Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Five Favorite Films with John Malkovich
Actor, producer, and director John Malkovich has had a long career spanning several decades, beginning on stage in high school. Malkovich, who went on to be a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, has also earned praise for several of his film roles, including supporting turns in 1984's Places in the Heart and 1993's In the Line of Fire.
This week, Malkovich stars in a new independent film, Disgrace, which opens in limited release on Friday. Based on a critically-acclaimed novel by J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace is the story of a professor in post-Apartheid South Africa who becomes embroiled in controversy when he enters into an affair with a mixed-race student of his. When we asked John for his Five Favorite Films, he responded by saying, "I can't really say that I have five favorite films; somehow my mind just doesn't work that way." As an alternative, we present to you John Malkovich's list of five recommendations he would make to any cinephile: - Rottentomato.com
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/disgrace/news/1844773/five_favorite_films_with_john_malkovich
Labels: review
Monday, October 13, 2008
Movie review: The Dark Knight
Took its time but here is a new review. This time its the caped crusader, the dark defender and the lonly billionaire who dones the Batman suit and takes flight again (BAT-SPOILERS!!)
"Plot: Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker. "
So the bat is back in black. Ive been following the rise of this movie ever since Nolans first announced that he would do a sequel with great suspence and although I thought that there was supposed to be more backstory to people, this movie was more about the mundane life in Gotham.
Christian Bale/Batman did a good preformance in Batman Begins. Seeing the evolution of a tortured hero and his ways of turning fear against his adversaries thus becoming the Bat, was a true joy (as well as getting weapons, building caves, etc..) but in this movie he almost dosent have anything to do with the movie. I almost felt that everyone else got more screentime then him. He was cool enough as the playboy Wayne but his throatcancerish "I'm Batman" voice didn't cut it. I actually found this voice silly pretty quick and his character way to weak in this one. Why did he change his voice? He dident talk this bad in the first one.
Maggie Gyllenhaal/Rachel Dawes takes over for Katie Holmes. Although I liked her preformance better then Katies, her character dosent really add anything to the movie. Her entire point here seemed to be to act as bait and to give Harvey Dent a reason to turn bad at the end of it all (as well as breaking up the sausage-feast)
Harvey Dent / Aaron Eckhart - Conceptually, not a bad character as a way of talking about virtuous and the sheer goodness of people, but I kind of just didn't care that much for his character or plot. All the other characters where talking about how great he was and such every fifth minute but to me he never did anything the seemed to be beyond what anyone else in his job should be doing. He just did his part. pluss his transformation to two-face seemed way to far-fetched and unjusted. He also seems horribly out of place for a movie that goes for realism
To me, this movie was all about the Joker. Although the most visualy demented character in the movie, he is also the only induvidual that is in total control. A clear indication of this is the opening sequence where you can see how he turns everyone against themselves. (pure cinema joy, that was) I also loved the fact that he never really explaines his facial-scars. I was really worried the first time he startet jabbringing about them. I was thinking.. "noo, I dont want to know!" and I was deligthed when he changed the story again later on. (and again) This behavior was just adding to his plan and this to me was also the best parts of the movie. The less I know about him the more facinating it was to watch him. My fav moment was when batman just stood over him completely lost of what to do with Joker. This is a man who dosent have any rules and batman cant read him at all. Powerfull stuff. Just seeing him unravel the scheme and watching the players falling straight in one by one, had me in utter suspence.
The fight scenes in The Dark Knight are for the most parts, a blur. Its impossible to see the fight. You kinda know his winning but you dont know how..Yes, it's called the Dark Knight and his thing is all about being dark, ninjalike and mainly coming out at night but I wouldn't mind actually seeing him do something for more than a second.
In all the previous batman films the city is its own character but here it couldent be more neutral. It’s been said that Gotham is Chicago, but this Gotham is missing the Gothic that Tim Burton had worked so hard to establish. It’s even been stripped of the stylistic CG imagery seen in “Batman Begins.” To me this is going away from the purpose that is Batman. Thats what he does. He defendes his city. Why is it not put more in the spotlight is beyond me.
The Tumbler has a couple of more trix up its sleeve and that entire sequence where they transport Dent in a armored car (a rather dodgy play btw...) was simpely mindblowingly good. There are some new gadgets that are in tune with the setting but the mobilesonar thing was way out there and missed the realisme mark that Nolan set from before
There is also some big plotholes. I cant remember them all right now but the biggest one is at the party for Dent at Brucies pad. After the joker throws the girl out the window and batman drops all and dives in after her, what happens to the party? Did the joker just leave? I would have thought that getting rid of the batman for a couple of minutes would make it easier for the Jokster to find Dent.
