charliesmovies

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May 9th: Fahrenheit 451 (1966) The immersive universe and interesting plot were slightly wasted when the movie jumped the shark during its last 15 minutes, which was rather disappointing. Otherwise a good experience. Ain't nothin' like having David McCallum attempt to brainwash ye'.

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May 8th: Psycho (1960) A classic. I can see why. Wonderfully shot and acted, even if the script hasn't aged all that well.

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May 8th: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) Fun fact: The average cup size in this film is DD½. (Yes, that's including the male actors.)

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May 5th: Saló, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) Delightfully unpleasant art film with lots of rape and torture and consumption of excrement. Fascism is bad, mmmkay

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May 3rd: Cannibal Holocaust (1980) Not as graphic as I was expecting (I have high standards for this), but certainly interesting. And quite hypocritical. Poor turtle.

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May 2nd: 12 Angry Men (1957)

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January 16th: A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Starting the year off classily with yet another Kubrick classic. This being my first complete viewing of this film, I was not too blown away by the story as much as the effective use of music and naturally the beautiful shooting as per always with Kubrick. Having read part of the novel beforehand, I am also aware that Alex is actually supposed to be 15 years of age at the start of the film, and this shines through well. The way he so playfully, with intense glee carries out murders and rapes is quite shocking, yet interesting. And despite there being little reason to do so, one identifies and sympathizes strongly with Alex, particularly in the last part of the film.

I was however not too fond of the ending (and neither was Burgess.)

Oh, and happy new year.

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July 30th: Klovn - The Movie (2010)

Based on a Danish tv series well known for its use of faux pas situational humour (of which I have seen all 6 seasons, although that is not really necessary to enjoy this movie. Though it makes it more fun (and pleasing at times (A scene including a metal vase comes to mind, in particular))), it opens sometime after the end of the tv series. Mia is pregnant, and Casper is planning a canoe trip, or 'Tour de Fisse' (literally Tour de Pussy) to a big brothel. Mia is unsure about Frank's skills as a father, and tests his skills by making him watch her nephew Bo. After many a failed attempt to impress, Frank sees only a last resort, and drags (or rather, kidnaps) Bo along on the canoe trip. What follows is pure hilarity as we see the three head off in the canoe, encountering many an obstacle along the way.

The comedy in this is simply stunning, and it had me laughing out loudly at many a time. Which is saying quite a lot coming from someone as overly analytic and apathetic as myself. It also has some of the best, most efficient use of shock comedy I have ever experienced, whilst still showing skills at subtle humour with the use of background events that you might not pick up on. It also rounds out the series pretty well, and we're given a bit more of a satisfying ending to the story of Frank Hvam.

A most entertaining watch, highly recommended. If you're gonna watch a Scandinavian film this year, it could be this one.

Oh, and beware, this film contains nudity and quite a lot of sexual content. But you shouldn't be put off by that. This is the 21st century, jeez.

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July 9th: Hard Candy (2005)

Holy shit, this movie. What an interesting, unusual and utterly shocking experience it was to watch this thing. I don't want to say much about it to avoid spoiling it for anyone, but believe me when I say this is a movie you'd want to watch.

You might be a little creeped out by the opening (that presents, sadly, an all too familiar a concept in today's society), but the story quickly takes a turn for the darker, and you're sucked into the action, that literally left me with my heart beating quickly and powerfully, agitated and unsure about the outcome for the main characters, due to the unpredictability of the movie.

And at the end you can't help but be baffled and confused at how things ended, and what that might mean, and how things went from there. 

A truly original story and execution, combined with beautiful shots and scenery, as well as top-notch acting from the main characters helps make this a truly thrilling and thought-provoking movie. On a minuscule budget, nonetheless.

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June 5th: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)

Entertaining movie. Great soundtrack (woop, Mark Mothersbaugh). Dat Kennings. Dat Cera.

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June 2nd: Juno (2007)

Ellen Page... and Michael Cera. AWESOME.

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June 2nd: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 (2011)

GAAAH, WHYYY. Allow me to sum up to the story:

Edward and Bella get married. They have sex. Bella gets pregnant, and births a vampire child.

Did it take 2 hours to read that? NO. I refuse to say more on this subject. Screw this movie.

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May 26th: Rifftrax: Highlander (2011)

"I'm not Shpanish, I'm Egyptshian!"

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May 16th: The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)

A thought-provoking, depressing movie showing the life of Samuel Byck, a man notable for attempting to assassinate Richard Nixon.

Sean Penn delivers a solid performance as Byck (named Bicke in the film to avoid offending relatives), a man who isn't that well off in life, but still tries his best to be an honest person and make a living for himself. And one really feels bad, as one witnesses his life crumble to pieces, part by part. He becomes a complete failure in life, and even though he struggles to get back up, he is not successful. He eventually takes up a strong hatred for the current president, Nixon, and blames him for the way society has turned out, and the amount of dishonesty that appears to be omnipresent. He eventually decides that the only way to end this, is to kill Nixon. He is (sadly) unsuccessful, and in the end he is a failure in that, as well. It's a truly sad story, and compliments the sentiment that 'no good deed goes unpunished'.

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May 13th: Ed Wood (1994)

This is a comedy, not a biography. I can't help but feel like Burton is somewhat pissing on Ed Wood's grave in this movie. That being said, however, it is entertaining in its own sense, and Depp plays an eccentric, comical relief-ish Wood. The film is entirely in black and white, and tries to mimic the style of some Wood films, which is a nice touch. And credit where credit is due, Martin Landau also does a great job depicting the late Bela Lugosi.

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May 11th: The Divide (2012)

Thanks to Danny for recommending this movie.

After watching this film, I didn't quite know what to make of it, so I consulted IMDb to read some user reviews. Upon reading them, I agree with a lot of the arguments for why this film was bad, but a lot of reviews just seemed angry about all the pointless violence, something which in this film was a good way of conveying utterly gritty, disgusting and terrible condition these characters are left in, and how it's slowly driving them insane. And while this film is way too long, and mostly just ignores the universe it is set in, it still left me thinking about how well this may represent the human condition after the SHHTF. Surely it is an inconceivably big strain on your psyche to end up the situation these characters are in, and stuff like this could happen. Humans lose their civility and are degraded to more of an animalistic state. It's a bit of a comment on the human condition, and some stinging social commentary.

The film is however, pretty violent, and I wouldn't recommend it for someone not used to that kind of thing. The slow pacing until the very last minute might leave you with a sore taste in your mouth, though, and it's really not worth the watch unless you happen to have 2 hours to waste.

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John Reynolds as Torgo (Manos: The Hands of Fate)