Author Archives: Ozz

The comeback

Posted on by
Reply

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?

Posted on by
Reply

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.

It’s ok.

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Dead calm? No?

Posted on by
Reply

Open Water 2

Either it’s Open Water 2 or Adrift or Open Water 2: Adrift. Who cares, we’re in water. Good looking girls, cool boat – sorry, yacht – sea and sunny weather. Who could ask for more. Despite this being more of a German film and shot in Malta, there’s something Dead Calm Australian about this. Or maybe not.

I quite liked this one. I felt the characters were very good and acted well. And the half naked girls on screen aspect’s been left alone as well which is nice for a change. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a bit of skin here. well shot, edited and acted. There’s a thing or two that seem to catch most viewer’s eyes though, and I did think of a thing or two about an hour before the film’s characters figured it out and lots of other viewers seem to feel quite frustrated these issues. There’s a lot of speculation about certain elements in this film that might have turned it into a very uninteresting short film. But then it’s one of those things, you never know. Or the characters are simply very dumb. But hey, it’s not real! Although allegedly based on a true story where nobody survived…

A simple but gripping film that might drive you insane if you’re that type of person.

A Divine Comedy

Posted on by
Reply

While fairly mainstream approach (and his first one as such), John Waters’ Polyester is still quite a blast. I did not have the pleasure of the Odorama experience but nevertheless was well entertained. Divine is brilliant as usual. As you may or may not know, John Waters’ films aren’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea, but this one might be one of those to start with, although no doubt the remake of Hairspray, Serial Mom or Cry Baby are even easier. They’re all comedies, they’re all feel-good movies, all a bit weird and have similar statements to support.

Polyester

Divine is the heart and soul of the film, but of course with the support of the usual kind of Waters’ cast.Waters is never scared to raise any topics so you can count on some colorful events here. Set in Baltimore as usual, we get a glimpse of nice American culture here.

If you’ve heard the hit song Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches, you’ve heard a couple of bits of Polyester, probably more than once. Check out Dreamland for more info on Waters and his films.

And get your hands on an Odorama scratch card from Ebay before watching this film!

Daughter of Sam

Posted on by
Reply

When you are in an emotionally sensitive state, it’s wonderful when you happen to make the right choice of film to watch. While on any other day I Am Sam might have been just a very good film, I was lucky to pick the day that left me crying past the end credits. Or maybe it really is just this film. I Am Sam

Sean Penn, Dakota Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer star in this Oscar nominated film. I haven’t watched Becoming Sam, a documentary about the film yet, but I think that’s now on my list of films to watch. The film is very sweet and does not get too dipressing at any point and there’s a fair bit of comedy in it as well. Michelle Pfeiffer does an ok job acting, though lags definitely behind Sean and Dakota. Dakota is simply amazing and definitely reflects her character’s name. I’m sure the kind of role Sean Penn had to act in this film is among the hardest kind of roles to act believably, and he does it very well indeed. There’s also What’s Eating Gilbert Grape where Leonardo Di Caprio had similarly difficult role to play – that one also turned out to be a very beautiful film.

I guess I can mention the soundtrack of the film is great, if you like The Beatles songs. Apparently Penn could not afford rights to the real thing, so they’re all covers, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I think I like the contemporary feel of it. The film is beautiful, heartbreaking at times, but a feel-good movie on the whole. It also touches on issues that are important in any family, not just the exceptional kind that Sam and Lucy have in this film.

Se, jie

Posted on by
Reply

Ever since I saw The Ice Storm for the first time, Ang Lee became one of my favorite directors. I haven’t seen Brokeback Mountain yet, and Hulk somehow seemed unexpected film for Ang Lee to make – I’m trying to avoid anything too negative to say about that one. Maybe it’s worth another review, maybe not.

Lust, Caution

Lust, Caution is beautiful, beautifully directed film. It’s slow paced, with well thought out structure. The lead actors do an amazing job throughout and really bring the story together, the tension between them is holding the whole film together. Art direction and cinematography create a wonderful and slightly hazy atmosphere for the film.

If you’ve heard anything else about the film before, it’s likely you’ve heard about the sex and violence bits. While these elements in the film do add to the film, I think they’re getting too much attention really. They’re part of the film and Ang Lee’s done the best he could with those. They don’t have enough screen time to be the main part of the film even if they are integral to it. But then again, some people may find it’s a bit too much while others will wonder what’s the fuzz all about.

Beautiful work, well worth a watch, although I do like The Ice Storm more.

What’s this about England?

Posted on by
Reply

This is England.

This is England

Chances are, you haven’t heard of this film, or the director, Shane Meadows. Mostly (British) people remember another film of his, Dead Man’s Shoes, which I just might write another short review about. So maybe this time I could recommend you a film that you haven’t heard about. Go on, see for yourself. I’ve heard people say the actors in this one are like carved out of a tree, but I strongly disagree, and so do lots of other people. I’m not English though so I might miss out some issues about their acting. Mind you, if you are American or from elsewhere outside Britain, you’ll pretty much miss it too, not in a bad way at all of course. And you can still decide whether you like their acting or not. I do.

I thought it’s brilliant. Marvellous cast. Thomas Turgoose is simply amazing, and he doesn’t let Stephen Graham steal the show. And he gets to do some cool stuff. But Stephen does put on a great show too.

Everything about the film looks so authentic, the cinematograhy, and some of the stock footage just captures the mood of the film and the time the film is set in. The way Shane is used to delivering sense of realism, or naturalism, is so gripping that you feel you’ve gone back in time. It’s a different world.

I don’t want to touch the story of the film too much, but I suppose it would help if you had an idea about what was going on in England at the time, or a thing or two about skinheads. There seems to be a bit of confusion among viewers about what skinheads (then) were all about. Or what being a skinhead back then was about. Times change, you see.

Or you can have a different kind of movie night and watch Romper Stomper. If you liked the style of Romper Stomper, you might find some of the skins in this one a bit soft… I hope that’s not too much of a spoiler… Or if you don’t fancy the whole Englishness of it, go for American History X – it’s not the same thing and while it’s a good movie too, you’d be missing out on something.

Fuckin’ brilliant.