Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Worst War Films of All Time
I recently discovered this random dudes series of youtube videos of his least favorite war films of all time. I don't agree with some of his picks, Inglourious Basterds is certainly not a realistic war film but it's high quality entertainment and I still have a hard on for Enemy at the Gates, but this dude is pretty hilarious when tearing apart such classics as Pearl Harbor and Windtalkers. If you have time to waste I suggest you check it out
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Recently Watched Films Reviewed
Here are some reviews of some films I have watched recently:
Twelve Monkeys: Inspired by this hee-larious blog I read, I decided to finally watch this highly acclaimed sci fi film from 1995. Either you like director Terry Gilliam's crazy visuals and over the top acting performances, or you're a soulless film industry suit. While twelve monkeys certainly isn't equal to TG's Sci Fi masterpiece Brazil, it is certainly more intelligent and more original than your average time travel film. I very much enjoyed how Bruce Willis' character wasn't your typical unstoppable action film star, and is almost portrayed as a parody of most action heroes. He is shown to be overconfident in his abilities with a smart alec attitude, per usual action hero, yet is actually quite inept at fighting. This portrayal was quite refreshing, and is similar to the main characters in Big Trouble in Little China and the Long Goodbye. Bruce Willis certainly is an actor with very little range, but he was the right choice for this role. Brad Pitt does his typical overacting, which actually seems to work here.
As for the plot of the film, I found it to be much more intelligent/original than most sci fi fare. The film established some kind of basic rules for time travel and seemed to follow them for the most part. I especially liked the dynamic dream sequences. The futuristic scenes seem to realistically convey a world that has not technologically advanced since the mid 90's, although some of TG's common visuals may seem slightly unrealistic. I thought the Red Herring was well executed and fairly unexpected, there was a little unnecessary foreshadowing but not much. The bum who can communicate to Bruce Willis through his thoughts was extremely unnecessary and very annoying. While it didn't big issues like 2001, it is definitely an entertaining sci fi popcorn flick.
Best Quote: "And what we say is the truth is what everybody accepts. Right, Owen? I mean, psychiatry: it's the latest religion. We decide what's right and wrong. We decide who's crazy or not. I'm in trouble here. I'm losing my faith"
I was happy to see that a smart-ish film like Twelve Monkeys won the Saturn award for best Science Fiction film of 95. However under closer inspection I saw past winners of the award included Men In Black, Armageddon and the absolutely dreadful A.I. Apparently winning a Saturn award is easier than (Insert Kardashian promiscuity joke here).
Here is a quote that I found on the interwebs, which I will proudly not cite the source of, which I believe does a decent job summarizing the film, "In its frantic mix of chaos, carnage and zoo animals, 12 Monkeys is Jumanji for adults."
Verdict: 8/10
For everyone's enjoyment, except Craig's, follow the link to a clip from the movie of Brad Pitt acting his face off http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ce8_1241414316
Here's the Trailer for those too lazy to youtube it:
The Master: The Master is simply too smart/complex of a film and would require more film theory knowledge and vocabulary than your humble blogger possesses, thus for more in depth analysis/criticism I suggest you check out moviedudez's sister website soundonsight.org. (Note: SoS denies any association with this shitty blog) What I can tell you is that this film is made by a master, Paul Thomas Anderson, it is very smart and very well made, but seems to be missing a purpose. I understand it is showing the experience of a troubled veteran with PTSD, and how there is no easy cure, but it definitely left you feeling very unsatisfied when it was over. That being said, I believe it was the right choice to focus the story on the WWII veteran who discovers the Scientology like cult instead of the cult founder himself. The performance by Joaquim Phoenix is great and should garner at least an Academy Award nomination. PSH is solid as always. I was surprised/excited to see my old high school classmate Cara Roggencamp in a bit part. The film may get some attention around Academy Award time, but I am certain it will not win best picture.
Also, if you are hoping to see a film that simply rips apart the stupid cult that is Scientology, this unfortunately is not the film for you. PTA screened the film for his buddy and cult member Tom Cruise who only had problems with one scene, wherein the Master's son suggests that his dad is just making everything up. If you want to hate on Scientologists stick with the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet".
Verdict: 7.5/10
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul: If you are gonna watch just one film about a mid 60's fat German widow marrying a late 30's strong Moroccan I suggest you watch this one. I mostly watched this film because I was embarrassed that I had never seen a Fassbinder film before, and supposedly this is one of his best. While it was a well made film, I certainly cannot recommend it to the type of people that would actually read this blog.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Breathless: While I'm embarrassed to admit this is only the second French New Wave film I have seen, the exceptional The 400 Blows being the first. This 1960 film by Jean-Luc Godard is very highly acclaimed, and with good reason, it is a very well made film. The plot is not as important as the style; with jump cuts being revolutionary at the time. Breathless is worthy of its reputation as a classic, couldn't agree more with this quote, “a pop artifact and a daring work of art and even at 50, still cool, still new, still – after all this time! – a bulletin from the future of movies."
