Holy Smoke (1999)
Kate Winslet enters a cult in India, her parents drag her home to Australia where she's then given to a deprogramming guru who will supposedly help her not want to be in the cult anymore. Um, okay, but the "cult" that she was supposedly living in didn't seem all that sinister to me. In fact, given how the movie ends, I'm pretty sure that they were harmless. This movie won a handful of awards (though none of them Oscars), so apparently I'm missing something, but I thought this movie was really weird and not in a good way. Kate Winslet does however fake a pretty good Australian accent, though I shouldn't be surprised since she faked a decent New Zealand accent in Heavenly Creatures.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
September 10, 2009
Sunshine Cleaning (2009)
Emily Blunt and Amy Adams didn't quite sell me on being sisters at first, but the more I watched, the more it really worked. Even though they don't look anything alike, the way they play off each other does feel like a sisterly bond. Emily Blunt's American accent is very good, though the pitch sounds different enough that you're constantly reminded that it's fake. They don't hold much back when showing the crime scenes that the girls are cleaning up, which brings down overall tone down from straight comedy to dark comedy. Definitely worth watching.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Emily Blunt and Amy Adams didn't quite sell me on being sisters at first, but the more I watched, the more it really worked. Even though they don't look anything alike, the way they play off each other does feel like a sisterly bond. Emily Blunt's American accent is very good, though the pitch sounds different enough that you're constantly reminded that it's fake. They don't hold much back when showing the crime scenes that the girls are cleaning up, which brings down overall tone down from straight comedy to dark comedy. Definitely worth watching.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
September 9, 2009
The Class (2008)
Two hours following a single teacher and his class sounds like it might be really boring, but it's not. This is actually a really interesting film that gets deep into the workings and relationships present in an inner-city school. It's like what Boston Public could have been if the show had decided that every conceivable terrible thing didn't necessarily have to happen at the same school. Each student is given their own identity, which is difficult when you're juggling a cast of twenty or thirty characters, and the teacher, Mr. Marin, is a strong lead.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Two hours following a single teacher and his class sounds like it might be really boring, but it's not. This is actually a really interesting film that gets deep into the workings and relationships present in an inner-city school. It's like what Boston Public could have been if the show had decided that every conceivable terrible thing didn't necessarily have to happen at the same school. Each student is given their own identity, which is difficult when you're juggling a cast of twenty or thirty characters, and the teacher, Mr. Marin, is a strong lead.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
September 8, 2009
Heart and Souls (1993)
I know that all of Robert Downey, Jr.'s performances in the 1990s were while he was perpetually high, but it's hard to remember that when watching something as adorable as this. I remember seeing this when I was little, though I didn't appreciate a lot of it back then. The concept is fun, with four spirits attached to a little boy born the moment they died in a bus crash who then use him to resolve their unfinished business so that they can cross over. Downey's performance includes having to imitate each of the other actors while the ghosts possess him and it's pretty impressive.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
I know that all of Robert Downey, Jr.'s performances in the 1990s were while he was perpetually high, but it's hard to remember that when watching something as adorable as this. I remember seeing this when I was little, though I didn't appreciate a lot of it back then. The concept is fun, with four spirits attached to a little boy born the moment they died in a bus crash who then use him to resolve their unfinished business so that they can cross over. Downey's performance includes having to imitate each of the other actors while the ghosts possess him and it's pretty impressive.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
September 7, 2009
Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)
#32 on my Top 100 List
There be spoilers ahead.
Forget Littlefoot's mother. Forget Bambi's mother and the dog in I Am Legend and Marley. The animal deaths in this movie are the most heartbreaking of anything that I have ever seen. I can't really judge this movie, because it's been a favorite of mine since I was little. They showed it to us in elementary school - 2nd grade I think? Then I found the book and read it and loved that too. The end monologue is touched with just enough nostalgic sorrow while also rounding out the story and providing closure for the character and the audience. Its lesson is an interesting one - you have to meet God halfway - but it doesn't feel heavy-handed. I'd be interested to know how they filmed the climatic fight in the end, because this was pre-CGI and I'm pretty sure that that's a real mountain lion fighting a dog in some of those shots.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#32 on my Top 100 List
There be spoilers ahead.
