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Movie Reviews Part 2 - The good, the bad and the ... rentals

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Raz said:
^^^^BUT....it does have a fucking BOMB soundtrack. Possibly the best film soundtrack I've ever heard (along with Baby of Macon maybe)

heh, I forgot to mention the music, yes it is awesome. Wouldn't be able to watch all that running if it wasn't for the tracks.

Next review coming up will be on Immortal, a pretty far out sci-fi flick with a dude that sounds like Arnie, and a stunning blue haired girl.
 
Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion

The ceiling of the world, one of the most picturesque locales on the planet and the focal point of Buddhist teachings for thousands of years: Tibet, its people and their history are the mainstay of this 2 hour long feature.

As a documentary, this suffers from none of the Michael Moore esque screaming and ranting to carry its point, more the piece is a retelling of events from the dawn of Buddhism through the major social, political and military events throughout the history of Tibet.

Wether you are awed by the cinematography of this beautiful land, brought to your mental knees by the scope of enshrined Buddhist fervour and practice amongst the people of Tibet, or horrified and revert to tears at the sheer level of brutality and suffering brought on by the Chinese government - words could never convey the magnitude of this film.

This brought back to me an experience not that long ago when I visited the public address of the Dalai Lama and was left with a feeling of regret at what had been committed, but a certain amount of apathy at the unreality of his words to my day to day life.

Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion not only changed this, but did so in a way that gave to light an unrest with not only this specific struggle, but a general apathy throughout all the dealings of the western world.

The imagery of this film and the barbarity of the Chinese Government brought me to actual tears in a 2 hour piece covering the systematic extermination of not only a people, but an entire social and religious doctrine. Through the physical and mental oppresion of the Tibettan people, the brain washing of an entire continent a billion strong, coupled to the orchestrated infiltration and subsequent obliteration of all future structures to promote development, work force and education amongst the natives of Tibet... this has been the quiet genocide.

Evidence that the loss of life is equal to both the Holocaust and Stalin's reign over Russia are within the boundaries of this film, and for this reason alone the amount of attention it receives can never be enough.

Detailing social and mental movements within China's own population, the piece also covers the incarceration of the Panchen Lama two days after the Dalai Lama declared who the Panchen was.

More over, the Chinese government ordained their own Panchen Lama (the person directly responsible for identifying and naming the next Dalai Lama) which raises immediate and harrowing concerns considering the Government physically and brutally represses all images, speech and worship of the existing Dalai Lama within the borders of Tibet.

From the perspective of a Film goer, this documentary covers the full spectrum of human emotion, is beautifully shot, historically accurate without any majorly perceived bias beyond letting the audience form an opinion on fact, and a genuine must see for anyone.

Embodying the shining fact that no matter what the circumstance, it is within each of us to live and act the difference we wish to see in the world - to not herald this movie and implore as many people as possible to see it would be another reason why we are slowly but surely loosing our moral grip on our own doorstep.

Make a difference.

10 out of 10

TibetPoster2.jpg


Now showing at the selected cinemas including the Lumiere (www.lumiere.com.au) on Lonsdale street, Melbourne.

----

Other social documentaries highly recommend:

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism.
The Corporation.
 
Sommersault

An absolutely amazing Australian movie. Abby Cornish (sp?) plays the role perfectly. One of those movies that has excellent acting, plot and the filming and landscapes are stunning. You can see why it was the toast of Cannes.
 
SHREK 2!!!

I'd heard it was funny, but oh my god. I cacked myself from start to finish. It's really, really clever; just quick-fire subversive wit all the way through. Antonio Banderas as the pussycat is so adorable.... just an awesome, highly entertaining, fun movie.

On a slightly more highbrow note I watched Girl With A Pearl Earring this weekend too. I was a bit skeptical because I thought it would be slow and boring, but it wasn't... it was slow and absolutely beautiful. Scarlett Johanssen is a goddess ;)
 
Re: some small screen stuff....

