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Did you notice the Bond references?
<font color=#334455 size=5><b>04</b>Dogma (1999)</font>
Since Chasing Amy had done a pretty good job, Kevin Smith was able to secure a vastly bigger budget for his next project, starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, alongside Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock and a delicious Alan Rickman. Also back are View Askew regulars Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as Jay and Silent Bob. If lesbianism was a somewhat sensitive topic to address in Chasing Amy, how about flat-out dealing with Catholicism in Dogma?
Though protesters may not have realised this at the time, Kevin Smith is a believer himself who openly states his respect for Jesus. But that won't stop a man like Smith to write a film that can be almost as easily considered an attack on the Catholic Church as a celebration of it. Enter two vengeful angels, Bartleby and Loki, played by Affleck and Damon, who discover a way to earn back the right to live in Heaven. But in order to get there, they must unleash something close to an apocalypse. Demon Azrael, played by Jason Lee, actually wants to help them, but not necessarily for all the right reasons. When Heaven receives word of these sinister mechanisms at work, some help is sent in the form of Alan Rickman, Chris Rock and Selma Hayek, who must encourage a young woman, Linda Fiorentino, to aid in the battle against the dark forces. And who knew that somewhere in this war, even drug and sex addicts Jay and Silent Bob could be of some use?
Dogma opens strong. Having a lot of fun with Catholic "mythology", the film actually builds some suspense and at the same time provides a couple of really good jokes. But about halfway in, the script grows tired (and tiresome). Faeces monsters, bad "Dude Where's My Car" level jokes and messy dialogue all but destroy this movie. As for the final few scenes in which we have an amusing appearance of Alanis Morissette as God, I'm not sure I like those at all. So while Dogma showed promise at first, the comedy wears off fast and the story ends up going nowhere at all. The acting is overall fine, with Rickman great as usual and Fiorentino serviceable, but Chris Rock is a burden! As if he took lessons from Jason Lee in Mallrats, his every line is yelled as if he has a train to catch. Even Jason Lee himself does a whole lot better in Dogma than Rock. And of course a lot of credit goes to Jason Mewes who, as usual, is an entertaining presence on screen: dude's got a bad mouth but he comes off harmless as well. Damon and Affleck, well, they're okay. I have seen them do better things in the past but I mostly respect them for willing to appear in what was still a low-budget Kevin Smith movie.
Despite my previous so-and-so's, Kevin Smith made progress as a filmmaker once more. When watching these movies in order, this is abundantly clear to me. At least on a technical level, Dogma is a better movie than Chasing Amy (but then of course budget may have something to do with that too). And Dogma made money. With his loyal fan base growing with every next film of his, naughty Kevin Smith and his scatological humour proved more bankable also. No wonder his next project would be produced for twice Dogma's budget.
I can recommend Dogma if you're not easily offended by religious themes being mixed in with dubious comedy.
The verdict
Chasing Amy (1997): 7,5/10
Dogma (1999): 7/10
Clerks (1994): 7/10
Mallrats (1995): 4/10
No, I did not. I did enjoy the movie on its own merits rarely do I look at a movie and try to see its references unless it is really into my face. I guess these were more subtle than that. ;)
I did miss the Nolan batman references in SF too, which are supposed to be there???
"BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!"
There were a couple of subtle ones, but the guy being thrown out of a window and into a pool Wolverine did not know was there, was a rather blatant one.
1492 introduced me to Michael Wincott, one of my favourite actors and one whom I think is largely ignored by casting directors.
Yesterday:
Safe Haven (2013) 7/10
Safe (2012) 5/10
Ah but DAF is one of those 007 outings I really need to be in the mood for and have not been for some considerable time.
Swing Kids (1993) Nothing special here, either, but this has its minor charms, too. Set in pre-WW2 Germany. Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, Frank Whaley, Barbara Hershey, Kenneth Branagh.
Metroland (1997) Better. About big life choices and deciding if they were the right ones. Christian Bale and Emily Watson.
Velvet Goldmine (1998), directed by Todd Haynes - I didn't particularly enjoy his I'm Not There (I'll need to give it another go sometime), but this one I enjoyed a lot more than I expected. Set mostly in the 70s glam rock era. Very colorful. Plenty of music. Ewan McGregor and Jonathan Rhys Mayers are wonderful as rock stars - looks like they had fun, too. :P Christian Bale plays a besotted fan and later a journalist given a task to investigate and write a story about what happened.
