(If people do view, I urge you to make one little comment so I know who is and isn't viewing...I'm not sure if this place tells me how many views I get per post)
Random thought: I was talking with my dad a little bit ago and something came to me...that man didn't have the internet when he was my age. They had no idea the information that we now take for granted. The only time they knew a movie was coming out was MAYBE a commercial but you had to get to the theaters before hand to catch the trailers. Some people purposely get to the movies 20 mins late to MISS the trailers...ABSURD!!!! Now I'm by no means a punctual person but if I don't get to see the trailers (most of which I've already seen) I get a bit upset. They are still masterful works of art. Some times the trailers supersede the actual movie itself or you can just watch the trailer to see the best parts of some movies. Also now we know a movies coming out before there is a director, a cast, or maybe even a story, news breaks that fast. Especially in the wake of this Sequelitis we've all been put through (granted I'm a fan of most), I do appreciate a good original idea (INCEPTION!!!) But we know there will be a 2nd or third movie before the 1st one comes out...OUTRAGEOUS!! Imagine the type of genuine surprise the older generation had with film...the go to a movie and BOOM one of their favorite actors or actresses shows up on the screen and they had no idea...genuine astonishment. Before IMDB, people would have to sit through the credits to learn where a movie was filmed, or who the composer was, or even who dead guy #2 was...my random point....um? don't take things for granted????
now for my review
The Road
So before I saw this movie some people had already seen it, all I got was negative feed back, it's boring, it's depressing, It's stupid, the little kid is annoying. Well I disagree with all but one of those adjectives...depressing. There is nothing at all boring or stupid about this movie. The movie is simple...It's about a man and his son who survived some apocalyptic event, which we don't know about. (The movie is based on a book by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote No Country for Old Men which was also turned into a feature film) The movie is a survival story. This man with his son who he loves and will do anything for are trying to survive together. It's simplicity is its beauty, it has very little dialogue, very few characters, and a very simple idea...survival. As one critic described this movie "its sort of like the Jaws theme song, its made up a of a few notes, but man those are some serious notes." This is no ordinary Apocalyptic movie in that it is, what I feel, a "real" apocalyptic movie. There's no gangs fighting for gasoline (Mad Max) there's no zombies with one super women (Resident Evil) its not about a dude with a book in a baron, burnt land (Book of Eli), etc. It's how I would think the apocalypse would be like. The movie has some really dark, deep, despairing, unsettling feelings with very little sense of hope. Which I'm guessing the apocalypse would feel like. There is some serious, gruesome scenes, with cannibalism, mutilation, and near self inflicted death scenarios, how any of that was boring is beyond me. There were so many moments of suspense that I almost wanted to look away because I didn't think they'd ever get out (which gets pretty serious because "this isn't a time for luxuries")...boring...the complete opposite. There was some great camera work that also worked in the suspense, and some AMAZINGLY beautiful shots regardless of the fact that the scenes were very bleak and gray. Breathtaking panoramic shots of the settings which was mainly filmed in Pittsburgh and CGI (which now I never want to visit). Viggo Mortensen could be in one of those "Not Another Disaster TeenMovies" with an over exaggerated Swedish accent and I'd buy it. He makes you feel the despair in this world, I felt the sympathy and he made me care about him and even his "annoying" son, he (Viggo) was phenomenal. The kid wasn't really annoying but he was in the fact that he's a 9-12 year old helpless boy who doesn't know any better...how else is he supposed to act. Also great directorial work from John Hillcoat who doesn't have a very impressive resume.
In the end boring, stupid, little kid annoying No, very depressing YES, but does have a little glimmer of hope
3 1/2 - 5
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Netflix Instant watch of the week: Don't forget Brick, if you've seen it let us know what you though or have any questions.
Netflix Instant watch of the week: Don't forget Brick, if you've seen it let us know what you though or have any questions.
Netflix DVD of the week: Can't beat Pulp Fiction, if you see it let us know
A Little Movie News:
A Little Movie News:
Batman 3 Villian
With Inception a huge hit right now, a little more Christopher Nolan news. Yes there will be a Batman 3, No there will be no Joker (unfortunate) but some very reliable sources that the main villain will be the Riddler, and those same sources are saying that Joseph Gordon Levitt will take that helm. I'm pretty excited not only for a 3rd Batman because the other 2 were amazing, but because of the work JGL did with Nolan in Inception. I've seen him in some other works and I can only imagine what he's gonna do with this. Read the whole article at Slashfilm.com http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/07/20/riddler-looking-like-prime-villain-in-batman-3-nolans-cinematographer-talks-imax/
Scorsese's new film
Scorsese is set and has started filming a new movie titled The Invention of Hugo Cabret...synopsis is as follows "Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery." Its an adapted film from a kids book...hmmm. The same guy who did The Departed, Shutter Island and need I even say, Goodfellas (among other greats). Well I'm curious to see what this movie will look like, because Scorsese's producer from The Departed is following into this film as well. Violence, Sex, Drugs, Guns, Undercover, and Jack Nicholson being inappropriate...nope not in this movie as its geared to kids. It's also been said that this film will be in 3-d (again, sorry dad) but I haven't read if it will be filmed in 3-d or post-produced 3-d (which is no good). In the movie will be Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno), Ben Kingsley(Ghandi and his hit Species), Asa Butterfield (Son of Rambow, The Wolfman), Chloe Moretz (Kickass) and Jude Law (Road To Perdition, Sky Capetian and the World of Tomorrow)
Scorsese's new film
Scorsese is set and has started filming a new movie titled The Invention of Hugo Cabret...synopsis is as follows "Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery." Its an adapted film from a kids book...hmmm. The same guy who did The Departed, Shutter Island and need I even say, Goodfellas (among other greats). Well I'm curious to see what this movie will look like, because Scorsese's producer from The Departed is following into this film as well. Violence, Sex, Drugs, Guns, Undercover, and Jack Nicholson being inappropriate...nope not in this movie as its geared to kids. It's also been said that this film will be in 3-d (again, sorry dad) but I haven't read if it will be filmed in 3-d or post-produced 3-d (which is no good). In the movie will be Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno), Ben Kingsley(Ghandi and his hit Species), Asa Butterfield (Son of Rambow, The Wolfman), Chloe Moretz (Kickass) and Jude Law (Road To Perdition, Sky Capetian and the World of Tomorrow)
Keep it up. Good stuff.
ReplyDeletegreat work jack...I'm definitely going to be checking in regularly. Keep it up indeed!
ReplyDeleteSo speaking of Cormac McCarthy, I recently read No Country for Old Men for a graduate course which then prompted me to watch the movie. I thought it was an excellent adaptation of McCarthy's novel but now here is my question to you. Do you think it is unfair to judge a movie based upon pre-existing expectations as a reader? So many times I will finish a movie and think wow the book was so much better. However, I've been the audience member who never read the book, yet really enjoyed the movie. Could our biased expectations be the culprits to a failure to appreciate the film version?
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a chance to see The Road yet, but it was by far one of the best books I have ever read. I usually end up doing what was mentioned before, judging the movie against the book. Unfortunately, that often deters me from seeing the movie at all. I am worried it will in some way ruin the book for me. However, it is important to look at the pieces as two separate entities. I will try to keep that in mind. This is great Jack, very interesting.
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