Red 2

I could say that the Red series is everything that's wrong with modern spy films.  It's more show than substance, more flair than grit, more punchline than punch.  Wrapped into that are aging actors - Bruce Willis primarily - whose abilities to withstand a punch, or a knife, or a gun, are simply unbelievable.

But then again, this movie gets right so many things that its contemporaries - I'm looking at you, Untouchables - get wrong.  It's not about the cameo, or joking around with old buddies.  It's about being of a certain age, one where your work is your art.  There are other lines, like the Raid series, to satisfy, the brutal realism of combat.  This is about watching Bruce Willis and some good actors have fun with their work, their art.

Red 2
2013, 116 minutes, directed by Dean Parisot

An Adventure in Space and Time

This made-for-TV BBC movie dramatizes the William Hartnell era of Doctor Who, from the creation of the series through his departure, primarily from the point of view of Verity Lambert, the show's original producer, and from the good Doctor himself.  I found the series surprisingly well done; they went to good effort to recreate the early sets, costumes, and looks, now cheesingly-shot in glorious HD.  If anything distracted me, it was the appearance of Matt Smith in one scene, which was simultaneously an anachronism for the 1960s and dating what would otherwise be a "timeless" story to the 2010s.  Obviously it's not interesting unless you're a fan of early Doctor Who, but if you are and want more meta in the stories, grab one of the many repeats and enjoy it.

An Adventure in Space and Time
2013, 90 minutes, directed by Terry McDonough

Good Ol' Freda

The Beatles were together for 10 years. Freda Kelly worked for them for 11. President of the fan club and band secretary, Freda was there from the early days at the Cavern to the final breakup. This film documents her life and experiences as a part of the band never before told.

If you like music; if you love the Beatles; if you like the voice of reserved British women, you should catch this film.

Good Ol' Freda
2013, 86 minutes, directed by Ryan White

Skyfall

It's interesting to watch a reboot of the James Bond franchise without them actually replacing the main character.  I can picture a film 20 years from now, with this Moneypenny and Q interacting with a new Bond thrice removed.

Film-wise, the story does feel significantly less epic than the two prior installments.  The action comes closer to home as M is threatened, and Bond must go off the grid and off the rails to protect her.

Skyfall
2012, 143 minutes, directed by Sam Mendes

Sightseers

Ahead of this screening, the first "secret" screening of Fantastic Fest 2012, I had heard from an apparently-not-so-reliable-source that this would be the big-budget film Cloud Atlas.  Disappointed as I am that none of Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, or Hugo Weaving were here, the film was instead a delightful British comedy Sightseers featuring a cast of unknowns and just the right amount of horror to make such a film fit in at the festival.

Chris takes his new girlfriend Tina on a caravan holiday, her first real vacation from an overbearing mother.  Things quickly go awry, and she attempts to adapt.  I really don't want to say more, but it was very enjoyable.  As my friend Joel put it, the characters have depth.  They grow on you.

Sightseers
2012, 88 minutes, directed by Ben Wheatley

Cockneys vs Zombies

With the exception of one short film, this festival has suffered from an extreme lack of zombies. I rectified the situation in a midnight screening of... Cockneys vs. Zombies.

Alan Ford (Brick Top from Snatch) owns this film as the grandfather, a WWII veteran and general badass.  And there are a few new tricks to a zombie film - zombies chasing a guy with a walker, a zombie with an iron plate in his head - but overall it's pretty run-of-the-mill except for Ford's performance.  The planner for the festival who introduced the film said that every third film they screened was a zombie flick, and every third film they saw sucked.  I can see this as the best of a lot of dredge, sure, but overall the genre is getting spent.

Cockneys vs Zombies
2012, 88 minutes, directed by Matthias Hoene 

Black Pond

The papers called the Thompson family murderers. They say it was the only decent thing to do. Why did they invite a stranger to their home, and when he died bury him in the woods?

Like many British mockumentaries, this is a slow-burner punctuated with dry witty humor. I would have liked it better if I was working on more sleep.

Black Pond
2011, 82 minutes, directed by Will Sharpe and Tom Kinsley

"The downside of a tedious life is you have a tedious life. But the upside is you have a swimming pool in the summer."

Her Master's Voice

Nina Conti was ten years into her stand-up ventriloquism career when she decided to give it up. Before she had a chance to tell her mentor and former lover Ken Campbell - the man who introduced her to her career - he died, unexpectedly leaving her his entire collection of books, tapes, and puppets. She deduced to make one last trip, to a ventriloquist convention in Kentucky, and to donate one of Ken's puppets to Venthaven, a museum and resting place for puppets of dead masters.

That's the plot, at least, but it isn't the story. What really matters is that Nina is at a crossroads, scared and unsure, yet she shares her deepest most inner thought through her puppet Monkey and through those of Ken she voices. A lot of the film is her having conversations with herself - and it works. It really works well.

Her Master's Voice
2012, 59 minutes, directed by Nina Conti

The Patriot

As I would expect, had I ever cared enough to ponder, this made-for-feel-good movie hits every cliche it can.  Of course he gives all for his country in its fight for freedom.  Of course there's a former slave who earns the respect of his white brethren.  Of course his biggest nemesis is a tangential character who can be dealt with without upsetting the historical balance.

