Just come back from my second watch. It is definitely EPIC. And thats the best word for it. The story is excellent. Some lovely references to the first film.
*SPOILERS***
Minor complaints: Batman never flew using his cape (i like to see this), Bane went down too easy, ending could have been better, did not top the second or first film's set pieces.
Finally got to see it today -- I pretty much agreed with you.
Another thing that struck me is that, unlike the first two, I'm not so sure this one would hold up so well on its own. But still, I thought it was a fine wrap-up to the trilogy.
"Maybe I'll always be the one and only girl for me" ~ Kirsty MacColl, "The One & Only" (1991)
SCOTT PILGRIM vs. THE WORLD - IN CAPITALS BECAUSE IT IS TOTALLY AWESOME. Excellent editing, stunning effects, brilliant performances and pretty funny too. Fun videogame references in the sound work. Great soundtrack too. Stunning film! Really makes me want to read the graphic novels. Bit gutted I missed this in the cinema. But my Blu-ray will suffice. Packed full of excellent extras it is too! Best set of extras i've seen for a long time. Always is with Edgar Wright though. He has secured his place as one of my all time favourite directors. I've a friend who called this film "An absolute mess" I cannot actually believe how anyone could think that. The story was perhaps not top notch, but this scores 10 out of 10 in almost every other aspect. Each to their own though ay? Still, I find that comment terribly harsh!
Also realised while watching the extras that I've actually been to a lot of the locations! Definitely ate in the very same Pizza Pizza they ate in.
I must be too old - I really hated this film - I really wanted to give it a chance as I loved Wright's others and have a keen interest in gaming and the like but please, this is style over content of the highest order!
Recent viewings:
Young Adult - Jason Reitman film in which Charlize Theron plays mixed up thirtysomething - great little flick, would definitely recommend.
We Bought a Zoo - Loved this one - yes it's schmaltzy, again, maybe I'm getting old. We live quite close to the real zoo that inspired the story. Nice little place.
Safe House - mediocre spy thriller with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds.
Cat and the Canary - the 1978 remake by Radley Metzger. Typical British murder mystery in a stately home. Nothing you've not seen before.
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I must be too old - I really hated this film - I really wanted to give it a chance as I loved Wright's others and have a keen interest in gaming and the like but please, this is style over content of the highest order!
On Scott Pilgrim... I don't agree with your take on it, but you say that it's style over content as if that's always a bad thing! If the film had none of the directorial flare, effects or ideas, then yes, it would more than likely have been a weak affair.... but for me, the style is the major point of the film. I'm looking forward to one day experiencing a film of all style and no content! It will be genius work! ;D
A dreamy and meandering work about young forbidden love between two boys. Often funny but on the light side. Beautifully shot with great retro design going on in the background. It was set in some undefined period of time anywhere from the early sixties to the early seventies.
Electrick Children - Huge respect because it was made on a super low budget. Beautiful cinematography, great characters. Story could have been a little better, and the symbolism was a little heavy. Otherwise this was right up my street. Not only cos it had skateboarding in it! A nice, fun film about love & coming of age.
The Expendables - Been meaning to watch for ages. Silly, silly story, but fantastic action & set pieces. And thats all I wanted really! Great fun. Hated the ending though.
A clear sighted if melodramatic view of human existence. Satirical at times and heartfelt but the shaky-cam, crash zooms and clunky artyness marred it quite a bit giving a TV feel. It had some very funny moments. Not always intentional. "Life's a bitch. And then You die." – Woody Allen.
Searching For Sugar Man
Intriguing and credulity stretching docco. This review, in The Guardian, gu.com/p/399q9/tw reveals a few missing facts. Obviously don't read if you've not seen the film and intend doing so. The film has been constructed to make a great story but in doing so has done itself a disservice. I enjoyed it though.
The music is fantastic. Very melodic and with intelligent lyrics. Rodriguez is also blessed with a smoky, wry, soulful voice and I'm now a fan.
I must be too old - I really hated this film - I really wanted to give it a chance as I loved Wright's others and have a keen interest in gaming and the like but please, this is style over content of the highest order!
