Sunday 26 February 2012

26/02/2012: The Tree of Life [2011]

So I am a bit behind in my movie reviews but since this review will be so simple I'll post it now.

Friday 24 February 2012

11/02/2012: The Innkeepers [2011]

So I watched this the night after my first film by Ti West, The House of the Devil, which I loved. It was through The Innkeepers that I first heard about West and so it was the second movie of his I picked up. So while THOTD still remains my favourite The Innkeepers continues to show that Ti West is definitely a filmmaker to keep an eye on and with his next film moving out of the horror genre I am excited to see him succeed.

10/02/2012: Undead [2003]

Undead had been waiting in my watchlist for a couple months before I finally found a copy and got around to watching it. There was a lot of promise behind the movie, I must say however that it was nothing like I expected nor was this necessarily a bad thing. Undead if you know what it is, will satisfy those who are fans of its genre.

Tuesday 21 February 2012

05/02/2012: Melancholia [2011]

Lars Von Trier may not be the most recognized name in the movie industry, but like David Lynch, when you hear Von Trier's name you know you're in for a vary different kind of movie. Melancholia is the first movie I have seen by Von Trier and it definitely lived up to his name.

Sunday 12 February 2012

10/02/2012: The House of The Devil [2009]

With the recent release of The Innkeepers, I had been hearing a lot about Ti West. As such I decided to get myself a copy of The Innkeepers and The House of the Devil. Having now seen both I can safely say that Ti West is definitely going somewhere, and not just as a horror director but as a film maker. The House of The Devil is definitely my favourite, but both are amazing films. The House of the Devil is just superior and shows just how much Ti West knows about his art form.

Saturday 11 February 2012

06/02/2012: Beneath the Planet of the Apes [1970]

I think it's safe to say that The Planet of the Apes is one of the classics. However I have only ever seen the original and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Even when I watched the original I thought I was watching a remake. Surprised was I to later learn that the remake was actually a 2001 Tim Burton movie starring Mark Wahlberg. While I have no hate for either of them I having seen the trailer refuse to watch the remake. But discovering I had only seen the original and none of it's 4 sequels I decided to see what came after Taylor's great discovery.

Friday 10 February 2012

04/02/2012: All Good Things [2010]

So I watched this movie based on two things. The trailer I saw for it and the big names I saw in the trailer. The trailer gave me no real idea of what the story was about. What I made out from it was a husband who had a secret and may or may not be a lawyer.

Sunday 5 February 2012

04/02/2012: Subspecies [1991]

Vampires. One of the oldest creatures in horror with a thousand variations, mythos and rules. Countless horror movies and even other genres tell different stories of the creatures of the night, those who live off the blood of the living. From the great Dracula movies of early film making vampires, have evolved into some amazing stories, but sadly vampire movies aren't what they used to be. Subspecies however gives us the true vampire, a castle dwelling monster, drooling blood and sporting a cape.

04/02/2012: Lars and the Real Girl [2007]

What to say about this movie. You read the brief synopsis and think, this is gonna be creepy, a crazy guy and his sex doll. However sex is the last thing on Lars's mind, as he begins his loving relationship with Bianca.

Personally I think that this movie failed as a comedy. It's just too strange in the beginning when there should be laughs and then it becomes much more the drama after the first part. As a drama however this movie is quite good however, and Bianca is really not the focus of the movie. Lars, played by Ryan Gosling (fantastic actor as always), and the rest of the small Ontario town are the true focus of this movie. It is about how they react to it, and their reaction is the opposite of what you would think.

Going along with his delusion the whole town accept Lars delusion and play along in the hope that it will help him get better. They take her to church, treat her at the doctors office, she gets a couple jobs and the community truly takes a shine to her.

I don't really know what else to say about this movie. Its a strange, unique, touching, awkward and interesting drama with great performances by the cast. I'm not even sure who I would recommended this movie to, but I think anyone would enjoy it.







































Link:
Lars and the Real Girl IMDB

04/02/2012: Elektra Luxx [2010]

Elektra Luxx has a very, pornstar stage name ring to it doesn't it. That is because it is in-fact the name of the fictional pornstar who is the focus of this movie. You may also recognize her from the movie Women In Trouble, which I found out after watching, is the movie Elektra Luxx is a sequel to. As far as I know this didn't take away from the movie any real comprehension, but there's not much to understand.

The reason I stumbled onto this movie is the number of big Hollywood names in this movie. Joseph Gordon Levitt , Malin Akerman and Julianne Moore (Scully) all play roles in this movie. So then what is this unknown sequel to an unknown movie that somehow attracted such big names about? It's is about a pregnant pornstar who decides to quit the business and teach sex classes.

Well, that could be funny, however this is not the focus of the movie, it instead follows Elektra as she figures out who she is, and in the process has a number of random (not always sexual) encounters, including a meeting with the Virgin Mary.  Ultimately this movie actually feels very much like some T.V. show sit-com cut down and put into a movie. Strangely this kinda works, although the choice to throw in two subplots on-top of this might be squeezing in a bit much.

I did find Joseph Gordon Levitt's subplot, and character to be the funniest and most entertaining part of the movie, which isn't necessarily good. Overall I would say only watch this movie if you've seen Women In Trouble, which I will have to watch to see if it makes any more sense.

I must also say the opening title sequence is just amazing and I love the art style.
























Links:
Elektra Luxx IMDB
Women In Trouble IMDB

Saturday 4 February 2012

03/02/2012: I Sell The Dead [2008]

So last night was a night full of horror comedies, and where Tucker & Dale simply took the formula of the standard slasher flick and inverted it, I Sell The Dead is completely originally and equally funny. It is a different kind of humour however, darker and with more satire, with macabre comments that would tickle the deads funny bone.

03/02/2012: Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil [2010]

"Don't be sorry, it's my fault. I should have known if a guy like me talked to a girl like you, somebody would end up dead."

So I finally got around to watching Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil after hearing nothing but good thought about it. I must say it did not disappoint, and  is worth all the praise.

Wednesday 1 February 2012

29/01/2012: Confidence [2003]

It's a Confidence Game.

So as of this point I have watched no movie on Netflix that I set out to. After 30 minutes of deliberation every time I choose something I never even heard of instead of what I thought I was going to watch. Confidence just showed up under some genre description, and enjoying a good con, I watched it. (I do love how specific Netflix gets, Ex. Critically-acclaimed Cerebral Foreign Movies just a little specific eh?) Anyway...


Confidence, is a movie about a con, and of course a professional team of con-artists. Within the first five minutes the movie has already shown one such caper in action and quickly introduces the films base set of characters. As typical of most such movies the gang of criminals soon gets an offer they can't refuse to pull of a dangerous job no one else can.

Confidence does not differ from your standard movie. The plot is simple, the twists are pretty easy to guess if you've seen enough of such movies. However it is always enjoyable to see what kind of plan they concoct, although in that department, Confidence is pretty mundane, sticking to the plausible bank fraud. It gets a little crazy at the end however as, as usual threads begin to unravel and everybody's greed kicks in.

I think that Confidence is Hollywood and America's version of such British films as Lock Stock, Snatch and maybe also the Ocean's 11,12,13 trilogy. Wow, there isn't a lot of big names in the con-movie genre. Either way Confidence does combine a rather impressive cast and puts forward quite the visuals. Particularly the King's club, which has some nice colours to it.

There is nothing wrong with Confidence, it's just lacking in the fun that other such movies tend to have and that is were the disappointment comes in.  However if your a fan of the genre, which seems quite small this movie should satisfy you.








































Links:
Confidence IMDB
Confidence Netflix