tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59544249221074490102024-03-13T14:46:42.321-05:00CinemaicMy microscopic page in cyberspace in which I will express my views on cinema, be it love or hatred.Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-65311119157793260362010-08-09T20:19:00.003-05:002010-08-09T20:59:27.861-05:00The Last Exorcism (2010; Daniel Stamm)<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">How could I have passed up a screening of this? Knowing my tendency towards all things Eli Roth and mockumentary, the idea of combining the two was just too sweet for me to pass up. I needed a few days to reflect on my exact reactions, but now I think I got them reined up.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAW-9Gb7aIX074t2hkLOIcubF6r0Ju0iafbhflV8LSlqooxhyphenhyphenjOhZfvsytnVSe5T-V0S0xH9_A-3xgdouo9N72LNJBDt4i1mvAyUYV1JzB5ZftSEnJYM89oRURYx6RJT7lUFHjoNhCVcDw/s1600/Last+Exorcism.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAW-9Gb7aIX074t2hkLOIcubF6r0Ju0iafbhflV8LSlqooxhyphenhyphenjOhZfvsytnVSe5T-V0S0xH9_A-3xgdouo9N72LNJBDt4i1mvAyUYV1JzB5ZftSEnJYM89oRURYx6RJT7lUFHjoNhCVcDw/s320/Last+Exorcism.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503587876384110674" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Raised to be a minister, Cotton Marcus has been deeply seated in the church community for almost his entire life. Events have unfolded over the years that make him question whether or not being a pastor is his true calling, but he sticks with it for the time being to help people with his natural gift to entertain. He decides to let a small documentary crew accompany him on his final exorcism before he announces his retirement to reveal to the public just how fake it all is.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">People can take this movie a lot of ways. It could easily be seen as a heavy handed swing against religion, or even a final revelation that maybe there are truths to be had in the supernatural. Peoples bias on the subject (including mine) will sway their opinion one way or the other, but I really don't think that was the intentions of the film. I think, like other projects attached to Roth, this is a film for enjoyment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Let me explain. I was so torn on some aspects of the film as they felt as sort of a betrayal to the mockumentary movement. I have fully explained my opinion on what they should and should not consist of (</span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/09/paranormal-activity-2007-oren-peli.html">here</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/04/noroi-2005-koji-shiraishi.html">here</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/03/behind-mask-rise-of-leslie-vernon-2006.html">here</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/last-broadcast-1998-stefan-avalos-lance.html">here</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, etc...), but this experience showed me a little bit of a different light (similar to that of Cloverfield). </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">The Last Exorcism </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">contains both CGI and a musical score. Now normally I found those things so distracting in mockumentaries that I never really felt they had a place in what was supposed to be a reflection of the real world. Something to me really clicked in this one, though. The score highlighted the events properly without taking over and the CGI, while a stretch, really can't be held against the film for realism if I allow the score.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">So what is this? This was a piece constructed to be entertainment. They wanted to make a movie that utilized the strengths of mockumentaries and the strengths of more standard fiction movies. It may still seem sort of incompatible, but watch it and see if it really is that much of a problem.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">On other notes, the light-hearted tone through large portions of the film help lean your opinion towards the entertainment part of the realism vs. entertainment argument and it has been a long time since such a solid lead has been seen in a mockumentary. Seems like I haven't really found a lead so compelling to follow in a mockumentary since the </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/blair-witch-project-1999.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Blair Witch Project</span></a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> itself, and that is something special. The only part I have to dock heavily for is the CGI-laden ending, because despite leniency for the CGI, the ending will definitely leave most people a little stunned.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 4/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Notes: <a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2010/01/eli-roth.html">Eli Roth</a>.</span></span><br /></div><br /></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-30581607508772719492010-06-30T21:04:00.004-05:002010-06-30T22:24:22.753-05:008 1/2 (1963; Federico Fellini)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I have been struggling to find the inspiration to put more work into this site. In a sort of strange coincidence, I managed to find my inspiration in Fellini's 8 1/2. This is a film so strongly built on incoherency of inspiration that it fit perfectly with my conundrum.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8o8tR2Iqfn9RLwKc4MGT651depk5itylZICu7roqEQpEh1werRTi-6Ieb40QcVn5ZWQ0khRNmyDXyV-dKfL-wih7l30p9rSfpMQ0L98Ao-pJPxd0Xg0GqgK_IbN_vrkbMmfqcYgnqHLqM/s1600/Eight+and+a+Half.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8o8tR2Iqfn9RLwKc4MGT651depk5itylZICu7roqEQpEh1werRTi-6Ieb40QcVn5ZWQ0khRNmyDXyV-dKfL-wih7l30p9rSfpMQ0L98Ao-pJPxd0Xg0GqgK_IbN_vrkbMmfqcYgnqHLqM/s320/Eight+and+a+Half.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488767426354649682" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">To try and define </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">8 1/2</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> in simple descriptions such as mine seems like it would do more harm than good. In the most concrete form, it is a character study about a famous director who wishes to create a film that acts as his autobiography, but at the same time seems to be his last grasps with confronting the life he has lived. As he tries to unveil the scope of his film, he seems to struggle more and more with justifying the events that to most others seem like a surrealistic take on the state of loneliness.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">8 1/2 </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">is a film that very much speaks for itself, so my review will be short and sweet. Films such as this are so hard to pigeon hole into categories as they feel so layered and lovingly composed that to skip over any of the content feels like as much as an injustice as trying to tear the film apart. It is a piece that seamlessly blends reality with dreams and than mixes them both into cinema. It makes you question the state of the characters, the state of Fellini, and the state of yourself. The score is phenomenal and it isn't very often you see a film so gorgeously shot that still manages to keep your attention with it's full, gripping content. Despite the hefty length, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">8 1/2 </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">flutters by in an instant and will rattle your world.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I really did mean short and sweet, however I hope that the impact of films like this continue to inspire me to write and will hopefully have more up soon.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 5/5<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Notes: After rewatching <span style="font-style: italic;">Santa Sangre </span>again recently as well, clowns are more and more becoming everyday occurrences of life</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">.</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-9709376807376981542010-06-04T16:37:00.003-05:002010-06-05T16:50:43.316-05:00The Last House on the Left (2009; Dennis Iliadis)<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Let me set something straight. I hate remakes, but I also hate Craven. As far as I am concerned, almost (stress </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >almost</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">) every single Craven film could be improved with a remake so my expectations for this were a little higher than other remakes (i.e. higher than no expectations at all). Just needed to make sure I got that out in the open before I started talking anything in detail.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvFjJyU_7Jn7J539vTiZ_XWNtpxgkHG2tCklM9ZCgdlYhMwODeCgx90KS6UYQ1HYwas7ezkW1jZL4wfG16qxMkSR6WwiL72Fizt1Cm3TvhQ-Z4O3VgeqVpweXUj4PwMESD4ULqByUU5mu/s1600/Last+House+on+the+Left.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvFjJyU_7Jn7J539vTiZ_XWNtpxgkHG2tCklM9ZCgdlYhMwODeCgx90KS6UYQ1HYwas7ezkW1jZL4wfG16qxMkSR6WwiL72Fizt1Cm3TvhQ-Z4O3VgeqVpweXUj4PwMESD4ULqByUU5mu/s320/Last+House+on+the+Left.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479042377979099586" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Two dumb girls get kidnapped by psychos who are on the run. Pretty sure we all know the rest.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">The first thing I noticed about the remake is that the two girls are drenched in American culture and my feelings are they deserved a portion of what they got. I choose to look at certain events in a different light and it makes watching this film, and even Craven's original, very tedious. It isn't that I choose to have it out for Craven, but when you make characters like these (which seems to be more and more common) I find it insulting to my intelligence. Not every single American goes out all over looking for drugs and partying with strangers. It brings it to an even lower level knowing that the creators have a full range of control over how they want to craft these girls, but intentionally choose to make them lawbreaking scum bags.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">It isn't that they weren't completely aware. They tried to form touching moments for one of the girls by giving her a brief back story about a dead brother who always told her to try her best, but that just doesn't cover it. I find it hard to not spoil things when writing negative reviews as I feel compelled to just pick it all apart, so you might want to stop at this point and know I don't like this movie.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Now for the spoiler moments. That back story is what drove her to give up drugs temporarily and try her hardest to be a great swimmer. However, when it becomes essential for her to swim for her life, she gets shot down and dies. So what does that tell us? Are we supposed to interpret these events as she was a failure? It most certainly seems this way, and in that case, how am I supposed to bond with her? Are they trying to call me a failure too?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">The entire film is built around what happens to these girls and the affect it has on the other characters. However, having the entire first segment be a mound of insults to my person and an absolute frustration in general makes enjoying the second segment a stretch. I will give it credit for being relatively solid in the portion dealing with the parents, but it isn't perfect and even if it was it couldn't save the whole from being a mess.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 2/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Notes: Was it needed to remake an insulting movie into an even more insulting movie?</span></span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-65779872389541962222010-03-26T23:42:00.004-05:002010-03-27T00:34:02.045-05:00Man on Wire (2008; James Marsh)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I have finally decided to take a step back from my never ending mountain of work to write another review. I have had a lot of films mulling in my head, but I just haven't had the time to make anything concrete. So here you go.