Naked

Watch it.
Mike Leigh Directs.
David Thewlis Stars.
It is a well shot, well acted, well scripted, well scored film.
9/10

Where the Wild Things Are

Two days ago I saw Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are. Granted I havent been to the theater alot since I moved back to NJ (no more free movies! and also another reason why I havent touched this blog in months), but I was willing to drop down the $10.50 it cost at my local theater to see it. I have always been a big fan of Spike Jonze whether it be The Beastie Boys "Sabatoge" music video to "Being John Malkovich" to my favorite film of his "Adaptation"(one of the only movies that Nicholas Cage has ever been good in), and one of the all time best skate videos "YEAH RIGHT!".
This is the most beautifully filmed movie i have seen so far this year. Jonze had a vision and I think he succeded in every way possible. He took Maurice Sendacks landmark childrens book and turned it into something better than the source material. With giant live action wild things that are like three or four times the size of a muppet and even more gigantic sets I feel like Spike went all out on this one. The landscapes are breathtaking, the characters were all complex and on different levels from eachother, the mood is dark and not really something that kids would enjoy (which I found out the hard way by sitting in a theater full of crying and screaming babies!). The soundtrack from Karen O and the Kids is also fantastic (check out "Capsize" its pretty sweet).
Overall, I found this to be a profound movie and I would recomend it to anyone who can appreciate the childrens book, Spike Jonzes directing, great cinematography, and a beautiful story. But due to the extremely annoying children in the audience, and a pace that dragged down the story at times I give the film an 8/10. I am sure that after a few more viewings (especially without babies in them) I will appreciate the movie alot more.

Film Noir

Recently I have been watching a lot of the sub genre film noir. Basically film noir involves certain lighting techniques, but the term also encompases dark subject matters with crime and gangsters, private detectives etc. The past two films that I have watched have been "Le Cercle Rouge" and "Blast of Silence". Both films are well made under their circumstances. "Le Cercle Rouge" is a high caliber French heist film with a great script, actors, cinematography, and soundtrack. Written and Directed by one of the masters of the French New Wave Jean Pierre Melville his style and genius shines throughout the film. The characters in it are cooler than cool particularly Alain Delon as Corey. Another great performance comes from Gian Maria Volonte, who played the major villians in the first two Man With No Name films (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More). The theme of everyone coming together in "The Red Circle" (Le Cercle Rouge) by chance more than once is an amusing concept. "Blast of Silence" on the other hand obviously deals with a lower budget but was written, directed, and acted by Allen Baron. For 1961 this film is very impressive. The story is very dark for its time and their is a really great jazz soundtrack. The setting of Harlem is also quite stunning to see in all of its 1960's glory. Allen Baron really delivers on all three major levels in this film ... it is not one to miss for film noir fans!

LE CERCLE ROUGE (bande-annonce)
Uploaded by ludosan13

Taken

I just saw Taken last night and it was great! What a breath of fresh air after all of these overly serious dramatic films released this Oscar season (although most are very good and worth watching). Taken stars Liam Neeson in what I believe is his first major role in an action film. But seeing the film you would think he has been an amazing action star his whole career. Taken is directed by Pierre Morel of District B13 previously. Essentially he makes films because he is a talented director but he is also very good friends with the writer of the film Luc Besson, who is an outstanding and pretty well known French director of films such as La Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional. The action is unstopping and relentless and you are rooting for Liam Neesons character Bryan all the way on his search for his daughter. Sure the plot has some holes and its pretty far fetched in general but this movie hasn't been made to pull at your heart strings like The Reader its made to blow your fucking brains out!(and that is exactly what Liam Neeson does to a couple hundred people). There is a well directed chase sequence through a construction site, some really great firefights, and outstanding hand to hand combat. But again I will warn you that this movies plot is nothing new or special, but the action and Liam Neesons performance make it worth watching at least twice. I watched it for the second time today after I downloaded the Extended Harder Cut which European countries gave an R rating over the U.S. cut which is PG-13. It really just adds to the action and is more violent but only clocks in at about 3 extra minutes of footage spread out over quite a few scenes.
Overall, I would probably give this movie a 7/10 if I rated it on a normal scale ... but since it is an action film that I feel quiet strongly about and entertained me to the highest level I give Taken a 9/10.

The Oscars

The Oscars were absolutely terrible this year! What is the Academy thinking? Slumdog Millionaire is easily one of the most overrated films of the year and it swept all of the major awards. Sean Penn (who is great) won best actor for Milk (which he deserved) but I was really rooting for Mickey Rourke. It was nice too see that he summed up his acceptance speech with a shout out of Mickey. Wolverine as the host was alright, the only thing I really laughed at was the song for The Reader. Probably the best part of the night was the Judd Apatow produced short starring Seth Rogen and James Franco which was pretty funny. Hopefully next years Oscars will be better.

Oscar Nominations

Oh my god am I glad to see this years Oscar Nominations. The Dark Knight was completely snubbed, which I think it should have been because it is not an Academy worthy film. The Reader picked up a couple of nominations (which is good), but I was surprised by the lack of nominations for Doubt and The Wrestler. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button picked up I believe somewhere around 13 nominations which is exciting, because perhaps David Fincher will finally get the recognition he deserves, atlhough it was not his best film. I will be tuning in this year as I do every year and hopefully Slumdog Millionaire will not sweep the awards.

Zodiac

So I finally got around to seeing Zodiac. This is a film that I blindly purchased when it was on sale about 6 months ago and never had the time to invest in it (considering it is 157 mins. long). All I can say is that while I was watching this film I was in pure awe. From the production design, to the great cast, to the amazing story that is actually true, and the screenplay that comes from the main characters actual book and account of the events. Zodiac is a film experience, and to be perfectly honest with you I think it is David Fincher's best film. This is hard for me to say since I am a big fan of David Fincher and love most of his films and consider them modern classics (Se7en, The Game, Fight Club).
Jack Gyllenhall is fantastic as the main character Robert Graysmith. He is a cartoonist for the San Fransisco Chronicle and once the letters from the Zodiac start rolling in he slowly becomes obsessed with the case. Likewise, an outstanding Robert Downey Jr. who is a reporter for the San Fransisco Chronicle becomes obsessed with the case but through substance abuse fades out of his job and his passion for the case. The last main character Inspector David Toschi, is also very well acted by Mark Ruffalo. The way these three characters indivdually handle the case is a great character study and insight into three professionals lives.
The film also has a great soundtrack. It is very fitting for the time period being mainly from 1968 to about ten years later in 1978. Also, for its era the production design is outstanding. From the clothing, to the cars, to the buildings, it is all a very interesting look at the era and it really brings you into the story. If you have read my previous reviews for films particularily Revolutionary Road you know I am a sucker for production design and David Fincher scores big points here.
Overall, If a film approaches 3 hours and keeps me completely sucked in the entire time it counts as one of the greater films I have ever seen, and over time will probably become a favorite of mine.
My score for this film 10/10