Year 4: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

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Silverfish
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 11 May 2016, 13:56

13: Interstellar (2014)

Former astronaut Cooper stumbles on a NASA mission for humanity to escape from an Earth that is dying.

I mostly enjoyed this, but it felt a bit unsatisfying. I think it's the ending which was too much of a deux-ex-machina, it didn't feel earned. It also skips over Also things that it did well, such as portraying the scale of space, of planets, and the insignificance of the spaceship, seem not to matter in the end.

With the ending it doesn't feel as meticulously put together that most of Christopher Nolan's work is. It also doesn't have quite the emotional range it needs. We get a sense of anger and world-weariness, but I don't think we get a sense of wonder and beauty that we need. These are faults that Inside Out doesn't have, with it's vibrant colour palette, and richly portrayed emotional palette, but it felt meticulously put together and thought out.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Darkflame » 12 May 2016, 13:20

Interstellar did have (to my knowledge) the only decent film depiction of both time dilation and wormholes.
Doesn't counter your other points, but it did draw attention to how lazy everyone else had got just depicting them as littoral whirlpools with a 2d entry. Time dilation, meanwhile, youd be lucky if its mentioned at all.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 12 May 2016, 15:30

I agree about both of those. The depiction of wormholes was interesting, and I remember the bit where Cooper sees the years worth of messages from his daughter being touching. I think the science and the depiction of space, and the exploration of "alien" worlds (the massive wave, for example) was its strongest suit. I think it's particularly the ending where it lost its way.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 20 May 2016, 15:44

14: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to create a machine to protector humanity from the next global threat, but end up creating that threat instead.

I think this was an entertaining mix of action heroics, comedy, and drama. The characters all seemed to have credible motivations (perhaps with the exception of Ultron), and we got to see the vulnerable side of some of the heroes, in particular Bruce Banner, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.

It also worked in the plot lines that will presumably lead up to a bigger conflict in later films without it getting bogged down. That said, I think Guardians of the Galaxy benefited from being self-contained, and with a distinctive tone (but with links to a wider picture).

Ant Man is next in my Marvel backlog, which I know only a little about, but it sounds like it will be very different from the other Marvel Movies.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 04 Jun 2016, 15:49

15: But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)

Cheerleader Megan is sent to a gay conversation camp when she is suspected of being a lesbian.

I think there are 2 sides to this, and one works, while the other doesn't. There's the side where it satirizes the camp, and the rigid view of sexuality and gender identity. The camp encourages the boys and girls to take part in stereotypical masculine and feminine activities (the boys fixing cars, cutting firewood, the girls doing their makeup, dressing up), that seem to be out of the fifties, or a sort of fantasy version of the fifties. It didn't really ring true, and it I didn't find it funny either. It seems as a satire it needed to be more sharp and focused. It just seemed to fall flat.

It didn't help that most of the teenagers in the camp were stereotypes (the goth one, the jewish one, etc), or just bland characters.

The bit that did creep up on my was the budding relationship between Megan and Graham (a girl, her having a boy's name isn't mentioned). Graham is the rebel of the group, but this means she is the one who seems through the bullshit of the camp, so she feels like the most rounded of the group.

Megan initially seems like she is too stupid to realise she is gay, rather than closeted, but as she realised her attraction to Graham there a rather sweet romance between them, which is an interesting mix of personalities, with Megan more innocent, and Graham more rebellious but I get the sense that she is putting up a barrier that gets eroded, as in a way does Megan's barrier to admitting her feelings.

To sum up, as a satire on conformity and I think it falls flat, but as a touching romance it ends up working.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 13 Jun 2016, 15:56

16: Kill_Bill:_Volume 2 (2004)

The Bride concludes her mission of Revenge against Bill.

I enjoyed the beginning, it began with a flashback of the lead-up to the attack that left her in a coma, which was tense because we knew what what going to happen, so you got a nice sense of foreboding.

