Death Note 2: The Last Name

Death Note 2: The Last Name
I was blown away with part one which I saw three weeks ago.
Tonight, I saw the second part which actually ends the story.
It was long but sweet.
There's a lot of information to process.
I was lost in certain moments but excellent storytelling.
The character, L, was getting on my nerves.
But, he's the good guy.
Just like the first one, there's hardly any violence,
mostly character driven.
I prefer the first one more than this one because
it flowed better.
But this one was worth watching because it completes the story.
There's a part three but it's not a sequel, it's
a prequel with one of these characters, and has nothing
to do with this story.
The next time you see death, make sure to give him an apple,
he will appreciate it.
Good Japanese movie.

Fateless

(To explore cinema from all over the world,
every fourth Thursday of every month, I will see
a Foreign Film that I haven't seen before.
Any film not Asian or American.

Foreign Thursday was this last Thursday, but
due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, I moved the movie until today.
The movie is a Hungarian/German movie.


Fateless
I got the message they were going for but
I don't think they expressed it very good.
This is a decent WW2/Holocaust flick.
Like all flicks in this specific genre, the mood
is always sad and gloomy.
This is based on a true story.
Bad side of this was that it was way too long.
But in the good side, there were wonderful shots.
And the sound was magnificent.
Made me feel like I was suffering with these people
inside the concentration camp.
Kudos for that, just wished they would of expressed
the message more clear on why this kid loved the camp
more than being free again.

Dead & Breakfast / Tokyo Zombie

For the hell of it, today I had me zombie double feature.

Dead & Breakfast
I heard this was a funny stupid zombie movie.
And that's what I expected going into this.
However, I didn't like it as a whole.
It was stupid alright, but not the kind
of stupidity I can handle. The story was annoying,
especially when they insert music from this band
in between certain scenes.
The movie gets better towards the end.
A lot of gore in those final scenes made it watchable.
I'm not a fan of zombie movies where people
become zombies because of some voodoo spell.
That was the case here.

I bought this movie at a cheap price for the zombie collection,
but I'm not very proud of it.
This is a great example why I shouldn't buy just any movie
without seeing it first.
Even if it was for a very low price, I'm still a little disappointed
to have this on the shelf.
Who knows when I'll see it again??



Tokyo Zombie
This is my first Japanese zombie flick experience.
It was weird but alright.
It had a little better story than the previous zombie film I saw,
but not good to say that it's a classic.
I love the intro.
There's good scenes but not enough gore
for a zombie flick.
I like some of the comedy in this.
They say this is the Shaun of the Dead from Asia.

This is far from Shaun of the Dead masterpiece but it's worth
a peek if you want to see a weird zombie story.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox
This latest Wes Anderson film was entertaining
as his other films.
This director doesn't disappoint.
The pace, the music, and the movement of every shot
creates the typical Anderson film mood experience.
I need to get a hold of this soundtrack.
All the characters are good too.
I like the scene towards the end where it felt like a western.
It was short and simple but yet I was wanting more.

Good to check out. I can see why this was released
during Thanksgiving holiday, it's perfect for it.

Funny People

I was unable to watch a movie yesterday for New Release Tuesday.
But keep your hopes up because tonight I'm making that up.
Tonight we have:


Funny People
The latest film from Judd Apatow was okay.
There were a lot of funny moments in this
semi-serious story. Seth Rogan does his usual.
Adam Sandler returns to the humor he started
his career with. And you have a shit load
of other funny characters in this film.
My only complaint is that it's too long for
this kind of movie. It's a 2 hour and half movie.
Alright, I have another complaint.
That one actress who plays the girl that
Rogan's character likes wasn't very good.
Other than that, it was fun and entertaining.
It's par with Apatow's other films.
My favorite one is still Knocked Up.

Good ending shot. Jonah Hill is hilarious in this as well.

The Escapist

The Escapist
Great flick.
One of the best prison/escape movies I've seen.
I like the way they edited this together.
It goes back in forth from the present to the future.
Then there's a little twist at the end.
In high school, I thought about an idea for a story similar
to this. It would have been called, "Escapism."
Both this movie and my story idea was based
out of a short story I read in my junior year called,
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."
The filmmakers here pulled it off really good.

Worth your time and dedication.

The Limits of Control

The Limits of Control
Another artistic and subtle movie from director Jim Jarmusch.

It's very character and detailed oriented.

It's a basic story about a hitman doing a job.

Don't expect any action.

Expect surrealism.

Reminded me of David Lynch's films.

I thought this movie was decent.

I give the movie credit for being made well.

Good dialogue and good shots.

My favorite movie from Jarmush it's got to be Ghost Dog.

This one is up there with Dead Man.

If you're going to watch this remember to order

two expressos in separate cups.

