Lazy Post

Wow it's taken me the day that I'm leaving to go overseas to post this lol. Really quick post cos I'm lazy and I can't be be bothered writing more than a few lines of these, partly cos I can't remember what I thought and partly so I can stop piling up my backlog of reviews.

Anyway using the ever efficient tool....bullet points!

• Watched The Matrix. Yes in all my 20 years I've never watched this sci-fi classic, so I thought it was time.
  
  

  

  Lesson learned: always carry spoon in case of doubts about reality

  It was super fun to spot all the landmarks in Sydney, where it was filmed. I kind of squealed when I saw a Westpac (bank represent!) building hahaha... Awesome idea, excellent execution, cool cyber-punk aesthetic, but a little cheesy at times. Ending felt a bit forced and rushed. 4/5 STARS.
• Went and saw the highly anticipated Looper at the cinema.
  
  

  

  Man couldn't stop marvelling at the prosthetics used on JGL, wonder if it was weird for Bruce Willis

  I love a well done time travel movie, and love dystopian depictions too! So this was an (almost) A+ in my book. Great thriller atmosphere (FML totally thought I was going to have nightmares at one part). Like The Matrix, let down by the slightly hurried ending. 4/5 STARS.
• I've only ever seen one short film of Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, whose luscious cinematography I wanted to experience in a feature length format, so I decided to go with one of his most famous works, In the Mood for Love.
  
  
  
  Um.....guuuuhhhhh, just GUUHHHHH at ALL the imagery. COUPLED with the MUSIC. It's one of those movies that every screen grab can become a trending Tumblr post. Acting was nuanced but very on point by both the gorgeous Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. I wish I looked good in a cheongsam.... 4.5/5 STARS.
• Had a good old chill sesh with one of me and my friends' guilty comedy favourites: White Chicks.
  
  

  

  Looks so wrong, yet so right

  I can never understand its low rating on IMDB, but I can't really describe why it makes me laugh without fail every time either. Maybe it's the quotability, almost on par with Mean Girls even (I just checked and Mean Girls is a 6.9 on IMDB!?!?). Maybe I'm just too low-brow. 4.5/5 STARS. (please don't judge me)
• Decided to further foray into the magical land of Ghibli and gave one of the older ones, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, a go.
  
  
  
  I had already experienced Miyazaki's environmental themes in Princess Mononoke but this was something slightly different. Maybe it's the sci-fi and dystopian elements again that drew me in, reminded me a bit of Akira. Nausicaä herself was a little lack lustre but other characters made up for it. Dem bugs though....*shudder* 4/5 STARS.
• So the trailer for Now You See Me came out and it looks AWESOME:
  
  
• Can't help thinking the genre 'Black Fu' doesn't sit right with me, with the release of The Man with the Iron Fists

Movies Janet is Essited About: Alternate Realities

Just a quick dump of some trailers/pics of upcoming films that make me go 'Oooohhhhhh...'. And I don't know, I tried to find a theme amongst them and came up with something ridiculous like 'Alternate Realities' because, well, these things don't happen in real life I guess. But do stories in movies ever do? Except docos and movies based on true stories *cough*.

First is a trailer for kids animation Rise of the Guardians, which is about magical characters children are all familiar with, including Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman. How great does this reinterpretation of them look? Plus they're made by the same people behind How to Train Your Dragon, yay!

More ridiculously awesome eye candy with Oz: The Great and Powerful, which stars James Franco and is an imagined prequel about the wizard in The Wizard of Oz. Looks beautiful but not so sure about the content, familiar Alice in Wonderland territory?

Combining epic visuals with epic storylines is Cloud Atlas, an adaptation of the bestselling book that I am currently hunting down. Hopefully the giant team of Hollywood heavyweights doesn't up the cheese factor on this awesome cross-dimensional, time-travelling, multi-narrative flick (enough hyphens yet?).

Oh and the trailer is crazy long:

Along the same lines of fusing surrealism and constant questioning of life itself, we have indie film Love. A lonely astronaut questions his sanity and other existentialist questions while we're bombarded with other scenes that are probably quite meaningful as well. Reminds me of Moon, which I need to watch. Obviously it's too hard to tell what the themes are yet but here's the trailer:

But oh my god that awesome soundtrack by Angels & Airwaves...it really is the icing on the cake. Hopefully it really is awesome despite the low rating it has on IMDB right now.

Last on the list is a bit on the bloody side, with new photos emerging of Chloe Moretz of Kick-Ass fame and Julianne Moore from Carrie, which is more a re-adaption of the Stephen King book than a remake of the 1976 version.

