Philotic Web

Perfume Story of a Murderer - darn near one of the most perfect and surprising movies of the year. Just a superb and wonderous bit of storytelling. Don't miss it!

... It's out already? How did I miss that?

... I think I missed it. Seriously, I did a search and there are no movie theaters showing this movie within 50 miles. What the hell?

Did you notice that it's based on the Grapes of Wrath?

...except that it doesn't have endless passages about dust.

Did you notice that it's based on the Grapes of Wrath?

no, and I like the movie more now because I know that. It'll be nominated for best picture at the oscars, and abigail breslin (the girl) will be nommed for supporting actress and alan arkin (the grandpa) for supporting actor. It won't win any of those but it might win original screenplay.

Perfume is in limited release. I saw it about a month early at a free screening. It may never expand, and that's a shame, I've not enjoyed or been more stunned (by the ending) of a film this year. Alan Rickman is in it, btw.

Basically copied from my blog.
I'd give both The Last King of Scotland and Letters From Iwo Jima five stars, with Letters being the slightly weaker movie of the two.

I finally saw The Last King of Scotland and Letters from Iwo Jima. Both were fantastic. Neither were what I would call my absolute favorite movie of the year, but I'd honestly give both 5 star reviews. The Last King of Scotland was a little bit better, imho, because it really took more risks. Some of the scenes were brutal. Forest Whitaker deserved the praise he has been getting. It was really interesting seeing this man in so many different lights, all in one movie. You love him, and then you hate him - and I mean, you REALLY hate him. James McAvoy was brilliant in a thankless role - his performance essentially carries the entire movie, and yet with all of the buzz about Forest Whitaker he's nearly forgotten. The movie itself will really make you think. James McAvoy's character was highly relatable for me, as he starts out clouded by innocence and slowly begins to really recognize what is actually going on. It's almost a coming of age story for him - a young doctor thrust out into a world he knows nothing about, being forced to figure out exactly who and what he believes. Forest Whitakers portrayl of the president of Uganda is brilliant. He has a childlike flaw of allowing his thoughts to become manipulated, and of conveying emotions strongly without much thought. It's an interesting role to see him in, as most his roles of the past tend to be the sort of gentle, simple man roles he could easily be type-casted for. There is one intense, cringe-worthy torture scene, and a few other shocking moments that really allow the movie to take the risks it needs to show the true message that it has. All in all, it's definitely not one to miss.
Letters from Iwo Jima is really Clint Eastwood's masterpiece of this year. Flags of our Fathers was good, but nowhere near the level of this movie. When I first saw the Oscar nomination list, I was a bit irritated that Clint Eastwood had yet another nod for best director and movie, I'll be honest. After all, Flags was a good movie, but nowhere near grand. After seeing Letters from Iwo Jima though, I can almost see why the movie is up. Though I do not expect it to win, the movie itself was really the stronger of the two. Eastwood obviously had a stronger tie to the Japanese cast, which is shown through their unmistakenably brilliant performances. The acting was 100 times better, and the storyline was both more tragic and stronger. Watching the movie is nearly painful, seeing such a small, unaided group of essentially Japanese civillians being brutally torn apart. The pride of Japanese culture leads to their refusal to surrender, and essentially wipe out nearly every trace of life. It's painful to watch the inevitable as the movie unfolds. In one scene, a small group of Japanese soldiers medically treat a wounded American and show him kindness. Later in the movie, two Japanese men surrender to the Americans, and are left to be watched over by 2 American soldiers. Rather than watch the prisoneers overnight, the American soldiers shoot the prisoners and move on. I know it's easy to portray America in a negative light, especially recently, and that the movie really is just a fictional account. Regardless, the movie provokes thoughts that the Japanese were just people. The corruption of governments , be it the Japanese through World War II or Americans today, is just that. The people, though all are flawed in some way, are not all in general bad. The story really sheds a light on the humanization of people that are so often viewed as nothing more than the enemy.[/b]

Manufactured Landscapes (2006)
5/5 stars

-------------------

I recently saw this documentary in a small independent theatre. It is coproduced by the Canadian National Film Board and TVO (TV Ontario). An official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival, this is not your traditional movie or documentary as it's message is almost entirely up to you to decide, and extremely powerful. The movie follows landscape photographer Edward Burtynsky as he travels around the world recording landscapes. Unlike your traditional landscape photographer though, Burtynsky specializes not in nature, but in unnatural enviroments, completely created by humans.

