Pulp Fiction

I just watched Pulp Fiction ALL THE WAY through for the first time and it completely blew me away. I had seen parts of it, actually large parts of it, but I never had time to find out how the plot strung together. 

I have to say that by far the best parts in that movie were when Samuel L. Jackson's character and John Travolta's character were talking to each other and having philosophical discussions. If you don't know, but you probably do, they play two assassins, Vincent and Jules, hired by Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) to carry out various tasks for him. The timeline jumps around, so nothing is in chronological order, which is one thing I really like about Quentin Tarantino movies. Anyway, they are sent at first to kill a couple of guys who screwed Marsellus over somehow and take a very special case away from them to give back to their boss. You never find out what is in the case, but you know it's something really, really valuable. They take one of the guys back with them, an unfortunate accident occurs, and they need a cleanup guy for the job. There is a long section of the movie devoted to Bruce Willis's character, Butch, who is a boxer who goes back on a promise to Marsellus and then has to avoid getting killed for it. That part is probably the most disturbing part in the movie, but it is very well done. 

This is one of those movies where the more you watch it the more it makes sense, so I won't try to explain it all here. But I want to give this movie praise and say how much I enjoyed it, which I really did. By far the best aspects of the movie are the writing and the acting. The cinematography is just basic, but you can tell that the directing behind it was outstanding. Watch for subtle changes in camera angle during conversations that make you feel a shift in mood, and long, continuos shots, both moving and not moving, and remind yourself that the director did them for a reason. Anyway, KICKASS movie! Go rent it or something. 

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince movie review

Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts is the most dark, scary, funny, and dramatic year at Hogwarts yet. This is the first Harry Potter movie where you get the distinct feeling that these characters are growing up. Not only are they faced with a brand new set of high level classes, but they also must deal with their high level of teenage hormones. The movie focuses more on the latter aspect of school, as Harry and Hermione struggle with their separate relationships-in-the-making, and Ron finally gets some experience with the most annoying, clingy girl in the whole school. At first I was skeptical about how they would play out the love interests in the movie, when they had already been laid out in the book. I shouldn't have worried; some of the funniest and best scenes in the movie centered around the teenagers love lives. 

The director of this film is David Yates; the same person who directed the previous film, and who will direct parts 1 and 2 of the seventh film. All I can say about him is, I am extremely glad that this franchise has finally found someone who can deliver a really great Harry Potter movie. I have to hand it to the cinematographer too, because the film looks beautiful in every aspect. The scenery, the props, the camera movement, the effects, all blend together perfectly and look great. The editing is tight and tells the story as well as anything else, and there were points where it was really creative. Also, this movie does not pound you over the head with magical effects, it is all much more subtle. I like this, because it keeps the magical elements in the film, but doesn't show them off, because after all, we get it, they're wizards. It stayed away from being cheesy, and as a result, everything magical that happened was that much cooler. The book tells a very dark and dismal sort of story, even more so as it goes on, and the movie reflects that. As it builds up to the climax, there is a definite sense of foreboding, and all the magic fades into the background and the story focuses on the tale of Tom Riddle and finding the Horcruxes. 

A complaint I've heard about the movie (which I don't agree with) is that it has no plot, and is just a setting-up movie, and therefore is slow paced and boring. Of course this movie sets up the seventh one! That is its purpose, and that is the purpose of the book as well. 

The book is also a scattering of information and events that are only resolved in the next book. It had to be that way, and to me it is fascinating. I didn't find this movie boring at all; I really liked watching the characters develop, and there were parts that were genuinely funny and I laughed out loud. It was broken up enough by action sequences and important bits that it kept my attention at all times. I can actually say that I think I bought into the world of Harry Potter so much that I was actually able to sit back and have a lot of fun watching it, without waiting for it to screw up a part of the book. 

The new addition to the cast, Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn, does a really incredible job bringing that character to life. He was really everything I imagined the character to be, although he wasn't nearly as large and had no mustache. I actually prefer imagining him as Slughorn when reading the book now. The returning cast did an even better acting job in this movie I think than in the previous ones, especially Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), who showed much more character in this film than ever before. 