Verdict: 8/10
Twelve Monkeys: Inspired by this hee-larious blog I read, I decided to finally watch this highly acclaimed sci fi film from 1995. Either you like director Terry Gilliam's crazy visuals and over the top acting performances, or you're a soulless film industry suit. While twelve monkeys certainly isn't equal to TG's Sci Fi masterpiece Brazil, it is certainly more intelligent and more original than your average time travel film. I very much enjoyed how Bruce Willis' character wasn't your typical unstoppable action film star, and is almost portrayed as a parody of most action heroes. He is shown to be overconfident in his abilities with a smart alec attitude, per usual action hero, yet is actually quite inept at fighting. This portrayal was quite refreshing, and is similar to the main characters in Big Trouble in Little China and the Long Goodbye. Bruce Willis certainly is an actor with very little range, but he was the right choice for this role. Brad Pitt does his typical overacting, which actually seems to work here.
As for the plot of the film, I found it to be much more intelligent/original than most sci fi fare. The film established some kind of basic rules for time travel and seemed to follow them for the most part. I especially liked the dynamic dream sequences. The futuristic scenes seem to realistically convey a world that has not technologically advanced since the mid 90's, although some of TG's common visuals may seem slightly unrealistic. I thought the Red Herring was well executed and fairly unexpected, there was a little unnecessary foreshadowing but not much. The bum who can communicate to Bruce Willis through his thoughts was extremely unnecessary and very annoying. While it didn't big issues like 2001, it is definitely an entertaining sci fi popcorn flick.
Best Quote: "And what we say is the truth is what everybody accepts. Right, Owen? I mean, psychiatry: it's the latest religion. We decide what's right and wrong. We decide who's crazy or not. I'm in trouble here. I'm losing my faith"
I was happy to see that a smart-ish film like Twelve Monkeys won the Saturn award for best Science Fiction film of 95. However under closer inspection I saw past winners of the award included Men In Black, Armageddon and the absolutely dreadful A.I. Apparently winning a Saturn award is easier than (Insert Kardashian promiscuity joke here).
Here is a quote that I found on the interwebs, which I will proudly not cite the source of, which I believe does a decent job summarizing the film, "In its frantic mix of chaos, carnage and zoo animals, 12 Monkeys is Jumanji for adults."
Verdict: 8/10
For everyone's enjoyment, except Craig's, follow the link to a clip from the movie of Brad Pitt acting his face off http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ce8_1241414316
Here's the Trailer for those too lazy to youtube it:
The Master: The Master is simply too smart/complex of a film and would require more film theory knowledge and vocabulary than your humble blogger possesses, thus for more in depth analysis/criticism I suggest you check out moviedudez's sister website soundonsight.org. (Note: SoS denies any association with this shitty blog) What I can tell you is that this film is made by a master, Paul Thomas Anderson, it is very smart and very well made, but seems to be missing a purpose. I understand it is showing the experience of a troubled veteran with PTSD, and how there is no easy cure, but it definitely left you feeling very unsatisfied when it was over. That being said, I believe it was the right choice to focus the story on the WWII veteran who discovers the Scientology like cult instead of the cult founder himself. The performance by Joaquim Phoenix is great and should garner at least an Academy Award nomination. PSH is solid as always. I was surprised/excited to see my old high school classmate Cara Roggencamp in a bit part. The film may get some attention around Academy Award time, but I am certain it will not win best picture.
Also, if you are hoping to see a film that simply rips apart the stupid cult that is Scientology, this unfortunately is not the film for you. PTA screened the film for his buddy and cult member Tom Cruise who only had problems with one scene, wherein the Master's son suggests that his dad is just making everything up. If you want to hate on Scientologists stick with the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet".
Verdict: 7.5/10
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul: If you are gonna watch just one film about a mid 60's fat German widow marrying a late 30's strong Moroccan I suggest you watch this one. I mostly watched this film because I was embarrassed that I had never seen a Fassbinder film before, and supposedly this is one of his best. While it was a well made film, I certainly cannot recommend it to the type of people that would actually read this blog.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Breathless: While I'm embarrassed to admit this is only the second French New Wave film I have seen, the exceptional The 400 Blows being the first. This 1960 film by Jean-Luc Godard is very highly acclaimed, and with good reason, it is a very well made film. The plot is not as important as the style; with jump cuts being revolutionary at the time. Breathless is worthy of its reputation as a classic, couldn't agree more with this quote, “a pop artifact and a daring work of art and even at 50, still cool, still new, still – after all this time! – a bulletin from the future of movies."
