Is it much better than Huntsman one? I didn't like that one at all.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Movies You've Seen Recently |OT| Jan 2015
- Thread starter Charles Foster Kane
- Start date
- Status
Is it much better than Huntsman one? I didn't like that one at all.
Saw the latest by Mike Leigh in cinemas yesterday - Mr Turner the film looks and direction was visually really beautiful and managed to capture a awesome sense of atmosphere relating to the time period it was set, but I felt the film was far too long for it's own good, and could have done with at least 20-minutes cut, some really brilliant and classic "leigh" moments spread throughout though. Definitely worth watching if you are a fan, even though it's not among his best work.
Discotheque
Banned
i wouldn't go out of my way to watch it but yeah it's more tolerable than that, and half an hour shorter too. it completely hinges on jolie's replica performance of maleficent though, i was impressed by that at least.
Okay, wow. Just finished watching Maleficent and it's actually very good. It helps that it isn't longer than 1:37 hours and I must say, Angelina Jolie's portrayal as Maleficent was magnificent. She was so good! I weren't too impressed by the start and thought the CGI didn't look all that well, and the child girl started to annoy me a bit but then she grew up.
I don't know what else to say about it. It was definitely better than Alice In Wonderland and Snow White and the Huntsmen.
Vampirolol
Member
I hated Maleficent. Every second of the movie was painful for my eyes, my ears and my brain, the only thing I liked was the photography. I think that it lacked even the basics of cinematography with those random shots of Angelina, then a face, then another random shot of Angelina, then a tree, then a random shot of Angelina. There should be some visual consistency, the camera needs to tell a story, not move like a Pokémon in the grass.
Alice in the Cities
Feels like a precursor to Paris, Texas albeit not as good (though not bad at all either). Liked the dynamic between the guy and Alice, and the general aimless, malaise feeling of the story; really captured the sense of being a movie on a road trip, rather than just being a movie about a road trip.
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
I didn't like Katharina at all, and thought she was actually overly antagonistic at times to the police, so the whole point of sympathizing with her plight was completely lost on me. At one point I started wondering if I somehow missed a pivotal scene somewhere because suddenly there was a whole affair subplot that just came out of nowhere involving characters I had no idea about. All that aside though, this is a really unfortunately and pathetically timeless look at police and media witch hunts.
Feels like a precursor to Paris, Texas albeit not as good (though not bad at all either). Liked the dynamic between the guy and Alice, and the general aimless, malaise feeling of the story; really captured the sense of being a movie on a road trip, rather than just being a movie about a road trip.
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
I didn't like Katharina at all, and thought she was actually overly antagonistic at times to the police, so the whole point of sympathizing with her plight was completely lost on me. At one point I started wondering if I somehow missed a pivotal scene somewhere because suddenly there was a whole affair subplot that just came out of nowhere involving characters I had no idea about. All that aside though, this is a really unfortunately and pathetically timeless look at police and media witch hunts.
Death Metalist
Member
"Are you an effective team?"
The year is 2077 and earth is pretty much wiped out thanks to the alien invasion sixty years prior. Moon was destroyed and thus tsunamis and earthquakes dominated earth, while humans allegedly used nuclear weapons to ensure victory on the aliens even though it meant destroying themselves. Most of humanity have been relocated to Saturn's moon Titan via a large tetrahedron-shaped space station. Tom cruise(Jack Harper) and Andrea Riseborough(Vika) play as the few remaining survivors on earth, stationed at tower 49. They act as sort of the clean up team on earth, repairing their drones and taking out any of the remaining aliens left on earth. Something falls into earth that triggers a nonstop chain of events that question both the human race and the aliens.
A damn fine Sci-fi movie, I don't know why it took me this long to watch it but I did now and it's pretty damn good. Beautiful soundtrack, stunning cinematography, well-shot action sequences and a pretty satisfying story all together. It reminded me if Wall-E was made for adults instead of kids in mind. It also has a few twists and turns even though you could see some of them coming from a mile away but it made the movie that much more engaging. Recommended if anyone wants a good sci-fi movie that's beautiful to look at and a joy to listen to as well.
Frustrated_Grunt
Member
The Grand Budapest Hotel was such a fun watch. First time I've seen a Wes Anderson movie, and I loved the tracking shots. Had a style you don't usually see in films.
Gonna check it out.
-
Unrelated, but is Kundun worth a watch? I only saw it with my father as a kid when it came out and understandably i don't remember shit (nor did i probably understand shit about it).
I do love the Philip Glass soundtrack though.
-
Anyway, watched the Raiders cut made by Soderbergh, pretty cool how well the movie works and is still clearly understandable, even without dialogue and sound effects, thanks to the comicbook-y cinematography.
If anything this cut made me appreciate it [the cinematography] more, since there weren't other elements distracting you.
Trent Reznor's music on it was all sorts of wacky.
Anyway, more fun than i thought.
