Well, I'm definitely all over Burn After Reading. I'm lukewarm about Lakeview Terrace, but I just can't pass up Samuel L. Jackson as a psychopath. I know I'll probably regret it. I'll probably regret Eagle Eye too, but I'll see it.
I actually just saw a preview for Nights in Rodanthe. I started having flashbacks to Unfaithful, which my wife also dragged me to. So I told her she's on her own on this one. I have to draw a line somewhere.
There is one scene in the remake that is just great, though. I can't even remember the name of the character or the actual line, but he has a little reaction in the background to something Tom Hanks' character says and it was just perfect.
There were some pretty damn good moments. Hanks was surprisingly funny and played well with that matriarch lady. It was that goddamn Wayan who played the same character from Don't Be a Menace.... There wasn't much to him, as a Cohen character. But really, I thought it was horribly edited and had absolutely no flow. Typically characterization would just carry the film like The Big Leb..., but it just ended up being too contrived.
On a sidenote; All day I've been recalling Hamlet 2 quotes in my head that result in awkward smiles around the school I work at. Co-workers act like I just got laid or something.
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darklite_xI'm not an r-tard...Registered Userregular
There were some pretty damn good moments. Hanks was surprisingly funny and played well with that matriarch lady. It was that goddamn Wayan who played the same character from Don't Be a Menace.... There wasn't much to him, as a Cohen character. But really, I thought it was horribly edited and had absolutely no flow. Typically characterization would just carry the film like The Big Leb..., but it just ended up being too contrived.
On a sidenote; All day I've been recalling Hamlet 2 quotes in my head that result in awkward smiles around the school I work at. Co-workers act like I just got laid or something.
Maybe you did and didn't even realize it. Sexy Jesus works in mysterious ways.
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Steam ID: darklite_x Xbox Gamertag: Darklite 37 PSN:Rage_Kage_37 Battle.Net:darklite#2197
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VariableMouth CongressStroke Me Lady FameRegistered Userregular
Since this is a somewhat slow month, I'll try and put up a few more independent/smaller release movies up. Who knows, you might enjoy one or two of them if they happen to be playing anywhere near you. I've updated the OP as well.
September 3
--- The Pool [limited] Director: Chris Smith
(imdb, wiki)
American [primarily-]documentary filmmaker Chris Smith (American movie, Home Movie, The Yes Men) heads around the world to Goa, India, and shoots a movie about a poor teenager, his friend, and the rich girl whose father he comes to work for.
September 5th
--- August Evening [limited] Director: Chris Eska
(imdb, az movies trailer)
This movie was shot on videos and apparently draws a lot from Ozu. It is about an aged father and his widowed daughter-in-law. The director previously directed a short called Doki-Doki.
Un secret (A Secret) [limited] Director: Claude Miller
(imdb, az movies trailer)
Claude Miller, who worked under Truffaut as well as Bresson and Godard way back when, directs this movie about a boy in a rich French Jewish family during and after World War II.
September 12
--- Sukiyaki Western Django [limited] Director: Takashi Miike
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer)
Miike does a Western. I'll let Spectre go into more detail on this one. Until he shows up, I'll leave you with this image:
Well, in case you did mean Takashi Miike, I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan, but I've liked some of his films.
I've seen Audition, Ichi the Killer, and One Missed Call. (The original)
I found Audition to be highly overrated as a horror film and it nearly bored me to death. Sure, it's pretty shocking near the end and pretty damn scary, but it sure didn't make up the borefest what was the meat of his first "mainsteam" film.
Ichi the Killer was awesome. It's brutal, funny, shocking, action-packed, gory, well acted, fucked up, etc. etc. If you see a Miike film, I would suggest this one. It really showcases what he can do with the right cast. I own this baby on special edition DVD.
One Missed Call (the original) is a pretty weak horror movie. It was super lame and never deserved to be Americanized.
I still haven't seen his "too shocking for TV" Masters of Horror, Imprint, though I don't know how it could be more shocking than watching Meat Loaf rip the skin off his own torso like a meaty suit-jacket.
