LMFAO!
First trailer for Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths! McDonagh directed one of my favorite (and one of the most underrated) movies of the past several years, In Bruges, and Seven Psychopaths looks like it is equally as brilliant. I mean come on! The cast, the dialogue, the concept, what’s not to love here???
“What do you think we should do in REAL LIFE!?” LOL
vjszoidfhwaeokfasmnd!!!!!
Go see In Bruges and understand why I’m freaking out!!!
I revisited Minority Report for the first time in a couple of years and my God, this movie is brilliant. It’s not like I didn’t love it the first couple times I watched it, but it’s been years since I’ve seen it last.
Steven Spielberg is a master storyteller. He has a knack for small touches that the audience may not realize, but it makes all the difference. There are several memorable scene of just pure adrenaline, and others where Spielberg just knows how to build up tension.
A lot of people chalk up good storytelling to the script, what’s written on paper, and completely discount the effect that the camera plays in telling a good story. Spielberg’s camera movement, placement, and blocking of a scene tells so much and gives the film a forward momentum.
I know a lot of people hate Tom Cruise nowadays and think he’s a crazy Scientologist. I’m not saying that I agree with everything he does in his personal life, but for Tom Cruise I can separate his personal life from his public works. The man is just a phenomenal actor. His role in Minority Report is very much a “Tom Cruise” character, not very dynamic, but he’s still fantastic. There’s one scene in particular that just breaks my heart every time I see it.
Okay there’s a few spoilers that I want to get into after the “read more” break. So don’t hit “read more” unless you’ve seen Minority Report.
Read more
For two weeks? In fucking Bruges?
Ray: Bruges is a shithole.
Ken: Bruges is not a shithole.
Ray: Bruges is a shithole.
Ken: Ray, we’ve only just got off the fucking train. Could we reserve judgment on Bruges until we’ve seen the fucking place?
Ray: I know it’s going to be a shithole.
I had a much longer review that I kind of felt was going nowhere fast, so I decided to do a much briefer review.
I haven’t seen the original Fright Night, so I can’t compare and contrast, but I can give you my take on the film with no previous bias. To do a quick one line synopsis, Fright Night is about a teenager who finds out that his next door neighbor is a vampire.
I was a big fan of Craig Gillespie after seeing his 2007 film, Lars and the Real Girl, and after Fright Night, I can say that I am very interested to see where his career is headed. Gillespie gets great usage out of the 3D in the film as well. You can tell that a lot of planning went into the film. Unfortunately, most of the movie takes place at night and it can get quite dim at times, but at about the halfway point I honestly forgot I was watching a 3D movie. When 3D can immerse you in that way, you know you’re doing something right.
While some of the CGI is shoddy at times, I did appreciate the implementation of practical effects for most of the monster work in this film. The reason I dig the practical make up effects for the vampires is that the difference between an actual person in makeup and a CGI monster is huge to me. Think of I Am Legend, where the creature effects were completely CGI, it just totally takes you out of the movie and is so noticeable. There is a ‘Children of Men-esque’ sequence in a car that is truly filmmaking at it’s best, it must have been a nightmare to film that sequence because the 3D camera rigs are so much bigger/heavier than regular cameras. Fantastic work from the effects department.
I absolutely love everyone in this cast. Anton Yelchin is certainly an up and coming star in Hollywood, he’s basically the new Shia LaBeouf, which is funny because Fright Night reminds me a lot of Disturbia except with vampires. David Tennant steals the show as a Chris Angel type character. I’m really glad that Imogen Poots has decided to start doing more movies because I think she’s very talented. Christopher Mintz-Plasse also puts in his best and most different role since Superbad. This entire cast is filled with underrated and underappreciated Hollywood talents, glad to see them all come together to make a great film.
The Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) screenplay is one of the highlights in my opinion. The dialogue is sharp and witty; it feels very reverent to vampire mythology and the pop culture references are used well. There are also just some really cool inventive action scenes that I don’t think I’ve ever seen done before. I love the way the narrative unfolds because it feels so unconventional. After one scene I thought to myself, “wow we’re at the end already?” and the movies goes on for another 30 minutes!
I have to give props to whoever edited the trailer because most of the best moments are left out. I really appreciate that because it seems like you get the entire narrative arc of most movies in trailers nowadays, it was nice to see a lot of scenes that were NOT given away in the trailer.
This seems odd to praise, but thank God the creators decided to make this an R-rated film. I could easily see this movie being some crappy PG-13 potboiler remake that the studios used to try to make a ton of money. Instead, they make it a hard R film, keep all the cursing, blood, and gore, and give us a remake worth watching. Granted, they probably won’t make their budget back at the box office (30 million budget, 8 million opening weekend, ouch…), but it’s nice to see artistic integrity win out at least a few times.
