Time for a film

Have been a bit slack lately so this week’s Weekly Watch is a bumper edition with 24 films from the last two months! Over the past two months I caught 15 2013 releases with Oblivion, The Place Beyond The Pines, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hangover Part III and The Great Gatsby all being reviewed. I also give my thoughts on the other 9: G.I Joe Retaliation, Spring Breakers, The Company You Keep, Iron Man 3, Snitch, Fast & Furious 6, Behind the Candelabra, Warm Bodies and Upstream Color. Phew!

As for some older films, I loved Lolita and Predator while also checking out Titanic, Primer and documentary American Movie. A Town Called Panic, This Is Not A Film and Star Trek were some others I saw. Finally, with Before Midnight not too far away, I checked out the first two films of the trilogy: Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Read on for my thoughts on all of these!
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American Movie (1999) – With some very interesting characters, this documentary takes a look at aspiring filmmaker’s attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before. The first half is full of laughs but the characters wear a bit thin in the second half. Still, quite entertaining. B

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I’ve been really busy over the last fortnight so haven’t been able to watch as many films as I’d have liked to. I watched three new releases including The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and 21 And Over, which both did little for me. Thankfully, Silence in the House of God was great and definitely made up for them.

As for older films, I caught the Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World and I also checked out GoldenEye and Watchmen. Read on for my thoughts on each.
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21 And Over (2013) – Certainly aimed at the 18-25 year old male demographic which I fit into, I still didn’t get much out of it. It’s aiming to be a combination of Superbad and The Hangover, but it turns out to be a poor imitation. I didn’t hate Project X and would describe this as similar but not as good. Some moments made me smile, many made me cringe and the film as a whole is simply too long. C-

Watchmen (2009) – Mixed feelings on Watchmen but I quite liked it overall. It’s pretty dark, very unique and had an interesting story and message. I haven’t read the book it’s based on but I’ve heard it’s a fantastic read so will look to get to it. I also thought Nite Owl looked a little too much like Batman! Important to note I watched the ‘Ultimate Cut’: This version included the director’s cut of the film re-edited to contain Tales of the Black Freighter into the story as it is featured in the graphic novel, bringing the run time of the film to 215 minutes. B+

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) – Starring Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi and Olivia Wilde, this was different and I liked the concept of it for a comedy film about magician’s. I found most of the characters to be charismatic and each actor brought something unique to the table. However, while I smiled a little, I never really laughed at all, which is a shame as it is a comedy film after all. It felt a little taxing towards the end too. C

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) – The sequel has nothing on the original, but I didn’t mind it. Entertaining and by no means an embarassment to the series. B

GoldenEye (1995) – GoldenEye looked amazing on Blu-Ray and was only the third Bond film I had ever seen (Skyfall and Casino Royale being the other two). I liked it for the most part, but it ultimately felt a little too similar to the other Bond films I had seen, which will probably be a recurring pattern I find when I watch the rest. Pierce Brosnan seems to be a decent Bond and I quite liked the villain’s in this one of Sean Bean and Famke Janssen. B

Silence in the House of God (2012) – A sad story that had to be told, looking at pedophilia in the Catholic church. I’m not religious or Catholic but it was quite insightful into the whole process and politics of it all. Edited well with a good use of sound it was also emotional, especially towards the end. You really feel the pain of the victim’s and want justice to be served. If you are a fan of documentaries I highly recommend it, out Thursday (March 20th) in Australia. B+
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I’m planning on catching up on my watchlist some more over the next week with the upcoming releases not grabbing my attention. I will be checking out G.I Joe Retaliation next week (I haven’t seen the first). As always, your comments are more than welcome!

My first weekly watch of the year covers almost a fortnight of movies as I’m busily finalising my Top 50 of 2012 for a Jan 23 commencement. I watched a heap of 2012 movies, covering Oscar nominated Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty, as well as watching 5 2012 documentaries in Samsara, The Queen of Versailles, Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Side by Side. I caught up with Jack Reacher and Berberian Sound Studio as well.

