Last movie you saw.

[Bear 1817]

The Shogun's Samurai aka Yagyu Clan Conspiracy - Historical action-drama by Kinji Fukasaku, with people like Kinnosuke Yorozuya, Sonny Chiba, Hiroki Matsukata, Etsuko Shihomi and Toshiro Mifune in some of the roles. How accurate this is I will not say anything about, but this is another phenomenal film by Fukasaku. It's epic and dramatic, well-directed and the action is amazing. It's 2 hours long, but very fast-paced and it never feels long or boring. Some amazing performances as well. Sonny Chiba is as always wonderful, Kinnosuke Yorozuya is stunning and everyone in a big role does amazing. Great cinematography as well.

 

 

Makai tenshô: Samurai Reincarnation - This is somewhat a sequel to Shogun's Samurai, but it's something completely different and some of the details don't match. But who gives a fuck? This film isn't really a better film than Shogun's Samurai, but it's superior to it anyway IMO. Action-fantasy with lots of elements of horror. Sonny Chiba reprises his role as Jubei but is even better here, and we've got Tomisaburô Wakayama as well. Amazing. Well-directed and well-acted, amazing action and beautiful cinematography. This film is simply brilliant!

 

 

 

 

These two films are directed by the same man and Samurai Reincarnation is considered a sequel, but both films stands fine on their own two feets and you do not need to watch one to watch another. But since both are amazing they are both recommended.

[HanakoHikari 59]

Unbroken (2014)

 

seen it 5 times already, i'm SO in love with this movie, jack o'connell was a perfect loius and holy crap there wasn't even a hint of his strong english accent and miyavi was ok

9/10

 

Seventh Son (2014)

 

please love yourself and don't ever think about watching this movie, please.

1/10

[Original Saku 1593]

Inherent Vice (2015)

Fucking awesome. I went and saw this last Friday on a whim, all i knew about was that Joaquin Phoenix was the lead... I'm so glad I decided to go see it, Had a lot of laughs and really great time. I wish there were more recent movies that did this style of storytelling and filming

[Bear 1817]

One Missed Call 2 - My girlfriend wanted to watch this, while I did not because I expected it to be shit, and after half an hour I gave up. The acting was so poor and everything felt to cheap. Had to give up. Awful.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

What We Do in the Shadows - OMG this movie was so much fun!! I'm usually very suspicious of horror comedies because it's a mashup that's easy to mess up but this one was just awesomely hilarious. Granted, it isn't so much horror as it is a terrific mockumentary about a house of weirdo vampires and their various "adventures" leading up to an annual ball for the creatures of the night. Highly recommended!

 

The Resurrected - I've been meaning to check this out because of two reasons: 1. loose adaptation of a Lovecraft story, 2. supposedly awesome special effects. Well, they sure did deliver on that second aspect! Some very killer creature effects there. The movie itself was okay-ish, at most times 'almost good' but not quite there. The acting was kinda ridiculously bad at times, haha. Anyway, decent horror.

[Bear 1817]

Cool. I am so looking forward to What We Do in the Shadows. I've got massive expectations.

 

 

 

Also, have you seen Roger Corman's "The Haunted Palace"? (search to find my review of this masterpiece) The film was advertised as Edgar Allan Poe's The Haunted Palace, but it is not based on Poe's poem of the same name, it is in fact a loose adaption of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., Debra Paget and more. I love this film.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

^ Nope, have not seen that one yet. Sounds good with that premise / lineup tho! Actually, I'm not even sure I've seen any of his films at all (or might have but can't remember any title specifically to tie to his name right now).

[Bear 1817]

I'd recommend all of Roger Corman's Poe adaption, with the exception of The Raven. I think they're all fantastic. Maybe a bit too over the top an dramatic for some, but I'm a huge fan and I love them. Vincent Price and the sets alone are more than enough to make them fantastic (even though he doesn't feature in one). And they all, except for The Raven, look like a million dollars. Roger Corman is so underrated, but these films shows his massive talent, a talent that sadly got pushed away in favour of his talent for business and money.

