Posts filed under "cinematic-score"
Judge Dredd movie is go - While I thought the Stallone movie left a lot to be desired, one of the things that I did like about that movie was the sets and some of the props (not all of them). Hopefully DNA will take the good things from that production and actually have a decent story attached to it.
New Terminator Salvation Trailer - Looks pretty impressive from where I’m sitting and it’s only enhanced by the presence of Christian Bale.
Astro Boy Trailer at Moviefone - Love the music, love the little laugh, hate the fact that we’ve got to wait till October of next year to watch this movie, seriously?
Star Trek Trailer - Now in glorious quicktime.
New Star Trek trailer - I will say this again, I be shouldn’t excited about this, but damn does that look good. (via Joen)
Just came back from seeing the latest instalment of Bond. The truth is that I actually really enjoyed this movie, for all the reasons that I think a lot of people didn’t enjoy the movie. For me there was only one ‘bollocks’ Bond movie moment (the parachute scene) that made me groan a bit and then the rest of it was just pretty hard hitting action. There is a lot to like in this movie if you’re interested in some Bond character development (so he’s not just a womanising, gin drinking, gadget using, one-liner throwing, 2-D character. What we get here is something more refined, something slightly more believable (as much as that is possible in a Bond movie). There are elements in the story that just don’t really stack up for me. Mainly the water dam plotpoint seemed far too weak a motivation for the ultimate ‘villains’. The scene in Austria was incredibly clever and I thought the execution of that scene was very well done.
Final word, product placement wasn’t as annoying as it is in most other Bond movies. Usually it’s painfully obvious, whereas in this case although there was product placement, it wasn’t as bad as all the good guys drive a BMW and all the bad guys drive a Mercedes.
★ ★ ★ ½ out of ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Latest Watchmen Trailer - No new footage, but at least there is some more dialogue in there. Music by the Muse.
Gaiman discusses the worlds of Coraline - Great little interview with Neil Gaiman on the upcoming stop-motion 3D movie by Henry Selick.
Download the Dark Night Screenplay - Easily one of the best movies this year (via Andy Diggle on Twitter).
Electric Sheep Magazine - One of the most original internet magazines (not blogs) I’ve seen in a good while revolving around film and cinema.
JCVD (Jean Claude Van Damme) - New movie in a the ‘Being John Malcovich’ mould, but for some reason it actually looks pretty good…can’t believe I just said that.
Battlestar Galactica season 5 to begin airing on the 16th of January - 11 hours in total of BSG goodness, with a reported 3 (or more) hour finale?? So many levels of awesome.
Money Shot Archives for the upcoming Kevin Smith ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ movie - very funny webisodes.
Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke trailer - it’s been a while since we got a movie that’s completely insane and has a bit of character (was Fight Club so long ago). Can’t wait for this.
Continuing on the Watchmen theme (there’s going to be a lot more of this in the coming months I’m sure) Empire have a breakdown of the new trailer to the graphic novel.
Watchmen Trailer is out; and it’s a complete peach of a trailer. It’s kinda harrowing that Moore isn’t interested in the movie, because if anything Snyder really does seem to have made something special here. ‘Based on the graphic novel illustrated by Dave Gibbons’ - what a shame, Alan Moore’s name should be there as well.
That’s two in two movies I’ve watched this year, both of which have been absolutely supreme. So much so I can claim that this one is also in my top ten of the year (the other being Persopolis). Caramel is basically the Lebanese Amelie. Believe me I don’t say such things unless I actually mean them, but everything about this movie was a joy to watch.
The movie is set in Beirut, and considering the times that Lebanon is going through right now, it was extra special for me and heartbreaking at the same time to watch this movie as I got to see more elements of the country and the people celebrated rather than destroyed. What’s even more special to me about this movie is that it portrays the city as something vibrant rather than how it is traditionally shown broken, battered and bombed. It gives it a certain filter and lets it shine slightly. Sure there are times when I felt that it would have been nice to show the city at night, but that’s a minor point and the director Nadine really gives us a Beirut to wonder about.
The story centres around 5 women living and working in Lebanon and how their romantic lives evolve along with the expectations of the world they inhabit and their families and upbringings. The great thing about this movie is that none of the characters are perfect, in fact all of the women are far from perfect, they’re all real and that adds the most amazing layer to the whole story. They each have their own problems and obstacles to overcome which slowly unfold throughout the movie.
My only fear is that people in the Western world may not appreciate some of the situations and customs that inhabit the story. While they’re not crucial to the enjoyment and understanding of the story, it adds a whole other dimension to the story that they are portraying, in a certain way you have to be Lebanese to appreciate that this is actually true and it’s the reality. Specifically the police scene and the hotel scenes. Trust me when I say this, that’s all true, no dramatisation for the movie.