My only small complaint is the ending. I won't ruin it, but I'll just say that there is a whole aspect of it that is left out (nothing is left out of the cave sequence, just what comes after). David Yates did it with the fifth one too; he kept the essential part of the ending but left out the part that I enjoyed reading the most. It's almost like they either don't have enough money or they got to the end and realized they had no room for more. Anyway, he has kind of got a habit of doing it, but this time it wasn't so bad. The only thing I wish for the next one is that he does at least the last battle scene the exact way it is described in the book, with almost nothing left out, and make it as awesome as a Harry Potter movie can be, and break the habit of including only the most essential parts. But, like I said, what he did doesn't take very much out of this movie at all. I'll give this a 4.5 out of 5, just because of the ending.

Full Length District 9 Trailer

Here is a brand new full length trailer for District 9, showing in theaters on August 14th, 2009. The movie is produced by Peter Jackson and Directed by Neil Blomkamp.

 

Thirty years ago, aliens made contact with earth and people waited for an attack. None came. It turns out that these aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home planet. Now the government has placed these aliens in South Africa, in a place called District 9, where they live in slum-like conditions, and away from all humans. Scientists are constantly trying to find out the secret of the alien technology. Unfortunately, we cannot make the alien weaponry work without their DNA. 

Tension begins when a field reporter, Wikus van der Merwe, investigates District 9 and comes in contact with a strange virus that starts changing his DNA. Now Wikus is the most wanted and valuable person in the world, as he holds the key to alien technology. There is no other place for him to hide except inside District 9. 

The Film is based on the short film by Neil Blomkamp, "Alive in Joburg" shown below. They did an incredible job making it look realistic with a very low budget. 

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Children of Men: about the movie

This movie was made in 2006, and it is a landmark in choreography and directing. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: best cinematography, best editing, and best adapted screenplay. I absolutely love this movie, and I only saw it for the first time a month ago, and again just recently. It was one of those movies that did not get all that much hype, but it turns out to be an amazing film. It was directed by Alfonso Cuaron and stars Clive Owen, Julianne Moore Michael Caine, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The plot is basically this.

In the year 2027, a worldwide pandemic causing infertility in women has set the date for the end of human kind, and as a result, people don't bother maintaining the planet. Terrorists and rogue forces have attacked and left almost every country in ruins, all except Great Britain. People have no regard for the well being of themselves and others, because every one will die anyway. 

The movie thrusts you right into the middle of this, revealing little facts here and there as you follow Clive Owen's character, Theo, around Britain. Bombs are constantly going off in public places, all immigrants are being forced out of the country, and fugi's (short for fugitives) are repenting against the government that is spreading fear into the hearts of millions with bombs of their own. Theo gets kidnapped by a group of fugi's that is led by his wife Julian (Julianne Moore), and is given the responsibility of transporting the worlds first pregnant woman in 18 years to a save zone called The Human Project. An uprising occurs from within, and Theo must now rescue the woman and others to safety, while being chased by both the police and the fugi's.  

I cannot say enough about how awesome this movie is. What the director did that was revolutionary was have the movie shot with very long takes and minimal cuts. There is a sequence in a vehicle where the characters are being chased by fugitives, and the camera is rolling non stop the entire time, rotating around the inside of the car. The choreography of that shot was incredibly complex, and entire car rig had to be built so that the camera could be dropped through the top and moved around in any direction. Alfonso Cuaron vision of the future is incredibly dirty, muted, and realistic. He wanted the long takes so that the audience knew they were experiencing the events in real-time. Watching this movie you feel like you are on a roller-coaster, unable to stop moving forward but being scared for what comes next. It is an absolutely incredible film, and the performances of the actors are perfect, and the direction is mind-blowing. This is a 5 out of 5 any day of the week. It is rated R, but I would recommend it to anyone above about 13, as long as they don't mind swears and occasional blood. 

This is a really cool featurette on how the director, cameraman, stunt people etc. achieved a couple of very long takes in the film. It doesn't spoil anything or show you the entire take so don't worry. It just gives you a feel for the style of the movie and appreciation for the work that went into making it. Enjoy!

Exclusive Sneak Peek at Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I saw this online. I just want to say that I am so EXCITED FOR THIS MOVIE oh my god but anyway, check this out, notice how the memory is cut together (I hope it's not like that in the real movie), and how hot Emma Watson (Hermione) is now. Enjoy!

