akkoziol Reviews

Drinking Buddies (2013)

Predictable and formulaic but a funny watch

[8/10 · 1 April 2014]

Being from Chicago and trying to pick out some of the landmarks this film uses was half the fun for me. Revolution Brewery and some of its employees make cameos which is nice. I think that's 1/2 Acre in some other scenes. Anyway...

Overall we see that this movie points out that, try as we might, struggle as we will, forge ahead as we must, guys and girls just can't be friends. There's always that sexual tension or some other kind of tension. Guys are often clueless to what's in front of them and women are idiots and just can't come out and say it. The right guy is with the wrong girl, the right girl is with the wrong guy. We've been here before and here is another take on the same theme, but with craft beer.

We have to do this insane dance of hints, subterfuge, is she?, is he?, and so on. So, we revolve a plot around such absurdities and sit back and watch the fireworks that often have hilarious results. I found it to be less of a "chic flick" and something guys and gals can watch without throwing up. I mean, through the whole movie I am thinking what every red-blooded, beer drinking guy is thinking: where does one find a beer guzzling gal like Kate?

August: Osage County (2013)

Amazing acting and amazing story

[10/10 · 31 March 2014]

I had the great pleasure of seeing Tracy Letts many a time in the nighties when he was still a nobody in a very loose group of improv comedy guys called Bang Bang Spontaneous Theatre here in Chicago. The same place/group Michael Shanon came from by the way. I was briefly a member myself. You could see even back then that there was something very special about him. As for the movie? Loved it, loved it, loved it! It made me have such hatred and contempt for Meryl Streep's character and the way she treats all those around her that I found myself cursing at the screen. That, my friends, is indicative of great acting and great storytelling. I was fully invested in hating her character so much right from the get go. That is until the story progressed further.

It takes you, the viewer, a while to get background on all the sisters in the movie as well as the mother but as things unfold you gradually wind up having *some* empathy, and even pity, for why they are they way they are. It isn't until the final 1/4 of the movie that we come to see how absolutely broken all these sisters are and we come to realize it's not their fault.

This movie is a complete example of how patterns of behavior in how we are raised and in what we consider is our "normal" can have such damaging effects on who we become and how we raise our own children, form relationships and treat others around us later on in life. Things can continue circuitously unless we actively choose to break such patterns.

There is no way Meryl Streep will not win an Oscar for this performance. I've never seen her this phenomenal.

Snowpiercer (2013)

Suspend you disbelief please, it's based on a comic book...but I loved it!

[9/10 · 31 March 2014]

OK, I have to get this off my chest right away. Like the *original* Oldboy, Snowpiercer is based on a comic book (Manga) so it has elements of "WTF" and "What?" and other portions of unbelievable scenes and elements. Suspend your disbelief guys, it's supposed to be embellished and laced with some scenes that just seem implausible if not impossible. If you over-analyze this movie you may hate it for the simple fact you won't be able to wrap your mind around how some of the things are even possible on the train (fish tank, atrium, etc.). If you can't get past the fact that it's based on a comic book whose rules bend or defy reality and that, sometimes, you just have to go along with the story, not reality, even if somehow it's not scientifically possible to do the thing you're watching, you'll miss some interesting storytelling. Though it won't be the author's fault, it will be yours.

That being said, I really enjoyed Snowpiercer. At times it felt a bit as if it were trying to be too true to the comic book and comes off stiff in parts but compared to a comic-to-movie film like Sin City, which I hated, it has more flow and less stylized "paneled" feel like other comic-to-movie adaptations. The best scene in the whole movie, for me, begins with the simple line "Don't open that door!" What happens shortly after that---and the night vision---is insane. Great storytelling right there.

There is enough movement of the story line to keep the plot going and it felt like a descent into many levels of hell for the passengers of the train as they progress forward to the front of the train. The story feeds you bits and pieces without the need for flashbacks or other usual storytelling mechanisms. It unfolds as you watch. You certainly aren't given much info on the mysterious Wilford but later on you realize the purpose of the train, the circuitous nature of it's journey, and so on. After all, after CW7 was released, the Earth didn't just gradually cool, it froze almost instantly. There was no preparation or time for people "get out" or go underground. Another reviewer mentions this but perhaps did not realize it was all instantaneous.

I guess it is a bit silly to have events happen on a train but I cannot tell you how many times I sang "Going off the rails on the Crazy Train" during the movie. Perhaps it is the intent of the author of the story to liken (and use) the train to the passage of life/time and it's engine as the heart or something. As in, you're at the mercy of the conductor and you can't get off when you want. I don't know, I was not looking too deeply for metaphors or symbolism but I think they're there if you choose to see them.

Tilda Swinton and Chris Evan's characters were great and being that the movie is replete with no-name actors (save for Ed Harris) and is for all intents and purposes a *wholly* Korean movie, it still felt enjoyable, foreign, and not the usual Hollywood garbage. And speaking on that point, I cannot think of any movie made in Korea---or elsewhere---that was 99% in English and had nearly all Western actors. Bonus points for that. This is indicative of a trend for what's being done in Korea.

