Children of Men

Children of Men
Alfonso Cuarón, 2006

I have a lot of trouble getting into dystopian movie and books. Somehow the archetype is specific enough that they all seem like clones to me. Thus, I struggled to engage with this movie at the beginning. I enjoyed seeing Michael Caine as an aged hippie, though.
Feelings about the story aside, this movie is amazing. The choreography involved had to have been the product of months of preparation, practice and tenacious will. Long, uncut shots in which a host of action was shown in immersive ways played a key role in setting this film apart from any other I've seen.
I do have to give the story credit as it teased the audience with "Hollywood Saccharine," but flipped a 180 as soon as the audience accepts it.

I watched this one right after watching I Am Legend. That one sucked me in right away, but let me down a bit in the ending. This one took a while on the uptake, but left a much better taste in my mouth.

Image Courtesy of The New Republic.

"How many times do we live? How many times do we die?"

21 Grams

Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2003

Holy shit. Just like Amores Perros, this one just beats the living shit out of you. Then it does it again.
The first time I saw a movie with the story shown out of order was when I first saw Pulp Fiction sometime in my early teens. Since then I've seen it quite a few times more. I feel like Iñárritu's films (with Guillermo Arriaga's writing) do the best job of it.
At the beginning of this one I had no clue what was going on, where the story was headed or what the point of any of the short scenelets I saw were. Right when I was at the point of utter frustration, the focus began to linger just a bit longer and things began to coalesce at such a pace that just enough was revealed to lure you in and make you want to beg for that next little tidbit.

I love movies that beat the living shit out of you. Honestly, what's the point of seeing something if it doesn't move you?

image courtesy of moldova.org

3:10 to Yuma

3:10 To Yuma
James Mangold, 2007

Dug it.

Pan's Labrynth

El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
Guillermo del Toro, 2006

Dug this one too.

40 Year Old Virgin

I watched this movie and played it off as research as I needed to rewrite a script for Cinema Production in the form of a Judd Apatow comedy. I remember liking this movie during its initial run in theaters, and I liked it again upon second viewing. Watching it online was a pain as constant slowdowns and buffering interludes broke the pace.

I read the script while I was waiting for the internet to load, and the final product was much better. The script seemed to be written by a bunch of frat boys after an episode of drinking and other illicit substances. Then again, I suppose that's probably Apatow's method, considering the type of comedy he produces.

In the end, a thesis critique ran long (7.5 hours) and I never met with my group, so my inputs for the rewrite were never heard, effectively making my "research" a mere viewing of the film.

Psycho (1960)

I spotted Hitchcock's cameo early in the film as he stood on a corner outside a window.

I appreciated this more than I did when I was ten and enamored with the Scream movies, but I still didn't think it was great. There were plenty of times when plot was advanced by awkward dialogue (while the protagonist was driving, at the end when the psychiatrist explained Norman Bates' complete sordid history and psychosis) and the tense music was over the top and unnecessary.

The actor who played Norman did a great job with a wide range. He believably portrayed everything from warmth and an inviting nature to slightly off to creepy and off putting.

I ended up losing a dollar bet when the private investigator died. Parents, please reimburse me. It's a college expense, just like any other.

Rebel Without a Cause

I saw this movie as part of a double feature in the DuBois basement. Needed to watch it for class.


Nice seeing it again, as I missed half of it sophomore year in high school. More later (maybe).

TMNT

TMNT was a movie about ninja turtles. I loved them since i was a little kid.

More if i feel like updating this later. Probably won't.