I expected this movie to be better than it was. The movie was kind of boring and at times it seemed like it was forcing the horror (if you want to call it that) concept at the audience, this one Duplass movie I really did not fancy like the rest. Some of the acting was also really bad and not really believable the one Muller chick annoyed the shit out of me and I thought her character did not contribute much to the movie. This one movie I would skip from these brothers it is not as good as the rest of the movies they have made. I mean the concept is great, just not well executed.
In this day and age men are all about how they look in public and some are like whatever, in Mansome, Spurlock with the help of some actors and comedians and a long with Arnett and Bateman chiming in every now and then take a look how everything about a man has changed and what everything says about their appearance. This was a documentary that really did not take itself to seriously and was made to have fun and look at the culture of men and by doing that it was told in pieces; Mustache, Beard, Face, Body etc. The part I enjoyed the most which was really no surprise was the part on Mustaches and Beards, and how it varies what people think about beards, and the person who I want to buy the book from on grooming a beard Jack Passion is actually kind of a douchebag, even though I will still buy the book I would not like to meet him I do not think it will be a good experience. Some of my favorite parts of the documentary were the scenes with Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, and how they would try to break down what it meant to be a man in their own opinion, and in a way it was like Michael and Gob having a semi-normal conversation together, where Arnett was trying to one up Bateman. What I also really liked is how they had interviews with people who worked at barbershops or made it a living to make themself look good and the reasons behind it, what also really made it work was the how some musicians comedies and directors but in their own thoughts on the whole men grooming themselves phase or whatever you want to call it, Carolla and Rudd were the funniest when they were being interviewed along with Galifanakis' answer to people when they ask why he has a beard. This is a recommend documentary if you want a light hearted look at why men groom themselves or not with some funny input.
I have only seen clips of this movie before in my film classes, because of how well it was made; due to it being made with all natural light and because of that it made a movie that was kind of boring even better. I think that's what saved the movie, the way it was filmed and not the acting, the acting in the movie was okay I also think its because I really do not like Richard Gere a lot of the time in the movies that he comes out with and everyone else in the movie seemed like they were bored or something. While at times I found myself to be bored with the movie I also still found myself in aw at how it was filmed and how each shot of the movie was somehow significant to what was going on in those scenes or what was about to happen later one. The narration by Manz helped out a lot in some parts of the movie until the ending. For some reason I cannot see why this movie has been acclaimed more than Badlands which is my favorite film from Malick, I find it to be a lot better than this one, maybe because the story of this one was like whatever for long periods of time and I thought Sam Shepard could have done a better job than he did. Other than that I just liked how it was visually shot and how they used natural lighting which was pretty damn cool.
Critics Review- "A fine example of budget filmmaking with this beautifully shot and thought Provoking Sc-Fi tale of loss, isolation, and loneliness"- Jennifer Tate "ViewLondon"
Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 57% Audience- 78% Want to See it
Out of a possible 5 stars- 3 1/2 stars
My Review-
I first heard about this film when the album LOVE was coming out from Angels & Airwaves and how they were going to make a movie out the concept of the album which I thought it was a good idea. Now that I finally watched it I can see where they were going with the film and how its being compared to other Sc-Fi films. What I really enjoyed about this movie is that it was like MOON, and 2001: A Space Odyssey dealing with isolation and trying to maintain sanity while being alone. This movie really does deal and does it well with what the critic says above; loss, loneliness, and isolation, and I really love movies like this; when it is just one actor carrying most of the movie, I get so invested in the actor and the character with these types of movies. For being a Sc-Fi movie being made for only about 500,000 dollars everything about this movie was pretty damn impressive from the effects to the set; it seemed like it cost even more to make when it did not. The movie did not even seem like it was made in the directors backyard it was that well done. I think this maybe one of new Sc-Fi film I can watch over and over again, even though some parts of the movie I cannot see why it was done that way when it went back to Wright by himself in the ISS (International Space Station) I really loved those scenes and how they were done. Since Angels & Airwaves helped contribute to this movie I wish that their music would have been used a little more, and they would have more of the music that they scored put more into the film. Even though it was really short that kind of sucked, I though they said and did everything they wanted to do into the film without leaving anything out, and if it was longer it would not have been as good. I recommend this movie if you are a A&A fan or love the Sc-Fi genre, I think you will like this its a great Sc-Fi movie for what it deals with the topic that is presented in the film.
Directed By- Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Written By- Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Starring- Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Beals, Paul Calderon, Sammi Davis, Valeria Golino, Madonna, David Proval, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Tamlyn Tomita
Run Time- 1 hr. 42 min.
