There are two big tragedies in life, one is living in a world where everybody lies, and the other, even worse, is living in a world where everybody says the truth.
I guess this is the message of the movie.
In a world where everybody is honest, the one who is not becomes a hero and a quite successful guy.
This couldn’t of course happen in everyday contemporary world, but "For what is Truth?
In matters of religion, it is simply the opinion that has survived.
In matters of science, it is the ultimate sensation. In matters of
art, it is one's last mood."
It is a way of denying reality.
Aren’t dreams much better?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Dorian Gray
One thing must be said and that is today’s movies are so technically good that it is a pleasure to look at them, even if the movie is nothing new or nothing special.
This in my opinion is the case with this.
The picture is so perfect, and so crisp, it is almost like being there.
I nevertheless would never make a movie out of any of Oscar Wilde´s work.
Its work is great for the way it is written, for what he says, not certainly for the story.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was one of my favorite (being Oscar Wilde one of my favorite author).
Not certainly the Movie.
This in my opinion is the case with this.
The picture is so perfect, and so crisp, it is almost like being there.
I nevertheless would never make a movie out of any of Oscar Wilde´s work.
Its work is great for the way it is written, for what he says, not certainly for the story.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was one of my favorite (being Oscar Wilde one of my favorite author).
Not certainly the Movie.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The end could really surprise you
Many leading movies have surprise endings. And audiences love that. The surprise ending can be tough to get right and sometimes overdone but it can be impossible to keep the secret once it’s out. Here are 10 movies that got it right - their surprises really were just that.
10. The Crying Game
The big surprise in this movie does not happen in the end but half way through. The movie has a stunning end which was talked of as a spoiler for a long time. The film was about an IRA member (Stephen Rea) whose relationship with a woman (Jaye Davidson) takes the most unexpected turn.
9. Brazil
A troubled technocrat, Sam Lowry works in a futuristic society that is inefficient. He dreams of the time when he can spend the days with the woman of his dreams away from overpowering bureaucracy and technology. In the film Lowry meets Jill Layton, the woman of his dreams. Meanwhile, he is charged by the bureaucracy for being involved in some terrorist bombings, and both his and Jill’s lives are endangered.
8. The Sting
When a mob boss kills a mutual friend, two con men try to take revenge by pulling off the big con on the mob boss. The story has several last minute alterations and unexpected twists. The young con man is Johnny Hooker who is taught by Luther. One day they pull one of their con jobs without knowing that the man they conned is the courier for a numbers runner. The boss, Doyle Lonigan, sees it as a personal attack and orders the people involved to be terminated. From here the film proceeds to have a surprising twist in the end.
7. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The story of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and the others is not over with the destruction of the Death Star - it moves forward in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Imperial forces have made the Rebels to hide themselves in Hoth, the Ice World. However they cannot escape the wrath of Darth Vader for a long time as he devastates the Rebel base. Luke flees to Dagobah to begin Jedi Knight training with Yoda, while Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and C-3PO run the blockade of Imperial Star Destroyers in the Millennium Falcon.
6. Identity
In this film, the first two-thirds of its showtime is spent laying the pieces of a horror movie puzzle which then moves into an ambitious and brilliant psychological murder mystery with maximum plot twists which can confuse even the best mystery movie enthusiast. Identity can also be called a mature and sleek murder mystery and not a cheap horror film.
5. Psycho
This is not a gory film exactly and contains just three big shocks. The rest of the film is devoted to setting suspense, setting scenes and playing with our minds. But those three shocks are enough to leave our heads spinning because of the thrill and excitement – Hitchcock sees to that nicely.
4. Beneath the planet of the Apes
This one is a continuation of the first film of its kind. Another space ship crashes in the forbidden area on the planet. The ship is manned by Brent (James Franciscus) and the captain Maddox (Tod Andrews) both of whom die in the crash. Nova (Linda Harrison), Taylor’s mate shows them the ape city. In the forbidden zone something dangerous is going on and the apes want to invade by being proactive. The intelligent humans mutated by radiation long ago turn to be the enemy.
3. Fight Club
This film based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk is a contemporary play giving warnings regarding the decay of society. The unnamed protagonist is Edward Norton who starts attending meetings and support groups to keep himself occupied. Though he is not suffering from any problems, he finds solace in the groups. This is destroyed after his meeting with Marla (Helena Bonham Carter). He finds that his life is changed once again, by a chance meeting with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), whose no-nonsense style of communication appeals to our narrator. Pitt and Norton make a superb duo, and the film has some comic moments and a surprising end.
2. Usual Suspects
This film opens with a catastrophe in a shipyard and we can see the interrogation of a handicapped and a sad faced survivor Verbal Kint ( Spacey) and things that led to the killings. We will be tantalized with questions such as what really happened in the shipyard, whether Verbal is telling the truth to the investigating lawman or protecting someone and finally who is Keyser Soze throughout the film.
1. The Sixth Sense
Masterfully directed and amazingly well written and acted, “The Sixth Sense” will move, captivate, and scare you. The surprise end of the movie will leave your head spinning.This is one movie which will leave a lasting impression on your mind. Haley Joel Osment starts seeing dead people and his therapist, Bruce Willis, too many times. The true shocker comes with the twist at the end of M. Night Shyamalan’s best film.
more...
