Stuff about movies.
“Is anyone seeing this?” (Curtis)
I don’t know what it is that made me go see “Take Shelter”. Was it the promise of Michael Shannon, one of the giants who breathe life into Boardwalk Empire? Was it the premise – a movie not showing its full hand of cards before it’s entirely over? Or was it just that breathtaking poster, with its explosion of both colour and intimacy?
These are the movies I live for. The ones I know nothing about and then genuinely surprise me. (more…)
“It used to be about trying to do something. Now it’s about trying to be someone.”
You know that feeling you can only get in the cinema? It’s that short moment the lights go on and you look around at your friends sitting next to you, the moment you know you just shared an experience and you want to find out whether what happened to you also happened to others. Usually, this is the moment where discussions start – no two experiences are ever the same. When the movie’s unanimously bad, you’re safe. When it’s the greatest thing ever, you’re usually fine, too. But when the movie is a mixed bag… that’s when the cat fights start.
I braced myself when The Iron Lady‘s credits started rolling. And then found out we all had just about the same problems with it. I guess you’d call the movie unanimously flawed. (more…)
When I first heard about the Artist and saw the trailer, I knew I had to see it. So I eagerly awaited the release date. By the time it launched in Germany, however, it seemed like the entire world had been engulfed by the quirky silent movies charm. And then it got nominated for every Oscar (and then some). So I groaned it off and decided I’d wait until the hype was over.
Then came the 29th of February, a dead day, a day that’s not supposed to exist. So I figured: now’s as good a time as any. Turned out that was a good call.
“How’s your thirst for adventure, Captain?” (Tintin)
It should be no secret that I’m a Belgian. And, as is mandatory on our dictatorial catholic schools, where the whips are aplenty and fagging is still a hip new thing, I have read all Tintin comics. When applying for a job, the topic would casually pop up: “What do you think of Thomson’s motivation on page 23 of The Temple of the Sun?”* To which we would find a fitting answer. Common practice.
Then came Steven Spielberg and we, the mighty Belgians, roared with outrage! What had he done to our ageless blank slate male? What had happened to the clear line drawing, Hergé’s trademark style? And – gasp! – character development? Seriously?!
In all seriousness, it turns out Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is actually pretty darn good.
“They just can’t get my nose right! ” (Flynn Rider)
Disney’s been in a rut lately. It’s not an eighties-type rut, as they seem to be doing okay money-wise, but creative they just have been dropping the ball so much it’s getting harder and harder to take them seriously. The Princess and the Frog, an absolutely stellar movie, showed us that Disney is at best when it doesn’t try to reinvent itself. Movies like Tangled, however, show they haven’t given up on trying. And when you try too hard, you tend to make things even worse.
“Fuck! Seriously?! Looks like you’re photoshopped!” (Hannah)
I’ve always had a soft spot for Steve Carell. It is my dream that he would start a sitcom together with Tina Fey. They could play Michael Scott and Liz Lemon. They’d share a flat. Eat cheap Spanish chips together. I would write it. I so would. It would be the most glorious fan fiction since the Harry&Draco dragonbody slashfic.
But in Crazy, stupid, love. (ugh! a period in the title! now you read that sentence all wrong!) he teams up with Julianne Moore – and it’s actually this kind of schizophrenic casting that made me go see the movie in the first place. Glad I did, by the way.
“Excuse me, can I have another order of fries? Because my friend here is fat. ” (Cary)
I enjoyed this movie way too much, I thought when the movie faded to black. Then I noticed the credits and thought: I’m not enjoying this nearly enough. In a world currently inhabited by the Summer blockbusters, Super 8 delivers something fresh and exciting: it’s not fast. It’s not fancy. It doesn’t star Justin Timberlake. It’s just a cute little movie telling a cute little story that, somewhere along the line, turns into shit. The good kind of shit.
But if you can honestly pull it off with the King’s Speech? Damn, man, you a smug bastard. (more…)
I must’ve watched “Me and You and Everyone we Know” at least a dozen times. It’s one of those gift-that-keeps-on-giving kind of movies: there’s something new around every corner. Whether it’s tiny bits of text that get a new meaning with every viewing or the characters’ little quirks – it always gets me. I laugh until I can’t laugh no more. And that’s strange: in its core, the characters inhabiting Me and You and Everyone we Know are pretty tragic.
With Miranda July’s latest feature, “The Future”, it’s the same – but a lot more polarizing. It’s as if she sharpened the pencil: the funny is a lot funnier, and the tragic… I’m not sure what that means yet. (more…)
I vaguely remember having seen “Le voyage de Kirikou”, Ocelot’s previous masterpiece. When asked for the plot, I wouldn’t be able to recall it, but I remember feeling endeared by the movie. For me, that’s a good thing – connecting a movie with a feeling means the movie left me polarized (and usually in the good way).
When I saw that “Les contes de la nuit”, Ocelot’s newest animation film, was in competition for the Golden Bear, I couldn’t keep myself back: I had to see it. To top it off, I saw the beautiful stills of black characters in front of colourful backdrops. This movie was slick as hell, I thought. And fairy tales? This I’ve got to see.
…Maybe I was expecting too much? (more…)