Ever since I saw the trailer for RocknRolla in the cinema a few weeks ago I’ve been looking forward to seeing the movie. The reviews have been mixed, but I like the idea of Guy Ritchie returning to what he does best: the British gangster movie.
Plus Gerard Butler shows his abs.
So I’m planning to watch it over the weekend. It’s something to look forward to.
Ben tagged me to take part in this meme. I won’t tag anyone else, but if you want to have a go, feel free.
Get the American Film Institute’s 100 Years… 100 Movies list and answer the following questions:
1) Your favorite 5 movies that are on the list:
Casablanca
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
The Wizard of Oz
Star Wars
2) 5 movies on the list that you didn’t like at all:
The Graduate (I fell asleep during it)
On the Waterfront (I lost interest after a while)
Those were the only two I could find, and I probably just wasn’t in the right mind-space to appreciate them.
3) 5 movies on the list you haven’t seen but want to:
Psycho
Chinatown
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
The Silence of the Lambs
Some Like It Hot
4) 5 movies on the list that you haven’t seen and have no interest in seeing:
Citizen Kane (actually after seeing this review I’m considering renting it)
Apocalypse Now
All Quiet on the Western Front
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Mutiny on the Bounty
5) Your favorite 5 movies that aren’t on the list:
Secretary
Little Miss Sunshine
Die Hard
The Matrix
Collateral
I’ve limited myself to American movies, in the spirit of the original list.
Continued from Part 1
After six (mostly) serious nights we need to let loose and remember to laugh. I’m Gonna Git You Sucka is the first (and best) of the Wayans’ spoofs, which is a parody of blaxploitation movies. Check out this short clip of Antonio Fargas playing a pimp who has just left prison after 20 years, and hasn’t realised that the 70s are over:
I chose Anchorman as it’s a fun movie, but also because I’d love to see the frenzied newsteam battle on the big screen:
The Little Mermaid and The Jungle Book are two of my favourite Disney movies from my childhood.
Video: Under The Sea from The Little Mermaid
Video: I wanna be like you from The Jungle Book
Real Women Have Curves is a really uplifting movie about a girl who is caught between wanting to live by the wishes of her family and wanting to find her own path. During the movie she learns about self-acceptance and romantic love, with the help of the women who work with her at the dress-making factory.
Kinky Boots is about a man who decides to save his family shoemaking business by creating shoewear for drag queens. Chiwetel Ejiofor is amazing as Lola/Simon, the drag queen who shows him the way. I dare you to watch this film and not want to boot up, whether you’re male or female!
Sometimes, when all else fails you have to bring the fight.
Predator is just the ultimate kickbutt movie; a team of commandos headed by Swarzenegger are hunted down by a bloodthirsty alien. At the end, only one man is left to face the predator…
Under Siege: A US battleship which is about to be decommissioned is taken over by terrorists. Only one man can stop them: Casey Ryback, a former Navy SEAL who is the ship’s chef… Classic Seagal.
I love vampire stories, so I had to have a vamp night. 
From Dusk Til Dusk starts off with the focus on a couple of criminals and their abduction of a preacher and his family, then abruptly switches to glorious b-movie splendour as they are attacked by vampires. Here’s Salma Hayek’s seductive dance from the movie:
Blade is the daywalker, the half-human who has all of the strengths of a vampire, and none of the weaknesses, except for the thirst. I love the opening scenes when Blade enters a rave where the vamps are showered in blood, and I still remember how great this scene looked in the cinema way back in 1998:
I never got to see Dirty Dancing or The Princess Bride at the cinema, as I was only seven years old when they were released. I’d love to relive them on the big screen, as they are a couple of my favourite movies ever.
Tagged:
Semaj
Nicholas
Dr Monkey
Westcoast Walker
Captain Incredible
Two long weeks ago my buddy J.D. tagged me to do this meme where you get to create your own film festival. Then Becca followed up with her tag. Since I’ve been tagged twice I’m going to follow Becca’s example and write about twelve nights instead of six.
1) Choose 12 Films to be featured. They could be random selections or part of a greater theme. Whatever you want.
2) Explain why you chose the films.
3) Link back to Lazy Eye Theatre so I can have hundreds of links and I can take those links and spread them all out on the bed and then roll around in them.
4) The people selected then have to turn around and select 5 more people.
My first two selections are dark stories which focus on the cruel world in which we live.
