Random Film Thoughts: If anyone's gonna piss on him, it's gonna be me!

[Jeff Beachnau]

Well, Thanksgiving is over, so of course, Christmas season is here. I've got a 3 year old niece and I'm thinking of what classic movie to get her for Christmas, because I don't wanna buy her something like Brave or some movie made the past year or two. I want to introduce her to some of the classic films or at least something different than what's released now. For example, last year I got my 5 year old nephew Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky. So I was thinking for my niece I would get her something like National Velvet or The Secret of Roan Inish. Any other ideas? Keep in mind, she's only 3, so I wanna get her something she can at least enjoy now (and preferably, something she'll enjoy when she gets older as well).

[Jeff Beachnau]

The Other *** 1/'2 / *****
Directed by Robert Mulligan (of To Kill a Mockingbird fame), this is an interesting 70s horror/psychological thriller film about a boy who believes his twin brother is evil and committing a bunch of evil deeds. Of course, we're not sure whether the evil brother is even alive or not. Pretty good tale of a kid and his "imaginary friend" and the act of killing and knowing whether you're doing it. There are some good deaths throughout, it's a nice setting, and for a 70s film set in the 30s, it's not too bad (even though it has some of that 70s feel to it). The final act is good, especially when the twins have more interaction with the grandma and she begins to suspect more stuff. Though I'm not a big fan of remakes, I feel this could make for a very good remake.

Holy Motors ***** / *****
Man, this film ruled. I didn't know a thing about this, other than one image of the film, so I was extremely excited and enthralled throughout the entire film From the start of the film I was pulled right in and I loved the entire thing. Denis Lavant was brilliant, this is the true definition of acting, he commands the entire film and shows so much emotion through all of his characters. I was smiling the entire time, and many times I was laughing out loud. I'm still not sure which role/scene was my favorite, though I must say the accordion scene blew me away and I can't get the song out of my head. Only a couple movies do this to me a year, I see them and they immediately become one of my favorites and I will never forget them. Dogtooth, Enter the Void, Tree of Life, those are some recent examples, and now Holy Motors. I don't know if I'll see a better film for 2012.

Lost Highway **** 1/2 / *****
Now that I've seen this, Dune is the only David Lynch feature film I haven't seen. It was great to see Lost Highway for the first time on a big screen with an audience of Lynch fans (and having Bill Pullman in sight in the theater while the movie plays). Watching the film, it's certainly a crazy film, the typical Lynch film that starts out kind of normal for the first act then goes insane about 20 minutes in. It's a very interesting film, extremely well made, I particularly like the sets and editing techniques. It was fun having Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette open the film, they made a good couple. I was lucky enough to have Pullman, Arquette, Balthazar Getty, and the producer/editor there for a Q&A, they provided many interesting and funny stories and theories about the film. While it's not my favorite Lynch film, it's still excellent, a true definition of a Lynch film, and a very good and thought provoking film And I believe Bill Pullman's interpretation of the film is the exact nature of the film.

Bram Stoker's Dracula ***** / *****
I was lucky enough to catch a 20th anniversary screening of this Coppola classic at the Academy theatre in LA along with a Q&A of the Oscar winners for Sound Editing and Makeup. I've seen the movie many times, but this was my first time seeing it on the big screen with a 35mm print. It was great watching it with a packed audience, everyone laughing and cheering during the film (I forgot how fun the movie actually is). Gary Oldman rules as the title character, and seeing it in the theater just enhances his brilliance. Seeing in on the big screen also made me appreciate all the technical aspects so much more, especially the sets and the sound. The score is amazing, it really adds to the horror and mood of the film especially the music during the introduction. This really is an underrated masterpiece. People really need to shut up about Keanu Reeves (he really isn't as awful as everyone makes him out to be) and actually focus on what the film really is, it's not like he's in every shot of the film. And it is certainly worthy of the Oscars it won (I would have even given it Art Direction).

Straight Talk ** 1/2 / *****
I remember years ago one of the VHS films I owned had a trailer for this movie at the beginning Even though I knew the film was gonna be bad, I decided to check it out. Well, yeah, the movie's bad sort of in a so bad it's good kind of way. It stars Dolly Parton as a woman who leaves her small town and moves to Chicago to make something of herself. Of course, right away she gets a job at a radio station, is mistaken for the radio psychiatrist, and is put on the air to give love advice to the viewers. Hilarity ensues. The movie's kind of hilarious in that it makes Dolly out to be a heavenly figure where everything goes right for her and everyone loves her, nothing can go wrong (even when things do go wrong). James Woods plays the love interest (which sounds funny right there) and there are a couple random small roles throughout (including John Sayles of all people). Stupid and harmless movie that nobody remembers and rightfully so.

