Skinwalkers – no rating

Why did this movie suck so much? Why did I feel like I was watching a new WB pilot? Jason Behr didn’t help me feel less that way, considering he starred in Roswell… a WB series.

I can’t even rate this movie though because I couldn’t get through it. The acting was nothing at all, just blank. So was the script. And it looked like it was shot for television. Plus I seriously could only watch about 30 minutes of it because I was so bored that I could not make myself continue.

The plot, when laid out, should not have been this boring in any way. The script just didn’t move along, everything felt like things were happening, but I could not make myself care or get interested in the characters, their predicament, or even the action sequences which were, surprisingly, probably the most boring aspect of what I saw. We even fast forwarded to a part when the werewolves start making appearances, and I can’t say I was any more entertained.

It was just stuff happening on the screen that had no artisitic plan or direction. Basically, it seemed like a random person, maybe a business major or accounting major, decided that it might be fun to make a movie because he could set a few werewolves on each other and watch the result in person. There was no substance or heart to this film. It’s very unfortunate. That poster suggests that there could be a good time in store for the viewer. Do not be fooled…

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – 9/10

I have never seen a movie that both moved along in near real time and was simultaneously never boring. I was intrigued, entertained, and horrified throughout, watching every event and every agonizingly long shot with anticipation and dread at the same time.

Anamaria Marinca, who played the lead role of Otilia, was so excellent. It was like the movie itself was projecting her feelings onto the audience. The dinner scene and her “search” at the end of the movie in the dark are the two most obvious examples of this. When the phone rang during the dinner scene, I felt myself tense up, wondering what was happening, what she might be missing. It was fantastic. I have to also mention Laura Vasiliu who played Gabita, because she did a wonderful job in her biggest scene in the hotel, and really all throughout as well, although the story focused more on Otilia than on Gabita.

I didn’t know much about the film going in, and I’m really glad I didn’t. It makes the reveal that much creepier and that much more intense. I’ll only say this, as I’m trying not to give ANYTHING away in case someone else out there might not know anything about it, the same as I did, because the experience of finding out is part of the whole experience of the film: when Bebe knocks on the door with the briefcase, that’s when I figured it out. All of a sudden it just clicked, and I was like… ohhhh… wow….

So see it for yourself, but don’t expect a nice little fun movie because you will be severely let down if you do. I can’t really imagine watching parts of this film ever again. I felt physically sick sitting in the theatre while watching it. The drawn out nature of the shots and scenes don’t help in that department. It makes you feel like you are really there and that you are personally dealing with exactly what the characters are dealing with.

Oh, and I’d just like to point out that the last shot was the perfect last shot for this film, leaving a lot of unresolved things in the air, but just cutting out, feeling the huge impact that the events of the day have had on everyone, especially Otilia.

2 Days in Paris – 8/10

I went briefly between a 9/10 and an 8/10, but settled with the 8.

The simple story with its unique plot elements thrown in the mix, an odd combination of Julie Delpy and Adam Goldberg as a couple in this film, plus the humor, the climax, and the lovely runtime of 96 minutes make this film easy to rewatch. I didn’t know anything about the film when I saw it, but was pleasantly surprised by this… unfortunately I was unpleasantly surprised by the following film in this double feature day, Across the Universe… but I’ll get to that later.

I have to say, I think I’ll buy this DVD. I really enjoyed the mixed languages and sarcastic wit of the film. It wasn’t over done and the plot just floated along witht he characters pretty much owning the film entirely, leaving little to plot. It actually was quite original for a love story and accomplished a very nice set up and wrap up in its short, but swell, runtime. I have to say I recommend this.

The Three Ages – 8/10

Well, this was just a good laugh really. The segments cover three different ages, as the title blatantly suggests, and pretty much rehearses the same plot for each. It does get a little repetitive, but in a cute sort of way. Keaton throws in some of his classy stunts and tricks making for a great comedic performance yet again… and then again… and again as he plays the lead in all three ages.

It’s worth checking out. I always enjoy these masterpieces. Silent film at its finest.

Southland Tales – 9/10

Alright guys, here goes…

I bet I’m going to get some interesting comments on this one. What can I say? Oops?

I’d like to start by saying that Richard Kelly made some nice musical choices, not just because I loved most of the music, but because it fit so nicely into the movie. None of the choices were obvious and they wouldn’t have obviously “fit” in the movie, except the whole movie doesn’t “fit” in the movie, which is amazing. They were inspired musical choices, choices that I would have wished someone had made on an oridinary day… but RK made them. Bravo.

The cast was surprisingly perfect. I felt that the odd combination of characters and casting worked to the movie’s advantage because the whole thing is such a hodge podge of genres. You have the crime element, the political element, and the science fiction element… mixed with a wacky, cheap comedy that was actually quite hilarious at times. Then you have the musical elements. It’s almost like RK was trying to go for a film that covers all genres, and the cast reflects that as he chose people to cast from typically all different genres.

