Jack L. film reviews: Irish Film Marathon: Part 7

Jack L. film reviews: Irish Film Marathon: Part 7: "The Secret Of Kells reveals yet another side to Irish Cinema, one rather different from the other films I've explored as part of this marath..."

Kill, Baby, Kill

    *** out of ****

        Mario Bava’s more well-known films work a certain charm for me, and I think I know why. Bava himself is one of the few horror directors who ever lived that could master nightmare surrealism as well as he does. While some believe that films such as Lucio Fulci’s “The Beyond” capture the nightmare perfectly, I’m going to have to go along, disagree, and give people like Mario Bava more credit.

  And he deserves it. Bava is a very good filmmaker. I last saw “Blood and Black Lace” when it comes to Bava films, and you know what; I loved it. That is what a great giallo thriller should be; gruesome, bloody, perhaps a bit perverse; but ultimately passionate in each of the three. Now, I’m reviewing “Kill, Baby, Kill”, which you probably haven’t heard of; but I have, I did, and I saw it. And I’m glad.

 Read the full review.

Take Me Home Tonight

 *1/2 out of ****

 I admit to being somewhat of a sucker for era-comedies that are sure to evoke nostalgia out of their target audience. I enjoyed 2010’s “Hot Tub Time Machine”, which is some sort of comedic homage to the 1980’s. I won’t say that the film was completely drenched in inspiration or admiration for the good ol’ 80’s, but it worked, and dare I say, it was funny. The film has become a major guilty pleasure for me, but then again, I do actually believe that it’s a well-cast and hilarious piece of work. “Take Me Home Tonight”, yet another 80’s-era-modern-comedy, attempts to do all the same things that “Hot Tub Time Machine”, but due to a lack of truly raunchy charm, it underachieves.

     I don’t mind raunchy comedies. Often times, the truly raunchy comedies are the work of true comedy geniuses who know how to write profane but clever dialogue. I suppose this movie would have been an enjoyable and thoroughly funny one if it had not only embraced the 80’s as its era, but also if it had been attached to a better writer and a better director. There’s absolutely no inspiration here. Those who grew up in the 80’s may be a little more sympathetic than I am as a critic, but real movie-goers who are serious about even their comedies will probably find little funny or clever about the movie, because in spite of what it’s TRYING to do, “Take Me Home Tonight” has almost nothing going for it.

 Read the full review here.

The First Preview of my Film book (Download!)

I have been working on a film guide book which will consist of summaries of great films I know and here is the first preview download version. it is a PDF file and the link (and more info) can be found on the link below.

http://filmmasterjournal.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-book-cine-guide-work-in-progress.html

Memories of Murder

      *** out of ****

       “Memories of Murder” is a beautifully directed, wonderfully acted murder-mystery thriller from Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho. His previous film was “Barking Dogs Never Bite”, a witty satire; and the film that he followed up this one with was “The Host”. Now, I have always loved “The Host”; which is the best monster movie of the 2000’s, and perhaps my favorite of all-time; or at least one of them. I admire how Joon-Ho breathes new life in the form of satire and commentary into each of his films. Somehow, he manages to succeed in doing so yet again in this movie; which happens to be about something that most people wouldn’t even attempt to satirize: serial killers.

        This is, to my knowledge, the first serial killer-thriller that Bong Joon-Ho has directed. Yet, he still seems to know the basics; and he puts his own unique spin on the genre. He is a skilled filmmaker and he’s out to prove it. “Memories of Murder” works so well because it is not drenched in style, but it is very much interested in its characters and its narrative. Sometimes, of course, there are characters that feel a bit left out amongst others; but when you’ve got a movie this involving, you just don’t care all that much.

 

   Read the full review.

Nick and Tom's: 20 Most Memorable Movie Quotes

‎Here is a list we have formed of 20 memorable movie quotes. There in no order because that would be quite difficult.

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!”- Dr Strangelove- President Muffley

Barney's Version

 *** out of ****

      There’s something that I like about Paul Giamatti when it comes to his actions and his speech. He’s almost an awkward man; but he’s good at being that guy. He’s played assholes before his character in “Barney’s Version”, but this one takes the cake. It’s a good movie with a couple good stars and one very great one; and I’m sure you can guess who that is. It makes the most out of the source material, which is a novel written by Mordecai Richler. I haven’t read the book for myself, but as they always say, it’s probably better than the movie; but at least it got a good adaptation.

           Read the rest of this review here.

