i’ve been watching a lot of movies lately. In the last week I managed to watch QUINCEANERA, THE ILLUSIONIST, HALF NELSON, and CRANK. I’m sure I’m leaving out a few movies…
So, in brief, quinceanera is a safe movie that has less to do with the girl’s pregnancy than it does with life in echo park in general. there are a lot of stories going on but they’re all pretty interesting. it was beautifully shot. very interesting characters with pretty decent actors. especially liked Jesse Garcia… he translates really well on film.
the illusionist is one awesome film. go see it even if it’s just for the way it was filmed. the plot points were interesting enough to keep you engaged. afterwards, you’ll believe in love again. i was more mesmerized by the noirish take on the cinematography, with some old school cinematic effects like the dark borders and soft focus. This is a very good date movie.
half nelson was also pretty good if you want to overlook the shaky hand held camera and the extreme amounts of close up’s. the story line, though extremely slow to the point that it lost me a couple of times as i tried to fight off sleep, came together in the end, though a bit hastily. the story is “real” – finally, a “dangerous minds” gone bad. It’s like a story of a person who saw movies like dangerous minds who wants to become a teacher, only to realize that he’s just not cool or perfect or superhuman enough to actually be that idealized teacher. it’s a pretty grim portrait of a guy who lives inside of his head as the world around him decide to move faster than his pace. i admire the director’s choice in making the film look more realistic with the whole hand held, audio first- visuals later cutting, the exorbitant amount of jump cuts, extreme close-ups and the discontinuous flow of narrative that add to the confusion of what’s going on inside of gosling’s character. speaking of gosling, he’s totally going to get an oscar for his performance. he’s the most interesting actor i’ve seen this summer. way about norton or depp in my book. if you’re an actor, go watch this, and then the illusionist.
CRANK was a fun, horny movie that caters to teenage boys’ whims. very snatch-like though without the sophistication nor the budget. jason statham is hot. he’s so action, it’s not even funny. not that different from his acting in snatch but his accent distracts. disappointed in the portrayal of women, the gratuitous nudity, and some of the retarded violence (ala tarantino’s style), as expected. after watching this movie, there’s a whole new meaning to the word, “asshole”. i preferred this movie over snakes on a plane. “asshole” is just much easier to regurgitate at appropriate moments than “i had had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfuckin plane”.
Speaking of which, I also saw Snakes on a Plane. Forgot about that one. Eh, the hype peaked a curiosity in me that wasn’t satisfied by the movie. At least when I saw CRANK, I went in there knowing that we were watching it as a second choice because THE COVENANT wasn’t playing yet (careless mistake in looking up dates), so I knew we were going to watch a stupid ass guy movie. i wish that was my mindset when i went to go see SOAP.
Speaking of movies, I can’t wait to see THE COVENANT, THE LAST KISS, THE BLACK DAHLIA, FEARLESS, AMERICAN HARDCORE, RED DOORS, VIVA PEDRO SERIES, THE QUEEN.
I don’t want to see the grudge 2 since i didn’t see the first one but something tells me this is inevitable.
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