Came across this today. Interesting project. 1000 frames from each Hitchcock film. Makes for an interesting view on his work:
1000 Frames of Hitchcock
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Frames Within a Frame 01: Highlander
A new series for this blog, I give you the first "Frames Within the Frame"
Highlander (1986)
Highlander (1986)
Friday, July 30, 2010
today's movie question to ponder...
Misunderstood classic...
or
early signs of Eddie Murphy's inevitable fall from greatness?
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Dear Martin Scorsese fans
While the 2006 film The Departed was a good film* with some great performances and won some little awards...it can't hold a candle to the brilliance of it's source material:
The 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs
Mrs. Just Another Movie geek and I gave it a viewing last night (her first, my third) and I was once again floored by its masterful creation. A gripping thriller that really kept you wondering the whole time about the duality of each character. Even Mrs. JAMG who wasn't in the mood for a cop drama when we started was enthralled by the film at the end. If you have never seen either or only seen The Departed, I highly recommend you check out the original.
*Full disclosure: I have actually not seen The Departed. Few reasons why: A. Leo isn't my favorite actor in the world. B. The original was so wonderful, I never understood the need to remake it.
The 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs
Mrs. Just Another Movie geek and I gave it a viewing last night (her first, my third) and I was once again floored by its masterful creation. A gripping thriller that really kept you wondering the whole time about the duality of each character. Even Mrs. JAMG who wasn't in the mood for a cop drama when we started was enthralled by the film at the end. If you have never seen either or only seen The Departed, I highly recommend you check out the original.
*Full disclosure: I have actually not seen The Departed. Few reasons why: A. Leo isn't my favorite actor in the world. B. The original was so wonderful, I never understood the need to remake it.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue...
who knew a TARDIS could fill all of those at once.
Stephen Moffat's freshman season of Doctor Who just came to a close and I must say I have enjoyed the ride. I have heard a lot of random complaints about this season and I was never quite sure what people were not enjoying. But this ending showed me that Moffat had some big pieces in play all season and they came together beautifully. I can't say much more without spoiling it but I am happy to say that the new Doctor is great and the show couldn't be in better hands. Bring on christmas 2010.
And on a closing note, as a wearer of one of the greatest hats ever...Fezzes are cool.
Stephen Moffat's freshman season of Doctor Who just came to a close and I must say I have enjoyed the ride. I have heard a lot of random complaints about this season and I was never quite sure what people were not enjoying. But this ending showed me that Moffat had some big pieces in play all season and they came together beautifully. I can't say much more without spoiling it but I am happy to say that the new Doctor is great and the show couldn't be in better hands. Bring on christmas 2010.
And on a closing note, as a wearer of one of the greatest hats ever...Fezzes are cool.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Action Movie-O-Rama
Can two films actually make an "O-Rama"?
Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I recently viewed two action films that we enjoyed greatly.
1. The A-Team (2010)
Who would have thought that a film made from an 80s cheesy tv show could actually entertain me? I will admit I was never a fan of the original show. Came on to late for my 8 year old viewing habits and on the rare chance I could stay up, Dad didn't like it so we didn't watch. I never felt I was missing anything but being a child of the 80s I knew enough of the concept to carry me through. Going into the film I had no expectations other than it needed to be "The A-Team." Team of ex-military guys forced into being mercs by being setup for a crime they didn't commit. The film hit all of the tropes of the original series but made them work. From Hannibal's catch phrase and cigar chomping, Face being the ladies man, Murdock being nuts and BA being afraid of flying (which the film manages to set up perfectly) the characters were all spot on. As well as the most important aspect of The A-Team was also present; their outlandish plans and technical prowess to get things done. As a good friend of mine recently proclaimed "I only watched The A-Team when I was a kid because I loved watching them weld shit together!" the film pulls this off twice and made me smile at the ingenuity involved there in. One liners flew as fast as the bullets did and most managed to make me chuckle if not seriously cackle out loud. A few moments of suspension of dis-belief caused my reality sensor to ping, but they were all handled well enough that they didn't bug me too much. Outside of one moment of a bad guy monologuing I found this to be a quite enjoyable action romp and well worth my attention. I am just sad that the remake of The Karate Kid beat it at the BO this weekend.
