Gentlemen prefer blondes... made too long ago for me to know what the movie scene was like, and applying it to today's standards seems like it'd need a new eye, something like "old movie DVDs in todays audience." It is one of Marilyn's most famous roles so for all things Marilyn start here. There's annoying songs (old movie songs have always annoyed me) but with a fun storyline that is a little uninvolved for the viewer. Think of the storyline involved in The Importance of Being Earnest or The Big Lebowski, then drop it down 5 levels. There ya go!
Also we don't have any Marilyns or Jane Fonda's in this movie day and age, which is a shame. The closest I can think of is Scarlett Johanson in Lost in Translation, but she's losing that more and more with each movie, adopting the same "style types" as each other big actress out there.
Rather than giving a score out of 10 for older movies I figure I'd rate them on relevance to today's society, as well as movie historical value as well. Gentlemen prefer blondes? OH yeah, there isn't any chance of hearing about Marilyn without hearing about this movie. Jane Russell was also in it, but boohoo.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
This week in movie watching kingdom...
...nothing much has happened. Monday came and went quite forgetably, tuesday I wasted at uni and around penrith and thursday I was a model for a mate's photoshoot in the city. Pics might be forthcoming, I dunno.
Regardless the last movie I remember watching was Clockwork Orange, as indicated by the opening picture of my last update, good ol' Alex D'Large. If you read up on Anthony Burgeous you'll find out he's written plenty of books, non of which are any good, besides CO, which he wrote as a joke anyway. His writer friends dared him to write a piss take style of dystopian future and look at what it's become. Not only that, but in the book Alex and his mates where black clothing, in the heighth of fashion, no white with codpieces, oh my readers.
I started a word document of all the movie I watched and figured out you'd 1000 films a year if you stuck to Truffaut's 3 movies a day thing. 1000 a year, the stat is unimaginable! Regardless I'm being very slack this week, galvanting around with people instead of doing anything with movies, or uni work, or anything but people I'm galavanting around with.
As such movie time is choked so I can't really promise anything, certainly not this week. I plan to atleast finish off Coraline and hopefully Romper Stomper, who sits by my computer desk still unwatched since I bought it off eBay.
Happy bit of house-shopping the other day. No, not for me - I went looking for vids in my own house and found 5 DVDs of greatness to watch, so they're stacked up and ready to go, soon as I move off the lot I've currently got. I could dedicate myself to 1 movie a day this year, and maybe 2 next? Blah, stupid planning. I'm not even french!
Currently have Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Streetcar Named Desire and One Flew over the Cuckoos nest on my desk for movies to watch.
Regardless the last movie I remember watching was Clockwork Orange, as indicated by the opening picture of my last update, good ol' Alex D'Large. If you read up on Anthony Burgeous you'll find out he's written plenty of books, non of which are any good, besides CO, which he wrote as a joke anyway. His writer friends dared him to write a piss take style of dystopian future and look at what it's become. Not only that, but in the book Alex and his mates where black clothing, in the heighth of fashion, no white with codpieces, oh my readers.
I started a word document of all the movie I watched and figured out you'd 1000 films a year if you stuck to Truffaut's 3 movies a day thing. 1000 a year, the stat is unimaginable! Regardless I'm being very slack this week, galvanting around with people instead of doing anything with movies, or uni work, or anything but people I'm galavanting around with.
As such movie time is choked so I can't really promise anything, certainly not this week. I plan to atleast finish off Coraline and hopefully Romper Stomper, who sits by my computer desk still unwatched since I bought it off eBay.
Happy bit of house-shopping the other day. No, not for me - I went looking for vids in my own house and found 5 DVDs of greatness to watch, so they're stacked up and ready to go, soon as I move off the lot I've currently got. I could dedicate myself to 1 movie a day this year, and maybe 2 next? Blah, stupid planning. I'm not even french!
Currently have Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Streetcar Named Desire and One Flew over the Cuckoos nest on my desk for movies to watch.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
On my oddy knocky.
How do I get pictures to work on this? HTML OK?
I guess so then. Now, *ahem*. Watched Frost/Nixon, what a wonderful piece of history, journalism and psuedo-sympathy for a tyrannical man. The most interesting aspect of the movie is the constant parallels drawn between Frost and Nixon, and their twin goals of breaking through into that "promised" land, that status of the Gods, that of being Successful in America.
Beyond that, if you know the story you get it told again but in a very convincing and touching format. Brilliant acting all round, with a few beautiful points that the savvy watcher will have asked themself during the watching of the movie, such as when Nixon asks Frost "Maybe we got it mixed up, do you think? I should've been the talkshow host and you the president of America."