10. The Crying Game
The big surprise in this movie does not happen in the end but half way through. The movie has a stunning end which was talked of as a spoiler for a long time. The film was about an IRA member (Stephen Rea) whose relationship with a woman (Jaye Davidson) takes the most unexpected turn.
9. Brazil
A troubled technocrat, Sam Lowry works in a futuristic society that is inefficient. He dreams of the time when he can spend the days with the woman of his dreams away from overpowering bureaucracy and technology. In the film Lowry meets Jill Layton, the woman of his dreams. Meanwhile, he is charged by the bureaucracy for being involved in some terrorist bombings, and both his and Jill’s lives are endangered.
8. The Sting
When a mob boss kills a mutual friend, two con men try to take revenge by pulling off the big con on the mob boss. The story has several last minute alterations and unexpected twists. The young con man is Johnny Hooker who is taught by Luther. One day they pull one of their con jobs without knowing that the man they conned is the courier for a numbers runner. The boss, Doyle Lonigan, sees it as a personal attack and orders the people involved to be terminated. From here the film proceeds to have a surprising twist in the end.
7. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The story of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and the others is not over with the destruction of the Death Star - it moves forward in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Imperial forces have made the Rebels to hide themselves in Hoth, the Ice World. However they cannot escape the wrath of Darth Vader for a long time as he devastates the Rebel base. Luke flees to Dagobah to begin Jedi Knight training with Yoda, while Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and C-3PO run the blockade of Imperial Star Destroyers in the Millennium Falcon.
6. Identity
In this film, the first two-thirds of its showtime is spent laying the pieces of a horror movie puzzle which then moves into an ambitious and brilliant psychological murder mystery with maximum plot twists which can confuse even the best mystery movie enthusiast. Identity can also be called a mature and sleek murder mystery and not a cheap horror film.
5. Psycho
This is not a gory film exactly and contains just three big shocks. The rest of the film is devoted to setting suspense, setting scenes and playing with our minds. But those three shocks are enough to leave our heads spinning because of the thrill and excitement – Hitchcock sees to that nicely.
4. Beneath the planet of the Apes
This one is a continuation of the first film of its kind. Another space ship crashes in the forbidden area on the planet. The ship is manned by Brent (James Franciscus) and the captain Maddox (Tod Andrews) both of whom die in the crash. Nova (Linda Harrison), Taylor’s mate shows them the ape city. In the forbidden zone something dangerous is going on and the apes want to invade by being proactive. The intelligent humans mutated by radiation long ago turn to be the enemy.
3. Fight Club
This film based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk is a contemporary play giving warnings regarding the decay of society. The unnamed protagonist is Edward Norton who starts attending meetings and support groups to keep himself occupied. Though he is not suffering from any problems, he finds solace in the groups. This is destroyed after his meeting with Marla (Helena Bonham Carter). He finds that his life is changed once again, by a chance meeting with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), whose no-nonsense style of communication appeals to our narrator. Pitt and Norton make a superb duo, and the film has some comic moments and a surprising end.
2. Usual Suspects
This film opens with a catastrophe in a shipyard and we can see the interrogation of a handicapped and a sad faced survivor Verbal Kint ( Spacey) and things that led to the killings. We will be tantalized with questions such as what really happened in the shipyard, whether Verbal is telling the truth to the investigating lawman or protecting someone and finally who is Keyser Soze throughout the film.
1. The Sixth Sense
Masterfully directed and amazingly well written and acted, “The Sixth Sense” will move, captivate, and scare you. The surprise end of the movie will leave your head spinning.This is one movie which will leave a lasting impression on your mind. Haley Joel Osment starts seeing dead people and his therapist, Bruce Willis, too many times. The true shocker comes with the twist at the end of M. Night Shyamalan’s best film.
more...
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Disney acquires Marvin
The news broke that beloved comic book (and tentpole movie franchise) company Marvel is being acquired by Disney, meaning Avengers mansion now sits on the same block as the House of Mouse. While the business side of the deal makes sense - Marvel has some great content just aching to be made into movies - as geeks, we can only tremble in fear when considering what could happen to some of our most beloved properties. And so here is our top (bottom?) 10 list of movies events we fear will happen as a result of Disney buying Marvel:
10: Beauty & The Hulk - in this updated version of the animated Disney classic, Selena Gomez plays Dr. Bryce Banner, a talented physicist who learns a life lesson about self-image when her gamma-ray experiment creates unintended results.
9: Mutant High School Musical - It’s a teen-angst musical, set at a high-school full of mutants!
8: Ultimate Jonas Brothers - The boy band’s Monkees-esque antics take on a harder-edge; they all grow beards.
7: Herbie the Love Sentinel - Poor Herbie will be relegated to the junk-yard if he doesn’t kill some mutants, but Emily Osment as a young Emma Frost wins him over to the side of good, and wins the Westchester 500 to boot!
6: The Wizards of Xavier Place - The three Russo kids find out they’re not really wizards, they’re mutants! Time to go to a new school…
5: Snow White and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants - A lost Snow must take care of a band of cantankerous baddies. With Blob as Grumpy, and Toad as Dopey.
4: The Scarlet Witch - this will be a major movie event, with Miley “Hannah Montanna” Cyrus playing the troubled reality-controlling mutant, along with her annoying speedster-brother, Quicksilver, and special guest appearance by Billy Ray Cyrus as her father, Magneto.
