Being John Malkovich

I guess the best way to describe this would be "intelligently insane". From start to finish, this is pretty much maxed out in weirdness, very much like writer Charlie Kaufman's later film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, only weirder. On the other hand, though, it's very psychologically deep and has some of the best performances of 1990s cinema (I was surprised when I learned that one of the main characters really was Cameron Diaz, and not just someone that really looked like her. ), along with beautiful imagery. It's very much a poetic film.

On the other hand, and although this is on purpose, all the focus being on originality and apparent randomness makes the film lack a certain level of cohesion. It's kind of like taking some sort of drug and seeing lots of crazy and mind-warping stuff, but then waking up in a stranger's backyard pool and wondering how and why you got there.

In a sentence:

Mind-bending, entirely unique, amazingly acted, precisely directed, and is basically the filmmaking equivalent of a poem: soak it in, analyze it, define its meaning, and move along.

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Moon

This is one of those movies that I felt like giving a 4 to, but knew that the rating had to be a 5. The thing is, it's pretty masterfully done, especially considering the budget, and is one of the more intelligent and complete SciFis of the decade. Why did I feel it deserved a 4, then? Dunno. It just didn't reach me as much as other movies have, for some reason.

The first thing you will notice is that this draws heavy influences from 2001: A Space Odyssey, except without the acid. Well, maybe a little bit of it, or just some pot, or something, as the film is still somewhat mind-bending, but always retains a solid storyline that follows logic and doesn't go crazy and start shooting random colours at you. There is a pretty big twist in the story, but it is given away near the beginning, and the rest of the movie is spent exploring the new situation. One of the things that make this so good, other than originality, is the detail and the possibility for thematic and ethical analysis; a lot of little things are present which make you think about a situation a lot more than you would have otherwise. It all feels very calculated.

And of course, the cinematography is great, the acting is superb, the editing is precise and creative and the pacing is spot-on. I guess the ending could've been better, but that's really just being overly critical. Basically, if you like deep, thought-out and original Sci-Fi, you can not allow yourself to miss this movie.

In a sentence:

One of the most original and intelligent Sci-Fi films of the decade, demonstrating that brilliant acting, editing, directing and writing are all possible on a small budget.

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Surf's Up

Yup, crazy huh? To be frank, I didn't see that coming either; I was just in it for the penguins. At that, it certainly delivers, with some of the cutest baby penguins ever being plentiful throughout. Plus, the other characters were all pretty awesome too, notably the chicken and the small long-legged bird thing. And of course, the voice talent was excellent all around with the top 3 standouts being Zooey Deschanel, Jeff Bridges and Shia Labeouf. But that's all stuff that you'd find in a generic kids' CGI movie. And this movie has a lot more to it than that.

First and most obvious is the documentary style that is used to great effect here. It really gives it a fresh, new and most of all original feel, with the camera crew actually being an (unseen) character, "real" camera effects like grain or fisheye being used during some scenes, interviews with pretty much all of the characters and TV sequences and old (in the narrative) footage being shown.

Then, you've got the wonderful exploration of different themes from the surfer lifestyle, that leaves you guessing as to what will happen and what the actual moral of the story will be in the end. Now, my fascination with said themes might have a lot to do with my enjoyment of the film, so be aware of that... Still, I think everyone has something to learn from it.

Finally, this is a visually stunning piece of art. Water and waves glimmer as sunlight shines through, or crash and explode into white flurries on the arctic coast. The environments are truly used to full effect, and supplemented by the great animation, design and facial emotions.

So while it may look like just another talking animal CGI formulaic adventure, this is actually full of heart and very unique. It might not have Pixar's thematic and emotional subtlety, but it makes up for it with other, newer strengths.

In a sentence:

A fresh and original take on the fascinating surfing subculture, with gorgeous imagery and freaking penguins!

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Brütal Legend

Let me start off by saying that this is one of the best designed and written games of the past few years. The world, characters, story, script and general atmosphere are off-the-charts awesome, and will make this one of the more memorable gaming experiences of this console generation.