2. Banlieue 13: Ultimatium (2009)
6 years ago a little French action film came my way starring the creator of Parkour, David Belle. Quick action and alot of parkour helped shape this films dystopian future of Paris into a great action/fight movie. Last year gave us a sequel to the film that continues the story. Of course we have some great action and some parkour, but something felt off to me. Maybe I have seen and appreciated so much parkour in the last few years since the first film but this sequel didn't seem to focus so much on that aspect. A great early scene shows our hero cop giving a great homage to Jackie Chan by fighting a large group of bad guys while protecting and using an original Van Gogh painting during the fight. Canvas-Fu has never looked better. Even with the less than shiny parkour, it was great to visit this world again. Outside of one moment of the application of the law of inverse ninjas, the film manages to have a great time and keeps the pace well.
All in all if you are hankering for a decent action film with some good fights, great explosions and a fun time...you can't go wrong with either of these films.
Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I recently viewed two action films that we enjoyed greatly.
1. The A-Team (2010)
Who would have thought that a film made from an 80s cheesy tv show could actually entertain me? I will admit I was never a fan of the original show. Came on to late for my 8 year old viewing habits and on the rare chance I could stay up, Dad didn't like it so we didn't watch. I never felt I was missing anything but being a child of the 80s I knew enough of the concept to carry me through. Going into the film I had no expectations other than it needed to be "The A-Team." Team of ex-military guys forced into being mercs by being setup for a crime they didn't commit. The film hit all of the tropes of the original series but made them work. From Hannibal's catch phrase and cigar chomping, Face being the ladies man, Murdock being nuts and BA being afraid of flying (which the film manages to set up perfectly) the characters were all spot on. As well as the most important aspect of The A-Team was also present; their outlandish plans and technical prowess to get things done. As a good friend of mine recently proclaimed "I only watched The A-Team when I was a kid because I loved watching them weld shit together!" the film pulls this off twice and made me smile at the ingenuity involved there in. One liners flew as fast as the bullets did and most managed to make me chuckle if not seriously cackle out loud. A few moments of suspension of dis-belief caused my reality sensor to ping, but they were all handled well enough that they didn't bug me too much. Outside of one moment of a bad guy monologuing I found this to be a quite enjoyable action romp and well worth my attention. I am just sad that the remake of The Karate Kid beat it at the BO this weekend.
2. Banlieue 13: Ultimatium (2009)
6 years ago a little French action film came my way starring the creator of Parkour, David Belle. Quick action and alot of parkour helped shape this films dystopian future of Paris into a great action/fight movie. Last year gave us a sequel to the film that continues the story. Of course we have some great action and some parkour, but something felt off to me. Maybe I have seen and appreciated so much parkour in the last few years since the first film but this sequel didn't seem to focus so much on that aspect. A great early scene shows our hero cop giving a great homage to Jackie Chan by fighting a large group of bad guys while protecting and using an original Van Gogh painting during the fight. Canvas-Fu has never looked better. Even with the less than shiny parkour, it was great to visit this world again. Outside of one moment of the application of the law of inverse ninjas, the film manages to have a great time and keeps the pace well.
All in all if you are hankering for a decent action film with some good fights, great explosions and a fun time...you can't go wrong with either of these films.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Iron Man 2
Jon Favreau and team deliver a worthy sequel to one of my favorite modern super hero film
A great visual treat and an enjoyable story I highly recommend it especially if you liked the first one.
A few direct thoughts and potential spoilers down below.
