Viewing Journal: 7/31/2010

181) CLASH OF THE TITANS
(2010 dir. Louis Leterrier) 2nd Viewing: July 31 2010

Roommate was watching this today on Hb-HO, so I sat through it again in me jammies. It makes me sad that it's such a generic shit-coloured dud. I worry one of the only reasons I remember the original so fondly is due to those endearing jerky Harryhausen animated effects. This one doesn't even have that going for it.

I'm a fan of generic hero myths as much as the next geek, but this one just needs some type of dressing up to distract from how routinely dull it is. It's a lot of bloated c.g. action staged with little flare. Imagine a feature-length God of War cut-scene stripped of blood and style.

At least it gave us the novelty of Liam Neeson saying this line:

Which i'm sure he repeats on the toilet daily

180) FOLLOWING
(1998 dir. Christopher Nolan) 2nd Viewing: July 31 2010

Nolan's debut still holds up. Moody and eccentric in its construction. Who knew he would move on to such mega-budget projects & at the level of creative free rein he's been given. Few cinemagicians are awarded those opportunities. Even though I wasn't crazy about INCEPTION or his remake of INSOMNIA, I will always appreciate having a showman of his caliber around creating stuff. Because occasionally he does produce pure magic like THE PRESTIGE and THE DARK KNIGHT. This one's currently on Netflix watch-instant.

Viewing Journal: 7/30/2010

179) CADILLAC RECORDS
(2008 dir. Darnell Martin) 2nd Viewing: July 30 2010

Of all the rock biographies to come out in the past decade, this has been one of my absolute favorites.












178) MALCOLM X
(1992 dir. Spike Lee) 2nd Viewing: July 30 2010

 

Viewing Journal: 7/29/2010

177) GAMER
(2009 dir. Neveldine/Taylor) 2nd Viewing: July 29 2010

176) MOTHER
(2010 dir. Bong Joon-ho) 2nd Viewing: July 29 2010

Either this or Scorsese's SHUTTER ISLAND is my favourite film of 2010 so far. Can't quite decide yet.

175) VINCERE
(2010 dir. Marco Bellocchio) Date Seen: July 29 2010

Viewing Journal: 7/28/2010

174) CONAN THE DESTROYER
(1984 dir. Richard Fleischer) Date Seen: July 28 2010

173) THE ART OF THE STEAL
(2010 dir. Don Argott) Date seen: July 28 2010

172) RAGING BULL
(1980 dir. Martin Scorsese) 5th Viewing: July 28 2010

171) BRONSON
(2009 dir. Nicolas Winding Refn) 2nd Viewing: July 28 2010

Viewing Journal: 7/27/2010

170) SALT
(2010 dir. Philip Noyce) Date Seen: July 27 2010

169) TERMINATOR SALVATION
(2009 dir. McG) 2nd Viewing: July 27 2010

168) BATMAN BEGINS
(2005 dir. Christopher Nolan) 3rd Viewing: July 27 2010

167) PUSHER III: 

        I'M THE ANGEL OF DEATH
(2006 dir. Nicolas Winding Refn) Date Seen: July 27 2010

Viewing Journal: 7/26/2010

166) AMREEKA
(2009 dir. Charien Dabis) Date Seen: July 26 2010

165) THE WINDOW
(2009 dir. Carlos Sorin) Date Seen: July 26 2010

164) INCEPTION
(2010 dir. Christopher Nolan) 2nd Viewing: July 26 2010

163) MIAMI VICE
(2006 dir. Michael Mann) 3rd Viewing: July 26 2010

Theatrical cut - DVD

162) Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN
(2002 dir. Alfonso Cuarón) 3rd Viewing: July 26 2010

161) THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
(2003 dir. Andy & Lana Wachowski) 2nd Viewing: July 26 2010

160) PUSHER II: 
WITH BLOOD ON MY HANDS
(2004 dir. Nicolas Winding Refn) 2nd Viewing: July 26 2010

Hello. Smithers...

Trying to get my computer to say this every time I turn it on.

Viewing Journal: 7/25/2010

159) [REC] 2
(2010 dir. Balagueró/Plaza) Date Seen: July 25 2010

While it doesn't pack quite the same visceral punch as the first one, i thought REC 2 was still a solid action-horror movie. You at least care about the characters in these which is more than I can say for about 80% of found-footage movies.

158) RESTREPO
(2010 dir. Hetherington/Junger) Date Seen: July 25 2010

On a visceral level, RESTREPO is the most intense documentary I've seen about combat. A lot of the footage the filmmakers gathered is truly horrific. But it's also one of the most intimate and compelling portraits of troops in the field that I've seen. By the end you really get an idea of what kind of awful & futile shit is going down in Afghanistan & what it means to the people fighting there. 

I definitely think all U.S. citizens should see it. Regardless of your opinion of the occupation.













157) RED CLIFF
(2009 dir. John Woo) 2nd Viewing: July 25 2010

abridged theatrical cut

Many of the 2 part international version's amazing segments remain largely intact here, but as a whole I'd say this version does disservice to the overall effect of John Woo's intended vision.

156) SHOWGIRLS
(1995 dir. Paul Verhoeven) 3rd Viewing: July 25 2010

Quite possibly the most misunderstood film of the 90s. Verhoeven is a brilliant satirist and one of the true comedic visionaries working in film. If you think people give him crap for this now, wait until he adapts his version of Jesus of Nazareth..Viewers more open to exploitation cinema; Check out the slick transfer of this film on the new "Sinsational" edition blu-ray. It's a trip. 

Avoid Schmader's hack commentary like the plague though.












155) HULK
(2003 dir. Ang Lee) 2nd Viewing: July 25 2010

Sure it's got some puzzling decisions in the narrative department; It also happens to be one of the most dazzling attempts to capture the tone of 1960s comic books ever committed to film. Watched it at 1am this morn with my roommate (who came home tipsy LOL) & I was quite amused by the gloriously cheesy edits + once again surprised by Ang Lee's stylish craft.. Hadn't seen since its initial '03 release.

154) HEAT
(1995 dir. Michael Mann) 3rd Viewing: July 25 2010

(After my endless pestering, Netflix FINALLY fixed their audio problems with the streaming version of this!) All these years later, HEAT still kicks much ass. Clearly one of the best films of '95 and arguably one of the best of that entire decade.

MZS is right, at times the movie feels a lot more like a sprawling ensemble drama than it does an urban crime film. "MAGNOLIA with gun play" indeed.