bimo | Entries tagged with movies

Yeah, I know. But BimoDad and I have been watching the various Jurassic Park/ Jurassic World movies together ever since the first one came out back in 1993.Thus, no way we were going to miss this latest installment.

A few mostly spoiler-free observations:

Pure popcorn entertainment and actually great fun, however offering very few surprises since the film displays exactly the same strengths and weaknesses as the previous one.
Cookie cutter characters, but perfectly likeable, or, in case of the villains, properly despicable.
Simply gorgeous dino animation, done in a way that really makes you care for these beasts.
It totally escapes me why Fallen Kingdom’s rather obvious Frankenstein theme (all complete with Gothic mansion, thunder, and discussion of scientific ethics) doesn’t show up in reviews. (I’ve read various ones, none of them cared to mention it.) Fallen Kingdom is Frankenstein, as much as one of its predecessors, The Lost World, was King Kong.
Oh, and I couldn’t help smiling about the scenes showing Chris Pratt’s character raising young Velociraptor Blue. So reminiscent of training Little Jasper. ;)

Current Mood: cheerful
Crossposts: https://bimo.livejournal.com/84128.html

I figure it’s high time I started to kick off the new year journaling-wise, if only just to wave at folks and say “Well, hi! I’m still hanging out here, having a good time :)”

TV Shows I’m currently watching or have watched just recently:

The Crown
Mindhunter
Star Trek: Discovery
Bates Motel (only season 1 so far, but definitely planning to catch up on the rest)

Movies

Nothing worth writing about at the moment. Well, during our New Year’s holiday, Cavendish and I ended up seeing Victoria & Abdul (2017, directed by Stephen Frears) at the Spiekeroog island cinema. However, we found ourselves so frustrated by that movie’s amount of kitsch and gross diminishing of British colonial crimes that we almost would have got up and left. (We probably would have left if it hadn’t been raining so strongly outside. Both of us were without umbrellas.)

Hard to believe Victoria & Abdul came from the same director who did such a smart and brilliant film as The Queen back in 2006. But then again, The Queen’s screenplay was written by Peter Morgan.

Books

selenak , knowing how highly you think of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, have you ever read this one?

Paul M. Sammon, Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner. Revised and updated 2017 edition.

Described as “The ultimate guide to Ridley Scott’s transformative Sci-Fi classic", Sammon’s decade-long labour love so far 100% lives up to its promise. Well written, intriguing background infos and interviews on just about every aspect of Blade Runner’s making.

Crossposts: https://bimo.livejournal.com/83349.html

As borrowed from selenak . I've been wanting to do this the whole week, but didn't manage until now. :)

A Movie I Love: Bram Stoker’s Dracula

An Action Movie I Love: Jurassic Park (Yeah, I know I’m stretching genre boundaries to the very limit here, but still.)

A Drama I Love: The Ice Storm

A Western I Love: Once Upon a Time in the West

A Horror Movie I Love: The Last Wave (I could just as easily cite Robert Wise’s The Haunting but The Last Wave is the one horror movie which managed to scare the holy scrap out of me when I first saw it as a thirty-seven year-old adult. So brilliantly filmed, so deeply unsettling.)

A Comedy I Love: Groundhog Day

A Romance Movie I Love: Moulin Rouge

A Noir I Love: Chinatown

A Disney Movie I Love: Zootopia

A Sci Fi Movie I Love: Interstellar

An Animated Movie I Love: The Last Unicorn

A Superhero Movie I Love: Goldfinger (Does James Bond count as a superhero? If not, I’m screwed, because I don’t do Marvel.)

A War Movie I Love: Apocalypse Now

An Exploitation Movie I Love: Sorry, but no, just no. There are one or two Tarantinos and Peckinpahs which I’m fascinated by, but I wouldn’t file those under “exploitation”.

