DVD's and Films You Have Watched Recently

[Mr. Seven]

Yeah that was a little nondescript. To be honest, it's an intimidating prospect to write about it. The most important thing is that it felt like I was actually watching a real piece of cinema again. 2007 really didn't have enough great films, but this is certainly one of them.

 

Some critics have said it's like watching a novel onscreen, and that's probably the best way to describe it. The director even said there's no plot, just story. Again, spot on. Almost every scene fades to black and new scenes open with narration, both of which work seamlessly, never once distracting you or taking you away from proceedings.

 

If you're looking for a guns blazing western, look elsewhere. There is very little action or violence or gunplay in this, but anytime it flares up, it's cold, jolting and memorable. It's a character study, but the most interesting character may not even be the eponymous outlaw. As for the acting, mark this down amongst the likes of Glengarry Glen Ross for examples of acting masterclass. Brad Pitt is absolutely perfect as Jesse James. It's a very understated performance and often very hard to gauge, as the character becomes so aimless that his very existence almost borders on pointless, such is his arc. The rare moments when he becomes detached and menacing are pretty terrifying. Every actor in the film is perfect for their role, from the always underrated Sam Rockwell as the dumber, older Ford brother and the also underrated Jeremy Renner as Jesse James' luckless cousin. Even Nick Cave pops for a slightly distracting cameo. His music score is naturally, perfect.

 

The performance to savour though, is Casey "yes, Ben's brother" Affleck, who, in the other title role, turns in a genuinely unsettling portrait of obsession in a manner so creepy and dangerous that you'll never think of him as Ben Affleck's Brother again. He's a revelation. The interesting thing about these two characters is that neither are especially likeable, and both are paticularly unlikeable, yet we spend a long time with them and never once get bored or want to see a gunfight. It's understated, subtle and incredibly tense. You know what's going to happen from the moment the title card is flashed onscreen, but the why and the how are what keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.

 

Finally, the cinematography, provided by Coen Brothers regular Roger Deakins, is absolutely stunning. Give that man the Oscar, because every frame of film is unforgettable, whether it's a beautifully lit silhouette of James as a train light flashes on him in the middle of the night or the stark, barren wasteland reflecting in his piercing blue eyes. The film is an artwork, and a masterpiece at that. It's a long ride, and yes, the pace is slow, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dying to see it again.

 

Best film of 2007? Well, I still haven't seen The Lives Of Others, but I doubt it will surpass this.

[The Four Horsemen]

Went to Tesco's today for some bits and bobs for bait for work and saw some cracking films in the bargain section so I bought the following:Spies Like Us - Chevy Chases best film ever possibly?Transformers The Movie (cartoon version)You, Me and DupreeThe Breakfast Club - One of my personal top 50 movies of all time.Superman ReturnsNational Lampoons Vacation - Chases 2nd Best MovieFair point they were all only single disk editions and the best bit is they are all only

[Meldrew]

I'd buy National Lampoon's Vacation but as part of the box set, Chevy's fooking awesomeSuperman Returns is awesome too, goes without saying reallyMy son has the Transformers cartoon movie & I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's dated horribly. Quite funny when I noticed the song in it is what Dirk Diggler sings in Boogie NightsI got the Robocop bix set out last night. Just watching ED-209 say 'You have 20 seconds to complay' made me feel 8 again. Total nostalgia mark-out

[bAzTNM#1]

I'd buy National Lampoon's Vacation but as part of the box set, Chevy's fooking awesomeSuperman Returns is awesome too, goes without saying reallyMy son has the Transformers cartoon movie & I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's dated horribly. Quite funny when I noticed the song in it is what Dirk Diggler sings in Boogie NightsI got the Robocop bix set out last night. Just watching ED-209 say 'You have 20 seconds to complay' made me feel 8 again. Total nostalgia mark-out

When he blows that guy away I still get rather scared.

[Dynamite Duane]

I saw some of that Jesse biopic. It was hilariously bad.

Yes it's a shame really it could have been done really well as he's a good character with a good story. When you compare it to Man On the Moon for instance there is just no comparison.I wonder what the Andre the Giant film will be like?

[Dynamite Duane]

Went to Tesco's today for some bits and bobs for bait for work and saw some cracking films in the bargain section so I bought the following:Spies Like Us - Chevy Chases best film ever possibly?Transformers The Movie (cartoon version)You, Me and DupreeThe Breakfast Club - One of my personal top 50 movies of all time.Superman ReturnsNational Lampoons Vacation - Chases 2nd Best MovieFair point they were all only single disk editions and the best bit is they are all only

[Mr. Seven]

So has nobody else seen The Assassination Of Jesse James?

