Be Cool (F. Gary Gray, 2005)
2/10
Why, oh, why did I waste 2 hrs of my life?
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
In trying to come up with a specific quotation in which to begin discussion on The Brothers Bloom, I feel surrounded by a chorus of crickets at every try. re: names, situations, dialogue, I don't really know what to tell you. None of these things bothered me outside of the ending which reeks of a recut third act. I think this is a masterful production: the throwaway gags, the lilting score, the deadpan deliveries, all working in conjunction with an incredibly moving theme. Perhaps the cynic in me is easy prey for movies about rebirth, but that's what it is. It's an incredibly touching story about a cad of a brother who is trying to make amends for manipulating his brother into a "written" life and tries to write him a better one as a parting gift. Because the plot of The Brothers Bloom is a little freewheeling (intentionally for fooling Penelope) and the third act implies a lot off-screen, The Brothers Bloom feels more like the outline of a con movie rather than a true blue one...which actually I don't mind. The arc of the narrative is defined by characters rejuvenating their relationships with brother, girlfriend, job, etc. There's a lot more going on in The Brothers Bloom besides whimsy for whimsy's sake!
Brody seems caught in a hangdog recursive loop, but Rachel Weisz (an actress that I've tried awfully hard to like in other films) gives the best performance of her career in The Brothers Bloom.
Brody seems caught in a hangdog recursive loop, but Rachel Weisz (an actress that I've tried awfully hard to like in other films) gives the best performance of her career in The Brothers Bloom.
"How's the despair?"
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Big Magilla
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The Brothers Bloom (2009) Rian Johnson 2/10
I watched this on Sabin's recommendation. His review from back in May convinced me to see this even though I was not a fan of Johnson's earlier work, the high school noir, Brick.
I liked this even less. The film is pure whimsy. The problem is that whimsy is a delicate thing. If you're going to make a film built on, you have to have material that will sustain it. I Married a Witch and The Luck of the Irish are examples of classic films that had material strong enough to do so, as are most of Wes Anderson's films, particularly Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, but not this.
Nothing in it makes sense, from the inane dialogue to the absurd situations to the ridiculously named characters (the younger brother is simply called Bloom, which one assumes is his surname, while the older brother actually has a first name).
I'll stop short of saying Adrien Brody and Rachel Weitz should give back their Oscars, but they're fast becoming the winners with the most career killing follow-ups since F. Murray Abraham and Mercedes Ruehl.
I watched this on Sabin's recommendation. His review from back in May convinced me to see this even though I was not a fan of Johnson's earlier work, the high school noir, Brick.
I liked this even less. The film is pure whimsy. The problem is that whimsy is a delicate thing. If you're going to make a film built on, you have to have material that will sustain it. I Married a Witch and The Luck of the Irish are examples of classic films that had material strong enough to do so, as are most of Wes Anderson's films, particularly Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, but not this.
Nothing in it makes sense, from the inane dialogue to the absurd situations to the ridiculously named characters (the younger brother is simply called Bloom, which one assumes is his surname, while the older brother actually has a first name).
I'll stop short of saying Adrien Brody and Rachel Weitz should give back their Oscars, but they're fast becoming the winners with the most career killing follow-ups since F. Murray Abraham and Mercedes Ruehl.
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Big Magilla
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Up in the Air (2009) Jason Reitman 4/10
Despite being well acted and enjoyable/depressing to watch this film is nevertheless undermined by a ridiculous scenario which has been discussed bby members of the board in the Up in the Air thread.
Payment Deferred (1932) Lothar Mendes 4/10
Charles Laughton is the best thing about this 'Hitchcockian' drama about a bank clerk who takes drastic action to acquire some much needed funds. Ray Milland has a small role as Laughton's nephew. It's scary that at only 33 Laughton looked about 60.
Despite being well acted and enjoyable/depressing to watch this film is nevertheless undermined by a ridiculous scenario which has been discussed bby members of the board in the Up in the Air thread.
Payment Deferred (1932) Lothar Mendes 4/10
Charles Laughton is the best thing about this 'Hitchcockian' drama about a bank clerk who takes drastic action to acquire some much needed funds. Ray Milland has a small role as Laughton's nephew. It's scary that at only 33 Laughton looked about 60.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Big Magilla
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The Hurt Locker (2009) Kathryn Bigelow 9/10
50 Dead Men Walking (2009) Kari Skogland 8/10
The Hurt Locker holds up to repeated viewings. When I first saw this in the theatre it was not knowing what would happen next that kept me enthralled. This time around it was the underlying sadness that permeates the entire film. It really is the year's best film with three of the year's best performances by Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty.
50 Dead Men Walking proves that Bigelow isn't the only female director who can helm a big action flick as well as any guy. Canadian Skogland takes on both the murderous IRA and the duplicitous British occupation force in 1980s Belfast.
Jim Sturgess gives a strong performance as the Irish Catholic youth who goes undercover as a British agent who infiltrates IRA and Ben Kingsley tones it way down to play his conscience stricken operator. Based on a true story that begins with the hero shot six times at close range in Canada by an IRA gunman 11 years after the events told in the film. He survived to tell the story.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1263669996
50 Dead Men Walking (2009) Kari Skogland 8/10
The Hurt Locker holds up to repeated viewings. When I first saw this in the theatre it was not knowing what would happen next that kept me enthralled. This time around it was the underlying sadness that permeates the entire film. It really is the year's best film with three of the year's best performances by Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty.
50 Dead Men Walking proves that Bigelow isn't the only female director who can helm a big action flick as well as any guy. Canadian Skogland takes on both the murderous IRA and the duplicitous British occupation force in 1980s Belfast.
Jim Sturgess gives a strong performance as the Irish Catholic youth who goes undercover as a British agent who infiltrates IRA and Ben Kingsley tones it way down to play his conscience stricken operator. Based on a true story that begins with the hero shot six times at close range in Canada by an IRA gunman 11 years after the events told in the film. He survived to tell the story.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1263669996
24 hours, 4 films
Nine
6/10
Not the trainwreck that I was expecting. I had left it on my list for BP and now I think that it will survive through to Oscar morning.
District 9
7.5/10
Put this off for as long as possible. Impressive.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
7.5/10
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
7/10
Nine
6/10
Not the trainwreck that I was expecting. I had left it on my list for BP and now I think that it will survive through to Oscar morning.
District 9
7.5/10
Put this off for as long as possible. Impressive.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
7.5/10
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
7/10