3: Wolverine in Wonderland - Logan takes a tumble down the rabbit’s hole, and hilarity ensues. “I’ll show you ‘off with his head, bub!’”
2: Hayao Miyazaki’s Guardians of the Galaxy - actually, if this happened, we’d SO be there!
1: Muppet Avengers Assemble!
Geekdad
10: Beauty & The Hulk - in this updated version of the animated Disney classic, Selena Gomez plays Dr. Bryce Banner, a talented physicist who learns a life lesson about self-image when her gamma-ray experiment creates unintended results.
9: Mutant High School Musical - It’s a teen-angst musical, set at a high-school full of mutants!
8: Ultimate Jonas Brothers - The boy band’s Monkees-esque antics take on a harder-edge; they all grow beards.
7: Herbie the Love Sentinel - Poor Herbie will be relegated to the junk-yard if he doesn’t kill some mutants, but Emily Osment as a young Emma Frost wins him over to the side of good, and wins the Westchester 500 to boot!
6: The Wizards of Xavier Place - The three Russo kids find out they’re not really wizards, they’re mutants! Time to go to a new school…
5: Snow White and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants - A lost Snow must take care of a band of cantankerous baddies. With Blob as Grumpy, and Toad as Dopey.
4: The Scarlet Witch - this will be a major movie event, with Miley “Hannah Montanna” Cyrus playing the troubled reality-controlling mutant, along with her annoying speedster-brother, Quicksilver, and special guest appearance by Billy Ray Cyrus as her father, Magneto.
3: Wolverine in Wonderland - Logan takes a tumble down the rabbit’s hole, and hilarity ensues. “I’ll show you ‘off with his head, bub!’”
2: Hayao Miyazaki’s Guardians of the Galaxy - actually, if this happened, we’d SO be there!
1: Muppet Avengers Assemble!
Geekdad
Monday, August 24, 2009
SCI-FI movies you cannot miss
If you are a fan of SCI-fi movies you cannot miss these.
While great sci-fi movies have made their presence and influenced movies of all genres to this day, a lot of science fiction films over the years have gone quite unnoticed, even by today’s standards, with the Internet making it possible to spread word about independent “thinking man’s sci-fi” like Moon, Primer and, to some extent, Sunshine. Here are ten movies that are virtually not present in any “top 10 sci-fi ________ list” (fill in the blank).
Note: we intentionally did not include sequels, remakes nor animated features. And by “forgotten” and “underrated”, we mean amongst the general audience. Not necessarily movie buffs like us and the ones who frequently roam the Internets.
10: Code 46 (2004, IMDB link)
Code 46, the British sci-fi film set in the not too distant future where the population is divided between the wealthy ones staying in the cities, and the not so fortunate ones who have been delegated and separated outside. An insurance fraud investigator, played by Tim Robbins, is visiting Shanghai, where his investigation leads him to meeting a woman and… you’ll have to see the rest for yourself. There’s not much action or drama in the film — it’s rather slow and the pacing and story carefully unfold during the movie. It’s by no means a perfect film, but definitely worth seeing, if only for it’s beautiful photography.
9: Enemy Mine (1985, IMDB link)
In the distant future, mankind is fiercely fighting an alien civilization, and when a pilot from each side of the battling worlds crash land on a planet, they’re forced to work together in order to survive. It’s the sci-fi version of the buddy movie, yet very intelligent and, at times, emotional, offering an excellent comment on society, where “working together usually benefits both parties”. It was Wolfgang Petersen’s first success in North America after “Das Boot”, but sadly, one of his most forgotten ones.
8: Equilibrium (2002, IMDB link)
Christian Bale’s first real action movie, as a law enforcer in a dystopian future where human emotions and art are strictly forbidden in order to eradicate violence and war. So they are told. People are controlled with a daily intake of “equilibrium”. Bale’s character forgets to take the “medication”, and subsequently begins to “feel”, giving him a new perspective on the situation. While the movie wasn’t a commercial nor artistic hit, it offered an original view of a dystopian world, interesting action set pieces, and the introduction of the “gun kata”, a martial arts style which includes gun-fighting.
7: Pitch Black (2000, IMDB link)
Vin Diesel’s broke through as an action star in Pitch Black, playing the anti-hero Riddick amongst a group of survivals who crash landed on a planet where constant sunlight is scorching everything. Originally a prisoner, Riddick now turns out the be their only hope of survival. The movie was a big success at the box office, and critics applauded its originality and visual style. It has since been regarded as a cult classic, and while a sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, came out in 2004, it was a far cry from the original in almost every aspect but the size of the budget.
6: eXistenZ (1999, IMDB Link)
David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, while not the greatest title of a movie ever, was a unique take on virtual reality, unfortunately, the movie was overshadowed by another movie which dealt with the same concept; The Matrix. In Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, a game designer who is working on a virtual reality game has to immerse herself into the game in order to stop corruption of the game (or as some would call, “extreme bug hunting”). It’s a must see for fans of The Matrix and Dark City, which brings us to number 5 on our list…
5: Dark City (1998, IMDB Link)
Dark City is one of the most original sci-fi stories of the 1990’s, and to some extent, influenced The Matrix, which was released a year later. Despite receiving great reviews — Roger Ebert called it the best movie of 1998 — it wasn’t a hit at the box office and has since been forgotten by anyone but hard core sci-fi fans. Alex Proyas wrote the film in the early 90’s, but it only managed to get stuck in “production hell”, as they say, and moved from studio to studio until New Line finally put in production. The recent release of the Director’s Cut version, which includes 15 minutes of extra footage, is a must have in any DVD or Blu-ray collection.