AlternativeUlster
Absolutely pathetic part deux
Haha. I just assumed everyone thats worth a damn follows me on letterboxd. Ucho, I will walk like a Crazy Horse, A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness, Female Prisoner Scorpion Jailhouse 41, Ninotchka, The Territory, and quite a few great short films. The biggest disappointment of the month so far is Greenaway's Pillow Book but I suppose it was fine. I am halfway through Leviathan (2014) and had to take a break due to its shittiness. It's this year's Great Beauty.
Discotheque
Banned
Oof, that article title is a shot to the heart but it's a good read. I also have noticed Mann recycles his material and themes a lot but it's never really bothered me since I tended to enjoy it
Interesting ranking of his projects too
I still have to see this, heard magnificent things about Spall's performance
John Wick: 4/10. Can't believe I fell for GAF hype. such a n00b. Straight videogame story. Did they think they would get a pass by literally intercuting a video game in to it? Nice little wink, FUCK YOU. Just not my style.
American Sniper: 5/10. America, fuck no. Nothing new here, decent battle scenes intercut with a man wrestling with PTSD. Maybe Eastwood was trying to get me in to Kyle's headspace because every time he came home I wished we were back in Iraq. Really not enough time spent with the illness to call this anything other than a recruitment video.
Birdman: 5/10. I was pretty engaged throughout (the seamless thing was neat) but there's really nothing here, it immediately evaporated a couple hours later. Laughed a couple times though.
Force Majeure: 7/10. Awkkkkkwwaaaarrrdddddd. I thought this was going to be haha funny not funny.
Inherent Vice: 8/10. LOL. I understood what was going on just fine, not sure what's wrong with all you dumb bells. Super fun ride, probably not something I'm going to watch again anytime soon.
The Imitation Game: 5/10. So what is this movie about? Is it about WW2 Nazi codebreaking or is it about the struggles of a gay aspie? Because it doesn't do either of those very well. That tacked-on postscript seemed to come out of no where.
Whiplash: 7/10. Settle down GAF, it was all right. I avoided this for a while because I thought was going to be like a cliche sports movie, and it is, but it's a little better than that. Fuck this is gonna end up on my top ten of the year isn't. Fuck!
American Sniper: 5/10. America, fuck no. Nothing new here, decent battle scenes intercut with a man wrestling with PTSD. Maybe Eastwood was trying to get me in to Kyle's headspace because every time he came home I wished we were back in Iraq. Really not enough time spent with the illness to call this anything other than a recruitment video.
Birdman: 5/10. I was pretty engaged throughout (the seamless thing was neat) but there's really nothing here, it immediately evaporated a couple hours later. Laughed a couple times though.
Force Majeure: 7/10. Awkkkkkwwaaaarrrdddddd. I thought this was going to be haha funny not funny.
Inherent Vice: 8/10. LOL. I understood what was going on just fine, not sure what's wrong with all you dumb bells. Super fun ride, probably not something I'm going to watch again anytime soon.
The Imitation Game: 5/10. So what is this movie about? Is it about WW2 Nazi codebreaking or is it about the struggles of a gay aspie? Because it doesn't do either of those very well. That tacked-on postscript seemed to come out of no where.
Whiplash: 7/10. Settle down GAF, it was all right. I avoided this for a while because I thought was going to be like a cliche sports movie, and it is, but it's a little better than that. Fuck this is gonna end up on my top ten of the year isn't. Fuck!
Like the piece, something to think about while I go through. not to defend what I haven't seen but: does stylization have to reflect or intelligently comment on the artificiality of cinema?
Be a moviegaf guinea pig and watch his filmography backwards. I'd be curious to see how it affects your reactions. his movies have always played with their staginess but Fantastic Mr. Fox took him to a whole new storybook level that he's been playing in, and watching that flicker and fade to just hints might be interesting
Hah I figured as much but wanted to give you shit for making me go over to lb. As usual your watches are mostly way off my radar, though I queued I Will Walk... off your review and made a mental note to catch A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness when I get around to Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter.
I have near zero interest in Leviathan after finding The Return colorlessly grim
I thought Wick's story had some kick. making it about the dog dying (not a spoiler right?) seemed sort of cheap from the trailers, but it genuinely adds a twist to the revenge angle: rather than avenging his wife, he's avenging the fact that they ruined his grieving, which is just fresh and distinct enough to carry the action.
Yeah Force Majeure is definitely "arthouse funny." not haha funny. Well except that one scene where Tomas and the ginger friend mistakenly receive a compliment from women. that I really laughed at.
With you on Inherent Vice until you say you won't rewatch it soon-- I want to rewatch it already (rare for me with PTA, don't really have any interest in rewatching anything else of his but Hard Eight and Magnolia[cause I have an unopened blu of it]).
Fried Food
Banned
Just saw that finding Vivian Maier documentary. Powerful stuff. Especially since I remember seeing her stuff online when it was originally making the rounds online.
