What I've Been Watching 11-7-2011
Since I am in the process of moving, I happen to have no TV or internet in my house at the moment so in lieu of any form of entertainment, it's time for another edition of BULLET POINT REVIEWS.
Some of these are going way back so my memory might be a little hazy, also I can't check any facts on-line so this is all popping off the top of my head but I'm going to plough on regardless.
-Attack The Block
Directorial début of Joe Cornish whom you may know from the Adam and Joe show on BBC 6 music or their late-night Channel 4 show from the 90s.
Aliens attack a South London council estate
Reminded me of an Amblin movie or a Joe Dante film from the 80s (massive compliment)
Good mix of comedy and horror, some brilliantly quotable one-liners
Some of the performances great, some a bit pants (to be expected from young first-timers I guess)
-Pirates 4
You've probably seen this already since I think about 6 of the 7 billion people on earth did. Captain Jack is back, in search of the fountain of youth. Mishaps and capers ensue.
Depp's shtick wears thin. It works well in a side character but grates in a protagonist.
Barbosa and Blackbeard highlights.
Everyone/everything else pretty forgettable.
NOTE: The sound in my screening was all messed up so I know I missed jokes and witty repartee, so maybe need to give this another look.
-Bad Boys 2
Think I've talked elsewhere about my hetero Michael Bay love.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's charm and chemistry prop up the madness here. Some of Bay's films suffer because it is all action but no fun. Not so here.
Wonderfully bonkers
FUN META GAME: Look out for a teen-aged Megan Fox as an extra in the rave scene. This is where Bay spotted her and cast her in Transformers. He spotted next starlet shooting a Victoria's Secret ad. Go figure.
-X-Men First Class
Michael Vaughn reboots the X-Men and blasts the canon out of a cannon while he's at it.
Fassbender/McAvoy/Bacon are brilliant
Everyone else sort of forgettable or actually bad
Some of the CGI distractingly woeful
Fortunately the story, action and direction make up for it and I came out having enjoyed it.
-Coffee and Cigarettes
Jim Jaramush directs several vignettes in which characters discuss life, the universe and everything over the eponymous beverage.
Some of the vignettes are laugh-out-loud funny, Bill Murray and the Wu-Tang Clan comes to mind, but mostly they just drag a little bit and seem pretty direction-less.
Find the highlights on Youtube and save yourself an hour.
-Ratatouille
A rat that wants to be a chef? Preposterous!
What more can be said about the superlative Pixar?
Practically perfect in every way.
NOTE: Ratatouille and The Incredibles director Brad Bird is making his live-action debut with Mission Impossible 4. I'm sold already.
-Gamer
Neveldine/Taylor of Crank fame direct a sci-fi action satire in which real people are used as avatars in first person shooters and MMORPGs.
I think I said at the time that N/T's style works well within the cartoonish world of Crank but seems really strange when they try to do anything serious here
visually stunning (I have the blu-ray), looks like it cost twice as much as it probably did
The humour is great and the lampooning of internet culture is pretty spot on
switch your brain off and this is a fun movie
-Torque
Checked this out because the director's new film Detention is getting some good buzz at the moment.
The story goes that the director wanted to make a spoof of the fast and the furious-type movies but the studio just wanted a fast and the furious-type movie, so what we ended up with is sort of halfway between the two.
This film is completely unhinged, with some of the most unrealistic action, bizarre dialogue and scenery chewing performances I have ever seen.
I kind of loved it a little bit.
Can't wait to see what this director has done with full creative control.
-Bridesmaids
Yep, pretty good comedy. Go See!
-Little Shop of Horrors (80s musical version)
Yep, pretty good comedy. Go buy!
-Tree of Life
Lots to talk about here but I'm getting bored so...
Could be an hour shorter
Lose all the metaphysical guff and you're left with a stunningly shot, very personal coming of age tale that made my heart ache in places
Go see if only because it will be unlike any film you've ever seen and Malick only makes about one film every decade.
Some of these are going way back so my memory might be a little hazy, also I can't check any facts on-line so this is all popping off the top of my head but I'm going to plough on regardless.
-Attack The Block
Directorial début of Joe Cornish whom you may know from the Adam and Joe show on BBC 6 music or their late-night Channel 4 show from the 90s.
Aliens attack a South London council estate
Reminded me of an Amblin movie or a Joe Dante film from the 80s (massive compliment)
Good mix of comedy and horror, some brilliantly quotable one-liners
Some of the performances great, some a bit pants (to be expected from young first-timers I guess)
-Pirates 4
You've probably seen this already since I think about 6 of the 7 billion people on earth did. Captain Jack is back, in search of the fountain of youth. Mishaps and capers ensue.
Depp's shtick wears thin. It works well in a side character but grates in a protagonist.
Barbosa and Blackbeard highlights.
Everyone/everything else pretty forgettable.
NOTE: The sound in my screening was all messed up so I know I missed jokes and witty repartee, so maybe need to give this another look.
-Bad Boys 2
Think I've talked elsewhere about my hetero Michael Bay love.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's charm and chemistry prop up the madness here. Some of Bay's films suffer because it is all action but no fun. Not so here.
Wonderfully bonkers
FUN META GAME: Look out for a teen-aged Megan Fox as an extra in the rave scene. This is where Bay spotted her and cast her in Transformers. He spotted next starlet shooting a Victoria's Secret ad. Go figure.
-X-Men First Class
Michael Vaughn reboots the X-Men and blasts the canon out of a cannon while he's at it.
Fassbender/McAvoy/Bacon are brilliant
Everyone else sort of forgettable or actually bad
Some of the CGI distractingly woeful
Fortunately the story, action and direction make up for it and I came out having enjoyed it.
-Coffee and Cigarettes
Jim Jaramush directs several vignettes in which characters discuss life, the universe and everything over the eponymous beverage.
Some of the vignettes are laugh-out-loud funny, Bill Murray and the Wu-Tang Clan comes to mind, but mostly they just drag a little bit and seem pretty direction-less.
Find the highlights on Youtube and save yourself an hour.
-Ratatouille
A rat that wants to be a chef? Preposterous!
What more can be said about the superlative Pixar?
Practically perfect in every way.
NOTE: Ratatouille and The Incredibles director Brad Bird is making his live-action debut with Mission Impossible 4. I'm sold already.
-Gamer
Neveldine/Taylor of Crank fame direct a sci-fi action satire in which real people are used as avatars in first person shooters and MMORPGs.
I think I said at the time that N/T's style works well within the cartoonish world of Crank but seems really strange when they try to do anything serious here
visually stunning (I have the blu-ray), looks like it cost twice as much as it probably did
The humour is great and the lampooning of internet culture is pretty spot on
switch your brain off and this is a fun movie
-Torque
Checked this out because the director's new film Detention is getting some good buzz at the moment.
The story goes that the director wanted to make a spoof of the fast and the furious-type movies but the studio just wanted a fast and the furious-type movie, so what we ended up with is sort of halfway between the two.
This film is completely unhinged, with some of the most unrealistic action, bizarre dialogue and scenery chewing performances I have ever seen.
I kind of loved it a little bit.
Can't wait to see what this director has done with full creative control.
-Bridesmaids
Yep, pretty good comedy. Go See!
-Little Shop of Horrors (80s musical version)
Yep, pretty good comedy. Go buy!
-Tree of Life
Lots to talk about here but I'm getting bored so...
Could be an hour shorter
Lose all the metaphysical guff and you're left with a stunningly shot, very personal coming of age tale that made my heart ache in places
Go see if only because it will be unlike any film you've ever seen and Malick only makes about one film every decade.
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