Rambles Of An Eccentric Wanderer

Where there is a BEST list, there is a WORST list. Some of these i was highly disappointed in and it saddens me that they managed to make this list. Some i completely expected to be here and totally deserve it.

So here, are my WORST picks:

10) The Edge Of Darkness

This film is not entirely a bad film, but it’s not the great film one would have expect/wanted. I think Mel Gibson is powerful in this, and sure, he’s even more unpopular in the real world, but up on screen, i still think he has something that most actors lack. The film however seemed to gloss over many things (such as Ray Winstone’s entire character). Its a good film, far from the worst, but enough to get number 10.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/395945984/review-edge-of-darkness

9) Red

This one was more to do with wasted potential. It had a GREAT cast, allowing them to have fun, but the fun seemed funner for them than for us. If in a good writer or good directors hands, it would have been much more than what it was. Entertaining sure, forgettable, entirely.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/1598849080/review-red

8) Somewhere

It disappoints me that this film made the list, again not a terrible film, but on reflection it’s not a great film. It seems that Sofia Coppola films have lesser and lesser happening within them, here we didn’t even get the solid soundtrack she always has. Sure it’s somewhat of a departure from previous work, but then again its a departure that i feel is a hinderance. That said, good performances, but a weak Sofia Coppola film.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/2442145217/review-somewhere

7) The Book Of Eli

This film i caught on DVD around 6 months after it was released so i never got to review it on the blog. However, this is another film with some great potential, post-apocalyptic landscape, a lone badass hero in the form of Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman returning to his deliciously evil villian persona, what’s not to like? Sure, the set-up for the film is good, where the sole character Eli carries a book across a barron epic to protect it, to run into trouble from Carnegie (Oldman) who wants said book, action ensues, it’s pretty fun like that. However there are some wasted opportunities as the film continues (especially a wasted cool cameo from Michael Gambon) and the end featuring Malcolm McDowell (who was there to get a paycheck i’m sure) is pretty ridiculous and a let down, making way for it’s spot on this list.

6) Shutter Island

This is the controvercial one, as Shutter Island is one of the more universally liked films of 2010. I didn’t buy into that at all. Sure if directed by someone of lesser talents i’m sure i would have given the film the benefit of the doubt, however the director is Martin Scorsese, one of the greatest directors of all time. That said i’m not judging it harsher cause of Scorsese, no, i am judging it without giving it the benefit of the doubt. Sure, people say it’s pulpy, i say it’s lazy, overblown filmmaking, too many hallucinatory states that hinder the experience, a plot twists that appear a mile off and treat the audience like idiots (insert Ben Kingsley blackboard explanation). It’s a disappointment from what the film could have been, however Leonardo DiCaprio gives a strong performance. If you like it, i’m not saying you shouldn’t, but it deserves it’s spot on this list for me.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/404073862/review-shutter-island

5) Repo Men

Another film i failed to see at the cinemas but caught later after it’s release. This is yet another film with potential, despite its similarities to Repo: The Genetic Opera. A sci-fi black comedy about repo men who collect fake organs from non-paying customers is ripe for a good time. The film has some excellent parts, but in the end lacks the greatness it could have had with a better director, say like Paul Verhoeven or David Cronenberg. The thing that REALLY irks me about this film however is the ending (SPOILER):

An ending to the film that discounts the last quarter of the film to be merely Remy’s dream as he has been pretty much turned into a vegetable, distastefully discounting the best moments of the film, such as the extremely gory hallway fight scene, and the sensual organ removal scene with Jude Law and Alice Braga. Sure, this ending has been used to great effect before (Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece Brazil for instance), but here this sort of ending was tacked on for no apparent reason but to destroy any enjoyment a viewer would have experienced in the film. For shame.

4) Predators

I somewhat expected that this wouldn’t be great, i mean how can once beat the original Arnold Schwarzeneggar classic? With Robert Rodriguez involved as producer, i was sure there would be SOME quality to the film. In the end, yes, there was SOME quality, but in ratio to the rest of the film, very little, proving to not only be a disappointment, but a sad homage to the original film. The idea is actually a smart sequel idea, but the execution and progression of the film goes gets worse as it goes along. Pred-dogs, are you kidding me? They need dogs to hunt for them? Change the Predator design and undermine the terror of the original Predator by using him as bait? Using the first films events as knowledge for what to do? Seriously? Unnecessary predictable twists? Yes! Adrien Brody beats the Predator without seemingly breaking a sweat. Ugh, so many things wrong. At least its better than the Alien Vs. Predator series right?