The movie starts off quite slowly with a camera slowly rolling down the length of a giant Chinese factory as rows and rows of workers pass by. At first you think perhaps there's going to be some narration or some opening credits or even an end to the factory floor... but then that's when it hits you. There is no narration and no story except for what you see and what it makes you think.

The shot goes on for seemingly forever until it finally reaches the end of the factory floor, and then it quickly shows a shot of the entire length of the factory, stretching as far as the eye can see. What is being produced in the factory is left a mystery, but then that was never the point. The visual impact of something this big is the point. This sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Inbetween are certain scenes where the camera is running as people go by doing their daily work, and you hear them talking and sometimes hear them interacting with Edward Burtynsky who is slowly setting up shots on his old photographic camera.

Throughout the movie Burtynsky does provide some narration, explaining the locations of some of the shots, but the movie tries it best to let the viewer decide. Along with a small retrospective of his work, various other locations around the world are seen, but most are in China. From ridiculous garbage dumps, to coal mines to the Three Gorges Dam, it's quite amazing to see the true scale of how humans have changed the face of the planet.

In the end the movie isn't really preachy (i.e. An Inconvienient Truth, Blue Planet (one of the most famous IMAX movies)) but lets the power of the images capture your attention. What exactly are we doing to our planet? What is hiding around the corner in places that we in our comfortable lives never get to see? Is this a true vision of the future, or will we laugh at how silly we once were in the future? This is one of those rare movies that really captures your imagination and keeps you thinking for a long time afterwards.

Perfume Story of a Murderer - darn near one of the most perfect and surprising movies of the year. Just a superb and wonderous bit of storytelling. Don't miss it!

... It's out already? How did I miss that?

... I think I missed it. Seriously, I did a search and there are no movie theaters showing this movie within 50 miles. What the hell?

It's a limited release. The closest theatre to me playing it is in Miami - meaning I probably will end up missing it unless the Enzian (Orlando's limited release theatre) decides to pick it up. If you look it up on IMDB, you can get a list of each theatre playing it and see if anything is nearby..
Good luck.
Limited Releases drive me NUTS. I've driven from Orlando to Atlanta for a movie before...lol

Looks like it's only showing downtown in a theater I've never heard of. I hate going downtown, so I'll probably just have to wait until the dvd, or if they decide to do a wide release *crosses fingers*

300--8/10--This movie is more visual than anything else. From the creative mind behind Sin City the graphic novel comes a movie based on a graphic novel by the same person. The movie focuses on a group of 300 soldiers against a massive amount of Persians to protect Sparta. The film, as did Sin City, looked like a comic book. Both were shot in front of a green screen, but it wasn't as noticeable in 300. The colors faded and the monsters were the only unrealistic thing I can think of. Still, it's totally worth seeing.

PAN'S LABYRINTH *****

This was an amazing film and like no other I have ever seen. It was stunningly visual and instantly moved the audience to the mystical world it created. It felt very much like a dark and imaginative Grimm's fairy tale (the three trials for the girl is a classic) with a deeper fantasy element. The enchanting music accompanies a rather poetic plot.

However, I have to admit this movie might not be for everyone. The fantasy can be almost too "out there" and be interpreted by some as just wierd. That and all the graphic violence made me hesitate to see the film; the exceptional reviews kept me curious though. In the end, the movie just blew me away. There was not a single moment in the movie that was not tense or suspenseful (which did make the experience a little exhausting in retrospect).

If you are in love with Grimm-like fairy tales and fantasy in general, and dream of being whisked away by faries into another world, this is exactly the movie for you to see.

So I guess the general consensus is that The Departed is good, eh? But is it good enough to buy two copies of? My friend went to France with Eriador and others from our school and I wanted to get it for her. She's a total sci-fi nerd and loves action movies. Do I buy two copies? Or buy one for her and then buy it for myself later? I'm sure we'll end up watching it together anyway...so? What do you guys think? I'll list some tv shows and movies that she likes and you guys who've seen The Departed can suggest my best plan of action.

Heroes
Battlestar Galactica
Stargate (SG-1 and Atlantis)
The Black Donnellys
The Italian Job
The Negotiator
Pirates of the Caribbean
Gladiator
Fight Club
The Godfather

What do you guys think?

EDIT: What about Children of Men as another option to The Departed?

The Departed is a good, smart action film that I would definately consider worth buying...even two copies. Its clever and has a good plot and script. I personally think it is better than Italian Job or The Negotiator so I think she would like it.