Lincoln **** 1/2 / *****
Very good and entertaining biographical film about Lincoln. I was extremely worried when the film started because the Gettysburg address scene seemed extremely theatrical, but luckily that play like moment died out quickly. Daniel Day Lewis was excellent as the title character, while he is an amazing actor, it's fun to say he holds back in this role and doesn't go over the top (even though his previous roles call for him to be over the top, that's not a fault in his acting abilities). In fact, the whole cast is excellent, I especially liked James Spader who seemed to be having a lot of fun with his role. It's certainly an engaging film, it's a difficult task to make a political film set in the 1860s seem "suspenseful" (especially since we already know the outcome) and yet somehow it does. John Williams score isn't anything incredible but it's nice, and at least it isn't trying to hog the scene. As many have mentioned, and I agree, the movie should have ended with Lincoln walking down the hall in the White House, it would have been a wonderful conclusion. Instead they added that tacked on assassination scene as though we felt we needed to see it. Oh well, it doesn't make the film bad, but it sort of turned it into a "Spielberg film" with that ending.

House Arrest *** / *****
Having seen Kevin Pollak in person recently, I decided to check out one of his movies I used to watch a bunch when I was younger. A kid whose parents have announced they plan on separating decides to lock them in the basement so they can sort out their problems. His friends, who also happen to have parents who hate each other, think it's a great idea and join him in the act. It's one of the 90s teen comedies that could only have been made in the mid 90s (heck, it co-stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, pre-I Know What You Did Last Summer). It's probably been about 10 years since I last saw this, and rewatching it, it's not as "funny" as a I remember it, but it's still pretty harmless. It's always fun to see Jamie Lee Curtis, Wallace Shawn, Christopher McDonald, Kevin Pollak, and Jennifer Tilly, so at least in regards to the adult roles, it's a pretty good ensemble for a 90s teen comedy.

The Wizard *** 1/2 / *****
My roommate and I played a drinking game to this, and beware if you attempt, they say California and mention Nintendo games a lot. I've seen this movie a ton growing up and have recently watched it a few times. Yeah, it's nothing amazing, it's just one giant advertisement for Nintendo, but having played Nintendo constantly when I was young, this whole movie is 90 minutes of nostalgia. And there are some fun cameos (or rather, small roles for actors that just happened to have become bigger actors later on) such as Tobey Maguire, Beth Grant, and Lee Arenberg. Of course, this movie also has the classic lines like "He touched my breast!" and "I love the PowerGlove, it's so bad." Anyway, this movies fun to watch and fun to make fun of. Plus the soundtrack isn't too bad.

Babel **** / *****
Pretty good but a bit overlong film from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. I think the last time I saw this film was around the time it was first released, so having not seen it in several years, I forgot some scenes from it, or rather, how each of the stories ended. My favorite of the stories is probably Rinko Kikuchi, who I think was also best in show. While it has good editing, very nice cinematography, and a great ensemble, I still don't think it's as amazing as some make it out to be. And though it's got a nice score, I don't think it was worth of an Oscar. Still, it's a pretty engaging film, but I think it could have been cut down a bit.

Demon Seed *** 1/2 / *****
Pretty weird and oddly creepy film based on a Deen Koontz novel starring Julie Christie as a woman who becomes trapped in her house by an evil computer. Christie is actually very good in this and I'm a bit surprised she made this movie (probably because I'm just thinking of a lot of the other serious movies she's done). Sure, it's dated at times (a cell phone would've helped), but it's still very entertaining and considering the crazy set up, it's about as believable as it could be. It reminded me of that Simpsons Halloween episode that wasn't very good with Peirce Brosnan.

Rabbit Hole **** / *****
I finally got around to seeing this film starring Nicole Kidman in her Oscar nominated performance. For a film that's a familiar story that we've seen done before, it's actually quite good, of course a great cast helps (oddly enough, Ron Silver's son in Reversal of Fortune plays Sandra Oh's husband). I didn't know much about this, just the basic character Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play, so even though it was a familiar story, I was still a bit surprised by some of the plot/characters throughout. Excellent performance by the whole cast, and it had a nice pace to it. I was a little surprised John Cameron Mitchell directed it considering the previous films he's made, but it's a nice addition to his filmography.

