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tlwilliams
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Upstream Color (2013)
Mesmerising
I'm really glad I gave this film a shot.
I wasn't a huge fan of primer, although I remember liking it. Maybe if I were to see it again now I would enjoy it more...
Anyway, this film is just so beautiful... its all about the flow, the editing, the soundtrack, its poetry in motion and in a much more meaningful way, at least to me, than Malick's "To the Wonder" which one could argue has a similar approach (although much more abstract). Don't get me wrong I love Malick's other films but that one was a dud for me, I digress..
The photography is hauntingly beautiful and it was all shot on a GH2 DSLR!! Thats insane. I've seen films shot on DSLR's before but they always screamed out DSLR!! This film simply looks amazing, and although you can tell at times that its DSLR, it never really take away from the experience.
Shane Carruth is a talent, a multi-talent. Throw some money at this man and let him make more films!!
Big River Man (2009)
A film that would make Herzog proud
Big River Man is, for me, the best film of 2009.
Martin Strel is one of those rare individuals that is larger than life. He's an overweight world record holding athlete that is also an alcoholic, chronic gambler and occasional action movie star. He is a national celebrity in his home country Slovenia where he enjoys benefits such as free club memberships, being allowed to drive drunk and park wherever he likes and also access to a secluded cave where he inputs a special code given to him by the government to meditate in peace and prepare for his upcoming challenge.
Martin is very much a superhero, as someone later points out in the film. He is forced to swim with a white mask around his face to prevent his skin from burning to a crisp. It is such a surreal thing to see this fat Slovenian masked man swimming through the amazon, being greeted by hoards of fans as he makes progress. But where this film really becomes interesting is to see Strel's progression into "the fourth dimension" as he calls it. The mental and physical toll that the marathon takes on him is really outstanding, he ceases to exist as a human being and is driven by an animal instinct mixed with delusions and hallucinations.
All of this without even mentioning all the other fascinating challenges that come with navigating the Amazon. The only down side for me was the navigator (cant remember his name) who I believe was also slowly loosing his mind (or maybe sipping a bit too much of that local ayahausca), at times he had interesting things to say... but for the most part he was just annoying like a raving lunatic can be.
Mr. Strel is my kind of guy. Any one can be extremely disciplined, maintaining top physical form to face a great challenge. But only a true genius, an icon, can face that challenge on his own terms, fueled by wine and Cutty Sark. The son is also an interesting "character", he is the voice of reason and organization much needed to keep this machine going, they complete each other in some ways.
Martin Strel is a Herzogian Hero, and an inspiration for us all. I don't know what kind of future he has. I hope he doesn't attempt another swim (although I will root for him if he does). Men like him are simply immune to death, even if he doesn't continue I sure he will end up as President of Slovenia or something.
A Perfect Getaway (2009)
I am genuinely insulted
I wasn't expecting much from this film... I'm not the biggest fan of these generic thrillers but I figured, what the hell I liked Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn and Leeloo Dallas mooltipass is hot.
Less then 10 min into the film I thought no... that cant be it, that would be just stupid, painfully obvious. Unfortunately that was it, the big 3rd act "twist" is quite simply and insult to audiences everywhere. Apparently the writer/director thinks we are all mentally challenged.
The worst part is that the rest of the film is not so bad.. the acting is pretty solid (I was actually quite impressed with Timothy Olyphant) the pacing is good and the cinematography is impressive, but that damn twist just ruins it all for me.
Super Mario Bros. (1993)
Do not let the bad rating fool you.
Mario Bros was the first video game movie ever made and in my eyes, the very best.Bad acting, terrible dialog and some outdated special effects aside this movie created a memorable atmosphere and managed to squeeze out a story from the very thin source material.
Sure the story is pretty terrible, I still cringe when I hear the opening "A meteor fell down and created another dimension" sequence. But still, they managed to involve so many elements from the games in many different creative ways, so I think it's alright as long as you don't take it too seriously.
Again what I really admire from this movie is the atmosphere, it feels somewhat reminiscent of a Terry Gilliam film. All the video game movies made these days are soulless and take themselves too seriously. This one at least has a heart.