THE ROAD review

The Road is probably the first film I have ever seen that portrays the post-apocalypse with such subtlety, whilst still being utterly bleak at the same time. Unlike such films as the Mad Max trilogy and its knock-offs, The Road does not use the concept of a post-apocalyptic world to create popcorn fun. Instead the movie is more like a drama, revolving around the journey between two unnamed characters known as Man (Viggo Mortensen) and Boy (Kodi-Smit McPhee) who travel through barren landscapes, trying to survive as much as possible. Another aspect of the story is the relationship held between the two leads and the way they bond with each other within the ravaged world. In this film, their bond is often quite moving and also seems very real, which is why it is very easy to understand and perhaps sympathise with them and what they have to go through. And as well as characters and relations, The Road is also very much concerned with creating atmosphere and it is very successful in creating a rather terrifying one; an atmosphere filled with much isolation.

If there is also another thing this film is good at, it is creating thrills. Whenever Man and Boy have an encounter with a group of savages you are on-the-edge-of-your-seat in excitement, even though some of the outcomes do seem slightly predictble.

A thing stopping me from giving this movie a higher rating, though, is the ending. In my personal opinion it seemed break the flow of the film somewhat. (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT) Yes, we all like happy endings but there are some films that could seriously do without them and The Road could probably be one of them. The film ends with a certain sense of hope and to me, that ruined the bleak mood of the film and made it a lot less thought-provoking and perhaps less-haunting, somewhat (END OF POSSIBLE SPOILER). There is also another scene containing a bit of obvious product placement but otherwise, The Road is a really good movie that knows how to create perhaps an original perspective of the post-apocalypse. Whilst minimal in story, it’s great in thrills, atmosphere and characters and relations.

3.5 shopping trollies out of 5

The Top 10 Movies of 2009

Honourable mentions:

2012
Avatar
Mary and Max
Public Enemies
Role Models
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

10. Brüno

Okay, so maybe Brüno is probably not that great of a character when comparing to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat. But I will be honest with you, I thought this movie was funnier than Borat. The humour was more cringe-worthy and a lot grosser, even though it did go to the point of being immature at times. But whether this film was scripted or not, I personally found it to be tons of fun.

9. Doubt

To be honest, I did not know what to expect from this film. But I didn’t think I would be watching a movie that would keep me on the edge of my seat just through dialogue. Nor would I have expected it to have me questioning the motivations of each character in the film, which really made this movie quite a thought-provoker.

8. Changeling

Now this is quite possibly one of the most powerful films I have ever come across. The film doesn’t pull any punches as it tells its horrific and depressing story about loss and being a victim towards corruption. I guess what makes it all the more powerful is the fact that it is based on a true story. But the movie wasn’t perfect, since the story it is based on was slightly exaggerrated, which I really do not like. Why can’t people just tell things the way they are rather than exaggerate/distort them to create dramatic intensity? Don’t like that at all.

7. Samson and Delilah

Many people have been saying that Aussie films these days are too dark and when we’re on that topic, I guess Samson and Delilah cannot go unmentioned. Whilst at times it is beautiful, it is, overall, quite an unsettling romance as it takes its number of tragic twists and turns. Samson and Delilah is also an important film as it takes no prisoners when it shows the damage much of Australian society does to its indigenous community, which is something that will hopefully continue to be discussed, or at least brought up, in more Australian films to come.

6. Antichrist

I honestly do not know what to quite think of this movie and I think that’s what Lars Von Trier intended – to make you think about why he made this movie. Whether you loved it or hated it, it is hard to not admire the fact that Trier would film/create such grotesque visuals that no other director would even dare. Also, both Willem Dafoe and especially Charlotte Gainsbourg pull off some exceptional performances. Antichrist is one of the most horrific, disturbing and intense films to have come out in years. The only bad thing about this film was the shaky-cam, which would occaissionally pull out of focus. And I didn’t like how the start of the film was self-consciously beautiful either.

5. The Hangover

I was not expecting this movie to be any good at all. The trailer made it look like one of those movies filled with immature frat-boy comedy, particularly when it was advertised as ‘from the director of Old School‘. But as the movie started, it pretty much won me over. I was laughing, cringing and on the edge of my seat throughout, which made this film probably one of the most enjoyable comedies to have come out in a while.

4. Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In could probably be one of the best vampire movies to have been made in recent years. One of the things that makes this film so effective is mainly the beautiful and subtle romance held between the two leads. Unlike the one in Samson and Delilah, which is created to confront, this one is created to move you and this was probably one of the few romances that was able to succeed in doing so. But even though it’s scenes involving carnage (remember, it’s a vampire movie) I’d rather recognise this film as a romantic tale…with a little gore on the side, although nothing excessive.