Reversal of Fortune ***** / *****
I've seen this movie a bunch of times, Jeremy Irons gives one of my favorite Best Actor winning performances as Claus von Bulow. This is just such a clever and witty script, pretty much every line Irons delivers is gold. Ron Silver is also excellent as Alan Dershowitz a Glenn Close was robbed of an Oscar nomination as the wife of Claus, stuck in a coma. For a film that you could describe as a court film it's extremely entertaining and quite funny. Oh, and this was my first time noticing that Felicity Huffman plays one of the students helping Dershowitz.

The Exorcist III *** 1/2 / *****
I watched The Exorcist II for the first time a couple months ago and apart from the great score, man it really sucked. So of course I had to watch the third film. It's actually a pretty decent film, it has some creepy moments and a nice atmosphere. Brad Douriff/Jason Miller have a good supportin role and George C Scott makes a nice lead. I liked the dark and empty moments in the hospital, particularly a scene later in the film involving a nurse walking down the halls. Of course it's not as good as the original but it's much better than the second one.

Sssssss ** 1/2 / *****
Pretty so so 70s horror movie about a scientist who studies snakes and is perfecting a way to splice Human DNA with snake DNA, unbeknownst to his new young assistant. Some decent makeup effects (especially the reveal of what happened to the last assistant) and a decent premise, but the film is very 70s. There's even a hilarious moment when the young assistant and the scientist's daughter decide to go skinny dipping in the lake, and in order to prevent from getting an R rating the film litterally puts leaves over the naked body parts (meaning after the film was shot it looks like they just placed some drawings of leaves over the footage, it's pretty funn looking). It's a bit overlong and not enough suspense or true horror, but it's got a pretty decent finale.

The Burning Bed *** / *****
Pretty good TV movie from the 80s starring Farrah Fawcett playing an abused wife put on trial for killing her husband by setting her house on fire with him inside. It starts out pretty tacky and over the top, and very 80s, but as it gets going it gets better. It gets a bit repetetive at times with Paul LeMat being over the top and beating her, saying he's sorry, coming back, then beating her, etc. But Fawcett really is good, especially her final moment on trial at the end. I guess I shouldn't say there are better movies out there about spousal abuse, but, you know, there are.

[lazarus]

Bram Stoker's Dracula ***** / *****
People really need to shut up about Keanu Reeves (he really isn't as awful as everyone makes him out to be) and actually focus on what the film really is, it's not like he's in every shot of the film.

I also saw this in the theatre about a year ago during a Gary Oldman tribute (sadly it wasn't a new print). And yes, Keanu Reeves IS that bad. It's an unfortunate casting and performance that has been widely ridiculed (more than any other from this period I can think of), and for good reason. The audience I saw it with were laughing out loud at most of his lines. Not sure why anyone should shut up about this.



And yes, he does disappear from the film for good amounts of time, but he is our initial protagonist, and the audience surrogate. People think Jar Jar Binks ruined The Phantom Menace and he didn't have as much screen time as Reeves.

In addition, Anthony Hopkins is obnoxious and not the good kind of hammy. His character as written (teleporting?) is ludicrous as well. Winona Ryder seems out of her element and doesn't quite sell all of her scenes; luckily she figured out her shit by next year's The Age Of Innocence.

Having said all that, the film is a visual feast and Oldman's performance towers over most of what was on screen that year. It's grandly entertaining and rather a comeback for Coppola's artistry IMO. Sadly he wasn't able to sustain this as the 90's continued.

[Thomas]

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a painting more than a film, and as such, Reeves is tolerable and fits with the overwrought grand guignol terror that the film luckily also entails.

[Blasty]

I had seen Bram Stoker's Dracula lots of times as a kid and teen and I was actually surprised when I joined AD to hear Keanue Reeves was thought to be bad. His performance never bothered me. But then I DID remember that for whatever reason Reeves was one of those actors that ALWAYS gets bad reviews for every picture he's ever done - it just varies how many of them he gets. I've always been a fan of him though and like him in most pictures. I actually think he gives a very committed and enthusiastic performance in Dracula. Plus, I think it might be the hottest he's ever looked.

The period picture that I DID find him distractingly awful and out of his element was Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing which came out one year later.

[Sliced Peach]

Even if he does have kind of weak thespian-skills, I sort of miss Keanu Reeves on the big screen. I haven't seen him in anything since I was a kid, like over ten years ago and looking at his IMDB-page, his career as an actor seems to be over. He had an enjoyable presence on screen, and while kind of wooden, still had charisma in a weird kind of way. It also didn't hurt that yes, he was a very handsome while younger. I guess he still is, even without the youthful beauty.