The whole "batmen" sequence (the batman vigilantes ) I though was pretty interesting as it was a throw in the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns way, but sadly this was just left alone. Why where they even there. Isent he doing a good enough work? Would be nice to see him address this issue.
Also this pinning the murders on Batman thing dident quite fly with me...
Why not pin them on The Joker, who is already a proven cop-killer? Why does Batman suddenly need to become public enemy? I get that it kinda gives the movie a "larger then life" star wars episode 4 ending while getting us exited about the third movie, but it came sort of out of the blue and dident feel right
All in all, The Dark Knight is absolutely worth seeing but don't buy the best movie ever hype that seems to be all over the shop, it's not that good. Little subtlety is left to the imagination and this film is more an action flick than a comic book. This "review" migh be seen as nagging on a otherwise great movie but for me Burtons movies is far better.
7/10
Ps: Be sure to check out Batman Gothic Knight. The "Animatrix" style animation compilation set between the two films for a better take on the tale. check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEpET398GP0
"Plot: Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker. "
So the bat is back in black. Ive been following the rise of this movie ever since Nolans first announced that he would do a sequel with great suspence and although I thought that there was supposed to be more backstory to people, this movie was more about the mundane life in Gotham.
Christian Bale/Batman did a good preformance in Batman Begins. Seeing the evolution of a tortured hero and his ways of turning fear against his adversaries thus becoming the Bat, was a true joy (as well as getting weapons, building caves, etc..) but in this movie he almost dosent have anything to do with the movie. I almost felt that everyone else got more screentime then him. He was cool enough as the playboy Wayne but his throatcancerish "I'm Batman" voice didn't cut it. I actually found this voice silly pretty quick and his character way to weak in this one. Why did he change his voice? He dident talk this bad in the first one.
Maggie Gyllenhaal/Rachel Dawes takes over for Katie Holmes. Although I liked her preformance better then Katies, her character dosent really add anything to the movie. Her entire point here seemed to be to act as bait and to give Harvey Dent a reason to turn bad at the end of it all (as well as breaking up the sausage-feast)
Harvey Dent / Aaron Eckhart - Conceptually, not a bad character as a way of talking about virtuous and the sheer goodness of people, but I kind of just didn't care that much for his character or plot. All the other characters where talking about how great he was and such every fifth minute but to me he never did anything the seemed to be beyond what anyone else in his job should be doing. He just did his part. pluss his transformation to two-face seemed way to far-fetched and unjusted. He also seems horribly out of place for a movie that goes for realism
To me, this movie was all about the Joker. Although the most visualy demented character in the movie, he is also the only induvidual that is in total control. A clear indication of this is the opening sequence where you can see how he turns everyone against themselves. (pure cinema joy, that was) I also loved the fact that he never really explaines his facial-scars. I was really worried the first time he startet jabbringing about them. I was thinking.. "noo, I dont want to know!" and I was deligthed when he changed the story again later on. (and again) This behavior was just adding to his plan and this to me was also the best parts of the movie. The less I know about him the more facinating it was to watch him. My fav moment was when batman just stood over him completely lost of what to do with Joker. This is a man who dosent have any rules and batman cant read him at all. Powerfull stuff. Just seeing him unravel the scheme and watching the players falling straight in one by one, had me in utter suspence.
The fight scenes in The Dark Knight are for the most parts, a blur. Its impossible to see the fight. You kinda know his winning but you dont know how..Yes, it's called the Dark Knight and his thing is all about being dark, ninjalike and mainly coming out at night but I wouldn't mind actually seeing him do something for more than a second.
In all the previous batman films the city is its own character but here it couldent be more neutral. It’s been said that Gotham is Chicago, but this Gotham is missing the Gothic that Tim Burton had worked so hard to establish. It’s even been stripped of the stylistic CG imagery seen in “Batman Begins.” To me this is going away from the purpose that is Batman. Thats what he does. He defendes his city. Why is it not put more in the spotlight is beyond me.
The Tumbler has a couple of more trix up its sleeve and that entire sequence where they transport Dent in a armored car (a rather dodgy play btw...) was simpely mindblowingly good. There are some new gadgets that are in tune with the setting but the mobilesonar thing was way out there and missed the realisme mark that Nolan set from before
There is also some big plotholes. I cant remember them all right now but the biggest one is at the party for Dent at Brucies pad. After the joker throws the girl out the window and batman drops all and dives in after her, what happens to the party? Did the joker just leave? I would have thought that getting rid of the batman for a couple of minutes would make it easier for the Jokster to find Dent.
The whole "batmen" sequence (the batman vigilantes ) I though was pretty interesting as it was a throw in the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns way, but sadly this was just left alone. Why where they even there. Isent he doing a good enough work? Would be nice to see him address this issue.
