My Week In Film (6/16 - 6/22)

I just want to make it clear to everyone that I fucking hate Biology.

In Bruges (2008)
(Directed by Martin McDonagh)

Beware trailers! They're usually so completely wrong about the general tone of a film that it would be hard to call them even representative of the film. This was the case with In Bruges. The trailer makes it look so wacky and stupid that it's hard to get excited about it. Anyway, In Bruges is mostly about having a few beers with your friend and putting the bad things behind you. Of course, you may make that hard on yourself or maybe Ralph Fiennes won't let you but that's beside the point. I'm still not sure how "good" the ending is but it's effective and it didn't piss me off. Farrell should be Irish more.

★★★

Be Kind Rewind (2008)
(Directed by Michel Gondry)

Okay, this is easy. Watch it for the sweded movies. That's the main draw anyway. Jack Black and Mos Def are funny enough but the big draw is seeing the films (highlight: Rush Hour 2). They also mention some of the other films they sweded which led me to wonder how in the hell they could've done a sweded version of Last Tango in Paris. Of course, that's the joke. Anyway, Gondry deploys his usual inventiveness throughout and makes this a slight trifle that entertained and amused and then quickly took a bow. Good enough.

★★1/2

The Dead Zone (1983)
(Directed by David Cronenberg)

Some films succeed purely on story. This is one of those films. I've never had a big urge to read any Stephen King and this certainly doesn't change that but the concept is interesting enough and the direction from Conenberg is good enough. So what makes it good? I suppose it all comes down to Walken being completely fascinating. I really just could watch him do pretty much anything and be entertained. The way that he carries himself, the way he talks, the way he... I don't know. There's no real good reason as to why I like this movie. I just do. Can't you just accept that?

★★★

Yojimbo (1961)
(Directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Once again, Toshiro Mifune tearing that shit up and kicking ass. Yeah, there's more happening in this film than just that but let's face it, we watch these films for two things: Kurosawa and Mifune. Kurosawa is in top form as usual while Mifune stalks the streets playing both sides against each other. It's a really fun film for sure. I probably don't like it as much as Sanjuro because I enjoyed that film's sense of humor but all is well with the world. Can Kurosawa disappoint?

★★★1/2

Mom's rating: ★★★★

Funny Games (2008)
(Directed by Michael Haneke)

I've seen the original version of this film. Was watching it again worth it? Maybe. Logically, you would surmise that if everything is exactly the same as the original film minus the actors then you should take away about the same from both films. However, I don't think this applies. If you've seen the original, there's literally no reason for you to watch this again. You got the point, I hope, and you moved on. It's as effective as the first one but I really start wondering about Haneke when the only changes he makes are having Nascar playing in the background (for us dumb Americans) and having Naomi Watts in her underwear for a really long time.

★★★

Under The Same Moon (2008)
(Directed by Patricia Riggen)

If I were totally disconnected from this film, I would hate it. It's formulaic, sentimental trash. However, it strikes a deeply personal chord with me. Just like the film's hero, I was also left back in my home country while my mom went to the United States to seek work. While we weren't separated from that long of a time (6 or 7 months, not 4 years), I know that pain you get because she's not there. However, while the film may remind me of those things, it feels so unbelievably false and fabricated that I don't feel like I'm watching something genuine. This is a product made to appeal to a community that feels that just because someone's portraying their culture, it must be good. I don't buy it. Anyway, the reason why I really can't hate this film is because it brings me back to a time when I also was missing an essential part of who I am. I regained that part of myself in a few months when I made the switch between countries. Our reunion was more dramatic and truthful than what this film can aspire to.

★★

Mom's rating: ★★★★

I really want to curb this whole "only Asian films win Film of the Week" so I pledge that next week I will not watch any Asian films!!!

For now...

Jhon's Movie of the Week is... Yojimbo