Strawberry_lovemuffin said:
Elephant :
This was inspired by the Columbine High School shootings. I watched it on a pill. I wouldn't recommend watching it on a pill. It's an arty, weird, slow-moving peice which is *extremely* thought provoking and clever.... there isn't much bloodshed. But there aint a lot of heartwarming moments either (waste of MD really). Watch stoned if anything. This movie makes time seem to warp, you feel really weird afterwards. I can only compare to Lost in Translation for the feel and the way the cinematography takes centre stage.



I watched that movie earlier this year, it's by Gus Vaan Saint the same person that produced Good Will Hunting and a few other movies - he's currently making a movie about the last few hours of Kurt Cobains life - Elephant was slow, and at times I was getting annoyed at the camera following people just walking - but it truly captured what it would of been like to be there.

I love that movie and I'll definately watch it again, just incase I missed any subtle references. The boy/boy kissing scene in the shower was a bit weird, but, so is shooting up kids in the school. :\

Shaun Of The Dead:
I can't say enough about this movie, I got in in December last year and it's finally hit cinemas in Australia just now - if you wanna get the movie, you can buy it online at any UK DVD shop for around about 17 pounds. It's truly one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, especially if you're a fan of Spaced....
 
Strawberry_lovemuffin said:
On a slightly more highbrow note I watched Girl With A Pearl Earring this weekend too. I was a bit skeptical because I thought it would be slow and boring, but it wasn't... it was slow and absolutely beautiful. Scarlett Johanssen is a goddess ;) [/B]

I watched this film on the weekend, I had previously read the book and really enjoyed it, but I was not as impressed with the film. I found that it missed out on some of the most important parts of the book and contrary to what SLM says I found that it was far too slow and ponderous. :\

However, I do agree that Scarlett Johanssen is a goddess and did a fantastic job in this film :)
 
I agree with others' comments on Elephant, I watched this the other night, and though my friends found it slow, I found it captured the mood perfectly, it was beautifully shot, and incredibly poignant. I love it's meandering pace and the wonderful colours they used!!!

Notebook Is definitely the highlight of my viewing lately, though heaps of people are dismissing it as schmaltzy and too deliberately sappy...I thought the pace and the script were absolutely beautiful and realistic...

Mcadams and gosling [the two young leads] are fuckign superb - these two are definite up and comers...

I thought as opposed to many romance movies set in the 40's - 50's....I thought the dialogue and themes portrayed were [probably] far more accurate. I hate it how in other movies they act like no-one ever had premarital sex, or even thought about it. I just can't reiterate how realistic i found the dialogue and the relationship they portrayed. It was not like a "love at first sight" type thing, I thought it was very similar to relationships I've had, and also seen...

honestly a must see....but be warned, the crying sneaks up on you ;)
 
bickie: I reckon reading the book generally spoils the film for you (I hadn't read Girl With A Pearl Earring, so the film really appealed to me) ... just like that poster above who liked House of Sand and Fog. I reckon they would have thought differently if they'd read the book first.

Films just seem to... I dunno.... trivialise books somehow don't you think? I remember I wanted to kill someone after seeing the massacre that was Viginia Andrews' masterpiece Flowers In The Attic ruined on celuloid. Ditto most Steven King. I'm sure there's more.

Anyway... Mary Poppins... I was going to see The Notebook on the weekend but didn't, thinking it would be too schmaltzy even for my schmaltzy sensibilities. Your review has kind of changed my mind!
 
GODSEND

What a load of shite. The story had alot of potential, but they fucked it. It was suspensfu in partsl, but the stupidity and the inconsistency of the storyline obliterated any occasional fear i felt. For instance, one moment, Greg Kinnear (dad) is lying almost dead in a church, having been hit over the head with a candelabra by Robert De Niro (Doc), then SUDDENLY he is in a log cabin saving Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mum) from their cloned child.

