The Dark Knight
Finally saw this. A great action movie, a great superhero movie, and a great crime thriller. The previous Nolan/Bale movie was good, but this is a step up even from that, in terms of characters, writing, the maturity of the vision of Gotham City, and in terms of themes.

It does fall back into normal action movie territory at times, but at 2 and a half hours, it can't all be brilliant.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
It's been ten years since I saw the first one, so my memory of the original might be gilded by age (pun intended) but it just seems like the first movie was a serious political movie with a meaningful personal angle, while this was more of a historical soap opera, with a mundane love triangle and little historical or character insight.

Coming Attactions:

Death Race: appears to be a direct ripoff of Running Man, but with muscle cars.

Quarantine: looks like the spanish zombie thriller Rec is being released in the US this fall but with a more marketable name. Worth seeing, I reviewed it upthread. 

Juno
I was suprised by the genuineness of this, was expecting another throwaway "quirky" comedy. Once you get past the first fifteen minutes or so, Juno breaks free of its indie hipness to tell an actual story, with actual feeling. 

agree with juno, the first 10-15 min had me bothered but it actually has heart and likeable characters.

as for elizabeth, I didnt like 1 or 2, for different reasons. But I thought both were quite poor. 

Just saw this. Very good, does exactly what it says on the tin, one of the classics of modern "for kids AND adults" animations*. The aspects and scenes that were particular to this film and it's theme were good all-round, the more derivative cartoon moments were weaker.

* on the subject of animations, the "earth / robot" so-called CGI was so good I don't believe it was CGI, I reckon they did the whole thing with models and stuff...! 

swears to me that his daughter was absolutely hysterically distraught after seeing this. He said that he thought she had spilled the kettle on herself or something she was crying that much.
Doesnt it die at the end? 

Nah, humans return to earth and everything is ok yay!

It was my one issue with the film, the ending is all happy/clappy. But then I suppose it is a kid's film. The rest of the film is amazering 

Agree about the ending, not as strongly themed as the rest of the film. Although the credits were pretty cool.

The leading lady is well hot! 

//SPoiLER//

I have ever seen. The humans come back to live a life of Luddite like subsistence farming? Besides, the entire movie is a bourgeoisie attack on the proletariat. propaganda to deny the working man the fruit of his labors. 

Not really my type, looks too much like an iPod.

The abhorence that was Marvin in the H2G2 movie might go for her though. 

What everyone else said. Brilliant. Hurrah. 

It was a bit long though, with a disappointing amount of video game action and had some things that could have just been dropped (like the sonar stuff! wtf!).

But the Joker will stay with me for a long time. 

I'm clearly the hugest batman fanboy on these forums, aand, I admit it was too long, aand, I think the finale was disappointingly conventional (same as Batman Begins, although the ferry sequence was unusually interesting) but... what do you mean "video game action"?
I felt that the action for the most part was believable and meant something aside from just explosions, no one was flying through the sky doing slo-mo moves (ala, Batman Forever, Spiderman, etc).

I actually loved the Hong Kong sequence. If I was a major criminal, I'd be worried about being hunted down like that. What an FU to Lau, and what a warning to anyone who tries to help the mafia. Awesome too how Dent feigns ignorance.

I'm surprised they didn't explore the angle of someone alleging (reasonably enough it seems to me) that the existence of such a character (batman), in apparent cooperation with the government, is a secret government project testing out the public's reaction to "extra-legal" law enforcement (and eventually fascism, blah blah etc). Surely if a guy like Batman existed, all kinds of conspiracy nuts would argue that some level of government was in on it. 

barring the car chase were still edited far too quickly, but that's more of a hollywood trend than anything else. Better than Begins but still nothing that great. 

Not as bad as I expected - I expected more prolonged fights with super-quick choppy "can't see WTF is going on and looks really really shit" editing that is so trendy amongst people who try to make films worse these days.

But it was instead more like that each fight was over very quick (i.e. it was not just the editing style but rather the fight speed), a couple of sharp blows and onto the next bad guy - and to me this seemed in keeping with Batman's style, dealing with enemies very quickly by killing/disabling blows rather than getting involved in a prolonged fight.


I thought the Hong Kong sequence was great, great filming of the city too. 

So, on thinking about it a bit more, the only action scene that bothered me was the one where the Joker was trying to get Dent as he was being transported around. How long was that underpass? I yawned.

I liked the Hong Kong excursion and parts of the ending.

I guess I'm just surprised and disappointed by the lack of focus in such an otherwise incredibly competent film. It seemed almost like the makers lacked the ... courage? not really sure of the word ... to leave some of the things they'd worked on on the cutting room floor. It's annoying, not because the film was bad, but rather because it was so close to being great.