And I still need to see Izo (I really like Takashi Kitano) and Sukiyaki Western: Django.
It's funny that it is called Django, while it's plot is mainly a combination of Yojimbo and A Fistfull of Dollars.
I'm a fan of Tarantino (who has obviously inspired Miike throughout his career) and somewhat embraceful of Miike, but I am a little scared for this movie.
It seems to have been shot well and has a good look, but I've heard it has some pacing issues, not to mention the dialogue is in English, voiced by a Japanese cast. I think this was an odd choice and some have said it was a wrong one, but I'm willing to postpone judgement until I see the film.
I think it looks, great.
On a side note, there is another Asian western that will be coming out at some point and I think it looks great as well, possibly even better:
Live from Toronto: The Muscles from Brussels Takes Toronto
by Kim Voynar Sep 5th 2008 // 11:32AM
Filed under: Festival Reports, Film Blog Group Hug, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie
It was perhaps indicative of the demographic of tonight's Midnight Madness premiere screening of hotly buzzed JCVD that before the show, the line for the men's' room outnumbered the line for the ladies' considerably. But you didn't have to be a guy to enjoy the film, and especially the vibe of the screening.
Before the show we attended the Pre-screening party for JCVD at Century Club; the party, like most of the parties at big film festivals, was packed with folks vying for the free booze, but unlike a lot of fest parties I've attended, many of the people tonight were enthusiastically pumped up for the screening of a film that most of us knew little about, other than it played the market at Cannes, and garnered considerable buzz at that prestigious fest off its screening there.
As for the screening, the queue to get in seemed to stretch for miles, and as is usual for the Midnight Madness crowds, folks were excited to be there. I'm not sure how many of them fully appreciated the irony of this size of crowd turning out to see a film about and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme at a major fest like TIFF, but they were sure having a good time being there. James took a few pictures at the party tonight and even some video of the JCVD crowd while we were waiting in line, and we hope to have those up for you tomorrow.
The house at the Ryerson, home of the Midnight Madness series, was fully packed, and the crowd whooped and hollered when Colin Geddes, Master of all things Midnight here at Toronto, appeared on stage to intro the movie. He ran down the Midnight Slate for the crowd, lauding a slate of films that are filled with blood and car crashes, zombies, boobs and chainsaws. And whereas at most screenings the obligatory pre-show reminder of piracy screenings is merely something for people to ignore while they frantically finish sending that one last urgent text message, at Midnight Madness it's responded to with a hearty "Aaargh!"
James will have a full review of the film up soon, but for now I can tell you that it was way better -- and way different -- than I expected. JCVD is cleverly written, beautifully shot, sharply directed and edited, and humanizes the Muscles from Brussels to a degree I hadn't anticipated. The pacing is fast, it's frequently laugh-out-loud funny, and Van Damme is both engaging and self-deprecating. Overall, the film works far better than you'd expect, and it was actually quite better than a few of the films I saw actually playing in competition at Cannes.
And truth be told, the midnight premiere crowd is the kind of crowd with whom you want to see a film like JCVD; not a bunch of bored, often cynical film journalists, but with a slew of average folks who stayed up late to see a Jean-Claude Van Damme flick at Toronto. Those are the folks who would pay to see the film in theatrical release, and it could go on to be a surprise mainstream hit; crowd response was very strong.
Might as well make this a general movie news thread.
Jean Claude Van Damme in a good movie? My god, it's been years! We missed you, buddy! (At least, I did)
Handsome CostanzaAsk me about 8bitdoRIP Iwata-sanRegistered Userregular
edited September 2008
If this is the wrong place then my bad but I recently got this little indie movie called Sunshine with my new tv. I would highly recommend it just for the special effects alone. The plot is a little hokey its about scientists 50 years in the future who are traveling to the sun to drop a massive bomb into it in order to save it or some crap.