A Musical I Love: A Chorus Line

An Historical Movie I Love: Amadeus

A Bad Movie I Love: Flash Gordon

A Childhood Favourite: Star Wars (Star Wars IV: A New Hope)

A Shakespeare Movie I Love: Richard III (1995, the one with Ian McKellen)

A Franchise I Love: Pirates of the Caribbean

A Trilogy I Love: The original Star Wars Trilogy

A Guilty Pleasure I Love: The Day after Tomorrow

A Movie Recently Seen: The Lost City of Z

My Favourite of This Year: La La Land

A Favourite of All Time: The Shawshank Redemption

Current Mood: cheerful
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/81530.html

Went to see Martin Scorcese’s Silence yesterday, which turned out to be the kind of movie that leaves me glad to have watched and doubtful I’ll ever feel the desire to watch again. Intriguing story, amazing acting, capturing cinematography, but for large parts excruciating, painful.

Based on the historical novel of the same title by Japanese author Shūsaku Endō, Silence follows the emotional and spiritual journey of young Portuguese Jesuit missionary Sebastiao Rodrigues, who is sent to 17th century Japan to investigate the whereabouts and possible apostasy commited by his former mentor Ferreira (Liam Neeson).

( Read more... )

Current Mood: pensive
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/80949.html

Apparently someone at our local community-run indie cinema possesses a certain wicked sense of humour. Two showings of Jaws , one in German, one in English, right at the start of bathing season.

Of course, Cavendish and I went to see. Jaws is one of the movies that I know by heart and will never cease to admire because of how skillfully it was filmed. By a director who, at that time, was still a relative newcomer to the business and hadn’t even reached thirty years of age.

One aspect I have never realised before, though. (And here comes the amusing part): Matt Hooper, the youthful marine biologist played by Richard Dreyfuss, is Dana Scully. Totally. Just think about it.

Comparatively small and soft-featured person
Extremely smart and competent in their field
Strong belief in science, rationality, technology and proper equipment
Able to hold their own in a macho surrounding, while not necessarily subscribing to hyper-masculine ideals themselves
Coming to town to fight monsters
The second they utter their first line of dialogue you know they are cool.
And then there is that autopsy scene where Hooper cuts up a shark that isn’t the shark…

Current Mood: amused
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/78532.html

Yesterday evening Cavendish and I finally grabbed our chance to watch Steven Spielberg's Cold War drama Bridge of Spies. The movie may not be a flawless masterpiece (a little bit of "too much pathos" here, a slightly too stylised characterisation there...), but all in all it turned out an intriguing and memorable viewing experience.

Very well-filmed, in a rather classical style. Well-acted and casted. Tom Hanks is playing Donovan, the chosen US negotiator, in a way that feels rock-solid and palpable, on one hand, yet not entirely free of self-ironic touches on the other. In consequence, his Donovan, while certainly put on a pedestal as the archetypal upright lawyer hero, always manages to stay likable and human.

An impression, which also seems to be strongly supported by the script; most noticeably perhaps in a scene playing in freezing-cold East Berlin where a border-crossing Donovan is forced to hand over his good woolen coat to an East German youth gang.

Also, lots of absurd and delightfully wry humor in other scenes, probably due to the influence of Joel and Ethan Coen.

Current Mood: impressed
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/73541.html

My non-spoilery impression in a nutshell: Viewed and loved, for all its Star Wars-y flair. Heroes, mentors, planets, droids, and Space Nazis. Yup, everything just as it ought to be.

As someone whose focal point has always been Obi-Wan Kenobi (in both original trilogy and prequels alike), I was somewhat worried whether the new characters would manage to intrigue me. But, hey, they did, with flying colours.

( One or two spoilery observations )

Current Mood: cheerful
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/72828.html

*looks around, carefully dusts off her journal, then decides to kick off the new journalling year in classic bullet point style*

What I'm currently reading:

Hans Fallada: Ein Mann will nach oben
Heirich Geiselberger, Tobias Moorstedt (Red.): Big Data, Das Neue Versprechen der Allwissenheit, Suhrkamp 2013 (a collection of academic and non-academic essays dealing with the consequences and possibilities of Big Data as a cultural, economical and political phenomenon)

What I'm currently watching on DVD:

Quantum Leap, selected episodes, re-watch ;)
The Undersea World of Jaques Cousteau I (which, btw. has an incredibly Star Trek-like flair to it)

Last three movies I watched at an actual cinema:

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Only Lovers Left Alive
Inside Llewyn Davis

Last visit to a museum:

Alexander Calder at the Kunstsammlung NRW, two days before closing

Last concert:

the ever amazing Käptn Peng in Oberhausen (Yes, I'm too old for this, but still so much fun. )

Current Mood: relaxed
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/67675.html

Together with a friend of ours, Cavendish and I went to see Gravity at a nearby multiplex last Friday, 3D, original language version. Spectacular zero g effects, engaging story. Also, the way in which this movie conveys the vastness of space is clearly a thing of awe-inspiring beauty.

