1408 (2007) -- Based on a Stephen King short story, I saw this one because I read it was one of the best horror movies of the decade... which it is not. Honestly, the movie suffers from what King's work suffers as well, so I guess they had that part right. The first 40 minutes or so are absolutely terrifying, but as the movie goes on, as the 'evil' is exposed, the fear starts to disappear, the plot thins and it just becomes stupidly predictable. I guess if they kept the psychological suspense going it would've been much better, but the whole plot is more or less explained halfway through. Sam Jackson's character is rather silly, reminds me of Cristopher Lambert as Rayden in Mortal Kombat. 6/10
Tau man ji D (a.k.a. Initial D - The Movie) (2005) -- Having never before seen the TV series or read the comic, I knew what it was about, but had no idea what to expect, especially when I knew the movie was based on them. Still, I wasn't disappointed. There is no amazing performance, no stunning girl and the Japanese style is completely there: dumb fat boy, woman object, smart kid, loudmouth bad guy, etc. Crash scenes are clearly CGI, though drift and chase scenes look very real, and very believable. An issue I had was the although the movie was in Japanese (I prefer watching movie in the original language), the subtitles were made using an online translator, so I never really got most of it. Still, it's not a movie where you need to catch all of it to keep track. Better yet, you don't have to be an Initial D fan to enjoy it.6.5/10
Hulk (2003) -- Probably the most introspective of the Marvel superhero movies. I never actually got a chance to see it, though I can see why so many people disliked it. It's what happens when you give a superhero to a director like Ang Lee... the movie is less about the hero and more about a love story and an introspection on the inherent evil of people... or something like that. I guess it got too philosophical and too deep for most audiences and after some time it just lost everyone. When you try to make people see these things and later introcude two people killing each other with their bare hands, it rarely comes out nicely. Great work on the editing and comic-style camera shots, though. But still falls short of the type of movie Marvel has us used to. 6/10
M (1931) -- If you see older movies that score high on most people's lists, you're definitely going to watch this one. And although upon watching it it really isn't that big of a deal, you have to remember that in 1931 no movies did what this one did. And that's just something that's amazing and it's a pattern repeated in great movie after great movie: they were the first ones to do... something. When most movies were about how great life is and how beautiful the world is, Fritz Lang made
M... a movie about a paedophile who has killed more than 10 girls and how the city goes into widespread panic, lynching everyone who comes close to a girl. The use of shadows and acting is also great. Funny that the movies was banned by the Nazis, even while being Germany's first movie with sound. It's #44 in IMDb's Top 250. 8.5/10
Paths of Glory (1957) -- Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this is a great movie. When soldiers in WW1 refuse to continue with an impossible attack, their superiors decide to make an example of them, so despite the battle scene being one of the greatest sequences of all time, it's the aftermath of it what makes the movie. Kirk Douglas acts perfectly and the whole cast is great. Amazingly short for a Kubrick movie (87 minutes), though it has all the Kubrick ingredients, including tragedy. It's #42 in IMDb's Top 250. 9/10
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) -- A good movie by Sidney Lumet (
Running on Empty,
Dog Day Afternoon,
Serpico), but nothing to write home about. It's a take on Muprhy's 'everything that can go wrong will go wrong', but I think the Cohen's
Fargo is the best example for that. Still, this movie apparently draws a lot of its inspiration from
Fargo, and maybe that's another reason why I dind't like it that much. Although Marisa Tomei is absolutely hot and has a few nekkid scenes. 7/10
Cidade dos Homens (a.k.a. City of Men) (2007) -- If you saw and liked
Cidade de Deus (City of God), you'll probably like this one. I'm not sure if it's a sequel (even IMDb is blurry on that), though it takes place in different favelas, it's more a story of friendship and doing the right thing than a story of violence, which it has a lot of. Not directed by Meirelles, but the style, cinematoraphy and scenes are very much alike. More like a parallel story of
