Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Dec 3, 2014 1:15:27 GMT -5
Chef (12/2/2014) Chef is John Favreau’s return to independent filmmaking after making back to back Iron Man movies and Cowboys Vs. Aliens, and it’s not afraid to point this out. The movie is meant to be a pretty blunt allegory for Favreau’s own career given that it’s about a guy who considers himself an artist who just can’t soar while under the dictating control of a businessman trying to get back to his roots and make something special. Here’s the thing though… Chef is many things: it’s amiable, it’s entertaining, it’s charming, but it is not by any means bold art meant to challenge anyone. It’s certainly not the film equivalent of an innovative gormet resturaunt, and given that it’s filled with celebrities I don’t think it can really claim to be the film equivalent of a scrappy food truck either. Really this is the film equivalent of something like an Applebees or something, and there is a place for such things I guess, but if you’re going to talk a big game about breaking from “the man” and bringing out your inner artist you’ve got to come out swinging with something a hell of a lot stronger than this. I don’t want to be too hard on the film, it does work as breezy entertainment and a lot of its look at the culinary world seems authentic. I’m going to narrowly give it a pass, but it writes checks that it can’t cash and that kind of makes me disrespect it more than I otherwise might.
*** out of Four
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Nilade
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Post by Nilade on Dec 3, 2014 1:59:54 GMT -5
I'll have my review up tomorrow.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 4, 2014 14:46:33 GMT -5
Chef (12/2/2014)Chef is John Favreau’s return to independent filmmaking after making back to back Iron Man movies and Cowboys Vs. Aliens, and it’s not afraid to point this out. The movie is meant to be a pretty blunt allegory for Favreau’s own career given that it’s about a guy who considers himself an artist who just can’t soar while under the dictating control of a businessman trying to get back to his roots and make something special. Here’s the thing though… Chef is many things: it’s amiable, it’s entertaining, it’s charming, but it is not by any means bold art meant to challenge anyone. It’s certainly not the film equivalent of an innovative gormet resturaunt, and given that it’s filled with celebrities I don’t think it can really claim to be the film equivalent of a scrappy food truck either. Really this is the film equivalent of something like an Applebees or something, and there is a place for such things I guess, but if you’re going to talk a big game about breaking from “the man” and bringing out your inner artist you’ve got to come out swinging with something a hell of a lot stronger than this. I don’t want to be too hard on the film, it does work as breezy entertainment and a lot of its look at the culinary world seems authentic. I’m going to narrowly give it a pass, but it writes checks that it can’t cash and that kind of makes me disrespect it more than I otherwise might. *** out of Four
I'll take the 3 star rating....even though the review doesn't exactly sound 3-star.
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Nilade
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Post by Nilade on Dec 6, 2014 23:37:32 GMT -5
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
Being a big fan of Asian cinema, and anime, I'm quite familiar with Hayao Miyazaki's work, and have seen most of his films, at least post 2001, when Spirited Away came out. Being quite familiar with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, but not yet having watched it, I jumped on the chance to watch it when it became one of my selections this round.
The film takes place 1000 years after civilization was nearly destroyed by an apocalyptic war involving huge bioweapon humanoids called Giant Warriors. The result of the destruction was the Toxic Jungle, a huge forest that breeds mutant insects, giant roly-poly like beasts called ohms, and toxic air poisoned by deadly spores that infest the jungle as it slowly spreads over the land. Nausicaa is the princess of the Valley of the Wind, a spunky girl who’s mastered the art of air gliding, loves to explore the dangerous lands around her, and has a gift for being able to communicate with the dangerous wildlife the forest breeds. One day, an airship that is being attacked by deadly insects from the forest crashes into the valley, where Nausicaa rescues the princess of Pejite, a neighboring country, who was being held captives by the Tolmekians, from a rival country, who were piloting the ship. The Pejite princess dies in Nausicaa’s arms, but not before warning her to destroy the cargo on board the ship, which is the only surviving Giant Warrior, who the Tolmekians want to use as a weapon. Soon after wards the Tolmekians attack to reclaim the weapon, and Princess Nausicaa, and her people, are caught in the middle of a war between the Tolmekians and the Pejites, who also want to gain the Giant Warrior to wipe out the Toxic Jungle.
Nausicaa is the first film that Miyazaki both wrote and directed, and it sets the tone for most of his work that followed. The recurring themes of humanity’s relationship with, and respect for, nature, strange creatures bred from the earth, and fantastic, unique machines, which are present in almost all his films that came after, are all first introduced in Miyazaki’s first masterpiece, but in a nearly 30 year old film, still seem fresh and original. The score is both beautiful and quirky and compliments the film perfectly.
Normally I stay away from dubbing and prefer to watch foreign films with their original language track and subtitles, but due to the ambitious American voice cast, I decided to switch between both throughout the course of the film to see if it affected the narrative. I’m pleased to say the film works both ways.
This is the second time Jibbs has thrown an anime masterpiece my way (Perfect Blue being the first), and this one gets a perfect score. Easily one of the top 2 Miyazaki films, second only to Spirited Away.