 

Talking about these films makes me so damn excited.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Over the top and dramatic are good enough selling points for me! Gonna get 'round to the Poe adaptations in the near future then, thanks for mentioning them.

[Bear 1817]

Here, here,  here and here you can read my Corman/Poe reviews if interested. It's good shit.

[Tokage 5930]

Watched Being John Malkovich yesterday. God, what a fun movie. 

[Des 289]

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

Charming but gets a bit stale after a while. The setting is great: magicians, trickery, the 1920's, beautiful scenery... plenty of eye candy and an overall nice atmosphere. What is missing (and becomes more and more obvious towards the end) is chemistry between the two leads, Colin Firth and Emma Stone. It's a very Wooden Allen-y kind of movie in a sense it gets a bit uncomfortable and silly in the romance department. It is so-so but worth checking out for the beautiful imagery and if movies set in the late 1920's appeal to you. Or if Emma Stone appeals to you... or Colin Firth... or... yeah, it's ok.

★★★☆☆

 

Gone Girl (2014)

Not a fan of David Fincher as a director because he's very much like Christopher Nolan in his approach to the movies: very plot-driven and often expertly avoids the 'point' or the 'clue' of the story until the end... but by then most of the movie is not worth two cents anymore let alone a rewatch because what happens before the end isn't of much importance anymore. However, I experienced this movie a bit differently and that's good! The criticism on the media regarding coverage of a personal drama and the masses of people who get involved for no reason besides wanting to witness the drama... it's not very subtle, but I can appreciate it. This psychological thriller features twists and turns that are exciting even if not all of it make perfect sense. But that's the thing here, they don't have to make perfect sense because it's not all about the plot. It's more than just a story of events: there is some focus on the actual characters (who are not just dummies) and what goes on inside their heads and how they are affected by the circus called the press. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are both excellent in their roles.

★★★☆☆

[Bear 1817]

The Raid: Redemption - Brilliant film, and even better now than my first time watching it. This is simply a modern classic. Yes, the character development isn't good at all and the story is lacking, but who eally gives a fuck about that when watching a film like this? It's a badass actionfilm with amazing action, more amazing action and it's all topped with even more amazing action. And Iko Uwais is cool as fuck. He's as cool as Tony Jaa to be honest.

 

Gareth Evans might not be a very good storyteller, and his characters are rather flat, but he nails more or less everything else on the head with this film.

 

[Bear 1817]

The Raid 2: Berandal - I finally got around to watch this, and I am impressed. Everything is turned up a notch... or five. The plot is way better, the character development is better and the violence is just on a whole other level. The action is so well-coreographed and tightly executed by both actors/stuntmen and director that's even though there's a lot of fighting, it's never too much. And I consider myself to be a pretty big fan of martial arts films, and this is one of the best martial arts films I've ever seen and it's both one of the most extreme action flicks I've seen as well as the best coreographed film I've seen.

 

I just can't find anything to put my finger on, because this is such a well-made and entertaining flick. It will certainly be way too brutal and violent to some, and contain way too much fighting for others, but fans of martial arts should not be disappointed with the film. And I fucking loved the film!

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Whiplash - Totally worth all the praise. Fantastic, cathartic movie with some amazing characters (and cool musical sequences) in the lead.

[indigo 389]

Just watched Whiplash myself too. Great movie.

[Ro plz 1290]

Crows Explode.

 

 

HOLY CRAP that was awesome

[evilcoconut 109]

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno....twice

 

Freaking awesome. Gotta get around to watching the next one.

[Des 289]

Tetsuo (1989)

Bizarre surreal low budget Japanese sci-fi horror. Plays out like a nightmare with rapid editting and rather macabre imagery. Loses some steam towards the end when the aaaaahhhh, uuurrrrgh, iiieeeeehhhrrrrgh noises of torment got on my nerves and the pace of the flashy pictures didn't slow down a bit. At 67 minutes this still felt quite long, especially the last 20 minutes. In any case it's a unique movie that is unsettling but fascinating. Also noteworthy is the soundtrack: eerie and atmospheric. And how much more cult could a movie possibly get? The answer is none... none more cult!