Have you seen Inside Man? That is also a really smart action film that is similar to the Italian Job - but better. It also has a good plot and script and the crime element is pretty mind-blowing. Though The Departed is a more sophisticated, quality film, I kind of enjoyed Inside Man more.

the inside man was the most boring piece of trash ever filmed. don't listen to ithilien.

Hey! *sobs and sulks in corner*

So I guess the general consensus is that The Departed is good, eh? But is it good enough to buy two copies of? My friend went to France with Eriador and others from our school and I wanted to get it for her. She's a total sci-fi nerd and loves action movies. Do I buy two copies? Or buy one for her and then buy it for myself later? I'm sure we'll end up watching it together anyway...so? What do you guys think? I'll list some tv shows and movies that she likes and you guys who've seen The Departed can suggest my best plan of action.

EDIT: What about Children of Men as another option to The Departed?

I haven't seen either of those movies so I'm really not any help. I thought we might've had it downstairs and I'd watch it so I could put in my two cents but we have a movie, The Marine, that I confused John Cena for Matt Damon. Oops.

Okay, I think I'll throw in my two cents anyway.We got a movie the other day from netflix titled Blown Away (1994) that's sort of in the same vein as The Departed. Irish men and Boston. Lots of things get blown up. I really liked it.

In other semi-related news: I find it really amusing that so many people wrote Leonardo off as a bad actor when he had his first big successes and now he seems to consistently do amazing work. I'm not sure whether or not most of the people who wrote him off to begin with have gotten over their initial reaction. It'd be a shame if they didn't. I know my mom and her husband have, but I think my stepbrother Daniel still calls him 'Leonardo DiCrapio'.

well, he was always a pretty decent actor, he just had some s*** roles. and the whole teen heartthrob bulljive doesn't sit very well with many people.

still, he's been in some very good movies since then, and gotten better as an actor. anyway, i admit i still get a twinge of "aw man, leonardo dicaprio is in it? i don't know if i want to see it" reaction. but it goes away when i'm watching the movie. i'm sure eventually he'll manage to win over the rest of the people that don't care for him.

I watched a slew of movies last night...

Man Of The Year. Laura Linney. Tina Fey. Jeff Goldblum. Robin Williams. Christopher Walken. Lovely, hilarious movie.

Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams), comedic host of a political talk show - a la Bill Maher and Jon Stewart - runs for President of the US as an independent candidate who, after an issues-oriented campaign and an explosive performance in the final debate, gets just enough votes to win. Trouble is he owes his victory to a computer glitch in the national touch-screen voting system marketed by Delacroy, a private company with a rising stock price. To protect their fortune, Delacroy executives want to keep the glitch a secret, but one programmer, Eleanor Green (Laura Linney), wants Dobbs to know the truth. Can she get to him?

Lost In Translation. Bill Murray. Scarlett Johannson. Giovanni Ribisi. I love this movie. It's so funny in some spots and so awkward in others.

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is an American film actor, far past his prime. He visits Tokyo to appear in commercials, and he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johannson), the young wife of a visiting photographer (Giovanni Ribisi). Bored and weary, Bob and Charlotte make ideal if improbable travelling companions. Scarlet is looking for "her place in life," and Bob is tolerating a mediocre stateside marriage. Both separately and together, they live the experience of the American in Tokyo. Bob and Charlotte suffer both confusion and hilarity due to the cultural and language differences between themselves and the Japanese. As the relationship between Bob and Charlotte deepens, they come to the realization that their visits to Japan, and one another, must soon end. Or must they?

I <3 Huckabees. Dustin Hoffman. Lily Tomlin. Jude Law. Mark Wahlberg. Naomi Watts. Isabelle Huppert. Jason Schwartzman. Basically, a great cast. Albert (Jason Schwartzman) starts out wanting to know about a coincidence and ends up reevaluating his life. I love this movie so so so much. It had me laughing so hard when they were having their 'pure being' moments.

A husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all means.

EDIT:

The Guardian. Kevin Costner. Ashton Kutcher. John Heard. Clancy Brown. I seem to be watching movies that make me cry these days... weird. I liked the movie, though. I liked the cast especially.

A high school swim champion (Ashton Kutcher) with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's "A" School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice.

300 ---- **/*****

A totally awesome movie. Good plot, good dialogue, costumes, animation, acting, EVERYTHING. So we get SIX out of five stars. The problem is the sex parts. Completely gratuitous. Did not further the plot AT ALL. Kills four stars right there. I'll watch it again when it comes on tv and they have to edit all those things out.

the inside man was the most boring piece of trash ever filmed. don't listen to ithilien.