Jump forward 6 months (???) and suddenly everyone is happy families...the family have moved to a new town, Robert De Niro has disappeared again, and Greg Kinnear is saying to the son "the doctors are helping you now, yes?" (which completely ignores the fact that for the entirety of the movie, De Niro has been saying that cloning is illegal and the parents will be just as accountable as he will). Do the doctors know that the child is even a clone? Then suddenly, dad leaves the room, and the child is "pulled" into the closet by the evil chromosomes of De Niro's child that were implanted in him, personified. When dad walks back into the room, the child is suddenly evil again (you can tell from his "evil smile"). Cue fadeout.

Jeez, my head is hurting just thinking about it.

Oh and Shrek 2 is awesome. We bought it last weekend on DVD and got a bonus shrek doll...awww ;) :D
 
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Eternal Sunshine : Of A Spotless Mind - had to ressurect this thread to plug this movie. saw the dvd of this yesterday and it blew me away. best movie i've seen all year. jim carrey and kate winslet are superb. won't say much more or else i'll spoil it.

don't read the back of the cover because the blurb kinda spoils it, i think.

edit : cheers preacha for the title :)
 
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^^ eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

and yeah, its one of those movies where the less you know before the movie, the better
 
shit. i know that i may be like 10 years late on this one but i highly, HIGHLY, HIGHLY advise anyone else who hasn't seen Michael Moores fahrenheit 9/11 to go borrow it out from the video library asap!

completely gut wrenching stuff. i burst out in tears before the main part of the film had even started... [yes, well, i know, but seriously if you knew me you'd know that i dont cry that easily]. i have no words to describe what i feel really... just go watch it!

. . . the only slight [and emphasis the word slight because overall it was great!] problem that i have with it is that i think it a bit of a shame [although it was amusing how he did it] that Moore couldn't control his [justified] anger at Bush enough, and hence came across as such a smart arse--> hence opening himself up so readily to those propaganda alligations.

like i said however amusing, justified and true it was; essentially it wasn't professional enough. and in a way this makes me mad, because when i think about what would have happened had it of lacked that aura of childish rebellion-- well to put it bluntly i think it would have been SO [8o] that i dont think that it ever would have been let to air.

and that's what shits me that the evil of Bush is so strong that they feel it in their power to actually be able to LET a film like this air without it being able to truly effect them or make any real difference.

like i said its a pity because moore is an extremely intelligent, and talented individual, and had he of been that little bit "more" cunning/mature.... well in a way i'd hate to imagine what would start happening to people after seeing that version... perhaps audience members would randomly start committing suicide upon leaving the cinema, or something? ;):( :\ :X :( :X :(
 
I just saw this thread and it reminded me i have to take back a video tonight!

God Bless Bluelight

and it was Sleepwalkers, one of the few Stephen King movies i remember from way back
 
<3

Originally posted by Strawberry_lovemuffin Elephant :
This was inspired by the Columbine High School shootings. I watched it on a pill. I wouldn't recommend watching it on a pill. It's an arty, weird, slow-moving peice which is *extremely* thought provoking and clever.... there isn't much bloodshed. But there aint a lot of heartwarming moments either (waste of MD really). Watch stoned if anything. This movie makes time seem to warp, you feel really weird afterwards. I can only compare to Lost in Translation for the feel and the way the cinematography takes centre stage.

^Loved this movie. I want to own it when it's released for purchase.

The ethereal feel of this gorgeous film is so entrancing. The horrific subject matter does everything to provoke much thought and emotion in the viewer.
Highly reccommended.
 
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Farenheit 9/11 : I think a lot of it went over my head, unfortunately. I'm not a very political person, or even very clued-in when it comes to the intracies of the American situation. I think a lot of the film's brilliant twists and revelations were wasted on me. Despite that, a lot of the emotional content really hit home, particularly the shameless recruitment to the Army by the "Army salesmen" in small town Amercia... the switch in the attitude of the woman who lost her son at war, from professing her pride in him, to crying in devestation out the front of the white house when she learned of his death... and some of the horrific scenes from the Iraq war. It really is a good film; if you have any comprehension of politics, see it. If not, see it anyway: the human factor comes through and still makes it's mark.

