Cornel Wilde's The Naked Prey

I never would have thought a picture like this would have been released in 1966. If Mel Gibson didnt have this in mind when he made Apocalypto I'll eat my shoe. It's a story about  a dude credited as the Man running from a tribe of african warriors he has pissed off .The first 15 minutes consist of about 2 minutes of travel 2 minutes of shooting elephants and then 11 minutes of every character being killed except for the main dude. He of course is then sent out with a short headstart to be chased by the warriors of a tribe he has run afoul of. There is about maybe 10 lines of english dialogue  before the film is over and no subs for the stuff not in english(its not necessary though). Its main edge on Apocalypto is that it has a better sense of place then apocalypto did. The film features heavily features wildlife scenes that sort of act as transitions and show you the untamed nature of the films surroundings. Its a film far ahead of its time with its break neck pace and use of violence but keeps that old-timey dignity that has pretty much dissapeared from film today.

4/5

 

Yups

Favorite Films: Hunter

H. Parsons favorite film.

Mamoru Oshii's Avalon

 In a nutshell Oshii's movies are like genre Malick. They have a restrained pace while the camera  glides smoothly through hazy orange cinematography with reflective narration and occasionally stuff blows up. As I said genre Malick. The plot centers around an online game that people play for a living similar to something like battlefield but you get paid. The main character Ash is a solo player who is all tough and famous etc etc blah blah blah. This sort of plot always sounds stupid to me but, I think he pulled it off by making the movie look so good and featuring his typical heady dialogs. The movie has some issues with cheese here and there and occasional nerdy "cool guy" shots that make me groan. The film is worth it for its occasionally great sequences of Ash wandering the city  and some good cinematography.

3/5 

Daily Watchings

Richard Fleischer's the Narrow Margin. RKO noir that is only 70 minutes long but is good for a few thrills. Acting feels hammier than usual in a noir but its still has something going for it.

3/5

Kevin Macdonalds Last King of Scotland is a decent film with a virtuoso performance by Forrest Whitaker. The film works well in highlighting Whitakers chops but has a plasticy feel that doesnt work well for high drama imho.

3/5

Bruce Evan's Dexter-esque serial killer film. Muddled by a cheesy attempt at woo-esque style and some lame acting by Dane Cook and Demi Moore but, still not ruined.  A good performance by Kevin Costner and the novelty of following a serial killer make it enjoyable.

3/5

Olivier Dahan's La vie en Rose aka La Mome

Marion Cotillard is amazing as french singer and collector of tragedies Edith Piaf. I was expecting basically a film where 1. Marion Cotillard is amazing and 2 the rest of the movie is so so. I was wrong for sure as the creative editing and stylish direction keep what could be a pot boiler totally fresh. I suppose I should expect the french to take a music biopic and go to town with it. Note the amazing tracking shots and one particularly long and amazing tracking shot at the beginning of the 3rd act. I still haven't seen Ray or Walk the Line but I really doubt they hold a candle to this film.

4/5

Slyggy Sly's Rambo

Violence! Jesus? Violence! Jesus?? VIOLENCE VIOLENCE GORE GORE GORE VIOLENCE! jesus?

Rambo in a nutshell

3/5

Julian Schnabel's The diving bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a film which vibrant style exudes life in every scene.  The amount of passion for life this film packs is just amazing. At the end of the first act the film jerked a few tears out of my general direction as it vibrantly express Jean-Dominque Bauby's attempts to make something in possibly the worst situation imaginable. At times I would say its hard to watch but, I would say that it is very rewarding and worth viewing if your a human being.

5/5 

My Oscar Picks

Best Picture

Atonement ok. Juno really?Michael Clayton havent seen it. No Country for Old Men of course There Will Be Blood duh!

Im hoping for There will be Blood, Expecting Attonement but will be dissapointed if Michael Clayton wins (until i see it to change my mind).

Best Actor

As far as I'm concerned only Daniel Day-Lewis is nominated so only he can win.

Best Supporting

Casey Affleck In Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (He is amazing), Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men he is also amazing, Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild(didnt see it), Phillip Seymour Hoffman(the your a swell guy but not gonna win nod), Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton(No opinion).

Hoping for Casey Affleck, Expecting Javier Bardem, dissapointed by anyone else.

Actress

Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth:The Golden Age(not gonna happen), Julie Christie in Away From Here(no idea),Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose(havent seen it), Laura Linney in The savages(havent seen it either), Ellen Page in Juno(the swell job but you aint gonna win category).

Hoping for I guess Marion Cotillard cause I want her to get more famous, Expecting Marion Cotillard because she took the globe, dissapointed by Cate Blanchett cause that movie looked lame.

Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett in I'm not there(looked great but i missed it), Ruby Dee in American Gangster(color me suprised), Saoirse Ronan in Atonement(an obvious choice), Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone(the underdog, not as overt as Saoirse but still good), Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton(still no opinions of Clayton).

Hoping for Amy Ryan cause I still have a crush on her from the wire. Expecting Saoirse Ronan because she was fantastic, dissapointed by Ruby Dee becasue I wasnt moved at all.

Director

PTA - There will Be Blood(My choice hands down)

Ethan and Joel - No Country(B.A. but not PTA)

Tony Gilroy - MC(no opinion)

Jason Reitman - Juno(swell job but you aint gonna win)

Julian Schnabel - Diving Bell and the Butterfly(ask me tommorow)

Hoping PTA, expecting PTA, dissapointed by Tony Gilroy because I can see this winning and pissing me off cause its not PTA.

Cinematography

The assassination of Jesse James(It earns the nod in about 2 minutes of screen time), Atonement(same as Jesse James), The Diving bell and the butterfly(i heard amazing things but, ask me tommorow), No Country for Old Men(what you expect of the brothers coen), There Will Be Blood(Beautiful and filled with intensity but not as overt in a good way)

Hoping for Jesse James because I'll champion this film till I'm dead and fuck everyone else, Expecting No Country For Old Men cause I see the academy picking it disappointed by nothing cause this category does it for me this year.

The rest of the categories I either dont care about or cant formulate an opinion on or in the case of best original score piss me the hell of because Nick Cave and Warren Ellis were not nominated. Oh yeah and in the case of best original song who gives a fuck?

Ohhh no's Playa.

Matt Reeve's Cloverfield

Cloverfield is really about as good as the trailers lead you to believe. It's a monster/disaster film from a first person perspective that joyfully exploits its gimmick.  It does not have the most original or in depth plot but it serves its purpose and we as an audience can color ourselves thrilled.

There is a short lead in of about 20 minutes that is fairly generic and then the film goes into full on panic mode. The CG is effective and at times downright cool looking. The amount of monster in the films is actually quite small but it works for the overall feel of the film. The film balances between the main monster battle and the central characters odyssey like journey throughout the city. I wouldn't go as far to call the film scary but, I would definitely say its intense. 

Comparisons to Blair Witch will probably run through many heads. The filming is not as jarring or as spontaneous as Blair Witch and has a much more calculated feel while still somewhat maintaining the amateur look. It is my guess that Cloverfield will probably cause less motion sickness than Blair witch and in turn alienate a few less viewers.

Monster films have had a nice little resurgence lately with The Host and now Cloverfield. Basically if you actually wanted the Emmerich Godzilla to be good, this was the film you were looking for. 

3/5 "Its pretty good."