Caught Public Enemies on Tuesday which, while fantastically acted by all (especially Depp) and boasting great art and production designs, fell short on being a great film due to a lack of an interesting plot, next to no character development and the digital photography which while very cool and created some interesting shots, looked like a home movie in many other scenes and really took you out of the experience.

I was hoping for more expansion on the period and the settings, especially how Dillinger’s actions helped in the formation of the FBI and the bureaucracy surrounding it and the crime scene, but instead focused more on Dillinger going to one place, getting into a firefight, and then moving on to the next until more gunfights until he’s eventually shot.

Michael Mann’s a great filmmaker, one of my favourites in a way and as much as I enjoyed this film, it just felt empty and severely lacking afterwards.

Afterwards, returning to my car, it wasn’t quick to figure out that I had left my car lights on and my cellphone at home. But luckily knew someone working who could give me a jumpstart. Gotta stop doing that.

Also keep meaning to check out District 9 this week as well. Can’t escape the buzz surrounding it (not that I’m expecting it to be bad) and aside from Sunshine (which I love to death), it’s been years since there’s been a really, really good sci-fi film since Minority Report. Probably check it out tomorrow.

In the meantime, there’s this brilliant special article at New Scientist about the many different theoretical dimensions, leading up to string theory (which gets to be too much for me sometimes) and is a good change from dark matter, which New Scientist has been pretty hung up on recently. Mind fuckery to be read here.

Still fairly tired from the weekend out so this’ll probably be brief.

Caught the 3D Avatar preview and I gotta say, it was pretty damn awesome. Well worth the hype and I so can’t wait to see it in full at the end of the year.

Also watched Inglourious Basterds and that was most enjoyable for the most of it. Friends definitely liked it more than me, I just wish Mike Myers didn’t have to be in it, or at least wish he had less screen time and a non speaking role.

Other damn fine movies watched this week were Coraline which was gorgeous and wonderfully terrifying, check it out and in 3D if you can. Ip Man was a brilliant martial arts bio-pic, think those kind of films like Walk the Line and Ray, but instead of music, it’s kick-ass baddassery. Also, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People was surprisingly good, but not great… watched some other films as well, but too tired to remember them anymore.

Was hoping to see the first trailer for Christopher Nolan’s new film Inception in front of Inglourious Basterds, but I guess non-US countries or New Zealand at least, doesn’t get that pleasure. Strangely not online yet, but apparently it will in a few days time. Found myself enjoying the simple nothingness of the official website for now.

Right, enough yabbering, gonna check out some of these Real Groovy purchases (still a consumer whore) and then sleep. Night.

Not content with just the robots taking over the planet, I’ve been reading up a lot of articles on the big bang theory and the ultimate fate of the universe, which, though long after the robots have enslaved our planet, stripped it of all its resources and took to the stars, is the theory that the universe is actually expanding at an accelerating rate and eventually will be nothing but redshift to radiation. Gotta love science.

Anyway, been pretty shit still at keeping this constantly updated, which I still maintain is a robot conspiracy. Caught up with some friends over the weekend and managed to stay conscious through the most of a friend’s Samurai movie marathon and got to watch a few films that I’ve been meaning to watch for a long time. In particular is Hari-Kiri by Masaki Kobayashi which was just great and something I’ve got to get my own copy of sometime. Wonderful lighting and intense performances from all, check out his other film Kwaidan if you can sometime.

Also caught Watchmen which left me at a loss for an opinion for a few days and even now I’m not as close to deciding if I liked it or hated it. On one hand, the adaptation of the comic in terms of visuals and dialogue have been done brilliantly well and the film looks amazing and lots of the scenes reminded me of bits exactly in the books, on the other hand, that’s almost just saying that comics are nothing but movies that don’t move and I think that’s the growing attitude towards graphic novels which is stupid. While this worked in Sin City and 300 cause there was this macho attitude towards everything in the comics and that attitude was there on screen, Watchmen the comic is full of nuances and subtext and themes that just weren’t there on the screen. It was like a hollow doppleganger or carbon copy of the general plot and no soul behind it.