The Rover still held up quite well for me. I had forgotten how fast the movie goes, as it felt a bit slower when I caught in theaters, but I guess I could attribute that to getting lost in such a neat take on post-apocalyptic(?) Australia. As much as I miss walking out of it with people who were clearly not ready for something that bleak and depressing during the summer, being able to immerse in it all by my lonesome certainly has a fine effect.
HellofaMouse
Member
predestination:
yea, the plot was obviously stupid, but if you accept that and just go with it, its actually pretty fun to watch.
also, is it me or is ethan hawke a pretty amazing fit for gritty action movies like this.
biology lesson: if you go through a sex reassignment surgery, go back in time and have sex with your opposite gender-self, the baby will be your clone. just fyi.
also, is it me or is ethan hawke a pretty amazing fit for gritty action movies like this.
I saw Snowpiercer a few days ago on Netflix. It's apocalyptic concept initially felt borderline gimmicky with not much too it, but it was surprisingly better and slightly smarter film than I thought it would be despite how fairly straight forward it was for the most part. Also, Mason was deliciously vile to watch bully the other characters on screen.
saw inherent vice and there were two goofballs in front of me who were drinking and probably under the influence of some sort of drug being loud and laughing at all the stupid jokes. luckily they left halfway through so i could fully pay attention and find out that the movie wasn't good or funny. didn't like crying of lot 49 either, so i guess i'm not a pynchon guy. Pheonix and Brolin were fun though. 6/10
rewatched Gone Girl and it's still great. the way it slowly devolves and the tone changing is great. the music is great. Pike is great. the problem is that
still, it was pretty great.
rewatched Gone Girl and it's still great. the way it slowly devolves and the tone changing is great. the music is great. Pike is great. the problem is that
the ending suggests that they deserve each other. i liked it more when Nick was Amy's prisoner, but the ending suggests him actually want to be with her. nothing Nick did was equal to what Amy did at the end..
The last 3 films I saw are pretty big films in discussion right now. Birdman, Inherent Vice and Whiplash.
Out of the 3, Birdman was my favorite for it's neat writing, amazing performances by the entire cast, interesting camera and rhythm. It was also just a well told story that I felt was superbly enhanced by its performances (which is a HUGE theme in the plot) and cinematic theatricality.
Whiplash is probably #2 as it was one of the most intense movies I've seen this (last) year. The progression of the plot is pretty clear and linear, but again, the performances here did it for me.
As for Inherent Vice, I didn't dislike it, though I just felt like I was trying to grasp the story too often rather than focus on the characters and performances themselves. This film warrants a second viewing I think, and not even for the plot. I think there is something really great going on in this film because it really does express that hazy, paranoid hippie-era where things might or might not make sense all the time, you're just kind of along for the trip(s) wherever it may lead you next.
Out of the 3, Birdman was my favorite for it's neat writing, amazing performances by the entire cast, interesting camera and rhythm. It was also just a well told story that I felt was superbly enhanced by its performances (which is a HUGE theme in the plot) and cinematic theatricality.
Whiplash is probably #2 as it was one of the most intense movies I've seen this (last) year. The progression of the plot is pretty clear and linear, but again, the performances here did it for me.
As for Inherent Vice, I didn't dislike it, though I just felt like I was trying to grasp the story too often rather than focus on the characters and performances themselves. This film warrants a second viewing I think, and not even for the plot. I think there is something really great going on in this film because it really does express that hazy, paranoid hippie-era where things might or might not make sense all the time, you're just kind of along for the trip(s) wherever it may lead you next.
well, he's self describing his work as "stylistic realism" inviting his films to be about something more than the story on film. like if the point is that he likes rainy streets and also shooting the death of dillinger, where the death of dillinger happened while everyone speaks in awful accents and women don't have agency over their lives and live in impossible palaces, that's fine, but's jarring and mostly real shallow (and nowadays mostly ugly). he's a perfectionist who mostly gets it wrong, which is just hard to justify the continued interest in his films, as they are all about this same search for...something.
Out of The Past - Made in 1947 and still a gem today. Just finished it a few hours ago and I'd say it's my favorite film noir ever.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Very stagey in a way that some other Tennessee Williams adaptations aren't. Paul Newman was really dreamy; good actor too. For some reason I never really got around to watching this or really reading much about the original play. The missing homosexual element is definitely a problem with the movie; in particular the motivations of Maggie and Brick.
Warrior - Cliché as fuck but it's a fun movie. MMA scenes should've had a little less shaky cam. I like Tom Hardy in just about everything.
I'm trying to figure out what to watch next. Any reccs?
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Very stagey in a way that some other Tennessee Williams adaptations aren't. Paul Newman was really dreamy; good actor too. For some reason I never really got around to watching this or really reading much about the original play. The missing homosexual element is definitely a problem with the movie; in particular the motivations of Maggie and Brick.
