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7-year-old dance hall queen.
Muhney throws us a Vulcan salute. HOLLA. I mean, LLAP, buddy.
Full Supernatural Season 4 Gag Reel. LOL. ALWAYS THE BEST GAG REELS, THAT SHOW. I like to think that the fact that Misha only appears twice is a sign of his awe-inspiring professionalism, cuz we all know he's funnier than anyone else on that cast when off the set. Also, I love Jared and Jensen's STUPID FACES. I also think the elevator bit is a study in how well those boys know each other (as are all the bits where they seemlessly move into the same joke without even looking at each other.)
Two French 'short films against homophobia': En Colo and Basket et Maths.
This weekend I've seen two really good movies:
Coraline
Okay, the sound was weird when I saw this, so that sucked. Also, this was my first-ever 3D movie! The 3D was cool and all, but to me it really wasn't worth the extra $10 to wear uncomfortable glasses over the top of my own just to have that extra bit of depth. It didn't really enhance the appeal of the movie all that much for me.
Mostly because the movie was pretty damn appealing without it. Coraline is a layered, scary, fantastical and wonderful movie for kids, and a real lesson in fine storytelling for adults, I think. The animation was lovely, but what I really enjoyed was the fact that this movie reminded me of stuff like Willy Wonka and The Wizard of Oz and all the great kids' films that last and that adults still love. You can NOT make a good kids' film without a real threat that the hero has to work and think and be brave to overcome. The 'Other Mother' in this is a perfect villain: there's definitely that sense that Coraline is exorcising the demons of her own life through this fantasy world and confronting the strained relationship with her mother when their confrontation starts, and then as the Other Mother becomes more and more inhuman the heart-pounding action starts up and it's so exciting. The fantasy world always has that element of menace, even under the wonder, and that's terrific; there's some really creepy visuals, too, that I liked. Best of all, Coraline isn't a caricature; she's more real a kid than any live-action Disney star, with a self-centredness and naughtiness that offsets her bravery and determination.
The only real quibble I had character-wise was the ghost kids. I just found them weird and silly, and for some reason they irked me whenever they were on-screen. Also, I feel like the movie took a while to really kick into gear - a lot of the characters take a long time to appear and then to warm up to, which is a shame.
4 out of 5
Inglourious Basterds
WORLD WAR II THE TARANTINO WAY IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN ANY OTHER WAY.
Ahem.
Tarantino is a master of film. He's brilliant: he can direct actors to outstanding performances; he can create 20-minute-long conversations that have you gripping your seat the entire time; he always brings the very best violence; and, most of all, he can make a movie that rewrites history and keep you with him every step of the way. I can't tell you in words how terrific this movie is. In five parts, with different stories that come together at the end, his structure is always terrific. Basterds doesn't jump around in time like Pulp Fiction did, but it shares the split narrative and the tendency to break from the realism and have character's names flash on the screen like a 70's movie star or split the screen and have footage from an older movie to support the current one. Characters in this film come and go, but each leaves an impression, which is pretty impressive. Chrisoph Waltz is captivating as the charismatic, occasionally childish, cruel and calculating Nazi 'Jewhunter' Hans Landa. Brad Pitt puts in a brilliant turn as Aldo 'The Apache' Raine, head of the Inglourious Basterds (Jewish soldiers who conduct a guerilla war from within Germany) and I also thought Diane Kruger did an excellent job as the double-agent German actress. Melanie Laurent was pretty good as Jewish cinema owner Shoshanna, but I felt like she wasn't given the opportunity to shine that some of the others were - she did scared and eventually badass well, though. There was no-one in this movie that didn't leave a mark, though. The opening scene, between Landa and a French dairy farmer, is thick with tension throughout, and it sets the scene for the whole movie.
While the action sequences and a few in-between scenes are all great (the Basterds breaking a German soldier out of jail stands out as one of my favourites), it's the talky scenes that are the real shining stars of this movie. There's several long conversation scenes, or scenes that are essentially just speeches, and every one of them stays etched in your memory. They're fraught with tension, humour, and pitch-perfect timing. No matter how long these characters talk for, you are there with them, on the edge of your seat, waiting with baited breath for the next line, for the penny to drop. Outstanding.
The only complaint, and it's a minor one but it stops the film from being a five-star effort for me, is that every so often it takes too long to get back to a character you wanted to see; at those times, it takes a while to get reacquainted with the character and sympathise with them again. I also got annoyed at a scene towards the end where Shoshanna does something stupid and unnecessary. Otherwise, this movie is top notch. Best thing I've seen all year aside from Star Trek.
4.5 out of 5
Attendez la creme
Green Queen
Muhney throws us a Vulcan salute. HOLLA. I mean, LLAP, buddy.
Full Supernatural Season 4 Gag Reel. LOL. ALWAYS THE BEST GAG REELS, THAT SHOW. I like to think that the fact that Misha only appears twice is a sign of his awe-inspiring professionalism, cuz we all know he's funnier than anyone else on that cast when off the set. Also, I love Jared and Jensen's STUPID FACES. I also think the elevator bit is a study in how well those boys know each other (as are all the bits where they seemlessly move into the same joke without even looking at each other.)