Verdict: 8/10
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Top Ten Films of the 90's
Why did I create this blog?
1. Trainspotting: Even Quentin Tarantino is jealous of how perfectly Danny Boyle uses music in this film, easily the greatest film soundtrack of All Time. Not sure whether it's the inventive visual style, my personal interest in addiction, or that I simply like the Scottish slang, but Trainspotting is my favorite film of the 1990's. Mike Renton is truly one of the worst people in any film ever
Here's the Awesome opening scene/speech:
2. Wild At Heart: Looking at the components of this film: Directed by David Lynch, staring Nic Cage as a snakeskin jacket wearing Elvis fanatic, with Willem Defoe playing a seriously creepy contract killer, and a nearly constantly topless Laura Dern, its no wonder why this won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1990.
10. Three Colors: Blue: Sure I might be biased towards this film because I'm Polish, nevertheless, Kieslowski's story of Liberty is one of the most original films of the 90's. Bonus: Juliette Binoche is Beautiful
Films I've watched a 1,000 times and never get tired of:
Overrated Films of the 90's:
Films I have not seen yet:
Please leave comments with suggestions of movies to watch and praise/criticism of my movie choices. Please don't comment about my poor grammar/vocabulary.
- Bored
- Don't feel like working on Practicum/Forecasting
- Like all people on the internet I have an inflated self-worth and mistakenly believe that other people actually want to know my opinion of things
1. Trainspotting: Even Quentin Tarantino is jealous of how perfectly Danny Boyle uses music in this film, easily the greatest film soundtrack of All Time. Not sure whether it's the inventive visual style, my personal interest in addiction, or that I simply like the Scottish slang, but Trainspotting is my favorite film of the 1990's. Mike Renton is truly one of the worst people in any film ever
Here's the Awesome opening scene/speech:
2. Wild At Heart: Looking at the components of this film: Directed by David Lynch, staring Nic Cage as a snakeskin jacket wearing Elvis fanatic, with Willem Defoe playing a seriously creepy contract killer, and a nearly constantly topless Laura Dern, its no wonder why this won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1990.
Here is the greatest scene from any film in the 90's
3. True Romance: It's not often that a film is actually better than the film that inspired it, but True Romance definitely surpasses the Terrence Malick classic Badlands. Written by Quentin Tarantino with possibly the best cast ever including: Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini and Samuel L. Jackson... even Christian Slater isn't horrible in it.
Here is the best scene:
4. Leaving Las Vegas: People mistakenly believe Nic Cage is a terrible actor, his Academy Award winning performance in LLV as an alcoholic who quits his job, moves to Vegas and drinks himself to death is one of the best of the 90's.
One of the most personal and tragic stories ever put on film. In this film Elizabeth Shue is simply the Sexiest woman of All Time
5. Pulp Fiction: Often imitated, never equaled. Simply one of the coolest films of all time, Jules Winnfield is a "Bad Mother Fucker" and the second greatest movie character of all time. I'll admit that I embarrassingly practiced and tried to learn the dance, to no avail
5. Pulp Fiction: Often imitated, never equaled. Simply one of the coolest films of all time, Jules Winnfield is a "Bad Mother Fucker" and the second greatest movie character of all time. I'll admit that I embarrassingly practiced and tried to learn the dance, to no avail
6. Good Will Hunting/Starship Troopers: These films have absolutely nothing in common except the fact that they are not as critically acclaimed as the other films on this list and I have a strong personal affinity for them both. Good Will Hunting helped me survive my 4 month ordeal "living" in the basement of a house that should have been condemned. I have very fond memories of getting real drunk and writing a 10 page paper on the use of CGI in Starship Troopers that got me a B+
7. Boogie Nights: My favorite of PTA's films. Great cast, great story, just a real cool film. The scene with Alfred Molina is one of the best of the 90's
8. Hoop Dreams: Absolutely fascinating story of two Chicago high school basketball players whose lives go in completely different directions after their freshman season. Roger Ebert rated Hoop Dreams as his favorite film of the 90's, and while I normally ignore that fat arrogant jackass, he was certainly right about the greatness of this film
9. Rushmore: While Wes Anderson has been criticized for creating unrealistic characters in unrealistic worlds, who honestly cares when his movies are so damn fun and beautiful to look at. Hilarious characters and great music. My favorite WA film