3. Watchmen

Whilst I do remember that Zack Snyder did a really good job with remaking the George Romero horror masterpiece that was Dawn of the Dead, I just couldn’t help but see him as the guy who did that annoying slow-motion overkill movie, 300. To hear him direct a film adaptation of the superhero graphic novel, Watchmen, I got really nervous, particularly when the graphic novel was pretty much “unfilmable”. But Zack Snyder proved many of us wrong. Yet with that said, there has been and will be a lot of people who won’t quite get this movie when they see it, so Watchmen should probably be seen as a companion piece to the graphic novel. Either that or they could probably watch the Director’s Cut or the 215 minute Ultimate Cut, which I would love to see.

2. Inglourious Basterds

Due to the trailers, I, as well as many others walked into this movie expecting it to be a fun action-packed bullet-fest. And whilst we did not receive that, we got something that was equally as satisfying, which were some fantastic dialogue driven-scenes that created a whole heap of great suspense, which was a real breath of fresh-air after I had come to witness his tedious dialogue in his Grindhouse segment, Death Proof. Not only do you have great dialogue but you also have fantastic performances from Brad Pitt, Til Schweiger, and of course, Christoph Waltz who will probably win the Oscar for Best Actor, if nominated. In conclusion, I would probably say that Inglourious Basterds is better than Reservoir Dogs.

1. The Wrestler

Okay, I know this movie was released in 2008, but come on, it was released in early Australia in 2009 so I might as well. Now all I have to say is that Darren Aronofsky, after his previous disaster that was ‘The Fountain’, he has decided to create another great film. But it was a very different film of his because it didn’t use usual trademark of using nightmarish/surreal imagery, nor his trademark filmmaking techniques (e.g. hip-hop montage, snorricam etc.). Instead, Aronofsky created a documentary-like movie about the life of an ageing and worn-out professional wrestler struggling with his life. Sounds very conventional but it’s something probably only Aronofsky and writer Robert D. Siegel could pull off, without making it the elements of its narrative clichéd nor contrived, at least on the most part. If there was anything else to like about this movie besides Aronofsky’s direction, it would be Mickey Rourke’s performance as…well…the wrestler. As a matter of fact, it’s hard to tell as to whether he is playing himself or his character. Oh, and the ending to this movie is amazing and will leave you speechless.

BONUS EXTRA: The award for the closest-to-being-the-worst-film-of-2009 goes to Race to Witch Mountain. It wasn’t a bad movie overall, I just did not like how the story was consciously in a rush and it really lost my interest. The action wasn’t very good either due to the constant quick-cuts and shaky camerawork.

Back on 24/01/10

Ahoy there! I know there have been several blogging delays throughout the year but I’ll be back to reviewing on the titled date, since I will be away for about 5 weeks, giving me no time to do any blog posts. Sorry about these constant delays but don’t worry, I shall be back to blogging next year in January.

Have a happy holiday and new year.

-Max

2012 review

Hello there! Long time no see. I know I said I was going to update on the 22nd of November but I’ve been, unexpectedly, quite busy after exams. I’ve had to organise folios for interviews for different courses, been a bit fatigued as a result of finishing exams and I’ve also been celebrating the end of school for a week with some friends. Sorry, once again, but its been quite a tough year for me. Anyway, enjoy my review.

Loosely based on the theory of the world ending in the year 2012, the film opens up with scientists discussing different sources of evidence that could lead up to this predicted event. After this intro, the audience is then introduced to the character of Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), who is separated from his wife, Kate (Amanda Peet) who is now living with her new husband, Tom (Gordon McCarthy). When Jackson decides to take his kids out to the countryside for a camping trip, he meets an overly eccentric radio guy, Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson) who warns Jackson about the supposed end of the world that will occur in only an amount of hours. After Jackson is warned, he rounds up his kids, and his ex-wife and her husband, to save them from the destruction that is about to ensue.