In saying all that actually, I think I’m getting closer to not hating Watchmen. Other gripes I had were that the pacing of the film was very off, the soundtrack (apart from the wonderful use of Dylan in the opening credits) was awful, the changed ending was terrible, most of the action scenes were boring and unnecessary and what the hell was up with Nixon’s nose? It was hard to pay attention to anything else when the damn thing was on screen.

I wanted to like the movie, I really did, and I admire Snyder for “staying true” to the comics, but in doing so, he’s just made a hollow moving picture version that made me want to go back to the comic and stay there.

Really, I should have posted this semi-review separately, but meh. Here’s a version of Watchmen I’m certainly glad they never did and yet strangely would have still watched it anyway…

Just watched Frank Darabont’s The Mist. I’ve never read a Stephen King story, nor hardly watched any of his other adaptations, but I’m starting to suspect I should. The Mist obviously isn’t a Shawshank or a Green Mile, being in a different genre and all, but damn, is it pretty good for what it is, human study in one screwed up situation. Or so I’d like to think. Or trying to think now. I really liked this film and recommend it to people to check out if they’re interested, but only to those really. If your not keen, this isn’t one of those films where I’ll be berating you to watch lest the devil come get you in the night. Actually, I do recommend watching it on one particular point, it has one of “those endings” that is pretty damn incredible and no doubt some fucker is going to ruin it for you, so better be him (or her) to it.

And in other news, about 15 hours to go till the 48 finals. Now I’ve stated earlier that I didn’t care if we win anything (except for music) and I still stand by that principal. But goddamn it, I just want to get this thing over and done with and not have to second guess anything or shrug off many people’s very kind words, which I’m very great full for, but man, do I hate surprises and all this sudden build up to the finals is starting to nag at me with mass tension and optimism. Been mostly balancing it off with some sweet pessimism. I’m actually hoping we get no where near the top, even in the wildcard pool, cause then that would just mean feeling the same anxious crap over again. Shit, there I go, starting to think optimistically again. Bad man. You’ll probably loose.

God its gonna be great to be drunk tonight.

So had one of the best times in a while now back up in Auckland.

Finished up filming work at about four and spent an hour trying to navigate traffic to drop off gear and find the hotel I’d be staying at. Getting into friend’s room, I find it’s on the 24th floor with a great view, but again. 24 fucking floors up. Heights are dealable with most of the time, but I was tired and strung out and kinda lost the ability to form reasonable thinking for five seconds.

But all was well once back on the ground and watched the greatness that is Easter Promises. One of my top contenders for best film of the year and with one of the most intense scenes ever. Ever ever. Whats tough is I will go on and on about how great and amazing the film is to people and when they go “whats it about?” I really can’t say anything more to that, this is one of those films I can’t say anything about and it should just be watched.

But anyway, after the movie, there was much awesome meeting up of many people from the South Seas days and many a more drinking to be had after that. Really awesome to see everyone again, not so awesome the hangover in the morning. But I’m hoping to do it again real soon. Hopefully with more people, with midgets and pandas wearing burglar masks. That’d be sweet.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, but decided I’d leave it to a post onto its own…

Go watch Stardust.

If you’ve already seen it, go watch it again. If you don’t want to go alone, I’ll totally come along to see it again with you. And if you don’t want to see it… I’ll just hate you with full blown Nazi AIDS hate.

I’ve gone on about it before about how its like one of my all time favourite super awesome-o mega loved books and I’ve always read good things from the authour about how excellent an adaptation of the book it is and just watching the trailers about how sexy cool awesome it is and having watched it… holy crap my pants giga awesome it sure as hell is indeed. Great adaptation. Totally fun. Awesome everything. And I soiled myself with such delight watching it, my bowel movements were also applauding the film.

