Monday, August 29, 2011

The Week In Movies 22/8/11 - 28/8/11

The week started off well with a quickfire 3 films but then descended in to anarchy and lack of sleep as i only managed to watch another three in the following 5 days. I really must watch Tokyo Story today or it will be a late return to the DVD shop.


I saw The Merry Gentleman on Friday, a movie that is much loved by me but generally unheard of by the general population. Drawing similarities between such classics as Le Samourai, Michael Keaton's debut film is reviewed by me here for those who missed it.

Noir Night was a wonderfully entertaining double feature this week and the Tuesday reviews for Shanghai Express and Pepe Le Moko will hopefully be nearly as enjoyable.


Robocop was practically a first time viewing for me, I remember so little about having seen it when i was much younger. And I was a little disappointed to tell you the truth. I was expecting something, more. Perhaps it hasn't aged well? I do highly recommend you go see Edgar at Between The Seats for a full review from somebody who didn't seem to think it had anything lacking.

I saw I Am Love finally. I've been wanting to see this movie ever since I saw a poster for it on the underground at Cockfosters in 2009. I found the poster quite compelling but managed to miss it at the cinema and then as if by magic I was looking in the Japanese section at Starland and there it was. I Am Love is an Italian movie. It stars Tilda Swinton as a Russian matriarch. She learned Italian with a Russian accent specifically for the role apparently. It's a shame as the movie was a little too much style combined with not enough substance. It wasn't bad but once I got past the fact that every single shot looks like a work of art it wasn't that good either. Tilda Swinton is an entirely separate matter. She was great. As usual. Robert at His Eyes Were Watching Movies initially had the same reaction but changed his mind later, Stevee, yes, THE Stevee stuck to her guns and continued to dislike it and had this to say on the subject and BT gave it a 7.1 whilst including some of the beautiful images from the movie.

Final film of the week was a revisit to my least favourite Wes Anderson film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I initially saw this on the one and only date I had with a girl I met whilst horrendously drunk at a VIP party in Covent Garden. When she sent me a message the next morning I had absolutely no idea who she was, I could barely remember getting home. Tequila girls and an free bar will do that to you by 9pm apparently. Anyway I was enamoured with this particular Anderson at the time and thought it would be a good way to show off how awesome I was with my taste in quirky indie type films. Backfired. Big time. We were both obviously bored throughout, it just didn't feel like a Wes Anderson at all. I never saw her again after that.

Leah hadn't seen it and I thought it was about time gave it another shot and I was much more impressed than the first time but I still can't place it anywhere near the level of his other movies. Leah however loved it, she laughed at it a lot more than me that's for sure. Bill Murray was especially great. I may not watch it again however. For a nice contrast of opinions check out a positive (Defiant Success) and a negative (NerdVampire) experience.

So that's it, a quick roundup and on to other things, like more work. What you guys been watching? Have I missed the point of Robocop? Can anyone offer any explanation for Life Aquatic other than the Noah Baumbach script? Who missed The Merry Gentleman review?

15 comments:

  1. I really want to see I Am Love when I first saw the poster and trailer, but a few reviews have discouraged me. I still might check it out one of these days just to see Tilda's performance & the beautiful scenery.

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  2. Okay, I'll be honest. I haven't seen any of these, though I contemplated renting I Am Love the other day. Looks like you had a good week though. I've been thinking about starting up a The Week in Movies feature on my site for a while now.

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  3. I also recently found a review of I am Love, by a blogger/academic writer who loved it. Not sure how reliable her review is, since I also didn't enjoy it, but she took lots of beautiful screenshots.

    Review
    Screenshots

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  4. I do think you are a bit harsh on Robocop its great especially in its depiction of government and society.

    Loved the back story on Life Aquatic. I'm not a big Wes Anderson fan but that was a nice read.

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  5. Ooh, I got called THE Stevee...that's a good thing, right?

    Haha, I'm glad that somebody else didn't like I AM LOVE. Gosh...I remember writing that review. I was so awful at writing back then!

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  6. @ruth - don't rush out and see it or anything but TILDA is definitely worth watching in this. i may have to make a list with other films i loved her in.

    @tyler - you haven't seen robocop or life aquatic? i felt sure you would've seen one of those.

    i really enjoy this weekly post actually, mostly it's a way to keep track of everything i watch for myself but it's nice to talk about trashier films too once a week.

    leah - nice find. them's a lot of pretty pictures.

    joel - i know what you're saying about it's message but i was expecting a lot more action i suppose. i'm glad my failed love life can amuse you :D

    stevee - being THE stevee is definitely a good thing. you're famous don't you know.

    i didn't think your review was bad at all. but yes practice and experience make for better writing.

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  7. The Merry Gentleman was pretty solid, glad you loved it. This past week, I saw only a handful of movies: I rewatched Blue Valentine (great movie) and saw Menace to Society (loved it!).

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  8. castor - thank you, its one of those films that really should be seen by more people in my opinion.

    ive had blue valentine back on my mind to get around to seeing since i read joel burman's recent post on it. i can't say what my hesitation over watching it is.

    i may not have seen menace II society, i think after being let down by boyz n tha hood i decided to skip it. whats so good about it?

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  9. Maybe you were disappointed with Robocop because the violence is no longer considered as shocking today as it was when it came out. I still like it though.

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  10. Have never seen The Merry Gentleman, but just by looking at that poster I want to watch it.

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  11. rich - i think that's probably it, false expectations. too much message, not enough exploding heads.

    nostra - it sure is a beautiful poster isn't it? i think it was an alternative image, the main (and quite dull) one was in my review. no wonder people didn't see it!

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  12. I liked The Life Aquatic. Part of it may have come from watching Jacques Cousteau specials when I was little. He's the one Murray is aping. I also liked the nod to Buckaroo Banzai with the walking sequence at the end.

    I didn't see Robocop until a few years ago. When I did my reaction was, "That's it?" I was seriously underwhelmed by it.

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  13. chip - i meant to mention that BUCKAROO BANZAI homage, as far as i could tell no dead characters returned and there were no costume changes however.

    i'm happy to find that i am not the only one who feels that way about ROBOCOP

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  14. I Am Love was one of two films I saw at the 2010 SFF, and I really enjoyed it. I was captivated throughout, and yes, Tilda was great! As for The Life Aquatic, I love it. It isn't my favourite Wes Anderson film, that belongs to The Royal Tenenbaums/The Darjeeling Limited depending on how I feel, but it is still absolutely hilarious. Sorry to hear you didn't dig it. I have never seen Robocop :-/

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  15. Andy - hillarious? I would never have said that about LAWSZ. It is funny however.

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