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZuZhCA5hfheDBDCpp_2OZOX5Z0Ym-N4XKNVynTJiMPXmf6uoWCXOWnb1LXIi_xSjzFzHKJCU8gtJrT5hb6SxGyw_9owN2JYVULfqBhDCgcN9YeO2uJzRrcOiYhmGs1YNdnUE7cvqW2qnX/s1600/Man+on+Wire.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZuZhCA5hfheDBDCpp_2OZOX5Z0Ym-N4XKNVynTJiMPXmf6uoWCXOWnb1LXIi_xSjzFzHKJCU8gtJrT5hb6SxGyw_9owN2JYVULfqBhDCgcN9YeO2uJzRrcOiYhmGs1YNdnUE7cvqW2qnX/s320/Man+on+Wire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453171075875089490" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">A documentary that explores the life and achievement of one man's dream.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Like most of you, I have never given a second thought to tightrope walking. I went to a circus once when I was little, but I never really ever gave the concept a chance. So coming into a film about a man whose dream was to tightrope really worried me that I wouldn't be able to connect to his dream. To miss the connection in a documentary such as this would be catastrophic to its message, but I was determined to try.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">As I watched the images flutter across my screen, I realized I wasn't watching a documentary about tightrope walking. I was watching a documentary on dreams and the people who would give it all for a shot at them. Philippe Petit, the focus of this piece, was so struck and captivated by a single moment in his teenage years that it proceeded to craft the rest of his life to the achievement of this one, miraculous goal. To be able to witness a person so determined and motivated that they never seem to falter. A person so willing to embrace a goal so far from reach that they will do anything to get only a step closer. </span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: lucida grande;">“What a beautiful death to die in the arms of your passion.”</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">To amplify the power of the event, it is retold by Philippe and his comrades with such an intensity that it is like they are being thrown right back into the days where it all unfolded. The score put behind the events is subtle and upbeat to the point where it feels like it is pushing you along with Philippe to go conquer your own dreams. It makes you reflect on yourself and how far you would go with a friend so driven by an object of their desire. This documentary, despite how far off his dream may be from your own, has the power to connect to anyone and may even inspire people to change their lives. This is the impact great films should have.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 5/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Notes: Watch this documentary.</span></span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-27108690519995759092010-01-15T15:57:00.003-06:002010-01-15T16:37:24.355-06:00Pandorum (2009; Christian Alvart)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">My life is once again filled with classes and stress, so the intervals between reviews will increase. On the bright side, however, a few friends and myself decided to sit down and make a pact between us. During the year 2010, we will all watch three hundred films we've never seen and no less. This also gives us motive enough to do the other thing we wanted which is to try and be a little more fair. We've always neglected certain areas of cinema and skipped releases we "knew" were going to be awful, so this is our chance to turn that around. So while watching all these films will give me even less free time, what time I have I should be able to squeeze out a review or two because lord knows I'll have enough material to write about.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwsLxj2DtG_hW7_Nm7H1zC9-dcwzoeeFQWmv2v2iegGsAsU-wpKqIWCuhnId6ppsI_EmJYhuVJh9URi2jI6qnZyTFWbZnHlnYnFWOl1h3_YWgLUd6wiq1Gv8mUdf0d-H-RCbhGb_gVpErg/s1600-h/Pandorum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwsLxj2DtG_hW7_Nm7H1zC9-dcwzoeeFQWmv2v2iegGsAsU-wpKqIWCuhnId6ppsI_EmJYhuVJh9URi2jI6qnZyTFWbZnHlnYnFWOl1h3_YWgLUd6wiq1Gv8mUdf0d-H-RCbhGb_gVpErg/s320/Pandorum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427092194281190002" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">The earth is suffering extreme overcrowding, resources are low, and all that boring stuff. The solution? A shuttle sent out into space found a planet almost identical to ours and so a plan is set in action to have people shipped over there to make more room. Shit breaks, stuff goes wrong, and everything is dark and metallic. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">To be absolutely counter intuitive, this isn't a film I was actually planning on skipping. When it first released I had no idea what it was and more or less just let it sail past me, but recent talks around me got me interested and so I thought I would check it out for myself.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">First thing that caught my metaphorical eye was the soundtrack. While somewhat modern, it also felt like it had a tinge from the horror of old. While by no means fantastic or inspiring, it was a step above just throwing tense ambient sounds into the mix.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Second thing, the lighting. I understand a lot of the criticism of sci-fi horror, because visually many of them do look alike. The fact of that matter is, though, that how else would you design a tense atmosphere in a spaceship? The structure is reasonable considering the direction technology is going, and having the dank, dark steel corridor sort of triggers your reaction by itself now. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">The most important part of this film to me, though, was the structure of it all. This film could have derailed itself in all sorts of ways, but it managed to keep itself tight throughout most of its playtime. I think the perfect comparison would be Neil Marshall's </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">The Descent</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">. Much like Marshall's work, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Pandorum</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> relies heavily on the mystery and darkness to propel fear, but after everything begins to clear up little by little, the film picks up the pace into more of an action setting. It all goes back to my belief that the less you see, the more you are afraid. The over exposure usually kills the tension in a horror film, but if you shift the whole film with the exposure, it all flows much easier with much more effect.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">As far as the weaknesses go, while the characterization of each of the survivors was clear, they felt a little cliche. I don't want to delve too much into the story so you are able to go in as blind as I did, but one character in particular had an action sequence which, while it could have been effective in another film, just felt out of place in the reasonable reality that was already constructed so carefully. However, that being said, I would not be lying if I said that had someone wanted to shoot </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Alien</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> now instead of so long ago, knowing the conventions of popular cinema today, it probably would have come out something like this.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 4/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Notes: Think <span style="font-style: italic;">The Descent</span> with an <span style="font-style: italic;">Alien </span>twist to it all.</span></span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-57825748155026072872010-01-04T02:36:00.007-06:002010-01-04T03:07:26.389-06:00The Lovely Bones (2009; Peter Jackson)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">My feelings behind the announcement of this title were very strong. The idea that Peter Jackson might start honoring his humble beginnings by giving us another </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Heavenly Creatures</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> was just blowing my mind. I just kept thinking to myself how nothing could go wrong, because obviously Peter Jackson is immune to the trends of the spotlight...</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7YWaV_DP2GfaaJTSOH9tqPig414BGYLQWkoJv6EpCiiVz2zE3RYBA6Kfwjhcc8Z7Jrh6SHCAgg_mQ4d352Bt4tMwFz723fsWlncjGyfcsSWek95j18jbuyhqGzAU5-lYUr71paBTNeAD/s1600-h/The+Lovely+Bones.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA7YWaV_DP2GfaaJTSOH9tqPig414BGYLQWkoJv6EpCiiVz2zE3RYBA6Kfwjhcc8Z7Jrh6SHCAgg_mQ4d352Bt4tMwFz723fsWlncjGyfcsSWek95j18jbuyhqGzAU5-lYUr71paBTNeAD/s320/The+Lovely+Bones.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422802724646027554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">A very young teenage girl gets murdered. However she refuses to leave the land between the living and dead so she can observe what is happening to the people who were around her.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">If the very ominous "..." didn't give it away, that was sarcasm up in the first part of this review. Being under the spotlight with high financing seems to have finally killed Jackson's chances of handing us another </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Heavenly Creatures</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> (let alone another </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Bad Taste)</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">. The wonderful soul behind the somewhat twisted message is completely absent for this recent attempt. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">First off, if you are trying to decide whether or not a certain scene requires CGI, it doesn't. This film felt like a gigantic test of my tolerance for computer animation. Half of the effects were completely unnecessary. They were supposed to express the wonderful creativity that was the land between Heaven and Earth, but one can find beautiful locations on Earth that fit just as well and don't kill the atmosphere nearly as bad. Look at Lord of the Rings for example, which was also shot by Jackson and the environments looked absolutely breathtaking in some scenes. While on that topic, I'm no expert on the book, but half of the imagery and symbolism just felt absolutely needless. Throwing in imagery and CGI for the sake of having them simply doesn't cut it, sorry (just look at </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Halloween II</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Now to just to throw the rest out there and meet my minimum requirements, the soundtrack was interesting at a few points, but ultimately just distracting, poorly timed, and kinda loud. The acting was mostly solid (Stanley Tucci did wonderful) but the characters weren't given much to work with within the story arch. The entire message of the film sort of gets jumbled between all the abstract, useless sequences and it really just falls apart.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Before ending, I will give it a few positive spins. A small handful of scenes actually were well executed and enjoyable, and even though I had a perfect example lined up it got buried under the garbage pile in my mind, so that is all I got.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande; font-weight: bold;">Score: 1/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes:</span> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">I know it doesn't release until 2010, but IMDb insists on 2009 and who am I to argue?</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Also, they didn't have faces on the back of milk cartons.</span></span> <span style="font-family: lucida grande; font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >What the hell was up with the cheap looking digital film?