Rushmore (1998)

After watching Bottle Rocket, I had to watch Rushmore shortly after because it's another one of Wes Anderson's film. There is quite a leap in production quality from his last movie to this one, though stylistically they are very similar; they both make good use of colours and imagery.

Rushmore is about a student named Max Fischer who goes to a prestigious school called Rushmore. Although he is involved in many extracurricular activities and school clubs, his grades are far from desired. He meets a new teacher who is named Ms. Cross, and instantly falls in love with her. Rushmore is primarily a comedy, with elements of drama throughout. It had me laughing loudly at many points in the movie, specifically during scenes with Jason Schwartzman, who plays Max, and Bill Murray, who plays Herman Blume: an industrialist who admires Max, and vice versa.

I enjoyed this movie more than Anderson's previous film Bottle Rocket, though BR was very entertaining as well. The screenplay was magnificant for Rushmore; the characters mixed very well with each other, but the script alone was not the reason for this: the acting also contributed greatly to making this movie the masterpiece that it is. 9.2/10.

Bottle Rocket (1996)

I have seen a few Wes Anderson films (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox) and they did not have much effect on me at the time. The day has finally come where I can appreciate these movies for the greatness that they are, and all it took was the viewing of Anderson's film titled Bottle Rocket. I can't really explain the way that I regard his movies now, but I can assure you that I find them to be wonderful.

Bottle Rocket is Wes Anderson's first movie, as well as actors Luke and Owen Wilson, and I must say, as a first for these three boys, it was a very well made movie. I never would have guessed that it was the Wilson brothers' first roles because of their great acting. Bottle Rocket is about three guys who are all crazy in one way or another, and what happens when they plan to commit crimes with a lack of resources. This may sound bland, but this is the basic storyline of the movie; there is much more involved that makes this movie so enjoyable.

The bright and minimalistic style of cinematography is something that Anderson would keep using throughout his film career; The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic are prime examples of this. It's very nice to see movies with well-planned cinematography, which is something I admired of Anderson before realizing the greatness of his directorial skills. I give this movie a 9.0 for it's great cast, great visuals, and great script. It's a shame that it bombed at the box office when it was released.

Marie Antoinette (2006)

I have decided to start writing on this blog again for no reason in particular after a ten month haitus.

I decided to watch Marie Antoinette after I remembered that it was directed by Sofia Coppola, who also made Lost In Translation and The Virgin Suicides, the latter of which I have not seen yet. I am a huge fan of the former though, and for that reason I decided to watch it. The fact that Kirsten Dunst played the lead role didn't hurt either.

I do not know much about Marie-Antoinette's real life, so I will not be able to judge the movie based on historical accuracy. I always find it corny in movies that portray non-English speaking Europeans when they just use actors with British accents so that the North American audience can think to themselves: 'That sounds like a foreign accent, they must not be from here.' This movie was no exception to that, however there was some French in there, as well as American and British accents. This didn't really help, as Marie-Antoinette was Austrian, but had an American accent. I'm just glad that Sofia was not going for perfection in this area... I think.

With that aside, the movie was very enjoyable to watch. Jason Schwartzman, who played Louis XVI, was hilarious, as he usually is. Kirsten Dunst was able to follow the theme well that Sofia Coppola seems to use in her movies: someone introduced to a new environment, and they are lost and isolated. Sofia used this to show how Marie was just a normal person, as opposed to biographies that represent her as an egocentric 'leader'. In this movie, however, she breaks the theme and does eventually fall into this category that so many have seemed to clump her into. This movie really makes you sympathize for Marie knowing what happens to her after the movie ends. If you don't know, then look it up after watching this movie.

Overall, I enjoyed it very much. The setting was very beautiful, and it is very fortunate that they were able to shoot on location at the Palace of Versailles, because it really made the movie believable. Also, Sofia Coppola has one of the best music tastes I have ever heard; the soundtrack for this movie was flawless. I give this movie a 7.8/10.

Death Proof

Originally, this movie was released in theatres with Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, entitled Grindhouse, but unfortunately, it was released separately when it came to DVD. Luckily, I was able to witness this film in theatres, which was a great moment for me. Firstly, I got to feel the real grind house experience from the 70's, and secondly, it was my first Quentin Tarantino film I saw on the big screen. This was worth while on its own for me, being the huge Tarantino fan that I am. Last Thursday was the third time I have seen Death Proof: once in the theatres, and twice on DVD.

