Viewing Journal: 7/31/2015

279) JAUJA
(2015 dir. Lisandro Alonso) Date Seen: July 31 2015

At the 15 minute mark I was concerned the style & pacing of this was putting it in danger of becoming derivative of MEEK'S CUTOFF, but then it morphed into something even more spellbinding

btw, the proper pronunciation of the title is

 

Viewing Journal: 7/30/2015

278) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 

                         - ROGUE NATION
(2015 dir. Christopher McQuarrie) Date Seen: July 30 2015

I've enjoyed a lot of things McQuarrie has written over the years but this is the first thing he's directed that I found exhilarating at parts.. & I understand Tom Cruise is now so involved as a producer that he might as well also be credited as a 1st A.D. or even co-director. Movie "Stars" with that type of influence & clout sadly seem to be on the decline. 

277) THE END OF THE TOUR
(2015 dir. James Ponsoldt) Date Seen: July 30 2015

an undercooked script that's insulting to the memory of the late David Foster Wallace. The performances aren't too shabby though

Viewing Journal: 7/29/2015

276) VACATION
(2015 dir. J.Francis Daley/Goldstein) Date Seen: July 29 2015

It took TWO directors to deliver this shit.. I've just been stewing on that for a bit.

Are there even enough people nostalgic for this film series to warrant this type of legacyquel? Someone at Warner brothers felt strongly about it.

275) THE GUEST
(2014 dir. Adam Wingard) 2nd Viewing: July 29 2015

Team Wingard/Barrett can't stop

Viewing Journal: 7/28/2015

274) THE GALLOWS
(2015 dir. Cluff / Lofing) Date Seen: July 28 2015

Not quite as scary as having to watch actual High School theatre.. In all seriousness though, skip this and watch the thematically similar desktop based found footage UNFRIENDED. (also a Blumhouse release)

273) THE MASTER
(2012 dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) 2nd Viewing: July 28 2015

If you grew up around very religious people, this is a horror movie

Viewing Journal: 7/27/2015

272) SOUTHPAW
(2015 dir. Antoine Fuqua) Date Seen: July 27 2015

the pugilist drama is some of the most well-worn territory in all filmdom & nothing new is brought to the table here. Thankfully the two outstanding leads in this make the slog through the motions very bearable

Viewing Journal: 7/26/2015

271) THE VATICAN TAPES
(2015 dir. Mark Neveldine) Date Seen: July 26 2015

Mark broke up Neveldine/Taylor for this?! say it ain't so

Viewing Journal: 7/25/2015

270) TRAINWRECK
(2015 dir. Judd Apatow) Date Seen: July 25 2015

Somehow symbolizes all of Apatow's best & worst tendencies as a filmmaker.. Colin Quinn's pretty great though.

269) PAPER TOWNS
(2015 dir. Jake Schreier) Date Seen: July 25 2015

John Green is just Nicholas Sparks for alt-Rock kids

Viewing Journal: 7/24/2015

268) PIXELS
(2015 dir. Chris Columbus) Date Seen: July 24 2015

I was a fan of Patrick Jean's funny little 2010 short, so maybe I just got too excited for this big budget re-imagining. My expectations doomed it to fail.. It didn't do much of anything for me.

more an adaptation of ↑ this song than the 2010 PIXELS short

267) TANGERINE
(2015 dir. Sean Baker) Date Seen: July 24 2015

Mya Taylor is a once in a lifetime discovery & I'm sure Sean Baker thanks his lucky stars every night she agreed to be the lead in this. I hope she gets tons of work posthaste.. was also refreshing to see a film about sex workers that wasn't a preachy cautionary tale

Viewing Journal: 7/23/2015

266) RESULTS
(2015 dir. Andrew Bujalski) Date Seen: July 23 2015

This is the first Andrew Bujalski movie I've seen that felt more like a Joe Swanberg movie

 

Viewing Journal: 7/22/2015

265) SELF / LESS
(2015 dir. Tarsem) Date Seen: July 22 2015

The exact type of cold & unspectacular movie I dreaded Tarsem making post-Eiko Ishioka

Viewing Journal: 7/21/2015

264) 

POLICE STORY: LOCKDOWN

(2015 dir. Sheng Ding) Date Seen: July 21 2015

An overly dark & gritty reboot, that if we're being honest is part of POLICE STORY in name only. The new protagonist barely resembles Inspector Kevin Chan Ka-Kui and the atmosphere is incredibly bleak this time around. There's lots of sweet-ass action throughout though, & that makes it rental worthy

Viewing Journal: 7/20/2015

263) MINIONS
(2015 dir. Coffin/Balda) Date Seen: July 20 2015

yellow smurf circus peanuts work as side characters but not as main focus

Viewing Journal: 7/19/2015

262) ANT-MAN
(2015 dir. Peyton Reed) Date Seen: July 19 2015

innocuous & generic fun for the most part. I really liked the bit where he first shrank down & got flushed into the pipes. But, *highlight the following for possible spoiler > No Goliath/Giant-Man scene? What Gives? I remember in the comics & cartoons that was always a cool thing about Ant-man. Feels like a very deliberate omission; Disney must be saving it or something. Once upon a time this was going to be an Edgar Wright project and I still can't help but wonder what might've been.

261) YOUTH
(2015 dir. Paolo Sorrentino) Date Seen: July 13 2015

Jessica and I saw this while in Rome at the "Intrastevere", a very small cinema tucked away between the Tiber river and Trastevere district.

I hope it's another hit for Sorrentino.. It deserves to be. I thought it felt like a spiritual counterpart to THE GREAT BEAUTY in some ways. only with Michael Caine standing in for Toni Servillo this time  

NO UPDATES 7/8 - 7/18

Vado a vivere la dolce vita! 

Going on holiday in Italy for a stretch, so I will not be updating the viewing journal until I'm back. 

Until then, enjoy this iconic sequence from Fellini's LA DOLCE VITA (1960)

Viewing Journal: 7/8/2015

260) MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS 2
(2015 dir. Roel Reiné) Date Seen: July 8 2015

Felt thrown together.. And Roel Reiné doesn't have the action chops RZA displayed in the first film.

259) THE BOXCAR CHILDREN
(2014 dir. Dippé / Chuba / K. Jo) Date Seen: July 8 2015

can't wait for BOXTROLLS vs BOXCAR CHILDREN.

 

258) THE GRUFFALO'S CHILD
(2011 dir. Weiland/Heidschötter) Date Seen: July 8 2015

a Gruffalo holiday special? It's a Festivus miracle!