My first 2013 film was Gangster Squad which I enjoyed and reviewed. Finally I ticked off another Wes Anderson film with his 1998 movie Rushmore.
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Samsara (2012) – I was skeptical early on but it takes a truly deep look at our world exploring nature, religion and culture. It’s an insightful documentary showing some wonderful highs but also some of life’s sad lows. I found it really calming + mesmerising, it’s one of those films that needs to be seen on a big screen if possible. B  Read more

Welcome to my final Weekly Watch of the year. I hope you all had a good Christmas and have a happy new year to come!

Continuing my 2012 movie trend, I saw new releases in Wreck-It Ralph, The Hobbit, Life of Pi and Flight. I also caught up on some animations I’ve missed in The Secret World of Arrietty and Frankenweenie. Golden Globe nominated foreign film Kon-Tiki was also a highlight.

A few older movies too – Gangs of New York did little for me, Bad Boys was great but not as fantastic as I remember and I finally saw Groundhog Day which was probably the best movie I saw over the last week or so.
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Life of Pi (2012) – I talked about this briefly in my blog post last week. It’s a film that looks so beautiful and I found the first half to be pretty magical. For me it didn’t hold that level throughout and while some liked the ending, I really didn’t which left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. C+

The Secret World or Arrietty (2012) – The first Studio Ghibli film I have ever seen, I am now definitely keen on checking out some of their past work. This imaginative tale looks at Arrietty, who is part of a four-inch-tall family living secretly in a human’s house. The English dub of Arrietty (UK version) is voiced by the lovely Saoirse Ronan and I found her to be adorable. A very cute, creative film. B+  Read more

It’s that time of the year where I’m frantically catching up on 2012 releases I haven’t seen in anticipation for my Top 50 of 2012, which will probably be released towards the end of next month. I watched 11 2012 films including some older releases in Katy Perry: Part of Me, The Sapphires, The Bourne Legacy, Burning Man, Undefeated and Robot & Frank.

As for brand new releases, I saw Liberal Arts which is now out in Australian cinemas, as well as Oscar favourite Les Misérables. I also caught This is 40 and The Impossible which both come out next month in Australia. Finally, I saw Cloud Atlas as well. Read on for my thoughts!
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This is 40 (2012) <<< Click here for my review. I’m a bit shocked some people seem to have liked this film which was very average. C

Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012) – I’m by no means a big Katy Perry fan, but I do enjoy a few of her songs and seemed to recognize most that were played in this interesting documentary. We see how Katy has gotten to where she is today and the highs and lows along the way. The doco actually follows her on tour for a year, right around the time she marries Russell Brand. It’s not groundbreaking but there are some good twists and turns along the way. B-  Read more

12 films in one week, it certainly was a busy one. With under two months until my Top 50 of 2012, I saw Not Suitable for Children, Premium Rush, On The Road and Hick. I also rewatched Pitch Perfect and The Dictator.

I saw two fantastic movies from the last 15 years in Eyes Wide Shut and 500 Days of Summer, as well as seeing some other popular films in Juno and Deliverance. I saw Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou which was just ok and Glengarry Glen Ross which unfortunately I didn’t really enjoy.
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Not Suitable for Children (2012) – I was pleasantly surprised by this Aussie film looking at a young man who gets testicular cancer and who’s sperm isn’t viable to be frozen. It’s funny and feels real, with stand out performances from Sarah Snook and Ryan Kwanten. It’s nothing amazing but will be in my Top 50 of the year I would think as it was entertaining and brought up some great thinking points when it comes to life and continuing your legacy. B  Read more

Another satisfying week with all 7 films I saw earning at least a B grade. I decided to finally see the Indiana Jones films with The Last Crusade entering my top 30 of all time. I watched some more great films from the last 10 years in Children of Men, Hot Fuzz and Lost in Translation.

Just the one new release 2012 film in Breaking Dawn Part Two which I reviewed. I also had a rare rewatch in The Dark Knight Rises which was just as amazing the 3rd time round.
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Lost in Translation (2003) – There was something special about this film with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson both giving stellar performances. You could really relate to the characters who gave human performances as strangers in a foreign country. I can see why some don’t love it as plot wise very little happens, but I liked it. B+  Read more