I liked Inside Man too...

The problem is the sex parts. Completely gratuitous. Did not further the plot AT ALL.

I thought those were for comedic effect. The panting was almost as good as Xerxes' gasps near the end.

Heh. Yeah, but they are still pointless.

Nightwatch- *****/******
I don't know if any of you have heard of this one. It's a Russian horror flick, and rather good. I don't feel like going into plot details, as it was a complicated story, but it was very good nonetheless. I got bored towards the middle, but that's partly because I was tired The effects were great. They use this effect where they zoom in on something, like a bolt in an airplane, then follow the bolt in slow motion as it comes loose and falls through the sky. It's hard to explain, so you'll just have to see it yourself. Highly reccomended.

Zodiac 4.5 of 5

excellent movie. i was glued to my chair the whole movie, and it wasn't because of the sticky floors. casting was great. plot (based on true story) was well done. thrilldrama. not quite a thriller, not quite a drama. acting was superb and they managed to pull a few laughs out of you here and there. you know, even though half the time you're going "jesusgod! he's going to kill you!" though like any movie based on truth, it's predictable. but then who cares, i don't think that's always a bad thing.

Eulogy 4 of 5

ok it's a year old movie, if you haven't seen it, rent it. this movie makes me laugh so hard. makes you think "man, maybe my family really isn't so bad..." and if it doesn't... leave your family. the "burial" scene makes me laugh so hard. mind you, what happens is completely predictable. it should still illicit a chuckle.

Nightwatch- *****/******
I don't know if any of you have heard of this one. It's a Russian horror flick, and rather good. I don't feel like going into plot details, as it was a complicated story, but it was very good nonetheless. I got bored towards the middle, but that's partly because I was tired The effects were great. They use this effect where they zoom in on something, like a bolt in an airplane, then follow the bolt in slow motion as it comes loose and falls through the sky. It's hard to explain, so you'll just have to see it yourself. Highly reccomended.

i saw this in theatres and the opening scene TERRIFIED me.

I absolutely dug 300, by far one of my favorite graphic novel adaptations. Zodiac was terrific too. I love David Fincher.

I'd give both A's, with Zodiac being a slightly higher grade.

Salaam

Casino Royale--9/10--They compltely revamped the Bond series from Pierce Brosnan's days. No more lasers and jumping the sharks. There is enough technology for a well funded organization, but that's it and that's all there should be. The storyline was much better than the other Bond movies. Nothing overly complicated, but nothing too subtle, either. As for Daniel Craig, he kicked ass. Very muscular and quiet, but he fit the role pretty well.

words can barely express how much I loathed 300. uggh, what a horrible bit of storytelling, though I blame Miller as much as Snyder.

I did learn though that Stallone and Schwarzenegger had acting range, and that Troy was a superbly acted, oscar worthy film in comparison to this tripe. So awful, it'd go on my all time 10 worst list.

I agree that 300 was a terrible film. Absolutely awful. However, I have to give it credit for it's sheer beauty. You can tell that they spent a LOT of time getting every shot to look right. The audio too. What they didn't do for scripting and acting they did for the post-production. Sadly, beautiful does not a good film make, so this film probably does still make it on to my list of ten worst.

I personally didn't think Casino Royale was that good. IMHO it didn't feel like the other Bond movies. That was partially because of the lack of gadgets and car chases (although the beginning chase made up for that). Don't get me wrong though, I liked the movie...just not as a Bond film. Also, I bought it the day it came out (the 2-disc special edition or whatever) and the first disc with the movie on it didn't work! so i returned it and got another one and it didn't work again! so as of now i've only seen it once and haven't let it grow on me any...it might be time for bittorrent...

words can barely express how much I loathed 300. uggh, what a horrible bit of storytelling, though I blame Miller as much as Snyder.

I did learn though that Stallone and Schwarzenegger had acting range, and that Troy was a superbly acted, oscar worthy film in comparison to this tripe. So awful, it'd go on my all time 10 worst list.

Sad... I think however you have to keep in mind what the purpose of the movie was. It wasn't by any means a historical epic, nor was it supposed to be taken seriously. Snyder's entire purpose, as was Millers, was to take a traditional storyline and blow it out of proportion. That's what I dug about it, their entire disregard for reality or traditional storytelling methods. Not to menton the animation was far better than Sin City.

Snyder does ask the question, how many money shots can you actually have in a movie? Never enough.

