Drama - Old Movies

June 10th 2008 09:28

ok wassup everyone i thought i would show everyone out there that im not all fire and musels and bring a little life to all the ladies of the internet. today i am talking about a very popular movie with the women and that movie is PS I love you. normally i wouldn't watch this kind of movie but sometimes you have to make a little sacrifice for the poon as im sure tanya zaetta would agree so i took a few notes by payin attention wheres normally i would just walk around the therter and play the field if you know wat i mean.

here is my trade mark summation of the movie: a lady (played by TV's jennifer garner) longs for her x-husband, whos name is Peter Saxby hence the title of the movie PS i love you, P.S. standing for Peter Saxby. the lady is visited by Peter Saxby several times throughout the movie but he is unable to continue being her husband because of recent world laws about marriage between brothers and sisters. THAT'S RIGHT THEY ARE A BROTHER AND SISTER.

one of the movies most memorable lines comes when the brother and sister kiss aftr so long a time and the lady says "I know it's wrong but it feels so right"... this line is very important as it serves a double purpose. on the one hand it sums up the film and what its all about, and on the other hand it refers to peter saxbys staunch membr straining against his pants. see theres something in this movie for everyone.

Peter Saxby is played Clive Owen fresh from his scenestealing turn in 300 Spartans where he made history by growing a very long beard. this is unusual because usually actors wear fake beards or just grow a little bit of stubble. but in 300 Spartans Clive Owen ACTUALLY grew a VERY LONG BEARD. he receeved an actors guild nomination for his work but the oscars snubbed him because of his scottish heritige.

anyway this is a surprisingly decent movie for a chick flick. there isnt much sex or martial arts but there are some very funny lines such "Don't be afraid to fall in love again" (i actually laughed out loud at this bit) and "Be a dood!". htere are also some very intnse and poinyent moments especially when the police find out that the lady and Peterr Saxby are still seeing each other even though they are brother and sister and the head police man tells Peter Saxby he will go to jail if he continues to lust after his sister and Peter Saxby is all like no way man my sister is HOT and the police officer is forced to agree. i almost teared up at that bit so i guess that proves that i have a heart after all so all you blogsnots out there can quit with the criticizin right there - i actually give this film a bit thumbs up.

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Posted By: stu-kicks - Category: Drama

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There Will Be Blood

March 1st 2008 05:05

I just watched There Will Be Blood... fuuuuuuuuck. Daniel Day-Lewis is like a massive dick in everyone's arse, that's how good he is. Should this film have beaten No Country for Old Men to the best picture gong in the Oscars? I'm not sure, but if there was ever cause for a tie, this was it. Here, let me sum up the movie for you...

14 minutes of no dialogue. Daniel Day-Lewis strikes oil. He becomes a mad cunt, takes on a son, goes head to head with a local evangelical preacher (played by manchild Paul Dano), and basically amasses the beginnings of a business empire soaked and dripping in the blackest sheen of oil you could possibly imagine. Day-Lewis's eyes shine with this blackness, he embodies the evil of greed like no one else on screen ever has - not Bogart in Treasure of the Sierra-Madre, not Michael Douglas in Wall Street - these guys are chumps next to this cold-hearted sociopath.

The strange thing is, thinking back on what I just saw, this movie isn't exactly filled with mayhem or gangster-style violence or any of the other hallmarks that populate today's films dealing with base emotions or the concept of evil. The director, Paul Thomas Anderson, has achieved something incredibly impressive... he's built a film of atmosphere and dread without resorting to cheap tricks or laboured psychological ponderings. Armed with the twin arsenal of Day-Lewis's event horizon of a performance and a wonderfully ominous musical score, Anderson has crafted a deceptively simplistic film that stands out amongst it's peers as a unique, one-of-a-kind experience. I'm gobsmacked that this film even got made, and incredibly grateful that it did - it reassures film fans everywhere that a director's non-studio friendly vision can make it to the screen unmolested. (Provided Daniel Day-Lewis has agreed to star in it, LOL)

Scenes that stick out in my mind...
- Day-Lewis dragging himself through the scrub to stake his claim, ignoring his broken leg the whole time.
- Paul Dano striding alongside a lake of oil, like Christ walking on water as black as the hearts of men.
- Day-Lewis rejoicing in the flames cast by an erupted oil well, a stark silhouette in the dusk.
- Day-Lewis calmly getting off the train before it rolls away, probably one of the coldest things he does in the whole film.
- Of course, the final scene between Day-Lewis and Dano.

