Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Films I saw for the first time in May 2011

11:55 PM / Cinema / Comments15 Comments

  • Monday, May 2, 2011: SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (USA/UK/Canada, 2010) 4/10
  • Wednesday, May 4, 2011: TAXI DRIVER (USA, 1976) 8/10
  • Wednesday, May 11, 2011: UNTHINKABLE (USA, 2010) 4/10
  • Thursday, May 12, 2011: MISERY (USA, 1990) 7/10
  • Sunday, May 15, 2011: MY NIGHTS ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOUR DAYS (France, 1990) 7/10
  • Wednesday, May 18, 2011: FANTASIA 2000 (USA, 1999) 6/10
  • Sunday, May 22, 2011: THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (USA, 1999) 6/10
  • Tuesday, May 24, 2011: EYEBALL (Italy/Spain, 1975) 2/10
  • Wednesday, May 25, 2011: LET ME IN (UK/USA, 2010) 5/10
 
15 Comments

1. Daniel Joseph Sardella said:

Staxi Driver?

(Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 4:06 AM)

2. Marcus said:

4/10 for Scott Pilgrim? I thought it was brilliant and placed it in my Top Ten of 2010 list! Perhaps Wright's best?

I agree on The Virgin Suicides however. I like it, but Sofia went on to do better stuff.

(Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 8:47 AM)

3. Matthew McKinnon said:

Yes, 4/10 for Scott Pilgrim - a richly deserved trashing. And a gratifying box-office failure [maybe gearing a film to a youth culture who don't pay for music and mocies any more wasn't such a wise move?].

I used to like 'Spaced', and I quite liked 'Shaun Of The Dead' but the whole Edgar Wright pop-culture-scrapbook approach is now wearing very, very thin. Add to that Michael Cera doing the same performance again, and video games and martial arts and... well, just a load of shit that kids are supposed to like, really... does not a good movie make.

(Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 10:07 AM)

4. Matthew McKinnon said:

*sigh*... 'mocies' should read: 'movies'. Sorry.

(Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 10:08 AM)

5. Christopher D. Jacobson said:

Is Staxi Driver anything like Taxi Driver? :D

4/10 sounds about what I'd give Scott Pilgrim. Under the cool video gamey style lied a very typical and very boring romcom.

(Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 10:32 AM)

6. Mr. White said:

Whoa, is "Eyeball" that bad? I haven't seen it, but I always thought it would be a fun little mindless giallo.

(Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 3:47 PM)

7. Marcus said:

Don't celebrate, Scott Pilgrim's box office failure will only contribute to its status as a cult movie. I can't imagine anyone born before the video game era enjoying the film, it's not for everyone, but I felt Wright's direction was on the spot. The visuals, the fight sequences, the sharp dialogue, everything came together. I admit I was expecting Michael to dislike it, most critically acclaimed, fan-favorite films usually get an acid treatment here at Whiggles, but I still felt it was a much better film than the similar and more "hard edged" Kick Ass.

The "Michael Cera doing the same performance again" criticism always gets my eyes rolling. He might have similar characteristics and mannerisms, but you can't say he is playing the same role he played in Juno for example. You can make the same superficial argument for Woody Allen, Jim Carrey, Jack Nicholson, etc...

(Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 7:17 PM)

8. Author Profile Page Michael said:

Chris:

There are minor similarities between them. :D


And yeah, SCOTT PILGRIM didn't do anything for me. Matthew has already done a pretty good job of summing up what I didn't like about it, but to reiterate: annoying, knowing, self-indulgent style; Michael Cera irritating beyond belief; plus a total inability to bring myself to care about such self-centred asshole characters. I've still got the BD so maybe I'll give it a rewatch at some point in the (distant) future, but it's not a film I can see myself changing my mind about.


Mr. White:

Umberto Lenzi's gialli typically don't do a whole lot for me. SPASMO bored me to tears, and EYEBALL was much the same, which given its sleazy nature is quite a feat. I think his best giallo is SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHIDS, and I wouldn't even class that as any more than a middling entry.

(Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 12:45 AM)

9. Christopher D. Jacobson said:

Cera's best role by far is Kitty Cat Man.

http://youtu.be/i-fUlOLkbvQ

(Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 2:38 AM)

10. Marcus said:

"Michael Cera irritating beyond belief"

I am not a massive fan of Michael Cera, but I do like the guy and never understood the amount of vehement attacks he receives online. Could we elaborate more on what exactly makes him and Jesse Eisenberg so irritable?

(Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 4:30 AM)

11. Matthew McKinnon said:

Marcus:

I would make the same argument for Allen, Carrey, Nicholson. Those three also play slight variations on the same mannerisms and tics in many of their films.*
I liked Cera's act when I first saw him in Superbad, but some ten films later it's a bit samey now.

*Though Nicholson has the greatest range by far.

(Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 9:12 AM)

12. Author Profile Page Michael said:

Marcus:

I actually think Jesse Eisenberg is a pretty damn good actor, and I can't say I personally find him irritating. Admittedly, when I first encountered him in ADVENTURELAND, my first thought was "Oh, guess Michael Cera wasn't available", but I enjoyed his schtick in ADVENTURELAND and he more than proved his acting chops with THE SOCIAL NETWORK.

Cera, on the other hand... I don't know. Something about his whole demeanour just irritates the hell out of me. The voice, the mannerisms, the facial expressions... plus it doesn't help that the character of Scott Pilgrim himself is, to me, incredibly unlikeable.

(Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 9:38 AM)

13. Marcus said:

Eisenberg is also good in The Squid and the Whale, he's far better than the "Michael Cera replacement" he is usually billed as. I have no problems with Cera and enjoyed him as the unlikeable Scott Pilgrim. There are differences from this character as opposed to, let's say, his role in Infinite Playlist.

"Those three also play slight variations on the same mannerisms and tics in many of their films."

Is that really so bad though? I still don't think Allen is playing the same character in Small Time Crooks that he did in Annie Hall, both completely different people aside from the mannerisms. Allen himself will be the first one to tell you that he is limited.

Michael Cera will never be cast as John Mclaine in the next Die Hard movie or as 19th century love interest in an Academy Award winning costume drama. He's Michael Cera and will have to play within that range, but I have no problems with that as long as he does it well.

(Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 5:07 PM)

14. Matthew McKinnon said:

@Marcus:

Woody Allen, to my mind, plays effectively the same character in Annie Hall, Manhattan, Stardust Memories, A Midnight Summer's Sex Comedy, Hannah & Her Sisters, New York Stories, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Husbands & Wives, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Mighty Aphrodite, and Deconstructing Harry. I haven't seen him in anything since.

I don't think it's such a bad thing bringing the same personal tics to many roles - I can watch Gene Hackman in ANYTHING for that very reason - it's just a question of how much you like the actor. E.g, I'm not a huge Sean Penn fan, and so his gurning, grimacing, gut-wrenching, big-haired angst in every film grates for me.

(Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 9:18 PM)

15. Marcus said:

We'll have to agree to disagree then because I don't think those characters are 100% similar as you put them. Allen went on to play different characters in his 2000s films, such as Anything Else, Hollywood Ending, and Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

Have you seen his performance in Martin Ritt's The Front? Beneath all the typical Allenisms, that is the film that proved Allen as an actor, IMO. That character is certainly NOT Alvy Singer.

(Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 11:08 PM)

 
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