</span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-57533759623412227932010-01-02T18:57:00.004-06:002010-01-02T19:28:16.723-06:00Eli Roth<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">It has been an obnoxiously long time since I did a director column so I figured now is as good a time as any (I'm right between two films. Also no, I doubt I'll have time to review them both).</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7RKMd4QNL81mJtaiJg-a2wPvvC5f-Jo8jNGFK1aH-BNjpM9K_GaWx_mmzMC0VB1TYJ_Q2JlkDZHk0mhTyNpS3PXCVsIYdcLwgwPnYAcQX-6c2Sl_Wvset9f0K4G0P9fJPszeuurnZuXX/s1600-h/Eli+Roth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7RKMd4QNL81mJtaiJg-a2wPvvC5f-Jo8jNGFK1aH-BNjpM9K_GaWx_mmzMC0VB1TYJ_Q2JlkDZHk0mhTyNpS3PXCVsIYdcLwgwPnYAcQX-6c2Sl_Wvset9f0K4G0P9fJPszeuurnZuXX/s320/Eli+Roth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422311948515170466" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Fell in love with film after watching </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Alien</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">. Went through film school winning an award or two and than was stuck in limbo for a while before finally getting financing for his first piece, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Cabin Fever</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">. The rest is history.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I figured I was more in the mood for praising someone instead of ripping their careers apart, so here you go. Eli Roth is one of the most outstanding young horror directors of our time. He, like most good actors and directors, started as an extremely geeky film nerd. This background and intimate knowledge of film helps lay the groundwork for all of his own pieces, each showing a fantastic connection to the works that came before him. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">To paraphrase Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth is the future of horror. All of his films have shown us he is fully capable of taking us places we don't want to be and we love him for it. Here is for hoping he brings us </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Thanksgiving</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> sooner rather then later.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Other Notes:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Huge fan of the Olsen twins.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Is a Bear Jew.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Has always made profit on all his films. In order, 15 times budget cost, 20 times budget cost, and 3 times budget cost.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Most Well Known Films Include: Cabin Fever, Hostel, Hostel II</span></span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-14266778805861985572009-12-31T22:01:00.008-06:002009-12-31T23:12:52.065-06:00Important Horror Films of the Decade<span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;"><br />I was asked by several people if I was ever going to work on a "Top 10 of the Decade" list or what have you since it is so popular. To be honest I was never considering the idea because I have a terrible memory and deciding an order would be extremely difficult. However, I finally decided I could just craft a general "Important" list that just spits out my favorites of the decade in no special order.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Grindhouse</span> (2007; Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez)<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;">While not fully horror, it was indeed a tremendously profound release bringing the trashy styles of old back into the mainstream fold. Endlessly entertaining (more so Tarantino's) and inspiring, these must not go unwatched (as well as the trailers).<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Descent</span> (2005; Neil Marshall)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;">Marshall's important follow up to is surprisingly popular <span style="font-style: italic;">Dog Soldiers</span>. It implemented both a fantastic visual style (only the natural lights they carried on them) and atmosphere that pretty much could creep anybody out.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />A Tale of Two Sisters</span> (2003; Kim Ji-woon)<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPX6VBAK0ToKgTcQ0z7yb7nW_fgNl0r77FFzIP1vtBuoZVHA1fp0dGs7Cl4qdxZQuGdHsZR8JLUGoTF3iFAETu5gvXrUcEL1RQ93zqKqMPbIIevhNs2DfpzDm4q_TUNS1y_YP6W6URGzX/s1600-h/Year+End.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPX6VBAK0ToKgTcQ0z7yb7nW_fgNl0r77FFzIP1vtBuoZVHA1fp0dGs7Cl4qdxZQuGdHsZR8JLUGoTF3iFAETu5gvXrUcEL1RQ93zqKqMPbIIevhNs2DfpzDm4q_TUNS1y_YP6W6URGzX/s320/Year+End.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421633603067770226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;">It has been stated <a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/08/uninvited-2009-charles-thomas-guard.html">before</a> how much I admire this piece as well as Kim Ji-woon, so not much more needs to be said. This film is structured perfectly down to the last detail. Every shot has both a purpose and a meaning. It doesn't come much better.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Battle Royale</span> (2000; Kinji Fukasaku)<br /><br />While I'm not 100% convinced this is actually a horror (more of a drama) I didn't want anybody getting the idea I was neglecting it. A reflection of some of the finest political satire there is. Watch it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The House of the Devil</span> (2009; Ti West)<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmECXFTAqNyhp16qX5iQfEGyy3tV5ChavO7LGfAwojn3rU3IjTahxbVZuFRq-K_Bp-AYsDEhvS4b9rB69dy0jdEOTBeJrknI8AorU5Z8F_3AAYmgb0TJ_-Uat48lDtRioSrvRukzdazcfY/s1600-h/Year+End+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmECXFTAqNyhp16qX5iQfEGyy3tV5ChavO7LGfAwojn3rU3IjTahxbVZuFRq-K_Bp-AYsDEhvS4b9rB69dy0jdEOTBeJrknI8AorU5Z8F_3AAYmgb0TJ_-Uat48lDtRioSrvRukzdazcfY/s320/Year+End+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421633826118348194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;">This nod goes both to the film itself, as it is a wonderful reimagining of what Roman Polanski would have done if he was West's age and to Glass Eye Pix who have really come into their own this decade. I look forward to watching many of their upcoming releases and hope they continue to polish their retro style.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mockumentaries</span> (Various)<br /><br />I could go on to list a paragraph for several of the great mockumentaries of the decade, but I want to emphasize that this is the decade that followed Blair Witch Projects fantastic release. That led the way for this decade to explore the boundries of the idea and craft some of the most wonderful stories with them. Ex. <span style="font-style: italic;">Cloverfield</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Quarantine</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">[REC]</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Paranormal Activity</span>, etc.</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Hostel</span> (2005; Eli Roth)<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;">Eli Roth's second huge venture into horror and what a venture it was. I would love to put all of Roth's films onto the list, but I feel <span style="font-style: italic;">Hostel</span> is the most structurely tight and polished of them so I'll let it speak for all three.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Session 9</span> (2001; Brad Anderson)<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zDWa_fpuuQ_veL4qgrpzTavh9Dd6ECrWrP4mtJ2yv-HgB4T9DdazFsTYi5sULRQ1EK8XNNJKH3h0mfOL6RW5mpTz9AahSHFFTqvMManAB2nCp49jhpE3ROMkcj9KrcdnGiAqLq5gNuBy/s1600-h/Year+End+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zDWa_fpuuQ_veL4qgrpzTavh9Dd6ECrWrP4mtJ2yv-HgB4T9DdazFsTYi5sULRQ1EK8XNNJKH3h0mfOL6RW5mpTz9AahSHFFTqvMManAB2nCp49jhpE3ROMkcj9KrcdnGiAqLq5gNuBy/s320/Year+End+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421634560554728530" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Session 9</span> came as a bit of a surprise as it sort of snuck up on me and signified an important time in psychological horror in the United States. Thoroughly atmospheric and powerful, it is definitely one that has seen many plays on my television.</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">American Psycho</span> (2000; Mary Harron)<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;">Wonderful opus into the world of the high class yuppie. Specifically one who has completely snapped and uses the materialistic shell as his only cover. Absolutely wonderful.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Trick 'R Treat</span> (2008; Michael Dougherty)<br /><br />Fantastically structured horror anthology celebrating everyones favorite horror holiday. This film should become a staple for everyone's Halloween nights for now on. Also, can't forget our new mascot as well ;) .<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gozu</span> (2003; Takashi Miike)<br /><br />This selection is once again for a broader idea. Takashi Miike. He played an important role in both this decade and the last, and this pick was merely a reflection of one of his shining moments. Critics say he churns out too many films not to have great ones, but I don't think anyone can deny that when he has great ones, they truely are great.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Suicide Club</span> (2001; Shion Sono)<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipyErIbyq278FoLAVsv9c7T-W0GF2-fRhSQw9BHyfHsexOvsjZ2Dhh-thNDpUIyo4ilE7CAd_4Le62TGCTmSyY-9_EBIXOR1vR3VKETHqsO_TH9mjAutNhb1K95WRAtNn-kSEb5hOOZfX/s1600-h/Year+End+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipyErIbyq278FoLAVsv9c7T-W0GF2-fRhSQw9BHyfHsexOvsjZ2Dhh-thNDpUIyo4ilE7CAd_4Le62TGCTmSyY-9_EBIXOR1vR3VKETHqsO_TH9mjAutNhb1K95WRAtNn-kSEb5hOOZfX/s320/Year+End+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421634002668184354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;">Again, this is merely a symbol for the start of a very important career in the director that is Shion Sono. While not his first piece, it can be heavily agreed upon that this was his most important. Both creepy and compelling, <span style="font-style: italic;">Suicide Club</span> was the underdog film of the decade. Not to mention a nod to the mindfuckery that are Sono's works.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Uzumaki</span> (2000; Higuchinsky)<br /><br />Another gem that has faded away from memories recently. This film showed that given the eye for it, mangas can be adapted onto the big screen with great success.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shaun of the Dead</span> (2004; Edgar Wright)</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;"><br />This piece proved the inspiration for a huge mishmash of other splatter comedies. The beauty of it all is that it is still the strongest one of the decade. Not that I won't give a nod to <span style="font-style: italic;">Slither</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Let the Right One In/Thirst</span> (Various)<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiT5swDvxM_QU4nxuAkhCnC2mqhdvOhYysteWdIZIHzOi0d06VqUUCcmowmyR4vYsBjQXgeYeMQQ4AhM3E3jDQYYHoIvBucXPo5CFIx3sdUie_Qiq1Ko4EeLK6A_Nm5ssLQ30a8RTkTkM/s1600-h/Year+End+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiT5swDvxM_QU4nxuAkhCnC2mqhdvOhYysteWdIZIHzOi0d06VqUUCcmowmyR4vYsBjQXgeYeMQQ4AhM3E3jDQYYHoIvBucXPo5CFIx3sdUie_Qiq1Ko4EeLK6A_Nm5ssLQ30a8RTkTkM/s320/Year+End+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421634300503765250" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;">These two important pieces proved that vampire films can involve romance and not also be scraps off of a 12 year old girls journal. Solidly structured and nodding to the vampire films before them, these two prove that the moral ambiguity of vampires has never been explored and it really should have been.<br /><br /><a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/03/behind-mask-rise-of-leslie-vernon-2006.