More recent rentals. (strange mix)

[Kam]

Ok... so here's a strange mix of rentals i've gone through, figured to bunch 'em all together and give ya some nutshell reviews.

Saved! (2004) - Reccomended. Movie about a bunch of teens' senior year at a christian school. Jena Malone finds out her bf is gay (he tells her) and after hitting her head underwater has a vision that jesus wants her to have sex with her bf in order to help him have a clearer head. so she does, and gets pregnant. mandy moore does a great job as an evangelical devotee whose crippled brother (played by mccauley culkin in a rather well done acting job i might add) has the hots for the only jewish student in the entire school, who reciprocates his attention. the movie could get very heavy handed and does show both sides of how religion is practice, in its most intolerant form of dogmatic segregation (those who dont believe what we believe cant be in our club) and its most open for of acceptance, however it doesnt become too preachy, but stays as a feelgood movie where the people ultimately all want to do the 'right thing' they just need to find out how to go about doing it.


The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) - HIGHLY reccomended. i think this has already been discussed on here and reccomended on here before, so will just add my reccomendation onto the other accolades. phenomenal movie.


Il Mare (2000) - Recommend. Another movie that you will see remade by hollywood,(with Keanue Reeves and Sandra Bullock as a romantic comedy called The Lake House). the original is a korean movie titled il mare (the sea) which is the name of a house that an architect builds. the premise of this movie has romantic ______ written all over it. here it is a romantic "drama/(almost)thriller", hollywood of course makes it a romantic "comedy". The premise is fascinating. a young man (the architect) and a woman exchange letters between each other across 2 years in time. she is 2 years in the future of his time. (he's in 1997 and the first owner of the house, she's in 1999, the last owner of the same house). how they communicate and try to arrange to meet is fascinating ( also very cool and entertaining time issues such as he runs into her in 1997, before she even knows he exists, and wonders why she doesnt recognize him until he realizes that she hasnt "met" him yet, and they make a date for two weeks in her future, for x date 1999 where she has to wait 2 weeks to meet him, but he has to wait 2 years and 2 weeks to make that "date").


11:14 (2005) - Reccomended. I had read a few articles that compared this movie to Crash, so the curiosity got the better of me and i checked it out. It is NOTHING like crash. It's pretty much the same as comparing Pulp Fiction to Crash. It uses a similar device in the storytelling method (i.e. looping time from different characters pov around a certain event) 11:14 is actually far similar to Go then it is to Crash. Basically there is a car crash, and that event happens at... you got it. 11:14pm. We start at 11:13 right before the crash in one of the cars. we take that storyline to the end... then jump back to 11:04 and follow another characters storyline to the end through the same linked events... then back to 10:55, etc. etc. until the story is fully revealed at the end. it is a dark comedy much in the same vein as Go! is as well and nothing at all like Crash, however, still very enjoyable with some fun performances (especially Patrick Swayze).


Walkabout (1971) - Not really reccomended. Had heard about this movie for a while and finally checked it out. basically follows the story of an aboriginal walkabout in the australian outback. two aussie kids are left stranded in the desert after a rather strange and horrible event (i wont ruin in case anyone does see it) that didnt really make any sense as to why the event even happenned in the first place unless i just missed a clue, but... it happens, and they are stranded there. they go walking about and end up running in to an aborigine who is on his walkabout (as a right of passage to manhood, or aka John Locke's salvation). the three join up and continue on till they get back to civilization. it has some interesting commentary, and frankly speaking is still probably better than a lot of movies being made right now, BUT... it just really drags on during the walkabout section of the story. granted i am sure there are long, dry, boring portions of an actual walkabout where one undergoes serious spiritual epiphanies... but that just doesnt come across visually. how do you SHOW a spiritual epiphany? it can be done (see for e.g. shawshank redemption) but its not easy and its not done well here. its an interesting idea that just gets plain boring and the setup just didnt draw me in enough.