4: The City of Lost Children (1995, IMDB Link)
Jean Pierre Jaunet’s and Marc Caro’s bizarre and surreal tale of a scientist who kidnaps children and steals their dreams in order to benefit himself is one of the most visually and artistically striking films of the last few decades. Being a native French movie with no English, it was still a hard sell for North American audience, and it received a limited, yet critically acclaimed release in 1996. Almost every aspect of the film feels original, from the plot, to the characters, to the visual style (which includes a lot or steam punk and retro futurism) — even the camera angles and shot compositions feel like something you’ve never seen before.
3: Gattaca (1997, IMDB link)
Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca was a true “thinking man’s” science fiction movie, dealing with a society where genetics determine one’s class and thereby the possibilities in life. One of the unfortunate ones, Vincent Freeman (played by Ethan Hawke), who has only been given a life expectancy of 30 years, changes place with one of the lucky ones (played by Jude Law), in order to fulfill his wish to travel into outer space. Gattaca is one of the few sci-fi dramas that have ever been made, and offers a provocative, and at times, striking view of the future where genetics play a far bigger role than today.
2: Brazil (1985, IMDB link)
What happens if you mix Monty Python and 1984? You get Brazil, Terry Gilliam’s genius and satirical take on a dystopian society where bureaucracy, endless paperwork and bad jobs in an industrialized megacity are the norm. It’s take on 1984 is obvious, and while in production, the working title was 1984 1/2. Even with a modest budget of less than $10 million, the movie has astonishing production values, however, it remains largely forgotten. In addition to 12 Monkeys, Brazil is one of Gilliam’s most successful — at least artistically speaking — movies, and has since become a cult classic.
1: Stalker (1979, IMDB link)
Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky — one of Russia’s finest — will most likely be remembered by one film in his career; Stalker, and it’s unfortunate that so many are unaware of it today. The movie was originally shot by Tarkovksy over a period of a year, only to be destroyed because it was shot on an experimental film that the Soviet film labs were unfamiliar with. This didn’t discourage him from shooing it again, this time with a new cinematographer, Aleksandr Knyazhinsky, and together they created one of the most visually stunning films of the time. Granted, the movie is not for everyone, it’s consists of lots of long shots, and its poetic style is the exact opposite of today’s action blockbusters like Transformers. But as far as science fiction goes, it’s an absolute masterpiece and it’s no wonder the film is one of the most studied at film schools around the world.
Links and pictures
While great sci-fi movies have made their presence and influenced movies of all genres to this day, a lot of science fiction films over the years have gone quite unnoticed, even by today’s standards, with the Internet making it possible to spread word about independent “thinking man’s sci-fi” like Moon, Primer and, to some extent, Sunshine. Here are ten movies that are virtually not present in any “top 10 sci-fi ________ list” (fill in the blank).
Note: we intentionally did not include sequels, remakes nor animated features. And by “forgotten” and “underrated”, we mean amongst the general audience. Not necessarily movie buffs like us and the ones who frequently roam the Internets.
10: Code 46 (2004, IMDB link)
Code 46, the British sci-fi film set in the not too distant future where the population is divided between the wealthy ones staying in the cities, and the not so fortunate ones who have been delegated and separated outside. An insurance fraud investigator, played by Tim Robbins, is visiting Shanghai, where his investigation leads him to meeting a woman and… you’ll have to see the rest for yourself. There’s not much action or drama in the film — it’s rather slow and the pacing and story carefully unfold during the movie. It’s by no means a perfect film, but definitely worth seeing, if only for it’s beautiful photography.
9: Enemy Mine (1985, IMDB link)
In the distant future, mankind is fiercely fighting an alien civilization, and when a pilot from each side of the battling worlds crash land on a planet, they’re forced to work together in order to survive. It’s the sci-fi version of the buddy movie, yet very intelligent and, at times, emotional, offering an excellent comment on society, where “working together usually benefits both parties”. It was Wolfgang Petersen’s first success in North America after “Das Boot”, but sadly, one of his most forgotten ones.
8: Equilibrium (2002, IMDB link)
Christian Bale’s first real action movie, as a law enforcer in a dystopian future where human emotions and art are strictly forbidden in order to eradicate violence and war. So they are told. People are controlled with a daily intake of “equilibrium”. Bale’s character forgets to take the “medication”, and subsequently begins to “feel”, giving him a new perspective on the situation. While the movie wasn’t a commercial nor artistic hit, it offered an original view of a dystopian world, interesting action set pieces, and the introduction of the “gun kata”, a martial arts style which includes gun-fighting.
7: Pitch Black (2000, IMDB link)
Vin Diesel’s broke through as an action star in Pitch Black, playing the anti-hero Riddick amongst a group of survivals who crash landed on a planet where constant sunlight is scorching everything. Originally a prisoner, Riddick now turns out the be their only hope of survival. The movie was a big success at the box office, and critics applauded its originality and visual style. It has since been regarded as a cult classic, and while a sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, came out in 2004, it was a far cry from the original in almost every aspect but the size of the budget.