I think that tension carried through the first half of the movie, but I think I just lost patience with it. The pacing seemed slower than the first volume, and there were quite a few bits that just seemed like padding to me. Also, I didn't really buy the motivations of Bill and the Bride that set up the whole plot, and the end of the movie is all about their backstory.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 17 Jun 2016, 16:01

17: Whip It (2009)

Small town teenager Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is tempted by the big city romance and excitement of roller derby, and secret joins an "underground" roller derby league, while her mother takes her to beauty pageants.

I enjoyed this a lot. It's a good blend of comedy and drama, and I cared for the characters. It's surprisingly deep considering it could have been an oddball comedy.

The roller derby sequence are genuinely exciting, which I wouldn't have expected, having no knowledge of the sport. There a touching romance between Bliss and Oliver, a guy she meets when at the roller derby events.

Also, Bliss's relationship with her parents is more nuanced that it seems at first. Her mother is strict and possible too controlling, but it becomes clear she isn't a monster, she is trying to do the right thing, and Bliss is a bit naive too. I'm reminded a bit of Juno where Ellen Page plays a girl who is somewhat naive but things she knows everything. Her father is nicely played too.

The roller derby girls are a bit two-dimensional, but there is at least an attempt to flesh them out a bit, and they are well played, and it feels like the film is on their side. The roller derby side of a plot (loser team gets their edge when enthusiastic newbie joins) is a bit cliched, but it is enjoyable and fun.

Overall it is a very rewarding film with hidden depths.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 01 Jul 2016, 15:57

18: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Luke Skywalker has been missing for many years. The rebellion has word that someone has information about his whereabouts, but the First Order, the remnants of the Empire, are also hot on their trail. Meanwhile a stormtrooper with misgivings (Finn) and a scavenger (Rey) with dreams of life outside her little world end up stumbling on the information, and find themselves on the run from the First Order.

I think this is overall a good attempt at rebooting the Star Wars franchise. It starts off strong, and has a nice mix of wonder and excitement, but also the universe feels lived in and "real". The ending is a big weak, as it seem to become a sort of retread of the assault on the death star in Episodes 4 and 6, and it seems to be a bit up in the air. It seems like it should have had a self-contained ending (as Star Wars did), or have a definite sense of where it is going.

The characters were mostly interesting. Rey in particular I found interesting, as she is resourceful and self-sufficient, but somewhat Jaded, but with a sense of wonder about the world outside her home world, and of the stories she has heard about the rebellion. She is also completely at home with technical things, and as a pilot, but has never used a blaster, with combines well with Finn, who is about the reverse. She also starts to be drawn towards the force, which I assume will be a big part of the sequels.

It was nice to see the cast members from the previous films. In particular Han Solo and Chewy are good, and in the sort of scrapes you would imagine them getting into. It was also cool to see them be treated as legends shrouded in myth. One particular entertaining (and funny) moment in particular sticks out, where Rey gets a fangirl moment when she realises she is in the Millenium Falcon, and Han Solo corrects her about it completing the Kessel Run in 14 parsecs.

I did find the main villian Kylo Ren rather uninspiring and whiny, which is a bit of a let down. I only hope he becomes either less important or becomes a more menacing villian in the sequels.

I'm quietly optimistic about the future films. J J Abrahams seems to have a good feel for the Star Wars universe, and we'll see some new people involved in writing and directing episode 8 and 9, so we'll see what their approaches will be.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Elomin Sha » 01 Jul 2016, 17:33

Silverfish wrote:
I did find the main villian Kylo Ren rather uninspiring and whiny,


As was every male Skywalker in his bloodline.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 06 Jul 2016, 16:39

19: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Joel (Jim Carrey) decides to have the memory of his relationship with Clementine (Kate Winslet) erased, after discovering that she has had the same operation done to her. However he starts to have misgivings when during the procedure he recalls good memories of her.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. There are two sides to the film, both of which are interesting. The first is the strange and fragmented internal world of Joel, during the operation. Sometimes it seems to operate on dream logic, with deja vu, things out of sequence and unexplained changes of locations. Sometimes its more of a paranoid chase as he is trying to squirrel Clementine away in the dark recesses of his mind, while his memories are being deleted in front of him. And sometimes it's just strange, as Joel find himself in his childhood memories, and regresses to childhood.

