Kam
09-22-2008, 08:12 AM
The Lookout (2007, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels) - This gripping thriller from last year grabs ahold of you slowly, until you find yourself with its hands gripped firmly around your neck and not letting go. The story builds up alot of exposition as we are introduced to the circumstances of JGL's character, who got in a car accident and suffered some brain damage, hurting his memory of things. He has to write down everything to remember the sequence of how his day/life is progressing.
In a seemingly innocuous meeting at a bar, he is recruited by a group of kids he went to high school with (who he no longer remembers) to get in on a bank heist. Jeff Daniels plays his roomate, brought together by the learning center that helps handicapped people, who is blind and has been-there-done-that and sees JGL's problems before the kid himself does (in a nice bit of irony). The twists of the plot are great and the performances by everyone really pull you in to the strange cast of characters. Very film-noirish as well. Makes me want to rent Brick next! Highly Reccomended!!
In Bruges (2008, with Colin Ferrell and Brendand Gleeson) - The trailers for this showed it as an off-the-wall type comedy. It is WAAAAAY more than that. Two hitmen are sent to Bruges (in belgium) to hide out after a hit goes bad. Stuck in this small town the two begin to sight see as they wait for instructions from their boss (played by Ralph Fiennes, quite brilliantly). The story has a few twists and turns in it and is far more touching than i thought it'd be. Colin Ferrell and Gleeson are exceptionally good and play off each other very well in some touching and heartfelt scenes as well as the comedic ridiculous ones, and often the two blend seemlessly from a moment you want to cry right into one where you want to laugh. Highly Reccomended!!!!
Angel-A (2007, by Luc Besson (5th Element, Leon) - a down and out small time crook is in more debt than he can handle. So he decides to take his fate into his own hands, and rather than die by the hands of his creditors, he'd rather kill himself. As he's about to jump off a bridge, he sees another suicidal person, a tall, leggy blonde. She jumps. He jumps in to save her. Drags her to safety. And she becomes his 'guardian angel'....i don't want to reveal anything else other than to rent it!! It's not up there with Leon, as my favorite Luc Besson movie to date, but it's heading in that direction. In French with Subtitles. Almost Highly Reccomended!!
Rescue Dawn (2006, with Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, by Werner Herzog) Before the vietnam war started in 1965, the US was still sending bombing raids into the region. Within 40 minutes of his first mission, Dieter Dengler (a german american) is shot down. He is taken to a POW camp deep into enemy territory and this is the story of his escape. It is intense!! Christian Bale is one of my favorite actors and he is as good here as he's been. Steve Zahn was the big surprise as i've only seen him in comedic roles and he was incredibly good as another pow already in the camp by the time Dieter arrives. Highly Reccomended.
(anyone who's seen Angel-A i'd love to discuss with spoilers, curious what other reactions are to it)
Peace!!
-K2
In a seemingly innocuous meeting at a bar, he is recruited by a group of kids he went to high school with (who he no longer remembers) to get in on a bank heist. Jeff Daniels plays his roomate, brought together by the learning center that helps handicapped people, who is blind and has been-there-done-that and sees JGL's problems before the kid himself does (in a nice bit of irony). The twists of the plot are great and the performances by everyone really pull you in to the strange cast of characters. Very film-noirish as well. Makes me want to rent Brick next! Highly Reccomended!!
In Bruges (2008, with Colin Ferrell and Brendand Gleeson) - The trailers for this showed it as an off-the-wall type comedy. It is WAAAAAY more than that. Two hitmen are sent to Bruges (in belgium) to hide out after a hit goes bad. Stuck in this small town the two begin to sight see as they wait for instructions from their boss (played by Ralph Fiennes, quite brilliantly). The story has a few twists and turns in it and is far more touching than i thought it'd be. Colin Ferrell and Gleeson are exceptionally good and play off each other very well in some touching and heartfelt scenes as well as the comedic ridiculous ones, and often the two blend seemlessly from a moment you want to cry right into one where you want to laugh. Highly Reccomended!!!!
Angel-A (2007, by Luc Besson (5th Element, Leon) - a down and out small time crook is in more debt than he can handle. So he decides to take his fate into his own hands, and rather than die by the hands of his creditors, he'd rather kill himself. As he's about to jump off a bridge, he sees another suicidal person, a tall, leggy blonde. She jumps. He jumps in to save her. Drags her to safety. And she becomes his 'guardian angel'....i don't want to reveal anything else other than to rent it!! It's not up there with Leon, as my favorite Luc Besson movie to date, but it's heading in that direction. In French with Subtitles. Almost Highly Reccomended!!
Rescue Dawn (2006, with Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, by Werner Herzog) Before the vietnam war started in 1965, the US was still sending bombing raids into the region. Within 40 minutes of his first mission, Dieter Dengler (a german american) is shot down. He is taken to a POW camp deep into enemy territory and this is the story of his escape. It is intense!! Christian Bale is one of my favorite actors and he is as good here as he's been. Steve Zahn was the big surprise as i've only seen him in comedic roles and he was incredibly good as another pow already in the camp by the time Dieter arrives. Highly Reccomended.
(anyone who's seen Angel-A i'd love to discuss with spoilers, curious what other reactions are to it)
Peace!!
-K2