A critique of a societal group works if the group in question can understand the comments. Here it only feels like they are in on the joke, the rest of us unwashed masses trample over each other to get a piece of a "miracle tree."
I can appreciate the technical skill on display and the cinematography was good but I feel that people are too afraid of having a dissenting opinion. I understood most of the main points the film was making, I just didn't care. In order for me to sit through an over-long, self-indulgent, jerk-off fest, I have to sympathize with one of the characters, particularly the main one. Marcello wasn't particularly compelling and you never see him actually working (writing; interesting note, when I had the thought of when is he going to actually write something, the very next scene was of him sitting in a cafe failing to writing anything), so his existential crisis, which seems neatly resolved by the end, comes across as tedious.
There were three stand-out scenes that I enjoyed. The opening sequence with Jesus, Steiner's party monologue and the very last bit with the monster on the beach. More than any other parts, they supported the auteur's vision, however they cannot be viewed in a vacuum and need to be taken in with the drawn-out whole.
And to think that I put off seeing this for so long, just to have an opportunity to experience it in its intended format, is very anti-climatic.
About 25 minutes too long or about one set-piece too much. Maybe if the villain was more compelling I would've been more invested in the story, but the M:I series isn't known for it's villains, it's acknowledged as a showcase for the stunt work of Tom Cruise. That being said, it is quite difficult to build suspense when you know that the main character is going to survive every life and death situation you put them through. The next movie should have Ethan Hunt dealing with the effects of brain damage accumulated through his career, especially during his underwater stunt here, that would really be something unexpected and the series would be better off for it, finally having a realistic plot with a memorable villain.
With a cast full of comedic talents, one rises above all the rest both figuratively and literally. Mr. Lebron James may be just an unassuming basketball player, but deep underneath that stoic exterior he harbors a hidden desire to be a star. And that is what he'll become if he works harder to be better than everyone else. In what is poised to be the breakout role that puts his name in the mouths and minds of the masses, Mr. James dunks it out of the park and slams it into the goal and wins one for the Gipper. If the Academy doesn't recognize his talent here, surely they are off their meds and rockers and need their vision, hearing and next-big-thing radar checked. For the rest of us, all we have is the future to look forward to. All two meters-plus of it.
(Review for Director's Cut): I can't help but think that this was the best possible adaptation of an "unfilmable" work. It looks and sounds great especially since actual panels from the book were used for the storyboards. But gone is the subtext and the deconstruction of the superhero genre replaced with an "R" superhero movie. Perhaps in ten years (maybe as little as five) this movie will finally get the appreciation it deserves once audiences finally reach their breaking point with the current wave of cape and mask films.
This was released in a year when Marvel didn't have anything in theaters(!) and was still a few years away from assembling their cinematic universe, so the mainstream audience ignorance was understandable. If this movie came out today (or maybe next summer right after/before Marvel's Civil War), I feel that this would be the superhero movie to end the current onslaught on the movie theaters.
Remixes and mashups rarely surpass the original songs. While they can be entertaining and at times provide a different perspective on a beloved song, you always find yourself returning to the original you hold in such high esteem. That is especially true here with the fifth film in a franchise that has hit its high mark with a fantastic sequel that surpassed the original.
My main problem with this fifth entry was that there was nothing original in the screenplay. It seemed that the writers purely cut and pasted the scripts of the previous four and just called it a day. It curious that despite marathons being held for franchises in the run-up for the newest release there was no such occasion here (at least not in any of the theaters in my area). I guess the franchise to have a better than 50% audience enjoyment rate to actually make the experience worth everyone's time.
Despite the flaws, it's still better than the last two outings although that's not saying much.
The next time I see this, it better be on a screen at least four times larger than the one I first viewed it on. A 40" flat screen is not enough to do this visual feast justice. There is simply too much going on in every frame to force your eyes to block out everything that is not Wachowski directed. For the first thirty minutes, I was wondering why the actors decided to agree to this junk. But by the end I figured out that they were drawn to its potential as an underrated masterpiece.
Fortunately, I watched Peter K. Rosenthal's review before going to see this and it made for a far entertaining experience that ultimately paled in the discovery of a Batman racing game in the movie theater lobby. The depiction of a theme park was incomplete due to an overabundance of fit Caucasians and the severe deficit of other ethnic groups such as a small Asian film crew or the morbidly obese simultaneously hogging and providing shade. It's laughable that not one park goer was able to smuggle in a small arsenal to show those InGen clowns how to handle a situation. This oversights are not minor and greatly add to the enjoyment of a nostalgia trip that is slightly superior to all officially sanctioned tributes to the original.