So to recap, Snowpiercer is a unique movie with a unique story. I think it would do well if it came to the US. Suspend your disbelief, realize it's based on a comic book and you'll do OK. I didn't particularly like the last 5 minutes of the movie or the ending otherwise I would have given it a 10. Maybe it's indicative of a sequel? Or not? YMMV.

Night Fishing (2011)

Negativeland

[8/10 · 7 February 2012]

OK, Park does it again. What does this guy put in his water? Seriously. From opening to close you get taken along on a ride in usual Park fashion only to have your sense of normal and what is what shattered into itty bitty pieces.

This is a bit of a "spiritual" piece and is an interesting short if only clocking in at 30 minutes. If you're a fan of his other works, you'll probably like this. The subject matter couldn't have been made into a full length movie as it would have been boring as all get out but that fact that this was shot on an iPhone makes it a rather quirky film that gets bonus points from me.

What's next Mr. Park, shooting on a PXL-2000?

Burzynski (2010)

I will NEVER, EVER donate to the America Cancer Society, NCI, or other Pharma companies

[20 July 2011]

My jaw dropped after watching this documentary. The evil and length to which the bought-and-paid-for FDA cronies in bed with big Pharma will go to stop, discredit, jail, and steal the IP of Dr. Burzynski made me want to vomit. I'm 100% certain that this is what Copernicus had to deal with when attempting to tell the world that "no, the Sun does NOT revolve around the Earth and I can prove it." He was Polish too, by the way.

Dr. Burzynski, since the 70s (!!!!!), has effectively found the CURE for some of the most aggressive, incurable, death-sentence cancers out there. Not only that, his treatment is non-toxic as compared to Chemo and others. This is evidenced by patient testimony and peer-reviewed results of diagnosis and post-treatment results. 1000s of patients have gone to Dr. Burzynski and many of them continue to be cured---not just in remission---CURED! I'll be honest that I had not heard of this guy before but after watching the footage---some dating back to the 80s---, Grand Jury hearings, FDA witch-hunting, and States Attorney's repeated harassment, it became patently obvious that Big Pharma and their Federal puppets were going to do anything to stop Dr. Burzynski from getting his drug to market as it would mean the end of Big Pharma's toxic anti-cancer drugs forever. Thank god HE patented it. He is the ONLY individual to have ever patented a drug individually and not as a "Pharma" company.

You HAVE to watch this documentary at all cost. There is no sensationalism, bias, cute animation. It is all very professionally done with the majority of speaking done by former patients, colleagues, and Dr. Burzynski himself. It is all laid out for the viewer and all evidence appears in refereed medical journals so it is not quack science and can be 100% verified. You will clearly see the evil of the FDA and, in the shadows, big Pharma. Eye opening.

UPDATE: 12/2/2011: Wow, look at all the negative reviews this movie is now getting. Gee, I wonder if any of these reviewers work for big Pharma / FDA and are bashing it to sway opinions and fake downrating. If so, they will fail, and epically at that. Don't buy into their garbage. It obvious the numbers for positive reviews are skewed.

ALL of Burzynski's antineoplaston research is sound--after all, why else would Dr. Dvorit Samid steal his work for Élan?--and has been peer reviewed and featured in refereed medical journals. Refereed means people who are even higher up the food chain and smarter than Burzynski vetted his findings AND confirms his results. The very same doctors who diagnosed the aggressive cancers he's cured confirmed the patients were in remission or cured. The proof and truth is right there and you can view and find it for yourself and decide what's what.

Do you *really* think a person like Burzynski--an MD and PhD--would have been wasting his time for nearly 40 years on research and treatment that would not be going anywhere AND been able to make a living off of it? Get real. There is nothing self-serving or infomercial about this movie. It is a complete overview or Dr. Burzynski from his beginnings to present as well as evidence that he has cured the most incurable cancers out there. Documented fact and truth. Fight the FUD machine.

UPDATE 3/18/2013: So by now you might know that the second part to this documentary series has been released and contains strong evidence that is evaluated by various oncologists who go along with the *whole* antineoplaton process with their patients. Also, after 27 years of research conducted *independently* of Dr. Burzynski, a group of scientists in Kurume, Japan came tested antineoplastons and their results confirm, irrefutably, that antineoplastons do indeed work and that Burzynski has been right all along. One other famous Polish scientist (Copernicus) was also persecuted for his belief. How did his theory work out for us all?

It is so blatantly obvious that all the negative reviews are intended to throw you off and dissuade you with opinion rather than fact. Should Burzynski just give his formula for Antineoplaston formulary or treatment away to anyone who wants to test it? I think not. He's got a right to keep his formula secret. It would be like asking Coke or KFC to give the secret formula\recipe. Not going to happen and understandably so. Burzynski may not have the silver bullet to cure *all* cancers but some day he may. It's no surprise the bottom lines of multi-national corporations are being threatened and they will do *anything* to stop the revenue from being diverted away from them.

The truth will out.

I Saw the Devil (2010)

A knife fight scene to end all knife fight scenes?

[9/10 · 4 July 2011]

Of course, you're reading this review because of the bread crumbs left behind by other Oldboy fans and here Min-Sik Choi kills it as his creeper character (Mr. Baek from Lady Vengeance on 'roids) and your feel your skin crawl as he exacts his nasty brutality on his helpless victims.