Warrior - Cliché as fuck but it's a fun movie. MMA scenes should've had a little less shaky cam. I like Tom Hardy in just about everything.
I'm trying to figure out what to watch next. Any reccs?
Femmeworth
Banned
Discotheque
Banned
that movie did it better imo by giving us the motivation in the end.
plus it had this song in it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjrQJhBPZrA
lmao
MidnightCowboy
Member
Maybe I'm crazy and my opinion will change, but as of right now I put Song of the Sea up there as one of the best animated movies I've ever seen. Blows Secret of Kells out of the water, the art design is on another level.
I hadn't clicked through from the article to the source of "stylistic realism," didn't realize it was a self-applied term from Mann.
Again I can't say much personally, as I go on I could find he's repeatedly reaching for more than surface beauty with these echoing situations and locations and personalities, only to fail in finding anything more. Agreed that's problematic. so far through Thief and Manhunter I'm in his camp. Thief's better, more cogent. Manhunter is full-blown ostentatious expressionism, doesn't sew itself together too well, magnifies the problems of women without control--but damn is it fantastic to look at.
Johnlenham
Member
m8888 you are so lucky. All his films are so good, think i must have watched the life aquatic about 6 times.
Death Metalist
Member
plasmawave
Banned
Wolf Children
This dude is the next Hayao Miyazaki.
Excellent movie.
This dude is the next Hayao Miyazaki.
Excellent movie.
I'm not going to lie: as I'm putting together my top 10 list, I feel like that song and the scene its in is going to ensure that The Rover gets in at number 10. It's so hard to shake.
Holy hell.
I actually just rewatched The Grand Budapest Hotel last night, hoping to like it more than I did the first time, but didn't. Which is to say, I still like it and think it's a fun adventure, but am not bowled over with it like many seem to.
vatstep
This poster pulses with an appeal so broad the typical restraints of our societies fall by the wayside.
I finally bought this last month during the Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble. Couldn't hold out any longer.
Also got GBH on Blu-ray for $6 at Best Buy yesterday (deal of the day)!
freeofgreed
Member
Just saw Predestination, this was a really wild movie. This movie has some of the craziest plot twists I've ever seen in a film. Most of them are pretty predictable if you really pay attention, however I think that was a good thing since none of them seem to far fetched, which would've really ruined a movie with such a far out concept such as this. Any one who likes sci-fi movies should check it out but I highly recommend going in blind and not looking up the plot, cast, or trailers as seeing any of that can ruin the movie.
Huntsman was crap, and I feel Maleficent is on the same tier. Maybe it's slightly better at best.
John Dunbar
correct about everything
Patton: Great movie, reminded me a lot of Lawrence of Arabia. Both are excellent examples of how to do biopics, and both work as a spectacles and as character studies.
Fanny and Alexander: Why is this called Fanny and Alexander? Fanny was barely in this. If the movie was called just Alexander I don't think anyone would even remember Fanny existed. And who was that other little girl with them in the bedroom at the start who then disappeared? Anyway, it's a beautiful movie, and good watch over the Christmas. I wonder is the longer TV version worth watching, I think it's been on TV here at some point or another, but never seen it. Maybe it actually has some Fanny.
Dredd: Pretty good stuff, and I'm glad they didn't go overboard with the slow motion, was worried that might be the case at the start.
By the way, have I spent too much time on GAF, or was the fact that the female judge didn't wear a helmet sexist? They did give some half-assed reason that it messes with her psychic abilities, but that's only a problem because the script says so. Dredd was also way taller so it's not like you would have confused them. I did start getting confused when the other judges showed up, I had no idea who was who unless you could read their badge.
Fanny and Alexander: Why is this called Fanny and Alexander? Fanny was barely in this. If the movie was called just Alexander I don't think anyone would even remember Fanny existed. And who was that other little girl with them in the bedroom at the start who then disappeared? Anyway, it's a beautiful movie, and good watch over the Christmas. I wonder is the longer TV version worth watching, I think it's been on TV here at some point or another, but never seen it. Maybe it actually has some Fanny.
Dredd: Pretty good stuff, and I'm glad they didn't go overboard with the slow motion, was worried that might be the case at the start.
By the way, have I spent too much time on GAF, or was the fact that the female judge didn't wear a helmet sexist? They did give some half-assed reason that it messes with her psychic abilities, but that's only a problem because the script says so. Dredd was also way taller so it's not like you would have confused them. I did start getting confused when the other judges showed up, I had no idea who was who unless you could read their badge.
Grand Budapest Hotel
The camera is pulled in tight so I began the film feeling claustrophobic. And the dialogue is written in a way the makes the characters jump from the screen and command your attention, which only strengthens the feeling. As the movie goes along, however, it's pulled back some by the background colors and locations, which are nice to look at. If you're going to get right up in my face with a movie, at least Hotel had the decency to give me a fine view.