Though it was long, I really was only bored for a few minutes about 1/3 of the way in, just before Lovitz shows up. That scene was among my favorites. The fog mixed with the event in the house, mixed with the cast in those scenes, mixed with the confusion of the set up turned reality really worked for me and made me smile. Oh, not to mention the music. Thanks for including the Pixies in your little adventure, RK.

The overall plot of the film… well, the overall connection from scene to scene at least since there isn’t an “overall plot”… was very well executed in my opinion because it’s chaotic, unpredictable, and wacky all at the same time. The flow of the film really depends on the moment in the film. It changes from time to time, moving forward and into a new completely different segment after each turn of events. The musical sequence with Timberlake was a fun side step, and actually ended up mattering in the plot towards the end which made it more worthwhile than just as an aside for the heck of it.

I thought The Rock was good in this for the first time. I have never found myself using the words “good” and “The Rock” in the same sentence before this. All the acting, even for the small parts, was good. As I said, the excecution and purpose of each character is really what made the casting choices so dead on.

I felt generally content upon the ending of the film and didn’t find myself all that confused. The thing is, with RK’s movies, I always feel this way, like I KNOW the answers but can’t put them into words. Explaining the point of this film to someone would be difficult, but not because I don’t KNOW it. It’s like this vague overall understanding of the elements of the film. Now I get the joy of rewatching parts to get a better grip on the specifics.

It’s basically 3 plots woven into one… maybe 4. I’ll have to wait and find out. It took about 5 or 6 viewings of Donnie Darko for me to come to terms with each detail. Maybe it will be a while before I’m totally there on this one as well even though I feel satisfied with what I know and understand.

Sorry in advance to all the people that I am offending by posting this. Some of you guys really hated this movie. Like I said, oops? I guess I’m one of the rare ones that accidentally loved it.

Say Anything… – 9/10

Hey, this movie was great. I had so much fun watching this. It was easy to watch as well which is just fine indeed. Cusack was really excellent in this movie. I mean, really excellent. Also, despite being cute… well, there’s no “despite”. Cute, sweet… well that pretty much sums up the movie and Cusack’s amazing character who I seriously want to meet in real life.All the acting was very good and the story was surprisingly entertaining even though it wasn’t that new of a concept. There were a few unexpected moments though which I won’t go into. The script was also a lot better than you would expect for a film like this. The ending was cool as well. I really thought it was great the way it all wrapped up.

The famous part from this movie, the part you can see up there in the poster, didn’t play out like I expected it to. That was a neat surprise as well because I just assumed it would play Night at the Roxbury style… I’m not going to say much more in case someone hasn’t seen the movie, but basically, not as much happened as I expected there…

Anyway, I think I’ll buy this movie. Oh, and John mentioned not liking the 80s music… I have to admit a fondness, no, a love for 80s music, especially in movies. It’s so cheesy in a delightful sort of way.P.S. I want that poster… Just look at his pants. He’s a genius!

Great World of Sound – 9/10

Well, for the second time in a way too small period of time, here I am rewriting a perfectly neat and nice review because I lost it when I posted it. Never again am I going to make this mistake. I’m posting on WordPress before I post here so I can save the hard work I put into the review before it gets blown away by the jokesters at RT who like to see people banging their heads against their desks…

So what was I saying before?

This movie was a pleasant surprise for me as I didn’t know anything about it… absolutely nothing. John was the one who got this on the ol’ Netflix and I sat down to watch it, expecting it to be one of those easy to watch, maybe kinda funny type guys. It was easy to watch, but not because it was simple in the slightest.

Kene Holliday, besides having an awesome name, is an awesome actor. He was just so incredibly natural and dead on. His comedy was perfectly timed and placed and his drama was subtle and muffled mostly by his demeanor and attitude which made for a perfectly complex character who I could have watched for another 2 hours. One of the most telling scenes to me, which was really short and silent, is when he is in the pool by himself and we just see a quick glimpse of his face… sad, possibly lonely, maybe a little confused. It’s really intriguing, as the whole plot for this movie is all the way through.

Pat Healy who played the lead role, Martin, was also fantastic. Again, a very natural and completely believable character with great delivery, great face acting, and complex emotions that come through in relatively subtle ways throughout the film. The ending of the movie wasn’t tightly closed, but left you with an image and feeling of what had happened, and that was all you needed. Who knows what will happen exactly when the cameras turn off.

All of Healy and Holliday’s scenes together were just great. They played off each other wonderfully… Healy’s character always feeling a bit awkward, but then coming in to say something that actually works half the time. I was almost scared sometimes during the sales pitches when he would start to speak, even though you don’t want them to make a sale in the first place.