On a day I sliced a part of my finger off, this made me feel much better. Yes, we as humans have problems, but in the end it's just water under the bridge. And that our human problems pale in comparison with the grand beauty of the universe.
Four months ago I fell asleep and asked for a refund. Today, I found out that I didn't miss much, so I treated it as a learning experience of why it failed. I'll start with the main one--I had a hard time believing that Thor would be a computer hacker. But even the Sexiest Man Alive couldn't salvage the laughable script. Michael Mann's movies are much prettier than most others while he is a master at filming a night-time sequence or tense shoot-out, he falls flat here with dull action pieces that make little sense. Unless I missed it, a throwaway line justifying Hemsworth's character as a some sort of warrior badass would have made his unflinching actions in the parade finale (or the restaurant fight) less illogical (his 18 months in a "gladiator academy" don't make him a combat, gun and improvised weapon master).
Typically in movies like this, I can find a glimpse of promise that redeems the entire experience and if just a few things were different, then perhaps it would be a better picture. The glimpse here is that at the age of 70, perhaps we shouldn't be expecting another Heat from Michael Mann, and maybe with different casting choices and a better script this would have been a solid and timely thriller. But apparently we live in a world where Indonesians aren't startled by Uzis and aren't bothered by white men pushing them around during parades.
I don't remember the exact moment Entourage the TV show started sucking but it certainly happened after the first three seasons. Perhaps by that point I figured out the formula and every episode and season seemed to be the same thing happening over and over again. After getting over the nostalgia of the show by the time Karl Childers and Forest Gump Jr. are introduced, I settled in for a coda that was absolutely unnecessary after the relatively satisfying series finale.
I enjoyed this a lot more than I should have. Perhaps that is due to the message at its core of not losing the dreamer that is slowly beaten out of you as frustration and failure become the standard. Yes there are late act problems that fail to live up to the promise of the beginning but that is to be expected from a Damon Lindelof script. Not knowing that he was the writer was why I looked forward to this and realizing that he was partially responsible is why I lowered my expectations significantly enough to just enjoy the ride. The kid in me loved this and despite overhearing actual kids outside of the theater saying "the ending sucked but the rest was cool" gave me hope that maybe not all is lost.
UPDATE-REWATCH 9 MONTHS LATER:
If there is one thing this movie has taught me, it is that you can be pushing 70 years old, without a live-action directorial credit in almost two decades and still make a fresh action movie full of deeper meaning than most Oscar bait.
Rewatching this in the theater for the first time since its initial release, I made the attempt to fragment my mind and watch it in black and white with just the musical score. With about twenty five minutes of dialogue, George Miller delivers a masterclass in visual filmmaking that should set the new standard for what an action movie can be. The only problem is that unless you have a fantastic set-up at home, the best (and only) way to truly experience this masterpiece is in the theater.
ORIGINAL THOUGHTS:
Eleven hours later and I'm still trying to turn my brain back on. But you know what, I have a mindless low paying job, so it's not like I need my higher faculties today anyways.
After forty years, David Cronenberg finally shoots a movie in the United States. A perfect choice seeing as how this country is obsessed with superficiality, drugs, celebrities and social media. I can't make up my mind on the acting, as I don't have faith in the script. I understand what's being shown and said but I just don't care, or rather I found the same themes better depicted elsewhere. The beginning and end titles really tie the whole thing together and as much as I want to get further into the deeper meaning of the film, I find myself wondering "what is the point?"
After many years of considering this a favorite, I have finally read the book, rewatched the movie and now have revised my opinion. While it is well acted and shot, I am less impressed with the story than before I knew more about the life of Christopher McCandless as depicted in the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer.
Like myself at that age, yet still similar as I get on in years, McCandless was an idealist enraged by the world he inhabited and the straight paths it offered him and enthralled by the world of days-gone-by as depicted by his literary heroes, Jack London and Henry David Thoreau. As a naive young college student, I was warned by a close friend to avoid seeing this as it would put dangerous ideas in my head. And he was right. For the next few years I was itching to set upon my own personal journey through the world, choosing to reject the safe straight paths through life, opting for more interesting indirect routes that lead to unique experiences that sound fictional when shared with others. When relating my adventures to others, I always preface that one should not attempt to repeat them as my continued survival is bewildering even to me after intense rumination.
