I agree that YF is the "better" movie. It is still a parody, but it is a more sophisticated, intellectual movie...more of a "gourmet" comedy. Blazing Saddles, on the other hand, is a double bacon cheeseburger with chili cheese fries kind of movie.
I just watched Never Sleep Again, a four hour documentary chronicling the entirety of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. It was awesome. They got almost every single cast member from every movie to do interviews.
I watched Moon last night. I shouldn't have. I wanted to distract myself, but this was too harsh a movie to make me feel better. Still, it was an amazing film. Really great story, and I enjoyed it a lot. Though, I have to say this is one of the worst examples of a trailer spoiling the film. I pretty much knew 90% of the plot points from having seen the trailer, and was not surprised by anything, sadly.
If you want a great, but simple, science fiction movie, with an emotional story, go watch Moon, but don't watch any of the trailers. It's about a guy working on a lunar helium mine, and it's got some great twists and turns. I especially liked how the robot assistant was written, it felt like it avoided the worst cliches about AI.
I was in the mood for...something tonight on Netflix. No idea what and decided to let fate tell me. That's when I came across Taxi Driver. I'd honestly never seen it before and having just finished it now, I regret not seeing it sooner. I can see why this old movie from the 70s is so heavily praised. It's dark as hell, but takes its time getting to the violent parts of the film. You can sort of feel for the main character and understand his motivations, even if you don't agree with them or his methods.
Though it's interesting that the violence at the end of the film nearly warranted an X rating from the MPAA. It's pretty tame compared to what we see even on TV today.
So yeah, definitely regret not seeing this sooner.
Today I watched Xmen DOFP and Monuments Men. Both decent flicks, in different ways. Although, of course there's this gaping continuity hole in XM: DOFP -
Look, if you send Logan back and he succeeds, time changes instantly... there would be no tense future drama part. Either it worked in 1973 or it didn't, and your clue that it didn't is the timeline didn't immediately go poof the instant Wolverine went back.
Today I watched Xmen DOFP and Monuments Men. Both decent flicks, in different ways. Although, of course there's this gaping continuity hole in XM: DOFP -
Look, if you send Logan back and he succeeds, time changes instantly... there would be no tense future drama part. Either it worked in 1973 or it didn't, and your clue that it didn't is the timeline didn't immediately go poof the instant Wolverine went back.
Taxi Driver: Yeah, yeah, pat yourselves on the back, people. Lots of solid, engrossing scenes. I picked up that Travis might have been down a couple IQ points from standard, or that something really bad happened to him while he was in the Marines. Probably the latter, seeing how he had such trouble sleeping. Maybe he even did something he regretted.
I was surprised that he didn't kill the nominee, and that he was set up as the good guy according to the media. Though his actions ultimately did help Iris, his worldview is still an unstable one, and there's nothing to indicate that his scary persona from earlier in the movie would've been at all changed at the end. So now he's a hero, who's one hair away from going on a killing spree, yet no one knows it and they praise him.
That's my interpretation, at least. It's an excellent film that makes the viewer wonder that way. I need to watch more good movies, even though I intend to drop into another Godzilla movie tonight.
Dredd: This was fun. I never saw the Stallone version, but no one's told me I'm missing anything. I know some of the references though, likely lifted from the comic since a couple of them resurface here. In any case, I really liked that there was no BIG PLOT for this movie. Nothing with Judge Dredd being discredited, nothing about a big assassination plot of a major figure, no need to save the city, or the world. It was just a day as a Judge, with a few unusual moments and a rookie earning her stripes. I had a good time.
Taxi Driver: Yeah, yeah, pat yourselves on the back, people. Lots of solid, engrossing scenes. I picked up that Travis might have been down a couple IQ points from standard, or that something really bad happened to him while he was in the Marines. Probably the latter, seeing how he had such trouble sleeping. Maybe he even did something he regretted.
I was surprised that he didn't kill the nominee, and that he was set up as the good guy according to the media. Though his actions ultimately did help Iris, his worldview is still an unstable one, and there's nothing to indicate that his scary persona from earlier in the movie would've been at all changed at the end. So now he's a hero, who's one hair away from going on a killing spree, yet no one knows it and they praise him.
Travis died, and that everything after his eyes close after the shootout is his dying hallucination. There's no way he could have been painted as a hero in any of that, especially not after being identified at the political rally. And the other characters, especially the woman that worked for the candidate, acted in a very out of character fashion afterwards, acting the way Travis wished she would rather than the way she really would. Even the note from Iris's father, narrated by Iris's father, is read in the same slow, stuttering fashion that Travis used whenever he wrote in his journal.