[Ceilidh-ann]

I honestly don't mind Reeves in Dracula, but then again I've never found Jonathan Harker to be a particularly riveting character. The accent's wobbly but personally I find Winona Ryder's proto-typical po-faced plummy period drama English accent far more grating. I love the film itself. It's just gorgeous and very trippy, with a brilliant score. Besides, you can't hate a film with Tom Waits playing Renfield. It's perfect casting!

[Stéphane]

I fast forward every scene with Keanu.

[hurricanesmith]

My 4-year-old nephew--well, his dad--wanted to see Rise Of The Guardians, so we saw Rise Of The Guardians. Sadly, it took what should have been an HS-slam-dunk concept (Holiday Avengers!) and kind of fumbled it. There were several layers of mythology for no real reason, and the story was all over the place, with various threads getting tossed out there willy nilly. That said, the film is gorgeous to look at, and it might be worth seeing just for the visuals. There's a moment late in the film (it involves dinosaurs) that might be the most purely beautiful image I've seen in film this year, to the point where it should almost be turned into a poster to hang up in college dorm rooms. The voicework was sadly subpar, too. Alec Baldwin was fun, but the rest of the cast was a little lacking, particularly Chris Pine, who's incredibly bland.

HS

[Timmer]

I love Dracula, I'll always have a soft spot for it (and I'm in the inority in that I love Hopkins' scene-chewing, I guess?) but Keanu *is* dreadful in certain scenes. When matched up against Oldman's tour de force, it's all the more glaring.

Reeves in Much Ado about Nothing was actually even worse, and Branagh raged against how awful he was at the time.

[GR3]

I had seen Bram Stoker's Dracula lots of times as a kid and teen and I was actually surprised when I joined AD to hear Keanue Reeves was thought to be bad. His performance never bothered me. But then I DID remember that for whatever reason Reeves was one of those actors that ALWAYS gets bad reviews for every picture he's ever done - it just varies how many of them he gets. I've always been a fan of him though and like him in most pictures. I actually think he gives a very committed and enthusiastic performance in Dracula. Plus, I think it might be the hottest he's ever looked.

Almost everyone in Coppola's Dracula is campy, so I never got the Keanu complaints. It all has a Burton-like humor to it. I love him in it.

[RRA]

I didn't mind Keanu in that movie (I think he actually gets too much about his "acting" personally), but his British accent was atrocious.

That shit can'tbe defended.

[Orlean]

*lol*
I love Keanu Reeves a lot. He's not a great actor, but I do like him. He was simply miscast in Dracula though.
But it's all in all still bearable. I don't skip his scenes.

[Blasty]

Plus he knows where the bastard sleeps!

[raguabros]

My 4-year-old nephew--well, his dad--wanted to see Rise Of The Guardians, so we saw Rise Of The Guardians. Sadly, it took what should have been an HS-slam-dunk concept (Holiday Avengers!) and kind of fumbled it. There were several layers of mythology for no real reason, and the story was all over the place, with various threads getting tossed out there willy nilly. That said, the film is gorgeous to look at, and it might be worth seeing just for the visuals. There's a moment late in the film (it involves dinosaurs) that might be the most purely beautiful image I've seen in film this year, to the point where it should almost be turned into a poster to hang up in college dorm rooms. The voicework was sadly subpar, too. Alec Baldwin was fun, but the rest of the cast was a little lacking, particularly Chris Pine, who's incredibly bland.

HS

Oh my God! I watched it too and I'm surprised at how crappy it was, I didn't even appreciate the visuals! I really hope it gets snubbed and the only reasons that keeps me predicting it in a #5 spot is the fact that it's the only Dreamworks contender this year.

[raguabros]

Here's our TOP 10 TRAILERS OF 2012: http://filmicas.com/2012/11/24/los-d...ilers-de-2012/ What do you think about them?

Don't know where else to put it!

[haqyunus]

Except Prometheus and The Master there are other better trailers around. In terms of traditional, classic trailers, I think Les Miserables was very good. El Resquicio just seems to be trying too hard to be edgy.

[Ceilidh-ann]

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is the best superhero/comic-book movie ever made. I genuinely believe this.

[dlong5665]

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is the best superhero/comic-book movie ever made. I genuinely believe this.

While I disagree with that statement, I believe it's easily one of the best. So good.

[lazarus]

Except Prometheus and The Master there are other better trailers around. In terms of traditional, classic trailers, I think Les Miserables was very good. El Resquicio just seems to be trying too hard to be edgy.

The trailer for Zero Dark Thirty gives me chills just thinking about it. Brilliant work.