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Headphoneus Supremus
DarwinvsJesus, I'll see your Sharknado and raise you a...
Rate The Last Movie You Watched
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Za Warudo
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DarwinvsJesus, I'll see your Sharknado and raise you a...
You should check out the original, mother of them all 'school girls with guns' films: Sailor Suit and Machine Gun
martin vegas
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DarwinvsJesus, I'll see your Sharknado and raise you a...
You should check out the original, mother of them all 'school girls with guns' films: Sailor Suit and Machine Gun
Suicide club!
gamefreak054
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Cloverfield 8.5/10- Watched this last night, and I still like it. It is by far my favorite nearly pure first person film. I say pure because I like Chronicle the best, but that has some third person type perspective. The only thing I hate is the stupid endings these movies tend to share. They always feel weak. Otherwise none of the actors over acted like I felt like they did in Quarantine, and the movie did not have pacing problems like Blair Witch Project (which for me relied way too much on the conclusion of the film). They also kept a decent amount of mystery to the whole thing, granted its one thing these camera perspective movies are often good at. The whole Godzilla type aspect is pretty cool as well.
martin vegas
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Focker
Headphoneus Supremus
This is the gold standard in terms of the best HT experience I've ever had. Cloverfield + a big screen, a big subwoofer, and surround sound = HT bliss
oqvist
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I watched it at the cinema back row and god what I hated that shake camera. I did get the bluray so will see if it fair better on the small screen.
I am weak for the genre though. I was hoping for Godzilla but seriously they made him to big I can´t see how that can be interesting
Focker
Headphoneus Supremus
I watched it at the cinema back row and god what I hated that shake camera. I did get the bluray so will see if it fair better on the small screen.
I am weak for the genre though. I was hoping for Godzilla but seriously they made him to big I can´t see how that can be interesting
Yeah, I can totally understand that, man....the shaky cam gets to me at times, as well.
300: Rise of an Empire (2014):
6/10
Great movie, very fun to watch. Not once did I get bored while watching it. Epic fight scenes too. BUT, the ending seriously killed it. I was very disappointed, expected much more than that ending.
6/10
Great movie, very fun to watch. Not once did I get bored while watching it. Epic fight scenes too. BUT, the ending seriously killed it. I was very disappointed, expected much more than that ending.
SERIOUSLY?! What kind of ending was that? So basically this is like the original 300, only in another time/place. I really thought they would head to the Egyptian prince and kill him already, but they wanted to leave that for the next movie?! So now i have to wait 3 damn years just to see what happened next!
LugBug1
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Hahah I've seen it! Its a sci-fi channel (or whatever its called now) classic. I was watching it and my wife came in and sez ' what you watchin?' and then when the shark landed on the roof of the car in the city, she went 'ok, I'll just leave you to it...'
DarwinvsJesus, I'll see your Sharknado and raise you a...
Refraining from schiit jokes.. But thats one hell of a poster!
kkl10
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Upstream Color (2013) - 7
Initially puzzling, probably a challenge to guess what is the real plot without a previous preparation, I won't make it easy won't say a thing, the pleasure of this kind of work is to understand and appreciate it the way it is. There is a linear storyline alright, but things are not going to be made particularly obvious in any way. Upstream Color wanders close to the fields of experimental cinema, displays a very promissing cinematic language still in embryonic stage. Technically convoluted, the editing and sound works seem to be mere attempts towards unrealized aesthetic goal but their direction allows to foresee what's coming in the future works of Shane Carruth. American director who reveals interesting cinematic sensibility in some divine shots and scenes of this movie. I hope Carruth keeps learning from the best and worst of his still small ouvre to keep polishing and improving his peculiar language. I highly recommend this movie to those who have a mindset for experimental or unconventional cinema, it might very well become one of the most memorable cinematic experiences of the latest times... not necessarily my case but there's a peculiarity (to me only) in Upstream Color that hinders my ability to imparcially evaluate it, a little confession... to laugh: for a moment I convinced myself that I was in love for the female main character played by Amy Seimetz... or at least I felt that I nurtured feelings for her... don't ask me why (she wasn't a special personality or anything like that), I'm not sure if it was the film persuasion power (don't think so, it's not that accomplished), or if it was just a moment of weakness of mine (seems like it)... Pathetic I know, but the truth is I saw this movie twice to make sure that I got it right and in both views Kris made me feel weak, very weak...
