Cinema

[Chroelle]

I watched Django the other day and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT. Except for Christoph Waltz last remark - that was not Tarantinos best writing. I wanted something better.

Loved how everyone played in the movie - except IRONICALLY - Mr. Tarantino himself. I thought that was his worst performance so far.
But this was my movieexperience of the year - not calendar-year but duration.

Now lets all get excited about the Oscars tonight!

[eMTe]

I still dislike Tarantino. Not because of what he does, but what he does not.

I fail to understand why the guy who has such a deep knowledge about cinema doesn't want to make a serious movie. I know he's been caught in a sort of "zeitgeist trap" which prompts him to develop movies full of cynicism, irony and genre self-references, but I still believe he can do better.

Somebody has to.

[Pater Alf]

Silver Linings
A romantic comedy about two people with mental illnesses. Doesn't work for me at all. Every single character in this movie is highly dislikable (maybe except the female main protagonist) and 90% of the time people are yelling at each other. That movie really got on my nerves. And as much as I like Jennifer Lawrence, there is no way that you can give her an Oscar for this perfomance instead of Emmanuelle Riva. The academy must be crazy...



The Impossible
A movie about a family that survived the great South Asian tsunami in 2004. Could have easily become pathetic and soppy, but this one is surprisingly good. Especially the tsunami scenes were so intense that it was nearly physical painful to even watch them. It's hard to believe that this is a real story, but probably there are hundreds like this which could be told (even if most of them probly wouldn't have a happy end).

[Chroelle]

The impossible got hammered by the critics in Denmark. Most thought it was a bit too AMERICAN - and not enough Asian. Meaning that they centered too much on the GREAT AMAERICAN FAMILY who has to go through so much hardship on their vacation. (And thereby leaving out the many tragic stories of people loosing everything, homes, familymembers and belongings.) I haven't seen it yet, but I am afraid I wont be able to look past that once I get the chance.

[Pater Alf]

Well, it got very mixed critics here as well (e.g. in my town it was movieof the month in one magazine and got a rating of 1/5 in another). And if it got bad critics, the fact that it centered around an American family was always one of the main points. To be honest, I can't understand it. The story that is told is more or less a universal one, about life, death, hope and the will to survive. Nationality doesn't matter that much for the story. As I said in my other post, you could tell thousands of stories about the tsunami (and I'm sure they will in other movies), but in my eyes that fact that they chose to tell the story of a tourist family (who is in fact Spanish and not American) doesn't make the movie less powerful or impressive (at least from a cineatic point of view).

It's a bit like saying that "Schindler's List" is a bad movie, because it's centered on the German industrial and not on the jews who lost everything during World War II.

[Scythe]

Interest=0

[Chroelle]

I think most people are confused by the not-spanish actors playing the Spanish family.
But I have to say that I still cannot seem to find the interest to watch it - andI might very well be influenced by the bad press on this one. It could be good, it could actually be great, but as long as I think there is a chance I will agree with the critics - I probably wont go see it.

[Pater Alf]

Take this Waltz
A woman torn between two man. Seen ahundred times before in other movies, so there's nothing much to say about this one. Except that it is well written, has some very good scenes when it comes to camera work and editing and also has excellent actors. Michelle Williams is more and more becoming one of my favourite actresses. Would have never expected that when I first saw her in "Dawson's Creek" years ago.

[Scythe]

I just came back from Cloud Atlas and I am STOKED! I can't believe we had to wait almost half a year to get this to Denmark. This movie has almost everything that would make it a movie I'd hate. But, but, but.... I FREAKING LOVED IT! If only every movie that came out of the big budget Hollywood Machine could be something as surprising, as touching and as engaging as this.

So yeah, it kinda bombed in the US, and almost every single critic is blabbering about how it "tries and fails" and how using the same actors dolled up to other races, other sexes, other whatevers only elicits laughs. Man, do I disagree. This is the best movie I have seen in a very, very, VERY long time.

I'm sure my mind will work on it all day and night until I can get it for home cinema and watch it many more times.

This is what a jaunt to the movies should always be like.

[eMTe]

Certain colleague from work who I hate praises Cloud Atlas, so I decided to hate the movie also.

Now I have scruples.

[Scythe]

You just have the same reaction that I do when certain people praise movies. There are a number of movies that I've yet to watch based on this alone. I'll never know if I'm missing out.

[eMTe]

There are a number of movies that I've yet to watch based on this alone.

This seems to be good way of saving much fun for later.

[Scythe]

But later doesn't always come.

[eMTe]

Then you are clearly not aware of my personal rule.

I never read book, play game, watch movie or listen to record, before two years pass from when I first heard about them. Two years is random choice, so it can be extended or shortened. Such an approach allows me to experience work of art without caring about the media and social context.

I first heard that Cloud Atlas is a great movie in autumn 2012, so September 2014 appears to be good time to watch it.

[Scythe]

Sounds like a bookkeeping nigtmare.

[eMTe]

It's not THAT serious.

Many years ago I noticed that I have trouble with staying in touch with all new trends, movie and book premieres etc. So I adopted this quirk as personal philosophy. It sort of came naturally.

[Scythe]

I forgot to add a smiley to show how sincere I was.

Anyway, I stay in touch with all that, I just like being contrary. If people praise something, my gut reaction is to hate it. Of course I often find reasons to hate it when I eventually do watch one of those movies.

I'm still going to watch Cloud Atlas an obsessive number of times when I get the Blu-ray.

[Zyx]

Because I've been having the flu, I've been watching some movies lately - mostly movies that Netflix thought I might enjoy. So, I've watched two biographies of 20th century personalities, The Aviator and The Notorious Bettie Page. Two dark comedies, Stranger than Fiction and Broken Flowers. And one mockumentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Surprisingly enough, The Notorious Bettie Page was the most boring of these.

[eMTe]

Bettie Page is no rival for Kay Parker.

[Pater Alf]

Life of Pi
I was completely not interested in this movie, but some friends told me I should watch it and so I finally went. I wasn't bored and don't regret spending the money, but great special effects and camera work can't hide the fact, that the told story is so completely unbelievable, that it's hard to get emotionally involved. In the end there's a surprising twist that changes things, but it comes to late (at least for me) and even when you think about it afterwards, it still leaves some open questions.