I enjoyed all of that. I tend to find that sort of thing intriguing, so it could just be pushing my buttons.

The other side is an exploration of romance and relationships, as we see a "flashback" of Joel and Clementine's relationship in reverse. It seems to be a partial reconstruction of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl idea, as we see the bitter, destructive end of the relationship, and the arguments leading up to it, but also the moments of the relationship. I didn't find them wholly likeable, but I think they are supposed to be at least somewhat dysfunctional. The implication is that all Joel and Clementine is a second chance to make things work, not a miracle cure.

One thing it avoids is Jim Carrey being mawkishly sentimental as I found him in The Truman Show, or over the top, as he is in many of his comedies (and I like that side of him, Liar Liar is probably my favourite of his comedies). He is more restrained than I thought he might be, and thought the relationship between Joel and Clementine was well played. There were a few other relationships that get explored over the course of the movie that I also found interesting in their own way.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and interesting movie, with an interesting take on romantic comedy/drama.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 16 Jul 2016, 17:20

20: The Martian (2015)

The crew of a manned mission to Mars is forced to evacuate due to a storm, leaving the botanist Mark Watney, who they believe is dead. In fact he survived, and is forced to grow enough food to survive until he can make contact with NASA, and they can arrange to collect him.

I think this is a interesting and different approach to a "space movie". It is very low key and personal, as Mark, his crew, and the people at NASA back on earth have a lot of challenges to grow food on Mars, to use the limited resources of the Mars lander to get Mark to where he needs to go, reduce the weight of a spaceship, etc, etc.

In contrast to Interstellar, where the big challenges are about finding the "magical" solution to the equation that will save humanity, and endure the harsh effects of time dilation near a black hole; and Gravity, where the issue is about avoiding coming "adrift" and floating away into the hostile nothingness of space, in the Martian the challenges are small but numerous, and require lateral thinking, invention, and creative thinking, sometimes doing things that seem crazy, but everything seemingly plausible. I liked Interstellar and Gravity too, but it's nice to see a different approach.

Also the characters seem very human. We find out about the commanders extensive Disco collection, the computer operator is a text adventure fan, for example, and there is plenty of humour mixed in as they deal with difficult situations. They never give grant inspirational speeches, but talk more like actual people do. I'm not sure Sean Bean belongs in this movie though, he just doesn't seem to fit somehow.

In all, it's an interesting different movie, perhaps without the visceral thrill of Gravity, or the epic scope of Interstellar, but it has a charm of its own, and it's good to see movies with a distinctive approach.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 22 Jul 2016, 09:02

21: Noises Off (1992)

Michael Caine is Lloyd Fellowes, a theatrical director attempting to direct a shambolic production of a terrible English farce, Nothings On.

I should explain about farce. A farce is a type of play full of misunderstandings and confusion, secrets and lies, innuendo and frenetic action. Staging a farce requires pinpoint timing and discipline, but giving the effect of disorder and chaos.

Noises off is in effect a farce about the production of a farce, with the backstage action just as chaotic as in the play they are trying to produce.

I enjoyed this, although it has flaws. It captures some of the madcap energy of the original play, although it gets a bit muddled at times. I think there will always be something lost when transferring a play to the screen, especially a comedy which relies on precise timings. Also some of the effect is lost you are not seeing someone hit their mark live in front of you, rather than having filmed in multiple takes and edited.

Overall I think it was a decent stab at what must have been a very difficult play to adapt, and they wisely decided to avoid tinkering with it too much.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 23 Jul 2016, 14:00

22: Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery (2014)

When Shaggy and Scooby win tickets to Wrestlemania, the Scooby gang get involved in solving a mystery involved a giant Ghost Bear, and the theft of the WWE Championship belt, with the help of John Cena, Sin Cara and a bunch of other WWE stars.

I watched this as it was available on Amazon Prime, and I have fairly recently gotten into wrestling since Sidewalk Slam started (my first PPV was Fastlane), so I was curious what a crossover between Scooby Doo and WWE would look like. The results are rather underwhelming.