It really illustrates the charismatic monster that Nixon was, seeing he knew what he'd done and yet still covered up with a plans to return to politics. He kept things to himself which I'd aquate to using Charisma on yourself to keep your conscience from stopping you from any certain action. The problem with people like that, however, the ego feeders, the self strokers, the people who're convinced they know everyone else, or can atleast pin down their "type" after a simple examination, is that everyone is vulnerable to beginning to believe them just because they sound so confident in what they say.
I've seen it plenty of times, it plenty of ways. The boss of any group is the one who makes the most noise, and is very often the one who starts things. Monkeys beating each other with bones in Space Oddysey, Tyler Durden beating on the narrator in Fight Club, The Boss chewing out Ann Hathaway in the Devil Wear's Prada (We apologise for the reference to the Devil Wears Prada and promise to not let Fox Murdoch repeat such an act. - Editor). Until someone comes along with a "louder" way of saying things the status quo remains the same. Hitler got germany going, didn't he?
What makes this spectacular is that Nixon's ego was big enough to take on the whole of a nation that he had wronged. Even better was the fact that Frost was the hero needed to slay the beast. No one thought he could do it, considering the size of everything and especially his own talents (What, a few talk shows?) so it was truly a David and Goliath situation.
Sorry, now I'm just praising the whole story of good versus evil. The movie tells a story and draws it up as such, it's not simply "Frost is the guy that got a confession out of Nixon, end of story." It's much more like "This is what Frost was against - everything." A spoken-word hero, a legend of interaction.
Quite happy to have this on my DVD shelf, a history lesson kids these days would actually watch.
7/10? Extra point 5 for Frank Langella's portrayal of Nixon.
WAIT A MINUTE! I started with a picture of Alex from Clockwork Orange, what relevance did that have? I was going to do two small reviews of Frost/Nixon and CO but I guess I'll just close with the emotions kicked up by the first 7 minutes of CO and nothing more:
This is boys will be boys, pushed to the extreme. Violence, rape, sex, their own language, yet still of high intelligence, taste and culture. Watching Alex and his droogs battle Billy Boy and his gang just makes me wanna join in.
I guess so then. Now, *ahem*. Watched Frost/Nixon, what a wonderful piece of history, journalism and psuedo-sympathy for a tyrannical man. The most interesting aspect of the movie is the constant parallels drawn between Frost and Nixon, and their twin goals of breaking through into that "promised" land, that status of the Gods, that of being Successful in America.
Beyond that, if you know the story you get it told again but in a very convincing and touching format. Brilliant acting all round, with a few beautiful points that the savvy watcher will have asked themself during the watching of the movie, such as when Nixon asks Frost "Maybe we got it mixed up, do you think? I should've been the talkshow host and you the president of America."
It really illustrates the charismatic monster that Nixon was, seeing he knew what he'd done and yet still covered up with a plans to return to politics. He kept things to himself which I'd aquate to using Charisma on yourself to keep your conscience from stopping you from any certain action. The problem with people like that, however, the ego feeders, the self strokers, the people who're convinced they know everyone else, or can atleast pin down their "type" after a simple examination, is that everyone is vulnerable to beginning to believe them just because they sound so confident in what they say.
I've seen it plenty of times, it plenty of ways. The boss of any group is the one who makes the most noise, and is very often the one who starts things. Monkeys beating each other with bones in Space Oddysey, Tyler Durden beating on the narrator in Fight Club, The Boss chewing out Ann Hathaway in the Devil Wear's Prada (We apologise for the reference to the Devil Wears Prada and promise to not let Fox Murdoch repeat such an act. - Editor). Until someone comes along with a "louder" way of saying things the status quo remains the same. Hitler got germany going, didn't he?
What makes this spectacular is that Nixon's ego was big enough to take on the whole of a nation that he had wronged. Even better was the fact that Frost was the hero needed to slay the beast. No one thought he could do it, considering the size of everything and especially his own talents (What, a few talk shows?) so it was truly a David and Goliath situation.
Sorry, now I'm just praising the whole story of good versus evil. The movie tells a story and draws it up as such, it's not simply "Frost is the guy that got a confession out of Nixon, end of story." It's much more like "This is what Frost was against - everything." A spoken-word hero, a legend of interaction.
Quite happy to have this on my DVD shelf, a history lesson kids these days would actually watch.
7/10? Extra point 5 for Frank Langella's portrayal of Nixon.