The story was unique and incredibly well thought out for such a short film-esque idea. What could have been done in 25 minutes was stretched into nearly 2 hours by focusing on two of the characters and leaving the sales company in the shadows so you always wonder but are never quite sure what is happening there. Which brings me to the sales group. All of the actors there were unbelieveably natural. I mean, I have met those people in real life, I swear. Another way they stretched out the film, which was brilliant by the way, was to show so much of the performances and auditions of the singers, songwriters, bands, etc that are trying to make it. Some of them were actually real! That blows my mind. What a weird thing to do, but it worked very well.

The whole thing had a bit of an Office (BBC of course) vibe, or perhaps a Christopher Guest-ish feel to it. Realism mixed with sarcasm mixed with comedy mixed with intensity and dramatic moments that aren’t overdone but are created and handled in a completely natural way, like you know that’s how it would really go if it was happening to real people.

In summary, yes, you should see this film. Just talking about it makes me want to see it again… now that I’ve thought it out and considered the characters in more depth.

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead – 8/10

I struggled with giving this movie a 7/10. The thing is, I was mostly entertained for most of the time, and mostly interested for most of the time. But the plot doesn’t offer a whole lot of new material to the typical “someone robs something and deals with the consequences” scenario. And switching times around, showing things from the perspectives of various characters, is also getting a little over used.

The acting was really the highlight of this movie to me. Everyone was really great. They really became the characters and acted accordingly. The leads were the best, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, and Albert Finney, not to mention the great, if not a little short, performance by Marisa Tomei, though you basically see only MT’s natural state for the first 30 minutes or so… I feel I also have to give a lot of credit to Michael Shannon, who I have discovered (since seeing Bug) to be outstanding. I will pretty much see a movie if he is in it at this point.

I have to say I also really liked the ending, and despite what some say, I think it was very perfect and realistic. I wasn’t all that shocked when it happened as I pretty much anticipated every move that everyone made throughout the movie (which was one of its weak points), but it was the right way for it to end I thought. It was neat and organized and there really was nothing left to see, nothing you were left wondering about. Any other ending wouldn’t have provided that.

Oh, and I also need to quickly point out that that poster reminds me of two things: Daniel Johnston and Lucy, Daughter of the Devil.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – 10/10

A wonderfully accurate screen representation of the brilliant start to an amazing series of books, the best books I’ve ever read, and probably the best books I’ll ever read. It’s practically shot for shot and line for line straight from the pages of the first book in the seven book series. The actors, even down to the minor characters, were picked so perfectly. I couldn’t ask for more in an adapted film.

Although the directing, set design, and some of the editing isn’t quite as prime as the future of the series, it gets the job done. It’s more for kids than the other movies, but that doesn’t stop me, a 22 year old, from loving it. The characters in the film/book are 11 here, so what do you expect? As they get older, obviously darker times lie ahead and the sets and direction mimic that feeling and the aging of the characters as they progress through school and through their pending adventures.

If you are one of the few people who hasn’t had a chance to experience this franchise, it’s time you got on board. It really doesn’t matter if you start with the books or the movies. Both mediums are perfectly acceptable and they line up pretty neatly… at least until you get to book four where the thickness of the text becomes a much more overwhelming challenge for the screenwriters to capture in 2 1/2 hours. But, reading the books will help to fill in the gaps as you progress through the series, and if you think this story is for kids, think again. When you reach the seventh book, you’ll be holding your breath and won’t be able to put it down, even if you are 80 years old, as my grandma is proof of : ) Happy reading, fellow HP fans, and see you at the HBP premiere! Can’t. Wait.

Raising Arizona – 10/10

There really isn’t anything wrong with this movie. You have Nicolas Cage, the Coens, and a hilarious and twisted plot… not to mention Cage’s AMAZING hair in this movie. If I was a dude, I’m sorry, but I’d have to have that hair.

The characters are pretty much all a little crazy, but that’s okay because it’s Cage’s life, so why wouldn’t he be associated only with other crazy people?

A funny thing about this movie is the fact that it reminded me of Wild at Heart for some reason… watching it again, I realized that it’s probably because of the biker from hell. That guy is great. It’s so cool how he is introduced and the way he comes in like in a grungy fairy tale or some hardcore 80s movie… like Mad Max for instance. It’s a bit of fantasy mixed with a lot of fun, and some insane character motivations.

Spoilers are on the way…

The best scene has to be when Cage tries to rob the convenience store… tries to steal the Huggies. That whole sequence, until his wife picks him up, is gold.

The movie delivers steady laughs, steady complications to the plot, as more and more people become involved with the baby or with trying to steal it, and in the end, it’s a pretty flawless way to wrap everything up. The script is excellent as well, probably one of their best in my opinion. Good one, Coens.