Much like McCandless looked to London and Thoreau to inspire him on his journey, I looked to McCandless as filtered through the vision of Sean Penn with auditory assistance from Eddie Vedder and after my experiences, only now do I realize just how fortunate I am to be able to write this. Watching this and then attempting to recreate McCandless' trip with the belief of a different outcome is wildly reckless and completely irresponsible. Reading the source material really frames the film in a different perspective. For instance, just as some people view Christopher McCandless as some sort of folk hero, others believe him to be nothing more than an ignorant fool who got what he deserved. As we live in a society that tends to settle for the quick and easily digestible wisdom, I understand that many might view this movie more as an inspirational rather than a cautionary tale. For those that do not yet view it as both, I urge you to read the book and look for other ways to grow up and receive your enlightenment.
As much as I want to admit that the 10 year old me would have loved this, I was a pretentious pompous ass back then. This greatly appealed to the 10 year old within me today and that is more important. This has more relevance today than anything else released in three decades. Loyalty, honesty, friendship, abolishment of violence to achieve peace. If you watch only one movie in your life featuring a hard-rocking, ass-kicking college band that just wants to clean up the streets of Central Florida of vicious drug dealing ninja biker gangs, make sure it is this one.
Spielberg demonstrating competency and his future potential in what could easily be a one-note TV movie. Despite being a 90 minute chase movie, it is surprisingly engaging and compelling.
How many times do I need to watch this before I can even break through the first layer of this cinematic onion? By my estimation, at least five. Once to just take it all in. The next with one eye closed, after with the other closed, then focusing entirely on the imagery, finally just on the sounds. Maybe one entirely devoted to words. Going in I was under the impression that this was an experimental film entirely devoid of dialogue that was in 3D made by a cinematic master.
I'm still trying to process what I have experienced and there is a strong possibility that will check this out again in theaters before it ends its run, but this is by far the best use of 3D I have ever seen. The imagery is crisp and clear, that every frame can be blown up and hung up on your wall. It's a heady film and the 70 minutes might feel like an eternity to some but if you are well versed in existential thought and are open for a challenge, you will be rewarded with a good palette cleanse from all the other mind-numbing 3D you may have seen in recent years.
UPDATE:
Remember how I said that there is only one way of seeing this and that is with Greg Sestero? Well I'm wrong. The ONLY way for me to EVER see this again, will be with Johnny himself, Tommy Wiseau, in the theater signing merchandise and showing a highlight reel of The Neighbors. I bought a script and he signed it "Love is Blind. Love, Tommy." Fucking brilliant! There were underwears with his name on them too but I just stuck to something I will treasure forever (until I lose it or it gets burned up in a fire). He even did a Q&A and man is he quick and witty (as quick as the best of them, wittier than I thought he could be), he has great self-awareness and has fully embraced his role. In between the showing of his sitcom, there was a short film, Shame on You, aimed at all the haters and features more explosions than a Michael Bay movie. I honestly cannot recall having a better time in a theater.
ORIGINAL COMMENT:
There's only one way to really see this movie and that is with Greg Sestero introducing the train wreck and providing a few anecdotes from the production and his acquaintance with the mysterious auteur, M. Wiseau. For starters, Greg, or Mark, is not that great of an actor but has the gift of a great memory that provided the material for one of the most entertaining reads I have ever experienced. You would think he would be able to drum up more enthusiasm to partake in audience reenactments of some of the finer scenes of this cinematic masterpiece but I guess after a decade of "Oh hi, Mark" you would be ready to move into the next phase in your career.
Sure there are few other ways to enjoy this "Citizen Kane of bad movies", but without the in-theater presence of one of the principal cast, you would have to settle for a midnight showing full of fans who have seen it more times than you have toes on your left foot. Yes it is fun in that environment but if you are watching it for the very first time or the first time in nearly a decade you feel like you just walked in on a very exclusive in-joke that has been going on for half the time you've been alive. By the end, you're in on the joke too and feel the need to rush home and have this playing on a loop in your studio apartment so you can better participate in the next monthly screening of this cinematic masterpiece. Or you can just move on with your life and do something more productive like learning from the failures of others to create something of real value to the rest of human society.