7. Boogie Nights: My favorite of PTA's films. Great cast, great story, just a real cool film. The scene with Alfred Molina is one of the best of the 90's
8. Hoop Dreams: Absolutely fascinating story of two Chicago high school basketball players whose lives go in completely different directions after their freshman season. Roger Ebert rated Hoop Dreams as his favorite film of the 90's, and while I normally ignore that fat arrogant jackass, he was certainly right about the greatness of this film
9. Rushmore: While Wes Anderson has been criticized for creating unrealistic characters in unrealistic worlds, who honestly cares when his movies are so damn fun and beautiful to look at. Hilarious characters and great music. My favorite WA film
10. Three Colors: Blue: Sure I might be biased towards this film because I'm Polish, nevertheless, Kieslowski's story of Liberty is one of the most original films of the 90's. Bonus: Juliette Binoche is Beautiful
Other Noteworthy Films:
- Army of Darkness: While most likely the weakest film in the Greatest film Trilogy of all time, the conclusion to Ash J. Williams' fight against the Deadites is nevertheless incredibly funny and full of classic quotes. "Shop smart, shop S-Mart" "This is my BOOMstick" "Kiss the King Baby"
- Big Lebowski: Another incredibly quotable film. I am a huge fan of Film-Noir and this film seamlessly combines mystery and comedy. Mistakenly overshadowed by Fargo, The Big L is easily the Coen Brothers best film of the 90's. Full of snippets of wisdom "I hate the Fucking Eagles Man" "Sometimes you hit the bar, sometimes the Bar hits you"
- Con Air: A wise man once told me that when future civilizations study late 20th century American Culture all they need to do is watch this film, couldn't agree more. Nic Cage has a Mullet
- Crash: No not that awful Los Angeles multiple story arc anit-racism fluff that won the Oscar. Crash 96' is directed by David Cronenberg and is about people who are aroused by car crashes and thus purposefully get into them... need I say more
- Dumb and Dumber: Without a doubt the most quotable film of all time. Rivals This is Spinal Tap for the most purely funny Ever
- Kids: By no means a good film, but worth a view if you have not seen it
- Schindler's List: Only truly great film by the truly overrated Steven Spielberg. Ralph Fiennes is truly disturbing as Amon Goeth. Worth one viewing, but I'll certainly never watch it twice
Films I've watched a 1,000 times and never get tired of:
- A Night at the Roxbury
- Anaconda
- Clueless
- Dazed and Confused
- Forrest Gump: Sure it's an inferior knockoff of Being There, but it has a great soundtrack, and who doesn't like talking like Forrest? "I Love you Jenni"... neville-mind
- Gettysburg
- Home Alone: Forget that bb gun nonsense, this is EASILY the best Christmas film
- Jurassic Park
- Office Space
- Silence of the Lambs
- Southpark: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
- The Sandlot: What's that film with the baseball stealing dog called The Beast??? You know the one where the kid wears PF Flyers?? Oh come on you know this, the kid fake drowns in order to kiss Wendy Peffercorn?? Well ask Drew he knows...
Overrated Films of the 90's:
- Any Given Sunday: While this might not be as highly rated as the other films in this section, the fact that this film has a 50% rating on RottenTomatoes instead of 0% is unfathomable. 157minutes of absolute garbage. In my 10 least favorite films of all time. Plus it has Dennis "my brother Randy is the man but I'm the worst actor ever" Quaid
- Romeo + Juliet: Stylistically Nauseating attempt to adapt the Bards tale for the ADHD generation
- Saving Private Ryan: Sure the opening sequence is amazing but after that its all Hollywood fluff
- The Shawshank Redemption: While I did truly Like this film, I would give it a 6.5/10, it is completely undeserving of its title of "Greatest Film of All Time". While I like Morgan Freeman's voice as much as the next movie fan, MF's narration is not enough to make a well executed but unoriginal film the greatest ever. Its not even the best Stephen King adaptation of the 90's, that would be Misery. If you want a truly inspiring film watch Ikiru
- The Usual Suspects: Twist endings are a stupid gimmick, especially when they don't surprise you
Films I have not seen yet:
- Bad Lieutenant
- Before Sunrise
- Ed Wood
- Eyes Wide Shut
- Shakespeare in Love
- The English Patient
- The Full Monty
- Three Colors: Red
- Twelve Monkeys
Please leave comments with suggestions of movies to watch and praise/criticism of my movie choices. Please don't comment about my poor grammar/vocabulary.
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