The director Nadine Labaki (who also wrote this) does a masterful job of injecting so much humour and warmth into this movie, which is where the direct comparison to Amelie comes from. It’s been a while since I was given a set of characters that were all likeable and beautiful in their own right. In my view this is probably one of the hardest things to do in a movie and Nadine hit all the correct notes on this front.
One thing I want to comment on is the beauty of the lead actress and fundamentally the sex appeal that she oozes and that is lacking in a lot of American shows that I watch. It struck me as odd that this woman who isn’t stick thin as is required by the 10pounds-added-by-the-camera world that we live in. Sex appeal cannot be brought or added on, it’s just there, in a Marilyn Monroe kind of way.
Finally I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the excellent soundtrack that was chosen and composed by Khaled Mouzanar (whom the director I believe is engaged to, good name btw son) which fits the movie feel to a glove and adds yet another exceptional layer to the movie.
I honestly don’t want to give much more about this movie other than it’s something that people who enjoyed Amelie would find the same kind of magic in this movie.
That’s two in two movies I’ve watched this year, both of which have been absolutely supreme. So much so I can claim that this one is also in my top ten of the year (the other being Persopolis). Caramel is basically the Lebanese Amelie. Believe me I don’t say such things unless I actually mean them, but everything about this movie was a joy to watch.
The movie is set in Beirut, and considering the times that Lebanon is going through right now, it was extra special for me and heartbreaking at the same time to watch this movie as I got to see more elements of the country and the people celebrated rather than destroyed. What’s even more special to me about this movie is that it portrays the city as something vibrant rather than how it is traditionally shown broken, battered and bombed. It gives it a certain filter and lets it shine slightly. Sure there are times when I felt that it would have been nice to show the city at night, but that’s a minor point and the director Nadine really gives us a Beirut to wonder about.
The story centres around 5 women living and working in Lebanon and how their romantic lives evolve along with the expectations of the world they inhabit and their families and upbringings. The great thing about this movie is that none of the characters are perfect, in fact all of the women are far from perfect, they’re all real and that adds the most amazing layer to the whole story. They each have their own problems and obstacles to overcome which slowly unfold throughout the movie.
My only fear is that people in the Western world may not appreciate some of the situations and customs that inhabit the story. While they’re not crucial to the enjoyment and understanding of the story, it adds a whole other dimension to the story that they are portraying, in a certain way you have to be Lebanese to appreciate that this is actually true and it’s the reality. Specifically the police scene and the hotel scenes. Trust me when I say this, that’s all true, no dramatisation for the movie.
The director Nadine Labaki (who also wrote this) does a masterful job of injecting so much humour and warmth into this movie, which is where the direct comparison to Amelie comes from. It’s been a while since I was given a set of characters that were all likeable and beautiful in their own right. In my view this is probably one of the hardest things to do in a movie and Nadine hit all the correct notes on this front.
One thing I want to comment on is the beauty of the lead actress and fundamentally the sex appeal that she oozes and that is lacking in a lot of American shows that I watch. It struck me as odd that this woman who isn’t stick thin as is required by the 10pounds-added-by-the-camera world that we live in. Sex appeal cannot be brought or added on, it’s just there, in a Marilyn Monroe kind of way.
Finally I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the excellent soundtrack that was chosen and composed by Khaled Mouzanar (whom the director I believe is engaged to, good name btw son) which fits the movie feel to a glove and adds yet another exceptional layer to the movie.
I honestly don’t want to give much more about this movie other than it’s something that people who enjoyed Amelie would find the same kind of magic in this movie.
Went and saw Persepolis on saturday and was completely blown away by the experience, so much so that I definitely put this in the top 10 new movies I’ve seen this year (not that I’ve seen 10 movies this year, but I will by year’s end). The movie expertly depicts the dichotomy of someone from one place trying to find their place in the world. Unfortunately the story is one that people from the Middle East can relate to instantly. I say unfortunately because the situation of people leaving their countries for the haven of somewhere safe is all to much a reality for people in the Middle East. For many of us this is the world. War, civil or otherwise, narrow-mindedness and general stupidity are all part of every day life.
The film is directed by the graphic novelist, Marjane Satrapi and is effectively her story that she wrote and drew about in two books of the same title, Persepolis. The story deals with her life during the Iranian revolution, how it effected her family and the war that came afterwards with Iraq before it starts dealing with life for a woman in Iran.