What makes me mad about the people that don't appreciate the classic cinema behind Quentin Tarantino (QT)'s movies is that they go into it just seeking out action. I have heard comments many times, bashing his movies because there is, and I quote, "lots of talking." If you came to a QT movie, you should expect good dialogue, and nothing less. Like his other movies, Death Proof has "lots of talking" in it, which I think makes it the worthwhile film that it is.

Death Proof is about a has-been stuntman from the 70's/80's who preys only on women. His weapon of choice: his death proof car. This movie is QT's homage to grind house/exploitation/slasher movies from the 1970's. Seeing quite a few of those, I can easily say he did a very good job. Although this is not his not his greatest film he has made, it is definitely worth your while to watch it.

Rating: 8.9/10

Trainspotting

"Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a starter home. Choose dental insurance, leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose your future. But why would anyone want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"

I first viewed this amazing film a few weeks before starting this blog, so unfortunately I could not have reviewed it until watching it again, which I did, just recently. The previous paragraph is basically a sum up of the opening and closing quotes, which I think are perfectly used in their places in the movie. The opening quote sets up the mood for this glorious film, and the ending one perfectly concludes it. Between these two points in the movie is one of the greatest hour-and-a-halfs I have witnessed in film.

Despite the dark and morbid subject matter, Trainspotting does have many moments of humour that make me laugh out loud. Combined with spots of drama, this movie displays a great combination of cinema that I adore. Ewen McGregor does a brilliant job as narrator Mark Renton: a 25 year old heroin addict who lives with a few other junkies, including Sick Boy and Spud, in his run down flat in the impoverished part of Edinburgh. His non-junky friends, who seem to be the "normal" ones in society include the psychopathic Begbie, and Tommy, the one who has his life together. Throughout this film we see life through the eyes of these heroin addicts and how they cope unsuccesfully with life.

Danny Boyle's direction in this movie was superb: some of the best themes of cinema I have seen. He also uses great metaphors in this movie, such as Renton diving down a toilet just to retrieve two suppositories; this scene shows how far he will go to get one last hit before he "kicks his addiction." (Other Danny Boyle films include Slumdog Millionaire and 28 Days Later).

After my second viewing of Trainspotting, it occured to me that this is my favourite movie, beating out the long running 2001: A Space Odyssey. My rating for this glorious movie is 9.8/10.

A Clockwork Orange

I have seen this movie at least 3 times, but I have never seen it all the way through. Something always stops me, such as: I have fallen asleep (out of tiredness, not boredom), the video loader stopped working, and even a power outage. Although this did not make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, it was nice to finally see it in its entirety. As "disturbing" as this movie may be, it is very well done and has a good message about people's views of goodness in others. A Clockwork Orange, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is about a group of teenagers set in the future who hold no regard for anyone, and often perform acts of violence and rape. When Alex is arrested, a new treatment to "cure" him is available, raising controversy in the judicial system and in the government. I find the language in this movie (especially in the book) very interesting; it combines Russian, English, and slang.

Stanley Kubrick is one of my favorite directors, being tied for first place with Quentin Tarantino. All of his movies that I have seen (from Dr. Stranglove and on) are masterpieces, and I encourage anyone reading this to watch as many of his movies as you can. A Clockwork Orange is not my favorite film by him, but it is still an amazing movie. The filming style is so clever that it makes you feel nauseous. It is not because it is so-bad-its-sickening, but because Kubrick wanted the audience to relate to Alex in the movie, which is a great cinematographic skill to posess.

Rating: 9.0/10

Paranormal Activity

I am so pleased to see a horror film that has been made after the year 2000 that actually genuinely scared me. This movie was made for only $35, 000 and has already grossed over $8, 000, 000. It has done very well considering it was released in around 10 cities on the first weekend it came out a few weeks ago. Ever since I saw the trailer on TV, I have been wishing it would come to Mission, knowing the day would never come. I was ecstatic when I first heard the news last Thursday. The film is about a couple who document their lives due to the girlfriend Katie's paranormal experiences throughout her entire life. As the film progresses, so does the paranormal activity in her house, which is terrifying to see on screen, especially the scenes at night.

This movie is now up in my list of scariest movies, along with The Shining and The Evil Dead. I am still scared at night ever since Monday when I saw it.

Rating: 8.9/10