The Sixth New Year Post (a.k.a. The Movie Post)
Snuck off early from location scouting today to see two just-opened movies. Shh, don't worry, I'll more than make up for it tomorrow. It was nice that I knew so little about the two films in question, since I hadn't read that many reviews about them, so I was able to be surprised. Horrifically surprised in parts, as it turned out. But in a good way.
Million Dollar Baby is directed by Clint Eastwood, and it moves along like the man does, taking its own time, and moving with grace and dignity. The boxing scenes are quick and brutal, with no flashy crap that other directors often resort to for excitement. Performances are excellent all round, and isn't it funny that Hilary Swank only seems to be taken seriously when she's playing "macho" characters?
I appreciate the fact that not a single review tells you what happens eventually, and trust me, it's a real punch to the gut. Something that makes you feel sick to your stomach, but yes, in a good way.
When actors turn directors, they seem to do good work, mostly. Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins, Tim Blake Nelson, um, people who aren't called Tim. Or lesser names helming films like The Station Agent or In The Bedroom. I would hesitate to name Kevin Costner as one of them, but then again I was pleasantly surprised by Open Range. It seems that being actors themselves, they're more interested in character pieces, and the acting in their films are usually top-notch and gut-wrenchingly honest.
Eastwood likes to do a lot at a time, and here he's also responsible for producing the picture and composing the score. Luckily, the score for this seems pretty understated, which is a welcome relief from the musical histrionics of Mystic River that stuck out like a sore thumb and completely detracted from the movie.
If you haven't gotten my drift yet, I think Million Dollar Baby is excellent.
Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement), on the other hand, was a Very. Long. Engagement, indeed. Despite being 4 minutes shorter than Baby, it feels so much longer. Plot contrivance after plot contrivance occurs, as do scenes that do nothing more than add complications to an already complicated story. In comparison to the previous film, the war scenes don't feel brutal enough, and the emotions never quite ring true. It looks gorgeous, and Audrey Tautou is gorgeous, but somehow you are never quite able to give a shit about anything.
A movie that focuses entirely on someone traveling to find their lover is really hard to do well. Cold Mountain (yawn) didn't quite manage to pull it off, and neither does Engagement. No matter how hard he tries, Jean-Pierre Jeunet never seems to make everything gel together. Better luck next time.
8 Days and Cineleisure Orchard are holding an Oscar movie marathon on 27-28 February, featuring Sideways, Ray, Closer and A Series of Unfortunate Events. It all culminates in a big-screen live screening of the over-inflated Circus of Hype called the Academy Awards, and costs only S$30 per person. I was all hyped-up about going, before I realized that I simply couldn't.
It ends on a Monday morning (or noon, if I want to stay for the live telecast), and while normally I would have no hesitation about taking leave (I have so many days left over anyway), I really can't on that day. I start two shoots back-to-back the next day, which will take nine days out of a ten-day stretch, and I can foresee that there is no way I can finish prepping for everything by that Monday. I know I definitely have enough time to prep for one very adequately, but two is a real stretch. So, no all-night movie marathon for me.
On that note, if anyone knows a street in Singapore that could pass off for a street in Thailand in the 1970s, I'd be really grateful.
Million Dollar Baby is directed by Clint Eastwood, and it moves along like the man does, taking its own time, and moving with grace and dignity. The boxing scenes are quick and brutal, with no flashy crap that other directors often resort to for excitement. Performances are excellent all round, and isn't it funny that Hilary Swank only seems to be taken seriously when she's playing "macho" characters?
I appreciate the fact that not a single review tells you what happens eventually, and trust me, it's a real punch to the gut. Something that makes you feel sick to your stomach, but yes, in a good way.
When actors turn directors, they seem to do good work, mostly. Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins, Tim Blake Nelson, um, people who aren't called Tim. Or lesser names helming films like The Station Agent or In The Bedroom. I would hesitate to name Kevin Costner as one of them, but then again I was pleasantly surprised by Open Range. It seems that being actors themselves, they're more interested in character pieces, and the acting in their films are usually top-notch and gut-wrenchingly honest.
Eastwood likes to do a lot at a time, and here he's also responsible for producing the picture and composing the score. Luckily, the score for this seems pretty understated, which is a welcome relief from the musical histrionics of Mystic River that stuck out like a sore thumb and completely detracted from the movie.
If you haven't gotten my drift yet, I think Million Dollar Baby is excellent.
Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement), on the other hand, was a Very. Long. Engagement, indeed. Despite being 4 minutes shorter than Baby, it feels so much longer. Plot contrivance after plot contrivance occurs, as do scenes that do nothing more than add complications to an already complicated story. In comparison to the previous film, the war scenes don't feel brutal enough, and the emotions never quite ring true. It looks gorgeous, and Audrey Tautou is gorgeous, but somehow you are never quite able to give a shit about anything.
A movie that focuses entirely on someone traveling to find their lover is really hard to do well. Cold Mountain (yawn) didn't quite manage to pull it off, and neither does Engagement. No matter how hard he tries, Jean-Pierre Jeunet never seems to make everything gel together. Better luck next time.
8 Days and Cineleisure Orchard are holding an Oscar movie marathon on 27-28 February, featuring Sideways, Ray, Closer and A Series of Unfortunate Events. It all culminates in a big-screen live screening of the over-inflated Circus of Hype called the Academy Awards, and costs only S$30 per person. I was all hyped-up about going, before I realized that I simply couldn't.
It ends on a Monday morning (or noon, if I want to stay for the live telecast), and while normally I would have no hesitation about taking leave (I have so many days left over anyway), I really can't on that day. I start two shoots back-to-back the next day, which will take nine days out of a ten-day stretch, and I can foresee that there is no way I can finish prepping for everything by that Monday. I know I definitely have enough time to prep for one very adequately, but two is a real stretch. So, no all-night movie marathon for me.
On that note, if anyone knows a street in Singapore that could pass off for a street in Thailand in the 1970s, I'd be really grateful.
posted by cinewhore @ 12:56 AM
1 mindfucks
1 Comments:
haha how does a street in Thailand in the 1970s look like first? i oredi doubt u can find a street that look like a street in SPORE back in the 70's, a street in Thailand? hmmm.... u will have prob with the cars parked along the street lor...
gimme some mindfuckery
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