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon</span></a> (2006; Scott Glosserman)<br /><br />No need, there is already a review up ;).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bubba Ho-tep</span> (2002; Don Coscarelli)<br /><br />One of my favorite horror comedies in existence. Shows off what Bruce Campbell can do with a "serious" role to play. Wonderfully creative and hilarious to top it off.<br /><br /><br />I'm sure I forgot several and any input would be helpful. If I think of more I'll make edits and tack them on in the end. Hope everyone has a wonderful 2010.</span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-65828213726924509302009-12-26T19:51:00.004-06:002009-12-26T20:09:22.292-06:00The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon (2008; Richard Gale)<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">I figured it was about time for another ludicrous short to be posted up on this site, so here you go. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon</span> is probably one of the silliest shorts in recent history. Check it out sometime as it is definitely worth the ten minutes of your time.</span><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ObXpLRoaakZuoYsUHUzvtcG-VaVlMFvmbr0Iy-DmX7jQR5YHxexSscgFIWrMlfy_-foL-6j-1wwG73TN3u4h9wEPv3iIeZ3fhm3_7_V5FSrZKU2EWYEEZb-32ClDw_4K1BaUTevifmKr/s1600-h/THSMwtEIW.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ObXpLRoaakZuoYsUHUzvtcG-VaVlMFvmbr0Iy-DmX7jQR5YHxexSscgFIWrMlfy_-foL-6j-1wwG73TN3u4h9wEPv3iIeZ3fhm3_7_V5FSrZKU2EWYEEZb-32ClDw_4K1BaUTevifmKr/s320/THSMwtEIW.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419731935350255266" border="0" /></a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-44977776240770489542009-12-26T19:07:00.004-06:002009-12-26T19:30:56.001-06:00Spoorloos (1988; George Sluizer)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I've said before that I always use the titles I first heard whenever naming a review for this site, but this title is </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Spoorloos</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> for another reason on top of that. I don't want anyone thinking I'm talking about Sluizer's American remake under the same English title, </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >The Vanishing</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfpuRq_nuxD6w8Ksd-rvuk9pvH5AiS83hoSL7UdtYHyhlGAAohMXNDT7DG7RoVfCpT2CwHAdV-u2-0xPvWJJ3_EYwbeNvsz3S1j8ZO7o3EomPkjwRGvg-VkUqZGJdqrnxwTB0CWKNaLsR/s1600-h/Spoorloos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfpuRq_nuxD6w8Ksd-rvuk9pvH5AiS83hoSL7UdtYHyhlGAAohMXNDT7DG7RoVfCpT2CwHAdV-u2-0xPvWJJ3_EYwbeNvsz3S1j8ZO7o3EomPkjwRGvg-VkUqZGJdqrnxwTB0CWKNaLsR/s320/Spoorloos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419717314017549954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">A man goes on a road trip through France with his girlfriend/wife/what-have-you. While stopped at a gas station, she decides to stop in and get them both drinks and never returns. Completely destroyed by this, the man spends the next several years of his life searching for her kidnapper. His persistence pays off eventually, as his fliers finally catch the attention of the kidnapper himself.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">It may seem like I'm giving something away even though I normally never do (with the exception of </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/08/uninvited-2009-charles-thomas-guard.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Uninvited</span></a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> as I was completely determined to tear that remake apart). However, none of that description is a spoiler as most of that is given to the viewers right away. The focus of </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">Spoorloos</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> is very much the conflict and thoughts of the two men involved. It is for all intents and purposes one of the greatest character studies ever filmed. While one of the major points has popped up repeatedly in both film culture and music (how long would you search for the one you love?) there are a myriad of other important aspects to pick up along the way. Maybe the most important part, though, is how closely the film hits home. You have no choice but to immediately root for the man as he desperately clings to memories of her, knowing full well you would do the same.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I won't waste your time with many of the more technical aspects as you should be spending your time hunting down a copy of this piece for yourself, but some things need to be said for those who are interested. The camera is served to us in a mostly minimalistic style, rarely focusing on backdrops or rapid motion, chosing instead to give us intense, focused shots on the people involved. The camera never falters, challenging us to bare witness, and even mentally take part in, the events that unfold. </span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 5/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Notes: Never Take Bike Trips to France</span></span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-88464647714734708042009-12-23T16:37:00.006-06:002009-12-23T17:03:24.960-06:00Attack the Gas Station (1999; Kim Sang-jin)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">What comes to mind when you read a title like </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Attack the Gas Station</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">? Frankly, I had absolutely no idea what to think about it at all. The concept itself is odd, but not the annoying forced odd in films like </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Tokyo Gore Police </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">that just irritate you. No, it sounded like some form of odd that could almost be compelling if crafted by the right hands.</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv94vbTU_h4pjF3T3u40H7oaXfRxjClSCVh1EpGUlwfBh8IT_xASXJAN316VcRjnUFLboKcZj7gfWLFVMhP7E4zRj_vVzIj9WLDJhmv3AWs-v7Ozm87oOVpJ-V3-zMvkKJcasYFtfTG2Go/s1600-h/Attack+the+Gas+Station.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv94vbTU_h4pjF3T3u40H7oaXfRxjClSCVh1EpGUlwfBh8IT_xASXJAN316VcRjnUFLboKcZj7gfWLFVMhP7E4zRj_vVzIj9WLDJhmv3AWs-v7Ozm87oOVpJ-V3-zMvkKJcasYFtfTG2Go/s320/Attack+the+Gas+Station.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418565964318431026" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Four Korean youth decide to attack a gas station.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">No matter how I tried to wrap my head around it all, there always just seemed to be something missing. The idea of four trouble makers attacking a gas station hardly seemed like enough material to warrant an entire full length film. How much action could one possibly churn out of a limited cast doing what is essentially only robbing a single store.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Apparently you can derive endless action out of it, as that is exactly what Sang-jin accomplished. While I am not an expert in his works, I must say that after watching this piece a few weeks back that every other film he has done is now on my list of "must watch". Whatever it is that drives him to these ideas is like nothing I have ever seen in any other director before. To be able to craft such a stylized action comedy out of a simple title is just mastery of his craft at work.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I am going to make my analysis brief for this one, as most of the film is spoken for in just the title itself. Don't get me wrong, however, this is not some childish Apatow piece trying to soak up some cash from drug addled teenagers. The comedy in </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;">AtGS </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">is both simple and at the same time very much more matured and thought through than what passes as comedy in the US today.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">The colors tended to be sharp, adding more of an edge to the action sequences, of which there were many. The music was very much on key with the tone of the rest of the film and the camera never made itself unwelcome. It all shaped up into a breath of fresh air for me, as I no longer felt I had to wait for only the Coen Brothers to craft the comedies I enjoy.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 4.5/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Score: Attack the Gas Station, otherwise known as A New Way of Applying for Jobs</span></span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-77769095686033220692009-12-21T23:46:00.005-06:002009-12-22T13:23:01.713-06:00Paradise Murdered (2007; Kim Han-min)<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">With my winter break in motion and most of my friends visited, I finally have some time to sit down and enjoy a few moments of peace.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5Rn3ukP-HvcvpI7Rs1njKiZgv5MXBea4jJYqTULZRAk5lqnrsJGNh5xEqRiYf7XX0Oa-GPfCBcj8d2xmV-2WiQ_cLmyoNSrSw7-_krvnH6iAh8u-zFbi7_0mU4KZI8Ws4TbMTVGtNlLA/s1600-h/Paradise+Murdered.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5Rn3ukP-HvcvpI7Rs1njKiZgv5MXBea4jJYqTULZRAk5lqnrsJGNh5xEqRiYf7XX0Oa-GPfCBcj8d2xmV-2WiQ_cLmyoNSrSw7-_krvnH6iAh8u-zFbi7_0mU4KZI8Ws4TbMTVGtNlLA/s320/Paradise+Murdered.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417933978850654386" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">A small island community numbering only seventeen citizens finds itself in quite a situation. The situation being that all seventeen of them disappear and no one knows why. The film proceeds to go back in time to give us a first hand experience of what really happened.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">First off let me say that despite how much I hate most thrillers that come out of the US, I've noticed foreign pieces tend to feel a lot more fresh and appear to know that they actually have room to move around and explore (see </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/03/memories-of-murder-2003-bong-joon-ho.html">Memories of Murder</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> for an example of this). This is most likely caused by the unbelievable amount of red tape and butchering scripts have to go through in the US to get the green light (aka, turn everything into </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Se7en</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">). The whole point of all this is mostly that just because things get described as thrillers, don't get too distraught until you find out what country it is from.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Right off the bat you notice that Han-min isn't planning on taking the entire film too seriously as we are introduced to the film by over-acting fisherman screaming about like little girls finding a spider. This is a trend that continues through the earlier parts of the film, and one can't help but feel a little uncomfortable with that. As I see it there are two sides to this, either you could see it as just some jabs at light-hearted humor, or you could see it as more of an inadequacy on Han-min's part. This film being his debut, (and strangely enough not on IMDb) odds are his confidence might have been a little on the lesser side of the spectrum. As far as I am concerned the jabs at humor were unnecessary as the film was actually interesting enough and had enough compelling atmosphere to stand on its own. This, in return, produces a negative effect as everytime one of the nonsense scenes pops up, it reminds you of just how much of a movie it really is.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">As you should notice by the plot, this piece focuses on a very large group of individuals, which makes it hard for the director to make them appear as individuals and not just background noise. This might be the strongest asset this film has. While not as evenly spread and thorough as pieces like </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >9 Souls</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> and </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >The Thing</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, most of the cast on the island have enough time to develop past the 2D place holder mark. That accomplishment alone is fantastic considering there are seventeen of them and the film clocks at just under two hours long.