Part 1 Winter-Spring 2010-2011 Movie Preview

For two times during a year ( well actually four times = 2x2 blog entries ) I'm trying to make a short movie preview for the next period (one reason is that I don't have time to see movies every week anymore and these two I'm definitely skipping that and focusing on other stuff). I will refer to the movies chronologically by month as these are scheduled for release. This however isn't guaranteed to be very precise ... One more thing to note is that I only announce with a short preview, not actually recommend, what is on these entries = many titles may fail disastrously :) ( or not ... :) ). That being said, let me just get into the subject ...

So ... I'll begin today with the winter period = more exactly what comes out in December. I'll start with "The Warrior's Way", a film which attempts to combine western with fantasy and martial arts. I'll try to give a "presumption of innocence" to the intention and hope that the director and screenwriter - the same person - for which this is the first production will not screw it up completely. Although, to be honest, it seems like the trailer gives a promise of a below 5 rating on IMDb ... Maybe I am wrong and besides the tons of effects and cliché lines we will still be able to find a .. subject ... and that might be interesting.

Probably it will be the highest grossing movie of the month and it's definitely one of the most anticipated - "TRON: Legacy", the sequel to the original from '82. What can I say ... I saw the original once, and I can not remember much besides the basic idea that a hacker/programmer/whatever was "caught" inside a computer literally. The film did not impress me very much at that time. Anyway, the new one looks promising, even for me who I'm not the biggest fan of 3D ..

I'll end with December skipping some titles like "The Tourist" with Depp and Angelina, or Narnia Part III (which honestly doesn't tempt me at all to lose about two hours with it after seeing the last one) and I'll stop to a co-production made in the Scandinavian area which is more in the "spirit" of the holidays :-p and seems to be at the least interesting, "Rare Exports:

I'll start the January series with "The Green Hornet." Basically is a spin-off from a series in the '60s in which Bruce Lee made his appearance at Hollywood. The movie can be placed apparently in the super-hero category. Honestly, I think at least half, although not listed by the IMDb, it's more towards comedy. And as I'm not really into this in the usual blog entries, I'll just make an exception at least here in the preview area :) ...

Although to be honest, even if the final surprise seems more than obvious from the trailer (no, I'm not gonna tell more ... maybe there is someone who won't get it :-p), after I've seen "Taken" with Liam Neeson as Jason Statham ( to say so ... :) ), I might give a chance to "Unknown":

I'm not the biggest fan of Peter Weir, but I'll end the January with his last directed movie - "The Way Back", mainly for the subject. A handful of fugitives from a Russian gulag in Siberia in the '40s trying to flee to ... India ... by feet ... 4000 miles ... If that's not enough, they say that the movie has some real basis:

I'll begin February with "I am Number Four". I think the trailer it's a bit stupid in the first part, the idea of a specific numbering 1, 2, 3 and after that 4 ... (like it's required to be 4 ... see it to get it) ... plus from the director DJ Caruso in my point of view the only really good film is "Disturbia", the rest being at most average ... but who knows ... The idea - a guy/alien/whatever with superpowers hunted by something/someone who we do not know (yet) ... sounds somewhat catchy ...

I could not go through what it is going to be released (although in this case I suspect a low rating ...) without a stop at one action movie by definition (well, with a small fantastic twist) = more action less subject. Summarized, in "Drive Angry", Nicolas Cage is struggling to save his grandson (his killed daughter's son to be more explicit) - project with a deadline. Interestingly, the film comes in 3D, which wasn't much applied until recently besides the SF/Horror/Animation genres.

I'll end February and also today's entry with "The Eagle", which revolves around the fate of the ninth Roman legion (about which even today it isn't known 100% clear how it disappeared), or rather builds a story that continues the story of the ninth legion ... Well ... complicated :) .. better watch the trailer:

That's pretty much all for the winter, I'll be back next week with the spring ;)

The Quiller Memorandum (1966)

I wrote some time ago about "The Ipcress File" (sorry, only in the ro-version of the blog). I didn't see the sequels (there are at least two which theoretically may prove worthy of spending some time on them). However I've watched another movie last week placed in the same period (as subject and production time), also British, and overall the same kind of spy thriller, but with a completely different atmosphere, so to speak.