Visually the movie is one that grabs you. It works so grandly as an animated movie because it doesn’t shoehorn any one actor or actress to the role. It also can do things in a humorous way without making it look slapstick. I suppose that is one of the most perfectly executed elements of the story. It allows humour within a terribly serious topic. Inbetween messages of hardship the story still allows elements of joy to come through.
After the end of the movie, I told Yiota that my mum would love to watch this movie. I think it’s definitely something that all feminists should watch mainly because the women shown in this movie, Marjane Satrapi her mother and grandmother are true representation of modern clever Arab/Persian women. Women that actually struggle and fight within the boundaries that have been set around them.
In story doesn’t show the lead character always in a complete shining light as it does take her through her journey and I’m sure showing things that she’s definitely not proud of but had to show the differences in culture, the difference in why she would go back to Iran, knowing the life that would await her.
I really want to see this movie again because of how it was structured, and it’s been a while since I’ve said that about a movie. For my money this movie gets my recommendation as something you owe it to yourself to watch.
New extended Batman Trailer. Even better and more polished than the last. It’s got more of Harvey Dent in it and the Joker gets to speak more. Seriously it’s definitely going to be like 1989 all over again with this one. Christopher Nolan is a GENIUS…and I don’t use that term very often.
So the title of the new X-Files movie was released at the New York Comic Con that was held this past weekend and it’s ‘I want to Believe’. Which alludes in some respect to that poster on Mulder’s wall in the first season…not sure if was on the wall in other seasons as well. The thing is that when I found out about this, my first question was, ‘Does anyone give a shit?’ I was a massive X-files fan for the first 3 or so seasons and then I effectively gave up completely on the show. Apparently it went on for 9 seasons in total and had that movie (which I might have watched, or not,…obviously memorable).
So seriously is this movie something people have been clamouring for? But then again does Hollywood ever give you stuff that you’re clamouring for?
For those of you in the dark, Frank Miller (he of 300, Sin City and the Dark Knight Strikes Back fame) will be directing the Spirit movie, in case you missed it. This is based on a great little series that was created by the great Will Eisner. The website is up and they’ve got the first poster up (which I think is BRILLIANT). Love the quote:
My City Screams. She is my Lover. And I am her Spirit.
Fucking love it. This movie can’t come out soon enough as far as I’m concerned.
Sky Crawlers - The new Mamoru Oshii film (you know the guy how did ‘Ghost in the Shell’ 1&2 and the excellent ‘Patlabour’ 1&2
Battlestar Galactica season 4 trailer is online. It seems it’s an old one, but i really like what they’ve done with the shadows coming in and out. The good news is that at least it’s coming in March, as originally I thought Sci-fi was going to try and put it out in April. Is there any news as to how far into everything the team is in the development of the series? ie will we be expect some more waiting in between episodes or are they going to show the whole thing in one chunk (yeah I know wishful thinking and all that).
http://www.brokenkode.com/battlestar-galactica-season-4-trailer
This past month and a half have allowed me for some reason to watch more movies than I watched nearly all of last year. I just finished watching ‘Stardust’ which is based on a story written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Charles Vess. I believe I’ve got the book somewhere in Greece but I never got around to reading it and alas I’ve not had the chance to buy the book again. For some reason last year I missed this movie when it was in the cinema last year. I wanted to watch it but didn’t make enough of an effort to go and see it. As it turns out I was probably missing out on one of the few great movies from last year.
The best way to describe this story is a modern day fairy tale but with soo much charm that it leaves you with this stupid smile on your face after finish watching the movie. The story begins in Wall, called this because of a great big wall that separates it from the city of Stormhold. Tristan trying to win the love of his life, Victoria promises to bring her a fallen star they both saw fall (on the other side of the wall) before her birthday, which is one week. I’m honestly not going to try and ruin anything but the star isn’t exactly what he originally bargained for and the story that unfolds is one of the most pleasant, fun and ultimately romantic movies I’ve seen in a long time. Stranger still was the choice of the actual director of the movie, which was none other than Matthew Vaughn, of Layer Cake fame. Not exactly the kind of movies I’d expect from the man but he’s definitely creating a body of work that makes him one of my favourite directors in recent times. There’s a quality to this movie that harkens back to an era in the 80s where they used to make fun fantasy and sci-fi movies. Movies that had heart.
And before anyone mentions that I’m writing this review on Valentines day, seriously this has NOTHING to do with the retched day that is coming upon us (happy love day everyone, only the few Simpsons fans got that reference), it’s just an unlucky coincidence that I’ve just finished watching the movie. If you’re looking for a great movie that will leave a smile on your face after you’ve finished it, then this is one for you.