Glib Reviews of Random Movies #4
here are a few more. I wrote them just after seeing each movie. My opinions may have evolved slightly since then, after reflection, discussion... but I won't do new reviews until (or If) I watch the movies again.
Inglorious Basterds By “Q”
Small quibble: I would have liked a bit more Dirty Dozen-ness with all the actual Basterds. Only the nazis got any character development really.. It was quite enjoyable other than that. The dialogue was great and It's worth paying theatre prices to see it on the big screen. The opening act was surprising and awesomely done.
Roman Polanski: Wanted/Desired.
A Polish lawyer finds out he's actually an assassin who can read fortunes in looms... later, he dresses like a girl and throws himself out a window. Ok not really. Actually a very well done doc on Polanski, mostly about the rape case, but also there's a lot of good stuff about his early days in Hollywood/London. The people who are the most interesting and believable in the movie are The Prosecutor, defense attorney and the rape victim herself. She's well spoken about her own feelings in regards to the whole thing. You can see why this doc helped to re-spur interest in the case.
The Brothers Bloom
which I greatly enjoyed. A very light fun take on the Con artist movie. It's like a cross between a Wes Anderson & Woody Allen (Crimes & Misdemeanours era Woody) Movie if that is possible. Intelligent but not hard to follow, they still trick you a few times plot wise. Rachel Wiesz has never been better. Adrien Brody & Mark Ruffalo are convincing as brothers who look absolutely nothing alike.
Outrage
doc about "Out-ing" closet case politicians (mostly Repubicans, as their closet has a smaller door and is much harder to get out of) The thing that this doc actually points out is just how much compromise and politicking really goes on in Washington DC… which is according to the doc, the gayest city America. It's also the most closeted though. McGreevey is well spoken, when they get to him, as is his wife. They portray obvious closeter Grist (FLA Jeb replacement) as the next great closet case of politics.... but he seems made of teflon and may even end up President ? It was actually more thoughtful and even handed than I thought it would be. It's crazy all the masks you need to wear just so a few aristocratic families can keep control of one nation where everyone has the illusion of freedom to be whatever or whoever you want.
Agnes Varda's "The Gleaners and I"
Great verite doc about a long tradition in France of post harvest recycling, which is often if not tolerated, encouraged. free labour to clean the fields of what to the farmers is waste (except of course in Burgundy where, and reasonably so, the pickers or gleaners have to wait for the table wine 2nd harvest grapes) Varda transposes her own fears of aging and being tossed in the trash with the lives of these Gleaners, some of whom have jobs, homes and families, but need this extra bit of food to make it. Also the people who make art from trash, or recycle the mountains of appliances that Parisians kick to the curb every month. Very well done doc. Contains a lot of wisdom, and joie de vivre. At the end Agnes gets a clock with no hands from the trash and makes an ornament of it. She is comforted by it's lack of time passing.
Drag Me To Hell.
Very smart well done comic horror from the master (Sam Raimi). A good warning to watch out for toothless gypsies who keep shoving their arms down your throat.
Visioneers
Weird weird, but kind of hypnotic. Zack (unpronounceable Greek name) is astonishing as a corporate drone (vaguely related to George Washington and living in his house? ) in this very over the top (in it's Orwellianness) and obvious fable on the modern condition. It's either a horrible movie or an awesome movie. I'm leaning towards awesome. Basic setup is that everyone (or mostly everyone) seems to work for a monolithic multinational, and greet each other with middle finger salutes. Dreaming and emotion are discouraged, and people are exploding from the overwhelming repression... from there it gets strange.
Blood The Last Vampire.
Stays pretty true to the anime (of which I've seen one episode) Okay vampire slashy film I guess… moves along at a decent clip. The main villainess gives one of the most wooden performances this side of Ed Wood. Everyone else seemed to be having fun hamming it up though. A couple of the fight scenes are well choreographed if a bit too crouching tiger-ish.
Anvil: The Story Of Anvil!
Hilarious apparently "serious" doc about Metallica etc progenitors Anvil, a Canadian band who got nowhere, compared to many of their contemporaries, who were doing their thing. Why? Stupidity mostly. Never bothering to get a manager? many many entertaining reasons for their failure to be more than the Hosers that they are. In Canadian Metal you don't get a Lars, a Rob Halford, or a Lemmy: you get Bob and Doug clones with Metal hair. Tongues are sometimes in film makers' cheeks but in a fairly respectful way. Great little doc that should give you a good indication as to what it's like for 99.9% of Canadian musicians "living The dream". Makes Fubar seem like neo-realism.