Keeping the picture small so I don't get creeped out by my own blog *wuss*

No that is not her own blood, but that doesn't mean the story isn't creepy. I read the book a long time ago and am excited to see the main character Carrie portrayed by the awesome Chloe, while her psychotic mother is portrayed by the equally awesome Moore.

Yay hopefully I'll get to watch some of these! Unlike others that have been hyped and neglected..... Prometheus *cough*

REVIEWS: Millennium Actress (2001), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) & The Godfather: Part II (1974)

My excuse for not posting for more than a month is that I've been obsessed with watching the Olympics. Well I guess that's not really an excuse since it's only been on for over a fortnight.... Anyway I shall not ramble on too much and quickly cruise through the three movies I've consumed in the last few weeks.

The first is Millennium Actress, a Japanese animated film that I watched because I love the director Satoshi Kon's more famous feature Paprika. The plot is a lot more demure and less ambitious, recounting the lovelorn life story of a now reclusive actress.

Sadness weaves in and out of the roles the actress plays and her real life

I say demure, but being a Satoshi Kon film it still retains all the whimsical surrealist imagery that I actually sometimes find more refreshing than Studio Ghibli's features *shock horror*. I feel that this film tries to say a lot about the main character's tragic romantic quest, but is buried under too much symbolism and left me a little befuddled, even more than usual with Japanese cinema. I guess I was hoping for more of Paprika's smorgasbord of visuals.

TL;DR VERDICT: 3.5/5 stars, tugs on my heartstrings but left wanting something more

Second off the list is none other than The Dark Knight Rises. Is there really anything to say? Everyone who hasn't been living under a rock has seen it already, and even those who haven't have already formed their own opinion of it.

Christopher Nolan reunites his Inception buddies to party down in Gotham City and does a pretty good job of it. Ed Hardy as the calculating brute Bane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young police officer and Marion Cotillard as Batman's socialite girly.

Yes we made fun of Batman's voice as usual afterwards, and even pretended to speak like a maniacal Bane as well (how inaudible was his voice?). But everything is as you imagined, being the last installment of Nolan's amazing trilogy. I was even impressed with Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, and a very clever rendition of her cat ears that made me go "Ooohhh I get it...". Only thing I could comment on was the slightly rushed ending that seemed to try and round off everything too quickly.

TL;DR VERDICT: 4.5/5 stars, nananana nananana BATMAN! ie. it's very good, almost better than The Dark Knight

Lastly I decided to continue on my Godfather journey and watch Part II (Roman numerals so fancy) of the trilogy. OH MY GOD, Robert De Niro, I have a whole new outlook on you. Since when did you ooze so much class and become so smooth? I know I sound like a complete film bimbo for not realising your acting potential beyond imposing dads in B grade romantic comedies.

A behind the scenes shot but look at this suave father-son duo

De Niro portrays young Vito from Part I as part of the parallel storylines with his son Michael's story as the new Godfather. To be honest I enjoyed Vito's rags to riches story a lot more than Michael's. It was a lot more empowering I guess, than the progressively more depressing descent of his son's.

The juxtaposition between the two storylines just makes it even more heartbreaking as the Corleone family dynamics shift ever more towards dysfunction. I think breaking it up also made the length of the movie more bearable (although I did watch it in two sittings because my movie buddy fell asleep....). Now I just have to watch Part III for closure, and ignore the huge plot points I accidentally spoiled for myself. *sigh*

TL;DR VERDICT: 5/5 stars, two epic mafia storylines in one movie make sitting on your butt for 3 hours worthwhile

That's all for now, I'm very excited about a few upcoming trailers and such, will probably post on them soon!

REVIEW: The Godfather (1972)

After my friend's suggestion, I watched one of those movies that always appears on those 'Top 10 Movies of All Time' Lists - The Godfather.

I feel like a lot of the film's brilliance was lost on me due to a number of reasons. One because I always have high expectations of acclaimed films such as this one. Secondly the film was way too long for someone who grew up in the internet age and rolls their eyes at a 20 minute YouTube video. It dragged on a bit and it was hard paying attention to everything.

And lastly not only do I have the attention span of a goldfish I'm also as deaf as a....um...bat? No that's not right.... Well I always miss lines in movies and I'm one of those people that has to know what every single character, however minor, said at each second. Foreign accents just make it that much harder for me, so subtitles are my best friend even when I'm watching something in English. Actually not even foreign accents, as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button proved THAT wrong. So yeah, the rolling r's and mumbling crescendos of the sing-songy Sicilian accents were so very authentic but I felt like I missed a lot of important dialogue.