I guess I could complain about many of this film’s faults, such as some of its cheesy and sometimes unnecessary dialogue, and how the film itself is very generic, whether it be its plot structure or its characters. But that would be unnecessary. Roland Emmerich, along with his co-writer Harald Kosler, don’t seem like they want to make ‘2012’ to be a deep and sophisticated film, at least on the most part. All they want to do is just entertain audiences by making them watch shit blow up and crumble as the people we see on the screen flee for their lives – and they succeed very much in doing so. Right from the first scene, which involves Jackson and his family fleeing from the city of Santa Monica as it literally falls to pieces, you’ll know you’re in for a ride. The film contains many action scenes like that and they are also quite memorable. That’s right, memorable action scenes created by Hollywood, something they do not do very often these days. This is because today they are relying way too much on either a constant usage of quick cuts, shaky camerawork and/or CGI. ‘2012’ has none of that. Okay, maybe it does have a lot of CGI but it looks fantastic and it really does add quite a believable and maybe a horrific sense of realism to the film. Even if you are one of those people who is not a fan of CGI, such as myself, you cannot deny that it really makes the action scenes great in terms of visuals and suspense.

But just when you cannot ask for more from this film, you also have some quite funny moments, enough to make this film itself a comedy, and also some good performances, even though some involve god-awful impersonations of Russian accents. John Cusack, in particular, acts out his character with a lot of charisma and it really does show the underrated actor he is.

Whilst I shouldn’t complain about the film’s generic and maybe cheesy nature, as previously explained, I can complain about how it is filled with so much destruction throughout that you may start to feel exhausted by most of the film’s second last scene, which is supposed to be a suspenseful one, but it does not deliver as well as it should. I can also complain about how the film can occasionally lose its fast pace as it tries to make room for developing unnecessary characters and character relations that did not serve any purpose to the film’s plot. For example, what was the point of trying to develop the relationship held between Blu Mankuma’s and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s characters? There are several other examples like this but I wouldn’t want to rant. Plus, these flaws are rather minor in comparison to the factors that make this film so enjoyable. It’s obviously not a fantastic film, nor is it groundbreaking, but it certainly does make for good entertainment. ‘2012’ is worth the watch.

3.5 forged Mona Lisa paintings out of 5

The current status of the blog

Howdy there! As you can obviously tell, there have recently been quite a number of missing updates on this blog. This is due to my preoccupation with exams for my final year of school and believe me, it is hard work. So the bad news for anyone who reads this blog is that I won’t be able to make anymore posts for the next few weeks. However, the good news is that I shall return to my regular posting schedule on 22nd November or perhaps earlier.

So while you’re waiting for these posts, enjoy these lovely pictures of me dressed as Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange.

These pictures were taken on a day when we had to arrive at school, dressed up as a movie character. Also, you may have noticed in the first picture that the cane is broken. This is because of an accident involving some idiot. And yes, I am aware that the fake eyelashes are on the wrong side of my face but come on, just enjoy the pictures.

My thoughts on the upcoming A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET remake

Well, now that you have seen the clip above, let me share my thoughts on this trailer to the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

Unlike a lot of Hollywood remakes these days, this one looks like it will be a different version of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street rather than another pointless remake, judging from how they have added a few new sequences. These include a scene where we witness the birth of Freddy Krueger and a few new dream and death scenes. They have also made Freddy Krueger more of a serious character, apparently.  Some material from the original film looks it will be making an appearance in this version such as the bath scene, the bedroom scene where the girl floats towards the ceiling and the children singing the famous Freddy Krueger rhyme.

Whilst the trailer does make this film look generic (the film probably is for what I know), I  do have a bit of faith in this remake seeing how they have added a few new things, but then again they are just a few. But then again, you can’t judge a film just by its trailer.

What do you think?

In other news, I saw Mao’s Last Dancer. Quite a good film but not life-changing.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS review

Pardon me for the delay

Tarantino sets his movie in 1941, ‘Nazi-Occupied France’, where a Jewish girl named Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the murder of her family by the infamous Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), otherwise known as ‘The Jew Hunter’. Years later, Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) is the owner of a movie theatre in Paris where she has an agreement with director Joseph Goebells (Sylvester Groth) to premiere his film about German war hero, Frederick Zoller, starring Frederick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl) himself. Several Nazi officers and supporters, including Hans Landa and the Fuhrer himself, will be attending the premiere. Meanwhile, as the news of the event is leaked to the British army and a group of Jewish-American soldiers, known as the ‘Basterds’ – led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) – both groups plot their mission to assassinate the Fuhrer, unaware of the fact Shosanna has plans of her own.

Ever since I saw Death Proof, Tarantino’s second half of the Grindhouse double, I really started to worry about the fact that he was no longer the director we had come to love. Even though the film had a fantastic end, he filled most of the movie with long and self-consciously ‘cool’ dialogue. I got really nervous that the writer and director of such fantastic films as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs had become so self-concious about his ‘cool’ dialogue that he indulged too much in it. It bored us watching him fall in-love with his own writing. And here we have Inglourious Basterds, a spaghetti-Western-styled movie that is filled with heaps of dialogue. So no, it is not the mindless action movie it is advertised as. But does that make it a disappointment? Definitely not. Whilst it may have been a lot different from a mindless action film, it was a lot of fun.