WAIT A MINUTE! I started with a picture of Alex from Clockwork Orange, what relevance did that have? I was going to do two small reviews of Frost/Nixon and CO but I guess I'll just close with the emotions kicked up by the first 7 minutes of CO and nothing more:
This is boys will be boys, pushed to the extreme. Violence, rape, sex, their own language, yet still of high intelligence, taste and culture. Watching Alex and his droogs battle Billy Boy and his gang just makes me wanna join in.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thinking Movies
Hallo readers, am recovering quite well from the joint 30s of my bro and bro-in-law last night. Reflecting on the 3 movies a day idea, and that I'm willing to count not-at-the-movie movies I wondered if that wouldn't make things easer.
Today I got an email from someone on youtube, responding to a comment I made ages ago on a video clip called "Doll Face." Go watch the vid if you haven't, links here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8n9ZhtWfWU and then come back and read on. It's only about 2 minutes.
I think I would count that as a movie, because it has the start middle end modal and credits as well as being 100% special effect. Asthetics aside it also asks a big question of it's audience: is this just a robot who unfortunately breaks itself or is this us, in some way, struggling to get our own wants?
The tone of the piece (shouldn't that be palette? - Editor) and sound used really creates a somber attitude as Doll Face, a literal "jill in the box" watches TV and tries to emulate a face that appears with make up, and then coloured eyes/skin. This smacks of personal identity so much despite being so removed from the human being experience (we aren't robots, last time I checked).
Finding something to identify with, emulating it, then wanting more. It's all about that feeling of yes, I belong. It's why I wanna run movie nights at uni, it's why people dress in clothes at all. A lack of clothes itself is a statement, usually "I'm naked and a possible looney".
Regardless it's a gorgeous tragic little piece, and is sure to scare away half it's audience just because it's a human-faced robot with a long millipedic neck/body configuration. That's raises another interesting side effect of watching so many movies, you get to grow used to things and they cease to have an effect on you.
I'm talking specifically violence, the bizarre, and biggest of "horror". Horror hasn't ever worked on me, not the jump out the screen at you stuff. The violence though, it's present in every thing. I'm thinking deliberately Kill Bill, when Uma Thurman fights the Crazy 88. Apart from being a brilliant piece of action it's also a proper blood bath as limbs and feet and such are cut off, and many lives are ended. Yet we watch that without disgust or concern, because our heroine has done it, in the name of getting revenge.
So watching Doll Face I wasn't personally creeped out by the android human face, but I feel plenty of people would be horrorfied at the "cyborg abomination" they see. That's a problem movie makers face, the notion of potential audience turning away at the slightest sick-feeling in their stomach, heart or mind. I reckon I'll be happy if I ever hear about something like that happening, it means I've caused a response.
Enough wasting your time. Stole Clockwork Orange off my brother yesterday and also watching Frost/Nixon today. Alongside Doll Face that's 3, wohoo!
Today I got an email from someone on youtube, responding to a comment I made ages ago on a video clip called "Doll Face." Go watch the vid if you haven't, links here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8n9ZhtWfWU and then come back and read on. It's only about 2 minutes.
I think I would count that as a movie, because it has the start middle end modal and credits as well as being 100% special effect. Asthetics aside it also asks a big question of it's audience: is this just a robot who unfortunately breaks itself or is this us, in some way, struggling to get our own wants?
The tone of the piece (shouldn't that be palette? - Editor) and sound used really creates a somber attitude as Doll Face, a literal "jill in the box" watches TV and tries to emulate a face that appears with make up, and then coloured eyes/skin. This smacks of personal identity so much despite being so removed from the human being experience (we aren't robots, last time I checked).
Finding something to identify with, emulating it, then wanting more. It's all about that feeling of yes, I belong. It's why I wanna run movie nights at uni, it's why people dress in clothes at all. A lack of clothes itself is a statement, usually "I'm naked and a possible looney".
Regardless it's a gorgeous tragic little piece, and is sure to scare away half it's audience just because it's a human-faced robot with a long millipedic neck/body configuration. That's raises another interesting side effect of watching so many movies, you get to grow used to things and they cease to have an effect on you.
I'm talking specifically violence, the bizarre, and biggest of "horror". Horror hasn't ever worked on me, not the jump out the screen at you stuff. The violence though, it's present in every thing. I'm thinking deliberately Kill Bill, when Uma Thurman fights the Crazy 88. Apart from being a brilliant piece of action it's also a proper blood bath as limbs and feet and such are cut off, and many lives are ended. Yet we watch that without disgust or concern, because our heroine has done it, in the name of getting revenge.