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/785047792/review-predators

3) Alice In Wonderland

Ugh. We’ve reached the bottom of the barrel here, with the top three worst of the year, any one of them could be number one. First with Alice In Wonderland generously not the worst film of the year. Tim Burton (and Danny Elfman) haven’t been on their game for years (yes, Sweeney Todd was average). How i yearn for the day of pure eccentric chaos that was Beetlejuice, their masterpiece in my eyes. Alice In Wonderland makes for a new low for the filmmaker (and composer). Rather than retell the original story in a unique way, a story in need of a unique and detailed re-telling on the big screen, Burton opts for a unique sequel which falls into the rhelm of big piece of shit. They didn’t even bother with adapting Through The Looking Glass, the real Alice In Wonderland sequel.

The Mad Hatter (or the rest of the tea party folks) barely knew Alice, let alone were friends with her, Alice thought they were idiots, yet here they are like homeboys, and given huge and unappealing spotlight. Johnny Depp is on auto-pilot now with Burton i believe, i actually wish they would take a break for awhile to get a freshness back into the partnership. The film had no adventure, too much CGI, barely any good performances, just an insult to the Lewis Carroll classic. In bad 3D too! Bah!

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/438686346/review-alice-in-wonderland

2) Clash Of The Titans

Yeah, waste of time this. CGI crazy, bad 3D, wooden, undeveloped characters, just a waste of time. The Medusa section was OKAY, but Ray Harryhausen would be disgusted.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/497322726/review-clash-of-the-titans

1) The American

An interesting pick for the worst movie of the 2010 right? I bet most of you haven’t even seen this, let alone heard of it. It had great potential, George Clooney (fine actor) plays a hitman (excellent film territory) who travels to a small Italian town (exotic location, culture clash, nice) for one last job, but is hunted by rival assassins and falls for local women (nice, drama, tension).

However, in the end, it was the most achingly boring and anger inducing film i have seen in years. A wannabe existential film with a pace was slower than a snail on valium, i almost fell asleep multiple times. The characters are left wooden and underwritten, totally sucking any quality from Clooney’s and the other actors performances. Literally almost nothing happens, we learn next to nothing about the town, Clooney stares and builds a gun. Just a a frustrating film, one which i makes you feel inclined to get your money back, because it is like the film takes entertainment in our misery as it sucks any entertainment out of our bodies. Anton Corbijn, director of the excellent Control, come on, this was so shit man!

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/1616909838/review-the-american

So that’s it! Agree? Disagree? Tell me about it.

I will post my “Most Anticipated for 2011” soonish.

Adieu.

It feels a little while since i have written stuff on here, haven’t entirely been into blogging at this time. But, before it goes out of fashion, i must write my “Top 10 Lists”, to round up all the reviewing i have been doing all last year.

Anyways, here we start with the BEST films i saw at the cinema. I believe it was a pretty solid year for film, so the field was tight. I also can’t include Tom Hooper’s excellent The King’s Speech, as i saw it in 2011, but it was damn good. So yes! Let’s begin!

10) Monsters

This film was pretty good when i first saw it, i was mostly impressed with how they worked with such a low budget, but now upon reflection do i realise just how impressive the film was. An inspiring film for young filmmakers, showing that big films can be made on such a small budget.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/2310837267/review-monsters

9) Up In The Air

This film really hit the spot for me. I’ve been a fan of Jason Reitman’s work since Thankyou For Smoking and with this his third film shows his ever improving filmmaking talent. It was an interesting subject, great script, great soundtrack, great performances.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/370661315/review-up-in-the-air

8) The Hurt Locker

Unlike most people in the world, i have been a fan of filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow for many years now, adoring her early work such as 1987s Near Dark. She directs uncharactistically masculine films and shows she has more filmmaking balls than most male directors. The Hurt Locker i felt deservedly won all its Academy Awards, including Best Picture, not only for a remarkable film, but for the years in which i felt Kathyrn Bigelow was left underappreciated.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/413136767/review-the-hurt-locker

7) Micmacs

Ah Jean-Pierre Jeunet, you never cease to amaze me. The seemingly stereotypically French voice is one of the most visually unique directors i have ever seen. His films are always extremely quirky, with a heart of gold in the centre, no matter if its in the desolete future or the contemporary now. Micmacs is a charmingly eccentric film and something to expect from Jeunet. I watched in pure adoration!