A considerable amount of polishment all around should win Upstream Color at least a nomination for Academy Award for Best Picture and/or Original Screenplay of 2013, but this is probably a long shot.
Initially puzzling, probably a challenge to guess what is the real plot without a previous preparation, I won't make it easy won't say a thing, the pleasure of this kind of work is to understand and appreciate it the way it is. There is a linear storyline alright, but things are not going to be made particularly obvious in any way. Upstream Color wanders close to the fields of experimental cinema, displays a very promissing cinematic language still in embryonic stage. Technically convoluted, the editing and sound works seem to be mere attempts towards unrealized aesthetic goal but their direction allows to foresee what's coming in the future works of Shane Carruth. American director who reveals interesting cinematic sensibility in some divine shots and scenes of this movie. I hope Carruth keeps learning from the best and worst of his still small ouvre to keep polishing and improving his peculiar language. I highly recommend this movie to those who have a mindset for experimental or unconventional cinema, it might very well become one of the most memorable cinematic experiences of the latest times... not necessarily my case but there's a peculiarity (to me only) in Upstream Color that hinders my ability to imparcially evaluate it, a little confession... to laugh: for a moment I convinced myself that I was in love for the female main character played by Amy Seimetz... or at least I felt that I nurtured feelings for her... don't ask me why (she wasn't a special personality or anything like that), I'm not sure if it was the film persuasion power (don't think so, it's not that accomplished), or if it was just a moment of weakness of mine (seems like it)... Pathetic I know, but the truth is I saw this movie twice to make sure that I got it right and in both views Kris made me feel weak, very weak...
A considerable amount of polishment all around should win Upstream Color at least a nomination for Academy Award for Best Picture and/or Original Screenplay of 2013, but this is probably a long shot.
metalsonata
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The Wind Rises (2013): 8/10
Lovely, but problematic. The Wind Rises is a highly fictionalized account of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese airplane designer whose primary contribution to history was the legendary Zero fighter--check it out on Wikipedia if you want a fascinating read. As one would expect from Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises is a gorgeous film, impeccable in every aspect of its visual presentation. There are images here to rival some of Miyazaki's best work: an early dream sequence that quickly becomes a nightmare is perhaps the standout, but every time the action shifts to the air (whether in dream or in reality) is a wonderful moment, and the detail that goes into every aspect of the film's visuals is to be applauded. (Another standout sequence is a terrifying earthquake, where the ground ripples as if alive, and monstrous roars are frequently heard). I saw the English dubbed version of the film, so can't comment on the original Japanese actors, but the English voice actors all played their roles well (keep an ear out for a wonderful appearance by an un-credited Werner Herzog). The music, by Joe Hisaishi, is of typically high quality (though I felt its central theme was used a little too repetitively in the film), and the sound design is really something else. Pay attention especially to the planes, which sound as if they were voiced by people imitating planes. It's a slightly creepy, slightly funny effect, reminiscent of the way children voice vehicles when playing with toys.
Two things that always come across strongly in Miyazaki's films are his portrayals of nature and his portrayals of machinery--The Wind Rises excels especially with regards to the latter. Most of his films have expressed a fascination with flight or with flying machines (the guy's practically an airship fetishist)--until now, Porco Rosso seemed to be the film most attuned to the director's personal interests. As with that film, the best parts of The Wind Rises are those that are directly concerned with airplane design and operation. It's hard to get an audience interested in flush rivets, but dammit, The Wind Rises succeeds admirably. The passion that the creators of this film and the people they've fictionalized have for planes and plane design is evident in every frame--we don't merely believe that planes are beautiful because the characters rhapsodize about them so much. We actually see that they are beautiful, and we are as elated (and exhausted) as Jiro is when engineering formulas, sketches, and crates containing parts made from extruded aluminum all come together to create something that had only existed previously in the mind's eye of the object's dreamer. If only I could end the review there--I would say that The Wind Rises is a restrained but nonetheless ambitious and thought-provoking visual masterpiece.
