Couldn’t agree more on Odd Thomas. It could’ve even worked as a fantastic TV pilot. Why even finance a movie, if you’re gonna just dump it like that. And the guy Anthony Yeltzhin (the new Chekov from rebooted Star Trek), who plays the main character. is great here. It’s a star making role even and it could’ve been a great comeback for Sommers. If I wasn’t Sommers’ fan, I totally wouldn’t know about this movie. I even forgot its title after seeing it, since NO ONE ever mentions it online and you’ve just reminded me.
Instead of making it big after this, Yelchin is now starring in Joe Dante’s latest zombie horror comedy Burying the Ex (2014) about a guy who moves on after his girl dies in a car crash, but then she comes back because “love is eternal” and wants him back as well as brains. The style of the movie is similar to this, but later Dante is no later Sommers unfortunately.
Nightcrawler is the movie of the year, next to Whiplash (please tell me you’ve seen this, it’s a super intense must see movie for everyone) and Anderson’s Budapest Hotel (this isn’t for everyone, but it’s a great tribute to film making styles and the cast is excellent). The Raid 2 came out last year as well and better than the original, since there’s actual story here and the whole thing feels like a never made John Woo’s Hong Kong movie in a good way.
If you’re into non-exploitative psychological/sociological dramas, French movie Two Days, One Night, about a wife and mother who’s about to lose her job at a factory unless she convince the majority of her coworkers to vote that another person loses their job instead, is quite a find. I really dislike French movies and aren’t all that into foreign movies in general (although I’m a foreigner ironically), but this movie is an exception. There’s no big reveals here, but the leading actress, Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard, is carrying the movie quite well, the movie is quick-paced and it’s composed of her attempts during one weekend to find, talk and convince people to give her a chance, since the boss gave them the right to choose who should be fired. The people’s reactions to her request are often gray and you realize that there is no right or wrong stand here. Everyone have their own reasons to be for or against her and you can’t really judge most of them (there’s always a couple of assholes, of course).
Also, the best documentary is Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing about the ideological mass purges in Indonesia in the 1960s by local militias who (literally) thought they were channeling the cowboys and mobsters they loved watching in the local theaters as they killed. They were fighting commies on their home turf by summary executions of anyone they didn’t like or were told that might be a red. You want to see banality of evil? This is it. The killers, who are now just old men and still hold significant local influence talk openly about their love of American movies as well as the killings. They always wanted to be in the movies, and since they know they won’t be punished for their crimes under current regime, they agreed to show how they killed and talk about their victims, if they’re allowed to act it out like in a community theater. This movie is honest, shocking, disturbing, psychological as hell, highly entertaining in a fucked up way and perverted surreal tribute to film as an artform as well portrayal of seemingly simple everyday grandads, who are at their hearts ruthless killers proud of their work with only a tiny pinch of self-realizations, what monsters they were, buried in decades of denial. A unique documentary in its concept, presentation and execution.
And if you love wtf Hollywood, you ought to see Winter’s Tale (2014). Great cast, bizarre plot.
The worst movie? Godzilla for sure (everything in the movie except for the actual Godzilla is crap, and since Godzilla is in it for 15 minutes, the movie becomes a huge waste of time other than when his two fight scenes happen). I’m amused that Transformers 4 got all the shit for having annoying characters, but this movie whose characters are even worse cardboard cutouts played by even less engaged actors gets a pass because of the 15 minutes of Godzilla in it. And for the record, I liked the 1998 movie too. Never got all the hate for it. Yeah, Godzilla is a giant dinosaur, so? At least he’s the star of its own movie. Liked the TV show too. The only reason why I want to see Godzilla 2 is because it can’t possibly be more boring and have less Godzilla in it than the first movie.