Salaam

Disturbia ****.5 / ***** (4.5/5)

I really digged this movie. I actually didn't see it in the theater, but rather from a shaky cam vid. While the video and audio weren't perfect, it was very watch-able. Just, less gore and the likes. I liked how this movie, unlike other horror/thriller movies like the Saw series, actually had very few scary parts in it. Basically, the second half of the movie is the scary part. And some of the scary parts aren't actually frightening scenes. They just surprise you. No gore or anything. Overall, I loved the movie. Definitely worth the $9.25 or whatever the ticket price is.


Thr3e ****/***** (4/5)

Basically this movie is just a Saw series rip-off. But I was alright with that. This movie was a bit more believable than the Saw series, so I liked that, although I think they could have changed the plot more so that it wasn't a blatant rip-off. The interactions between the characters were good and the scenes were staged nicely. Great movie.


Shooter *****/***** (5/5)

This movie was amazing. Although it seemed as if the plot line was taken from the Bourne series, it was fairly different. I really like Mark Wahlberg and think he did a great job in this film. It was a bit confusing at parts, but it was a great action packed film. This one is also worth the ticket price to see on a giant screen. Seriously. The movie was sweet in general, but on a big screen, everything is so much better.


Edit:

Battle Royal ****/***** (4/5)

I loved this movie. I mean, what's better than seeing a group of Japanese 9th Graders killing each other? But really, some parts were pretty corny, but I loved it. Maybe I just have a thing for cheesy movies? Whatever. It's a good on, worth the 2 hours that it took to download it.

300 actually ruined what could have been a perfectly nice date too, I was turned off she was turned on, clearly something wasn't connecting between us.

Oh, and why didn't nonrippedslimypoliticiandude just go kill a wolf if he wanted to be king of Sparta? That's all he needed to do, problem solved, stupid f*** built up a big complicated betrayal plan for no reason.

And it's too bad the queen of sparta was dropped on her head as a child, seriously, she makes GWB look like Einstein when it comes to foresight. Apparently nobody ever told this lady that A is followed by B and 1 is followed by 2. Why yes, if I let nonrippedslimypoliticiandude f*** me of course he'll change his ways despite my allowing him to f*** me giving him immense political advantages over me while yielding me absolutely no hold over him. It's a brilliant idea! Oh my stars I've been betrayed, now who could have foreseen that, though he did tell me to my face that he would betray me just exactly like this. Oh boy I'm a stupid C*nt, better stab him now, at least he's everybit as stupid as I am to have not seen the stabbing coming.

---

I saw a much better movie the other night, one I'd meant to see for ages, but never had.

Forbidden Planet - 8 of 10

Wonderful piece of sciencefiction that matures the genre a long way past the B pictures of the nuclear fifties in the genre. Clearly this was the spiritual precursor to Star Trek and pointed towards a better use of the genre down the road, until of course Star Wars regressed the genre and progress by thirty years. Oh well. Walter Pidgeon is wonderful as Professor Morpheus, and the sex kitten in the skimpy clothes was a good actress too. Fine action set pieces and concepts that still hold up today as well as they did fifty years ago. A fine and epic piece of filmmaking with a mostly outstanding script.

Hot Fuzz: *****/*****
One of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Done by the same guys who did Shaun of the Dead, another hilarious movie. The weird thing is, even though it's so funny, very little of it really stuck with me after the movie, except for this one part (which I won't try to explain, 'cuz it's British). Anyway, everyone needs to go see it. Seriously. Go now.

Yarp.

you have to understand right off the bat--i fell in love with John McLane when i was six years old. no way i should've been allowed to see that movie, and i'm not sure, even, how it happened. the next two were, you know, Not As Good. but who cares? the real american modern cowboy. it's the first archetype i ever loved, and is still my favorite to this day (hi, Jack Bauer. i just called to say i love you).

so obviously, OBVIOUSLY, i had to see LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD the day it came out here. which is exactly what i just did.






it honestly just might have been the best $11 i have ever spent in my life.

I'm SO glad you liked Live Free or Die Hard.
I want to see it so bad, but I wasn't sold that it would be great...not as strong a cast, PG-13, the way the movies seem to be going...
So...yay! I'm excited now.

well--be warned: it's totally and completely implausible. like, more so than any of the previous ones. and it is one explosion after another. it is all stunts and guns and fights and computer jargon that most likely has no realistic base.


i thought the cast was quite good--bruce willis and justin long hold most of the screen time anyway.


it's a big ridiculous mess of an action movie.


and i LOVED every freakin' second of it.