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Posted: |
Aug 15, 2014 - 6:17 AM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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Divergent (2014) -- 7/10
Love the books (so far, just started the third in the trilogy) and thought this was a mostly faithful and successful adaptation. Great casting for the important characters and well done execution of bringing book to screen. Unfortunately, however, there were parts that seemed frankly like kids playing dress up and playing with toys as opposed to characters in a sci-fi movie with futuristic weapons and tech. Fine acting. Junkie XL's score was excellent at most times but glaringly pedestrian once or twice. Jai Courtney and Miles Teller were awesome and perfectly cast as the asshole villains, as was Kate Winslet who projected an icy veneer (although she wasn't given much to work with -- ditto Tony Goldwyn as Tris's dad, although he was given a few great moments). Other standouts include Theo James, Ashley Judd, Zoe Kravitz (loved her), and of course Shailene Woodley as Tris, who acquitted herself wonderfully and handled the film's most devastating emotional moment with shattering vulnerability. Some parts felt rushed through but that's probably just because I have read the book and am accustomed to the more detailed narrative. Really looking forward to the next film, Insurgent, which in the book series is a whole lot better story and will make a much better film too I would be willing to bet...
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Posted: |
Aug 17, 2014 - 7:22 AM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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Woman in Black (2012) -- 7/10
Very good old-fashioned horror. Beautifully shot and well-staged. A bit slow at times. The most exciting and terrifying stretch of the film is the middle section with Daniel Radcliffe discovering the horrors of the Eel Marsh House. It is about a 30-minute chapter that ratchets up near-unbearable tension and a consistent barrage of scares and fright. My only complaint is that Radcliffe's character, Arthur Kipps, or anyone on Earth for that matter, would have been much more freaked out than he was. He took the nightmare in stride a little bit too much. Had he acted a bit more unhinged or coming apart at the seams, or had the director instructed him to do so, it would have been more believable and more satisfying, but it didn't coalesce as a result. The Woman in Black was creepy enough, but the high-pitched shriek that she emitted periodically was such a cliché that has been overused in the horror genre (might be the exact same sound effect actually) including possibly Insidious. Special mention to Ciaran Hinds, who was his usual dependable supporting self. Great score by Marco Beltrami, who was also his usual dependable supporting (musical) self, providing a great eerie theme for the picture.
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Posted: |
Aug 17, 2014 - 4:02 PM
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By: |
Francis
(Member)
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The Box (2009) 9/10
Aired on tv a while ago. I had seen it in the theater and enjoyed it, seeing it again it was still compelling, love the 70s vibe as well as the Nasa scenery, Frank Langella equally memorable.
Transcendence (2014) 3/10
Couldn't connect with the characters, felt the whole thing looked tacky and the story made far too big leaps for me to take it seriously. For a movie about artificial intelligence, it had no soul.
The Counselor (2013) 1/10
Couldn't finish it, bored the hell out of me.
Zero Theorem (2014) 9/10
Christoph Waltz carries the movie, easily one of the better movies Gilliam has done lately. Loved the "asocial" commentary. Not entirely what I expected but glad it didn't go that route.
Twin Peaks: FWWM (1992) 8/10
Having finished the series in a short time I feel I finally "got" FWWM, it's flawed but nevertheless compelling. The missing pieces, 90 minutes of deleted scenes, really were a revelation to watch and I wish some of it made it into the movie.
The Descendants (2011) 7/10
Decent family drama, loved the Hawaiian backdrop and a decent cast. Not the biggest Clooney fan, but he was good in this. coincidentally it featured Sheriff Harry from Twin Peaks in a non-speaking role.
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Posted: |
Aug 29, 2014 - 2:50 PM
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By: |
Francis
(Member)
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Oculus (2013) 6/10
Heard good things about this one and while it does do a great job of setting up an intriguing premise, it can't deliver on it and especially in the final act the movie feels like it's played out. The story is about two grown up siblings who have to face a possessed antique mirror, which caused a family tragedy when they were kids. I like horror that deals with cursed objects, but ultimately the movie doesn't take it further than a 1408/Grudge/Shining type of spin and pales in comparison. I was also disappointed that whatever inhabits the mirror remains largely an asian horror stock footage cliché instead of an actual evil/monster that can talk. I guess I just miss intelligent ghosts in horror movies these days. Still worth checking out as it at least looks like a proper film, I find most horror films shot these days to look like cheap digital crap.
Godzilla (2014) 7/10
Saw it last week with my brother and though entertaining, we both chuckled at some obvious clichés (Bryan Cranston waiting till the last millisecond to close the door, the black driver of the schoolbus going crazy, the lead coming face to face with godzilla). The visuals and directing I found gorgeous and there are settings that remind me of what little previous Godzilla movies I've seen. The best sequence for me was the parachute drop, that was scored spot on by Desplat and I enjoyed the score for the most part. Good looking and sounding film, but perhaps not the most credible story and given that they chose to keep Godzilla to a minimum in favor of more character time and exposition, I felt that could have been done better.
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Posted: |
Sep 1, 2014 - 2:53 PM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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August viewing:
Continued my Brian Tyler project. Darkness Falls was bad but the score was pretty good; The Settlement was okay with good performance from Reilly and a couple good cues; The 4th Floor was pretty bad but again a decent score; Simon Sez is one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life and the score was nothing to write home about, either, though the end credits piece was okay; I can see what Tyler liked about The Final Cut though it didn't really work for me, and the score was good but mostly forgettable, though I might keep the title sequence on an early Brian Tyler playlist.
Not really much of note this month. Watched season one of Falling Skies which was pretty dull but watchable enough to veg out to after long days at work. The fifth season of Community was not bad like Season 4 but rarely as good as the first few seasons.
Spider-Man 2 looked and sounded good enough that it was easy to lose track of how sloppy and awful a film it is. The 1998 Les Mis was absolutely forgettable aside from Poledouris' score.
Oculus had the atmosphere down but was ultimately not quite satisfying. I appreciated it, but in the end there wasn't much there there despite the craftsmanship, the good editing, etc. I was hoping for it to get creepier, twisteder -- for some of the nastiness to pay off better.
Rush was surprisingly good from the usually whitebread Ron Howard. A little on-the-nose in its compare-and-contrast approach to the characters, but very watchable and entertaining.
Best movie watched this month was Victor Nuñez's A Flash of Green, an honest and understated little political/investigative drama and the movie that helped put Ed Harris on the map, coming right at the time of Under Fire and The Right Stuff.
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