Monthly Archives: January 2009

The comeback

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The Wrestler Mickey Rourke

This film was little bit hard to watch through. Darren Aronofsky is brilliant. I’m sure most people that’ve seen any of his films would agree. But Mickey Rourke is brilliant too. At least in this film. And of course a lot of his earlier films, but especially in this one. Of course not everyone is going to like this film, but this is one heartbreaking film to watch. Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei pull off really great roles a bit less known Evan Rachel Wood does very well too. But Mickey is definitely the star of The Wrestler. And all the other Wrestlers would agree.

For those who’ve just seen the poster and hate Smack Down, just so you know, it’s not really about wrestling and you don’t have to watch through two hours of wrestling here. There’s enough of it though. But a wrestler here and a wrestler there, I think it was ok. And I’m pretty sure you’d like to at least see Marisa Tomei in her role, especially if you don’t like men in tights.

Everything in the film adds to the mood. The locations are grim. Rourke himself is looking just right for the role, probably for the exactly right reasons too and surely nobody else in the whole wide word could have acted this role. I’m not sure Mickey himself likes the way he looks, but it’s just perfect for this role. Being shot on 16mm film just further adds to the mood of the film and whole documentary like style of it. In fact a lot of the time it feels like watching a documentary. And I guess it could almost be a fictious documentary of Mickey Rourke’s life, but who knows. Not exactly a feel good movie by the way, but The Wrestler, absolutely one of the top films of 2009. But if you’ve seen any other films by Darren Aronofsky, like Requiem for a Dream, maybe you might know already.

7 pounds of what?

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Seven Pounds

If you don’t like Will Smith, look away now… But I think he’s ok usually. I liked  The Pursuit of Happyness. And the one where he is the last man on earth or something. With the Zombi-like Vampire-dog type monsters. And Pursuit of Happyness is also from the same director, Gabriele Muccino. So I guess he works well together with Will Smith. Perhaps Will can’t do a wide variety of circus tricks but he can act a bit. I expected Seven Pounds to be good and personally I did like it a lot. And I was able to take in the ending a bit better than that of The Titanic. If you haven’t seen Titanic, maybe it’s worth checking out the bit where they sink the boat. The rest you can skip. Unless you like seeing a bit more of Kate Winslet, in which case you should fast forward to the relevant bits and try not to listen to the dialogue too much. But then again, lots of people appeared to like that film too.

Back to Seven Pounds, while Will Smith perhaps performs on an average scale, Woody Harrelson does a good job in his little role, Rosario Dawson is ok, and she looks good too. Otherwise a lot of things are mostly average. Gabriele Muccino has spiced up things  a bit with the structure of the film – a bit like 21 Grams… 21 grams is a lot less than 7 pounds, is it not? Seven pounds is a lot easier to figure out and follow, and there aren’t any big mysteries to solve or surprises to follow. But it’s ok, it’s light enough, and enjoyable enough. But if you haven’t seen 21 Grams, maybe you should see that one. It’s a bit more in every way. And even if you have seen it, I’m pretty sure you’ll agree you should see it again.

Please don’t get me wrong, I did like it and it’s a touching film. There are reviews saying you should avoid it like your life, but you can’t please everyone… It’s becoming a regular saying of mine, but go and see for yourself.

What do you (want to) see?