In other news, I watched Run, Fat Boy, Run last night. Dear me, it sucked. 

(2nd time I saw it, I figure I would go with my freinds and see it at the big screen cause the 1st version was a bit shit....)

I like it.

OK, ok.

Heath ledger reminded me of Nicholson a couple of times.

Which was a good thing.

Bale was bale. I liked the "dirty batman voice"

Dent was cool. Good CGI. Made up for the plentyfull bad (or obvious) CGI. The BatCycle was ace.

But the thing about it which shined the most was the turbulent and depthfull STORYLINE. Character development! Good stuff. More of this please Hollywood. And without the martyrd actors pls. Too OTT. And horribly tragic.

Heath Ledger RIP. 

Heath ledger reminded me of Nicholson a couple of times.

Same for me, but Ledger did something far more clever than an impersonation of Nicholson as the Joker. The cadence and accented twang he used was from Nicholson's character in One Who Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest instead of his character from the Burton flop. 

beginnings of tonsillitis when I saw this film so Ledger really haunted my feverish dreams afterward. Really menacing turn.

I thought the film was let down by the uncharacteristically OTT sonar goggles and Harvey Dent's injuries, which would have just been so much more terrifying if they looked realistic. Seriously, his eyeball would have been way more fucked up than that. The burnt side of his face should just have been dead.

Other than those two small gripes, thumbs up all round. 

Winchester 73 (1950) - I'd read a lot about the Anthony Mann/James Stewart westerns but had not got around to any of them till now. This is probably the most well known one and it's a cracker of a film, superbly paced and written and the direction is faultless. The only negative is a very uncomfortably drawn female character which comes across as an afterthought in an otherwise great movie.

7.5-8/10


The Goddess of 1967 (2000) - an interesting if ultimately flawed aussie film about a japanese man (rikiyo kurokawa) who travels to Australia to buy The Goddess of 1967, a 60's citroen DS, and ends up on a road trip with a mysterious blind girl (rose byrne).

The performances are engaging, Dion Beebes' cinematography is exceptional, and director Clara Law shows occasional flashes of brilliance during certain scenes. On the whole though, it's far too obsessed with referencing the french new wave films of godard, melville, truffaut and co and ends up being too long and too muddled.

5/10


Brothers (2004) - another find film from Susanne Bier, this time a drama about the lives of a UN solider believed to be dead after a helicopter crash in the Middle East, his wife back home in Denmark and his just out of prison brother who is living with his wife and children. Once again Bier turns what should be a contrived, manipulative story into anything but that with skilful avoidance of cliches, absorbing characters, strong performances and deft use of humour.

American remake currently being made by jim sheridan with natalie portman, jake gylenhaal and tobey maguire.

7-7.5/10


<b.The Counterfeiters (2006) - last year's best foreign film winner is equally as good as the german film that won the previous year's award, The Lives of Others.

Karl Mankovics, in a remarkable central performance, plays conflicted nazi prisoner Sally, "the most famous countefeiter in the world" who strikes a deal to be spared and receive better treatment for himself and some others in exchange for making copies of the pound and US dollar for german use.

The film is excellent in showing both sides of the coin of this situation (bad joke unintentional) and although it doesn't reach any great heights at any stage, its tightly made and very very interesting.

7.5-8/10

On a side note, I cant believe this story is true, the germans were totally crazy.


All That Heaven Allows (1955) - the movie that Far From Heaven is meant to be a homage to and you can definitely see the inspiration. Like Todd Haynes' film, this one has a really strong central performance from Jane Wyman that anchors the whole thing as the melodrama plays out around her in opulent technicolor.

Solid, well made stuff with direction by Douglas Sirk that is better than the material.

7/10


Ballad of a Soldier (1959) - simplistic but very effective russian film set during the war. 19 yr old Alyosha barters away a medal for some time away from the front to visit his mother in his village.

Essentially a road trip film, which follows the usual structure of the naive young man learning about life, but the characters and performances are engaging and the scripting very intelligent.

Impressive stuff.

7.5-8/10


Rumble Fish (1983) - In his own words, 'an arty movie for teens' by Francis Ford Coppola. It's a fry cry from his four 70's masterpieces but its also a far cry from the series of duds he's more recently responsible for.

Its an adaptation of S.E Hinton's short novel about James Dean style rebellious teens withering away in a small pretty much dead town. Definitely style over substance, but its glorious style and Matt Dillon as the dumb younger brother idolising his older bother and Mickey Rourke as the older brother trying to shed his mythic gang image make for sympathetic characters.