Go watch a piece of film history.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Drama

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Coming Home

January 13th 2008 10:14

It's official, 'Coming Home' has the greatest soundtrack of all time. I don't know how much money was spent in securing these songs for use in the film, but I doubt you will ever see such a soundtrack assembled for a film ever again... for example, Beatles song are notoriously expensive to use because Michael Jackson owns the rights, and the executives of Jimmi Hendrix are very particular about what kinds of films they allow his music to be used in. Anyway, check out this great soundtrack...

"Hey Jude"
Performed by The Beatles

"Strawberry Fields Forever"
Performed by The Beatles

"Call On Me"
Performed by Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin

"Once I Was"
Performed by Tim Buckley

"Expecting to Fly"
Performed by Buffalo Springfield

"For What It's Worth"
Performed by Buffalo Springfield

"Time Has Come Today"
Performed by Chambers Brothers

"Just Like A Woman"
Written & Performed by Bob Dylan

"Save Me"
Performed by Aretha Franklin

"Follow"
Performed by Richie Havens

"Manic Depression"
Performed by Jimi Hendrix

"White Rabbit"
Performed by Jefferson Airplane

"Out of Time"
Performed by Rolling Stones

"No Expectations"
Performed by Rolling Stones

"Jumpin' Jack Flash"
Performed by Rolling Stones

"My Girl"
Performed by Rolling Stones

"Ruby Tuesday"
Performed by Rolling Stones

"Sympathy For The Devil"
Performed by Rolling Stones

"Bookends"
Performed by Simon and Garfunkel

"Born To Be Wild"
Performed by Steppenwolf

All perfect choices to represent the late 60s/early 70s (in others words, the Vietnam War era). The movie itself isn't bad either, and features some excellent performances from Jon Voight, Jane Fonda and Bruce Dern.

Released at the same time as The Deer Hunter, these two very different films about the Vietnam War duked it out at the 1978 Oscars, and almost all the major awards went to one or the other. I think it's fair to say though that The Deer Hunter is probably the better film and has stood the test of time somewhat longer by taking a less reactionary stance against the war. Jane Fonda had the gall to suggest The Deer Hunter was the Washington/pro-war version of events (and she said this in the same breath she used to admit she hadn't seen it), but I think the main distinction to make between these two films is that The Deer Hunter takes a more complex view of the war and opts not to take the easy route of just saying "War is bad, mmmmkay?" (like, say, Coming Home tends to do). To say that Coming Home take a lazier angle by not actually showing the war in any capacity is probably missing the point though, so as I'm feeling charitable I'll let in slide in favour of looking at this movie as more of a character piece than the anti-war propaganda Jane Fonda wanted it to be.

With this in mind, there are three main things that I think elevate this film above dreary melodrama, and I'll list them to round this review off...

1. The awesome soundtrack. Also, the decision to run these songs at mid to low-volume almost completely through from beginning to end simultaeneous to the action on screen whilst flicking between the characters lends the film a terrific sense of atmosphere and feeling that it probably would've otherwise been unable to achieve. The use of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" in particular comes to mind, it really helps build the film's momentum.

2. Jon Voight. This guy is one of the unsung screen legends, and he won a Best Actor Oscar for his work here. Whilst his contemporaries (Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, etc) all went from strength to strength and gained cult icon status to varying degrees, Voight eventually faded from the public consciousness and never achieved such success. The sad thing is, he has a bigger range than either De Niro or Pacino, but audiences never latched onto him the way they did with those guys, and Voight's films (whilst sometimes acclaimed) aren't the huge classics or blockbusters that, say, The Godfather, Scarface or Tootsie are.

3. Hal Ashby's underplayed direction and slick editing. I wouldn't really say Ashby is a subtle director but he definitely isn't one to overdo it, and his unassuming style goes a long way towards lifting this film out of telemovie territory. It's heavily rumoured that his editing helped reign in Voight's performance (particularly in his speech scene towards the end).