City of God, me thinks. I liked it a lot. 9.5/10
Siworae (a.k.a. Il Mare) (2000) -- It's quite odd for a Korean movie to have a name in Italian. Oh well... it's hopelessly romantic and to be honest I was about to stop it a few times, but since I'd already started watching it. Remade in 2006 with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock (yay for Hollywood originality!) and named
The Lake House. It's pretty good, though not my subject. Although it appears to be a romantic movie and that's probably how the Hollywood version puts it, it's more a movie about solitude, isolation and loneliness... told very well. 7/10
Dealing Dogs (2006) -- Not technically a movie, but it's an HBO documentary... and it's very good. Being a dog lover and if there's a movie where a dog is hurt I usually don't watch it; this movie was horrible to watch, though I wanted to watch it to find some closure to the attrocities that appear in it. It¡s about an undercover investigation of Martin Creek Kennel by the animal rights group Last Chance for Animals. Again, very hard to watch, though once I started it, I couldn't stop. 8.5/10
Chernobyl Heart (2003) -- Not much easier to watch than the previous one, this Oscar-winning documentary takes a look at children born after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster who have been born with a deteriorated heart condition. It's a very powerful movie and the subject doesn't leave anyone indifferent. 9/10
Capturing the Friedmans (2003) -- In the 80's, in the upper-middleclass district of Great Neck, the awarded Professor Arnold Friedman is arrested for possession of some magazines of child pornography. A further investigation of the police discloses that apparently Arnold and his 18-year-old son molested his young students during their private computer class. Their Jewish family tears apart with the situation, though the movie's main subject is about our perceptions of truth and justice. It tells us what happens and then the witnesses explain it, but their explanation is rarely convincing, thugh as a viewer, we're left to decide on our own. Very good in that sense, while letting the viewer decide. 8/10
El Orfanato (a.k.a. The Orphanage) (2007) -- I've always been wary of Spanish movies, especially of the horror/suspense type. I've seen a few and only liked one,
Tesis. Still, this one really puts it on. It doesn't rely on scaring you by having little critters jump at the screen, but actually works on creating suspense and a scary atmosphere, and achieves it well. It later becomes a bit weird but always unpredictable, at least I thought so. 8/10
Fukushû suruwa wareniari (a.k.a. Vengeance is Mine) (1979) -- If you watch older Japanese movies, they rarely are about this subject... this movie is much more current than you'd think. Very violent, very graphic and a lot more ahead of its time than you'd think. Directed by Shohei Imamura, it's what you'd call a 'whydunit?' of a murderer and his upbringing in a seemingly traditional family. 7.5/10
Double Indemnity (1944) -- Classic film noir piece, directed by Billy Wilder and with the dialogues you'd expect from such a film. Classic characters and the smooth talking central character is great. The characters cook up a scheme to murder Mr. Dietrichson for life insurance money with a double indemnity clause. Unfortunately, all does not go to plan. #49 in IMDb's Top 250 and a 9/10 from me.
Kurenai no buta (a.k.a. Porco Rosso, The Crimson Pig) (1992) -- Another amazing Miyazaki movie. This one is maybe one of the few that actually goes to explain why things happen and has more roots in reality. Maybe more towards anime-like themes than the previous onesI've seen. I liked it better than
Kiki, and better than
Totoro. 8.5/10
Otesánek (a.k.a. Little Otik) (2000) -- A couple who are desperately and fruitlessly trying to have a baby decide to adopt a tree trunk... yea, you read right. A tree trunk. It's classic Jan Svankmajer surrealism, though a bit too bizarre at times. It's based on a Czech fairy tale, though it's a bit more bloody and gory than you'd expect. Very nightmarish to say the least: We are in the claustrophobic apartment with the film protagonist where every object is an enemy and predator. 7.5/10
Barry Lyndon (1975) -- Kubrick directs this movie about an Irish rogue who wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's position in 18th Century aristocracy. A bit very boring at times, with many insignificant scenes. I've always liked Kubrick's work, but this one I won't be watching again, though it's a great effort by him to take on the whole Shakespearian film thing. 7/10
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