You'll understand why when you watch this movie.

Franklyn

Franklyn
This schizophrenic movie was a little confusing.
I just saw Watchmen ultimate cut dvd before this,
and the first half of this movie reminded me a little of Watchmen
and The Black Freighter. We have several stories in Franklyn
taking place at the same time, then we see a parallel universe
with this guy in the mask looking for something.
It goes back in forth.
It gets confusing.
It finally starts making a little sense halfway through.
Everything ties up in the end, but I didn't like it.
I don't understand why they kept showing this janitor character.
It was a little entertaining, especially with this story,
I just didn't like the direction.

If you want to feel a little lost, then this is worth the rent.

Bruno

Bruno
Bruno had its funny moments.
As a whole, the story was kinda weak.
My favorite parts are the scenes with O.J. the baby.
Those scenes were hilarious.
Everything else was from terrible to okay.
I did like most of the music on here.

Definitely worth the rent for fans of Borat.
If you didn't enjoy Borat, then stay away from
this one, because at least Borat had funnier moments.

They Call Me Trinity

[To gain more knowledge of this genre,
every third Wednesday of each month this year,
I watch a spaghetti western film that I haven't seen before.]

Spaghetti Western Night Presents:


They Call Me Trinity
This was another one of those spaghetti westerns
that is mixed with comedy.
The opening shot was entertaining.
The main character, Trinity, is having a nap
while his horse was pulling him away.
I enjoyed the first act.
The rest of it was not as good to me.
It has the moments here and there,
but it didn't feel like the usual traditional spaghetti western.
I was hoping for long exteriors shots and some
good standoffs.
Though, there was a big royal rumble kind of fight towards the end.
That was cool.

This is most likely going to be towards the bottom list of my
favorite spaghetti westerns, but I've seen worse.
And speaking of these kinds of films, I just heard that
"Il Mercenario a.k.a A Professioanal Gun" DVD will be released on
January 29, 2010. That movie is one of those movies
I've been wanting to check out for a while.
It's a big time influence of Tarantino and Kill Bill.

Thirst

New Release Tuesdays Presents:


Thirst
The wait is over.
I finally got to see this Korean vampire flick tonight.
It's directed from my favorite Korean filmmaker,
Chan-Wook Park.
This one was very complex and slow.
It was also kind of weird.
There were moments where I felt that this
wasn't going nowhere.
Then there's moments that just made me jump up
and say, "fuck yeah." I got mixed feelings over this.
Overall, I thought it was alright for a vampire flick.
The ending was very good.
Kudos for a great original script.
And I also got to mention the cinematography.
Every single shot in this film was bad ass.
Enjoyed all these different creative angles and moves.

Worth the rent. I don't collect vampire flicks,
but if I did, I would probably buy this at a decent price.
Mainly for some good memorable scenes like "the mom"
blinking her eyes to reveal who killed her son.
Of course, this is also a must for the Chan-Wook Park collection.

State of Grace

[Being a big fan of the gangster genre, every third Monday
of every month, I will see a Gangster film that I haven't seen before.]

Gangster Film Night Presents:


State of Grace
After watching this movie tonight for the first time,
it was clear to me that this is one of the best gangster films
I've seen in a while. This came out in the early 90's.
Never heard of it until I did some research about a month ago.
All the performances were excellent.
Gary Oldman plays a crazy gangster.
Ed Harris plays a ruthless gangster leader.
This has a similar storyline to "The Departed."
In fact, there's some scenes that very much reminded
me of "The Departed."
This would play good as a triple feature with The Departed and
Miller's Crossing.
There's some scenes that are kinda predictable.
But still done in a bad ass way.

The next time I see this gangster flick, I'll be sure
to have a six pack of Guiness nearby.
A must see and a must buy for all fans of this genre.

Infestation

Infestation
So this movie wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be.
Based on the trailer, I was expecting a kick ass weird comedy.
Right off the bat, the pacing in the
first 15 minutes of the movie sucked.
There's some good moments but not enough to deliver.
I still like the concept, just thought the direction
didn't work well.

The trailer has all the good moments.
Nothing else to see in this movie.

Up

Up
Charming story.
The first 10 minutes is my favorite part.
The rest of it was alright.
Never a dull moment.
The only complaint I would say is the exaggeration
of the dogs towards the end (dogs flying helicopters).
But that's nothing big.
Like the rest of the Pixar films, there's nice colors
and sound. I like the main idea of this story,
the old man trying to make a goal come true for his wife.

Wall-E still holds the number one spot in my heart,
but this one was worth the watch. A must for the Pixar collection.

Food, Inc.