I really, really wanted to like Babadook but the kid killed it for me. I know he was supposed to have problems but it came off more annoying than anything. I won’t badmouth the film because I liked that it was something completely unique and it was done well but ugh, that kid. Have not seen Pride.
follow:
Couldn’t agree more on Odd Thomas. It could’ve even worked as a fantastic TV pilot. Why even finance a movie, if you’re gonna just dump it like that. And the guy Anthony Yeltzhin (the new Chekov from rebooted Star Trek), who plays the main character. is great here. It’s a star making role even and it could’ve been a great comeback for Sommers. If I wasn’t Sommers’ fan, I totally wouldn’t know about this movie. I even forgot its title after seeing it, since NO ONE ever mentions it online and you’ve just reminded me.
Instead of making it big after this, Yelchin is now starring in Joe Dante’s latest zombie horror comedy Burying the Ex (2014) about a guy who moves on after his girl dies in a car crash, but then she comes back because “love is eternal” and wants him back as well as brains. The style of the movie is similar to this, but later Dante is no later Sommers unfortunately.
Nightcrawler is the movie of the year, next to Whiplash (please tell me you’ve seen this, it’s a super intense must see movie for everyone) and Anderson’s Budapest Hotel (this isn’t for everyone, but it’s a great tribute to film making styles and the cast is excellent). The Raid 2 came out last year as well and better than the original, since there’s actual story here and the whole thing feels like a never made John Woo’s Hong Kong movie in a good way.
If you’re into non-exploitative psychological/sociological dramas, French movie Two Days, One Night, about a wife and mother who’s about to lose her job at a factory unless she convince the majority of her coworkers to vote that another person loses their job instead, is quite a find. I really dislike French movies and aren’t all that into foreign movies in general (although I’m a foreigner ironically), but this movie is an exception. There’s no big reveals here, but the leading actress, Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard, is carrying the movie quite well, the movie is quick-paced and it’s composed of her attempts during one weekend to find, talk and convince people to give her a chance, since the boss gave them the right to choose who should be fired. The people’s reactions to her request are often gray and you realize that there is no right or wrong stand here. Everyone have their own reasons to be for or against her and you can’t really judge most of them (there’s always a couple of assholes, of course).
Also, the best documentary is Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing about the ideological mass purges in Indonesia in the 1960s by local militias who (literally) thought they were channeling the cowboys and mobsters they loved watching in the local theaters as they killed. They were fighting commies on their home turf by summary executions of anyone they didn’t like or were told that might be a red. You want to see banality of evil? This is it. The killers, who are now just old men and still hold significant local influence talk openly about their love of American movies as well as the killings. They always wanted to be in the movies, and since they know they won’t be punished for their crimes under current regime, they agreed to show how they killed and talk about their victims, if they’re allowed to act it out like in a community theater. This movie is honest, shocking, disturbing, psychological as hell, highly entertaining in a fucked up way and perverted surreal tribute to film as an artform as well portrayal of seemingly simple everyday grandads, who are at their hearts ruthless killers proud of their work with only a tiny pinch of self-realizations, what monsters they were, buried in decades of denial. A unique documentary in its concept, presentation and execution.
And if you love wtf Hollywood, you ought to see Winter’s Tale (2014). Great cast, bizarre plot.
The worst movie? Godzilla for sure (everything in the movie except for the actual Godzilla is crap, and since Godzilla is in it for 15 minutes, the movie becomes a huge waste of time other than when his two fight scenes happen). I’m amused that Transformers 4 got all the shit for having annoying characters, but this movie whose characters are even worse cardboard cutouts played by even less engaged actors gets a pass because of the 15 minutes of Godzilla in it. And for the record, I liked the 1998 movie too. Never got all the hate for it. Yeah, Godzilla is a giant dinosaur, so? At least he’s the star of its own movie. Liked the TV show too. The only reason why I want to see Godzilla 2 is because it can’t possibly be more boring and have less Godzilla in it than the first movie.
I’ll check the ones you mentioned out!
Why wasn’t the babadook on your best of list and have you seen pride?
I really, really wanted to like Babadook but the kid killed it for me. I know he was supposed to have problems but it came off more annoying than anything. I won’t badmouth the film because I liked that it was something completely unique and it was done well but ugh, that kid. Have not seen Pride.
Since it wasn’t mentioned here or on the vampire episode of Radiodrome I highly recommend What We Do in the Shadows a fanastic Vampire comedy.
will check it out