As said before, the dialogue is so punchy that the emoting doesn't quite match, which gave me trouble recognizing the goofy nature of the film until hours after viewing. I never quite laughed, but at least I can remember its style, which is something at least.
Cast Away
Cast Away is technically a rather decent movie: the viewer understands the kind of person Chuck is due to the set up and the iterative process his banishment turns out to be, all with Tom Hanks saying a minimum of words. Hanks is capable of course, but being on the other side of the movie's 2+ hour run time I'm surprised I sat through it at all.
A finer decision would have been to cut the long stretch of island scenes with those of Helen Hunt's character struggling to get over his Chuck's disappearance - struggling to survive in her own right. It would make the final scenes much better, and at least give folks more to look at than trees, rocks, and bloodied limbs.
Batman Forever
It wears the traditional suit of 90s Batman films: the strongman statues and wacky soundstages, Michael Gough's Alfred, an attractive woman who convinces Batman he doesn't need to be Batman any longer. But where this film undoubtedly fails is in the portrayal of two of Batman's more iconic foils: Riddler and Two-Face. You can sort of see what Tim Burton and Mali Finn were going with in casting Jim Carrey, but he's a scene sucking leech who turns every opportunity he appears in the movie into a rough SNL skit.
And that's the baseline for the entire film; it never gets passed its one note and uninteresting villains. And while Nolan's Batman cleans up a lot of those issues, it still clings to the corny ass plot of having a woman be the central reason Bruce wants to give up the cape. And while the cartoons owe a lot of their charm to Batman Returns, they're still the supreme portrayal of the Dark Knight. Fare of Batman Forever's ilk barely registers, and is better forever gotten.
The camera is pulled in tight so I began the film feeling claustrophobic. And the dialogue is written in a way the makes the characters jump from the screen and command your attention, which only strengthens the feeling. As the movie goes along, however, it's pulled back some by the background colors and locations, which are nice to look at. If you're going to get right up in my face with a movie, at least Hotel had the decency to give me a fine view.
As said before, the dialogue is so punchy that the emoting doesn't quite match, which gave me trouble recognizing the goofy nature of the film until hours after viewing. I never quite laughed, but at least I can remember its style, which is something at least.
Cast Away
Cast Away is technically a rather decent movie: the viewer understands the kind of person Chuck is due to the set up and the iterative process his banishment turns out to be, all with Tom Hanks saying a minimum of words. Hanks is capable of course, but being on the other side of the movie's 2+ hour run time I'm surprised I sat through it at all.
A finer decision would have been to cut the long stretch of island scenes with those of Helen Hunt's character struggling to get over his Chuck's disappearance - struggling to survive in her own right. It would make the final scenes much better, and at least give folks more to look at than trees, rocks, and bloodied limbs.
Batman Forever
It wears the traditional suit of 90s Batman films: the strongman statues and wacky soundstages, Michael Gough's Alfred, an attractive woman who convinces Batman he doesn't need to be Batman any longer. But where this film undoubtedly fails is in the portrayal of two of Batman's more iconic foils: Riddler and Two-Face. You can sort of see what Tim Burton and Mali Finn were going with in casting Jim Carrey, but he's a scene sucking leech who turns every opportunity he appears in the movie into a rough SNL skit.
And that's the baseline for the entire film; it never gets passed its one note and uninteresting villains. And while Nolan's Batman cleans up a lot of those issues, it still clings to the corny ass plot of having a woman be the central reason Bruce wants to give up the cape. And while the cartoons owe a lot of their charm to Batman Returns, they're still the supreme portrayal of the Dark Knight. Fare of Batman Forever's ilk barely registers, and is better forever gotten.
Body Double
Kind of too awesome for it's own good, very cheesy, amazing use of music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYQmsyYxSFk) just a really entertaining homage to Rear Window + Vertigo that I probably won't watch again but I'm glad I watched it anyway.
The
kind of reminded me of a giallo film.
Kind of too awesome for it's own good, very cheesy, amazing use of music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYQmsyYxSFk) just a really entertaining homage to Rear Window + Vertigo that I probably won't watch again but I'm glad I watched it anyway.
The
driller scene
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
The Theory of Everything. Very dull, and it only got more boring as it progressed. The last portion was almost painful. Movie is just a vehicle for Redmayne. 4/10
Edit: Didn't know this was nominated for best picture. Lame.
Edit: Didn't know this was nominated for best picture. Lame.