So watching Doll Face I wasn't personally creeped out by the android human face, but I feel plenty of people would be horrorfied at the "cyborg abomination" they see. That's a problem movie makers face, the notion of potential audience turning away at the slightest sick-feeling in their stomach, heart or mind. I reckon I'll be happy if I ever hear about something like that happening, it means I've caused a response.
Enough wasting your time. Stole Clockwork Orange off my brother yesterday and also watching Frost/Nixon today. Alongside Doll Face that's 3, wohoo!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Truffault? Too tough.
I learned recently that Francois Truffaut, in an effort to educate himself, watched 3 movies a day and read 3 books a week. Fascinating numbers, but that's genuinely a fulltime job. Consider the average length of a movie, say between 90 minutes or 2 hours, and the extra long ones (LOTR's 3 hr stretch comes to mind) and you've got an average of 1 hour 45 minutes per movie, or 5 hours of sitting and watching every day. If you wake up at 9am and hit bed at 10 that's a 13 hour day and with 5 of those watching movies that's an 8 hours for other things. Such as life, and all that tricky stuff. Forget cramming a book into that too, how much did this guy actually get done on an average that wasn't research or self-education via osmosis like absorption?
Man I do love the english language. It lilts and lies upon my tongue like lavender drops on lilac kittens. Enough digression. I heard the stats and of course tried to mimic them, and so far haven't managed it until today. The movies that is, I'm not concerning myself with the books. And today it's only a technical achievement. The movies?
1. District 9. Very good, at Hoyts, Penrith with Jason S.
2. Finished watching Cats: the musical. I don't think this should really count, but you must consider the "DVD movie" that it is, it's not a live performance infront of your glazzies (eyes)
3. Hulk vs Wolverine
4. Hulk vs Thor
See what I did there? The last two are on the same DVD, sure, and they're really age-old stories because Marvels diverse character range has existed for near 70 years now, but I'm counting them as two individual movies because there's great variety in how a movie exists. "Short cartoon" movies aren't any less movies than epic scifi's.
As for "finished Cats" I download movies and watch them, or get them off a friend and watch them, but that usually means I get half way through and am bored by the novelty of the medium, that is the non physical DVD. If I didn't pay for it and can't hold it then it's not really real, so my interest for some reason wanes and I end up getting halfway, then turning it off and, I dunno, eating dinner. You know, I have anything else on.
So I resolved to finish off all movies I had started, which meant Cats, Coraline and Space Oddysey 2001. Oddysey I had never intended to view in several sittings but leaving it as the last thing I do of a night? Setting myself up for some major ninja nods there. Coraline was interesting but seeing I had the option of "get on with life" or "continue watching predictable kids claymation movie, where good triumphs and the style is now old-fashioned compared to earlier days" I chose life.
Whatever, the point is today I did manage to watch 3 (4!) movies and am closing the gap between Half watched and Fully watched. Next I have to work on watching the DVDs I bought off eBay after being inspired by whatever Hunter said in Screen Media. No, not Hunter S Thompson, he wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (though that is a brilliant movie). Hunter Corday, Screen Media lecturer. At the moment Frost/Nixon tops that list, and then Romper Stomper. Also must get around to watching Trainspotting.
I figure averaging 1 movie a day should do for now.
Man I do love the english language. It lilts and lies upon my tongue like lavender drops on lilac kittens. Enough digression. I heard the stats and of course tried to mimic them, and so far haven't managed it until today. The movies that is, I'm not concerning myself with the books. And today it's only a technical achievement. The movies?
1. District 9. Very good, at Hoyts, Penrith with Jason S.
2. Finished watching Cats: the musical. I don't think this should really count, but you must consider the "DVD movie" that it is, it's not a live performance infront of your glazzies (eyes)
3. Hulk vs Wolverine
4. Hulk vs Thor
See what I did there? The last two are on the same DVD, sure, and they're really age-old stories because Marvels diverse character range has existed for near 70 years now, but I'm counting them as two individual movies because there's great variety in how a movie exists. "Short cartoon" movies aren't any less movies than epic scifi's.
As for "finished Cats" I download movies and watch them, or get them off a friend and watch them, but that usually means I get half way through and am bored by the novelty of the medium, that is the non physical DVD. If I didn't pay for it and can't hold it then it's not really real, so my interest for some reason wanes and I end up getting halfway, then turning it off and, I dunno, eating dinner. You know, I have anything else on.