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Overall the film has enough strength to hold on its own. While some of the absurditys can grind on your patience near the beginning, the whole thing comes together well enough as the tale progresses. The pacing and structure are solid, keeping your interest and not bogging the story down while trying to conceal what was really happening. It all wraps up into a nice mystery that while flawed, is still enjoyable enough to sit down to on a nice night before bed (if you can't tell, that is what I did ;) ).</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 3/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Notes: Whodunit? Whodunwhat?</span></span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-53713600235070118532009-11-07T22:57:00.003-06:002009-11-07T23:09:10.348-06:00Quick Shots II<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I am hoping to have some time in the next few days to review a handful of movies, but just in case I thought I'd throw up a few more scores for those interested.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">House of the Devil</span></span> (2009; Ti West)</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Horror</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">5/5</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Black Dynamite</span> (2009; Scott Sanders)</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Comedy</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">4.5/5</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prince of Darkness</span></span> (1987; John Carpenter)</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Horror</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">4.5/5</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jungle Holocaust</span></span> (1977; Ruggero Deodato)</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Horror/Drama</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">4/5</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eden Log</span></span> (2007; Franck Vestiel) </span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Horror/Drama</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">4/5</span></span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-63241650991092912922009-10-19T20:19:00.006-05:002009-11-07T22:57:40.759-06:00Quick Shots<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">I have been spending my time writing lesson plans for student teaching, so I haven't had much time to sit down and write reviews but I thought I should at least throw something up so here are a few movies I've seen over the past week or so (and a score to wet your appetite). In no particular order...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >Wind Chill</span> (2007; Gregory Jacobs)</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Horror</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Score: 4/5</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >I Sell the Dead</span> (2008; Glenn McQuaid)</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Horror/Comedy</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Score: 4/5</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >Antichrist</span> (2009; Lars Von Trier)</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Drama/Horror</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Score: 4.5/5</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >Take Care of My Cat</span> (2001; Jeong Jae-eun)</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Drama</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Score: 3/5</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >Let the Right One In</span> (2008; Tomas Alfredson)</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Horror/Drama</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Score: 4/5</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >Trick 'R Treat</span> (2008; Michael Dougherty)</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Horror</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Score: 4.5/5<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />EDIT</span>: I have decided to make this an actual column for me to post films I have been watching but haven't had time to review, so expect a lot more of these from time to time.<br /></span></span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-73514241276026952052009-09-25T22:06:00.006-05:002010-01-15T16:37:59.342-06:00They Live (1988; John Carpenter)<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">When I am asked to sum up my opinion of cinema from the 1980's I always use the same two word answer. While it is a very biased answer, many people still agree with me that it seems to fit the mood of the genres it touched. Those words?</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">John Carpenter</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapSkW2kmd6CzrBX4mYDkxzZzj9fq9aE1aEl-z9ffpMlzLKASz6mXYIlVOhvcnvK_Fr4XM1iwHl6dpcANnSZyNUGXE3-O4QvAd-EFp2EIIAz5NbU4I3F23XAwkHpJwaA_A4_AkRRM9IrRB/s1600-h/They+Live.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapSkW2kmd6CzrBX4mYDkxzZzj9fq9aE1aEl-z9ffpMlzLKASz6mXYIlVOhvcnvK_Fr4XM1iwHl6dpcANnSZyNUGXE3-O4QvAd-EFp2EIIAz5NbU4I3F23XAwkHpJwaA_A4_AkRRM9IrRB/s320/They+Live.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385609155107116002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">A drifter finds his way into work and a temporary home while, well, drifting. While there he notices some mysterious activity that leads him into a whole new world of truth.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">They Live continues a tradition that many other horror directors started years before. The political commentary in it is so obvious, yet unlike Romero, it never feels too forced or pushed down our throats. It very much feels natural with the flow of the rest of the film and our attention never waivers from the action at hand.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">They Live also marks the end of Carpenter's fantastic eighties career and in a way feels like an appropriate summary of his previous works before falling into his downhill slide in the nineties (with the exception of In the Mouth of Madness). However, after all of this introduction, where does it leave the film itself?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">The character Carpenter places before us are absurd. We focus around a drifter whom we know nothing about who is thrust into a terrifying situation and instead of panicking he pulls out some guns and some cheesy one-liners. He meets friends by beating them or holding guns to them. The point I am trying to make here is that this film is awesome. This movie continues the enjoyment we all had when we first watched Escape From New York years earlier.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">If you have never seen Escape From New York, then there really is no way to convince you that the description above is more than just ridiculous garbage. I am not a proponent of saying that trash cinema is actually high quality in disguise, but with Carpenter's works it really is. Everything was sculpted to their degrees on purpose. It is obvious with pieces such as The Thing and Halloween that Carpenter is no stranger to serious cinema and this idea helps solidify that he wanted these movies to look this way for a reason. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">They reflect the absurdity of the political ideas that the films are commenting on. The genius behind such a tool is that not only does it further drive the commentary home, it also gives what would have been a more "normal" piece a life of its own.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I suppose I should briefly touch on the more concrete elements. The camera is well instrumented here and the black & white actually adds to the feeling that we are trying to be controlled as if our artistic minds are being suppressed by the lack of color. The score is typical of eighties Carpenter with very simple melodies being effectively used. The drawbacks are that while it is an undeniably strong film, you can't help but feel some of his spark fade on all aspects of the piece. It is like asking a landscape artist to do a portrait. The portrait will look good, yes, but it will still lack some of the genius that pushes his landscapes past the point of good. </span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Score: 4.5/5</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;">Notes: Obey this review. Consume Carpenter's products.</span></span><br /></div></div></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-13275778214340802632009-09-25T14:28:00.006-05:002009-12-22T13:12:41.996-06:00Paranormal Activity (2007; Oren Peli)<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">I learned one thing from my years as a movie fanatic, and that is that crowds are terrible. I usually skip out on most theatre screenings simply because the crowds can completely break the atmosphere of a movie if they are bad enough. So when I go to see the screening of this film in a packed theatre of 750 people and it still manages to scare me... well... we must have something going for us.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3mSFHz0g6FxTxWsBpQo1KZmU1Ref0wA2T-uxJP9Ff1GPDpHTvTWAhxPRSb6_goTi-zTFOSBZFyLCGiq2HnMgdNPbegzCRFLK9TiueK02N1-01ptXOnhuzE_BxB5CnTDA77nW3E77Zb9O/s1600-h/Paranormal+Activity.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3mSFHz0g6FxTxWsBpQo1KZmU1Ref0wA2T-uxJP9Ff1GPDpHTvTWAhxPRSb6_goTi-zTFOSBZFyLCGiq2HnMgdNPbegzCRFLK9TiueK02N1-01ptXOnhuzE_BxB5CnTDA77nW3E77Zb9O/s320/Paranormal+Activity.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385490808048354034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Young couple X and Y (easier than typing in names) move into a house and Y (the woman, clever huh?) starts hearing noises during the night. She then goes on to tell X she has had previous experiences with hauntings and they should get help from experts.<br /><br />We all know here how much I love mockumentaries, so when I caught wind of this a few months back I couldn't resist getting sucked in. As more and more reviews popped up saying that this is the scariest film they've seen in years my interest had no where to go but up. Lucky for me, one of the screenings just so happened to be close by so my friends and I packed up and shipped off (not that we really packed anything, it was only an hour drive, but whatever).<br /><br />The problem with many modern day horror films is they try too hard to focus on flat out thrills and jumps and lose out on atmosphere. That or they are just terrible at all of it, but just roll with me for this. The situation is that more often than not, it is easier to craft some cheap thrills that can win over most common movie goers than it is to craft an atmosphere so dense that the ceiling might as well be two feet off the ground. This is where I find the greatest strength of mockumentary film making. When you design your piece into a form of first person perspective and amateur film making, you no longer have to carefully craft tense scores to match your inspired landscapes. The power of the first person perspective is its ability to push atmosphere through its own momentum.<br /><br />This is of course assuming you can keep us wrapped into the films reality which can be the toughest part. Mockumentary film making is so barren of components relative to traditional film making that a lot more stress is put on what is there. The acting has to be top grade or else their characters fail to reflect what most of us would do. The lighting has to be perfect, neither showing us too much nor too little. The use of extravagancies such as CGI has to be justified to such an intense degree as its presence can abruptly rip you right out of an otherwise perfectly constructed piece.