All in all, repeat viewings are in order methinks.

Marlon Brando really stood out as the titular godfather figure Don Corleone, an amazing characterisation from the get go with that limply hanging jaw (apparently Brando came up with that by putting cotton balls in his mouth) and all-knowing look he scrutinises everything with. And according to IMDB, he was only a few years older than the actors who played his sons, so cudos to hair and makeup.

Look at that deliciously dark chiaroscuro

The family dynamics between the Corleones was also played out very well and Al Pacino's Michael gradually transitioning from a reluctant bystander and foil to a key member of the gang operations was fascinating to observe.

And not just Al Pacino, amazing execution from all of the cast, many of whom looked so young and different that I didn't realise who they were until afterwards.

That's Diane Keaton, believe it or not. Yes you may pick up your jaw now.

I think a lot of the fun of watching this movie was also due to the fact that it was so famous and referenced that it became a game of 'spot the famous scene', with shouts of 'Oh my god! That scene! That sceeeennne! ...and that liiinne!'. It was fun to finally see them in context. Not gonna give anything away, but they're so famous you know...

TL;DR VERDICT: 4/5 stars, beautiful detailed epic with epic cast, a little drawn out though

In a gangster mood now, will probably try to watch the others in this trilogy and perhaps Scarface and Goodfellas too.

Procrastination Reviews

Somewhere between the start of stuvac and the end of exams I managed to fit in four movies, a feat only plausible in the wild frenzy that is exam procrastination. And as my usual lazy self, I was only bothered to WATCH but not to actually document my thoughts on them here. So now that exams have ended and I've finally comfortably settled into holiday mode, I thought I should redeem myself.

I saw the new Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator to celebrate the end of semester, in the blind refusal that it also signaled the on-coming exams. Mr Baron Cohen, I salute you for being a ridiculously normal looking guy (with a British accent to boost!) and then being able to slip into one of your crazy characters like that - *insert finger snap*. Pretty unique considering most Hollywood comedic actors feel the need to be 'on show' even off screen.

I had low expectations for The Dictator because the trailer gave me a more formulaic feel than Sacha's previous endeavours such as Borat and I was scared it would lose the shock value that made his comedies so great. I was pleasantly surprised when he still managed to turn it around in this giant parody of extreme leaders that pop up on our news programs now and again. Highlights include a soundtrack of Arabic renditions of songs popular from film soundtracks and a Wii game tailor made for blood-thirsty tyrants. Props for attention to detail.

Some parts of the script felt a little contrived so at the end of the day, not super amazing.

TL;DR VERDICT: 3/5 stars, good for short term laughs, not memorable

Next on my list is a little more adventurous, as I decided to sit down with my mum one night and take advantage of SBS's Bollywood season. And what was on that night was Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, which is a typical rom-com with a geeky guy getting a makeover for love.

I haven't ventured very much into Bollywood territory but at least this film let me have a proper look at the apparent 'Brad Pitt of Bollywood' aka Shahrukh Khan. All I can say is, I can see where he might be idolised....but his constant derpy expression seemed comical and over the top, even as a nerd in a comedy. Seriously I've seen glimpses of him in other movies and I swear that look is plastered on his face 24/7. Also I got creeped out by the fact that he's forty and his jaw-droppingly gorgeous leading ladies are all almost a generation younger.

Apparently a makeover also means a return to the nineties

Apart from not being used to the super long length of Bollywood movies, I found myself enjoying the catchy songs and cheesy romance. What really impressed me though, was the gorgeous cinematography, which increased my wanderlust towards the subcontinent of India. Loved the motif of yellow which drew everything from the bustling streets to the isolated temple together.

Guh, I'm gushing all over the place at the landscape

TL;DR VERDICT: 3/5 stars, cute cheesy rom-com with added spice (aha)

The third movie on my procrastination list was a classic that I really wanted to watch - Frank Miller's Sin City. Wow, what can I say. At first I was unaccustomed to the comic book stylisation and found it cheesy (I'm overusing this word in this post), but soon the gripping plot and tough characters grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me hard, and threw me into their monochrome world.

I relish any movie that thrills and chills me, and it's actually harder than you think even as I'm a wimp when it comes to violence. So the almost cartoon-like quality to the gritty underground world made me feel a bit less uneasy. Even so, I don't think I'll ever forget Elijah Wood's Kevin's creepy unwavering eyes. I had to pause the movie after his segment and resume the next day. Yes you may make fun of me now.