Dirty Pretty Things shines a light on Britain’s shadow economy via the characters of Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Senay (Audrey Tautou), who are illegal immigrants working in a hotel. Former doctor Okwe finds a human heart in a toilet at the hotel and realises that his boss is not just a hotelier. In order to escape the immigration authorities and later to procure a new identity, Senay is asked to give up her sexual innocence.
It can be easy to ignore the poverty and criminality which lurk just beyond our front doors. Although I’ve never been to South Africa, there is an increasing level of violent crime in London and many other cities. Tsotsi has no regard for life, until he shoots a woman and steals her car then finds her baby in the backseat. The rest of the movie asks whether someone who has committed awful acts can redeem himself.
The next two films are about transformation. The Prestige focuses on illusion and deception in a theatrical sense, while The Machinist is about the physical and mental deterioration of a man burdened by guilt. Both films happen to feature Christian Bale, though watching him in the second film isn’t much fun.
And then we get to the sex. Jamón, Jamón is a spicy Spanish surreal satirical comedy starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Penelope’s character is dating a guy whose mother thinks she is beneath them. The mother hires Javier’s character to seduce her away from the son, mayhem ensues and it all ends with a bizarre ham fight between the men… (Looking at the imdb page for this movie, I noticed that the characters are given hilarious generic titles such as The Whore Mother, The Mother Whore, The Whore’s Daughter, The Spicy Sausage (Chorizo).)
Betty Blue is a mesmerising look at utterly crazy love. Betty blows into Zorg’s mundane life like a hurricane and draws him into her crazy and erotic world. He endures her frequent tantrums and destructiveness without complaint as an active partner in their obsessive love. However, in time it becomes clear that he cannot protect her from herself.
In Amores Perros, the lives of several strangers are changed forever after a terrible car accident. In contrast, The Lives of Others focuses on a man who observes a couple without their knowledge, and becomes increasingly emotionally entangled in their lives. Both movies unearth significant truths about human nature.
You know, if I had a few more movie nights I’d love to feature kung-fu classics like Drunken Master, Enter The Dragon or Knockabout, but I’ve got limited time here.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is probably my favourite movie, it’s just so amazingly beautiful. It was the first wuxia movie I’d ever seen, but it captured my imagination and led me to seek out other such films such as Hero and House of Flying Daggers.
Beautiful Boxer relates the true story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muay Thai champion who had a sex-change operation to become a woman. The brutal sport of Muay Thai seems a strange occupation for a man with yearnings to be more feminine, but it was the only way for him to help his family and save up money towards his sex change. He also incorporated his feminine leanings into his boxing persona, wearing make-up at matches and kissing his opponents coquettishly!
Our sixth night moves us from the art house to the multiplex, though both films are equally intelligent and compelling.
While The Matrix is a based around a sci-fi premise, we can take much from Neo’s journey. He is given the choice to either remain in the artificial world that is all he knows, or venture out into the unknown to discover the truth. Which pill would you choose?
In Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne doesn’t remember who he is, but starts to piece together his memories as he tries to escape the people who hunt him. Though he has forgotten so much, his subconscious mind and physical prowess provide astonishing insights into who he used to be.
–
I’ll finish the second instalment over the weekend. In the meantime, what do you think of my selections?
Make It Happen. I might go and see this movie over the weekend. The only review I’ve read about it wasn’t great, but it looks like your typical believe-in-yourself-and-everything-will-work-out movie, which is what I need at the moment. Plus the sexy dancing is a bonus.
I saw The Dark Knight at the IMAX last Friday, and I’m considering going to see it again soon, not because I thought it was particularly awesome and want to relive each moment for a second time, but because I’ve forgotten so much of it already. I’m not sure if I was completely braindead from working all day before I went to the cinema, or just being overwhelmed by the IMAX experience, but after the movie, when my friend was talking about all the moments she liked from the movie, I couldn’t remember most of them. It was like I’d had a blackout. I can’t explain it.
I remember sitting in my tiny chair, with my handbag on my lap, and feeling completely menaced and mesmerised by Heath Ledger’s Joker. Every moment he was on screen was fraught with stress, for he had no concern for anyone, including himself. Everyone else, including Batman, was a planet revolving around the Joker’s Sun. He was a force of nature, a lunatic, “an agent of chaos”. He repulsed me with his reptilian lip-licking, but fascinated me with his demented genius. The moment when he performed his “magic trick” really disturbed me, not least when thinking about all the small children who were watching and who could easily imitate that move with their peers.
I’d forgotten how much Batman’s gravelly tone irritated me. I think I preferred his previous suit, though of course it’s good that he could turn his head now. 
The character arc of Harvey Dent was very interesting to watch, as his perceptions and motivations changed so dramatically during the movie.