<br /><br />After all of that, where does it leave our main topic, Paranormal Activity? If there was ever another mockumentary to continue <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/blair-witch-project-1999.html">Blair Witch Project</a><a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/blair-witch-project-1999.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">'s</span></a> thrown (and to a lesser degree, <a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/04/noroi-2005-koji-shiraishi.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Noroi's</span></a> thrown) it would be this one. Many of the strengths that made Blair Witch so successful are what push Paranormal Activity forward. The day/night sequences that appeared in Blair Witch show up much stronger in Paranormal Activity. They train your body to react to the time of day without having to really lift a finger. It came to the point where the audience I was with started screaming as soon as realized a night sequence was beginning.<br /><br />To make even more connections, the use of CGI in Paranormal Activity was almost non-existent. The concept was to use simple tricks to propel what would otherwise be a normal ghost story to scarily realistic proportions. The characters, while not perfect, still thrust the story forward with enough charisma to keep us interested.<br /><br />While films like Cloverfield have shown us once again the unlimited possibilities we have access to using the mockumentary style, it is films like Paranormal Activity with their seemingly average subject matter that truly frighten us. This portrayal of events could have easily been anyone. It could have been you. That, my friends, is scary.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Score: 4.5/5<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Notes: I know the still I used wasn't in the screening, which is exactly why I used it. It doesn't spoil anything and makes a clear statement at what you can expect.</span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-91161333958656528532009-08-23T12:52:00.003-05:002009-08-23T15:58:42.500-05:00The Uninvited (2009; Charles & Thomas Guard)<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">This is a touchy subject for me. Like so many others, I am sick of this remake trend. The idea that foreign films are not enough to stand on their own and need "translation" into our culture is quite sickening to me. However, I simply decided to ignore the bulk of this trend and try to ride it out. Needless to say, the J-horror remake fad is dying slowly but surely (making way for slasher remakes...) and then this monstrosity pops up. As seen on the front of this blog, one of the films in my top ten is the deeply profound "A Tale of Two Sisters". Kim Ji-woon is an unstoppable force in the world of cinema today, and his works should not be touched. The labyrinthine structure of "A Tale of Two Sisters" mandates the viewer to watch its intricicies over and over to fully establish its beauty and awe-inspiring construction. So when it comes to the remake, well, comparisons must be made to establish the complete lack of necessity of it all. This will, in turn, lead to many aspects of the films being exposed, and while I will never divulge anything gigantic, I will be forced to dissect and compare specific scenes. So if you have never laid your eyes upon Ji-woon's masterpiece, I recommend you stop here and just know this; Never fuck with the Kim.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6zzkFVsBmqWG1HAcIfSWr9AjovL7lHEAW48ZAeqoKnNE1h0cd4DwNF1uwM9v4F_FZE62bbaHXLne6UDlLUrPVS2SK7CdRtc9pb99RgUpbHGHzbP3bkSJtNfhasphmxmZU9wxx6ROZIcB/s1600-h/The+Uninvited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6zzkFVsBmqWG1HAcIfSWr9AjovL7lHEAW48ZAeqoKnNE1h0cd4DwNF1uwM9v4F_FZE62bbaHXLne6UDlLUrPVS2SK7CdRtc9pb99RgUpbHGHzbP3bkSJtNfhasphmxmZU9wxx6ROZIcB/s320/The+Uninvited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373223683134100338" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Some girl (now named American) is traumatized by her mothers death and is temporarily sent to an institution to recover. After some time, American is sent home to reunite with her father and sister (now named Bullshit) only to discover that her father's girlfriend has moved in. There is something off and neither American nor Bullshit like her. The veins go much deeper, but that is enough for now. Now to compare!<br /><br />The first thing shoved into our face is how Americanized this film has become. We start out watching American make out with some guy at a party. Why? In the original folktale and Ji-woon's interpretation, there was never a need for such acts. I guess this is the US way of establashing innocence because she denies the advance to fornicate. That is how we interepret morals in our youth? Disgusting and unwarranted. The strengths of the character should lie within the character herself as this film is very much an understanding of her mind, not how much or how little she loves dick.<br /><br />This paragraph is simply another example of Americanizing the film and contains spoilers, so skip this if you haven't seen the first one (it is the only one that matters). The development of the "other" sister in this film is quite a dramatic difference. In the original the sister was developed, just like everything else, as a way to cope with the guilt and resentment. The sister represented that which needed protection from the materialized evil that needed to be fended off. All forms of deep symbolism are discarded in the remake, choosing to adapt the more surfaced twist that is seen in umpteen dozen other films that have come out in the past decade.<br /><br />The visual style of the remake craves desperately to be identical to its parent, but fails in all forms. As seen in the image above, the solemn beauty of the house in the first film is tried at, but simply comes off as background noise. The soundtrack is dull and does nothing but carry us from scene to scene as if they only included it because they knew they had to. The focus on water is present like in the original, and just like the original, it is simply there as an allusion to the original folktale. In that regard, I suppose, it can be considered even.<br /><br />One thing that bothered me greatly was the change of title. "The Uninvited" seemed like a ridiculous title to me given the original content of the first film. I guess it is supposed to be a reference to the girlfriend who was never wanted in the home. However, most people would assume it to be about the apparations that occur, as if they were unwanted ghosts haunting the innocent people inside. That, of course, wouldn't make any sense, as in the original the apparations are not only wanted, but are needed in order for the center of our film to exist.<br /><br />As I kept pondering the title, I suppose I came to understand it a little better. As I said before, the remake stripped all forms of depth and tradgedy that were essential to the original's success and beauty and threw them into a hole. I kept wanting to analyze the copied imagery for what it was in the original and tried to apply it to the remake. That was a poor mistake. All the copied scenes were thrown in without second thought by idiots who apparently didn't understand their existence in the first place. The example I will use here is the blood trail.<br /><br />The blood trail was the essential escalation of her coping after her illusions were threatened when her father confronted her. The trials she was putting her sister through had to become more rigorous as her guilt grew heavier on her conscience. The trail was then later shown to represent the fragments of her different realities colliding as she finally lost herself with the confrontation with the girlfriend at the end. So what does any of this have to do with the remakes blatant copying? Nothing at all, they simply threw it in to create "tension".<br /><br />The significance of "A Tale of Two Sisters" was built upon the significance of all of its little pieces. Everything that was shown was placed in front of us delibrately. What we get with "The Uninvited", however, is simply another collage of the dozens of other remakes, scare scenes slopped together by a story devoid of soul and meaning. Not only can the film not stand up to it's predecessor, it can't even stand up as its own film. The importance of this review really comes in expressing many of my ideas on "A Tale of Two Sisters" so that my eventual review of it doesn't have to be a book like this review is.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Score: 1/5<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes: Bells, Pearls, and Insignificance</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-91360598698889724872009-08-20T14:01:00.006-05:002009-12-22T13:16:19.378-06:00Grotesque (2009; Koji Shiraishi)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Way back when I reviewed a movie called <a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/04/noroi-2005-koji-shiraishi.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Noroi</span></a>, which was themed similarly to the <a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/blair-witch-project-1999.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Blair Witch Project</span></a>. In said review I also said the director had made other films themed off of the long-black-haired-girl craze in the form of "Ju-rei" and "Kuchisake-onna". Sprinkled onto the end was a little note containing the title and genre of his newest work, Grotesque. It seems it is time to leave the hair behind and go for a modern day torture porn flick. Awesome.</span><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4HwxwLo2m4nuObHs1EKr4o_8tJMJtfYklWGpfRFgBvNHwZ-DX7m_p2tE9d52NqyCI72qEVkbLucMxRh852i5rxOddRbnWUOUW7HR4RSTdDqThc7A_PGe628lgxbYiPqNpEHqPgswom6m/s1600-h/Grotesque.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4HwxwLo2m4nuObHs1EKr4o_8tJMJtfYklWGpfRFgBvNHwZ-DX7m_p2tE9d52NqyCI72qEVkbLucMxRh852i5rxOddRbnWUOUW7HR4RSTdDqThc7A_PGe628lgxbYiPqNpEHqPgswom6m/s320/Grotesque.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372132057747049954" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">What to put into the summary... well, two people who just started dating get tortured.</span></span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br />You see the thing is, much in the vein of what Eli Roth wanted to do (but US censors didn't want him to do) Shiraishi brings back the certain flavor that torture porn films need. "Grotesque" comes straight to its point at the very beginning and doesn't stay longer than it wants to. The whole genius of this piece comes with the fact that Shiraishi got to make exactly what he had in mind; a brutal and explorative adventure into torture and rape that doesn't bother with the modern nonsense it doesn't require such as character development. </span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br />That isn't to say that this movie has no inner themes to it. You might be able to pull out some ideas about love (strangely enough) or something silly like that, but then why are you watching this film of all things? On that note, why was it necessary to include those things at all? I know I said Shiraishi's genius was his ability to do away with unneeded garbage, but that wasn't exactly true. It was just about 95% true, which is a lot closer than most people come. </span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br />The problem with <span style="font-style: italic;">Grotesque</span>, however, begins a little past the half way mark. We are shown a very surreal series of scenes that didn't quite fit the relentless butchery that had been thrown into our faces up until that point. While I have mixed emotions about that segment of the film, it is not the only piece that will yank you back into reality. Near the ending the film takes a sudden, unwarrented change in tone that kills some of the final impact of it all. It felt sort of like a cop out when Shiraishi had already taken it so far. </span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br />Do these segments ruin the film? Hardly. I give kudos to Shiraishi for his attempt at updating the torture genre. The torture itself, being the main focus in the first place, is very vivid and can easily succeed in making any normal person look away in disgust. It is just a shame that the atmosphere had to be broken in a way that it could not be repaired.