Undead Siskel

This movie hits all notes almost perfectly.  This is an extremely tactful look at what it takes to let someone know that their spouse, son, or daughter has died in a war.  This is one of the few movies that I actually took away something from and was emotionally reached.  It is so hard to watch these two men who are appointed to tell the families of the deceased, in these incredible scenes, that seem incredible because they are all in one long drawn out shot which draws the viewer in even more.  It doesn’t matter race, status, age, it is all shown in a realistic and respectful way.  The craft of the film follows a specific pattern which at first I thought I was tired of until I realized it was to help me get into the head of the main character and just what a war will do to a solider.  The dialog is never dull and the performances are stellar.  The lack of music and backround noise only add to the dark tone of the film.  There is an element of entertainment value missing though and I found myself nodding away, but never the less this is a strong film.

There are so few movies that are brutally honest and this is one of them.  This feels like an exact slice of small town life with a perfect amount of stillness and chaos at the same time.  There are beautiful shots here which are a given and add to the emptiness of how the main character feels with his current situation.  The writing is pitch perfect and works at its own pace giving a nice methodical pacing to the entire movie.  The multipal story lines all work to give Johnny Depp a fully realized character and there are no lack of performances here either.  The best part of this movie however is the subtel chaos that is always in the backround.  There are very few instances where we get to see true content in this film.  The characters are always dealing with the insanity of their family, big business, relationships, or work.  There is something lacking in entertainment value however as good as this movie is it is a bit depressing and off putting, but never the less this is a legit work of art.

I’ll admit it, I am a Nolan sheep.  But when he makes movies like this who can really argue.  This is a brilliantly devised film.  Part of what makes this film so enjoyable is the “balancing act on a tight rope” screenplay.  There are so many possiblities for gigantic plot holes in a movie like this but everything seems to make complete sense if your willing to go where the movie takes you.  Not to mention the feeling of never being safe giving you a very exhilarating experince throughout as well.  Every character is interesting and not without their moment to shine.  The movie flows perfectly and actually takes you places you wouldn’t expect it go, or relationships head in a different direction than you would expect them to be taken.  There is more here than the trailer lets on.  Its so rare that a summer action film has deeper levels, but this is a near perfect movie: visually, story wise, and charcter wise.  It succeeds not necessarly on a small scale, but the big picture is outstanding.  

This is a very thrilling documentary.  It almost works as just a regular story, as an epic clash between two very un-epic people fighting in very un-epic ways.  But everyone is extremely knowledgeable and the interviews conducted are brought through with such a love and respect for the video game’s of old, that everyone is really really fascinating to listen to.  Not much in terms of intersting camera work or anything like that but the events that actually went down here left me feeling so shocked and appalled that by the end I was so satisfied I felt like I could watch it again and again and again.  The themes almost get lost by the involvement of the two main characters real story but in the end you are even able to take something away as well. 

This movie expands so well on the first and surpasses it in so many ways.  The movie ditches the sleek and colorful look and goes for a way more grity and dirty, almost westernish, style setting.  The action no longer seems at the forefront but there is more of balance between (again some of the greatest dialogue ever written) and some of the most emotional fighting sequences put together.  Every performance is spot on, the best being David Carradine and “Bill.”  How this performance wasn’t nominated is beyond me.  The main part of this movie that works so well is how these characters are contained in their own world.  We forget about the real world, and the problems they were to face if the events in the movie actually went down, and instead become immersed in the story that is going on.  One of the best to say the least.

This is one of the best movies to come out in the 2000 decade.  Everything you could want is in this movie.  Tons of some of the best coreographed action scenes with some of the best dialog which perfectly glues all the action sequences together.  The dialog seems mostly in the background however and is really taken over by the style and scenery, which is a very sleek look with a very blue tint.  While the action is all well done this movie doesn’t really amount to much more than that, but this isn’t really a problem at all due to the title.  “Volume 1” really is all about the hack and slash action with the intention of getting us familar with the characters, and at the end we have the sense that there is something much more coming.  But in the meantime, its enough to sit back and enjoy the joy ride this movie takes you on.

This is not your average, everyday horror flick.  This is a serious effort by a group of very talented people to leave you with a very chilling feeling.  And it works most of the time.  The brilliance is that it understands how to make a character relatable and why you should care.  The first half of the movie is dedicated to building 3 dimensional characters whom you fall in love with.  It almosts feels like a road trip movie at first.  Even the killer has a personality and is not your normal grunting masked killer who we see time and time again.  Part of that is due to the setting of the Australian Outback, which I feel we really don’t see enough in movies.  The shots in this film are beautiful and really add to the creepiness and lonliness at points.  Its dissapointing that a lot of people seemed to miss this one because of the violence.  And while the script isn’t really all there, it feels like most of this was left to improv, every character has its moment.  It earned the most points however, by not falling to the normal cliche’s a movie like this does most of the time. 

This is one of the best movies.  There are almost no wrong steps in this movie, except maybe one or two plot holes but I forgave those pretty easily.  Firts off the tone of this movie never falters.  It has a great mix of looming darkness and black comedy.  Not to mention they screenplay being one of the most original pieces I’ve ever seen.  Never before have I felt so in tune with a character than this movie as well.  The screenplay makes us feel as though we have this characters condition and we are right along side him for the ride.  As well as great perfomances from Guy Pearce and Joe Pantaliano as well.  They take these characters and really give you that wonder about them as to where they are going.  The movie did seem slow at times but upon a second watch you realize that the scenes that seem slow and out of place, actually foreshadow things to come and makes the ending seem that much more interesting.

This is a very good and dark film.  First off the setting is stupendous and really intimidated me.  A very dark and bleak look at an English neighborhood which leaves you with the feeling that you never quit know what around the corner.  The violence in this film is also pitch perfect.  Its very quick and very brutal and actually believable.  The script, which seemed quite slow in the beginning, is actually paced very well as the movie went on and gave me a greater appreciation for the beginning of it.  The whole movie is very slow and methodical which makes everything that much more brutal.  And Michael Cain is probably one of the greatest actors ever.  This performance, which reminded me of Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, is one of the most believable and devasting things I’ve ever seen him do.  The movie only falters in a few key scenes that felt like they dragged on too long and a final action sequence that feels like it came out of left field.  But otherwise a very enjoyable movie.