What movies did you recently watch?

The Hurt Locker: 4/5
Prisoners: 4/5

 

For someone who condones the use of torrents, I'm surprised you haven't picked up on the obvious - all the films he's been reviewing are Oscar contenders and their screeners have leaked recently.

Duh.

 

Screeners are a torrenters best friend.

 

Her (2013) - 8/10 Very unusual story, but very interesting...

 

The Wolf of Wall Street(2013): 7.5/10

American Hustle(2013): 8/10

Rush(2013): 9/10

A Few Good Men(1992): 8.5/10

 

Haha.. pretty much what MKH said. I've been anticipating most of these films since a year back or more so I've been ploughing through them the moment the screeners came out.

 

Captain Phillips - 4/5



Allright, imagine that you're a captain of a cargo ship... no, no, wait. Imagine that you're an American captain of an American cargo ship taking water, food and shit to Mombasa. The problem is, you gotta go along the coast of Somalia. Of course, you pray to baby Jesus, so you won't run in to the pirates. And these pirates are no Johnny Depp. They're skinny, ugly, chewing on ficus or something dickheads that will shoot you in the head just for the fuck of it. And now, imagine that you're captain Phillips looking at two skiffs closing in on your ship. I know what's going through your head, "I wish I was a Norwegian fisherman."

I'll start with what I didn't like. Some of the dialogues seemed silly to me. Like the first scene with the captain and his wife. I don't think that's a casual conversation between two people. Or "There must be something different than piracy or fishing", "Maybe in America, maybe in America". Other than that, the movie was very well done, overall perfect performances, very intense and the ending is a killer.

 

Did I already post that I saw Prisoners? Oh well. I saw it again and my opinion has changed.

Prisoners - 4.5/5

This was really well written. A lot of complicated, moving parts that all connected at the end. Nothing was irrelevant. The director clearly knows his Fincher, and the end result would fit nicely next to Zodiac and Se7en.

American Hustle - 4/5

Everyone compares this to Goodfellas. I admit I've never seen that movie, but the general comparison is David O. Russell and Martin Scorsese.

I see this movie and think more of Tarantino and Pulp Fiction. Tarantino is known for inserting very witty, interesting dialogue into his movies that don't necessarily have anything to do with the plot. Royale with cheese? Foot massages? These drawn out back-and-forth's aren't relevant to the story, but it doesn't matter because they are so enthralling.

Russell does a similar thing in American Hustle. They come in shorter chunks than Tarantino, and sometimes it's more about the visuals than the dialogue, but it's the same type of scene. The intro to the movie with Christian Bale and his hair piece? Science oven? The fishing story that never gets a true payoff because it doesn't matter? These bits aren't necessary to the story, they don't necessarily build the characters very much, but they are just damn entertaining. So they work. Almost the antithesis of Prisoners.

Also there are (at least) two visual references to Pulp Fiction in the movie. Bradley Cooper says to think outside the box and he makes the Mia Wallace "square" gesture with his fingers:



And when Carmine gives Irving the science oven, the shot mimics this trunk POV with Jules and Vincent:



Her - 4/5

This is definitely the most philosophical movie I've seen recently, because it makes you think about what constitutes "real," and how much a person's happiness matters as far as just letting them do what makes them happy. By Rene Descartes standards, Samantha is as real as any person. "I think, therefore I am."

I still can't decide whether Rooney Mara's character is a bitter asshole, or just the straightest shooter in the entire movie.

 

Before Midnight: 5/5

Scenes appeared to be one long continuous movement while really deeply developing the couples' thoughts and emotions. It was easy to be really pulled in by the movie.

 

Prisoners - 4/5



I know that a lot of people were thinking about "Seven" and some other movies while watching "Prisoners". However, "Mystic River" kept popping up in my mind, for some reason.

One thing is for sure, you don't have to be afraid to put this movie up there with other great crime thrillers. A pitch perfect setting, Jackman and Gyllenhaal at the top of their game, even Paul Dano was interesting, and all around unsettling atmosphere. The only reason why I gave it 4 out of 5 is that, during my second viewing, I really felt those 2 and a half hours.

 

The Wolf of Wall Street - 3 out of 5

Once you get past the countless tits, sex, drugs, and swearing, it's really just another showcase of how badass Leonardo Dicaprio is, and how, probably, he still won't receive an Academy Award for his performance as Jordan Belfort. At least Dicaprio can take comfort in knowing he won't lose out to any of his cast mates, because the only one with enough lines to even be considered was abysmal at best: Jonah Hill. It follows a somewhat fictional road of Belfort's rise to success and subsequent fall, and while it's fun to see Belfort get rich and buy all the toys he wants, it begs the question why someone would resort to drugs to get a high when you could just buy your excitement. Martin Scorcese might have been trying to break new grounds by dragging the film on for 3 hours, but it honestly just feels like a camera crew was stuck on Belfort for 3 hours following him wherever he went, and what could have been accomplished in an hour and a half-ish turns into three hours of debauchery.