It was all there, but the substance - the meaning - was gone.

The Patriot
2000, 165 minutes, directed by Roland Emmerich

Little Deaths

I don't usually review short stories.  If I went down that path, what's next?  A pointless micro-blog review of each TV show and YouTube click I watch?  So you won't find mention of short-film collections on here, like the Futurestates series I quite surprisingly enjoyed at last year's SX (and will be seeing the second season premiere of tomorrow).

Little Deaths, though, was conceived and executed as a single "anthology" film.  And I stayed up pretty late for it so I feel like I need to get something out of the effort, like a blog post.  Because - and let me be very honest - I didn't get much out of the film.

The three tales interweave the themes of sex and death.  If you want to read promo blurbs, go find the official film site.  All I can add is that "House & Home", the most satisfying of the three, goes off the crazy end.  "Mutant Tool" starts in crazy and keeps going, and "Bitch" is, well, pretty sad.

I really hope to see something I like at SXSW this year.  Here's hoping for Saturday.

Little Deaths
2010, directed by Sean Hogan, Andrew Parkinson, and Simon Rumley

 

Tim League in a dog suit, shortly after (almost) setting himself on fire.

 The beef stroganoff chugging contest.  Mr. Faceintheglass (next to Tim) won.

Hogfather

I haven't actually read this book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and I found myself using Wikipedia a few times during the movie to check on an assumed character relation.  That said, the story was enjoyable and funny in the usual Terry Pratchett way.

Hogfather
2006, 185 minutes, directed by Vadim Jean

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

There's little left of the light-hearted Hogwarts scenes that dominated the first few films.  This is very dark, and very sad - as it must be.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010, 146 minutes, directed by David Yates

28 Weeks Later

I really wanted to like this.  The first film was a notably different take on zombies, and I thought a sequel could further explore the premise.

Instead the writers decided to use heavy-handed oafs from the U.S. military to do stereotypical, stupid, blundering U.S. military things, while the protagonists are slowly picked off one by one.  What a waste.

28 Weeks Later
2007, 99 minutes, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

The Color of Magic (Part Two) "The Light Fantastic"

Much more of the second-half of this film involves scenes filled with darkness and impending red doom, but Rincewind and Twoflower make their way to their destinies.

Overall this was a good translation of the stories.  As funny, no, but as a new way to discover (or rediscover) Terry Pratchett, it works well.

The Color of Magic (Part Two) "The Light Fantastic"
2006, 95 minutes, directed by Vadim Jean

Erasing David

It's SXSW again, and while we had every intent to skip this year due to whatevers, a pair of badges landed in our laps earlier this morning.  After a flurry of organizing it up and amazingly being denied at the Paramount for the opening night film, my wife and I ended up at the cozy little Hideout for the U.S. Premiere of this British documentary.

Filmmaker David Bond, having been notified that his government lost information about him and his daughter, starts to wonder just exactly what part of his life is out there to be discovered.  Each piece of information shared with the government or a business becomes part of a collection, one that when compiled can reveal far more than desired.  Putting this to the test, he chooses to disappear for 30 days.  Meanwhile, he has hired two private investigators to track him down, starting with only his name and face.  Can he last the month, or is there already far too much out there waiting to be found?

The film jumps between David alone on the run, his investigators as they gather up his life and try to predict his moves, and interviews and research on privacy conducted before the adventure began.  I thought it was a well-edited, solid documentary, very well suited for the blend of film and interactive content that is the first weekend of SXSW.  Privacy has become a choice of how much you are willing to reveal to get the services you desire.

Erasing David
2009, directed by David Bond and Melinda McDougall

Edit 3/22/10: It's rather hilarious that this story came out just a week later:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/facebook-finds-mafia-boss/story?id=10124958

Sherlock Holmes

It's always difficult to portray the analytical on screen.  Do you do the Grand Revelation ala Criminal Intent?  Research montage like CSI?  Or do you embrace special effects to see the inner thoughts of your hero?  Ahh, screw it.  Let's just make an action film.

Sherlock Holmes
2009, 128 minutes, directed by Guy Ritchie

Down Terrace

Psychoanalyzing life. This film reminds me so much of A Serious Man, except it's about British gangsters and features the occasional hit. Really, that's all it takes to change something boring into something great.

Down Terrace
2009, directed by Ben Wheatley

Salvage

This dark and gory film doesn't need aliens or zombies or demons to show the depths of human depravity. Some horrors could be entirely man made...

Salvage
2009, directed by Lawrence Gough

Doghouse

Finally, some kick ass film to wake me up. The action starts fast and never stops. "Now is not the time to stop objectifying women." Fantastic.

Doghouse
2009, 89 minutes, directed by Jake West

Goldfinger

Ahh, the impractical gadgets, the unbelievable villains, the wild locations, the improbably plots, the chauvinistic star. Bond at its pre-Craig finest.

Goldfinger
1964, 110 minutes, directed by Guy Hamilton