</span> </span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Score: 4/5</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Notes: Would you die for someone you love?</span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-76139318165594974992009-08-10T20:33:00.003-05:002009-08-10T20:58:02.032-05:00Make Over<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">After some consideration, I decided I would revamp my scoring system over the next few days. I wanted a system that could better reflect my opinions in a more precise manner. Plus, when using a scale of ten, it becomes hard to score films between the areas of one and five as once a film because trash, measuring the exact amount of shit it is becomes redundant. However, I always felt that the five scale was just a little too restrictive and it tended to clump my almost tens with my tens.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">After giving it some thought, I decided that a minor change to the five scale would solve the issues I have been having. So let me now demonstrate the scale I have in mind.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1: Rubbish; Offal; Garbage.</span> This will, and always has, been the lowest a film could acquire (unless you count zero, but that just feels like you are saying the film doesn't exist).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2: Mostly Rubbish; Bad.</span> These are the films that are bad, but they may have some signs of life in them somewhere.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">3: Average; Mediocre; Watchable.</span> These are films that are on the border. They have enough material within them that might warrant a watch depending on your tastes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4: Good; Worth Time.</span> These are the films you should definitely look into if you have the time. While they struggle with minor points, they are still well constructed and demand your attention.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5: Almost Great.</span> These are the films that are so close to being 5's that they deserve their own category separate from the 4's. This category keeps the 4's and 5's from growing to unruly and large. These films, like the 5's, are ones you need to see, but just with a <span style="font-style: italic;">little</span> less urgency.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">5: Great; Perfection.</span> Enough said about these. These are the greatest films around. Buy them now.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Also, this list puts a cap on the recommended list, restricting it to only 4.5 and 5. This isn't to say you shouldn't still watch the 4's, but it shrinks the list to those films that need the most attention.</span> <span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Hopefully the transformation will be done within a day or two. Maybe even with a new review... but let's not get too ambitious.</span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-19054446736206214752009-07-16T17:21:00.004-05:002009-07-16T17:33:15.259-05:00The Master is Back<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">After four years in exile, my favorite director Toshiaki Toyoda is back. Not only is he back, he is back in a big way announcing that his newest piece is following the trend of Kuchu Keien by pushing his previous trademarks and story arches out the window. Included with the news was this sneak peek...</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBG-fH_N8R3US-A3KcyU8y3tyg7ZJuQHA1fWmnlJXzBHlGc6MGcfNiOmBF9ph2erEnTan46gvzMF-3eYxiC4OpoKkrEOfQBp-VtIjS3HYXGAiUSqfK8A_LJHexb14RBnTeLEA4Yrkyodx/s1600-h/Blood+of+Rebirth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBG-fH_N8R3US-A3KcyU8y3tyg7ZJuQHA1fWmnlJXzBHlGc6MGcfNiOmBF9ph2erEnTan46gvzMF-3eYxiC4OpoKkrEOfQBp-VtIjS3HYXGAiUSqfK8A_LJHexb14RBnTeLEA4Yrkyodx/s320/Blood+of+Rebirth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359188513158142482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">This film will be a tremendous moment in cinema history for people who have been lucky enough to watch Toyoda's body of work. There is no doubt in my mind that Toyoda will drive home another perfect score with this one, but until then I will copy the plot from </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/first-image-from-toshiaki-toyodas-blood-of-rebirth/">Twitch</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> where I first found out about this piece of news. I'll keep this blog updated if any more news is released.</span><br /></span><blockquote><p style="font-family: lucida grande; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The time is the Middle Ages, when gods and demons reigned over a larger dominion than humans, before humans came to rule over the entire world. Oguri, a renowned masseur, is summoned to the fortress of the ruler of the dark world, a man known simply as the Lord and ailing from a venereal disease. After encouraging Terute—a captive princess from another land—to escape, Oguri is poisoned to death by the Lord before he can make his own getaway.</span></p> <p><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">At a fork in the road between heaven and hell, Oguri is sent back to the land of the living in the form of a Hungry Ghost, in a state of apparent death. Saved by a monk who happened to pass by, he learns of a “spring of rebirth.” Meanwhile, Terute manages to flee from the Lord’s fortress and reunites with the undead Oguri. But the Lord is hot on their heels, hell bent on finding and punishing Terute.</span></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></blockquote>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-80240952996689580462009-06-25T22:40:00.005-05:002009-08-20T14:52:20.740-05:00Kichiku Dai Enkai (1997; Kazuyoshi Kumakiri)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Kichiku Dai Enkai comes off as sort of an inspirational film, as strange as that may sound. Not to the degree that I find their vague rebellionism inspiring or that I find their clothing so hip to the jive. It is more that this film plays like a gore film should. It has some good effects, some half decent acting, and even some good camera work. What is so inspirational about that? This was Kumakiri's senior thesis in college and is really just his college buddies messing around on tape.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirzFRPbjWLiS9A2fja_Cx9S42Ad79thfuNGpTiFJmai68y7x69Fx-5au2RBLwSYe7CqADk6zTTgRRCxhYzKgV6b5tnEF0qohn77iO2uXqdN_uQqlL3NZC-HRXBFPvizgfaS_479En6E9z/s1600-h/Kichiku+Dai+Enkai.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirzFRPbjWLiS9A2fja_Cx9S42Ad79thfuNGpTiFJmai68y7x69Fx-5au2RBLwSYe7CqADk6zTTgRRCxhYzKgV6b5tnEF0qohn77iO2uXqdN_uQqlL3NZC-HRXBFPvizgfaS_479En6E9z/s320/Kichiku+Dai+Enkai.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351480312582498114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">As the story goes, some political college group gets in trouble and their beloved leader goes to jail. He decided to put his girlfriend in charge of the group which begins to sew discontent, etc.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">I'm going to keep this review on the short side as I already wrote another review recently and I really should be writing papers instead. As stated before, this is a college level piece, but don't let that give you any wrong ideas. The only thing that gives away that this is a college work is the fact that the stars are all college aged.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The camera is what really sold me. While it has an amateur feel to it, it also portrays a very serious and skilled knowledge of the do's and do not's. The first Evil Dead film comes to mind as a comparison, however, I feel that Kumakiri does it a little better than young Raimi.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The score is sparse (whether it be from lack of budget or actual choice I'm not sure) but is effective enough when used. The real problem here lies with the pacing. To succeed at making a slowly paced, character driven piece (which believe it or not is what this film is) you really need to have actors that shine and can carry a lot of weight with their dialogue. While this shows ambition, it really isn't an area that tends to excel in college works. While I doubt it was naivity on Kumakiri's part, it still is a wound that the film never really can rebound from.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Score: 3/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Notes: Slow Pacing? Character Development? In a </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;" >gore </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">film? </span></span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-65629133413751067432009-06-25T12:13:00.006-05:002009-08-10T21:11:27.810-05:00Sling Blade (1996; Billy Bob Thorton)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">A film highly overlooked by most people due mostly to the monolithic success that was Forrest Gump, Sling Blade is... wait a minute. I never review anything up here...</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqF6LBYwbK10BCpo8f6j_TeYiKiLM543G9VplEOkawk-Fxxapnid5bYcBzx7RPj0HKoMffM0V-pkwOdZSoA_R6vQSKbIJ5Fp7JnALBwjVaE-ygj6VX58DQDOGngk-k06Dz5aOp7_olEJL/s1600-h/Sling+Blade1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqF6LBYwbK10BCpo8f6j_TeYiKiLM543G9VplEOkawk-Fxxapnid5bYcBzx7RPj0HKoMffM0V-pkwOdZSoA_R6vQSKbIJ5Fp7JnALBwjVaE-ygj6VX58DQDOGngk-k06Dz5aOp7_olEJL/s320/Sling+Blade1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351319395615629170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Much better. Well, I might as well do the plot first too... Karl, a mildly handicapped individual, is put into a mental hospital after killing his mother and her lover at a very young age. Fast forward a few years and now it is time for Karl to be released as an adult to create a life of his own. With great unease the hospital releases him, and we get front row seats to just how adapted Karl is.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Alright, now to backtrack, Sling Blade was regrettably ignored by most people (myself included... but I was 6, give me a break) during the colossal reign of Forrest Gump. I'm not saying Forrest Gump didn't deserve the attention, but we need to learn to spread the love a little more.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4asVA37Y36mbqMADioyUaA8NQFlaNrUDFh2VBdTQnBBMswrWW2YmpUJSWs6-uYcumuDT-UUldY6ed3MRr3xfXcQIhZ9Ged8AnmycMAOeOspo9AUDgTWaDSUb28ppxNIIwGpl66UeRqf1y/s1600-h/Sling+Blade2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4asVA37Y36mbqMADioyUaA8NQFlaNrUDFh2VBdTQnBBMswrWW2YmpUJSWs6-uYcumuDT-UUldY6ed3MRr3xfXcQIhZ9Ged8AnmycMAOeOspo9AUDgTWaDSUb28ppxNIIwGpl66UeRqf1y/s320/Sling+Blade2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351315329785728866" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The first moments of the film where we witness Karl's interview with a young girl writing for her school newspaper and then his eventual release set an unforgettable tone of unease. This is our first introduction to Karl, and we are thrown right in with the rest of the characters as we try to figure out whether Karl has really recovered. This part of the film seals the deal as to why Forrest Gump won out. The light-hearted sides of film tend to sell better.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">That isn't to say that the entire film has a serious tone about it, that is. In actuality, the film does have quite the mixture of emotions thrown into it with great success. Add on top of that a great timely soundtrack to fit the southern atmosphere and baby, you got a stew going.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The only thing I can dock this film for is the lack of replay action it will get (which is another contrast to Forrest Gump). This film is a beast (two and a half hours or something like that) and it just didn't feel like the material was enough to warrant frequent repeats (it was damn close, though).