So they finally got Jodorowsky's Dune made, too bad it's as incomprehensable as Lynch's Dune. After really looking forward to seeing this in 2014, I was a little disappointed to see it get bumped to the cinematic dumping ground of early 2015. The stated reason-more time to work on the visuals-is valid. The visuals are astounding, unfortunately they do little to elevate the spotty script that some of the worst actors this side of Van Allen belt have to mumble through. To date, I have yet to be impressed by either of the two leads in anything they have worked on and this beautiful mess does little to make me believe they have anything resembling "talent." It's sad as the concept of this original property is interesting and could serve as the introduction of a greater universe. If this movie could be comprised entirely of landscape and exterior shots of spaceships, I would be hailing it a visual masterpiece, yet the picture relies too much on the non-existent chemistry of the two leads and never builds enough emotional attachment to any of the characters to ever make me want to care about the stakes.
Towards the end, I got the sense that the Wachowski siblings purposefully made this one terrible in order to make a sequel be this generation's Empire Strikes Back. But that just might be a pipe-dream as at a budget close to two hundred million, this needs to crush the box-office and with the incredibly poor word-of-mouth, that seems as believable as Mila Kunis scrubbing toilets for a living.
This movie has the dubious honor of being the very first movie that I have ever asked for my money back. I started falling asleep about 15 minutes in and my friend said it would be ok to get a refund. I wasn't about to argue after trying to sit through some of the most poorly acted, miscast, visually uninteresting, obvious setups ever.
Comments 151 - 175 of 235
Movie comment on La dolce vita
fonz
A critique of a societal group works if the group in question can understand the comments. Here it only feels like they are in on the joke, the rest of us unwashed masses trample over each other to get a piece of a "miracle tree."I can appreciate the technical skill on display and the cinematography was good but I feel that people are too afraid of having a dissenting opinion. I understood most of the main points the film was making, I just didn't care. In order for me to sit through an over-long, self-indulgent, jerk-off fest, I have to sympathize with one of the characters, particularly the main one. Marcello wasn't particularly compelling and you never see him actually working (writing; interesting note, when I had the thought of when is he going to actually write something, the very next scene was of him sitting in a cafe failing to writing anything), so his existential crisis, which seems neatly resolved by the end, comes across as tedious.
There were three stand-out scenes that I enjoyed. The opening sequence with Jesus, Steiner's party monologue and the very last bit with the monster on the beach. More than any other parts, they supported the auteur's vision, however they cannot be viewed in a vacuum and need to be taken in with the drawn-out whole.
And to think that I put off seeing this for so long, just to have an opportunity to experience it in its intended format, is very anti-climatic.
Movie comment on Straight Outta Compton
fonz
The best moment came at the end when the real life Dr. Dre is checking his Apple stockMovie comment on Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
fonz
About 25 minutes too long or about one set-piece too much. Maybe if the villain was more compelling I would've been more invested in the story, but the M:I series isn't known for it's villains, it's acknowledged as a showcase for the stunt work of Tom Cruise. That being said, it is quite difficult to build suspense when you know that the main character is going to survive every life and death situation you put them through. The next movie should have Ethan Hunt dealing with the effects of brain damage accumulated through his career, especially during his underwater stunt here, that would really be something unexpected and the series would be better off for it, finally having a realistic plot with a memorable villain.Movie comment on Trainwreck
fonz
With a cast full of comedic talents, one rises above all the rest both figuratively and literally. Mr. Lebron James may be just an unassuming basketball player, but deep underneath that stoic exterior he harbors a hidden desire to be a star. And that is what he'll become if he works harder to be better than everyone else. In what is poised to be the breakout role that puts his name in the mouths and minds of the masses, Mr. James dunks it out of the park and slams it into the goal and wins one for the Gipper. If the Academy doesn't recognize his talent here, surely they are off their meds and rockers and need their vision, hearing and next-big-thing radar checked. For the rest of us, all we have is the future to look forward to. All two meters-plus of it.Movie comment on Watchmen
fonz
(Review for Director's Cut): I can't help but think that this was the best possible adaptation of an "unfilmable" work. It looks and sounds great especially since actual panels from the book were used for the storyboards. But gone is the subtext and the deconstruction of the superhero genre replaced with an "R" superhero movie. Perhaps in ten years (maybe as little as five) this movie will finally get the appreciation it deserves once audiences finally reach their breaking point with the current wave of cape and mask films.This was released in a year when Marvel didn't have anything in theaters(!) and was still a few years away from assembling their cinematic universe, so the mainstream audience ignorance was understandable. If this movie came out today (or maybe next summer right after/before Marvel's Civil War), I feel that this would be the superhero movie to end the current onslaught on the movie theaters.
