Monday, August 31, 2009

SIDELINE: MORE REVIEWS FOR 08/09

IN THEATRES...

* Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's amazing WWII movie. I've got a few complaints, but it's really an astonishing filmgoing experience. I loved it!

* Ponyo, Miyazaki's latest (and possibly last) movie is geared toward younger kids, and as a result, will leave the adults only partially satisfied. Pretty to look at, there is more good than bad, but not the masterpiece his fans have hoped for.

* Taking Woodstock, a rare stumble for Ang Lee. I think it's the split-screen that does it to him. People don't like it when he gets all fracturous and fancy.

* Thirst, Park Chan-wook's vampire flick, is too long and often too slow, but some cool ideas, story twists, and a great performance by Kim Ok-vin in the female lead still make it worth seeing.


Nicolas Hitori de's take on Shoshanna from Inglourious Basterds



ON DVD...

* 2X Catherine Deneuve: An excellent modern drama, Après Lui, and a terrible 1970s "satire," Marco Ferreri's Don't Touch the White Woman

* The Astonishing Work of Tezuka Osamu, collecting 13 animated shorts by the manga/anime legend.

* Big Man Japan, a confused mockumentary about giant monsters and giant monster fighters in Japan. See it for the fights, fast forward through the rest.

* Chinese Odyssey 2002, a romantic parody of martial arts films reteaming Chungking Express stars Tony Leung and Faye Wong. It's even produced by Wong Kar-Wai, and director Jeffrey Lau includes lots of subtle digs at the director. Too bad this U.S. disc is edited.

* I Love You, Man, one of my favorite comedies of the year, now on DVD.

* Pete's Dragon: High-Flying Edition, an old Disney musical that is pretty predictable, but still entertaining. Plus, you know, animated dragons are hep.

BONUS...



Comics fans and cinephiles should check out Scott Morse's hardboiled fusion, The Projectionist!


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

gr8 blog! Love it :)

from sweden with love /donnie