6: eXistenZ (1999, IMDB Link)
David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, while not the greatest title of a movie ever, was a unique take on virtual reality, unfortunately, the movie was overshadowed by another movie which dealt with the same concept; The Matrix. In Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, a game designer who is working on a virtual reality game has to immerse herself into the game in order to stop corruption of the game (or as some would call, “extreme bug hunting”). It’s a must see for fans of The Matrix and Dark City, which brings us to number 5 on our list…
5: Dark City (1998, IMDB Link)
Dark City is one of the most original sci-fi stories of the 1990’s, and to some extent, influenced The Matrix, which was released a year later. Despite receiving great reviews — Roger Ebert called it the best movie of 1998 — it wasn’t a hit at the box office and has since been forgotten by anyone but hard core sci-fi fans. Alex Proyas wrote the film in the early 90’s, but it only managed to get stuck in “production hell”, as they say, and moved from studio to studio until New Line finally put in production. The recent release of the Director’s Cut version, which includes 15 minutes of extra footage, is a must have in any DVD or Blu-ray collection.
4: The City of Lost Children (1995, IMDB Link)
Jean Pierre Jaunet’s and Marc Caro’s bizarre and surreal tale of a scientist who kidnaps children and steals their dreams in order to benefit himself is one of the most visually and artistically striking films of the last few decades. Being a native French movie with no English, it was still a hard sell for North American audience, and it received a limited, yet critically acclaimed release in 1996. Almost every aspect of the film feels original, from the plot, to the characters, to the visual style (which includes a lot or steam punk and retro futurism) — even the camera angles and shot compositions feel like something you’ve never seen before.
3: Gattaca (1997, IMDB link)
Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca was a true “thinking man’s” science fiction movie, dealing with a society where genetics determine one’s class and thereby the possibilities in life. One of the unfortunate ones, Vincent Freeman (played by Ethan Hawke), who has only been given a life expectancy of 30 years, changes place with one of the lucky ones (played by Jude Law), in order to fulfill his wish to travel into outer space. Gattaca is one of the few sci-fi dramas that have ever been made, and offers a provocative, and at times, striking view of the future where genetics play a far bigger role than today.
2: Brazil (1985, IMDB link)
What happens if you mix Monty Python and 1984? You get Brazil, Terry Gilliam’s genius and satirical take on a dystopian society where bureaucracy, endless paperwork and bad jobs in an industrialized megacity are the norm. It’s take on 1984 is obvious, and while in production, the working title was 1984 1/2. Even with a modest budget of less than $10 million, the movie has astonishing production values, however, it remains largely forgotten. In addition to 12 Monkeys, Brazil is one of Gilliam’s most successful — at least artistically speaking — movies, and has since become a cult classic.
1: Stalker (1979, IMDB link)
Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky — one of Russia’s finest — will most likely be remembered by one film in his career; Stalker, and it’s unfortunate that so many are unaware of it today. The movie was originally shot by Tarkovksy over a period of a year, only to be destroyed because it was shot on an experimental film that the Soviet film labs were unfamiliar with. This didn’t discourage him from shooing it again, this time with a new cinematographer, Aleksandr Knyazhinsky, and together they created one of the most visually stunning films of the time. Granted, the movie is not for everyone, it’s consists of lots of long shots, and its poetic style is the exact opposite of today’s action blockbusters like Transformers. But as far as science fiction goes, it’s an absolute masterpiece and it’s no wonder the film is one of the most studied at film schools around the world.
Links and pictures
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The life of the others
I cannot say it is one of the best movies I recently saw, but I can say it is one of the movies I liked best (recently).
May be because I feel personally involved in it, living in the ex DDR (GDR) Republic.
I like to read History, not the one written in books, the one told by ordinary people, living an ordinary life, happening to be more or less in places where history is made.
And I saw that whatever is the frame, the life is similar.
Good or bad, better, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
It is the ordinary life made by ordinary people.
Good people and bad people.
I liked this movie, because it is a fair mirror of unfair events.
Not just one sided right and one sided wrong.
Mostly both sided feelings, including the ones we mostly despise which are oppression, unjustice and arrogance.
From a diamond nothing grows, from manure flowers do.
Watch the clip
It is in German.
Here is the text:
I've got a new one.
Honecker comes into his office,
opens the window, sees the sun, and says...
What's wrong?
Oh, excuse me... I just...
No, carry on, colleague!
No harm in laughing about
the Party Chairman, is there.
I probably know the joke anyway.
Come on, tell us!
Well... Honecker...
I mean, the Comrade General Secretary
sees the sun and says,
- "Good morning, dear sun!"
- More like, "Good morning, dear sun!"
The sun replies, "Good morning, dear Erich!"
And at noon, Erich goes to
the window and says,
"Good day, dear sun!"
The sun replies, "Good day, dear Erich!"
In the evening, Erich says again,
"Good evening, dear sun!"
and the sun doesn't reply.
"Good evening, dear sun... "
"What's wrong?" he asks.
And the sun replies,
"Screw you, I'm in the West now!"
Name?
Rank? Department?
Me?
Stigler.
2nd Lieutenant Axel Stigler. Dept. M.