But there's got to be more to it than that. Jiro's planes, beautiful as they may have been, were killing machines, and they were effective ones. Jiro expresses some amount of regret at this fact in the film--when working on a bomber design, he laments that the plane, which had originally been built to carry human cargo, must now carry bombs instead, and at another point he half-jokes that he could make the perfect prototype for his fighter plane if only he could remove the guns. Still, in pursuing his exploration of beauty and how it can be corrupted, Miyazaki makes a critical misstep in how vastly he abstracts the human cost of Jiro's dream machine--the planes themselves are ultimately lamented more by Jiro (as far as we are allowed to see) than even the humans that died flying them, never mind the lives that were snuffed out in combat during the war. Of course, this perceived misstep could simply be due to how much Miyazaki sympathizes with the character Jiro as a fellow artist (I think you could make a strong point for Jiro being based heavily on Miyazaki himself)--but does even this charmingly fictionalized version of Jiro deserve our sympathy? As portrayed, he was simply a driven engineer who loved his country and was passionate about his work. Easy to sympathize with, right? Still, Jiro's single-mindedness, while admirable to some respect, is also troublesome, and the tragic romantic subplot that drives the latter half of the film is equally worrisome--he neglects the supposed love of his life and to some degree trivializes her poor health, while managing to disguise his neglectful behavior with/as love. Perhaps the fault lies in me as a somewhat cynical viewer--Miyazaki is obviously concerned with only a narrow band of themes here, and there's no denying that he explores the ones that he cares about fully and beautifully. *Still,* I can't help but be perturbed by how unconcerned he seems to be with things that I find to be greatly concerning--I think it's slightly dishonest of Miyazaki (a self-confessed cynic, despite all film evidence to the contrary) to tell this otherwise perfect tale of lament without also lamenting the great human cost tied up in the events of this film. The last line of the film, in particular, left a sour taste in my mouth--that it followed one of the best lines in the film just hurt even worse. (If only we all had Italian spirit guides that prevented us from examining our failings with the promise of a good wine.)
So yes, The Wind Rises is an imperfect film. I might even call it wildly imperfect, if I were not so enamored with everything that it does well. I do not believe that it touches what I consider to be the 'holy' trinity of his work (Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, and Princess Mononoke). But it is culminating in a way that those films aren't. Miyazaki has claimed retirement after almost every film he's made since 1997's Princess Mononoke, but this is the first film of his that seems 'final.' It's deeply serious, unapologetic, and obviously intensely personal. If it is not the final word on the themes that have long haunted his work, it is at least a grand index of them, in spite of its narrow focus. Said narrow focus set against a politically complex background will turn some viewers off, as will the film's length and methodical plotting and pacing. Fans who appreciate Miyazaki's more whimsical work may also find themselves at a loss--there is very little here on the surface of the same Miyazaki that made My Neighbor Totoro or Ponyo. And movie-goers allergic to melodrama will bemoan the character of Naoko and her influence on the plot. But, to crib (and twist) a line from the film, The Wind Rises is a pyramid. You'll have to go see it to grasp what I mean.
Lovely, but problematic. The Wind Rises is a highly fictionalized account of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese airplane designer whose primary contribution to history was the legendary Zero fighter--check it out on Wikipedia if you want a fascinating read. As one would expect from Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises is a gorgeous film, impeccable in every aspect of its visual presentation. There are images here to rival some of Miyazaki's best work: an early dream sequence that quickly becomes a nightmare is perhaps the standout, but every time the action shifts to the air (whether in dream or in reality) is a wonderful moment, and the detail that goes into every aspect of the film's visuals is to be applauded. (Another standout sequence is a terrifying earthquake, where the ground ripples as if alive, and monstrous roars are frequently heard). I saw the English dubbed version of the film, so can't comment on the original Japanese actors, but the English voice actors all played their roles well (keep an ear out for a wonderful appearance by an un-credited Werner Herzog). The music, by Joe Hisaishi, is of typically high quality (though I felt its central theme was used a little too repetitively in the film), and the sound design is really something else. Pay attention especially to the planes, which sound as if they were voiced by people imitating planes. It's a slightly creepy, slightly funny effect, reminiscent of the way children voice vehicles when playing with toys.
Two things that always come across strongly in Miyazaki's films are his portrayals of nature and his portrayals of machinery--The Wind Rises excels especially with regards to the latter. Most of his films have expressed a fascination with flight or with flying machines (the guy's practically an airship fetishist)--until now, Porco Rosso seemed to be the film most attuned to the director's personal interests. As with that film, the best parts of The Wind Rises are those that are directly concerned with airplane design and operation. It's hard to get an audience interested in flush rivets, but dammit, The Wind Rises succeeds admirably. The passion that the creators of this film and the people they've fictionalized have for planes and plane design is evident in every frame--we don't merely believe that planes are beautiful because the characters rhapsodize about them so much. We actually see that they are beautiful, and we are as elated (and exhausted) as Jiro is when engineering formulas, sketches, and crates containing parts made from extruded aluminum all come together to create something that had only existed previously in the mind's eye of the object's dreamer. If only I could end the review there--I would say that The Wind Rises is a restrained but nonetheless ambitious and thought-provoking visual masterpiece.
