Wednesday, November 23, 2016

laggies (2014) directed by lynn shelton.


speaking of the sorry life of single fathers (which i am sure is not so bad as most often portrayed in films), i quite like this movie starring sam rockwell as a lonely single father raising his teenage daughter when a teen-dult (OK i'm inventing a new word, but you get it) in the form of keira knightley crashed into his house to escape, well, adulting. the plot about teen-dult struggling to adult is not that interesting, at least to me, but i like how sam rockwell owned the single father part, and the rest of the teenage characters in the movie. 

we are never too old to have angst, especially when we don't get what we want. 

jersey girl (2004). directed by kevin smith.


i get it why critics lambasted this film, it is sentimental, and at times, too saccharine sweet you think you are going to get diabetes. i like it though, apart from the overdone bits. it's actually quite good, and sweet in a good way in (certain) right places. the cast is strong, and it's a heartwarming story about a single father raising his daughter, about the truth on parenting that you do give up your dreams for the life of your kid. 

even jennifer lopez wasn't so bad in the movie.  

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

the lincoln lawyer (2011). directed by brad furman.


i have faith in brad furman. contrary to the previous film, this is highly watchable. it's fun, smart and engaging. actually, a lot of matthew mcconaughey come back films circa 2011 are good stuff to watch. 

runner runner (2013). directed by brad furman.


for someone who directed the lincoln lawyer (2011), i expect something better than this. the story is flat. i actually have time fantasizing how this movie would be a lot more watchable had it been directed by micheal mann. and please, justin timberlake should go back to making albums. he is a shit actor. 

Monday, November 21, 2016

high-rise (2015). directed by ben wheatley.


speaking of dystopian futures, though this story feels like the 70s (j.g. ballard wrote the book in 1975). depicting class wars taking place in an apartment building, like literally, at times i feel like the film is a disjointed. perhaps it wants to convey the claustrophobic feeling of being boxed in a class where you can't move, laterally or vertically (in this case, absurdly trapped in a building). the upper class partied like there is no tomorrow, oblivious to the destruction around them, as they often are (why is that not surprising?). the lower class suffered, because that's all they can do. 

i don't enjoy it too much, the feel of the film is too detached. but i get the point.  

the lobster (2015). directed by yorgos lanthimos.


is the word dystopian? stretch the idea a bit more, when being single is seen pathetic and a loser. and in any society that craves conformity, disregarding individual struggles, we will see power and violence being disproportionately used to force people to conform. director lanthimos is greek, i don't know if this is a meditation about the country being forced to submit under the heels of stronger, richer neighbours in the eurozone. 

maybe. do we need to be helpless? no. 

Friday, November 18, 2016

ondine (2009). directed by neil jordan.


i like how this story weaves the reality of being a drug mule where women are often trafficked into the trade, with the myth of a mermaid, something that a child can digest, and distract adults from the incessant  worries of the world. it is also a story of second chances, both for the mermaid, and the fisherman who rescued her. it is so dreamy at times, in a good way. 

and you root for these people to get a happy ending, because we all need second chances. 

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

choke (2008). directed by clark gregg.


one of the funniest movies i watched this year, is this film. very indie, but so deliciously funny if you like something freudian. it's a story about our baser instincts, ahem, that it is human nature to repress desires that they feel forbidden and project them in, hmm, how should i say, interesting forms. we are taken through the lives of sex addicts trying to be functional people, where sam rockwell and angelica huston are just delightful. as the main protagonist puts it, 

victor mancini: we are not born equal sinners, or perfect knock-offs of god. the world tells us whether we're heroes or victims. but, we can decide for ourselves.

moon (2009). directed by duncan jones.


actually, one of the best movies i watched this year is this film. it's a story about a lone worker manning a moon station, carried the whole way through in the capable hands of sam rockwell, as he soon found out that he is not so alone, in the company of a person who looks exactly like him. this film needs to be watched. i will not divulged further because it needs to be experienced. i have no complaints about this film, duncan jones directed it with expert hands and sam rockwell is such a pleasure to watch. going beyond a story about loneliness, it is also a metaphor of the cruelness of capitalism, when people are just as replaceable as machines. 

needless to say, a must watch. 