However, I must say that I understand the people who loved and enjoyed this movie as much as the people who have dismissed it.

( Things I find problematic about Gravity, cut for spoilers )

Current Mood: relaxed
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/66646.html

Yeah, I know. Iron Man, Thor, the new Star Trek...

And then there's this one movie that I'm personally looking forward to, Baz Luhrmann's interpretation of The Great Gatsby. Being acquainted with Luhrman's movies (and somewhat of a fan) ever since Stricly Ballroom, I'd predict that Gatsby will either fail magnificently or be sparkingly brilliant. Of course I'm hoping for the latter.

Just see for yourselves, good grief, what a trailer..

Current Mood: relaxed
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/63690.html

One of the movies I would never have seen, If Cavendish hadn't been so interested in viewing it and had sort of dragged me along. I can't help but to feel rather impressed, though, by how much actual, serious and thoughtworthy content this movie transports, apart from the splatter. Interesting comment on power dynamics, rather brilliant use of mythology (classical and modern myths alike), memorable visual imagery.

If one is able to stomach the blood&guts parts, the film is well worth seeing.

Current Mood: impressed
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/61885.html

Only just about twenty-five people at special premiere screening of a film at a small arthouse cinema (with both the movie's director and parts of the cast present!) should be bound to indicate something, shouldn't it?

Please feel welcome to choose freely from the following more or less likely options below. More than just one correct answer is possible:

A) This surely isn't the new Hobbit or Justin Bieber movie.
B) Whatever Bimo and Cavendish went to see this weekend at the Astra in Essen was incredibly pointless and boring rubbish. I'm sure everyone (including the poor director) had an absolutely lousy and awkward time.
C) What the audience saw was a smart, witty, well-acted, well-observed comedy, highly entertaining and at times rather endearing. Relaxed and interesting discussion ensued.
D) Obviously this movie was one of those neat little films, which, due to lack of advertising budget will disappear from cinemas far too soon. A clear case of run and try to watch as long as it is shown in a theatre near you.

Well, if you've picked A, C and D, you've chosen wisely, as Dietrich Brüggemann's comedy Drei Zimmer/Küche/Bad is just this. Witty, surprisingly poignant at times and thus well worth seeing. Starting from its basic premise "Eight friends, four seasons, eleven different moving days" both the script and the very fine ensemble cast manage to touch upon the full scale of chaos and complexities that usually come along with moving forwards or backwards in life. Moving in, moving out, searching, finding, regardless whether the need to do so should arise in your mid-twenties or much later.

Current Mood: awake
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/59918.html

Over at Sueddeutsche.de I just stumbled across a review of the latest Spiderman reboot movie that raises quite an interesting point regarding cinema's current state as an artform/ form of cultural expression. Apparently one of the reviewer's main theses is the notion that 21st century cinema, not unlike threatre or opera, is entering a phase of a nearly closed canon, with very few new and innovatove material appearing and a noticeable (perfectly legitimate?) shift happening, basically the shift from creation towards interpretation.

The full article in German

The crucial passage:

Vielleicht denkt man aber auch zu negativ, wenn man sich nun für immer in einer Superhelden-Wiederholungsschleife gefangen sieht. Zwar wird sich an den Realitäten in Hollywood nichts ändern, und der Zyklus der Remakes und Sequels beschleunigt sich eher weiter. Aber dann tritt das Kino womöglich in eine neue Phase ein - in der sich Oper und klassische Musik schon längst befinden.