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/510700259/review-micmacs

6) Kick-Ass

It feels so very long ago since i saw this film, but at the same time, remember all the goodness it entailed. Just when you think the superhero genre has run out of steam this wonderful film comes along giving it a nice kick square in the ass. I was worried itd fall into teen angst, but what it provided was a hilarious, action packed, foul-mouthed, gory experience. Sharply written, excellently shot, and great performances, with standouts being Nicolas Cages’ wonderful Adam West-esq Big Daddy and Chloe Moretz’s astonishing Hit-Girl. Just great Matthew Vaughn.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/535383014/review-kick-ass

5) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

I was surprised that i had to convince people that this was going to be a GREAT film. I thought the trailer provided enough awesomeness to feed an entire planet in need of awesome. Not to mention it was directed by Edgar Wright of Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, two of the funniest/unique/stylistically awesome films in recent memory. This film was no different, it was wild, it was almost non-stop hilarious, it was unique, it had excellent source material, an excellent visual flare and of course, an extremely talented young cast. The question i ask is, how could this film have NOT been good.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/1109067840/review-scott-pilgram-vs-the-world

4) Toy Story 3

Of course this would have made it. Pixar i find have a constant level of greatness, one that seems to crush all people who try to compete. Toy Story 3 however is truly a shining moment in the history of Pixar, returning to the beloved world of the first two films giving the series a bookend which children (now adults) and adults (still adults, mostly) and more children (people younger than the first two) have been waiting for for 11 long years. What was accomplished is possibly one of the most emotionally crushing films of all time, with the power to make ANYONE and EVERYONE cry. Yes EVVVVVVVVVVVVERRRRRYYYYYONNNNNNNNEEE (Gary Oldman voice). It is just disgusting how good Pixar is.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/752916193/review-toy-story-3

3) The Social Network

Many people had doubts a Facebook movie would actually be good. I had my own, but they were crushed by the fact modern master director David Fincher was directing, which made it provocative. “Why on Earth would you do this Dave, this is odd…why? I’m thoroughly interested”. What came of it was an amazingly detailed, extremely well written character study of Mark Zuckerberg and co. Its more than a film about Facebook, just so many things and it just shows how David Fincher IS a modern master director. It’s been garnering a load of awards and rightly so, some say it will achieve the Best Picture gong. And if it be so, i will “like” that.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/1422122455/review-the-social-network

2) Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans

Still, i am frustrated that this film was never given a wide release in cinemas here in Australia, as many people would have missed an extremely amazing sight to behold, unseen for years on the big screen, that being Nicolas Cage going batshit crazy, and i’m not talking the usual stuff, i’m talking Vampire’s Kiss crazy. I felt so lucky to be one of the few to see Werner Herzog’s masterpiece on the screen, it is just so damn good. Great madcap performance from Cage, who, with the help of Kick-Ass as well returns some cred to his career off recent years. Herzog again shows he is still one of the most unique and talented directors ever effectively making a film thats a cop drama, a comedy, a drug trip, a freaking madhouse, with a musicality to boot. See this wonderful film.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/535629411/review-bad-lieutenant-port-of-call-new-orleans

1) Inception

I’m sure most people would have guessed this film would have made number 1, and rightly so. Sure it has it’s detractors, but a billion more fans that crush that. I’m not saying i like it because everybody else likes it, i just feel that its everything a film should be and more. Christopher Nolan understands how to make a movie thats not only entertaining and will make money, but he knows how to inject so many great elements, from a great ensemble cast, an intelligent idea, memorable scenes, big score etc. The film was something the film community needed, another intelligent trip into a place few films venture (even fewer in a way thats intelligent) into the human mind. What else can one say that it is the best film of 2010.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/865571231/review-inception

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5 Notable mentions

The Other Guys

Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are just a dynamite couple, and i would see their films together until i die. This one was a broader story, but still humour unmatched by most comedies.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/1275101925/review-the-other-guys

The Town

Wonderful follow-up to Gone Baby Gone that proves Ben Affleck is a damn fine director.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/1567485781/review-the-town

Machete

Just great. Danny Trejo at the forefront being a pissed-off badassed Mexican makes for an excellent movie.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/1599365746/review-machete

The Bunny And The Bull

Just an excellent off-beat comedy from the guys who made The Mighty Boosh. Not only does it bring Booshiness, it creates a sort of Bizarro universe, one which also has an unexpected heartbreaking depth.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/753405084/review-the-bunny-and-the-bull

The Road

A great so many things. A great setting, a great cast, a great father/son story, a great survival story, a great atmosphere, a great film.

http://blue-eyed-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/366985988/review-the-road

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So thats 2010 folks. I will be back within the next few days with my WORST of 2010 list and some other stuff hopefully.

