Foxcatcher (2014) - 2.5/5 Talk about a disappointment. It's shot nicely and acted exceptionally well especially by Mark Ruffolo. He really knows how to knock it out of the park. But story-wise I got very little out of it. I thought it unnecessarily dragged on, when they easily could've wrapped it up in an hour and half. I don't think Steve Carell's exaggerated fake nose was really necessary. I didn't find him creepy, menacing or threatening at any point. Instead of stretching out such a straightforward story for so long, they could have built tension and wrapped it up with a big climax.
Honestly, I was actually trying to watch the show. I thought I was watching the pilot of the show since its also named serenity. I'm mean the two hour length made feel a little suspicious but it did not occur to me until I googled it. It's a little embarrassing.
There's only one sucky thing about that. SPOILER! it takes all the emotion out of Wash's... big moment.
Okay, summary of the past week or so, I'm sure I'll forget a few though. The Ghost Writer: 4/5 - Much more enjoyable than I thought it would be, I don't normally like political thrillers. Loved the dark atmosphere of the movie. Gone Girl: 4.5/5 - So many twists and big moments, a really great movie. Unexpected all the way through. Reznor and Ross made it even better. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb: 3/5 - You know, as predictable and non-sensical these movies are, they're still fun to watch in the right company. The Inbetweeners: 2/5 - Jesus Christ. Well, made me laugh a few times but not much more than that. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009, Swedish) - 4.5/5 - I went into it thinking it was the American version with Reznor/Ross' score, so I was a bit let down from the beginning, but damn, what a great movie this ended up being. Loved it. The Amazing Spider-Man: 4/5 - Gotta be at least sixth or seventh time I watched this one. 7/5 for Emma Stone. [left out several, will edit if I remember]
[thumb]http://www.dewmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/only-god-forgives-1.jpg[/thumb] Only God Forgives (2013) - 7/10 Little backstory: it took me a while to get into "Drive" but after a second watch, I started to appreciate the movie's style and ended up loving the movie. A couple of days ago, I read something about "Only God Forgives" (which I had heard of before), and noticed it was made by the same director as "Drive". The reviews were very divided so, knowing it took me a while to get into Drive, I got intrigued and decided to give the movie a try. Anyways, onto the actual review: it's the kind of movie you'd expect from the guy who made "Drive". Very eye-pleasing and colourful shots (this time, very neon-coloured) and a very moody atmosphere (and soundtrack, again done by Cliff Martinez). Now, while I understand most of the criticism the movie gets, I enjoyed it a lot. There's almost no dialogue, which is one of the main complaints of the movie, but to be honest... I can only be happy about that since most of the dialogue that is in the movie is... pretty cringeworthy (mostly thanks to Scott Thomas' character). I had the same complaint with Drive, but I found this one to be much worse on the dialogue-department. But it's not that kind of movie. It's not the movie that wants you to like its dialogue (or its characters - the cringeworthy dialogue actually enhances the shitty personalities of the characters). It wants you to witness its set-pieces, mood and visuals (and arguably, the subtext) which are all, in my opinion, very well done. While I don't think it will stay this interesting, I can (for now) appreciate Refn's directing style: long, slow shots, moodsetting and little to no dialogue. If you're not into that, don't even bother watching this movie. As for Ryan Gosling: I really hope he doesn't get typecasted as the troubled introvert character from now on lol
James Bond: Skyfall 4/5 Great Story, great villain and a good story development. Even a few surprises in the course.
The Interview 6/10: I found that a lot of the humor was too on the surface (there's a word for this but I'm too tired to think of it). Too plain and egregious (is that the word? Idk lol). I also really didn't like James Franco's character. Had some funny moments though. Especially in the second half. Not bad, not great. Extra points for a bold premise.