I take in the most interesting double features! First up was Selma, which was a fine, fine recounting of the big turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. As the story stays on MLK and his inner circle, it's impossible to look away from the screen, thanks to David Oyelowo's stunning performance as King, along with a fine supporting cast who all get good material to put a very human face on a movement that has since been become iconic. It falters when it moves away to the legislators, as I often found the material for the actors to be insultingly one-note, and the performances themselves to be campy and, in the case of Dylan Baker's short but painful depiction of J. Edgar Hoover and Tim Roth's not-so-brief appearances as George Wallace, to be damn near cartoonish, and while the historical inaccuracies surrounding Lyndon Johnson's role in the Civil Rights Movement continues to be debated, I found myself not particularly taken with Tom Wilkinson's take on the president, regardless. It's a shame that the film would seem so artificially one-sided on those fronts, since a lot of care went into the rest of it, with special consideration to how well director Ava DeVurnay frames the time period, with an excellent visual style that never feels too showy. It's a very stirring, unflinching depiction of one of the most important events in human history, and while it's unfortunate that it comes with a caveat as big as I've described, the stuff it gets right, it gets really right.
And what better way to follow up a film about the Civil Rights Movement than with an incoming flop thriller that doesn't deserve to be known as such?
The ingredients are simple: one part pulp procedural, one part Bond-esque globetrotting action-adventure with a Bourne-style veneer, and pretty much everything you like Michael Mann for otherwise, Blackhat sees him in familiar but extremely satisfying territory in this tale of cyber-terrorism. The hallmarks are all accounted for: a protagonist who is all about the job and speaks personally to expound on his personal ethos (Chris Hemsworth makes for a fine Mann Protagonist), the thematically rich visuals, the unspoken glances that tell entire lines of dialogue, gunshots that threaten to destroy your eardrums in the most aurally pleasing way, the glamorous appearance of decidedly unglamorous professions (has typing on a keyboard ever looked to tantalizing? I suspect not), and so on. It's all there, and Mann gets to indulge in all of them on a great travelogue of China and Indonesia, where he manages to paint them in ways that I'm not even sure the natives were aware was possible, with a strong emphasis on creating complex architecture out of existing buildings and fixtures, giving these locales a look and feel that wouldn't exist otherwise. It's easy to see why he made the move to digital so early on when the results are as spectacular as this movie shows.
It's pulpy material, so what it lacks in perhaps the most believable scenario, it makes up for being well-paced and not wasting a lot of time in getting where it needs to go, particularly in its electrifying third act, which raises the stakes in a gutsy way and manages to keep the momentum throughout. There is some editing oddness to it, like the nuclear plant attack feeling out of place right at the beginning of the film compared to how much it figures into the plot in the second act, and there's always the risk that Mann runs into with his trademark shorthand approach to character development that tends to rear its head when romance is involved, as the relationship between Hathaway and Lien never seems to have much more depth beyond them being ridiculously good-looking people (and certainly, Hemsworth and Tang Wei are ridiculously good-looking people, if nothing else), but neither are so obtrusive to trip up the film too much. At 71 years old, Mann doesn't seem like the kind of guy capable of making such a film like this, but in action, he's clowning guys half his age with a confidence in his method that few could match. It's been a while since his last film, the decidedly polarizing Public Enemies, but hopefully, the impending financial failure Blackhat will be responsible for won't dissuade him to take another extended hiatus, as the world needs more of what he's selling, even if they're not lining up for it. Time's going to be kind to this film, I feel, and I don't have any problem waiting by the finish line for other people to get there.
And what better way to follow up a film about the Civil Rights Movement than with an incoming flop thriller that doesn't deserve to be known as such?
The ingredients are simple: one part pulp procedural, one part Bond-esque globetrotting action-adventure with a Bourne-style veneer, and pretty much everything you like Michael Mann for otherwise, Blackhat sees him in familiar but extremely satisfying territory in this tale of cyber-terrorism. The hallmarks are all accounted for: a protagonist who is all about the job and speaks personally to expound on his personal ethos (Chris Hemsworth makes for a fine Mann Protagonist), the thematically rich visuals, the unspoken glances that tell entire lines of dialogue, gunshots that threaten to destroy your eardrums in the most aurally pleasing way, the glamorous appearance of decidedly unglamorous professions (has typing on a keyboard ever looked to tantalizing? I suspect not), and so on. It's all there, and Mann gets to indulge in all of them on a great travelogue of China and Indonesia, where he manages to paint them in ways that I'm not even sure the natives were aware was possible, with a strong emphasis on creating complex architecture out of existing buildings and fixtures, giving these locales a look and feel that wouldn't exist otherwise. It's easy to see why he made the move to digital so early on when the results are as spectacular as this movie shows.
