New on An Online Universe this week
We checked out new trailers and/or art for Two Little Boys and The Raid.
We reviewed the new Liam Neeson thriller The Grey, the Jason Statham action flick Killer Elite, and the charming My Week with Marilyn.
Finally, we suggested 4 podcasts that film-lovers might want to check out.
Coming up next week: Reviews of Contraband, A Dangerous Method, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and more. We will also be taking a look at our first Japanese film of the month.
We hope you’ve checked out the site and have liked what you’ve seen. Thanks for reading and we hope you’ll visit us again at anonlineuniverse.com
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Project X -An earlier contender for worst movie of 2012? It looks like all of the worst teen drunk party movies combined with the sort of shit that kids get infamous for on facebook.
Cowboys & Aliens
Oh seriously what was this film? I was so bored. Boring boring boring. No real story, no real action and a complete waste of the acting talent. The saving grace was Daniel Craig’s hotness. The film would have been a heap better if he’d just stood there and looked broody for 90mins.
1/5
My 2011 films (thus far)
Top films: Drive, Melancholia, Super 8, The Guard, Senna, TT3D, Beginners.
Disappointments: ROTPOTA, Another Earth, Crazy Stupid Love.
Anticipated: Midnight in Paris, Tree of Life (next week -finally!), Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Ides of March, Warrior, 50/50, Moneyball, Tintin.
TT3D: CLOSER TO THE EDGE opens tomorrow (August 25) in New Zealand cinemas.
I am really looking forward to seeing this, particularly because it is in 3D. I found the ‘drivers-view’ camera in SENNA to be quite exhilarating on the big screen. I’m expecting this to be just as thrilling, if not more so.
The Wellington leg of the 2011 film festival is over!!! This makes me incredibly sad; although it will be nice to have some free time again. I just wanted to share some brief thoughts about some of the films I saw. These are purely my own thoughts and opinions - I am no critic!
*Funniest Film*
Space Battleship Yamato
This film isn’t meant to be a comedy, and that’s what made it so hilarious. The world is going to end, so it makes sense to bring a cat on the spaceship which is on a mission to save the world….right?
Close 2nd: The Guard - Brendon Gleeson and Don Cheadle pull of perfect comedic timing in delivery in this dark Irish comedy. Plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes.
*Biggest Disappointment*
Another Earth
Amazing lead performances did not do enough to make up for a lack of direction in this film. The concept is original and interesting, but little things like some terrible scriptwriting and the constant use of radio/tv to convey the plot just didn’t work for me.
Close 2nd: Arrietty - This Japanese animation lacked the heart and true sense of spirit and adventure, that Studio Ghibli films general have in bucket-loads. On the positive side, the animation and sound-editing was first class.
*Biggest Surprise*
Melancholia
I utterly adored this film. To be honest I approach any von Trier film with a sense of trepidation; but this film was a visual and spiritual masterpiece. It was a joy to watch in the cinema with the swelling music and stunning imagery from start to finish. One of the best final acts I have ever seen.
*Best Documentary*
Senna
This amazing documentary was carefully crafted by stitching together archival footage of races, interviews, family videos etc. The result was a story of passion, politics, sports, dreams, and of mortality, which absolutely blew me away. I did not expect to feel so much emotion. Stunning.
*Best Feature Film*
Drive
The perfect film package - action, suspense, romance, car chases, and music. It is no surprise that director Nicolas Winding Refn won the best director award at Cannes this year. I can’t even express how much I loved this film. I am now Ryan Gosling’s biggest fan - what a performance. I am so grateful to The Embassy and the NZIFF for making it possible for this film to be shown.
All and all a pretty damn fantastic festival.
Space Battleship Yamato (宇宙戦艦ヤマト)
This is the funniest unintentional comedy that I have seen in a very very long time. I laughed so hard that I actually cried. Seeing this in the cinema was so much fun, and fully vindicated a previous experience I had with a similar movie.
A few years ago when i was living in Japan I went to the cinema and saw a film called ‘The Sinking of Japan’ (日本沈没). In this film Japan is destroyed as it is pulled apart and into the Earth’s crust. The hero in this film is also Takuya Kimura (who is equally as cheesy and bad BTW). The premise is ridiculous and the acting more comedic than anything else. When i saw this movie I was the only non-Japanese in the theater, and I was the only person laughing. The Japanese people were quietly crying or were completely enthralled by what they were seeing.
Anyway - see this movie. I promise you’ll laugh.
Now showing at the NZ International Film Festival