I could definitely see Fright Night becoming one of those movies that I pop in every once in a while just to have some fun. Craig Gillespie is a filmmaker to watch in the future, the cast gives fantastic performances, and it’s just a ton of fun. If you go see this movie, I would recommend opting for the 3D showing because it is used phenomenally well. If you want some damn good entertainment at the movies, you can’t go wrong with Fright Night.
8.5/10
Just a few spoilers after the “read more” break for some moments that I really enjoyed. If you haven’t seen Fright Night yet, don’t click “read more”!
Read moreI am pissed b/c it is Free Movie Tuesdays and as you all know I want to see the Fright Night remake, but it’s only playing in 3D and 3D blows and it’s going to ruin watching the film for me so now we are going to be stuck watching Anne Hathaway run after Jim Sturgess on a bunch of windy days…
3D is not going away, sorry to break it to you. Do you think theater owners would invest in expensive ass 3D projection if it was only going to be around for a couple of years? I’m not saying you should LOVE 3D or anything, you can think whatever you want to think, makes no difference to me. But if you’re a fan of going to the movies constantly (like I am) and you’re going to be upset every time you see a 3D movie is showing, get ready for a lifetime of anger and disappointment lol.
By the way, the 3D usage in Fright Night is quite good. It’s dim at times, I’ll give you that, but about halfway through the movie I forgot I was watching a 3D movie, which is usually my bar for 3D. When the 3D is immersive and you don’t have to think about the fact that you’re doing something extra, that’s when you know it’s done right. I’m 100% against post-conversion 3D just to make a couple extra bucks, but when it’s shot in 3D and used right, I definitely like the experience.
This review is going to be pretty short because I really don’t know how to talk about straight up comedies except for, “I thought it was funny” or “it wasn’t that funny.” LOL
When I first heard about Horrible Bosses, I thought it sounded awesome. A bunch of regular joes who want to kill their bosses? Something all of us can relate to as far as wanting to do, but to go through with it? That’s just a hilariously dark premise to begin with, I couldn’t wait to see how they mined that idea. Then you get Seth Gordon, who directed one of my favorite documentaries The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (which is on Netflix watch instantly by the way!), to direct and an absolutely stacked cast to run with. How can you lose?
Unfortunately, that much anticipation may have ultimately lead to my overall disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, Horrible Bosses is a funny movie, but I guess I just expected so much more from all parties involved.
Seth Gordon’s direction was pedestrian to say the least. It just seems like he was there to just let the camera roll and collect a paycheck. This movie has nothing unique or original to deliver from a stylistic perspective or a storytelling one, and I thought I would never say that about the man who made The King of Kong. Granted, that was a documentary but you still have to edit it together to tell a compelling story which he did there. Gordon keeps the movie moving is about the best thing I can say.
The cast is probably the best aspect of the film, without them the movie would probably be shit. As I once read from an online commenter “Charlie Day is a national fucking treasure.” Jason Sudeikis is probably the weak link in the cast, he’s all right though (side note: when did Sudeikis all of a sudden get crowned as the next king of comedy? What has he done to earn that and all these roles he’s been getting?). Jason Bateman is typical Jason Batement, so he’s pretty good.
The titular bosses are straight up gold though. They’re caricatures for sure, but damn hilarious ones. Colin Farrell was the best boss, hands down. His character was just so weird, creepy, and dickish. Unfortunately, he also has the least amount of screen time of the three bosses. Jennifer Aniston is great as this inappropriate sexual boss, although as someone pointed out, if the roles were reversed and it was a MALE sexually harassing a FEMALE co-worker, it would be HORRIFYING and extremely disgusting. Kevin Spacey (where has he been the last few years?) is also pretty great, although you expect that from an Academy Award winning actor. Jamie Foxx (another Academy Award winner) was really funny as well, first movie I liked him in since Collateral, and great fucking character name hahaha.
Despite the appealing cast, it was disappointing that the movie was sort of just an acceptable broad comedy. The characters can be summed up in one sentence, as can the bosses (which they actually do for you in the film, how convenient /sarcasm). Bateman is the straight man, Day is the wacky guy, and Sudeikis is the “good looking” asshole (good looking in parenthesis because he’s not THAT good looking, especially compared a similar comedy trio’s good looking asshole like say The Hangover’s Bradley Cooper). Spacey is the lunatic boss, Aniston is the molester boss, and Farrell is the idiot boss.
The movie just doesn’t reach for greatness, it reaches for passability and succeeds. It’s like when you go into a test and think “it would be so great to get a C” and then you get a C and you feel relieved. I feel like this movie has a grade A premise that only gets C level results. I hope somebody remakes this movie with a darker tone and an edge to it, because while the movie is funny, it’s nothing really memorable.
Horrible Bosses is a decent time in the theater, but don’t get your expectations too high up. The wonderful cast is what keeps the movie going and makes it funny. It has such a great premise but it doesn’t make use of it, what a shame.
6/10
My God I forgot how much I love this movie. I haven’t seen it in about a year or a year and a half. Decided to give it a watch after a little back and forth discussion with @cr8vecrmsda, thanks for that!
