Diagnosis:Film-Weekend of April 22
It's an odd weekend for films as there aren't all that many choices. The top contenders this weekend are Incendies and Stake Land, which have a bunch of good reviews floating around. Legend of the Fist, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold and The Warring State all look interesting, but you can probably catch those in the rental phase if and when they make their way to Netflix or Redbox. Are you planning on seeing anything this weekend? Any of these films? Let us know!
Films after the jump!
Review of Hanna
Directed by: Joe Wright
Written By: Seth Lochhead & David Farr
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana
A TCC RATING OF
Here's the short review: It's awesome. Here's the not-so-short review: It's really awesome. I'm a bit of a fan of the action film, and there have been a lamentable lack of them lately with the kind of writing and art film styling present here in Hanna. For those of you who haven't seen any of the trailers or who have generally been living under a rock, Hanna is the story of a young assassin given the choice to enact revenge on an intelligence agent by her father, played brilliantly by Eric Bana. "She won't stop until you're dead," Bana says, referring to Cate Blanchett's character, "or she is."
Diagnosis:Film-Weekend of April 15
Kind of a slow weekend for film. If you had planned on catching up with older releases, now would be the perfect time to do so. Not much here that you couldn't wait for rental to see, and the tent pole releases this weekend certainly aren't worth the $13 ticket price. But if you do plan on seeing anything from this list, let us know what you think. I am curious to hear what other people have to say about The Conspirator and if there's any bit of witticism left in the tired Scream series.
Films after the jump.
Pulp Fiction Vs. Empire Strikes Back, or The Skinny on Flickchart
The question in the image above is an important one, and the premise to perhaps one of the best film ranking sites out there on the web: Flickchart. I recently had a chance to talk to Co-Founder Nathan Chase about the site, where the idea came from, what all went into creating it and what's in store for the future.
Interview after the jump.
Diagnosis:Film-Weekend of April 8
This week we get a dumb remake, an interesting action thriller, a sappy surfer flick, a stoner fantasy comedy, a film about Bill Hicks, a documentary about the 70s DIY film movement, an IMAX animal thing, an infuriating romantic comedy and Meek's Cutoff. Really, that's about it. The rest are mostly "whatever." My money is on that action thriller, by the way.
What are you planning on seeing this weekend? What do you think based on the trailers? Do any of these look good? Sound off in the comments section!
Films after the jump!
Quick and Dirty Rental Review: I Spit On Your Grave (remake)
Generally I am not a big fan of remakes, because usually the original vision is lost and it never quite adds up. I will sometimes make exceptions for horror movies. I think because the methods used for making the scary gory stuff has changed a bit, and more can be done. There have been some pretty good remakes over the years. One of my favorites being The Hills Have Eyes. And of course there were some remakes that should never have been done, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Horror has been a favorite genre of mine for a very long time. I treat horror movies much like sex and pizza. (Even if it’s bad...etc...etc) Generally I don’t turn them down, although as I have gotten older the gore just isn't that fun anymore and I am not a big fan of torture porn. (read: Saw)
I decided to use my free monthly Redbox rental and pick up I Spit On Your Grave, the remake. I had no idea it was remade, and was a bit shocked to see it. Since I loved the original so much, I figured why not. I went into this movie not expecting much at all, I was putting a pretty big wager on the fact it was going to suck. I was pleasantly surprised. There were a few points where it got a little draggy. And at the end it was straight up torture porn, there are quite a few cringe “Oh my god” moments. But I am glad I took the chance, it was an entertaining slasher movie.
Movie Quote Horoscope: April 4
This week I've decided to start a new game here on Technicolor Commentary. It's called the Movie Quote Horoscope. I've pulled quotes from films based on the characteristics listed in the Western Horoscope. It's your job to guess who said each quote and what movie the quote is from. Obviously it's easy to find the answers by looking it up on the web, but if you're a true quote connoisseur you should be able to get these without having to leave the page.
You can guess the answers in the comments section and I will replace the blanks below with the right answers as you guess them, giving you credit for the guess. Also, feel free to discuss the films mentioned here as they are definitely worth talking about!
Your Movie Quote Horoscope can be found right after the jump!
Diagnosis:Film-Weekend of April. 1
This weekend we've got the jellybean-shitfest that is Hop, the horrifyingly lame Insidious as well as a completely cut up version of The King's Speech. Source Code is also playing this weekend, which is my personal choice for viewing this weekend. What are you guys seeing? Do any of these films stand out to you? Let us know in the comments!
Films after the jump.
Quick and Dirty Rental Review: How Do You Know
Swigs of Sucker Punch
I am not entirely sure how I feel about this movie.
The bad:
- Zack tried to play this movie off as "Women kick ass" when it just portrays "Dudes are assholes and women just have to grin and bear it until someone comes to save them".
- Baby Doll's escape fantasies are basically straight video game rips, but the movie is supposed to be based in what appears to be the 50s.
- A bit of the CGI sucks. (Though it is kind of funny considering the game it obviously references)
- The big unspoken evil in the movie was abuse, but it was subtle enough for GADS of people to miss it.
- It is really, really depressing.
The middle:
- The dialogue was fairly meh and full of clichés. - I'll give that a pass since it was not only staged in a mental institution full of severely damaged people, but also had a traumatized young girl who dived into fantasy at every chance as the editor. Zack probably wasn't thinking that hard, but that angle makes it better.
- It seems Snyder had good intentions for the story, but got lost in his own ideas of empowerment and was thwarted further by nitpicking edits.
- The protagonists are pretty much blank slates. Many of the folks who dislike this movie hate that, but it touches back on the fact that this movie is very game, and/or action flick, based.
But on the frosted side:
- Armored mech with a pink bunny on it. (I'm easy sometimes.)
- Most of the CGI was very pretty. I left the movie drunk off the visuals.
- I'm a gamer. Sometimes I have to take turns playing a game. It doesn't make the game any less fun.
- The first few minutes of the movie, which lacked dialogue, were extremely well done. If the whole movie would have been that, it would have been fantastic.
- The soundtrack, though full of covers, fit the scenes quite well.
Wait... Pretty, even sounds hot, kind of stupid, and you wake up the next day with a headache from the past night's events.
Did I pick up Sucker Punch at the bar?
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