Two French 'short films against homophobia': En Colo and Basket et Maths.
This weekend I've seen two really good movies:
Coraline
Okay, the sound was weird when I saw this, so that sucked. Also, this was my first-ever 3D movie! The 3D was cool and all, but to me it really wasn't worth the extra $10 to wear uncomfortable glasses over the top of my own just to have that extra bit of depth. It didn't really enhance the appeal of the movie all that much for me.
Mostly because the movie was pretty damn appealing without it. Coraline is a layered, scary, fantastical and wonderful movie for kids, and a real lesson in fine storytelling for adults, I think. The animation was lovely, but what I really enjoyed was the fact that this movie reminded me of stuff like Willy Wonka and The Wizard of Oz and all the great kids' films that last and that adults still love. You can NOT make a good kids' film without a real threat that the hero has to work and think and be brave to overcome. The 'Other Mother' in this is a perfect villain: there's definitely that sense that Coraline is exorcising the demons of her own life through this fantasy world and confronting the strained relationship with her mother when their confrontation starts, and then as the Other Mother becomes more and more inhuman the heart-pounding action starts up and it's so exciting. The fantasy world always has that element of menace, even under the wonder, and that's terrific; there's some really creepy visuals, too, that I liked. Best of all, Coraline isn't a caricature; she's more real a kid than any live-action Disney star, with a self-centredness and naughtiness that offsets her bravery and determination.
The only real quibble I had character-wise was the ghost kids. I just found them weird and silly, and for some reason they irked me whenever they were on-screen. Also, I feel like the movie took a while to really kick into gear - a lot of the characters take a long time to appear and then to warm up to, which is a shame.
4 out of 5
Inglourious Basterds
WORLD WAR II THE TARANTINO WAY IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN ANY OTHER WAY.
Ahem.
Tarantino is a master of film. He's brilliant: he can direct actors to outstanding performances; he can create 20-minute-long conversations that have you gripping your seat the entire time; he always brings the very best violence; and, most of all, he can make a movie that rewrites history and keep you with him every step of the way. I can't tell you in words how terrific this movie is. In five parts, with different stories that come together at the end, his structure is always terrific. Basterds doesn't jump around in time like Pulp Fiction did, but it shares the split narrative and the tendency to break from the realism and have character's names flash on the screen like a 70's movie star or split the screen and have footage from an older movie to support the current one. Characters in this film come and go, but each leaves an impression, which is pretty impressive. Chrisoph Waltz is captivating as the charismatic, occasionally childish, cruel and calculating Nazi 'Jewhunter' Hans Landa. Brad Pitt puts in a brilliant turn as Aldo 'The Apache' Raine, head of the Inglourious Basterds (Jewish soldiers who conduct a guerilla war from within Germany) and I also thought Diane Kruger did an excellent job as the double-agent German actress. Melanie Laurent was pretty good as Jewish cinema owner Shoshanna, but I felt like she wasn't given the opportunity to shine that some of the others were - she did scared and eventually badass well, though. There was no-one in this movie that didn't leave a mark, though. The opening scene, between Landa and a French dairy farmer, is thick with tension throughout, and it sets the scene for the whole movie.
While the action sequences and a few in-between scenes are all great (the Basterds breaking a German soldier out of jail stands out as one of my favourites), it's the talky scenes that are the real shining stars of this movie. There's several long conversation scenes, or scenes that are essentially just speeches, and every one of them stays etched in your memory. They're fraught with tension, humour, and pitch-perfect timing. No matter how long these characters talk for, you are there with them, on the edge of your seat, waiting with baited breath for the next line, for the penny to drop. Outstanding.
The only complaint, and it's a minor one but it stops the film from being a five-star effort for me, is that every so often it takes too long to get back to a character you wanted to see; at those times, it takes a while to get reacquainted with the character and sympathise with them again. I also got annoyed at a scene towards the end where Shoshanna does something stupid and unnecessary. Otherwise, this movie is top notch. Best thing I've seen all year aside from Star Trek.
4.5 out of 5
Attendez la creme
Green Queen
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That is so true, it's just awesome. *g*
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If I hadn't seen Star Trek this year, Inglourious Basterds would definitely be my favourite. I could see it again.
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SPN is the best show I never watch. ^_^
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2. I thought Coraline was fantastic. I wish more people would see it and remember that good "children's movies", the ones that you remember into your adult life, are allowed to(if not need to) have scary and disturbing elements. Although the most disturbing scene from the book by FAR, at least to me, wasn't even in the movie. But it was brilliant. And YES to Coraline being an ACTUAL KID. That's what struck me the most about it in comparison to other "kid's movies" today.
As for the movie taking a while to get going - I'm not bothered by that as much as I could be, because I think it's mostly on purpose. Coraline is bored, and we kind of... experience her boredom. I can't really describe it better than that.
3. YAY for people that liked Inglourious Basterds. I'm seeing so much negativity about it on my flist and I don't get why!
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What's the most disturbing scene in the book? It wasn't the boredom so much as the lack of attention paid to getting us into the characters - I felt like, when we went to the Other world, I didn't really know or understand Coraline's parents or Spink and Forcible, so seeing their Other selves didn't have as much of an effect.
I don't know why either, I thought it was brilliant.