It's pulpy material, so what it lacks in perhaps the most believable scenario, it makes up for being well-paced and not wasting a lot of time in getting where it needs to go, particularly in its electrifying third act, which raises the stakes in a gutsy way and manages to keep the momentum throughout. There is some editing oddness to it, like the nuclear plant attack feeling out of place right at the beginning of the film compared to how much it figures into the plot in the second act, and there's always the risk that Mann runs into with his trademark shorthand approach to character development that tends to rear its head when romance is involved, as the relationship between Hathaway and Lien never seems to have much more depth beyond them being ridiculously good-looking people (and certainly, Hemsworth and Tang Wei are ridiculously good-looking people, if nothing else), but neither are so obtrusive to trip up the film too much. At 71 years old, Mann doesn't seem like the kind of guy capable of making such a film like this, but in action, he's clowning guys half his age with a confidence in his method that few could match. It's been a while since his last film, the decidedly polarizing Public Enemies, but hopefully, the impending financial failure Blackhat will be responsible for won't dissuade him to take another extended hiatus, as the world needs more of what he's selling, even if they're not lining up for it. Time's going to be kind to this film, I feel, and I don't have any problem waiting by the finish line for other people to get there.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Jay Roach, 1999)
I liked Heather Graham's character and her chemistry with Austin Powers, but the Dr. Evil plot was just status quo for the most part. Most of it was just random gags to fill in the time until the climax, even though Mini Me was funny. Decent follow-up, but I think think the first one was better.
I liked Heather Graham's character and her chemistry with Austin Powers, but the Dr. Evil plot was just status quo for the most part. Most of it was just random gags to fill in the time until the climax, even though Mini Me was funny. Decent follow-up, but I think think the first one was better.
crazyturtle
Member
MidnightCowboy
Member
I'm serious, if you have any appreciation for animated movies and it's playing in a theater near you, see Song of the Sea. You won't regret it.
Net_Wrecker
Member
Blackhat is absolutely, completely ridiculous in the best ways. I'm struggling to name a big budget thriller that's as over the top and pulpy while also being so atmospheric, self serious, lethal, detailed, and unconcerned with its contemporary mainstream movies. It's such a strange mix of Thief + Manhunter era Mann with MIami Vice '06 spread across a huge canvas that the movie hops between with no sense of time passing. It's an offbeat ride that switches gears at least 3 times with tight and unique locations, computer and cell phone screens, wide plane and helicopter shots, even wider shots in Malaysia, then a totally illogical operatic climax. It's probably the most traditionally "fun" movie Mann has ever made, but that doesn't mean much when every actor seems to have no less than 5 minutes of "brooding gaze into the distance" screentime written into their contracts.
And brood they do. Make no mistake, this is Michael Mann in full "probably doesn't need dialogue" mode. The camera is more concerned with people, places, things. Mood above all. It lingers on closeups and cityscapes, and traces bodies and computer chips with the same precision. Despite that, it's also the most mobile a Mann camera has ever been. It follows actors, vehicles, and data in movement attempting to put you in there. The lead up to one shootout in particular is like watching an episode of Cops; frenetic and shakey, not haphazardly so, but just as an attempt to put the viewer into those tight Hong Kong alleys and experience the rush as if it were a documentary. We've seen this before at the end of Miami Vice, but feels even more pronounced here. That digital aesthetic and motion blur is HEAVY. People who were negative on that digital look in the previous 2 movies need not apply. Blackhat has not one second of it trying to look in any way like film. If you're like me though, and enjoy that ghostly digital slickness, you'll find a metric ton of shots to pour over when the Blu-ray releases. From a smeared, brutal brawl where Chris Hemsworth's Nick Hathaway uses everything around him as a weapon, to damn near every shot in and of Hong Kong, to an odd moment mid shootout as mercenaries line up just so with their modernist surroundings and a drop of water ripples the puddle in the foreground. It's an embarrassment of gritty awkwardly beautiful riches. It also contains 3 shots I'd put up there with the best Mann has done-
As for the story....WELLLLLLLLLL, it ain't so hot. Lots of hushed, mumbled, clunky dialogue mixed in with some fun Mannisms (including an AMAZING throwback -
). I honestly liked the whitehat ensemble (Hemsworth, Davis, Tang, Wang) and thought all of them deserved a lot more to work with. Viola Davis especially feels 20 years too late to be an incredible Mann regular....y'know, if he bothered to focus on icy, strong female characters. Still, she does her best with what she has, which isn't saying much cause it ain't a lot. Character development (if there is any) and resolutions happen quickly and without hesitation. These are single-minded people focused on the task at hand and nothing else matters. The villains....well they're pulpy cyber thriller villains no matter how much Mann tries to mask their plans with "soy futures" and tech jargon (of which there's a ton). Listen, I'll put it like this: The script's "smart dumb." If you can't get past the smart dumbness of the whole thing, look the other way because Blackhat is a busload of smart dumb going downhill with no brakes.
But yo, smart dumb is a lot of fun when it's being brought to you with such ambiance. You can feel the muggy heat of Hong Kong and hear the city buzzing through the sound mix (where vocals feel mixed into the city rather than on top of, for better or worse), you feel the bustling life in these locations as only Mann can bring from Koreantown in LA to Jakarta, you feel the grand isolation of the Malaysian scenes, you feel the mix of emotions from Hathaway as he stands on airport runway after some years in prison and the movie comes to a complete stop to be in that moment (not unlike Sonny losing track of reality for a moment in Miami Vice). Michael Mann has become a director of intimate, immediate moments that aren't stitched together as well as they used to be, but are unique to him nonetheless. This movie ranking below Ali and Public Enemies, sitting alongside The Keep, is ridiculous. The momentum of the story alone puts it above all of those. Where it falls beyond that I won't know until a rewatch. I don't know how the hell this thing got made, but God bless whoever gave Mann $70-$80 million for this melancholy, globetrotting romp as I fear it's the last time he'll get to play with that kind of money with a box office bomb on the horizon.