Hope you like my list. Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts pilgrims. :)

Adieu!

I wrote a review about Tron Legacy, but Tumblr was a dick and screwed up as i was posting it, wasting about 2 hours of my time. This is happened to me plenty of times before, but this time they didn’t even bother to recover it. So, there will be no Tron Legacy review rewrite. Thankyou Tumblr.

I did give the film 3.5/5 though, just if youre interested.

In 1990, in a time where director Francis Ford Coppola was thrown back into the spotlight finally surcoming to the pressure to direct The Godfather Part III, and having his daughter, Sofia Coppola, to hastily fill the role of Michael Corleone’s daughter. I believe purely based on that wooden performance, no one would have predicted that she would become one of the most prominent and respected female directors today (maybe all time? Possibly too soon).

Though she has made only four films, it is obvious that she is a talented, and unique director. Unlike her father, who tended to focus on epic backgrounds with great success in such films as The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation (as small as it seemed), S.Coppola is a filmmaker who, despite sometimes employing epic backdrops, follows small and intimate stories of characters. From the Lisbon girls in The Virgin Suicides, an actor past his prime and a young lonely wife misplaced in Tokyo in Lost In Translation and even her historical epic, her own interpretation of the life of Marie Antoinette in the film of the same name, whilst filmed in the extravigence of Versailles, followed a young girl forced into the position of ruler.

Somewhere, her latest is possibly her most intimate portrait yet. It follows a Hollywood star/badboy Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff), who spends his time between publicity at parties, watching ditzy pole dancers and lives within the famous Chateau Marmont in LA. Soon his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) arrives and thus there is some interesting father-daughter bonding to be had.

Some may pre-judge this film as Coppola backtracking after the flop of Marie Antoinette, returning to the winning formula of Lost In Translation which audiences and critics embraced. This superficial judgement is unfair to make, as, sure, it follows a Hollywood actor in a crisis, it envolves a hotel, but really, the similarities end there.

However upon seeing the film, i think it is safe to compare the film to Lost In Translation by way of what made that film a masterpiece, and made Somewhere just “good”. While Lost In Translation was a completely simple idea, it somehow felt so solid and packed with goodness. You had the humour of Bill Murray which is always entertaining. It followed a specific and previously untouched sensation, celebrities travelling to Japan to do outragious commericals for outragious sums of money. It also developed a very clear and believable friendship/romance through these characters, “lost in translation”, it’s simple and powerful, and was made only better by the chemestry and performances of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. It also played as a love letter to Tokyo itself, effectively presenting the many nuances of the Japanese culture. It also contained an excellent soundtrack from Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine fame.

Of course Coppola couldn’t follow the same formula, it would have been wrong. But there was layers of interest within the film. In Somewhere, i admired the intimacy of the father-daughter relationship, one in which obviously is taken from S.Coppola’s own childhood, living in hotels, travelling with her super-star director father in the 70s and 80s. This is also where Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning shine, effectively crafting something quite beautiful. It is when they are appart does the film slow down. The start of the film is almost wordless, shots are held for long effect, numerous scenes of sitting around and driving around are present, the sense of little happening is something that seems to grow over each film Coppola does and plot seems to become less and less visible.

My beef with the film is its how sparse its elements are, despite the rather beautiful message, but even then by the end is it crushed. The father daughter relationship does not develop as much as you want it to, they merely “chill”. And the sudden burst of the films meaning at the end seems against the grain, whereas in Lost In Translation, it unfolded beautifully. The same i think could be said for The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette (despite all the sitting around, cake-eating there was within it).