★★★☆☆

 

The Imitation Game (2014)

A dramatization of events in the life of mathematician Alan Turing that tries to grab both the cash from casual audiences as well as the prizes from the critics and award shows. It seems to do well at both but I think it's a mediocre movie that had a lot more potential. Neither the decoding of the messages of the Nazis or Alan's private life get real interesting at any point. Flashbacks to Alan as a child were rather unnecessary (other than to slow down the pace of the movie artificially) and during the parts where math should've been the main focus, it barely scratched the surface of the material. The movie is split 50/50 on characterization and suspenseful storytelling... except that the characters don't come alive and that there's no real suspense. Cheesy one-liners of supposed 'wisdom' and a short lesson in ethics is what we get, and what we are supposed to be impressed with.

 

The film is well made in regards to costumes, editting (I suppose, even if it was a bit manipulative), acting (Cumberbatch and Knightley were good) and the overall feel of the period this story is set in. But don't expect more to this than what would fit on one page of your high school history books... written in a rather sentimental and even in a patronizing tone. Before I clicked on this topic to write this piece I had a three-star rating in mind but the more I think back on the movie, the less impressed I am.

★★☆☆☆

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

Devil's Knot. I actually liked it and am assuming it was based on a true story (haven't actually looked up how much of it was real and how much was Hollywood). However, if you're the kind of person who doesn't like being mad at the outcome of a movie, I wouldn't recommend watching.

[Bear 1817]

The Wind Rises - A great, solid story, very nice, likeable and colourful characters, lovely visuals, beautiful animation and a superb soundtrack - that's what genius filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki gives us with his last fictional biographical drama film. There's not really anything negative I can say about the film. It's absolutely brilliant.

 

 

There's been talk that this is gonna be his last ever film, and while he's said that many times now, this time he seems to be serious about it. If this is his last film, then what a way to end a magnificent career. What a man!

 

 

 

I've considered the Oscars to be a joke for many, many, many years now, and it just kees getting worse. How on earth did Frozen win over this? The only thing Frozen does better, is being more available as it's a childs film, while The Wind Rises is a much harder watch and grown up film, but The Wind RIses is better in every other way. There's is absolutely no reason anyone can justify Frozen winning over this. An absolute disgrace!

 

The Tale of Princess Kaguya should obviously win for 2014, but I bet my big fat ass it won't. It'll be just as much of a disgrace if it doesn't win, as both these films are superb and among the best animated films made in the 2000's.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

Gone Girl - really well made movie with a plot that keeps getting more and more ridiculously infuriating as it goes on. It brings to light how the media spins people's emotions during tragedy and how easy it is for people to use this to their advantage. Plus, Ben Affleck looks great in it, but that's not really the point of the movie...

 

Neil Patrick Harris seems to be very bloody in 2014.

[Bear 1817]

The Interview - There's been lots of talk about this and I've read lots of shit about it, but I'm a fan of Seth Rogen and laugh just by seeing his face, so I was looking forward to this and got exactly what I expected. Good, childish, dumb and straight forward fun for almost two hours. Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen gets together again but the production values in this is nothing like their duo-debut This is the End. This is the End suffered from awful CGI which ruined a lot of the experience for me, but here they seriously nail it. The violence looks good and it's very, very well-done. No cheap-as-fuck CGI or anything. The story? Silly as fuck. So yeah, not all the jokes are funny, but a lot of them are and every now and then I was left in tears. A tad too long, but nothing serious. A good, silly comedy - nothing more, nothing less.

 

Diana Bang is sexy as fuck and James Franco is surprisingly likeable and funny, despite his very punchable face. He's just weird. I should hate him, but I don't. I really like him. And Randall Park is great in the film.

[Bear 1817]

Ninja Assassin - Had a rewatch of this last ngiht and I'm still entertained by it. Üverviolent martial arts flick with some great violence, lots of blood and coolness. The plot is lackluster, there's way too much CGI-blood and shit, but other than that it works fine. Not a masterpiece, but good anyway. Rain does very well considering he had no martial arts training before he went to work with this film. Very impressive.

 

And it has Sho Kosugi for fucks sake. That's awesome!

 

[Ro plz 1290]

The interview.