Swedish: Låt den rätte komma in
An anti fairy-tale (for grown-ups not averse to gratuitous blood). It's also the anti-Twilight in my view! The focus on child protagonists symbolise a profound innocence amidst abject horror and atrocity. Subverting expectation at almost every turn, deeply moving, and powerful in it's minimalism. Loved it, and felt like I could identify with it.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Venus (2006)
Any movie that makes you 'think' and 'feel' is a good one in my view, and worthy of seeing. It's a bonus if it's entertaining, and if it manages to engage you, as well as maintain your interest.
To that extent of thinking and feeling, I really liked Venus.
If you can get past the seeming lechery, and the rather inappropriate/taboo subject matter - this really is a movie that tries to engage and explore something very valid and meaningful. Perhaps you wouldn't have expected anything less from Film4, which always seems to aspire for something edgy, contemporary and powerful (Trainspotting, The Last King of Scotland). Venus is no different.
Jean-Luc Godard's 'Cinema is Truth' echoes omnipresent for me whilst watching this: How does one cope with old age?... What does one do about lust, and desire in advanced years. Is it wholly wrong to 'want' that which seems out of reach?
To have gone for something full-on and explicit would have been profoundly distasteful. The Direction is more subtle, not shy about adressing the issue (with it's rather brash and abrupt dialogue delivered by old codgers!), but with a necessary reserve that's both comedic (at first), and tragic at the same time.
There's an air of sophistication about the movie that is persistently dismantled by Jodie Whitaker's presence - a certain balance that feels just about right. Found her initially quite annoying, with a rather fabricated exaggeration of the teenage chav/townie... But we become more sympathetic towards her, as she becomes more humbled throughout the movie...
Perhaps distinct from the male protagonist in 'Lolita', Peter O Toole plays a rather endearing and sympathetic character, and we, as an audience, feel a most definite affinity for him by the end of the movie.
Love the art/imagery of the movie too - that seems very deliberate, and not at all overly contrived. The closing scenes for Peter O Toole I found particularly powerful in a subtle way: showing someone who was a sensual and sexual being to the end.
I wonder if death would really have such a profound effect on me. I have known people who have died, but never anyone close, or someone who I was personally close to. What legacy would be left, what legacy would I leave behind?... Yeah, i know, pretty damn depressing - but something that I thought about during and following the movie. Powerful stuff indeed.
Other notes to add:
- Romantic love being all-too-consuming.
- The Christian notion of forgiveness
- Punishment for sin?...
Rating: 8/10
To that extent of thinking and feeling, I really liked Venus.
If you can get past the seeming lechery, and the rather inappropriate/taboo subject matter - this really is a movie that tries to engage and explore something very valid and meaningful. Perhaps you wouldn't have expected anything less from Film4, which always seems to aspire for something edgy, contemporary and powerful (Trainspotting, The Last King of Scotland). Venus is no different.
Jean-Luc Godard's 'Cinema is Truth' echoes omnipresent for me whilst watching this: How does one cope with old age?... What does one do about lust, and desire in advanced years. Is it wholly wrong to 'want' that which seems out of reach?
To have gone for something full-on and explicit would have been profoundly distasteful. The Direction is more subtle, not shy about adressing the issue (with it's rather brash and abrupt dialogue delivered by old codgers!), but with a necessary reserve that's both comedic (at first), and tragic at the same time.
There's an air of sophistication about the movie that is persistently dismantled by Jodie Whitaker's presence - a certain balance that feels just about right. Found her initially quite annoying, with a rather fabricated exaggeration of the teenage chav/townie... But we become more sympathetic towards her, as she becomes more humbled throughout the movie...
Perhaps distinct from the male protagonist in 'Lolita', Peter O Toole plays a rather endearing and sympathetic character, and we, as an audience, feel a most definite affinity for him by the end of the movie.
Love the art/imagery of the movie too - that seems very deliberate, and not at all overly contrived. The closing scenes for Peter O Toole I found particularly powerful in a subtle way: showing someone who was a sensual and sexual being to the end.