Most of the story seems like a standard Scooby Doo plot, where a monster tries to scare people away, but padded out to feature length, and with Wrestlemania. I suspect most Scooby Doo direct to video movies are like this.

The WWE characters aren't used in a particularly interesting way. (Demon) Kane is probably the best used, as he is presented as a fearsome and vengeful opponent, who is angry at being stripped of his title (or something like that). Apparently Sin Cara is completely silent, but communicates through the medium of wrestling, and John Cena can speak masked Lucador. Michael Cole gets annoyed when his announce table gets destroyed.

Basically, my overall impression is meh. It had some fun moments, but nothing to make it particularly memorable. Perhaps I was hoping more for Camp WWE:The Movie.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 13 Aug 2016, 14:11

23: Carol (2015)

Carol is a love story between naive shop girl Therese (Rooney Mara) and the titular Carol (Kate Blanchett), a woman in the middle of a painful divorce, in 1952, amid the intolerance of the era.

I found this an interesting and rewarding watch. The performances, in particular the lead actresses, are subtle, and rely a lot on little gestures and implications. At times the film can be a bit slow moving, but I think that's probably part of its charm, and makes the more dramatic moments and emotional highpoints and lowpoints more meaningful.

The film does have a message, of not hiding who you are, but it isn't preachy. I think it will stay with me for quite a while.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Darkflame » 15 Aug 2016, 04:46

No comment as such, just a +1 to keep this up, I enjoy these minireviews.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Jamfalcon » 15 Aug 2016, 08:11

I do too. :)
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Deedles » 15 Aug 2016, 12:38

yeah, so do I! Gives me lots of ideas for stuff to watch. ^_^
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 15 Aug 2016, 16:07

Thanks for the support. It's good to know people are following along.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 27 Aug 2016, 15:34

24: It Follows (2014)

Jay is a young woman, who goes out with a guy, who starts acting oddly when he apparently sees a girl who isn't there. They end up sleeping together, but he knocks her out, and when he wakes up, tied to a chair, he reveals that he has passed on a "curse". Some sort of creature is following him, and will now follow her. It can appear as anyone, but only walks at a slow but relentless walking pace, and will kill you if it touches you. Her sister, and her friends try to help protect her against an enemy that only she can.

I think this is a very effective and interesting horror movie. It's not built around jump scares, or gore, but more on atmosphere and suggestion. The camera is very slow and deliberate, suggesting that "It" could be just outside the frame, or behind the door, or throwing a ball against the window, or perhaps the camera is from the creature's viewpoint, slowly creeping up on Jay. The synthesizer score also helps maintain the mood, either by ramping up the tension, or providing a vague feeling of strangeness.

There is very little exposition given, which is an interesting approach. We learn very little about "It", and that perhaps means it's easier to read it as a metaphor. According to Wikipedia, it has been interpreted as a metaphor for AIDS, and it also suggestions the inevitability of death as another metaphor, which seems to fit, as the creature is slow but ever approaching.

The characters all seem to act plausibly, and they don't really do anything stupid just to advance the plot, but they are clearly are at a disadvantage as only Jay can see the creature, and they know very little about it. The characters aren't the most memorable, but they are well acted and fairly well rounded.

I think it's definitely worth checking out for a bit of a different spin on the horror genre.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 10 Sep 2016, 15:38

25: Foxcatcher (2014)

Foxcatcher is a drama based on the true story of Mark Schultz, a gold-medal-winning wrestler, who accepts the offer of millionaire John Du Pont to train as part of a team to compete for the 1988 Olympics, and about his relationship with his brother David, who initially resists the offer to avoid disrupting his family life.

This is a rather strange film. I must note I am not familiar with the true story, so I don't know how true to life it is. It is mainly a portrait of the three main characters, all well played.

Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) is very focused and in ordinary life is quite reserved, but is very emotionally invested in wrestling, and seems to relate it to a sensible of patriotism, which is perhaps why he accepted the offer, as John also believes in the importance of wrestling as a form of patriotism, who also taps into Mark's resentment of being in his brother's shadow. He has a destructive side, a dark side of his drive for success.

