Welcome back gang. A bit busier week than the last few, I've had the time to watch some more. And a theme accidentally fell out this week, that of looking back at the past. From the movies themselves looking back to me looking back at my childhood or movies I haven't seen in a while. And it was a good week, hitting no real shit points. So dig in and enjoy.
The Silence Of The Lambs (May 11th, 2014)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, and Anthony Hopkins
It's been a good deal of time since I last saw this. With Hannibal on NBC just taking hold of my life, I decided I needed to give this a rewatch. And this movie still hold up and is a pinnacle in the horror genre. Shit, it's just a highpoint in cinema in general. The character work, from Foster and Hopkins in particular as well of the supporting guys. Hopkins gets all the credit here, and it's well deserved. But the best performance if from Foster. She brings alot of soul and pain and intelligence to Clarice Starling, much more than anybody else could have. Foster fully inhabited her and completely helped elevated the movie. Hopkins is at his scenery chewing best here, portraying Hannibal as a larger than life slice of evil. But now, I gotta make a controversial call here. Mads Mikkelsen is the best Hannibal. I know, it's not fair since Mads has a lot more time to flesh him out on tv wheras Hopkins had about 10 minutes. But from the word go, Mads took Hannibal in a different direction and made him more dead eyed Satanic. Thats just me, and its like picking a favorite Batman. The movie could have been a simple procedural, but Demme directed the shit out of this movie. The way Friedkin directed The Exorcist like it was a straight up movie and not a B movie, that's what Demme does. Downright brutal and disturbing without pouring blood and guts everywhere. This is a damn near perfect movie. But I have one issue. Hannibals escape scene is perfectly directed and is a hell of a scene, the iconic scene of the movie. Yet it has no point being in the movie. It's a long sequence and it stops the narrative dead in it's tracks, having no effect on anything afterwards. All we get is a little call at the end, the early 90s version of a Marvel post credits sting. It's kinda odd that such a good scene is utterly pointless. But maybe it's so good because Demme knew it stuck out, so he gave it everything he had. It's a nitpick and doesn't affect my view of the movie at all, as my rating would show. It still hold up and is one of the most effective movies ever.
Rating: 10/10
Eraser (May 12th, 2014)
Director: Chuck Russell
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenneger, Vanessa Williams, James Coburn, and James Caan
It's a movie about Arnold fighting corrupt Government goons to stop them from selling brand new laser guns to terrorists. So yeah, we are in the 90s and this is pretty much critic proof. It's a goofy movie with Arnold being Arnold. It's not his best nor is it his worst. I really don't have much to say. See it or not. Just know he fights a CGI crocodile.
Rating: 6.5/10
Godzilla (May 15th, 2014)
Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, and Bryan Cranston
This is a movie that seemed like a bad idea from the word go. We already dealt with an Americanized version in 1998 and it seemed like a lesson was learned. Apparently not because now we have this. Thankfully too because this movie is awesome. It finally got the big man right. Edwards stepped up and directed the hell out of this movie. It falls in line with the tone of the original movie, a serious movie thats actually about something other than giving people destruction boners. Same with this. Instead of being about the dangers of nuclear bombs, this is more about mother nature and our place in the world. And Godzilla is mother natures wrath, keeping the balance. The destruction is off the charts good and the action is great. But there are two times when the movie trolls the audience by cutting away from a fight scene. The movie builds up to the reveal of Godzilla which is a weird tactic for a blockbuster today, but it helps out. Its like Jaws in a sense. Edwards made this movie very Spielbergian. Fuck, the main guys name is Ford Brody, the most Spielberg name ever. So the pace is gonna be off putting for some. That and the human element is a bit boring. Cranston stands out, because hes fucking Cranston, and puts alot more effort than necessary. But Johnson is just a total bore, doing nothing with the role. He just stands there and makes me nervous for his portrayal of Quicksilver. Elisabeth Olsen is completely wasted and is utterly useless to the movie. Watanabe fares better but not much than the rest. But its fine, because we are here to see monsters fight. And fight they do. The weirdest element is that its all CGI, but the monsters still fight like guys in suits. Its a such an odd yet completely sensible decision. So this is a very watchable movie but its got flaws. If they worked a bit more on the human elements, it coulda been something special. But it stands as a damn good movie instead.
Rating: 8.5/10
The Bridges of Madison County (May 16th, 2014)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood
I haven't seen a movie with Clint in it that I haven't liked. I haven't liked some of his directed movies, like J Edgar. But with him in it, I've liked them all. Maybe not Firefox. That was eh. But I'm not the biggest romance movie guy in the world. They kinda bore me. But when I say this movie benefits completely from Clint, I say that as a director. He's good in front of the camera. But his understated method of directing helps this movie alot. The script does too, as does Meryl. But he stops this from going completely too far in an unbearable direction. He makes it all feel real and it hits harder for it. That's another reason why I like this movie so much. It's bittersweet. It's about chances not taken and love lost. I also believe the two as people who would fall in love because they feel real and feel like they would, instead of a script just saying they should because writing say they do. It's a low key movie that feels more like a play, and it's a nice change of pace for Clint who specializes in violent movies, especially in the 90s. I was surprised by how much I like it, and it stands as his second best of the 90s after Unforgiven.