So I resolved to finish off all movies I had started, which meant Cats, Coraline and Space Oddysey 2001. Oddysey I had never intended to view in several sittings but leaving it as the last thing I do of a night? Setting myself up for some major ninja nods there. Coraline was interesting but seeing I had the option of "get on with life" or "continue watching predictable kids claymation movie, where good triumphs and the style is now old-fashioned compared to earlier days" I chose life.
Whatever, the point is today I did manage to watch 3 (4!) movies and am closing the gap between Half watched and Fully watched. Next I have to work on watching the DVDs I bought off eBay after being inspired by whatever Hunter said in Screen Media. No, not Hunter S Thompson, he wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (though that is a brilliant movie). Hunter Corday, Screen Media lecturer. At the moment Frost/Nixon tops that list, and then Romper Stomper. Also must get around to watching Trainspotting.
I figure averaging 1 movie a day should do for now.
Now for some ground rules?
First off I want to say hi, thanks for reading. Bored or not this blog is DEVOTED to movies and what I think of them and compare them to, so I'm going to get wordy and expect, as a response, verbal arguments and reasons for/against everything I say. There's plenty of minds out there that want this kind of discussion and faceBook is NOT the place to find it.
Having said that I'll move onto what I'm planning on being the main of the posts found here. Movie reviews, duh, and movie techniques, which is rather a varied topic and can include anything. Maybe it's costumes and how well they were used in Dracula (so good they made up for Keanu Reeve's plastic Englishmen) or how to do action, properly, depending on the size of your combatants (Transformers destroying buildings makes sense, they're large robots getting thrown around. Small humans having the same effect? That's asking too much of your audience, especially if they aren't Superman in strength/endurance).
Also expect the odd whimsical piece where I just wax philosophic about movies I love, and for the inexplicable reason that I simply due. The current "hot shot movie" without question nor qualification is Barbarella. Dazzlingly gorgeous main lead, 70/80s buzz, kitsch up your arse and sci-fi -- my personal dreamscape. Despite having said all that though I don't really have a great movie in mind (I am going to make them, you know) that has a sci-fi base. Most of the ideas I do have are all everyday human type affairs where the conflict is character driven. How boring, I know!
There wont be any posts about movie idea's I'm currently writing about, but there may be one or two sprinkled lightly such as when inspirations strikes yet I know it wont stick around to see the "movie idea" germinate into anything more than a single scene. I'll leave you with a quote from Mark Rosewater, who quoted someone else (his lecturer) who was quoting yet another person concerning movies (Mark Rosewater did a Communications course, and is the Head Designer of Magic: The Gathering cardgame):
No scene is worth a line, no movie is worth a scene.
Having said that I'll move onto what I'm planning on being the main of the posts found here. Movie reviews, duh, and movie techniques, which is rather a varied topic and can include anything. Maybe it's costumes and how well they were used in Dracula (so good they made up for Keanu Reeve's plastic Englishmen) or how to do action, properly, depending on the size of your combatants (Transformers destroying buildings makes sense, they're large robots getting thrown around. Small humans having the same effect? That's asking too much of your audience, especially if they aren't Superman in strength/endurance).
Also expect the odd whimsical piece where I just wax philosophic about movies I love, and for the inexplicable reason that I simply due. The current "hot shot movie" without question nor qualification is Barbarella. Dazzlingly gorgeous main lead, 70/80s buzz, kitsch up your arse and sci-fi -- my personal dreamscape. Despite having said all that though I don't really have a great movie in mind (I am going to make them, you know) that has a sci-fi base. Most of the ideas I do have are all everyday human type affairs where the conflict is character driven. How boring, I know!
There wont be any posts about movie idea's I'm currently writing about, but there may be one or two sprinkled lightly such as when inspirations strikes yet I know it wont stick around to see the "movie idea" germinate into anything more than a single scene. I'll leave you with a quote from Mark Rosewater, who quoted someone else (his lecturer) who was quoting yet another person concerning movies (Mark Rosewater did a Communications course, and is the Head Designer of Magic: The Gathering cardgame):
No scene is worth a line, no movie is worth a scene.
District 9
An alien ship has stopped above earth and hangs there motionless for 3 months until humans force their way in. They find a ship filled with alien refugees, and what is first intended as a temporary holding grounds for them eventually become the aliens home slums.
Called "Distrist 9" the aliens and surrounding humans develop hostilities and it's decided the aliens will be moved to another location outside of the town, District 10. This is that story.
Fans of comic books and scifi will get a massive kick out of this movie, as the plot is thoroughly planted to later sprout into beautiful scenes that don't "simply happen" and with character development that continues throughout the entire movie. Something like this could've been done as horribly bad as Terminator 4: Salvation, simply big effects and the "big bad wolf" Terminators ever present, ever threatening and ever-missing their targets with their wild gunfire.