Also this pinning the murders on Batman thing dident quite fly with me...
Why not pin them on The Joker, who is already a proven cop-killer? Why does Batman suddenly need to become public enemy? I get that it kinda gives the movie a "larger then life" star wars episode 4 ending while getting us exited about the third movie, but it came sort of out of the blue and dident feel right
All in all, The Dark Knight is absolutely worth seeing but don't buy the best movie ever hype that seems to be all over the shop, it's not that good. Little subtlety is left to the imagination and this film is more an action flick than a comic book. This "review" migh be seen as nagging on a otherwise great movie but for me Burtons movies is far better.
7/10
Ps: Be sure to check out Batman Gothic Knight. The "Animatrix" style animation compilation set between the two films for a better take on the tale. check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEpET398GP0
Labels: review
Monday, September 10, 2007
Stranglehold demo
The closest thing you get to Max Payne in nextgen...
So the demo has been out a while on Xbox-live. The game is a "spiritual sequel" to the movie "Hard Boiled", where Inspector Tequila battles crimelords/bosses in Chicago and Hong Kong and struggling to "balance his duty to uphold the law while doing what it takes to save his family." Which basicly translates to leave no enemy breathing. The demo is tons of fun but its really repetative. I dont know what I expected but some variaity was actully missing. Like a protect the v.i.p. mode/mission, protect the bystanders or something.
Graphicly it looks very good. Offcourse its good, its powerd by the Unreal engine.
While most games now days brags about the destrucability factor in their game and squirt out sayings like "This game is pushing the limits for stuff you can damage/everything you see is destructible" and its always a huge letdown when you find out that the pillar you are shooting at breaks in 2 pices and falls thru the floor. Well, fear not. Stranglehold has incredible destruction. Quite possible the best so far and is a true benchmark for future games and consoles. Almost to much at times. Though it is perfectly fitting for the "over the top" John woo type, it does have a drawback. One bullet can just as easily destroy marmoreal statues as it does with, say for instance, cardbordboxes. Shouldent it be more like ten bullets for statue and one for wood? Its like everything is made out of butter. I also have a think that the higlighted "shoot_here_and_watch_this_sign_fall_down_and_crush_some_goons" signs should have been toned down a bit. It would have been much more effective if you almost hit the signs by accident and yelled out. "holy cow.. did that just happen?".Another thing is that it takes a while to get to know the controls. Especially the bulletti... cough "Tequila-time" (as it is so fittingly named). I cant remember how it played you in Max Payne but it was never a issue. Here I found it troublesome at times to enter bullet-time and controling it in order to achive the desired effect. This however did not stop me from playing the demo 5-7 times.
Ile give it a more thorough walktrough when the games hits the shelfs
http://strangleholdgame.com/
And to end it all, a funny racist joke =d
So the demo has been out a while on Xbox-live. The game is a "spiritual sequel" to the movie "Hard Boiled", where Inspector Tequila battles crimelords/bosses in Chicago and Hong Kong and struggling to "balance his duty to uphold the law while doing what it takes to save his family." Which basicly translates to leave no enemy breathing. The demo is tons of fun but its really repetative. I dont know what I expected but some variaity was actully missing. Like a protect the v.i.p. mode/mission, protect the bystanders or something.
Graphicly it looks very good. Offcourse its good, its powerd by the Unreal engine.
While most games now days brags about the destrucability factor in their game and squirt out sayings like "This game is pushing the limits for stuff you can damage/everything you see is destructible" and its always a huge letdown when you find out that the pillar you are shooting at breaks in 2 pices and falls thru the floor. Well, fear not. Stranglehold has incredible destruction. Quite possible the best so far and is a true benchmark for future games and consoles. Almost to much at times. Though it is perfectly fitting for the "over the top" John woo type, it does have a drawback. One bullet can just as easily destroy marmoreal statues as it does with, say for instance, cardbordboxes. Shouldent it be more like ten bullets for statue and one for wood? Its like everything is made out of butter. I also have a think that the higlighted "shoot_here_and_watch_this_sign_fall_down_and_crush_some_goons" signs should have been toned down a bit. It would have been much more effective if you almost hit the signs by accident and yelled out. "holy cow.. did that just happen?".Another thing is that it takes a while to get to know the controls. Especially the bulletti... cough "Tequila-time" (as it is so fittingly named). I cant remember how it played you in Max Payne but it was never a issue. Here I found it troublesome at times to enter bullet-time and controling it in order to achive the desired effect. This however did not stop me from playing the demo 5-7 times.
Ile give it a more thorough walktrough when the games hits the shelfs
http://strangleholdgame.com/
And to end it all, a funny racist joke =d
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