I wonder if death would really have such a profound effect on me. I have known people who have died, but never anyone close, or someone who I was personally close to. What legacy would be left, what legacy would I leave behind?... Yeah, i know, pretty damn depressing - but something that I thought about during and following the movie. Powerful stuff indeed.
Other notes to add:
- Romantic love being all-too-consuming.
- The Christian notion of forgiveness
- Punishment for sin?...
Rating: 8/10
Buffalo '66 (1998)
An raw expressionistic fantasy set in grim, real-world, post-industrial suburbia (Buffalo). Has an early 90's minimilism, with a small cluster of ingeniously surreal moments. The club scene alone, makes the movie worthy of a viewing.
A depiction of Depression, Familial disillusionment, Isolation and Revenge comprise the elements of the movie's formuala. Christrina Ricci's love interest role, helps to bring a softness and innocence to the movie in spite of her rather illogical and baffling motivations.
Vincent Callo commands our sympathy, discovering bitter-sweet solace from rage-fuelled violence, even though a touch late. We overlook, for a moment, the narcicissm and the egotism of the Director/Writer/Music Credit, for something that boasts moments of originality and achingly pure heart - a disconcertingly welcome addition to the Indie genre.
A depiction of Depression, Familial disillusionment, Isolation and Revenge comprise the elements of the movie's formuala. Christrina Ricci's love interest role, helps to bring a softness and innocence to the movie in spite of her rather illogical and baffling motivations.
Vincent Callo commands our sympathy, discovering bitter-sweet solace from rage-fuelled violence, even though a touch late. We overlook, for a moment, the narcicissm and the egotism of the Director/Writer/Music Credit, for something that boasts moments of originality and achingly pure heart - a disconcertingly welcome addition to the Indie genre.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Bronson (2008)
Not the most enjoyable film. A difficult watch. But I liked it.
I like the way it depicts a man who's struggling to find a place in the world, but doesn't even know it. He struggles to cope with life in the real world (irrational bouts of extreme violence, not knowing the niceties of relationships and his standing in them) and confused about his motivations (if any) in prison.
The mental asylum is Bronson's most tangible prison: the ability to 'feel', 'do', even to 'think' is denied him, drugged beyond all sensation. Beyond that, rampant recklessness and chaos is his true freedom, in whatever capacity available to him. The imagery of babies, and being naked is a pertinent one: he's just being himself, purely, unashamedly, and ironically, quite innocently... The metaphor of his life being like a stand-up comedy act is also apt. Comedy and tragedy are often not too far away from eachother... And it seems he enjoyed a notorious celebrity status amongst the UK press, much to their salacious entertainent.
Like Kubrick's Clockwork Orange, it questions the role of State, and it criticises the more established hierarchies of 70s Britain (and to a certain extent today). What do you do with someone who is prone to violence and refuses to comply, over a period of 26 years? Being set free was a shocking response, considering his apparent cost to the taxpayer... What would you do?
Reminds me of a line in Robert Rodriguez's 'Sin City': "He was just born in the wrong century. Would have been at home on the battlefield, wielding a battle-axe in war" - or words to that effect.
An astonishingly brave and courageous performance from Tom Hardy (a personal favourite actor of mine). Seems to have undergone a transformation akin to Christian Bale in The Machinist - only the other way...
I like the way it depicts a man who's struggling to find a place in the world, but doesn't even know it. He struggles to cope with life in the real world (irrational bouts of extreme violence, not knowing the niceties of relationships and his standing in them) and confused about his motivations (if any) in prison.
The mental asylum is Bronson's most tangible prison: the ability to 'feel', 'do', even to 'think' is denied him, drugged beyond all sensation. Beyond that, rampant recklessness and chaos is his true freedom, in whatever capacity available to him. The imagery of babies, and being naked is a pertinent one: he's just being himself, purely, unashamedly, and ironically, quite innocently... The metaphor of his life being like a stand-up comedy act is also apt. Comedy and tragedy are often not too far away from eachother... And it seems he enjoyed a notorious celebrity status amongst the UK press, much to their salacious entertainent.
