What I've Been Watching 09-04-2012
My, has it been two months already? Time sure does fly when you spend all your time in hot-tubs with super-models and playing shuffleboard on cruise-ships.
Resurrect Dead
This obscure documentary might be the best film I've seen since my last update, it follows a group of young men and women who are obsessed with solving the mystery the Toynbee asphalt tiles that appear all over the world. I won't reveal whether they figure it out or not but the journey is absolutely fascinating and the subjects' excitement is infectious.
Chronicle
Found footage movie in which a group of teenage boys stumble upon some sort of artifact that imbues them with psychic abilities. There were some great character moments here thanks to the script by Max Landis and some creative twists on the found footage angle but unfortunately the film is hampered by it's lack of budget. Overall, a pretty fun time but nothing spectacular.
Woman In Black
Harry Potter dresses as a grown up and is terrorized by the ghost of a woman in an old house in Victorian England. This film uses just about every PG rated scare tactic you can think of to freak out the audience and admittedly does a damn good job of it!
The Muppets
Jason Segal writes and stars in this reboot of the Muppets franchise. This film is pure fan-service from beginning to end, characters pop in and out with no explanation because you're expected to just be thrilled that they're making an appearance. Unfortunately this means that if you're not that in love with the Muppets already, you're gonna have a bad time. It's telling that my favourite character in the whole movie was '80s Robot', a brand new Muppet. On the positive side, the songs were excellently written by Bret McKenzie of 'Flight of the Concords' fame who were also featured in...
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists
The story of The Pirate Captain's attempts to win the pirate of the year award and his subsequent run-ins with the likes of Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria is animated gorgeously and infused with that trademarked Aardman wit and sense of fun. Recommended.
Shut Up Little Man/Beauty Day/Paradise Lost 3/Midnight Movies/Corman's World
Lumping these together for the sake of brevity. All are documentaries that are very much worth your time.
Shogun Assassin/Baby Cart to Hades
Shogun Assassin is what happens when you take two gory Japanese samurai action films, cut them together into one film, removing all the 'boring bits' (ie. the plot) and re-dub it into English. It's interesting because this butchered version has become a cult hit over the years, eclipsing even the Japanese originals, I can't think of another case where this has happened. Completely insane, but highly enjoyable. Baby Cart to Hades is the sequel to the films Shogun Assassin is culled from and as a result is a much slower, more somber affair. Unfortunately this means it is more of a chore to sit through but still has a few classic scenes.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Nic Cage is possessed by a vengeance demon, hilarity ensues. Aside from a couple of so-bad-they're-good quotes from The Cage ('It's knocking at the dooooooor!' comes to mind) there's not much to recommend here. I love Neveldine and Taylor but their 'Crank' style doesn't work so well outside of the 'Crank' universe.
End of the Road
Fun little travel doc, interesting in that I think it is only available via LoveFilm streaming. Nothing mind-blowing but worth checking out if you're a fan of this sort of thing, as I am.
Man on a Ledge
Forgettable crime thriller starring Sam Worthington. I'm pretty sure there was a plot but I can't remember what it was.
Project X
[sarcasm]Yay, more found footage![/sarcasm] The ultimate nerd fantasy movie from the current king of nerd fantasy Michael Bacall. Weirdly one of the male leads already seems to have fulfilled this seedy fantasy by starring in a porno. I suppose if it worked for Stallone... Once the party gets started the film is a fun roller-coaster ride but it should be funnier. This is no Superbad.
This Means War
Bad romantic action film. A shame, really because I quite like all the leads, unfortunately it's full of cliches, the comedy isn't funny enough and the action isn't action-y enough.
The Raven
The odd witty line of dialogue or grisly gore-shot can't save this lackluster Victorian crime effort.
21 Jump Street
I'm a huge fan of the underrated animated comedy Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and this is the first live-action effort from the same directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. I'm happy to report that it delivers on the promise of surreal comedy suggested by the pair's earlier work but is lacking perhaps in the action department.
Demons/Demons 2
A cinema and then an apartment building are overrun by vampire-like demons. Early meta-horror that includes stomach-churning body horror along with classic 80s hairdos and over-acting. Great fun and well worth your time.
The Sweatbox
Documentary on the troubled production of a Disney film titled 'Kingdom in the Sun' that was shelved for 10 years when Disney execs concluded that it made them look like a bunch of bumbling fools. Finally a workprint of the film was leaked onto the internet just a few weeks ago and we were all able to enjoy the engrossing story writing, re-writing, hiring and firing. For those curious, the film did eventually come out, retitled as...