I had to leave out of town yesterday for work, so I was unable
to watch a new Release for New Release Tuesdays.
The movie would of been "Up" by Pixar.
I will be watching "Up"tomorrow night.
Tonight, I had scheduled the following the documentary:


Food Inc.
I recommend going to Mickey D's or Jack in the Crack
and pick up some great old burgers and enjoy this
great old American flick.
This documentary was good.
Not awesome but good.
I liked how they put it all together.
And liked how they tied everything to the government
and big corporations.
It's not all about meat, it includes veggies too.
It's more about persuading the viewer to choose organic.
I'm not too big on that.
Just wanted to check this out for the information
and awereness. I like to put on a documentary every once
in a while. Stay away from chicken nuggets and you'll be alright.

Good to check out, especially if you love documentaries.

Death Note

Asian Cinema Night Presents:

Death Note
I can't believe I never heard of this story until last month.

This is based out of a Japanese comic.

There's also an anime on this.

And so far, there's 3 parts to this movie.

This first part was freaking awesome.

Never a dull moment.

The story and the plot is genious.

There's not much violence but it is a little weird.

Check out the imdb page by clicking on the title below the poster

to read about the story.

There's some things that happened

that I have no clue why they're here.

Must be foreshadows for the next parts.

Good flow.

A must have for the Asian collection.

For sure, check this out.

Dance of the Dead

Dance of the Dead
At first glance, the idea of this movie sounds ridiculous.
Glad I gave it a chance.
This zombie movie was funny and entertaining at the same time.
It's not a Shaun of the Dead classic comedy, but
it's got its own kind of humor.
There's some good gore in this.
Not as gory as Dead Alive.
Some parts are predictable but good to watch.

Recommend this movie for crazy fun entertainment.
Of course, this is a must for the zombie collection.

Duel / Death Race 2000

[To explore and expand my knowledge in exploitation
and grindhouse cinema, I will be watching on the first Friday of each month, either
a double or a triple feature of grindhouse movies
that I never seen before.]

Friday at the Grindhouse Presents:


Duel
Tonight, I had me a gearhead double feature
starting with this one.
Duel is Steven Spielberg's 2nd feature.
It didn't feel like the usual grindhouse road picture,
it felt more of a big film.
But it was low budget.
I like this movie.
The opening was good.
And of course, the ending was promising.
I like that we never got to see who this trucker was.
I felt sorry for this bastard being chased around by this big semi.
A lot of wonderful shots from the road.
The whole thing takes place by the road with the exception
of the gas station and restaurant scenes.
The story drags on a little but I think it worked out for the
suspense.

Good to check out.



Death Race 2000
The next half of our grindhouse feature was this
picture starting David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone.
The object of Death Race is to kill as many pedestrians as
you can to gain more points.
Now, that's a messed up game.
You get more points for children and older people.
This definitely has more of a grindhouse feel.
The story was a little weird and there's a shit load
of interesting characters.
I enjoyed the first half of this film.
The second half and the ending was alright.
Could of been a little better.
This sure has a lot of memorable stuff.
I got to see Rocky being pissed off and playing a sleazy bad guy.

This one has its good moments. Also good to check out.

Pontypool

Pontypool
What's happening in the movie you won't believe.
Believe. Believe. Believe.
Believe. I can't stop saying believe.
I think I'm turning into one of them. Believe.
For reals this time, I like the concept here
but I didn't think this movie delivered.
It confused the hell out of me.
I was focused most of the time but there were moments where
I wasn't feeling this movie.
Some might consider this a zombie flick.
I don't consider it.
These people get infected just by hearing the English language.
Tell me if that's not crazy.
I like that it all takes place inside this little radio station.
We just hear all the chaos happening out there but we never see it.
This Canadian story wasn't for me.
I guess I was expecting something else.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

New Release Tuesdays Presents:

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
This is the latest from Tony Scott.
I like Tony Scott's style in most of his films.
This was okay. Nothing to make a big deal out of.
It is par with Dejavu.
Denzel Washington doesn't play the usual role.
And surprisingly, Travolta's performance was also good.
I have not seen the original, so I wouldn't be able to compare.
This definitely kept me entertained.
I like some of the great visuals.
The casting of James Gandolfini as mayor was perfect.
Can't go wrong with Luis Guzman and John Turturro either.

Don't expect good stuff like True Romance or even Man on Fire,
this is just another average Tony Scott film.

The Maiden Heist

The Maiden Heist
It's the usual heist story but with old people involved and
what they are after has nothing to do with money.
It was cool to see Christopher Walken
in a different kind of role. He pulls it off.
These guys are so obsessed with these works of art.
They create their "perfect" masterplan to steal them.
I like the low budget model they made to plan their action.
It was made out of little boxes.

There's nothing special here.
It isn't a funny comedy (it does have its moments, though).
I just had a little fun to watching this clever-happy ending kind of story.
Good to watch it on a boring Monday to start off the week.