What I Watched, What You Watched: Installment #65
I experienced a 'close encounter' for the first time
I apologize for the delay of today's edition, but I wanted to make sure I had a movie this week to add to the discussion so I waited until I finished watching one late Sunday evening before posting. On top of the one film below, over the course of the week I also watched this Tuesday's upcoming new Blu-ray releases for Goonies and Toy Story 3 as well as last week's Criterion Blu-ray release of Paths of Glory. So expect reviews on all three of those very shortly. For now, here's the one film outside of those I watched this week…
| Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) |
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| QUICK THOUGHTS: Believe it or not, this was the first time I ever saw Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind the whole way through. I had seen bits and pieces in the past, but never the whole thing from start to finish. In 2007 I was sent the Blu-ray Ultimate 30th Anniversary Edition and at the time I didn't have a Blu-ray player and the impressive nature of Sony's package is actually what prompted me to decide to get in on the Blu-craze, and yet I never ended up returning to the one film that inspired the decision. As for what I thought, I'm not quite sure I want to say just yet since I decided to watch the original 1977 theatrical edition first and now have the included Special Edition and Director's Cut to look at. Traditionally I wouldn't want to hold my thoughts so close to the chest, but I have heard there are dramatic differences from version to version so I'm not sure I want to provide a final opinion just yet. I will say it is a film that intrigued me, the first act is phenomenal, but the second act tends to drag toward a finale that is a bit up and down. It's for these reasons I don't want to say too much more, since I have heard the special edition alone corrects almost everything I'm talking about. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to the alternate versions, but I am hoping to watch at least one of them this week so hopefully I can have a Close Encounters Redux entry next week. | |
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So that's all I have for you this week. Any of you check out the new films in theaters?
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- Winter's Bone (3.5/4) – After seeing this movie, i'm now have to wonder if characters from movies about people who complain about how they need answers in there life are just spoiled brats.
- The Social Network (4/4) – Enjoyed it even more the second time.
- Hard Eight (3/4) – It's interesting to see something that feels so simple for Paul Thomas Anderson.
- Cars (3/4) – This is probably my least favorite Pixar film. It just doesn't seem to have the magic of the others.
- Last Chance Harvey (2.5/4) Dustin Hoffmans performance makes it watchable, but it's still a pretty boring movie.
Finally got a chance to see Toy Story 3. Looks amazing on Bluray. Definitely a worthy addition to the series. In short, I loved it.
Another I finally got to see was Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. And again, I loved it. Ive watched it 3 times already, and I think it gets better each time I watch it.
Also watched the series premiere of "The Walking Dead" on AMC. This was quite phenomenal. I was incredibly impressed, and hope everyone checks it out, so we get more seasons. Quite intense, both viscerally and emotionally. Acting was great, and the action was excellent. It was also shockingly violent, bloody and gory for a TV14 rated show, not to mention the fact they also got away with frequent use of "shit". Dont think Ive seen a non-TVMA show get away with that.
Anyway, check it out if you havent, just about the most cinematic show Ive seen in a long time.
Despicable Me – A
Much better than Toy Story 3 in my opinion. Fun film and a touching story. Also good use of 3D although that probably wasn't absolutely necessary.
Prinsessa (Princess) – C+
I don't usually watch that much domestic movies but I decided to see this because everyone else seems to have and I wanted to see for myself what the fuss is about. This is probably going to be the box office winner this year in Finland. It's a true story about Anna who was committed to psychiatric care in the nineteen forties. She was in the hospital for over 50 years telling everyone that she's a princess. The movie tells the story of the community of doctors, nurses and patients in the hospital and also about the cruel treatments of that time. Interesting subject but there was something missing and strangely also too much of everything. They should have focused more on Anna and not try to cover half a dozen other patients and the history of treatment of mental illness. Director Arto Halonen has made excellent documentaries before so I'll be looking forward to what he does next.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest – A+
Inspired by the story of the Princess I wanted to see this classic film again. Amazing movie, I love it. I remember being totally shocked and appalled by the horror of it all when I first saw this as a teenager but now I can appreciate the beauty of the story. The ending is perfect.