6.5/10 

Advise and Consent (1962) - another fine movie from the great Otto Preminger, a political drama based around the nomination by the US president of a controversial new secretary of state. A somewhat predictable narrative follows involving dissenting senators, personal conflict and hidden secrets but its made more interesting with the shadow of McCarthyism hanging over the story.

It�s a bit too talky, actually probably far too talky for most, and also overlong at 138 min, but the cast including Charles Laughton and Henry Fonda is first rate and some of the dialogue, fantastic.

7.5/10


Dead Man's Shoes (2004) - rewatch, had forgotten how hilarious it was despite the main story.

Mentally impaired Anthony is subjected to humiliation and abuse by certain locals in his British Midlands town and eventually his older brother Richard, an ex-army soldier, returns to the town to punish those responsible.

Despite the straightforward narrative, Meadows avoids revelling in gratituous on-screen violence and instead works in a surprising amount of hilarious black comedy into the material before also managing to embue the last 20 min or so with genuine pathos. Helping him is an excellent performance from Paddy Considine as Richard, who manages to walk that careful tightrope of unpredictability very well.

7.5/10


Jekyll - BBC tv show/mini series that is a modern update of the famous story with numerous additions/twists to the source material, some good, and some eye rolling bad. When it works, it’s a deft mix of gothic horror and black humour and when it doesnt, its distractingly bad.

On the whole though, its fairly entertaining with some nice unexpected characterisations and story arcs and a solid performance from James Nesbitt in the main role.

6.5/10


Dogville (2004) - well, it's definitely different. I guess the biggest compliment I can pay its minimal Brechtian style (the whole film is done on a stage without any sets etc) is that you don’t really notice it after 10-15 min, which means its obviously successful in getting the viewer involved through the story and performances.

Length is definitely an issue, it overstays its welcome at 173 min, and some of the message preaching is a bit hypocritical but for the most part, the cast, characters, themes and plotting are very engaging and interesting.

7-7.5/10


Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) - apart from impressive performances from Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, I found this to be fairly laborious, unfunny and repetitive tedium.

There are a couple of funny scenes but there are many more that are not.

4.5/10


High Noon (1952) - fairly impressive old school western that through its script, cinematography and direction manages to build up a fair amount of characterisation and tension, only to be let down by a bit of an anticlimactic ending and some rather mixed attempts at messages.

Still, it looks great and is paced beautifully.

7.5/10


Open Hearts (2002) - the first collaboration between Susanne Bier and Mads Mikkelsen and while it's not as great as After the Wedding, its still another fine intense drama with excellent performances and non-cliched scripting, albeit in the context of a manipulative, contrived story. Mikkelsen plays a doctor who forges a relationship with the girlfriend of a man who was run over by his wife, leading to complications for all involved. Bier employs a dogme style to cover the events, something which she has employed less and less in her more recent efforts, but it suits the material and is not overly distracting as other films in this style.

Hollywood remake by Zach Braff coming (I think almost all her movies are being remade).

7-7.5/10 

I havent seen all of the above but:

Dead Mans Shoes

I really liked this. Quite shocking really, but also a good anti-drugs film. Really makes you think about why not to become a druggie. Also why not to join the army and become 'capable' of such controlled anarchy.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

I LOVED this film. It's probably my favourite film. It is hilarious right from the start to the end. My favourite scene is the montage which brings you up to speed at the start - the road trip into Las Vegas, there Toby Maguire hitchhikes a ride with the two 'deprivates'. The part where you can see Depp muttering to himself, with a different voiceover, then the lips and narrative synchronise on the line "did I say that, or just think it?". I have never seen such an accurate portayal of the feeling of being in such a state.
This feeling of the films realism is mantained throughout the film. It is obvious that the story and characters are based on real-life experiences, rather that artistically licensed imagination.
I find myself enjoying this film for every scene. I also love the part with the car chase in the desert and the "unhinged" police officer (Trinca).

It is true, the film lacks direction, chaos insues well and truely towards the films "conclusion". Depp waking up in a hotel room which has been trashed. I have never seen such a mess before in all my life. He is wearing flippers, a six-foor rubber crocodile's tail (strapped to his arse) whilst lieing in an inflatable paddling pool with a tape recorded strapped to his chest. The moral is that if you do that stuff it WILL change you. 

Really didn't care for the preachiness of this film that conflated two 'messages'. Hell, one motif was better done and more understated in the recent Rambo flick (Christian Passivism being an unrealistic approach).