But there's got to be more to it than that. Jiro's planes, beautiful as they may have been, were killing machines, and they were effective ones. Jiro expresses some amount of regret at this fact in the film--when working on a bomber design, he laments that the plane, which had originally been built to carry human cargo, must now carry bombs instead, and at another point he half-jokes that he could make the perfect prototype for his fighter plane if only he could remove the guns. Still, in pursuing his exploration of beauty and how it can be corrupted, Miyazaki makes a critical misstep in how vastly he abstracts the human cost of Jiro's dream machine--the planes themselves are ultimately lamented more by Jiro (as far as we are allowed to see) than even the humans that died flying them, never mind the lives that were snuffed out in combat during the war. Of course, this perceived misstep could simply be due to how much Miyazaki sympathizes with the character Jiro as a fellow artist (I think you could make a strong point for Jiro being based heavily on Miyazaki himself)--but does even this charmingly fictionalized version of Jiro deserve our sympathy? As portrayed, he was simply a driven engineer who loved his country and was passionate about his work. Easy to sympathize with, right? Still, Jiro's single-mindedness, while admirable to some respect, is also troublesome, and the tragic romantic subplot that drives the latter half of the film is equally worrisome--he neglects the supposed love of his life and to some degree trivializes her poor health, while managing to disguise his neglectful behavior with/as love. Perhaps the fault lies in me as a somewhat cynical viewer--Miyazaki is obviously concerned with only a narrow band of themes here, and there's no denying that he explores the ones that he cares about fully and beautifully. *Still,* I can't help but be perturbed by how unconcerned he seems to be with things that I find to be greatly concerning--I think it's slightly dishonest of Miyazaki (a self-confessed cynic, despite all film evidence to the contrary) to tell this otherwise perfect tale of lament without also lamenting the great human cost tied up in the events of this film. The last line of the film, in particular, left a sour taste in my mouth--that it followed one of the best lines in the film just hurt even worse. (If only we all had Italian spirit guides that prevented us from examining our failings with the promise of a good wine.)
So yes, The Wind Rises is an imperfect film. I might even call it wildly imperfect, if I were not so enamored with everything that it does well. I do not believe that it touches what I consider to be the 'holy' trinity of his work (Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, and Princess Mononoke). But it is culminating in a way that those films aren't. Miyazaki has claimed retirement after almost every film he's made since 1997's Princess Mononoke, but this is the first film of his that seems 'final.' It's deeply serious, unapologetic, and obviously intensely personal. If it is not the final word on the themes that have long haunted his work, it is at least a grand index of them, in spite of its narrow focus. Said narrow focus set against a politically complex background will turn some viewers off, as will the film's length and methodical plotting and pacing. Fans who appreciate Miyazaki's more whimsical work may also find themselves at a loss--there is very little here on the surface of the same Miyazaki that made My Neighbor Totoro or Ponyo. And movie-goers allergic to melodrama will bemoan the character of Naoko and her influence on the plot. But, to crib (and twist) a line from the film, The Wind Rises is a pyramid. You'll have to go see it to grasp what I mean.
kkl10
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Long time since I've seen a Miyazaki animation, will try to get back to him soon.
Enjoyed all the movies I've seen from him - Princess Monokoke, Spirited Away and maybe Howl's Moving Castle...
Great review, thanks!
I really like your style.
Enjoyed all the movies I've seen from him - Princess Monokoke, Spirited Away and maybe Howl's Moving Castle...
Great review, thanks!
I really like your style.
metalsonata
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He's one of those rare directors out there with more than a few films under his belt whose entire filmography as a director I feel I can almost unreservedly recommend. I think it's a shame that his praise is generally only sung by film critics and anime fans--I get the impression that the general public and most film fans ignore his work because, well, it's all Japanese cartoons.
And thanks for reminding me that I need to own Upstream Color. What a bewitching film that was--I'm looking forward to giving it a re-watch, or five.
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