Wall Street-2 – A-
The Other Guys – C-
Marty (1955)- I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but everything about it was great, especially Borgnine’s leading performance. 8/10
The Last House on the Left (1972) (2nd viewing)- Found it dirt cheap and decided to pick it up. Originally I had wrote that it was probably the most disgusting movie I had seen, and I think with the rewatch I’m now certain of that fact. The one decision I came to was how much I hate the scenes with the two goofy cops, which bring the movie down and ruin some of the pacing. 8/10 (same rating)
Saw VII (2010)- I thought it was good up until the ending where they pretty much asked random message boards for fan-fics and filmed the ending to whoever wrote the most predictable ending. For being the last entry, they sure ended it on an anticlimactic note. 6/10
Let Me In (2010)- I agree it was pretty close to the Swedish adaptation, but I think I liked Let Me In just a bit more than Let the Right One In. I found Kodi Smit-McPhee and Kåre Hedebrant to roughly have the same performance where they were good in their roles, but neither really stood out as amazing. As for Abby/Eli, Chloe Moretz and Lina Leandersson were similar, but had just enough differences from each other that they weren’t identical. Personally, I’d say it came down to the storylines of Eli/Abby’s gender and her self control. With Let the Right One In, Leandersson had a bit more mystique about her because of the gender issue, giving the character a little more definition. When it came to her thirst for blood, Eli also appeared to have excellent self control over herself. With Abby it was about the opposite. Having a more straightforward gender probably did more for Owen than it did for her, but the problem I had was that Reeves (the writer and director) pretty much lead up with the gender issue, but when it came time to show the audience some kind of clue about that, he just cut it out. With an extra thirty seconds or so of film, the storyline would have been back in and not disrupt the flow of the movie. With the self control over her thirst, I liked that Abby had more of a struggle to suppress her desire, which added more to her character when it came down to Abby and Owen’s relationship. 8/10
Mulholland Dr (2001) (2nd Viewing)- I finally got around to watching it again and still liked it. I picked up on a few more things, which was great because I like movies that have more to them than what can be summed up in one viewing. 8/10 (no change)
At Close Range (rewatch): A-; Solid crime thriller featuring great performances from Sean Penn, Christopher Walken and the late Chris Penn. Beautifully shot and intriguing premise, which is actually a true story.
Saw 3D: F; The worst film I have ever seen.
Nowhere Boy: B+; Excellent film featuring a great performance from Aaron Johnson. Terrifically shot and engrossing.
The Crow (rewatch): B+; The first time I saw this, I must say, I thought it was lackluster. Second time around, I see what all the fuss is about. It is a dark and gritty comic book film with action sequences that became a first of their kind. Definitely creeping up on my list.
In cinemas –
RED (2010) – I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I think the attraction was from considerably higher calibre older actors (Willis aside) being quite playful amidst an essentially very silly story and just enjoying themselves. It translated through the screen and while it's not an outstanding film, it was entertaining.
On DVD –
Shutter Island – rewatch but first watch since in the cinemans. This is one of my favourites of the year and even better second time round. I find knowing the end casts a whole different perspective on watching the film afterwards. I prefer DiCaprio's performance in this to his performance in Inception and unlike Inception actually cared about him and his story. With excellent supporting cast and visuals that are just sumptuous this will be a favourite for a long time to come.
Trick 'r' Treat (2007) – Halloween, so had to squeeze in a seasonal film or two! Why this wasn't able to get a cinema release I have no idea. It's far truer to the ideas of Halloween and the holiday than endless Saw gorefests or Paranormal Activity style scares. But they make money and stuff like this film doesn't. Fun, creepy and with a visual flair it's a holiday treat!
Shutter (2008) – The US remake of the Japanese film. It was ok, more of a mystery than a horror. Nothing very special though.
The Night Listener (2006) – Not what I expected at all. It was interesting and quite intriguing but I may have to watch it again sometime to get a proper feel for it. Nice performance by Toni Collette.
Supernova (1999) – Lord, what a mess. I had heard it was troubled but even at that, this is such a total mess of a film I'm amazed it was thought fit to release. Abysmal. Even though some effects were pretty good.
Saw 3D – 2/5 – Boringly similar to the earlier films.
Easy A – 3.5/5 – A great vehicle for Emma Stone.
The Collector – 2/5 – Worse than the recent Saw films.
Good Hair – 3/5 – Fitfully amusing and insightful.
The Experiment(2010) – 2.5/5 – The original and even the Veronica Mars version, were far better.
Lost Boys: The Thirst – 2/5 – The only positive is that it was at least better than the first DVD sequel and Feldman was ok.
Shutter Island (Rewatch) – Definitely in my Top 3 for the year. I do rate Inception more highly but DiCaprio is brilliant here. Ben Kingsley's equally good performance can also be appreciated better upon 2nd viewing.
- Score for Shutter Island is 4/5
The Departed re watch-A+ Probably one of my top 5 favorites. Just don't like watching DiCaprio die at the end.