I’ll start off by saying that the marketing and advertising of this film is absolute garbage. This is misrepresentation at it’s highest degree. Let me type out the description of the film from the back of the DVD.
“Colin Farrell and Academy Award-nominee Ralph Fiennes star in this edgy, action-packed comedy filled with thrilling chases, spectacular shoot outs and an explosive ending you won’t want to miss!”
How fucking wrong is that description? There are scene with guns, but I wouldn’t exactly call them “shoot outs” like you’d see in Bad Boys 2. The chase scene is thrilling, but there’s ONE chase scene in the movie.
If I had to describe the film I would call In Bruges a black comedy about hitmen that has a lot of fun but is very brooding. The humor is dry and has a particular quality to it, not everybody is going to love it. That being said, I loved it haha. I think it’s hilarious and the character work is so good. The actors bring their A game to the table. The movie is basically a Harry Potter reunion lovefest, cast-wise that is haha. Besides Colin Farrell, who obviously has never been in a Harry Potter movie, you’ve got Brendan Gleeson (Alastor Moody), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Clemence Poesy (Fleur Delacour), and Ciaran Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore).
The scene where Brendan Gleeson first talks to Ralph Fiennes on the phone is such a fantastic piece of work. First off, it’s one continous long take that’s about five minutes on the phone. Talking on the phone in movies can be a logistical nightmare because you have to sync up dialogue between the two actors. This is generally manageable when you have cuts back and forth between both people speaking on the phone, but in one long take? In this scene, we stay on Brendan Gleeson and he has to get all his dialogue perfectly and then someone has to say all of Ralph Fiennes’s dialogue when Gleeson takes pauses. Not only that, but the performance has to be pitch perfect because there’s no coverage, it’s one long take. You can’t just edit together different takes, you HAVE to get it right in one long take. This scene reminds me of the triple split screen phone call in When Harry Met Sally where Rob Reiner splits the screen into thirds and two simultaneous phone calls are going at the exact same time in one continuous take. It’s just fucking difficult, isn’t it?
The movie switches tones quite often and undercuts quite a few plot mechanics that typical films have.
There’s some spoilery stuff I want to talk about so don’t go past “read more” unless you’ve seen In Bruges or don’t care about spoilers, enjoy!
Read moreHahahah this looks pretty good. Colin Farrell looks hilarious, “you can fire Professor Xavier” LMFAO! The last line of the trailer is absolutely killer too, @buffalosnacker just watch for that last line, priceless…
The movie that made my opinion of Colin Farrell go from “eh” to “this guy is awesome!”
Clerks- 9/10, Believe it or not, I’ve never seen the Clerks in it’s entirety. For a guy obsessed with movies, shocking right? Qualitatively speaking, I think this is Kevin Smith’s best film. I’ve got a soft spot for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma is pretty great, and Chasing Amy is really good as well, but Clerks is seminal Kevin Smith. The dialogue has such a good pacing and rhythm to it and it’s so smartly written that even if the actors aren’t necessarily the most capable, it’s still damn entertaining and hilarious to watch. As a movie enthusiast, there’s nothing more entertaining than watching a conversation about the roofers and plumbers were innocent victims when the rebels blew up the Death Star in Star Wars Return of the Jedi, shit is HILARIOUS. Definitely looking forward to revisiting this one again.
Mercy- 6.5/10, I had never heard of this movie until Jason let me borrow it, so I had no idea what to expect as far as biases towards or against the film. I thought it was a solid love drama. Nothing spectacular, but it’s competently acted and put together. It’s a gorgeous looking film though, really warm lush scenery, beautifully shot. I feel like the storytelling was flawed, about halfway through the film we get a huge jump in time that kind of comes out of nowhere. It’s easy enough to figure out what’s going on, but it doesn’t really allow for maximum impact of the story to hit the audience. That being said, there was still enough positives to warrant a watch.
A Home at the End of the World- 3/10, I’m really not sure what the hell I thought this movie was going to be when I went into it, but not this. The trailer was really nondescript, I meant it’s been a while since I’ve seen the trailer, but I didn’t get the impression it would be like this. Anyways, this movie was just bad. The first half hour of the film is is like one of the worst first half hours of a film I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m not even kidding, it’s like on Wicker Man levels of bad, without any of the enjoyment of laughing at the film that you get with Wicker Man. That first half hour is so terrible at setting up the characters as far as their defining characteristics or motivations. There are a ton of WTF moments, where scattershot scenes just come out of nowhere with no indication of why it is happening. Just awful, awful, awful plot, transitions, acting, character development, it was just SO BAD. The movie picks up a bit after that first half hour, but it doesn’t really ever get good. I think Colin Farrell is pretty solid in this film and there’s some decent acting all around, but not enough to save it from it’s shortcomings. Just a really awful movie, thankfully I only paid 1.50 for this movie, yeesh…