It's a shame, then, that the gameplay isn't quite up to snuff. It all starts out pretty perfectly with some fun but basic hack and slash action, mixed with a cool "guitar solo" feature and some racing, leaving lots of open room for some cool... RTS action? What?

Although it's all introduced piece by piece pretty masterfully, the whole real-time strategy sections still just feel out of place, in addition to feeling overly simplified. The tools given to you to control your large force are rudimentary at best, and although I only had trouble with the final boss battle, it still ends up being sometimes frustrating to use.

Then you've got the free roaming, which is awesome because of the world, but the tasks you're given to do are the same 4 repeated over and over and over again. It would've been nice to see some variety. Plus, the map only allows waypoints on side quests and stores, and the navigation aid is reduced to "head for the giant column of light while checking your map every 10 seconds to make sure you're not heading into a ditch".

Still, these issues are mostly annoyances, and are certainly not game-breaking. It's just a shame that they're there considering the fact that this could've been an absolute masterpiece with some more variety and some better tools.

In a sentence:

Godlike design, characters, voice work and writing, but disappointing gameplay.

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Land of the Lost

Well, the first thing I have to say is that this movie was far too long. About 20 minutes could and should have been cut out, because the pacing suffers horribly from it. However, this is still an above average Will Ferrel movie, as it actually has some pretty decent humour and some acting that isn't entirely awful. The effects are what surprised me the most, as they are decidedly above-average and make for some pretty gorgeous scenery and vistas. What's odd about this movie, though, is that it isn't a kid's movie... it's more like a kid's movie for adults. So while the narrative could be resumed in a single sentence, the jokes and language are aimed at adults. Still, it's decently entertaining to watch.

In a sentence:

Simple, slow and slightly funny, but with some truly gorgeous visuals.

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I Love You, Beth Cooper

First reaction after watching this movie: "Holy F*cking Shitballs, what the Hell is wrong with these people?". The movie's main message, apparently, is that a smelly, awkward, dorky and ugly guy with a gigantic nose can get Hayden Panettiere to fall for him by proclaiming his love for her despite never having talked to her and then being awkward and saying obvious and clichéd "deep" things for an hour and a half. So I did what I always do in these times of confusion: Wikipedia. Upon reading the description of the book this is based on, I think I know what went wrong here: casting.

Now, don't get me wrong, Panettiere was well-cast and totally believable in her acting... the problem is the dude they cast as Dennis. There is just no way anyone could ever fall for someone like this, and the way he acts in the movie makes it impossible to believe in what is happening. However, if the guy had been at least somewhat approachable, then the movie could have worked, because the writing itself was pretty decent and could theoretically happen. Just not with this guy.

With that said, this is still a pretty funny movie, if you can stand the suspension of disbelief that is required, and it certainly shows some originality. Plus, in the original book (and, I imagine, the script), the attempt at making nice guys more appealing is certainly commendable. So it's worth watching, if only for burning that mental image into your head. And Panettiere, I guess.

In a sentence:

Commendable for its attempt at making nice guys more attractive, but fails miserably at it thanks to the casting/portrayal of an unloveable and pathetic nerd. Still, pretty funny, and Hayden Panettiere.

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Surrogates

After seeing the disappointing reviews on RottenTomatoes, I was expecting something much, much worse than this. In fact, this was quite good in entertainment terms, and reminded me a lot of I, Robot, with some Matrix, Gattaca and Fahrenheit 451 influences thrown in. The main idea behind this movie is sociologically and philosophically far more interesting than I, Robot, though, and is in fact good enough to recommend this film. Plus, it has none of the stupid elements from that movie, and feels less cheesy.

Its action-to-story ratio is about 1 to 1, though, so you should watch this for a bit of fun, more than anything else. Plus, the ending has a plot hole that basically makes the whole chain of events pointless... but if you ignore that, the inevitable thematic reflexions make this a decidedly above-average action flick.

In a sentence:

A lot of action and a big plot hole, but some really cool themes and sociological depth.

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9

The strengths of this movie lie in its unique and interesting design and visuals, as well as in the strength of the directing. It does not, however, lie in the somewhat dull and anticlimactic story and narrative, nor does it lie in the stale voice acting. The whole film feels like it is building up to some sort of twist or game-changing piece of information. It does not. The ending gives a vague answer and then calls it a day, which makes the whole story feel pretty pointless, which is not helped by the fact that said story feels drawn out and had me checking the time pretty often.