Best movie review ever? Yeah, best movie review ever… man, I’d love one of those taglines of mine to be used on a film poster one day…

“You’ll shit your pants with awesome!” -Chris Tan

Right after a post about how I’ve been taking some time off films and not watching anything, I go ahead and watch four movies in a 24 hour time frame.

First was a rewatching of Scorsese’s Gangs of New York which I haven’t seen since I first bought it a couple of years ago. Then the doco This Film is Not Yet Rated which was suprising, funny, informative and made me also scratch my head at the oddity that is the MPAA. Dinner with the folks and finally, I went to see The Simpsons Movie which was just great. There must be something wrong with audience members these days, I seemed to be the one laughing the most at so many of the gags in that film, yet so many seemed reserved in enjoying themselves. Douches. And finally, I just finished watching Ozu’s Tokyo Story, which I’ve always read great things about and great it certainly is. Such beautifully composed shots and such a simple story with so complex characters, I was moved to say the least.

Now to consider finally watching Flags of Our Fathers or set it aside for another night and get some of that thing people call sleep.

Finally caught 300 and The Illusionist last night and they were most awesome. 300 was just so cool and full of gusto in its action and style, I wet myself many times in delight watching it. And The Illusionist so brilliantly captured an atmosphere and mystery of the period. Both highly recommended to all to go see.

It was originally planned to spend the whole day at the movies, but Pan’s Labyrinth isn’t on yet due to not enough prints nationwide (which sucks) and missed out on the time for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which would have been some plain good fun.

I amusingly got related to a story of how someone met me at uni during a marketing the arts class, where during a break in a lecture, I stumbled into the room drunk off my nut on red wine, declared myself so, had a cigarette with some others and then skipped out on the rest of the class to go drink some more. This apparently fact. I don’t even remember this.

Just watched a copy of De Palma’s The Black Dahlia which I will most definitely say, sucked balls. Sucked the big unshaven scrotum of Satan’s balls it did. Oh my god, I feel absolutely betrayed. As a big huge fan of James Ellroy’s book and liking the idea of De Palma doing the adaptation (yet not getting my hopes high), it was still dashed like you wouldn’t believe.

The opening scenes were great and it looked like it was doing really well as a film version, but somehow, not even halfway through the film, it went in a completely different direction and even as a film alone and cries of how it was adapted aside, the whole plot ended up completely muddled and totally weak. And at many times the acting was just over the top, especially this one character which, I won’t say who, but oh my god… what the fuck?

Beautiful lighting and totally under utilised art direction was all compromised by De Palma still trying to keep doing his ‘signature’ camera movements which just didn’t fit with the piece and just ruined so much that could have at least possibly come out decent.

I’ve got to re-read my copy of Black Dahlia again sometime soon, just to wash away how craptacular that film was. Seriously craptacular and the awesomeness that is the book is the much needed toilet paper. But a totally awesome toilet paper that is.

Oh man, I’m so cheesed off by that film. But thankfully, I’ve also caught up and read on some of the news bits on Preacher being adapted as an HBO TV series which if true and hopefully (and a big hopeful as its the guy who did the crappy Daredevil and the just as crappy looking Ghost Rider) it’ll be done right and be just as awesome as the series, which they plan on doing as an issue is an episode, which I think is both cool and a little too retarded to stretch out that much. But who knows… Well Gandhi might.

Watched Babel tonight. Good, but not great. Very well made and a lot of fantastic stuff going on… The acting was amazing, the camera work, the editing, the direction… it was all great. But the film just felt so bleak and isolated and although that was the point and a recurring theme of the film (which had a lot of great subtle political critisms in it too), it just felt a bit too much. Too obviously going for the critic pleasing audience and expecting awards and stuff. And it totally deserves it too, though I can see where the division of people can be on it. Still recommended viewing to all.

Next up will probably be Stranger Than Fiction, though I’m really tempted to see The Last King of Scotland next as well and have yet to catch up on Blood Diamond, which I still really want to see… decisions, decisions… there are just too many good films on right now for me to watch all of them. Typical awards season. Love it.