Enter Byung-hun Lee's CIA-type character whose icy demeanor and emotionless focus pits him against the killer who's offed his fiancé and sets him down the path of go-for-broke revenge.

The plot gets a bit absurd but if you take into account the characters in the movie are the exact antithesis of each other, you'll see it's not quite all absurd and suspension of disbelief that you require to get through this movie.

The knife fight in the car scene will do for this movie, what the 360-degree camera scene did for Trinity in The Matrix: no one will ever, EVER be able to top it. Kudos for that bloodbath.

Aside from a good plot and crazy cat and mouse play between the killer and Byung-hun Lee's character that does kind of get a bit out of control after a point, it has a pretty good ending that's not been done before and I applaud that too. Camera work has some nice saturated colors and scenes--such as the greenhouse scene with the kidnapped schoolgirl--and the acting is very, very good. I like it.

If you dug Byung-hun Lee's character, good check him out in The Good, The Bad, and The Weird. He's a real psycho in that movie.

Troll Hunter (2010)

Well, another docu-cam style indie gem with a magical fantasy & lore twist

[8/10 · 27 April 2011]

I learned about this film from some of the buzz going on over at Tribeca and it was rated in the top 10 must-see of things being shown there. I watched it as many others have and I do agree with what some others have said in terms of its originality and story.

So the premise is that some college kids doing reporting on bear killings gets word of a "poacher" shooting bears and decides to track him down and find out his story. They soon discover this mysterious poacher is tied to the bears but for reasons not quite normal.

The scenic beauty of Norway just pops out in this movie and the visuals and landscapes with saturated Fall colors and stoic mountains and hills lends well to the lore of the storyline. I thought the trolls were a bit obviously animated and their (animated) actions were a bit of what I'd have expected of CG from a few years back. But not terrible mind you but it's obvious this was a lower budget movie and it was likely spent on the CG. Acting was decent but I felt Trolljegeren's character lacked the gruff, no-BS, lone-wolf characteristics I would have expected of a guy fitting his job description. But, it's not supposed to be an uber-serious script but leaning more on the side of the lore and fantasy of the troll. Still, I was entertained and it's a neat movie to watch.

This should be a big hit if it makes it over to the US where the crowds tend to like the docu-cam style fantasy / sci-fi of movies like District 9 and Monsters.

Monsters (2010)

You really want to root for this movie...but...who's the real alien any way?

[7/10 · 21 February 2011]

First off, I liked premise: scientists send off a probe to a distant planet to bring back samples of what they think might be alien life. On the way back, the probe breaks up on re-entry over northern Mexico. The samples on the probe survive the crash and begin to propagate forcing an "Infected Zone" to be created between central Mexico and the southern US.

In the same way that Cloverfield had rather "nobody" actors, so too do we see this in Monsters. I do agree a bit with the others in that they are a bit thin on substance and under-developed but considering the budget of this movie was rather small to begin with, I was willing to hold my judgement until the credits rolled. After it's all said and done, a lot of the character development gets left towards the end so we don't get a feel for the characters and their relationship together until a few seconds before the credits roll and by then you're left with a bit of an empty feeling like something is missing and you wanted a bit more. But, you don't get and, like Cloverfield, you have to fill in your own blanks and that was a bit of a let down.

So if it were not for the somewhat weak actors and weak direction, Monsters could have been a decent sleeper Sci-Fi movie but did fall short for me. That is to say, I didn't hate it but it could have used a lot more fleshing out, perhaps a bit bigger budget, and more back story on the two main characters. That would have done it for me. A decent effort nonetheless.

I think the author was trying to make the point that as humans we're always messing around with things we don't understand and when it gets out of control--due to our mea culpa--we just destroy it all to try and make it go away an it doesn't always go as planned. Sometimes you just need to stop, look, and see what's going on.

Never Let Me Go (2010)

Is it possible to be human without being human?

[9/10 · 21 February 2011]

I thought I was going to hate this movie but it was very thought provoking. Some elements of this movie didn't work for me and rather made me alter my perception of chronology and reality but I guess, after the fact, I see why the director does this.

We are introduced to what appears to be a boarding school somewhere in the UK in the 1970s where a bunch of young children in rather drab grey uniforms mill about their studies, play like normal children, and so on...until you see them press their wrist up to a box which simply beeps and flashes a small red light. Your brow should lower at this point because everything appears rather anachronistic and pre-dated--as in, the 1930s existing in the 1970s---but yet there are these boxes and the kids put their wrists up to them? Hmm? Did I just see a small camera tucked back almost out of site? What's going on here? As the story progresses more we learn exactly what sad fate is to befall these children by a teacher whose conscience seems to get the best of her and she reveals to her students what waits for them down the road.

While I was rather captivated by the premise once I figured out, it struck me that this movie was the antithesis to Koreeda's "Wonderful Life" (After Life for the rest of you). As the viewer and as a human being, we come to reevaluate what it means to be human and what we consider life. Is it our soul? Is it our ability to think for ourselves? Is it nature or nurture? We're told to always live our life to the fullest while we are alive because at any moment we could be gone. But change that equation and remove the "our" and you may get a hint of what you could expect when you watch Never Let Me Go. I though it was pretty good.

