The Age of Shadows

Kim JeeWoon directed that amazing I Saw the Devil, so i checked out the rest of his work, all of it solid. To that list, you can ass Age of Shadows, now I Saw the Devil i flat out loved when i saw it, it is brilliant. Age Of Shadows might be his second best film, but might be his most stylish. The dude has a great eye, and can direct various genre, he is a true student of the game.

Cell

What could have been, what could have been. I was not a big fan of the Stephen King novel, but loved the premise. When Eli Roth was going to direct it i was super stoked, beyond stoked, i had faith in Eli to direct a kick ass flick. Then it went in to production, with a good cast, but it felt rushed, as if they made it just to make it, and release it with no fan fair. Had Eli wound up directing it, it would have fit in with his recent efforts of films being low key, but he would have given it that extra touch. The film, has no touch, it is a forgettable, slowly paced film that lacks vision and heart. Instead of getting a tense film that Eli could have given us, or any other awesome genre director with a vision for that matter, we got a run of the mill film, that feels like a flick that should be straight to video

Map to the Stars

I love David Cronenberg, i thought about doing a best of list for him, but since i waited a year to see the film, i figured i will wait. I prefer old Cronenberg, but i still think all his films are great. His later films, while great, are not quite as enjoyable though, expect Cosmopolis, a underrated gem. Enter Map to the Stars, it is another solid film, however it is is quite tedious at times, and rather dull. I like the character study aspect, and i like how all the characters are shitty, but it doesn't feel like one of his films. Not that there is anything wrong with venturing out, but this one here, just seems to go on & on with  nothing really happening. I usually love films like that, but in this instance, i was bored at times, plus that fire scene, holy fuck, awful effects. I had bought this about a month ago, but wasn't planning on watching it until next year, but i knew that Carrie Fisher was in it, so decided to watch it in her honor. Perhaps i will rewatch this soon and love it, perhaps to celebrate her life, i should have popped in Star Wars.

Snowden

I can get hevily in to politics, i try to avoid them but i can, i hate most of our goverment and the way shit is ran, i saw CitizenFour and thought it was pretty good, i finally saw Snowden, but as much as i love JGL, i found the doc to be a lot more interesting. This was up Oliver Stone's alley, but it felt half assed from the start.

Why Him?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
The trailers for this looked pretty funny, but the second one looked like it revealed too much, luckily whomever edited said trailer, was a master of manipulation, as a certain twist is actually not even a twist but a peace offering. The film is being torn apart by most critics, and it seems to go with what i have said in the past, that comedy is the new punching bag for them, used to be horror but laughs, they have to go, The film has plenty of laughs, it is a hilarious flick, i am a James Franco fanboy and i love Bryan Cranston, they have pretty good chemistry together too, even minor characters get in good laughs. Out of the three christmas comedies that i have seen in the past month, this is the best of the bunch by far.

LaLa Land

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 \ Two years ago, Damien Chazelle brought us Whiplash, a true charming and great film that got a lot of award buzz, basic story of a drummer, now he brings us another music based film, this time a musical, and this time, it looks like it might sweep awards season. Recently i viewed Sing Street, and that, paired with this, not only show that music based films are on fire right now, but in such a way that a smile is glued to your face. The film is set in modern times yet the clothing, music, the settings, their tastes & interests scream Old Hollywood. Much like the Artist is has the old timey feel, but even better, as that was supposed to be a silent film, that was a tribute to musicals of a bygone era, as soon at the film opened with an "old school" Summit Pictures logo, followed by Cinescope, i fell in love. The first musical number sets the tone, and the entire film is one giant whimsical piece of art, not seen since Birdman! The film is a journey of career paths & love, and how you must decide between happiness & happiness, you watch two struggling artists fall in love, then we see them both succeed. The film isn't safe either, it isn't all sunshine & coconut milk, it tells us like it is, we see art house theatres die, dreams crushed, opportunities slip, friendships not working and love not always conquering. Does the film exist in reality? Does any musical? Certainly not this one, hell we see two plains of existence,  and it is heart string pulling & tear inducing. I hope this film sweeps the Oscars, i know Manchester by the Sea has a chance, but to me, that seems like Oscar bait, i will still see it, but this is a film that will stand the test of time, it is truly in my opinion the best film of the year, i am a sucker for musicals, especially quirky & whimsy musicals with great choreographed dance numbers, vast sets & great aesthetic. I had a smile the entire time, and it is truly an inspiring piece of work, for both romantics & artists alike!

Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's Fantastic Four

Growing up i loved the Fantastic Four, my first Playstation game was a Fantastic 4 game, it kinda sucks now....hell a lot of the Fantastic Four sucks now. The comics are okay, but the cartoon is meh, the characters are kind of lame, and all the movies have sucked. Roger Corman is an inspiration, yet why give a schlocky low budget B movie producer the keys to a Marvel property? This doc explores it. The doc shows how Corman was brought the property, after Troma turned it down, Lloyd Kaufman respected Stan Lee too much to do a low budget version. Mark Ruffalo auditioned, but that is just trivia for you, as the film was a disaster, i have seen it, it is crap, but the real crap was why it was made, to retain rights, rights that went to Fox, a Fox that Avi Arad worked with, a Avi Arad that became top dog over Marvel properties, Marvel properties that went to various studios, various studios that made money, money that Marvel wanted, money that Marvel gained through in house producing, which lead to Disney buying the company. In a round about way, this film, layed out the foundation for Marvel we have today.