I don't have to tell you
what this means for your career.
Please, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel,
I was just...
You were just deriding the Party!
That's incitement,
and likely just the tip of the iceberg!
I will report this to the Minister's office.
May be because I feel personally involved in it, living in the ex DDR (GDR) Republic.
I like to read History, not the one written in books, the one told by ordinary people, living an ordinary life, happening to be more or less in places where history is made.
And I saw that whatever is the frame, the life is similar.
Good or bad, better, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
It is the ordinary life made by ordinary people.
Good people and bad people.
I liked this movie, because it is a fair mirror of unfair events.
Not just one sided right and one sided wrong.
Mostly both sided feelings, including the ones we mostly despise which are oppression, unjustice and arrogance.
From a diamond nothing grows, from manure flowers do.
Watch the clip
It is in German.
Here is the text:
I've got a new one.
Honecker comes into his office,
opens the window, sees the sun, and says...
What's wrong?
Oh, excuse me... I just...
No, carry on, colleague!
No harm in laughing about
the Party Chairman, is there.
I probably know the joke anyway.
Come on, tell us!
Well... Honecker...
I mean, the Comrade General Secretary
sees the sun and says,
- "Good morning, dear sun!"
- More like, "Good morning, dear sun!"
The sun replies, "Good morning, dear Erich!"
And at noon, Erich goes to
the window and says,
"Good day, dear sun!"
The sun replies, "Good day, dear Erich!"
In the evening, Erich says again,
"Good evening, dear sun!"
and the sun doesn't reply.
"Good evening, dear sun... "
"What's wrong?" he asks.
And the sun replies,
"Screw you, I'm in the West now!"
Name?
Rank? Department?
Me?
Stigler.
2nd Lieutenant Axel Stigler. Dept. M.
I don't have to tell you
what this means for your career.
Please, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel,
I was just...
You were just deriding the Party!
That's incitement,
and likely just the tip of the iceberg!
I will report this to the Minister's office.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The secret life of bees
The bees are just the background.
Lily Owens, a 14 year-old girl, is haunted by the memory of her late mother whom she accidentally killed when a child.
But it is more a story as "how we were" of course we being the Americans.
And what they were is not always nice to remember.
But past is something you have to accept and if it is too painful you can always build a wailing wall and put small messages on a piece of paper...
That was not the right or at least a satisfying solution for May.
Lily finds five mothers, Rosaleen a new home, a new name and the right to vote.
T. Ray is a loser from the beginning to the end.
It is the classic example of "when you do not understand your mistakes you are going to repeat them endlessly".
He lost a wife, a daughter and the respect of the others.
Neil is the incarnation of the "American dream", a "negro" who wants to be a lawyer.
We do not know if he will, but we hope...
Lily Owens, a 14 year-old girl, is haunted by the memory of her late mother whom she accidentally killed when a child.
But it is more a story as "how we were" of course we being the Americans.
And what they were is not always nice to remember.
But past is something you have to accept and if it is too painful you can always build a wailing wall and put small messages on a piece of paper...
That was not the right or at least a satisfying solution for May.
Lily finds five mothers, Rosaleen a new home, a new name and the right to vote.
T. Ray is a loser from the beginning to the end.
It is the classic example of "when you do not understand your mistakes you are going to repeat them endlessly".
He lost a wife, a daughter and the respect of the others.
Neil is the incarnation of the "American dream", a "negro" who wants to be a lawyer.
We do not know if he will, but we hope...
Thursday, April 16, 2009
10 surprises for Summer
By now, it’s easy to know what to expect from the summer movie season. There will be a few movies with big robots (Transformers 2, Terminator). There will be at least one superhero movie (Wolverine). At least one Judd Apatow movie (Funny People) and at least one Adam Sandler movie (Funny People, again). Then there will be another movie only produced by Apatow (Year One). Finally, there will be a critically-acclaimed Pixar movie (Up) and, yep, it’s also a Harry Potter year.
Chances are, they won’t all be good. But we’re excited about them anyway, because they deliver everything we want out of summer movies: explosions, laughs, and, well, that’s pretty much it. We’re easily satisfied.
But then there are other movies. Movies that somehow find themselves in the summer season amidst all these blockbusters that just don’t jive with the summer spirit. They’re too serious, too treacly, or too completely, horribly awful. We present to you the top ten summer movies of 2009…that we guarantee will bomb.
Full article
10. Dance Flick (May 22nd)
Does anyone lament the death of the spoof movie? They were on a big roll for a while with the Scary Movies, and then on a smaller-but-still-profitable roll there with Date Movie and Epic Movie, but finally — after the painfully diminishing returns had hit their lowest point with Meet the Spartans — Superhero Movie and Disaster Movie flopped. And it was about time. But apparently the Wayans brothers, who did the first two Scary Movies, never got the memo. So they’re coming out with Dance Flick, and the title is all you need to know. To avoid paying money to see it.
9. Away We Go (June 5th)
Unlike Dance Flick, this is a movie that actually has higher aspirations in mind. In fact, on paper, it sounds terrific: The Office’s beloved John Krasinski and SNL’s undervalued Maya Rudolph team up for a comedy written by author Dave Eggers and directed by American Beauty’s Sam Mendes. It looked good, until we saw the trailer and realized it was so hipster-pretentious that it made us want to claw our eyes out. (No no, it’s deep, see, because he has a beard. And they stare off into space a lot while indie music plays.) Who’s not tired of that?