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The Hustler

March 11th 2007 23:34

The Hustler (1961)

'The Hustler' is often ranked amongst the greatest films ever made, and is often also flagged as being Paul Newman's definitive performance and the role that truly made him a screen icon. It also features on-the-ball performances from Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie and George C. Scott. All four leads of the film were nominated for Academy Awards for their work here, and the film overall was nominated for 9 Oscars, winning one for Art Direction and another for cinematography

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The Devil Wears Prada

March 7th 2007 09:40

'The Devil Wears Prada' is the recent big screen adaptation of the hit book of the same name. It was singled out for praise by a few critics recently, and got a few nominations at the Golden Globes and Oscars (including a Best Actress nod for Oscar-holic Merryl Streep

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Lenny

March 6th 2007 09:33

Lenny (1974)

'Lenny' is a dark and smokey biopic of controversial 50s and 60s stand up comedian Lenny Bruce. Directed by renowned choreographer and director, Bob Fosse, this engaging film is an underrated product of the golden era of 70s Hollywood filmmaking, and contains one of Dustin Hoffman's greatest performances. It was nominated for four Academy Awards in it's time - Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor - but lost out on all of them

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Syriana

March 1st 2007 05:43

Back in 2005,while Hollywood was all a-ga-ga at ‘Crash’ and it’s multiple storylines examining racism in big and bold terms, another multi-layered and complexly structured film that took it’s cues from ‘Traffic’ was silently fighting the good fight. This film was the mostly unsung ‘Syriana’, a challenging and intelligent film that dealt with the middle east’s current situation and the west’s money-motivated relationship with it

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Half Nelson

February 19th 2007 23:18

'Half Nelson' is an independent drama with one of this year's suprise Oscar nominations... pretty boy Ryan Gosling gets his first Best Actor nomination (and, pretty much, his first critical notice) for his attuned performance as an idealistic teacher who also happens to be addicted to crack. But this film is more than just a performance, it has more than a few things to say that break apart standard film cliches and subverts accepted educational methods

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Venus

February 13th 2007 09:12

One of the surprise films of the Awards season would have to be the independent British film 'Venus', which has helped secure Peter O'Toole his 8th Oscar Nomination for Best Actor. A collaboration between solid British director Roger Michell ('Notting Hill', 'Changing Lanes') and critically acclaimed writer Hanif Kureishi ('Intimacy', 'My Beautiful Launderette'), 'Venus' is more than just a vehicle for screen legend O'Toole, it's an ensemble effort that combines the impressive talents of all involved

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Little Children

February 9th 2007 10:15

‘Little Children’ is one of ten or so films to have generated the much-coveted ‘Oscar Buzz’ this season, garnering itself three Academy Award nominations, along with several other Golden Globe and S.A.G. nominations. Of all the Oscar-buzzing films this year, ‘Little Children’ is probably the most American and traditionally Oscar-worthy in terms of how it has presented itself. Like all ‘good’ Oscar-baiting films, it ticks off it’s various requirements… based on a well-received work of literature (check), featuring Oscar-friendly talent (Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connelly, check), shows the disaffection that has poisoned American suburbia and the American dream (check

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The Pursuit of Happyness

February 7th 2007 10:10

‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ is the amazing true story of Chris Gardner, a down-on-his-luck everyman who fought for a little slice of the American dream. What’s most amazing about this film is that it manages to present us with an old school, pulls-the-heartstrings, rags-to-riches story without resorting to saccharine schmaltz, clichéd direction or finger-wagging moralising

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Little Miss Sunshine

January 28th 2007 02:16

Well, it's Oscar time, and it snuck up on me this year and I've come to the realisation that I haven't seen hardly any movies this year, so I'm now in a frantic rush to see as many of the nominees as possible. This morning I watched 'Little Miss Sunshine', at first a little reluctantly as I felt I was forcing myself to watch these films and that it might be a chore, but oh boy - it wasn't anywhere near a chore. This film was such a delightful surprise that I'm still reeling from the warm fuzzy feeling all curled up in my belly, smile and eyes

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Babel

January 26th 2007 10:14

'Babel' is the latest film from acclaimed Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who previously directed '21 Grams' and 'Amores Perres'. Like these previous films, 'Babel' is a fractured story of interconnected characters... a film that challenges linear story-telling and Hollywood-styled structuring of narrative. 'Babel' also represents a breakthrough for the director, it is nominated for no less than 7 Academy Awards and it pretty much consolidates his acceptance as a major international filmmaking talent

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A Beautiful Mind

January 17th 2007 12:44

I couldn't get Russell's Crowe's gruff Gladiator-role out of my head, which made it hard for me to pick up this movie. As interesting as it looked, I didn't much fancy a biopic featuring the line "My name is mathematician". Also, this film cops a lot of shit for not being 100% faithful to the facts, and for having Russell Crowe in it. I’ve never really had a problem with Crowe… I think he’s a good actor. Suffice to say, I overcame my silliness and checked this film out

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