"The Quiller Memorandum" is placed somewhere in the '60s in the West Berlin. The intrigue is based on the assassination of two British agents involved in the discovery of a neo-Nazi movement HQ. This leads to giving the job to a third agent - the one with the name in the title - the difference being that this time is an American. The subject is relatively simple, and partly because of this, unlike in "The Ipcress File", here you can really feel the age of the movie. Other reasons for this impression are probably the directing style, the cinematography and actually pretty much of the movie making - even up to acting. However it still keeps a certain charm due to this "old" feeling that after all is just natural and common also to some of the early Bond movies. Speaking of Bond movies and others from the genre, you usually have a pretty typical secret agent construction as the main character. That would be probably the main difference in "The Quiller Memorandum". I do not know if they really wanted to come up like that, and I didn't see many movies with George Segal in the lead role, but the result here is completely different from anything I experienced on this genre. More specifically you can think of a parody of the classic type of character, however placed in a context as serious as it can be (for this type of movie at least). Starting from mimicry, replicas, to the fact that this "Bond" is not equipped with any gadgets and even he doesn't carry a gun, quoting approximately - "would just increase the chances to be killed". However as I said, the context of the action is not one of a comedy, although it might have some slight humor caused by the contrast between the German-Anglo rigidity and the American temperament. Overall sometimes it may seem a bit stupid on that part. For me, however, it was interesting.

Aside from a minor revelation to the end of the movie (which is actually left as an easy guess), the script relies more on witty dialogue than on complicating and twisting the plot. In the end the result is still quite “watchable”. The location setting is nice, I think the movie was filmed in West Berlin at least partially, so you have a bit of authentic 60's atmosphere from the area. There isn't much to tell on the movie making part besides that. The best part (except of the acting which depends on taste ... if it seems too "overacted" or not) would be the soundtrack. Just like in "The Ipcress File" (which was actually even better) you can appreciate the work of John Barry as composer. I think he is probably one of the best people in the industry from UK, at least for my taste of music - and again, at least for the productions made in the '60s and '70s when for example in the majority of films made in the U.S. you actually don't feel you have a soundtrack. In this case, it's just the opposite = it's clearly there. Well, that's all for today. I'll be back next week with a winter/spring preview of what is scheduled to premiere in the next moths. In the meantime ...

Rating: 3 out of 5

Flawless (2007)

So ... as a quick intro before getting right into the subject, this is ( like the title already says :) ) a blog containing some personal thoughts about some of the movies I manage to see in the short free time I have (usually at least one/week). I don’t have any studies in any area related to cinema – that’s why it’ s called “unauthorized” :), but I like to think that after seeing quite a lot of movies in more than 20 years, since I was kid, I might have something to say (and when I say a lot it is really “a lot” :) ). I started this blog three years ago, only for friends, on a pretty private hosting space I might say, and like it is still visible I’m not running any ads on it ( at least yet :) ). I have just decided to try making it a little more visible by running also an English version from now on ( though I still don’t have the time, neither the interest, to make it more “public” by indexing, SEO, etc ). Anyway, just to finish with this part, if you need more “intro info” check the motto entry on the right ( It’s just the translation of my original entry from 2007 ). And now, let’s get to the point for this week :) …

I could characterize the movie on the today’s topic in a single word as "nice" I guess. It's not great, at least after I've seen it I can't say anything about it that gets up to this level, but still has something in it that leaves you with a sort of a nice feeling. And it is like this, despite the fact that eventually it comes up to be a serious drama as a genre with valences of a blue movie (I can’t think of another better description at this moment).