For the most part, the dialogue in this movie is far from tedious, in comparison to Death Proof. As a matter of fact, it’s what drives the film. It’s what makes the movie so suspenseful and, at times, rather funny. And neither, in comparison to Death Proof, does it seem a self-conscious at being clever. However, I will admit that the opening scene did have some unnecessary lines, which seemed to slightly make the scene drag somewhat.

But what also truly drives the film is its characters and the actors who play them; Brad Pitt is funny as the somewhat unintelligent Aldo Raine; Til Shweiger is scary as the badarse Nazi killing Hugo Stiglitz (pity we don’t see a lot of him, though); Eli Roth is entertaining, although he does slightly overract as the bat-swinging Bear Jew; and Mike Myers makes an amusing cameo appearance as well. However, probably the most memorable of all the film’s performances is Christoph Waltz’s as the murderous Hans Landa. Waltz acts with such charisma that it really does make his character both funny and menacing at the same time. The character he portrays is also quite a well-written one. In some scenes we don’t always get to know what truly motivates him, which makes his character quite a mystery to the viewer.

But for anyone who walks into this film expecting violence, don’t worry; Inglourious Basterds has plenty of it. The only problem I had with its violence is that it wasn’t exactly clear as to whether it wanted to be shocking, glorified or just not taken seriously. The shootout in the projection room was quite a beautifully executed scene; the scalpings did provide the film with a very dark sense of humour but the scenes like where a Nazi officer gets his head bashed with a baseball bat seemed really unsettling, which says a lot since it is a scene of a Nazi getting killed. He is murdered in a rather nasty manner and it looked too shocking to be seen as something that was either glorious, so to speak, or darkly humorous. In other words, it looked quite out of place in contrast to the other violent scenes.

But that’s quite a minor flaw in this film and it was nothing too distracting. It is, overall, very stylish, well constructed and a heap of fun, and I might watch it again, actually. Tarantino has  given us, quite possibly, one of the most entertaining war films to have came out in a while.

By the way, did I mention the film’s great soundtrack?

4.5 Samuel L. Jackson narrators out of 5

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS review – postponed until 11/09

I’ve got a lot of stuff due.

Apologies for last week’s missing update, by the way.

-Max

No post this week

Under pressure because of school.

THE HANGOVER review

‘From the director of Old School‘– if you advertise your movie as this, it is enough to prevent me from watching it. I absolutely hated that movie; it is one of the worst I have ever seen. To the exception of the scenes containing bricks attatched to male organs and a streaking scene involving Will Ferrell, the jokes in that movie were neither memorable nor funny, since they tried too hard to get a laugh out of us. That is why I had strong doubts about this film, especially since it was advertised as another raunchy comedy filled with gratuitous nudity and unsubtle humour. And now that I’ve seen it, is it as bad as I expected? No, because The Hangover is not only a much bigger improvement from Old School – especially because of the fact that it is written by completely different people – but it is also not the silly film it is advertised as. It is much different. It is a film we don’t get very often these days because it mixes comedy with several genres, all at once, whether it be mystery, thriller, crime and/or noir.

As Doug (Justin Bartha) and Tracy (Sasha Berrese) are about to get married in two days, his three best friends, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zak Galifianakis) decide to travel to Vegas for a buck’s night party. The next day, however, each one of them wakes up with a hangover – as you would expect – and without a single idea as to what happened to them the previous night. They find not only their hotel room trashed but that the groom, Justin, is missing. Within the 24 hours they have left, Phil, Stu and Alan must not only try to find Justin but also to try to find out what the hell happened to them during their wild night out.

It might be safe to say that The Hangover may possibly be one of the most entertaining films of this year. It just gets funnier and funnier with each joke it delivers. And rather than throwing them in for the sake of laughs, many of the film’s jokes serve a particular purpose to the film’s unpredictable storyline. And as each twist gets more intense, so do the jokes, which is what makes them work so well with their cringe-worthy nature. If Brüno had you gasping over its jokes, The Hangover will have you doing the same, but to a point where you begin to feel exhausted – but in a good way in a good way, of course – as the film forces you to watch itself take one intense and unexpected step after the other.

If you can suspend your disbelief at many of the events that occur in the film, you will find yourself having a lot of fun. Definitely one of the best comedies to have came out in a while.

4.5 crazy gamblers out of 5