[Meldrew]

Little Miss SunshineA pretty good comedy with an excellent cast, strange to see Steve Carell in a more restrained role

[dopper]

Spies Like Us - Chevy Chases best film ever possibly?National Lampoons Vacation - Chases 2nd Best Movie

I'd rate them the other way round but both are excellent and well worth

[Project 365]

I didn't want to start a seperate topic for this, but check out these awesome sale prices at Play.com

Battlestar GalacticaStar Wars

The Empire Strikes Back

[Gossy]

I didn't want to start a seperate topic for this, but check out these awesome sale prices at Play.comBattlestar GalacticaStar WarsThe Empire Strikes Back

Thankfully, free delivery though Now, where's my wallet...

[klown]

I didn't want to start a seperate topic for this, but check out these awesome sale prices at Play.comBattlestar GalacticaStar WarsThe Empire Strikes Back

I'll take TWO copies of each!!!!

[Mr. Seven]

Death Proof

 

I presume we all know the story by now. Kurt Russell is a psychopath stuntman who kills women with his "deathproof" modified muscle car. That's essentially the plot. Anyways, as we also probably know, this was supposed to have been released in a shorter version, packaged together with Planet Terror under the name of Grindhouse. Seeing as that bombed in the USA, Europe received both films seperately, albeit in longer cuts. Yes, yes, we already know this. Anyways, the point is, I'm still unsure as to why this happened, given that most people were sold on the double bill experience and neither film performed terribly well in the UK when released seperately.

 

All that being said, judging Death Proof on it's own merits, outside the falsely promised double bill, the verdict is not so good. Basically the film is alright for about 40 minutes, and then it becomes absolutely shit. It's essentially two acts, the first of which consists of a bunch of girls hanging out, talking, drinking, talking, dancing, smoking weed and talking some more, while Kurt Russell looms ominously in the background. In this first act, nothing much of note really occurs until the expected multi-angle car crash, which is naturally very impressive. Russell is somewhat engaging as Stuntman Mike, but the character just isn't interesting, something which becomes alarmingly clear in the second act. The girls are slightly irritating and don't really have much of note to say, although they are a lot more interesting than their counterparts in act two.

 

It's act two where Death Proof really runs out of gas (har har!) and becomes a chore to watch. The second round of girls are so fucking annoying that you actually end up rooting for the mysogynist psychopath, and that's not good kids. Honestly, I fucking despised the girls in the second part of the film. Their overt display of girl power was vomit inducing. I'll give credit to Zoe Bell for her stuntwork, which just about justifies her prescence (and annoying accent) in the film. Sydney Poitier (not that one) and Vanessa Ferlito are good in the first part two, with the latter being strangely beautiful. Russell is good in act one, and extremely irritating in act two. I'd have preferred Mickey Rourke to be honest. As for Tarantino's seemingly now ubiquitous cameo in all of his films, the less said the better.

 

The real problem with Death Proof, Planet Terror and the whole Grindhouse experience is that if you don't like it, the fans will either tell you that:

 

1: You don't get it.

 

2: It's supposed to be rough around the edges with poor editing, acting and the like.

 

3: It's fun, you can't poke holes at fun! You can't say it's unrealistic! It's not supposed to be realistic! It's just fun!!

 

Well as far as I'm concerned, fuck that.

 

1: I do get it. It's supposed to be a throwback to the drive-in movie/exploitation/low-budget/etc era.

 

2: I don't give a fuck about the deliberate bad editing and random black and white cues, but the thing is apparently meant to be a fun homage to B movies, yet every single time a trick was pulled, it just felt like the director(s) were trying way too hard.

 

3: Bollocks to that. The plot takes an absolutely goddamn ridiculous twist in the second act that didn't fit any way slightly natural to the characters involved. I refuse to be taken to task over complaining about the lack of realism in a movie with deathproof cars and whatnot, when the characters have such bullshit and unbelievable motivation and actions.

 

Judging by the failure of Grindhouse in the States and Death Proof in the UK, Tarantino is losing his touch and his grip over his audience. He might want to make that war movie while some people still care.

[bAzTNM#1]

I watched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer with Mumzie last night. I thought it was better than I thought it would be.

[Meldrew]

Next with Nicholas Cage. An interesting actioner/sort of sci fi movie.Nice to see someone doing something a little bit different with the genre (sort of like Deja-vu did), recommended