The aliens themself humorously called Prawns are interesting creatures themselves and the shooting around and of them is handled well. How do you draw emotion from an alien face? And I'm not talking putty-on-your-face aliens that Star Trek is so fond of, but computer generated little goobies. (They aren't little, take that out! - Editor) Angle, lighting, music, the emotions are conveyed through the medium of the movie itself, for those who can't discern any emotion from the still livid alien faces.
The main character, Wicus, is also a charming fella with a good heart who the audience should take to upon first seeing him. Seeing most of the movie is shot by his side this is a good thing, once it has you it wont let you go until the movie's finished. Whenever I'm watching a horror/thriller type movie all the old tricks are so easy to spot, the "background covered up by an opened cupboard door into JUMP OUT MONSTER RAR!" and such tricks don't affect me and never have, but I jumped about 15 times in this movie, just ask Jason.
These weren't the horrowshow type jumps though, more concern for the characters and whatever was about to happen to them. If you're queezy and have an easily upset gut prepare some head turns, but not too often and never for too long. Compared to Inglourious Basterds though this is an absolute walk in the park.
It does change styles from beginning of the movie to the end however, which a few might find unsettling or stupid, but it's a necessary change and a cleverly used device. It begins as a documentary and changes from there into, obviously, some action, sci-fi gadgetry and other fun stuff. I wont spoil a thing though, but I loved the fun special effects in this movie. Compared to the way Hancock changed from "funny superzero turned superhero" into "serious emotional driven plot" in what felt like a rough handbreak turn in your nan's old Cortina (whiplash all over my neck) District 9 gets away with it more like a smooth handbreak turn with Neo at the wheel while inside the Matrix.
The cast' groups were also more varied and realistic then previous movies. There's the humans, the aliens and the government (naturally) and those who want to feed of such things, like the media personalities, the people who are naturally against the aliens (aren't even earthlings!) and those who are for the aliens (hippy love, anyone?) and even some scheming nigerians who are at home in District 9 dealing with the aliens as they would be outside District 9 and dealing with humans. Funny chaps.
By the way, Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's dad.
Thoroughly enjoyable, even got claps from a few dorks at the end when the credits rolled (yours truly included, I'm a supporter of clappers in general). More fun then Inglourious Basterds but these two movies are from different directors trying to do different things. Tarantino was having fun finishing a movie he'd wanted to make for 10 years, while District 9 is a briliant piece of escapism/action/sci-fi that also acts as social commentary on ever present refugee situations.
In terms of aliens there is no mystery to them here, the thrill is how things are dealt with, not the aliens themselves. For that, see Alien, Aliens and maybe Aliens 3.
In terms of sci-fi fun I don't recall this amount of fun and genuine "Holy shit wow!" moments since Back to the Future. Terminator's main grab (I just can't bag that movie enough) was the Terminator monster and great big one's at that, which seemed a pathetic attempt to cash in on T2s fame as well as the recent success of the large-sized robots Transformers, and they got it pathetically wrong. Robots without a story, however big and ready-to-fight, are boring contraptions. District 9's sci-fi is, quite literally, out of this world.
In terms of a movie itself there's plenty of camera angles and shit you haven't seen before, or atleast not a great deal of. Things like "gun cam" (the wielder sighted from a gun barrel mounted cam faced backwards), first person interview shots, wide establishing shots (with an alien mothership floating in midspace), security footage shots, plenty.
I'd love to give "District 9" 8.5 outta 10 but I just don't think as many viewers will have the fun with it that I did, considering my bias for sci-fi. The script wasn't as heavily written as something like Inglourious Basterds, either. To make 2.45 hours NOT FEEL LIKE 2.45 hours is an incredibly odd feat to pull off, but then again District 9 didn't feel like it was 2 hours long, and I did wanna see more after the credits rolled.
More fun and with social relevancy, I'd be more likely to foist this onto friends rather than Inglourious Basterds if they were the kind to consider their movie-money "precious" enough to not simlpy go and see both.
8/10
Called "Distrist 9" the aliens and surrounding humans develop hostilities and it's decided the aliens will be moved to another location outside of the town, District 10. This is that story.
Fans of comic books and scifi will get a massive kick out of this movie, as the plot is thoroughly planted to later sprout into beautiful scenes that don't "simply happen" and with character development that continues throughout the entire movie. Something like this could've been done as horribly bad as Terminator 4: Salvation, simply big effects and the "big bad wolf" Terminators ever present, ever threatening and ever-missing their targets with their wild gunfire.
