Simply blood, simply Coen

Blood Simple

I’ve waited a long time to watch this. I became a Coen brothers fan much later on than I should have, and it was quite refreshing to see their directorial debut finally. Frances McDormand is as good as she always has been.  Not quite as radiant as in Fargo, but nevertheless, she is really good. The real star of the film is M. Emmet Walsh who plays an amazing part in the dark thriller.  At times it’s like watching a horror film like Halloween. There’s something similar in the mood. And occasionally the suspense is just killing you. I wasn’t too keen on John Getz or Dan Hedaya – their roles were well acted, but I suppose the characters were so out there that it made me feel rather odd. But then the whole unlikeability factor seems to be a common trend in this film so maybe that’s a good thing.

Blood simple. It’s not very complicated. And there’s blood too.

Dead calm? No?

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.

Back to Manderley…

I don’t think I can say anything new about a classic from 1940, but I just thought it’d be a good idea to remind everyone that when all the new films suck, you can always find something else…. Yes, it’s old. And don’t let the poster fool you, it’s black and white too! Maybe that’s just how Hitchcock liked it, he could have done it in color I guess. But then again, what if he did Psycho in color.

Rebecca

Brilliant story, great cast who make sure there’s always a lot of tension on the screen. Some characters tend to steal the show a bit occasionally though. And quite a few unexpected endings… Which suits the director I guess.Or the producer…

Being where

This one is an old one. Or maybe I’m just young. It was just on the telly and I just had to watch it. It felt almost criminal, that it was on around midnight though, whose going to watch it that late. And this one always seems to come late in the evening. Slow paced, brilliant movie… Problem is that I’ll fall asleep during the movie because it is broadcast so late. Must have been some sort of Peter Sellers day, it came straight after the movie about Peter Sellers, starring Geoffrie Rush or what’s-his-name. Which was good as well I think, but I only saw bits of that so I should just keep quiet about that. So, being there is really funny, if a little strange movie, with Peter Sellers at his best. A smile fest. Maybe not laughing out loud, but definitely smiling.Peter Sellers