I enjoyed the scenes between Bruce Wayne and Alfred, the banter between them felt natural and gave the audience a brief respite from all the violence and madness. Though I really rate Maggie Gyllenhaal, I didn’t feel much chemistry between her and Bale.
As always Morgan Freeman gave a solid performance, and his character’s principles about the invasive use of technology to find the Joker raised the issue about how far we should permit authorities to invade our privacy in order to catch terrorists. The situation with the boats also raised some interesting issues about how ordinary people react when their lives are threatened, though I fear that in real life the outcome may have been very different.
Watching this movie in the IMAX really allowed us to enjoy the panoramic views of the city. The amazing sound projection of the space also brought a feeling of realism to the events on screen.
I’d be very surprised if Heath Ledger didn’t get the Supporting Actor Oscar, and it’s such a shame that he died when he was just starting to achieve his full potential.
Though I prefer Batman Begins to this movie, I feel that DK was a very good followup. It gives a bleak comment on our world today, where our protectors and our enemies are not so different.
I would also say that the movie was slightly too long. There were a few scenes which (though excellent) could have been cut, and probably would have made for a more coherent storyline. As my friend and I concluded on the way home, sometimes less is more.
And the Joker agrees with me, look!
Urban Recluse Rating: 
Sorry about my previous post. I don’t know what kind of demon that possessed me. I can only blame it on the book I was reading a moment ago, which is about social druggies in London, plus the pounding rock of Skunk Anansie playing in the background. (Devil music, indeed.)
The movie was pretty good, until the origin story in the last third took over. Plus they needed to set him up against a proper antagonist with powers equal or superior to his own, not some demented psychiatrist.
Three weeks ago I bought my ticket to see the Dark Knight this Friday at the IMAX, and I can’t wait. At the moment I’m trying to avoid spoilers while gearing myself for the most anticipated blockbuster of the year.
Tonight I watched the animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight which I rented via iTunes. It was designed as a bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and depicts some of Batman earliest battles, whilst also exploring some aspects of Bruce Wayne’s origins and his path towards becoming Batman.
Though the movie works well as an anthology, the work of different animation teams is apparent in the disparate animation styles. I felt that this worked well as it showed that although Batman’s core values shone through in each story, he could be viewed through a range of perspectives.
This point was explored in the first tale which featured a group of kids who’d each had encounters with Batman and had a different interpretation on what they’d seen. The second story featured a cop who imagined Batman to be a dangerous vigilante, until personal experience of Batman changed his mind. The other four chapters focussed on Bruce Wayne/Batman himself; his values, his fears, his strengths and his motivations.
Overall, it was a great way to re-immerse myself in the legend and the mythology of this most human of super-heroes.
Urban Recluse Rating:
By the way, I’m really baffled about the reports that Christian Bale allegedly assaulted his mother and sister. I’m hoping that it’s not as awful as it sounds.
I’ve noticed this meme going around a few of my favourite blogs, so I thought I’d join in for the trip back in time. You basically choose the best film released during each year of your life.
1980: Flash Gordon (The soundtrack by Queen, the flying monkeys, Ming the Merciless, plus the buff Flash G himself makes this the perfect movie to commemorate my entrance into being.)
1981: S.O.B.
1982: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
1983: Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
1984: Ghost Busters (I loved when Sigourney Weaver went all evil)
1985: Back to the Future
1986: Soul Man (seems bizarre now, I used to watch this film constantly - until the video wore out)
1987: Dirty Dancing (Amazing soundtrack!) Honourable mention: The Princess Bride
1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Jessica!)
1989: When Harry Met Sally
1990: Ghost (the sweetest, saddest movie ever)
1991: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1992: Aladdin (You ain’t never had a friend like me!)
1993: Dragon - The Bruce Lee Story
1994: Speed
1995: Se7en
1996: Scream (I first watched this film in Sociology class, our teacher was a cool dude.)
1997: Titanic
1998: The Truman Show
1999: The Matrix
2000: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002: Spider-Man
2003: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (I remember watching this from the back row of a Parisian cinema)
2004: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (I’ve never laughed so much in my life)
2005: Batman Begins
2006: Casino Royale
2007: Beowulf
2008 - The Dark Knight (I’m pretty sure that this will be the movie of the year, but I’ll confirm this view after I see it on Friday evening. Otherwise it would probably be between The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man)
Still haven’t worked out whether it’s a hard drug or a sexual manoeuvre. Maybe it’s a bit of both.
Or a brunette with a chainsaw.