8. Final Destination: Death Trip 3D (August 28th)
Aren’t animated movies kind of embarrassed that the only other genre embracing 3D is B-grade horror? My Bloody Valentine 3D came out in January, and now we have this, actually the fourth Final Destination movie. (We imagine they were afraid Final Destination 4: Death Trip 3D would’ve been too confusing.)
7. Battle for Terra (May 1st)
Remember Delgo? Delgo was a computer-animated original story that took over $40 million and six years for an unknown independent animation studio to finish. Unfortunately, unknown independent animation studios don’t know much about marketing, so it set the record late last year for the worst per-theater opening weekend of a wide release ever. Battle for Terra, which screened at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival (yeah, it’s been sitting around not getting released for two years) looks like the next Delgo.
6. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (July 17th)
Battle for Terra premiered at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival, right? Well, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. It’s been mishandled by the Weinstein Company (which recently gave up the film to Senator Distribution) ever since. Not that that means we want to see it — it looks like the umpteenth crappy horror movie of recent months — but it does have rising star Amber Heard (the chick from Pineapple Express who also just booked a Johnny Depp movie) going for it. Of course, if you’re an Amber Heard fan, just go see The Informers when it comes out later this month; she spends the majority of the movie naked.
5. The Time Traveler’s Wife (August 14th)
We hear “Time Traveler,” we think: hey, time travel, sci-fi, that sounds cool. (Yes, we’re that easy to please.) But then we look at the official still photos from the movie: nothing but Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams staring at each other. Seriously, a bunch of production stills have been released, and that’s all they are. What a lame bait-and-switch. When you drop phrases like “Time Traveler,” we want Lost meets Back to the Future meets Star Trek IV, not a romantic drama!
4. Jennifer’s Body (September 18th)
At first, any movie starring Megan Fox with the word “body” in the title sounds like a winning idea. That is until you find out it’s written by Juno’s precocious one-hit-wonder, Diablo Cody. Not to mention Fox’s topless scene is said to have been cut. And on top of all that, it’s being billed as a “horror-comedy” which is just Hollywood speak for “we have no idea how to market this piece of crap, but we’re sure as hell going to try.” Sorry, Megan - we love you. But this one is going to be one for the sh!tter.
3. The Ugly Truth (July 24th)
At a glance, it looks like a pretty harmless romantic comedy. And we haven’t picked on Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (May 1st), starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, or When in Rome (August 14th), starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. So why are we complaining about this one? One, because it stars Katherine “I’m such a jerk that I publicly insulted the writers of my own show via not a slip of the tongue but a full-blown official statement” Heigl. And another, because the story seems sexist. Seriously, we know we just made fun of Heigl, but go with us here: she plays a morning show producer who can’t find love because she’s apparently too self-confident and successful — until a chauvinistic correspondent comes along who apparently tames her into falling in love with him. Kind of weird, right?
2. Imagine That (June 12th)
Eddie Murphy scored at the box office with Norbit, then failed badly with Meet Dave. So in a world where Daddy Day Care can gross over $100 million, what will audiences make of his return to family-friendly territory with Imagine That? Hopefully, that it looks like an even blander version of Bedtime Stories.
1. My Sister’s Keeper (June 26th)
Let’s see…My Sister’s Keeper, starring Abigail Breslin and Cameron Diaz, is the story of a girl who was genetically conceived as a bone marrow match for her leukemia-ridden older sister so that she could help her fight the disease via lots of surgeries and blood transfusions, and once she discovers this, takes her parents to court in order to emancipate herself from them. Who knows what happens to the sick sister (actually, we have an idea), but we are sure that we’re never watching this movie in a million years, and for something that sounds this emotionally devastating to be released in the otherwise happy-go-lucky whiz-bang summer season seems like it should be illegal. Just writing that synopsis made us want to crawl in bed for three days and sob.
Chances are, they won’t all be good. But we’re excited about them anyway, because they deliver everything we want out of summer movies: explosions, laughs, and, well, that’s pretty much it. We’re easily satisfied.
But then there are other movies. Movies that somehow find themselves in the summer season amidst all these blockbusters that just don’t jive with the summer spirit. They’re too serious, too treacly, or too completely, horribly awful. We present to you the top ten summer movies of 2009…that we guarantee will bomb.
Full article
10. Dance Flick (May 22nd)
Does anyone lament the death of the spoof movie? They were on a big roll for a while with the Scary Movies, and then on a smaller-but-still-profitable roll there with Date Movie and Epic Movie, but finally — after the painfully diminishing returns had hit their lowest point with Meet the Spartans — Superhero Movie and Disaster Movie flopped. And it was about time. But apparently the Wayans brothers, who did the first two Scary Movies, never got the memo. So they’re coming out with Dance Flick, and the title is all you need to know. To avoid paying money to see it.
9. Away We Go (June 5th)
Unlike Dance Flick, this is a movie that actually has higher aspirations in mind. In fact, on paper, it sounds terrific: The Office’s beloved John Krasinski and SNL’s undervalued Maya Rudolph team up for a comedy written by author Dave Eggers and directed by American Beauty’s Sam Mendes. It looked good, until we saw the trailer and realized it was so hipster-pretentious that it made us want to claw our eyes out. (No no, it’s deep, see, because he has a beard. And they stare off into space a lot while indie music plays.) Who’s not tired of that?
