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Last Active 07-10-16 10:28 am
Joined 06-14-14
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| Awesome Movies, Vol. I
Movie trek: the motion picture. | | 1 |  | Talking Heads
Remain in Light
Take Shelter: Quite possibly the best film I've ever seen, and it was only released 3-4 years ago. Michael Shannon has always been an actor who sparked my interest up to this point, he's fantastic in the HBO series, Boardwalk Empire, and helped elevate movies such as Revolutionary Road and The Runaways with his phenomenal supporting performances. However, despite a string of incredible performances, he's never been the lead in a film (the closest he came to being the lead was in the creepy film, Bug, which saw Ashley Judd as the main star), that is until director Jeff Nichols came along. In 2007, he made a film called Shotguns Stories with Shannon in the lead and it received rave reviews (unfortunately I haven't seen it, as, like Take Shelter, it's a tricky film to track down), moving along to 2011, we have Take Shelter, which is a brilliant film about a man named Curtis who mysteriously starts having disturbing nightmares about an impending, apocalyptic storm which seems to turn people into zombies following its arrival. Haunted by these nightmares, Curtis starts building a storm shelter for his family to take refuge in, this, however, starts to have an effect on his social life, his income, as well as his mentality. It's a fascinating film indeed, and one that begs to be seen again as soon as it ends. Jessica Chastain is also in this film as Curtis' wife, Samantha, and she's just as brilliant as Shannon in the role, I highly recommend you see this film if you haven't already. | | 2 |  | Blind Melon
Soup
A Bittersweet Life: Among the best foreign films I've ever seen, the characters and story alone bring shame to usual Hollywood fare that could only wish to reach this level of filmmaking, but the action sequences elevate to another level, making this both a compelling and adrenaline-pumping piece of cinema. The closest film that compares to A Bittersweet Life (or Dalkomhan insaeng) is Jet Li's Unleashed, which featured a slew of amazing action scenes and a fantastic performance by the late Bob Hoskins, the main characters of both films are enforcers who are essentially treated like dogs, getting barked at to do whatever bidding their masters wish (usually of the physical, ass-kicking kind). Where both films separate is the level of realism projected, A Bittersweet Life is unflinchingly brutal and nasty with its action sequences, fast and intense throughout, it keeps you wanting more all while leading up to a grand action finale. The action itself wouldn't be as rewarding if the characters weren't interesting to follow, and Sun-woo (performed brilliantly by Byung-hun Lee) is about as interesting as they get, coming across as an infant trapped in a man's body, it's rewarding to watch him evolve throughout the course of the film into being more than just another man's whipping boy. Expertly paced and well-executed, I highly suggest this film to anyone in the mood for a first-rate action film with a commendable amount of depth ingrained within. | | 3 |  | Chevelle
Wonder What's Next
Chinatown: Speaking of haunting, this classic '70s film-noir from Roman Polanski is one that sticks with you long after it's gone thanks, in large part, to what may be the most tragic ending in film history. I won't spoil it, but the dark atmosphere of the film constantly hints at something terrible coming ahead, and the more the film's private detective, Jake Gittes, discovers, the more chilling the film becomes. Jack Nicholson plays this classic detective who continually gets in way over his head with the film's conspiracy and he's absolutely amazing here, dare I say it is his best role by far, a rich character and the reason we stick with this dark, disturbing tale in the first place. Brilliant performances all-around, including a fantastic cameo from the director himself, this film is a genuine masterpiece in terms of screenwriting and directing, and it will leave you shaken at the end. | | 4 |  | Reel Big Fish
Turn the Radio Off
Fish Tank: One of the best coming-of-age stories I've ever seen. Excellent performances all-around, the film feels very real and genuine. At times equally charming and shocking, there's a constant flow of grittiness injected throughout which makes it very fluid and natural. Michael Fassbender co-stars in the film as Connor, but the real-star of the picture is Mia, played by newcomer Katie Jarvis, who is an aspiring dancer left to wander aimlessly around the streets of East London, England. I love this film, there are tons of little twists and turns layered throughout that make it compelling all the way through, the last quarter of the film in particular is very hard to predict, just like the mind of the 15 year-old girl at the centre of it all. | | 5 |  | The Stranglers
Rattus Norvegicus
Sexy Beast: Sir Ben Kingsley. What more can be said about this amazing, under-seen gangster classic? A lot more, but the point is that Ben Kingsley completely dominates the screen with his performance. Psychotic and motivated, his character, Don Logan, is one of the most interesting and memorable screen-villains of all-time, profane, explosive and manipulative to no-end, he owns this movie from beginning-to-end and makes you want more. The movie's extremely short too, clocking in at a brisk hour and a half, the film's an absolute breeze to get through, and it's easily one of my favourite crime-thrillers of all-time. Give it a shot. | |
JWT155
01.11.15 | Chinatown is a great movie, excellent performance by jack Nicholson. | riffariffic7
01.11.15 | Definitely agreed with you on that. Have you seen The Ghost Writer? It's another really great film from Polanski, easily the best performances of Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan's careers. Loved the dialogue and storytelling of that film, very reminiscent of Chinatown. | JWT155
01.11.15 | I have not. He's a great director, I loved Rosemary's Baby and enjoyed The Pianist and The Ninth Gate. I'll have to check it out. | ADanceReturns
01.11.15 | Blaze it 420 | JohnnyoftheWell
01.11.15 | Chinatown is an excellent film, but I would hardly describe the ending as one of the most tragic in film history. It's more frustrating in my opinion. | Tunaboy45
01.11.15 | FIIIIIIIIIGHT CLUUUUUUUUUB | OwMySnauze
01.11.15 | Son in Law | riffariffic7
01.11.15 | @johnnydeking29 - Frustrating's a good way to put it too. My emotions were all over the place with that ending. I was angry, upset and deeply disturbed, it's probably the most unsettling ending to a film I've ever seen. But it's perfect for the fact that it breaks formula and resorts to an Oedipus Rex style ending. I loved the film. | theacademy
01.11.15 | what about fight club | riffariffic7
01.11.15 | Fight Club's a fantastic movie. I'll be sure to include that sometime soon. I wanted to start these lists with films that I feel many haven't seen before. | EyesWideShut
01.11.15 | all awesome movies man.. Chinatown got one of my fav ending oat. | riffariffic7
01.11.15 | Yeah, it's a real gut-punch of an ending. It feels real too, there's just no escape from a scenario like that, something like that sticks with you, and haunts you until the end. Such a classic film. |
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