The Square (2008)

The best plans by laid men

[8/10 · 5 October 2010]

I really enjoyed this overlooked Aussie flick because it less than predictably shows you that no matter how carefully you plan something and whittle it down to it's simplest form, the universe is chaotic and the butterfly effect can put the screws to your carefully built house of card. And yes, the whole plot here is a house of cards with one lie covering up another and another until the two characters spiral downwards into a chasm of self destruction and loss of control. For our two cheating main characters, it gets a little Kafkaesque as the circle of poison and snowballing of deceit begins to collapse in on itself and destroys everyone around them. This story has been done before but I thought The Square did a good job of telling it from yet another angle.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Not terrible but tries too hard sometimes, watchable, Cusack does not age

[7/10 · 5 August 2010]

I think HHTM is a bit of a mash-up between High Fidelity and The Hangover with a sprinkling of Back To The Future or Bill & Teds thrown in. While it had some clever writing and decent laughs, it clearly came off as an 80s movie trying to be made in the year 2010 with a slant towards the fast paced humor and cut-down zingers of recent movies like Superbad, Knocked Up, or Get Him To The Greek. I did enjoy it and laughed a lot but it just felt a bit too forced to me. The back stories could have been fleshed out for each character a bit more and some of the happenings at the ski lodge should have been on screen longer. All i all, it just fell a bit hurried. Don't let title fool you, it's not that bad. If you must watch it, see the unrated version as it is funnier. Poor John Cusack, he'll never escape the "80s Movie" genre will he? That's OK with me, the guy never ages and he does the genre justice almost every time he's in one. Thankfully, HTTM is much better than 2012. Nuff said.

Memories of Murder (2003)

Jump out of your seat thriller

[10/10 · 3 August 2010]

It's been a while since I've seen this great murder mystery based on South Korea's only known serial killer but it was one hell of a movie.

You've got your inept cops just looking to appease the scared public by finding any way and using any means to pin the murder of girls on a mentally slow guy who isn't smart enough to know he's being used and framed all the while a smart detective figures out the killer's modus operandi and tries to get the information to the cops but they are dismissive and plod on their own frustrated and angry path to finding the killer. But a break in the case is when the mentally slow person reveals he has seen the murder and is about to tell them who it is when all of a sudden....

And I'll leave it at that.

Mother (2009)

No limits to the lengths a mother will go for her child

[10/10 · 3 August 2010]

Awesome and a total mindf*** of a story. There's amazing stuff coming out of Korea (Oldboy, Memories of Murder, Chaser, My Sassy Girl) and this is amongst the best of the best.

You think you've seen it all in murder mysterious? You think you know who did it because you've watched all there is to watch? Nothing left out there to surprise you? You don't know squat and when this movie begins to take you for a ride, you'll *think* you know what's going on only to be confounded and have you ego deflated.

A good plot will have you guessing right until the very end. A great plot takes it one step further by taking you to the edge, tying a rope around you, pushing you off the edge, letting you fall for a while, and then pulls you back up slowly to reflect on what just happened. That's how well this movie was executed and I can't say enough of how much I was blown away by the story. That's not to say there aren't some borrowed elements but they are not so cliché as to make this movie unoriginal.

What I liked most is the near absence of music to create suspense and mood in this movie as you will find that it relies almost solely on the characters and events to set the tone of story. It has very simple camera work and doesn't use fancy techniques or other distracting technical magic to make it work, it just does. I do agree with others in that it is a slow burner but the ending is the absolute best. To a very slight degree, it reminds me a little of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, another awesome movie in its own right.

Although it has a very slow, calm, and deliberate pace, you will be pleasantly surprised by this little movie. Reserve you expectations for the ending, your mouth will drop.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

There's a trilogy!? ARGH! Why don't they release them all at once!

[10/10 · 28 July 2010]

I liked the second part of the Millennium trilogy far more than the first and the actors appear much more comfortable in their roles. They didn't feel stiff and 2-dimensional like the 1st movie. I really like them now.

So this 2nd part continues off where the 1st movie leaves off as we find Lisbeth hiding out in Caymans after having relieved Wennerström of his ill-gotten millions. Meanwhile, Blomqvist hasn't heard from Lisbeth in over a year and has come back to Millennium as a journalist. Blomqvist begins to hear about a conspiracy to capture and discredit Lisbeth and seeks to help her weed out the truth while Lisbeth grapples with her own demons and her past. The two collide with a bang and we are introduced to the mysterious white-haired muscle man Niedermann (who reminds me a little bit of the albino character from The Da Vinci Code).

The pace and action of this second installment is far better than the 1st and the amount of plot twists and reversals will leave you on the edge of your set. Oh yeah, and now you'll HAVE to see the final movie to understand how everything ties in.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)

Great ending to a great series

[9/10 · 28 July 2010]

I didn't like the third part of the Millennium trilogy as much as the second but it was better than the 1st part for sure. We have a more fleshed out group of characters to contend with now and the plot of the series has become so expansive you can hardly believe these two rather insignificant people have so much on their plates.

