About a week or so I watched "The last life in universe". It's japanese and even though I'm not a huge fan of foreign cinema I have to say that this one was EXCELLENT! It's not a well known movie but I definitely suggest watching it! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0345549/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 It's a 9/10 for me (and I almost never rate that high)
I had been trying to see that for so long. Finally saw it a few months ago (now it's available on Netflix). Was better than I thought it was going to be. White people are generally terrible at rapping though. Yeesh
A really good political film is Game Change starring Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Ed Harris. It's about the 2008 presidential election and how McCain picked Palin as vice president running mate.
It was scary how little she knew about foreign politics and the US economy. She probably knew as much as the average person, but the average person wasn't trying to get into the most powerful and influential job on the planet. Also was scary how little interaction McCain and Palin actually had. Even more frightening was how big-headed she got after doing well at the vice presidential debate despite the fact that she was coached by a whole team of people as to how to answer the questions.
It was like she didn't realize how important and how influential being vice president was. Seeing the movie made me understand how she actually got picked and made it as far as she did. Great acting as well, especially by Julianne Moore who played Palin.
This was consistently hilarious. I'm not sure what to think about its view of people who think sports fandom is absurd and destructive (me) and life effort (that hit home). Lebron James was surprisingly funny.
The choices at 1pm following lunch were slim. It was a choice between this and Mission Impossible however many. The fact Guy Ritchie was directing and it was set in 60's cool swung the decision. Did not regret.
Remakes are dicey, they either play the parody too heavily or they use the original inspiration so sparingly that the final film is no relation to the original (I'm looking at you Point Break remake)
Henry Cavill is everything Tom Cruise used to be, except tall, witty and not without the creepy history. The fashion was on point, irresistibly cool, there were insane chase scenes and part of the movie is set in the posh surrounds of a 60's Formula 1 pit party. Although I was more of a fan of The Saint or The Professionals, the original television show was cool enough for me to ignore some cheesy moments and shower in the beauty. Plenty of Bond girl moments and I give it 4/5.
Love and Mercy ("the true story of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson")
Much better than i expexted it to be; rock biopics have a tendency to be really bad (think 'Sid and Nancy' or 'Stoned') but this was pretty incredible and highly recommended.
A sad film of a vulnerable and incredibly gifted man that actually has a happy ending (for what it's worth).
The actors playing "young Brian" (circa 1960s - Paul Dano) and "middle aged brian" (1980s - John Cusack) put in sterling performances, and many aspects of Brian's amazing life story are included - from his fucked up abusive father, his groundbreaking composition and studio work in the Pet Sounds era - to his terrible treatment at the hands of his psychotherapist Eugene Landy.
Great music - even if you're not a Beach Boys fan - and a sympathetic portrayal of a man that has suffered greatly for his mental health problems.
Really good film IMO.
'Jeffry Bernard is Unwell' - a recording of the play starring peter o'toole. Very rare DVD. We paid £75 on eBay for a used one and now they go for £150. Very expensive to watch unless you pay, watch, eBay.
Robot Overlords with Gillian Anderson and Ben Kingsley.
Not worth watching, even if you like that sort of thing.
The supporting cast is good, but the (adolescent) leads have no chemistry whatsoever.
Should have been funnier. Takes itself way too seriously in parts.
The robots are shit, too.
I just finished watching Seeking a Friend for the End of the World starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley. Great film, definitely my favorite of Steve Carell's go as it had a perfect blend of humor, romance, and drama. In the film the world is coming to an end, and a man, lonely goes out in search of someone to spend his remaining few weeks with.
This is definitely a film I would watch twice, and would be a good one to watch maybe with a significant other. The ending left me with a feeling of melancholy but in a positive way. If you have not seen it you should check it out. I also found the music to be fantastic, quite fitting.
People Places Things, with Jemaine Clement (from Flight of the Conchords).
Slow-paced dramedy with a great (although unusual) performance from Clement.
Took a while for me to get into it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'm both reading and watching the extended Lord of The Rings, namely the Fellowship of the Ring. The version I am reading is expanded with more detail, and the film version I am watching is 3:48 in length. Excessive. Buts it is intriguing, both reading and watching.
Quite confusing actually.
It hasn't aged brilliantly, but I still think its well done. There are nonsensical parts (like Gandalf letting Frodo choose to go through Moria) but it is visually beautiful and highly atmospheric. I like to imagine it as a journey through mythology.
^
I've never read the books but i loved the movies when they came out. I've got the extended edition of each movie, but The Fellowship is definitely my favorite. I'm not sure if it's because of how much i love the scenes in the Shire or that I find myself quoting the movie to this day. Whatever the reason, it's my favorite. Love the music too
Despite being seriously flawed, it has more going for it than your average science fiction film.
It's not a complete package.
Ryan Reynolds can't mimic the intensity of Kingsley. Body swap films are often disappointing in terms of casting. Reynolds isn't a bad actor, but he's totally inappropriate as a vessel for Kingsley, who is far more dramatic with his delivery of dialogue and theatrical with his body language... Reynolds doesn't even attempt to act like Kingsley; Reynolds is just Reynolds... I'm sure the film-makers vaguely justified this. It's Reynolds body, so he - conveniently adopts all of Reynolds mannerisms and facial expressions while maintaining Kingsley's personality... sort of like how Reynolds - conveniently - maintains his army training despite having no other connection to his former self...
The film descends (predictably) into a cliched action flick with a silly bad guy and some obvious (and seriously unsubtle) plot twists. It takes itself a bit too seriously (this often ruins movies for me, alasdair) and we are expected to care more about the characters (particularly the protagonist) than we do.
Self/less had a lot of potential.
It's a great idea for a film, that's (unfortunately) executed poorly.
But, I found it - perhaps - as thought-provoking as if it had been polished.
Sometimes good/bad films make me think a bit more (than god or bad films), I suspect.
Spoliers:
NSFW:
Would I have killed myself, if I was in Kingsley's position, post-op?
I really don't think so...
The ending should have been darker, and more honest. I didn't believe that Kingsley's character (as he was established earlier in the film) would care enough about the Reynolds family to go to the extent that he did.
Although the villain character is painted one-dimensionally, he has a point.
Reynolds chose to donate his living body to science because he couldn't afford his daughter's medical bills.
(How the living fuck this happened, I don't know. Did he answer an add in the local paper?
And, given how the villain operates, why wouldn't he just abduct people? Why pay them?)
So, should he get his body and his life back? I mean, it's not that simple.
I don't think most people would be willing to kill themselves to save someone else, in any situation.
It was too easy for him in Self/less. They didn't explore how difficult it - really - would be.
So many lost opportunities.
One day they'll make a film with this concept (brain/mind transplant), without fucking it up.
In the meantime, Self/less is worth watching (I think).
