It is really quite something when you can sit and watch so many people being brutally butchered by some crazed knife-wielding pshycopath in a ghostface mask and feel absolutely nothing. When the first Scream film hit cinemas in 1996 it was fresh, it was exciting, and it was scary. With each subsequent movie in the franchise the body count has risen but the shocks have decreased. It has become so formulaic and predictable that it is just impossible to care about what is going on. It is also too self aware for its own good and the pop culture references, that were once cool and funny, are now just annoying.
5/10
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Sucker Punch
I don't know if it is simply that my expectations had been lowerd so much due to all of the negative criticism that has been flung its way, but I don't mind saying that I actually liked this film. It has stayed with me since the end credits began to roll.
I understand a lot of the criticism. There is very little characterisation. The bad guy seems more fleshed out than the leading heroines. Also, the fantasy world that Baby Doll creates is clearly one built by your average adolescent male, not your typical strong independent woman, all short skirts and samurai swords. Hardly a postergirl for modern-day feminism.
Despite all this I couldn't help but enjoy it. As a self-confessed, bonafide geek, the film hits all my fanboy buttons. It plays like a two hour music video, in which director Zack Snyder utilizes every visual trick up his sleeve, to assault the senses. It is anything but subtle. But it works! Look at the fantasy section with the dragons and orcs and tell me that Snyder wouldn't be a great choice for The Hobbit should Jackson need to drop out.
Sucker Punch won't be for everyone (clearly, it should also not be rated 12A, but that is an argument for another time). In fact, it makes it all too easy for the naysayers to attack. But if you are of a forgiving nature, and prepared to surrender yourself to it, the film offers a rather enjoyable ride.
7/10
I understand a lot of the criticism. There is very little characterisation. The bad guy seems more fleshed out than the leading heroines. Also, the fantasy world that Baby Doll creates is clearly one built by your average adolescent male, not your typical strong independent woman, all short skirts and samurai swords. Hardly a postergirl for modern-day feminism.
Despite all this I couldn't help but enjoy it. As a self-confessed, bonafide geek, the film hits all my fanboy buttons. It plays like a two hour music video, in which director Zack Snyder utilizes every visual trick up his sleeve, to assault the senses. It is anything but subtle. But it works! Look at the fantasy section with the dragons and orcs and tell me that Snyder wouldn't be a great choice for The Hobbit should Jackson need to drop out.
Sucker Punch won't be for everyone (clearly, it should also not be rated 12A, but that is an argument for another time). In fact, it makes it all too easy for the naysayers to attack. But if you are of a forgiving nature, and prepared to surrender yourself to it, the film offers a rather enjoyable ride.
7/10
Saturday, 5 March 2011
My top 50 foreign language movies.
The following lists my top 50 movies that are not in the English language:
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2001)
2. House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004)
3. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
4. Let the Right One In (Thomas Alfredson, 2008)
5. Wings of Honneamise (Hiroyuki Yamaga, 1987)
6. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
7. Sanjuro (Akira Kurasawa, 1962)
8. Lust, Caution (Ang Lee, 2007)
9. The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurasawa, 1954)
10. The Twilight Samurai (Yoji Yamada, 2002)
11. Not One Less (Zhang Yimou, 1999)
12. Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles (Zhang Yimou, 2005)
13. Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002)
14. Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano, 2003)
15. Red Sorghum (Zhang Yimou, 1987)
16. Rashomon (Akira Kurasawa, 1950)
17. Apocalypto (Mel Gibson, 2006)
18. The Class (Laurent Cantet, 2008)
19. Musa: The Warrior (Sung-su Kim, 2001)
20. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
21. Oldboy (Chan-wook Park, 2003)
22. City of God (Fernando Meirelles & Katia Lund, 2002)
23. Downfall (Oliver Herschbiegel, 2004)
24. Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997)
25. The Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988)
26. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
27. The Road Home (Zhang Yimou, 1999)
28. Sunflower (Yang Zhang, 2005)
29. Night Watch: Nochnoi Dozer (Timur Bekmambentov, 2004)
30.Tell No One (Guillaumet Canet, 2006)
31. Infernal Affairs (Wei-keung Lau & Alan Mak, 2002)
32. Mongol: The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan (Surgey Bodrov, 2007)
33. In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai Wong, 2000)
34. Happy Times (Zhang Yimou, 2000)
35. The Banquet (Xiaogang Feng, 2006)
36. 2046 (Kar Wai Wong, 2004)
37. The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004)
38. Ju Dou (Zhang Yimou, 1990)
39. Bullet in the Head (John Woo, 1990)
40. The Devil's Backbone (Guillermo Del Toro, 2001)
41. The Orphanage (Juan Antonio Bayona, 2007)
42. Three Colours: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)
43. Curse of the Golden Flower (Zhang Yimou, 2006)
44. Day Watch: Dnevnoy Dozer (Timur Bekmambentov, 2004)
45. The Big Blue (Luc Besson, 1988)
46. One: Cavale (Lucas Belvaux, 2002)
47. Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995)
48. Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988
49. The Eye (Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang, 2002)
50. Police Story (Jackie Chan, 1985)
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2001)
2. House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004)
3. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
4. Let the Right One In (Thomas Alfredson, 2008)
5. Wings of Honneamise (Hiroyuki Yamaga, 1987)
6. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
7. Sanjuro (Akira Kurasawa, 1962)
8. Lust, Caution (Ang Lee, 2007)
9. The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurasawa, 1954)
10. The Twilight Samurai (Yoji Yamada, 2002)
11. Not One Less (Zhang Yimou, 1999)
12. Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles (Zhang Yimou, 2005)
13. Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002)
14. Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano, 2003)
15. Red Sorghum (Zhang Yimou, 1987)
16. Rashomon (Akira Kurasawa, 1950)
17. Apocalypto (Mel Gibson, 2006)
18. The Class (Laurent Cantet, 2008)
19. Musa: The Warrior (Sung-su Kim, 2001)
20. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
21. Oldboy (Chan-wook Park, 2003)
22. City of God (Fernando Meirelles & Katia Lund, 2002)
23. Downfall (Oliver Herschbiegel, 2004)
24. Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997)
25. The Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988)
26. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
27. The Road Home (Zhang Yimou, 1999)
28. Sunflower (Yang Zhang, 2005)
29. Night Watch: Nochnoi Dozer (Timur Bekmambentov, 2004)
30.Tell No One (Guillaumet Canet, 2006)
31. Infernal Affairs (Wei-keung Lau & Alan Mak, 2002)
32. Mongol: The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan (Surgey Bodrov, 2007)
33. In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai Wong, 2000)
34. Happy Times (Zhang Yimou, 2000)
35. The Banquet (Xiaogang Feng, 2006)
36. 2046 (Kar Wai Wong, 2004)
37. The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004)
38. Ju Dou (Zhang Yimou, 1990)
39. Bullet in the Head (John Woo, 1990)
40. The Devil's Backbone (Guillermo Del Toro, 2001)
41. The Orphanage (Juan Antonio Bayona, 2007)
42. Three Colours: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)
43. Curse of the Golden Flower (Zhang Yimou, 2006)
44. Day Watch: Dnevnoy Dozer (Timur Bekmambentov, 2004)
45. The Big Blue (Luc Besson, 1988)
46. One: Cavale (Lucas Belvaux, 2002)
47. Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995)
48. Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988
49. The Eye (Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang, 2002)
50. Police Story (Jackie Chan, 1985)
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