Sunday, November 13, 2016

foxcatcher (2014). directed bennett miller.


it's always a pleasure seeing steve carell and mark ruffalo in action, and i think channing tatum is pretty good too in this movie. but i find the movie flat despite tensions between the central characters which could have been more dramatic, apart from the defeat that tatum's character suffered in one of the wresting trials and then getting straightened up by his brother, the conflicts were not exploited for effects. perhaps this is done on purpose to portray life at john du pont's farm, where du pont's unstable behaviours and its impact on others are insignificant due to du pont's role as the patron of the wrestling academy. the like the story, but i dislike the people i see on screen, especially is john du pont. steve carell did a good job, but it is also a testament of athletes at that time having to rely on patronage even from someone as deranged as du pont. 

gone girl (2014). directed by david fincher.


when david fincher delivers revenge, it is so, so good. actors are in top form, direction is tight. i don't even sympathise with ben affleck's character, sure his wife is manipulative and possibly a sociopath, but he gets what he deserves. the story is layered, and fincher delivered them with precision and the blows are just delicious. 

a must see (with a boyfriend, or a husband) LOL. 

Friday, November 11, 2016

watchmen (2009). directed by zack snyder.


once upon a time zack snyder was not on steroid called money so he can restrained himself and actually directed a coherent movie. all he got to do is follow alan moore's graphic novel scene by scene and the result is fairly enjoyable, and faithful. i thought it was pretty good, having read the novel and then watch the movie. this is tonnes better than batman v superman: dawn of justice (2016). 

batman v superman: dawn of justice (2016). directed by zack snyder.


where do i begin...

this movie is a disaster. utterly unforgivable that in 2016 people still spend a lot of money producing crap like this. the movie suffered from lack of character development, the story is underdeveloped which is a shame because i expect better writing from the guys who write the dark knight (2008) and argo (2012), clunky direction and just terrible editing. seriously, what the hell happened?!

i think the actors did a pretty good job, some people complained that henry cavill was not charismatic as superman but the same can be said for ben affleck whose batman was reduced to grunts and anger management issues. the protagonists in the film all suffered from daddy issues - point is character development was weak i don't expect the actors can do a better job. i must say casting jesse eisenberg was not the greatest decision - he is annoying as lex luthor trying to produce the same effect that the late heath ledger did for the joker. 

my rants could go on and on. seriously people, watch this if you can't hold your curiosity of how bad it is, because it is bad. and it runs for 3 hours, of no story and mindless set pieces trying so hard to be the dark knight (2008)

update (23 nov 2016). 

upon second viewing, and lots of fast forward, there are redeeming stuff on the movie. i'm not patient because i am not a fan of the graphic novels, nor do i play the video games so some of the set pieces feel unnecessary to me though it was taken straight from the source. i actually like ben affleck as batman (i know, i only changed my mind about ben affleck as an actor a few weeks ago), i guess he's a lot more human and vulnerable compared to christian bale, who has a more clinical take to the character. 

Thursday, November 10, 2016

nocturnal animals (2016). directed by tom ford.


when you love someone you work it out, you have to be careful with it, you don’t just throw it away — you might never get it again.

regret is what you feel if you live long enough to see what it could have been, for giving up on someone or something, or for taking the easy way out. excellent acting and direction, while director tom ford is still meticulous, he is trying something new with this 2 plots in one movie mirroring one another. while the subject matter is common - tales of revenge, betrayal, and love gone awry - it is the treatment of age old questions in fresh ways that should always be celebrated, re-framing the question for contemporary audience. was she wrong to give up and not seeing the potential that her ex husband could be? do we marry someone out of love and imperfections, rather than for them to fulfil what we have in mind for them? should they live up to our expectations, and is that fair? should he held on to hurt over something that happened years ago, and where do this take us? 