Now, on the other hand, the design is wonderful, blending WWI, WWII, fantasy and sci-fi elements into something that feels a bit like a post-apocalyptic Coraline. Plus, although the story itself feels incomplete, its execution is strong and never feel accidental.

In a sentence:

Worth watching for the visuals and design, but the themes are nothing new and the story and voice work are stale.

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The Invention of Lying

The concept is pretty cool, and the execution is fairly decent as well, but this film feels very flawed and somewhat unpolished. Some social and philosophical questions are asked through the story, but it never gets brought to the next level, and there's no real conclusion to the whole "first guy to discover lying" part of the story. On the other hand, the acting was surprisingly good, the humour was very Gervais-esque and the fantastic cast list didn't hurt either. Also, ignoring the huge amount of contradictions in the main plot, this definitely is a movie that makes you think about it afterwards. For that alone, it ranks higher than any other RomCom in my book.

In a sentence:

Feels like it's bumbling around and fiddling with a few different concepts without really knowing where it's going. On the other hand, the actors and acting are great, and the story forces you to think.

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OSS 117: Rio Ne Répond Plus...

I liked this more than the first one, I think. It starts out pretty great, with some brilliantly subtle jabs at the old 60's Bond movies, and pretty funny and original jokes. It loses some of its steam near the ending, though, as the main story isn't really... well... interesting. Still, the jokes stay funny throughout, unlike the first one, and interesting situations are aplenty.

In a sentence:

The writing is for the most part solid, the humour is masterfully subtle, the acting has moments of brilliance and generally speaking this is lots of fun to watch.

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The Taking of Pelham 123

I was expecting some sort of twist or some sort of wit in the writing, and there ended up being none. That means that this is your basic "Bad Guys take hostages and demand ransom" movie, although with an interesting location and some markedly above average acting from Travolta and Washington. However. the frenetic style laced with fast cuts, shaky cameras, bright lights and heavy guitar riffs is actually quite cool, and makes this film thrilling to watch despite its lack of substance.

In a sentence:

Brings nothing new to the table, but is very well executed and lots of fun to watch nonetheless.

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The Ugly Truth

Try to imagine what this movie is like, how it unfolds, and how it ends. Well that's exactly what it is. Predictable to its very core. On the other hand, this is a RomCom, so it's kind of to be expected (come to think of it, a RomCom where the guy doesn't get the girl would be a pretty cool idea). The basic concept is used pretty well and makes for some pretty decent jokes, but this is pretty much standard fare all around. Still, it's fun and light.

In a sentence:

Your basic, entirely mediocre and formulaic RomCom, but with a pretty cool main concept.

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Zombieland

This'd be my second favourite movie with zombies in it, behind Shaun of the Dead. It contains some absolutely brilliant makeup, cinematography, graphic design and stylistic decisions, and I could tell right when the opening credits started to play that this was going to be unique. This contains some of the most gratuitous gore I have ever seen in a movie, but it's all done with style, and the romance subplot actually feels somewhat believable, for once. Not once does this movie really take itself seriously (Twinkies!), and although the humour is distinctly american and lacking in any subtlety à la Shaun of the Dead, it was enough to get me to laugh quite a few times. Finally, the actors play well off of each other, the stand outs for me being Woody Harrelson, who is ridiculously awesome, and Emma Stone, who is ridiculously hot! All in all, this is a vastly entertaining movie that is well worth seeing for that last breath of summer fun, before the Oscar-season drama flood begins.

In a sentence:

Tons and tons of blood and gore, plus a cute romantic subplot and absolutely top-notch production values make this well worth seeing. Be prepared to jump a lot, though.

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Featured Review

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Being John Malkovich

Moon

Surf's Up

Brütal Legend

Land of the Lost

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Surrogates

9

The Invention of Lying

OSS 117: Rio Ne Répond Plus...

The Taking of Pelham 123

The Ugly Truth

Zombieland

Eric's Reviews

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