Forget Littlefoot's mother. Forget Bambi's mother and the dog in I Am Legend and Marley. The animal deaths in this movie are the most heartbreaking of anything that I have ever seen. I can't really judge this movie, because it's been a favorite of mine since I was little. They showed it to us in elementary school - 2nd grade I think? Then I found the book and read it and loved that too. The end monologue is touched with just enough nostalgic sorrow while also rounding out the story and providing closure for the character and the audience. Its lesson is an interesting one - you have to meet God halfway - but it doesn't feel heavy-handed. I'd be interested to know how they filmed the climatic fight in the end, because this was pre-CGI and I'm pretty sure that that's a real mountain lion fighting a dog in some of those shots.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
Monday, September 7, 2009
September 6, 2009
Uptown Girls (2003)
Brittney Murphy is not my favorite actress (except in Clueless, because really, I love everything about that movie) but she does a pretty good job of making me feel bad for her in this. Jesse Spencer (the Australian doctor from House) is decent as the rock-star sometimes boyfriend, plus hearing him sing is a definite plus, and Dakota Fanning really is a great actress. I'm glad that she, like Abigail Breslin, doesn't seem to be falling into the traps that snag some child stars. These two characters are fairly well-developed and by the end, you really do care what happens to them.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Brittney Murphy is not my favorite actress (except in Clueless, because really, I love everything about that movie) but she does a pretty good job of making me feel bad for her in this. Jesse Spencer (the Australian doctor from House) is decent as the rock-star sometimes boyfriend, plus hearing him sing is a definite plus, and Dakota Fanning really is a great actress. I'm glad that she, like Abigail Breslin, doesn't seem to be falling into the traps that snag some child stars. These two characters are fairly well-developed and by the end, you really do care what happens to them.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
September 5, 2009
Sin City (2005)
Some people loved this heavily-stylized movie and some people hated it. I really liked it. I think that the ways that Robert Rodriguez played with special effects, light and especially color in order to make this look like an animated graphic novel that just happened to include real actors worked very well. The dialogue is pretty clunky, but I think that that was intentional in order to keep with the graphic novel theme. The lines sound like they would be okay if you were to read them, just not say them aloud. It's incredibly disturbing and violent - I can never look at Elijah Wood the same way ever again - but it doesn't feel gratuitous because that's what the story is about. Also, seeing Rory Gilmore with a gun is just weird.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Some people loved this heavily-stylized movie and some people hated it. I really liked it. I think that the ways that Robert Rodriguez played with special effects, light and especially color in order to make this look like an animated graphic novel that just happened to include real actors worked very well. The dialogue is pretty clunky, but I think that that was intentional in order to keep with the graphic novel theme. The lines sound like they would be okay if you were to read them, just not say them aloud. It's incredibly disturbing and violent - I can never look at Elijah Wood the same way ever again - but it doesn't feel gratuitous because that's what the story is about. Also, seeing Rory Gilmore with a gun is just weird.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Saturday, September 5, 2009
September 4, 2009
Angel Heart (1987)
This movie is described as horror, but there is nothing remotely scary about it. In fact, there's nothing that resembles a horror film at all. I'm all about playing with the conventions of a genre, but it has be recognizable as that genre if you want it to work. This is from before Mickey Rourke let his career die and rot for twenty years and it barely even looks like the same person. In fact, in this he looks more like Bruce Willis than anything else. Either way, he was not impressive and neither was the movie itself. The twist at the end made it marginally interesting, but it's certainly nothing new.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars
This movie is described as horror, but there is nothing remotely scary about it. In fact, there's nothing that resembles a horror film at all. I'm all about playing with the conventions of a genre, but it has be recognizable as that genre if you want it to work. This is from before Mickey Rourke let his career die and rot for twenty years and it barely even looks like the same person. In fact, in this he looks more like Bruce Willis than anything else. Either way, he was not impressive and neither was the movie itself. The twist at the end made it marginally interesting, but it's certainly nothing new.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars
Friday, September 4, 2009
September 3, 2009
Dumbo (1941)
Wow, there are a lot of things in this movie that could never be included today. Where was the Production Code on this one? Besides the racist crows and the concept of ripping a baby away from its mother who was only trying to protect him, it includes the beating of children (though that little brat was tormenting baby Dumbo, so it fits into the storyline), the forced labor of animals to build the circus Big Top, the whipping of a mother elephant, and a baby consuming lots of alcohol. In looking at Wikipedia, I think that the elephants in the movie are Asian elephants and Dumbo, with his big ears, is closer to an African elephant. Might that be a little reference to racial discrimination? The whole "Baby Mine" song and sequence is one of the most heartwrenchingly sad things I've ever seen and I cry every single time I watch it. Though, if you've noticed, crying at movies isn't necessarily out of the ordinary for me.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Wow, there are a lot of things in this movie that could never be included today. Where was the Production Code on this one? Besides the racist crows and the concept of ripping a baby away from its mother who was only trying to protect him, it includes the beating of children (though that little brat was tormenting baby Dumbo, so it fits into the storyline), the forced labor of animals to build the circus Big Top, the whipping of a mother elephant, and a baby consuming lots of alcohol. In looking at Wikipedia, I think that the elephants in the movie are Asian elephants and Dumbo, with his big ears, is closer to an African elephant. Might that be a little reference to racial discrimination? The whole "Baby Mine" song and sequence is one of the most heartwrenchingly sad things I've ever seen and I cry every single time I watch it. Though, if you've noticed, crying at movies isn't necessarily out of the ordinary for me.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