The performances are vague, yet naturalistically subtle, Stephen Dorff, a man whose had little A-list success works within Marco, even though his character seems against what his career seems to be, and he is not as interesting as Bob Harris. Elle Fanning is freaky, by way of how fast she has grown, but she gives Cleo a wonderful honesty. There are also nice cameos from Chris Pontius of Jackass, Benicio Del Toro and Michelle Monaghan (who, for a person given the “and” credit, should have been given more than one brief, yet funny scene).

Also, the absense of a wonderful soundtrack is a disappointment on the level i can’t go download the album, there just wasn’t enough tracks. French band Phoenix provided score duties here, and really it seems they added one or two songs. But thats a personal qualm.

In the end, the film isn’t a bore, but it edges towards it on many occasions. It has some funny S.Coppola humour moments, and some nice heartfelt scenes as well. And it does have a fine message. It just feels too thin. It’s still a must for S.Coppola fans. I hope that her next film i find more enjoyable. Will she ever match the greatness of Lost In Translation? Who knows.

3.5/5

For some reason, every second movie is about alien invasions. Literally! It seems to be a trend that has been reignited by the success of Neill Blomkamp’s masterful District 9 last year. I don’t know, it’s feeble to even try to pin-point what truly started it. This year has already seen the appearance of Strausse Brothers’ (of Aliens Vs. Predator Requiem - a masterwork in the field of shitness) Skyline, a film which seems a poor mans Independance Day. Then next year sees Jonathan Liebesman’s Battle: Los Angeles, Jon Favreau’s genre mixer Cowboys and Aliens, Oren Peli’s (of Paranormal Activity) Area 51, Greg Mottola’s comedy Paul, i’m sure i can go on.

However, within all these, there is the little invasion film just released, Gareth Edward’s Monsters. A tiny, independant film which does what so many of these films fail to do. Create a compelling, touching story based on characters rather than spectacle.

Based in an America where an alien force has landed on Earth and contaminated an area of Southern America and Mexico. It follows Kaulder (Scoot McNairy), a photographer for a newspaper who was ordered down to Mexico to check on his boss’s daughter, Samantha (Whitney Able) following an alien attack within the infected zone. Kaulder is only interested in getting a photo of a live alien, yet is given the objective to return Samantha home to America, a seemingly simple exercise which, due to various circumstances leads them into the zone.

It’s a simple idea that is hardly unique, with obvious similarities ranging from Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker to Matt Reeves’ Cloverfield. What is truly amazing is how low budget the production truly was. Shot on roughly $400,000 dollars, with only a two man camera crew, two main no-name actors and very little shots of actual aliens. All these things work in the favor director Edwards, as he utilizes everything that he has, making a daring directorial debut.

It’s amazing to discover that there was no solid script for the film, but rather an outline for what will happen in each scene, and thus left up to what is around them at the time and casting locals. It’s just amazing that it actually works, and gives the film a real gritty realism. The cinematography works, the score works, the story works.

The main actors, McNairy and Able are fantastic. They are both believable and likeable, and you invest in what is essentually a love story set in the backdrop of an invasion. It helps that they are in a relationship in real life, creating a great honesty.

It’s just great to seem independant filmmakers having the balls to tackle such an ambitious subject in such an intelligent, resourceful fashion. I would be interested in seeing what Edwards accomplishes next. For now, Monsters is A-grade in terms of the alien invasion genre, a layered and intimate love story, a journey, a damn fine alien picture. The only negative aspect i find is actually seeing the aliens, where mystertiously concealing them would have proved more fear inducing, but that said, the way they are handled during the climax is something wonderful.

This is a gem of independant filmmaking, one that shows even with a little bit of money, you can make a film that is head over heels better than 90% of Hollywood’s big budget output. Well done Mr Edwards.

4.5/5

It’s the beginning of the end, as the trailer so dictates. After almost ten years, 6 hugely successful films, Harry Potter, the brainchild of author J.K. Rowling has reached its final installment, in the form of two parts. Potter has its own special place in the hearts of avid fans, and especially alot of now adults who ten years ago were but wide eyed children, like our heroes in the first installment, growing up with them. I myself wasn’t particularly part of this group, i found the books unappealing, partly due to the rampid popularity. It was only once the films game out did i understand the magic of the worlds.