The aliens themself humorously called Prawns are interesting creatures themselves and the shooting around and of them is handled well. How do you draw emotion from an alien face? And I'm not talking putty-on-your-face aliens that Star Trek is so fond of, but computer generated little goobies. (They aren't little, take that out! - Editor) Angle, lighting, music, the emotions are conveyed through the medium of the movie itself, for those who can't discern any emotion from the still livid alien faces.
The main character, Wicus, is also a charming fella with a good heart who the audience should take to upon first seeing him. Seeing most of the movie is shot by his side this is a good thing, once it has you it wont let you go until the movie's finished. Whenever I'm watching a horror/thriller type movie all the old tricks are so easy to spot, the "background covered up by an opened cupboard door into JUMP OUT MONSTER RAR!" and such tricks don't affect me and never have, but I jumped about 15 times in this movie, just ask Jason.
These weren't the horrowshow type jumps though, more concern for the characters and whatever was about to happen to them. If you're queezy and have an easily upset gut prepare some head turns, but not too often and never for too long. Compared to Inglourious Basterds though this is an absolute walk in the park.
It does change styles from beginning of the movie to the end however, which a few might find unsettling or stupid, but it's a necessary change and a cleverly used device. It begins as a documentary and changes from there into, obviously, some action, sci-fi gadgetry and other fun stuff. I wont spoil a thing though, but I loved the fun special effects in this movie. Compared to the way Hancock changed from "funny superzero turned superhero" into "serious emotional driven plot" in what felt like a rough handbreak turn in your nan's old Cortina (whiplash all over my neck) District 9 gets away with it more like a smooth handbreak turn with Neo at the wheel while inside the Matrix.
The cast' groups were also more varied and realistic then previous movies. There's the humans, the aliens and the government (naturally) and those who want to feed of such things, like the media personalities, the people who are naturally against the aliens (aren't even earthlings!) and those who are for the aliens (hippy love, anyone?) and even some scheming nigerians who are at home in District 9 dealing with the aliens as they would be outside District 9 and dealing with humans. Funny chaps.
By the way, Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's dad.
Thoroughly enjoyable, even got claps from a few dorks at the end when the credits rolled (yours truly included, I'm a supporter of clappers in general). More fun then Inglourious Basterds but these two movies are from different directors trying to do different things. Tarantino was having fun finishing a movie he'd wanted to make for 10 years, while District 9 is a briliant piece of escapism/action/sci-fi that also acts as social commentary on ever present refugee situations.
In terms of aliens there is no mystery to them here, the thrill is how things are dealt with, not the aliens themselves. For that, see Alien, Aliens and maybe Aliens 3.
In terms of sci-fi fun I don't recall this amount of fun and genuine "Holy shit wow!" moments since Back to the Future. Terminator's main grab (I just can't bag that movie enough) was the Terminator monster and great big one's at that, which seemed a pathetic attempt to cash in on T2s fame as well as the recent success of the large-sized robots Transformers, and they got it pathetically wrong. Robots without a story, however big and ready-to-fight, are boring contraptions. District 9's sci-fi is, quite literally, out of this world.
In terms of a movie itself there's plenty of camera angles and shit you haven't seen before, or atleast not a great deal of. Things like "gun cam" (the wielder sighted from a gun barrel mounted cam faced backwards), first person interview shots, wide establishing shots (with an alien mothership floating in midspace), security footage shots, plenty.
I'd love to give "District 9" 8.5 outta 10 but I just don't think as many viewers will have the fun with it that I did, considering my bias for sci-fi. The script wasn't as heavily written as something like Inglourious Basterds, either. To make 2.45 hours NOT FEEL LIKE 2.45 hours is an incredibly odd feat to pull off, but then again District 9 didn't feel like it was 2 hours long, and I did wanna see more after the credits rolled.
More fun and with social relevancy, I'd be more likely to foist this onto friends rather than Inglourious Basterds if they were the kind to consider their movie-money "precious" enough to not simlpy go and see both.
8/10
Thursday, August 20, 2009
NO SPOILER Inglourious Basterds
Not one actor ill-picked. Bloody long though, 2.45 hours so do consider whether you've got a sore back or not. Or if your bum gets numb. Also don't drink before hand. It doesn't feel like 2.45 hours though so that's good.
All minor problems none of which relate to the movie itself. It's well written and Brad Pitt does a great job. It's a true Tarantino movie as well, plenty of his signatures all over this thing. Do remember that they were written at the same time, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds, the musical cues are stiflingly similar.