Final Destination 2

       ** out of ****

       Oh, this is getting tiresome already. “Final Destination 2” is a mediocre, stylish, violent sequel to yet another stylish, violent, but all-around surprisingly good original. “Final Destination” had its idea and its cruel sense of humor to back it up when it got, perhaps intentionally, absurd; but the sequel has even less. It seems to have abandoned the concept of using the premise for comedy, and instead most of the laughter comes from the filmmakers and people behind it. It’s obvious that we’re supposed to laugh when everybody dies a grisly death, but I’m just not seeing it.

Read the rest here. 

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) FilmMaster

I unexpectedly ended up seeing this when I was with my friend at the cinema and I planned to have us see Tree of life. Well our cinema was not showing it not now and not ever, so he suggested Captain America. I am not a fan of marvel characters or the whole superhero genre, but this film was actually enjoyable. It had some great action, some good bits of humour and a nice story to tag along in the retro 40’s setting. Its villain was weak and it’s time setting it corny but interesting. As most people know all these marvel films are, being released to anticipate the almighty ‘Avengers’ film and being honest it is an exciting thing. Having all those superheroes in one, it sounds like a daring idea but it just might work.

Read Full Here

Persona - Review

Ingmar Bergman is one of the most acclaimed and respected directors of all-time but if you were to plug me into this movie alone, I wouldn't be able to tell you why. Good? Yes -- Great? I think not.

Here is a movie that almost has no point. I don't mean that in a diminutive way but rather the fact that it can be debated whether or not anything that happens on screen is actually supposed to have even taken place within the movie, or just an allegorical study on the strange, tense relationship between two women who seem to be becoming more and more like each other -- we're never told. This however, much like the rest of the movie, is entirely up for interpretation. Many arguments defend whether or not the characters are meant to be real or just figments of each other's imaginations. To me, it doesn't matter if any of it was supposed to be real or not: I simply wasn't interested.

Top 11 Greatest Musicals by Film Master

Musicals Sweet Musicals; Instead of the usual top 10 list, I have decided to have a top 11 list. Musicals are great and I cannot see why people have a problem with them. They can be joyful, sad, romantic, upbeat and many other emotions other feature films achieve. They are certainly not all the same for one thing and several I have seen stand unique mostly. You put say, The Wizard of Oz and compare it to Sweeney Todd, and see the tremendous differences they have. Musicals are brilliant and always capture me because I love dance routines, songs with catchy lyrics and a catchy beat and all that jazz. Enjoy reading my top 11 musicals list!

 http://filmmasterjournal.blogspot.com/2011/08/top-11-greatest-musical-films.html

Bangkok Dangerous (1999)

The moment when the film turns into a tragedy is when Kong sees on the news that one of his jobs was the murder of a well respected political figure. He sees the faces of the family of his victim and is heartbroken by their sorrow. After that moment the film begins to unravel all the way to the powerful climax. Not realizing the pain he is causing until more than halfway through the film seems like a very unlikely story, but it works well with the plot. Bangkok Dangerous proves that, somehow, emotional romance can be combined with mindless, and even emotionless violence. Not to mention, an ending that is both clever and tragic. Here is a good crime-drama that, while not being anything very new, is a fun, violent and even touching film.

Read Full Here

Jack L. film reviews: Irish Film Marathon: Part 5

Jack L. film reviews: Irish Film Marathon: Part 5: "My Left Foot is a film released in 1989 and directed by Jim Sheridan, one of Ireland's most acclaimed director, with who I'm afraid to say I..."

The Wizard of Oz (1939) Review

It is still timeless and I still love it. A sheer masterpiece that is sincere and warm and its wholesome have touched the hearts of millions. ‘The Wizard of Oz’ has a cultural status that is overwhelming and there are few people who have not heard of names like ‘Dorothy Gale’ and the film’s title; it has become recognised throughout the world to film fans, critics, lovers, and people regardless if everyone has enjoyed it or not. At this point, I have watched the film at least 13 times but l still enjoy every time I see it because of its delightful music, warm characters and true emotion with a message that will be resonate forever. It is among the greatest films of all time and for good reason.

Read the review here!

Irish Marathon

Irish Film Marathon:

Part 1: The Commitments
Part 2: The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Part 3: Michael Collins
Part 4: Angela's Ashes

Parts 5, 6, 7 are in their way, keep an eye out at my blog.

And of course keep in mind that I will soon be hosting an Irish Cinema Blogathon. Anyone can participate.

Welcome!

Here is the new blog of the century! Here is film critics galore! this is the central point of critics/fans who hold blogs so come on in and join the fun!