Like Kubrick's Clockwork Orange, it questions the role of State, and it criticises the more established hierarchies of 70s Britain (and to a certain extent today). What do you do with someone who is prone to violence and refuses to comply, over a period of 26 years? Being set free was a shocking response, considering his apparent cost to the taxpayer... What would you do?
Reminds me of a line in Robert Rodriguez's 'Sin City': "He was just born in the wrong century. Would have been at home on the battlefield, wielding a battle-axe in war" - or words to that effect.
An astonishingly brave and courageous performance from Tom Hardy (a personal favourite actor of mine). Seems to have undergone a transformation akin to Christian Bale in The Machinist - only the other way...
Sunday, 25 July 2010
The Karate Kid (2010)
A colourful, fad-embellished money-spinner that forces an epic scope on a small and intimate story. The copy-cat imitation still entertains with it's 'kung-fu' spectacle and risible cheese factor! Doesn't best original - lacking heart and authenticity - but infuses a new sense of cool for kung-fu fighting. Rating: 3.5/5
Friday, 23 July 2010
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Just finished watching now. What the fuck? A real testing of patience...
I SO didn't get it.
Random, I think I know off the top of my head that Geoffrey Unsworth was the photogapher?... Someone definitely connected to Superman (1978). I think perhaps that movie was in tribute to him.
It seemed quite promising, the beginning and middle... But the ending was totally lost on me. I frankly found it grating and irritating. Trying to work it out - for myself... A sort of pallindromic effect?... I'm pretty sure all the answers are in the minimal dialogue.
So the opening. The incredibly prolonged orchestral dissonance kept me wondering if my television was broken or something... Must have been at minimum five minutes worth of blackness and sonic irritation. Rather it was a prelude for The Dawn of Man sequence. Also Spoke Zarathustra precedes. And there's imagery of Moons and planets in line. Cool. Thought I'd lost it right from the start, but following, I think... The ape-like creatures and their daily living. Threatened by a tribal group of similar ape-like creatures for the waterplace. They're intimidated, and forced to leave. They're near death. They share a communal affinity for eachother. In their hibernation, they randomly come across a huge black 'monolith'. They touch it, and are highly intrigued by it, it drives them crazy.
Not long afterwards, one of the ape-like beings discovers the use of a weapon using the remains of another. He and his tribe go back to claim the the water-spot, brutally beating down the singular opposition. It scares the rest of the previously occupying group away. The agressive group no doubt survive for a long time, and perhaps marks that next step in evolution.
The focus on the bone swiftly makes the comparison to a Spaceship in outerspace. The innovation of a bone being used as a weapon is no doubt connected with the imagery of the 'wheel'-like spaceship. A smaller ship is attempting to go into the wheel. This is done using Strauss' Blue Danube. It feels quite joyous and celebratory, almost playful.
Some American dude comes on board. He's a highly respected official. Speaks to his daughter via 'telephone', kinda like the iPhone - lots of Mac imagery!... He's not able to attend his daughter's birthday, as he's away on business. American proceeds to talk to an English Doctor and his crew. They suspect that there has been some sort of outbreak - a rumour, that the American says he is 'not a liberty to discuss'.
Following this meeting, he adresses a panel of officials. The rumour is actually a coverup. Something mysterious on the moon. Can't remember whether at this point they had revealed that it was the first sign of intelligent life. They fly to discover it/analyse it. The imagery is reminiscent of the beginning of the movie, with the ape-like creatures. A voyage of discovery... Whilst on the ground, they too discover the 'monolith'. Upon touching it, people being surrounded by it, a high-shrieking sonic blast is inflicted upon them...
Fast-forward 18 months on a Space Mission to Jupiter.
Khatachurians Gayena Suite playing....
It's rather cold, distant, disconcerting, sad and uncomfortable.
The atmosphere is more thought-provoking than celebratory.