Taps (1981) - HIGHLY reccomended. I hadnt seen this movie in over a decade and wondered if it still held up over time. It does. Loved this movie when i saw it back in the 80's and i still love it now. If you havent seen it yet, put it on your list! great cast too with Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, George C. Scott, and a bunch of others you'll recognize. Hutton, Penn and Cruise have just finished their junior year at Bunker Hill Military Academy and after the summer session, will start their senior year, after which, in all probability all three will go to West Point. However... the powers that be feel that bunker hill should be levelled and a shopping mall put in its place. After a scuffle with a bunch of townies during the end of the year ball at the academy where a townie is accidentally shot by the commanding officer (george c scott who's channelling a kinder version of his patton here) the powers that be kick in to overdrive in shutting the school down. But... the kids want the school to remain open... so they stage a rebellion and take command of the school themselves. A standoff with the national guard ensues. It's a great movie with some great performances across the board, especially by the three leads who even then, you can see the potential of their careers.


L'Avventura (1960) - HIGHLY reccomended. For film buffs, this is a must-see if you havent already. This won a special jury prize at the '60 Cannes Film Festival for special achievement in visuals (or something like that, forgot the actual title). Basically, Antonioni revolutionized visuals for cinema. his choreography of the actors, blocking of thescenes, framing of everyone, was so deliberately and masterfully done, that the information that comes across is amazing when you dont even realize how it is that he is creating the mood he creates. a scene will happen where the dialogue is secondary to the visuals, in fact the dialogue may do very little, if nothing to move the plot forward, yet visually you have received all the information you need to know what is going on. Suffice is to say, this is not a couch potatoe movie, but demands an engaged mind. I would not reccomend this movie for those who crave more of a Michael bay-type pacing to their movie, as there are extended stretches where there is no dialogue (ala kubrick) but a ridiculous amount of information is being fed to you with every image on screen (without 100 cuts, 200 explosions, 300 halfnaked models, and 400 versions of ben affleck running around). Oh yeah... so the plot. A rich woman goes with her friend and fiancee (who hasnt really proposed yet) to a vacation island. The woman dissapears. her friend and fiancee begin a journey to look for the friend and end up searching for far greater things in their own lives. Even without its historical significance for what antonioni has done with this movie, its incredibly enjoyable as this thriller/love story/ drama.


One Day in September (1999) - Highly Reccomended. The documentary behind the tradegy of the munich olympics. if you like docs, this is one of the best i've seen. Very moving and incredibly informative. I saw Munich before seeing this, so was interesting to hear the actual people talk about the events that spielberg portrayed. very moving and very scary.


Into the Blue (2005) - Reccomended. i know this doesnt seem like the kind of movie i'd like, (not taking into account the fact that jessica alba is in it) but i really enjoyed this movie. really good fun popcorn flick that has some nice twists and turns and a lot of jessica in a bikini swimming underwater.
on a side note (that is more than just a sidebar) but if there is any place where you cant hide flab, its swimming underwater. any shot of anyone with any flab on their body, and it'll show up underwater. and here we have jessica underwater (there were other actors and fish and stuff but.. really.. who cares?)
ms. alba.
underwater.
flat out ludicrous.
it's simply ridiculous how in shape this girl is.
so back to the movie... blahblah, fun action adventure about friends who find a shipwreck and want to claim it, blahblah, drugs get involved, blahblah, action, consequences, etc. jessica alba.

peace!
k2

[Gerald Cooperberg]

I've always felt like Walkabout was less about spiritual epiphanies than disconnect. Has anyone "learned" anything at the end, about the desert or themselves? Speaking of long desert walking scenes, have you seen Gus Van Sant's Gerry? There's an endurance test for the viewer for sure.

I really ought to see L'Avventura.

[eisforelectronic]

Into the Blue (2005) - Reccomended. i know this doesnt seem like the kind of movie i'd like, (not taking into account the fact that jessica alba is in it) but i really enjoyed this movie. really good fun popcorn flick that has some nice twists and turns and a lot of jessica in a bikini swimming underwater.
on a side note (that is more than just a sidebar) but if there is any place where you cant hide flab, its swimming underwater. any shot of anyone with any flab on their body, and it'll show up underwater. and here we have jessica underwater (there were other actors and fish and stuff but.. really.. who cares?)
ms. alba.
underwater.
flat out ludicrous.
it's simply ridiculous how in shape this girl is.
so back to the movie... blahblah, fun action adventure about friends who find a shipwreck and want to claim it, blahblah, drugs get involved, blahblah, action, consequences, etc. jessica alba.

peace!
k2

I have to say this was a superb transfer, colors are very rich. If ever Iwanted to show off a television's picture, this is the movie I would use, barring any animation of course.