Damn Frodo, you've really changed after Mordor

Besides that, I loved the alternative noir elements, I loved the really well done interconnecting plots, and the casting was excellent (including the brilliant late Brittany Murphy). Well.....except for Alexis Bledel. Please, just stay in Gilmore Girls, you don't belong in Basin City, even if you were supposed to portray an innocent girl. I mean how can you compare to this:

And don't get me started on the awesome rocking soundtrack. If I played this track while doing chores it would be the most epic of tasks ever.

TL;DR VERDICT: 5/5 stars, black and white only serves to highlight all the awesome in Basin City

Last on my list is something I randomly picked out at this year's Sydney Film Festival. When I finished picking up the pieces of my heart after being rejected from volunteering there, I still decided to go back and see one film, being exam season after all. It took me so long to decide before a last minute addition to the program caught my eye and I purchased a ticket to Holy Motors.

Hmm....how to explain this French film? Basically a man, Oscar, rides around in a limousine every day and completes 'assignments', which involve him assuming a new identity and playing that character to its fullest. So I guess this is basically one big collection of character studies and a big meta exploration of acting and theatre itself. Only not for an audience, but for life.

Before I get too philosophical (I'm still confused about the film myself), this was an amazingly weird movie. Everything from street urchins to a motion capture artist to a family man is explored by the same man, and nothing is explained.

Intriguing, beautiful and erotic

But unlike a lot of pretentious ambiguous film festival entrants, this one still managed to coax out laughs from the audience, although we weren't really sure what we were laughing about, we knew it was partially intended. Perhaps it was the seriousness of A-list actresses in absolutely head-scratching situations:

Eva Mendes is not fazed by strange companions when it comes to smoke breaks

There isn't much to say except go out and see this, one way or another, just to see what kind of reaction it'll elicit in you. Oh, and Kylie Minogue's in it too.

TL;DR VERDICT: 4/5 stars, strange, intriguing, will leave you wanting an answer, but to what question?

REVIEWS: The Avengers (2012) & A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Yes I know I've only got around to a review at my fourth post. But alas, uni is a pain and I haven't got around to watching anything......until BAM - two movies in one day.

I watched The Avengers in the cinemas, without 3D cos I'm poor it's distracting. It's been anywhere and everywhere in the cinemasphere, so I was pretty late to the party. First of all I haven't watched ANY of the previous movies related to the main superheros and their franchises, so this was a pretty new thing for me. Apart from wishing that I knew some of the back stories, director Joss Whedon did a pretty good job updating all those clueless audiences like yours truly.

What's that up there? Oh just our box office sales kicking everyone's ass as it shoots to the sky.

Let's see.....action? Check. Cliched catch phrases? Check. Search for the true meaning of heroism? Check. Ok so it sounds like a pretty typical superhero movie, but instead of the usual personal character development of the one or two superheroes, The Avengers wins by having an array of characters who've already settled into their heroic roles and instead plays on the development of relationships between them. As seen by recent movies like X-Men: First Class, having a league of superheroes not only ups the awesome but allows for some superpower-fueled disputes and camaraderie.

To top it off the editing was seamless and everything was segwayed together nicely, even if a little cheesy. But hey, it is a superhero movie. Plus there was a nice smattering of humour here and there, and nothing out of character.

Things I couldn't help noticing included the fact that Thor was predominantly still that guy from Home & Away in my head, perhaps you could work on your accent Chris Hemsworth?

Captain America fights along Captain Straya with his tousled beach hair

I loved the unique blend of mythological, alien high-tech and prehistoric biological aesthetics that gave us awesome alien worms (fish?) that looked like they came out of Starcraft:

Y'know, just casually gliding through and destroying your city

The only thing I hoped could be changed was the fact that the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) could have been a much more badass character. She had the perfect tough persona and killer moves but seriously, compared to people like the god of thunder she looked a little lack-luster. I mean c'mon, even Hawkeye the other under-represented Avenger at least got to use some badass exploding arrows. Maybe it's my inner feminist showing, but I guess it could be contributed to the comics being written in a more conservative time.

Having an explosive background doesn't help the fact that she only got a plain black uniform and regular guns, *sigh*

The good news is that apparently the Black Widow will get her own movie soon, so I guess it works out after all!

TL;DR VERDICT: 4/5 stars, 6 Avengers in one movie means more bang for your buck

Now onto the second movie, which I watched on telly, something I haven't done for a long time. For those who don't know, A Beautiful Mind is about the life of famous mathematician John Nash whose life spirals out of control after he accepts covert work for the Department of Defence, without giving too much away.