-Don Cheadle as Lt. Col Rhodes. Don't get me wrong, I love Don Cheadle and I have never understood the details on why Terrance Howard left but Don didn't really do that much for me here. If there is a third and he's back, I am hoping the role is a little beefier.
-RDJ continues to shine.
-For the first time ever, Scarlett Johanssen didn't bore the crap out of me.
-Oh and Micheal Bay...The final suit battle at the end? THAT is how you do big robot battle action.
-John Favreau? I again applaud your work. Thank you for being a director who understands his source material properly. (and I loved your beefed up role..I always love you just as much in front of the lens)
Final rating:
On a comparative scale of modern Super Hero sequel films:
In second place behind Spiderman 2 and just beating out The Dark Knight*
On its own.. a great fun film.
*I know..sacrilege from a hardcore Bat-fan like me right? Guess I should someday back up that rating.
The Return of JAMG...a review of NInja Assassin
Ninja Assassin.
It's a ninja flick. Not much more you need to know about it than that. It's a bit bloody but it's over the top. As a saturday night actioner, you can't go wrong.
Rain (the Korean pop sensation) played a decent ninja fighting back against the evilness of the clan he grew up in. Having previously enjoyed his appearance in Speed Racer, I was happy to see him get lead role and hope he gets more opportunities in film.
Thanking the master movie reviewer Joe Bob Briggs, I would like to return to the "INSERT TYPE HERE-Fu" classification system.
-LaundryFu
-Blind Fold-Fu
-Highway-Fu
-Burning Dojo-Fu
-Silhouette-Fu
Other great points of interest:
Ninja Hidey-Holes
1000 Shuriken Barrages
Telepathic Heart beat Mutual Masturbation (don't ask)
Best advice: When you come home to find two ninjas fighting in your living room...run.
And on a unrelated note, in this film we got to enjoy the presence of the British actor Ben Miles.
Best known here in Just Another Movie Geek headquarters as Patrick Maitland, the Well Endowed, Tory Voting, Loveable Sexist Pig from Coupling. His character as a flirt and "player" is a trait that seems to be carrying over to other roles. In both this film and his small role in Speed Racer, certain "Patrick-isms" have come through. Conscious decision on behalf of the actor or production, I can't say..but I can only offer this hypothesis:
Patrick will always be Patrick
It's a ninja flick. Not much more you need to know about it than that. It's a bit bloody but it's over the top. As a saturday night actioner, you can't go wrong.
Rain (the Korean pop sensation) played a decent ninja fighting back against the evilness of the clan he grew up in. Having previously enjoyed his appearance in Speed Racer, I was happy to see him get lead role and hope he gets more opportunities in film.
Thanking the master movie reviewer Joe Bob Briggs, I would like to return to the "INSERT TYPE HERE-Fu" classification system.
-LaundryFu
-Blind Fold-Fu
-Highway-Fu
-Burning Dojo-Fu
-Silhouette-Fu
Other great points of interest:
Ninja Hidey-Holes
1000 Shuriken Barrages
Telepathic Heart beat Mutual Masturbation (don't ask)
Best advice: When you come home to find two ninjas fighting in your living room...run.
And on a unrelated note, in this film we got to enjoy the presence of the British actor Ben Miles.
Best known here in Just Another Movie Geek headquarters as Patrick Maitland, the Well Endowed, Tory Voting, Loveable Sexist Pig from Coupling. His character as a flirt and "player" is a trait that seems to be carrying over to other roles. In both this film and his small role in Speed Racer, certain "Patrick-isms" have come through. Conscious decision on behalf of the actor or production, I can't say..but I can only offer this hypothesis:
Patrick will always be Patrick
Thursday, February 25, 2010
A question...
Is it humanly possible to hate Ned Beatty?
I mean seriously. Think of any role you have seen him in.
Pure genius.
He plays both slimy/evil and sweet/good with equal gusto.
I mean seriously. Think of any role you have seen him in.
Pure genius.
He plays both slimy/evil and sweet/good with equal gusto.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)