The final installment in the Millennium trilogy continues off where the 1st and 2nd movie leaves off as we find Lisbeth being air lifted out of Zala's compound and near death. Meanwhile the authorities seek Lisbeth to indict her for attempted murder and a slew of other alleged misdeeds but Blomqvist still stands by steadfast and armed with the truth.

We see more into the reason why a mysterious group of unknown individuals seeks to discredit Lisbeth and silence her to protect the man called Zala and what his significance is to the mysterious group.

The whole of Lisbeth's past and the present circumstances surrounding Zala and the mystery men come together like an immovable object and an unstoppable force as the story reaches its ultimate climax towards the end. All the while, Niedermann lurks in wait.

I was beyond blown away by the trilogy as a whole and recommend you watch all three in sequence. Bravo.

Mary and Max (2009)

Based on a trues story? Hmm....

[10/10 · 27 July 2010]

I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem. It's such a simple story but has a big impact on the lives of the characters. The stop animation has that new-generation of clean and smooth action similar to Coraline and it it very well executed here.

So the story in a nutshell is about a dumpy little girl in Australia whose life is made miserable by a Sherry-saturated mother and garage-dwelling taxidermy hobbyist father who by their lack of interest, leave poor Mary to her own imagination and devices. Meanwhile, in New York, we have an obese apostate named Max living a hermetic shut-in life of chocolate hot dogs, Overeaters Anonymous, and Aspergerian perplexity about the world around him. Mary, seeking answers to the questions of life, happens to write to Max after having ripped his address information from a US phone book during one of Mary's mother's "borrowing" episodes. And so begins their comedic pen-pal friendship through the course of nearly 20 years.

We see Mary grow and we see Max getting more and more obese. There are many moments, often funny, where Max and Mary are helping each other through their writing. I know it's just a story but how does Max NOT become diabetic? Sometimes the absurdity reminds me of Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit characters but a little more hip. While the story is not intended to be a comedy, there are some very original and funny comic elements, especially those of poor Henry the goldfish.

Anyhow, we later see Mary's futile attempt to understand Max's Asperger's through the lens of wanting to "fix the world", as many a young adult wants to do and we see a rift come between the two as Max, content to accept his life but resentful for Mary wanting to "fix" him, recedes into himself.

There is a resolution to their rift and the ending is rather touching. The story was very well delivered and is not made to be unbelievable. Look for this one to win awards very soon. Find any way you can to watch this one and get the bragging rights this wonderful movie deserves. Well worth you time.

Still Walking (2008)

Kore Eda does it again

[9/10 · 30 June 2010]

I very much enjoyed Nobody Knows (Dare Mo Shiranai) and After Life (Wonderful Life) immensely and found another good and engaging movie with Still Walking. Kore Eda seems to be in a small group of directors who use minimal music and other traditional movie elements in order to convey the story to the viewer. Just as talking in a low voice will elicit the heightened command of a listener, so too does Kore Eda use subtle dialogue and action to focus the viewers attention to what's going on.

I can totally relate to the family in Still Walking because they come across as anyone's family. Literally. I felt as though I could have been watching my own family and not some Japanese family to whom I could not relate. All the elements are there from the big-city adult children coming to visit their small-town parents with their children en tow. The interplay between the fast pace of urban life and slow pace of rural life meet somewhere in the middle. Throughout, I felt as I usually do in a Kore Eda movie: a silent and invisible observer.

The premise of the movie is that the family gathers together once a year on the anniversary of the death of the eldest son who we learn had drowned saving the life of another person who himself was attempting to commit suicide by drowning in the sea. As you may know, in Japanese society, if you save the life of someone who wishes to commit suicide, you effectively are responsible for their life going forward. In this case, the person doing the saving, the eldest son, had died in the process. So we see the person who he saved return year after year to be reminded in an indebted but somewhat cruel manner that he is alive and that he will be, for the rest of the parent's of deceased lives, be required to suffer the (cultural) humility of "being alive" while their son is dead.

We also see the typical social dilemma of what to do as ones aging parents and additional interplay between the surviving son and his new, but widowed, wife and her child. We've seen the transaction a million times in other movies: mother in law has her comments and opinions, wife complains to the husband about her and her son's treatment, son has to either stand up to the parents or find some middle ground.

All in all, it's well played out and I was very pleased by this film. It's an amalgam of growth, change, sacrifice, forgiveness, and the road we all have to travel as we get older or if we have children ourselves. Oddly though, the film's title doesn't make sense until near the end of the movie.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Good plot, there with Borne Identity, Seven, Silence of the Lambs, Usual Suspects....but....

[8/10 · 26 April 2010]

I had not read the trilogy of books upon which this one is based but the plot in and of itself blew me away. I felt it was up there with movies like Seven or Silence of the Lambs. Even my wife who reads a million Sue Grafton type murder / mysteries was surprised by the major revelations in the movie and did not guess whodunnit as it she is apt to often do.

Although I would give the plot and story and easy 10/10, what I didn't like as much were the actors. I didn't find them believable and sometimes they were too stiff. Not bad acting but just not as good as this story deserved. Maybe too Swedish? Maybe just 2-dimensional? I didn't start warming up to the actors until the last 1/3 of the movie where it seems they must have gotten into the zone with the characters they were supposed to play.