Much of the movie is more a character study of Nash (played by Russell Crowe) and how his straight-forward nature means he pretty much has no friends, which plays to his strengths as he likes staying in the library alone while scribbling maths functions. I thought Crowe did a pretty good job translating his anti-social traits like a bashful chin waggle or nervous limp. He almost stepped across the line into over-acting territory but mostly had us sympathising with Nash.

Derpy Russell does maths good, nawwww

When Nash becomes extremely paranoid as he realises he's bitten off more than he can chew in his double life, the tone is set perfectly to become tense and doubtful as we're taken along for the ride with him. This, through Nash's POV, was a large part of what makes A Beautiful Mind worthwhile. Good musical scores also kept the suspense going in these scenes, while contrasting with the blossoming romance in other parts.

Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar as Mrs Nash but although her character was a good foil to bounce off all of Nash's problems and insecurities, I don't think it was hard to portray a woman pained and trapped by love. And I guess she WAS gorgeous:

Not so antisocial after all

What struck a chord with me most though, was the fact that a lot of Nash's paranoia and ambition-driven big-headedness came from his fear of not being recognised for his work, and his UNIQUE work at that. The search for that one thing that would make him and only him stand out from the rest is something that I have felt many times. *sigh*.....sorry for the personal tangent but I got a little emotional whenever this was brought up in the movie.

TL;DR VERDICT: 4/5 stars, the twists + emotional baggage + a love story to boot = equation for success (Yes I did just make a maths equation cos it was a maths movie..............what of it).

This blog post has dragged on way too long already but since we're already here here's a lovely Mother's Day message from Hugh Jackman on the set of Les Miserables, happy Mother's Day everyone =).

Reboots and Reinventions

Hollywood seems to be getting lazier and lazier lately. All you hear are reboots, re-adaptations and prequels after sequels after spin-offs after.......you get the idea. Case in point: is it just me or has the land of reboots outdone themselves with only 5 years spanned between Andrew Garfield in spandex and Tobey Maguire in spandex? Guys, srsly. SRSLY, YOU GUISE.

I see no difference besides eye candy for a new generation

That's not so bad when the formula works, they're popular and keep everyone happy dappy, but what irks me a little more than usual is when Hollywood decides to re-adapt popular foreign films. Why?

Is it because of the much more talented Hollywood actors? Um, NO.

Is it so we can better appreciate the original movie and pay homage to it? Hardly, since the most of the originals are forgotten.

Is it so we can introduce new exciting elements into western cinema?  NONONONONONONONONO. I'm sorry Keanu Reeves, as much as your Sad Keanu memes are endearing to me, I will forever be disappointed that you got stuck as the American Kaneda, who should not only remain Japanese but AS AN ANIMATED ONE AT THAT.

But why ELSE, you ask?

Is it so that western audiences can understand the language? Unfortunately, YES. 'Tis true, we are apparently too lazy to read subtitles. I mean c'mon, foreign audiences read subtitles all the time, Y U NO LEARN? This is also why I have a problem with dubbed animes, which completely devolved the sound aspect of the productions. Plus c'mon subtitles give us gems like this:

Is it so we can see the same story played out by familiar faces? Another YES. Although I am too chicken to ever watch Old Boy, I have read the synopsis and the general consensus is that it's brilliant. But nooooo, apparently we can't form a deep emotional bond with incredibly creepy and disturbing characters unless they're WHITE. I mean what's the point of cinema if you're going to concentrate on the ACTOR instead of the CHARACTER?

MORAL OF THE STORY: the majority of foreign adaptations wipe any trace of the foreign culture away (one of the key attractions in the first place) and repackage it into your standard Hollywood production. Very rarely do they work. I look forward to the day when foreign cinema can have a wider distribution and subtitles will only be a minor setback.

Going on to the less ranty part of this post, many young stars are starting to break out of their teen idol typecast mold. What with Daniel Radcliffe's Woman in Black out, fellow Harry Potter star Robert Pattinson's new dystopian action/drama Cosmopolis has also released a full trailer:

RobPattz plays a young billionaire in a limo going across Manhattan for a haircut. Sounds meh but there's a lot more sex, violence and philosophical musing than expected in usual limo rides, especially considering it comes from the director of The Fly. Curious to see what viewers will think when it first shows at Cannes this year.

Pattz has been busy nabbing roles as troubled youths as news has it that he's been cast in David Michod's new film The Rover, another gritty crime drama similar to his awesome Animal Kingdom (YAY AUSSIE FILMS!!).