We're introduced to two crew members, we realise three of the members of the initial team are also on-board but in hibernation, and we're also introduced to the HAL 9000 computer. A super-computer that can emulate, or rather, has emotions. This computer is said to have never ever made a mistake. It is infallible. Of significance is the idea of keeping fit, around a wheel, making fighting-like movements near chairs that look like the apes from the beginning. All crew members enjoy a harmony, a sense of purpose together. Until the computer reveals that there is an error with one of the peropheral devices on the ship. When one of the crew goes to check it, he discovers that there is nothing wrong with it. When conferring with home, they discover that it's possbible that HAL was wrong. The two members of the crew confer stealthily that if the device proves to be working properly, that there's nothing wrong with it, they will disconnect HAL. But unbeknown to them, HAL has been lip-reading their conversation. Knowing that the next engagement with the device temporarily distorts communication from home, HAL deliberately aborts one of the crew members into open space, and kills the three other scientists who were in hibernation.
The other member tries to chase after him, successfully. But HAL refuses to let him back in. The remaining crew member has to let go of his friend/co-worker (leave for dead in space) in order to break back into the ship. He does so, and proceeds to switch HAL off. HAL explains that he couldn't let the humans compromise his mission... Is pleading desperately not to be switched off. It is at that point that we realise that on the surface of the moon, 18 months earlier, a signal was emitted direct to Jupiter. It is revealed whilst an automatic video recording is played upon realising the ship is on entry towards Jupiter.
Queue super-annoying music, with colouful montage, like the visual of someone on speed or something. Vaguely recall the moon and planets in sequence. Some Big Bang imagery. It even looked like a pregnant woman at some point. The monolith flying in space. The astronaut growing old. In a white room. Suddenly sees himself an old man eating a meal with his back turned. Then turning again, an old man on his death-bed, pointing at the monolith. Then a big gigantic alien baby in space. Honestly, that's how it was! Only just a little more prolonged. In connection with the opening, I can only surmise that this singular astronaut has discovered a new way to live life, a re-birth of sorts.
A new type of evolution. Perhaps that was what the computer knew, and it was battling the humans for that new evolutionary way of living: the next stage. Yeah, so that's what the movie was about. Human endeavour, and evolution! Given that, I think it was pretty cool, artistic, and thought-provoking. The visuals really are of a timeless on a par with Alien. Can't believe this movie was made in 1968! Incredible, really! Gonna read what a few other people thought about it....
I SO didn't get it.
Random, I think I know off the top of my head that Geoffrey Unsworth was the photogapher?... Someone definitely connected to Superman (1978). I think perhaps that movie was in tribute to him.
It seemed quite promising, the beginning and middle... But the ending was totally lost on me. I frankly found it grating and irritating. Trying to work it out - for myself... A sort of pallindromic effect?... I'm pretty sure all the answers are in the minimal dialogue.
So the opening. The incredibly prolonged orchestral dissonance kept me wondering if my television was broken or something... Must have been at minimum five minutes worth of blackness and sonic irritation. Rather it was a prelude for The Dawn of Man sequence. Also Spoke Zarathustra precedes. And there's imagery of Moons and planets in line. Cool. Thought I'd lost it right from the start, but following, I think... The ape-like creatures and their daily living. Threatened by a tribal group of similar ape-like creatures for the waterplace. They're intimidated, and forced to leave. They're near death. They share a communal affinity for eachother. In their hibernation, they randomly come across a huge black 'monolith'. They touch it, and are highly intrigued by it, it drives them crazy.
Not long afterwards, one of the ape-like beings discovers the use of a weapon using the remains of another. He and his tribe go back to claim the the water-spot, brutally beating down the singular opposition. It scares the rest of the previously occupying group away. The agressive group no doubt survive for a long time, and perhaps marks that next step in evolution.
The focus on the bone swiftly makes the comparison to a Spaceship in outerspace. The innovation of a bone being used as a weapon is no doubt connected with the imagery of the 'wheel'-like spaceship. A smaller ship is attempting to go into the wheel. This is done using Strauss' Blue Danube. It feels quite joyous and celebratory, almost playful.