What stays with me in this film is the opening scene with the stark plains and the beautiful Tex Ritter ballade 'Don't Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin''. It exuded a perfect state of morose that was not easily matched in the live action and dialog scenes. 

Of High Noon written as a science fiction novella in the 1950's by Jack Vance titled 'The Moon Moth'. It is from an anarchist disposition. A marshal (another term is used, but pretty much the same thing) is assigned to a planet where the society is composed of individualist. He receives a death threat from a gang who is coming to settle a score. When he asks the natives for help, no one he asks even pretend to give a fuck whether he lives or dies and he is told that he put himself in the situation by accepting the official position in the first place, and it is no one's problem but his. In High Noon everyone comes up with excuses, but not here! Quite refreshing. 

headthump, agree on the 'messages', but I still quite liked it. 

The Last Wave (1977) - For those that found the unresolved, ambiguous nature of Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock to be frustrating, his followup film is likely to elicit the same response. But if, like me, you thought that aspect worked in the favour of that film, especially when combined with the mysterious and foreboding atmosphere that was prevalent throughout, you will find much to like here even though it's not quite on the same level of quality as PAHR.

The movie has three interconnected stories: Australia is experiencing strange weather with numerous hail/rainstorms, a Sydney lawyer is having strange dreams, and a group of Aboriginal men kill one of their own in a bar. By the end, the stories are linked, but not in any cohesive fashion, Weir choosing to raise new (and interesting) questions with his 'answers'. But, as mentioned above, I found that this approach added to the film given how much it relies on mysticism. What doesn�t quite work, though, are some of the subplots which seem to be last minute additions to add some dramatic weight but end up detracting from the interest of the main story and spectacularly strange and haunting imagery.

7/10


Red Road (2006) - impressive little psychological drama/thriller from Scotland that can be a bit slow at times but is otherwise very engaging and effective. The main character, Jackie, works as a security camera operator in Glasgow and from the lengthy opening sequence, you can tell she lives her life vicariously through those she observes. But when she sees someone from her past, it sets off an unnerving series of events dealing with obsession, memory and guilt.

The performances are strong across the board, the direction appropriately intimate and claustrophobic and although the ending is a little bit too pat (despite working reasonably well), the leadup is an unpredictable and confronting look at someone's internal hell.

7/10


I Live in Fear (1955) - Akira Kurosawa's most direct look at the effect of WWII on Japan with Toshiro Mifune playing an elderly man whose family is trying to have him declared insane for wasting the family savings on over the top plans to combat the effect of radiation fallout. But unlike Kurosawa's other films like The Bad Sleep Well and Stray Dog which look at post war japan indirectly but more effectively, this one ends up working more on the level of a dissection of family politics than as a commentary on post war Japan (even though it raises some interesting questions). Not that that's a bad thing in itself, Kurosawa's mastery is still present for the majority of the film and Mifune's strong presence dominates every frame he's in.

7/10


The Bridges of Madison County (1995) - overlong, but an otherwise excellent and low key drama from Clint Eastwood that, despite being very susceptible to it, manages to avoid the oversentimentality that's present in most of his recent films. Eastwood obviously recognised what he was onto, and that is Meryl Streep at the peak of her powers, and he wisely chooses to focus everything on her. Of course, he manages to himself play off Streep pretty well too, forming the interesting central relationship that is very important to the movie's success.

7.5/10


The Magician (1958) - probably one of Ingmar Bergman's most accessible movies that avoids his usual themes of god, religion and suffering. Instead we get a period piece that follows a famous travelling magician, Albert Vogler (Max Von Sydow), and the subsequent encounter between his troupe and the town authorities, including Dr Vergerus the physician, over the claimed legitimacy of their acts. The themes, therefore, shift towards science vs spirituality but Bergman adds in further intriguing complexity by making both Vogler and Vergerus very aware of the likely inaccuracy of each of the their own stances.

The result is a masterfully shot film with abrupt changes of genre that still seem to gel well together. Max Von Sydow again puts in a very commanding performance, which is especially noteworthy given that his character plays a mute in the film. The ending is not quite what I was expecting but otherwise its pretty impressive stuff.

7.5/10


Mad Max - here's some heresy, I thought that was atrociously bad. No idea how or why this put aussie film on the map, especially when Peter Weir was making genuinely great films at the same time.

3/10


Mad Max 2 - on the other hand, this should make 'best sequel' lists simply for being so much better than the first film. I'd bet the budget wasnt significantly bigger than last time but it's used a hell of a lot better, the vision of an apocalyptic future being more precise and realised.

Its also suitably exhilarating and restrained at appropriate times, but most importantly has neat characterisations that the first film seriously lacked.

7-7.5/10