Rating: 9/10
Batman: Year One (May 17th, 2014)
Director: Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Ben McKenzie, Eliza Dushku, and Jon Polito
This is a movie that kinda doesn't work as a movie, and that flaw is inherited from the source material. There's no real narrative flow, just a look at Batmans first year on the job. Which works in the comics, but in a movie it's a bit odd. The guy who also voices Batman is a bit stilted at times. But it's fine, because like the novel, this is Gordons movie. And you got Cranston bringing Gordon to life and he brings the goods. This is a movie with great scenes but it doesn't congeal into a whole. It's far from bad but not the best DC animated has done. I'd still give it a look.
Rating: 8/10
Eraser (May 12th, 2014)
Director: Chuck Russell
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenneger, Vanessa Williams, James Coburn, and James Caan
It's a movie about Arnold fighting corrupt Government goons to stop them from selling brand new laser guns to terrorists. So yeah, we are in the 90s and this is pretty much critic proof. It's a goofy movie with Arnold being Arnold. It's not his best nor is it his worst. I really don't have much to say. See it or not. Just know he fights a CGI crocodile.
Godzilla (May 15th, 2014)
Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, and Bryan Cranston
This is a movie that seemed like a bad idea from the word go. We already dealt with an Americanized version in 1998 and it seemed like a lesson was learned. Apparently not because now we have this. Thankfully too because this movie is awesome. It finally got the big man right. Edwards stepped up and directed the hell out of this movie. It falls in line with the tone of the original movie, a serious movie thats actually about something other than giving people destruction boners. Same with this. Instead of being about the dangers of nuclear bombs, this is more about mother nature and our place in the world. And Godzilla is mother natures wrath, keeping the balance. The destruction is off the charts good and the action is great. But there are two times when the movie trolls the audience by cutting away from a fight scene. The movie builds up to the reveal of Godzilla which is a weird tactic for a blockbuster today, but it helps out. Its like Jaws in a sense. Edwards made this movie very Spielbergian. Fuck, the main guys name is Ford Brody, the most Spielberg name ever. So the pace is gonna be off putting for some. That and the human element is a bit boring. Cranston stands out, because hes fucking Cranston, and puts alot more effort than necessary. But Johnson is just a total bore, doing nothing with the role. He just stands there and makes me nervous for his portrayal of Quicksilver. Elisabeth Olsen is completely wasted and is utterly useless to the movie. Watanabe fares better but not much than the rest. But its fine, because we are here to see monsters fight. And fight they do. The weirdest element is that its all CGI, but the monsters still fight like guys in suits. Its a such an odd yet completely sensible decision. So this is a very watchable movie but its got flaws. If they worked a bit more on the human elements, it coulda been something special. But it stands as a damn good movie instead.
The Bridges of Madison County (May 16th, 2014)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood
I haven't seen a movie with Clint in it that I haven't liked. I haven't liked some of his directed movies, like J Edgar. But with him in it, I've liked them all. Maybe not Firefox. That was eh. But I'm not the biggest romance movie guy in the world. They kinda bore me. But when I say this movie benefits completely from Clint, I say that as a director. He's good in front of the camera. But his understated method of directing helps this movie alot. The script does too, as does Meryl. But he stops this from going completely too far in an unbearable direction. He makes it all feel real and it hits harder for it. That's another reason why I like this movie so much. It's bittersweet. It's about chances not taken and love lost. I also believe the two as people who would fall in love because they feel real and feel like they would, instead of a script just saying they should because writing say they do. It's a low key movie that feels more like a play, and it's a nice change of pace for Clint who specializes in violent movies, especially in the 90s. I was surprised by how much I like it, and it stands as his second best of the 90s after Unforgiven.
Batman: Year One (May 17th, 2014)
Director: Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Ben McKenzie, Eliza Dushku, and Jon Polito
This is a movie that kinda doesn't work as a movie, and that flaw is inherited from the source material. There's no real narrative flow, just a look at Batmans first year on the job. Which works in the comics, but in a movie it's a bit odd. The guy who also voices Batman is a bit stilted at times. But it's fine, because like the novel, this is Gordons movie. And you got Cranston bringing Gordon to life and he brings the goods. This is a movie with great scenes but it doesn't congeal into a whole. It's far from bad but not the best DC animated has done. I'd still give it a look.
- Tom Lorenzo
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