Travis died, and that everything after his eyes close after the shootout is his dying hallucination. There's no way he could have been painted as a hero in any of that, especially not after being identified at the political rally. And the other characters, especially the woman that worked for the candidate, acted in a very out of character fashion afterwards, acting the way Travis wished she would rather than the way she really would. Even the note from Iris's father, narrated by Iris's father, is read in the same slow, stuttering fashion that Travis used whenever he wrote in his journal.
Travis died, and that everything after his eyes close after the shootout is his dying hallucination. There's no way he could have been painted as a hero in any of that, especially not after being identified at the political rally. And the other characters, especially the woman that worked for the candidate, acted in a very out of character fashion afterwards, acting the way Travis wished she would rather than the way she really would. Even the note from Iris's father, narrated by Iris's father, is read in the same slow, stuttering fashion that Travis used whenever he wrote in his journal.
Travis died, and that everything after his eyes close after the shootout is his dying hallucination. There's no way he could have been painted as a hero in any of that, especially not after being identified at the political rally. And the other characters, especially the woman that worked for the candidate, acted in a very out of character fashion afterwards, acting the way Travis wished she would rather than the way she really would. Even the note from Iris's father, narrated by Iris's father, is read in the same slow, stuttering fashion that Travis used whenever he wrote in his journal.
I'm not sure how much I can buy into the theory, but I think there's enough there to warrant the possibility. It'd take a few more viewings of the movie for me to decide which way to fall on that argument. Love the idea of it, though.
I'm not sure how much I can buy into the theory, but I think there's enough there to warrant the possibility. It'd take a few more viewings of the movie for me to decide which way to fall on that argument. Love the idea of it, though.
Terror of Mechagodzilla: Unlike Monster Zero, I felt this one held up. Though Godzilla doesn't show up until the last third, as was common in those days, the movie runs at a brisk pace. It helps that it largely focuses on the villains and their own story, rather than have them solely be a foil for a silly protagonist like in Monster Zero or vs. Gigan. The fights are fun and I had a good time with it. Unlike Monster Zero, that got me in the mood for more Godzilla movies, which I sadly don't have.
The Double: I was in the mood for a Jesse Eisenberg movie, and this one caught my eye when it was recommended in an article discussing Jesse's upcoming role as Lex Luthor. I watched it with my wife, and I'd say between the two of us my opinion was the most positive.
Eisenberg plays Simon James, a very awkward, underappreciated, and lonely loser (it is Jesse Eisenberg after all) who lives and works in a very depressing 80s-ish distopia. Simon is barely noticed by his boss, coworkers, and the girl he is stalking (Yes. Staring at her lovingly through the window of her next door apartment building via telescope is stalking). But things suddenly become even worse for Simon when the office welcomes a newcomer. Someone who is more confident, is popular with management, and has a way with the ladies. Someone who looks exactly like Simon, named...James Simon.
You may be thinking that James Simon is a stupidly obvious name for an exact duplicate of Simon James. But the truth is that's the point of the film. Simon and James look exactly alike, even down to the ill-fitting suit they wear, and the similarity of their names and yet no one else seems to make the connection. The only difference is James is a confident monster of a character, who seems to take great pleasure in taking over Simon's life.
James brings a lot of needed life to the film. Simon is not able to combat the woes of his world, wheras James seems to give out the shit before he takes any of his own. It's quite enjoyable watching Eisenberg interact with himself in this manner, and to give him credit he does pull it off masterfully.
Overall it's an intriguing film. It's funny in parts, but it's a very dark and quiet kind of funny. The setting is also quite creative, as it seems to take place in a science fiction world based on what someone from the 50s might have interpreted the 80s to be like. Sort of in the style of "1984" or "Brazil". But there is one thing that sort of takes away from the film for me. And that part has to do with the ending. So only click if you've seen the film or do not care that I'm spoiling it.
There is never any explanation as to what the Doppelganger is, or why it exists. It's established this isn't some sort of Fight Club twist where he turns out to be both people, because other characters in the movie openly acknowledge that Simon and James are different people, sometimes speaking to both of them in the same scene. It is also established that both Simon and James do look exactly alike, as they switch places with each other a few times in the film and no one actually notices. One character even agrees with Simon that James looks very similar to him, but explains it's probably because Simon is just so unnoticable that no one cares. In the hospital James realizes there is someone working there who looks exactly like a security guard who works in his building. And as the film draws to an end we also realize that any harm that happens to Simon happens to James (and eventually being used as James' downfall), thereby making the mystery of what James is even that more important.
But then the movie ends without explaining anything. Was it all in his head? Was there really a doppleganger? Does it have any connection with the high suicide rate that is mentioned in the film, or any direct connection to the suicide that Simon sees early in the film?
I'm afraid this just isn't the kind of movie that should end without wrapping things up.