Well, that was different. It's like someone had a dream about The High Life, translated it into Spanish and forgot to put any jokes in. Don't get me wrong, it's an intriguing character study, and is frequently smile-inducing, but not really enough to be called "a comedy". And I get the distinct impression that Banderas and Cruz are repaying a favour.
As suspected, the best part's definitely the musical number.
Kinda.
Sometimes.
*shrugs*
Telly.
No.
Doubtful.
No.
When have you been pleasantly surprised by a foreign-language film? Do you find subtitles can damage the pacing in comedy, when so much of the performance is reliant on timing?
Let me know in the comments box, there's a love ;)
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Evil Dead (1981)
Cert: 18 / 85 mins / Dir. Sam Raimi
Let's not get all precious about it; The 1981 version of Evil Dead looks pretty terrible and is acted appallingly*1. That's not to say it isn't a massive amount of fun*2, but don't put it on a pedestal while you're berating the remake.
As much as I love this film, it hasn't aged very well, although obviously it wasn't really intended to be shown on today's technology. With shots that are slightly out of focus and patchy sound in places, this is best suited to your living room (although isn't that where we all originally saw it anyway?*3).
Oh, and for those of us (myself included) noting that the remake is lacking the humour of the original? You/I/we're thinking of Evil Dead II. There's the odd dark chuckle here and there, but it's pretty much on-par with Alvarez's version in terms of laughs.
And yet for all my grumbling, it really is an outstanding achievement, and I can feel the love and dedication in. every. frame. Even the ones with the plasticine models. Dammit, especially the ones with the plasticine models.
Join us...
Kinda. I mean, that tells you what you're going to get, yes.
Hand on heart? Mostly laughing and wincing.
Yes.
DVD*4.
Probably not.
Absolutely.
Not that I heard.
*1 Although Bruce is giving it his all, I'll admit, he just hadn't sharpened those tools at this point.
*2 Okay, apart from The Tree Sequence. That never becomes comfortable.
*3 Not in MY living room, obviously. Yours. We all saw it in YOUR living room. I think you were out that night?
*4 Obviously, I saw this in the cinema, hence the review, and hence my opinion on the DVD being better. And for the record? I sat in a room with 8 (eight) other people to watch it. Horror-fans of Berkshire and the surrounding areas, you should be fucking well ashamed of yourselves. Don't say they never give you anything ;)
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Iron Man 3 (3D) - Third-Pass / Spoiler-Free Cert: 12A / 135 mins / Dir. Shane Black
Oh, hello there. I've been to see Iron Man 3 again, and while I do have some thoughts I want to expand on, I need to do a bit of background/context reading first. If it's words you're after, you can read my first (spoiler-free) review here, and my second (mildly spoilery) review here.
Meanwhile, as is par for the course, I've made you some pictures (click for big, opens in new window).
Hey, don't even mention it.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Iron Man 3 (2D) - Second-Pass / Contains Spoilers Cert: 12A / 135 mins / Dir. Shane Black
Now that I'm recovered from the midnight showing of Iron Man 3 (and have had an actual night's sleep in between), I can sit back, watch it again, and take in more detail. Well, certainly make more sense of the plot anyway…
Not withstanding the slight red-herrings in the above (ie who's in which suit at any given moment), and the massive red-herring (ie the true nature of the Mandarin threat), there are still a lot of lines which never made it into the movie;
• My name's Tony Stark, I build cool stuff… • You elected me on a single platform… • You don't know who I am…*1 • Today is the first day of what's left of your life. • Do you want an empty life, or a meaningful death? • …Here's my boys
None of these are in the cut I watched. I'm used to one or two lines, but six? Some of them point towards a film more centered around The Mandarin, and I can certainly understand the people grumbling on the message boards about how his character was treated. Personally I loved what they did with him, even if the Extremis thread could have been handled better, and it's worth remembering Extremis doesn't even get a mention, visually or verbally, before you sit down to watch IM3.
So, ^that^ trailer: not overly representative of the actual plot, but it captures the feel perfectly.
Iron Man 3 certainly engaged and entertained me for its entire run-time, although it was easier to enjoy the second time around, when I could see past the bluster and concentrate more on what was going on. Speaking of which...
If what it sets out to do is conclude the Iron Man trilogy while keeping the focus firmly on Tony Stark, then yes. If there's meant to be a clear agenda for The Mandarin which sets out his motivations, methodology and goals, then no. Even discounting the lines from the trailer which don't arrive in the cinema, it certainly feels like there's a whole backstory which has been cut to stop this being a three-hour film. The threading of the Ten Rings group throughout the movies seems shamefully overlooked, and instead of being an anchor which pulls the trilogy to a close, it's treated like an Easter-Egg for the hardcore fans to grin over. Elsewhere, Extremis is handled in the same manner, as if it had already been explained in a previous movie and here we were just seeing it being used.
