Mack's Movies 2013: August and September

August 4th, rented
Overall opinion: Kinda fun

A lot of sillyness, but the original was kinda silly too. I actually was disappointed by the original so I could enjoy this one as a standalone movie, and I liked it. Lots of moments that were obviously for a 3D movie, which wass annoying. I never watch films in 3D if I can help it. Also had some weird pacing problems- a few action-y scenes felt slow and choppy. The first 15 minutes are hard to get through because euugh, high school.
But there were some good things once it got started. Colin Farrell was so cool, he did a great sexy/creepy thing (I think the 3D thing made him even creepier just because the film looked so weird in parts) and I liked how menacing the vamps were. Nobody was toooo annoying, it had some good lines, it didn't try to be a kid's movie, and it had some neat visuals despite the 3D stuff. Overall I enjoyed myself.

August 9th, rented
Overall opinion: Okay, cool visuals

August 12th, theaters
Overall opinion: A bit slow but still fun

Not as fun as the first one, but I think seeing Byung-hun Lee nearly naked made up for that. Of course, his beautifully choreographed fight scenes were a lot cooler than most of the other fight scenes. A lot of it felt a little slow, or just oddly paced, I dunno. I lost interest a few times, especially around the climax when nothing was really happening and neither Byung-hun Lee nor Helen Mirren were on screen. The whole film felt a little cheesy, though I guess the first one was too. Not at all a serious action film. I still liked it well enough, it's pretty cute.

August 14th, rented
Overall opinion: Had potential, but disappointing

August 14th, rented
Overall opinion: Cool!

August 24th, owned
Overall opinion: Typical teen romance fare

It's got its heart in the right place, but tries too hard to be true to the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Not that it's like the actual fairy tale, but the values of that story don't at all match with today's values. Trapping a woman against her will is not at all romantic, it's creepy. A lot of this film has little red flags for an unhealthy relationship, which is messed up seeing as it's aimed at teens who don't have relationship experience. But at the same time it's not the only teen romance to do that. *shrug* Nothing special here.

August 25th, instant watch
Overall opinion: ??? What ???

The guy who lived with us this summer had really interesting taste in films and TV shows... this is the only film I watched all of with him... it was weird. But entertaining. I was surprised at the relatively big name actors in it.

August 30th, rented
Overall opinion: Alright

This film doesn't have an especially great plot, at all, and I could see it being a lot better if it didn't go the supernatural route with the main baddy. However, it did freak me the fuck out. Throughout the film there's little "home videos" that basically show families being killed in... creative ways, and there's nothing supernatural about these little snuff films. To me they looked just like families being killed. It was way too real. The film's first seconds are a huge closeup of a family being hung to death in slow mo. It was disturbing. In comparison, the bad guy, the dude in makeup like he's gonna start a Kiss tribute band, is not remotely scary. in fact most of the scenes with him are boring if not downright dumb.
Moreover, it's a film that depends on the main characters doing dumb things. However it's actually justified in the film, and I found that really well done. I won't spoil anything, but I'll just say the main character (Ethan Hawke, who I've never really disliked and I think he's pretty good at picking roles) brought everything upon himself. The anger I had at him helped me remove myself emotionally enough to finish the whole thing, though every time they replayed that hanging scene (like six times or something) I was busy examining the couch upholstry or letting the dogs outside instead of watching the movie.
Perhaps the gruesome home snuff videos will make this film worthwhile to others. They had a lot of impact, I think. That and the relatively good writing are enough to hold the film up despite a lame villain and a few typical horror film cliches.

September 1st, theaters
Overall opinion: Quite funny

September 2nd, rented
Overall opinion: Okay

September 4th, streaming
Overall opinion: Good

September 7th, streaming
Overall opinion: okay

I was sort of disappointed. I expected to be really freaked out by this film, but it actually wasn't so bad. And it didn't have a lot else going for it, besides the special effects. It looked okay in a lot of parts but otherwise... Okay I was super super disappointed that it was one of those horror films were everyone makes dumb and avoidable choices that lead to their downfall (had my friend and I shaking our heads and muttering "white people" through half of it, especially at that bespectacled dude). For some people that's entertainment but there's only so many times I can see a group of young people out in the woods making the exact wrong choices. There were some cool scenes and some parts I laughed at and a couple kind of made me jump, jump scare type stuff mostly. It wasn't the worst horror movie I've seen, but it could have been better.
I haven't seen the original... just bits and pieces. I still want to see it though, it's at the top of my queue now.

September 9th, streaming
Overall opinion: Awesome

I think I put Akira on an earlier list this year, because I did watch it earlier, but under odd circumstances I missed out on a huge chunk of it. This time I watched it all the way through, and I really enjoyed it. It has a lot of character. I liked how we see so many factions with so many different opinions and views clash over one huge issue. It might be a little overhyped, just from the stellar reviews I've read, but I didn't find anything actually wrong with it. It was neat and visually stunning. Very stylish.