age old questions, no easy answers. mostly we lose. 

a single man (2009). directed by tom ford.


i watched this awhile back, since i just watched nocturnal animals, thought i give a few points on this film first. fashion designer turn film maker tom ford was criticised for putting too much emphasis on perfection, that a film is a lot more dynamic than pretty objects staged nicely. i sense his need for meticulousness, it's a beautiful film. 

which heightens the sense of grief, the beauty and perfection that persists in the film acts as a facade, or closet, to the tremendous loss and pain felt by the gay english professor played by the excellent colin firth upon the death of his partner. he carries his pain alone, unable to share his love and loss with others in an age where homosexuality is taboo. even his best friend can not understand the depth of the relationship he had with his partner, mirroring contemporary attitudes that homosexual relationships are inferior to heterosexual ones, something that is not real and can be replaced with something more substantial. 

there is a word that describe this inability to empathise - it's called being rude. or violent. colin firth's character of constant perfection, whether or not a closet, as coiffed as he comes, is a prison he can not escape.  

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

the company men (2010). directed by john wells.


just on the day that donald trump is elected as president. poor alienated white men wanting to be heard in the era of recession and globalization, pining their hopes on a man known as a pussy grabber and doesn't pay tax. are we that naive?

not that i don't sympathize with the struggles of the men in this movie. i do - of the middle class dealing with its sense of insecurity in corporate jobs. it's an easy watch that doesn't make demands for us to think of the underlying issues - like why job creation is retarded, why CEOs are paid big bucks while ordinary workers are laid off in droves, why men still put their self worth in a job in order to be men. 

something worth reading on the last point - men at work

louder than bombs (2016). directed by joachim trier.


a tad more philosophical than the previous two films on grief, the story revolves around the death of a wife, mother, war photographer who is survived by her husband and two sons. i like the photography in this film, as it tries to capture the tenderness and longing, for someone who is no longer there, but obviously the person who holds the family together. she's not perfect, she's often away pursuing her passion, and while she feels inadequate as a mother at times, little did she know that her death is worse than her absence. 

but when you are gone, the people who got left behind can't express the void that they are feeling, because we are not there to bear witness to it.  

demolition (2015). directed by jean-marc vallée.


but not this one - on the subject of grief. in general, i like anything that has jake gyllenhaal in it. he's great to look at, and a pretty good actor. but there is only so much a good actor can do if the story is thin. a yuppie having trouble grieving for his dead wife who doesn't love him (and him, her) and his rich, meaningless life that he has to destroy it to start anew. the story tries to create layers by putting in a subplot about a nosy vending machine operator also trying to get out of her dreary life. i find myself yawning while waiting for it to finish. 

OK. next. 

burning man (2011). directed by jonathan teplitzky.


this has got to be one of the better stories i see about grief. told in flashbacks, sad sexual encounters and endless anger. pain is a slow burn that takes a long time to put out.  

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

everest (2015). directed by baltasar kormakur.


one would have thought that a movie about climbing mount everest would have been chock full of adventure. there were some, here and there, but it is largely lacking excitement. or maybe director baltasar kormakur intended it to be a slow burn, only that it is too slow to the point of no fire. it's a true story of an adventure-mountaineering company who takes people up to the great mountain, despite preparations and experience of the guides, it was a tragedy when so many of them died when they couldn't descend the mountain as fast and as soon as they should. 

the mountain can be conquered, but it is temperamental. it also means, the difference between life and death. 

argo (2012). directed by ben affleck.


i can see why this movie won the oscars in 2012. tight direction, almost flawless. aside from planning and being bold, luck was on their side. those hostages were on the wrong side of the revolution, while as ordinary people they are blameless, america and britain had only themselves to blame for unseating a democratically elected prime ministera and leaving a power vacuum only to be filled by the islamists. perhapas that's why director ben affleck put it out there right at the start, to remind the audience of the sins of western governments in iran (or any formerly colonized countries for that matter). 

don't fuck with angry people. for context, this is worth watching. 