</span><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Score: 4/5<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Notes: Hades (Some people call it Hell, but I call it Hades)</span><br /></span></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-11930530172144499312009-06-07T15:12:00.002-05:002009-06-07T15:29:50.381-05:00Busy Busy<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">As summer has come, I have found myself in a surprisingly time consuming list of summer courses and what time is left over has been with family or other hobbies that are tying up my funds (PS3 & WH: 40k). My time should free up a little more around the second summer semester allowing me to watch a few movies and write my opinions on them. So until then, enjoy some posters and stills from some of the games I've been playing.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIm3YUw1WfdthhPGOgb3rTsEeHVBEz-oFHsXse8VnBChAJQ03isdc-iV8HscYueHvLvBtLKalH9brbIu-2UZzsef_-K2nigPFpRhEU6Xz6Fq3Gd4zt7OVnf4WvxbS4dVUScFgetwzrDVf8/s1600-h/Bioshock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIm3YUw1WfdthhPGOgb3rTsEeHVBEz-oFHsXse8VnBChAJQ03isdc-iV8HscYueHvLvBtLKalH9brbIu-2UZzsef_-K2nigPFpRhEU6Xz6Fq3Gd4zt7OVnf4WvxbS4dVUScFgetwzrDVf8/s320/Bioshock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344685064599545954" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBd9kcuotaHKYm6ayhRMCwoD7rwA_8ZQtONTWEeWdJLgGX9fZ9aZ7a5W_cTN6e_K2QTSsWfhsu9gSaR_p72lkOvmVp7E91xXR4Ea-BHZRsjcGF-DbRxAHRMK6bTxBkISzdZ_zXk1xDWbu/s1600-h/Silent+Hill+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBd9kcuotaHKYm6ayhRMCwoD7rwA_8ZQtONTWEeWdJLgGX9fZ9aZ7a5W_cTN6e_K2QTSsWfhsu9gSaR_p72lkOvmVp7E91xXR4Ea-BHZRsjcGF-DbRxAHRMK6bTxBkISzdZ_zXk1xDWbu/s320/Silent+Hill+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344685085911084882" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Dvf4RgAD1TF8EbHJFde7thuuvW1lEL-i_4dS6fB9Q4zh5W6jdEY02pHmzBN7kpbON_NlcgnQx-IkapKwlE1YcFAbWqJ1Y5fbSY_COZP__V2E1FMf2tEUBIIdldqpXdMhJEiAEvXYVS5e/s1600-h/Persona+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Dvf4RgAD1TF8EbHJFde7thuuvW1lEL-i_4dS6fB9Q4zh5W6jdEY02pHmzBN7kpbON_NlcgnQx-IkapKwlE1YcFAbWqJ1Y5fbSY_COZP__V2E1FMf2tEUBIIdldqpXdMhJEiAEvXYVS5e/s320/Persona+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344685075943307298" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPkKLXLl-M6qD4pXzRZgzkEgZmcPgUVaV13UjAsBGOp8jjWOY6woJYybJHe5vno5DbnHyQYbyAdYAEr9x4gcyW4RgZXVh7fheTvyxlRAOUySzDK6-8jOHkcPeMDEHXXWvI7MDWXmazvMt/s1600-h/Marathon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPkKLXLl-M6qD4pXzRZgzkEgZmcPgUVaV13UjAsBGOp8jjWOY6woJYybJHe5vno5DbnHyQYbyAdYAEr9x4gcyW4RgZXVh7fheTvyxlRAOUySzDK6-8jOHkcPeMDEHXXWvI7MDWXmazvMt/s320/Marathon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344685075478112146" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH8zw8dKNKJwbhSs5p1yhK3RDvQRenagUTEGVcd4tFRvhDPTBg7pIeWcT83rSPozEisbJnQQtGThyJVh26u_iz1x78GxWxgPpQeIMRRyy426wlIGt6QKGVDCle86NTsA3r1nDe6mc4vJb/s1600-h/Ratchet+%26+Clank.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH8zw8dKNKJwbhSs5p1yhK3RDvQRenagUTEGVcd4tFRvhDPTBg7pIeWcT83rSPozEisbJnQQtGThyJVh26u_iz1x78GxWxgPpQeIMRRyy426wlIGt6QKGVDCle86NTsA3r1nDe6mc4vJb/s320/Ratchet+%26+Clank.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344685080372802306" border="0" /></a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-73858235297967745092009-05-01T19:26:00.012-05:002009-12-22T13:20:21.570-06:00The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008; Kim Ji-woon)<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">This film is a lot of "seconds" for me. It is my second Kim Ji-woon film (the first being </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >A Tale of Two Sisters</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> which I obviously loved). It is my second venture into Asian westerns. While not a second, I will also say this is one of my many ventures into films starring Song Kang-ho (</span></span><a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2009/03/memories-of-murder-2003-bong-joon-ho.html"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Memories of Murder</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">, </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">, etc.) Now, with this film having connections with so many of my top ten, can it live up to the standards I have set for it?</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDZkORCoUEsD67ZKCY044c7GHaAY6dcQhW-xC-gonw7i_JF6W1CdGIImKSWYo2Cx3-jknMUq3C590rwLdDIG9aqKbwE2i-YXB9O2LAg1OuMaeIw7DOd61K1cYoenxL0cwWbtkAi80U7ui/s1600-h/The+Good,+the+Bad,+the+Weird.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDZkORCoUEsD67ZKCY044c7GHaAY6dcQhW-xC-gonw7i_JF6W1CdGIImKSWYo2Cx3-jknMUq3C590rwLdDIG9aqKbwE2i-YXB9O2LAg1OuMaeIw7DOd61K1cYoenxL0cwWbtkAi80U7ui/s320/The+Good,+the+Bad,+the+Weird.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331052388169896210" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The three main characters are of course the Good Guy, the Bad Guy, and the Weird Guy. They all end up on a hunt for the same map that may or may not be worth anything at all. As their struggle continues, more and more parties are brought into the mix, all trying to get ahold of the map for themselves.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">This movie was a surprise on all accounts. Not only did I get everything I wanted from it, I got it in such an enjoyable package of comedy and inspirational action sequences that this is truly a film for the books. Enough of this love affair...</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdNMrif6uE-zzaWR-VaY3m6Pv8Gg6msqwUZnJ2tGBQ-xlVkXZy5HgHyXjpqoBqraCOe_Hu5xVE3a4Ov2YLBZAI514lGQxFjCfZU_bEzupy2plm6VdUBH7AEVjzw99fdzPiC3LEUZdhXRg/s1600-h/The+Good,+the+Bad,+the+Weird+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdNMrif6uE-zzaWR-VaY3m6Pv8Gg6msqwUZnJ2tGBQ-xlVkXZy5HgHyXjpqoBqraCOe_Hu5xVE3a4Ov2YLBZAI514lGQxFjCfZU_bEzupy2plm6VdUBH7AEVjzw99fdzPiC3LEUZdhXRg/s320/The+Good,+the+Bad,+the+Weird+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331052575360358818" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Starting off with the camera, I must say that Kim Ji-woon pulled out all the stops. His eye for color was well documented in </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" >A Tale of Two Sisters</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">, but this particular title shows off some of his other skills. He manages to create some wonderful panoramic shots of the desert as well as a handful of wonderfully constructed set pieces for the action sequences. There is no flaw here.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The soundtrack is as equally stunning as the camera work. The music brings you back to the days of Westerns, but maintains a very modern feel to it to give itself its own identity. While a lot of aspects of this film are very obviously based on another film with a very similar title, that doesn't mean that this piece does not have enough to stand on its own. No flaw here either.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELuOCqaTH-9PCrl_MuPJM5puskMqybcMApsuE4L7qcCYpPgpfmd8DGe5vaEU6u4I6zWcD_sWS0B6A3OnZPALRyb9Yq8gMx8FxI2t9OWLxOS9QxBBOvOhPkcuvHiU9YPyX_CuV4B-qJFai/s1600-h/The+Good,+the+Bad,+the+Weird+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELuOCqaTH-9PCrl_MuPJM5puskMqybcMApsuE4L7qcCYpPgpfmd8DGe5vaEU6u4I6zWcD_sWS0B6A3OnZPALRyb9Yq8gMx8FxI2t9OWLxOS9QxBBOvOhPkcuvHiU9YPyX_CuV4B-qJFai/s320/The+Good,+the+Bad,+the+Weird+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331052776968289138" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">What's left? The acting? Please, this film stars three of South Korea's most prominent actors (as well as my favorite, Song Kang-ho whom I mentioned above). The only thing to drive people away from this movie is its lack of depth. I normally never bring this up, because usually the plot is enough to give that part away, but I thought I should address it at least once.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">I was once told that you have directors who either are good at telling stories or are good at making you think and that the perfect directors are the ones who can bring those two together. I was never truly sold on that idea (it was an argument for David Lynch, who I am not a fan of). I feel you don't need to encapsulate both of those aspects into every film you make. I think all you need to do is find the balance of the two you are most comfortable in and make the best of it. You don't need to stump your audience or give them life changing realizations to make them enjoy your films. Let this be one of those that proves my point.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Score: 5/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Notes: Kim Ji-woon's films are expensive, which is what is making it take so long for me to acquire them.</span></span><br /></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954424922107449010.post-84956186257322307142009-04-28T21:19:00.007-05:002009-12-22T13:21:47.720-06:00Martyrs (2008; Pascal Laugier)<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Martyrs is a film stemming from a new found obsession with gore and violence not seen much before in France. In the vein of <a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/irreversible.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Irreversible</span></a> and <a href="http://cinemaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/inside-2007.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Inside</span></a> (among others I haven't reviewed yet), Martyrs picks up where the others left off and excels.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRmkoC-xvW6NOS7We1WvzmzobbBUT4iu8RqQ6Jdy8j0aIQm8SNlnF8KViFFMn5e1e6n6V04MSFJ8sYw8BuKZ75NyKzH52QQrOCrDzDBW8y1Fg-zAss9Seq29oZx7PLkNj3Zw2YJgmYTG9/s1600-h/Martyrs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRmkoC-xvW6NOS7We1WvzmzobbBUT4iu8RqQ6Jdy8j0aIQm8SNlnF8KViFFMn5e1e6n6V04MSFJ8sYw8BuKZ75NyKzH52QQrOCrDzDBW8y1Fg-zAss9Seq29oZx7PLkNj3Zw2YJgmYTG9/s320/Martyrs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329940486920878450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">A young girl who is tortured and beaten when younger manages to escape. Grows up, makes one true friend, and together they decide to take matters into their own hands. Pretty straight forward, right?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The only summaries I was ever given before seeing this film were very brief such as the one I just gave, so despite being told how amazing it was, I was still a little bit nervous. That sort of plot just sounds weak... like some sad attempt to hold scenes of violence together. I was gladly proven wrong so if that summary had you concerned, you can relax.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The camera and acting are what really shine through in this piece. The shots are very well constructed and balanced. They also take great care in never showing you more than they need to during each moment. Some of their earlier moments (first half hour) have tremendous build ups until the film takes a drastic change of pace. However, the camera stays right with it as once the pacing and mood change. The cutting immediately becomes erratic and uneasy. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Touching briefly on the acting... it is superb. The two main actresses pull their characters off in stride, never once letting us doubt their roles. Nearing the end, one of them plays off desperation spotlessly (with the little help of camera sweeps and a minor score).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The only thing that goes against this film is that, like with most ultra violent films, they lose replay impact after each viewing. So once again...</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Score: 4.5/5</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Notes: Long haired girl... in a French film?</span></span><br /></div><br /></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06350963632962050083noreply@blogger.com0