Könnte der Kanon der Geschichten, die das Publikum wirklich sehen will, nicht auch hier bald abgeschlossen sein? Dann hätte es seine Richtigkeit, dass die Spidey-Symphonie einfach regelmäßig neu eingespielt wird: hier eine innovative Phrasierung, dort ein virtuoser Spezialeffekt - und dann, im zweiten Satz, die berüchtigte Spinnenbiss-Passage in Es-Dur... An solchen Nuancen dürften wir uns dann abarbeiten - und kein Regisseur von Rang käme darum herum, seinen eigenen Spiderman-, Superman-, oder Batman-Zyklus aufzunehmen.

Auch in dieser schönen neuen Filmwelt stünde es jedem frei, sich gelegentlich noch an originale Kreationen zu wagen - solche Werke liefen dann aber unter dem Etikett "Zeitgenössisches Kino" und klängen eher dissonant bis zwölftonal. Einmal im Jahr, vielleicht in Cannes, würden wir sie bewundern, diskutieren und dazu hochsubventionierten Champagner trinken - im sehr kleinen Kreis.

Current Mood: busy
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/58257.html

Cavendish and I went to see Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom on Friday, mostly attracted by the movie's hugely impressive cast list including such illustrious names as Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton, but with very little to no idea what else to expect.

As it turned out, we might have easily seen one of the finest and intriguing films of 2012. While its basic plotline doesn't account to much more than "Sometime in the mid-1960s, two smitten-with-each-other teenagers on a small New England island run away together while the involved parents and other rescuing parties aren't exactly amused", Moonrise Kingdom presents its viewers with a fascinating microcosm of the surreal and the hilarious, managing to touch upon the light and the funny as well as the sad, touching and sincere.

This almost incredible mixture of poignant and fluff is in large parts carried by a breathtaking script, great imagery, and yes, actors who just know how to highlight their characters' more comic aspects as well as a rather rare sense of personal dignity.

If you should have the opportunity to see this movie while it still runs in theatres, go, see it!

Current Mood: cheerful
Crossposts: http://bimo.livejournal.com/58058.html

As now is as good a time as any to get back to a more regular mode of posting, here are some thoughts from a comment I originally left in

selenak's journal this morning:

On Liz Taylor:

You know, for most of what I tend to call my "adult film watching life" (which must have started around the time I was thirteen) I have always struggled with that oddly janus-faced image I have of Elizabeth Taylor. One face being that of the heavily made-up matron appearing in all those horrible 1980s yellow press magazines lying around at my grandmother's home, and the other face that of the radiant, highly talented actress. The first movie I ever saw Taylor in was Giant, which of course features that immensely powerful scene when Taylor's character, a New England society girl, first lays eyes on the profitable but barren-looking ranch of her newly-made Texan husband.

On *cough, ahem* ST: Voyager ~~I never thought I would openly admit my latest addiction~~

You guys wouldn't by any chance know where to start looking for read-worthy ST: Voyager fanfic? After finishing our DS9 marathon, Cavendish and I have moved straight on to Voyager (season 5, by now). And while I never thought I would say this, both the individual characters and the plot lines have grown on me. Altogether a much better show than I remembered it to be. Maybe I'm getting mellow with age. *g*

Current Mood: cheerful

I woke up this morning with the idea of writing a lengthier entry on Jane Campion's Keats movie Bright Star (For the interested: the last three years of John Keats' life, seen through the lens of his relationship with Fanny Brawne; a movie typical of Jane Campion as a director insofar as Bright Star's superb visuals, added by a strong focus on the observation of character dynamics make more than up for the film's slow pace. What struck me as most noteworthy was how Campion has managed to transfer the romanticism of Keats poems into essentially quiet but powerful images. Altogether a film well worth seeing, with some very fine actors and quite a bit of costume porn at work there*g*)

Opening my browser window, however, I got somewhat distracted, not only by reading up on the featured Keats poems, but also by the latest edition of

metafandom, featuring the all time discussion classic of of how much cultural literacy fanfiction authors should expect from their audience.

Without going into any details, some of the actually quite sensible and pragmatist answers to that question scare me, mostly because I firmly believe in the importance of broadening our shared cultural horizons and the role that fiction (any fiction, not just "literature") plays as a means of transporting knowledge.