Touching the Void : this was a true story/documentary about two English mountain climbers who climbed one of the most daunting peaks in Peru... On their decent, one of the climbers slipped and fell, dangling from his rope into a hundred-foot crevase, with only his buddy up above holding him, with a precarious foothold in the powdery snow. After 90 minutes of slipping and sliding himself towards certain death, his buddy made the fatal decision to cut the rope - saving himself, but dooming his partner to certain death.

Or so he thought!.... four days after that incident, the second climber crawled on his belly into base camp, with a crushed right leg, having slid on his belly for tens of miles with only his pickaxe for leverage, out of the crevase, across a glacier and over kilometers of jagged rock,s without food or water. This is a fucking UNBELIEVABLE tale of survival over those four days... you really have to see it to believe it. I *highly*, highly recommend it.

The Incredibles : It was good. I think I had my hopes up FAR too high after reading all the "Five star" reviews. I can't say a bad thing about it, but it didn't blow me away like Shrek 2. It truly is a family movie, and there's not quite as many adult subtleties in it as some animations. But for all that, it's a great, action-packed, fun ride and I doubt anyone will dislike it. :)
 
Strawberry_lovemuffin said:
Touching the Void : this was a true story/documentary about two English mountain climbers who climbed one of the most daunting peaks in Peru... On their decent, one of the climbers slipped and fell, dangling from his rope into a hundred-foot crevase, with only his buddy up above holding him, with a precarious foothold in the powdery snow. After 90 minutes of slipping and sliding himself towards certain death, his buddy made the fatal decision to cut the rope - saving himself, but dooming his partner to certain death.

Or so he thought!.... four days after that incident, the second climber crawled on his belly into base camp, with a crushed right leg, having slid on his belly for tens of miles with only his pickaxe for leverage, out of the crevase, across a glacier and over kilometers of jagged rock,s without food or water. This is a fucking UNBELIEVABLE tale of survival over those four days... you really have to see it to believe it. I *highly*, highly recommend it.

i didn't like this movie...

although that's most probably because i watched a denton interview with the guy the night before i saw it.. and he basically recited word for word his dialogue in the movie. it was like he knew the scripted version word for word - perhaps this was because he'd told the story so many times, perhaps not. either way, it spoilt the movie for me, made it seem really fake and as though i'd seen it already the night before.

convincing a friend to buy a ticket to "touching a boy" was pretty funny tho :P
 
^^^ I thought it was awesome! It brought a new dimension to watching a movie - in the cinema I really felt like I was trapped in that cave and crawling out - very tense.

Also - the effect of 'Elephant' was completely lost on me and didn't like it at all.
 
Originally posted by Strawberry_lovemuffin
Farenheit 9/11 : It really is a good film; if you have any comprehension of politics, see it. If not, see it anyway: the human factor comes through and still makes it's mark.


definitely.

----

i also saw but i forgot to mention [as it somehow paled in comparison] Spider Man 2. lol. yes a quantum leap from 'Farenheit 9/11', still; i gotta say it wasn't that bad. quite funny at times actually, and the special effects were better than in the first one [although i dont remember the first one all that well... :| ]. see it if your up for a night of mindless action/romance/comedy entertainment. it fulfills that role quite well i think you'll find.

ps: i've also seen a heap more but i'm lazy and tired so i'll be back later perhaps :)
 
i watched Eternal Sunshine the other day too. its absolutely superb! so trippy and nuts.
definately give it a 5 out of 5.
 
^^ I sang the praises of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in the thread in Film & Television:

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160267&perpage=25&pagenumber=4

If anyone's seen Kaufman's other work such as "Adaptation" and "Being John Malcovich", you might have *some* idea of what you're in for... but I wasn't even slightly as moved or intrigued by those movies as this one. It grabbed my mind and bent it as it grabbed my heart and squeezed it. That's very rare to find in the one movie.

But please watch this completely sober and willing to concentrate. Otherwise you'll lose it.
 
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