Movie comment on Terminator Genisys
fonz
Remixes and mashups rarely surpass the original songs. While they can be entertaining and at times provide a different perspective on a beloved song, you always find yourself returning to the original you hold in such high esteem. That is especially true here with the fifth film in a franchise that has hit its high mark with a fantastic sequel that surpassed the original.My main problem with this fifth entry was that there was nothing original in the screenplay. It seemed that the writers purely cut and pasted the scripts of the previous four and just called it a day. It curious that despite marathons being held for franchises in the run-up for the newest release there was no such occasion here (at least not in any of the theaters in my area). I guess the franchise to have a better than 50% audience enjoyment rate to actually make the experience worth everyone's time.
Despite the flaws, it's still better than the last two outings although that's not saying much.
Movie comment on Speed Racer
fonz
The next time I see this, it better be on a screen at least four times larger than the one I first viewed it on. A 40" flat screen is not enough to do this visual feast justice. There is simply too much going on in every frame to force your eyes to block out everything that is not Wachowski directed. For the first thirty minutes, I was wondering why the actors decided to agree to this junk. But by the end I figured out that they were drawn to its potential as an underrated masterpiece.Movie comment on Jurassic World
fonz
Fortunately, I watched Peter K. Rosenthal's review before going to see this and it made for a far entertaining experience that ultimately paled in the discovery of a Batman racing game in the movie theater lobby. The depiction of a theme park was incomplete due to an overabundance of fit Caucasians and the severe deficit of other ethnic groups such as a small Asian film crew or the morbidly obese simultaneously hogging and providing shade. It's laughable that not one park goer was able to smuggle in a small arsenal to show those InGen clowns how to handle a situation. This oversights are not minor and greatly add to the enjoyment of a nostalgia trip that is slightly superior to all officially sanctioned tributes to the original.Movie comment on The Tree of Life
fonz
On a day I sliced a part of my finger off, this made me feel much better. Yes, we as humans have problems, but in the end it's just water under the bridge. And that our human problems pale in comparison with the grand beauty of the universe.Movie comment on Blackhat
fonz
Four months ago I fell asleep and asked for a refund. Today, I found out that I didn't miss much, so I treated it as a learning experience of why it failed. I'll start with the main one--I had a hard time believing that Thor would be a computer hacker. But even the Sexiest Man Alive couldn't salvage the laughable script. Michael Mann's movies are much prettier than most others while he is a master at filming a night-time sequence or tense shoot-out, he falls flat here with dull action pieces that make little sense. Unless I missed it, a throwaway line justifying Hemsworth's character as a some sort of warrior badass would have made his unflinching actions in the parade finale (or the restaurant fight) less illogical (his 18 months in a "gladiator academy" don't make him a combat, gun and improvised weapon master).Typically in movies like this, I can find a glimpse of promise that redeems the entire experience and if just a few things were different, then perhaps it would be a better picture. The glimpse here is that at the age of 70, perhaps we shouldn't be expecting another Heat from Michael Mann, and maybe with different casting choices and a better script this would have been a solid and timely thriller. But apparently we live in a world where Indonesians aren't startled by Uzis and aren't bothered by white men pushing them around during parades.
Movie comment on Entourage
fonz
I don't remember the exact moment Entourage the TV show started sucking but it certainly happened after the first three seasons. Perhaps by that point I figured out the formula and every episode and season seemed to be the same thing happening over and over again. After getting over the nostalgia of the show by the time Karl Childers and Forest Gump Jr. are introduced, I settled in for a coda that was absolutely unnecessary after the relatively satisfying series finale.Movie comment on John Wick
fonz
The first movie I watch in over a week involved a dog being killed. After a weekend in which my own dog died, this was the perfect thing to watch.Movie comment on Tomorrowland
fonz
I enjoyed this a lot more than I should have. Perhaps that is due to the message at its core of not losing the dreamer that is slowly beaten out of you as frustration and failure become the standard. Yes there are late act problems that fail to live up to the promise of the beginning but that is to be expected from a Damon Lindelof script. Not knowing that he was the writer was why I looked forward to this and realizing that he was partially responsible is why I lowered my expectations significantly enough to just enjoy the ride. The kid in me loved this and despite overhearing actual kids outside of the theater saying "the ending sucked but the rest was cool" gave me hope that maybe not all is lost.Movie comment on Mad Max: Fury Road
fonz
UPDATE-REWATCH 9 MONTHS LATER:If there is one thing this movie has taught me, it is that you can be pushing 70 years old, without a live-action directorial credit in almost two decades and still make a fresh action movie full of deeper meaning than most Oscar bait.