John Du Pont (Steve Carell) is a very unusual character. He seems to have no real close friends, and he seems to resent his mother, who in turn dislikes wrestling, believing it to be a "low" sport, as opposed to the family's "refined" interest in horse racing and breeding. He seems quite child-like at times, especially if he doesn't get want it wants. His motives are rather obscure: They could be a genuine desire to do good, and instil positive values, and do good. They could be a chance to be the father figure he never had, or to reclaim his lost youth. Part of it seems to be an attempt to be seen as a father figure. A recurring theme is him or his associates coaching people in how to describe him in speeches, or interviews.

Mark Ruffalo plays David Schultz, Mark's brother and fellow wrestler and coach, who is a more well-round person, looking after his family, and initially resisting John's offer, as he doesn't want to uproot his family. He clearly cares about his brother, as well as his wife and children, and tries to do the best he can for them all.

I must mention the sound design of the film. There is fairly minimal music, mostly subdued. The more dramatic moments are usually reflected in the sounds of wrestlers hitting canvas or their feet squeaking on the floor, or of buzzers, to name but a few. Also silence is used very effectively to underscore the feel of a scene.

Overall, this is an interesting film, at times dramatic, at others peculiar, but always compelling and intriguing. My main criticism is that the timeline towards the end is a bit confused, as from looking on Wikipedia it seems to span many years, whereas much of the film takes place over a much shorter time-span.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 23 Sep 2016, 16:23

26: Live. Die. Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Tom Cruise is a Major Bill Cage, an advertising executive drafted to be to be the public face of the war effort against a mysterious alien threat. He is assigned to join the front line, despite his protests. He dies, but finds himself reliving the day again, and finds that if he dies, the day resets. He ends up working with Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), a war hero, who had the same condition, but lost it.

I enjoyed this firm, it was intriguing, but flawed. Major Cage initially plays his character as slimy and evasive, and develops a heroic side over the cause of the movie, and he also begins to care about Rita. Rita is an interesting mixture of a hard edge, masking vulnerability. Both Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt play their parts well. The rest of the cast is fairly one-note, but they more or less have to be.

The plot is interesting. There is a nice line of comedy, both black comedy (Rita kills Bill quite a few times during training, and seems rather too off-hand about it), and more broad goofiness, as Bill plays around with his superpower. There is a harsher side too, and I kind overall the drama and comedy complement each other. One particularly nice touch is that some scenes reveal that they are a repeated day (one Bill has lived before) only partway through. This is sometimes used for comedic effect, but one scene uses it for drama, as Bill knows something bad will happen to Rita.

The action scenes are well done. The first scene in particular is chaotic and disorienting, mirroring Bill's inexperience, and the others are well played too. The alien creatures are suitably, well, alien.

There are quite a few plot holes and contrivances though. The mechanics of how the alien force operates doesn't seem to make sense, in hindsight, for each. This isn't a fatal flaw, but it is disappointing, as I like films that benefit from thinking about them afterwards, and trying to unpick the logic. It perhaps would benefit from explaining less, leaving the audience to work things out. Also the ending is a bit of a cop-out IMO.

I think this is definitely worth seeing, but the plot might not hold up to closer inspection. Movies I think make better use of this sort of premise include Deja Vu, the excellent Source Code (which I think benefits from a very restricted setting, and makes the most of it), and the classic Groundhog Day.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Darkflame » 24 Sep 2016, 04:24

+1 review
And also second Source Code, which I also found excellent. (but then I am a sucker for the idea of layers of worlds within worlds)

oh, and on this premise, lets not forget Run Lola Run here!
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 24 Sep 2016, 16:57

27: The Double (2013)

Shy, introspective office worker Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) is unable to pluck up the courage to talk to the girl in the apartment opposite, or have his performance in his job acknowledged. He gets help from his doppleganger James Simon (Jesse Eisenberg), but James slowly starts to take his place.