I think it’s quite amazing how these films have managed to tell a story over a whole decade, to show a set of unknown children grow into well-known adults, to see the extremely large array of British talent that have been apart of each movie, many for multiple films. It’s also been interesting to see the development and change of style through directors, from the faithful, kid friendly days of Chris Columbus directing the first two installments: Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber Of Secrets, to the dark, strange and wonderful world of Alfonzo Cuaron with the Prisoner Of Azkaban, the colourful explosion of excitement in Mike Newells’ Goblet Of Fire, to the bleak David Yates days beginning with Order Of The Phoenix completely through to the eventual end of the series. It’s been a wonderful metaphorphosis in my opinion, and i believe some franchises should be told as such.

Now to Part I, the film picking up from the aftermath of the previous film, Half-Blood Prince (spoilers) Dumbledore has been murdered, Voldemort strengthens his evil, the muggle world is becoming at risk and Harry Potter is in extreme danger. Every move is now under the watchful eye of the Death Eaters, ready to attack at any given moment. The only hope is the “horcruxes”, a series of items that contain parts of Voldemort that keeps him alive, to Harry, with the help of his friends Ron and Hermoine must find and destroy.

The last intstallment, Half Blood Price, was a grave disappointment, despite its wonderful cinematography and a lovely performance from Jim Broadbent. The film was made up of too much teen angst, as well as the lack of memorable parts, as if nothing at all happened within the film other than the development of the horcruxes. Even the death of Dumbledore was extremely understated. A truly depressing film.

Part I, however manages to greatly improve on the last film, containing a host of excellent scenes, the extremely unsettling meeting of the Death Eaters, in which Ralph Fiennes yet again nails the pure essense of evil in Voldemort, the Death Eater ambush/chase as Harry and friends attempt to bring Harry to a safe location, a extremely exciting scene. The Mission Impossible-esc infiltration of the Ministry of Magic makes for some excellent comedy as Harry and co disguise themselves as other people, especially through Ron, who plays his role all too well, forgetting who he really was.

By the middle of the film, the film turns into a slow burning road movie, which in proves to be bother an asset and a hinderance. The asset being, after such a convoluted first act, full of familiar british talent and action, it is nice change to see the main trio, Harry, Ron and Hermoine on their own, allowing them to give some excellent character performances that deepen not only their relationships but their characters (however the Nick Cave dance scene, despite the awesome nature of Nick Cave, was extremely tacked on). It does show how actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have grown in acting abilities. It becomes a hinderance due to the lack of happenings after awhile, there is alot of sitting around, thinking under a tree etc. which ruins the pacing slightly. This is possibly due to the film not needing to rush, with two films, it can easy relax as there is plenty of time to cover plot.

The third act brings back the excitement, especially with a standout scene at the Lovegood homestead, where Luna’s father Xenophilius (an excellent Rhys Ifans) reveals hypnotic tale of “The Deathly Hallows”, presented in a wonderful sillouetted animation by Ben Hibon, creating what i believe to be one of the highlights of the series. The climax of the piece is exciting, but muted compared to the others, due to this being not being the end of the story, but it leaves you hanging and it does make you want more. This is where Part II in July shall be a must see.

It must be mentioned, unlike the previous installment, the film really allows characters from the previous films to shine, even if it’s for one scene, it allows them to return, bringing with them their whole history within the series, from Brendan Gleeson’s Mad-Eye Moody, Helena Bonham Carter’s batshit insane Beatrix Lestange, David Thewlis’ Lupin and of course, Ralph Fiennes’ Voldemort. I must be mentioned too, its also great to see the return of Dobby, unseen since the second film.

I would have been interested to see the film directed by another director other than David Yates as it would have provided the series with yet another flavour. That said, he is comfortable in the directors chair and makes a very solid installment in Part I, a film that is very much NOT for kids. Like the main stars, the movies have grown to be for adults, and the magic is no longer child friendly. There are scares abound and the darkest mood yet, until Part II i am sure.

It’s the Harry Potter Horror Movie Extraviganza! And it will satisfy the fans and those who can understand what is going on. It’s a strong start, and the perceptions i’m sure will change once the final part is released in 2011. For now, some excellent, darkly magical cinema.

4/5

Anonymous asked: what is the ideology of the film Wall Street, money never sleeps?

That “Money Never Sleeps”. So, times have changed, but money is still the same, still can make people betray you, to make people do things. And Gekko is a figure that made you believe that “Greed Is Good” and that these things are okay. But in the end, questions whether can a figure like that can change.