Sidebar: turns out the 2020 Olympics are actually, in reality, going to be held in Tokyo. What are the chances!

September 10th, rental
Overall opinion: Started great

Yeah, this film started off really interesting. I was into it, the characters and the neat cinematography (at least from my uneducated point of view, the cinematography was great). Everything in the first hour or so was weird and slightly uncomfortable and mysterious and it was riveting. Almost as enchanting as some of Chan-wook Park's other works, and doubtless it was easier for me to enjoy simply for the fact I didn't have to read subtitles. But as stuff started to develop it felt a little... done before? A little trite. Expected. Kinda. It wasn't terrible, it just didn't live up to the buildup.
Fortunately for me, the only things I know about the movie before I watched it was its title, and that some people loved it, and that some people thought it was lame. I felt able to enjoy it without outside influence. And I did enjoy it, and I'd watch it again too. It's a 3/5 but gets that extra half star simply for the enjoyment I felt through the first half.

September 11th, Netflix Instant
Overall opinion: Amazing

This is a rewatch, and I don't include these normally, but I just love this movie so much. I watched it in a world cinema class a few years ago and it gave me a n appreciation for the cinematography with a specificity that I normally can't achieve on my own. Most of the symbolism I don't remember (so much red, the color has a cultural significance I think?), but some things are still so clear in the film- the way the two leads are sometimes in conversations with other characters, but the other characters are never shown, making them isolated even when they're near others. The hotel room #2046. Stuff I never would have picked up on myself, but adds to the enjoyment.
I upped the star rating, it's one of my favorite movies of all time, and that gets it full stars. Even though it's sad I'd watch I'll always want to see it again.

September 13th
Overall opinion: Good, sad

I was left feeling kind of melancholy after watching, a feeling that is pretty well portrayed through the whole movie I think. It was a really beautiful story, and beautifully shot. The acting was great. I hadn't seen the cast beforehand and it was cool to see familiar faces. Everyone did really well. It was a great look at a group of outlaws (who I don't know anything about historically, so that helps), and showing both their endearing and criminal sides. It was a loooong movie but it held me the whole way through. I will have to watch it again, it feels like the kind of film that I can get some new appreciation for after multiple viewings.

Thanks jaytoast for recommending!

September 13th
Overall opinion: Lots of fun


"Something wrong with your eyes?"
"Yes, they're sensitive to questions."

I had a lot of fun watching this, I laughed in a lot of places and a few scenes caught me totally off guard. It is definitely a classic everyone should watch. The mistaken identity plot provides a lot of suspense, and Cary Grant as usual can be quite funny. Eva Marie Saint's character was also quite charming and I loved all the dialogue between them on the train. I also love all the travel, how it's set in so many different places. I found almost every aspect of it thrilling and exciting and it definitely had my attention through the whole thing.
Thanks to Portlander for recommending this one.

September 15th
Overall opinion: Good!

Recommended by lotr23, thanks mate

I saw "sexist" under the tags on Listal and I was immediately curious as to what type of film this was going to be. Sexist film or sexist characters or some commentary about sexism? It's the last two in case you're curious. I was pretty happy with how the story played out. It was interesting and had some relatively cute moments despite the main character being (intentionally) a little out of it. Some of the dialogue could have been written better, it was a little stale at times. But I liked the characters, I liked that nobody seemed like a paragon, everyone felt pretty real.
I didn't like the end too much, though. (Some spoilers, though there weren't any big plot twists or anything). I felt like simply letting Ruby go wasn't much of a game changer for Calvin. So he gets a medal for not essentially kidnapping her? I would have like him continuing his counseling for quite a while, and trying to interact with women and other human beings without being the douche he started out being, and failing a bit and getting better. But he almost immediately ends up meeting a girl and talking to her, and I felt like that was his reward at the end, like oh you didn't kill or rape anyone when you could have, have a girlfriend! And that was disappointing, because I wasn't cheering for him, I was mad at him for being a douche. I didn't want him to have a happy ending, I wanted him to improve as a person.
Still I had a nice time watching it, it was fun and addressed a lot of the weird and concerning implications that so many romcoms and teen comedies have these days.

September 16th
Overall opinion: Interesting, a good story

My sister saw this in theaters and went on and on about how great it was, so I've been meaning to see it for a while. Finally I did! It was sad, but I was really impressed at the story. The way they structured it was perfect. It would have been easy to make a movie out of each "section" of this film, each "set" of characters had enough motivation and conflict to get their own movie. But the great part about it was showing how one set of events sets others in motion, every action affects others, and it's impossible to see just how far down the road consequences will reach. It's not so much intertwined lives, the movie wasn't trying to be super clever, it was just a story about decisions people make, told plainly and effectively.
Probably my sister would give this higher stars, but the unexpected sadness brought me down a little, just enough to keep from really loving it.