Laurel Canyon (2002) ... with the wonderful Frances McDormand as unconventional record producer mum, Christian Bale as her son, Alessandro Nivola as mum's latest boyfriend, Natascha McElhone, and, um... Kate Beckinsale... so mostly a good cast. ;)
Starts with a sex scene that implies that perhaps the young couple should reconsider their marriage plans. Later on there's a far hotter scene with no nudity or actual sex - 2 people talking, basically. Different woman. So consider your options, young man...
Pretty good one, this.
Wally Pfister was the cinematographer here, right after his second movie with Christopher Nolan, and was therefore well placed to give a glowing review of Bale when asked by Nolan what the guy is actually like, and to recommend to both director and actor that they meet. Good man. :D
Howl's Moving Castle (2004). An absolutely charming animated film. =D> Very imaginative and... different. I clearly need to see more non-American animated stuff. And I definitely need to see more Hayao Miyazaki films. Main English language voice roles: Christian Bale as Howl, Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons as young and old Sophie, Lauren Bacall as Witch, and Billy Crystal - whom I've never cared for one bit as an actor, finally in a role I could enjoy and actually find him funny in... a cute ball of fire. Great, great stuff.
Days of Heaven (1978), directed by Terrence Malick. Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard. I'm not entirely sure what I think of this, I sort of both like it and on the other hand maybe don't. That's how I often feel about Malick films, though. I don't dislike any of them, but don't love any, either. They tend to be long, and often feel long, too, but I wouldn't call them boring and find them quite interesting. They look very good, the people in them often look good, and the nature looks even better. But I always feel somehow detached, unconnected.
Natalie Portman said recently that this is her fave movie. Ok then.
Urban Legend (1998). A mysterious psycho killer uses methods depicted in urban legends to kill young people. Not something I'd normally bother watching, but Jared Leto is in it, so I felt it was my duty to sit through it anyway. I knew it was bound to be bad before seeing any of it, so I wasn't disappointed in the slightest, but I was bored.
Vanishing Point (1971). On the surface a simple road movie, but there's a bit more to it. Pretty good.
Directed by Ridley Scott:
Body Of Lies (2008) Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong. A pretty interesting story, though I'm not entirely sure about that love story, feels a bit pasted on and forced. The main actors were all good.
Robin Hood (2010) Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong. Certainly a more serious and different take on Robin Hood. Worked for me.
A Good Year (2006) Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard. A sunny, pretty, slightly comedic, feelgood movie from Scott and Crowe? Blimey. That is... unexpected - nothing else about the movie is, a very predictable story. Still, quite enjoyable light entertainment.
Great sci-fi action with Tom Cruise, really good film
Piranha :
Silly but fun remake, plenty of over the top gore, but silly fun.
For a time Kit and Linda lead a happy farm life together until Jamie's mum (Kit's sister) turns up. Then Linda's conscience really gets the better of her…
Not a gripping thriller, but worth a watch - the kind of film that would turn up on an afternoon on Channel 4 (when they don't have a war season on!) - taking you back to simpler times. Some nice Devon scenery…and a bit or Cornwall too. A good transfer from Network but little in the way of extras, only a gallery. And a short one at that!
Batman - Stands the test of time and gets better every time i rewatch this great film, Burtons best film though a biast opinion.
:))
<font color=#334455 size=5><b>05</b>Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)</font>
Dogma had made enough money to secure more juice for Smith's fifth Viewaskew film. This time everything would revolve around two characters who had been in the background of all four previous films of Smith's but were fan favourites nevertheless: Jay, played by Jason Mewes, and Silent Bob, played by Smith himself.
To summarize what this film is all about, it's best to just refer to Dude, Where's My Car, a stoner comedy with Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott released in 2000. Two total losers end up in a series of unlikely events that get more and more unlikely and eventually utterly ridiculous as the film progresses. In the case of Jay and Silent Bob, we have a monkey, some hot chicks (Eliza Dushku, Shannon Elizabeth, Ali Larter and Smith's wife Jennifer Schwalbach), a bumbling cop played by Will Ferrell, a very weird Mark Hamill, also Seann William Scott and then a couple of folks from the previous Viewaskew films (Affleck, Lee, Rock, ...). Our two heroes, Jay and Silent Bob, have supposedly funny encounters with all of them as they journey to Hollywood in order to restore some breaking-the-fourth-wall justice they feel is brutally denied to them.
