Monday, October 24, 2011

The Biz: Ides of March

Now here is a big time Hollywood film about a subject that is pretty serious and heavy, and I don't think theres been something of this type, magnitude, and just pure drama out for some time. You couldn't ask for a better cast. Paul Giamatti, George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Thome... Not to mention this was (co)wrote and directed by Clooney himself. Also, on an interesting side note, Leonardo DiCaprio had an executive producer credit...whatever that means.

I haven't seen a movie that was that "sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat" dramatic in I don't know how long. This one was of those films. It follows a high level staffer (Gosling) on a presidential campaign who gets pulled into some serious stuff. This movie isn't really about a transition of a person, I think the timeline for all of that is too short (takes place over a time frame of something like 2 or 3 weeks), but there definitely is a change in Gosling's character over the realization of, well, lots of things. My only real issue with the story is that I feel that a person who is supposedly as good at his job as Gosling's character is probably should have seen some of these things coming.

Acting is top notch, overall the script is good. The visuals are pretty nice, with a generally dark tone that adds to the tense atmosphere. If you have ever worked in politics this is probably a film for you. Perhaps if you're a top level guy things in Ides will just seem silly, but me personally, whose worked some campaigns and lived in DC, I'm pretty sure I got some jokes that others didn't, such as repeated references to going back and working on K street, which for those of you who don't know is a main drag in downtown Washington DC.

I give this 3.5 out of 4 stars. A really must see for anyone who can appreciate a drama.

Also, what portion of people do you think who saw this film even know what happend on the Ides of March? Et tu Brute?



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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Foreign Flicks: TrollHunter

Hello Everyone! As promised I have returned. This time with a dandy out of Norway, TrollHunter (Trolljegeren). This is a feaux documentary which works out rather well. I wouldn't call it hokey in the least. I won't lie, the plot isn't the most developed, but you can kinda get away with that when the movie was supposedly shot by a bunch of college kids... The characters are pretty good overall with some good lines (TROLL!!!! probably being the best). The title character, aka Hans, is a pretty cool guy, and well played. The Trolls, are pretty cool, no generic sci-fi channel kind of stuff. Not really important to the movie itself, but the scenary is beautiful, apparently Norway is just a country of gorgeous landscapes... A light and fun movie, it is definitely worth the watch. Three out of four stars.

I'm Back! Review: 13 Assassins

Hello everyone.

It's been a long time away. I took a break while finishing up school and then never seemed to get going again. Well here I am. Back to it and hopefully now things will be in the full swing again.

Review! Foreign Film! 13 Assassins!

This is a fairly new release from Japanese director Takashi Miike, perhaps most well known for his film Ichi the Killer. What to say. This is really your prototypical Samurai pick. The kicker here however is that instead of being made thirty to fifty years ago it's a modern piece, shot in col er, and shot well. The visuals are striking, it's gritty and real, to go along with great scenery and sets.

Being a samurai flick you get kinda what you're expecting. A somewhat slow pace ripe with duty and honor. Also, here you get one hell of a climactic ending. The final fight scene goes something like a half of and hour, and it's worth it too.

Really, nothing here to complain about. Perhaps a bit tedious in the middle, but as long as you pay attention and follow the story it's worth it.

Everything has been done well, a very effective film doing what predecessors did, but you know, better. Worth the watch for a follower of the genre, and probably not a bad intro to it either, easier to follow and with bright fancy colors to draw people in to what is truly a great style of film. 3 stars.

That's that for now. See everyone soon.