Cinema

[Pater Alf]

Ein Tick Anders
About a year ago there was a German movie called "Vincent will Meer". It was a mixture between a road movie and a comedy about a boy with tourette syndrom and it became pretty popular and successful in Germany. And faster than you can say "Gilles de la Tourette" there's another tourette movie, this time with a girl in the leading role. "Ein Tick Anders" could've been the better one of the two movies as it much more concentrates on the feelings and problems of its main protagonist, but unfortunately in the second half they suddenly mixed it with an unnecessary crime story. There are still some nice scenes and good moments, but it's certainly not a must-see.



Les petits mouchoirs (Little White Lies)
A near-fatal accident leaves one friend in the hospital while the rest go on their annual vacation. All of them are in the mid-thirties and carry there little lies, secrets and affairs which one after another come to the surface. They have to decide if they want to live in the past and maybe loose their friendship or if they finally want to become grown-ups who take responsibility for their lifes and accept each other the way they are.

I think it was a pretty good ensemble movie. Of course you see some of the plot coming, but it was well written and acted and all of the characters are real enough so you can understand and feel with them. Unfortunately the director ruined it with the ending. After 150 minutes in which you can clearly see that not all of them will stay friends he decided to forget about that and serve the audience a soppy a happy end that is neither logical nor believable.



Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I loved the original "Planet of the Apes" movies and I hated the remake by Tim Burton. So I was excited, but also a little sceptical when I heard there would be a new movie which tells the prquel story to the original one. To make it short: There's no need for scepticism, this movie is pretty awesome! It's much more drama than senseless action movie (which I feared it would be) and when the apes finally take over, that's among the best things you've ever seen in special effects and CGI business.
And I liked it a lot that there are some nice references to the original movie that make it quite believable as a prequel. Of course there are still some small illogicalities and open questions, but maybe the answers will be given in a second movie. I would love to see it if it keeps the quality.



P.S.: German title is "Planet of Apes: Prevolution" and I like that much better.

[Scythe]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I loved the original "Planet of the Apes" movies and I hated the remake by Tim Burton. So I was excited, but also a little sceptical when I heard there would be a new movie which tells the prquel story to the original one. To make it short: There's no need for scepticism, this movie is pretty awesome! It's much more drama than senseless action movie (which I feared it would be) and when the apes finally take over, that's among the best things you've ever seen in special effects and CGI business.

I have to disagree with you. This movie was supremely boring - not because of lack of action scenes, but because of general predictability throughout its entirety. Only thing I couldn't predict was the ending, but that's because it didn't really have one. It was also obviously trying to press specific buttons to provoke an emotional response, which is one of the things I hate the most about the movie industry. As soon as I felt the hand of the director attempting to shove me into a specific state of mind, I shut down completely, and proceeded to laugh out loud at all the "emotional" moments (getting weird stares by one or two people). Further, it was full of plot holes, cardboard thin characters, and didn't tie in properly with the original Planet of the Apes at all (only attempt seemed to be some hard to pick up details in the background from time to time, which were more like easter eggs for fans to look for). But then I guess the fear of nuclear war isn't something today's youth can relate to.

But yeah, the CGI was pretty good, and Andy Serkis is a wonderful motion capture actor.

I almost put it on the level with the recent (senseless action) Conan movie, which was also eminently predictable - in this case because it didn't actually have a plot - but at least didn't try to hide it. But then everything about the Conan movie was piss poor, at least the apes had the CGI going for them.

All in all, I don't know why I keep boring myself with Hollywood movies... but you never know when something a little more unpredictable/thought provoking slips by you, I guess. Oh, for a cinema that dared show Asian movies...