The guns are loud too. As are the keyboards.
And brood they do. Make no mistake, this is Michael Mann in full "probably doesn't need dialogue" mode. The camera is more concerned with people, places, things. Mood above all. It lingers on closeups and cityscapes, and traces bodies and computer chips with the same precision. Despite that, it's also the most mobile a Mann camera has ever been. It follows actors, vehicles, and data in movement attempting to put you in there. The lead up to one shootout in particular is like watching an episode of Cops; frenetic and shakey, not haphazardly so, but just as an attempt to put the viewer into those tight Hong Kong alleys and experience the rush as if it were a documentary. We've seen this before at the end of Miami Vice, but feels even more pronounced here. That digital aesthetic and motion blur is HEAVY. People who were negative on that digital look in the previous 2 movies need not apply. Blackhat has not one second of it trying to look in any way like film. If you're like me though, and enjoy that ghostly digital slickness, you'll find a metric ton of shots to pour over when the Blu-ray releases. From a smeared, brutal brawl where Chris Hemsworth's Nick Hathaway uses everything around him as a weapon, to damn near every shot in and of Hong Kong, to an odd moment mid shootout as mercenaries line up just so with their modernist surroundings and a drop of water ripples the puddle in the foreground. It's an embarrassment of gritty awkwardly beautiful riches. It also contains 3 shots I'd put up there with the best Mann has done-
Viola Davis' character looking up to that skyscraper, the low angle following Wei Tang out of a building into the street, and the wide shot of Hathaway + Kassar navigating the river of people during the climax festival
As for the story....WELLLLLLLLLL, it ain't so hot. Lots of hushed, mumbled, clunky dialogue mixed in with some fun Mannisms (including an AMAZING throwback -
Hathaway's Will Graham moment
But yo, smart dumb is a lot of fun when it's being brought to you with such ambiance. You can feel the muggy heat of Hong Kong and hear the city buzzing through the sound mix (where vocals feel mixed into the city rather than on top of, for better or worse), you feel the bustling life in these locations as only Mann can bring from Koreantown in LA to Jakarta, you feel the grand isolation of the Malaysian scenes, you feel the mix of emotions from Hathaway as he stands on airport runway after some years in prison and the movie comes to a complete stop to be in that moment (not unlike Sonny losing track of reality for a moment in Miami Vice). Michael Mann has become a director of intimate, immediate moments that aren't stitched together as well as they used to be, but are unique to him nonetheless. This movie ranking below Ali and Public Enemies, sitting alongside The Keep, is ridiculous. The momentum of the story alone puts it above all of those. Where it falls beyond that I won't know until a rewatch. I don't know how the hell this thing got made, but God bless whoever gave Mann $70-$80 million for this melancholy, globetrotting romp as I fear it's the last time he'll get to play with that kind of money with a box office bomb on the horizon.
The guns are loud too. As are the keyboards.
Discotheque
Banned
Mann's 71 and managed to get a finger on the pulse of today's tech-world, the script felt so much more accurate than the other crap we've seen for so many years
The restaurant dialogue between Hathaway and the asian chick was clunky as hell though. It was the template for mann's relationship dialogue. The article swoon posted touched on this too but yeah you could literally transplant this scene in heat, public enemies, collateral etc. And it would be the exact same
Gunfights and cyber stuff were so on point though. Felt more akin to miami vice and thief than any of his other stuff. In the sense that they give you a few hours in their world. I quite enjoyed it
I'm not net wrecker's alt and nor is he mine btw
The restaurant dialogue between Hathaway and the asian chick was clunky as hell though. It was the template for mann's relationship dialogue. The article swoon posted touched on this too but yeah you could literally transplant this scene in heat, public enemies, collateral etc. And it would be the exact same
Gunfights and cyber stuff were so on point though. Felt more akin to miami vice and thief than any of his other stuff. In the sense that they give you a few hours in their world. I quite enjoyed it
I'm not net wrecker's alt and nor is he mine btw
Nice to hear that, you two.
-
PTU - Police Tactical Unit: Felt more confused than usual, compared to To's other movies i've seen so far.
Still managed to be an enjoyable ride, with a very short running time and some odd music choices.
Doesn't feel as fleshed out as his other works, though.
-
PTU - Police Tactical Unit: Felt more confused than usual, compared to To's other movies i've seen so far.
Still managed to be an enjoyable ride, with a very short running time and some odd music choices.
Doesn't feel as fleshed out as his other works, though.
- Status