I didn't get on with this at all. I think the movie is aiming to convey a strange, alien, world that seems indifferent, if not hostile, to Simon, while James seems to be able to navigate it much more smoothly, but for me, it just leaves me cold. It's hard to know whether some of this is deliberate, as I think the effect is supposed to be alienating. I'm reminded a bit of The Grant Budapest Hotel, where I didn't connect with it at all, although with both I laughed a few times. It doesn't help that I found both Simon and James rather unlikeable.

Some films with a strange and uncanny feel can work for me. I liked Black Swan, which I disorienting, dark and distributing, I enjoyed the bizarre world of Being John Malkovich and the strange (but seemingly rigorously thought out) time-travel logic of Twelve Monkeys. This one just didn't work for me.

-----

Darkflame, I enjoyed the spoiler too, it was a good example of Source Code getting a lot out of a seemingly limited setup. I've not seen Run, Lola, Run, I must add that to my list of movies to watch.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 04 Oct 2016, 16:38

28: Oculus (2014)

Tim has reached an apparent breakthrough, when he accepts responsibility for killing his father 11 years ago, instead of blaming a supernatural force, and is released from mental care. It is a case that still lives on in his dreams.

However, his sister Kaylie, who also has recurring nightmares about the case is convinced that instead of being a way of rationalising an extremely traumatic event, that Tim was actually seeing things as they really were, that the strange events of 11 years ago, which are reveals in flashback throughout the movie, all relate to the power of a mirror in the family some, that she believes has supernatural powers, and is responsible for 45 deaths over centuries.

She is determined to prove definitely that the mirror is haunted, by recording the mirror on film at their old family home, and setting up a mechanism to destroy the mirror if they don't reset a timer. She recruits Tim to assist with the experiment. He is initially skeptical, but gradually begins to believe as strange things start to happen.

I think this is an effective horror movie. It has a gradual build, as it is slowly revealed what happened in the past, and the importance of certain items (a pot, a length of chain) is gradually revealed. A lot of the effects of the mirror are psychological, involving delusions, false memory, etc, rather than directly, which really worked for me. It gets gradually nastier over the course of the movie, but is never a gore-fest, and it is more concerned with tension and dread than jump-scares and gore.

It is a bit of a pity that some of the set-up, establishing the apparent rules of the mirror, and of the importance of the fail-safes, isn't really exploited.

Thinking about it more, it seems that the flashback part is more effective, as it deals with things that would already be scary and hard to deal with for children, such as parents arguing, pets dying, adults not believing you, which isn't really present in the present day. But perhaps that's the point, that an entity that can manipulate people adapts to its prey.

The acting is very good, in particular Karen Gillan as Kaylie. Overall, I definitely recommend it.
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Re: 1 year 52 Movies challenge

Postby Silverfish » 09 Oct 2016, 16:14

29: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)

At the turn of the 20th century, Adele Blanc-Sec is an outspoken and resourceful writer and antiquarian and adventurer. At the beginning of the film she is attempting to discover the personal physician of Ramesses II, who she believes can heal her severely injured sister. Meanwhile in France, the doctor who Adele needs to resurrect the physician is in dire straights as he has managed to resurrect a Pterodatyl whose antics have caused panic in Paris, and attracted the attentions of the police.

I enjoyed the main thread of the story, the sense of magic and adventure it conjures up. Adele is a compelling and distinctive character, with a sense of enthusiasm and curiosity mixed with resourcefulness and cunning, and at times a short temper. She also cares deeply for her sister. A lot of the film rests on her, and on the performance. If I didn't end up caring for her, I think the film wouldn't work.

I've seen, and Adele, compared to Indiana Jones, but I think the tone of the film is perhaps closer to Tintin, or the Broken Sword games, as there is a goofy and whimsical side to the film that in this case is perhaps a bit overplayed. It doesn't turn me off the more serious side, or more adventurous side, but it perhaps slows down the pace as you get scenes of the bumbling police captain, for example, that are funny, but perhaps don't move the plot forward.

I'm reminded of The Fifth Element, also by Luc Besson, which had a similar mix of silliness and whimsy, adventure and drama. I think the mix here is better, but as with that film, it is an unusual mix of tones, which I enjoyed, and I think is worth checking out.

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