Noomi Rapace did a decent job as the lone-wolf-hacker-for-hire with the troubled past. Michael Nyqvist wasn't terrible, just so so. Better towards the end though.

I do have to agree with some of the other comments about the scenes of sexual violence, especially the scene with Lisbeth's "Guardian" in his room. That scene made me cringe and squirm in the same way the rape scene from Blindness made me squirm and cringe. It is brutal. You've been warned.

All in all, this movie is worth your while and you will enjoy it if movies like Usual Suspects, Oldboy, Seven, or Silence of The Lambs are your thing. Don't be dissuaded by the comments about the actors as you should watch Män Som Hatar Kvinnor for the plot mainly.

Micmacs (2009)

Jeunet delivers in spades! Fans of Delicatessen will love this!

[10/10 · 15 April 2010]

When I first caught Delicatessen at an indie theater back in the early 90s, I was in love with Jeunet's style, stories, and character crafting. In A Very Long Engagement, we saw a departure from the usual Jeunet we knew and loved but in Micmacs we have a return to the very rich character assortment and outrageous scenes we're used to seeing in movies like Delicatessen, Amelie, and City of Lost Children. I will refrain from calling the characters quirky since I think Jeunet cringes every time he hears it. I know I do. I will say that he makes ALL the characters surrounding the main character hyper developed but not in an unrealistic, annoying, or unbelievable way: Think the Scaphandrier in City of Lost Children or The Glass Man in Amelie. They're not quirky so much as they hyper-unique and have an interesting back story that lends well to the overall feel of the film.

So the premise in a nutshell is Bazil's dad gets blown up by a mine made by an arms maker when he's a little boy. Later, as an adult, he is later accidentally shot in the head and finds that the bullet casing is by a competing arms maker. With the bullet lodged in his brain and it could cause him to die at any moment, he decides to seek revenge for his fathers death....but not without the help of the "Micmacs of the Slide Whistle." The Micmacs are an adopted "family" who, with mama Tambouille (played wonderfully by Yolande Moreau from Amelie), live under an underpass in a cobbled-together "recycled" home and each person has their own unique talents in the vein of an A-Team meets the Three Stooges mash-up. Similar to the rag-tag bunch in Delicatessen, the Micmacs volunteer themselves to help Bazil bring down both arms companies.

As others have said, the ending of the movie is just great beyond words and will have you laughing your butt off and rooting for the Micmacs. The plot develops a bit slower than some of Jeunet's other funnier films but take it in stride as I feel Jeunet is not trying to hype or create unrealistic expectations for you with Micmacs. Watch the theaters this coming June for the American debut of this great film. You will not be disappointed. Bravo Jeunet.

Thirst (2009)

Not, not, NOT at all what I thought, pleasant surprise, Park excels again

[8/10 · 3 January 2010]

Now that I have seen it, it was NOT what I was expecting, at least not until the very END. I read some of the other reviews before picking up a used copy of this from Amazon and was glad I did. Having been first introduced to Park's work via Oldboy, I was curious to how he'd treat the genre and was rather pleased at the clever manner in which he executed it. I think Park has matured in terms of presentation because while Oldboy and some of his other work has very nice and deliberate camera work, he has some nice innovations in Bakjwi that I had not seen in other vamp movies. For example the scene where Father Hyeon is realizing the "beast" growing within him as he gives his shoes to the always barefoot Tae-ju and he is able to SEE the blood pumping through Tae-ju's skin and his eye's widen in blood-lust for it. That was a nice effect. I was also happy that Park did not CG the crap out of the movie and the is in fact very little CG at all. I came away from Bakjwi being totally set up to think one thing was going to happen and get taken for a ride in true Park fashion. Additionally, I liked that Park played with a little symbolism and reversal whereas we don't usually get this is Asia cinema. During the beginning of the movie we see the plot develop slowly and get to know the characters and you feel like an invisible observer to the thing that are transpiring. Park treats you a little like Ghost of Christmas future coming to show you, albeit a bit boringly, what life is like outside your world. Ah, but then we start to feel a little kinship with the befallen Father and his burgeoning lust for Tae-ju and conflict with duty as a priest. We almost start to root for them even until Park not so nicely slaps us back into reality and we really see that in the end Bakjwi is a movie about moral dilemma and right and wrong. It won't spoil it if I tell you to watch Bakjwi from the mindset of a priest and I think you'll come away from it with what Park wants you to come away with. Don't expect Oldboy and stylization because that's not what you'll get here. A very interesting take on the genre indeed. Those who missed the MANY literary elements and religious allusions watched some other movie, not Bakjwi. After Bakjwi, watch Let The Right One IN, it's also not what you'll expect either.

Avatar (2009)

I can't imagine the render farm this took to make!