I don't want to spoil any of it, so see it and just pick a time, then go. Movies aren't really better or worse based on who you see it with, that just makes the before and after of a movie more tolerable depending on who you are. Pick a time, tell people, go regardless.
Would like to place all of Tarantino's movies in order of preference but having NOT seen Jacky Brown yet I've got some homework to do. Got the soundtrack for Reservoir Dogs in my hot little hands, thank you muchly to April! Oh hell's may as well do the list as far as I've seen. This excludes Dusk Til Dawn:
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Kill Bill Vol 1
3. Reservoir Dogs & Inglourious Basterds
5. Kill Bill Vol 2
It's cheating to put Dogs and Basterds on the same spot but it's still settling into my subconscious and being picked at to see how well it stands after the mushrooms and pineapple pieces have been picked off. Have I missed on there?
Inglourious Basterds is true to it's catchphrase - not your daddy's war movie. My own wouldn't watch this past the opening credits.
8.5/10
All minor problems none of which relate to the movie itself. It's well written and Brad Pitt does a great job. It's a true Tarantino movie as well, plenty of his signatures all over this thing. Do remember that they were written at the same time, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds, the musical cues are stiflingly similar.
I don't want to spoil any of it, so see it and just pick a time, then go. Movies aren't really better or worse based on who you see it with, that just makes the before and after of a movie more tolerable depending on who you are. Pick a time, tell people, go regardless.
Would like to place all of Tarantino's movies in order of preference but having NOT seen Jacky Brown yet I've got some homework to do. Got the soundtrack for Reservoir Dogs in my hot little hands, thank you muchly to April! Oh hell's may as well do the list as far as I've seen. This excludes Dusk Til Dawn:
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Kill Bill Vol 1
3. Reservoir Dogs & Inglourious Basterds
5. Kill Bill Vol 2
It's cheating to put Dogs and Basterds on the same spot but it's still settling into my subconscious and being picked at to see how well it stands after the mushrooms and pineapple pieces have been picked off. Have I missed on there?
Inglourious Basterds is true to it's catchphrase - not your daddy's war movie. My own wouldn't watch this past the opening credits.
8.5/10
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Opening Night
Welcome everyone to the first entry into my new movie blog. What's it going to contain? Well everything I do that revolves around movies. Reviews, old classics watched, techniques and thoughts on them. Why would any sane person do all this? Well being a Screen Media student might have something to do with it.
I've also got a few very short videos already out there on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/ostimeg is where you want to head for those. Don't bother with "Fox Murdoch eats a ____ burger", it's unedited 10 minute reels, watch not lest ye be bored yourself.
And for a quick splish splash dive into my movie mindset, what's my favourite and what am I watching now?
Favourite movie, at the moment, is Requiem for a Dream. Why? Mostly for it's fantastic connection with it's audience, I've watched Requiem three times and each time was left very tense in my whole body. Consistancy like that is rare in a movie.
What am I watching right now? After a quick shower I'm going to finish off a few movies I've started lately:
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: a Space Oddysey
Coraline
Cats: the Musical (it's a one-hot wonder in terms of musicals. Do you know "Memories"?)
That'll mean I've finished three movies tonight, which is a rather palsey imitation of the self-education that Francois Truffault placed upon himself, being three movies a day and three books a week. Still he didn't have full time uni to contend with, so I figure one of each is good enough.
I promise no regularity in my updates, but plenty of a fun read when they appear.
I've also got a few very short videos already out there on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/ostimeg is where you want to head for those. Don't bother with "Fox Murdoch eats a ____ burger", it's unedited 10 minute reels, watch not lest ye be bored yourself.
And for a quick splish splash dive into my movie mindset, what's my favourite and what am I watching now?
Favourite movie, at the moment, is Requiem for a Dream. Why? Mostly for it's fantastic connection with it's audience, I've watched Requiem three times and each time was left very tense in my whole body. Consistancy like that is rare in a movie.
What am I watching right now? After a quick shower I'm going to finish off a few movies I've started lately:
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: a Space Oddysey
Coraline
Cats: the Musical (it's a one-hot wonder in terms of musicals. Do you know "Memories"?)
That'll mean I've finished three movies tonight, which is a rather palsey imitation of the self-education that Francois Truffault placed upon himself, being three movies a day and three books a week. Still he didn't have full time uni to contend with, so I figure one of each is good enough.
I promise no regularity in my updates, but plenty of a fun read when they appear.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