Current Mood: pensive

Due to the many positive reviews that I've stumbled across during the last couple of days, I've gotten quite interested in watching State of Play's US movie adaption. Surely one of those cases where curiosity will win over better knowledge, but I'd really like to see how the original mini series' plot and characters are being transformed to fit with the much shorter amount of screen time.

As for the actors...

Am I crazy if I think that the American cast list actually ~~sounds promising~~ makes sense, even though Crowe and Afflek appear to be the complete anti-thesis to their British counterparts?

Current Mood: busy

I don't know if anyone else on my f-list ever has ever experienced this, but sometimes, when watching classic movies, I catch myself thinking: "This so should have a fandom!"

The latest case in a long row is Gunfight at the OK Corral, US 1957, by John Sturges. Based on the legendary historical shoot out, it's got everything that it needs to capture one's imagination, starting with an intriguing plot, great visuals, fabulous direction, soundtrack and ~~eye candy~~ acting. Young Kirk Douglas. Burt Lancaster. Very young Dennis Hopper. Oh and did I mention DeForest Kelley as additional bonus for Trekkers?

The characters and the messed-up dynamics they have with each other are a real treat for the sophisticated angst fan. Just imagine a terminally ill gambler and occasional gun fighter, haunted by a tragic past, flying on auto-destruct, and, due to circumstances, befriended by an outwardly doubtless and pitch-perfect law man.

Amazing potential for shippers, regardless whether of the slash or het conviction, as central facets of both male protagonists are also reflected in relationships they have with women. In the case of the law man, Wyatt Earp, the film grants you a melancholic, little, never-quite fulfilled romance, a story of "If Not's" and "Could Have Been's." Doc Holliday and mistress Kitty Fisher, in contrast, are painted obsessive and dark, their screwed-up dynamics tragic and almost painful to watch.

As both Earp and Holliday, against all odds, actually do survive the great show-down, there's enormous potential for continuation, either backed up by historical canon, or as AU as one pleases, depending on taste.

Just imagine the possibilities for debate, alternate interpretations of characters and history. Or, on the not so nice side, the flame wars initiated in order to silence defenders of Kitty's actions…

This film so should have a fandom. ~~And some of my favourite authors writing Holliday stories~~ ;-)

Current Mood: amused

Last weekend I went to see Grace is Gone, one of my more successful attempts at catching a a quiet little movie while it is still being played on the silver screen. I guess, one cannot even blame theatre managers for pulling non-major, non-blockbuster productions so very quickly, because the audience acceptance turns out so disappointing. If

cavendish had not decided to accompany me, the altogether number of viewers on that Sunday evening would have been three, as there was another couple sitting close to the front row while we had chosen to take seats at the back.

There was a detailed, rather favourable review of Grace in German at Spiegel Online. The film has won/is nominated for several prizes. Music by Clint Eastwood, Sundance Festival audience liked it. An American critic over at Rottentomatoes.com called it: A late entry in last year's parade of war movies that nobody saw, James C. Strouse's "Grace Is Gone" is a beautifully acted and terribly sad film that never makes a case for its own existence.

Despite the mixed judgment (terribly sad, too subdued and slowly paced, too inevitable and painful the ending), her review provides a rather adequate idea of the film itself, and the performances of the actors involved. John Cusack, far from the "cute guy with darker streaks" roles he has played in the past, struck me as particularly impressive in all the helplessness and confusion that he conveys, turning his character into one of those flawed, disturbingly average people that one wants to alternatively slap and hug at the same time.

Current Mood: thoughtful

it was only a matter of days until I headed off,

cavendish in tow, to see Indy IV ...

( Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: random thoughts and impressions )

Current Mood: cheerful

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Entries tagged with movies

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Almost two weeks into 2018

Movie Meme

Silence (2016, R: Martin Scorcese)

Fearful Symmetry

Bridge of Spies

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Getting back into posting mode :)

Gravity

Trailer Time

Django Unchained

Drei Zimmer/Küche/Bad (film review, German language production)

Superhelden in der Wiederholungsschleife - Interesting "Amazing Spiderman" Review (German)

Moonrise Kingdom

Changing Perceptions: The Trouble with Memories...

Bright Star

Blame it on the Media ..

A Sacrilege, Perhaps

So I've been to the Cinema...

As old fannish flames seldom die...

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March 2025