[9/10 · 22 December 2009]

Years ago when Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was released (2001), it set a benchmark for rendered animated actors in a movie. I remember reading about the hundreds of hours of rendering time it took to make and was in awe of the animation. Man have we come a long way! Thanks to Moore's law, computing power has nearly tripled since then and the complexity of animation that's capable now blurs the line between CG and live-action & effects. Cameron has reportedly spent MILLIONS of $ on this movie and it shows in every aspect of the movie. Cameron is a master at telling a story and what I HATE in a lot of movies using live action and animated/CG characters is certainly absent from this movie. I SO hate it when some CG monster pops out at the actors and it HAS to roar (or do some OTHER formulaic action that's been miserably repeated ad nauseum in other movies) and stands there for a few seconds looking menacing and THEN it attacks our main character(s). I think Cameron must have did some homework and observations in nature to see how animals and such respond to threats and aggress in the wild. That part I feel he got pretty bang on and you CAN feel hair rise up on your skin and some semblance of what the character would probably be feeling. One example is when Jake accompanies the two scientist as a guard and is chased by some kind of creature. You can literally feel the panic, the branches banging on the characters face, and the wind as the creature takes swipes at him. I also like that the character's CG looked about 95% lifelike and not hyper-rendered or ultra-fluid. We CAN see the state-of-the-art in Avatar. The CG animation is ALMOST 100% like-like. Better than anything we've seen to date. When you encounter an animated actor in other movies, you can tell right away they are animated as they just don't have that certain human gait to their mannerisms and expressions. Cameron has pulled an ace out of the hat with the CG in that respect. I would guess a LOT of characters in the movie had some kind of motion-capture applied to them as they appeared vastly more realistic to what we recognize as motion and expression in the natural world. OK, on to the story and other elements.

I can see some of the elements of what people say with regard to Last Samurai and Dances With Wolves BUT this is not THAT kind of movie. If you don't want to know TOO much of the movie, skip this part NOW! We learn that humans have pretty much plundered and rendered their own world sans "green" and have traveled 6 years (light years?) to a planet called Pandora because it has this stuff called Unobtainium (probably because it's unobtainable on earth, could have had a better name but I "get" why it's called that, slight allusion there) that goes for 20 million an ounce (or some such measure of weight) and the aliens are sitting on a mother-load of it. The human have been trying to court the aliens to swindle them...I mean, relocate them so they can dig up the Unobtanium. That's as much as you'll need to know in terms of premise of the movie. So with that, you can see the allusion to the "white man" coming in and taking away the Native American's land for a few baubles and beans. I think it was Cameron's intent to liken the aliens to Native Americans as it gives the story a bit of accessibility and digs into our collective past and how we treated the Native American's when "we" arrived. What it boils down to is Cameron saying to his audience that we as humans need to do a much better job of taking care of what we HAVE rather than progressing towards being a people who take from others and will ignorantly kill anything and anyone just to get what we THINK is ours.

Overall, I don't agree with others saying this is the Star Wars of this generation. I thought the story was worthy of Cameron's name and his production and direction of this movie will not be rivaled ANY time soon. You will not notice the 2 1/2 hours length of the movie. Yes, it is THAT good. I look forward to watching it on BluRay or in 3D to see what I am really missing. If you walk away from this movie thinking "stupid CGI, pro-alien, and anti-human", you missed the whole point of the movie. BUT, if you walk away thinking that even if we ever live long enough or advance far enough to explore other worlds, we should always remember that if there is life already on another planet, it was there, long, long, LONG ago before we showed up.

District 9 (2009)

Unique story, AWESOME frags, regular actors, chunks of other movies = One of a kind film

[9/10 · 20 August 2009]

So I am going to say what a lot of other people have said about this movie without revealing too much of the plot or fawning over how much I liked this movie. Yes, Billy, it is a unique story and nothing like I've seen ever before. I also have to dispel the whole "racism" thing that many have said is in this movie, that's total pap. I suppose if you REALLY wanted to stretch it, some of the signs in the movie that say "Humans Only" or that have the alien with the circle-and-slash (/) "No" marked through them, then it's an allusion to the "Whites Only" of the south in the KKK days. MAYBE I can see that. In any case, that's within the 1st 5 minutes of the movie and is more a visual plot device and NOTHING MORE. Sorry, no Billy Bob rednecks running around with nooses doing lynchings. The growing tensions between the Prawns and the people of Johannesburg causes riots and could be akin to the race riots of the 1960s. Allegory, yes. Overt racism? Come on, give me a break.

I feel that this movie is an amalgam of a lot of movies that I've seen in the past with elements taken out of them and mashed up to make this movie. Remember Alien Nation from the 80s? A bunch of Aliens show up on earth with nowhere to go and nothing to do, they integrate into society but soon enough decline into the same sad state as regular humanity? I saw a smattering of that movie here along with the desperate, hardscrabble world of (insert your post-apocalypse movie here), the non-stop sense of what-the-heck-is-going-on from a movie like Cloverfield, and a bit of Bizarro-world mixed in with a Kafkaesque piece of Clock World Orange's character Alex. Maybe an anti-Alex? I'm also thinking a pinch of Enemy Mine plot elements thrown in for those astute enough to pick them out as the story progresses into the 2nd half of the movie. I see pieces and elements of ALL these movies in there.

The movie opens up with the main character talking to the viewer and is this normal work-a-day guy from MNU (Multi-National United) who's getting a promotion to lead the Prawns to a new settlement away from Johannesburg's "District 9" because of the social tensions. Tasked with the huge job of transplanting and eviction (Trail of Tears anyone?), our main character finds it easier said than done and gets massive resistance from the Prawns and crushing pressure from the government, military, MNU, and those with other hidden agendas (MNU). The plot just takes off from there and I won't reveal any more as you should see it for yourself.