 

Alien - 9/10

The isolation of the characters and the walking death that is the Alien are a great combination. The fact that it looks like it was made in 1979, aka the look of the props, work in favour of the eerie atmosphere. It may be slow-paced at times but it takes it time to create the atmosphere it needs. Great movie!

Prometheus - 8/10

Second time watching it and I found it more enjoyable this time around! The dialogue is iffy at times and the acting isn't always the best (aside from Idris Elba and Fassbender, whose performances are really great imo). But yeah, it sets the tone for a spin-off series in the Alien universe and I'm pretty excited for it! Let's hope its future is a bit more bright than the Alien series..

 

Gravity - 5/5



I love everything that has something to do with the Cosmos. Especially when it's a movie like this one. The first time I saw it, I wasn't sure. Then I watched it again and there was no way I wouldn't give it 5 out of 5.

It was original, gripping, awesome score, the acting was on the spot... Literally I have a hard time trying to remember anything that was wrong with this movie. Sure, some things weren't so realistic, for example, I don't think that astronauts wear tank tops underneath their space suits, but small things like this don't matter. It's supposed to be a sci-fi drama, not a documentary. They got the big physics pretty much right and that's all that matters. Definitely a unique movie.

 

The Wolf of Wall Street, 7.8.

 

​

The Wolf of Wall Street - 9/10

An avid and triumphant portrayal of the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, and every second of it is fucking dazzling. This is classic Martin Scorsese at work here with a storytelling approach akin Goodfellas and Casino. The only complaint I've heard so far is that the flick was a tad bit too long. I say fuck it, the lengthy runtime documenting the exploits of the lead lends exactly to the hedonistic nature of the flick itself.

​

Wu Xia (Swordsman) - 9/10

Still remains as one of my all-time favorites. To foreigners who might be interested, this is simply another rendition of the premise to 'A History Of Violence', illustrating a man who is indirectly pulled away from his new life of peace, and back into the turmoil of an unwanted past. Thought-provoking, subtle, elegant, and beautifully shot, 'Wu Xia' stands as one of Donnie Yen's finest performances to date. It is very much a character driven piece, and the two major action scenes of the film serves as a very emotional cathartic resolve for the films main players as opposed to a mere showcasing of martial arts choreography and talent.

If you choose to give this a chance, definitely seek out the 115 minute version and not the shortened version released for North American audiences.

​

Fatal Contact - 5/10

Great action. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is entirely forgettable. 'Fatal Contact' is a testament as to why new martial artists from Hong Kong are failing to break out into super-stardom.

 

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - 3/5 - Pretty exciting movie, but most action scenes were borrowed from other movies. The usually great Keira Knightley struggles to act like an American. Chris Pine is actually good as Jack Ryan, even in a role more serious than Capt. Kirk. Kevin Costner is well-casted as the mentor. Kenneth Branagh, who also directed, is great as the villain. Not outstanding but it's still worth a watch.

 

Dallas Buyers Club - 5/5

The entire year of 2013, most of the big publicized movies weren't really impacting me. American Hustle was entertaining but didn't wow me like I thought it would. The Wolf of Wall Street felt too over the top and ridiculous. Her was sweet and sad but didn't hit me too hard.

This movie was a gut punch. Jared Leto deserves all the recognition he has gotten, as does Matthew McConaughey.

 

^ Not trying to take anything away from Jared Leto's performance (he was amazing) but his character didn't have a whole lot to do. But as far as physical transformation is concerned, it's up there. McConaughey on the other hand just transformed himself inside out, granted he could do more with his role. But never for once did I think that was McConaughey up on screen.

-



2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - 5/5 - Wow my head is still buzzing from what I just experienced. Just on visuals alone this is a landmark in film-making. You don't even have to get into the subliminal messages it tries to get across. Some of the effects are so unique that it makes me think how with all the CGI these days we still can't make anything half as inspired as what this film does.

 

​

American Hustle - 7/10

'American Hustle' is an ambitious picture that unfortunately fails to exceed the hype. With the inflated plot and big names riddled amongst the film, this is indefinitely David O. Russell's Oscars hurrah project. Granted, the performances are solid all around with the exception of Cooper's surprisingly uneven act; his nomination for best supporting role in the upcoming Academy awards baffles me. Amy Adams steals the show and kills it here so definitely look forward to that. Overall, a largely enjoyable motion picture that deserves to be seen despite its minor shortcomings.

 

Yup, all time great. You could watch it a hundred times trying to decipher the message.