But, as I said, in terms of rounding out Stark's personal story and setting it up for the evolution of the Iron Man character, it's damn near perfect. And since Stark's always been the most likeable thing about these films, that's what's important, right?
If you're a fan, you'll want to see it as soon as possible so cinema, obviously. It'll be just as much fun on DVD or BluRay, but it definitely feels like a cinema-film. The 3D is fairly well applied with no ghosting etc, and it is there, but didn't add a lot for me (confirmed by a second viewing in 2D). As with Avengers, there's already too much happening for the third dimension to make much difference.
If you don't like this film, you have no soul and are dead to me. Now get out of my house.
As if you have to ask that...
I initially said no, but this time around I could have sworn I heard one very low in the mix. In the final confrontation between Stark and The Mandarin, when Jarvis tells Tony that the Mark 42 suit is incoming, there could be one when that suit bites the dust. Although I may just be wishing that.
*1 This one is especially misleading. The recurring catchphrase, theme, and indeed the clue laid down for Stark to follow is the words "You know who I am". If anything, this trailer actually makes less sense after watching the film.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Iron Man 3 (3D) - First-Pass / Spoiler-Free Cert: 12A / 135 mins / Dir. Shane Black
Midnight show for the win? IM3 wasn't entirely what I was expecting, but I'm still slightly reeling, I think. It isn't the sensory battering ram that Avengers was, but it's not far off.
Shane Black makes a good directorial successor to Favreau and there's a sense, not of moving on, but of evolution for the character. That said, it's still massive, massive fun for fans of the previous entries in the series.
Ben Kingsley: Best. Villain. Ever.
Almost.
Definitely.
For my money, definitely.
Cinema (the 3D's not essential, though).
Yeah.
Yes. This week, in fact.
…no, but there's a sweet Stan Lee cameo and a short scene at the end of all the credits.
Note: Yep, short and sweet review, partially due to the fact that I need to see it again before I can pick it apart, and partly due to the fact that it's 3am and I've got to be up for work at 7. The combination of sleep deprivation, caffeine and Iron-Man-adrenaline should make for an interesting meeting at 10am...
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Evil Dead (2013)
Cert: 18 / 91 mins / Dir. Fede Alvarez
"There's no school like the old school, and I'm the fuckin' headmaster..."
Lenny Cole, Rock'n'Rolla, 2008
Wise words indeed, and director Fede Alvarez has well and truly taken a leaf out of Sam Raimi's book for this exhilarating, and thoroughly old-school, horror flick. The Evil Dead remake boasts a near constant intensity that I haven't felt in a long time, and manages to pull off supernatural-horror without it seeming silly at all. Most of the dark humour of the original has gone, and while the story setup is broadly the same, it comfortably becomes its own film in a short amount of time (despite several Easter-Eggs and references to ED1 & 2).
The greatest thing for me, is that Evil Dead doesn't feature (or even reference) the internet, mobile phones or ropey CCTV setups. While it's still unmistakably "modern day", there's nothing to suggest which decade the story is taking place in (80's, 90's, 00's), lending it an almost timeless quality. On top of this, whereas the fright-technique of the 21st century seems to be 'close-up… quiet… quiet… quiet… LOUD!' in almost every recent ghost and slasher flick, this features none of that nonsense. There are quiet moments, but it's not a loud bang that scares you, it's more likely to be a very still shot of someone whose face you can't quite see, speaking in a voice that isn't quite theirs.
Alvarez's determination to stick-to-the-formula saves the day here, where it's been the downfall of many an imitator. There's no real spin, no real twist, just five kids in a cabin in the woods, uncovering a book which can unleash a demon upon the Earth. The only minor deviation is their reason for being there; to put their friend Mia, the central character, through cold-turkey to kick a heroin habit, rather than the traditional setup of teenage sex and booze. As it turns out, it makes the beginning of 'the trouble' all the more intense as the characters have an obvious reason for disbelieving their friend is possessed by evil spirits.
I should also take a moment to say that the cast of this film are fantastic. As mentioned above, they play out the movie with credibility, which is a massive achievement when you take into account the getting-routinely-possessed-by-a-demon and general carnage with broken mirrors, a crowbar, nailgun, shotgun, chainsaw and electric carving-knife. Especially outstanding is Jane Levy as Mia, whose 'human' side is just as compelling as her demonic one. She features in what may become my scene-of-the-year, but to describe it would be to wade into spoilers. Maybe in another review.
The only thing that made me raise an eyebrow was the 5-second scene after all the credits. It was nice an'all, but adds absolutely nothing. Bless him, though ;)
If you can regard 2013's Evil Dead as a companion to the original, rather than a replacement, you'll have immense fun. If you've liked any of this film's spiritual predecessors, but are naturally wary of remakes, you should give it a chance, it really is that good.
Almost. The film is more intense..
Fuck, yes.
Fuck, yes.
Cinema / DVD.
Yes.
Yes.
No.
It's a very - very - high-six, and may go up to full marks with more viewings.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