The subject of "Flawless" is placed somewhere in the 60s, having as the main protagonists the only woman employed at the London Diamond Company - Demi Moore, and a caretaker close to retirement working at the same firm - Michael Caine. The latter comes with an “indecent” proposal one day, more exactly he asks she to help him rob a small part of the diamonds contained in the basement vault, hoping that she’ll say “yes” given the circumstances that the leading board was just discussing, behind closed doors, firing her instead of promoting. Well ... it's probably easy to predict that the proposal is eventually accepted, but what is going on afterwards I’ll just let a potential viewer to discover :). Anyway the movie does not cut anywhere near something like the classic "How to Steal a Million", going a bit further than just the planning and the execution of the robbery.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film is the couple of the main characters and the relation that is created between them and the way that evolves from the beginning to the end. I don’t know ... personally I had an impression of "transfer" of personality so to speak - from him - a very lively character despite the old age, making impossible plans, and apparently out of his mind, to her – a cold woman, calculated and retained in the first phase. Until the end, as I said, it seems that the two characters’ traits just “swap”. Well :) being so or not being so, in summary I think the character building is the best part of the film. Obviously it is supported also by actors, it’s not only in the script. I can’t say that I usually appreciate Demi Moore in what roles I’ve seen her, but this one suits her and on the other side I must admit that I've always liked Michael Caine, from the films in the start of his career up to the most recent ones. Besides the lead actors, in this case we have a production in which the cast is predominantly English, and not to lengthen too much the idea I'll just summarize in saying (it will be pretty conclusive I hope) that I always found the English acting school to be at least a class above the U.S. one.

Related to the other movie aspects, directing, cinematography, editing, etc. - as I said from the start I do not see anything extraordinary. The film is supported in particular by a good script, and throughout this and especially in the final just gives that … "warm" feeling / impression which you might just need sometimes and due to this fact I’m unfortunately rather subjective :). So ...

Rating: 4 out of 5

Motto

” G’mork: Foolish boy. Don’t you know anything about Fantasia? It’s the world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it, is a piece of the dreams and hopes of mankind. Therefore, it has no boundaries.

Atreyu: But why is Fantasia dying then?

G’mork: Because people have begun to loose their hopes and forget their dreams. So the nothing grows stronger.

Atreyu: What is the nothing?

G’mork: It’s the emptiness that’s left. It’s like a despair, destroying this world. And I have been trying to help it.

Atreyu: But why?

G’mork: Because people who have no hopes are easy to control. And whoever has control has the Power. “

(”The Neverending Story” – 1984, script by Wolfgang Petersen & Herman Weigel, book by Michael Ende ; extended excerpt from video @ end of post)

Why unauthorized ? ... That’s because I didn’t graduate a specialized course in any cinema related field.

Why moviethoughts360 ? ... Because I have not found anything more suitable and available and for a year and a half I kept this blog only for friends on Yahoo 360 (which unfortunately, depending on when the actual sentence is read, it will be dead or in the process of passing away )

Why? Honestly ... .. I have no idea:) Maybe because at some point I wanted to follow some courses in the field and I kept some nostalgia of the moment ... Maybe because I try to put on a sheet of paper a script since about three or four years and it seems it will take forever, so ... I found an alternative, less time eating ... Maybe because I like to write something else than code sometimes ... Maybe, other reasons ...

This blog contains 90%+ impressions more or less objective about movies, newer or older, depending on what I get to see. It is not in any way exclusively targeted on the latest productions. The remaining 10% max will be other inputs for which I honestly do not think I need a separate blog. I don't intend promoting or bashing any movie promotion even though it might seem in some cases, but just simply to express a few thoughts. As a general rule, if you want a quality recommendation for a movie not listen to what only one person says, because there is a always a bit of subjectivity there and preferences are questionable. However, it may still represent a somehow valid source of information if he or she says something else besides a simple "Go see that movie, it's very good." If after "Go see that movie, it's very good" you get a "Jackie Chan fights with giant spiders from outer space" you might give up with seeing the movie (I don’t have anything against Jackie Chan, nor "giant spiders from outer space", but you might be arachnophobic). That's what I intend to do - giving some extra info and feedback. For a simple rating for a film, I must refer to IMDb probably as the best system at the moment (with emphasis on system) simply because on an average grade from n users, you’ll get something which eventually will get somewhere close to reality. For example, what's in the top 250 overall is worth seeing (doesn’t excel, but it's not a waste of time), and what is probably less than 5 is waaay low to give it a try. What's in between can be a masterpiece or a failure depending on the viewer :).

Ok, that's about it, I've already stretched too much a statement / description of the blog / introductory post - all together ;) .