Trust me its worth it for the visuals alone. The production values are really high for an indie and the blu ray version looks amazing. Here is the trailer but be warned it contains some spoilers:
I'd give it a solid 8 out of 10. Which is just about where IMDB ranks it. The only parts I seriously disliked were when the director distorts the camera and just basically messes with the audience. You'll know the parts I'm talking about when you get to it. Oh yeah and it has the guy who played scarecrow in Batman Begins/TDK.
I really enjoyed The Duchess. I actually though Keira Knightley's acting was almost flawless in the first half of the movie, although one friend and a few of the cinema-goers disagreed with me.
The sex scenes, though, were surprisingly racy for a 12A rated film, and the rape scene was really quite uncomfortable. There is only brief nudity but so much is so heavily implied.
besides visuals, which were nice and all, what did you guys like about Sunshine? I found it boring and cliche, if pretty.
I just loved every aspect of the movie. Plot, acting, score, visuals, the overall feel and atmosphere. I watch it again and again and find myself breathless every time. This (Sunshine) and the Fountain are the greatest moments I've had in a theater.
besides visuals, which were nice and all, what did you guys like about Sunshine? I found it boring and cliche, if pretty.
I just loved every aspect of the movie. Plot, acting, score, visuals, the overall feel and atmosphere. I watch it again and again and find myself breathless every time. This (Sunshine) and the Fountain are the greatest moments I've had in a theater.
I'm actually about to watch the fountain again with the commentary I downloaded.
besides visuals, which were nice and all, what did you guys like about Sunshine? I found it boring and cliche, if pretty.
I thought the first 2/3 of the movie was grade A stuff. Nicely acted, the plot was really going somewhere interesting, fucking gorgeous visuals that (sitting in a theater) blew me away. I can see why you would think it's cliche (lol distress signal m i rite!?), but it really hooked me in and was enough to carry me through the not-so-stellar horror elements of the last 1/3.
Burn After Reading looks like tripe to me so... But then I thought "No Country for Old Men" blew its load too early and still managed to have no climax and "There Will Be Blood" to be plodding and have an intensely bad soundtrack (had all the subtlety of a 5 year old).
what does There Will Be Blood have to do with Burn After Reading
and as for No Country.. that can't be the only Coen Bros movie you've seen right? Burn After Reading is going to be nothing like that.. it's going to have much more in common with Raising Arizona and The Big Lewbowski.
what does There Will Be Blood have to do with Burn After Reading
and as for No Country.. that can't be the only Coen Bros movie you've seen right? Burn After Reading is going to be nothing like that.. it's going to have much more in common with Raising Arizona and The Big Lewbowski.
I have a hunch that Burn After Reading is going to end up a cult hit like Lebowski.
Incomprehensible Trash (Izo, Visitor Q )
Awesome Weirdness (Ichi the Killer, Full Metal Yakuza)
and Almost Normal Cinema (Crows Zero, Audition)
Sukiyaki Western Django seems to be in the middle category, which is usually the most fun, if you can turn off your brain and enjoy the ride. Cant wait to see it.
Posts
The Mitchum movie? I've always wanted to see that.
I actually just saw a preview for Nights in Rodanthe. I started having flashbacks to Unfaithful, which my wife also dragged me to. So I told her she's on her own on this one. I have to draw a line somewhere.
There is one scene in the remake that is just great, though. I can't even remember the name of the character or the actual line, but he has a little reaction in the background to something Tom Hanks' character says and it was just perfect.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
On a sidenote; All day I've been recalling Hamlet 2 quotes in my head that result in awkward smiles around the school I work at. Co-workers act like I just got laid or something.
September 3
---
The Pool [limited]
Director: Chris Smith
(imdb, wiki)
American [primarily-]documentary filmmaker Chris Smith (American movie, Home Movie, The Yes Men) heads around the world to Goa, India, and shoots a movie about a poor teenager, his friend, and the rich girl whose father he comes to work for.
September 5th
---
August Evening [limited]
Director: Chris Eska
(imdb, az movies trailer)
This movie was shot on videos and apparently draws a lot from Ozu. It is about an aged father and his widowed daughter-in-law. The director previously directed a short called Doki-Doki.