Some American dude comes on board. He's a highly respected official. Speaks to his daughter via 'telephone', kinda like the iPhone - lots of Mac imagery!... He's not able to attend his daughter's birthday, as he's away on business. American proceeds to talk to an English Doctor and his crew. They suspect that there has been some sort of outbreak - a rumour, that the American says he is 'not a liberty to discuss'.
Following this meeting, he adresses a panel of officials. The rumour is actually a coverup. Something mysterious on the moon. Can't remember whether at this point they had revealed that it was the first sign of intelligent life. They fly to discover it/analyse it. The imagery is reminiscent of the beginning of the movie, with the ape-like creatures. A voyage of discovery... Whilst on the ground, they too discover the 'monolith'. Upon touching it, people being surrounded by it, a high-shrieking sonic blast is inflicted upon them...
Fast-forward 18 months on a Space Mission to Jupiter.
Khatachurians Gayena Suite playing....
It's rather cold, distant, disconcerting, sad and uncomfortable.
The atmosphere is more thought-provoking than celebratory.
We're introduced to two crew members, we realise three of the members of the initial team are also on-board but in hibernation, and we're also introduced to the HAL 9000 computer. A super-computer that can emulate, or rather, has emotions. This computer is said to have never ever made a mistake. It is infallible. Of significance is the idea of keeping fit, around a wheel, making fighting-like movements near chairs that look like the apes from the beginning. All crew members enjoy a harmony, a sense of purpose together. Until the computer reveals that there is an error with one of the peropheral devices on the ship. When one of the crew goes to check it, he discovers that there is nothing wrong with it. When conferring with home, they discover that it's possbible that HAL was wrong. The two members of the crew confer stealthily that if the device proves to be working properly, that there's nothing wrong with it, they will disconnect HAL. But unbeknown to them, HAL has been lip-reading their conversation. Knowing that the next engagement with the device temporarily distorts communication from home, HAL deliberately aborts one of the crew members into open space, and kills the three other scientists who were in hibernation.
The other member tries to chase after him, successfully. But HAL refuses to let him back in. The remaining crew member has to let go of his friend/co-worker (leave for dead in space) in order to break back into the ship. He does so, and proceeds to switch HAL off. HAL explains that he couldn't let the humans compromise his mission... Is pleading desperately not to be switched off. It is at that point that we realise that on the surface of the moon, 18 months earlier, a signal was emitted direct to Jupiter. It is revealed whilst an automatic video recording is played upon realising the ship is on entry towards Jupiter.
Queue super-annoying music, with colouful montage, like the visual of someone on speed or something. Vaguely recall the moon and planets in sequence. Some Big Bang imagery. It even looked like a pregnant woman at some point. The monolith flying in space. The astronaut growing old. In a white room. Suddenly sees himself an old man eating a meal with his back turned. Then turning again, an old man on his death-bed, pointing at the monolith. Then a big gigantic alien baby in space. Honestly, that's how it was! Only just a little more prolonged. In connection with the opening, I can only surmise that this singular astronaut has discovered a new way to live life, a re-birth of sorts.
A new type of evolution. Perhaps that was what the computer knew, and it was battling the humans for that new evolutionary way of living: the next stage. Yeah, so that's what the movie was about. Human endeavour, and evolution! Given that, I think it was pretty cool, artistic, and thought-provoking. The visuals really are of a timeless on a par with Alien. Can't believe this movie was made in 1968! Incredible, really! Gonna read what a few other people thought about it....
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Toy Story 3 (2010)
A hugely rewarding and entertaining finale, with that extra emotional injection to precipitate the waterworks!
What struck me most about this instalment is a very tangible sense that it really didn't seem like a movie for the kids. Rather a tribute and a parting message to the generation that grew up with it: a 'Great Escape' movie with elements of horror and a genuinely evil malevolence that would rival a Tim Burton movie.
With a structure pretty much consistent and in place for the first two movies (toys conveniently misplaced from home, and heroically try to find their way back), this third act doesn't veer too far from that formula. It's not ground-breaking, and it's not supposed to be (much like the quirky, near-ambivalent short accompanying the feature). It's a movie designed to fill in the few gaps left, and polish the product to it's best condition, perhaps to be placed in that metaphorical museum (as hinted at in the second movie) amongst Pixar's all time Hall of Fame works.