[Pater Alf]

I don't think the director or writer want to put the viewer into a certain emotional direction or in a certain state of mind. At least it didn't feel the way to me. I think it's up to you what to feel about the story as there is no real bad or evil (only Tom Felton is in a role trap, he's a bad guy again after being Draco Malfoy in eight Harry Potter movies), both humans and apes are meaning well and it's just a (un)lucky chain reaction that changes fate of both races.
I also disagree that the plot doesn't fit to the original movie. What would happen if a virus infection kills millions of people within days or weeks. There would probably a big panic and great mistrust among hostile nations. That could very easily leat to a nuclear war.

I agree that the characters were thin, but on the other hand a further characterisation wasn't needed except for Will and his father (where it was given). I don't expect Shakespeare when I watch Planet of the Apes. And how much characterisation was there in the original movie?

Normally I dislike Hollywood blockbuster movies and prefer small movies from Europe and South America, but I really liked this one. It wasn't perfect, but if all blockbuster movies would have that quality, I would watch more of them again.

[Scythe]

So you didn't feel the director trying to create extra sympathy for the protagonist at just about every chance he got for the first 30-45 minutes of the movie? You didn't think humans, generally, were portrayed as either callous, exceptionally narrowminded or outright evil?

When you theorize about a virus leading to a nuclear war, I think you're grasping at straws. Therre is nothing to indicate this. Besides, the virus is shown as already being on the way to the rest of the world, making such a response obviously useless. It doesn't make sense. They've clearly retconned to make the threat a more "current" one.

The characters of the original Planet of the Apes were much better realized. They could not be summed up as a single defining character trait (corporate boss = greed, animal shelter guy = animal abuser). I could argue that the weak characterization sort of makes sense, if you view the movie from the apes' point of view, but again, grasping at straws.

So, I have to disagree, and cannot in good conscience recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in more than the CGI.

[Scythe]

I can't believe I missed this movie!

[Pater Alf]

Let's leave the planet of apes and return to Europe...

Knerten
The Scandinavians sure know how to make good movies for children. This one is perfect for the whole family as it is charming and hearty, but still not foolish or silly.



Le Havre
Normally I like movies by Aki Kaurismäki, but this one was strange. It uses elements of the Brecht's theater theory and so you never have the feeling that the things you see on the screen are real.



Midnight in Paris
The most magical movie Woody Allen made in years. Great without any question, but you should have a basic knowledge of European artists of the 1920s to enjoy it even more.

[eMTe]

Ive watched 16 Blocks recently and I absolutely advice against this movie. It's comprised almost exclusively from plot holes and bad dialogues. What is more unacceptable, Richard Donner stamped this project with his name.

[Pater Alf]

Blue Valentine
A great movie about the sad fact that love simply ends sometimes. We see the last night of Dean and Cindy as a couple and in flashbacks the beginning of their relationship. Quite depressing, but feels very real. And Ryan Gosling's perfomance was brilliant, he could be a hot candidate for the next academy awards.



Edit: Oh, I just saw Ryan Gosling was already nominated last year (as well as Michelee Williams)

Mein Bester Feind
Austrian movie about a jew and a nazi who are mistaken for each other during World War II. It's supposed to be a comedy, but it's far, far away from Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" and Lubitsch's "To Be or Not to Be" which set standards in this genre. The first half was pretty boring, the second one was more entertaining and had some nice twists (which wer unfortunately very foreseeable.




And last but not least I saw a movie about a criminal girl and her gang who terrorize the police and the peaceful citizens of a small Swedish village:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6dqaLe04fs

[Chroelle]

I saw that last one too, and I must say that it's not for kids...

[Pater Alf]

The Guard
I can't even tell you the genre of this movie as it is pretty hard to classifiy. Western? Crime? Comedy? Irish film with a regional background? I don't know, but I can tell you that it was brilliant entertainment and great fun to watch. Among the best movies I saw this year!

And if you live in a country where movies normally are shown in a translated version, please try to watch it in the original language. I guess otherwise it's only half the fun.

[Pater Alf]

Nordic movie days at my local cinema:

Kauas pilvet karkaavat (Drifting Clouds)
A fairy tale from the Finnish working class. You get exactly what you want when you watch a movie by Aki Kaurismäki: Melancholia, laconicism, interesting characters, a great cast and a good dose of subtile humour. Brilliant!



Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The Man without a Past)
A man looses his mind, but finds love. Maybe not as good as "Kauas pilvet karkaavat", but still great!



Jeg reiser alene (I Travel Alone)
A nowegian comedy that was pretty much a disappointment. Main plot is about a immature literature student who suddenly learns that he has a seven-year-old daughter and has to care for her for a week. He doesn't like kids and his new role, but after a while the little girl wins his heart.
There were some nice scenes, but the whole constelation was used in many, many movies before and if you want to see it, you should watch "Kolya" or "Somewhere" which are much, much better.



Melancholia
Maybe the most beautiful filmed apocalyse ever. And I think Lars von Trier was in a pretty good mood when he wrote and directed this (at least compared to "Antichrist"). Even when most of the movie is about depression and melancholia, there is lots of humour. And the cast was really magnificent (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kirsten Dunst, John Hurt, Charlotte Rampling, Udo Kier).

[Chroelle]

I just watched Black Swan! I must say that I expected something a little more chick-flicky, but ended up having to look away a few times because my brain was in terror-overload! Amazing movie! A must see!

[eMTe]

I think there's my mini-recommendation of Black Swan somewhere in this topic. Oh, here it is...

http://forum.curlysworldoffreeware.com/ ... wan#p38261

Because of outside ugliness Ive watched so many movies during last weeks that I would have to stop posting for a month to write mini-review for each one. Oh, and first a month to remember what I watched.

[Chroelle]

I have to grant you that Black Swan was overstylized in the beginning, and that had me actually considering turning it off at the first 10 minutes... But then I think it got past it, and I loved how it totally confused me until the very finish.

[eMTe]

Dwelling in a realm of lesser known movies for some time, I stumbled upon "Breakheart Pass" based on Alistair MacLean's novel. It didnt receive any awards and it wasnt commercial hit either. Still, it is a solid mystery/thriller movie, with occasional holes and minimal dialogues, but with interesting plot as one might expect from MacLean's screenplay. Setting is wild west, but unusually for the genre it depicts train travelling through snowy Nevada instead of cowboys and prairies (there are Indians though). It also features big names - Charles Bronson (who doesnt love Charles Bronson?), Richard Crenna, Ed Lauter (well, not that big name, but if you watch movies you know this face) and Charles Durning. Overall, it's nothing special, but it's ok for a free evening, if you think that youve watched every movie worth watching.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072735/

[eMTe]

Wolfen, a surprisingly good (for US and B-movie hater) film which I havent watched to this very day. Well-executed mix of thriller, mystery, detective/cop movie and werewolf/voodoo/Indian themes with big names: Albert Finney (not to believable as NY cop though), Gregory Hines, Edward James Olmos. With usual cliches of all genres, but it is charming in a weird way. And somehow very gothic and british, what is even stranger, because plot is set in NY.

Well, just a small recommendation.

[eMTe]

I recommend the so-called Agatha Christie's Poirot series. You may find it easy to obtain or to watch it on some cable tv, it is a popular broadcast probably. David Suchet is a great Poirot, a bit different from Albert Finney in 1975's Murder on Orient Express and in the same time much closer to Dame Christie's view than Peter Ustinov's Poirot (great roles in Death On Nile and Evil Under The Sun, but he's not Poirot at all!). Overall, one of the greatest British tv series, comparable in quality to Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett, full of small unforgettable nuances that make both the character and England best in the world. A mustwatch!

[Chroelle]

Agreed! I loved watching the series some ten years ago, and it still works for me when I am in the mood to watch Poirot. And I totally agree with you on Peter Ustinovs role being great, but not Poirot!

[Zyx]

I'm surprised if someone here hasn't followed Poirot. That poor uncivilized soul...

[Scythe]

I'm anti-Agatha Christie. Because my parents forced her on me. Best way to turn somebody completely against something.