of LA speculating about life, death, divine will and the force of power that predetermines their existence. Mr. Jack attempts to illustrate to his sidekick the delicate and natural forces of the universe. Sweet Stephen's superficial charm and bloodsucking lifestyle sends him and Mr. Jack on a voyage that is relentless, engaging, and darkly hilarious.".
Let me make it clear here....Galifianakis is NEITHER of these two characters, and his screen time is limited. The sad little production companies that made this crap should be ashamed of themselves and admit to being sell outs! Putting Galifianakis on the cover in order to exploit his name and limited cult following (me).
This movies was really strange, there were a few things that were funny, but it generally made me uncomfortable. The plot summary and dust-cover gave no hint to the fact that this was going to be a sick and twisted film that left me concerned for the safety of talk show hosts and waitresses in addition to creating an irrational fear and suspicion for people with British accents. Don't waste your time with this, especially if you were hoping for more than a glimpse at that lovable little nugget of fur that is Zach Galifianakis. I am still a die-hard fan that flirts with the fine line of obsession, but Zach....you are better than this. It wasn't clever, or tounge-in-cheek, or even artsy. It just sucked.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Throwback Thursday #3
**IN MY DEFENSE: I totally wrote this on Wednesday, and was going to post it on Thursday. Alas, I forgot. One Day....One Day.
Yes! I actually got one done on a Thursday. Today's pick: Pulp Fiction.
Let me say this-I love Quentin Tarantino. But, 90% of the time I have no idea what is going on in his films. This would be one of that 90%. I understand that it was an influential film, and there are probably some serious psychological lessons to be taught using this one, but they were above my head. I like the imagery, and the way in which Tarantino puts things on film is appealing to me but...story lines? Over my head.
Next Tarantino I try will be Reservoir Dogs. Maybe that one will reach me.
Regardless it was good, a classic for sure, I would give it a thumb up for sure.
Yes! I actually got one done on a Thursday. Today's pick: Pulp Fiction.
Let me say this-I love Quentin Tarantino. But, 90% of the time I have no idea what is going on in his films. This would be one of that 90%. I understand that it was an influential film, and there are probably some serious psychological lessons to be taught using this one, but they were above my head. I like the imagery, and the way in which Tarantino puts things on film is appealing to me but...story lines? Over my head.
Next Tarantino I try will be Reservoir Dogs. Maybe that one will reach me.
Regardless it was good, a classic for sure, I would give it a thumb up for sure.
Biutiful
I don't even know if words can express how phenomenal this film was. After it finished I sat in silence for about 5 minutes, and for the next 20 minutes I inadvertently would start crying because I was so emotionally overloaded. The story was so innately created, it didn't even seem like a story; there was no doubt in my mind that this was really happening somewhere in Spain.
Javier Bardem was so incredibly good, he dealt with so many different issues-as a viewer I didn't know which part of his life to be most upset about. The story dealt with so many current issues our world is facing: immigration, illegal workers, health care, broken homes, in addition to people living in poverty, but it never felt like a social propaganda based film. There are some films (read: Avatar) that are awesome, but also the social issue undertone is so strong that you almost feel like you have been brainwashed. The directing and acting was just on a completely different level than anything else I've seen this year.
My Oscar picks have changed. THIS is it-Best Picture. If not, then the entire cast and country of Spain have been robbed. Go see it.
Javier Bardem was so incredibly good, he dealt with so many different issues-as a viewer I didn't know which part of his life to be most upset about. The story dealt with so many current issues our world is facing: immigration, illegal workers, health care, broken homes, in addition to people living in poverty, but it never felt like a social propaganda based film. There are some films (read: Avatar) that are awesome, but also the social issue undertone is so strong that you almost feel like you have been brainwashed. The directing and acting was just on a completely different level than anything else I've seen this year.
My Oscar picks have changed. THIS is it-Best Picture. If not, then the entire cast and country of Spain have been robbed. Go see it.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Throwback Thursday
Again, not on a Thursday. But its the premise of the thing. One day I'll get it.
Today's option is "Shawshank Redemption".
Okay, I expected it to be good...but HOT damn it was really good. I watched it at home, and I can always tell a movie is good because I don't want to pause it or do anything else! This was this good. Morgan Freeman always does a stellar job, and he plays the all-knowing mentor figure exceptionally well. The story was well crafted so that there was enough suspense, intrigue, and action. I loved it! The cast was phenomenal, and the action was so blatant and unexpected that I really never knew what was coming.
DO IT. One set of thumbs WAY UP.
Today's option is "Shawshank Redemption".
Okay, I expected it to be good...but HOT damn it was really good. I watched it at home, and I can always tell a movie is good because I don't want to pause it or do anything else! This was this good. Morgan Freeman always does a stellar job, and he plays the all-knowing mentor figure exceptionally well. The story was well crafted so that there was enough suspense, intrigue, and action. I loved it! The cast was phenomenal, and the action was so blatant and unexpected that I really never knew what was coming.
DO IT. One set of thumbs WAY UP.
Throwback Thursday
Except it isn't Thursday. I planned on this being a new feature for ze' blog, but I seem to always forget on Thursdays. Whatever, I will get better, promise.
"American Graffiti"
The problem with watching movies from top 100/250 lists, is that they contain influential movies from a time in which the same things aren't as impacting or influential to me. case and point with "American Graffiti". The plot line focuses on two boys and a community that are struggling with the idea of going to college. It is interesting to see the reaction during the time period (early 70s) of going to college. The characters were funny, and I really enjoyed seeing all the goings-on in a teenage life. Very "happy days"-esque with the same sort of kitschy attitude and one-liners.
If you have time, maybe rent this one. Up to you....eyyyyyyyyyyyyy. (fonzi voice)
"American Graffiti"
The problem with watching movies from top 100/250 lists, is that they contain influential movies from a time in which the same things aren't as impacting or influential to me. case and point with "American Graffiti". The plot line focuses on two boys and a community that are struggling with the idea of going to college. It is interesting to see the reaction during the time period (early 70s) of going to college. The characters were funny, and I really enjoyed seeing all the goings-on in a teenage life. Very "happy days"-esque with the same sort of kitschy attitude and one-liners.
If you have time, maybe rent this one. Up to you....eyyyyyyyyyyyyy. (fonzi voice)
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