On Scott Pilgrim... I don't agree with your take on it, but you say that it's style over content as if that's always a bad thing! If the film had none of the directorial flare, effects or ideas, then yes, it would more than likely have been a weak affair.... but for me, the style is the major point of the film. I'm looking forward to one day experiencing a film of all style and no content! It will be genius work! ;D
Fair enough Comp. The style over content thing is interesting. Obviously, story is the most important thing for a film to be excellent. But sometimes, I genuinely don't care if the story is not all that, as long as there are other elements that really entice me. Expendebles had a terrible, terrible story, but I really enjoyed it, because of excellent special effects. Same with Avatar. With Scott Pilgrim I suppose its the video game connection that I love to see represented in films. Similar to the Crank films, they get that retro video game fun feel spot on. While it is true "you can make a bad film from a good screenplay, but you can't a good film from a bad screenplay"... I'm not sure how much I agree with it!
Searching For Sugarman Yep, rather good. Not as amazing as its hyped up to be. I totally agree with Chrome really. Some great CGI animation stuff in here too. Some beautiful city scape footage. I love the songs. Tried getting into one of the albums, but struggled. I think I'll just stick to some of the songs. Sugarman is an incredible song.
Jackpot Adapted from a book by the same guy who wrote Headhunters; Jo Nesbo. LOVED headhunters so was looking forward to this. Similar in style in that its black as black comedy. Its very funny and gory. The story is structured really well. I was ultimately dissapointed though. Can't really say why without spoiling it.
JACKPOT SPOILERS!!*** Basically the ending was terrible. A real shame. I wonder if the book ends in the same way. I'd be gutted if I read the whole book to reach that ending.
Searching For Sugarman Yep, rather good. Not as amazing as its hyped up to be. I totally agree with Chrome really. Some great CGI animation stuff in here too. Some beautiful city scape footage. I love the songs. Tried getting into one of the albums, but struggled. I think I'll just stick to some of the songs. Sugarman is an incredible song.
*Spoliers*
Yes I enjoyed the animated sequences too. They had a beautiful purity to them. But there were only two of them and they seemed a bit random.
I've done a bit more lazy interweb snooping and on reflection the film is rather fraudulent I think. Only in as much as what was left out. Which was quite a bit. Annoying.
Searching For Sugarman Yep, rather good. Not as amazing as its hyped up to be. I totally agree with Chrome really. Some great CGI animation stuff in here too. Some beautiful city scape footage. I love the songs. Tried getting into one of the albums, but struggled. I think I'll just stick to some of the songs. Sugarman is an incredible song.
*Spoliers*
Yes I enjoyed the animated sequences too. They had a beautiful purity to them. But there were only two of them and they seemed a bit random.
I've done a bit more lazy interweb snooping and on reflection the film is rather fraudulent I think. Only in as much as what was left out. Which was quite a bit. Annoying.
*Spoliers*
Yep. Its very annoying actually. Orchestrated shocking doco stories seem to be trending at the moment, I guess after the success of Catfish. More honest docos please people. BTW I accidentally modified your post instead of quoting it at first! Soz! Darn these super powers of mine!
BTW I accidentally modified your post instead of quoting it at first! Soz! Darn these super powers of mine!
With great power comes great responsibility...
John Carter Of Mars
Not as bad as the critics said and it was good-natured and un-cynical – not noisy 'Bay' shite. It was hobbled by an incoherent narrative and dodgy script though. The film did have some great design, the air ships were beautifully realised and detailed and the CGI creatures were near perfection.
Based on a book by Michael Connelly. Matthew McConaughey (in a turn that recalls his breakthrough performance in the John Grisham adaptation A Time To Kill) plays a defense attorney operating out of his Lincoln Town Car; he is hired to defend a wealthy playboy in a case of attempted rape/murder, only to find that the client may be withholding information from him. A sturdy, old-fashioned legal thriller -- nothing particularly deep here, but I throughly enjoyed it.
The Help
I'd just finished Kathryn Stockett's novel a couple days earlier, so I was psyched to catch the film adaptation on The Movie Channel last night.