Rewatching this in the theater for the first time since its initial release, I made the attempt to fragment my mind and watch it in black and white with just the musical score. With about twenty five minutes of dialogue, George Miller delivers a masterclass in visual filmmaking that should set the new standard for what an action movie can be. The only problem is that unless you have a fantastic set-up at home, the best (and only) way to truly experience this masterpiece is in the theater.
ORIGINAL THOUGHTS:
Eleven hours later and I'm still trying to turn my brain back on. But you know what, I have a mindless low paying job, so it's not like I need my higher faculties today anyways.
Movie comment on Roar
fonz
The persons who redub this and introduce a plot about lion cops investigating a gang of humans breaking into their house will make a million dollars.Movie comment on Maps to the Stars
fonz
After forty years, David Cronenberg finally shoots a movie in the United States. A perfect choice seeing as how this country is obsessed with superficiality, drugs, celebrities and social media. I can't make up my mind on the acting, as I don't have faith in the script. I understand what's being shown and said but I just don't care, or rather I found the same themes better depicted elsewhere. The beginning and end titles really tie the whole thing together and as much as I want to get further into the deeper meaning of the film, I find myself wondering "what is the point?"Movie comment on Into the Wild
fonz
After many years of considering this a favorite, I have finally read the book, rewatched the movie and now have revised my opinion. While it is well acted and shot, I am less impressed with the story than before I knew more about the life of Christopher McCandless as depicted in the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer.Like myself at that age, yet still similar as I get on in years, McCandless was an idealist enraged by the world he inhabited and the straight paths it offered him and enthralled by the world of days-gone-by as depicted by his literary heroes, Jack London and Henry David Thoreau. As a naive young college student, I was warned by a close friend to avoid seeing this as it would put dangerous ideas in my head. And he was right. For the next few years I was itching to set upon my own personal journey through the world, choosing to reject the safe straight paths through life, opting for more interesting indirect routes that lead to unique experiences that sound fictional when shared with others. When relating my adventures to others, I always preface that one should not attempt to repeat them as my continued survival is bewildering even to me after intense rumination.
Much like McCandless looked to London and Thoreau to inspire him on his journey, I looked to McCandless as filtered through the vision of Sean Penn with auditory assistance from Eddie Vedder and after my experiences, only now do I realize just how fortunate I am to be able to write this. Watching this and then attempting to recreate McCandless' trip with the belief of a different outcome is wildly reckless and completely irresponsible. Reading the source material really frames the film in a different perspective. For instance, just as some people view Christopher McCandless as some sort of folk hero, others believe him to be nothing more than an ignorant fool who got what he deserved. As we live in a society that tends to settle for the quick and easily digestible wisdom, I understand that many might view this movie more as an inspirational rather than a cautionary tale. For those that do not yet view it as both, I urge you to read the book and look for other ways to grow up and receive your enlightenment.
Movie comment on Trudno byt bogom
fonz
The Renaissance was a shitty timeMovie comment on Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
fonz
The only way to preserve our precious bodily fluids is a mixed drink of grain alcohol and rainwater.Movie comment on Miami Connection
fonz
As much as I want to admit that the 10 year old me would have loved this, I was a pretentious pompous ass back then. This greatly appealed to the 10 year old within me today and that is more important. This has more relevance today than anything else released in three decades. Loyalty, honesty, friendship, abolishment of violence to achieve peace. If you watch only one movie in your life featuring a hard-rocking, ass-kicking college band that just wants to clean up the streets of Central Florida of vicious drug dealing ninja biker gangs, make sure it is this one.Movie comment on Duel
fonz
Spielberg demonstrating competency and his future potential in what could easily be a one-note TV movie. Despite being a 90 minute chase movie, it is surprisingly engaging and compelling.Movie comment on Adieu au langage
fonz
How many times do I need to watch this before I can even break through the first layer of this cinematic onion? By my estimation, at least five. Once to just take it all in. The next with one eye closed, after with the other closed, then focusing entirely on the imagery, finally just on the sounds. Maybe one entirely devoted to words. Going in I was under the impression that this was an experimental film entirely devoid of dialogue that was in 3D made by a cinematic master.I'm still trying to process what I have experienced and there is a strong possibility that will check this out again in theaters before it ends its run, but this is by far the best use of 3D I have ever seen. The imagery is crisp and clear, that every frame can be blown up and hung up on your wall. It's a heady film and the 70 minutes might feel like an eternity to some but if you are well versed in existential thought and are open for a challenge, you will be rewarded with a good palette cleanse from all the other mind-numbing 3D you may have seen in recent years.