Monday, November 7, 2016

slow west (2015). directed by john maclean.


this is actually one of my favourite movies of 2015. the metaphor of the sprawling country where only the most violent, greediest, self preservation taken to the extreme are the ones who could survive such treacherous environment where anything less than that would become casualty of senseless deaths. survival has got nothing to do with ethics or kindness, it's just strictly survival in a time of so little basic needs; be it food, water or safety. what are people reduced to? animals. who are trying to survive. 

this is a less romantic take of the wild west. 

jane got a gun (2016). directed by gavin o'connor.


when in doubt, watch gavin o'connor. kidding. but this is not a bad watch. tough woman in a cowboy setting, what is there not to like? natalie portman plays the wife hell bent to protect her injured outlaw husband from a bunch of tugs headed by ewan mcgregor (he doesn't sound too scottish so it's OK) with the help of her ex boyfriend, the taciturn joel edgerton. while the story was not as driven as it could have been, i like portman's character of being her own woman firm with the choices she had to make given the situation that she was in. in a world of war and poverty, rest assured that the victims will always be women and children, while men fight to senseless deaths. 

changing lanes (2002). directed by roger michell.


this movie is actually very good. i like the intensity of the protagonists played by ben affleck (oh he does make some good movies. i always thought the last film he's pretty good was good will hunting (1997)) and samuel l. jackson, having a really bad day and getting it at each other to feed one person's anger and another person's ego. i feel like it is a metaphor of toxic masculinity, the need to prove that one is a man by doing self destructive and morally questionable things. tight direction and all around good acting. i was glad i watched this last night. 

the accountant (2016). directed by gavin o'connor.


i didn't plan to see the accountant. not a fan of affleck, though i did pay to see a movie that he's in - and that was because david fincher directed it - gone girl (2014). i got the date wrong because i wanted to see nocturnal animals, but it's only going to be shown next week, so what the hell. i settled for a gavin o'connor fare. 

which is not necessarily a bad thing. 

what i like about gavin o'connor's movies is that he makes movies which are straightforward, almost by the numbers, but he usually have good actors working on it that it elevates the movie to something grander - think warrior (2011) with tom hardy, joel edgerton and nick nolte. i actually like that he doesn't overplay his hands, which can be annoying, it happens when people try to make things complicated that they actually are. the accountant was close to the border, but it didn't go as far. the risk of doing that, it makes a satisfactory watch, but not a great on. 

after watching this movie - which i kind of have mixed feelings about - critics are evidently divided into two camps - one which is kinder to the premise of an autistic accountant with military training punching people to a pulp like liam neeson would have done to save his daughter, or another who finds such story line simply preposterous. i always remind myself that suspension of disbelief is a must while watching anything, so this movie is enjoyable if the audience can be persuaded to be sympathetic to the main character who has trouble connecting with people. i don't know if ben affleck is trying too hard to emote autism, or he does it really well. as i mentioned before, o'connor would have outstanding actors in his film - this one is no exception - like anna kendrick who is underused, j.k. simmons, john lithgow and jeffrey tambor. actually i was impressed with the line up on the movie poster. 

worth a watch, but like i said, not exactly spectacular. 

doctor strange (2016). directed by scott derrickson.


let's start with what i like about doctor strange. i like the visuals, taking the concept further from inception (2010). good performance from supporting cast - tilda swinton and chiwetel ejiofor, though rachel mcadams was severely underused. now to what i don't like about doctor strange - it's like watching an episode of sherlock in which he can fly. benedict cunberbatch is very adept at playing brainy annoying characters, like robert downey jr. is excellant at playing arrogant millionaires who can save the world. i won't fault cumberbatch for his style of acting - most people have one style and they stick with it throughout their careers. perhaps what is really wrong with doctor strange is that the story is thin - if not for these good actors the story wouldn't be half as interesting.