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martyrs

On a nice sunday afternoon, what would be nicer than to take your good friends and enjoy a couple of hours of fine cinema – except of course if the film happens to be Martyrs. Let’s go for the goods first. The acting is superb. All the technical aspects, image and sound  are more than ok.  The beginning of the films gives you anticipation of entertaining horror. Then it seems to be a traditional and medicore japan-horror. Then – I just don’t know. The twists in the story start off gripping. Then descent in to foreseeable. Then take a u-turn to WTF!? and finally dress themselves in a t-shirt shouting PLEASE STOP DOING THAT! It might be that I’m the wrong audience for this kind of horror. Torture-porn they say, and they’re not all wrong.  It’s disturbing and stomach grunching a bit in the same way that Hanekes Funny games was – which I really liked. The difference is that Haneke  had a point. Maybe they also had one making this, but it certainly didn’t reach me. In the latter part of the film, there’s almost nothing enjoyable, except the acting. So, the story? Yes there is some kind of, but it could have been told in a more compact and more entertaining way. Maybe this isn’t entertainment, maybe it’s art? A martyr in modern language is a person who suffers for his beliefs in the hands of others. After the film, I somehow felt like one.  To make this babbling even more confusing, I have to admit that it is not a bad movie. I’s just awful to see through.

It’s ok.

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stranger than fiction

Actually I thought quite early on watching the film that it is simply brilliant. I laughed and smiled all the way through the movie. Will Ferrell is funny. And I’ve learned to like the weird kind of comedy that he always seems to do. And the whole cast is brilliant and all of them big names too! Emma Thompson is marvellous, Queen Latifah not so much but she’s ok I guess. Maggie Gyllenhaal is just perfect for her role. When I saw her in The Dark Knight, I didn’t think much of her really – in fact I didn’t think she’s very pretty or very good actress either. But now I have to take my words back. Dustin Hoffman probably can’t fail to be good, although his character is perhaps somewhat over the top. But so are all characters in this film, they are all just as crazy as Harold.

I liked the cinematography, just plain beautiful, like paintings. Subtle and crisp. Somehow it reminded me of Being John Malcovich. Not just the cinematography, but all of it. And maybe Spike Jonze’s Adaptation too. And also I didn’t realise Marc Forster’s done the new James Bond, Quantum of Solace (which I’m yet to watch). And he’s done Monster’s Ball. And he’s German. Well that last one has nothing to do with anything, but he can make films. I loved Monster’s Ball too, maybe I have to get back to that when I have a chance.

Now this is a feel good movie that should keep you interested.

Who wants to be a Slumdog

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Slumdog Millionaire

They say it’s the feel good movie of the year… I’m not sure I felt that good at the end. I certainly felt happier after Hairspray. I couldn’t stop smiling watching that one. But Slumdog Millionaire is by far the best film I’ve seen all year. Mind you, it’s 11th of January…

If you know what films Danny has done before, you know you can expect something worth your while. And he’s really done it well this time, he’s not going to disappoint anyone. Brilliant cast, brilliant colorful imagery, great camera work and amazing locations. Slumdog is packed with emotions, it’s truly like a rollercoaster ride. Very early on in the film, there’s a scene that wakes everyone in the audience up, just about everyone can be heard sharing their emotions audibly – and I don’t mean just laughing out loud like when watching a decent comedy. And that doesn’t happen in a lot of movies. At some point the structure of the film reminded me of Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspect. And while Jamal Malik may be just that, this film goes a bit further than that I think.

The plot and the story structure are quite clever, there’s constant tension and suspense. Enough said, go see for yourself.

The Neighborhood watch

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Lakeview Terrace

Does anyone else think Samuel L. Jackson hasn’t had too many good roles lately? Snakes on a Plane, anyone? Let’s not talk about Spirit… Ok, has anyone been wanting to see Samuel L. Jackson as… a police? I guess you didn’t think I’d be asking that about his role? Stop there.

While the film wasn’t really the best of the best, there’s a couple of Samuel L. Jackson trademark moments. And it is definitely one of the better ones he’s done recently. Kerry Washington is pretty, and does a very nice role too. I don’t care too much about Patrick Wilson – he was better in Hard Candy – but he’s ok I suppose.

So, there’s an attempt of getting beneath the surface in Lakeview terrace and it certainly has something to say, but remains fairly shallow. I enjoyed it though. Not too clever, but fairly entertaining. I wish I lived somewhere warm, and had a pool. A cop next door? Maybe not.