Inglorious Basterds By “Q”
Small quibble: I would have liked a bit more Dirty Dozen-ness with all the actual Basterds. Only the nazis got any character development really.. It was quite enjoyable other than that. The dialogue was great and It's worth paying theatre prices to see it on the big screen. The opening act was surprising and awesomely done.
Roman Polanski: Wanted/Desired.
A Polish lawyer finds out he's actually an assassin who can read fortunes in looms... later, he dresses like a girl and throws himself out a window. Ok not really. Actually a very well done doc on Polanski, mostly about the rape case, but also there's a lot of good stuff about his early days in Hollywood/London. The people who are the most interesting and believable in the movie are The Prosecutor, defense attorney and the rape victim herself. She's well spoken about her own feelings in regards to the whole thing. You can see why this doc helped to re-spur interest in the case.
The Brothers Bloom
which I greatly enjoyed. A very light fun take on the Con artist movie. It's like a cross between a Wes Anderson & Woody Allen (Crimes & Misdemeanours era Woody) Movie if that is possible. Intelligent but not hard to follow, they still trick you a few times plot wise. Rachel Wiesz has never been better. Adrien Brody & Mark Ruffalo are convincing as brothers who look absolutely nothing alike.
Outrage
doc about "Out-ing" closet case politicians (mostly Repubicans, as their closet has a smaller door and is much harder to get out of) The thing that this doc actually points out is just how much compromise and politicking really goes on in Washington DC… which is according to the doc, the gayest city America. It's also the most closeted though. McGreevey is well spoken, when they get to him, as is his wife. They portray obvious closeter Grist (FLA Jeb replacement) as the next great closet case of politics.... but he seems made of teflon and may even end up President ? It was actually more thoughtful and even handed than I thought it would be. It's crazy all the masks you need to wear just so a few aristocratic families can keep control of one nation where everyone has the illusion of freedom to be whatever or whoever you want.
Agnes Varda's "The Gleaners and I"
Great verite doc about a long tradition in France of post harvest recycling, which is often if not tolerated, encouraged. free labour to clean the fields of what to the farmers is waste (except of course in Burgundy where, and reasonably so, the pickers or gleaners have to wait for the table wine 2nd harvest grapes) Varda transposes her own fears of aging and being tossed in the trash with the lives of these Gleaners, some of whom have jobs, homes and families, but need this extra bit of food to make it. Also the people who make art from trash, or recycle the mountains of appliances that Parisians kick to the curb every month. Very well done doc. Contains a lot of wisdom, and joie de vivre. At the end Agnes gets a clock with no hands from the trash and makes an ornament of it. She is comforted by it's lack of time passing.
Drag Me To Hell.
Very smart well done comic horror from the master (Sam Raimi). A good warning to watch out for toothless gypsies who keep shoving their arms down your throat.
Visioneers
Weird weird, but kind of hypnotic. Zack (unpronounceable Greek name) is astonishing as a corporate drone (vaguely related to George Washington and living in his house? ) in this very over the top (in it's Orwellianness) and obvious fable on the modern condition. It's either a horrible movie or an awesome movie. I'm leaning towards awesome. Basic setup is that everyone (or mostly everyone) seems to work for a monolithic multinational, and greet each other with middle finger salutes. Dreaming and emotion are discouraged, and people are exploding from the overwhelming repression... from there it gets strange.
Blood The Last Vampire.
Stays pretty true to the anime (of which I've seen one episode) Okay vampire slashy film I guess… moves along at a decent clip. The main villainess gives one of the most wooden performances this side of Ed Wood. Everyone else seemed to be having fun hamming it up though. A couple of the fight scenes are well choreographed if a bit too crouching tiger-ish.
Anvil: The Story Of Anvil!
Hilarious apparently "serious" doc about Metallica etc progenitors Anvil, a Canadian band who got nowhere, compared to many of their contemporaries, who were doing their thing. Why? Stupidity mostly. Never bothering to get a manager? many many entertaining reasons for their failure to be more than the Hosers that they are. In Canadian Metal you don't get a Lars, a Rob Halford, or a Lemmy: you get Bob and Doug clones with Metal hair. Tongues are sometimes in film makers' cheeks but in a fairly respectful way. Great little doc that should give you a good indication as to what it's like for 99.9% of Canadian musicians "living The dream". Makes Fubar seem like neo-realism.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Inglorious Basterds. I almost went in to it negatively, thinking Brad Pitt must have been mis-cast, but I was presently surprised and it's one of my all time faves now :)
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