Critics Review- "As a whole, Four Rooms is only diverting, and pretty mindless, but at its best it's a lot of fun."- Shlomo Schwartzberg "Boxoffice Magazine"
This movie is told in four parts, most of the parts are were weird and me and friend were trying to figure out what was going on, even though it was funny it was like "what the hell is going on?' The funniest parts of the movie were Tim Roth and his mannerisms and how he interacted with everyone that he met at the hotel on his first day. This movie being told in four separate parts had four writers and four directors all the same, the funniest parts being from Rodriguez and Tarantino. The one part that confused me the most was The first segment, it seemed all over the place and plus it had Madonna in it and I do not like her that much so I already did not like the segment, and it seemed to be going downhill from the beginning when they were sorta of speaking in tongue but not really, sort of hard to explain....moving on. However when it came to the ones that Rodriguez and Tarantino wrote I was in it the rest of the way. The Robert Rodriguez was one was written and acted well do the kids, Tim Roth and Antonio Banderas having a small but hilarious role, the kids did really well for their age and were really funny when it was just the two of them or when they were acting with Roth and with this segment I was impressed. The last segment written by Tarantino was to me the best one, it was more fast pace and more of what he is known for and a hell of a lot funnier in my opinion. While this was not some of their best work the last two segments from Rodriguez and Tarantino were the best ones and I think that is why they saved the best for last. Also Tim Roth carried this whole movie and was outstanding doing the comedic part that I never really see from him.
Starring- Jullianne Moore, Ed Harris, Woody Harrelson, Sarah Paulson, Peter MacNicol, Jamey Sheridan, Ron Livingston
Run Time- 1 hr. 58 min.
Critics Review- "It takes a story whose outline we know and uses backstage access to turn it into a well-paced drama"- David Hinckley "New York Daily News"
Rotten Tomatoes Rating- Critics- 63% Audience- No Percentage
Out of a possible 5 stars- 3 1/2 stars
My Review-
Even though I do not know a lot about Sarah Palin, only from what I saw on TV during that election time, this movie was really well done acting wise. All the right actors were chosen for this movie and it was well done, by everyone; Harrelson, Harris and especially Moore. I chose this movie since it was election day, and also I heard because it was supposed to be very good and controversial in a way and I could see why. whether this movie was fact or fiction in either way it was still really well made for an HBO film and really well acted and written. I loved the use of the SNL skits on Palin and how Moore portrayed Palin by only seeing archive video and possibly through what she saw when she was running. At times I was getting annoyed by Moore's voice of Palin but I believe it was spot on and quite good. The one actor I really really liked was Harrelson, he owned that movie and his role and I thought he should have gotten an award or something and if the awards for these have not come out yet, he needs one. In a way after watching this movie and Recount a while back I got a little more of an understanding of how politics works behind the scenes and it seems like hard work and lots of determination. I was watching the election results most of the time so this why this post is going up so late but, it seems like HBO always seems to get their movies like this right and seem to be the best cable channel to come out with these types of movies because they know what they are doing and almost always get it right.
Starring- Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson, Tobey Kebbell, Craig Parkinson, James Anthony Pearson, Harry Treadway
Run Time- 2 hr. 2 min.
Critics Review- "Though Curtis is hopelessly dysfuncional, photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn makes us achingly aware of the singer's talent, the haunting poetry of his songs and how, living in the gloomy culture he did, his passing was virtually inevitable."- Desson Thomson "Washington Post"
I have seen this movie off and on, never really watching the whole thing entirely, even thouugh I do listen to the music and now that I actually did I do not see what I kept putting it off. This movie was extremely well told about the front man of Joy Division Ian Curtis, and his eventual suicide at the age of 23. I really loved how it was filmed in black and white and if it was in color the movie would not have really been the same, I think it was in black and white because of how Curtis came off around the time his band was around in a way it was making the movie gloomy which was what most of the movie was aside from the like bits of comedy here and there. What I also really loved about the movie is how all of the songs that made Joy Division famous or the music that got them noticed were all insterted into the film at the perfect times to go with the movie, which made it even more heartbreaking than it was as it progressed. Even has I am writing this review I am listening to their music and I am trying to see if I could or will be able to get a better understanding of Ian Curits, but I do not think anyone will. The acting was also really great in the movie from everybody especially Samantha Morton whom I have only seeing in a few movies and here I really go to see her acting ability and it was really really good. Throughout the film we were able to see that fame was taking its toll on Curtis and how maybe in away he was not ready for it and he was able to convey that through his music, and Riley seemed to have captured Ian Curtis extremely well and he showed that he was perfect for this roll, not to mention that he almost looks exactly like Ian Curtis. When the inevitable scene came up I reallty liked how it was done and the use of "Atmosphere" I thought it was the perfect song to end the movie and show all the different people that were in Curtis' life and their reactions to what had happened. I really recommend that this movie be watched If you love the band or never even heard of them it is a great movie to be watched and if you do watch it I hope you like it as well.