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New Moon teaser trailer

Here is the brand new trailer for New Moon, the sequel to Twilight. Okay I am one of the few men in this world that saw the first movie (yeah, my girlfriend made me, I admit it) and I did not think much of it at all. The acting is okay, but the writing was too deliberate and simple, and Edward was too white and I must say kind of a dumb vampire. I mean his family thinks they can resist going after humans, yet he tempts all of them by bringing her along wherever they go. Also, the scene where they had there little baseball game was unintentionally funny to me, they over dramatized it way too much and I thought, I get it, they can hit a ball far. Also the bad vampires were undeveloped, and the effects were terrible due to a low budget. In this new one, at least they seem to have more money, and they showed that vampires aren't very good at restraining themselves around blood. Unfortunately, they still have the same writers, Edward has no emotion, and they are trying to get even more teenage girls to see it with the edition of the shirtless werewolf seen at the end of the trailer. No matter what though, it's going to make a ton of money at the box office. 

Video quality can be changed at the bottom right corner of the video. Enjoy!

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

The Informant! trailer

Here is a brand new trailer for The Informant starring Matt Damon and Directed by Steven Soderbergh. It's about the government going after an agriculture business giant that is accused of fixing prices based on evidence provided by vice-president turned informant Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon). It looks really funny. Check it out below!

Endless rain and American Monster Movies

I don't know if anybody knows but New England in general has been getting rain for an entire month and it is starting to become ridiculous. Rain comes down in torrents some days and others just sprinkles but I haven't seen the sun in what seems like years. I was planning to go to the cape today and I didn't want to make the drive today because of, you guessed it, all this godforesaken rain!

All this rain made me think today of that Godzilla movie made like 10 years ago where it was raining in New York the entire movie. That's basically like where I am, except they weren't able to register how sucky the rain was because they had a giant monster destroying their city. They were blissfully ignorant of the rain. I am I actually complaining about this?

                                                                                                                               

 Anyway since I was thinking of it I just thought about the great American monster movies, which there really aren't that many of. They are really all Japanese, and all we have had in America are a few old movies, like War of the Worlds (1953) and (2005) if you can really call them monster movies, then the one I mentioned: Godzilla (1998) which was not eve

n close to spectacular. Then of course Cloverfield, which I absolutely loved. In fact, I remember J.J. Abrams talking about why he made that movie, and he said he wanted to give America its very own monster. I guess that is really the only legit one we have. 

That movie was so good that I have re-watched it god knows how many times, and every time I want to go out and make my own shaky cam movie, but then I realize I have no money and it would never be as cool, so I just keep it in my head. Nevertheless that style of filmmaking really appealed to me in that movie, even more so than in The Blair Witch Project. I think that ideally every scary movie should be shot that way, were it not for the fact that it would get incredibly old after a while. But still, just by itself, a movie can be much more effective if the audience even believes for a second that it is really happening. That was what Cloverfield did for me. It was the camera work that allowed me to suspend my disbelief for the entire film, and it made it scary as hell to watch. Anyway, that is my rambling on about rain and monster movies, enjoy this video and a few pictures. 

Public Enemies

Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and directed by Michael Mann, has been getting pretty mixed reviews. The film is basically the whole story of John Dillinger (played by Johnny Depp) and federal agent Melvin Purvis (played by Christian Bale). 

The biggest problem with the film that I can figure out is the type of camera used to make the movie. Director Michael Mann decided to use a type of camera that he has been hooked on recently, a digital high definition camcorder. Traditionally, movies are shot with film, which responds to light and motion much better than digital. The movie is like watching a behind the scenes featurette; the sound echoes and is inconsistent, and the lighting is too natural and not deliberate at all. This is Michael Mann's style though; he wants the audience to feel like the movie is really happening in front of you, like it is a documentary rather than a film. Unfortunately, while that style works in gritty war movies, some have found that it takes away from the effect of a period piece like this one. While some can't into the film because everything looks fake, some are able to get into it. Personally, I think the style Mann used causes me to detach from the film. Those cameras aren't used for a reason.

But, aside from that aspect of the film, every performance in the film, especially Depp and Bale, is extraordinary. Mann was of course able to hire big names for all the small roles in the film, so every performance was dead on. They also filmed directly on location for the big shoot outs in the movie, so the actors are shooting out of the same windows and woods that John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson and all of them shot out of, and so on. That ads a sense of, I guess legitimacy and accuracy, that I think the film needed. The film is 2 and a half hours long, but moves along a good pace and it doesn't seem like it's that long.