The Emperor's New Groove
Possibly the only Disney film to go for surreal, fourth-wall breaking comedy with mixed results. There are those that love this film but to me it feels like a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.
Resurrect Dead
This obscure documentary might be the best film I've seen since my last update, it follows a group of young men and women who are obsessed with solving the mystery the Toynbee asphalt tiles that appear all over the world. I won't reveal whether they figure it out or not but the journey is absolutely fascinating and the subjects' excitement is infectious.
Chronicle
Found footage movie in which a group of teenage boys stumble upon some sort of artifact that imbues them with psychic abilities. There were some great character moments here thanks to the script by Max Landis and some creative twists on the found footage angle but unfortunately the film is hampered by it's lack of budget. Overall, a pretty fun time but nothing spectacular.
Woman In Black
Harry Potter dresses as a grown up and is terrorized by the ghost of a woman in an old house in Victorian England. This film uses just about every PG rated scare tactic you can think of to freak out the audience and admittedly does a damn good job of it!
The Muppets
Jason Segal writes and stars in this reboot of the Muppets franchise. This film is pure fan-service from beginning to end, characters pop in and out with no explanation because you're expected to just be thrilled that they're making an appearance. Unfortunately this means that if you're not that in love with the Muppets already, you're gonna have a bad time. It's telling that my favourite character in the whole movie was '80s Robot', a brand new Muppet. On the positive side, the songs were excellently written by Bret McKenzie of 'Flight of the Concords' fame who were also featured in...
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists
The story of The Pirate Captain's attempts to win the pirate of the year award and his subsequent run-ins with the likes of Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria is animated gorgeously and infused with that trademarked Aardman wit and sense of fun. Recommended.
Shut Up Little Man/Beauty Day/Paradise Lost 3/Midnight Movies/Corman's World
Lumping these together for the sake of brevity. All are documentaries that are very much worth your time.
Shogun Assassin/Baby Cart to Hades
Shogun Assassin is what happens when you take two gory Japanese samurai action films, cut them together into one film, removing all the 'boring bits' (ie. the plot) and re-dub it into English. It's interesting because this butchered version has become a cult hit over the years, eclipsing even the Japanese originals, I can't think of another case where this has happened. Completely insane, but highly enjoyable. Baby Cart to Hades is the sequel to the films Shogun Assassin is culled from and as a result is a much slower, more somber affair. Unfortunately this means it is more of a chore to sit through but still has a few classic scenes.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Nic Cage is possessed by a vengeance demon, hilarity ensues. Aside from a couple of so-bad-they're-good quotes from The Cage ('It's knocking at the dooooooor!' comes to mind) there's not much to recommend here. I love Neveldine and Taylor but their 'Crank' style doesn't work so well outside of the 'Crank' universe.
End of the Road
Fun little travel doc, interesting in that I think it is only available via LoveFilm streaming. Nothing mind-blowing but worth checking out if you're a fan of this sort of thing, as I am.
Man on a Ledge
Forgettable crime thriller starring Sam Worthington. I'm pretty sure there was a plot but I can't remember what it was.
Project X
[sarcasm]Yay, more found footage![/sarcasm] The ultimate nerd fantasy movie from the current king of nerd fantasy Michael Bacall. Weirdly one of the male leads already seems to have fulfilled this seedy fantasy by starring in a porno. I suppose if it worked for Stallone... Once the party gets started the film is a fun roller-coaster ride but it should be funnier. This is no Superbad.
This Means War
Bad romantic action film. A shame, really because I quite like all the leads, unfortunately it's full of cliches, the comedy isn't funny enough and the action isn't action-y enough.
The Raven
The odd witty line of dialogue or grisly gore-shot can't save this lackluster Victorian crime effort.
21 Jump Street
I'm a huge fan of the underrated animated comedy Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and this is the first live-action effort from the same directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. I'm happy to report that it delivers on the promise of surreal comedy suggested by the pair's earlier work but is lacking perhaps in the action department.
Demons/Demons 2
A cinema and then an apartment building are overrun by vampire-like demons. Early meta-horror that includes stomach-churning body horror along with classic 80s hairdos and over-acting. Great fun and well worth your time.
The Sweatbox
Documentary on the troubled production of a Disney film titled 'Kingdom in the Sun' that was shelved for 10 years when Disney execs concluded that it made them look like a bunch of bumbling fools. Finally a workprint of the film was leaked onto the internet just a few weeks ago and we were all able to enjoy the engrossing story writing, re-writing, hiring and firing. For those curious, the film did eventually come out, retitled as...
The Emperor's New Groove
Possibly the only Disney film to go for surreal, fourth-wall breaking comedy with mixed results. There are those that love this film but to me it feels like a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.
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