What makes this movie work and work well is that it's presented in the same continuous-shot manner as movies like 28 Days Later, Cloverfield, and Blair Witch without intentional editing or shots being contrived. While some may argue it doesn't work well for those other movies, this movie presents itself almost as an unedited documentary on the attempt to move the Prawns out of District 9 and how it doesn't goes as planned. Don't take that to mean that this movie is boring, it's not.

I also have to agree with what some others have said about the CG in this movie. It is not intrusive, mechanical, or in any way two dimensional. The alien characters are very believable and the composition always blends in well with the movie. It's not actors standing in front of a green-screen talking to dead air and the aliens are pasted in later in post-production. It is entirely fluid. I almost wonder if the fact that they used regular actors is why this movie and CG aliens was pulled off with such ease. Not gratuitous, just well executed. Of all the junk that came out this summer, this one was a sleeper. I loved it. Whether it qualifies as Sci-Fi will be up to others to debate. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, when the bad guys get it with the alien guns: KABOOM! FRAG! FRAG! FRAG! It was worth it alone for those scenes.

Ponyo (2008)

Very cute and slightly "Japanese" but a fun ride

[9/10 · 7 August 2009]

Miyazaki has been doing his mojo since the 70s and it's only been recently that his movies have made it American shores via Disney and fans fawning over his great talent. Ponyo is no exception. Although some of his other movies have been a bit more accessible to US audiences, some may find this one a bit on the fence being sort-of "Japanese" in its presentation. For the same reason Pom Poko is VERY "Japanese" and doesn't make much sense to US audiences, so too are *some* elements of Ponyo. This should not detract you from watching this fun film of growth, hope, and friendship.

What does come across well is Miyazaki's very elaborate and magical animation and story that has elements of wonder and fantasy. That coupled with his characteristic use of character development and often using girls and women as main characters. He steps out of his zone a bit with Ponyo as the main character is a little boy who lives in a small village by the sea with his mom while his dad is away at work on the high seas. Although not lonely, Sosuke is just like any other curious boy who likes adventure and allure of the sea. Similar to Spirited Away, we see the different worlds of the humans and the sea creatures and I feel that Miyazaki may be trying to draw the viewers attention to the vast and undiscovered nature of things that live beneath the sea and our acceptance of them and thing that are different.

I managed to watch the subtitled version of this last year and was pleased by the story and plot. Miyazaki has claimed that "this is my last movie" for many years but shortly after Spirited Away, he gave us Howl's Moving Castle. Ponyo is certainly proof that Miyazaki has not hung up his spurs and continues to delight, innovate, and pioneer the most creative animated movies of all time. Watch Ponyo with an open mind and a tip of the hat to childhood fantasy and imagination and you'll be transported back to when catching Fireflies and secret hiding places were more important than boring grown-up stuff and eating your vegetables.

Knowing (2009)

Did the director leave 3/4 the way into this movie?

[6/10 · 2 April 2009]

I, like many people, saw the trailers and read the blogs about the concept and story behind this movie. In a nutshell, I can sum up the writer's intent: the universe is cruel and doesn't give a rat's posterior about you.

Moving onward, Cage was no the best guy to play the main character and the backstories could have been fleshed out a bit more. Too much focus is placed on the "numbers" and Cage's character should be MUCH more skeptical of the numbers since he's this brilliant scientist professor.

But I must admit that although the story kept me interested enough to see it through the whole way, the last 15 minutes of the film...did the director walk off the job and they put some shlub in there to finish up the rest? I did not like the ending but I am glad that some directors out there don't always end their movies on a happy note. I think it's supposed to leave you with something to think about as you walk out the door but it fell short for me.

Good concept for a movie but the execution wasn't so great.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Great all around and no contrived pap of a plot line...

[10/10 · 26 January 2009]

While my wife was pregnant, someone told us not to watch this movie because there was all of this "child abuse" going on. Say what? There's no child abuse in this movie. At all. Poor street and slum kids doing what street and slum kids do. It's amazing that Americans' perceive this as abuse. Sorry to shatter your tiny world but the rest of the world lives differently than the US. OK, my rant is over. From what I gather this is based on the book Q&A. Never did read the book but this story plays out great and reminds me a Lot of City of God (which was stellar as well). In a nutshell the movie starts out introducing you to our main hero and his brother who are slum kids that go about grifting for basic survival and kicks. A mysterious and creepy guy named Maman takes in orphans and has sinister intentions. He takes the boys in as well as their new friend Latika but they escape. However, Latika is left behind. Without getting into the plot too much or spoiling the movie, we see our hero and his brother grow older and change all the while we see Jamal hoping to find Latika. Overlaid on this back story we find Jamal in the present and on an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

Danny Boyle directer a winner and all the accolades and awards this movie will get are well deserved. There are great comedy moments, tension, high drama, and action in this movie. The acting is not forced and comes off very natural and the cinematography is five stars. I find it impossible to believe that someone would not like this movie if only out of spite.