September 2, 2009
Ghost Ship (2002)
Let me just say right off the bat that the whole concept of a ghost ship is creepy enough. The tone is set right from the opening scene, where dozens of richly dressed passengers on an Italian cruise liner, including a young girl (the daughter from Lemony Snicket), are dancing the night away only for a metal wire to come loose and slice them all into pieces. It's a truly cringe-worthy, gory scene. Skip forward to a modern-day salvaging crew, including Gabriel Byrne, Dr. Burke from Grey's Anatomy, Eomer from Lord of the Rings and the pilot from Black Hawk Down, as they're approached by a man who has found a huge ship free-floating in the Bering Strait. The ship is of course that from the beginning, only it's now completely empty and derelict, coated in 40 years worth of rust. Or are those splatters blood? It's a dark and rainy night, a la Hitchcock, and it isn't long before the crew are killed off one by one. A lot of people wrote this off as a stupid horror movie, but I actually think it's pretty intelligent, especially when you consider the possibility of the seven deadly sins being a part of the theme. The end is surprisingly moving and the little girl, whether as a human or a ghost, is by far the best part of the movie.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Let me just say right off the bat that the whole concept of a ghost ship is creepy enough. The tone is set right from the opening scene, where dozens of richly dressed passengers on an Italian cruise liner, including a young girl (the daughter from Lemony Snicket), are dancing the night away only for a metal wire to come loose and slice them all into pieces. It's a truly cringe-worthy, gory scene. Skip forward to a modern-day salvaging crew, including Gabriel Byrne, Dr. Burke from Grey's Anatomy, Eomer from Lord of the Rings and the pilot from Black Hawk Down, as they're approached by a man who has found a huge ship free-floating in the Bering Strait. The ship is of course that from the beginning, only it's now completely empty and derelict, coated in 40 years worth of rust. Or are those splatters blood? It's a dark and rainy night, a la Hitchcock, and it isn't long before the crew are killed off one by one. A lot of people wrote this off as a stupid horror movie, but I actually think it's pretty intelligent, especially when you consider the possibility of the seven deadly sins being a part of the theme. The end is surprisingly moving and the little girl, whether as a human or a ghost, is by far the best part of the movie.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
September 1, 2009
Dracula (1931)
#77 on my Top 100 List
In today's day and age of vampire pop culture overload, one thing stands out about this film. It was made in 1931 and therefore they really had no way to doing any kind of vampire special effects. There are no bumpy brow ridges like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, no retractable fangs like in True Blood and no golden eyes and sparkly skin like in Twilight. All of the creepiness in the movie comes entirely from the lighting and production design. The gothic spires of Dracula's castle, the cobwebs in the basement where his coffin lies, the one strip of light that always falls across his eyes - these are the signs of good filmmaking. You take what you have access to and really making something of it. The man who plays Renfield has a laugh so crazy that it makes your skin crawl and what dialogue there is in the film seems almost out of place, like talking in a library.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#77 on my Top 100 List
In today's day and age of vampire pop culture overload, one thing stands out about this film. It was made in 1931 and therefore they really had no way to doing any kind of vampire special effects. There are no bumpy brow ridges like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, no retractable fangs like in True Blood and no golden eyes and sparkly skin like in Twilight. All of the creepiness in the movie comes entirely from the lighting and production design. The gothic spires of Dracula's castle, the cobwebs in the basement where his coffin lies, the one strip of light that always falls across his eyes - these are the signs of good filmmaking. You take what you have access to and really making something of it. The man who plays Renfield has a laugh so crazy that it makes your skin crawl and what dialogue there is in the film seems almost out of place, like talking in a library.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
August 31, 2009
Adventureland (2009)
The soundtrack of this movie made me feel like I was back at the roller skating rink in 1994. It's catchy and it's irritating, but it fits somehow. That paired with the spectacular 80s hair and clothes makes the sensory images of the film interesting to say the least. Kristen Stewart is good at being angsty and Ryan Reynolds is actually very toned-down. The role he plays is almost a villain but not quite. Also, the end sequence includes a reminder for all men about the importance of not falling through the Sock Gap.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
The soundtrack of this movie made me feel like I was back at the roller skating rink in 1994. It's catchy and it's irritating, but it fits somehow. That paired with the spectacular 80s hair and clothes makes the sensory images of the film interesting to say the least. Kristen Stewart is good at being angsty and Ryan Reynolds is actually very toned-down. The role he plays is almost a villain but not quite. Also, the end sequence includes a reminder for all men about the importance of not falling through the Sock Gap.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
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