So yes, it’s about changing times but money and greed are the same, and can someone like Gekko change.

Thats what i believe anyways.

Over the past few Fridays, Indiana Jones movies have been playing. A couple of weeks ago was Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Temple of Doom last week, Last Crusade was on Friday to make way for the most recent installment premiere on normal TV.

I consider the first three films pure entertainment, pure masterpieces, infact, i consider Raiders Of The Lost Ark my equal favourite movie of all time, and for people who know me, know thats a big call (hint, i watch alot of movies). Anyways, the first three films share their own section of my heart like many fans around the world. They are just great films and Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones and pretty much every guy (some girls too) would LOVE to be him.

Anyways, as you know the 4th film, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull came out in 2008 to the cries of millions of fans. Despite the obvious hype this kind of movie can gather over 19 years since the previous installment, the film really was a disappointment. I never really wrote my thoughts about it then, but it seems a good a time as any to write it now.

I expected a disappointment myself when i saw it, but i didn’t think the film would be as bad as it was, AND HECK, i enjoy the film. There is alot of cool things i found within it. I thought the beginning re-introduction to the character was actually excellent, it was different to the others, reminded why we love Indy, even though he is older than he was, still kicking ass and getting in strife. AND YES, I LIKED THE NUKED FRIDGE, aka the new “jumping the shark” but i found that to be crazy/nice touch in the tradition of inflatable-boat-out-of-plane. Other than the stupid critters, the opening i found very solid.

Also solid, was academic Indy re-introduction, covering what he was up to in that time, the people he lost. As well as the introduction scenes of Mutt (despite not being to excited about his character) and the following bike/car chase. The film was building up well. Pretty much by the time Indy and Mutt were caught at the gravesite by the Russians the film went over the waterfall drowning in the shitness and wasted opportunities, with only a few moments of fresh air.

Marion was wasted, plain and simple, and she was there because of nostalgia sake, her character did very little but avert Indy’s gaze sometimes, and drive a truck. She should have had more layers, maybe introduced earlier.

The chase scenes through the jungle were bombarded with CGI (one of the films ongoing problems), Ray Winstone’s character Mac, becomes increasingly ridiculous and confusing, Mutt Williams gained WAY WAY WAY too much screentime over Indy (one of the biggest sins, not to mention that AWFUL monkey moment), the natives at the temple were wasted, they could have made some nice conflict, but they get machine-gunned…pfft.

The ants scene i thought was nice, WHY, cause Indy got screentime beating the big-ass Russian, screw the ants, it was the fight i liked.

And ill just skip to the climax, skull comes back, Cate Blanchett dies from CGI to the head…*facepalm*. Just a big fail when all the other main deaths were so unique and epic. I think they were like, lets try the Raiders ending with CGI, see if it works…stoopard…and the Aliens…sorry inter-dimentional beings….space between spaces, STOOOOOOOPARD.

And the final marriage scene, that initially put me off, but i think itd be apt to the idea of the film and Indy deserves happiness, however how will it bode for a sequel, not sure, and Mutt, don’t you dare touch that hat.

In the end, too many careless mistakes, the best thing in it was Harrison Ford as he IS Indy however that Mutt character stealing his screentime was a big no-no. It seemed like half a good film, half rushed to the bank. WAY. TOO. MUCH. CGI. Waste of a good mythology, stupid aliens, where the surprise? OH and something not OFT said, John Williams, what an unmemorable score, in comparance, hardly the worst thing, but as a music fan, i felt deprived!

Anyways, thats my thoughts on the 4th film. Reason im writing this, like many bloggers, i thought i should provide my two cents on what should and should NOT be in the 5th movie, a movie i would LOVE to happen, and HOPE theyd get it right, if not, it won’t hurt, more Indiana at least, and we still have the first three. But it’d be excellent to close out the series as nice as it was in 1989.

So here are some things to consider in my opinion:

1) Focus on Indy - don’t give Mutt as much time as him

Again, one of the biggest sins of KOTCS was focusing too much on Mutt taking away Indy screentime. No one is there for Mutt Williams, save for those random LaBeouf fans. This is an Indy film, and we are there to see Harrison Ford be Indiana Jones.

2) Choose a good Maguffin, with great mythology and history.

It goes without saying but the crystal skulls had great potential to be awesome, with a host of historical information around them that could have lead them somewhere awesome. Anyways it would be good to see something well documented.