Also in common with that second instalment is the rather wonderfully self-indulgent, over-the-top introduction that seems to nod, ear-mark, and tick all the genres it could possibly fit in: Science FIction, the Western, et al. Whist it was a bit much at first, this conflation of all things and themes in such a short space helps to accentuate the drama of the aftermath. I also love the little nods towards cinema elsewhere throughout the movie, notably: Forest Gump (the hat-flying), Mission Impossible (a sky drop centimetres from falling flat on your face), Jurassic Park, Shawshank Redemption (the jail scenes), and Star Wars (the trash scenes). But behind every formulaic convenience there are some riveting turns and surprises that command your attention, and continues to engage.
Stand-out characters for me have to be Ken and Buzz! Whilst Woody and Buzz share near equal screen time and importance for the narrative, it's Buzz that really steals the show!... The most shockingly discomforting characters that stood out for me have to be 'Big Baby', and the 'Monkey' (perhaps off Family Guy and Powerpuff Girls) whom I found to be quite distrubing, and in itself would possibly merit a higher certificate rating!...
The franchise is rounded off quite neatly, in a wholly satisfying way, though not altogether original. Shockingly sad, and scary at times. The heart-strings are pulled and tugged indeed, but in just the right measure for it to be digestible. Certainly the strongest emotional gravitas of the three, Toy Story 3 has a rewarding and satisfying sense of finality, with neat twists and turns along the way ( a touch heavy at times) that embellish the inherent formulaic structure of the franchise - the only reason for a half star less... Otherwise a rather triumphant swansong whose characters will be sorely missed!
Rating: 4.5/5
What struck me most about this instalment is a very tangible sense that it really didn't seem like a movie for the kids. Rather a tribute and a parting message to the generation that grew up with it: a 'Great Escape' movie with elements of horror and a genuinely evil malevolence that would rival a Tim Burton movie.
With a structure pretty much consistent and in place for the first two movies (toys conveniently misplaced from home, and heroically try to find their way back), this third act doesn't veer too far from that formula. It's not ground-breaking, and it's not supposed to be (much like the quirky, near-ambivalent short accompanying the feature). It's a movie designed to fill in the few gaps left, and polish the product to it's best condition, perhaps to be placed in that metaphorical museum (as hinted at in the second movie) amongst Pixar's all time Hall of Fame works.
Also in common with that second instalment is the rather wonderfully self-indulgent, over-the-top introduction that seems to nod, ear-mark, and tick all the genres it could possibly fit in: Science FIction, the Western, et al. Whist it was a bit much at first, this conflation of all things and themes in such a short space helps to accentuate the drama of the aftermath. I also love the little nods towards cinema elsewhere throughout the movie, notably: Forest Gump (the hat-flying), Mission Impossible (a sky drop centimetres from falling flat on your face), Jurassic Park, Shawshank Redemption (the jail scenes), and Star Wars (the trash scenes). But behind every formulaic convenience there are some riveting turns and surprises that command your attention, and continues to engage.
Stand-out characters for me have to be Ken and Buzz! Whilst Woody and Buzz share near equal screen time and importance for the narrative, it's Buzz that really steals the show!... The most shockingly discomforting characters that stood out for me have to be 'Big Baby', and the 'Monkey' (perhaps off Family Guy and Powerpuff Girls) whom I found to be quite distrubing, and in itself would possibly merit a higher certificate rating!...
The franchise is rounded off quite neatly, in a wholly satisfying way, though not altogether original. Shockingly sad, and scary at times. The heart-strings are pulled and tugged indeed, but in just the right measure for it to be digestible. Certainly the strongest emotional gravitas of the three, Toy Story 3 has a rewarding and satisfying sense of finality, with neat twists and turns along the way ( a touch heavy at times) that embellish the inherent formulaic structure of the franchise - the only reason for a half star less... Otherwise a rather triumphant swansong whose characters will be sorely missed!
Rating: 4.5/5
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