Movie comment on The Room
fonz
UPDATE:Remember how I said that there is only one way of seeing this and that is with Greg Sestero? Well I'm wrong. The ONLY way for me to EVER see this again, will be with Johnny himself, Tommy Wiseau, in the theater signing merchandise and showing a highlight reel of The Neighbors. I bought a script and he signed it "Love is Blind. Love, Tommy." Fucking brilliant! There were underwears with his name on them too but I just stuck to something I will treasure forever (until I lose it or it gets burned up in a fire). He even did a Q&A and man is he quick and witty (as quick as the best of them, wittier than I thought he could be), he has great self-awareness and has fully embraced his role. In between the showing of his sitcom, there was a short film, Shame on You, aimed at all the haters and features more explosions than a Michael Bay movie. I honestly cannot recall having a better time in a theater.
ORIGINAL COMMENT:
There's only one way to really see this movie and that is with Greg Sestero introducing the train wreck and providing a few anecdotes from the production and his acquaintance with the mysterious auteur, M. Wiseau. For starters, Greg, or Mark, is not that great of an actor but has the gift of a great memory that provided the material for one of the most entertaining reads I have ever experienced. You would think he would be able to drum up more enthusiasm to partake in audience reenactments of some of the finer scenes of this cinematic masterpiece but I guess after a decade of "Oh hi, Mark" you would be ready to move into the next phase in your career.
Sure there are few other ways to enjoy this "Citizen Kane of bad movies", but without the in-theater presence of one of the principal cast, you would have to settle for a midnight showing full of fans who have seen it more times than you have toes on your left foot. Yes it is fun in that environment but if you are watching it for the very first time or the first time in nearly a decade you feel like you just walked in on a very exclusive in-joke that has been going on for half the time you've been alive. By the end, you're in on the joke too and feel the need to rush home and have this playing on a loop in your studio apartment so you can better participate in the next monthly screening of this cinematic masterpiece. Or you can just move on with your life and do something more productive like learning from the failures of others to create something of real value to the rest of human society.
Movie comment on Jupiter Ascending
fonz
So they finally got Jodorowsky's Dune made, too bad it's as incomprehensable as Lynch's Dune. After really looking forward to seeing this in 2014, I was a little disappointed to see it get bumped to the cinematic dumping ground of early 2015. The stated reason-more time to work on the visuals-is valid. The visuals are astounding, unfortunately they do little to elevate the spotty script that some of the worst actors this side of Van Allen belt have to mumble through. To date, I have yet to be impressed by either of the two leads in anything they have worked on and this beautiful mess does little to make me believe they have anything resembling "talent." It's sad as the concept of this original property is interesting and could serve as the introduction of a greater universe. If this movie could be comprised entirely of landscape and exterior shots of spaceships, I would be hailing it a visual masterpiece, yet the picture relies too much on the non-existent chemistry of the two leads and never builds enough emotional attachment to any of the characters to ever make me want to care about the stakes.Towards the end, I got the sense that the Wachowski siblings purposefully made this one terrible in order to make a sequel be this generation's Empire Strikes Back. But that just might be a pipe-dream as at a budget close to two hundred million, this needs to crush the box-office and with the incredibly poor word-of-mouth, that seems as believable as Mila Kunis scrubbing toilets for a living.
Movie comment on Blackhat
fonz
This movie has the dubious honor of being the very first movie that I have ever asked for my money back. I started falling asleep about 15 minutes in and my friend said it would be ok to get a refund. I wasn't about to argue after trying to sit through some of the most poorly acted, miscast, visually uninteresting, obvious setups ever.Showing items 151 – 175 of 235