One of my favourite post film stories came from the Lucasarts games point and click games, being Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis, in which Indy went in search of the lost city of Atlantis. It would have been perfect for a movie, plently of puzzles, great enemy, went to many interesting places with some interesting characters, but most of all, the Maguffin was a place, which i think would be an interesting change of pace. Sure, you can’t do Atlantis, sadly, but something along those lines could be interesting.

3) Ease down on the 1950s B-movie stuff.

As much as i love B-movies, it is just wrong for Indy. The outragious silly aspects, the aliens, the cheesiness. Sure alot of those aspects are already there in the other three, but in KOTCS it became too much. As well as changing the look.

4) EASE WAY DOWN ON CGI.

Sure i understand the use of some things, its filmmaking today afterall. But monkey vine swinging sequences, the ants? Come on, use the real thing! Or matte paintings. They have all the money in the world, so no need to use the whole cost-effective excuse for CGI.

5) Give Indy more puzzles/tombs/traps

I find it hard to remember much of any of these things. There was that horizontal moving disc they solved quick smart, Oxley’s floor writings and the sand thingy. It seemed very sparse in comparance to the others. Try make something that will really make Indy scratch his head or freak out. Closing tunnels, creepy crawlies, just cool stuff that helped grow the love of the other three.

6) Cast a memorable, powerful villian/with added excellent death.

Cate Blanchett is a fantastic actress, and looked great. But did very little other than use a thick accent and scowl. Wasted talent, and she died from CGI to the face. Get a villian, doesn’t have to be a star who will really challenge Indy, push his buttons and make us cheer when he or she dies, which, must be unique and awesomely gruesome.

7) Have a colourful, exciting score.

I am a huge music fan, and as i said before, John Williams’ score was very unmemorable. While the other three had layered exciting scores, each different to the other, KOTCS was made up of recycles and alot of dull cues. It had its moments, but it really was a step down from the previous efforts.

8) George Lucas, let Steven Spielberg do his thing.

Means exactly that. Sure, you are a fantastic story writer, but when you get your hand in everything, it gets abit too much. You got Spielberg into doing your B-movie with the fourth. Now let him take control and end the series as respectfully as Last Crusade did.

9) Don’t mess with Indy.

What isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Don’t go messing with the formula, don’t make him pass the franchise to Mutt, don’t poke his eye out like he has as a 93 year old man in Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Just give him another adventure.

10) Don’t go Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

I hear one of the rumours was China or Mongolia. If you have seen the third Mummy movie, you can see what not to do. No martial arts, no stupid CGI, no, ugh…just don’t be like that piece of shit.

11) Try do more practical action sets.

Again, another CGI thing. Try to be practical and memorable, be it just a badass messy fight scene.

12) Try and get Lawrence Kasdan to write.

He wrote Raiders. He also helped write The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. He also directed some solid films: Body Heat, The Big Chill, Silverado etc. He helped create the voice, the world of Indiana Jones and today he seems to have fallen on hard times, not directing since the awful Dreamcatcher and helped write the remake to Clash Of The Titans. I think with the right company, being, Lucas and Spielberg, he can write something excellent worthy to bookend the series. While you’re at it, bring back Tom Stoppard!

13) Take Indy places.

The last film, he travelled pretty much two places, North and South America. Let him travel the world finding this thing, take him new places, on a wild journey all over the world. It’d be interesting.

14) End it well/send Indy off aptly.

Like riding off into the sunset, but not, theyve already used that. But end it well.

15) No random silly shit.

Random monkey swinging sequences, desert moles/chipmunks, Star Wars quoting.

16) Don’t set up Mutt Williams adventures.

Seriously, that would be awful and a big smelly crap on the faces of all fans.

17) Give Marion more to do.

It was wonderful to see her back, but let her do something more than smile and drive a truck.

Anyways, that’s all i have for the moment. But yeah, i am a huge fan, and this blog may be just another fan wasting his time writing an opinion piece on what should be done. Who really knows if the 5th installment will make it to film, if it doesn’t, we still have 3 great films, and a 4th, despite its sins, i believe will grow on people in time. A 5th installment done right is something worth hoping for though. Any excuse to bring the glory of Indiana Jones back is great, but it really must be done right. I just hope it would be better than the 4th. One final Indiana Jones adventure!