8. Final Destination: Death Trip 3D (August 28th)
Aren’t animated movies kind of embarrassed that the only other genre embracing 3D is B-grade horror? My Bloody Valentine 3D came out in January, and now we have this, actually the fourth Final Destination movie. (We imagine they were afraid Final Destination 4: Death Trip 3D would’ve been too confusing.)
7. Battle for Terra (May 1st)
Remember Delgo? Delgo was a computer-animated original story that took over $40 million and six years for an unknown independent animation studio to finish. Unfortunately, unknown independent animation studios don’t know much about marketing, so it set the record late last year for the worst per-theater opening weekend of a wide release ever. Battle for Terra, which screened at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival (yeah, it’s been sitting around not getting released for two years) looks like the next Delgo.
6. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (July 17th)
Battle for Terra premiered at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival, right? Well, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. It’s been mishandled by the Weinstein Company (which recently gave up the film to Senator Distribution) ever since. Not that that means we want to see it — it looks like the umpteenth crappy horror movie of recent months — but it does have rising star Amber Heard (the chick from Pineapple Express who also just booked a Johnny Depp movie) going for it. Of course, if you’re an Amber Heard fan, just go see The Informers when it comes out later this month; she spends the majority of the movie naked.
5. The Time Traveler’s Wife (August 14th)
We hear “Time Traveler,” we think: hey, time travel, sci-fi, that sounds cool. (Yes, we’re that easy to please.) But then we look at the official still photos from the movie: nothing but Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams staring at each other. Seriously, a bunch of production stills have been released, and that’s all they are. What a lame bait-and-switch. When you drop phrases like “Time Traveler,” we want Lost meets Back to the Future meets Star Trek IV, not a romantic drama!
4. Jennifer’s Body (September 18th)
At first, any movie starring Megan Fox with the word “body” in the title sounds like a winning idea. That is until you find out it’s written by Juno’s precocious one-hit-wonder, Diablo Cody. Not to mention Fox’s topless scene is said to have been cut. And on top of all that, it’s being billed as a “horror-comedy” which is just Hollywood speak for “we have no idea how to market this piece of crap, but we’re sure as hell going to try.” Sorry, Megan - we love you. But this one is going to be one for the sh!tter.
3. The Ugly Truth (July 24th)
At a glance, it looks like a pretty harmless romantic comedy. And we haven’t picked on Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (May 1st), starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, or When in Rome (August 14th), starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. So why are we complaining about this one? One, because it stars Katherine “I’m such a jerk that I publicly insulted the writers of my own show via not a slip of the tongue but a full-blown official statement” Heigl. And another, because the story seems sexist. Seriously, we know we just made fun of Heigl, but go with us here: she plays a morning show producer who can’t find love because she’s apparently too self-confident and successful — until a chauvinistic correspondent comes along who apparently tames her into falling in love with him. Kind of weird, right?
2. Imagine That (June 12th)
Eddie Murphy scored at the box office with Norbit, then failed badly with Meet Dave. So in a world where Daddy Day Care can gross over $100 million, what will audiences make of his return to family-friendly territory with Imagine That? Hopefully, that it looks like an even blander version of Bedtime Stories.
1. My Sister’s Keeper (June 26th)
Let’s see…My Sister’s Keeper, starring Abigail Breslin and Cameron Diaz, is the story of a girl who was genetically conceived as a bone marrow match for her leukemia-ridden older sister so that she could help her fight the disease via lots of surgeries and blood transfusions, and once she discovers this, takes her parents to court in order to emancipate herself from them. Who knows what happens to the sick sister (actually, we have an idea), but we are sure that we’re never watching this movie in a million years, and for something that sounds this emotionally devastating to be released in the otherwise happy-go-lucky whiz-bang summer season seems like it should be illegal. Just writing that synopsis made us want to crawl in bed for three days and sob.
Friday, March 6, 2009
The curious case of Benjamin Button
If you are one of those that seldom go to movies, this is one you shouldn’t miss.
Because even if you do not like the story (which is almost impossible) you will be astonished to see how modern science and makeup can change people.
The same actor is 50 years younger or older in the same movie.
The life of Benjamin goes backward, but that doesn’t make it better than ours.
On the contrary, if your life goes differently from all other human beings you are not allowed to live.
You are too old when you should be young and too young when you should be old.
But there is a magic moment in every life and in the one of Benjamin’s too, when he is not too old and not too young.
Those are the few moments that belong to any of us: The moments of love.
Few magic precious moments when you would like to stop and let life be that way forever.
But life goes on, for us and for him.
Because even if you do not like the story (which is almost impossible) you will be astonished to see how modern science and makeup can change people.
The same actor is 50 years younger or older in the same movie.
The life of Benjamin goes backward, but that doesn’t make it better than ours.
On the contrary, if your life goes differently from all other human beings you are not allowed to live.
You are too old when you should be young and too young when you should be old.
But there is a magic moment in every life and in the one of Benjamin’s too, when he is not too old and not too young.
Those are the few moments that belong to any of us: The moments of love.
Few magic precious moments when you would like to stop and let life be that way forever.
But life goes on, for us and for him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)