I'll be honest. I hate this kind of comedy. This is why I almost assaulted my friend who had pushed us to see Dude in 2000. This is why Goldmember made me lose faith in Austin Powers. This is what also put a serious question mark on my Smith fandom. Yet despite these rather negative emotions, there are things about Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back that I do enjoy. I'm pretty much a fan of the duo Jay and Silent Bob. There's not much quality acting involved but the onscreen/offscreen friendship is genuine. Also, technically this film is a vast improvement over Dogma. Better camera setups and movement, higher picture and sound quality... there's a clear evolution in Smith's capabilities.
But is that enough? Let's just say that J&SB borders so much on pretentious, self-indulgent BS, even though it isn't, that I'm only mildly enthusiastic.
The verdict
Chasing Amy (1997): 7,5/10
Dogma (1999): 7/10
Clerks (1994): 7/10
Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001): 6/10
Mallrats (1995): 4/10
Yesterday on BD: London Boulevard (2010) with Colin Farrel with a look of George Clooney . 7/10 Was part of 5 for € 20 deal last year, Deadfall is now the only from those i need to watch.
On a sun-drenched Mediterranean island a Bond-lite undercover agent is investigating a drugs smuggling operation when the two suspects die mysteriously and he becomes involved in the murder investigation. The aforementioned Francesca uses men to do her dirty work and does some double crossing to get what she wants!
The film features a great location, an interesting story, lots of lovely sixties 'dolly birds', underwater action and a few punch ups, but lacks something. A better director/editor was really needed to bring the best out of this film. There are a few odd bits, at the beginning the camera wheels around the patrons of the casino and occasionally the shadow of the camera is visible, in a bar-room brawl some of the spot sound effects, punches and blows are missing where others are very noticeable. The score is very sixties and is a bit intrusive at times and does date the film somewhat.
Worth watching, but it could have been so much more.
Even if it was cut for daytime TV .
Failed derivative crap. We could have watched The Goonies or Super 8 or E.T. or Cloverfield again & had a WAY better time.
Avoid at all costs.
Was based on two books. I thought it was a great story, I guess they changed
The character for a more Beverley Hills cop feel. Although as I've never read the
Books, I liked the movie character of Fletch.
I recently saw Agora with Mrs Weisz in the role of a female philosopher in ancient Alexandria at the dawn of Christianity when zealots run the earth. A very impressive and scary movie.
Redford is utterly superb and it's a testament to his talent that he hold our attention for so long. Very much recommended.
Dog Day Afternoon 5/5
Lumet and Pacino's masterpiece. mesmeric performance from Al and the supporting cast including a brilliantly low key Cazale as well as Charles During on electric form combine to make this one of the great films of the 70's. I never tire of this film and as well as being thrilling it's downright hilarious, the absurdity of it all is conveyed so brilliantly, utterly unforgettable.
Great mystery movie with some great performances. I'll have to try
And see the original films as I love to see how the characters continue
as I don't think the English language version did enough business to
Have more films made.
So, over Spring Break so far, I've simply been diving back into my blu-ray closet and going over old favorites or a few that I bought and haven't watched my copy of yet. I've watched 'Out For Justice,' 'Sherlock Holmes,' 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,' 'Jaws,' and tonight I'm going to re-watch 'Whiplash,' which just may be my favorite film of 2014.
Penn broods throughout as he is wont to do these days, and also has his social commentary about Western interventions thrown in to the plot. Idris Elba is effectively cool in his small part (I'm coming around slowly to the fact that this man could in fact have been a good Bond in his prime) as are the inimitable Ray Winstone and Javier Bardem.
Personally I'm way past caring too much what professional critics say about any movie. Everybody's opinion is just that person's opinion, anyway - even if they get paid for giving it. It still isn't any more indicative of whether I would like the movie or not.
Reviews. As for everyone's opinion being equal, I agree but only to a point. When I buy a car I tend to take my mate who's a mechanic, as I think his opinion is a bit more valid than mine, compared say to my teenage daughter who know nothing about cars except which colour she likes. :)
I think cars and stuff like that is a completely different thing from movies or music, etc. Art is such a subjective experience, people experience art in such different ways depending on their tastes and life experiences and even what mood they're in that day etc. that... heck I might not particularly like something one day and in a different mindset really like it some other time (often I know when I need to give something another chance). I love music, and lots of different kinds of music, but I can't think of anything that would be perfect for any mood or situation. The same with movies, really.