Un secret (A Secret) [limited]
Director: Claude Miller
(imdb, az movies trailer)
Claude Miller, who worked under Truffaut as well as Bresson and Godard way back when, directs this movie about a boy in a rich French Jewish family during and after World War II.
September 12
---
Sukiyaki Western Django [limited]
Director: Takashi Miike
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer)
Miike does a Western. I'll let Spectre go into more detail on this one. Until he shows up, I'll leave you with this image:
It's funny that it is called Django, while it's plot is mainly a combination of Yojimbo and A Fistfull of Dollars.
I'm a fan of Tarantino (who has obviously inspired Miike throughout his career) and somewhat embraceful of Miike, but I am a little scared for this movie.
It seems to have been shot well and has a good look, but I've heard it has some pacing issues, not to mention the dialogue is in English, voiced by a Japanese cast. I think this was an odd choice and some have said it was a wrong one, but I'm willing to postpone judgement until I see the film.
I think it looks, great.
On a side note, there is another Asian western that will be coming out at some point and I think it looks great as well, possibly even better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSu_T0XOhr4
It was a pretty strange movie in the way it was shot and was somewhat watchable up until the end.
The ending looks as though it was shot by a different director and added in after the film was wrapped. (by FOX)
It really bothered me how it ended, but aside from that, it was a brainless (that wanted to be more) action flick.
Diesel played a safe role for him as well, so he was fine. Depardeau was nearly unrecognizable, though.
Might as well make this a general movie news thread.
Jean Claude Van Damme in a good movie? My god, it's been years! We missed you, buddy! (At least, I did)
bit.
I've got nothing against Mila Kunis, but really? Her as Mona Sax? It'll be surprising if that works out.
Trust me its worth it for the visuals alone. The production values are really high for an indie and the blu ray version looks amazing. Here is the trailer but be warned it contains some spoilers:
I'd give it a solid 8 out of 10. Which is just about where IMDB ranks it. The only parts I seriously disliked were when the director distorts the camera and just basically messes with the audience. You'll know the parts I'm talking about when you get to it. Oh yeah and it has the guy who played scarecrow in Batman Begins/TDK.
Resident 8bitdo expert.
Resident hybrid/flap cover expert.
edit: Also, Sunshine is my favorite movie
The sex scenes, though, were surprisingly racy for a 12A rated film, and the rape scene was really quite uncomfortable. There is only brief nudity but so much is so heavily implied.
Everyone looked amazing.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/jackbrooksmonsterslayer/
This will be the greatest movie ever.
It's supposedly very funny.
I just loved every aspect of the movie. Plot, acting, score, visuals, the overall feel and atmosphere. I watch it again and again and find myself breathless every time. This (Sunshine) and the Fountain are the greatest moments I've had in a theater.
I'm actually about to watch the fountain again with the commentary I downloaded.
just didn't really click with Sunshine. oh well.
What kind of sick individual finds no enjoyment from Burn After Reading I mean come on.
I thought the first 2/3 of the movie was grade A stuff. Nicely acted, the plot was really going somewhere interesting, fucking gorgeous visuals that (sitting in a theater) blew me away. I can see why you would think it's cliche (lol distress signal m i rite!?), but it really hooked me in and was enough to carry me through the not-so-stellar horror elements of the last 1/3.
I am hopeful Choke won't suck though.
Yeah that's incredibly not right. It is stylistically incorrect
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
and as for No Country.. that can't be the only Coen Bros movie you've seen right? Burn After Reading is going to be nothing like that.. it's going to have much more in common with Raising Arizona and The Big Lewbowski.
I have a hunch that Burn After Reading is going to end up a cult hit like Lebowski.
Incomprehensible Trash (Izo, Visitor Q )
Awesome Weirdness (Ichi the Killer, Full Metal Yakuza)
and Almost Normal Cinema (Crows Zero, Audition)
Sukiyaki Western Django seems to be in the middle category, which is usually the most fun, if you can turn off your brain and enjoy the ride. Cant wait to see it.