10/10
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Jibbs
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Post by Jibbs on Dec 7, 2014 0:59:19 GMT -5
Wow, that's great.
I'll try and get to your movie some time soon.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 8, 2014 18:49:24 GMT -5
.....new round?
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Nilade
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Post by Nilade on Dec 8, 2014 20:47:47 GMT -5
I'm in. I still owe you a movie Doomsday from the last boards also.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 8, 2014 21:48:27 GMT -5
I owe The Killing of a Chinese Bookie to....somebody. It will happen.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 23:37:04 GMT -5
That would be me.
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Jibbs
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Post by Jibbs on Dec 9, 2014 22:37:08 GMT -5
I Saw the Devil (2010)
I Saw the Devil is about a secret agent whose wife is murdered by a serial killer and the vengeance that follows. If anything separates this from the cliché that brings to mind, he actually catches him pretty early in the film and wins the fight. What happens after is a cat-and-mouse game he allows to continue by releasing him and attacking him over and over as a means of torture. While this is an amusing take on the genre, the movie doesn't have much else to offer. I don't think Kim Jee-woon direction adds much to the movie and there's not really any plot points to speak of, instead the movie relies on gratuity and dread throughout the whole thing.
I think what bothered me the most was the consequences of releasing the bad guy to toy with him. This might be ok, in a cinematic sense, if he could be contained in this time, but instead this criminal is allowed to rape one or two women and brutally maim a few others. Oops. The idea behind these kinds of stories, at least in my view, is to have a sick sense of vicarious revenge lust invested in the main character. This is completely lost if he's making the world a much worse place. One could argue this is the point of the film, after all it's called "I Saw the Devil," but I still didn't like it. Besides (spoilers ahead), the ending doesn't have the main character in some awful "revenge never solves anything" kind of stupor. Instead, he has a cathartic laugh, much akin to the ending of Kill Bill. Sorry, but I can't share in your glee this time.
*.5/****
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Jibbs
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Post by Jibbs on Dec 9, 2014 22:44:08 GMT -5
ROUND 159
Justin - Hollywood moviebuff - Doomsday JBond - Dracula JBond - PG Cooper Knerys - Nilade
The due date for Round 159 will be Monday, December 29th. Yes, that's right after Christmas weekend, but that's also almost three weeks away instead of two.
Enjoy.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2014 22:57:46 GMT -5
I didn't like I Saw the Devil either. You already understand the theme within 10 minutes. Do we need another hour or so?
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Jibbs
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Post by Jibbs on Dec 9, 2014 23:14:43 GMT -5
It was 2 hours and 20 minutes long.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2014 23:25:04 GMT -5
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 10, 2014 1:06:33 GMT -5
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 10, 2014 1:08:19 GMT -5
Or Jibbs, I can sit this round out if you didn't want to double up again.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Dec 10, 2014 1:32:43 GMT -5
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 10, 2014 1:37:02 GMT -5
Oh man, two of those are on my 'To Do' list. I'll go with Poltergeist.
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Nilade
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Post by Nilade on Dec 10, 2014 1:42:01 GMT -5
I Saw the Devil (2010)
I Saw the Devil is about a secret agent whose wife is murdered by a serial killer and the vengeance that follows. If anything separates this from the cliché that brings to mind, he actually catches him pretty early in the film and wins the fight. What happens after is a cat-and-mouse game he allows to continue by releasing him and attacking him over and over as a means of torture. While this is an amusing take on the genre, the movie doesn't have much else to offer. I don't think Kim Jee-woon direction adds much to the movie and there's not really any plot points to speak of, instead the movie relies on gratuity and dread throughout the whole thing.
I think what bothered me the most was the consequences of releasing the bad guy to toy with him. This might be ok, in a cinematic sense, if he could be contained in this time, but instead this criminal is allowed to rape one or two women and brutally maim a few others. Oops. The idea behind these kinds of stories, at least in my view, is to have a sick sense of vicarious revenge lust invested in the main character. This is completely lost if he's making the world a much worse place. One could argue this is the point of the film, after all it's called "I Saw the Devil," but I still didn't like it. Besides (spoilers ahead), the ending doesn't have the main character in some awful "revenge never solves anything" kind of stupor. Instead, he has a cathartic laugh, much akin to the ending of Kill Bill. Sorry, but I can't share in your glee this time.
*.5/****
Yeah, the film's pretty much hit or miss. I got mild anxiety when I watched it, but there were things that I found interesting about it. Good feedback, sorry you didn't like it.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Dec 10, 2014 1:42:24 GMT -5
Oh man, two of those are on my 'To Do' list. I'll go with Poltergeist. I did indeed glance that list over. By the way, I've settled on The Man Who Would Be King.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Dec 10, 2014 1:50:09 GMT -5
Nice, it was a win-win between that and Apocalypto.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Dec 10, 2014 8:40:54 GMT -5
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Post by Hollywood on Dec 10, 2014 13:30:51 GMT -5
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Knerys
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Live long and prosper.
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Post by Knerys on Dec 10, 2014 14:04:53 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2014 14:48:19 GMT -5
Seen the others, so I'll go with Closer.
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