Writer/director Tate Taylor, having been close friends with Stockett since childhood, sticks fairly close to the source material (even to the point of taking much of his dialogue almost verbatim from the book). But while the direction is kind of flat and lacks the book's emotional punch, the cast more than makes up for that in bringing the characters to life -- Viola Davis (who also narrates) and Octavia Spencer (a friend of Taylor and Stockett) are simply awesome as Aibileen and Minny, maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. Funny and touching.
"Maybe I'll always be the one and only girl for me" ~ Kirsty MacColl, "The One & Only" (1991)
A subtle thriller focusing on the human side of the Troubles which very slowly cranked up the tension to a sad conclusion. Suffered from a few plot holes but it was well acted – especially by Andrea Riseborough.
I was a bit distracted during this by the 'is this real' question-damn Catfish-especially at moments when those interviewed said things like 'you might think this story is too incredible to be true' and 'only a fool would believe this.' But no, it is, as it turns out, or almost (as Chromebaby reports). Seems there was a little bit of lying by omission going on in the making/telling of. Shame really because it probably wasn't necessary to 'big up' the story.
To me his music was sort of a cross between Dylan in protest mode (I like) and Al Stewart (I don't like), so ultimately I was ambivilent on that score, but it was a fascinating story nonetheless. The section on his influence on the Anti-Apartheid movement (unbeknownst to him) reminded me of that 'a butterfly beating its wings...' saying. Fascinating story and liked the more personal touch at the end...his daughter ending up with a family and whole new life in South Africa.
Donkeys
Been wanting to see this for a while (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA3wsPEApUY). Officially the follow on to Red Road, although the stories are not directly related (except via the Kate Dickie character). The director, Morag McKinnon, was (apparently) 'disappointed' with her final film and, I hear, it got a luke warm reception at the Edinburgh Film Festival last year (?). Subsequently, the film picked up a Scottish BAFTA and, accoording to the blurb on the DVD cover, has become 'an underground hit.' Anyway, as a result of all the underwhelmed stuff, I had low expectations and was consequently nicely surprised-liked it a lot!! Low key. Everyday story of everyday lives (with a moment of high drama in the reveal) kind of thing, but very nicely done.
The Donkeys DVD featured trailers to a few recent British indie films, which look intriguing (e.g. ]Treacle Jr ) that would have otherwise passed me by. Why don't/can't independent film makers pool resources on advertising and, especially, distribution? Surely, pooled resources for a website or even mailing list would help all these talented, but struggling film makers? Why doesn't this happen? Anybody know?
Shadow Dancer
A more enthusiastic review from me. Basically, forget it if you're not into political films-you'll probably find it too slow to be engaging-but if you like the genre, like me, I think you'll really like this film. Slow, sparse (dialogue wise), no fancy effects or even particularly arresting cinematography, but excellent both in terms of picking through the dirty politics of Northern Ireland (all sides) and in playing with the fraught emotions of Public/Political and private/political loyalties. I think we're probably years away from getting some interesting 'revisionist' films on Northern Ireland, but this is an interesting 'toe in the water' film with a suitably ambiguous ending (imo).
The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas
Why do I always feel like a 'bad person' when I'm mean about films on this subject? Apologies in advance because I know a lot of folk found this film really moving, but I thought it was sentimental, manipulative junk.
carolyn: Looks posh in here Dave. Did the Council pay for the new windows?
Apr 5, 2013 17:50:59 GMT
Dave: Someone put the old windows through!
Apr 5, 2013 18:02:56 GMT
RydCook: SHOUTINGSHOUTING I AM SHOUTING
Apr 8, 2013 21:58:21 GMT
Dave: Channel4 news is halfway through as I type... interview with Shane coming up in the next 30 mins! (No one will see this in time).
Apr 16, 2013 18:26:01 GMT
pauleaster: shitty new site had to rejoin
Apr 16, 2013 20:13:42 GMT
meadowpain: I have only one question to ask. Is Mr Meadows a Notts County fan? If so would he like to go the last game of the season, I have a spare corporate ticket. Food etc. Life does not get more glamorous than that, not even in Hollywood!
Apr 17, 2013 10:49:34 GMT
